Saturday

You are looking at the beautiful squirrel feeders Mason and Logan made at Lowe's today. Our friend told us about these free classes they do for kids every Saturday morning so we thought we would check it out today since Eric had to work. The boys did such a good job hammering in all their nails and they got to wear safety goggles and a Lowe's apron while working on their projects.

Logan proudly displaying his feeder...
And Mason with his. Can't wait to see the acrobatics the squirrels will have to do to get his bread...Do you think this will keep the squirrels out of our trash?
After Eric got home, he took the kids for a spin on our snow shovel. They loved it, of course.


Here's to good clean fun on a Saturday. If only we could have squeezed in some haircuts. Yes, I know my boys are shaggy.

Snow Fun

We had a great snow day on Friday. It was great because the snow was actually soft and fluffy, not icy or slushy. We were glad we went out when we did because an hour later it started to rain and our nice snow did turn to slush.
When I started shoveling the sidewalks around our house, the boys came running out with their sand shovels saying, "We can help you Mom!" Their contributions weren't huge, but their enthusiasm was, so I couldn't help but smile.
After shoveling, we made some "baby" snowmen. The boys wanted carrots for the noses and M&M's for the mouths and were disappointed that we couldn't get either to stick. Then Mason had the idea to try grapes for the eyes, and we discovered that grapes with toothpicks worked perfectly for all facial features!
After playing outside for almost 2 hours the boys wanted to warm up with some hot chocolate. I didn't have any mix, but I remembered there was a recipe in my Deceptively Delicious cookbook, so I whipped up some hot chocolate with sweet potato puree - delicious! Well let's be honest, it wasn't as good as Dunkin Donuts, but the kids couldn't tell and it warmed us up!
Despite the fun we had in the snow, I sure wish we were having fun in the sun instead. I am SO ready for spring!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I love Valentine's Day because 9 years ago today I got engaged! It was 12:01 am and we were in Jackson Hole, WY in Antler Park and it was zero degrees. I had no idea Eric was planning to propose, even though we had been dating almost a year. It was very romantic and I can't wait until we can go back to Jackson Hole to celebrate Valentine's Day again.
Because today is the day of love, I thought pink pancakes would be an appropriate choice for dinner. It is one of the recipes out of my Deceptively Delicious cookbook and it turned out really yummy! The cooked pancakes were definitely pink, but the real beauty of making them was the batter.
Here is recipe in case you would like to try it:
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. ricotta cheese
1/4 c. beet puree
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 c. pancake mix
1/4 c. grated apple
Nonstick cooking spray

First of all, to puree beets, trim stems to one inch, wrap them in aluminum foil and roast at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Peel and place in a food processor or blender for 2 minutes, or until smooth.

Combine the water, ricotta cheese, beets, vanilla, and cinnamon in a blender or food processor. Dump the mixture into a medium bowl and add the pancake mix and apple. Stir until just combined, the batter will be slightly lumpy. Cook on medium high heat in a skillet coated with cooking spray, using about 1/4 c. batter for each pancake. Serve warm with fruit or syrup.

I doubled this recipe for my family and added 1/4 c. more water to the mix because I like my pancakes a little thinner. Everyone in our family enjoyed these "beefed" up pancakes so I hope you do too!

Potty Training Update

I'm sure you are all dying to know how potty training Logan is going (ha!). Well, all I can say is it has definitely been a different experience than it was with Mason. You were all right about the fact that it would most likely take more than one day - it's been more like 3 weeks. Both boys got the flu during the 2nd week of training, which totally set Logan back, but this week seems to be getting easier. I have finally ventured out of the house with him in underwear instead of pull-ups and we haven't had one accident! The only problem we have left to conquer now is going #2 in the potty. He hasn't done it once in the 3 1/2 weeks since I started potty training. He usually goes first thing when he wakes up before I have a chance to change him out of a pull-up. Any suggestions on tackling this challenge?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Mason went to a super cool Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday party for his friend, Colin, last week and came home with headbands, waistbands, and various weapons. Since that night, Mason and Logan have been Leonardo and Rafael at every opportunity. I love how Logan puts on his own headband, it makes him look like such a girl with those curls sticking out! Thank you Jordan for the cool costumes!

New Date Night Group

Our ward has this great system of 3-5 families getting together to create babysitting co-ops where each family babysits one Friday night each month. We have 5 families in our group so we babysit one night and get 4 nights of babysitting free! It's great! The families of the group we were in last year all moved so we joined a new group last fall. There are 7 boys (3 four year olds and 4 two year olds) and 3 girls, so it is pretty crazy as you can imagine. Last Friday was our turn and the kids spent most of the time harassing Eric. He was being shot at, stabbed at, roped up, driven on by cars, etc. I just stood back and took pictures!

Here are most of the kids in our group, we couldn't get two of them (Zea and Abby) to get in the picture. As you can see, dressing up is also a favorite activity at date night, but we don't have quite enough costumes. The kids really do get along well and look forward to "date night" each week. For poor folks like us, this system is awesome!

Getting Crafty

I just finished my first cross stitch project and am feeling so crafty! I am the enrichment leader in our ward and one of our sisters suggested teaching everyone how cross stitch for an activity. Well, of course I wasn't the instructor, but my friend Kim Millard did a great job getting everyone started. Another one of my friends, Jordan, found these cute frames at the dollar store that fit our project perfectly, so we were able to offer this craft for only $2.50. I thought it was a great deal and I am so excited to have mine done! I must admit, cross stitching is kind of addicting, I'm already thinking I need to start another one. Or maybe I'll try knitting next...who knows - I'm enjoying being crafty for once!