Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Chocolate-y Goodness.

Last night, I recreated one of my favorite dessert recipes : Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies.....

I wanted to share this amazing recipe - so here it is!

Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies

Ingredients:
1 pkg (12oz) semi-sweet chocolate morsels, divided
1 pkg (18-21oz) brownie mix (and ingredients to make cake-like brownies)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 cup salted mixed nuts - chopped, divided
40 pcs Rolo chocolate covered caramels
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray. Chop 1 1/2 cups of chocolate morsels. Combine brownie mix, water, oil, eggs and 1/4 cup of brown sugar; mix well. Fold in chopped chocolate; pour batter into pan, spreading evenly.
2. Combine half of the nuts and remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar; sprinkle evenly over batter. Bake 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
3. Meanwhile, cut 16 Rolos into quarters. Place remaining 1/2 cup chocolate morsels into microwavable bowl, microwave HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after each 20-second interval. Spoon melted chocolate into Ziploc baggie; set aside.
4. Remove pan from oven. Immediately press 24 Rolos evenly into brownie in four rows of six Rolos each. Sprinkle quartered Rolos and remaining nuts over brownies. Trim corner of chocolate-filled baggie; drizzle chocolate evenly over brownies. Cut into squares; serve warm. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Yield: 24 servings

Enjoy! :)


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Thunder Rolls.....

...and the lightning strikes.
Yesterday afternoon the rains had picked up - something that I had been anticipating all day.

Jacie was having her after nap snack and she was drawn to the window next to her. By this point, it was coming down in BUCKETS and slapping the window. The trees were blowing this way and that. She seemed to enjoy this work of nature and come to think of it, I did too....but only from the inside.

This morning at about 3:30 - I was jolted from my sleep. The rain was violent, the thunder shook the walls of our house and lightning lit up the sky every 2.8 seconds. So I got up and cracked open our bedroom door, should the kids wake up. Then I laid back down and then the hail started. I was positive all three kiddos would be in our bed before I could take my next breath. But...nope. Slept through it all, thank goodness. I am not sure why I am surprised, they slept right through Ike.

This morning when I got up - again, at a normal time of 7:48am, it was as if things were in disarray. Schools had a two hour delay, activities were cancelled. It was as if a HUGE blizzard came through and we were "snowed in".
I felt the urge to dig out our snow shovel...or heat up my van.

Just funny, compared to Cleveland winters. And I have to say, I would take dump truck loads of rain over snow any day. :)

Monday, April 27, 2009

Where a kid can be a kid.

Last Monday, we met up with the Ferows at every mom's, sitter's, caretaker's nightmare...that's right, Chuck E. Cheese. What is it about that monster-size rat and using all mom and dad's money to play games only to win tickets for prizes that aren't worth the amount of tickets is "cost" to "buy" them that appeal to kids of all ages and sizes....

I guess it is all the laughs, excitement, fun and pizza that makes it worth it. Being that the Ferows and our family includes kiddos that get a kick out of that sort of fun, I figured one night wouldn't hurt us! :)

Well, Juliana got herself a horse. Eight months after being a Texan, she finally did it! :) She must have spent $5 in Chuck coins to play this horse jockey game. Even though she didn't quite understand how this thing worked, she had a BLAST getting tousled around. It made me laugh. :)

I think this picture explains it all..... (courtesy of daddy.) My Jack man. He was EVERYWHERE!!! He "caught" a ride on this carousel - on other kid's quarters....that's right, he would climb on this MOVING carousel while another child was enjoying their ride. It became quite the thing to do with all of the kids....and we didn't mind so much being that our table was right next to it. Jack had a fun time while Trish and I picked his cup up off of the floor by random games (numerous times!), caught him AFTER he chased an employee in the back room because he wanted the ball in her hand, stopped him from "unmasking" Chuck E. and grabbed him while he ran past the "kid security guard" in front. I am pretty sure Jack is NOT allowed back...at least until he is 23.

Jacie Madison. She loves her some pizza. I think the count was up to four. That's right. Four pieces ALL BY HERSELF! She definitely doesn't pass up food. She even tried to sneak her brother's pieces. Now the only thing I am wondering is....why is she so tiny?

Kids LOVE cotton candy!!! Jack, Mia, Juliana and Madi took a break for some sugah.
Even daddy indulged.

Now why is it Jeremiah, Juliana and Jack look scared to death of this carnival favorite?!?!?! :)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

EXTRA, EXTRA!!!!


This one might be a little long folks, being that it has been ONE week since I have gotten back on here....

UPDATE ON JULIANA: Well, our little ball of rubber bounced back the very next day! Jeremiah took her to an oral surgeon and THANK GOD she didn't have to get stitches. The puncture wound was in a place in her throat that was a "gray area" - no main arteries etc. and being that she is a child, he said she would heal in a week or two! HA! She was closed up the next morning! Right now she is on anti-biotic to prevent infection and she is eating normal foods again....but we will probably still make her Jell-o, just because she likes it so much! :)


Thanks GP,NANA,GRAMS & POPPY for our Easter outfits! These adorable creatures looked so stinkin' cute! Mommy wore the exact thing that the girls did and daddy wore khakis and a white shirt - still working on getting him to wear anything argyle! :)
Poor little Jacie didn't make it through the morning. She got sick as we were leaving church and threw up not only on her little white dress but mommy's white dress also. I think the bath count for Easter day was at five and mommy's changed outfit count was at four.
Pictures are on their way today, so be on the look out grandparents!!! :)


The kiddos "Jesus Baskets" were a success! I went out yesterday to get these for the kiddos - we waited a little later because everything was on sale! We got Juliana High School Musical to add to her collection of Disney movies and I am not sure if I will regret it or not...we will see! After Jack's Dry Erase marker incident - we opted for an AquaDoodle mat. Its a large mat and you use special pens filled with water to color/draw on it. Once the water dries, the mat is a clear canvas again! So far, kids LOVE it and I LOVE it because I know for a fact that it is easier to clean water off of the wall than black marker. Mommy has learned her lesson! :)

INTRODUCING: Baby J Lamson - again! :) Jeremiah and I went down to Hermann Memorial City Hospital on Tuesday afternoon to get an ultrasound and this little guy/girl is growing like a weed. Our due date is August 29th and we are SO happy to say that our family will be complete once this little bundle gets here!


The night before I was having trouble taking deep breaths and it was causing some pain in my ribs/upper abdomen and middle back. Almost to the point where I couldn't talk or walk. So the ultrasound tech took a look at my gall bladder and kidneys and it turned out that my kidney was a little swollen, as well as the baby's (1cm larger than they would have liked to see.) So Tuesday night, Jeremiah and I spent most of the night in the hospital while I was hooked up to monitors, blood was drawn, X-rays were taken and pain medicine was given.
Tests came back clear and today I have no pain - as for the baby, I have a follow up with my doctor tomorrow morning and I will have to meet with a specialist so that they can monitor the baby's kidney throughout the rest of the pregnancy. God is GOOD! I am so thankful for all of the prayers that were said over my healing and SO thankful for an AMAZING husband that was by my side the whole time! God healed my pain. I am so thankful for my rocks - GOD and Jeremiah. I am so thankful.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Sunglasses: Keep Out of Reach of Children.

Last night, while in Old Navy, Juliana was trying on various styles of glasses and when she put these on, she looked at Jeremiah and said," Daddy, these are absolutely ridiculous!"

But that isn't the moral of the story. It just so happens to be ironic that Juliana (the victim) is wearing a pair of sunglasses in the picture. Today, while the kiddos were on the couch watching a movie, Jackson found a pair of his sunglasses (that daddy didn't do such a great job of hiding....) and was "trying them on" Juliana. All was fun and games until my goofball Jack wasn't paying attention to where he was putting them and shoved them right in Juliana's mouth. A few minutes later, Juliana hadn't stopped crying so Jeremiah whipped out his flashlight and took a gander in Juliana's mouth. At the back of her throat was a hole. That's right, a HOLE.

Daddy made an appointment with the dentist and he took her in. The dentist checked out her teeth, gave Juliana a goody bag and after assessing the situation, referred Jeremiah to an oral surgeon! Juliana will need to be knocked out and stitched up.

Meanwhile, mommy is wearing down the carpet with all of the pacing I have done the past two hours. We will update as soon as Juliana is home.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

My Little Pony (girl.)

Well...we finally did it. We got our tiny, little Jacie girl's hair into a pony (or two.) Now if only we can get her to walk....

Jacie LOVES her lion. Here is a little background....when I had Jack (in 2006), my dad took Juliana to the gift shop and told her that she could pick out anything she wanted - FOR Jack. Well, she came upstairs with this adorable pink lion for her brand new baby brother. We think she had ulterior motives behind this gift choice. Anyhow, Jacie has recently re-discovered the pink lion and now calls it her own. Literally. She wont put the thing down.


Now that Jacie is on the move, her new favorite pastime is looking out the window. Especially at all the "green stuff".

She makes me smile. :)

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Jack, the Dry Erase Bandit.

So. Saturday morning, Jeremiah and I got up to this:

At first we thought, haha, Jackson is trying to look like mommy and daddy - in a tattoo sort of way. Then we walk upstairs and find this:

My creative, spunky little Michelangelo wrote all over the wall going up stairs, all over the carpet and all over the linen closet door. We had a heck of a time getting these markings off of the wall....Rubbing Alcohol. Not only did it get the marker off but it also got the paint off. So needless to say, we will be having a painting party....volunteers welcome!

I mean, it is Dry Erase Marker....hmmmm. Should come right off. Right?

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Leprechauns and Easter Eggs?!?!?!

So, being that we are the "Late Lamsons", we had our traditional St. Patty's Day dinner almost two weeks late. So here was the outcome.

YUMMY corned beef.


YUMMY roasted veggies. :)


Today we had Mia and Madi over for playtime. I figured that it would be a fun activity to decorate Easter eggs - being that it is so close to Easter! The kiddos had a blast and got a little messy in doing so - sorry if there is paint in the girls hair Trish! Some children even thought it would be a good idea to eat the paint....(achhhhem Jack!) Thank goodness for non-toxic art supplies!


Here was the end result. These kiddos have definite Picasso creativity!!!