Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Golf Cookies!



I've been reading a lot of cookie blogs lately (like this one, this one, and this one) and was inspired to get a little more adventerous with these cookies.



My cousin Scot and his new bride Kelly had a golf-themed party to celebrate their marriage last weekend, and I thought these cookies would be fun.



The golf balls were inspired by this post.



And I found a few of these scenes on Flickr (search: golf cookies).



Big tray of sprinkle hearts ... mmmmm, sparkly!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Baking Monday - Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies

Baking Monday is back! I had forgotten that the pool season was starting tonight, so I didn't plan today's recipe in advance, but did find a good recipe in the Taste of Home cookie book to try.



They look identical to the Chocolate Brownie Cookies that I've made before, but a very different recipe and one additional ingredient - coffee, mmmm. I can't stand actual coffee, but love it in baked goods and ice cream. These mixed and baked quickly - done and out of the oven before any kids were down for breakfast this morning! Hershey's Dark Cocoa makes these look black instead of brown and makes them taste extra yummy.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Kids in the Kitchen

We haven't done a lot of home projects this summer - the kids have been so happy to just play their own thing when we're here - but it was easy to get everyone on board for a candy project.



We saw a segment on tv about a candy company that makes chocolate covered gummy bears and the kids were intrigued. We don't have gummy bears at home, but do have a big supply of gummy worms, thanks to a special aunt who sends the kids home with bags every time we see her.



So, we melted some chocolate and started dipping. Clark doesn't like worms, so they made him some jellybean clusters instead.



Not very pretty to look at, but ...



... everyone liked them. The jellybeans were preferred to the worms, probably because they are softer and easier to eat.

We also decided to make these lollipops!



Ours didn't turn out nearly as neat, but still very cool looking. They didn't melt evenly - perhaps because the Jolly Ranchers have been hanging around our house for awhile - but it was interesting to note that the grape melted first, followed by the green apple and the pesky pink watermelon were last.



Yum!!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Poppins



Dora as Mary Poppins for the last day of camp - dress like your favorite movie character. Pretty good for a homemade costume put together with less than 24 hours notice.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Happy Theo Day!

The middle child has been quite moody lately. He and I were having dinner after a long day of errands, and despite an ice cream stop in the middle of the day, was still grumbling and complaining.

"There should be a day," he said, "where I get to make all the decisions."

Done. I told him. Tomorrow is Theo Day. You decide what to do. His face lit up. "Really?" Right after dinner, he sat down to make up a schedule, and posted it in the kitchen and outside the bedrooms.



I liked how he alternated some play time with the candy eating and Xbox-ing.



Morning tv time ...



... and play time ...



... followed by some candy eating ...



It was raining on and off all day, so the trip to the carousel was replaced with an hour at Chuck E. Cheese.



By 6 pm, the sun was finally out, so I suggested a walk instead of the scheduled evening XBox time, and he agreed. It's kind of nice when they realize on their own that a day of nothing can sometimes be too much. The playground was still too wet to play, so we walked to the creek and threw rocks. (Something we should really do more often - hours of entertainment!)

Luck was on our side, because mere minutes after we arrived home, the skies opened up and started pouring again.

This was a lot of fun, and I have to say that I really enjoyed saying yes to everything all day. Big payoff for not too much work. Happy Theo Day!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Summer Musical

Workshop tuition - $195
Tshirt - $15
Tickets - $90
Program ad - $40
DVD - $30
Flowers - $16
Ice cream cake - $20
Candy grams - $5



Seeing this expression up on stage - Priceless!



Dora just finished her first musical theatre workshop. She didn't love the experience - there were some tears early on, and I think the amount of work involved really surprised her. However ... that girl LOVED being on stage. She was just radiating happiness. 



She was in two performances of "The Best of Disney", playing one of the seven dwarfs. She had six songs and dances to learn and did a wonderful job.



Up until last night, she said that she would not want to do another show, but seeing her expression up on stage this weekend said otherwise. Hopefully, the big payoff of performance day will be enough to make her want to try it again. I'm just going to wait awhile before asking!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Fun With the Camera



The kids borrowed my camera and I found evidence of floating children.