The Vacation Aftermath

We're back! Well, actually we've been back for a few days, but it has taken me that long to recover:) Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like they need another vacation when they get home from their real vacation! We went non-stop {except for one afternoon nap} for 8 days at Walt Disney World, and let me just tell you it is exhausting! We saw almost everything {we skipped a few things at Animal Kingdom}, and we rode every ride at all 4 parks at least once...we rode some 5 times:)

Since we've been home...

*I've been trying to catch up on my sleep*

*I've unpacked 2/3 of our suitcases*

*I 've been busy washing, folding, and putting away loads and loads of laundry*

*I've watched way too many hours of reality tv on the dvr...thank you HGTV*

*I've gone shopping to buy groceries for our empty shelves and fridge*

*I've been stressing out about a birthday party that needs to be planned in less than 5 days*

One thing I haven't done is edit the 347 pictures that I took while we were gone! So I'll just share two shots with you today and hopefully in the next few days I will find the time to edit them and share a few more:)

I want to say a great big THANK YOU to all my wonderful blog friends who did guest posts for me last week! If you missed any of their amazing guest posts, please go back and check them out and leave some comment love:)

Mon:  Felt Napkin Rings by Paula from Sweet Pea

Tues: Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe by Nichol from KiddiesCorner Deals

Wed: Photography Tips by Liz from Sugarplum Creations

Thurs: Baked Zucchini Bites by Amanda from Serenity Now

Fri: Card Making by Kelli from Outside My Kitchen Window

Sat: Sausage Egg Casserole by Yanet from 3 Sunkissed Boys

Sun: Pumpkin Bread by JoAnna from This Southern Girls Nest

Guest Post: Pumpkin Bread

Hey *Random Thoughts of a SUPERMOM* readers!!  I’m Joanna from This Southern Girls Nest. 

Kelli ask me to do a guest post while she’s away and I couldn’t wait to blog over here!  I love her blog!

You’ll normally find me blogging about my family {my hubby and 2 daughters} and what’s going on with us.  But I love to cook/bake so you’ll usually find at least one recipe a week.  I am also into crafting up a thing or two when I find the creativity.  Here lately that creativity has been hard to find!  Well..not too hard because of my newest addiction to Pinterest.  I’m constantly finding all sorts of things that I want to craft but for some reason I never make it to the store to buy any of the items needed. Hmph.  But I did manage to do one craft in the past couple of weeks…DIY Mercury Glass! 

However since my heart belongs in the kitchen I thought I’d share a recipe with y’all!  Since we had a taste of some Fall weather this week I thought I’d share a favorite recipe of mine…Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

What do you need?

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 16oz can pumpkin puree {not the pumpkin pie blend}

What do you do?

1. Combine the sugar…butter and eggs in a large bowl.  Cream them together.
2. Add the pumpkin and mix until combined.
3. Toss in your cinnamon and cloves.
4. Add 1 cup of flour at a time letting the mixer combine one completely before adding the other.
5. Add to your greased loaf pans {2} or to your muffin cups. Or both.  We always make one loaf and 12 muffins.
6. Bake at 350 degrees.  Now if your doing the loaf you’ll bake it for an hour.  If your doing muffins..you’ll bake at 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

We didn’t do the glaze on these this time because the hubby and I are on a mission to lose some weight.  Gotta cut sugar where ya can! ;-)  But if you want the glaze you’ll top it with your favorite confectioners sugar glaze.  Too make it fancy add 1/2 to 1 tsp sugar to your glaze before pouring over the top! 

I hope y’all enjoy! 

I’d love for you to come on over to my blog and visit if you’d like! 

Guest Post: Sausage Egg Casserole

Hi there, SUPERMOM readers! My name is Yanet and most days you can find me in Florida playing and/or decorating (but not cooking) with my 3 Sun Kissed Boys. Sure I feed my little ones. But let's just say that cooking is not one of my passions. So, why am I showing a recipe today?! Because I do love making meals that involve togetherness. The type of meals where you can gather up the kids to help while you chat along. Plus, it's a pretty fool-proof recipe that happens to be delicious!

Here are the ingredients and directions. 

My little assistants and I made this casserole while we were on vacation this summer. My family and my BFF's family rented a beach house for a week this summer. Here are the steps in pictures.

Brown, drain, and set sausage aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, tear up bread into bite size pieces.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, mustard, salt, and half & half.

Pour over the bread, add sausage, cheese and mix well.

Pour mixture in a greased 9x13 baking dish, cover, and refrigerate overnight. 

In the morning, bake at 350 for 45 to 60 minutes or until top is golden brown.

I had visions of taking at least one really nice picture of the served dish with a glass of juice, some fruit and a pretty little vase with a flower but.... The kids ate it like they hadn't been fed in a year!

I mean, really, when you find a heart-shaped strawberry, it begs to be photographed and showcased in a blog somewhere, right?

I hope y'all enjoy, not only the casserole, but also the fellowship that comes with working together with family and friends.

Kelli, thank you so much for having me over today. Now lets gather up the boys and eat!