Joey turns 11

Well as many times as we threatend him over the last year, he actually made it!! Joey turned 11. Here he is blowing out the candles of his cake. Jason was right there to cheer him on! This year I told all the kids that I was going to throw a pie in their face for their birthday. Nobody believed me!! So of course I had to do it! I snuck up behind Joey and got him good! It was so much fun. I wll totally have to keep doing this one! It was my favorite part of the birthday.

Joey opening his presents. He was pretty happy.

All in all a pretty fun day! And a pretty spoiled kid if you ask me. But he is worth it!

Love you Joey!

Your smile makes it worth anything!

St. Patricks day

Happy St. patricks day!

This is one of my favorite days of the year! The kids love it, and we all have so much fun!

This is a mountain dew cake I made for dessert last night, it turned out pretty yummy!This was our 'green'dinner last night. We had green bread, that me and Jason made yesterday. We were making bread, and those sneaky leprechans must have snuck in and turned our bread green! It was pretty silly, They also snuck in and turned our milk green, so we had green milk on our cereal. That was pretty crazy!

Here are all the cute kids in their lucky shirts! I don't know what the boys on the ends were doing but the faces they are pulling are something else!!! I guess with 5 kids, getting 3 of them to smile at a time is as good as it gets!

This is the kids showing off their loot after the leprechans snuck in and left a trail of shiny pennies that led to a pot of gold (lots of yummy candy)

Pretty fun day!!!

Go Irish!

Salt and Pepper

These cute little babies (well not so much babies anymore) have been so funny lately. Pepper got sick last week, she had a pretty bad cough, sore throat, little fever, you know all the nasty stuff running around, so I kept her home from preschool for a couple days, salt still went to school on wednesday, but thursday, he just couldn't do it anymore, he was feeling ok, but he just couldn't go with out his pepper!! he cried, and carried on about how he just wouldn't go, so yes, I actually gave in, and let him stay home, I know I couldn't believe it either, but it was just so cute. And besides daddy was home too, so I figured just this once!! Anyway it was so adorable! They are inseperable! Its hard to believe that kindergarten registration is next month! It makes me tear up just thinking about this one! (sniff sniff) This one will be hard! The babies of the family are growing up!

wow I have been craving Ice cream!!!

maybe its because I am channeling summer. Wouldn't that be nice. I am picturing a nice warm sunshine, flipflops, shorts, running through the sprinkles, jumping on the trampoline! ahhh I can't wait! So yes ice cream comes to mind.

So I have put together my favorite ice cream topping recipes!! this one pictured is butterscotch. YUM!!

BUTTERSCOTCH WITH SEA SALT

4 TBbutter

1C brown sugar

1TB corn syrup

3/4 c heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 tsp vanilla

in a med sauce pan melt butter over low-med heat. add brown sugar and corn syrup stir until well blended. stir frequently until the mixture turns from grainy to hot and bubbly. it will begin to look more like liquid, then you add the cream. , whisk until smooth. pour mixture into a glass bowl cool to room temp. when cool stir in vanilla and sea salt. keep refirgerated. you can reheat in microwave to serve over icecream.

APPLE CINNAMON SAUCE

2 apples

1/2c sugar

1 TB cinnamon

2 TB water

Mix all ingredients and boil for about 10 min. till apples are tender. pour over ice cream. (also good over pancakes) Watch carfully so they don't burn.

BALSAMIC STRAWBERRIES

In a large skillet over medium heat melt 1 TB butter add 2 cups hulled and halved strawberries, and 1/4 c. sugar, and 1 TB balsamic vinegar. cook until the strawberries are heated through and darkened to a ruby red. serve warm.

DULCE DE LECHE (MY FAV)

easy but takes time

1 can sweetened condensed milk

open the can of sweeten condensed milk and pour it into a tin pie pan, cover with foil place into a bigger pan of water. cook in the oven at 300 degrees for about 2 hours till the milk starts to darken. this makes a rich carmel YUM!!! enjoy!!

SO BREAK OUT THE ICE CREAM AND START EATING!!

Teddy Bear

This is what Brian looked like when he got home from work this last time. It must have been really cold!!! Now we really have a great big cuddly hairy teddy bear! but we love our teddy bear!

more cuppies

ok finally the last of the cupcake recipes!! Sorry life has been crazy (not like that is anything different) but here are the last of the cupcake recipes from the birthday party. I promise you they are not the last of the recipes because I have already tried and loved a couple more, that I will post later!!
SMORES CUPCAKES
This one is a little involved, but SO worth it!
first you need to get about 20 graham crackers squares and make crumbs. thats the fun part! I put mine in a ziplock baggie and smush with my rolling pin. Then mix with 1/3 c. melted butter, and 1/4 c. sugar.
Line 2 standard muffin tins with liners, and sprinkle 1 TB.graham cracker mixture in bottom of liners reserving remaining for the tops of the cupcakes. use the bottom of a small glass to pack the crumbs down.
Next you take like a symphone bar, or any kind of chocolate bar, about 10 oz. finely chopped. sprinkle about 2 tsp. on top of the graham crackers. Bake this for about 5 min. at 350. remove from oven. and fill each muffin cup three quarters full with the cake batter. Which is here.........

1. sift 2 cups plus 2 TB sugar, 1 3/4 c. flour, 3/4 c. cocoa 1 1/2 baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp.baking soda, and 1 tsp salt together.
2. in another bowl mix 2 large egg, 1 c. whole milk, 1/2 c. oil, and 2 tsp vanilla . mix together, then add to dry mix. mix for 2 min. Add 1 cup boiling water.
After you fill three quarters full top with remaining graham cracker crumbs and chocolate return to oven and bake at 350 for 18-20 min. or till a toothpick comes out clean.

Marshmellow frosting (also known as 7 min. frosting)
2 egg whites, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4c. sugar, 3/4 c. karo sugar, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat together 2 egg whites and 1/4 tsp salt with a mixer until very frothy. Add 1/4 c. sugar VERY slowly. and beat until smooth and glossy. SLOWLY add 3/4 c. light karo syrup and beat until it holds stiff peaks. gently fold in 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla.
I know this recipe is a little confusing but feel free to call me or email me if this doesn't make sense! sometimes thinks make sense in my head and I write them down and they don't quite turn out right on paper (or computer in this case)


cream cheese or black bottom cupcakes
ok for this one, you make your regular cake mix, homemade or from a box, it really doesn't matter, the fun part on this one is the fun center:
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3c. sugar
1/8 tsp salt
6 oz chocolate chips
beat cream cheese, and sugar, add in salt, then egg. mix well. then add in the chocolate chips. prepare cake mix acording to directions, fill paper cupcake liners 1/3 full with cake batter. top with heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture. bake for 30-35 min. makes 24 cupcakes.
FROSTING
1 cube margarine
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese
beat together
add 1 lb pwd sugar, 2 TB vanilla you may need to add 1-2 tb milk. mix well.