Happy B-day Baby!

My little one is turning two!  How could two years have flown by so fast (I know I know everyone says that, but it is true-time flies and I don't know where it all went!). 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA!

Plumpy the NOT so Wonder Cat!

Errrrr, Plumpy we got a problem.  There is something living under our sink and according to your genetic makeup you are suppose to keep these little critters OUT OF THE HOUSE! 

Now let me really gross you out with the close up.......

A pile of food in the corner, a little cache of mouse food!   Plumpy I want to see a little more cat and mouse chasing action around here and not so much of this.............

Starting tomorrow immediately we are cutting back on your food and maybe you will start earning your keep!! 

Fuzz Head!

Today's post is in response to a friend's blog that I enjoy (thanks JL).  It inspired me to post these shots of Olivia who as you can see knows all about problem hair!   

Surprises in the mail!

My kids LOVE getting packages in the mail.  They got this one today from Nana S and they were so thrilled esp. with the barrettes.  Remember these barrettes from the 80's??  I think we called them friendship barrettes?  Thanks Nana S you are very talented and the Happy B-day center piece is really neat and already on the table.

Peace to the Mini Van Drivers!

Peace to the Mini Van Drivers!

I drive a Mini Van. I love my Mini Van. The girls and I have named the Mini Van, her name is Violet. She gets us where we need to go and when it rains and snows I don’t even have to get out of the van if the girls needs something in the back, I just put down the coffee table (that’s the center island between the two front seats that holds all the junk, juice boxes, snacks, etc.) and walk to the back of the van. We even have a potty. (you know, the kind that says Baby Bjorn on it). Did you know my Mini Van can go 160 MPH!! Not that I have tried, but that is what the odometer says and I bet ol’ Violet could give it a go.


So why am I declaring my love for my Mini Van you ask??? Today while driving I allowed a fellow Mini Van momma to pull in front of me on a busy street and she gave me the peace sign. I gave her the peace sign right back and it felt good.  It made me smile.  I know, I know, I need to get out more……………….

Maybe I could get one of these cool aerodynamic spoiler’s on the back and she would go over 200 mph? (Seriously, who designed a mini van with a spoiler?)

Yummy, fresh bread!

This bread was so easy and went wonderful with our 65,000 bean (ok maybe it was more like 18 bean-but that's a lot of beans!)  soup.  (Thanks Nana V) The recipe also makes two loaves which works out great b/c we ate one whole loaf with dinner.

Ina Garten's Honey White

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)

2 packages dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1-1/2 cups warm whole milk  (I usted skim and it was fine)

6 tablespoons melted butter, cooled

1-1/2 tablespoons honey

2 large egg yolks

5 to 6 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar and let sit for 5 min. Add the warm milk, butter, honey and eggs and mix. Add the flour a bit at a time but don't add too much, just until the dough stops sticking to the sides of the mixing bowl. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and let it knead for about 8 min or so.   Add to a buttered large bowl and let rise 1 hour.  Take out and split and shape into loaf size and divide in two, putting each one into their own loaf pan. (greased).  Let the loaves rise for another hour. Brush with the egg white and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Fastest melting snowman!

This might be the world's shortest and fastest melting snowman. You can even see that his left arm fell off in the time it took me to run inside and get the camera. Unfortunately, his right arm met its ultimate demise after Tia ate it! That sent the girls into hysterics until we found a suitable replacement. Never a dull moment........

You've come a long way baby! or not.........

Not much has changed since 1975, still doing laundry and dishes.  ho hummmm

From Drab to FAB!

Nothing a little hot glue and pink fuzz can't fix!

(Full reveal of Abby's room coming soon........)

Let the sun shine in!

Despite it being freezing outside I opened the sunroom door today and lo and behold it was hot out there. The girls were thrilled to be able to use the play space/art room again and the sun was wonderful.  Makes me feel like spring might be around the corner??

Long line of snorters

Apparently snorting when you laugh is hereditary. My dad used to do it, I do it (I have seen my sister do it even though she won’t admit it) and now my daughter does it. We were falling on the floor with fits of laughter after she let out a snort yesterday and I caught one on film- I laughed so hard I had tears.

Something funny to remember about my dad too.

Should I call the Police?

No our house was not ransacked, that is just how the playroom looks most days……..  need I say more?

My favorite is the doll high chair in two pieces-good effect.

Ready for Valentine's Day!

This year Abby picked the Friendship Blossom from Family Fun magazine to make for her school Valentine's Day Party.

We modified them a bit (after all we were working with the patience of a 4 your old- that would be me of course) and they took a bit more time to do, but they came out looking super cute!

25 times the size….. not really!

25 times the size….. not really!

I recently purchased the Big Top Cupcake .  The box claims “The fast and easy way to make colossal cupcakes that are up to 25x bigger than normal size cupcakes!”. Well it was easy, but I would not say 25x the size of a normal cupcake, more like 10x and that is being generous. Regardless, it still tasted good and the kids enjoyed making it. Think I am crazy for buying into this silly marketing scheme………..I also want that awesome pan that makes Perfect Brownies everytime too!

I had Abby put her hand next to it to show the size.

Maybe angling the camera will make it look bigger?

Oh well, it still tasted good!  Picture of Olivia enjoying a bite sporting the Snooki hairstyle from Jersey Shore!

Plumpy the Wonder Cat

Letter to Plumpy

Plumpy my dear old cat. Oh how the times have changed. Do you remember the days before kids? Long peaceful naps in the sunshine (undisturbed by rolling strollers and little feet), sleeping on our bed, dinner served on time & probably even your litter box was cleaner! I have to say pal, you have taken it all in stride........

I love the look in Abby's eye.  Ready, set, attack...............

(Notice the bottle and pacifier on the Dora couch- they will be used on him later)

A Star is Born........

My husband and I are pretty sure that by the time my oldest daughter turns 16 we will be calling A&E and planning an intervention on their reality TV show “Hoarders”.   (http://www.aetv.com/hoarders/)


This is not something new, since the time she could hide, stuff, sort and organize she has been hoarding things. She is not picky in what she hoards, basically anything that is not nailed down and she can carry.
For example: This is what she stuffed below the baby doll stroller:

This is under our futon in the family room. All wrapped presents and decorated envelopes biding their time until her sister’s b-day at the end of the month.  (I counted 6 envelopes and 3 gifts) *Note -there is not actually anything in the “wrapped gifts” she just likes the tape and the wrapping paper.

My favorite however, has to be what I found under her pillow this morning……….

Is this normal?

Making Bagels

The girls and I made bagels this weekend. The both had a great time and actually my 4 year old was very good at forming the bagels! This was the recipe I used and I added cinnamon and raisins to the mix:

4 cups bread flour

1 Tbls sugar

1 1/2 tsps salt

1 Tbls vegetable oil

2 tsps instant yeast

1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. You don't have to worry about soaking the yeast when you use instant yeast (most yeast sold these days is instant yeast). The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.

Plop the dough down onto the counter, and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough is uniform and smooth.

Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.

Pre heat your oven to 425.

Now, take each of the dough balls and using two hands, roll it into a little snake on the counter. When the snake is longer than the width of your two hands, wrap it around your dominant roiling hand. The dough rope should be wrapped so the overlapping ends are together at your palm, near the start of your fingers. Now take the two overlapping ends, and use your palm to squish/roll these two ends together. Once the dough is fused, you should have a perfectly circular bagel-to-be! This is the only part of the process that can take a little practice before your bagels will look really professional. Don't get discouraged if they don't look perfect, it just takes practice!

(my favorite thing in this picture, besides the cute kid of course, is all the CRAP on the counter in the back ground!)

(Don't be jealous of the phone on the wall.  Oh you laugh now at our 1980's phone, but when the power goes out it still works!)

Let your bagels rest on the counter for about 20 minutes, and meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, and grease a large baking tray lightly. You can just rub a splash of vegetable oil and rub it around.

After the 20 minute wait, your bagels will start to look puffy, and it's time to get them boiling! Add them as many at a time as you can to your boiling water without crowding them. Boil for about a minute, turn them over, and boil for another minute. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray. Repeat until all the bagels are boiled.

Add the tray to the oven, and after 10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another ten minutes; and they're done!

For the complete recipe and video: http://hubpages.com/profile/John+D+Lee