Chocolate Chip Dessert Pizza

Most of us have eaten at Pizza Inn or CiCi's Pizza and enjoyed their dessert pizzas. My favorite and that of my children is the Chocolate Chip Pizza. My second son has been begging me to try and make it for them at home since we don't go out and eat much. I found a simple recipe and thought I'd give it a try.

All you need is:

Pizza Crust

1/2 cup dry yellow cake mix

Liquid butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Chocolate Chips (I used the mini ones)

Roll out the pizza crust on a cookie sheet then cover the crust with liquid butter. Now, sprinkle the dry cake mix over the butter, covering crust and butter. Then, dribble more butter over the pizza. Sprinkle brown sugar over all of that, then add the chocolate chips (I should have used more).

Bake according to the pizza crust directions.
Mmmmmmmm.....Mmmmmmmmmm Delicious!!!! Like I said earlier, should have used more chocolate chips, but good none-the-less. I will definitely be making this more often. I think I may try using my homemade crust next time instead of the pre-made, we'll see:)

Officially a Mother of a Teenager

13 years ago today, I was heading to the hospital to have my first-born child, Mr. Helper. I was scared, nervous, and excited all rolled into one. I am so thankful God gave him to me. He was a beautiful baby boy and is now a handsome young man (as you can see).

He's growing up before my very eyes!

Happy Birthday Mr. Helper!!!

Family Pics

As most of you know, I'm a procrastinator. It's not always by choice though. For instance, a couple weeks ago on a Thursday night, my husband says to me, "Oh, our appointment for the church directory pictures are tomorrow night at 7." REALLY?? He had scheduled the appointment and never told me. Then, he forgot about them all together. Thank goodness for facebook, sometimes. He had seen some other families posting their pictures and it reminded him. He does this to me all the time:

Any whooo, I frantically shopped the next morning for some matching outfits. You know how hard it is to match up 2 adults and 6 children??? Well, needless to say, with such short notice, we did not match up. I finally just decided we would all be in pastels. Then, the next morning, I ended up wearing black (but black goes with anything right). So, here's the final product. Not too bad, I must say.

Been a Little Busy

So, I haven't put many posts on here, but in my defense, I've been a LITTLE busy. Baby Samuel is a precious little addition to our family, but a busy one. However, I think I am finally getting into a routine. A lot of people ask me how do you do it all with 6 kids. To be honest, I don't do it ALL!!! I prioritize. I have survived since my mother-in-law left, but that's all, SURVIVED. She was such a help - THANK YOU SO MUCH KAY!!!!!

So, here is what I've discovered:

1. Kids come first. Make sure they have all eaten and are all present and accounted for:)

2. LAUNDRY - we all have to have clothes to wear since we don't live in a nudist colony:)

3. Dinner - This is probably hubby's biggest pet peeve (well, no underwear ranks right up there). He would rather eat a home cooked meal than go out to eat or order in (I guess that's a compliment to my cooking).

4. Dishes - we have to have some clean dishes to eat all the meals on.

5. The rest just gets done as there is time ie: vacuuming (needs to be done more often since our German Shepard is shedding), dusting, cleaning in general!!!

That's the basics of it. If I can get through the day and all the kids have eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner on clean dishes and have clean clothes to wear; I'm feeling pretty good about the day:) If you show up at my house, just remember it is WELL lived in!!! There are 2 adults, six kids, 2 cats and a dog living here and unfortunately most of the time it shows. Now, if you give me a little notice (by that I mean more than a day), I will try my best to have it presentable for you;)

Meet Samuel

Well, I've been away for a couple of weeks. As you can imagine, I have been a little busy. Wednesday May 4, 2011 we welcomed our 6th child. We are so blessed. Thank you all for your prayers. He is a beautiful baby boy and his little lungs are quite healthy (should put a video on here of him crying). He is a little jaundiced, but that is mild.

Isn't he cute? Weighing in at 7 lbs 12 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long we think he's just precious.

Heading home to the madness that is our house. Upon arrival, we were greeted by his 5 older siblings, Grandma, Aunt Marsha and two cousins. He is adored and loved on by all. How could you not love on that little bundle of joy? Now, I realize I am his mommy and probably a little bit biased, but he is just about the cutest thing. I have been so blessed.

We Have A Date!!

We have a date for the arrival of our little bundle of joy. After my last set of blood work and 24 hour urine test, my OB decided it was in the best interest of myself and baby to go ahead and deliver. So, Wednesday May 4, 2011 I will be induced unless he decides to arrive earlier.

I am both excited and nervous. She also explained that because of my elevated amniotic fluid levels, they believe I have had gestational diabetes ( even though I passed the glucose test) and that his little lungs may not be ready at 37 weeks :*( So, we are praying that his lungs are developed and he won't have any problems. God is able!!

Homemade Mac n' Cheese

I had been on a hunt for a homemade mac n' cheese recipe for the family. All the kiddos love mac n' cheese, but Hubby doesn't particularly care for the boxed kind and he was a little picky on the homemade ones. I tried several others before I found this one. I have tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes. It's really pretty simple, 15 minutes prep time and 20-25 minutes bake time. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 quart casserole dish.

1 2/3 cups dry, small elbow macaroni, cooked and drained

2 tbsp corn starch

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

1 (12oz) can evaporated milk

1 cup water

2 TBSP butter

3 slices cheese (I use American)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine the cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a saucepan. Stir in evaporated milk, water, and butter. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in slices of cheese and 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese until melted.

Combine cheese sauce and cooked macaroni in casserole dish.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese over top (I used a little more than 1/2 cup) .

Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and light brown. YUMMY!!!!

This started out being the HOLIDAY mac n' cheese, but it's so easy and delicious, I now usually fix it instead of the box mixes. Hubby and the kiddos love it.