On The Trail Of The (Stinking) Easter Bunny

Some of you know that I grew up

on a farm in Pennsylvania.

I grew up believing in

leprechauns and fairies...

Santa Claus

AND

The Easter Bunny.

When I was little my Father

told me that the Easter Bunny

left my basket under a

stump-and-post fence in the

back field. 

Today I know that he was a

liar because EVERYONE

knows that the Easter bunny

sneaks into your house at night

and hides your basket.

When I was 5 my father told

me that he was going to meet the

Easter Bunny in the back field

after he spread the morning

load of manure-

YES- Manure!

Keep that in mind~

I wanted to go.

He said NO!

I was determined to see that bunny!

My dog, Lucky, wanted to

see him too.

I wanted to ride on the tractor with Dad.

He said NO!

I decided to follow along behind him

thinking he would take pity on me

and let me ride...I kept asking..

He kept saying NO!

Lucky walked doggedly

by my side.

(like how I worked in the word doggedly)?

It was about a quarter mile to the back field.

Every few feet my Father would

turn around and tell me to go home.

I would shake my head NO

and keep walking...so would Lucky.

We got to the place where he needed

to spread the manure.

GO HOME- I have to start the spreader!

GO HOME-

NO DEAL...

I wanted to see that stinking (;>) bunny!

GO HOME.

I kept walking.

He finally turned the spreader on.

I walked right along behind him..

step-by-step,

row-by-row.

Unfortunately, I do NOT have

a picture of THAT for your viewing

pleasure.

After he had spread the load of manure

he headed home.

I walked right along behind him,

manure covered and stinking

to high Heaven!

When we got home he told me

I was the stubbornest kid he

had ever met.

Hmmmpffffff!

I was NOT stubborn..

I was determined.

And as for Lucky?

Well, let's just say that was NOT

his lucky day.

Next year my

Easter basket was

right at on the

breakfast table...

Imagine that!

SweetCheeks Believes That God Is THE BOSS

It started innocently enough.

Just a simple request.

SweetCheeks...

Time to quit playing now.

Time to go get your

little red shoes on.

Mama wants you

to get ready to go now.

Who knew?

Who knew that a

four year old

knew how to argue

with so much

insight?

Yohu arhe nott

THE BOSS ohff me..

GOD is the

boss ohff me!

 

WH-AT?

What did you say?

(repeat above phrase to yourself

Yohu arhe nott the boss ohff me

God is the boss ohff me)

Well, I'm your MOM

and God

MADE ME

your boss!

Noh Hee din't!!

GOD is youhr boss

and God is MY boss

but youh is

NOT my boss

cuz

GOD SAYS

Hee's the Boss!

Really?

uh-huh...

An' God is Lulu's

boss and Ria's boss..

and

God says I ahm

their boss too.

Really?

uh-huh...

Well, little Sister,

God has been

talking to ME

and HE says that

I am YOUR MOM

and I am YOUR BOSS..

Now go find your shoes

and LET'S GO.

OH-KAY!

But God is

STILL MY BOSS

but I gonna do

it cuz yohu arhe

MY MOM

and as

SweetCheeks is

walking away..

very quietly,

under her breath

you hear..

but yohu is

not MY boss..

God is!

Sounds right to me!

Amen, Sister..

Your MOM

SOOOOO

deserves a child like you!

Payback is a wonderful,

wonderful thing.

Is It True That Devils Have Red Eyes?

What do

YOU

think?

Baby Ethan

looks like

he

thinks Papa

has a devilish

glimmer in his eyes.

Do you think he will

still come to

see the

Easter Bunny

at Nana's House

next weekend?

I hope so!

Actually, BabyE,

God chased the

Devil out of

Papa a long

time ago!

Amen!

YooHoo-Blondie!! Baked Stuffed Blueberry French Toast

The other day I posted

a recipe for

Baked Apple Stuffed

French Toast.

I promised someone

Blondie/Jane

Blondie'sJournal

(she's kinda shy so

I crossed her name out

but feel free to visit

cuz you will love her-

Pinky Promise)

ANYWAY-

I promised that

I would give her

a recipe for another

prepare ahead~

overnight~

 baked dish~

that I often

make for

Sunday Brunch.

It is easy,

can be fixed ahead,

and always

gets

WOWS!

It is calorie laden and

will add an inch to

your hips just walking by

the pan- but SOO worth it.

Ingredients

12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
 1 cup fresh blueberries
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1/3 cup maple syrup

Homemade Syrup Topping
1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.  (This works best in a glass baking pan where you can SEE how brown it is getting)

Topping:
In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast .

I always serve this with overnight ham because it is so easy for an impressive quick morning breakfast.
I guarandurntee it will make the little kids and the big kids at your house smile.
They will bow before your cooking skills and call you marvelous.
The will love you!
They will want to BE you...Yeah...
..Too bad for them, huh?;>)

SweetCheeks Perfect Opera Video- High/Higher/Highest

I know you heard

SweetCheeks

sing before.

However..

this is

OPPRAH

as you have

NEVER

heard it..

Seriously..

She sings it

in

THREE

(count 'em)

different

keys.

See if you can

pick out the

subtle differences
(edited to add:  Notice
how when Papa talks
to her she stops,
listens quietly,
and then ignores
him-she is going to
make a perfect wife someday)
Did I say that?
Ready?
Remember-
3 different keys..

Did you hear the difference?

Yeah?

Say what?

Huh?

Me neither...

But it

WAS

perfect!

My Friend Is Moving! She Moves Me Too!

This is my friend,

Donna

Her blog is called
MyShabbyChateau

Pop over and visit
her
NEW PLACE.
And leave a message
to inspire her
as she travels
across the country
in their motorhome.

We had an email

conversation last night.

She is on her way

to Washington.

This is NOT

an easy move for her...

She did NOT

want to go and

leave her home,

and Mom,

and other family.

But, Donna, being

Donna, and a good

wife and partner,

packed up their

Michigan life

to move to

the state of Washington.

She has asked for

prayer for herself

and her situation.

She wants us to pray

for peace in her

heart and

acceptance of all

that is happening.

She asks that we

uplift her in prayer so

that she does not

get bitter,

or resentful..

that she can truly

have a year of

peace and acceptance.

Because, the promise is,

that in

ONE YEAR

 they will return

HOME.

HOME to Michigan

and their old life.

If you pray
say a prayer for her..

If you DON'T pray
wing a good thought her

way.

You know why?

Because she would do the

same for you.

Yes.She.Would.

Let's
Show Her The Love, Ladies!

A Request For An Injured Hero

One of the blog friends

I have made is

named Marcia.

Her blog is called

BlessedMom'sSimpleHome.

There is nothing

simple about Marcia.

She is a lovely

person, sweet,

giving,

and

deeply loving.

She has asked a favor.

Her nephew,

Jordan, was

injured in the line

of duty in

Afhganistan.

They really did not

expect him to survive.

But this man is a fighter..

and he is fighting his way

back for his wife

and son and family.

You can read about him

.here

He has a birthday

this week and

I would love it

if anyone that

could would send him

a card...a card of

thanksgiving for his

life and for all he has

done for all of us..

that he has

survived and will

be here for his

birthday.

Here is his address..

No last name needed.

Jordan

NNMC

8901 Wisconsin Avenue

Building 10 Ward 5 E

Room #17

Bethesda, Md.  20889

If you have a moment,

If you have a card,

If you have a stamp,

If you have a son,

If you have a heart,

please send Jordan

a birthday card.

You'll be glad you did!

(and don't forget to

say a prayer for him

and his family)

I've Got A Song In My Heart And A Thank You!!!

~Her name is Melody~

Do you ever know

just know in your heart

that someone,

somewhere,

for no reason you can fathom,

loves you..

loves you as a person..

loves you just because

you are you?

I have met many wonderful

bloggers in the past

year or so..

some that I know in

passing..

some that I know on

a more personal level..

ONE

that I know from

Yuku that was

my inspiration to start blogging.

Had I NOT started

BLOGGING

I would not have met

all you wonderful ladies

out here in

Blogland.

Now, down South,

in good old

Louisiana,

 lives a wonderful soul.

Her name is

Cindy Adkins

and her blog is

Cindy Adkins Whimisical Musings.

Doesn't that name

just make you smile?

If you have NOT

visited her you need to

drop what you are doing

and head over there.

This is one

talented chick!

Not only that..

she is
NICE-

REALLY NICE..

and sweet..

and loving.

That love extended all

the way to Green Bay, WI.

Yes-it-did!

I opened my mailbox

and if you look up

you will see what

was inside!

It is gorgeous.

Pictures do not do

MELODY

justice.

There is so much

texture..

and richness..and

well~ let's just say

that what we used to

call

CRAFTING

has gone to a whole

other level.

This is

ART..

pure and simple

ART.

And I LOVE IT!

And I love Cindy,

and I want to say

THANK YOU-

You made my day.

Her name is Melody

and she sits right by

my computer screen..

where I can smile

every time she

catches my eye.

Now...what are you

doing still here?
SCAT!

Go check out

Cindy's BLOG!

(ps-when you get there-look at her

header-you might see a familiar

face-NaneeNaneeBooBoo-

Hooray for me)

Sunday Morning Breakfast....

Every few weeks my

daughter will come up
from Milwaukee

for a day or two..

usually when her

hubby,

The Island Scout,

is traveling for

business.

Wasn't she a beautiful bride..
Wasn't he a handsome groom...

And, after they were married
for about 3 years,
they blessed us with this

wonderful little

BabyE 

Now my son-in-law

being a Southern boy

likes to eat!

Yes.He.Does.

So, for Sunday morning

brunch I made

Quiche Lorraine... Baked apple stuffed

French toast...(SO GOOD)

Here's the quick version of it..

French bread sliced about 1/2" thick.

Layer it into a heavily buttered pan.

Top with 1 can of apple pie filling.

Top with 1 more layer of 1/2" slices of French bread

Whip together: 8 eggs and about

                       3-4 cups of milk and 1 t vanilla.

                       (should be enough milk to thoroughly soak bread)

Pour egg mixture over bread.

Pop in fridge overnight.

Next morning-heat oven to 350º

Top bread mixture with 1/2 cup softened butter

          mixed with 1/2 cup brown sugar and

          1 teaspoon cinammon or apple pie spice

Sprinkle with pecans..

I only sprinkle half because

we have some that like nuts..

and then we have some nuts

that don't like nuts!

Bake about 45 mins to 1 hour until golden brown.
Most top it with syrup here
but I like my own naked!

And  you need a big old

baked ham on the side!

Even the little guy

loves to eat...

and will eat

just about anything...

And imagine this...

SweetCheeks

"reading" him a story..

Can you imagine?

Seriously?

Imagine that?

I think we might just

get lucky and

he will grow up

normal in spite

of SweetCheeks

influence...

Either that or he

will have a

phenomenal imagination!

I can hardly wait

til he starts talking

and interacting

with

SweetCheeks..

that ought to be

good for a movie!

SweetCheeks Talks About Easter-Video

Well, it is hard

to get

SweetCheeks to talk on

camera without being goofy..

(when she knows she

is being recorded)

so I filmed this in

2 little short

segments.

Anyone out there know

how to edit video

in an easy online

program?

Watch how she goes

from cute to

dopey in about

5 seconds flat!

Part One

Now comes

Part Two..

Watch the goofy face...

Soooo..
If you see Jesus and
The Easter Bunny
playing together
DO NOT
be suprised!
The End

One More SweetCheeks Video..East/West Man

This story is a little

complicated.

It is about the

East/West man

that can make you sick!

And he has a big cross

that fell off the end

of the Earth~

which appears to be

right across the water

from my house.

And, did you know

that God CAN

make you better

 but you really

have to watch out

for the East/West guy?

Did you know that?

It is another amazing

fact I learned listening

to SweetCheeks.

If you have kids at home

please, please

just take the time

to stop and listen to

them...you will

never regret it~

I promise!

Who the East/West

guy is remains a

mystery to me..

However... I DO

know he is from

the East/West!

After this I will

give the

SweetCheeks videos

a rest for a while~
ps...no extra charge
for the nose-picking
segment.....



SweetCheeks Sings Chinese OPPERAH Video

SweetCheeks always

always sings

(or talks non-stop)

when we are driving.

On this drive home she

informed us that

she knew how to

sing

Chinese OPPERAH.

There are

several versions

but this is the

clearest.

I hope this allows

some of you to

develop a whole

new appreciation

for opera!
(click the little square
on the lower right hand
side for full screen viewing-
you won't want to miss anything);>)

EASTER? EGGactly!

 Every Spring since the 1980's\

I  get out the totes

that hold all the

wonderful

Easter decorations

that my husband's

grandmother had.

There is a "head bobber"

little man

(which she didn't make)

There is a

Hat Box~

pink with white polka dots~

that holds many of

the special

eggs that she hand-crafted.

There is a little

"duck wagon"

that holds a

fuzzy chick

with orginal "grass"

from the 40's or 50's

As you all know,

my picture taking is not

all that great..

but here is an egg she made..

And here are a couple more....

And here is the

Easter Egg Tree

that was her own...

Sitting next to it is an

old Steiff bunny..

I wrapped the tree

 with

 soft pink lights

several years ago...

and I promise to post

more

did you say clearer?

pictures soon..

I have more to share

including a little tin

Easter "basket"

that my Mother got

around 1920..

and some more

bunnies...sugared..

and not..

But for right now

my own little

sugared girl..

SweetCheeks

is calling me away

for the

"entertainment"..

I can't wait!