Light eating

We made these sunshine cupcakes for Friends Preschool last week... delicious & super cute!

Catholic Schools Week #3

It seems to have become a Catholic Schools Week tradition to get snowed in at least one day!  This year was no different.  Wednesday was supposed to be pajama day at school, so instead we stayed home & played in our pjs (sometimes with snowpants over the top) almost all day. 

We read books, played in the snow, cleaned out some closets, & started our valentines.  Rebecca created these flowerpots & butterflies (with a lollipop for the body).  Andrew had me take his photo in his Darth Vader costume & we added a glow stick in place of each light saber.  They turned out so cool!

That night for dessert we made our first ever snow ice cream.  So easy & so yummy!

-big bowl of snow

-can of condensed milk

-teaspoon of vanilla

Mix & enjoy immediately!

Summer Days

Nothing like a popsicle on a hot summer day!

(I can't believe how much the new "popsicles are only to be eaten outside in the grass" rule has reduced the stickiness factor of our kitchen floor!)

Holy Thursday

 For the last four years, we've had the tradition of commemorating Jesus' Last Supper with a special supper of our own on Holy Thursday.  We eat downstairs (which is novel), enjoy homemade bread, grape juice, & "snacky food" as the kids like to call it. 

We read the story of the Last Supper & listen to "fancy music" while we eat.  This year we could barely keep Teresa in her seat... the music just moved her!  Everyone eats without coaxing, we have some fun, & then head off to Holy Thursday Liturgy afterwards.  Love it!

24 tiny reindeer

We made these reindeer cookies for Andrew's Christmas party & they turned out so cute! It was a little tricky getting the chocolate pretzels to stay attached, but otherwise so easy. You could do it with peanut butter cookies, too, but we just used sugar cookies. Thanks, Cynthia for passing along the idea!

Saint Cookies

Rebecca was scheduled to bring snack for preschool the day after All Saints Day, so we decided to make some of these fun sugar cookies. At the top is St. Anne with baby Mary, then Joseph, & Mary with baby Jesus. They were more challenging than expected, but turned out pretty cute. :) Maybe we'll try some more Holy Family ones on Christmas. Thanks, Nikki, for lending me the cookie cutters!

Harvest Sausage

I spent last Friday & Saturday back home at the farm with my parents. It was so peaceful! Here's their shed all decked out for autumn. (It had more pumpkins before I filled my car!) Darren & the kids opted to stay here for simplicity's sake, so I only had to entertain ME in the car, only had to feed ME, only had to wipe MY nose, only had to put ME to bed. It was a fabulous break & when I returned, I was happy to do all those little things for THEM again. :) I took Darren's car, which only has a cassette deck, & enjoyed the opportunity to listen to some old music... random TEC mix tapes, Amy Grant, Nelson... I hadn't listened to them for so long but pretty much belted out each one at the top of my lungs. I was hoarse by the time I got to the farm!
My parents & I chatted, laughed, looked at old photos, picked pumpkins, & relaxed together. We ate this dish for dinner (that is so simple it barely needs a recipe) & then I could taste autumn, too. And it's a great way to use up a couple more from those 35 pounds of apples you picked at the orchard. ;)

HARVEST SAUSAGE
4-6 bratwurst, any flavor
1 undrained can bavarian style saurkraut
2 peeled & thinly sliced apples
2 T brown sugar
Layer them all in a casserole dish, cover, & bake at 350* for at least an hour. SOOOO yummy!

I spent almost the entire Saturday at the Birthright State Convention & met so many wonderful people! There were lots of inspiring stories, helpful hints, & necessary clarifications. I left feeling rejuvenated & excited to be a friend to the women who come to us for help. It's such a challenging & rewarding place to volunteer!

Progression of a popsicle

Out of context

Overheard from the kid's kitchen while playing with friends...
Joseph: You have a lot of good stuff. Where's your scotch?

Rebecca: This is our scotch. Our mom keeps it down here.

Joseph: Why does she keep it down here?

Rebecca: In case something breaks.

Scotch tape, that is. ;)

I keep forgetting to show you our kitchen set that I made after Christmas. I saw the idea in Family Fun magazine, recognized our pile of cardboard boxes, & thought it was a perfect solution. It's already well-loved, but I still like the way it looks. There are only glimpses through the paint of the toilet & vacuum cleaner that came in them. It's amazing what you can do with spray paint & duct tape! Our recycling bin is a lot more empty these days as Rebecca scavenges for things for her kitchen, but it sure is fun!

Signs of Spring

Blossom gazing Puddle stompingBirdies roosting

35

Happy Birthday, Darren!We love you & we're so thankful to have you in our family.

Especially for the occasion my first try ever with a springform pan: triple chocolate cheesecake...mmm. Thanks for the recipe, Andrea. It turned out tasty!

Mmm, reindeer

We enjoyed the last few days home at my parents' farm for Christmas with ALL my siblings & their families. That's 37 of us staying together. It was marvelous! Here's the first installment of our fun there. You know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, & all those guys, but do you know these reindeer cupcakes?
Chocolate frosting face, mini Nilla wafer snout, red M&M nose, green M&M eyes, & broken pretzel antlers
Rebecca & James did a lot of M&M sorting, as well as sampling
Maria was our expert antler gal (Please note: twist pretzels are NOT simple to break into the antler form... even though you only need 48, buy the big bag! Then plan to make Strawberry Pretzel dessert with the remnants. ;P )

They turned out pretty cute! Thanks for helping us make & eat them, cousins!

Chili, anyone?

Our moms' group took the chance to cook together & entered in our parish's Great Chili Cook-Off. It was a fundraiser for the kids going to World Youth Day & the first time anything like that had been tried at our parish. We made red wine chili... thanks to my friend Renee for passing on the recipe... & set out for a focus on the wine with a French theme. I had a fabulous time cooking, serving, & eating with such great gals. We didn't win (one-upped by one of our hubbies!) but it was fun. Thanks to everyone who contributed or helped in any way! I'm up for a rematch...

Abstract thinking

One of the things I love about being a mom & teacher is trying to decode what kids say. Try this one: On the way home I asked Rebecca what she would like for lunch.

"I want a circle with those pickles in it."

That's the most descriptive she could get. Can you guess what it was?

Someone's in the kitchen

Friends Preschool took yet another field trip (we sure are adventurous lately!) to a local bread company. This time all the big kids were off of school, so we had quite the crowd. It was so awesome!

Our guide spoke to us about what they make their bread out of, how they make it, & then they each got to make their own "loaf". Here they are making their creations.
A lot of them opted for the "witch's finger" shape that they had been making specifically for Halloween. Rebecca's was a heart of course. :)
Ellie & Teresa were mostly restrained but still managed to have a marvelous time with each other. She showed them the wheat stalks.
She showed them how they grind the wheat berries into flour.

We watched the bakers make a batch of delicious looking spinach, red pepper, & Swiss loaves. Mmm.

Unfortunately, they weren't baked before we had to leave. Looks like we'll be going back soon!

She demonstrated how their humongous oven works with multiple timers. I think I need one of those super duper timers!

Afterwards we enjoyed lunch & fun at the park with Meg's family.

At home we devoured our "spooky spider" cinnamon chip bread & a FREE loaf of Honey Wheat. Delicious!

Each kid received a pencil & some wheat berries to bring home. We planted ours & stuck them in the windowsill. Here's what we saw just 6 days later!