Patchwork Sweet Potato Casserole

So, Tomorrow is Turkey Day! I decided that since I'm kinda throwing a couple of recipes together, I'd write up a blogpost about the sweet potato casserole that I'm working on. That way, I'll be able to reference back to it later. 

3 Large Sweet Potatoes (I didn't peel them, but I'm kinda lazy like that.)
1/4 cup of melted butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk
dash of Pumpkin Pie seasoning (Don't judge me… I didn't have cinnamon. It works!) 
Marshmallows

Boil the sweet potatoes until tender and drain.  I used my handy-dandy-NOT-Kitchenaid Mixer to mix all these ingredients together. This is what it looked like in my 9 inch Pyrex Pie plate. 

So, I prepped this the night before, and so on Thanksgiving morning, I had my girls cover the top with marshmallows and cooked it until it was brown and bubbly on top! :) 

It was yummy! :) I liked how creamy it was! I didn't want anything dense, so that's why I skipped the eggs that so many recipes had. 

Water Fun

This week was Cortlyn's first swim lessons! The child loves the water, so we thought we better stay ahead of the game and get her in some lessons!

We are in a Mommy and me class and there are two other mommy and daughters. Cortlyn has done great this week. We have worked on floating, kicking and jumping in the water. Cortlyn was ahead of the game as far as jumping in and going under water. The other little girls don't like to get their face wet- but not Cortlyn! If you have ever been with us when we are near water, then you know how much fun Cortlyn has going under the water! She jumps in without hesitation... but more on that in a minute.

Cortlyn's weakness in the lessons this week had been floating on her back. She did NOT like that at all. Which I understand. I remember when I was little and trying to learn to float on my back. Its hard to believe that keeping your head back will make you float better- I mean you can't SEE anything that way! Cortlyn did finally get the hang of it, and I barely had to hold her booty or head... yay! Kicking has been pretty decent, sometimes she's really into it and sometimes she's not so much.

On Thursday, we were waiting for the instructor to tell us to get in the water so we could start the lessons. Cortlyn was standing RIGHT next to me and kept asking to get in the water. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a splash- yup. Cortlyn had jumped into the water by herself. I was so scared, but calmly jumped in and grabbed her. She came to the surface smiling and I had to get on to her. I had a hard time with that. It was really the first time that I was happy she was okay, yet knew I had to discipline her for her action. We got out of the water and I told her how sad (an emotion I know that she understands) and scared (one that I don't think we've quite gotten down yet) Mommy was when Cortlyn jumped into the water by herself. I told her that she is NEVER allowed to jump into the water unless Mommy is there to catch her. I also made her sit in time out, against the wall near the pool while the instructor started the lesson. I only did this for a minute- I AM paying for these lessons after all! Anyway, she told me and the instructor that she was sorry and she was very good for the rest of the lesson. Hopefully this will teach her to be more cautious around the water now!

Introducing...

We finally broke down and decided to get a Puppy! I am positive we have absolutely lost our minds, but now that we're settled in Hattiesburg we felt like we might be ready for this huge undertaking! We knew a family that had a dog that was pregnant with Chorkies (A Yorkie and Chihuahua mix) and we talked about it on and off about getting one. We finally decided we should do it. Hopefully this isn't a huge mistake- I mean, potty training Cortlyn AND a dog?!?!? But, our sitter said she would actually help and take him some, so he won't be locked up in the house all day every day.

Here's Peyton!!! And then, of course, here is the one good shot we got of Cortlyn in her Easter Dress! She wasn't interested in having her picture taken on Sunday!

Oh, it's a lovely holiday with Mary...

So, we have found the movie that leaves Cortlyn spellbound. And I, for one, couldn't be more happy about what movie she has chosen to be her favorite movie. Its Mary Poppins- which is a childhood favorite of mine! I have always enjoyed watching the movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. I have already decided that when she is older, we will read the books together. It's something I always wanted to do- I remember my cousin telling me about reading them when she was a child, but of all the books I read growing up, I missed the Mary Poppins series.


We haven't actually hooked up the DVD player to the TV in the living room, so the only way that she can watch the movie is on the portable player we bought for the car. Which for now, is just fine. She has watched it while on long car trips, but she found the case for the movie and flipped out, saying PEEZ! repeatedly while pointing and shaking the case. I had no idea that she would even know what the movie was by just the case. I'm so happy that she enjoys this movie so much!

They are calling for snow in Hattiesburg AGAIN! I tell ya, I really didn't think I'd see this much cold weather, especially after the LONG hot summer! People here say that this rarely happens, but I have a feeling the weather wants to follow me here, because it knows I don't like being cold! Bah!

Cortlyn also got her first taste of a coastal tradition! A Mardi Gras King Cake! It was VERY tasty and she enjoyed her little bite.

Our Christmas!

We had to make a few more cookies for Santa... Chef Cortlyn was on that!

 When we woke in the morning, Cortlyn had so many things under the tree that Santa had brought (And a few things Aunt Cheryl had sent!)

  

Cortlyn was VERY excited about her very own telephone!

 

Santa left one half eaten cookie... which Cortlyn promptly took care of! 

 

After baby got her new outfit on, Cortlyn shared her winter cap that she got from Santa

 

Doctor Cortlyn making sure baby is okay (she is!)

 

 I think this table is going to be a lot of fun for her, she has enjoyed it so far today!

Cookies and Santa

 I decided that Cortlyn needed to prep for Cookies for Santa... since he would need some for Christmas Eve, right? So, last weekend we had our first trial run!

Cortlyn was not all that excited about cutting the cookies... So, Mommy just had to cut them out and let her get on to the fun part anyway...

 THE SPRINKLES!!!!

 She got the idea of the sprinkles, right?

 And we had to let her taste the yummy-goodness!

Due to the traveling back to Georgia at the time when Santa usually comes to visit, we have arranged for him to visit us a little early. It is a little early, but Santa made the necessary changes to his schedule to help us out! So, since he is coming tonight, we went to visit him today. Cortlyn seemed very excited about visiting with Santa, so I was sure we'd get a great picture like we got last year. 

 

Except someone didn't want to sit in Santa's lap!!!! So, instead of freaking her out, we decided that Momma would just stay close- and in the end we got a GREAT picture... that we can crop!

Oh Christmas Tree!!!

Today was the day... while Cortlyn took her afternoon nap, Momma & Daddy worked hard to rearrange the living room and put up the Christmas tree! Cortlyn was VERY excited to see her surprise when she woke up...

I hope we have the "touch, don't throw them to the ground" part down... Since our ornaments are all from Ikea, they are plastic, so they *shouldn't* break. We'll see.

She was so excited she kept covering her mouth! It was cute!

She really wanted to have the "Tar" but, it was just out of her reach... darn!

I can't wait for the rest of the holiday and for her to enjoy this Christmas. Last year was so much fun, but this year will be even better! Now, if the USM athletics would decide what Bowl game we're going to, that would be great!

Thanksgiving 2009

Sorry its taking so long to post another blog! Last weekend Nana & Pops came to visit last week, and do you know, I don't have a single picture from that visit?? Sigh. I do have a picture of Cortlyn and daddy hanging out on the couch from that saturday morning (Cortlyn is in her USM t-shirt, although, she had to miss the last game of the season due to freakishly cold & wet weather)


We were able to find a parade on TV (stupid DISH), the Chicago/McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cortlyn LOVED to watch the parade and the floats.


She sat there and watched, until I said "Look, Cortlyn! It's Santa!" I didn't expect her to remember Santa or even know what he was about. Well, she shocked me and JUMPED to her feet and pointed at Santa and dancing around. Who'da thunk it?

This is Daddy carving our delish crock pot turkey!! It was SOOO tasty, if I do say so myself!
And this was my shot of the table. We didn't decorate much, but SOMEONE couldn't wait for the meal to start...

Butterfly's events!

Cortlyn had many opporunities to wear her Butterfly costume this week... First there was the Zoo Boo (see last post!) and then we went to the Oak Grove Elementary School's Fall Festival. When we arrived at the school, I let Cortlyn run in the field behind the school, while I got the stroller and things out of the car... she thoroughly enjoyed the chance to run in the wide open field!


While at the festival, Cortlyn also had fun in the bouncy house! She would barely get stood up, when she'd get knocked down again! The girls in the house with her, were so sweet and helpful, but of course, their bouncing was knocking her over. She didn't mind though! Cortlyn was smiling and squealing the whole time, and was NOT happy when Mommy crawled in to get her out!
Cortlyn got to play a few games, although, she had a hard time understanding what the games were at times...
On Saturday, our friend Julie invited us to her friend's house to go trick or treating in their neighborhood. Cortlyn enjoyed all the new children and toys. She played very well with them!
We decided that we needed the kid leash for Cortlyn though... she didn't want to hold our hand while we were walking around... but she's nearly 30 pounds!!!

Zoo Boo!

Tonight, we joined Cortlyn's Sitter Nita and her daughter Alyssa, sister Amy and niece Emma at the Zoo Boo! It was the first time we got to try out the Butterfly outfit I came up with for Cortlyn! My friend back home Michael Ann, made the tu-tu and I've had the wings for a while!

We finally have a picture of Cortlyn's Sitter!! This is Nita!

Cortlyn LOVES Alyssa! They get along very well!

This was while we were waiting for the train to take us on a little trip around the zoo. It was dark and all the animals were put up for the evening, so there aren't any pictures from the ride.

Cortlyn enjoyed the Carousel ride!