A perfect new years day

New Years eve I woke up in a baking mood, so I made breakfast for the family! We had pumpkin waffles! Super easy, super fast and super yummy! Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin waffles:

1 c. all purpose flour

1 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 c. milk

1 large egg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

1 can pumpkin puree

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together. Combine with the dry ingredients and then stir in pumpkin. Top with whip cream and/ or syrup! 

This is a great way to get your kids to eat something good for them without them even knowing it.

Having something this delicious sure was a great start to a great day. My husband and I are fortunate enough to have his parents live close, so they were able to watch our kids while we went off and had a dinner just the two of us!! Then we went and got our kids and went to a kid friendly party in our neighborhood!! Our almost 2 year old made it to 10 pm! Whoo! We stayed out later than we thought. LOL! its funny how much things change when you have kids. We never would have thought that we would say we stayed out late at 10pm. 

But we rung in the new year with two kids in bed and asleep by 10:30. A perfect day. 

This was taken on our way to dinner!

Enjoy the recipe everyone. More to come...

Women's choice to have choices

I was on pinterest the other day and I came across this pin that was titled, "Are you a wife that is easy to love?" I liked the sound of that and I am always looking for ways to better myself as a person and a wife, so I clicked on the blog. It's a good article. It has some decent advice and I took it for what it was meant for and nothing more. However, some of the comments that followed made me very angry. For those of you interested, here is the blog: http://joleneengle.com/are-you-a-wife-thats-easy-to-love/

The main point to the blog was this: respect your husband and in turn he will love you which is what we want. I agree with her point of view. Men want respect. That's how they feel loved the most. We want love shown to us or given to us whether it's through flowers, the husband doing the dishes, or simply the husband saying "you look beautiful today". It differs from women to women, but if we show our husbands respect, they feel important, meaningful and well, respected and then they want to show us how much they love us and appreciate us for helping him feel that way. Simple. I truly believe,  this is how God meant it to be.

But woman started commenting on this blog about how disgusted they were and how disturbing this concept is. One lady stated that she needed to get respect in order to give it. Seriously? When did our world become you have to get something before you can give? As I was taught and raised and as the bible states, you do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It didn't say, you get from others then you give to them what you got from them. I am not going to get into religion with this post, because it is also pretty simple in the fact that if you do not believe in the bible, then this whole conversation about wives submitting and respecting their husbands and husbands cherishing their wives and loving them as Christ loves the church, is just moot. But I will say this about women who choose to treat their husbands differently than the norm and that is: we are more fulfilled.

I don't always enjoy getting up and doing chores, but I do know that my husband goes off to work and is stressed and weary by the time he gets home. He doesn't want to come home to a cluttered home or a home thats a wreck. I think I have stated this before in my previous posts, but I will state it again. Your home should be one that when your husband walks in, he walks into peace and not chaos. Its not always going to be perfect. He may walk in and two kids are crying and dinner went too long in the crock pot and is burned, but the way I greet him is the difference. If I shove a baby into his arms and say you need to go get dinner while I get this kid a bath, then he is going to think, really? I came home to this, maybe I should have worked late and waited until the kids were in bed. Instead, I smile, I laugh and I say we're having a moment. I kiss him. I let him change out of his work clothes. I get the kids to calm down and then I explain dinner. He's happy to help once he's changed clothes. He can sit and hold the baby while I get the toddler to bed and then we can calmly discuss dinner and make a plan together. This is respect. It's respecting the fact that he has a job too and I don't want him telling me what to do, so why would I do that to him. Because I choose to make a difference and respect my husband, he cherishes me and loves me in ways I never thought possible. He will fetch dinner at any hour in any weather condition, he will give me a Saturday off where I can do whatever I want while he watches the kids, he rubs my feet, he even runs off to get me some dessert from wherever just because. He brings me flowers just because and he is often surprising me with little gifts here and there.  And he gets that my job is harder than his.

We did not get here by demanding that our needs come first. We got here because we put the other person ahead of ourselves. I completely understand not wanting to give respect if you are being disrespected. And in some extreme cases, this is true. Always know who you are and what you are worth. Stand up for yourself and don't let someone walk all over you. But this is not what this blogger was talking about, yet some woman took it this way. Life is too short and frankly, there are some pretty easy things one can do in a marriage to make a marriage run more smoothly, why take things to the extreme and complain about not getting yours. These ladies were making comments about how this is from another century and this blogger is living in the 1950's. I know that not every woman back then was happy and I know the divorce rate was very low because it was frowned upon, but look at the divorce rates now! I don't know about you, but if giving respect in turn means I am loved the way I need and want, and that saves my marriage, then I plan on respecting my husband always and putting him first.

I will say, however, that there have been one or two occasions when we have had fights and I stand up for myself and remind my husband of my worth. He stops, calms down, and we go back to discussing whatever calmly. There are times, when women need to stand up for themselves, even to their husbands. But we don't have to make a huge case about the women who choose to live their life by submitting. If you disagree, fine, disagree, live your life the way you choose, have a marriage the way you want and be happy, but don't lash out at those who choose to live differently.

I chose to stay home. I wanted to stay home and I do not get to stay home because I married a wealthy man as one woman stated, and he certainly DID NOT tell me I HAD to stay home. I make my own choices and truthfully, we will always make sacrifices so I can be here. Day care costs so much anyway, it would take my whole paycheck nearly, so I stay home because WE (my husband and I) believe that is what is best for our kids. I may go back to work someday when they are in school. I may go back to school and get my masters or my law degree. I may never do either and make a life out of being a homemaker, but know that whatever I choose, I choose.

Women's rights were designed and made a big deal because women wanted the right to choose, the right to vote, the right to work and earn what a man earns. Women wanted to be treated equal. So lets treat each other and all women as equals regardless of what lives we choose to live. Women wanted rights, now we have them all, so respect your fellow women's right to live. Don't bash it because it is not what you want. Truthfully, there is no right or wrong. There is not any two people on this planet that are exactly alike. There is not any situation or circumstance out there that is identical to the next, so how can one person say what someone should do or shouldn't do? How can someone else think they know better? Lets love more, support more, respect more, be more considerate, compassionate and tolerant and then maybe the violence will go down, divorce will go down and hatred will subside.

I was infuriated by what these women were saying to this one woman, who is bold enough to write and announce to the world that this is how she lives and how her marriage works. I agree with almost everything she said, but I am not going to be mean to the girl next to me who disagrees all the way. I want people to know that marriages work when people stop caring about themselves first and put their spouse ahead of them. Put their needs and wants ahead of ours and in turn the joy you receive from loving them like that is worth more than anything I could have asked for. Seeing my husband happy and excited to come home after a long day is what brightens my day. So I write this and I intend on posting this onto this blog I read in response to all those comments, to say that we need to love and let go a lot more. Live more Christ like if thats what you believe and if not, then just live to be more tolerant.

The New Year

2012 was a great year. We learned lots, laughed a lot and were productive in many things.

As I look back and think of where life started this year and where it ended, I am blown away at how blessed this family is and how lucky I am. This is what exciting things happened to us this year:

We started it out by celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary in Jamaica. 

Celebrated our sons 1st birthday party with a dinosaur themed party and were surrounded by many friends and family.

We ended up finding out we were pregnant again 2 weeks after our sons birthday!

We finally got settled in our home by getting the things we wanted to make it complete (office furniture, a leather ottoman)

We hung everything left that needed to be hung and can say we are officially moved in and happy with the home we built last year.

We found out we were having a girl!

We made several trips out to the lake house and spent lots of fun times with family and friends.

We travelled to Chicago and Santa Fe!

We had our baby girl!

And we finished up the year with time with family.

This year was also a year of a few hard things. We had a really bad couple months this summer. Our son got really sick, our lab had to have two sets of stitches within a month from two separate injuries, our german shepherd had to get on joint medicine because of a bad hip, we had an infestation of ants in the house and had a couple of house things that cost way more than we wanted it to! We found out some good friends were getting divorced, we had our daughter who is still dealing with a heart murmur and then to round off the year, we found out another set of friends were divorcing.

I have learned many things though through it all. I learned that no matter what happens, God is always in charge and will get us through. I learned that sometimes you have to sit back and laugh, Just laugh at everything that is going on because you can't control it. We couldn't make it all go away fast enough and sometimes we felt that we had to just duck our head and bear through it. Laughing helped. We learned that we can in fact raise two kids, and do it successfully at that. We may only be 8 weeks in, but we have a pretty good handle on it thus far. I learned that I am an awesome mom, I love staying home with my kids, I love having two kids and I am in love with pinterest, cooking, blogging and being a homemaker. I learned several things like just because the detergent bottle is almost empty does not mean that its ever empty enough to just pour directly in the washing machine and forgo the little cup that comes with it. Result: detergent all over my wall that I still am trying to clean up. I've learned that multitasking is not only necessary these days but it can be an art form! I have learned how to live doing everything with almost one hand. I breastfeed using one hand while I play with my son with the other. I cook with one hand and carry a baby in the other while feeding a toddler in a highchair in between stirs and hey, I learned to blog with a squirming baby on me.

My husband and I also learned how deep our love for each other is. Believe me, having two kids this close together is not a little reward for your marriage that says, "good job on your marriage so far! Heres a treat!" Its more like, "ha, you think you guys got this and can handle this, watch this....BAM!" And you get a curve ball that smacks you in the back of the head before you know whats coming. Meaning, life didn't get easier. It is certainly filled with more joy, more love and compassion and more laughter and smiles in this house, but with it came hardships, sleep deprivation and work...ALOT of work. :)  We have learned that we got this even though we learn new things daily. As my husband likes to say, we went from zone defense to man to man. And he is so right (as he is almost all the time. Just don't tell him I said that). We have learned that at the end of the day, even if its just 5 minutes of silence, we need it for us and we take it. Now because we have amazing children we usually get more than that, but I make my point in saying that our love for each other has grown deeper and we have bonded in ways I never thought possible. We have also watched two of our very close friends go through a divorce. Thats been hard on us because we looked up to them. We wanted our love and marriage to be like theirs. Happy with two kids and both following their dreams. Little did we know, that whats on the surface is not always whats behind closed doors and we had NO idea how bad it was. It scares us, it saddens us and it makes us want to hold on to each other a little tighter and do everything we can to make sure dreams come true for us as individuals without sacrificing our unity, our friendship and our marriage. We are brokenhearted about our friends, but it makes us more thankful for one another.

As 2013 approaches, I hope to learn more, to love more and continue to blog and manage my household in a way thats efficient and leads to a happy and healthy home and family. We have a few trips coming up this coming year that I am super excited about! We are going to Las Vegas for Philip's 40th birthday! We are going to Oklahoma to see Matchbox 20 and going to San Antonio for a conference in which Philip will be learning and me and my kiddos will be playing. Next year I want to continue to create recipes for my cookbook, I want to learn how to sew so I can actually bring my pins from pinterest to life! I want to continue to raise my kids to love one another, to play with each other, to respect their daddy and to cherish the time they have with their mommy. Our son will be starting a mothers day out program this year which is exciting and sad for me all wrapped up in one and our daughter will continue to grow this year, learn how to roll over and probably learn how to walk! Wow! 

So heres to another year full of fun, laughter, joy, happiness and life lessons. I look forward to alone time with my husband as our children grow and I look forward to all the milestones they will accomplish this year! Here's to baking, cooking and making mistakes in my kitchen and here's to hoping Philip will buy me a sewing machine knowing full well that I will do my best to learn how to use it and create many things and know the possibility that I may only use it a few times. :) 

Happy new year every one! Don't drink and drive, be safe and cheers to new beginnings!

A toddler and a newborn

It may have been some time since I was last on here but believe me, I have been busy. I keep up with a very active 22 month old and a 6 week old. Life has changed so much just in the last couple months and it continues to change every week. We have not established a schedule yet for our daughter, but then again she is only 6 weeks. For those reading this blog, you know how I am a stickler for a schedule, so in the next month or so, I intend on making sure we find one that fits us three. (I don't include my husband in that statement because he isn't here during the day alot and he adapts to whatever works for all of us) But let me just let everyone know what I have learned in the last 6 weeks.

Sleep when your baby sleeps in impossible with a toddler. I always loved it when people would say sleep when the baby sleeps because it is true and it was for my first kid. But when you have a toddler, sleeping when the baby sleeps is near impossible. He takes one nap a day. So if she isn't napping during that time, well then forget it. Luckily for me, I work hard to make sure they do. My solution: because I have a great toddler who sleeps and will stay in his room and play because of our training with him and my schedule, he is so easy. So, once she is ready to eat around nap time, I send him to his room for a nap. He plays a little while I feed her and get her to settle. Most of the time by the time he is finally resting, so is she. Thats when I close my eyes. So far, that works for me.

Take advantage of the time she is sleeping. I go about my day as I did before her, when she does sleep. I spend quality time with my toddler, I clean or I do something for me. She isn't being held constantly like my first kid, but I no longer have just one responsibility. She sleeps through the TV, my toddler screaming and everything. Once he goes down for a nap, I hold her and let her sleep on me, but for the most part, when she was sleeping a lot in the beginning, I used that time to be with my toddler so he knew he was still important. As a result, he doesnt't feel less important or pushed aside. He feels the same and loves on his sister in the mean time. I am quite proud how I have balanced these two kids.

Housework gets neglected, but who cares. I have to say that my housework right now is slacking, but in exchange I am getting some wonderful quality time with my kids who are growing and growing to love each other and know they are both important to me. Do the housework when you can. If you have energy, do something different once a day while they nap. Or if you are up early, do a chore here and there. But the most important thing is this: you will not remember a clean house, you will remember the time you spent with your kids.

Wake up early. Now for those of you who know me, you know this is foreign words coming out of my mouth. I hate the morning. I hate feeling like I am up before everyone else...until about 3 weeks ago. I realized that its QUIET! Quiet? Yeah, thats what I never hear these days. Thats what I find myself longing for these days. When my daughter gets up around 6:30 or 7:00 am, I feed her and then put her down. There is no point in me going back to bed really, because the boy will be up at any time, so I find myself doing other things...like blogging. Or having breakfast first! Say what?! Yeah, eating first. The other day I went and sat outside and just took in the fresh air and the silence. Embrace the early mornings, get ahead of your day, do a chore or two while everyone else is asleep and you will find that you will feel better and more accomplished!

Enjoy the time you get with your husband. It may not be much, but embrace it when you have it and take whatever quality time you can get even if it is only 5 minutes. I remeber the days when it was just us two. We went on dates all the time, could stay out late and have no issues and sleep in. Then we had one kid. He went down at 7, so we still had time together. These days, once our first goes down, #2 is still awake and ready to go. The time my husband and I have has slowly dwindled. Now once I get her on a schedule and as she grows, we will have a little more consistent routine where both kids will be going down together, thus giving my husband and I more time together, but until then, embrace it. Remeber that he is important too and he needs to know you need him and you want to take care of him just as much as the kids. I don't want my husband to think he is second best. And he isn't. He knows that, but he has to remind me that 5 minutes of quality time is worth the world to him because we will always be ok. Together, we make a great pair and balancing us as partners and parents, is one reason we are perfect for each other.

In saying that, he needs to know I find him attractive still and I want him to find me attractive. So even if I have had a long day and the kids cried all day, as soon as he calls to say he is on his way home, I go freshen up. I put the baby in the swing, I turn on Mickey for the boy and I put makeup on, or I do my hair or I put on those tight yoga pants that he likes so much. The point is, keep your spark going and your fire burning by remembering that there is always time to flirt, to look good and to date your husband. Find a babysitter once a month and go out. I am still just as in to my husband as I was 5 years ago, because I find ways to show him I love him and keep us spontanious. When the kids are both sleeping in the early evening, I spend time with my husband, even if its just to say how was your day.

Sleep is not nearly as important as you think even if you feel you really need it. Enjoy the late nights with your baby. They go by way too fast, they really are precious, quiet moments and in light of recent horrible events in our nation, you can never hold your kid too much, even if it means you are losing sleep.

And lastly, life goes on. Life is hard at times. We have bad days. But it is never as bad as it seems. A new day is around the corner, they grow fast and soon you will miss the days when they wanted to play with you. I know that one day my boy will grow up and playing with mom will no longer be cool. So I will take the tantrum with the playtime, because someday I know I will wish he would play with me even if a tantrum will ensue. Our baby girl will grow way too fast too and someday I will wish she would lay on me and cry because that will be the day she no longer wants to hug me or kiss me because thats not cool either. We have stressful days, but nothing is bigger than God. He will give me strength when I am weak, energy when I am tired and encouragement when I am down. I don't always feel like I have a handle on these kids and this house. And sometimes I feel like this was a FAIL day. But I know that I am good at a lot and I have a mighty God and a wonderful husband who will remind me of that. And at the end of the day, there is no where else I'd rather be. I dreamt of being a stay at home mom since I was little. I have wanted to be a mom longer than any other job I can think of. This is for me, this is my life and even when I feel tired and run down, this is my passion.

One last note before I get my day going...my husband has been incredible people! he helps out, he rocks her to sleep, he puts our boy to bed and bathes him. He helps with dinner and he brings me flowers randomly to say I love you and great job with these kids. Part of why its easy for me to talk about making our marriage work in the midst of being parents is because he makes it worth it. I won't gush too much, but people...I got lucky!

Until next time, which will probably be after the holidays, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Years and for everyone with two or more small kids in my same situation, hang in there, have fun and I am glad that there are people out there like you who go through this with me so I know I am not alone. Its nice to have "coworkers".

Birth Story #2

Alright everyone, as promised, here is how our sweet little girl came into this world. I had previously stated that I was going to do this naturally since I didn't like how the first birth went with an epidural and petocin. This was one of the hardest things I ever did, but I did it and it was so worth it.

I ended up having contractions on Wednesday which seemed to stay consistent through Thursday, so my husband and I went in to the hospital on thursday just to be sent away. Apparently, even though they were consistent, they were not intense enough. We ended up leaving our son with his grandparents that night and we came home and had a relatively relaxing night with the exception of contractions off and on. Friday I hardly had any contractions, so we ended up getting our son and coming home. Saturday night I started feeling some contractions, so we called his parents who came to our house to watch our son since he was already in bed and off we went to the hospital again. Ended up that the contractions may have been intense, but not consistent. We were sent home again. We ended up going to his parents house since they live closer to the hospital and staying there with contractions off and on. Sunday morning, we went and had breakfast and basically just did a lot of walking and hanging out near the hospital since I was still having contractions. We finally decided that it was time to just go home since nothing was progressing. Sunday night around 1:30, the contractions were waking me up, so I told my husband we better at least head to his parents house and wait this out there because they were getting pretty intense. Our son was already staying the night with grandma and grandpa, so we called our doula and she suggested since they weren't bad enough that I could still talk, that getting rest was more important than taking another trip to the hospital. That night, I had intense contractions all night. My husband, however, being an attorney, had court Monday morning. He got up and went to court and I told him I would call him once they got really bad and we needed to go to the hospital. I laid in bed for a couple hours until I almost couldn't take it anymore. I called our doula and told her that I was ready to walk and do some exercises in relaxing because this was getting to be too much. She suggested I take a bath which acutally helped a lot. My husband got home and just before the doula was supposed to be at the house, I couldn't take it anymore and had to go straight to the hospital. I told our doula, I didn't want to walk, I wanted to go. She met us at the hospital, which by then, I was in pain and was able to skip triage altogether. I was so thankful for that especially since I had been there twice and turned down twice.

They admitted me and as soon as we got in the room, they checked me and said I was dilated to a 6! We ended up checking in around 10am. I didn't take any petocin, I didn't take any other medication. And it HURT! I wanted to call it quits and get an epidural several times, but our doula was able to bring me back and have me focus on my husband and get back on track. It was nice to be able to sit up and walk around and move more. I did alot of moving and it seemed to feel better to stand at times. By around 12pm, I was about done. We called the nurse in there to check me again and I was an 8. I told everyone I had to go to the bathroom becuase it felt like I had to pee really bad. The nurse said ok, but don't push. Don't push? I wasn't planning on it. She said that my cervix wasn't ready yet. I said, I don't want to push, I just want to pee. I got in the bathroom and thats when everything went blurry.

I remember I couldn't go to the bathroom and I was having contractions so bad that all I could do was let my husband hold me up as I hung on to him. I remember telling him I was going to get an epidural. I told him this was too hard and I was sorry but I could no longer do it. About then, I wanted to push. I told the nurse I was going to push and she came running in saying "no, no! You need to get back in bed!" Between our doula and my husband holding me up, I was just about to give way and push right there. Then my husband said he didn't know what came over me but I just said "fine!" in respose to the get back in bed comment and walked right over and got in bed. I didn't make it quite all the way in the bed though. The bottom half of the bed breaks off and at the time it was lowered, so I was laying on that and leaning on the top part of the bed when the nurse checked me and said "You're at a 10!" I went from an 8-10 in like 15 minutes and at this point it was too late for an epidural. I pushed a few times and my water broke, which was the feeling of I needed to pee. I pushed a couple more times and out she came at 12:53pm. For those of you who want more graphic details, you can ask me later about the pushing experience, but let me just say, I let my body guide me, I let it be in control and as a result, I didn't need any help or anything medically done. Once it was over, it was over. Thats why it was amazing!

I haven't had to go through any recovery. My body is still a little sore at times and I am tired, but thats mainly because I am up with a newborn at night. But my body hasn't had to heal itself, therefore all the energy my body has is going to my kids. That's what I wanted and thats what is most important. I feel so much better after this birth than I did my first. Our little girl and I came together and let nature take its course and it was wonderful. I'm not saying that drugs are bad and that I would never get an epidural again. But for me, going naturally was amazing and I hope that I can find the strength and courage to do it again with however many more kids we decide to have. I also have to say that none of this would have been possible if it weren't for an amazing husband who surrendered to the fact that I wanted to do this, who watched me be in pain and let me deal with it instead of wanting to solve the problem and give me meds to make me feel better and who held my hand, held me up and helped me focus in ways I never thought possible. He was the reason I was able to get through this and he was my inspiration. Our doula was also a God send. She helped me relax and helped with pressure points and made a hard experience a lot easier. She helped draw me in when I was about to quit and helped my husband and I get refocused on each other to get through the harder contractions.

All in all, this was an amazing experience and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Stay tuned for more posts about managing a household, 2 kids under the age of 2 and how we are surviving thus far.

Tired, baby, happy

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, but things got a little crazy around here. First off, our little girl was born on November 5, 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 in long. I had contractions for days before she was born, so we were on pins and needles waiting for her for almost a week. Her birth story will be the next post. I did have her all naturally and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done...but the most rewarding. More details to come later.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I stayed in today with our little one while my husband and our son went to the family thanksgiving. I wanted to let everyone know that we are still here and we are doing well. She is sleeping well at night for the most part, but she wakes up at least twice at night and with a toddler, I don't get a lot of rest during the day. Today was a nice break for me and I got to have some girl time.

Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great holiday and blogging will start back up now that things are coming together a little around here. Until next time...

Ready for fall

I know it has been a few weeks since I last wrote. We have been busy. First off, my husband and I went to Santa Fe kid free! It was amazing and our last get away alone before this little girl comes. Being in the mountains with the cooler weather made me ready for fall.

This fall is exciting for us this year with the little one arriving. It just makes it more enjoyable. I cannot wait to cuddle up with a newborn next to a fire. Among all the awesome freezer crockpot meals I will be making, will be some yummy fall soups. Once I start putting them together I will share the recipes. I did make an apple pie two days ago and it is delicious! I am still eating on it. Recipe is as follows:

Crust:
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups shortening
8-10 tablespoons cold water
1 egg
sugar and cinnamon for the top

Mix the flour, salt, and shortening together using a pastry blender or a fork, until the shortening is about pea sized. Then add cold water a couple tablespoons at a time just until the crust is getting moist and can stay together. Then roll it into two balls. On a floured surface, roll the crust out into a circle that will fit the pie dish you are using. Place one in the dish, fill with the apple filling and then put the top on. Pinch the edges together, trim any excess dough off and cut slits in the top to vent. I then brushed it with an egg wash and sprinkled cinnamon and suger on top.

Pie filling:
6 cups thinly, sliced apples; peeled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix the apples with the lemon juice. In a seperate bowl, mix all other ingredients until well combined. Then add the apples and toss to coat. Pour in dish and top with crust. Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. I put foil on the edge of my crust for the 40 minutes. Depending on your oven, you may need to uncover after 40 minutes and continue baking until golden brown.

Thats it! I would have taken a picture, but I dove into it pretty soon after it was out of the oven.

The fall wreath is out on my door, the pumpkin decorations are out in my house and the fall cooking has begun! It may still be in the 80's and 90's most days, but in this house, its fall.

I hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful fall this year. I intend on eating lots of yummy soups, sitting by a fire, drinking hot chocolate, enjoying 2 of the most amazing and beautiful kids around, and spending lots of curled up movie time with my husband. Until next time...