When the skies are dark & the world is quiet I sit alone and think of you.It seems surreal that's it's been so long since I've seen your face or heard your laughter.Life keeps moving at it's usual fast pace but without you here it's like time  standing still.The season's still change, the snow still falls,Spring still wakens from her deep winter sleep with flowers blooming all around but it's not the same since you've been gone.I know you'll be waiting for me ,to show me a place like none I've ever seen.A Mother's prayer for her child whispered in the darkest hours of night.Peace is in knowing that you are surrounded by the Angels,safe in their loving embrace until I can hold you in my arms again.Until that time know this my son,I love you with all my heart...Momma

Really???You're like 3 years old!!

Wow!!! Talk  about  an attitude!!.My daughter's developed one at the tender  age of 3 & a 1/2.LOL.I know from whom she's learned this ,her big sissy of course.Yea the almost 13 yr old one who's currently showing signs of possession for which no amount of Midol will ever cure, but imagine you've just scolded your pre-schooler.You expect the tearful run down the hallway followed by them throwing themselves on their bed followed by those oh so  pitiful audible sobs.Instead you get a child  who  turns around hand's on her hips,flames shooting from her eyes doing the head bob, spinny thing telling you "You're MEAN Mommy! I DON'T like you!You HAVE to be nice to ME!!" Oh really??And do you know how hard it was to keep a straight face??Ima gonna have my hands full with this little girl that's for sure but she's got spunk and as a female that's a good thing!!Of course not even an hour later I was back in her good graces by being "The best Mommy in the world..I love you Mommy!"this was while sharing some of Mom's homemade Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies.People could learn a lot from a 3 year old,too bad all the world's problems can't be solved over a plate of Momma's cookies and a shared glass of milk<3

If you've ever walked past your fruit bowl and noticed that your bananas have turned a nice shade of black & the only things enticed into wanting to eat them is the swarm of fruit flies that has formed a cloud over these waaay over ripe, once yellow tropical delights,,then fret no more as to what to do with them..2 words..Banana Bread!!I found this recipe online and the bread came out wonderfully full of banana flavor ,very moist and it's very easy to make.You can add walnuts if you like,I left them out simply because my kids generally don't like lumps in their food and it be a waste of perfectly good walnuts.If you're noticing my coffee mug. yes I am the Queen of Everything..<in my house anyways and no one better ever forget it..heehee!>Here's the recipe I used,tweak it anyway you like but I made no changes to it and it was perfect:)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Mmmmm..Apples!!

Ok so I haven't blogged in a while mostly because life keeps me running non-stop.I've been a busy girl  doing our canning for the year.It's getting into the fall apple season and you know what that means..apple pie,apple crisp,apply jelly,caramel apple's,apple sauce,apple butter..well you get it ..it's all about the APPLES!!!I went out and bought 50 lbs of macintosh apples that were on sale for $3.99 a bag at BJ's and turned 32 lbs of that that into 12 jars of applesauce & 6 jars of applebutter.If you've never made apple butter it is so worth the 12-14 hours  it takes to cook it down,way better than the stuff you buy in the store.I'd put the exact written recipe here but as with most recipe's I follow I winged it with amounts and that's the cool thing about recipes you can tweak them to your hearts delight to make them your own.First you need a crock pot,you can cook it in a dutch oven or on the stove top but because of the time needed crock pot is your best bet.I started with a cupful of spiced apple cider 2 cups of my homeade applesauce,filled the crock almost to the top with sliced apple<if you cut it more into "chips" it cooks down a little faster,added about a cup of sugar to start,some cinnamon,nutmeg,allspice & cloves,set it to low for 8-10 hours,stirring here & there and then crank it up to high for another 4 hours or so.You'll know when it's done when your spoon stands straight up & down or if you pull it thru and the applebutter doesn't fill back into the space.After that you can tweak your sugar & spices to taste while your butter is still hot ..I got 8 1/2 pints out of mine so plenty to last awhile and it makes a great gift basket addition.My next venture will be pumpkin butter but being early September pie pumpkin's aren't out yet so I'm being patient ......and then I will post a blog killing you with everything PUMPKIN...until then enjoy them apples:)