Sew God's Grace

So, my oldest is 9, and my youngest is 1.  I can finally say that without cringing!  I say this all the time, but it sure has gone quickly!  These two have birthdays that are just a week apart, so we decided to do a combined party with family. Maddie wanted a basketball cake, and Grant has always been our little monkey, so we had monkeys and basketballs!  I found the monkey cupcake idea here .  I used candy eyes from Walmart and placed some chocolate sprinkles on the top of the monkeys' heads for hair. Of course, I had to make some cake pops, too!  The monkey idea came from my Cake Pops:  Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats  by Bakerella .  I used a mini vanilla wafer for the nose instead of a peanut butter candy wafer. When Maddie requested a basketball cake, I decided it was a great opportunity to try fondant.  I mean, I only needed one color!  I used this recipe and tinted it orange.  I greased my mixing bowl and dough hook

My husband jokes with me that I'm not happy unless I use my slow cooker at least twice a week.  While that may be an over-exaggeration, I do love my slow cooker.  I enjoy the feeling of knowing that supper is in the crock pot at home ready to go.  Right now my kitchen smells amazing because I mixed up some of this spaghetti sauce right after lunch and turned it on low.  That sauce is in there, getting all warm and bubbly and yummy.  For supper, I'll just cook up some pasta for the kids and some zucchini noodles for Matt and me.  Pass the parmesan, please! Easy Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce (adapted from this recipe) 2 pounds ground meat, cooked (use ground beef, pork, sausage, or any combination.  I keep thinking I will try half ground beef and half sausage) 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste 1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 1/2 teaspoons each dried basil, oregano, and Italian

What's better than a big bowl of ice cream? Some ice cream with hot fudge on top! We would have this recipe often growing up. My grandma had an old-fashioned fondue pot that she would heat it up in. I usually use the microwave now, but you can throw the ingredients into a crock pot to have ready whenever the meal is over. When you have guests, setting up a sundae bar is a simple and yummy dessert that everyone enjoys!  I served this the other night to my kids with their choice of sprinkles, M & M's, and/or mini Reeces Pieces to put on top.  They each choose all of them!  You should have seen the looks on their faces when I piled it all on and handed it to them.  Yum in a bowl!  Here's the recipe: Super Simple Hot Fudge Sauce 1 cup chocolate chips 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla Place chocolate chips and butter into microwave-safe container. Microwave about 45 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds. Add swee