Happy Easter

We woke up early this morning, and we gave the girls their Easter baskets. They were so happy.

The purple bunny is Adalyn's. The blue bunny is Ariana's. And the pink bunny is Samantha's.
I made the pumpkin swirl cheesecake last night. We watched Hop this morning and it was funny. I tried to make colored deviled eggs and they came out horrible.

Addy loved her basket. We got her some marshmellows instead of m&m's.

Ariana loved her basket and bunny

They were ready to dig into their candy and watch a movie

After the movie was over, we got the girls cleaned up and dress so we could go eat Easter dinner.

We had ham, mac and cheese, butter beans and rice and deviled eggs for dinner. Then we had cheesecake for dessert. After we got through eating, my mom gave the girls some bubbles that she bought them. Then we did 2 Easter egg hunts with them.

My mom madekool aid deviled eggs and they were so messy

These were the candy filled eggs that we did at home and brought with us.

 

ready for the hunt.

 

When we got home, we put the girls down for a nap and me and Cayce watched a movie. I took 2 small naps and then we went outside and cleaned out the gutters and watered our flowers. After we came back inside, it started pouring down rain.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

I decided that I was going to make this cheesecake again for Easter. The first time we had it, we made it for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 box Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, finely crushed
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/2 pound cream cheese melted
1/2 cup granualted sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin pie mix
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk chocolate baking chips

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350F. Wrap bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with foil.

2. Crust: Mix together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter press over bottom and partially up side of prepared pan. Refrigerate while making filling.

3. Filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in sugars, cornstarch, and pumpkin pie spice until combined. Beat in pie mix, eggs, and vanilla till smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup of batter.

4. Microwave chocolate for 30 seconds, stir and microwave again for 15 seconds. Stir again and mix it with reserved batter. Microwave for another 15 seconds.

5. pour batter into prepared pan. Dollop heaping of chocolate mixture over top of cake and swirl. Place in roasting pan, adding enough hot water to come halfway up side of foil.

6. Bake at 350F. for 70-80 minutes until just set. Run knife around edge of the pan. Cool in pan on rack. Cover, refrigerate, overnight. Remove pan to serve.

Weekend Goals: March 30-31, 2013

I have alot to do this weekend that I didn't complete last weekend or throughout the week because of the death in the family.

Household:

• Clean out closets for spring
• Deep clean bathrooms
• Scrub kitchen, top to bottom
• Organize pantry
• Deep clean master bedroom

Personal:

• Work on cookbook
• Exceed 2,500 swagbucks
• Exercise 6-8 hours

Kids:

• Plan Samantha's letter of the week curiculum and book lists
• Plan Ariana's prepatory curriculum and book lists
• Plan Samantha's 4th birthday

Yard:

• Start picking up roots and debris
• Clean out gutters and sweep roof
• Hose down underpinning
• Plant flowers
• Finish painting front porch

Uneventful Week

This week has been slow, sad and overall stressful. Cayce's grandpa died on Monday morning, and he went back to work today. He automatically got 3 days off for funeral leave. Tomorrow is the funeral, so he won't be going in tomorrow. He has been so distant all week, and I don't like it. We have gotten into several arguments and it hasn't been pretty. We haven't worked out all week, so tomorrow when he comes home, we are going to have an early dinner and do 3 hours of exercise.

We have so much to do this weekend, so we are going to be doing some of those to-do's tomorrow.
I'm also scheduling 3 hours of exercise for Saturday, and on Sunday, we are going to do 1 hour exercise before heading to my mom's for Easter dinner, and then I might do 1 hour of walking on my mom's treadmill, or wait till we get back home.

I have been taking some time and reading some books I bought a few years ago and never got to read until now. I have read 3-4 books this month.

I will be posting my weekly goals tomorrow morning while cayce is at the funeral. I won't be going because me and his family don't exactly mesh, and I don't want anymore drama going on as there is already enough going on.

I bid you all a goodnight!

Prep. Curriculum: Week 26

This was the final week of prepatory curriculum for Samantha. The week's them was airplanes and the vocabulary word was contrails.

On Monday, she colored 2 pages airplanes.

She loved these pictures.
On Tuesday, I gave her the day off. On Wednesday, she did the letter Z.

On Thursday, she did the number 100. Now, I have no idea why in the curriculum it skipped the number 26 and went straight to 100, but I taught her the number anyways.

This was the only worksheet or coloring page I could find on the number 100.
On Friday, she had a review day and we celebrated her graduation on Saturday.

Now, she is going to have some time off before her birthday, and then we will start Letter of the Week Curriculum the week after.

Lose the Weight Challenge: Week 3

*Exercise: Pelvic floor recovery (aka kegels)
                  8 hours of exercise
*Diet: Take 2 guilty pleasures and find a healthy alternative
           Continue healthy dinners at least 6 times a week
*Attitude: Surround self with positive influences

**EXTRA CREDIT** Be a positive influence for someone else

Previous Weight: 268.4
Current Weight: 265.6
Pounds Lost: -3

I have lost 5 pounds in 2 weeks. Not that great, but it's finally coming off.

This morning for breakfast I had a pack of cheddar crackers with peanut butter filling.

For lunch, I had another pack of crackers with some tea and water

I have been drinking sips of tea thoughout the day.

For supper, I made a corn chowder with onions, green onions, turkey bacon and shrimp. it was delicious, but I think I ate more than I should have.

I couldnt make it outside today to exercise because the wind today is so fierce, that it was tryin to blow the car off the road. We also had a death in the family this morning. Cayce lost his grandfather to brain cancer this morning.
        

Weekend Goals Update: March 23-24, 2013

Household:

• Clean out closets for spring
• Deep clean bathrooms
• Wash bedding and clothes
• Dust and vaccum living room
• Scrub kitchen floors, counters, and appliances
• Clean out cabinets and pantry
• Organize kitchen shelves
• Deep clean master bedroom

Personal:

• Work on cookbook
• Exercise 4 hours (2 on Saturday & 2 on Sunday) ( I will have to add these hours to the 4 hours I will do this week)
• Finish reading 50 Shades Freed
• Exceed 1,800 swagbucks
• Movie night Sunday with Cayce ( ruined with Cayce spending time with his friends rather than family)

Kids:

• Plan Letter of the Week curriculum (Samantha)
• Work on letter book lists
• Plan Prepatory curriculum (Ariana)
• Work on Prep. book lists
• Organize Prep. posters
• Celebrate Sammy's graduation
• Plan Sammy 4th Birthday

Yard:

• Start getting rid of debris
• Pull-up roots and dispose
• Clean out gutters and sweep roof
• Hose down underpinning
• Clean out and wash car

We weren't able to go outside this weekend because it has been raining. So, all the yard work has to be pushed back to next weekend and more will be added.