Rainy Saturday Morning

I hardly ever post something not related to food, but this is my exception. There won't be any recipes or pictures of food, but I will talk a little about food--I'm kind of narrowly focused that way.

   Ya know something, having kids will turn you into a morning person. I used to be such a night owl. Staying up most of the night and sleeping away half the day. And when forced to get up before the sun, boy was I grumpy and very much non-talkative. While my sleeping habits have changed over the last 2 years, the grumpiness was something that didn't change. Then recently, say within the last month or two, I started setting my alarm for 6:15 am. Yes, on purpose! I never thought the day would come. haha The point, of course, is to get up before the girls, shower and get dressed, take the dog out, and get coffee started. With the girls getting up between 7 and 7:30--usually--this morning routine gave me plenty of time to wake up and leave the grumpiness behind. 
   Now I sit here on a Saturday morning. Before 7 am with my 4-year-old. Without an alarm, I got up around 6:30 this morning and showered and got back into my jammies. :) My 4-year-old found me in the kitchen, heating up a cup of coffee, and was surprised that I was up--just as I was surprised to find her awake. I told her I couldn't sleep and she looks out the sliding glass doors and says that it is still dark out so it's not even morning. :) I told her it was just early. We've been snuggling on the couch watching shows of her choice while I've been sipping my coffee. We have since been joined by my 18-month-old, who is snacking on some dry cereal. What a fabulous way to start my weekend. Cuddling with Kyleigh in a quiet house--I know it won't stay that way for long. :)


   Tomorrow is SuperBowl Sunday! While I can't be thrilled with it, seeing  as how the Colts didn't make it, I am so excited by the excuse it gives to throw a party with great food. Is that just me?
I only ask because I've thought a lot about the food I want to make to contribute to the party my in-laws are having but my ideas (and thus excitement) have been met with lukewarm responses at best. I love having a reason to make food and especially when it has kind of a theme to go along. Okay, I'll let you in on what I want to do and see what you think.
   To represent the Green Bay Packers, I'm putting a fun spin on the classic 'Pigs in a Blanket'. I've bought two packs of Bratwurst: one is plain while the other has been made with beer. I also picked up some Wisconsin Aged Sharp Cheddar cheese. C'mon, it's a touchdown in every bite! Brats, beer, and cheese-Wisconsin in a single food!
   For the Pittsburgh Steelers, a childhood favorite of mine, I did a little research to see what would be authentic Pittsburgh food. I found pierogies! Homemade, too!!! So I will be making Potato and Cheese Pierogies. Half of those will actually have Jalapeno cheese stuffed with the potatoes--for a little kick. :)
   I'm a baker, so I can't contribute food without having something sweet. I've decided to go simple in recipe, but super fun in decoration. I'm going to make pig-shaped sugar cookies decorated using royal icing. They will look like piggie football players with the Green Bay logo on half of the cookies and the Steelers logo on the other half.
   That sounds fun, right? I'm super excited! Kyleigh and I drew some pictures up of how I'm going to decorate the cookies, I'll post pictures later.