Overheard at the Park Today

I took Ella to the park today.  She is talking non-stop these days.  Here are a few tidbits from her while we were at the park today:

"The park is nice.  Thanks mommy!"
"I like this swing.  The best swing ever."
"More power! More power!"
"What's that?  A plane!  I'm scared of that plane.  It bites me."
"I'm flying in the sky.  Tweet tweet!  I'm a bird."
"Look!  A tree!  It's beautiful mommy."
"The tree!  It's wiggling!  I'm wiggling too!"
"We're home!  We made it."
"I'm free!"  (when I unbuckled her from the stroller)
"We're home!  Thanks stroller, good job!"

Lemon-Lime Poppy Seed Cake

This cake is very easy and very tasty.  I always get tons of compliments on this one!

Ingredients:
1 package Yellow cake mix
1 small package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/4 c. poppy seeds
4 eggs
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. lime juice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients.  Beat with a mixer on low speed for 30 seconds.  Beat on medium speed for 2 min.  Pour into a greased and floured 10 inch fluted tube pan.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.


Glaze:
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. lime juice


In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth.
Drizzle over cooled cake.


Yum!

After A Nap...

Can You

Say

Bed Head?

Easter

Tomorrow is Good Friday.  How are you celebrating?  I'm really trying to balance Easter bunnies and eggs with the message of the cross and what that means for us.  I want my kids to have happy spring memories of coloring Easter eggs and searching for them with their cousins.  Those are some of my best memories.  But, I also want them to start thinking about why our family really celebrates Easter.  When you really think about the magnitude of the sacrifice that was made, it seems silly to celebrate with eggs and rabbits.  So, we are trying to find a good balance.  We will color eggs tomorrow night or Saturday, depending on when we have time.   We'll have an Easter egg hunt and brunch with friends on Saturday...and another Easter egg hunt and lunch with family on Sunday. But here are some of the things we're doing to remember and celebrate the sacrifice, and the resurrection that forever changed the course of history and the destinies of our souls.  I would love to hear your ideas too.

Good Friday will be busy.  We'll have a service at church.  The kids will take part in a passover dinner.  We will have communion and a really moving service in which people share their "cardboard testimonies."  In case, like me, you've never heard of "cardboard testimonies" check out this link...it is awesome.
cardboard testimonies

To teach Aidan the meaning of what happened on the cross, we are going to do this family night activity on Friday before church:  Good Friday Family Night.

On Saturday night, we'll be making Easter Story cookies.  I posted the recipe here.

Of course we'll go to church at Eagle's View on Sunday.  I'll work with the kids that morning as they present the grace message, and then go to church myself.

Wow...it's going to be a busy weekend!

I'd love to hear other ideas for Easter.

Easter pictures coming soon!  :-)

Perfect Day

Crisp morning air...coffee...cartoons with Ella...Bible Study...Vicki's birthday...Denise's cake...good friends...good conversation...Melissa and a frappuccino...walking home from school...warm sunshine...dandelions and daffodils...windows open...play date with Logan and Landry...homemade oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...lemonade...slip and slide...trampoline...swingset...sandbox...barefeet...pretty toes...dinner outside...driving with the windows down...radio blaring...It's spring!

Tyra has Nothing on Me!

So, Aidan was watching The Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday night.  At one point they introduced Tyra Banks as one of the award presenters.  When they introduced her, they called her "the beautiful Tyra Banks."  Aidan said, "they call that beautiful?  Even my mom is more beautiful than her!"  Even my mom? I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended.  What do you think?

Potato Soup

This is a standby recipe for me...I always have the ingredients on hand, it's fast and easy, and my kids love it.  My grandmother and mother always made potato soup.  I still want it when I'm not feeling well.  I've added a few ingredients to it.  People always ask me for the recipe when I make it, so I thought I'd post it here.  I'll do the best I can with measurements...I don't really measure anything when I make this, so you may have to play with the amounts a little.

Ingredients:
6 medium sized potatoes
milk  (1-2 cups depending on how thick you want the soup)
1-2 Tbsp butter
chives (fresh are the best, dried work too...I have no idea on the amount...roughly 1/4 c. of fresh or 1 Tbsp dried)
bacon (you can use bacon bits also...2-3 slices crumbled, or a couple of Tbsp of bacon bits)
shredded cheddar cheese (about a cup)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel and slice potatoes
2. boil potatoes until tender, but not mushy
3. Drain off about 1/2 the water
4. Mash about 1/2 of the potatoes, this makes the soup thick and creamy and not watery
5. Add milk, butter, chives and bacon, cheese, salt and pepper.
6.  Cook and stir until soup is warm and cheese is melted
Adjust the amount of milk to how thick you want the soup.

This soup takes more salt than you think to taste just right...the potatoes absorb a lot of the salt.  (I never said it was healthy!)

It's really good with saltine crackers or garlic cheese biscuits.