Look Who Turned 7!

While I've been on a bit of a bloggy break, my D turned 7! We celebrated with a trip to a local water park. (Only in Miami...)

Pizza and cake...

And presents!

He is still THIS excited about his birthday! May God grant you a fabulous year, D!!

New Year's Eve Pajama Party

Happy New Year! We rang in the New Year with lots of fun.

We started our evening with a worship service at church and then we got ready for our New Year's Eve Pajama Party.

We started with a little carpet picnic and movie. The boys love a big plate of lil' smokies, carrots and dip, mini quiche, cheese and crackers...

Then we enjoyed some board games. Operation, Clue Jr. and Tumblin' Monkeys.

We even had a little target practice with A's Nerf gun and board.

We finally had some time to put together our gingerbread house.

Right before midnight we "counted down" as the ball dropped in NYC and then we ran out to the drive way to light sparklers.

We finished off the evening by "camping out" in the family room.

A Blessed New Year to all of my "bloggy friends"!!

WFMW: Entertaining Tip

Having people over soon? Will you be serving steaks, nibbles, cookies, or drinks? Doesn't matter what you are serving, I know you will need a huge stash of napkins! Here's an easy tip to spruce up your pile of napkins.

Start with a neat pile of napkins.

Assuming you are right-handed, hold the pile in your left hand- at an angle. Use your right fist to hold the napkins in your hand.

Stretch out your right thumb a bit and begin to gently press and rotate your right hand into the stack of napkins. This should "smoosh and slide" your napkins off each other in a spiral fashion.

Put the napkins back on the table and remove the top one that you got all "smooshy".

Admire the simplicity and elegance that a pretty stack of napkins will give you! Leave a comment and then run on over to Shannon's blog for more great Works for Me Wednesday tips!

Happy Canada Day!

When my hubs and I were first married we lived in Canada. (Those were very happy years, eh?) I miss things about living there... all seasoned potato chips, Smarties, Pirogi, cabbage rolls, penne, Tim Horton's donuts, German baked goods, hot tea served at church dinners, etc. And all sorts of other food experiences, apparently. (Really, sweet Canadian friends, you know I miss you, too!)
I was talking to a friend the other day and I asked her if she had a recipe for Nanaimo Bars. These are delightful little treats that were occasionally on the dessert trays at church functions. Named for a Canadian city... they have a chocolate-coconut-nutty base, a middle layer of pudding or custard flavored icing, and a layer of chocolate. She said she didn't have a recipe. Well, a quick search on the Internet and viola... a recipe! This recipe is from About.com, I've just added my suggestions and comments.
I'm whipping up a batch of these tasty treats in honor of Canada Day, July 1. Let's celebrate in a yummy way, eh?

Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:
24 squares graham crackers, crushed
1 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I think any nut would work here. I believe almonds are the most traditional choice.)

1 stick butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 egg, unbeaten

4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 packet (3 tablespoons) Bird's dessert powder, or use (3 T) instant vanilla pudding mix
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
.
4 one-ounce squares semisweet chocolate
1 T butter

Preparation:
Thoroughly grease 9-inch square pan and line with foil. (I used the quick release foil.)

In large ziploc bag, combine graham crackers, coconut and nuts.

In medium pan over very low heat slowly melt the stick of butter. Remove from heat and add the 1/4 cup sugar and the 1/4 cup cocoa. To avoid scrambling the egg, pour a tiny bit of cocoa mixture over the egg and beat. Do this a few times until the temp of the egg is roughly the same as the temperature of the cocoa mixture. (This isn't hard at all.) Beat the egg mixture into the cocoa mixture and add the crumb & nut blend. Spread and press in pan and chill.

In mixing bowl, combine 4 tablespoons butter, powdered sugar, dessert powder or instant pudding powder, vanilla, and milk; beat to blend well. Spread on chilled bottom layer. Chill.

Combine semisweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter, melt over hot water or in microwave. Spread chocolate over pudding layer. Mark small squares before chocolate sets. Chill. (I didn't have chocolate squares, so I just eye-balled the chocolate amount using chocolate chips. I wanted enough to cover the pudding layer completely.)

Remove from pan and cut with a large knife. Wipe the knife with warm water and dry between cuts to avoid breaking the chocolate layer.

Birthday Boy

Now, who doesn't love a birthday? Last Sunday A turned 8! Maybe he'll share some of his riches with me. Maybe his brothers can distract him with a movie or video game while I snatch all the bucks... Never mind. I guess I'll just have a piece of that yummy cookie!

I wanted to add: When he opened the present from Grandma and Grandpa in WI the box was a toaster box. We all knew that the present was NOT a toaster, and we teased him about the box. "A toaster??? What are you going to do with a toaster?" He, ever so diplomatic, replied, "It is a FOUR slice toaster!" :)

WFMW: Party-in-a-Bag

One of my favorites things to do for kids' parties is what I call, "Party-in-a-Bag."

I take a party favor bag and put in:

a drink (juice box, Caprisun, or mini bottled water)
a fruit cup (or applesauce, or apple slices-to-go) and spoon
a food "treat" (little bag of chips, granola bar, pudding cup, or a snack cake)

a toy "treat" (funny sunglasses, a mini slinky, a tiny coloring book, etc.)

a festive napkin

These Party Bags are fun and easy to distribute and the kids love them. The kids open the bags to enjoy a snack together and take home whatever they don't eat. You can easily supplement the "Party-in-a-Bag" with a slice of pizza or a hunk of birthday cake.

Please leave a comment and then head on over to Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW tips.

My wild and crazy boys at a friend's birthday party a few weeks ago.

Christ, He Has Risen!

He has risen, indeed!

A little Easter basket fun. The boys were so excited to find that thier baskets weren't baskets at all, but baseball gloves filled with Easter treats. (S's carrot bat and pea ball is my favorite!)

A little egg hunting at church...
Dinner with friends.

...and this cute peeps cake. A littel Easter egg hunt bounty from the hunt at my friend's house.

But, my favorite photo of the day is this one!

Nothin' Says Celebratin' Like Fondue!

I know New Year's is gone in many of your memories as the stores rush to sell you pink and red valentine's, but I just wanted to post a few pics and a few recipes. So let's take a little wander back to my New Year's Eve Celebration!

Our family chose to celebrate the arrival of the New Year with plenty of home grown fan fare and pajamas. Game boards and electronic games were the entertainment while the dinner was coming together in the kitchen.

Dinner was mini sausages, bread chunks and apples dunked in cheese fondue. Chocolate dessert fondue followed our cheese fondue. What could be tastier than fruit, marshmallows and pound cake dripping in chocolate?

After the tasty fondue dinner (served on holiday paper plates) we returned to our living room to make sleeping bag nests to watch movies. We were all wearing our jammies as the original Herbie the Lovebug movie played on the dvd player and everyone was wide awake. (Ooooh the anticipation.)

Just before midnight we poured "toasting beverages" (champagne for the grown ups and Sprite for the kiddos) and turned on the tv so we could watch the ball drop. We counted down and then kissed and toasted and ran into the driveway to light sparklers.

Cheese Fondue

4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1.4 t cinnamon
1/4 t mace

1/4 t nutmeg
1/8 t salt

5 T flour

2 c apple juice

Mix the spices and flour. Add a small amount of the apple juice to the flour/spice mixture in a seal able jar. Shake until smooth. Pour in a saucepan and whisk in the rest of the apple juice. Stir in the cheese. Let simmer a bit and then dip away! Warmed (mini) sausages, hunks of bread, and green apple slices were very good dipped in the cheese fondue.

Chocolate Fondue

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 T butter

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 T water

t vanilla

In heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt chocolate chips and butter with sweetened, condensed milk, and water. Cook and stir constantly until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add vanilla.

Serve warm with "dippers" (pound cake cubes, strawberries, banana slices, marshmallows, etc. Store leftovers in fridge. (Makes a great ice cream topping, also.)

Warning! Here's what can happen with too much fondue and too little sleep! (S, the following afternoon.)

May God grant you His many blessings in 2008!