Summer weather brings wonderful fruit in season and it's time to have cool light desserts for the family. I just made cheesecake dip for the kids to dip their fruit into and it was the perfect ending to a nice grilled meal.
Try this recipe:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
Fresh Fruit Dippers: Whole Strawberries, Cut-up Peaches, Nectarines, Kiwifruit; Pineapple, Cantaloupe, Banana, Apples and even Grapes
Graham cracker crumbs for topping
1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the sour cream, sugar, milk and extract; mix until smooth. Spoon mixture into a serving bowl.
2. To Serve: Arrange fresh fruit on a serving platter around the bowl of Cheesecake Dip and sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top and you can add a bowl of graham cracker crumbs to roll their dipped fruit into for added crunch.
Makes about 2 cups dip.
*1/2 teaspoon almond extract can be used in place of the vanilla, if desired.
Family Best: Life, Family, Farm, Fun, Food and Everything Else Under The North Georgia Mountains Sun!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Adjustments
Ziggy is getting adjusted to his new home and he plays with all the energy he can muster running like a bolt of lightning, at least in his mind. He is hilarious to watch. He has no fear, in true chihuahua disposition and will stand up on his hind legs and nip and wrestle with the other dogs, even trying to take their toys from them. When he's expended all the energy he can muster he just passes out. He has kept us all quite entertained and laughing often the last two days.
He and Phoebe have gotten quite close, they wrestle and he jumps on her back but she loves every moment of it being the mommy dog and loving to nurture. She has missed not having puppies in the house since we got her spayed.
Smoochie is still trying to figure out if he likes the new puppy or not. He is beginning to play with him and is less concerned he will get the attention of everyone, but is still trying to take everything away from him and keeps a bit of a "I'm still the baby" attitude as you can see in his photo, he's sticking out his tongue at him!
When Ziggy has run out of energy he sleeps like a rock and is adorable! Who can resist a darling sleeping puppy or child? They are so sweet when they are sleeping aren't they?
He seems to be adjusting to the camera in his face all the time. He doesn't mind the flash but sometimes he does seem to think "Are you done yet?" I'm sure he feels like a celebrity being chased by paparazzi.
Who can resist loving this precious boy? He's just so photogenic and sweet and is going to be quite feisty as he continues to grow and adjust to his new home.
He and Phoebe have gotten quite close, they wrestle and he jumps on her back but she loves every moment of it being the mommy dog and loving to nurture. She has missed not having puppies in the house since we got her spayed.
Smoochie is still trying to figure out if he likes the new puppy or not. He is beginning to play with him and is less concerned he will get the attention of everyone, but is still trying to take everything away from him and keeps a bit of a "I'm still the baby" attitude as you can see in his photo, he's sticking out his tongue at him!
When Ziggy has run out of energy he sleeps like a rock and is adorable! Who can resist a darling sleeping puppy or child? They are so sweet when they are sleeping aren't they?
He seems to be adjusting to the camera in his face all the time. He doesn't mind the flash but sometimes he does seem to think "Are you done yet?" I'm sure he feels like a celebrity being chased by paparazzi.
Who can resist loving this precious boy? He's just so photogenic and sweet and is going to be quite feisty as he continues to grow and adjust to his new home.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Welcome Ziggy!
Introducing the new addition to our family our tiny Chihuahua, Ziggy! He is 7 weeks old and is full of energy when he's not sleeping. What an adorable joy he is already in our household and to our family.
He came home last night and the Dachshunds were very excited to get to know him. Phoebe, our female immediately wanted to baby him and mother him.
Delbert our older male dachshund was interested and probably was thinking "oh no, another baby" but very gentle and loving.
Smoochie was a little more weary being that he has always been the baby in the house the offspring of Delbert and Phoebe and very spoiled by everyone. However, he is trying to get to know Ziggy and just wants to take the toys from him but otherwise is getting adjusted.
Ziggy seems to be quite happy with his new home and hasn't whined or cried once yet. He is eating well and sleeping a lot like babies do and is enjoying going outdoors every couple of hours with the other dogs. He is precious and tiny. He is about 12 ounces in weight and is 6 inches tall, if that! He is about the size of a soda can. Our daughter Keegan is his little mommy and shes taking very good care of him around the clock.
The entire family is enamored with this adorable darling and we can't believe how we all fell in love immediately. His personality is not quite showing through but you can tell that he will be quite feisty when he gets a bit older.
There will be many stories to tell and exciting adventures ahead for our family and Ziggy as he begins to grow up in our household and part of our family. We look forward to sharing them with everyone.
He came home last night and the Dachshunds were very excited to get to know him. Phoebe, our female immediately wanted to baby him and mother him.
Delbert our older male dachshund was interested and probably was thinking "oh no, another baby" but very gentle and loving.
Smoochie was a little more weary being that he has always been the baby in the house the offspring of Delbert and Phoebe and very spoiled by everyone. However, he is trying to get to know Ziggy and just wants to take the toys from him but otherwise is getting adjusted.
Ziggy seems to be quite happy with his new home and hasn't whined or cried once yet. He is eating well and sleeping a lot like babies do and is enjoying going outdoors every couple of hours with the other dogs. He is precious and tiny. He is about 12 ounces in weight and is 6 inches tall, if that! He is about the size of a soda can. Our daughter Keegan is his little mommy and shes taking very good care of him around the clock.
The entire family is enamored with this adorable darling and we can't believe how we all fell in love immediately. His personality is not quite showing through but you can tell that he will be quite feisty when he gets a bit older.
There will be many stories to tell and exciting adventures ahead for our family and Ziggy as he begins to grow up in our household and part of our family. We look forward to sharing them with everyone.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Adventure Begins
The adventure is just beginning although the search seemed exhausting. Wading through experiments with advertising on the Internet and emailing and visiting to see if we could find the new baby for our home has seemed tedious. Finally, a litter of three male Chihuahua's needing a home, in the right price range and from a home that was loving and a mommy dog that was just adorable found me. To save a lot of heartache and whining from the family, I did a little research on my own and any of the three baby boys would be perfect. Now, the excitement begins when we take the family to pick out which one we want and bring the new darling home to begin its new life.
This evening we will venture out and bring one of the boys home. What will we name him? Do you have any suggestions? All will be considered so please feel free to give us some name suggestions! That will be a large debate as the evening progresses and there will be arguing as the perfect name for our new baby boy rings true and sticks. The three dachshunds will be excited and perplexed with the new addition as I'm sure they have not paid any attention to the discussions on the new puppy. I am sure the evening will run late into the night with the family buzzing and rambunctious over our addition.
The first thing to do before going to get our new joyful baby is to make a stop at the store to gather some supplies. You have to be prepared for a new puppy and have some items on hand before we go and get him. Puppy food is the main thing we need first, and being that I've already done a little pre-puppy investigation, we know what kind we need to purchase. It's always good to keep the puppy on the same food it has been eating so that there aren't any tummy troubles right away. There is enough stress in the babies life living its mother and siblings and going into a new place you don't want to change its diet as well. A collar and leash to begin training early, although a new tiny puppy isn't going to wander off, it's always good to get them used to it as early as possible. Chew toys for those needle sharp puppy teeth to grind into and something soft and warm to cuddle up with makes the transition a little easier on the puppy. A package of puppy potty pads are a must with a new puppy in the house. I can't speak more highly of this product, having had puppies from my dachshunds, I know they work wonders and whatever makes the puppy go right to them is a miracle.
Some ground rules for the children need to be set beforehand so that there isn't a lot of stressful arguing and the puppy doesn't get scared. Everyone will want to hold him and have him with them at all times. Puppies need a lot of love and attention but don't need to be smothered. A schedule as close to the one the puppy has been living with will need to be worked into our schedule. Having the kids home during summer vacation is quite helpful for taking the puppy outside often when I don't have the time and by the time school starts the puppy will be used to its new routine. Puppies sleep a lot and need their rest as well, so making sure the new baby gets plenty of quality sleep and play time when he needs it will be mandatory.
The excitement is brewing and I know the family will be head over heels in love with our new baby boy. I am so excited I can hardly wait for this evening for all of us to go and get him. This journey will be exciting and there will be frustration ahead, happiness, entertainment and humor not to mention late night crying and going outside in the middle of the night for potty trips and most of all a lot of little kisses from our new joyful addition.
Stay tuned for updates and new adventures as our life begins this new journey with our new addition!
This evening we will venture out and bring one of the boys home. What will we name him? Do you have any suggestions? All will be considered so please feel free to give us some name suggestions! That will be a large debate as the evening progresses and there will be arguing as the perfect name for our new baby boy rings true and sticks. The three dachshunds will be excited and perplexed with the new addition as I'm sure they have not paid any attention to the discussions on the new puppy. I am sure the evening will run late into the night with the family buzzing and rambunctious over our addition.
The first thing to do before going to get our new joyful baby is to make a stop at the store to gather some supplies. You have to be prepared for a new puppy and have some items on hand before we go and get him. Puppy food is the main thing we need first, and being that I've already done a little pre-puppy investigation, we know what kind we need to purchase. It's always good to keep the puppy on the same food it has been eating so that there aren't any tummy troubles right away. There is enough stress in the babies life living its mother and siblings and going into a new place you don't want to change its diet as well. A collar and leash to begin training early, although a new tiny puppy isn't going to wander off, it's always good to get them used to it as early as possible. Chew toys for those needle sharp puppy teeth to grind into and something soft and warm to cuddle up with makes the transition a little easier on the puppy. A package of puppy potty pads are a must with a new puppy in the house. I can't speak more highly of this product, having had puppies from my dachshunds, I know they work wonders and whatever makes the puppy go right to them is a miracle.
Some ground rules for the children need to be set beforehand so that there isn't a lot of stressful arguing and the puppy doesn't get scared. Everyone will want to hold him and have him with them at all times. Puppies need a lot of love and attention but don't need to be smothered. A schedule as close to the one the puppy has been living with will need to be worked into our schedule. Having the kids home during summer vacation is quite helpful for taking the puppy outside often when I don't have the time and by the time school starts the puppy will be used to its new routine. Puppies sleep a lot and need their rest as well, so making sure the new baby gets plenty of quality sleep and play time when he needs it will be mandatory.
The excitement is brewing and I know the family will be head over heels in love with our new baby boy. I am so excited I can hardly wait for this evening for all of us to go and get him. This journey will be exciting and there will be frustration ahead, happiness, entertainment and humor not to mention late night crying and going outside in the middle of the night for potty trips and most of all a lot of little kisses from our new joyful addition.
Stay tuned for updates and new adventures as our life begins this new journey with our new addition!
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