Chef's the name, birthday is the game

It seems this summer is including daytrips and food. The calendar is filled with places to go and things to make thanks to the three aspiring chefs in the house (A, K and C that is). Yesterday though, well with the sweltering temps (it got to 110 I believe) we didn't make it very far for long. Instead we attempted to fry an egg. Though it didn't work it was fun to just plain try. I guess I will have to google some tips on that one.

This week it was Aunt K's bday so I suggested we make a treat for her too. My first suggestions was the cheesecake pops A has been wanting to make but that was overruled by niece. She seemed unsure if she liked cheesecake and then cake pops were born.

As with all cooking in my house there is not an exact bone in my body with measuring items. I simply do not enjoy cooking much so I suppose that is my subconscious way of bucking the system. Anyway, I once again made the cake recipe posted earlier reducing the sugar even more (still not enough). I recommend maybe a half cup really. Then we baked the cake like normal but upon removal from the oven we stirred about 1/3 of an icing container into the cake and rolled small balls. We then stuck the stick in them to cool. Once cool (per K's idea) we melted white chocolate and covered the balls helping "glue" the sticks in. This part was a bit tricky for K but she picked it up nicely. Then she arranged 14 of the best looking ones to decorate with the letters Happy Birthday. Sadly I failed her by realizing that there wasn't much left of the writing icing. We did what we could and it turned out just fine I think.

All the kids sampled the cake pops and even ate more than one. I think if I would have reduced the sugar to what I suggested above I may have done the same. Otherwise the one pop I tried was plenty for me. Well, that and the one on one time with K creating this dish is pretty priceless too.
To make it a 4th of July treat you could roll in red, white and blue melts too. Stay tuned for more of that fun this week!

Boys will be boys

On last Thursday we planned our stay at home day. Well, it was bike ride day but the temps were pretty darn hot so we switched it to Friday. In light of that I had to find a way to occupy my oldest son whom gravitates towards anything more than electronics when given a choice. Swimming works for a bit, especially on these warm day but well it doesn't fill 6 hours. Archery would have been an option too except one arrow is on the roof, and the other in the trees from said son.

So, I made the suggestion that he hammer a scrap piece of wood. Previously he tried to break a board and busted my picnic table into pieces in the process. Although a complete blue collar kinda kid case and point when he was 2 1/2 he refused to play in the snow. Standing still where I set him down he looked up squinting his eyes repeating the words "mess, mess" over and over. He rarely gets his hands dirty in any real work to this day (by choice) I am reminded the boy hormones still exist. Satisfied with the suggestion he headed to retrieve the wood somehow inspiring brother and cousin into joining. I made it a fair competition with a winner for all of a "free" (no snack shop purchase required) icee bar. They were sweet in encouraging each other along the way and learning techniques to be more thorough. Who knows this might serve to be a life lesson when they have to take apart something. Maybe that is a lofty thought too, but it got them active and smiling.

Chef's C man and Queen E

Since my nephew has been staying with me when there is no school/summer he has been referred to as C-man a time or two. He is kinda a bit of a sidekick/shadow and enjoys cooking too. I attribute this to the fact that his momma loves to cook, and therefore he is willing to help out here too. Since his sister was unexpectedly not here we changed the day a bit and he picked a "treat" to make. Littlest tends to hang with any big kid who will let her, especially when Cousin K is busy or gone so she put on her chef hat atop the demanding crown.    
This choice was not a new item for me, but it has been several years since I did it. I personally didn't like it because it seems to need icing on the insides instead of the top alone but if the kid chooses it I am glad to oblige. All of the kids happily at more than one so I guess it gets a thumbs up from them. Since littlest has food allergies I make cake from scratch. It requires no eggs, soy flour and soy protein, dairy or peanuts (she is only allergic to soy and egg). Originally I planned on cutting it in half but cooking with kids distracts me (big surprise I know) so I ended up having to do the full recipe when I forgot to half several things.

Here is the recipe for my homemade cake. I find it is just as easy as a box cake and tastes really good.
3 cups flour
1 tbsp cocoa (only if you want chocolate, I omit most times)
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt

 Sift flour and put all dry ingredients together in bowl. Then add rest of ingredients below, beat well with mixer. Put in ungreased pan of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min depending on pan size.
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups cold water
1 tbsp vinegar
3/4 cups oil

If you haven't ever cooked the cake in ice cream cones then I suggest sticking foil inside the cupcake pan to help stabilize the cones. I also fill them more than 3/4 so it rises just above the cone. For an added bonus C-man snuck a piece of candy in each. It was adorable watching him be stealth about putting away the remaining candy so no one saw it. Then blocking the view to the kitchen when one of the other kids walked by too. I sure do hope these kids, all of them mine included carry sweet memories of days just like this.

Something old, something new

 Here is an idea I came across from one blog to another. No literally the person I read it quoted someone else, who then quoted another and so on. Just be assured I am not claiming it as my own rather a great idea shared. One of the key points in several parenting books including "The Key to Your Child's Heart" by Dr. Gary Smalley talks about open communication of expectations. This can happen at any age but especially when your kiddos are like mine (11,9,7 and 4). I took scrapbook paper of various and interesting color and designs, printed the phrases on the computer and attached. Then the kids, hubby and I signed it understanding it was the core of who we are together.

Now I wish I could say I have referenced it or included it regularly but well I have not. Yet it does sit at the main entrance for family and friends greeting them too. As this summer seems to be about coming together and being a team, having an awareness of others it is a great starting place I intend to circle back too.

As for something new it is a basic idea really but it is a lifesaver if you have multiple children in activities. My daughters schedules recently rotated making it difficult to remember who had to be where when (especially there are 2 boys who have their own schedules too). SO, I took 3x5 cards and made one for each day Mon-Fri. Then I 3 holes punched them, slipped on a ring and hooked them to a command strip stuck in my van. BAM, easy reference for my brain that has given up be able to figure it all out. The next step is to make another one for hubby to keep in his car when we tag team. All I know is I love organization and this is super cool for me!

Father's Day Fun

Thanks to pinterest I had lots of fun for Father's day. It was still a bit of a low key year for us being that hubby is not working his second job. Yet it is totally worth his extra time home. Thankfully I already had random candy laying hiding around so this didn't cost as much as it could have. Also, I did change the wording a bit to fit what I did have. Here is the candy card I made for hubby and G.

Cute right... the kids and I had fun too. I have also done this for years at Vday with conversation hearts before pinterest too.


Another idea I completed this year was simply by using Walgreens.com to make some fabulous 5x7 photo cards. There are tons of same day service locations and they only cost 1.99 each. Watch out Hallmark! Anyone that knows me understands I simply dislike store bought cards as it stands. These are personal and zillions of options exist. If I preplanned I could actually complete more bday and other occasion cards. Well, that is if I actually got them mailed. I have a real problem with placing stamps on things and putting it in a mailbox.. Hmmm, if I see you regularly then maybe you will be in luck LOL.
Here are the other picture ideas I created or was inspired to use.

I especially love the foot one but the sand is pretty cool. I get all the credit for that idea.






All in all Daddy was surprised and happy with his gifts. The kids filled out a questionnaire thing for Daddy too giving him some laughs. Joey said one of the things he does for us is make the money, Evangelene said fights with her and she hits him. Good memories were made this year. Well, that and the massage I scheduled for him didn't hurt either.

The foaminator

Today was a very busy day and the first one my niece was back at our house in a weeks time. I can always count on the girls to be more motivated in the crafts and activities dept. As a creative crazy mostly organized momma I have binders where I put papers/magazine clippings of things I think sound yummy, interesting or fun. They are labeled and separated and have proven to be worth the effort to create. On this Friday which transitioned from a planned bike ride to a local town into a stay at home and work day, we needed a break from the work. Well, they didn't work close to the degree that hubby and I did. But unloading and stacking hay along with moving some lumber does count for something.

My dear sweet niece pulled out the binders and picked about 10 foods she would like to make. We (the girls that is) made a shopping list so next week we can make a few. As I flipped through them I cam across a craft called the foaminator. It either came from Parents or my current favorite magazine Family Fun and is not new. All you need are plastic bottles cut in half, towels cut in circles slightly bigger than the bottom of the cut bottle, rubber bands to attach the towel to the bottle and dish soap. I imagine many of you are like me and have those items at home right now.

After cutting the first one we learned that you need to make the bottle shorter than half in size. Another tip is that the towel needs to be cut about an extra inch or so around the circumference of the bottle to make it easier to attach with the rubber band. Our bottles are Ice Mountain and thereby thin. The thicker the water bottle the easier the rubber band won't collapse it. Next you get a dish filled with water, and another dish with nothing but dish soap. Dip the water bottle with towel attached in water first, then soap. Put your mouth on the opening and blow. It is so super cool! The kids were amazed and came flocking to try themselves when they saw our fun. My niece even thought the soap bubbles were interesting enough to play with in her hands too. I wanted to add food coloring to the soap and see if we could make some fun colors but alas hubby beckoned for me to help him outside. Maybe next time since I held on to our creation for more outdoor play another day.

I can't forget to add that sweet Kayla noticed that the remaining piece of plastic when I adjusted the height could be used as a bracelet. Great reduce, reuse, recycle thinking going on today for sure!!
Good luck and feel free to comment and tell me about it if you do it yourself.

Snack shop kicks off summer projects

Thanks to the internet these days the ideas run wild. For a motivated momma, teacher, preschool coordinator and babysitter/Aunt this inspires me, motivates me and distracts me all wrapped into one. If you are anything like me you will appreciate the ongoing list of projects I enjoy writing/completing too! For my first I will define my latest project which is my own creation NOT inspired by anyone at all. I am so proud of how well it worked out last summer and the updating this year tops that. A little information about my life is that I have 6 kids here with me all summer. By that I mean my 4 children and my niece and nephew ages 11 (soon to be 12), 10 (soon to be 11), 9, 7 (soon to be 8), 7 and 4 years old. Food intake is constantly increasing and snacking simply must be limited. Any parent gets that I am sure!! How does one do that without being a food Nazi, or Catholic school nun with her ruler on the hands kinda personality?? Well, open a snack shop is how you do just that. Snack shop is my own creation where the kiddos are given an allotted amount of money to buy 2 snacks a day throughout the summer. Squeeze in some banking skills by "depositing" that money in a check register requiring them to make withdrawals in small increments at a time, subtracting and totaling. Budgeting is key because this momma intentionally puts temptations such as soda, candy and doughnuts in the available items priced slightly higher so they have to choose wisely. Last year ice cream was purchased at such a huge rate that supply and demand caused prices to go up too. Another life lesson learned by all.

 The hardest part is pricing, and determining how much to give them per day. I do not share that amount with the kids though because I don't want them to use my amount to budget but learn through experience. These are the days to make money mistakes. Of course, fruit and vegetables plus water are free anytime of day. The snack shop is only open at 930 and 230. There is a sign stating who the cashier is as that rotates giving them all time to practice making change (something most people don't have to do these days). I previously was the sole banker in the past but I told them I would consider overseeing the withdrawals and updating of registers since they seem to be intrigued about that job too. I love their excitement, the joy on their faces when one of them announces to the others, "Snack shop time!" The bounding of feet can be heard from miles away as everyone crowds into the room. Now if you promise to keep a secret I calculated the number of days in the Mon-Fri rotation of summer then factored in a few days when we would be gone/holidays etc and multiplied by my approx budget of 1.40 a day. I randomly priced items so they would overspend and then later have options still to manage when they figure their mistake out. You can do it however you choose.

 I also used colored sticker dots to show the price on the boxes and then made a price list too. If you do something like this I would recommend NOT letting them outside of ear shot just so you can stay on top of the goings on but so far everyone has stayed legit. I put the items out of reach for all so no sneaking could occur. The only thing that does effect the day in and day out is the items in the fridge like string cheese, yogurt, bagels. On the weekends my kids eat those up. Either way we all enjoy the structure, kids included. I do hope these kids will never ever forget just how hard I work at ensuring they never stop learning.