Miss Lo's Birthday Weekend and Cake

We had a very big weekend around here.  Miss Lola turned 4.  It hardly seems possible.  We, of course, had chocolate chip pancakes on Friday morning and then pizza and a movie (in) Friday night (Tangled of course).  I should probably mention that little man developed a double ear infection and we had to take him to the dr Friday morning.  He was a trooper : (

Saturday was the big party day - 'Tangled' themed, of course.  We had a lot of familiy and friends here and Lola had the time of her life : )  These pics are a bit out of order, but I think you get it...

Opening her presents with an audience.

The preschool day before her birthday when she brought cupcakes - very exciting!

I believe these are self-explanatory...

Tangled cake!

Thank you, pinterest : )

It was a very special time.  Lola is so very, very sweet, lovey, helpful, and special.  She does not pass up an opportunity to cuddle and often says, 'Mommy?  I love you.'  out of the clear blue.  She loves her older siblings and although she does her fair share of following them around she likes to come find Mommy in the kitchen and help.  She is all things girl.  If it's frilly she loves it.  If it's pink it's perfect for her.  She has been the one to let me dress her and is always requesting a dress.  She is very excitable.  She can't seem to keep her hands off of things.  She has to touch!  Grandma says shes very tactile.  She's very funny this way b/c it absolutely breaks her heart to get in trouble and she requires much consoling and sheds many tears.  But, she doesn't seem to be able to control herself.  She is always getting in her older sister's things and picking things up off the counter that aren't hers.  That's what I have to constantly remind her...'If it's not yours, don't what?'  *sigh* 'Touch it.'  She has what you might call a zest for life : )  Her excitement was contagious this weekend and I think everyone enjoyed it more b/c of it.

Lola's Hands

So, this was so cute...  Lola set up a tea party at the kitchen table complete with snacks (pizza and pears).  All of a sudden Lola began to pray - she blessed the food.  Well, we bless the food at every meal, she even does it sometimes, but I didn't know she was going to do it at 'tea'.  Anyway, a little background:  My Man always thanks God for 'Mommy's hands making us such a wonderful meal' and now my children also do it when they pray.  Very sweet.  I'm very blessed.  What's funny is that Lola thanked God for 'Lola's hands' of course, because she 'prepared' the food.  That'll keep me smiling for the rest of the day... : ) 

Italian-Style Grilled Pizza

This was amazing!!  So glad I made this - multiple compliments from the kids and My Man!  And pretty easy too!  Especially if you're used to using a grill!

Italian-Style Grilled Pizza

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used cherry tomatoes - and I used more like 10)
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced into fine ribbons
1 can (2.25 oz) sliced pitted ripe olives, drained
2 T olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 t each salt and coarsely ground black pepper
1 pkg (16 oz) prebaked pizza crust (I used a thin wheat crust hoping to cut some calories : )

1. Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium coals.  Place mozzarella cheese in bowl.  Grate Parmesan cheese into bowl.  Slice tomatoes in half, remove seeds and cut into small pieces.  Slice basil into ribbons.  Add tomatoes, basil and olives to bowl; mix gently.

2. In small bowl, combine oil, vinegar, garlic salt and pepper.  Lightly brush top of crust with 1 T of the oil mixture.

3. Place crust in center of grid of grill, top side down.  Grill crust, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until deep golden brown.  Turn crust over and carefully remove.

4. Add remaining oil mixture to cheese mixture in bowl; mix well.  Spoon cheese mixture evenly over top of crust; return pizza to grid of grill.  Cover and grill 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and bottom of crust is deep golden brown.

5. Remove pizza to cutting board; slice and serve!

We just happened to have leftover grilled chicken that we chopped up and added to this recipe.  My Man was helping me in the kitchen this particular day : )  I should mention that this is a Pampered Chef recipe.  I love Pampered Chef, have a couple of their cookbooks and several of their tools and cookware.  Their recipes are some of my favorites and I know I have other Pampered Chef recipes listed here. I cannot believe I have had this book this long and not made this recipe!

This is a definite keeper!!

Vacation

A couple of weeks ago we went to Omaha for a couple of days, just the five of us. I think this was our first official vacation that involved staying in a hotel. And it was so much fun! We went to the zoo and the children's museum and in between we ate lots of pizza and ice cream. The kids didn't know what to think.

Here we were trying to feed the birds at the zoo. They weren't hungry.


These otters were hilarious and very, very playful. The just sat and giggled.

If you can't tell, there is a hugh silverback gorilla sitting inches from my eldest.

Getting everyone to look at the camera at the same time proved to be extremely difficult.

Fingerprint on the lens... I wonder how that happened?

The penguins were great! As you can see, they were diving right in front of us.

In this tunnel you could see rays, sharks, multiple types of fish, and sea turtles. The kids were enthralled.

This was near the end. Lola just couldn't hang on any longer...

Here are my little roaring lions...

This is my son. This is his almost constant expression. I love this face.

I don't know who this guy is... :-)

Still out on the most uncomfortable part of the stroller.

They did not stay like this. Nana ended up on the floor to get away from Lola. I think it must have been like sleeping with a bear - she mauled whoever was near her. Also, if you've ever seen the movie Monsters, inc., there's a scene where the little girl is awake one second and then literally conks out the next. That's what little Miss Lola did here.

Children's Museum.

There were literally hundreds of different places to put balls into machines and gadgets that you could crank or would work like a vacuum. This is my son. This is my son entranced by science. It's really a great place.

Notice the ball hovering in mid-air.

Clifford Exhibit.

Firefighter.

Firefighters.

Ted and Wally's for ice cream.

Strawberry.

Chocolate.

Strawberry. On the road home. Asleep in five minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Is there anything that says home more than Chicken Noodle Soup? I love this stuff! I love the smell that fills the house when I make this! And I LOVE sopping up all the broth with crusty French bread!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Noodles:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs lightly beaten
1/3 cup COLD water
1 tsp water

Broth:
3-4 Chicken breasts (a small chicken would be awesome too)
4-5 quarts water (depending on how what you want the broth to noodle ratio to look like)
1 bay leaf
3 chicken boullion cubes
3 ribs of celery, sliced
2 large carrots or 3 small, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Throw all of this in a big pot or dutch oven. The chicken breasts can even be frozen. Bring to boil with the lid on and once it gets going turn it way down and just let it simmer. For like ever. Okay, seriously, 40 minutes or so. Then, take the chicken out, shred to bite size pieces and place back in the pot. Low heat.

Noodles: Mix the flour eggs and salt well. Slowly add the water until you can form a ball of dough. Roll it out (on a floured surface) pretty much as thin as you can get it. It's pretty tough to get too thin. I like to cut my noodles with a pizza cutter as thin as I can get them. Cover the noodles with a towel until your closer to when you want dinner ready.

To finish, bring the broth to a boil again, and add the noodles one by one. They only need to cook for a couple of minutes and will float to the top when they're done. Try to keep from stirring. Cover and set to low until you're ready to spoon them up!

Cheese Pizza

This was an attempt at Minsky's 5 Star Cheese Pizza - which is delicious. But, I kind of flew by the seat of my pants and just guessed what the 5 cheeses were - I only got about 2 of them right. Oh well. I'll tell you how I did it becuase it was still so yummy. And, frankly, I think you could put any five cheeses on a pizza and throw rosemary on top and it would be yummy.

Obviously, there's the pizza dough. Then, ricotta, mozzarella, monterey jack, asiago and parmesan. Sprinkle rosemary on top (that makes me laugh every time I say it because I actually know someone named rosemary - ha!), and you're done! Bake for about 25 minutes on 400 degrees or until you're sure your pizza dough is done. Check out the pics!

Cakes, Icing, Pizza, Bumps and Shop Vacs

After a much needed evening with a friend, I had a really wonderful day with the kids. I really think encouragement is the key. And patience. And devoting each day to God. And asking for His strength and wisdom. Okay, I'm going to scratch that. There is no one key. I should have known better than to go down that road.

We had a good day.

And we're going to have my attempt at a Minsky's 5 Star Cheese Pizza.

And you know what else? I actually completed a lot on my to do list today.

I vaccumed out the van! It's so nice to have a spotless vehicle. I wish it stayed that way longer. Or that I cleaned it more often. Nope. That it stayed cleaner longer.

I baked 2 cakes, mixed 2 batches of icing, and threw together a batch of pizza dough in the bread machine. Then I cleaned off M's nails and repainted them. Bright pink. She starts preschool next week.

And just now, as I sat down at the computer, Powell ran head first into the chair and table in the dining room. He has a raised bump that's already blue. Maryanna's playing nurse and holding his ice pack to his forehead. Silly goof.