Infamous Pumpkin-Pecan Pie!!

Here it is!! I'm giving my secrets away! When there's a pie THIS good, it's hard to keep the recipe quiet :O) Yes...you can have the BEST of BOTH worlds...and obviously Hannah Montana knows that, too! ;o)

Pumpkin-Pecan Pie:

3 eggs, slighty beaten
1 150z can pumpkin puree
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
In a medium bowl, whisk together above ingredients.

1 cup pecans
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell

Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes, or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean.

I like to make my pie crusts from scratch, just because I LOVE pie crust and I think it's much better homemade :o)

Roll out your dough


Put your dough in a pie plate and trim off excess from sides


Make it pretty and crimp the edges :O)


Pour in the pie mixture and decorate with pecans! I leave the decorating up to Caleb...he has too much fun!!




**Optional pecan topping**
I stumbled across this topping by accident, and I must say, it's my favorite!! I now use this pecan topping for my pie :o)

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix above ingredients together and crumble over the pie mixture. I've noticed with this topping, there tends to be a longer baking time...about 10 minutes more.

I hope you all enjoy this pie as much as my family!!

Zippy...Our Elf on the Shelf :o)

Meet zippy!! Our Elf on the Shelf!


This new member of our family has become a new Christmas tradition for us :o) I have my cousin, Cheri, to thank for this!! She familiarized me with this cute, little Elf story. The book's authors, Carol Aebersold & Chanda Bell, summarized their book with this...

"This charming tradition began for our family when my children were very small. Like most children, they wanted to know how Santa really knew who was naughty or nice. Their answer came in the form of a small pixie elf. The first time the elf arrived at our home, my children officially adopted him by giving him a name. Each year he would arrive around the holidays, usually after Thanksgiving. His sole responsibility was to watch the children's behavior and report it to Santa each night. The next morning, when the children awoke, they discovered the elf had returned from the North Pole and was now resting in a new and different place. My children would race each other out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position. To preserve the elf's magic, the children were not allowed to touch it; however, talking to the elf was encouraged. My children shared many secrets with their elf; and while he was under strict orders not to talk to them, the elf was under no such orders where grown-ups were concerned. Unwittingly, the tradition provided an added benefit: it helped the children to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that the 'elf was watching,' for errant behavior to be modified."

The last part is true!! I've already used the "elf is watching" numerous times!! ;o) This really is the cutest book! Corban loves looking for "Zippy" every morning and reminding him redundantly what toys he wants for Christmas! ;o)

Hallmark carries the kits of "The Elf on the Shelf," which includes the book and the elf!! Happy reading and tradition making!

Much love,

The Winsett Family

What we're thankful for!

Being that it was Thanksgiving week, I decided to ask Corban what he was thankful for! Honestly, I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say...there's no telling with him!! I knew I wouldn't be able to write everything down fast enough, so I recorded it on my phone :o) Here's what he said...

"I'm thankful for Jesus and God because they hold onto me when I'm in my booster seat and they love me and they forgive me when I'm naughty. And I'm thankful for lizards because they stick out their tongues, but I'm not suppossed to stick out my tongue because it's naughty. And I'm thankful for Macen and Alec and Caleb and Maddox because they are my friends. I'm thankful for everything in my bathroom and my bedroom and the living room and mommy's pictures and the Christmas tree and the big TV."

Oh goodness, this kid makes me laugh!! Cruz was agreeing with Corban, saying "yeah yeah." Haha!! I'm definitely thankful for my two, sweet boys! On the topic of Thanksgiving, Corban "participated" in his school's Thanksgiving program. "Participating" is probably an overstatement!! Many of you might not know this, but there are 2 sides of my dear Corban!! Most of you know his side #1!!

Side #1--->Crazy, ornery, spitfire, talkative, silly, happy, random, and all the other synonyms for these words :o)

Side #2--->COMPLETE OPPOSITE...shy, still, quiet...in other words, *good* Haha! ;o)

So, it really wasn't a surprise for Caleb and I when Corban decided to stand still and not sing a single word at his Thanksgiving program at school!! Haha!! But, you better believe, as soon as we got home, he started singing at the top of his lungs all of his program songs with all of the motions!!

His silly, goofball face...:o)


"We are pumpkins big & round, big & round, big & round. We are pumpkins big & round. We grow on the ground."


"We are carrots orange & long, orange & long, orange & long. We are carrots orange & long. We help to make you strong."


I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!!

My little George Strait...;o)

I think it's safe to say that I've done some MAJOR slacking on my blog posts...! However, I have managed to snap a couple photos of my favorite country/western singer :O) A twangy singer at that!! This cool, little dude loves to serenade anybody AND everything with his musical talents! He's always strumming that guitar and singing whatever words come to his mind...half the time they don't make any sense :O) During this instance, Corban is serenading our dog Abbee...


Stay tuned for bookings, concerts, and CD signings...;O)

!!CiRcUs!!

CIRCUS? Sure! The fact that I'd never been to one, I was really excited to go!!! Last Tuesday, the Carson & Barnes circus came to the Shawnee Expo Center, and Nana treated Corban and I to the circus! :O) First, we started off with a pre-show snack...


Then, we enjoyed what we payed for! :O)


Wow!! This guy was balancing on 5 cylinders...Nana and I decided that he probably has some pretty nice abs...!


And...of course, a trip to the circus is NEVER complete without an elephant ride!!


This elephant ride was quite a big deal. If you know Corban, then you are probably aware that he DOES NOT like larger animals(ie. cows, horses, big dogs, pigs...)!!! So, with a little bit of coaxing, he decided he would ride this gigantic pachyderm...with mommy, of course! :o)

Cruz's 1st BIRTHDAY BASH!

I cannot believe that my baby boy is already 1 year old! Time goes by way too fast with kiddos around! Cruz celebrated his 1st birthday, Dr. Seuss style :O)


Everything about it was precious...from the kid, to the cake, to the decorations! I have NEVER seen a kid destroy a birthday as much as he did!


Mmmmm...that was yummy :O) Can I please have more?!


Cruz had prior practice unwrapping presents the week before...thanks to his big brother!! Now, Cruz is a pro :O)




Cruz's Nana, the art teacher, made him this wonderful Dr. Seuss desk! She painted everything and she did an outstanding job!




He loves to crawl through it!




HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY BOY! DADDY, MOMMY, AND CORBAN LOVE YOU TO PIECES! YOU COMPLETE OUR LIVES :o) THERE'S NEVER A SECOND IN THE DAY THAT GOES BY WITHOUT A SMILE ON YOUR SWEET FACE!



Some of your FAVORITES:
1.) Big Brother, Corban!
2.) Eating!
3.) Playing with/tearing up brother's toys!
4.) Eating
5.) Tickles on your back :O) You get that from mommy! We both love our backs and arms tickled:O)
6.) Eating!
7.) Making a charge for the hallway when you notice the baby gate isn't up!
8.) And, of course, mommy kisses ;o)

Your MILESTONES:
1.) "Cruzing"...not walking yet...I'm totally fine with that! Take your time, please;O)
2.) 4 teeth
3.) Gasp! 24.3 lbs & 32 inches?!?!!!!
4.) You can say:
*mama
*dada
*bubba
*buh-bye
*nana
*uhhhhh-ooooooooo...that's your most favorite of all! You repeatedly drop things, just so you can say uhhhh-oooooooo :O)

Your NICKNAMES:
(or what mommy calls you all the time!)
1.) Sweet face
2.) Preciousness
3.) Tiny Hiney
4.) Lil love bug
5.) Honey bunny
And yes, I will still call you all of these when you're full grown and married :O)

Your STATS:
Birth date: September 30, 2009
Weight: 7 lbs 7oz
Length: 19.5 inches
Time: 11:37 am(thanks to your rapid descent, mommy got to eat a cheeseburger shortly after! That will always be our little joke!)

Why did mommy & daddy decide to name you 'Cruz'?? Well...it was a lengthy process coming up with your name, little man! At first, mommy wanted 'Chett' because it had a nice ring to it when combined with your last name. But, big brother couldn't pronounce it quite right...! Therefore, 2 months before you were born, we decided on Cruz or Coby. We liked them both...we really did! It wasn't until after you were born, that we finally decided on 'Cruz.' You rapidly descended(causing mommy to dilate from 7cm to 10cm in 10 minutes), causing slight bruising on your sweet face. We thought you were "Cruzin' for a bruisin!" And that's how you got your name :O)

WE LOVE YOU CRUZ! HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

**a special thanks to Tabitha Steward who made his lovely Dr. Seuss cake, and to Ashaley Crawford who generously took these wonderful pics!

1st SOCCER game!

It's official...I'm a soccer mom!! All I need now is a minivan:O) Corban is on a YMCA soccer league with a couple of his friends and they all have so much fun together! There's nothing better than watching 3 & 4 year olds running wild on a soccer field trying to play "as a team" because, of course, they ALL want the ball...! Corban's team, The Wizards, had their first soccer game on Saturday and it was a blast!!! All the moms and dads were cheering for their children and screaming "No! Run the other way!" Haha!! I think the score ended up being -1 to 8...good thing it's non-competitive:O)

Here are some action shots!



I think I must be that annoying mom that keeps cheering & cheering & cheering...so Corban must have been annoyed by my constant, "Go Corban!! Kick it in the goal!", that he just decided to pick it up and run with it to the goal ;O)


Cruz is already practicing his soccer sliding skills:O)