Thursday, October 31, 2013

Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween Everyone!! We hope you all have a fun & safe Halloween!

This year my kiddos are dressing up as; a Ninja, Bomb Bird (from the Angry Bird games), & a Kitten.

Here are some pictures of our pumpkins & the kiddos all dressed up!

 
Before

 
Boogie Man's Pumpkin ~ Cat

 
Hubby's Pumpkin ~ Witch


 
My Pumpkin ~ Ghost

 
Super Guy's Pumpkin ~ Monster

 
My little kitten
 
 
Meowing for me :-)

 
Where's my little kitty kat?

 
Where is she?

 
Angry Face

 
Boogie was doing his Angry face and Jelly Bean had to join in!

 
My Ninja!!

 
Her "seriously mom, how many pictures do you have to take of me" face.

 
Ninja, Bomb Bird, & Kitten




 
He has the most Gorgeous Eyes!!
 




Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what is your child/ren dressing up as?

~Veronica~

Chocolate Cookies

Today I was really wanting to make some cookies, but I didn't want to go to the store to get supplies, so I was hoping I could find a recipe online that would call for the things I had on hand..

So I searched for Chocolate Cookies and nothing but chocolate chip cookies came up.. I don't have chocolate chips, just chocolate (cocoa powder)... So I decided to make my own recipe.

Using the base for regular chocolate chip cookies, but instead of adding chips, I added cocoa powder.

They turned out wonderfully!


Chocolate Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/4 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs
3 - 4 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl using a hand mixer, mix together butter & white sugar. Then add in Brown Sugar and mix. Then add in Vanilla & Eggs. Mix until well blended. Next add the flour & baking soda. Mix well. Lastly add in the cocoa powder, to your liking!

Bake for 8-10 minutes. ( I thought 8 minutes was perfect cause I like my cookies soft, if you like yours more well done, then bake for 10 minutes)

This recipe makes about 30 cookies!

Enjoy!

~Veronica~

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Lincoln City OR - Our 10 Year Anniversary - Day 4

Day 4 - For the day of our actual anniversary, after spending the morning in Tillamook, we spent the rest of the day/that night in Lincoln City. We played in the sand, went out to dinner, & watched a beautiful sunset!!

The hotel we stayed in was great! The room was beautiful and it had a separate room for the kids with bunk beds. The boys loved that! It was right on the ocean, only downside of this hotel was it didn't have any direct access to the beach! You can check them out here.

We ate dinner at Kyllo's Seafood & Grill, the food was really good, but a bit on the expensive side. I guess that's what you would expect for fresh seafood though! You can check them out here.























~Veronica~

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

I'm dying to try this recipe, but I probably wont get around to trying out until sometime next week. In the meantime I thought I would share it with you all, in case you love Cinnamon Rolls as much as I do!


Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

      DOUGH
  • 1-1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1 package (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
  • 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
  • 4 cups All-purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 cup (additional) All-purpose Flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt

  •       FILLING
  • 1 stick 1/2 Cup Butter, Melted
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
  • 1 cup Finely Chopped Pecans

  •       FROSTING
  • 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
  • 1/2 pound Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Whole Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
  • Dash Of Salt
  • Extra Flour, For Rolling
  • Extra Milk, For Thinning
  • Extra Butter, For The Baking Pans


  • Directions:

    MAKE THE DOUGH
    In a large saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1/2 vegetable oil, and 1/2 cup sugar. Heat until hot but not boiling, then remove the pan from the stove and allow it to cool until the mixture is warm to the touch but not too hot. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the liquid and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Stir in pumpkin puree until combined.
    Combine 4 cups of flour with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ginger. Sprinkle it into the saucepan and stir until it just comes together. Cover the saucepan with a dish towel and set in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.
    After 1 hour, the mixture should be very puffy and at least doubled in size. Stir in 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until totally combined.

    MAKE THE ROLLS
    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle butter into 3 pie pans (or a larger baking dish) and smear it all over the bottom of the pans.
    Turn out dough onto a floured surface and press it into a rectangular shape. If it is overly sticky, sprinkle generously with flour and handle it/flour it until it's easier to handle. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle about 10 inches by 30 inches.
    Drizzle the melted 1 stick of butter over the dough and smear it all over the surface with your fingers. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Sprinkle this all over the surface of the dough, covering all the melted butter. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup chopped pecans.
    Starting at the top, use a "typewriter" motion to roll the dough toward you into a large log. Roll it tightly as you go so the rolls with be nice and neat. When it's all rolled, pinch the seam closed and turn the roll over so that the seam is facing down.
    Slice 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and place them in the buttered pan(s). Allow them to rise for 20 minutes, then bake for 15-18 minutes or until nice and golden brown around the edges.

    MAKE THE FROSTING
    While the rolls are baking, making the frosting by combining all the frosting ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until fluffy, adding more milk if you'd like a thinner icing. Add maple flavoring if using and beat until combined.

    FINISH THE ROLLS
    Ice rolls the second they come out of the oven. Sprinkle extra nuts over the frosting, then allow them to sit for 15 minutes before serving.


    *Note: This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman, you can see it in it's entirety here. *

    When I do get around to making, I wont be adding the pecans. My family (especially the kids) do not like them. And instead of whole milk, I will use 1% or Fat Free.

    What new recipe are you dying to try out lately?

    ~Veronica~

    Monday, October 28, 2013

    Preschool ~ Letter B ~ Activities

    Hi there! Today I thought I would share some preschool letter B activities with you.


    1. Butterfly Vs. Beetle Graph - Go out side and keep track of how many of each (butterfly's and beetle's) you find. Then see which one is the winner.







    2. Letter B Hunt - Go on a search throughout your school room to find letter B's. (They could be on posters, weather charts, calendars, etc.)

    Here is an example:






    You can download all the letter B activities and more here. Enjoy!

    ~Veronica~

    Fun Experiments

    Hi everyone! Today I'm going to share some fun experiments Our Family has done lately.


    1. Glow Stick Xylophone ~ It looks pretty cool in the pictures, but in real life it wasn't as cool. The kids didn't really have as much fun as I was hoping they would with this. Cost = $1 (the glow sticks we used were found at the dollar section in Target). You can check out how to do this experiment for yourself Here!


     

    2. Fingerprint Kit ~ This was awesome!! The kids had a great time dusting for fingerprints and examining them! Cost = $9.99. In all honesty you could probably do this with household items (cornstarch, scotch tape, magnifying glass, & a duster) and not have to spend money on the kit, but nonetheless it was a cool experiment!










    What experiments/fun things have you & your family done lately?


    ~Veronica~