Countdown to Disney {FFMN--The Jungle Book}

The countdown continues, and we are getting closer and closer to our trip!!!  This week's meal (I'll admit) was not my most creative, but it was awfully tasty and very easy.

I really thought the kids would enjoy this meal, but the ravioli was not the hit that I thought it would be.  C wouldn't eat it at all, and B only ate it with MUCH persuasion.  Now, the monkey bread, on the other hand, was a big hit that night.  And will be breakfast for the next couple of mornings!  Here's the spread.

I am looking forward to this week's showing of Peter Pan and definitely hope that that meal goes over better than this one did!



Countdown to Disney {FFMN--Aladdin}

Aladdin was one of the only Disney movies that I had growing up.  In fact, I am pretty sure it was the only animated Disney movie I had as a child (or pre-teen to tell the truth).  So, it is not one of my faves, mostly because I am just kinda tired of it.  BUT it is one of B's faves.  In fact, you should hear him sing the opening song "Arabian Nights."  It is a hoot!  So what did we eat?

(Is that a gourmet meal or what?)

This was one of the easiest meals I had planned.  I mean does it get any easier than hot dogs, store bought cole slaw (the Diamond in the Rough-age), and sliced apples?  The "beanies" aka baked beans were pretty easy.  But (and that is a big BUT) the baklava was another story.  Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't necessarily difficult to make.  But it sure was time consuming and multi-stepped.  And, holy moly, is phillo dough a pain to work with!  And to top it all off, I was the only one who actually ate any of it!!!  The hubby said it tasted like well flavored paper, and my kids wouldn't even put it in their mouths!  Nevertheless, the movie was a hit.  And the baklava was a hit at the covered dish lunch that we had after church a couple of days after movie night!  haha

Countdown to Disney {FFMN--Tangled}

I have looked forward to Tangled night since I decided to add it to the FFMN list.  Tangled is my favorite Disney princess movie.  I love the characters, the music is amazing, and the animation is top notch.  And as you probably know, the story of Rapunzel has been told about a million different ways.  And this particular one is unexpected and delightful!  The scene at the end when she is hugging her parents . . . *tears*

So here is our menu for the evening:

This was my first attempt at sliders and potato salad.  Pretty much overall I was completely inexperienced at this entire meal, but it was a HUGE success.  I plan to do the sliders again soon.  Yummo!

The hubby's sister H was in town from Colorado, so she got to share in the festivities with us.  AND she was huge help when it came to making these beauties:

These are the "Rapunzel's ice cream towers" that actually wound up as cupcake towers instead.  They were super fun to make and surprisingly easy.  I made a regular old box of Devil's Food cake mix, but instead of putting the batter in cupcake liners, I put it in ice cream cones and baked them as usual.  I frosted them with canned frosting, frosted the pointy cone with purple frosting, and stuck it on top.  I added the "grass" and Rapunzel's hair as accents.  And as you can see, they were a big hit with B!

Overall, this night was tons of fun.  I am so glad that I have taken the time to do something special for the family.



Play Ball!

Today marks B's first tee ball game, and we were all pretty excited.  His first game was supposed to be last Saturday, but rain postponed it to a yet to be determined time.  Which meant that hubby had to miss B's first tee ball game because he had a golf match to coach.  He was pretty devasted, and by 'he' I mean hubby.  lol  It also meant that the kids got their jerseys and hats about 15 minutes before game time.  B got to pick his number from the available jerseys when we got there.  To quote B, "I'll take 4 because I'm four."  My sweet literal boy . . .

(Getting some last minute advice and coaching from Daddy.)

I have to say, I was so proud of B.  He is one of the oldest ones on the team, so he was able to stay focused pretty much the whole game without any meltdowns.  He got three pretty good hits off the tee and ran the bases like a pro--or at least a 4-year-old pro.

Go Red Team!



He had such a wonderful time playing tee ball.  When I had to break the news to him that he did not have another game until next Monday, he could barely hold himself together as he wailed, "But that is so far away!"  Something tells me that I have many more days of ball games in my future.

Countdown to Disney {FFMN--Cars}

I guess I should have technically said Cars 2 since that is what we actually ended up watching per B's request.  So here is the menu for the evening:

Now I can't take full credit for all the menu ideas this week.  While the Bacon, Lettuce, and Tow-Mater sandwiches were 100% yours truly, the rest actually came from the original source of my idea in the first place.  You can read all about her countdown meals here.

So here is what the meal looked like.  I was pretty proud of myself because I actually set the table, served it family style (as opposed to our typical buffet style service off of the counter/stove) and decorated with some of B's toys.  I also discovered that any child who owns FOUR Maters has enirely too many toys!

This was a remarkably easy meal to prepare.  The BLTs are pretty self-explanatory.  I use Paula Deen's recipe for "The Lady's Cheesy Mac" from her Lady and Son's cookbook.  It is delicious and pretty easy.  The Leaning Tower of Tires is mini chocolate donuts; the traffic lights are graham crackers, cream cheese frosting, and M&Ms. 

Overall, this meal was a big hit with the hubby, myself, and C.  B was not a huge fan which I wasn't completely expected.  I mean, what kid won't eat mac and cheese, for Pete's sake??  He did enjoy the bacon, and when we finally let him have a traffic light (after wheeling and dealing with him to eat some other food), he liked those too.

And I think judging from the amount of icing on this little face, the traffic lights were a hit with C as well!

The kids had a blast watching Cars 2.  C is not big into tv, but B LOVES both of the Cars movies so he was in hog heaven.  'Til next time!