Aggies/football/Recipes/tailgate

Falling for Pumpkin

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments
I never understood the hype surrounding pumpkin until a year or so ago. Ya Ya brought pumpkin soup to tailgate, and it was so good! That pretty much got me started. Last year at Thanksgiving, I made a pumpkin cake that put me over the edge–pumpkin is good!

Looking back, I couldn’t remember why I didn’t like pumpkin–or why I thought I didn’t like it. However, when I made these pumpkin brownies a couple of weeks ago (the weekend of Baby Gray’s birthday) I realized why. As we were headed out the door on our way to College Station, I offered Mr. Gray and Annie some of these delicious brownies; I had been eating them all day. Mr. Gray enjoyed his as much as I had, and Annie obliged, but did not like it one bit. It wasn’t that I didn’t like pumpkin, she didn’t like pumpkin so we didn’t have it much growing up. Mystery solved!

To make up for all the years I missed out on eating pumpkin, I think I ate a pumpkin chip brownie with every meal that tailgate weekend! Ahh! 

To get started, line an 11″ x 17″ pan with foil. I like to sprinkle a little powdered sugar on mine for two reasons: first, it keeps the brownies from sticking; second, it adds a little extra sticky sweet! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

You will need: 
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp unsweetened cocoa (I use Hershey’s) 
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 Add the pumpkin, eggs, and oil to one bowl and mix until smooth. Then set aside. 

In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cocoa, spices, salt, and brown sugar. Stir to combine and then add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Once it is combined well, fold in chocolate chips. 

Spread batter into the pan; it will be thin and a little sticky. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 19-21 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Voila! Absolutely do not eat all of these in one setting. It’s just too much! I’ll keep telling myself that. 

Thank goodness I had these brownies to distract me after the game. We played Oklahoma State tough the first half, but something fell apart the second half. Baby Gray and I were in the Alumni Center during the first half due to the heat, but we made it in time to watch things self-destruct. 

As we were headed to Kyle, we ran into @scheske, and she took this super cute photo of Baby Gray and in the big ring. This isn’t a great photo of my shirt, but it’s so cute–even if I do say so myself! BeBe Gear has tons of adorable upcycled stuff! This shirt was actually Mr. Gray’s, but now it’s even better! I just ordered another one from her last night!
Aggies/family/tradition

It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose…

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
I don’t think anyone questions where my Aggie loyalty stands–even when we’re blowing seventeen and eighteen point leads. It breaks my heart to see all the ugly comments following games that we lose, especially because being an Aggie is so much more than winning football games; I certainly won’t complain when we win, though.

This weekend, some friends of ours got to experience the real meaning of being part of the Aggie Family. You can find the story here. I’m proud to be an Aggie every day, but this really did it for me. I encourage you to check out their story and add them to your prayer list. If you’re a trash-talkin’ Ag, I encourage you to re-think what you’re saying and remember you are part of something so much more important than just a football team. 

Photo courtesy of www.andreariojas.blogspot.com

organization

… and After

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Because we all know how good I am at not remembering to take photos of the whole process, all I have for you is the after photo of my pantry re-vamp. 

Please excuse the poor lighting, we have windows on either side of the pantry.

Let me tell you, my pantry was neat and tidy before; it just didn’t make sense. When we added a third mouth to feed, we just sort of threw his stuff into the pantry where it fit. I don’t do well with things that don’t make sense. So, I fixed it.

I have a slight addiction to dishes and such. You’ll find a slight piece of this collection on the top shelf. Going down, we have grown up snack food. Next is Baby Gray’s food; yes, he needs an entire shelf to himself. After that is cooking stuff, followed by baking stuff. The bottom houses Rooster’s stuff, knives, and kitchen extras. I was able to consolidate some things as well as make it all make sense. Plus, now Baby Gray’s stuff isn’t in a child-proofed cabinet, which will help a ton at meal times.
Baby Gray/doctor/ethics/vaccinations

Well, Baby?

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Baby Gray had his twelve-month well baby check this morning. 

After his developmental “testing” they always give him a book to take home. We read it while we wait on the doctor. Trucks seems to be a hit so far! He has hauled it all around since we left the doctor’s office. He is doing wonderfully both in his growth and development. It always cracks me up when he doesn’t do something while we’re there. Today it was throwing the ball. Really? That’s what he does all day. He throws the ball to me, throws it for Rooster to chase, throws it and chases it himself, and on and on. Of course that’s what he chose to withhold for the nurse. 

He weighs 23 pounds, 8 ounces (61st percentile), is 29.75 inches long (49th percentile), and his head is 18.75 inches (83rd percentile). I still can’t believe he’s not higher in his height–Mr. Gray is a pretty tall guy! 

I knew we were scheduled for new vaccinations today, so I called last week to see what they were specifically. I wanted to have time to check to see that they were ethically made. Unfortunately, the vaccinations we were scheduled for all contained fetal cells. While I have read that there are some ethically made alternatives, they were not readily available. I declined the scheduled vaccinations today in order to do more research.  I am hoping to find alternatives that are ethically produced and get the vaccinations.
Baby Gray/photos/Recipes

A Smashing Sneak Peek

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 2 Comments
I love this little cake (obviously, the cake is not finished in this photo; what would be the fun in that?) 

These little layer cakes are quick and easy for a colorful treat! 

You will need: 
1 box white cake mix (and ingredients)
Food coloring, various
Frosting of choice

To make: 
  • Preheat oven as directed on cake box
  • Grease and flour your baking dishes (it will vary depending on size you want and how many colors)
  • Make cake mix as prepared
  • Divide batter into equal portions in separate bowls
  • Tint divided batter with food coloring (I used quite a bit of food color to make sure my colors were bold) 
  • Bake according to package directions, check with a toothpick
  • Let cakes sit for a few minutes before inverting and allowing to cool on a flat surface (these cakes don’t hold up well against wire cooling racks)
  • Allow cakes to cool all the way before frosting
  • Frost in between each layer of cake to help the layers stick while you stack them
  • Frost the cake
  • Cut into the cake, enjoy the beauty, and then eat up!
applique/Baby Gray/sewing

One of a Kind Decor

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
Are you sick of birthday posts yet? Just a few more! I promise. 
As they say, the devil is in the details. This is always what kills me. I want each and every detail to tie in to the theme of my party or event. To ensure I was within my theme, I usually end up making a few things. I built Baby Gray’s party around the camo and red theme we’ve been using for various things throughout the year.
Basically, I took this: 
And turned it into this:
I couldn’t find a flag that worked for me, so I made this one–FREE! I already had the materials, so I just had to put it together. I cut a piece of burlap and did a quick stitch around all four edges (this is how Nonna made the table runners, also). I used a bowl to trace my camo circle then fused the circle to the burlap. I fused the red to the camo. Once I had the circle and the one fuzed, I was able to sew around all the edges. 
These centerpieces were a pain in the booty, but they were so cute they may have been worth it. I saw several variations of this online a while back. What they didn’t tell you in the online forums is that these were likely reinforced with a foam ball (think floral arrangement) to make the suckers stand up better. Mine weren’t nearly as cute.
The plates are clear plastic plates with vinyl H’s stuck to the underside (the opposite side from where food will be on the plate). For our H, the reversal didn’t matter, but if you do another letter, color, shape, or whatever, be sure you cut the cut-out on the reverse; you don’t want to stick the sticky and then have backwards plates. 
Of course I made a shirt! You can’t have a party without a custom shirt. I see many more appliqued shirts in my future–you know, until he can tell me he doesn’t want to wear that.
Baby Gray/birthday/one year

The Day We’ve Been Waiting For!

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 0 Comment
On this day last year, our sweet Baby Gray was born. It’s so hard to believe it’s been a whole year–I know I keep saying that, but it’s so true! I have treasured each moment with my boy. It’s an incredible feeling, being a parent. 

Birthdays are so much fun for me anyway. I love to give gifts and go out of my way to make the day extra special. Even though Baby Gray won’t remember the day, I wanted it to be a fun filled reminder of the joy he brings.

Last night, I got everything ready for Baby Gray’s big day (note: we switched the theme up a little for today). 

Mr. Gray blew up balloons and I made a “one” shirt for him to wear. I also made a super cute multi-colored layer cake for his “smash the cake” photos today (don’t you worry, photos are coming). I didn’t want him to sleep with the balloons in his room in case one popped, so I kicked them all in as I walked in this morning. He didn’t know what to think. It was a definite change from the norm; I’m pretty sure he liked it, though.

One he got out of his crib, he chased the balloons all over his room! He was lovin’ it! His little fingernails had such a grip on the balloons, I was sure we’d lose one, but they are all still in tact.

He had a super special pancake for breakfast–a number one! This boy loves pancakes and waffles, no matter what shape I make them (I’m pretty sure this was more for me; I keep telling myself he’ll enjoy it more next year). 

We had a lunch date with Mr. Gray, PawPaw, T-Paw, and Annie in my hometown as well as Baby Gray’s photo session this afternoon. I love having his photo taken with fun, colorful props and our photog’s great ideas. I can’t wait to see how they turned out. The ones I peeked at on the camera display were amazing. Ahh! Can’t wait.

Baby Gray’s balloons were waiting for him in the living room when we got back; he was more than ready to play with them. He played and played! Each time he would try to grab the balloons, they would slip a little. Sometimes they would shoot out across the room and he would chase them down–too funny! Once Mr. Gray got home, he joined in the fun!


Tonight, we had dinner with our wonderful Heart Group. Baby Gray was serenaded by the girls. It was adorable! I can’t wait to watch these kids grow up together.
Baby Gray/birthday/blessings

364

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment
As today comes to a close, I am completely overwhelmed by the love and support our family has. We had a packed house today to celebrate Baby Gray’s first year. 
He is so loved–it blows me away. I always plan for way more people than I expect to come to anything we host; today was the first time I have ever come close to underestimating.

We planned to have most of the party outside since we have the deck, which gives us plenty of room to get set up and spread out. Unfortunately, while we were in College Station, we left the sprinklers on (our neighbor called mid-way through the game (Game? What game? There was no game.) to let me know. They were able to get into the yard and get the water turned off in enough time that it dried some before today’s festivities. We have (had; it’s clean now) the only muddy house in the neighborhood, for sure! 



As much fun as everything was, I have to say my favorite part of the entire afternoon was Baby Gray dancing as people sang Happy Birthday to him (that’s what I’m laughing at in this photo). I suspected he was going to do it, but I would have been really disappointed if he didn’t. 
He wasn’t too interested in the cake. Instead, he continued to point at the fruit on the serving table. We gave him fruit, and he left most of his cake on his tray. He must not really be my son if the sweet tooth didn’t get passed down.

He did eat enough camo (inside and out) cake to need a quick rinse before the pinata.

 

The pinata was a blast! We had quite a few young kiddos, but Bubby was able to break it right open for us! Thankfully we went smallest to tallest–we saved the best for last!

I just can’t believe it’s already been a year (well, tomorrow… eh, today) since we became Gray, party of three.
blessings/life/prayer/priorities/testimony

Why Ask Why?

Posted on by Mrs Gray / 1 Comment
As I’m wrapping up the second of three super-busy weeks, I have asked myself several times if my priorities are in the right place. Am I making time for what matters or for fluff? 

Obviously, some things are non-negotiable, but what about the little pieces that are? As I took a mental inventory earlier this week, I kept coming back to blogging. Why am I making time to blog? Why is it important to me to blog on the weekdays (if a post is on a Saturday or Sunday, it was pre-written and set to post; those are family days) rather than spend my time doing something else? The more I thought about it, the more convinced I am that I need to write. It is a non-negotiable for me. 

I have been an on-again, off-again journal-er most of my life. I have always enjoyed writing–in any format. When I was in the third grade, I had a teacher who had done the New Jersey Writing Project. We spent a vast majority of our time writing. I was in heaven! 

Fast forward almost twenty years: this site has been such an amazing and enjoyable outlet for me. I started off slowly, only writing once or twice every week or so. Now I write more often, and while some of my entries seem trivial, it’s fun to share. I love to hear people say they read my post and tried my recipe, meal plan, shoes, or what have you.

I am living the life I prayed for–the life of a stay at home mom. My daily activities bring me so much joy–I want to shout from the rooftops what God has done to get me here! While I don’t have scripture quoted in each post and being in a flash mob probably wasn’t a desire of the Proverbs 31 woman, the main idea of all that is The Gray Matters is that God has provided a beautiful life for us. He has given me stories and ideas to shape my family and my life. He has given me ways to make things faster, more efficient, and more cost-effective. He didn’t just hand all these things to me on a silver platter. People shared; I prayed, responded, and implemented. I don’t have all the answers, and I can’t change your life. However, I would love to make a difference. I can tell you what I did to change mine, and, much more importantly, what He did to make it happen.

I’m certainly not in this to get famous; I’m in it to share our stories. We’re no different from anyone else–but that’s the beauty of it! We’re a regular family, just like yours. It brings me joy when people say they read what I wrote and were able to make a positive change in their own life. The Gray Matters is my testimony–it showcases my triumphs and my shortfalls. It is my story, our story, penned by the grace of a Savior who is merciful and faithful.