With Strawberry Shortcake, of course!
Last week, we had the neighbors over for some summer yum.
Our recipe:
they were devoured immediately upon assembly!
What is the most delicious way to start the summer? With Strawberry Shortcake, of course! Last week, we had the neighbors over for some summer yum. Our recipe: Sorry to not post a final product photo -
they were devoured immediately upon assembly!
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My youngest son woke me up a few nights ago.
I could hear his laughter echo from across the hall. It began with a chuckle; then moved to a string of giggles; soon his cackle filled the entire upstairs. I was envious of his happy dreams. The next morning, I asked my son about this middle of the night joy-fest and a slow smile came to his lips. “In my dream, I was playing with Pollyanna,” he said. My conclusion: That’s one good movie wto share... Here's another recipe I often turn to when I want to stock the freezer with easy go-to foods for school lunches or weekend snacks: Pizza Rolls. First: Prepare your bread dough. This can be as easy as thawing the frozen dough available in your grocer's frozen-food section or making up your own in your Kitchen Aid mixer. Here's the recipe I use: Mix a .25 oz. envelope of quick yeast with 2 cups of warm water. Add 1 TBLSP olive oil, 1 TBLSP sugar, and a pinch of salt. Work in 6 or 7 cups of unbleached flour. Let dough rise for almost two hours. Second: Prepare your pizza 'toppings.' We love mozzarella cheese,Italian sausage, and spinach, but you could use anything you like (pepperoni, olives, peppers, etc...) Then: Roll out the dough and sprinkle on the goods. Do this on a floured cutting board. Once everything is evenly distributed, slowly roll the dough to create a long- long pizza roll. Last: Cut and Bake. Using a sharp knife, cut 1 inch slices from the roll and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350' until golden. Serve with tomato sauce or on their own. And... if your growing boys eat as much as mine do: Be prepared to make more again soon.
While I often recommend books for beginning readers, I want to be sure to mention a few activities for those same children - who are also beginning writers. Giving young children 'real' reasons to write is the perfect motivation for them to practice their developing skills. To begin, know that any time you write down your child's words (while they watch) is a teachable moment. As I said in my 'Take Note' post, when you record your child's words you create an opportunity for them to reflect on their ideas and make choices regarding their communication. Activity #1 - Around the age of 4, you can introduce your child to your family's weekly grocery shopping list. Early on, I told my boys that if they wrote a food item on the list - I would buy it. While there was a period of adjustment (if you write down 'OREOS'- you get one pack of Oreos. If you write '5 Packs of OREOS' - you get one pack of Oreos). Now that they are older, I often ask my boys to help create the entire list. I call out the items we need as I peek in the fridge, cupboards, freezer. My youngest records the items. Don't worry about spelling - that skill comes later. 'Guess and Go' is an ideal strategy, as too much attention to 'spelling corrections' can cause young writers to write less, out of fear of 'getting it wrong.' Be sure: Writing more will do more to improve spelling than any specific corrections at this point in your child's development. Activity #2 - I try to work with my children to write 'Thank you' notes for almost every occasion. This can be hardcopy or email - this can be through dictation or by their own hand - and (as they get older) this can be together or on their own. It's helpful to set a few ground rules, so as to plan ahead for those smarties (like my 7 year old) who (if left to his own devices) will print 'Thank you" on the card (and then yell, I'm done!"). We say that a proper thank you card includes the name of the writer and the gift giver. It also includes three different sentences. While making your own cards is a great activity, pre-made cards still make Grandma smile and still give your beginning writer opportunity to grow.
Am I a bad mommy if I don't feed my children breakfast? Now.. I'm not saying they don't eat breakfast. I just don't prepare it for them. Honestly, I've never been much of a morning person and, with safety in mind, I strive to avoid sharp knives, gas stoves, and electric mixers before 10am. Luckily, my boys have a father who IS a morning person AND loves to dote on them endlessly. With Dad at the helm, it's Denver omelets, French toast, and Belgium waffles (with whipped cream no less). Sadly, on the days that he leaves early for work, my boys know that their options are limited to cold cereal or cold cereal. Or perhaps I should say: that WAS their only option... Enter: this nifty little mini breakfast quiche recipe that I uncovered. (Sadly, I'm not sure of its original source. The printed, wrinkled, typed-page was gathered among a pile of other recipes.) I made a batch of these babies and have been able to pop them out of the freezer and into the microwave for 60 seconds as needed to supply fast, delicious, and safe breakfast-dining. Mini Breakfast Quiches Mix 6 eggs, 3 cups milk, and 1 cup baking mix with whatever quiche ingredients you like (cheese, sausage, ham, vegetables, bacon, more cheese, etc..) Fill greased muffins tins with approximately 1/4 cup batter and bake at 350' for 20 minutes. Cool completely. Flash freeze for an hour. Store in a gallon size freezer bag. Enjoy! "See, I'm not so bad," I tell my boys. "This is good. We're being healthy, right? Bon Appetit!"
These quiche are a great early-morning option. My boys smile. My boys eat. (But in truth, they still miss their dad. I can live with that. On the rare days he leaves early, I miss him too.) There has been a miracle at our house: a furniture miracle. I bought the ugliest loveseat in the history of upholstery. (Seriously – it hurt my eyes to look directly at it.) We needed a loveseat for our basement family room and this shameful specimen of furniture was the perfect size and cost. After visiting a variety of stores in search of a new couch, I found inspiration in this special item at a discount, second-hand store. It took courage to look past the fabric and see the potential: but my hubby and I were up to the task. Back to the miracle…. Here’s my trick for turning cheap ugliness into nifty livability: a jean slipcover. Homemade slip covers made from old jeans are easy, free, and darn comfortable to sit on. To make one, start by collecting your old jeans (and other ready-to-be-thrown-out denim from all your friends and family). Cut out a series of matching squares and rectangles. Sew together the blocks to make long strips. Sew together the long strips to make panels of fabric. Then, Drape the panel (inside out) over your furniture item and pin as needed to fit. Sew along your pin lines and when you turn the fabric around, it will fit like a glove. To be 100% honest, I am what could be described as a just-enough-to-get-by seamstress. This means I typically throw my projects together with very little planning, my inside-seams are nothing fancy, and I’ve been known to rip out seams (multiple times) before I get it just right. But…. in the end I was able to unveil a comfy couch for the whole family under $35 (I told you it was the perfect cost). Bonus: when the kids spill rootbeer, paint, and bubble solution on this couch, I won’t be too concerned. I can tear off the slip cover (again avoiding direct sight of the hideous print underneath), throw it in the wash, and pull it back over when clean. Also, the boys can jump on the couch, tip the entire thing over while tackling their brother, and use the cushions for untold pillow fights and I again can look the other way. This couch can easily be replaced. It’s the miracle of basement, child-proof, cheap and easy furniture. And I have two…… I'm always looking for recipes that allow me to prep for a dinner with friends - - days ahead of the event. Even better: a yummy recipe I can prepare, freeze and then grab for at the last minute.
This past month I found a dessert that fits that criteria. It's main ingredient is butter. (I told you it was good). Three cheers for the DreamGoddess at Food.com and her Pecan Pie Cupcakes. The recipe is simple: 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 cup flour 1 cup packed brown sugar 2/3 cup butter, melted 2 eggs Mix everything up and fill your muffin trays 3/4 of the way full. Bake at 350' for 18 minutes. Makes approx. a dozen small cakes. These were a huge hit with my husband. In fact, I'm glad I can hide them in the back of the freezer or he may have eaten them all on the first day. Warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream this dessert is truly.. dangerously delicious. My family recently enjoyed the Sizzlin Science Festival here in Salem, organized by A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village. One of the events was the annual 'Egg Drop'. Engineers of all ages were invited to construct a contraption that would save an egg from the damaging effects of a fall from the Marion Street Bridge. This activity is perfect for home as well... Step #1: Give each child/adult an egg, free rein of the recycling bin, and a whole lot of masking tape. Step #2: Find a high place to release your creations. Step #3: Begin your countdown. As the Discovery Village drop took place over bark dust, we brought our designs home to test on the hard concrete of our driveway. My youngest son and I formed Team Tough and followed two different strategies. We used fabric in both designs and focused on layers of "cushion." Team Tough Designs: My older son and my husband made up Team Crusher. "I think you've misunderstood this activity's objective." I cautioned them. Team Crushers' creations: Here at home, we launched our designs from the upstairs window.... and had varied results. Youth designs were 100% successful:
As many of you have noticed, I don't post pictures on this website that show the faces of my boys. I figure, there is plenty of time for them to control (or ruin) their own online profile. No need to empower Google images to spread their darling smiles in cyberspace - I'll just wait until they are teens and they can do it themselves with their cell phones. (EK!) However...I did recently run across a silly website that allowed my sons to create their own cyberspace alter ego. Here are the results: Now, while I can't argue with the first image: brown eyes, pale skin, loves green, often in a hat (to protect the beforementioned pale skin). However, the second image gives me pause and inspires silent prayers of: "Please help me, Lord! Please." Again, I can live with the unibrow, but I'm going to need help (serious help) if his teenage years resemble this creative image.
Easy to use and good for a giggle, the website that generated these "clay " images is free and needs no registration, no password, nor a download. It gives countless choices and countless ways to make your mother nervous. Also, once you've made a character you can use a silly Mad-libs-type script generator to type in nouns, verbs, and adjectives to come up with a nonsensical story. I saw this site used by an elementary teacher who allowed students to each "clay" themselves and then add audio for a school video. Very clever. Very fun! _Here's the catchy tune that helps preschoolers learn the days of the week. That's my youngest boy singing - when he first learned the song. Here he is today: _I know he'll lose his little boy voice soon -
I'm glad to capture it while I can. |
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