Since I've sat down to write this, I've seriously been up and down the stairs eleven times. And yes, I counted. Reese is having some sort of nap regression with me staying home; some say she's super excited about being with Mommy more, I think she just hates me. This last time I went up, it's because I heard a super loud THUD; don't worry, it wasn't her falling from the bed, it was her putting her new Bitty Baby cradle IN to her bed, so that it can take up half the room lying next to her. [I've told her since Santa brought it, she cannot sleep with the cradle IN the bed, it can lie on the floor NEXT to her bed.] Well, by opening our monitor on my phone, I see that she's finally ASLEEP with said cradle next to her head, and I am NOT opening that door to move it.

Lord help me.

Okay, so shew! It's FRIDAY! And I've had a whopping three days at home alone with the kids. Yesterday we got two inches of snow so that meant the schools were closed (laughing so hard), but I suppose it's for the best; there were 120 accidents in the morning during regular commute! This city and snow just don't mix. But that also meant a day off with my husband and we thoroughly enjoyed the day: sledding, hot chocolate, a trip to Target, watching the snow fall outside; I'll do a whole blog post soon but not now. I'd like to hurry up and finish this so that I can go shower and MAYBE lie down for a few minutes before the children are awake again!

Browsing Instagram this week I quickly stopped scrolling when I came to a picture posted by Kristen (@oldjoy). She had a gorgeous photo of donuts and a link to her blog post. I had to check it out because 1. I love to bake and 2. donuts are my jam.

Because today is Friday, and I wanted to celebrate surviving my first (half) week (more laughing) doing this whole stay at home mom thing; the kids and I made donuts. I asked their previous sitter [a dear friend of mine] and her 1-year old to join us, and that was really fun to spend some adult time while the kids semi-played together.

I made the frosting for these first, and I literally just replicated Kristen's recipe:

1. melt 2 TBS butter
2. mix 1.5c of powdered sugar and the melted butter
3. add milk slowly, 1TBS at at time (she used 4, I ended up using 5)

And for the donuts, I used a simple Pilsbury cake mix (strawberry) that literally just needs to be poured into a bowl and beat on medium speed with 3 eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.

The kids helped (oh yes, helped is such a kind word here) and were very anxious for the donuts to be done cooking and cooling so we could cover them with icing. (Once they're completely cooled, just flip the donut upside down and dip in the icing mixture.) We added sprinkles to ours and they turned out super cute.

Next time I think I'll add vanilla or something to the icing mixture? It was good, but for my personal preference tasted a little too much like plain sugar. OH, and I should mention that I used a simple donut maker pan (purchased from Amazon) to make these cuties. Anyway, time to run! I'm super excited for this time I have with these rugrats (my friend's 1-year old Jadon is pictured above, he is the sweetest human ever); and I also so glad that it's FRIDAY and we all get a weekend with Daddy. Cheers, friends! Happy donut making and TGIF!

2015 was the year that I managed to keep a New Years Resolution for the first time EVER. If you followed my journey on Instagram, you can find the collection of posts under #piesbyashley.

Here we are, well into another new year, but I wanted to share one of these goodies with you today! Currently in Kentucky, it is pouring rain, dark and dreary; however, this pie is sure to warm up your house AND mood. Inspired by my Grandmother (who lived to be one-hundred years old), blueberry pies are my absolute favorite traditional pie. I was blessed to inherit a couple of her journals and as I turned the pages I would often read bits like this:

"Baked four pies (blueberry) today. Put two in the freezer, ate one, and gave Beth one for the kids. Hope I can get at least four in the freezer. They're so nice to have ready in case of unexpected company..." [August 2, 1996).

My mom baked pies often as well. Living in Michigan, my summers were filled with fresh blueberries and warm, home-made blueberry pies. I have to say for this one, I highly recommend a from-scratch pie crust. There were several times I needed to buy a store bought one (I would often remember the last day of the month that I needed to bake in order to stand true to my Resolution!) After I post the recipe, I'll also share my devastating story that goes along with this particular blueberry pie, so keep reading!

Standard Crust {the recipe my mom and Grandma always used}
*This recipe makes two pie crusts so that you can use one for the lattice topping, should you choose*
2/3C + 2 tablespoons shortening
2C all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 tablespoons COLD water

Directions for the crust:
Cut the shortening into flour and salt until particles are size of small peas.
Sprinkle in the water, 1 TBS at a time, tossing with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans sides of bowl (1-2 TBS can be added if necessary).
Gather the pastry into a ball; divide pastry into halves and shape into two rounds (since this is for a two crust recipe).
Roll pastry two inches larger than inverted pie plate with floured stockinet-covered rolling pin.
Fold pastry into quarters; unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.
Put the second crust once flattened into the fridge until you are finished making the filling.

Filling Ingredients (for an 8 inch pie)
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3C fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon margarine or butter

Directions:
Heat oven to 425-degrees.
Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon and then stir in blueberries.
Pour into the prepared pie crust and sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.
Cover the top crust however you prefer (i.e. lattice or covered with holes poked through)
Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the top crust, 35-45 minutes.
*Cover the edges with 2-3 inch strip of foil if edges are getting too brown*
Allow the pie to cool and then voila! Enjoy with your favorite scoop of ice cream!

I was SUPER proud of this pie. A homemade crust, the beautiful lattice on top, the juicy and bubbly blueberry goodness... So I enjoyed one slice that evening for dinner, as did my kids. We all loved it and sang this recipe many praises. We went to Church the next morning and left the pie pushed back on our kitchen counter. Well... lo and behold, when we came back from the service, the pie dish remained (somehow!!?) on the counter, but the contents were no longer THERE!!!

Our ginormous Chocolate Lab had helped himself to my tasty treat and the blueberry goodness was no more... I actually sat on our steps and when my husband said, "Ash, I'm SO sorry!" I replied, "I am going to need a minute."

Lesson learned, dog. Lesson learned. And next time I make this heavenly pastry, I will NOT be leaving it on the kitchen counter unattended!