This roast will make you happy

We rarely eat red meat. But this last weekend, after 6 years of marriage, I got up the courage to cook a roast for Sunday dinner. I thought it might be a disaster, and I'm pretty sure J thought so too. But it turns out you can't go wrong with a crockpot. What would I do without the internet? The roast turned out fantastic, it was even better for lunch leftovers.

CROCKPOT ROAST

Mix together 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, 1/4 tsp ground cayenne, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder.

Rub mix over the surface of a 3 lb. roast (I used a rump roast). Throw it in the crockpot with 1 1/2 cups of water, 3 beef bouillon cubes, 1/4 cup grated onion, and another 1/4 tsp pepper.

Cook on high in a crockpot with 1 1/2 cups of water for about 4 hours (or on low for 8 hours or so).

I steamed my potatoes and carrots separately.

Serve the roast with the potatoes, carrots, and juice from the crockpot.

30 month checkup

Boo had her 30 month well-child checkup this week. She's not a fan of the doctor. Last check up did not go well, so this time around we tried to prep her for what was coming, as she seems to do much better with new things when we talk about it a few days ahead of time. The first time we talked to her about getting a shot, she broke down in tears. The next time she pretended like I wasn't even talking. And then whenever the doctor subject was brought up, she simply said, "No, going to Hannah Noah's."

She insisted that this was the plan all the way up until we walked into the office. I was pretty sure we were headed for meltdown city, but all told she did much better this time around. The shot was bad, but we're (finally) done until kindergarten boosters.

Cousin Tyler

Boo got to play with her only Hall cousin this weekend. Tyler is such a good kid - he was right at home in our Valentine's brunch madness. After the Kiss Hunt, he wanted to inspect Boo's cup of kisses, so he planted both of his little paws on her knees to get a better look. Boo, ever possessive of what is rightfully hers, immediately hollered, "MY PANTS! MY PANTS!!"
They played together very well all afternoon on Friday. Saturday was a little harder...it's so hard to share...hopefully Becca will let Ty come back again so we can practice.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day.

Valentine's breakfast...
Pancakes, strawberries and...

whipped cream!

Valentine's Brunch

Friday morning we had a Valentine's play group with some friends and cousins. We had chocolate chip heart pancakes and strawberries for brunch. (There was supposed to be whipped cream to go with it, but I forgot to whip it.)

There were plenty of kids to go around.

We had a Hershey's Kiss Hunt at the end, and the kids loved it. Boo saved most of her kisses and we have played 'hide treats' several times since.

Grand Raspberry Trifle

I saw this on Martha Stewart's Everyday Baking and gave it a try last weekend. For not being a chocolate dessert, it was awesome. Here is the original recipe, and here is what I did:

1. In a small saucepan, bring 1/4 cup sugar, 1/8 cup water, and 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice to a boil. Boil and stir 1-2 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Combine 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam with 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries, mashing the raspberries slightly.

3. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 TB sugar to stiff peaks.

4. Slice about 3/4 of a loaf of pound cake. Brush both sides of cake slices with the lemon syrup, then cut the slices into chunks.
5. Place chunks from 1 slice of pound cake in the bottom of a glass (I used short and wide tumblers, but parfait glasses or wide goblets would be very pretty). Drop a spoonful of raspberry mixture on top of the cake chunks, followed by a spoonful of whipped cream. Repeat twice more, so you have three sets of layers.

6. Garnish the top with fresh raspberries. Refrigerate until serving, up to 24 hours.
As I was making it, it seemed like there was too much pound cake and not enough raspberry sauce, but when we actually ate it I think it was the perfect ratio. A great Valentine's Day dessert!

And baby makes four...

Baby girl #2 is scheduled to arrive June 26th.

Boo is excited and wants to name her Puppy.

I'm looking forward to painting, rearranging rooms, and getting out all those cute newborn onesies.

Bring on the pink!

Under construction

I'm changing my blog up a bit, even adding some buttons.

I gave Simply Chic blog backgrounds a try, they have some cute Valentine's backgrounds.

Heather introduced me to a fabulous website, No Time For Flashcards. I L-O-V-E it and can't decide where to start first.