Spending Sunday in the Kitchen

This was such a lovely day.

We decided that Sundays should be spent in the kitchen and we will make pancakes for breakfast, snack plates for lunch and something sweet for the week- today we have been trying to get to these... meringues.

J-cakes learned to finger crochet today. She picked it up so very quickly.

G-pie cleaned the tea kettle.

C-dough made his lunch.

As did J-cakes.

C-dough took out the trash!

We played with egg yolks.

We mixed egg whites.

And added sugar & food coloring.

And tasted it.

And squirted it.

And exploded it. (Science experiment in the microwave gone awry. Tense moments with egg everywhere!)

After hours of wiping down (and behind & underneath) appliances, scrubbing cupboard fronts (love how C-dough calls them "covereds" just like G-pie used to!), unloading, re-loading, un-loading and re-loading the dishwasher, clearing the clutter from the counters, cleaning the teapot and the coffeepot- with a couple breaks for dance parties, hanging our "prayer rags"...

He put on the Scooby footies and fell fast asleep!

Preschool Opp

The littles and I explored some colors, sorting, fine motor skill building while the big girl slept in.

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Doing Pinterest

Yesterday we made the DIY Bracelets that we had discovered on Pinterest. G-pie had noticed we had a lot of projects pinned and none done. So after doing the menu board, I created my "completed projects" board and have been inspired to do more (so I can fill that board on Pinterest, LOL!)... so many creative and crafty ideas.

G-pie made the bottom one for her Grandma's 60th birthday gift, while J-cakes and I made the top one, also for Grandma. Then we decided to make this tasty Kiss Gloss as a party favor for the fun celebration we shared with the family.

We made cinnamon flavor. It has a bit of a zing. But the candy melts and paraffin wax give it a nice consistency- it is super easy to make...


We used red candy melts, household paraffin wax, petroleum jelly and cinnamon candy flavoring. Along with the coconut oil, a baggie, a bowl of hot water and 9 sterilized bead containers from the craft store. We doubled the recipe given on Brooke's blog, http://www.cheekykitchen.com/, and next time I would probably cut down the cinnamon flavor. We have plenty left to try out the cherry and peppermint flavors that came with the set of oil based candy flavorings. I would love to try and make this a more natural gloss- replace the paraffin & vaseline with cocoa butter perhaps, and the artificial flavors with natural essential oils.

For this project I did finally get around to opening the new coconut oil that Tropical Traditions sent- and I also used it to make eggs yesterday morning (and to to rub down the potatoes and yams for baking for last night's dinner party). I am only comparing it to the other one I have tried, which we ordered from www.azurestandard.com, from Wilderness Family Naturals.

Both are certified organic- I really need to do some research on the differences in extraction methods- the Tropical Traditions sounds better

"...the pure coconut water from inside the coconut is used to extract the coconut milk using traditional methods. Small scale family businesses [in the Phillipines] produce this oil in small batches, taking great care and pride in their work."

The Wilderness Family Naturals on the other hand is "mechanically expressed without the use of solvents or chemicals and 'super cleaned' using hot water and steam."

For dinner we grilled Tri-tip, fully loaded the baked potatoes, which turned out perfect- the skins were softer than when I have baked potatoes rubbed with other types of oil or fat. The coconut oil worked splendidly. It was also a good choice for the yams- which were terrific with a tiny bit of butter. We also had sour dough bread and a Spring Berry Herb & Feta Salad with TJ's Rosemary Pecans and TJ's Champagne Vinaigrette- wish I had taken a picture of it.

The family enjoyed the evening and my MIL seemed to appreciate the celebration. and look at the dessert my equally creative SIL brought... Sprinkles Cupcakes and cake pops, brownie bites, chocolate dipped marshmallows, Champagne- oh and ice cream from a place in Santa Barbara where the boys and their mom used to stop on road trips.

An abundance of delight and decadence!

Happy 2012

Yesterday began a new family tradition which I discovered on Pinterest. Being the over-planner that I am, we started ours at noon: 12 envelopes of family fun! It did become a bit of a chore, and really illustrated to Sugar Daddy and I how quickly an hour passes when trying to do the simplest of things with toddlers in tow.

We also incorporated a fun little competition for a prize at the end of the evening, and we all enjoyed the ups and downs of the games that kept us guessing who might win. Basically we earned and received tickets throughout the day and they could be spent on treats, but the person with the most at the end of the night got $20.12! As it turned out- due to a lucky roll of the dice at midnight- G-pie and I tied!

We enjoyed a buffet of Mediterranean style appetizers (aka left overs and veggies with nuts & olives) which I had out all day and then a dinner of tea sandwiches and fruit at a kitchen floor picnic. This was probably my favorite part.

Our envelopes held the countdown announcement, a family focused question which we video taped the responses to, things like - your favorite Spring memory, your favorite field trip, etc. and a Star Wars trivia question to answer each hour- our theme for the day, we also watched the first 3 Episodes throughout the day. Each envelope also had an activity for the hour- watercolors, clean up blitz, Family Dance Party, dice throw for tickets, guessing games, and other "simple" activities.

All in all, it was super fun- although in the interests of full disclosure I must admit we stopped the activities at 8:00, just after the little went to bed!! We decided just get our hourly ticket, and roll the dice each time!! (And I actually fell asleep on the couch right after the 10:00 dice toss.) They woke me at 3 minutes until midnight, and we watched the ball drop- we counted our tickets, announced the winner(s) and off to bed I went! Next year with a little tweaking, I think we have a great plan- and I have taken notes on my Springpad, a wonderful tool for organizing menus, shopping lists, website links and notes for over-planners like me.

What sort of family New Years traditions does your family enjoy?