Cupcakes and Commentary

First of all.

September 2009…

September 2010…

I cannot believe my sweet baby will be 2 in a little over a month!

And why I shouldn’t be allowed to cook pancakes.

So I have a quick tip that my Mom gave me. My Mom gives me all these great tips and I need to start sharing! If you are out of pancake mix, but have a box of muffin mix, you can just make the muffin mix up and then cook them just like you would a pancake! I tried this idea out this morning with apple cinnamon muffin mix. It turned out great, except I couldn’t get the edges to cook completely before the bottom burned. Every time. I mean every time. This won’t happen to you though. Only me. And my sister. It’s genetic.

Super A is slightly obsessed with the moon lately. We have to go check for it every night. Unfortunately it’s been cloudy the past few nights, so we haven’t been able to see it (to Super A’s BIG TIME disappointment). Trying to capture this interest I decided to do a little project with Super A using his new big boy markers, some construction paper, glitter and glue. So here are the pages from Super A’s Moon Book.

Super A believes the moon is always hungry. He says “Poor moon. He’s hungry”. If you ask what the moon is hungry for he usually wants a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

If your child is also interested in the moon, I did this craft with simple circle cut outs and I just wrote the different phases of the moon on either side. We used the crayola pip squeaks markers (which Super A also likes connecting together by their tops!).

Tags: moon book

This is a dinner that my husband and I used to make A LOT when we were in college. I think I originally got it from a Rachael Ray magazine, but I can neither find it now, or quite remember the original recipe. It is quick and easy (as in very few ingredients and you can make it in under twenty minutes!).

Tuna Pasta

Serves Two.

Ingredients:

1 cup elbow macaroni

1 5oz can of tuna

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

2 thick slices of chopped red onion (less than a 1/4 of the onion)

1 chopped garlic clove

1 tsp of red pepper flakes

1 tbs of chopped flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup half and half (or heavy cream. I always use half and half. Because I always have half and half)

Olive oil

Directions:

Cook macaroni according to package directions. While it is cooking start some olive oil cooking in a saute pan. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened (about 3-5 minutes). Add red pepper flakes, diced tomatoes, and drained tuna. Heat through (about another 5 minutes). Towards the end of cooking add in half and half and parsley. Once macaroni is finished cooking, drain and add to sauce. Mix and eat!

Hints:
If you want a thicker sauce you can add 1/4 cup more half and half, and some of the cooking liquid from the macaroni.

I do not add salt to the recipe because the tuna is pretty salty on its own. However, add salt and pepper to taste!

Birthdaypallooza. A term I affectionately attach to every birthday in our family as each birthday is typically celebrated over several days. This year was no different! On Saturday we went to my parents to celebrate with my favorite dinner (enchiladas, guacamole, and key lime pie). Then on Sunday morning Super A and my dear husband prepared me breakfast and had presents waiting when I got up. I love celebrating my birthday, most of all because it’s just too much fun with a bunch of kids to help rip your presents open and then get super excited about your brand new pair of pants!

“Oooh a dress!” Super A exclaimed! He then promptly ran over and handed it to my sister.

Ahh everyone came to see the belt. Even Paddington. Paddington was originally my dog. Now he belongs to my parents. However, he still likes to sit in my lap and claim me as his whenever I’m around.

A rare picture of all three of us. And looking at the camera no less!

The candles were Super A’s favorite part. We sang and blew them out twice. I better buy extra for his birthday!

So after a fun dinner Saturday night, I was greeted Sunday morning with more presents and of course, a hello kitty tablecloth. My husband and I have a long standing tradition of getting kid’s decorations for our birthdays. Tinkerbell, batman, and transformers have all made appearances. It’s always a surprise what the decorations will be!

Opening Super A’s card that he colored and stickered himself!

Reading through my new cookbook “The Pioneer Woman’s Cookbook” (Yes I know I’m behind in getting this!) Super A was very intrigued. I really think he’s going to be a chef. I mean how many one and a half year olds know how to say Paprika?

I love that this picture is a blur of motion because it describes the moment so well! Super A saw that I got a bag of chocolates. He sneaked them off the table put them in a pitcher and tried to run away with them! He literally tried to leave out the backdoor! That must be genetic (The love of chocolate. Not the stealing part. HA!).

This summer I have been working with Super A on the alphabet. Granted I realize that he is a little young to start writing his ABC’s, but not to young to start being able to recognize, working on the phonetics, and sing the song! Throughout the summer we would spend a few mornings a week working on our project. My goal was to create an alphabet book at the end. This is a fun project for any toddler and basically gives them their own personalized alphabet book at the end! So here is what I did.

What you need

8x 11′ Paper

Crayons

Stickers

Something to dot around the letters (I used Crayola’s toddler markers and stampers)

Letter Stickers

Patience! (A lot of patience)

Here’s what you do….

First write the upper and lowercase of each letter (give each letter it’s own piece of paper). Then we “dotted” our way around each letter (I helped him dot his way. I took his hand and we would dot with a crayola toddler marker or stamp…the one’s that look like round little animals).  I made up a song to go with the dotting as this helped Super A get into the process. By the end of the summer he would sing “Dot, Dot, Dot your way…dot your way through K!” and so on and so forth. Then I would let Super A color the picture, put stickers of the particular letter on there and basically any other stickers or stamps he wanted to use. We would also write a few of his favorite words along with the letter.  So here is our finished project (in collage form):

Then I took a picture of each page. I sent them all to Walgreen’s and they are making a photo book for me. That way I can keep his little handmade project and he can have his very own alphabet book, made by him!

Hints: Do not try to do this in one sitting. I would do one, maybe two each time we worked on it, and that was about all the attention Super A could provide to the project.

Keep it to crayons, stickers, and simple items. I tried to introduce pasta, glue, etc. in a few of the pictures and it was just a mess!

After we finished the project I found that another blog I read (Under the Sycamore Tree) had a DIY for alphabet books, so if you are looking for more ideas you can access it here!

Tags: alphabet book

Can you tell how much Super A loves raspberry jam? Just a little bit.

So here’s what we did for ten hours over two nights this weekend…

New paint. Finally. I can stop being the woman crawling the pale yellow walls of our house (have you read that short story? I think it was meant to terrify those of us who spend a majority of our time at home).

By the way the paint is a Sherwin Williams knock-off of Benjamin Moore’s Gray Horse color. I got the color idea from this post on Urban Grace Interiors Blog. I couldn’t be more happy with it. In fact I was so excited by the new color I decided I needed to do some other (yet far less expensive) re-do’s. I got super inspired by this post. And from that I created…

Blah.

Fabulous! All with bottles found around the house.

So now that I have discussed all those items…it’s time for Super A’s phrase(s) of the day:

“Pick-e- Up Please” (when he wants to be picked up)

“Where ‘bastian? Where Paddington? I really miss them” (when he is thinking of his doggies at my parents)

“Spider, right there! Spider, right there!” (he has a meticulous eye that is able to catch the tiniest spider…or piece of fuzz. Guess it’s time to vacuum.)

Right under where Super A is sitting there is a clear statement on the truck that says…DO NOT SIT ON THIS TOY.

And finally…

Must Try Brownies.

It’s from Giada at Home. You can find the complete recipe here. It combines raspberry, brownies, and white chocolate. I’m thinking this will go over well when it’s my turn to bring snacks at Bible Study this fall!

Tags: brownies, paint, Super A

This recipe was passed on to me from my sister, who got it from my Aunt Lisa. There are actually several different versions of this recipe on-line and I too have tweaked it a bit over time. Here is my version!

Croissant Chicken Pockets

(Makes 3-4 servings depending on package of crescent rolls)

Ingredients:

4 oz softened cream cheese

4 oz softened butter

1/3 cup milk

Shredded Small Rotisserie Chicken (I get a different type every time I go, sometimes the southwestern, sometimes the homestyle)

2 tbs chopped green onions

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 package refrigerated crescent rolls (you can get the small package of eight, or the “grands” package of six)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine and thoroughly mix all ingredients (except crescent rolls) in a bowl. Now you need to prep the crescent rolls.

To prep crescent rolls; place on a floured surface. Then combine two triangles together, and using a rolling pin, thin and smooth the “dotted” line.It should make a nice flat rectangle (or a really wobbly uneven one. That’s what mine typically look like. Then follow these instructions to fold:

I use an ice cream scoop to get good portions of the chicken mixture.

I use one scoop for the small crescent rectangles and two scoops for the “grands” ones.

Fold One.

Fold Two.

Fold Three.

Fold Four.

Then prick the tops a few times with a fork. Place on a greased baking sheet (or use non stick foil on a baking sheet) and cook the croissant pockets for about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.

I always find it funny at the items Super A suddenly becomes attached to. He will be very interested in one item for awhile and then switch to something else. Last night I thought we were going to have to put Super A to bed with his little drum and drum sticks. When he woke up this morning he immediately asked for the drum and then proceeded to sit with it and tap it softly as he watched Dinosaur Train. Then he tapped his way around the couch singing the introduction song from Little Gym. Luckily it’s not a very loud drum. I’m not prepared to buy him a drum set just yet!

Watching Dinosaur Train and drumming.

Concentrating very hard on his tapping on the ottoman.