Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Good Tuesday morning!

As if our lives aren't "dramatic" enough, Roxie's trying out for the basketball team. She really enjoyed volleyball, but basketball is her favorite sport. We had one cut last night (AND SHE MADE THE CUT), and there is a cut tonight and tomorrow night. We are a bundle of nerves, I tell you!

The Gardendale JV team lost to Mountain Brook 14-3. Josh got to play several times, so he was happy. Tired, dirty, smelly... but definitely happy.

The new Gallery Pics are of Josh when he was just a babe. I'll be adding one or two a day for the rest of the week in honor of his birthday. (Don't worry. No naked baby pictures will be showing up on the blog. I don't want to have a PG rating!)

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST! - Okay. I'm having a little trouble coming up with a snappy name for the contest, but until something comes to mind, I have come up with the rules. Since it's been a year, it is time to take inventory. What works? What doesn't work? What do you like? What do you not like? (Well, actually, I'd rather just stick to what you like. The part where you tell me what you DON'T like will most likely hurt my feelings.)

So, with that being said, I want to make the blog better. There's ALWAYS room for improvement. (Just so you know... the blog stays green. That's non-negotiable.)

The rules are as follows:

1. Pick one or two of the following things you DO like about the blog: Parties, Recipes, Seasonal Traditions, Dates, Books, TV Reviews, Wednesday Wisdom, Weekend Happenings, Weekend Family Fun, Contests.

2. Okay. Now that you've picked one or two, leave me a comment, an e-mail or a note on Facebook (it doesn't matter which one) telling me what you DO like. Be sure and leave your name.

3. When you've given me your input, I'll put your name in a bowl and a name will be drawn out of the bowl on Friday, October 16... the one-year anniversary of "A Simple Life."

4. If you win, you will have a choice between three different $20 prizes. The prizes you will pick from will be "tailor-made" for you and your personality. (If I pick your name, but I don't know you personally, I will send you a $20 gift card to your favorite store or restaurant.) Oh, and just so you know... that $20 gift card is an option for ANYONE who might win.

5. You have until midnight, Thursday, October 15 to leave a comment, e-mail or Facebook message, so there is plenty of time. Get busy. I'll post the rules every two to three days as a reminder.

Josh's Birth Day Story - Part Two

Yes. My EX-friend, Shelly, had to pay dearly for keeping me from my hot fudge cake minutes before I found out I could not eat sweets for 25 more weeks. I made her give me a Wipe and Dipe Shower. It was very nice, and she said she would have hosted it for me (punishment or not), but I have my doubts.

My second little complication with Josh's pregnancy came in the form of a migraine. I had never had a migraine before his pregnancy, and I've had three or four a year since he joined the family. Hmmm. I wonder? (I'm not talking the worst migraines in the world either. I have friends who literally have to take two or three days off work because they are so sick. Mine, when I have them, are controlled with Excedrin Migraine and are hormone induced... or living with three men induced... or living with three men and Roxie induced. Whatever the reason, I did want to clarify they are not extremely severe.)

Also, because of the migraines, I visited Cullman's finest (paramedics) fairly often. When you have migraines when you're pregnant, sometimes high blood pressure can be associated with them, and I would run to the Fire Department (one block from our house in Cullman), and they would give me a quick blood pressure check.

Actually, it was one of the highlights of my pregnancy. (I have a special place in my heart for paramedics. Basically, I think they do a difficult job very well and are wonderful additions to any community.) Here in Gardendale, the paramedics are only 3 minutes and 42 seconds away. Unfortunately, we've had to call them a couple of times, so the time response mentioned above is a fact and not an estimation!

Other than those two very small "problems," Josh's pregnancy went by pretty quickly. Especially since I was also taking care of an almost three year-old brother who was more than a little active. Austin was very excited waiting for his new baby brother to arrive.

As I said before, I was bound and determined to NOT have another C-Section. So on the day Josh decided to make an appearance, I reiterated that fact to the registration nurse, the nurse who put in my IV, the aide who came in to get something she forgot in my bathroom and the doctor who was to deliver Josh a mere 14 hours later. I think I made myself abundantly clear.

When the time was right, I received my epidural. Things were going well. They had estimated Josh's weight to be around 8 pounds (more or less), and told me I shouldn't have any problem delivering him without the C-Section.

A few hours later, I received a "boost" for my epidural. Things were going well, but slowly.

A few hours after that, I asked for another boost for my epidural. The doctor told me we were so close to delivering, "WE" didn't need the boost. "WE" were mistaken. I like to call Josh my "Little House on the Prairie" baby because by the time he was born, I had all the modern medical conveniences Laura Engalls' Ma had in the middle of said prairie during that time period (Code for NADA). I would have gladly taken a swig of whiskey and bitten on the nearest bullet.

Josh entered the world gnawing on his little fist weighing in at 9 pounds 12 ounces. Yes, he was 8 pounds (MORE or less).

I will say delivering a baby the "regular" way did have pros. But it definitely had cons, too. Before I left the hospital, I told my doctor one thing. "I'm coming back in three years. I've had a C-Section. I've had a regular delivery. You've got three years to come up with an alternative way to have a kid." And then I took my bouncing baby boy home to meet his really bouncing almost three year-old brother!

And then the fun really began!

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Guess what I have? The new Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine (October/November 2009). Guess what I found? Tons of recipes and other fall ideas (decorations, etc.). The magazine is a feast for your eyes. It is so pretty. I'm sharing the Butterscotch Bread Pudding recipe from the magazine with you today.

You will need:

8 cups stale French bread cubes (1" cubes)
1 12-ounce package butterscotch morsels, divided
2 cups whole milk, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13" x 9" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread bread cubes and 2/3 cup butterscotch morsels in bottom of prepared baking dish.

2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook 1 cup milk over medium heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes, or just until tiny bubbles form around edge of saucepan (do not boil); remove from heat. Add remaining butterscotch morsels, stirring until melted. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.

3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1 cup milk, eggs and vanilla. Gradually stir about 1/4 of hot butterscotch mixture into egg mixture; add egg mixture to remaining hot butterscotch mixture, stirring constantly. Pour over bread cubes in baking dish, pressing bread cubes to absorb mixture.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired. (Are you kidding me? If desired? Who do they think they're talking to?)

I know what I'm doing tomorrow. I made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins today (recipe from Becky's Blog on my sidebar almost a year ago), so tomorrow I feel the need to make Butterscotch Bread Pudding. I've never made bread pudding before, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

Have a glorious fall Tuesday! Our forecast calls for rain off and on for the remainder of the week. We're getting used to it, I think. We don't like it... but we are getting used to it. September is now being referred to as the "rainy season" in Alabama. Tomorrow we'll have the usual... Wednesday Wisdom, a seasonal tradition and Part Three of Josh's Birth Day Story. Check back in if you get a moment.

Take care, and I'll talk to you later.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting and Extremely Autumnal Belinda