Christmas Party at the Yacht Club

Another year at the Yacht Club for a christmas party for the kids.  I love being able to take the boys every year, a tradition I hope they will remember.

This year they got to decorate christmas cookies and make christmas ornaments.  They had Mc Donalds for lunch and then Mrs Claus showed up to sing songs and tell stories before Santa arrived.

 

 

After songs and stories with Mrs Clause the kids heard Santa was on his way and waited patiently at the doorway.

 

 

I see him!

He's coming!

 

 

Santa gives out presents!

 

The boys had a great day and loved there new toys from Santa!  Can't wait to go again next year! :)

 

Brothers

 

Brothers will be Big Brothers :)

 

 

Playdough

I made some playdough for the boys tonight...super easy and smells really good!  I got the recipe from there preschool teacher.  I'll probably never buy playdough again!

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 cup hot water
2 tbsp oil - I used canola
1 package of koolaid or food coloring

Method:

Mix dry ingredients together, add wet and combine till it's in dough form.  You may need to take it out of the bowl and kneed it a bit to get it all mixed together.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

It's halloween and raining like crazy outside.  Ryan picked the costumes this year, yes even Alex's.  Ryan wanted to be a tiger and he wanted Alex to be a monkey.  I was cool with that ;)  The boys had preschool this morning so i dressed them up in there costumes and we were on our way.

Preschool was super busy, lots of kids and parents.  It's amazing how many people find out about the holiday parties.  You get people that show up like once a month, and new people...I swear everyone and there grandma was there lol!  Days like this are too busy for me but I go because it's for the boys. 

Each holiday I usually make cupcakes but I came down with a nasty cough and a really bad headache and just didn't have the motivation or the energy to make them.  I felt so bad as I had already been doing it for the last 2 years.  I'm sure i'll make up for it though :)

Here are the boys with the teacher:

 

and me and my boys <3

 

 



Kevin had to work graveyard tonight so my dad came over to help me take the boys out.  I'm glad he did!  With the rain and the boys being excited and me being under the weather I just don't know that I would have done as much as we did with out him.  We just went around our townhouses and the boys got a good haul of candy.  After we were done the boys handed out candy that we had bought.  There are some tall...big...old trick or treaters out there lol!  All in all it was a good night, I was glad to get to bed though.  I hope next year calls for no rain!!

 

lol...i don't know what is up with Alex :p  silly kid!

Peach Cobbler!

So my hubby decided he wanted to bake and he found a recipe for Peach Cobbler.   He went shopping, got the ingredients and came home and baked.  It smelt good coming from the oven and when it was done tasted even better!  I was so impressed with it I begged him to make another the next weekend!

Ingredients:
8 fresh peaches - peeled, pitted and sliced into thin wedges
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

MIX TOGETHER:
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine peaches, 1/4 cup  white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss to coat evenly, and pour into a 2 quart baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips, or a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in water until just combined.
Remove peaches from oven, and drop spoonfuls of topping over them. Sprinkle entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Bake until topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy! :)

Click to see savings

4 cups fresh peach slices

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

 

 

Pinecones

So on pinterest i've seen some great craft ideas to do with pinecones.  Today I took the boys out to hunt for some and they filled an icecream bucket full!  They were so excited to search for pinecones, it was like and easter egg hunt to them lol!

After we got home I rinsed the pinecones off, then baked them in the over for about 30 min...a tip from a lady across the way to kill any little bugs that may be lingering deep inside.  For now I just put them in a vase but i plan to paint them fall colors.

Cucumber Cottage Cheese Bites

I don't know if that's the name for these as I found them on pinterest but then couldn't find them again.  I thought I saved it but the recipe was simple that it didn't matter:)

These are really good and a nice healthy snack.  We are trying to eat better around here so i'm trying to find different simple things to make.

All you need is cucumber, cottage cheese, pepper, and spices.  The other recipe I saw called for cilantro and another spice but I can't remember.  I had neither so I used greek seasoning and it tasted good.  Next time I would add a touch of salt.  I used about half a teaspoon of pepper and greek seasoning and about 4-5 teaspoons cottage cheese...just mix and add stuff to fit your taste buds :)  Cut your cucumber in about 3 inch pieces, scoop out the middle and and a spoonful of your mixture and top with black pepper :)

New Chairs!

We had been talking about getting the boys new comfy chairs for a while since they are now getting to big for the baby chairs.  Kevin picked up these chairs from Ikea and the boys were just thrilled with them.  Man, I wanna be a kid again!

Don't worry Alex was super excited and loved his new chair...he was just really into the show and movie and his snack lol!

Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Ok, so I keep thinking I need to do an update on the boys...but I keep finding new yummy recipies to share...so again I share one I made tonight.  I'll eventually do an update on the boys soon...i know it's been a while.

Anyways I wanted to find a  Chicken Pot Pie recipe so i found a recipe that was super easy and in the end super yummy.  I can't wait to make more of these they were actually that good!

Chicken Mixture 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces 
1 medium onio
n, chopped (1/2 cup) 
1/2 cup chicken broth 
1 cup frozen peas and carrots 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme 
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz) 

Baking Mixture 

1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix 
1/2 cup milk 
2 eggs 

1 Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray.
2 In 10-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add onion and chicken broth; heat to simmering. Add frozen vegetables and seasonings. Heat until hot, stirring occasionally until almost all liquid is absorbed. Cool 5 minutes; stir in cheese.
3 In medium bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon 1 scant tablespoon baking mixture into each muffin cup. Top with about 1/4 cup chicken mixture. Spoon 1 tablespoon baking mixture onto chicken mixture in each muffin cup.
4 Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. With thin knife, loosen sides of pies from pan; remove from pan and place top sides up on cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes longer, and serve.

* I left mine in for another 5 min or so, it didn't look quite done yet, so please keep an eye on as oven temps vary*

Banana Bread!

We love love love this banana bread!  I love making it in the mini loaf pans, it's just enough to snack on and great for me to slice one up for the boys to share when we are at home or go out.  I've tried other banana bread recipes but non are as good as this one.  If you try this, let me know how you liked it!


Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas

Prep

In a mixer


mix all the bananas till well blended, add butter, eggs and vanilla and mix for about a minute.  Add all try ingredients and mix for about 2 minutes or until everything is well blended.  If you want to add chocolate chips or peacans add those last and mix for about a minute.

Place mixture into non stick pan and or use pam spray first.  Distribute mixture evenly if using a mini loaf pan or other pans.  Bake at 350' for about 40-45 minutes.