Easy Croissant Recipe

I just found a new recipe that is a "keeper", as my kids would say. I love to try new recipes and try to make one at least once a week. This week we tried Glazed Cheese Croissants. They were amazingly easy and everyone liked them, except my husband who has never liked any croissants.

1/2 stick butter, room temperature
3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 c flour

Combine all ingredients using a cutting motion and two knives or using a pastry blender to form dough. (Little bits of butter and cottage cheese should still be visible to get the flakiness.) Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On floured surface (I floured and rolled it out on my baking stone), roll into a 14 inch circle. Cut into 8 triangles (I used my pizza cutter). Roll each triangle from wide end to tip, turning ends to form a crescent shape. Place on baking stone or cookie sheet. Bake 30 min. till golden. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack. Meanwhile combine 1/2 c. powdered sugar with a bit of milk to form drizzly glaze. Drizzle over croissants. Serve warm or cooled.

I made up a double batch for my family of 6. We took them and red pears to Marvin's track meet. It was freezing and we were not adequately dressed, so the girl's and I had a picnic in the van while DH watched the meet. The girl's thought it was a blast!

Recipe adapted from April F. Smith, Bountiful, Utah

New Babies!

We have new baby birds! The eggs hatched this week:





One of the eggs hasn't hatched yet. Maybe its a dud? Isn't it funny how they are just beak and eyeballs! Its gotten down to freezing the last couple of nights and I keep worrying about them, but Momma Robin is doing a good job.

Works for Me: Chopsticks

I'm participating again in Shannon's Works for me Wednesday Tip over at Rocks In My Dryer.

Okay, this is my Works for Me Wednesday Tip:

I keep a chopstick in the flour canister. That way it is always handy for leveling flour when measuring. Another chopstick stored with the measuring cups is handy for leveling everything else.

Maddy's Tea Party

My 12 yr old son informed me yesterday that his birthday and party are coming up in the next couple weeks. My son is becoming a teenager! We only do friend birthday parties every other year, saving the even years for family only parties. This is less overwhelming, and we can better focus on baptisms, ordinations, etc. This is the year of the friend parties. My three oldest are having odd year birthdays this year. I haven't had to do a party since Maddy turned 5 over a year ago. I went back to look at the pictures and thought I'd share what we did, because it turned out really cute.

The theme was a tea party. The invitation:



We decorated hats for the opening activity and party favor.



I read them Miss Spider's Tea Party and we played "tea, tea, tea, cup". My daughter has a toy tea pot that plays music, so we played a version of "hot potato" with it.



We had a tea party, of course, with a teapot cake, ice cream, herbal tea, apple juice and cream cheese and raspberry jam sandwiches cut into shapes with cookie cutters. I let them use my grandmother's vintage tea cup saucers as plates, but only the birthday girl got to use an actual tea cup. I didn't want any to get broken.

Of course, my son won't want this type of party! Gone are the days of crepe paper and cheesy party games for him. He wants a more mature party now. A sleep over with movie watching, video game playing and tacos. It actually sounds like less work for me, but less sleep, too!

MMMMMmmmmm, Chocolate!

My 14 month old, Elsie, has hit the language development stage. It is amazing to watch their ability to communicate blossom. Her newest word is "MMMMmmmmmmm!" Okay, maybe that's not an actual word. Overproud mother that I am, I count it, along with various animal sounds.

Yesterday, I ate the cadbury egg the Easter bunny so generously reserved for me. Right after doing so, Elsie asked to be picked up. She immediately found my mouth and its chocolatey odor to be of great interest and offered me an open mouthed kiss. I noisily kissed her back, to which she responded with a heartfelt "MMMMMMmmmmm!" Yes, she is definitely my child. We both find just the odor of chocolate to be delicious!

She is our first child we have tried to teach sign language. It's been a blast! I love the fact that she can communicate things that her verbal skills have not yet been able to accomplish. We were walking through a store and she signed "dog." I looked around and, sure enough, there was a row of dog lawn ornaments on the top shelf that I had just walked past. She can also sign to me when she wants to have a drink and when she is "all done" doing something, instead of fussing. I love it!

This morning I was sharing my bowl of granola with her. After giving her another taste, I swear she verbally said "more". Wanting to reinforce the idea, I spooned in more. "More" she said again. I complied. "More." Another spoonful. She responded by vehemently shaking her head no while signing "more". I guess, she had been saying "more" as a statement of what she had received, not asking for more. But I just kept overeagerly stuffing her mouth like a chipmunk. It's a good thing I haven't taught her the sign for "Hellooooooo!" or "Pay attention, dork!"

If anyone is interested in learning how to sign, my two recommended books on the subject are Signing Smart with Babies and Toddlers by Michelle Anthony and Reyna Lindert and Teach Your Tot to Sign by Stacy Thompson. The first one is great for learning how to teach signing. It is also an activity book, but I've never bothered with any of them. The second book is a great signing dictionary. I regularly sit with the later book, signing to myself. So, I probably really do look like a dork. Even my older kids think its fun and learned quite a few animal signs when we went to the zoo last week. And when I ask them to put on their pj's and brush their teeth in sign language I get fewer complaints!

Works For Me!

I really wanted to do Mary's Monday Challenge over at Owlhaven, but my semi-cooperative camera kept giving me "card error". Instead, I decided to participate in Shannon's Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer because I could find an image online. Take that you stupid camera!



And what great parenting treasure might this be? This is my special laundry helper, or rather my make-less-laundry helper. I love how easy velcro closure bibs go on and off, but, unfortunately, so does my toddler. After one too many spaghetti sauce on the shirt experiences, I discovered this little item. Offically called a "binder clip", this ingenius invention can quickly secure a bib in a most satifyingly toddler proof way. Best of all, I only have to use it a couple times for her to assume her bibs are no longer removeable, at least for a few days. Your child, of course, may be smarter or have eyes in the back of his/her head. Works for me!

Signs of Spring or I'm Losing My Mind

We recently discovered a nest of robin eggs in the crook of our weeping cherry tree. It seems this is popular real estate for the birds around here. Last spring a dove took the spot first. Unfortunately, her and her eggs were gone one day. We figure either a blue jay or the neighbors cat found her. Can you believe that Blue Jays steal and eat the eggs of other birds! These definitely belong to a robin whom I did not photograph so I would not scare her with the flash. Hopefully, these ones will make it!

My 6 year old Maddy was so excited about the baby birds she took the masking tape outside to build one of her own. The blue eyes are florets from grape hyacinth, the head is a rock, the beak is from the tips of daffodil leaves, the wings are leaves of lamb's ear and the body is a leaf entirely encased in masking tape as it was "crispy and fragile." Now you, too, can do this fun spring craft!





Oh yeah, and I'm losing my mind. Half way to the zoo I kicked off my shoes and realized my socks did not match. The left one has the spring green stripe around the top that I thought would match the shirt I was wearing. The right does not. I am either losing my brain cells or turning into one of the kids.

Six Weird Things Meme

I so shouldn't be doing this. I have 2 skirts and 2 dresses to sew, 3 pies to "build", shopping, and cleaning the house before Easter guests get here. But, I just got my first tag from Lei at My Many Colored Days and I can't put off the fun any longer. Besides, I'm at elastic insertion time and DO NOT want to do that part....

6 WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME

1. My food cannot touch itself on my plate. I have to have little trails running in between everything. I would rather change a poopy diaper than have, say, red jello tainted mashed potatoes. *shudder*

2. One of my feet is a whole size larger than the other. This is due to having a storm drain grate dropped on my toes by a neighborhood boy when I was just a kid.

3. I LOVE to dig in the dirt. This is why springtime is such a favorite time for me. Rototiller? What a waste! Why would I do that, when I can double dig my rocky soil using a primitive garden fork whose head keeps falling off? And worms? They are beautiful in my eyes.

4. I have a thing for mashed bananas mixed with peanut butter.

5. I don't like to go shopping for clothes for myself. I love having new clothes, but not all the trying on, deciding if it looks good on me, worrying if I can afford it, etc. It's just not any fun. Thankfully, My husband loves to buy me new clothes. Not only that, he has great taste and knows all my sizes - including both my feet (see above). That is probably a weird thing about him, but I prefer to think of it as "Unusual" and not look a gift horse in the mouth. (Did I just call dh a horse? Sorry, dear!)

6. Speaking of mouths, I have fake teeth. Well, at least the top front four. It is called a "bridge" and is due to unfortunate dental events I don't care to divulge at this time. Once, when I was dating my yet-to-be-husband, I broke it loose on a Friday and I couldn't get in to have it reglued till Monday. I had to hold it in with my bottom teeth all week end. Including that Sunday, when I was invited to eat at my yet-to-be-sister-in-law's house. By the end of the day I felt a bit smug at my ability to successfully eat tacos without any embarrassing incidents. Later that evening, however, when said yet-to-be-husband tried to kiss me, I lost my grip and my teeth fell out and LANDED ON HIS ARM. There's a romantic moment for you to mull over. Now, whenever he is doing a crazy left hand turn in front of lots of traffic he yells out, "Hang onto your dentures, Nettie!". Nice.

Okay, now you know the truth. Will you still be my friend?

Now it is your turn:

ItyBtyFrog
Stephanie
Kara
Shelah
Owlhaven


Here are the rest of the rules:

I must tag 6 people, by commenting on their blog, who I think are hiding crazy idiosyncrasies. I then must go back to the person who "outed" me to inform them I have done as instructed.

Easter for Stephanie

This post is really in response to my new blogging friend Stephanie's need for a Sharing Time. You can read about her frustrating experience here. So, here are a couple ideas. They would also be good for Family Night.

Not About the Bunny Story
(This came from Kathy Moyer, one of the best nursery leaders ever. I don't know her source.)

One spring morning, Mother Rabbit overheard her little bunny bragging to his friends about how important Easter was. He was telling them that everywhere he went he saw children and adults getting ready for Easter. "It's the time when people really celebrate how important the "Easter Bunny" really is. Everyone looks forward to his visit and that's what Easter is all about!", she heard him say. He went on to describe candies and treats and all the fun it was to be a part of the Easter egg hunts that were so much a part of the Easter celebration in his town.

Mother rabbit went outside and gathered her little bunny and his friends together and told them, Easter egg hunts, getting Easter treats and all of that is fun, but it is not at all what Easter is about. Easter is a very wonderful time of year, indeed. It is a time we should all know about and should take the time to be grateful for what really took place many, many years ago. (This next part would be a good place to use some appropriate pictures from the gospel art picture kit)

Easter is all about Jesus and the sacrifice He made for each of us when He died on the cross that we might live. It is a part of a plan that Heavenly Father had. Jesus taught people about God. He healed the sick and he helped people everywhere. People followed Him and wanted to learn more. Some people were very jealous of Him. They did not want others to listen to His words. They decided to kill Him. It was a very sad time when He was taken and crucified on the cross when He had never done anything wrong. His friends cried and were very sad. He was put in a tomb and His friends put a very large rock in front of the opening. In the early morning, when Jesus' friend, Mary, came to the tomb, she saw the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty! She was surprised and very sad. When she walked into the cave she saw two angels who told her, "Jesus is no longer dead! He is alive! He has risen!" A little while later, Mary heard someone talk to her. She turned and saw Jesus! She was so happy. Jesus had risen from the dead. She went and told His friends and they all rejoiced and celebrated. It was just as Jesus had told them it would be. This is what Easter is all about, Jesus' sacrifice for us and His resurrection from the dead. We must never forget and we must tell others who do not understand.

Bunny and his friends were excited! At last they knew the real meaning of Easter.

All of a sudden, Bunny ran across the garden path and jumped into a flower pot, burying his head from his mom and his friends. Mother rabbit went over and pulled him from the pot. He was blushing and had his eyes turned away. "I'm so ashamed that I got the story wrong! I though Easter was a celebration of games, gifts and candy. I thought it was all about the Easter Bunny!" he cried. Mother Rabbit hugged him and said, "Easter is a time of joy and celebration. It is fun to play games, receive gifts, and enjoy Easter candy with your friends. But, if you always remember to put Jesus first in your life and if you remember what it was that He did for us, then you have learned a very important lesson. Now when you tell others about Easter, you can let them know the real meaning of this special holiday!"

Resurrection Rolls (I don't remember where I got this and have never actually tried it)

Ingredients
Crescent Rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon Sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The Crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Give each a child a marshmallow to represent Jesus' body.
Have them dip the marshmallow in melted butter, representing the embalming oils.
Then dip the buttered marshmallow in cinnamon sugar, representing the spices used to anoint the body.
Then wrap the marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll dough. Not rolled like a typical crescent roll, but sealed in. This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after his death.
Bake in oven for 10 to 12 min. The oven represents the tomb...Pretend that it takes 3 days! This would be a good time for singing time.
When the rolls have cooled slightly, the children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Good luck, Stephanie!

A Confession

I admit it. I'm nosy. I'm one of those people that if you invite me over I have to check out your decorating, or if we run into each other at the store I glance in your cart to see what you are buying. It's not that I mean to butt into your business. It's just that my sleep deprived brain has difficulty coming up with its own brilliant ideas, so I'm on the look out for yours! One thing, I'm always curious about is how other SAHM's spend their days. To be fair and to make ammends for all the spying I've done, I thought I would share what I would be doing this week. At least besides the laundry, dishes, diaper changing, etc.

Monday: Errand Day: bank, Lowe's, Michael's, Kroger
Kid's activities: Track Practice, Choosy Kids Club
Dinner: Quick Pasta

Tuesday: Paperwork day: bank deposit, state taxes, rsvp's, renew prescripts, Dad's bday card
Prep for family night and Mia Maid class activity (Easter party)
Kid's activities: track practice, family night
Dinner: mini meatloaves

Wednesday: FTPILD (For the people I love day): bake cookies, pumpkin bread, food for mops, sew Easter dresses, call mom
Kid's activities: track meet, scouts, activity day, young women's
Dinner: ham and bean soup

Thursday: Room Focus Day: Nursery: Deep clean, declutter
Mom activity: MOPS
Kid's activities: track practice, gymnastics
Dinner: Breakfast Carmel Rolls - new recipe (Yes, for dinner -Bad Mommy!)

Friday: Clean/Organize Day: sheets, shower, kitchen, vaccuum, mop, organize 2005 photos
Mom activities: Mary Kay Facial (reluctantly), Date with Dad (Yay!)
Dinner: Citrus chicken

Saturday: Garden/Yard/Family Fun Day: finish turning garden soil, plant more seeds
Kid's activities: chores, University Science carnival
Dinner: Welsh Rarebit
Also: Young Women's Presidency Meeting and Young Women and their mom's come over for ice cream sundaes and watch rebroadcast of General YW meeting.

Okay, now I am tired. This is the plan, but it won't all get done. That's okay. Just having the plan, keeps me focused. Now stop watching me!