Merry Christmas & Happy Birthday!

Merry Christmas everyone!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my son Drew! He turns 2 today!

Out-Laws Anxiety

I've tried to come up with a way to talk about this without 'bashing.' My husband's parents are not nice people.....at least not to me. They have bad-mouthed me to my husband's friends as well as their own and their family members. Why??? Because I don't do what they want, when they want. Well, they like to control what he does through a 'well-intentioned' guilt trip. But, I wasn't raised with such passive aggressiveness. When my parents didn't like something, they told me straight out. There were never any guilt tactics used, what.so.ever.

But.....wanting your son to be over your house all the time 'hanging out' is a portion of what has torn me and my in-laws apart. I don't like to be told what to do, nor do I like being guilted into doing anything or guilted for not doing anything.Its almost as if they think since I married him, now they can just assume that I'm going to do things their way. As opposed to 2 different people coming together and compromising with mutual respect.

My husband is such a passive person, that he pacifies their complaining by just giving in. That's hard to bring a new person, like your wife, around who has never been around that type of interaction before. Needless to say, words have been exchanged with them and my husband  and somehow.....I'm to blame. His parents have been married for 27 or so years. He's also adopted. I've noticed that in the urban communities, adoption is kept as a taboo secret. This definitely has something to do with the guilt tactics used and felt.

I wish they could see the actions of themselves and not feel like they're entitled to feel the way they do because their his parents. So many boundaries have been crossed and this has been going on for 6+ years. I faked it until my first son was born. Boy.....motherhood really jumpstarts that 'don't treat me like a child, nor tell me what to do" attitude. They don't like that attitude. All they want is for us to spend more time with them than anyone else, go over their sister's and cousin's houses and visit their this and that. Umm...no. If we have not established a prior relationship with those individuals, then I will not be going over there just because you want me to or told me to.

Now, I have to go home and be around them while we ignore each other's attitudes for hours at a time. Prior to having my boys, it would be me talking to a wall for the first hour of the visit while my husband was in the basement. I'm always treated nicely in front of him though. I really hate being around them and it doesn't help that they make snide comments about me to his elementary school friends regularly.....those friends don't prefer me because of what his parents have said.

I refuse to play the same tit for tat gossip game (so I stay quiet - which appears to be seen as a weakness)......but I also would like to refuse to be around them. I really hope I don't lose my cool on them when one of their snide comments is made.


Please pray for my anxiety. Any advice is appreciated.

Christmas: Reflections Throughout the Year

My homemade Christmas Chocolatte! I mixed my coffee with hot chocolate and threw some marshmallows and candy cane on top! It was delicious! You gotta try this! This was inspired by my artsy friend, Marilyn!

Christmas Eve of 2010 - We went to Barnes & Nobles' storytime! I loved his "cheese!"

Our Family Christmas photo of 2010....and my pregnant belly.

Look, what the new year brought in!!!

Look! Now he "cheeses" too!

I think this may be a new holiday tradition! Cheese and wine! This cheese was amazingly delicious!

Bellavitano Espresso Cheese -- actually espresso on top!

I can't forget about my new Christmas cookies!!!

My latest Christmas craft that is completed is my little Jingle Bell Tree! I glued little acorns and bells to the tree. I wish I would've lightly sprayed it with my red glitter paint beforehand. I may still figure out a way to 'doctor' it up. Either way, every time I shake it, it sounds like Santa is coming, lol!

What's your Christmas reflection(s)? I'd LOVE to see them!

Regrettable Haircut....

Last week, I mentioned the haircut that I had gotten. Well, now I regret it. Mainly because I miss my length in my twistouts. The cut would've been cuter to me if I hadn't already cut bangs. My rule of thumb is: bangs with longer hair and no bangs with shorter hair.
Sigh....what the heck was I thinking????
Wellllllllllll, I was completely freaked out from the damage my post partum shedding has done to my edges. My edges are very thin and when I looked at them closely in the mirror (about a month ago), I saw ends with splits!

LOTS OF SPLITS! 

So, naturally I assumed it was like that everywhere. My hair growth has been pretty consistent for the past 2.5 years since I started my chemical-free journey, but I haven't seen any growth in the back for 4-5 mos. now. That's at least a couple of inches that I could have had, that I was afraid were split.

I guess I'm done crying over my spilled milk now, but the good thing is that my ends are fresh and rid of splits. I'm starting fresh. Again.

Its just hair anyways....
....but i'll probably be sporting some sort of braids this Christmas. :-/

When pulled, it seems to form an asymmetrical bob, with the shortest area (back center) reaching near the bottom of my neck and the longest area (sides) reaching my shoulder blades.

At least my hubby was supportive. He's so cute. He's learned the right things to say!

Peppermint Cookies

I had a 'cookie exchange' to go to with some other ladies and decided to make something holiday-ish. My oldest boy, Double D, really enjoyed sucking on the candy canes, but really wasn't into biting and chewing it. Its probably still a choking hazard anyway. He enjoyed making the mess......and of course there was peppermint juice EVERYwhere!

What I Did:
-Crushed about 10 miniature candy canes.
-Took a roll of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough and mixed in the crushed candy canes with my fingers.
-Scooped out each dough ball and put a tray of 12 in the oven at 350F for 15 mins.
-Melt 1 wrapped square of Baker's chocolate and mix with milk until it reaches the consistency you like. (I used just under 1/4 cup and let it thicken by taking it off the burner once it has started 'bubbling'.)
-After letting everything cool, I put the melted chocolate in a sandwich bag, cut the corner off and piped it on the top of the cookie.

If I could change one thing, I would've piped a thinner layer of chocolate on the top.
But they turned out delicious and were VERY easy to make.

I'm pinning this at Marilyn's P'inspirational Thursdays!

Shutterfly Photo Card - Embed and Get $10 off

 Shutterfly is running a special.
Order your newlywed or family Christmas cards ASAP.
Too bad we don't have our dog with us to be in the picture. I wonder if the owner is ready to sell him back. {scratches top of head}

Once you place your order....you're prompted with an option to "embed" or "post" your card on your blog and you get $10 off your next order {if another order is placed by January 31, 2012}. I plan to use that on a 2012 calendar.

Faith Love Family Religious

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Leftover Turkey Turnovers, Life Update and Liebster Award

I got my hair trimmed....well cut. 

I know, I know...for someone wanting their hair to grow that's not what you do.

I went to a curly hair stylist that had been trained by DevaCurl line's Lorraine Massey. It turned out okay. I didn't know how much my shrinkage factor really played. I wanted it short because of my split ends on my temples {thanks to post-partum shedding} which have really traumatized me. Seriously. 

Anywhoo, pictures to follow later.

My hubby still travels out of town during the week, so it's just me (and my nerves) a couple days a week, entertaining my boys and trying to keep them away from the computer. 

My blogging has been slow for this very reason. 

Not to mention, my soon-to-be 11 month old can pull the keys out of our laptop. I mean, "What the frank?"

Also, this is very late but after Thanksgiving, I used the leftovers to make Kimba's Turkey Turnovers and they were deeeeeeelicious! My hubby was licking his fingers and had to stop himself from over eating. He seriosuly raved over them throughout the whole dinner.

Last week, the lovely Ms.Chocolat  of Life After the Verdict, awarded me with a Liebster Award. Yay!!!

 I'm so happy that Ms. Chocolat awarded me this. I love reading her blog. Her simple and straight to the point posts always keep me coming back for more....along with always wanting to comment and chime in!

Liebster = Beloved {in German}

So now, I  get to nominate my top 5 beloved blogs and pass the goodness on during this holiday season. I've seen lots of awards being passed within the past few months, so I'm gonna try not to duplicate anybody.
I love reading so many blogs, but my most recent loves are:

Kiranda over at Mommyhood-Blog - love love her!

Arnebya of What Now And Why - very hilarious!

Keya at The Daily Life Of...Me - just awesome!

Kimba of Here's My 2 Cents -  delicious and easy recipes!

Nellie over at Brooklyn Active Mama  - ready to have her second boy!

Our San Francisco Thanksgiving Treat!

We decided to go to San Francisco for Thanksgiving. It was a somewhat last minute decision. My mom currently lives there and its actually my husband's favorite place to visit. We like to call it our second home. My mom can throw down in the kitchen, so the food was ridiculously good. We had turkey, gravy, macaroni and cheese, greens, sweet potatoes, and traditional cornbread dressing and cajun cornbread dressing that had andouille sausageas the kick. For dessert, we had a 3 layer red velvet cake. The food was so good, it made you wanna eat more even if you weren't hungry! I mean it was soooo good! Whew!

We go pretty often so we do our own thing and then do stuff together, while my mom watches the kiddos for a couple hours. This time, I ended up going to my mom's Afro Belly Boogie exercise class at 24-Hr. Fitness and it was a crAzY workout. I thought it would be nothing but other 60-yr old women not doing much. No, this was a class with Beyonce dance moves at 100 moves per second! I wish they had something like that in DFW because it would relieve any kind of stress accrued during the week. Anyway, we had a great time! Here are some more pics:

The best crab cakes and crab sandwich are here!

I had a lobster roll. It was good.

But the dungeness crab roll was better! Amazing!

 This crab roll was so good, my hubs had the cook come out so he could tell him just how much he enjoyed it. Yes, for real. The crab roll was tossed in warm butter and put on a big piece of sliced texas toast. It was scrumptious. We ate there twice and had both rolls the crab cakes. Mmmm!

Feeding and chasing the birds.

My boys on the pier.

My hubby is an avid golfer!

The crooked street!

Alcatraz!

Classic vintage!

If you ever make it to San Francisco, wherever you choose to dine, get crab and sol! The fish is so fresh and delicious! The main reason I love the northern west coast!

What's your favorite vaation spot that you call home?

Pumpkin Playdough (late post)

I found a recipe on pumpkin playdough and since it turned out well, I thought I'd share it. I don't know why I didn't think to do this earlier in the month, but now I have it for next year!

This was a great seasonal toy for my toddler to play with as well as a way to get accustomed to the gooey texture. He's not a big fan of gooey-ness.

Still no gooey-ness for him!

Ingredients: 
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
Food coloring (I used close to what the website suggested)

First, combine the dry ingredients in a nonstick saucepan. Add the oil, water, and food coloring and whisk until smooth. Stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, cook the mixture over medium heat until it forms a ball, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a counter, let it cool slightly, then knead the dough until it has a smooth texture, about 1 minute. The dough will keep up to a week in a ziplock bag.

These directions are from the site I used verbatim, see here.

Tasty Tuesday - Choco Crescent Rolls

I had a taste for some chocolate and was wondering what I could else do with dinner rolls. We're sure to be eating some crescent rolls on the side with all the other Thanksgiving deliciousness! I can't wait! Unfortunately, I didn't measure anything and did this all to 'taste'. Next time, I think I'd like to add some glazed strawberries!

Ingredients used:
1 small can of crescent rolls
Baker's Bar semi-sweet chocolate - 2 rectangles
Cream cheese - 2 oz.
Milk - maybe 1/3 cup
Powdered sugar - to garnish

Yes, they were delicious! If you try these, just add and taste and make sure the chocolate is the consistency of like a thick syrup.

Enjoy!

Thankfulness Is A Developed Discipline."

We have so many things to be thankful for, but hearing a certain church sermon last weekend really put things into perspective. He said that "Thankfulness is a discipline to be developed." I thought "Wowwwww!" (in Flava Flav's voice)
He said we all come in (born) selfish, therefore its natural to be selfish and it takes practice and discipline to be 'thankful.' Selfish, obviously means wanting things that make us happy or that make us feel good/better. I thought, "Well, yeah....duh." As babies, we need to be taken care of. My 10-month old has a really hard time sharing and you'd think my 22-month old would have a harder time! Well....okay sometimes he does, but my youngest REALLY thinks everything is all his, our attention and all the toys! I mean literally, he doesn't want any toy except for the one in my oldest's hand. There are times when we need to be selfish but we can't forget to be thankful.




Our Thanks Changes Burdens Into Blessings

Anyway, he basically said that when we face adversity, we have to remember to be thankful for what we are learning from it. When we are thankful and profess it, our gift will come...but the gift comes after being thankful. How many times have you complained and said, "Ugh. Why me?" I know I have and the problem always resurfaces. Its hard to be thankful when we're feeling like crap and throwing pity parties. And I can be a GREAT party thrower. Its also funny when someone who doesn't know you or your problems says a message that seems to be talking directly to you. I love when that happens and I for one don't run from it!

Since our thanks changes our burdens into blessings, I plan to make a conscious effort in remembering this when my hard times and/or ill feelings creep into my mind. After all, life is about HOW we deal with what happens. Now, I have to remind myself of this around Christmas time, when dealing with family dramas.

I guess you could say this is gonna be apart of my New Year's resolution.

Becoming A Curly Girl

Lorraine Massey's behind the DevaCurl products!

Maybe its because I get bored quickly or maybe its because I've had one too many hair fails lately.......or just that until my hair gets bra strap length, BSL, I need to be able to do something that takes less time effort; either way I've decided to use the CG method - curly girl method more often.

From my understanding, the 'curly girl' method is where you use mainly conditioner to style your hair as well as a gel/pomade to hold the curl, but the gel/pomade is optional. I've seen this book floating around www.naturallycurly.com, but didn't really think that I was interested in wearing my hair like this, plus I'm obsessed with wanting big twistout hair. Well, that big hair ain't happenin'....at least not yet anyway. I've had some major setbacks. I was thinking I would be roundin' the corner to BSL hair by now, but with post-partum shedding and my own stress, I haven't been really paying attention to my hair like I actually thought I was. {cue my violins}

Oh well, its a marathon not a sprint.

In the meantime, I'm gonna have some more fun doing something different. I've been really attracted to wash 'n go hair lately and now I. WANT. THAT. HAIR. After seeing how MahoganyCurls hair has grown in the past 3 years, by only using conditioner everyday, including during winter.....I've been converted. Check out more of her vids to see what I'm saying. Her hair looks so healthy, shiny and that's what I'm aiming for. To get my hair health back. I've already cut off 2" or more from just damaged ends, so I'm still at APL, arm pit length. Bleh.

Another source of serious inspiration has been Nisus, from www.itsjusthair.com. She has always had the best darn CG hair ever. She gets haircuts regularly to shape and change up the look of her curly locks. Her hair makes my jaw drop. Please visit her page and see what I'm saying! I wish my texture on top wasn't so loose but I think I will be going to a salon where they specialize in cutting curly hair next week. I'm excited! Here are some pics of me trying out the CG method:

I cut some bangs.

I didn't really know how to work with my bangs here. My curl pattern in the front of my head is so loose that it spoils the party. I plan to buy the Curly Girl Handbook and learn more about which products to use and why. In MahoganyCurls' vid about the CG method....she said that the book talks about using silicone-free conditioners. Once I read it, I'll do a review and share some more pics of my hair cut whenever I get the chance to get into the salon!

Happy Friday!

Red, White & Blue

via Pinterest

Do something nice for a veteran today. Whether you know one personally or see one out and about, buy his/her coffee, drink or meal. The last time the hubs and I traveled, we bought the guy's meal (he was in uniform). He was surprised and appreciative. Today and all weekend will be no different. It's the least we can do.

via Pinterest

This would touch anyone's heart to see. May God bless and give peace to the families of veteran and troops, especially those that lost their lives.

via

Found via Pinterest, but belongs to Sweet Something Design.

Veteran-ish

Pink was better than red in this case, but you get my drift!


God bless our veterans and our troops!

His Speech Is Delayed But He Says My Name Perfectly

Apparently I'm an intrusive parent. The kind that says,
 "Play with it like this."
 "Come on say it."
 "Color over here....not there."

I learned that intrusive parenting is basically the insistence of learning and is to the benefit of the parent rather the child. Well, what am I supposed to do? I'm a left-brain person and technically driven. Boy, its been such a learning experience, having to communicate with someone who can't really communicate back. I'm having a really hard time not getting frustrated with his speech. He's in speech therapy. Most kids his age have 50 words and when a kid has about 50 words, they naturally are making 2-word sentences or phrases. He has about 35+ words and rarely/almost never makes sentences. A lot of times I blame myself and feel like he could learn more elsewhere, but my husband always tries to comfort me by telling me I'm doing a great job and he'll say more when he's ready.

Parents who don't stay at home don't really have to worry about their kid's speech solely being their responsibility because kids learn loads at daycare. My very close friend's daughter has a former teacher at her daycare center, so you can imagine the things she learns and says! I'm not a teacher and don't have the mind or verbiage of one. I have the mind and verbiage of a tutor (which I have been post-college) and this is probably where my problem comes in. I know my pressure and frustration only delays his progress. Among the 35+ things he says, my name "Deia" is one that he says SO clearly, smh. Wth.

I've learned to let him lead how we play as long as he's not writing on the floor or just throwing everything. And I'll have to just stop comparing his speech progress with other kids (of friends kids and my 24-yo competing neighbor). Instead of complaining about having to talk so much, I'll just have to keep talking and describing everything until he finally feels comfortable enough to say the things he feels he can't. Besides, when we compare, we always come out on the losing end.

Do you have any recommendations for me? How did you or would you handle your [almost] 2-yr old's speech progress?

Bib = Cape?

Just took off his bib in the middle of dinner.

He's hated bibs since he first started on solids at 5 months. He's now going on 10 months. Now I know why....his bib is a cape! His superpowers include yelling at the top of his lungs and then magically getting his way. :-)

Have a great weekend! What's your Friday Funny from the week?

8 Lines...

I'm linking up with Mama Kat's writer's workshop today thanks to Mrs. H.  

My favorite things right now are lack luster tv programs, like reality tv, wine and coffee.  It used to be reading, but I prefer to read a book in a week and not a month, but I'm gonna try it anyway.

I need to add exercising in my favorite things somewhere. We all know its important to look great for the holidays and I'm still not where I want to be yet.

My current dislikes are know-it-alls. One person cannot possibly have all the answers, not to mention everything or every theory does not apply to everyone. Oh, throw copy cats in there too.

I really hope that this year's Texas winter will be nice to us. Prove to us that the 'south' really is better! :-) Really, I know anything this we have will be better than what we'd get in the midwest.

This was at our exit to our house. Texas gets some STRONG winds.

I take my almost 2-yr old to preschool now. I love dropping him off and watching him say 'bye'  to me, especially when the whole month of September involved crying at drop-off time.

He is like a completely different person, since going to his part-time preschool.  My heart flutters every time I watch his exuberance with people and playmates. I have this feeling whenever I look at old newborn/baby photos and I know this feeling just gets better as he and his brother get older.

I used to be really excited about growing my hair really long, but I'm taking a break. Maybe the break from my excitement will be what the hair doctor ordered.

I really need to make a Christmas list and start my Christmas shopping! Its November already! Can you believe it?!?

Trick or Treat!

We had another busy weekend....having fun and spending time with family. We also took family pictures at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and the photos are going to be soooo fabulous. (we took a few on some rocks in the middle of a stream --- my kinda shots!)

I was excited about Halloween, then changed my mind after having such an exhausting weekend, but we still managed some trick or treating.

This was just one house! Our neighborhood's decor really goes hard!

Headed out....

Wasn't too sure about it, but he was a good sport.

They enjoyed the noise the candy wrappers make, lol.

We didn't dress up this year because...well we were just too tired. We had a long weekend and unexpectedly ended up hanging out with friends all night on Saturday and with a different set of friends on Sunday. There's always next year I guess.
Right now, house parties are our thing having just moved to a new area with babies and all. :-) Hope you all had a great and busy Halloween weekend as well!

PROJECT PINK: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor of Marilyn's Project Pink, I'm honoring a breast cancer survivor close to me.
My grandmother, who is currently 97 years old, has had issues with lumps for 20 years, but it was just 3-4 years ago when she had to undergo a mastectomy.
Yep, at 93 she had one of her breasts removed. The surgery was of course scary to all of our family and church members, but my faith was stronger than my fear! Truely.
My grandmother was scared though...and she has rarely shown fear and sadness in all my 29 years of living. :-)
We knew the odds of a patient at her age undergoing such a surgery and surviving with any recurring problems was slim.......but that is exactly what happened. All of her follow up visits as well as her recovery have been smooth sailing.
 Of course she still has some pain but that's nothing compared to cancer. Faith and prayer without worrying does wonders.
I still remember telling her after her surgery, while she was still in her hospital bed, that the next time we'd be going to a hospital will be because of me giving birth. That was my way of calming her nerves (though she got teary-eyed with worry, since her sister died of cancer 20+ years ago) and speaking into existence her being alive to see her great-grand children.
I'm VERY close to my grandma and so proud and lucky to have her!
Whenever I get the chance, I donate....but I'd like to find a "Run for Breast Cancer" in my area.


Do you know anyone effected by breast cancer? Share your story on Marilyn's page.

Pin-Inspirational Thursday...Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

Today, I'm linking up with Marilyn, over at The ArtsyGirl Connection. She gave my Mini Strawberry Pizza Cookies lots of love. Yay, thanks Marilyn!!!  They truly ARE delicious. :-) Right now, my crafts are food....because I'm preparing for holiday feasts and [holiday] friends parties. Not to mention, food is fun to me. My pin-inspirational item are chocolate mini bundt cakes, with 2 put together to make a pumpkin.

How I Made Them:

I added 2 oz. of cream cheese to a boxed chocolate cake mix and poured them in my mini bundt cake pan.
For the topping: I melted 2 squares of Maker's Mark Semi-Sweet chocolate and mixed it with a little milk and that was it. Oh...and for the 'pumpkin' look, I used a pecan as the stem garnish. These were definitely tasty and the cream cheese made the cakes extra moist.

I like the mini bundt cake pan because when making 'mini cakes' (like pineapple upside down) you can keep the size contained. And you don't need cupcake liners. At parties, people can literally take them and eat them like a donut. Plus...bundt cakes pans are just cute. But....you cannot successfully use regular icing if you're not a professional <---my original Fall Crawl craft gone bad.


Do you have any pinterest inspired recipes or items? If so, what? Well, then link them up at Marilyn's here!

Later Lovelies!!!

One of Those Weeks.... & Halloween Costume Ideas???

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you are so busy that you have NO time for anything? Yes...no? Well, I have ---- this past week and maybe a couple weeks before this last one, I literally have been busy all day and every day. I don't even know with what because I haven't done any fall cleaning nor early Christmas shopping. Its just been one of those weeks.

Tomorrow, my tot's preschool will have a mini costume parade and I'm going to volunteer for that. I 'm soooo excited! These little tots are sooo cute, even with all the extra work, stress and patience they cause. Right now, I'm in the stage of more unnecessary and ridiculous tantrums and being told "no" a lot. Sigh....is all that I do. I think I may start drinking a glass of wine every night and

Sidenote: in my down time, I catch up on my guilty pleasure shows....so though I'm busy, I still get my laughs in.

Halloween Costume Ideas????

So for Halloween, we're dressing our boys up as little puppy dogs! The costume suits are really cute...but now my husband and I don't know what to be. He wanted to dress like a bag of dog food, but I really don't know what to dress as. I'll come up with something I guess.

What are you guys going to be for Halloween? Are you dressing as a family or having your own separate costumes?

Pinspiration Food - Mini Strawberry Pizza Cookies

My Strawberry Cookies!

 
This is my first time being apart of a group called MOPS - Moms of Preschoolers. So far, its been fun and kind of cool getting to know other 'new' or recently 'new' stay at home or part-time working moms in the area.
We meet every other week for 2.5 hrs and have a big group meeting that includes breakfast, crafts, speakers and childcare.
Both boys love the childcare, so that makes me okay with being apart of it.
Anyway, it was my mini-group's turn to bring breakfast and we all signed up for a dish. I decided to bring 'fruit.'
I didn't want to do traditional fruit, because every time we have a meeting the ladies from other mini-groups bring delicious meals...not so breakfasty. Like one mom brought oreo cheesecake cupcakes. Soooo delicious and so not cool!
It was so good, I wanted to lick my cupcake liner! They looked similar to the below photo, but with the cookie at the bottom.
Having the cookie on the bottom made it just that much better, because the cheesecake filling softened the cookie, just enough to make it perfect! I can't wait to make these during the holidays.

Anyway, I saw mini fruit pizzas on pinterest and decided to do the same instead taking the same ol' boring fruit tray. Here's my version.....

My husband claims this is the best cookie he's ever had! :-)

I made 24 cookies and separated the layers with wax paper. Needless to say...my dish was empty! :-)

Directions:
Bake Pillsbury sugar cookies according to package. Next, make cream cheese filling by combining 1/2 cup of heavy cream with 1/2 block cream cheese  with your hand mixer. Then, add 1/4 or 1/3 cup (to taste) of granulated sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla and mix. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture on room temperature cookies and add your fruit of choice, sliced. My kid loves blueberries and strawberries so that's the fruit we keep on hand weekly. Voila, enjoy!

Use the leftover filling for more cookies, as fruit dip or bagel spread, which is my favorite!

*My cookies sat in the fridge overnight and I think I may prefer them this way. The cream cheese softened the cookies just enough and all the flavors (cream cheese mixture, strawberries and cookies) softly meshed perfectly. These things are addictive.


These are a MUST TRY! I promise you won't be disappointed. Let me know how yours turn out!

**the portions for the cream cheese mixture was actually enough for 48 cookies, so you may want to make half of what I suggested if just making one 24 package. I had to make some for the hubs and fam.....plus I wanted some more too.  :-)