New Neighbors

We finally have new neighbors...the house next door was vacant for over a year...Logan and I kept wondering who might move in...I know he wants a 9 year old boy who likes to play legos, basketball, and video games.

To help welcome this new family, we busted out a new Christmas gift (from a family we wish were our neighbors!), the donut hole maker.

This groovy machine makes Millions of holes. This time around they came out a little dense, more like cake then a donut, so I decided to put them on a stick and add a little bling.

Logan and Caden LOVED the pops. Caden ate about a dozen, one after another.

New Neighbors...the possibility are endless, we will have to wait and see...

Banana Nut Pout

This was a super fast, super easy holiday treat I made for Logan and Caden's teachers. I used this recipe. Both my mom and my father in law make awesome banana bread but I feel less guilty when I enjoy this version from Cooking Light.

Patriotic Breakfast

We kicked off our Independence Day with the good ol Red White and Blue

Cream Cheese on Cinnamon Swirl Bread topped with strawberries and blueberries...YUM!

Star Spangled Strawberries

Chocolate Covered Strawberries are a family favorite. This year for the 4th, I was trying to find a way to use the fun mold that I picked up at the dollar store...so here are the results...
Star Spangled Strawberries



I sprinkled blue sugar on the bottom of the ice cube tray. (I put more sugar in the second batch to get more blue)

Then I poured the melted white chocolate

and plopped in the strawberries..be sure they are dry!

Let them chill in the fridge for a few hours to get nice and firm and pop them out carefully.

Good Morning Sunshine!!

In honor of the first day of summer vacation, I made sunshine pancakes for breakfast. We don't need to mention that we didn't actually see the sun until after two. They were super simple to make and got easier with a little practice.

I started with basic pancake mix, yellow food coloring and a squeeze bottle (Target $ spot) I also had some yellow sugar in the cabinet so I sprinkled that on at the end with a little butter to help it stick.

Using the squirt bottle, I made a spiral circle first and then quickly made the rays. I learned you want 7 or more rays or else it will look like a star (yes, I know the sun is a star but I was going for the iconic summertime sun, not a holiday star)

Ta-Dah!

Summer Break starting off right!!

Need to try all of these!!

I want to make all of these but until I get around to it, I'll let you give them a try

Peanut Butter Bites
Chocolava Cookies
Zucchini bites
Homemade Cheese Crackers
Pizza Puffs
Plum Sangria
Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Appreciating Teachers and more!

To help honor the AMAZING teachers and staff at Logan and Caden's schools, I put together little treats. I was inspired by this super cute post. I started with these AdOrAbLe cupcake molds and filled them with your basic brownie recipe. So super easy!

Then I put together the stars with fun sign I made for the school secretary and nurse.

The other flower shaped brownies looked like mini bunt cakes when inverted, so I cut a circle about the size of the cake out of paper plate and then wrapped up each cake with the super cute printable from here. I love finding creative people who help me look good!!

The boys also made cards which was totally adorable...and yes, Caden's glitter card was still a little wet 3 days later :) That boy loves glue and glitter!

Easter S'mores

Our family seems to LOVE the idea of Easter Candy but then tends to forget about it almost immediately, so we end up with a decent supply of uneaten candy. Don't misunderstand...my almost 3 year old would probably polish it all off in a single sitting if we let him but the rest of us take a more controlled approach. So what should we do with a big pack of bunny peeps and half of a chocolate bunny....grab some graham crackers and toast some s'mores!!

For My Peeps

I am SOOOOOO slacking on Easter this year...I found some great ideas I'll post soon but for now here is a little something we made last year...chocolate covered marshmallows...can't go WRONG!

spicy hot yum

Keeping with the jalapeno theme...just look at this sandwich...I'm not the biggest pepper fan, but this makes my mouth water!

you can find the details here...check out the rest of his site, he has some great ideas!!

BTW- Who knew April was Grilled Cheese Month?!? I have 5 days of catching up to do!!

St Patrick's Day Dessert and a Movie

Last year I found this classic Leprechaun movie which started our new tradition.

It stars a young Sean Connery and a bunch of tricky leprechauns.

To go with our movie, we made Green Rice Krispie Treats.

This year, when I saw Rainbow Pudding, I knew that would be a fun treat. I was not about to make the pudding from scratch, so my colors are a bit yellow due to the instant pudding mix, but it didn't really take away from the fun.

This years movie was a fun one!
Another Disney Classic, The Gnome Mobile, starring the "Mary Poppins Kids". Another cute Irish tale.

Next year....

Maybe with one of these...