Review and Giveaway…..
Hey everybody….Emi over at Mommy and Me Giveaways is doing a review and giveaway of one of my custom shorties! Head on over there to win a custom woolie by me!!
And don’t forget about Fun and Funky Mommy giveaway!
In: Etsy shop, Giveaways, Review
Long Beach Island bike ride….
This past week was the annual bike ride to LBI. For the first time, Tuesday did the ride! She did great! It was her longest bike ride! She and Christopher did the bike ride down and I did the bike ride home. The ride home took about 5 1/2 hours…not bad! And it only rained for about 20 minutes!
In: Family, Family Fun, Tuesday, biking
Finished reading nook…..
Awhile ago, I posted photos of my latest mural being finished…but the area wasn’t completely finished…..I still had to make new seat cushions. I wasn’t sure which fabric I wanted to use…so it took me awhile to decide. I needed a fabric that could take a beating…..3 children, 2 dogs and 5 cats! I decided to go with a thick corduroy in green. I love the color and I think it goes well with all the other crazy colors in our living room!
Yesterday I finally got around to sewing up the covers! The kids instantly loved them and wanted to sit in the “nook” and read and rest! Now, I just need to make some pillow covers! Maybe next week……
In: Decorating, house fixing, miscellaneous, murals, sewing
Dress Up……
River loves to play dress up. I think all my children enjoyed dressing up.
She’ll ignore the dress up bin for a couple of weeks…and then go on a binge….changing into costumes all morning…..
Sometimes she’ll just put on some crazy outfit and decide to wear it for the rest of the day!
And sometimes her brother and sister get involved…but I’m not allowed to show those photos!
In: Family Fun, River
Favorite Shoes…..
Who doesn’t have a pair of favorite shoes? Quinn’s favorite shoes are his Crocs. He literally wears them everyday, all year! It doesn’t matter if it is snowing, raining or hailing! We had so much snow this year and he still wore his Crocs!
Tuesday’s favorite shoes are her Adidas flip flops. She needs a new pair. We’ve ordered her a new pair. She is very picky about her shoes. Once she finds a pair of shoes she likes..she wants the same pair over and over again. This isn’t always easy. They always have to be “ordered”…thank goodness for the internet!
River’s favorite shoes are her pink Uggs. She needs new ones. Hers are disgustingly dirty! You can’t call them boots…they are Uggs..she reminds you of this. She wears them even if it is 99° outside! She loves them!
In: Family Fun, Quinn, River, Tuesday, funny things
Summer Popsicles….
It all starts out innocent…..”Mom, can I have a popsicle?”
But it is summertime, and there is nothing innocent about popsicles…they just melt too fast…
Kids just don’t get the ratio of licks per second to counteract the melting factor! It is agonizing to watch…as a parent, you just want to take over……
You want to help your child……but you know they just have to learn…one of life’s most important lessons…..
That if they don’t figure out the licking/melting ratio factor thingie…….the inevitable is going to happen…..
the popsicle spills to the ground…..
but that’s okay….you just teach them the other rule in life…pick it up and keep on going……
In: Family Fun, River, reflections
Atomic Fire Balls, Hot Tamales and Cry Baby Sour Balls……photo shoot…..
So, I am still following along with the Giver’s Log Shoot Along and this weeks assignment was to do a sour face or fire ball photo shoot. So, we went out and bought some Hot Tamales, Atomic Fireballs and Cry Baby Sour gum. Everyone got in on the act and got their picture taken. The real challenge of the day was to put all three different candies in your mouth at once…but no one was up to that challenge!
River didn’t want to try the hot stuff…and I didn’t force her….she thought the sour balls were delicious and didn’t make any good faces…except cute ones!!!!! Tuesday was convinced that River is too young and didn’t know what sour was…but I assured her, that River knows what sour is…but for some reason…thought the sour balls were yummy!
It was a lot of fun to look over all the funny faces….especially my own! I think Tuesday made the best faces of all…with Quinn coming in a close second!
In: Family, Family Fun, Quinn, River, Tuesday, funny things, photography
Ciabatta Bread with a bread machine……
I’m into making bread…but using my bread machine. I’m trying to make all different kinds of breads. I have perfected my plain rolls and my french bread recipes.
I decided to try Ciabatta bread. The first recipe I tried is considered for beginners…..next, I will have to try the more complicated version….supposedly using sour dough or “sponge”…..I will keep you posted on the outcomes.
The recipe was incredibly easy…it did say that the dough will be incredibly sticky and runny…and it was! The bread turned out flat…I don’t know if that was due to the high humidity that day…or just my baking skills..but it was tasty..and as always, much better when eaten fresh!
Ciabatta Bread – Bread Machine Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 1/4 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Directions
- Place ingredients into the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select the Dough cycle, and Start.
- Dough will be quite sticky and wet once cycle is completed, resist the temptation to add more flour. Place dough on a lightly floured board, cover with a large bowl, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Lightly flour or use parchment lined baking sheets. Divide into 2 pieces, and form each into a 3×14 inch oval. Place loaves on prepared sheets, dimple surface, and lightly flour. Cover, and let rise in a draft free place for approximately 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
- Dimple dough for a second time, and then place loaves in the oven, positioned on the middle rack. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. During baking, spritz loaves with water every 5 to 10 minutes for a crispier crust.
In: Bread, Uncategorized, recipe
Butterfly Friend….
We have had a butterfly hanging out in our driveway for several months now. Whenever we are playing in the driveway..he (or she) is there….fluttering about.
Truthfully, I don’t know that much about butterflies. Someone asked me if it was a moth…so I had to do some research and I think he is definitely a butterfly…..butterflies have a “hook” on the end of their antennae and when they are resting, they rest with their wings together, not spread out. And this little guy seems brightly colored, not dull. Now, supposedly, there are exceptions to these rules..but in general….I think he is a butterfly.
If you sit still, he will instantly land on you. Sometimes he has a friend with him, but mostly he seems to be by himself. He seems to come out around late afternoon and he hangs out until dusk.
When he flies close to your ears, you can actually hear his wings fluttering….pretty cool.
River wants to have the butterfly land on her…….at least she thinks she does…she sits still…and just as the butterfly is about to land…she runs away…….I kept trying to get shots of the butterfly landing on her…but she kept moving away……though she made a cute pose as she waited for the butterfly!
In: Family, Family Fun, Quinn, River
Shark Cupcakes…..
I had to bake a dessert for a bake sale for my childrens swim team….I couldn’t make something simple..I had to make something fun…..so I did a search on the internet and found these on the Martha Stewart website:
So, I made my own version. For the cupcakes I used my Simple Cake Recipe, which is one of my favorite recipes! I wanted to make really fluffy icing….so I find a fluffy white frosting recipe. It worked out pretty well. The icing tasted more like a meringue.
I made the shark fins by melting white chocolate and adding a tablespoon of light corn syrup and some food coloring. I let it refrigerate for about 3 hours and then cut out the shapes. All in all, I think they turned out pretty cute and they were a hit….I’d definitely make them again…..though I think I would try to make these from Hello Cupcakes:
FLUFFY WHITE FROSTING (taken from Coleen’s Recipes)
In a large bowl, put two egg whites, a teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of almond extract…set aside.
In a saucepan, mix 1 cup of granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, dash of salt and 1/3 cup of water. Cook and stir until it just comes to a boil and sugar dissolves.
Start beating your egg whites and extracts on HIGH while you slowly drizzle in the hot syrup. Keep beating on high until stiff peaks form.
With a hand held electric mixer, this can take up to 7 minutes, but with my stand mixer it only takes about 4 minutes. Recipe makes enough to frost a 9″ two layer cake or a 10″ tube cake or 24-36 cupcakes.
