Not a Fan

I was excited to start someone on cereal since she hits the 6 month milestone this week.  

She wasn't as thrilled...

Pizza Rolls

After 7 years of marriage, I have discovered that "leftovers" are not a popular item on the dinner table.  I came across this recipe idea some time ago and it is always a hit with my family.

PIZZA ROLLS

Leftover tomato meat sauce

1 cup or so of shredded mozzarella cheese

Handful of pepperoni cut up

Generous sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese   

1 loaf frozen bread dough (AKA my BFF)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients (minus thawed out bread dough) in mixing bowl.

Feed pepperoni to the masses that have come to "help."

Spread mixture onto stretched out bread dough.  (Poking fingers in the top is optional.) 

Starting from the bottom, roll lengthwise like a jelly-roll.

Slice roll and place on greased baking sheet. 

Continue feeding pepperoni to anyone who is left in the kitchen while the pizza rolls bake for 20 - 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  

Thankfully some assistants aren't as hands-on as others! 

Finished!

"When 2 Year-Olds Don't Take Naps"

He's trying to combine two of his favorite things...

eating and sleeping.  

The Evolution of a "Mom Haircut."

Pre-children:

One child:

**Also one of the last ponytail sightings.

Getting Shorter:

One last hurrah before Baby #2 arrives:

2 Kids:

**Also less than 24 hours after delivering Baby #2, that's why I look so fantastic!

Even Shorter...

3 Kids:

Most recent cut:

Might have to resort to a buzz next...not sure if that would make me a "cool mom."

Grilled Cheese Gone Wrong

I left the children (and lunch responsibilities) with Ryan the other day to run some errands.  When I pulled into the garage I immediately detected the smell of something burnt.  Upon entering the house my suspicion was confirmed: burnt grilled cheese.  And the pan it had been made in was looking like this:

Needless to say, it did not scrub clean.  I thought I remembered that boiling apple cider vinegar in a pan would remove the burnt mark.  With none on hand I resorted to red wine vinegar.

I put about 1 cup of red wine vinegar (I am sure regular vinegar would work, too) into the pan and boiled it for a good 5 minutes, gently scrubbing it with a spatula.  Then I removed it from the heat and gave it a good scrub.  And...it came out like this:

About 99% of the burnt marking came off.  I'd say it was pretty successful!

PS - I highly recommend lighting a candle (or 10) if you need to resort to this.  Or your 5 year-old will ask what is making that stinky smell.

Ed. note - I left Ryan home with 4 kids and lunchtime pending and returned to find them all feed, kitchen clean, and baby happy.

N to the ASCAR

If you had asked me who Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was or what exactly NASCAR was 10 years ago I probably would have had no idea.  Today it's quite a different story...

Yesterday was the 53rd Daytona 500 and the kickoff to this year's NASCAR season.  This is my husband's favorite day of the year.  And his love for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is no secret, either.  All weekend long our TV announced the pre-pre-pre-race coverage, the pre-pre-race concerts, the pre-race coverage, the glorious 4 hours of the actual race on Sunday, and the post-race coverage.

After a long weekend and a full day, Clare was very tired last night when Ryan was getting her ready for bed.  Out of exhaustion she started crying and when he had her calmed down she let him know, "I'm just sad because Dale Earnhardt didn't win the race."

We eat, sleep, bleed, and cry NASCAR over here.      

The Sun Will Come Out...

This week has just been all around rotten here.  

There, I said it.  

But it just seems like we've been in a bad rut of sorts.    

I'm hoping for better things next week and in the weeks to come.  Not trying to dwell on the recent "lemons," I was trying to think of the happier events from the last couple of days and came up with five things that made me smile this week.

So here they are in no particular order...  

1.  Belting out songs from the "Annie" soundtrack while in the car with the kids.  I love the lyrics they pick up from the songs.  And the way Clare even says the line, " Ah, the lovely Boylan sisters!" 

2. Snuggling with Jude while he, Ryan, and I read books in our bed the other night while the girls were asleep.  Nothing is sweeter than a 2 year-old in footie pajamas.

3. Hearing Clare answer the questions I asked her from some of the kindergarten paperwork I had to fill out:

  Q: "What are your child's feelings about kindergarten?"

  A: "Excited!  And really really happy about it."

4. Ellen so close to sitting by herself.  And the fact that she couldn't be any sweeter, or cuter, or chunkier.

5. The beautiful weather we had at the end of the week.  Nothing beats the sun streaming through the clouds.

Not quite warm enough for this, but after grey skies and a foot of snow, the sun was a nice change!  

"TGIF!" 

I don't get it...

I don't know if I'll ever understand the masking tape obsession around here.

Magazine Flowers

We always seem to make these in the winter.  Easy for my kids to do and it keeps them busy for awhile!

  

Start with an old magazine.  

Fold page in half (do not crease the fold) and glue down on the spine of the magazine.    

The folded pages will begin to form a flower-like shape.  

Glue all of the pages in the same way.  When you reach the back cover, attach to the front cover.  

Let dry.

Loop string through one "petal," hang, and enjoy the first sign of spring.  

And So It Begins.

My male offspring went grocery shopping with me.  And we came home with this:

It probably had rays of light streaming out of it in his mind.
At this rate his teenage appetite should be very interesting!

(Sidenote: His new favorite snack is hummus.  Hummus!  What
2 year-old boy enjoys hummus?!?!)    

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweets for my sweets!

**Or what to do with leftover candy canes that Santa brought and no one was interested in after December 25.

On another note, could I ask you to please send some love and prayers to our friends who had twin baby boys last Friday?  They lost the one baby, Dawson, over the weekend.  I can't even begin to imagine their sorrow and heartache for such a great loss. Please keep the Davis family in your prayers.

"Jesus called them to Him saying, 

'Let the children come to me, and 

do not hinder them, for to such 

belongs the kingdom of God.' " 

- Luke 18:16

Valentine Fortune Cookies

This was so easy to make and the kids got a kick out of them.  (I originally saw this idea here.  You can follow their tutorial or see my lovely pictures and model below...)

Cut circle shape out of felt.  (Mine are about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.)

Next, cut a piece of floral wire shorter than the diameter of the circle and glue in place.  

I just glued another piece of felt to cover the wire.

Wait about 30 minutes until glue is dry.

Then, fold circle in half using wire as a guide.  

Next, pinch wire together to form fortune cookie shape. 

Stick notes or candy inside. 

Enjoy!

Linking with these parties.

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