Sweet Scented Playdough...

Whew! Christmas is next week! I can't believe how fast time goes! This week is Christmas shopping crunch time! Because next week is reserved for baking! I can hardly wait for that! All our favorite sweet recipes will get brought out! The kitchen is going to be the hot spot! Mmm....and the best part the house will always smell sweet and yummy.

In preparation for the coming school class parties, tonight I made up a batch of sweet smelling peppermint playdough. I plan on packaging it in a cute little storage container and then tying it together with a pretty red bow and a cute Christmas cookie cutter. Then Katie can take them to all the kids in her Kindergarten class. I thought it would be fun for Katie to give her friends and classmates a unique little gift. Something other than candy or sweet treats--as I know they will be getting plenty of that over the coming week!

I decided to dye the playdough red and add peppermint extract so that it would smell like a candy cane....and you know what....it does! Hopefully the kids won't eat it!

Sweet Peppermint Scented Playdough

For those of you wanting to make some of this for your little ones during the holidays, here is the recipe...it is very easy and the kids love it!

Ingredients
3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Cups Salt
6 Teaspoons Cream of Tarter
3 Cups Water
3 Tablespoons Oil
Peppermint Extract

Directions
1. Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat until mixture pulls away from side of pan.
3. Be sure to stir constantly.
4. Knead, add color and extract if desired. Be sure when kneading the playdough, that you flour your surface generously and work it into the playdough until you reach the desired consistency and it is no longer sticky.

This playdough will last up to three months in the refrigerator, if kept in an airtight container.
Please note, the cream of tarter is not necessary. It does two things. First, it keeps the playdough from becoming moldy if you decide to keep it for a long time. Second, it does make the playdough a little smoother. On a final note, I added the dye while I was cooking the playdough because it is easier to blend together.

I love recipes like this one, because it truly gets the kids involved in the kitchen. The best part is watching them playing with it for hours!! I will say that the sweetest thing about homemade playdough, is that it is far better than that stuff you buy at the store. It's more smooth and pliable! Plus, you get to personalize it and no matter what the kids have a sweet time!

Let the "SWEET" Baking Begin....

My favorite time of year has arrived!!! At last! It's Fall! For me it is not only when the weather cools down--giving us that much needed relief from all the summer heat, but it means that all the fun holidays are on their way. Holiday season means many things for me. However, there is one thing in particular I love to do during this time of year, and it is to BAKE! It's when I get to pull out all my favorite recipes that are saved for special times and special times only. It usually generates an amazing amount of excitement in our home--Katie and Megan put on their adorable aprons and help mommy measure, sift and stir. Everyone fights over the beaters and everyone loves to help frost the holiday sugar cookies. One thing is for sure--the house always smells soooooooo.....good. MMMM.....In fact, as I write this, my stomach is growling since the house smells like Sunday cinnamon rolls. A little sweet morning treat for the family!

This past week, I kicked off Baking Season with a new recipe I wanted to try. So many people have made these in the past and so I wanted to give it a go....and it was a HUGE success. The Famous Peanut Butter Blossoms. I figured if I made something with peanut butter and chocolate, I couldn't fail, as it is truly a favorite combination for my little family...who are all addicted to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I have to say it was quite cute. When I pulled out all my equipment to start baking, Katie came running into the kitchen, grabbed her personalized pink princess apron, pushed a chair across the kitchen floor and pulled it up right next to me. Like always, she helped me create these tasty little morsels. Her favorite part is to test the cookie dough and in this case, we enjoyed a few Hershey's Kisses too. Once the cookies were done baking, we had so much fun pressing Kisses into the cookies and watching them crack. The sweetest moment for us though, is when we get to taste test the finished product. A warm peanut butter cookie with melty chocolate is so very delicious! I just love homemade cookies! But who doesn't! I love how baking brings the family together and creates memorable moments for us to share. This sweet season creates sweet times making sweet things. And as a mother, I truly cherish that!

I will share many of the sweet things I make here! So stay tuned....come back often to see what it is I've tried! I will be sharing them with you....well you won't be able to eat them so I'll just have to post the yummy recipe so you can bake these sweet treats for your friends and family! I would love to have you all share your favorite recipes with me! Feel free to leave comments for me with your family favorites.

HAPPY HOLIDAY BAKING!

LET THE SWEET HOLIDAY BAKING BEGIN...

MAY YOU ALL ENJOY THE SWEET AROMAS OF THE SEASON

AS THEY FILL YOUR HOMES!

Make Your Weekends Even Sweeter...

Gosh, I let time slip away. I haven't blogged in a very long time. Summer was truly fun and every minute spent doing something with the kids. Then school started and over the last month we've been getting back into that routine. The kids are loving being back in school and each one has amazing teachers! All three in school now! Wow! It is great!

Now that the kids are back in school, we really look forward to the weekend and the time we get to spend together. Breakfast has always been a favorite meal in our home. I try to make a special meal for the kids on Saturdays and Sundays as my way of thanking them for all their hard work during the week.

I recently joined a group online that tries out new products released by some famous brands we all know and love. This week I will be getting a package in the mail with some Pillsbury Flaky Twists in it. After we gobble them all up, I will have the chance to critique this new breakfast pastry. So something SWEET is on its way and I am oh so excited to start this program. Free products! Can't beat that! Plus, the kids will love having something sweet to enjoy on their day off! Hmmm....when is that package going to arrive?? I can't wait....

I will keep you all posted with what I am testing and how good it really is! That way I'll be the guinea pig. I love trying out new things--especially these new Pillsbury® Flaky Twists with Chocolate Icing (I've been checking them out every time I'm at the store--now they are coming straight to my doorstep)! I think they conveniently help us moms make mornings even sweeter--I'm all about keeping things easy in the kitchen. Maybe you should all go grab some of these at the store so that you too can treat your families to a special breakfast this weekend! And while you do, enjoy those deliciously sweet family moments together!





For those of you interested, I will forward coupons for each item I am critiquing to you via e-mail. That way you can try it too and see what you and your families think. Consider it a "sweet experiment"!

EARTHQUAKE!!!! Not so SWEET Sensations...

"We're Alright", is the phrase I have used several times over the last couple of hours since the 5.4 quake hit!  And that we are.  The kids were a little shaken up, but everyone is fine now.  You ask, "what were you all doing when it hit?"  Well, Gary was sitting in the dentist chair and I was at home with the kids.  It was actually kind of funny.  I was talking on the phone to a friend. Eric was in the office working on the computer and the girls, in the bathtub.  While I was talking on the phone, the earthquake started.  I thought, "oh, just another small, earthquake"--as that is what we seem to get a lot of here in Riverside.  But, no...the small rolling turned into quite a LARGE jolt and at that point, I hung up on my friend (sorry! actually what was funny is I could hear her kids getting scared in the background and we both hung up on each other).  I then ran upstairs to check on the kids and found Eric standing in the office door jam with his legs apart and hands holding on!  He kept say, "I'm okay!" As for the girls, Megan had wrapped herself up in a towel, was also standing in the door jam of the master bedroom with Katie at her side.  Katie, however, had huge eyes and looked completely afraid....and she confirmed that! She sweetly said, "Mom, my shaking!"  I assured them everything was fine and complimented them on doing exactly what they were suppose to do....getting themselves into a safe place! Their earthquake training paid off!  Job well done kids!  You make your parents proud!  

After the earthquake, I walked around to assess our home.  I am happy to say I saw no damage was done to any of our property. It did manage to shake open the glass doors to our fireplace a bit and knocked over a few small things in the kids rooms.  However, nothing was broken or harmed.  It was a good shake, though, that's for sure.  A wake-up call.  A reminder of how we need to get our acts together.  To buy more flashlights.  Buy more batteries, water, non-perishable food and well, let's just say...I REALLY need to put together 72-hour packs for each member of the family.  I will get on that ASAP!  I don't think the BIG one is going to strike anytime soon...but you never know...that's what I've been hearing my entire life living in California.  Someday  it will happen.  Until then, we must live by the Boy Scout Motto, "Be Prepared".

Sweetest Puppy Ever....

I'm not going to say much here. Just this one question: Isn't Buddy absolutely adorable!? We love this little puppy so much....despite his puppy ways! Just look at how much he has grown! He loves sleeping under our patio chairs--maybe he thinks it's his little "den".

Oh, yes and I mustn't forget....he is a very smart dog!

A Truly SWEET Week!

Sweet Surprises in our Home!

Our New Family Member...BUDDY!!!

Where do I even start!? With the most important and exciting events, right?! Today....Gary calls and says, "Hey, are you going to be home in 20 minutes?!" I say, "Why?!" Suspicious that he has a dog he wants to bring home (only because we'd been talking about this for quite some time!). Sure enough he tells me that indeed he has a dog. And it is one our family has fallen head-over-heels with. We adopted a 6-and-a-half week old German Shepherd puppy....his name, Buddy. He is a truly wonderful addition to our family! I joked with Gary that we had a new baby today--except I didn't have to endure 9 months of pregnancy or a painful delivery. What fun! The kids love him and I am surprised they are even in bed actually asleep right now as they didn't even want to leave his side for a second. Buddy is our little boy....isn't he just precious....now to train him....another fun, sweet adventure....but with a very sweet puppy.....

(Sidenote: We bought a bunny 2 weeks ago. However, we are very sad to say with the extreme summer heat, she died. She lived a short life. In the time Daisy lived, we enjoyed her company, but discovered that caring for a dog would be easier than caring for a delicate bunny....so this is why we have Buddy now!)

Then Tuesday last week, I decided to escape the heat of Riverside and head to the beach with the kids. When we got there we definitely found cooler temperatures and even some unexpected, unwelcome (is that a real word?) dark clouds. It wasn't the sunny warm beach day I was hoping for, but we all still had fun! We did a lot of sand sculpting! We even managed to dig a three-way tunnel for our boat to go through! It was pretty cool! Before getting back on the road to go home, we stopped at everyone's favorite hamburger joint, Micky D's! It wasn't too bad, or maybe I was just really hungry this time!

Sculpting Sweet Sand Creations....

Thursday was the weekly "Adventure Group" activity. This one was definitely for Eric. Indoor Rock climbing. Boy does Eric "rock" at it! I think he might just take up this extreme sport. He can't stop talking about it and went again on Friday with Gary. He climbed and climbed and never wanted to stop. Perhaps once he's a bit older, we'll find him climbing those beautiful mountains in Utah someday (not may favorite idea, but if he likes it, has mastered the art of climbing and stays safe, then I support him)! You are amazing Eric!!






Anyhoo, now for the weekend, my favorite time. And this one was mighty sweet! The family decided to venture out of Riverside--and so we headed into Beverly Hills. We wanted to pay a visit to the Pink Taco. I must say, the Mexican fair at the Pink Taco was five stars in my book! Very authentic as it was exactly like the food we ate while we were in Tulum, Mexico last summer!! I was so excited when my plate arrived! I just loved those little tacos we ate on our vacation--and thought I'd never have one again! Not so! I will be going back to the Pink Taco again....for sure!! Then again it is just a short car ride away, rather than a 5 hour plane trip....

After our tasty "linner" (that's the meal between lunch and dinner), we jumped into the car and headed over to "Sprinkles" (popular cupcake bakery on Rodeo Drive). What did we find? A MASSIVE line! Last time we went, Gary and I walked right in and didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes. Maybe that was because it was our 12th Anniversary and the Anniversary Gods were watching over us! This time I had the pleasure of standing in line for well over an hour!! Gary took the kids to a nearby park so they could play while I picked up dessert. I was so excited to finally get to the front of the line and pick out all our favorite little cakes. I could hardly wait to dig my teeth into them...and once I did, mmmmmmm, pure heaven.........I don't have a picture of the cupcake(s) I ate, well, because they simply didn't last very long. But I do have a picture of the line I stood in. In fact, it was so long my camera simply couldn't capture the entire thing....now that's what you call "cupcake craziness!"

I've said enough.....good-bye for now......

Fun 4th! Sweet Memories...

Kids excitedly sitting in the car--waiting to leave for our sweet 4th of July Destination...

Patriotic Princess Katie

What an amazingly FUN 4th of July we had! We celebrated with our friends--John & Julie and their family. The party began at 1:00 and we left, let's just say, well past all our bed times!! The kids had an absolute BLAST...actually we all did! You ask what did we do??? I don't think the kids couldn't have gotten in the pool any faster--but before I'd let them dive into the cool of the pool, I tortured them by making them pose for a family photo before they all jumped in and got all wet!

It was a very "American" Celebration...we all splashed around in the Michel's pool, enjoyed a delicious BBQ feast, had chocolate cupcakes for dessert, Eric put on a show playing the Wii and Guitar Hero for everyone, the girls played in the beautiful gardens, had a ball frolicking around on the great playground, jumped on the trampoline and tested out all the toys in the library. We finished the night off by roasting marshmallows and making yummy sweet s'mores (we didn't have Hershey's chocolate bars, but substituted plain M&M's and they were just as good--in fact, it gave it an extra little welcome crunch!) Eric did the boy thing and played with a few sparklers the Michels' had leftover. Here he is being patriotic....

Hard to see Eric, but cool photo...

A big thank you goes out to our sweet friends for throwing such a sweet party...we loved sharing this important holiday together....the kids will never forget it!

The following day, we woke up at 10 AM (so you know how late it was when we went to bed & just how much fun we had)!!! We started out our day by having a tasty chocolate chip Belgium waffle with strawberries breakfast.

Then we headed off to Dos Lagos in Corona. We all saw "Hancock" at the Edwards Cinema. Afterwards, we ended the day with a sweet ice cream treat and listened to some incredible jazz music by the lake.

It has been a dreamy weekend....perfect in every way. What a fun summer....and we still have like 7 weeks of summer left....YAY!!

PS: For those of you who are new to this blog thing, you can click on any of the pictures I post to get a bigger, better version. Also, feel free to leave me a comment...I'd love to hear from you!