Coffee Shop Blueberry Muffins

So I got up early and made these muffins for the kids yesterday in honor of Big Bro's first day back to school...and yes, that does make me Super Mommy (at least for the morning!) They turned out so well I thought I would share the recipe.

Coffee Shop Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients. Place vegetable oil into a 2 cup measuring cup; add the eggs and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, (or a food processor works great) and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Makes 12 Huge muffins or you can bake for 15-18 minutes in mini muffin pans.

Humor from the Kids

The kids are always saying things that just crack me up. Thought I would share a couple of the things they said tonight at the dinner table.
Big Bro was using his fingers to eat tonight rather than his fork. So I asked him "Do we eat with our hands or a fork?" To which he replied "Actually I eat with my mouth." I think Papa's corniness is rubbing off. I better start monitoring those phone conversations a little more closely!
Then I asked Little Sis what the best part of her day was. She said "Playing dump trucks with J, when suddenly he said 'I have to go potty'. That was the best part and it was so funny." I just thought the use of the word suddenly from her little mouth was so cute.
While I am at it here is another cute story from a few weeks ago. This will probably be only humorous for my family and in order to understand you must first know that the uncle in question is only in his 50's.

We were on a trip with the kids and as we drove past a river the kids started begging to go swimming. I explained that it was too dangerous to swim in the river when it was moving so fast and then elaborated with the story of my cousin and I in our canoe wreck. I explained how Uncle Brad had to come out and save us in the middle of the river and how scary that was.
Little Sis said she would still go swimming and Uncle Brad could save her as well.
Big Bro then told her that Uncle Brad couldn't save her because he was at his home far away.
When I asked Big Bro how he knew Uncle Brad was at his home he said (and I quote)"Well Mommy , he has to be at his home because he is way too old to drive anywhere."
The moral of the story is that if you don't want the kids to think you are an invalid you better get your old butts out to visit us!

Back To School

Today was the first day of first grade for Big Bro. He did surprisingly well. He was so pleased that his new teacher knew his name even before he put his name tag on. And although none of the little girls he was considering marrying in kinder are in his class this year, many of the boys he is friends with are. He was so excited that this year they get their own desks vs the tables they shared in kinder. I am relieved that there were no tears this year and that the transition went so smoothly. However he did say he missed me off and on all day and that the best part of his day was the end of school. That sums up the way I felt all day as well!
With all the focus I have had on preparing Bro for school, it seems that I forgot to take into account what a huge change this would be for Little Sis. She called her daddy at lunch and proclaimed that mommy took brother to school and left him there! She was a little sad and needy all day. She also brought me the book "Llama, Llama Mad at Mama" and had me read it 3 times...hmmm wonder what she was getting at!

Our Fun-Filled Weekend

This was our last true weekend of summer, as Big Bro starts back to school on Wed. Thankfully we were able to pack it with fun. Hubby and I took off by ourselves on Fri night to a concert at the Gorge. We saw Jack Johnson play and then camped overnight. We stayed up late and talked about topics other than work and kids. I loved getting away from it all for a night and pretending we didn't have any worries or responsibilities (even if I did call the sitter a few times to check on the kids)!
We then filled the rest of the weekend with family time, including a bike ride, park time, school shopping and even a baseball game. The result of cramming so much fun into one weekend is two exhausted kids and a messy home. Looks like the next couple days will be spent getting everything back on track but it was well worth it! I am so sad to see the summer coming to a close but I'm incredibly grateful for all the wonderful memories we created.

No Bailey Didn't Shrink!

We did go ahead and get a new puppy this weekend. He looks a lot like Bailey did as a pup. The kids are thrilled...wish I could say the same for Bailey. He was very upset the first day but it has been getting better everyday. Today he actually laid by the puppy for a while and then took the pup his ball. I'm sure if the pup could have managed to somehow play fetch with him they would have been best friends for life! It has actually been easier then expected so far, only 2 accidents and he is sleeping at night with no problem. I'm sure we will have some more difficult moments as the pup gets more comfortable in his new home, but things are good now. Yesterday I felt completely out of balance and was regretting the decision slightly. Today I feel like I am getting my feet back on the ground and that this will all work out just fine. As for a name...none yet! Hubby still likes Duece and it does seem to fit as he is a mini-me version of Bailey. We have also been playing with the names Chance and Chief. Any other suggestions?

This One Day at Band Camp...

Big Bro did a short session of band camp last week at a local music store. I was slightly hesitant as all the other kids were quite a bit older but he LOVED it. He went into the class thinking that he wanted to play the drums...of course, since they are the loudest and most expensive! But after his 3-day class he had decided on the trombone. He can't stop talking about it and is now begging for lessons. We always knew he was a musical kid!

A New Family Member?

We have recently been looking into getting a puppy, or should I say the kids and hubby have been nagging for a puppy for months and I have recently decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Our beloved Bailey is beginning to show signs of old age...his hearing is going, he's not as active as he used to be and when he is active he can barely move the next day. He does enjoy other dogs and while it may take some getting used to, I believe that he would grow to love a new "roommate". We can not imagine life without a dog, as he has been a part of our family for 11 years and hopefully having Bailey around will help train the puppy. Now that I have gone through all the positives, I must admit that I don't look forward to all the work of a new puppy. I don't long for sleepless nights, cleaning up potty messes in the house, my stuff being destroyed by a puppies jaws, and having to plan for puppy sitting.
All this being said we have found a cute little pup whop may soon be joining our family. We wanted another German Shepherd mix and this one is 3/4 German Shepard and 1/4 Lab. We have gone as far as filling out the adoption application, which is quite the process these days. Not only is the application very long and inclusive, it seems they must run a background check and have photos of our property to determine if we will be responsible pet owners. If we pass all the requirements the next debate will be on a name. Big Bro wants to call him Coda and hubby wants to call him Deuce. Us girls haven't yet weighed in, as we want to meet the little tike first.

Cuddle Time

It seems that little sis has wound up in our bed almost every night for the past few months. She tends to sneak in around 3 am and will usually start at the end of the bed so not to wake us. After a couple hours she winds up between hubby and me, at which time I wake to kicks in my back or gut, depending on the position I am sleeping in. This leaves both hubby and myself sore and grumpy the next morning. We have recently resorted to bribing her with chocolate, (her favorite substance), every night to keep her out of our bed. It is working...kind-0f. Tonight while doing our nightly tuck-ins before we head off to bed this is how I found her...curled up next to big bro. She must have crawled into his bed after he was asleep, otherwise he would have surely tattled on her! And a few nights ago we found her curled up to the dog in the dog bed. I guess we need to be a little more specific...chocolate only if you stay in your own bed!!! You must admit that it is pretty sweet that she loves to cuddle so much!

Do People eat Squirrels?

Tonight, while tucking my six-year-old into bed, he asked me "Do people eat squirrels?". I told him not really and he said "But we eat cows." And somehow this conversation, which only lasted about 5 minutes progressed from eating squirrels to eating cows to eating horse to nursing babies. So what I assumed would be a simple answer turned into quite the conversation. We had to talk about why babies nurse, where the milk comes from, why the babies can't just drink cows milk and how the milk gets from the mommy to the baby. And then, just as I was running out of tactful answers, he said "Okay, goodnight mommy" and turned over to go to sleep! Man, what I would give to crawl into the mind of a curious child and watch those gears turning.
It amazes me that I have spent all this time planning for the appropriate age to talk with my child about certain subjects and how much information he is ready for and yet it seems like the child is able to determine what questions need to be asked and when he has had enough information. Maybe that's one thing I can mark off my mommy worry list!

Another Reason to Love the Army!

The local Army training base was raided yesterday by an unrelenting force...MOMS Club kids!! A group of about 45 stormed the base. First they invaded a CH-47 Chinook Helicopter.














After watching the Chinook take off, it was off to a Bradley IFV Here the kids paused for photo opts by popping their heads out of any opening available. Our men in uniform put up a great fight with smiles and never-ending patience. Eventually the kids retreated...to nap time!

Ladies Man

So Big Bro has been hanging out with my Moms Club friends this summer and the younger girls are attracted to him like ants to a picnic. I think it has to do with his sweet personality. It's a little scary to think about what this will mean in a few years but for now it's pretty cute. Plus he still finds girls too bossy!

Gram's Rose

Some of you have been asking how the rose I took from Gram's garden spring '07 is doing. So here's a photo. I thought I lost it last fall when the wind caused my door mat to blow onto it, breaking off all the stems, but this spring new growth began and now it is beautiful.