Happy Easter

We had a pretty casual Easter as we usually do.  I don't go over the top with the kids Easter baskets.  I usually just put a couple of items in that they need, a couple of pieces of candy, and a small toy or two.  I am pretty sure I have put shoes in almost all of B's Easter baskets.

So, of course, B was the first one up bright at early to peek into his basket.  Check out that mad bed head!

About an hour and a half later, C woke up to look at her basket.

 I love this picture of B looking over her shoulder!

After Easter baskets, we got all dolled up and headed to church.  I try to get a family picture in the back of the church every year.  The last two years I have forgotten and the picture has been in some other odd location, but this year I actually remembered.  So, here we are in all of our Easter finery.

We also get pictures with the grandparents and any other family that is present.  So the first picture is my family, Uncle J, Aunt A, JuJu and Pop.  The next picture is with the Hubs's family--Grandma and Grandpa.

After church and pictures, we went to eat at a local restaurant and had a leisurely afternoon at home.

Happy Easter!

Resurrection Rolls

As a part of B's homeschooling today, we made resurrection rolls.  The focus for this week has been the letter e and Easter (obviously).  And making resurrection rolls was part of the curriculum.  I had seen these on Pinterest, but I especially loved the additional information that was with the curriculum.  So, here's how we made them.

First I prepped the ingredients, which was ridiculously easy.  All you need is large marshmallows, a tube of crescent rolls, 1/4 cup of sugar, 2 tsp of cinnamon, and some melted butter.  My butter (I had 2 tbsp of butter left over in the fridge, so that's how much I used) was in the microwave melting when I snapped this picture, so it is missing. 

These were super easy to make and pretty yummy.  And B really loved helping.  The marshmallow represents Jesus.  It is pure white and without any imperfection.  The first step is to take a marshmallow and dip it in the butter.  After it is coated in butter, you roll it around in the suger and cinnamon which should be combined in a small bowl.  The cinnamon and sugar mixture is representative of the spices that were rubbed on Jesus's body after his crucifixion.

After the marshmallow is thoroughly coated in cinnamon and sugar, place it on an unrolled crescent roll.  The crescent rolls are representative of the cloth used to wrap Jesus's body.  This is the hardest part--you have to wrap the marshmallow COMPLETELY in crescent roll.  This is easier said than done.  If and when I make these again, I will probably roll out the crescent rolls to make them a little bit wider.  But once I got them all wrapped up, I placed them on a cookie sheet and placed them in a 350* oven.  The oven represents the tomb that Jesus's body was placed in.

Now came the kinda surprising part.  After baking them for 10 minutes, I opened the oven door to find hot, molten marshmallow bubbling out of most of my rolls.  This is why it is very important to make sure the marshmallows are completely wrapped.  I was mildly panicked (which is my I don't have a picture) but I also felt like the rolls needed another couple of minutes to brown, so I set the timer for 2 more minutes.  After that, there was less marshmellow lava everywhere, and they were lightly browned so I pulled them out of the oven.  Note the melted marshmallow on the pan.

Here is a close up picture of one of these delicious things!

Now this is the actual resurrection part of these rolls.  After letting them cool, pop one open and SURPRISE Jesus's body is gone!  He is no longer in the tomb!  (Remember the marshmallow represented Jesus's body.)  I was kinda surprised that it actually worked, but it did.  The rolls that were wrapped the best also looked the most 'empty' when popped open.  And the melted marshmallow acts as a bit of a glaze.  They really are delicious.  And the surprised look on the kids' faces is well worth the effort!

Enjoy!

Play Group Easter Party and Egg Hunt

On Wednesday mornings, the kids and I meet with several other moms and preschool aged little ones for some play time and socialization.  The kids enjoy playing with each other, and I will admit, I enjoy the 2 hours of adult conversation—even if it is frequently interrupted by demands for juice or arguing toddlers!

Today was our group Easter party and egg hunt.  We were short a few kiddos, but we still had a fun time.  We kept things pretty low key with cookies, goldfish crackers, and juice boxes. 

One of the mothers brought a set of Resurrection Eggs.  Each egg contained an item that symbolized a part of the Easter story.  It began with a donkey in the first egg to represent Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and ended with an empty egg to represent the empty tomb!  The older kids were quite spellbound and enjoyed seeing what was in each egg.  Since I was elected to open the eggs and tell the story, I don’t have a picture of that.  However, I did find a link to site where you can purchase a set a Resurrection eggs here.

 While the kids were eating, I went out and hid the eggs.  After doing our little Resurrection Egg lesson, we took the kids out to hunt.  We managed to snap a couple of group pictures before releasing the hounds.

 

And of course, the best part of the egg hunt, and getting back inside and checking out what kind of candy you got in your eggs.  C immediately started chowing down on a small bag of Skittles while B had to empty every egg and select the best candy. 

Like his mother, he is not much of a sour or chewy candy person, but he loves chocolate.  And he hit the jackpot—someone had put Hershey Kisses in their eggs!

Overall the kids had a blast.  And the mommies had fun too!

Countdown to Disney {FFMN-Beauty and the Beast}

It's the tale as old as time, and I am a HUGE fan!  Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney movies--the music is so much fun, the storyline is captivating, and the characters are loveable.  And with the new expansion of Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom being partially based on the movie, I had to include it in our countdown.  Now, I had plans to print another of my fun menus for the fridge, but our computer was on the fritz (which is why I have been absent for a while), so I was not able to.  Today was also extremely busy.  I had a fabulous lunch date with a couple of friends at the newest Mexican restaurant in town, one of those friends came over to our house (which was embarrassingly gross!) after the lunch, and then I went to help the hubs and his co-workers decorate for prom.  As usual, my kids were with my parents (affectionately known as Pop and JuJu) because Pop has Fridays off of work.  So the kiddos went with my parents to Waffle House and had supper.  Which meant I dined on the Beauty and the Beast meal alone.  And what was the meal, you ask.  Well, sit right down and Be Our Guest for a meal of "Soup du jour, hot hors d'oeuvres, why [I] only live to serve.  Try the grey stuff.  It's delicious.  Don't believe me?  Ask the dishes."

The soup du jour was Corn Chowder.  I have a small crock pot that I tossed all the ingredients in and just turned it on to cook while I went to decorate for prom.  A can of evaporated milk, a can of creamed corn, a diced potato, and some black pepper and that's it!  Easy and yummy!

The original plan for hot hors d'oeuvres was a mini chicken pot pies that use canned biscuit dough as the crust.  But since I was the only one eating, I just did biscuits. 

Once again, the best part of the meal was dessert, aka The Grey Stuff.  I call it Oreo Fluff, and it doesn't get much easier than this.  It is 16 Double Stuffed Oreos crushed and mixed in with a tub of thawed Cool Whip.  Chill it for couple of hours or overnight and you're done.  I enjoyed my meal thoroughly and C enjoyed nibbling on The Grey Stuff when she got home. 

We will be taking next week off of our FFMN because we have a CRAZY busy weekend planned.  But I am looking forward to picking it back up the next Friday night with a movie that is yet to be determined.

Tee Ball Time

Well, after four and a half years, B's (or more accurately the hubby's) dreams have come true.  He had his first day of tee ball.  B has loved playing baseball since he was old enough to hold a ball.  But when the time came for the first day, he was a bit anxious.  Once he found out we had registered him, he decided he did not want to play.  Our response?  Tough, buddy.  You're playing.  But after showing him a couple of pictures of friends' kids playing tee ball, he was a bit more open to it.  Then we went to meet the coach.  Going to the field and getting to run the bases gave him the bug.  By the time practice day rolled around (3 LONG days later), he had tee ball fever.  We went shopping for cleats the morning of practice, and his excitement reached a frenzy.  Finally, after supper (which he could hardly eat) it was time for practice.

Now, if you have ever watched 3- and 4-year-olds playing tee ball, it is quite a scene.  One kid is batting, and all the rest of the players are out on the field waiting to attack the first ball to move in their direction--or in any direction.  B was out in the field with his glove, but I think he thought he was supposed to wait until the ball came right to him.  He looked at me when a very exasperated expression, held out his hands and said, "I'm not getting to play."  After chuckling to myself (and a little out loud), I told him he would have to go get the ball.  It wasn't just going to come straight to him.  That was all it took.

He is the one in the red ball cap among the herd of children chasing the ball.  After at least 30 minutes of fielding the ball, it was his turn to bat.  Shockingly, he did not even ask once when it would be his turn to hit.  He seemed surprisingly content to retrieve and roll back the ball.  BUT his turn at bat was truly thrilling.  And, not to brag, but he was one of the best hitters on the team.

After the team ran the bases, they huddled together for a "Red Team" cheer and were dismissed.  He was so proud of himself.  And I must admit, Pop (who tagged along to watch) and I were proud of him too.  He can't wait for his next practice!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In an effort to make things a bit more special around here, I decided to do a mildly green themed breakfast for St. Patrick's Day.  So we dined on green silver dollar pancakes, bacon, and milk!  B kept calling them "cookie pancakes" because of their size and odd color and honestly had a hard time eating them.

After breakfast, I made sure everyone was decked out in some green to avoid any pinchers before heading out to church.  I also learned that if St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday, I am in trouble.  I guess I don't wear much green to church.  So, I found a green cami to wear under a brown dress, and I was good to go.  So, happy St. Patrick's Day from our kiddos!

Countdown to Disney {FFMN-Finding Nemo}

It's Friday night, and that means Friday Family Movie Night as a countdown to our family vacation to Disney World!  Tonight, we are watching Finding Nemo.  Our Nemo themed meal is:

The kids really loved the menu that I had created for the refridgerator.  C kept pointing to it and saying, "Mahmo."  B loves Finding Nemo, but he finds the SCUBA divers during the scene where Nemo is 'fishnapped' kinda scary.  So, he 'hides' in the play room during that part of the movie and then comes back to watch the rest.  That silly boy!

Here are the eats.  This meal was actually much more of a hit than I had anticipated.  The kids really liked the shrimp (which is just the frozen Sea Pack brand popcorn shrimp).  And as you can see from C's face below, the Doritos were clearly a hit!

The best part of the meal (to me, at least) was the Sea Turtle Cheesecakes.  These are really yummy, and I have made them plain several times and served them with canned cherry pie filling.  This night was an experiment.  The basic recipe comes from the cookbook my school sold as a fund raiser when I was in elementary school.  But, as is my modus operandi, I alter things to fit me.  So here is MY version of Cheesecake Cupcakes:

2 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. sugar

Cream together with electric mixer.  Place cupcake liners in muffin pan and put a Double Stuffed Oreo in the bottom of each liner.  Scoop filling over the Oreos until each cup is about 3/4 full.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Cool and chill in refridgerator until ready to serve.  Makes 18 cupcakes.

To make them "turtle" cheesecakes, you need pecans, chocolate sauce, and caramel.  I used caramel ice cream topping, Hershey hot fudge, and pecan halves from my in-laws pecan trees.  I arranged the pecans in a way that I thought looked turtle-ish by using a pecan half as a head and pecan pieces as front flippers and a tail.  Momentarily, I thought that maybe I should have put back flippers on them too, but when I tried, it just didn't look right.  And judging from B's face, they were a hit as well.

The kids really enjoyed the fun, family evening.  B has been talking about what we ate that night for days and has been asking about my plans for other movies as well.  I am so glad he is enjoying it.  Seeing these sweet faces makes the extra effort SO worth it.

Countdown to Disney {FFMN--The Little Mermaid}

Last night marked the first of many Friday Family Movie Nights aka FFMN.  I saw this idea on a Disney advice board and loved it.  But like most things, I had to tweek it to make it fit me and my family.  So, the jist of FFMN is that your family sits down together and watches a Disney movie after enjoying a supper that is themed around the movie of the night.  I've got a slew of these nights lined up for our family leading up to "the big trip."  I know several of the rides at "the World" are based on movies, and I want the kids to at least have a clue about what is going on.

My oldest B, at 4 and a half years old, is a total tv junkie.  Or at least he would be if we would let him.  We recently completely cut him off of tv and have seen a huge improvement in his behavior, his play, his imagination, basically his whole life.  So, these FFMNs are a way to slowly add a little bit of "the boob tube" back into his life.  My youngest C, at 21 months, is really not at all interested in tv.  She will glance up at it occasionally but would much rather be plundering a kitchen cabinet or generally destroying another area of the house.  But I still think she will enjoy the time together as a family and dancing to the music.

Now, my oldest is a boy, but like I said, he is a total tv junkie and loves pretty much any Disney movie we have showed him.  (He has declared a couple of them 'scary' but for the most part, he'll watch them all.)  So, we are starting off our FFMN Countdown with The Little Mermaid.  I know it is one of the quintessential Disney princess flicks, but B thinks Sebastian, Flounder, and Scuttle are hilarious.  Honestly, I love this movie, too.  The characters are a hoot, the music is brilliant, and really, who doesn't think Prince Eric is just the cutest?

But for me, the best part of these FFMNs is getting to channel my creative side and come up with a menu to fit the movie.  And while I did see the idea for these FFMNs here, many of those menus just didn't fit my family's preferences.  So, without furthur adieu, here is the menu:

Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwiches

Sebastian's Crab Salad (for Mommy-not pictured)

Poor Unfortunate Bowls (of Fruit Salad)

Scuttle's Snickerdoodles

My kids LOVE PB&Js, and I have to confess, I really do love that imitation seafood salad that you can find on the salad bars of all those all-you-can-eat buffets.  And I really thought "snickerdoodle" sounded like a name that Scuttle the sea gull would assign to whatever human artifact Ariel questioned him about--just like a snarfblat or dinglehopper.

B has been talking about our fun meal all day today and asking what we are going to eat with our next movie.  He had a blast watching the movie and pretending to be Sebastian!

So there's our family's first FFMN.  Stay tuned for next Friday's movie--Finding Nemo!

Countdown to Disney {Warning}

Our family has a trip to Disney World planned for this summer, and I have to say:  I have not been this excited about a trip in a long time.  The last time I went to Disney World was when I was 11.  Now I don't know if every 11-year-old girl is like this, but that was about the age that I really started thinking about becoming an adult, getting married, and having my own family.  I distinctly remember being on the Spaceship Earth ride and thinking, "I can't wait until I am a mom and I can bring my family here."  Well, nearly 20 years later, that time is almost here.  Needless to say, I am giddy.  (I have already warned the Hubs that there may or may not be tears as I take my sweet babies down Main Street for the first time.)  So, in our house, there will be lots of Disney-talk for the next few months.

So this post is your warning--a Public Service Announcement, if you will.  There will be lots of posting about various Disney-esque things.  First up on the list:  Friday Family Movie Night.  Stay tuned!