My girl likes to party all the time...

Ever since we moved to KC we have had quite the social calendar.  It is exactly why we moved back to the mid-west so we have been having a lot of fun catching up and meeting new friends.

A few weeks ago my best friend Shelly had a welcome home party for us at her house and it was so much fun.  Sayler got to meet her future BFF Katie.  My friend Bethany and I have decided to make these 2 enter into an arranged bestie situation...because we would love to ensure each of the 2 of them have friends with cool parents!!!

The first date...a bit awkward at first.

Katie wants to know who this crazy lady is holding her.

Then the Daddies got in the game...the girls will be mortified during this photo op in say 13 years or so.

Then this past weekend Sayler got invited to her first birthday party by her friend Samani.  He was turning 2 and had a birthday party at the Loose Park splash park.  Sayler was too little for the water fun...but I envision many weekends being spent running around like a maniac in the near future.  We had a lot of fun even though it was H.O.T hot.  And even though Sam's mom Holly had called the park twice to confirm the water was turned on at 10am...it wasn't actually turned on until 11am.  So we had an hour to kill with the kids in the heat...but we made the best of it!!!

Holly brought the yummiest red velvet cupcakes and these sugar cookie cups that I am still fantasizing about.  

Sam taught that cupcake a lesson...

Mom...it's hot out here.  Can I get a swig of your water please?

Ahhhhh...refreshing.

Pryor got in on the 10am cupcake action too

Look at all the sweaty mother hens clicking away

OK this cracked me up.  Look at proper little Miss Ellie with her legs crossed!!!

Mom...when is the water gonna be on???

What up my homie...just chillin with my Daddy.

Thank God Almighty...the water turner onner finally got there!!!

Let the wet and wild fun begin!!!  This is little Miles and he was fearless running around in the splash park.  He was just so precious.

Here is Sam.  I like to call Sam "The Lone Wolf." He's like, "look guys...I don't really need a wolf pack.  I'm pretty OK just rolling solo."  And that was what he did!!!

I tried to get Say in on the action...but she wasn't really too thrilled.

My law school classmate Tommy has a little girl Rosemary (RoRo) that was born one day before Sayler.  The girls just hung out with their Daddies and watched the splash silliness from the sidelines.

All of this partying sure does wear a girl out!!!

The Big...Mama.

The video speaks for itself...can you tell I am glowing through the screen???


The Big....Mama!!! from Stephanie Doss on Vimeo.

Mocha Silk Pie...a love story

I love to cook...especially for family and friends.  So when we invited my bestie Shelly and her family over for dinner I wanted to represent in the dessert arena.  So I went to my go to cooking no fail always yummy guru of the culinary stuff...the Pioneer Woman.  Are you guys familiar with P Dubbs (we're tight like that)?  If not...run to her website: http://thepioneerwoman.com/  They are actually making a movie out of her life and Reese Witherspoon is playing PW.  How cool is that?  I have tried several of her recipes and every single one has been SO delicious.  I came across her Mocha Silk Pie and thought it sounded like a cool, creamy party in your mouth.  So I channeled my inner Julie and Julia and documented the process for you my faithful followers (all four of you).

Here are the cast of characters:  Pecans, brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate (you have to use the 1 ounce blocks...you cannot use chips, you'll see why later on), Kahlua, instant coffee, eggs, salted butter, vanilla, salt.

So, for the crust:  pecans...I'm going to cut you down to size.  Chop the pecans up...you will need one cup.

This is how fine I chopped mine.

Then grate 2 1oz blocks of semi-sweet chocolate.

It's a fine chocolate dust when you're all done.

Then mix the Pecans, chocolate, 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar, and a dash of salt.

All one happy family.

Uh oh....the party's here!!!  Add 2 tbls. of Kahlua. 

Mix all together until the entire mixture is moist (I hate that word...I also hate the words Olathe and urethra.)  I'm a random mystery of a woman that likes to make pie people...come along for the ride.  Now, put your crust in the fridge while you make the filling.  Oh the filling...how I love me some filling. 

OK...start by melting 3 oz.'s of semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave.  I put mine in for 45 seconds, took it out and stirred it a bit and then put it back in for 30 seconds more.

Here's how it looks all melty and good.  Set this aside for a bit and let it cool completely.

Let's get our mix on.  If you do not have a stand alone mixer I do not recommend making this pie.  And now your standing there with your hand mixer elbow deep in filling saying bad words at me.  Maybe I should have mentioned this whole stand alone mixer business a few steps back...like at the beginning...Schorry!!!  You'll see why a stand alone mixer is imperative when we get to the eggs.

So put 2 sticks of salted butter (room temperature), 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 2 tsp. of instant coffee grounds, and 1 tsp. Kahlua.

Mix together on medium speed until light and fluffy...like a coffee cloud.

Now remember that melty, yummy, bowl of chocolate you sat aside? Pour that into your coffee fluff.  Scrape the bowl clean with a spatula to get all of the chocolate into the bowl.  GET IN THE BOWL!!!

Begin mixing again on medium speed and add 1 tsp. of vanilla.

When the chocolate is completely blended stop the mixer and add one of the 4 eggs.  Mix this egg into the filling for 5 minutes on medium.  After 5 minutes add the 2nd egg and let that mix for 5 minutes.  Do this for all 4 eggs (i.e. it should take you 20 minutes to blend in all 4 eggs).  See why I told you that the only way to go was a stand alone mixer?  I'm here for you friends...lean on me.

When you get to the last egg...your filling should be really coming along.

Well, well, well....look at you.

Next pour the filling into your pie crust.  There will be some left over and I encourage you to do the right thing here and give that extra filling a good home...your belly.

Well hello beautiful!!!

I'm taking this little beauty for a test drive tonight at my dinner party...I'll let you know what the verdict is then.

Here's the recipe for you all laid out simple like:

Prep Time: 35 Minutes

Cook Time: 2 Hours

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 10

Ingredients

• Crust
• 1 cup Pecans, Finely Chopped
• ½ cups Packed Brown Sugar
• 2 ounces, weight Semi Sweet Chocolate Grated
• 2 Tablespoons Kahlua
• Dash Of Salt
• Filling
• 2 sticks Butter (salted)
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Instant Coffee Granules
• 1 teaspoon Kahlua
• 3 ounces, weight Semi-sweet (or Bittersweet) Chocolate
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 4 whole Large Eggs

Preparation Instructions

To make the crust, combine chopped pecans, brown sugar, grated chocolate, and salt. Stir with a fork to combine, then drizzle in Kahlua, stirring until combined. Press mixture into a pie pan, bringing it up the sides a bit. *Do not bake* Set aside or refrigerate until needed.

In small microwave safe bowl, melt 3 ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate until stirrable (about 45 seconds on high). Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter, sugar, 2 teaspoons instant coffee, and 1 teaspoon Kahlua until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. When melted chocolate is cooled, drizzle it into the butter/sugar mixture as it beats on medium speed; use a rubber spatula to get it all out. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Beat the mixture thoroughly until combined, scraping the sides if necessary.

On medium speed, add the four eggs, one at a time, over a period of 20 minutes; leave about 5 minutes between each egg addition. Scrape sides of bowl halfway through this process. Pour filling into the pie crust. You might have a little filling leftover. If you do, I’ll trust you to do the right thing.

Smooth out the pie filling and place pie in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours (preferably longer).

Serve with whipped cream and more grated chocolate.

No one puts baby in a corner...

"Katie...guess what my mom just told me!"  "What Sayler...what did your mom just say?" "She told me that you can really take a vacation at Kellerman's!!!  Can you believe that???  You can really take a vacation at Kellerman's" "No way!!!  That is the best thing I've heard since I found out about the Huggies Jeans Diaper!!!  Wait...what?  What is Kellerman's?"

***This little vignette has been brought to you by  How Cute is That?, The letter C, and My Mom Made Me Wear Church Socks To This Party***

I'm not sure if you all have heard this news but I was just made aware that you can really vacation at Kellerman's.  Apparently, this has been an option for your vacationing pleasure for many moons now but I just heard about it last night from an old friend of mine.  For those of you that are not aware of what Kellerman's are I would ask you to please stop reading this blog as you are dead to me.  I kid...I kid. Maybe this will jog your memory a bit:



Could you just die???

So the thought of actually vacationing at Kellerman's has taken over my thoughts.  I am OCDing over Kellerman's.  So I visit the Kellerman's website to see what they have to offer and I found this...you can stay in a cabin in the woods people!!!  Maybe the very same cabin where this took place:



SWOON!!!

So then I perused the Kellerman's website to find out the multitude of amazing things you can do at the Kellerman's Resort.  And then. AND.THEN...I found this!!!  OH.MY.GRAVY!!!

***Let me take this moment to thank you Jesus for making all my dreams come true.

As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. Wait..wrong damsel in distress. Let's try that again...as God is my witness I will attend the Dirty Dancing weekend at Kellerman's before I go to the big Kellerman's in the sky.  (If you were listening to this being read aloud one could play a drinking game around the word Kellerman...there it is again...DRINK!!!).

Who's with me?  Let's get it on the books friends.  Because one cannot say they have truly lived without climbing a staircase while carrying a watermelon. "I carried a watermelon!?!"

Held

Well, well, well...look at me huh?  Pretty snazzy makeover if I say so myself.  I figured if I had a pretty place to write this poor, sickly little blog maybe I could bring it back to life.  So here goes nothin!

I have been feeling sorry for myself today.  I even cried at my desk for a bit.  Don't worry it wasn't awkward for anyone else.  Just a few tears sopped up with a Kleenex...no snot, or snorts, or ugly facial contortions or anything...cuz that's just wrong in corporate America people.  No crying in the Fortune 500!!!  Here's the skinny...I'm not very good at my job.  There I said it.  I'm not...and it sucks to say that, but unfortunately for me...it's true.  It is a very uncomfortable feeling for me.  I don't say these next words with ego or some grandiose idea of myself so please don't think I'm all full of Steph all of a sudden (or maybe you have thought that all my life...whatev) but I am usually good at things that I do in life.  I always did well in school (except for that unfortunate encounter with Spanish II my senior year of high school), I've always made friends easily, graduated from college, graduated from law school under some less than ideal circumstances (life mate selection in my early 20's will be in a whole other post my friends...no one has the time or stomach for that now), I passed the bar, married the most perfect man, battled infertility and won BIG...I just pretty much kick life in the tail and come out victorious on most days (wow...that's a whole lotta non-egotistical ego there ma'am)...moving on.

So when I started in my position in corporate america it was tough and confusing to me as many aspects of my job involve a lot of techy gobbledygook and nonsensical lingo and jargon.  But I assumed there was a steep learning curve (as everyone told me there was) and that I would eventually figure it all out.  Well...2 years in, and I actually think I am worse than I was on day one.

So anyway, I got back a draft contract that I had written over the last 2 or so days...and it was bloody.  Freddie Kruger status.  And I just felt...well awful.  And I teared up and felt sorry for myself and said bad things in my mind about my boss and felt even more sorry for myself.

And then I remembered Andrew and Mandy...

I work with Andrew but do not know him well at all.  We pass each other in the halls and do the obligatory, "hey..how are ya?"...but never more than that.  Several weeks back Andrew and his wife Mandy got the news that their son Aiden  had a terminal diagnosis.  Mandy was then 25 weeks into her first pregnancy and the Dr.'s told her that Aiden's kidneys were not functioning properly and that because of this there was not enough amniotic fluid for him in utero.  Long story short they were told to go home and make an impossible decision.  Andrew and Mandy decided to carry Aiden as long as God would allow and she is carrying him now.  But at 37 weeks they will induce Mandy and then it is up to God.

Can you imagine?  Seriously, can you imagine?  I cannot.  I try to put myself in their unbearable shoes and I know I cannot.  It is too much pain.  I think about what I was doing at 37 weeks pregnant with Sayler.  I mean she was my daughter at 37 weeks.  At 37 weeks...we had her room finished, hundreds of precious outfits for her, diapers, car seat, stroller, crib, bottles, everything.  And not to mention that I felt her inside of me turning and rolling (and kicking the crap out of me) all day and all night.  How do you have all of that and know that those may be the only moments you ever have with your child?  I'm not sure how one is supposed to go on after that...I just don't know how you open your eyes in the morning after putting your precious baby in the ground.  Just typing it takes my breath away.

So...the point here is "seriously Steph?  seriously.  It's not that serious.These sweet people are contemplating the birth and death of their child on the same day and you are crying over not getting a gold star on your paper from the teacher. STOP.IT.NOW."

So I did...and I prayed for Andrew, Mandy and Aiden...and I listened to this song by Natalie Grant over and over again.  Would you please pray for Andrew, Mandy and baby Aiden too?  They need to be "held" by an entire community right now.  Lifted up in prayer to a God that knows the depths of their pain and the burden of their plight and holds them in the darkness.  Thanks friends.  Love, love, love...

Seven Months!!!

Say Say -
Mommy is a little late getting your 7 month post up.  Mostly because I am exhausted from chasing you around all day.  Little woman you are ON.THE.MOVE!!!  Much earlier than Mommy anticipated for sure!!!  You started scooting around commando style when you were 6 months old.  Slowly but surely you started wanting to crawl and about 1 week after we got to KC (June 24th or so) you started crawling around like a baby on a mission!!!  You now are pulling to stand and I just know that you will be walking by the time you are 9 or 10 months old.  Mommy was not ready for this...but I am so proud of you.  You are such a strong and determined little girl and I just sit back an marvel at all of your little milestones dropping like flies :)

Here are some other things that you have been doing:

• You are in a size 3 diaper
• You are still taking 3 or 4 bottles a day...you hold your own bottle and just grab at it when Mommy or Daddy brings it anywhere close to you.
• You LOVE food (shocker) and you haven't refused anything we have put in front of you.  Your favorites are:
• Bananas (in your fresh food feeder)
• Squash
• Carrots
• Pears
• Applesauce
• and don't forget the PUFFS!!!  You live for puffs...and you are so good at getting them pinched together in between your chubby little fingers and getting them into your mouth.  I laugh so hard when I see you lunge forward for the puffs once they hit your tray!!!
• You still love to say dada dada da, and blow raspberries, but now you also like to say tsssst, and the funniest of all is when you see people eating anything you smack your lips together over and over as if to say, "ummmm...hello.  I'm sitting right here!!!"
• You are a MANIAC in your walker that grandma bought for you.  We call it your Nascar and call you Dale Jr. because you are a speed demon.  Daddy and I really start laughing when you do your speed racer routine.  You push off with one foot and then the next and then you lift both feet up once you are going fast enough and just glide.  It is ridiculously hilarious.
• Your 2 bottom teeth are fully in and you are cutting 4 teeth at the same time (top 2 and 2 more on the bottom)...OUCH!!!
• You are riding in style in your new convertible car seat.  We got you out of the infant carrier a few weeks ago because your feet were getting ready to hang over the edge. Ha!  So we got you a new one and you seem to like it better.  You still HATE getting buckled in and out...but you like that you can turn your head to the side and see wither Mom or Dad in the front.  And I think you can see more out the windows too.  I can't believe you are already in a big girl car seat...it is just all going in fast forward it seems sometimes!!!
• You are in your own room and sleeping in your crib full time.  You didn't skip a beat when we moved you to your crib and I think you like it better than the pack n play.  Mommy, however, is not so sure she likes it :)  I wish you were still sleeping right beside me so I could peek at you all night if I want to.  But I know it is the right thing and the right time for everyone to be in their own rooms. As I type this I am recovering from having to suffer through night one of cry-it-out boot camp.  It is way past due and it is time to stop going to you in the middle of the night to feed you and comfort you to get you to go back to sleep.  You need to know how to comfort yourself and at this point the nighttime bottle is a habit and not a necessity.  Of course on the night Daddy and I decide we are going to start CIO with you, you wake up an hour after we put you down (which you NEVER do) and cried for an hour before falling back to sleep.  Mommy went into her room and cried a little too.  It is SO hard to hear you cry because you never do.  But I know this tough love is what's best for you and I know you are going to get the hang of it very soon.
• You love your new daycare and love Ms. Dana.  You have been a perfect angel and have won your way into Ms. Dana and Ms. Julie's hearts.  I know you are going to have so much fun there as you learn and grow.

Well that's all Mommy has for now.  I love my Sayler...oh yes I do.  I love my Sayler, oh yes it's true.  When you're not with me...I'm blue.  Oh Sayler I love you.

I love you baby girl,

Mommy

Movin On Up...literally

Well we did it...we are sitting on the other side of the Doss move of 2010 and let me tell you a praise Jesus is in order for that small miracle!!!  We made the trek over 2 days (June 17-18th) and it was SO stressful...about a million things went wrong (we hit about 4 different patches of construction that stalled our drive, we had no idea whether or not we were going to be able to get the keys to the house until about 3:30pm on the 18th which was 45 minutes before we pulled in the driveway, we got lost trying to find the hotel in OKC, our movers for both the load and unload were AWFUL...I mean like caveman awful, we bought a refrigerator...couldn't get the packaging off...finally got it off and then 6 hours later the refrigerator stopped working...done-zo).  But let me tell you one thing...it was all worth it.  We're here, we're queer, get used to it!!!  I have no idea why I just said that but it felt good :)

We are loving our house and our yard and the weather and pretty much everything about KC.  Sayler was an absolute angel during the move and has been tooling around her new digs in her walker and is in.to.everything!!!

Will keep you posted on all of the trouble the Doss clan gets into in KCMO!!!