Happy St. Patricks & Pinterest

I first heard of Pinterest as my Facebook friends began to confess their addictions to this time vacuum in their posts. As usually, I was pretty swamped with life, so decided I should avoid it.

I managed to dodge the bullet for a few months and then Lauren started asking about what "the leprechaun" was planning for St. Patrick's day, and this leprechaun was just plain out of fresh ideas.

Enter Pinterest... Oh, how I love thee!

My sister Kelli opened my mind to the possibilities by actually putting Pinterest to use, and not just getting sucked into the void. She's a crafter, and has declared 2012 "the year of the wreath." She's showed me the amazing wreaths she's making this year which were inspired by her Pinterest collection. Love it! She should blog about it - hint, hint, Kelli :D

So this is Pinterest at work for my family on St Patty's...

"The Leprechaun" found inspiration for the following:
"Cups of gold" for breakfast, which are the easiest little omelettes ever made!!! They were devoured so quickly that I don't have any pictures!
The recipe below makes 6 "cups of gold," so I tripled it for my big fam.
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/4 tsp salt
- your favorite mix-ins of ham cubes, bacon, spinach, broccoli, onion, tomoat, bell pepper, and cheese.
Bake in greased muffin tin @ 350* for 25 mins. YUM!!!

Everyone got to create their own cups of gold by choosing their mix-ins from a tray of ham, cheese, and veggies that I chopped up last night. My kids LOVE hands on food activities, and Zach even added some food coloring to his, so he literally had green eggs and ham. :D

The leprechaun also left some lucky charms cereal, pinch-proof-potion (milk with green food coloring,) and a rainbow "I love you" for my little lads and lasses.

Finally, he left a "Recipe for Mischief" but didn't explain what it was, just the directions for its creation. The kids whipped up this mystery mischief while the "cups of gold baked," and they had a blast!

- 1 tsp leprechaun powder (borax)
- 1 cup water
*mix and set aside. In a medium bowl combine the following:
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup Elmer's glue (white or clear, but my kids preferred the clear)
- food coloring
* add the leprechaun's mixture to the bowl and stir until it thickens. Next, use your hands to knead the leprechaun slime/puddy/. Little effort ... BIG FUN!
We had a great morning as a family!

Thank you, Pinterest!
And a Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

Halloween 2011

The Fabulous Five on Halloween...

Lauren: Our Zombie Girl

Zach: Luigi... again.

Max: Ninja

Gabe: Pikachu

Jared: Super WHY!!!! He's our Guy!

Alicia: The yummiest little TREAT on the block!

Matt: Nazgul from Lord of the Rings

On the trail...

Carving pumpkins with this many kids is challenging to say the least. I usually have a supply of carving tools that the kids can use themselves with supervision, but NO ONE is content to carve a simple jack-o-lantern. Oftentimes,  we end up carving complex pumpkin designs late into the night on the Family Home Evening before Halloween. My sister, Kelli, mentioned the she just has her son paint the pumpkin. BRILLIANT! It would be easier and we could do it earlier in October because the pumpkin wouldn't be rotting on the porch for weeks.

I found some washable paints that I thought were good. I covered the picnic table in the backyard with plastic, set paints and brushes out, and the whole process was done in 15 minutes! We left the pumpkins outside to dry overnight. I loved it!!! However, the paint went on a little too thin for the kids taste, and then it rained...

OOPS!!! Note to self: Buy good craft paint for pumpkins next year ;D

Happy Thanksgiving

I do love the Christmas season; and I even like to hear the Christmas music already in the stores 

and on the radio. However, I still think we should give another wonderful holiday it's due. So...

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I don't do a lot to decorate my house for the each holiday, but I like to do two things:
1) Hang something festive on the front door
and
2) Create a holiday display on our small side table in the dining room. It's about 1'x3'.

The Thanksgiving display is one of my favorites, so I thought I'd share.
2 twig garlands of fall colored berries
1 spool of leaf print ribbon
1 bag of small faux gourds & acorns (about 8)
3 colorful faux maize cobs
1 bag of fabric fall leaves
1 pumpkin topiary
"Give Thanks" tile and stand
"Give Thanks" turkey and harvest letters
2 maple-leaf candlestick holders & Maize candles
I actually have a cornucopia shaped basket as well, but it's in storage,
so the display has more of a scattered look this year. It's fun to change the arrangement each year too. Every few years, I'll pull out an item that looks worn and add something new.
I've tried using real gourds, acorns and leaves, and they're fun as well.
I love fall colors - they're so warm. It's a great contrast to the cold air outside,
and it makes me thankful for warm food, a warm home,
and the warm little lambs' that I get to snuggle up with.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Everybody!

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast

We love St. Patrick's Day!

All the world gets to be Irish on St. Patty's, and so do I.

I start spouting Blarney in an irish brogue, and telling the kids how I chased a leprechaun through the house the night before. I usually catch him, but his gold coins always turn into chocolate ones, and he leaves something green for the kids to wear that day. ;D

This is our typically St. Patrick's Day breakfast. It's our favorite buttermilk pancake recipe died green and then cookie-cut into shamrock shapes. We eat it with "Gold Coin Topping."

Buttermilk Pancakes

• 3 cups buttermilk
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda 
• 2 cup flour
• *Green food coloring (used only for St. Patrick's Day)

Mix the wet ingredients and then add the dry ones. Whisk well to remove any lumps. The batter is more runny than most pancake recipes, but that's what makes these pancakes so light and magically delicious.

I usually cook them on our giant griddle set to 300 degrees, but if you're using a pan on the stove, you probably want to use a medium-high heat. Flip them when they bubble. The should be golden brown in color (well, unless of course their green. ;D)

We have half-a-dozen shamrock cookie-cutters because the kids like to cut out their own shamrock pancakes - so fun!

Gold Coin Topping

• 3-4 bananas, cut into coins size circles
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• syrup, 

Mix the bananas and nuts with just enough syrup to wet the topping and hold it together. However, the bananas shouldn't be swimming in syrup. This topping is great for everyday use because it cut's down on the refined sugars and replaces it with the healthy sweet of the bananas. It's a family favorite.

Spoon the "gold coins" over hot pancakes and enjoy.

And a Happy St. Patty's to you, me darlin's!!

Cute New Valentine

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, Big Z!!!!

Valentine's Day at our house is mostly about Zach's Birthday 

(which I'll blog about on Family Friday.)

But I had to share this absolutely ADORABLE Valentine idea...

This is Gabe's friend Emmy.

Her Mom took a picture of Emmy with her fist in this pose.

Created the "Happy Valentine's Day!" caption and printed 4x6s.

They made "T" slits at the top and bottom of Emmy's pictured fist,

and slid in a Tootsie Pop!

So CUTE!!!

Gabe and Lauren have already begged me to make these for them next year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas 2010

Most Memorable Holiday Activity

Lauren: "It was being with my family and opening presents on Christmas. I just liked it."

Zach: Playing "Silent Ball" with all the family in St. George. "I didn't win, but I had fun."

Gabe: "Going to Grandma Hunny's house for soup and making gingerbread houses. I just really loved that soup!" *In fact, I don't think he did any gingerbread-house making, but he did have 3 bowls of soup!

Max: "Playing laser tag with my family, because I 'get' people a lot, and it really is fun!"

Jared: Loved the piñata at the Christmas Eve party. He really got into it this year - both hitting it and collecting the candy. Big fun for a little guy!

Matt: "I think it was Christmas morning, opening presents. Sorry to be so generic, but that was fun for me this year. I loved watching the kids open their presents." 

Candace: "Family Time! I just loved all the activities that we did together: the gingerbread houses, nativity, Christmas Eve party, the day at the planetarium and temple square... and the New Year's Eve Party."