happy leap day

how did you spend your leap day? i spent mine at the dmv! oh joy. i can now legally drive again ... huzzah! it wasn't that bad, i brought a book and never even opened it. make an appointment ... seriously it makes such a difference. i even studied because i thought i would have to take the written test, luckily i didn't have to, just a new picture and pay them. hehe!!!

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oh and i did not take this picture. i'm not that good of a blogger, i got this from flicker.

recipe wednesday - fruit tart

paula deen's fresh fruit tart

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crust:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and sliced

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filling:

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

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toppping:

fresh strawberries, kiwi slices, blueberries, raspberries, whatever you like

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glaze:

1 (6 ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 cup granulated sugar

whipped cream for garnish (optional)

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for the crust:

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. in a food processor, combine the confectioners' sugar, flour and butter, and process until the mixture forms a ball. With you fingers, press the dough into a 12-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push the crust into the indentations in the sides. (i just pushed the dough into a pizza shape, next time i might add a little lip to keep the glaze from sliding right off). pat until the crust is even. bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until very lightly browned. set aside to cool.

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for the filling and topping:

beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until smooth. spread over the cooled crust. cut the strawberries into 1/4 inch slices and arrange around the edge of the crust. For the next circle, use kiwi slices. Add another circle of strawberries, filling any spaces with blueberries. cluster the raspberries in the center of the tart. (or i just arranged them all over the tart)

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for the glaze:

combine the limeade, cornstarch, lime juice and sugar in a small suacepan and cook over medium heat until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. let cool. with a pastry brush, glaze the entire tart. you will not use all of the glaze (in fact i halved the glaze and i didn't even use all of the glaze).

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keep the tart in the refrigerator. remove about 15 minutes before serving. slice into 8 wedges and serve with a dallop of whipped cream.

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THANK YOU WHITNEY!!! you can see her tart here, although hers is MUCH prettier!!

aidan loves to read

aidan loves to read, this is how he spends some of his spare time.

(yeah they are older pictures, but he's still SOOOO cute!!) he loves to read books by himself, and he loves to get books and bring them to me so i can read them to him over and over and over!

jumping cousins!

this is what the kids did after aidan's party before we went to sleep. holy moley they were cracking us up! i was impressed with aidan holding his own among his bigger cousins who kept knocking him around. i mean the kids only 1 and hannah is 5 1/2 and adam is 2 1/2. needless to say we were entertained!

happy birthday aidan!!

we threw aidan a party on saturday, here are some pictures from all the fun!

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we settled down and read some books before everyone else arrived. nicole and her kids hannah and adam came early to come play and spent the night after!!

aidan and his loving parents, aren't we a cute family?

gr'papa and gigi (ya know, for great grandma!) fiet!(uncle) patrick and (aunt) rachel, friends but basically family!rob's mom (a.k.a nana) and the birthday boy!robby and his dad deanrobby's sister susie, baby jolee (born on my birthday) and boyfriend timnicole and adam (best sister in the world!) thanks for the fantastic photos, you're the best photographer, and the album was amazing! you are so talented!my mom (a.k.a. 'ama) and hannahmy dad (a.k.a papa) and my brother scott (we missed you amanda!!)1 of the 2 cakes i made for aidan, look at my mad cake decorating skills!! (thank you gigi for teaching me while i worked at baskin robbins!)aidan enjoying my mad cake decorating skills!aidan decided to share some of the yummy cake with daddy! that was nice buddy!presents!! aidan was more interested in the paper and bags than opening the presents. but once they were opened he was a happy boy, he got tons of fun things to play with!after the party and the kids were asleep, nicole and i relaxed with a little favorite of ours named: root beer floats. oh the deliciousness!!thanks for coming everybody, it was great fun! we are so lucky to have such great family (and friends!) we love you! happy birthday aidan, we love you the MOST!!

happy valentines day!

happy valentines day from my boys!!
i wish i didn't know how much he spent though, holy moley roses are EXPENSIVE!! but boy are they beautiful!!

aidan's growing up so fast!

still inside his mommy! only 1 day old!! 3 days old!!! 1 month old! 2 months old!
4 months old! 5 months old! 6 months old! 7 months old! 8 months old!
9 months old!10 months old!11 months old! 1 year old! happy birthday aidan!!