Cookie Sticks

YUM!!! These are super easy chocolate chip cookies sticks. They really come together quickly! If you want the recipe head over to SIMPLY COMPLICATED. Please forgive the missing stick...I couldn't wait to sample them!!! This is my new favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. It is yummy, quick, & SO EASY! Give it a try!

Pinwheel Cookies

I think that these are so cute! I found them in a Taste of Home magazine. As far as cute cookies go...these are pretty easy. Here is the recipe. I am going to put some pictures up, but I am not that great with pictures...so forgive them! One thing that I would consider adding next time is a little almond extract.

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2/3 cup colored sugars
30 milk chocolate M&Ms (I substituted chocolate chips)
30 wooden craft sticks

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, & egg yolk until smooth. Combine flour & baking powder; beat into cream cheese mixture. Cover & refrigerate for 1 hour.

On a floured surface, roll out into a rectangle (or trim to a rectangle). You will want to roll them out thinner than sugar cookies.



With a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough into 3 inch squares. I used my ruler to score the dough in a straight line.







Place 3 inches apart on lightly greased cookie sheet or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

Beat egg white until frothy; brush over squares. Sprinkle with colored sugars. Cut through the dough from each corner of the square to within a 1/2 in of the center. Press a wooden stick near the center of the square.



Fold alternating points to the center to form a pinwheel; pinch gently at the center seal.





Press an M&M (or chocolate chip) into each center.



Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes or until set. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool.

Here is the finished product...make sure that they cool all of the way or they will fall off of the stick.

Muffin Tin Monday...no theme

It's Monday & you know what that means....MUFFIN TIN MONDAY! Today was a no theme day...but we decided to do stick foods. Here is what the munchkins ate:



Top Row: chocolate dipped pretzels sticks, pinwheel cookies, pineapples on party picks

Bottom Row: corn dog (& ketchup), carrot sticks (& ranch), mandarin oranges on party picks

If you want to know how to make the pinwheel cookies...come back later & I will post the recipe & how to do it!

Head over to HER CUP OVERFLOWETH to see more Muffin Tin Meals!

Muffin Tin....TUESDAY???

I have been excited (& a bit grossed out) about this theme...dipping & sauces. The boys ♥ dipping!! I will explain why I have been grossed out in a minute. I had a ton of different ideas, but had to simplify it. I took a picture of their food before I set the munchkins loose, but my SD card decided that I needed to format it again & the picture wouldn't work...are you sure it isn't Monday?

Well...the boys had apples with peanut butter for dipping, carrots with ranch, & a corn dog & homemade french fries with ketchup for dipping.

So, you get to see a partially eaten Muffin Tin. The corn dog is GONE...and if you notice the dipping sauces...GROSS!!! They like to dip everything & mix it up...YUCK!!! At one point, Kaden dipped his carrot in peanut butter, ranch, & then ketchup & ate it...how nasty is that. It is their food though!

Here is what I could get a picture of...sorry!



Head over HERE to see other Muffin Tins...they are so fun to do!!!

I WON!!!!

First off...Muffin Tin Monday will actually be Muffin Tin Tuesday this week. We had Chick-fil-a Monday instead & then spent the evening grocery shopping. We were pretty much OUT of food!! So, stayed tuned tomorrow for our Muffin Tin Tuesday.

Now..onto my EXCITING news...I won an apron over at CONTROLLING MY CHAOS. I ♥ this blog...her posts crack me up & she has so many great ideas. The back to school list posted below was hers.

I don't usually win things. I think that this is my second time winning something in my 27 years. If you know me at all...I LOVE TO BAKE. Every baker needs an apron! Yea!!!

Preschool Worksheets

I am always on the lookout for great websites with free printables. I came across TLSBOOKS.COM, a website full of printables. There are so many to choose from. The age/grade groups are on the left hand side. Once you select your grade...then scroll down a bit & you have the categories to select from. Kaden's school has been mailing him worksheets & I really wanted Preston to feel included. We have been working on the Preschool & Kindergarten worksheets. The boys love spending a little bit of time doing "homework" & they get special one-on-one time & attention.

The simplest things...

Sometimes the simplest things are so special. It has been a while since we made a fort. This morning, I set up a table & got some blankets & we made a fort. The fort has been a garage, a castle, a cave, & then I'm not sure what it was but we used it to hide from a monster. It has been so fun to watch them use their imaginations. We are also going to have a picnic inside of our fort.

School Shopping

My oldest is getting ready to start kindergarten & I am so excited to take him "school shopping". I remember going school shopping with my mom when I was young & I loved it! I want to make it a memorable experience for him. I am a list maker. I have lists for EVERYTHING! So, when I saw THIS Back to School list..I knew I had to share it. This week we will have to have a "Fashion Show" to see what still fits.

Here is the example that she provided:



And here is the blank list:

Muffin Tin Monday-BIG & small

Today's MTM theme is BIG & small. I decided that we would FINALLY do a breakfast muffin tin. The boys were really excited to change things up a bit. Over the weekend we checked out a few BIG & small books from the library, so we started out with reading those. Then I asked Kaden what he thought the theme was for today. He guessed it right away. I had Kaden read the words on the pancakes & then we talked about what was BIG & what was small. Here is what we ate for breakfast:



Top: peach halves, BIG pancake with syrup underneath
Bottom: mini blueberry muffin, sausage bits, small pancake

If you want to know how I made these (& other theme pancakes) just click HERE. When writing the key is to write the word (& letters) backwards.

Check out more Muffin Tin Mamas at HER CUPOVERFLOWETH.

Watermelon Sugar Cookies

I came across a really cute sugar cookie idea, but I changed it up a bit. Rather than using frosting...I thought that it would be easier to just color the cookie dough different colors. We are having a picnic tomorrow & I think that these will be so fun for a picnic!

This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe:

1 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4-5 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

For the Watermelon Cookies you will also need:

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
red food coloring
green food coloring


Mix butter, eggs, sugar, sour cream and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl mix all other dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Divide the dough (I did did one bigger than the other). Color the biggest amount red & the smaller amount green. Chill each color for about 2 hours.

Roll 1/4' thick. You will need to different circle cookie cutters. Cut the red dough with the smaller cookie cutter. Then cut the green with the bigger cookie cutter & the inside with the smaller cookie cutter. Place the green around the red circle & cut the whole thing in half. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Add the mini chocolate chips. Bake 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees.

I usually cook them about 6 minutes and then check them every minute after that.

Another edition of Muffin Tin Monday!!

It's Muffin Tin Monday again. I considered doing a breakfast MTM, but my kitchen is still a wreck after the 4th of July weekend. I have spent the morning trying to get straightened up & I am almost done...YEA!!! I felt a little bad because we are out of most of our fruits & veggies, I guess it is time to go grocery shopping!!! The boys were pretty excited about MTM. There is no theme today over at HER CUP OVERFLOWETH. Here is what we ate:



Top Row: Ritz Bitz w/cheese, raisins, dinosaur eggy sandwich w/cheese (a new thing for them)
Bottom Row: Fiber One bar, Mandarin Oranges, String Cheese

**Someone asked me about what an eggy sandwich is. It is scrambled eggs with miracle whip (not mayo) & a slice of cheese. My Dad used to make it for me all of the time when I was a kid & I loved it. It is fun to see my kids eating something that my Dad used to make for me! My hubby likes to toast his bread in the toaster first!

Fireworks!!

I found this craft in my July 2009 Parents magazine. Because of the glue & glitter this can be really messy (with a 3 & 4 year old)...so we did ours outside. The boys loved doing this craft & even shared their fireworks with the neighbors.



You will need:

*Red & blue chenille stems
*Scissors or wire cutters
*Red & blue glitter
*Glue
*Something to rest the chenille stems on to dry
*Containers for glue & glitter
*Thread or fishing line



Cut your chenille stems in half. You will need 5-6 whole chenille stems to make one firework.

Pour your glue & glitter into their own little bowls. Dip the end of the chenille stem half into glue & then into the glitter. I alternated colors...so blue chenille stem into red glitter. Set the stem aside to dry (I used a blueberry container to let mine dry...but it really wasn't big enough).

Once the stems are dry...get about 10-12 stems. Gather all of your stems together except for 1.




Wrap the 1 leftover stem around the center of your pile of stems



Then, bend & flare out the stem to resemble a firework. Tie your string or fishing line around the center of the firework...& there you have it.

Firecracker Centerpiece

My cute sister in law Val made this really cute centerpiece with her kiddos yesterday & she told me that I could post it on here. I think that we will make some today...SO CUTE!! So, here you have it!

She took a drink mix container (like Crystal Light).


Then she covered it with crepe paper. You could really use any kind of paper!


Then poked a foil fun pix (from the holiday section at Michael's) through the center of the lid. She cut off most of the toothpick after she poked it through and covered it so it won't poke anyone. Then cut out red, white, & blue stars & stick them on.


The finished product...


I love this idea! Thanks Val!!1

4th of July Flag

I came across THIS really cute flag idea from Family Fun. It is different than just gluing stuff on paper. I didn't have any paperclips or bells at home, but I had just about everything else...so we improvised a bit.

This is Preston's:



This is Kaden's:


Here is what you need:

*Craft foam (blue, red, white)
*Bamboo skewer (with the sharp end cut off)
*Paint (white)
*Star stamp (I just cut a mini star out of craft foam & stuck it to the end of a pencil)
*Glue
*Ribbon
*Paper clips or string
*Chenille Stems
*Regular scissors
*Decorative scissors
*Small hole punch

First, cut your blue craft foam 4 x 4 1/2 inches. Punch 4 evenly spaced holes on the top of the 4 1/2 in side & 7 evenly spaced holes in the bottom of the 4 1/2 in side. Stamp the blue piece with stars & let it dry.

While your stars are drying...cut the red & white pieces of craft foam with the decorative scissors. You will need 3 red strips 1/2 in x 8 in & 4 red strips 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in. Then cut 3 white strips 1/2 in x 8 in & 3 white strips 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in. Punch a hole in the top of each strip.

Attach the small strips (with either the string or paper clips) to the bottom of the blue rectangle...starting from the left with red & alternating left. Then, add string or paperclips to the long strips. Also attach the strings or paper clips to the top of the blue rectangle (in the 4 holes). Slide the rectangle onto the skewer & then add the longer strips starting with white & alternating colors left.

To make it so that everything didn't move..I put a bit of hot glue on the top of each string. I twisted 2 chenille stems together (blue & white) & hot glued them to the front of the skewer. Then, I tied my ribbon to the skewer/chenille stem.

The boys each got to pick where they wanted to put their flag. Kaden picked his bedroom door & Preston picked the front door.

Welcome Home Banner

In just a few hours we are leaving to go & get KC from the airport...YEA!!! I decided that we should make him a welcome home banner. I just used some paper from the boys' easel. We took it outside & I let the boys loose with some paint & a paint brush. They each got to choose their own color. Kaden picked blue & Preston chose red & then switched to green. I did the lettering. We had a great time & I think that KC will really enjoy coming home to it!

Monkey Bites

I saw this on one of the Muffin Tin Monday websites...but I can't find the original post anywhere...so if it is yours...let me know!!!

I just sliced a banana & put some toothpicks in each one. It works better if your slices are a bit thicker. I had some caramel sauce in the fridge, so I heated that up a bit. For dipping...I used sprinkles (blue-Kaden's favorite color), mini chocolate chips, & I crumbled up some graham crackers.



I think that they liked it...don't you?