Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  Again, we tried to pack in a ton of activities for the little ones in a short period of time, for lots of family fun!  Our goal is that our children will understand the true meaning of Easter and not just think of it as candy, eggs, bunnies, and baskets.  We decided this year to do several resurrection type activities leading up to Easter Sunday before the Easter bunny came to fill our baskets.  Our hope is to more meaningful activities leading up to their baskets so that they can understand the importance of Easter and why we celebrate it.   

One of favorite activities this year was when we took white carnations and put them in colored waters.  The white carnation was to symbolize Christ and his purity, while the colored water represented our sins, or bad choices as we told the kids.  Then we got to see how Christ took the sins of the world upon Him as he did in the Garden, as the carnations began to change color according to the waters.  The kids LOVED this activity and we even left the flowers in the waters for at least 3 days so the kids could keep checking on them.

We also managed to sneak in our Church Easter Egg Hunt, Making Resurrection Rolls, Coloring Eggs, and Paper Plate tombs.  Happy Easter! 

Before changing colors

Coloring eggs

The Easter Bunny Came..yes even mom and dad got little Easter Baskets :)

Making Resurrection rolls for breakfast on Easter Sunday

Testing out the new sets of markers the Easter Bunny brought

Happy Easter

Happy Valentine's Day

This Valentine's we'd planned some Daddy dates for everyone.  Daddy has been working so much, since before Thanksgiving, that we all needed some one-on-one time with him.  The weekend started with Justin surprising me by taking Friday off and not even telling me!  So when I left the Y at 10am on Friday, I found the kids and daddy swimming in the pool, and when they got out, they handed me a box of truffles from our local chocolatier...Yum!  Later that afternoon began the first of our daddy-dates with Ethan and Daddy heading to the theater to see the new Lego Movie.  Ethan loved it and had a blast with his one-on-one time with daddy.  Next we'd planned that night for Daddy and Claire to dance it up at our local YMCA's Valentine's dance.  Claire loves to dance since she's a ball of energy, and she loves balloons, which covered the gym floor, so you can bet daddy and Claire had a blast.  Finally, Saturday we planned our Mommy and Daddy date.  We took the kids to our Y's Parent's Night Out (seriously amazing, if you haven't checked into your local Y's Parent's Night Out, you need to!) and then we headed home to enjoy being in our own home sans children...which never happens.  We both worked together to cook up a Valentine's dinner for two that included california rolls, pork & leek dumplings, stuffed clams, and crab bisque...man did it hit the spot.  Of course, there was nothing better than a quiet dinner for two in the comforts of our own home. :)  We picked up the kids around 8pm to put them to bed and it was back to reality...almost.  Daddy took off Monday from work too!  So we had even more daddy/family time together, even though Monday did include dentist appointments for mom and dad...ugh. :) But I guess there's no better time for a teeth cleaning than after Valentine's weekend.  Happy Valentine's to you and yours!

Daddy & Claire at their Sweetheart Dance

Our delicious dinner for two

A Night Full of Love

Well, I've been asked to coordinate our "ladies night" activities at church that we hold every other month. I have to admit the thought of doing this is very overwhelming for me...not the actual carrying out of the duties, simply the thought of it.  Mostly because my hubby works soooo much; I was worried about when I would find time to get everything done in the midst of caring for my small children, and heaven knows the thought of shopping with my children is overwhelming enough :)  So after many re-assurances by myself and the hubby...and a few stress-filled tears, I got down to business...and had a lot of fun in the process.  This month our theme was "A Night Full of Love".  Our topics were "Husband Love", "Love thy neighbor", "Divine Love", and of course "Chocolate love"...AKA fondue fountain.  We also threw in a game of "guess how many candies in the jar", a "heart-to-heart" icebreaker game, and we even put our names on individual paper hearts so that all the ladies could write down something sweet about us...so we could take home some love :).  I really enjoyed the preparation and the night of love and I am soooooo grateful for those who helped in the prep, and those who took the time to show up and enjoy the "ladies night".  Looking forward to our "This Little Piggy" themed night in April.  See you there!

Just some pics of the decor for the night....I managed to forget I had the camera when ladies arrived so didn't get any people pics :)

Sunday Sweets...Chocolate Peanut-Butter Brownies

Chocolate- Peanut Butter Brownies

Ok, so I made these for the first time today and they're DIVINE...so of course I say, "oh i need to write down what I did before I forget"...well I can't find a single index card anywhere in my house to add this recipe to my recipe box...so I guess I'll just have to blog it!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter

2/3 c. creamy peanut butter

5 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 1/2c. sugar
2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1c. flour

Heat oven 350 and grease 8x8 baking pan

On stovetop, melt together butter, chocolate, and peanut butter on low, stirring as needed.  Let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in medium size bowl, beat sugar, vanilla, and eggs on high ~5 min.  Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed.  Slowly add in flour.  

When mixture is blended pour into prepared pan and bake 40-45 min.

We did NOT do this but thought it might be nice to top with some peanut butter and a sprinkle of chocolate chips or just sprinkle with crushed up peanut butter cups.

ENJOY!

Friday Family Faves...Honey-Oatmeal Flax Bread

Honey-Oatmeal Flax Bread

Mmmmm...there's nothing better than a house filled with the smell of fresh baked bread.  This is one of my favorite bread recipes...an assortment of ~3 other recipes I have, jammed into one :)  I usually double my recipe to make two loaves at once and then freeze one of the loaves.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
3c-3 1/2c. Flour
1/2 c. quick oats
1 tsp salt
1/4c. Honey
1/4c. Flax seeds
2 tbsp Unsalted butter, softened
1 package dry yeast
1c warm water
1 large egg
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tbsp water
additional quick oats


1.  Mix 1 1/2 c. flour, 1/2c oats, salt, honey, flax, butter, and yeast in large bowl.  Add the warm water.  Beat with electric mixer (kitchen-aid mixer rocks) for ~1min on low.  Scrape bowl as needed.  Beat additional minute on med speed.  Beat in the 1 large egg.  Stir in remaining flour 1/2c at a time until dough is easy to handle.


2.  Turn dough out on lightly floured surface.  Knead ~5-10 minutes.  Place in large greased bowl (I spray with canola oil) and turn dough so all sides are greased.  Cover and let rise in warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

3. Punch down dough.  Shape dough into a ball and place in greased pie plate.  I use canola oil spray but you may use shortening.  Flatten top of dough slightly.  Mix egg white and 1 tbsp water. Brush on loaf and sprinkle with oats.  Cover and let rise a second time for 45-60 minutes, until doubled.

4.  Heat oven 375 and bake in pie plate for ~35 minutes or until golden brown.  Keep an eye on it, every oven is different, cook time make be shorter.  Cool on wire rack.

Claire turns two...Mooooo!

Our little Claire turned 2 in December.  It's amazing how fast time flies!  We love our little Claire...she may be small, but she is full of personality!  She loves her tea parties, playing babies, and helping mommy around the house and baking in the kitchen. But don't let that fool you, this girl can hold her own.  She loves to sing, especially in her microphone (even if the words are jibberish), and loves to talk nonstop.  At two, she certainly has an opinion on things and will let you know what she thinks.   She is such a blessed addition to our family.  Love you Claire Bear! 

 We decided to take our cow-obsessed birthday girl to Fair Oaks Farm for the day (thank you Groupon for the half-priced tickets).  She was in heaven all day and still talks about seeing cows on her birthday :)  

We made it!  Heading to the interactive adventure center.

Riding the bus to the cow barn

Indoor playground fun

Now time to see their new pig exhibits

Playing Vet

Time for lunch...farm-fresh grilled cheeses, chocolate milk, and of course some ice cream

Back at home.  Time for cow cake and presents.

Muffin Monday

Ok we're snowed in, and I just can't take it anymore!  So after declaring to my hubby that I'd be baking, he requested a few loaves of bread, and then I quickly moved on to muffins.  Yep, I'm pregnant and just like my last pregnancies, I LOVE muffins.  And, much to my husband's dismay, usually whole bran or whole wheat muffins :)  Here are a few of our family faves.

Chocolate Breakfast Muffin

Ingredients:

1c whole wheat flour

1c. white flour

1/2c unsweetened cocoa

1c sugar (i think this is a lot, but my sugar-junkie hubby insists, and still says they're not sweet enough.  i prefer 1/2c or 3/4c. sugar, but make to your tastes...try the 1c first to see what you think)

1 tsp baking soda

1tsp vanilla

1 egg

1c. plain yogurt

1/2 c. skim milk

1/2c canola oil

1. Preheat oven 400 and line muffin pan with liners

2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl

3.  In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients.

4.  Pour wet into dry and stir until smooth

5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake ~20 minutes

We love to top ours with some natural peanut butter or even some of our homemade strawberry jam...Raspberry preserves are great on top as well (i'm a nut for chocolate-raspberry).

*OPTIONAL:  Replace the vanilla with orange extract OR Almond extract to change up the flavor.  And if you just hate the taste of whole wheat flour, just use 2c. white flour.

' 

Cranberry Pecan Wheat muffins

I love these muffins and my kids do too...don't ask about the hubby :)  It's a sweet batter with a bite of tart cranberry...Yum.  If you're not a big cranberry lover or a "tart" lover, then chop your cranberries before adding to the batter.  

Ingredients: 

1c. unsweetened applesauce

1/3 c. canola oil

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour

3/4c. white flour

1tsp baking soda

1tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1c. fresh whole cranberries

3/4 c. chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees & line muffin pan with paper liners

2. In a small bowl mix applesauce, oil, and egg.  

3. In separate, large, bowl, Combine flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

4.  Add wet mixture to dry until all is moistened. (mixture will be thick)

5.  Stir in cranberries and pecans

6.  Fill muffin pan (cups 2/3s full) with batter

7.  Bake 20-25 minutes

Optional:

  *Before placing in oven, top each muffin with a sprinkle of granulated sugar and a sprinkle of oats.

  *If you prefer the taste of cranberry orange, add 1 tsp orange extract or orange zest to your wet mixture.

  *Hey you super health nuts, add 1/4c of flax seeds if you want.