White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

I stumbled upon a recipe at Kitchen Simplicity that I had to try! White Chocolate Lemon Truffles sounds so smooth and fresh. It turned out to be so easy too.

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

1 cup white chocolate
5 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon extract
icing sugar for dusting

Directions:

Melt chocolate, butter and cream over a double boiler or in a microwave. Stir until smooth.

Stir in salt and extract. Allow to cool slightly before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for two hours or until firm enough to handle.

With a melon baller or small spoon scoop out mixture and form into 1 inch balls. Toss with icing sugar to coat.

Store covered in the fridge for up to one week. Freeze for longer storage.

I have considered using this recipe with different flavors to change it up a bit. I think next time I will try chocolate with raspberry or orange extract. Yum!







To Greener Pastures

Have you ever had to make a hard family decision? One that would change things for the better long term, but may have been a painful transition?

We finally decided to find Milo a new home. It was a year-long decision. We will miss him, but in the end everyone will be happier.

Milo came to us at 9 weeks old. We had no kids, a new house, a new marriage and like many newlyweds we were looking for something to call "ours". We found him at Spring Valley Cavaliers. We did our research on Cavalier King Charles Spaniels; great with kids, loving, sweet, gentle, relaxed, and 50/50 on shedding (they will or won't). I saw his puppy photo and he melted my heart.

He trained quickly, loved fetch and was so snuggly. He desired all our attention which he got until... Parker came home from the hospital. Milo growled at him, but quickly learned to be gentle. He understood what Parker was to us and soon watched Parker grow as we did. All was well.

Things took a turn when our next baby, Jameson, was welcomed home. With us working full time jobs, entertaining two kids, errands on the weekends, Milo started acting out and with reason. He nabbed food off the table, snuck entire meals when Parker wasn't looking, scratched a crater into our deck, chipped off the paint from the window trim, and began shedding to the extreme unlike he had ever done.

All were fairly small offences. I, now, was prepareing Parker's meals twice at times, pulling gobs of dog hair from both boys' mouths, and we found ourselves constantly getting after Milo for one thing or another. It wasn't his fault. He was bored! We had hardly paid attention to him.

This combination of things led us to make the decision to find Milo a new home. One where he would receive all the attention he deserved. He had to be so lonely since we were rarely home. We asked family, friends, and tried Facebook. No one seemed too interested in taking on the responsibility. A coworker mentioned finding a rescue club and gave me a name. I did some googling and found the Cavalier Rescue. They take on Cavaliers, find a foster home, and wait for an adoptive family. What better way to find a new home? No one is doing us a "favor" by taking him, no pound, no shelter. He goes to a family that wants HIM just as he had been found as a pup. One family will fall in love with him just like we did.

We feel comfortable with our decision. My only concern is the transition Milo must take. My heart breaks pondering about his thoughts, "where is mom and dad? and Parker? and that baby?" However, he is so loving he will quickly attach to his new family.

Milo, you were the perfect dog. You deserve better. We are sorry to have you leave us, but you will be so much happier with all the attention you are about to receive. We love you, pup.

Frosty Thumpetty Thump Thump

We have had such a mild winter this year! I have thouroghly enjoyed the lack of slippery roads and bitterly cold winds. I am guessing we have only had about two snow "storms" that resulted in measureable amounts. Yesterday was one of them. The best part? The temps! It was just warm enough for six inches of snow to fall in a wet, fluffy mess... which means it created the perfect conditions for building a snowman.

I hurried home from work with one intention. Get Parker outside with mommy! I am usually cooking supper right after work and rarely get the one on one time we deserve. Luckily, Preston and I have started "Daddy cooks on Thursdays". With Preston cooking dinner it allowed me to take Parker out into the winter wonderland and create it very FIRST snowman!

While I rolled out the body, Parker was learning the technique of rolling out the head. 30 minutes later the head had not changed in size so mommy offered her help ;) We found some sticks, rocks, and a pine cone nose to address our snowman's features.

To be completely honest, we had so much fun and I am sure we made Daddy jealous. I think Parker and I really deserved the time together. He loved adding "hair" to the snowman and investigating the rocks that were placed on him.

It didn't take long before dark emerged and dinner was ready. Parker happily posed next to our snowman, White. He was pretty proud of our cold creation, but he was more happy to just be outside, in his element.

I think we can all agree that Mission: First Snowman was a complete success!

Toilet Paper; a 3 Year Old's Playground

Parker just returned from a weekend at Grandma Annie's house. He spent his days in play mode with his 6 year old cousin, Dillon. Upon his return, I expected a few outbursts of defiance, as any 3 year old would do. I, however, did not expect an entire roll of toilet paper to be shoved into the toilet. I thought potty training was rough, but I have underestimated the lack of bathroom protocol that a preschooler has. This coming only weeks after I discovered a urine soaked roll of toilet paper. What is it about toilet paper that is so inviting to children?! I have even noticed Jameson being attracted to it lately! Is it the never-ending stream of paper? The perforated seams between the sheets? Or maybe it's the accessibility? Regardless, this necessary tool of the bathroom has become sought after by curious hands with destructive plans. I suppose I will have the last laugh when this makes it into his scrapbook for future girlfriends to giggle at as they read :)

Any guesses what it will be next week?

Homemade Chai Mix

I just blew through my can of Oh My Chai! from Tastefully Simple. I thought, there must be a way to make this at home in a bigger, cheaper batch. After a little googling and some good reviews I found a recipe that comes close! Allrecipes.com held the best match!


Instant Chai Tea Mix

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
1 cup French vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer
2 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine milk powder, non-dairy creamer, vanilla flavored creamer, sugar and instant tea, then add in the ginger, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

(excuse the table scratches... it's very loved on ;))

In a blender, pour in 1 cup at a time. Blend until mix is of a fine powder consistency.

To serve:

Stir 2-3 heaping tablespoons of Chai Tea into a mug of hot water. If you want something creamier you could add the mixture to warm milk as well.

Lastly, store your Chai Mix in an airtight container.

You could keep this all to yourself, share with family, or better yet give as a gift during the holiday season! Enjoy! 

Ending One Journey to Start Another

As many of you know I have chosen to Exclusively Pump for Jameson and as we near his First Birthday we will begin the weaning process. Its been an amazing journey of self-determination. I am elated I was able to provide him breastmilk for an entire year, though not always 100% of the time I still consider myself a success in what started out to be disappointment. I think I am most excited for the freedom that is to come.


With that said, the purpose of this blog is not to fill a void of time, but to be responsible for myself by staying active with my growing family, organize my life, learn to budget, and share those family moments that have yet to be made. What better way to express life than through writing, pictures and videos.


If you followed Little Glow Bug than you know how expressive it really is. It ended too soon because life got too busy, but now that we are finding a new groove with two crazy boys... I am hoping to keep up with myself. So, enjoy the reading and growing that is ahead.