I'd been wanting to take Carmella to downtown Ft. Worth 

to see Santa for a couple of weeks now, ever since the ward

Christmas party that Santa failed to 

show up for. I decided to wait

till all the kids got out of school so Adelaide and Ivy could

go too. I'm so glad I did. The girls had a fun time with Santa

and Ivy was surprised to find out that Santa knows a 

thing or two about My Little Ponies. He even knew who her

favorite pony, Derpy is. He made each of the

girls feel special as they talked about what they 

wanted for Christmas. He was a really great Santa!

Of course after talking with Santa we had to stay to play,

and take a few pictures around Sundance Square.

Merry Christmas,
From the Poyfairs

Trick or Treat!

Halloween was pretty great this year. Carmella dressed as Queen Elsa, and totally lived the part. She spent a good amount of time freezing anyone who disagreed with her. 

She pooped out about 3/4 of the way through trick or treating. As we were turning to go up to another front door she said "Not another house!" I pretty much carried her from there. 

Adelaide was Dorothy. She was a little unsure about this particular costume, until I told her she would be getting a new pair of sparkly red shoes. Then, when I said we could take Jazzy to be Toto, she was all in! She kept asking people why they didn't have any treats for her dog. Jazzy may not have gotten any treats, but she sure got a lot of attention. 
She had her share of petting,and snuggling with everyone.

Ivy was sort of the star of the show. She kept ahead of us, leading the way, and clucking at nearly everyone. I heard several people say hers was their favorite costume. 

 Emilie went as a troll this year.  We worked together to make her horns.
I think they turned out pretty good. She got to take two of her 
friends with us last night. They had a great time. It's sad to me that she is getting so big.
I think her trick or treating days are numbered.

After we took the littles home, I took the big kids over to our friends haunted house. The girls were so excited to go. Till we walked in that is. We all went in together. I kept going on through lauging and having a great time. I turn to say something to the girls, and they are all gone!
I called for them, but I heard someone say they got scared and left.
So, I finished off the haunted house alone. It was a good one this year too! I guess the big kids, weren't so big afterall!! 

This is the "Mom you said one more picture, five pictures ago" look

Coming Up for Air

I haven't posted anything for a while on here, and it really is not like me to be radio silent for so long.
I feel like I can't move on with this blog until I address the elephant in the room. It has been extremely hard for me to move on with my life since my brother Thomas died. He passed away unexpectedly at the end of August, actually it was the girl's second day of school. I left in a rush to be with my family, and many things here at home got dropped or put on hold at that time.

Since being back home I have struggled to settle down into normal life again. Things are getting better now. I fight myself most days to get out and be around people. My instinct is to hide away from the world and lick my wounds. I have been committing myself to do things with people. That way I have no excuse, I have to get out; I have to smile and chat. I have been scheduling things at my house during the day. Filling up my rooms with other moms and children, with laughs and smiles, and noise. It helps me to forget, for a while. I dread when everyone leaves, the emptiness of my house is too much. I hate when it's time for me go home from being out with people. I don't quite know what to do with myself.

It's getting better though. I don't cry all the time anymore. I can get myself up and moving without much of a struggle anymore. Life keeps on moving, and it's taking me with it. I feel like I have been drowning, slowly sinking below the surface, but now I can feel myself rising up again. I have broken through the surface of the water and taken a breath.

I'm moving forward, and with that movement comes updating our family blog.
More to come soon,
I promise.

Traveling with the Poyfair's.

The Poyfair's have been on the move for last few weeks. It's summer, and that means vacation time! 

Emilie has been visiting my folks for the summer, so instead of being five to one, our numbers decreased to 4:1 for a while. It was a glorious renunion with her when we arrived bleary eyed (after a 20 hour drive) in Las Vegas two weeks ago. Since then we have hiked, sunbathed, shot guns, and shopped. Met up with old friends, ridden a Ferris wheel, and taken countless walks. 

We drove to Newport Beach, CA for our traditional week at the beach with my parents.

We ate ice cream, smelled stinky fish, climbed on rocks, and jumped off the lifeguard stand. We built sandcastles, wore gallons of sunscreen, still got a little burnt, and took a million pictures.

Back at the Old Sneddon Place, we jumped on the trampoline, played horse shoes, hot tubbed, and roasted marshmallows.

We had a wonderful time! We made tons of new memories, and it has been the perfect end to our summer vacation. Now, we are packed into our van,

headed back home to Texas. We'll get there sometime tomorrow, then we'll jump right into back to school preparations. 

Life never seems to slow down for long, but I don't think I'd want it any other way. 

Happy summer!!!

Time with Grandma Yellow

Back in May, my mom came for nice long visit. She was here for Memorial Day, her birthday, my birthday, field day, Kindergarten performance night, and the last day of school. It was whirlwind, and it was awesome!

I love spending time with my mom, and I love that my girls love spending time with her too. She sure kept me busy on this visit. Aside from all the celebrations, and end of the school year stuff, she got me working on my front yard.

To say that it looked rough, would be a huge understatement. I pretty much did nothing with the outside of my house for a year. School was taking most of my time, and the family was taking the rest. Something had to get neglected, the yard was it! While Mom was here, we cleaned out the flower bed, and filled it in with some beautiful flowers and grasses. We were smart and got mostly perennials, so I won't have to fill it all in next year too. We planted flowers in the planters around my trees, and she hooked me up with some awesome flower pots, herbs , and a new rose bush to replace the one a certain husband of mine killed. My favorite part is the new Chaste trees that line the fence. I have five purple flowering trees now, and they look FAB! I can't wait for them to grow in more and fill in that space. Thanks to Mom's green thumb, that seems to be finally rubbing off on me, it looks like it wont be long till that whole fence is filled in with big fluffy purple trees.

But, we did more that just garden while she was here. I was shocked to discover that in all her visits here I've never taken her into the city. It was time to correct that mistake! We went to the Water Gardens one day while Adelaide played hooky from school. I took all the girls to the Botanical Garden where we finally got some updated pictures of the the girls for Mom to take home.

 We went to lunch at Terra, one of my favorite Ft. Worth restaurants, and we played a lot with the kids. We also did a ton of shopping. Hopefully we didn't break the bank too badly!

It was wonderful having her here, the girls had the best time and were so sad for her to leave. Emilie, however, got a special treat. She flew back to Las Vegas with Mom, and has been spending her summer there getting spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa. They have had her all to themselves for a month now. She got to go to an awesome Girls Camp with my parents ward, and she is making new friends, and having fun with the girls there. I must admit, I miss her terribly. I keep thinking I am leaving someone behind when I take the kids anywhere. I also keep thinking, "oh man, Emilie would love this!" every time we do something fun. We are driving out next week for our summer vacation. I can't wait to see my girl again, and I'm also looking forward to more time with my folks. A week at Newport Beach is going to do wonders for this old girl. I need a week on the sand!

Field Day Tug-o-war

Oh what do we do in the Summertime . . .

 It seems like everyday in the summer, I'm trying to figure out how to keep kids occupied. I feel like letting them sit around in pj's all day watching Power Puff Girl and MLP re-runs is a huge mom fail. Of course I know that's not true . . .  at least not entirely true.

My solution to this summer dilemma is to keep them busy. Each week I keep us on the move. We go to parks with splash pads, to the lake, to story time. We do kids crafts, and have friends over to play. We take short day trips so I can photograph life. 

The kids have a blast.  For them it's always "the best summer ever!"  

I love doing this for them. It makes me happy, and gives me purpose. I love spending time with my girls. They make me laugh. They bring me great joy. 

I admit, Carmella's sassy summer attitude is wearing on me, and I'm a little tired of breaking up arguements about who gets to be Elsa. But, beyond all that, I love my summers with my daughters. I hope they remember these times when they are older. If they don't, I'll make sure to remind them! 

Breakfast Recipes

I posted, here back in March about how I do breakfasts for my family.
I said that I was going to post some of recipes that I use when I'm make my breakfasts. I kinda got side-tracked and never did it. Now, here I am correcting the error of my ways.

I want to restate that when I make these recipes, I use whole wheat flour, and I substitute yogurt for the milk. except in the pancakes, and waffles. I do use milk in those!

I also make breakfast burritos, I figured I don't need to include recipes for those.

Ricotta Muffins With Strawberries

Preparation Time – 15 minutes

Baking Time – 20 minutes

Makes – 16

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups self raising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

a pinch of salt

1 cup fresh ricotta

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries (washed, green crowns snipped off and fruit quartered)

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

Method

Preheat oven to 150. Cut 16, 10cm squares of baking paper. Grease and line with these baking paper squares, a 12 hole friand or muffin tin.

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and strawberries in a large bowl. Add the ricotta and mix gently with a wooden spoon, till mixed through but still lumpy in bits and parts.

In another bowl, lightly whisk butter, milk and eggs. Add to the flour and gently mix with a wooden spoon until barely combined. Spoon batter into each prepared friand hole until 2/3 rds of the way full. Sprinkle some raw sugar on top and bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden and cooked through.

Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.

Notes

Mango Coconut – Swap strawberries for diced firm mangoes. Top with shredded coconut and sugar. Omit cinnamon and nutmeg.

Rhubarb Vanilla – Swap strawberries for fresh or frozen rhubarb cuts. Omit cinnamon and nutmeg. Add 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to the egg mixture. Top with sugar and mixed spice.

Mixed Fruit - Swap strawberries for 1 cup of chopped dried figs and 1/2 cup of dried cranberries. Add 1 tablespoon of citrus peel. Top with sugar and mixed spice.

Brown Sugar-Banana Muffins

• Yield: Makes 1 dozen
• Prep time:15 Minutes
• Bake:25 Minutes
• Cool:10 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

Preparation

1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add brown sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

2. Stir together mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. (Do not overbeat.) Spoon batter into 12 lightly greased muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Sprinkle evenly with pecans.

3. Bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately, and cool 10 minutes on wire racks.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep Time: 7mn

Cook Time: 20mn

Total Time: 27mn

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch process if you have it)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips + more for garnish
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Grease your muffin tin or use paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients - flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt.
4. Then add in chocolate chips and stir.
5. In a small bowl combine eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Mix well.
6. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until everything is incorporated.
7. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way full. Continue to stir the batter as you fill the muffin cups so that the chocolate chips don't settle at the bottom.
8. Sprinkle a few additional chocolate chips on the top of each muffin.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
10. This recipe yields 15-18 muffins.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

yield 2 doz muffins 1/2 cup water

2 cups sugar 3 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3 eggs 1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups pumpkin 1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cloves 3/4 cups cinnamon

1 cup raisons 1 cup nuts

preheat oven to 400. Mix sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and water. Mix together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices. Add to wet mixture and blend together until just moist. Add raisins, and nuts. Bake for 15 minutes.

Carrot Muffins

yield 18-24 muffins

2 cups flour 1/2 cup raisins

2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 cup sweetened coconut

2 tsp cinnamon 3 eggs

1/4 tsp salt 1 cup oil

1 1/4 cup sugar 2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups shredded carrots 1 cup shredded apple

1/2 cup pecans

Heat oven to 350, prepare muffins

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add carrot, pecans, raisins, and coconut. Toss well.

In another bowl wisk eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir apple into mixture and add to flour. Stir till combined. spoon into pans.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

Scones

2 cups flour 1 tbs baking powder

1/3 cup sugar 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 6 tbs unsalted butter cut into pieces

1/2 cups plus 1 tbs cream 1 tsp vanilla

1 cup sliced strawberries

Heat oven to 400. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the strawberries on several sheets of paper towels to absorb their juice. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with two butter knives or a pastry blender until the flour coated pieces are the size of peas. Add the strawberries, tossing them gently with a fork to coat them.

Make a well in the mixture. blend the 1/2 cup of cream and the vanilla in a measuring cup and pour them into the well. Using as few strokes as possible, gently stir the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough sit for 1 minute.

Place the dough on a floured surface and knead three or four times. transfer to the baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle. Using an oiled knife, cut the dough into 8 wedges like a pizza. Use a small spatula or pie server to carefully separate the pieces. Leaving at least and inch between them.

Brush the tops of the scones with the remaining cream, then sprinkle the surface with sugar. Bake the scones until the outsides are crusty and starting to brown, about 18 minutes. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then slide the parchment and the scones onto a wire rack to cool.

Old Fashioned Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour 1 1/4 cup milk

3 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 egg

1 tsp salt 3 tbs melted butter

1 tbs sugar

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt,  and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter, mix until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle to medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle. brown on both sides and serve hot.

Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 4 teaspoons baking powder 2 tablespoons white sugar

2 eggs 1 1/2 cups warm milk 1/3 cup butter, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.
2.	In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.
3.	Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.