Found: More Ana first day of school photos

Ok, I'm obsessed out of season. It's not back to school time, but I've found some more back to school photos of my daughter. I've been scanning and correcting photos...oy, I took lots of photos of this little girl! So, here are a few to share:

 

So, there is preschool, kindergarten and 2nd grade....

Ah....Cookies! or Baking, it Starts

I'm definitely no Martha, though, right after Ana was born, I fancied myself the Martha type. I even made her baby food with a food mill. Geez - now I can barely make spaghetti and meatballs! I blame it on my teeny, tiny kitchen, but that's another story.

Despite my mini-kitchen, I present to you Cool Whip cookies! My darling baker, Ana, assisted in this experiement and whipped up (get it?) several dozen of these yummy treats tonight. The recipe follows....

And the recipe....

Lemon Cool Whip Cookies 

(We used Devil's Food, obviously - more Matt friendly....we'll try Lemon too, as any flavor cake mix may be substituted)

from Allrecipes
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 eggs
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheets.
2. Beat together the whipped topping and eggs together. Add the lemon cake mix and continue to mix. Dough will be sticky.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of confectioners’ sugar and roll to coat. Place cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Bake  for 11 minutes. Cool on racks.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Ana!

Oh My! My baby girl is 14 today, and tomorrow is her first day of high school! I'm so proud of her - she's really come a long way in the last 2 years. This is for her:

The kit I used is the one she picked out called Candy Box by Miss Vivi. I won a gift certificate to her store by winning a chat game and let Ana choose.

The journaling: 

Happy 14th Birthday
 to my beautiful young lady.
I’m so proud of the woman you’re becoming.
You are the perfect blend of serenity and vibrance; of purpose and fun; of vintage and modern.
You know your style and you express it with every choice you make
Be true to your heart, and show them how it’s done.

New Beginnings....

Sorry I haven't been by, dear blog, but I've been under the weather this week: possible strep, ear infection and sinus infection have made me just want to lay my head on a pillow. Thanks to a visit to the doctor, I was able to go with my daughter to her high school registration and walk the school looking for her classes. A freshman? When did that happen? I remember her first day of kindergarten like it was yesterday:

Her first day of kindergarten was September 4, 2001, just 7 days before our country and our whole way of life, really, got shook up. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Matthew, and I was sending my first born off to a new place, a new world really. And now I'm about to do it again. Back then, nothing worried this little girl - she was friendly, loved to play, and did her own thing without worrying what others thought- check out her Winnie the Pooh shoes! Times change. She's seen the world a little more and knows a little more what it's about, a little more worried about what she's going to wear (remember, this fashionable girl has bravely worn a tutu to school). She's not worried that she won't get to play at school (the kindergarten concern), but she was concerned about being stuffed in her locker (she doesn't fit, she tested it). If I could only get her to believe that high school will likely be more fun than kindergarten, just in a different way, we'd be set. I used to be able to convince her that I knew best. And, some days, she still believes me. So, I guess that's a good thing.

Have a good week.

Real Beauty - The Mirror Project

For Ana's 8th grade graduation, I created a book for her to remind her what it really means to be beautiful. The directions for this project came from a Big Picture Scrapbooking class called, The Mirror Project, by Donna Kert. On each matchbook page, there is a special message from to Ana. I've shared just a few of the messages and I left some of the inner message pages for her to complete with her own ideas. Of all the mini book projects I've completed, I think this may be my favorite. One last thing before I share - the cover circle that just looks black is really a mirror, it just didn't photograph that way. I wish I could remember what the papers I used were - they were so perfect for my vision of this project. I'll add a note if I remember.