Cheryl's Copy-Cat Sugar Cookies and Buttercream Frosting

Servings: 2 to 3 - Yields Approximately 36 Cookies

Ingredients

Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter softened

3 to 4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

Directions

Sugar Cookies
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

First cream together your butter and sugar

Then add your egg and vanilla

Make sure that this is mixed well before adding dry ingredients

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add slowly to your wet ingredients as it mixes
The dough does not have to chill first
And should bake approximately 6 to 8 minutes - not until brown
THAT WILL OVERCOOK THEM
Cool on wire racks

The instructions I originally found recommended a cookies press, but I prefer the Wilton Sugar Cookie Shapes pans that you can buy at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.

Buttercream Frosting

Beat butter, vanilla, and 2 cups of confectioner's sugar together

Add milk and mix well

Continue adding powdered sugar until your reach the desired consistency.
The final step is to separate and add the food coloring of your choice.

Apple Stuffed Pancakes

I saw these on Facebook and while they didn't turn out as "pretty" as they were in the video, they certainly were delicious!

Step 1: You can use any apples you choose. Our household favorite is Honey Crisp, but since they're out of season at the moment the Fujis looked wonderful, so we used those.

Step 2: Prepare your pancake batter. You only need enough for about 4 to 6 pancakes since the apple is only going to be coated in the batter and not the feature of your breakfast. I added about a teaspoon on cinnamon to my batter as well. 

Step 3: Slice the apples and then cut out the core from the center.

Step 4: Dip your apple slices in the batter. I learned that I may want to thicken my batter just a tiny bit more than I normally would so that it sticks better. 

Step 5: Put your coated apple slices on the preheated griddle or pan (your choice) and cook each side for roughly 2 minutes. Not only does this brown your batter, it also softens your apple slices just a bit.

Step 6 (optional): Dip the slices in a cinnamon and sugar mix. The original instructions said to use nonstick spray in your pan, which I don't typically use, but I'm guessing that might have helped the sugar adhere a lot more evenly. 

Looks aside, it was a HUGE hit with the kids...

Birthday Treasure Hunt

Our middle child is turning 14 today and she's long passed wanting toys for her birthday. All she really wants is money. However, I have a hard time just forking over the cash. Not because I'm opposed to giving it as a present, but I'm opposed to not making her work a little bit for it. Besides, it's just more fun that way. 

Supplies:

1. Vintage Gift Tags with Twine
2. Mini Colored Wooden Clothespins
3. Hot Glue

Tim Burton Halloween Party

I'll admit that this took months to assemble. However, we did have our new daughter arrive back in July so that has a huge factor for everything taking 3 times as long as it should have.

Wonderland Scene

Supplies:

1. Plywood

2. Poster Board

3. Jig Saw

4. Acrylic Paint - Assorted Fluorescent Colors

5. Paintbrushes

6. Hot Glue

7. Hand Made Wood Flowers that I found at Target

8. 24" Black Light Fixture (We purchased 2 of these)

While I personally have no talent in the drawing department, my daughter does, so she drew templates on the poster board. My father-in-law cut the pieces out with the jig saw, but honestly I would have been able to do it if I needed to. Then just paint the boards. I made the mistake of getting the little bottles of acrylic paint from Michael's and ended up needing 4 sets of 6 to paint everything. It would have been a lot less expensive if I'd just bought the 1 pint set I included the link for. Finally, I just hot glued the pieces together in order to really create the 3D effect you see there.

Nightmare Before Christmas Candle Holders

Oogie was a gift from my daughters. They know how much I love The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it worked out perfectly for the party theme. 

Supplies:

1. Glass Mason Jar - I just saved the Bertolli jars when I made chicken alfredo.

2. Textured silver paint

3. Free Printable Nightmare Before Christmas Labels

Just clean and spray paint the outside of the jars. I used Modge Podge to attach the labels I printed, but regular glue would work just fine too I'm sure.

Photo Corner

Supplies:

1. Halloween Fabric purchased from Hobby Lobby as a background

2. Dollar Store Toys for Dress Up

3. Selfie Stick

This was super easy with all the kids having cell phones these day, but they had a blast with it. 

Drink Station

Supplies:

We ordered the black light responsive party-ware from Amazon.

1.  Party Essentials Hard Plastic 6-Inch Round Party/Dessert Plates, Assorted Neon, 40-Count

2. Party Essentials Hard Plastic Cutlery Combo Pack, Knives/Forks/Spoons, 48 Place Setting-Count,

3. Assorted Neon Party Essentials Hard Plastic 10-Ounce Party Cups/Tumblers, 50-Count, Assorted

4. Neon Party Essentials 2-Ply Paper Dinner Napkins, Assorted Neon Brights, 24-Count

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Candy Table

My mother is a Goodwill junkie, so she had all the apothecary glassware already from her various "treasure hunts." We're lucky enough that Albanese Candy Factory is only about a half hour from our house, so I was able to get classic confectionery candies. 

Upelkuchen Cakes

This was mine... Yes, sad I know.

These are my sisters... I learned the secret to making cake pops is to crumble them and add in a couple spoonfuls of icing before shaping them. 

The Rest Was Just Fun

Surviving Infant Reflux

The first thing I can tell you is that if you feel like curling up into a ball on the nursery floor and crying yourself stupid right now, you're not alone. The past several weeks have pushed me to the brink of borderline insanity. Truly, the idea of being locked in a padded room in straight jacket actually sounds like a vacation.

When you think of bringing home your newborn you have visions of watching that sweet little bundle cuddled up in their bassinet or crib far away in dreamland for approximately 14 hours a day. Let me tell you, if your baby has reflux (or what's technically called GERD) this is NOT going to happen.

Don't get me wrong, there have been lots of good moments too...

They just typically involve me holding her.

Which is wonderful to snuggle that little bundle 24/7 at first, but becomes very exhausting when you eventually would like to do simple things like shower or eat a meal.

Sure, every baby spits up, but my husband has taken to calling Jean Mount St. Helen because of her constant and endless eruptions. It's almost a guarantee that a quarter to half of what we feed her is going to end up all over the both of us. Which is just the beginning.

Laundry, okay sure, I can handle doing a couple extra loads a day. The real killer is that it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to get her to sleep. There have been many days where I feel more or less like I'm living with Linda Blair and end up thanking the heavens above for any 20 minute power nap I've managed to squeeze in, because the likelihood of getting a solid hour of sleep would truly be a miracle.

I had mentioned in my earlier post "Is your baby eating enough?" that from the moment Jean was born that she's been a difficult eater. What we didn't know at the time is just why it was so hard to get her to eat. Essentially, our poor little girl is in a constant state of discomfort.

These are signs that you should look for if you suspect that your baby might have reflux:

1. Frequent and large amounts of spit up. I'm not talking about a few spots on your shirt. I'm talking about an amount that soaks both you and your baby so completely that it requires both of you to hop in the bath immediately. 
2. A consistent cough and/or wheezing. Jean sounds like she's imitating Darth Vader all the time basically. 
3. Refusal to eat or difficulty eating (i.e. coughing and gagging).
4. Frequent crying or fussiness when laying flat. Or basically laying anywhere other than your arms. 

If any of these symptoms sound like your baby I would contact your pediatrician. Especially since some cases are more severe than others. Hopefully they're not like the one we originally had who doesn't return your calls.

I will tell you though that the good news is, according to my mom (NICU head nurse) that eventually this will pass as her digestive system develops further. The bad news is, that it typically takes 9 months to a year for that to happen. Which frankly is a tough one to swallow knowing that I have to go back to work next week.

However, through trial and error (and pure desperation) here are a few things that we've found that have helped ease some of her discomfort:

• The single most important thing that we've done that has helped was finding the best possible formula: Enfamil A.R. We started her out on the Newborn, then we tried the Gentlease, and even the regular Infant one. None of them helped in the slightest because they were just too thin and it was impossible for her to keep it down. This one is infused with rice powder which makes it sit a lot heavier in her stomach, but is fine enough to pass through the Dr. Brown's 2 Natural Flow Level 2 Nipple compared to regular rice cereal that just seemed to clog the bottle. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't resolved it completely since it can't cause her digestive system to develop any quicker, but at least she's not crying from starvation every hour like she was before.

                      

• We keep a essential oil diffuser running constantly to help clear up some of her congestion. If you would like to know what oils we're using, please send me a message through the Contact Form on the left. Since I'm an advocate for essential oils, I'm not allowed to actually post links on this site.
• Swaddling. I hadn't been doing this once she started to be more alert and wiggly because I felt that I was restricting her too much. However, this seems to make her feel like I'm holding her so that I can get in a small break every now and again to stretch my elbow. 

• Keeping her upper body elevated at all times. We purchased a Serta Perfect Sleeper Crib Wedge along with the Reste Sleep Positioner to keep her from sliding down the wedge while sleeping. These are both considered "safe" sleep aids for your baby. I'll admit though that I use a memory foam pillow in the Pack ' N Play that we keep in the living room since she won't always let me put her down in her crib. I'm basically watching her every second that she's in there since I don't want to keep transferring the wedge back and forth. 

• Finally, white noise. I downloaded the free Sound Sleeper app on my phone. The thunderstorm one seems to distract her from her discomfort long enough for her to drift off for a bit. 

I know it all seems like a lot of juggling and micro managing, but when you're little one hurts, you do everything in your power to make it better. I know not all babies are the same, but hopefully some of the tricks we've found help someone out there on the verge of insanity like we have been just a little.