...and the Easter Holiday Begins!

We always look forward to dying eggs. This year, Madeline chose Spongebob as the theme for her eggs....surprise, surprise! It's amazing to see how much better she gets each year with this process.

Our Room Makeover

Jason has really been wanting to remodel our living room/office area ever since we moved into our house four years ago, and finally we were able to do it. What a process that he underwent, too. Fortunately, most of this took place while I was at work; however, I did have to get rid of a lot of clutter and find other places for Madeline's toys that had collected in the living room. Here are some pictures from beginning to end. I love our new floors and our new furniture. Hopefully Madeline and the new baby won't be too hard on them.

Our New Little Prince

"Hi everyone."

"My Hand and Fingers"

"Yeap, I'm a boy!"

My Masterpiece-Oreo Cookie Cake

Okay okay, so I adapted a Family Circle recipe into my own. It's the working woman's adaptation. On a scale of level of difficulty 1-10, I give this a 3. It's a very pretty cake, I think, and very easy to make.

Cake

1 Chocolate Cake Mix

Prepared as directions suggest

in round cake pans

Filling

4 oz cream cheese softened

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 box (16 oz) confectioners sugar

3-4 tbsp milk

Frosting

1 can vanilla frosting

Oreo cookies

Prepare Cake and allow to cool on racks. When layers have cooled, trim off any crowned cake from the tops and eat or discard (ha ha). Cut each layer in half horizontally with a serrated knife.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, then milk. Beat for 2 min or until light and fluffy.

Place one cut layer on a cake stand or plate and top with one third of filling, spread evenly over top. Repeat with 2 more cake layers. Place last layer on top cut side down. Refridgerate for 20 min or until filling is set.

Frost with vanilla frosting, using back of spoon to make peaks on top. Place chopped cookies onto sides of cake.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Birthday to Our Dear Madeline

Wow! It's so hard to believe that our little baby is now five years-old. Just yesterday it seems that we were changing diapers, potty training, putting her on her swingset for the first time, teaching her to dress herself, etc. Now, she can do most things for herself. She is currently 41 lbs and a little more than 3 1/2 inches tall. We've come a long way from 8 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches long. She has had an extremely busy year with the highlights being starting, what she calls, big school at Oak Forest Academy, the birth of her new baby cousin, Seamus, and her first dance recital. Her favorite hobbies are swinging, playing ball, riding her bike (with training wheels, as of now), playing with her Barbie's, and watching Spongebob and I Carly. Her favorite color is pink. Her favorite books are the Fancy Nancy series. She is very energetic and likes to be in control of her surroundings. She is looking forward to starting kindergarten in August, as well as, welcoming a new baby brother or sister. We love you, Madeline, our beautiful, precious ray of sunshine.

Knights of Ecor Rouge Fairhope, AL

We got the opportunity to attend this family oriented Mardi Gras parade in Fairhope, AL, with our friends Curtis and Jessica Houston. We started out on shaky ground because Madeline was very tired from a birthday party earlier that day, and she didn't want to walk...or stand up for that matter. However, as the parade arrived, she quickly came alive! What a beautiful parade. We didn't leave without our parade "battle scars." My mother got hit in the face with a cup, Jessica's mom got hit with beads in the forehead, and Gracie, Jess and Curtis's daughter told her story about being bopped in the head with beads (see the photo below with her mom). Everyone was alright, though, and we left with plenty of parade loot

OUR NEXT ADDITION

Just in case some of you didn't know, we are expecting another Baby Caraway in August. Right now it is just a "butterbean." We have about six more months to go!!