Gingerbread Cookies

We had rainy, slushy weather all day today.  It was perfect gingerbread cookie weather!  I used a Food Network recipe, and it is a keeper.  The cookies came out perfect!  I cut out gingerbread boys, girls, and ninjas.

I used my KitchenAid mixer to mix the dough.  I love my mixer and use it every time I bake.  That information is for Tom who thought he should get rid of the mixer because he didn't think I use it!  Every. Time. I. Bake.  Stay away from the mixer.

I read a tip to roll out the dough in between two layers of wax paper and then put the whole thing in the freezer for ten minutes.  This worked so well; it was much easier to separate the cookies!  Plus, I had a lot less mess than usual.

Kate has such a sweet tooth.  She was begging for the dough while I made it and as I cut it (I didn't give her any), and then she screamed for the cookies as soon as they came out of the oven.  She had one before bed, and she enjoyed every bite.  

Waiting for decoration!

It's always nice when Tyler joins in the fun.  He won't pass up an opportunity to eat cookies covered in icing.

Last Christmas, Auntie Karen gave us Ninjabread Cookie Cutters.  Collin LOVES them.  

I think Collin did an amazing job decorating his cookies to look like three of the Ninjago guys.

I think Reagan said the girl on the left is Nya from Ninjago.  I know that the one with the bars on it's belly is supposed to be a robber in jail!  The gingerbread girl with the green hair is Mrs. Rayray, Reagan's Kindergarten teacher.  I sent her this picture and she loved it; she said if she had a green wig she would run right over and knock on the door.

These cookies are sooooooo good.  I'm glad I took the time to make them today.  It was fun to see the kids decorating them together.  Little moments like this make me so happy.

Pictures from our Week

Kate had her first play date this week.  Mason is about six months younger than Kate, but he certainly doesn't look younger.  Kate seemed to enjoy his company, as well as the company of his big sister, Madison.  There was one incident when Kate either threw a block at him or pushed him over, and he was a little upset about the whole thing, but for the most part they seemed very interested in each other.

Reagan is about five or six weeks into gymnastics and still enjoys it a lot.  I was able to get some pictures of her on bars today.

I made fall pretzel bites earlier this week (Butter Snaps, Hershey Kisses, and candy corn), but I used dark chocolate kisses and the kids didn't like them.  Tom and I thought they were delicious.

I made up for their lack of a sweet treat (ha ha ha, as if they are ever lacking sweet treats around here) today by enlisting the help of Reagan and Collin to make cookies and cream muddy buddies.

 We used the Halloween Oreo cookies to make the snack.

Just a sweet picture of my girls one morning this week right after Kate woke up.

Another First Day of School

Today is Tyler's first day of sophomore year.  I hope he has a great day, and I really hope that this is a great school year for him.  He wasn't thrilled about letting me take a picture, so this is the best I could do.

Yesterday, I made the school bus cake to celebrate the return to school.  Making it while holding Katelyn was just a little difficult!  It shows in the details; this is a messy, lopsided bus!

No one seemed to care that it looked messy.

When asked about the first day of school, Reagan said it was "awesome" and Collin said it was "boring".  I asked Collin why it was boring, and he said they didn't get to do any work.  I'm sure the teacher will rectify that real soon!

T's Snickerdoodle Chex Mix

We recently had Cinnamon Chex in the house and T noticed a recipe for Snickerdoodle Chex Mix on the box.  He asked if I could make it, and I told him I would buy the ingredients if he would make it with me.  He agreed.

Everyone agreed that it was simply delicious!

Shirley Temples

R saw a commercial for a Shirley Temple DVD and wanted to see more.  She watched a few YouTube videos and we borrowed a DVD from the library.  R claims that she enjoyed the movie, but I think she was bored and really just likes to see Shirley Temple sing!  The short YouTube clips are just right for her.

I made Shirley Temples for the kids to drink.  C and R only had a few sips (neither one of them really cares for soda even though R pretends to like it), but T drank his and what was left of his siblings!

A Shirley Temple is ginger ale, cherry juice (from the jar of maraschino cherries), and one or two or eight maraschino cherries.

Random Things

R made this with some things she found in our craft area.  She is all about arts and crafts now, but she wants to come up with her own ideas and do her own thing.  She is no longer interested in my craft ideas. That's R - very independent from the day she was born.

C came home from school with this earlier this week.  I was SO excited.  I have wanted to make the Oreo cookie phases of the moon for years, but never did it.  There was no putting it off anymore, I had to extend his learning.  We had fun with it!

We broke A LOT of cookies in the process!!!!!!!!

We also made resurrection rolls.

These are the directions I followed:

• Give each child one triangle shaped section of crescent roll. This represents the tomb.
• Each child takes one marshmallow which represents the body of Christ. 
• Dip the marshmallow in the butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar mixture. This represents the oils and spices the body was anointed with upon burial. 
• Lay the marshmallow on the dough and carefully wrap it around the marshmallow. 
• Make sure all seams are pinched together well. (Otherwise the marshmallow will "ooze" out of the seams) 
• Bake according to package directions. 
• Cool. 
• Break open the tomb and the body of Christ is no longer there

   

C and R enjoyed this.  The rolls were tasty too.  Next time, I have to remember to seal them better because a few of ours leaked marshmallow.

In other news around the house, T has pink eye and I am hoping that no one else gets it.  Also, C took his last dose of medicine for his ear infection this morning and his ear hurts tonight.  I hope everyone is healthy for Easter.

Brownie Pizza

I made Paula Deen's Brownie Pizza for dessert last night and it was a hit with everyone.  Since we were having it at home, and I knew we wouldn't eat all of it in one night, I only spread the pineapple cream cheese frosting over the brownie.

I forgot to get a picture before I cut it!

I cut up strawberries and bananas, and provided m&m candies, nuts, and chocolate syrup for the kids so they could create their own "pizza" slices.

We all enjoyed it.  That last picture is T's slice; it makes my teeth hurt!!!!!  At least there is pineapple in the frosting!