Pumpkin Muffins

I'm always looking for new ideas for the girls cold lunches, and when Emily was in 1st grade I came across this super easy recipe for Pumpkin Muffins. I can't remember if my sister gave the recipe to me or I gave it to her, but we both make it, and all the kids like them! These muffins, and just about any other type of muffin, have become a staple in Em's lunches, and give an extra bit of fruit as well!

Here's what you need:

• a spice cake mix
• 1 can of pumpkin
• chocolate chips

Directions:

• Mix pumpkin puree and cake mix together with a mixer.
• Add as many chocolate chips as you'd like and stir in.
• Spoon into muffin tins.
• Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Fall Craft for $1

As I mentioned before, I've been reading a few blogs lately and I came across a great fall craft. Here is a link to the blog: Wayward Girls Crafts. I headed out the the Dollar Tree and bought 2 bags of 50 leaves, so technically, I spent $2, but you could totally buy one bag and have enough...all depends how many you want to make!

Materials Needed:

• leaves
• shoe box cover or similiar "canvas" (I used a piece of cardboard cut the size I wanted.)
• hot glue gun
• pop can tab

I put Andy down for his nap, got out the hot glue gun and the girls and I got started. We each laid out the leaves how we wanted them, and then I put the glue on the "canvas" and the girls put down the leaves where they wanted them. When completed, I hot glued a pop tab to the back to use as a hook on the back of the cardboard "canvas," and old trick I leaved from VCBC!

It maybe took 15 minutes for each to finish their project and it was fun to work together on a non-messy craft  that doubles as a fall decoration that we can keep for years to come. I made a couple also and Em made another one for her room.

Finished product on the wall!

Close up of Em's...she did an awesome job!

New Recipe: Roasted New Potatoes

Since I am now a full-time Stay-at-Home-Mom, I've greatly enjoyed reading blogs and looking for new recipes to make for my family. Earlier in the week we had dinner at Boston Market (awesome coupon for 2 free kids meals with an adult meal) and Beau got the new potatoes which he's always really liked. Well, they weren't quite cooked through this time, and the potatoes were quite hard. When I was planning this week's meals I wanted to find a recipe for new potatoes...and I found one! They turned out soft on the outside, with a nice texture to the skin and sides. Definitely something I will make again.

This was our leftovers!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb of new potatoes (red or yellow skinned), cleaned, cut in half or quarters

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary (or dried is fine too.)

1/4 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F. 

Place potatoes in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle on salt and pepper. Add olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Toss until potatoes are well coated.

Spread potatoes out on a single layer of a baking pan. Roast for 40 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and browned. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

Saturday Adventures

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to go on a tour at the US Capitol. We saw a 13 minute video on the history of the Capitol building, which I thought was pretty interesting, the kids did not! Then saw the room where former presidents are Laid In State, many interesting paintings of historical events for our country (signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Landing of Columbus, Civil War Surrenderings), Statuary Hall, and the Crypt (where they intended George Washington to be buried!!!). We then took an underground tunnel over to the Library of Congress, which was even less interesting for the kids! We also walked through the National Arboretum on our way to the restrooms before our tour!

Helping Andy see the water in the fountain!

The Capitol Rotunda, below the dome. Beautiful.

George Washington is painted on the left, in the purple w/a sword.

 

 

 

Em in front of the Library of Congress.

At the Capitol Reflecting Pool

Wordless Wendesday...Kind of

A Day at the Beach!

One of the first things I wanted to do after we arrived in Virginia was go to the beach. Finally, we had a sunny, non-rainy weekend day to go! We packed up and drove about an hour and a half to Chesapeake Beach in Maryland. It was an awesome day! I loved introducing the kids to the ocean. We had gone to the ocean when we were in Florida in February, but it was too cold to really go in the water, so this was their first ocean swimming experience.

Daytona Beach, FL (2/11)

The girls were a bit leery, as we'd just watched Soul Surfer a couple weeks earlier. Belle was especially concerned about sharks! The beach we found though was somewhat private, and had a net and rocks to keep the creatures out. This calmed everyone down quickly.

The joy on their faces was indescribable. Pure excitement and enjoyment!

We all can't wait to go again!

My little surfer girl! Love this pict!

Enjoying the waves!

Attempting to catch a wave!

Mommy had a blast too!

Andy loved it...didn't even mind the waves completely splashing him in the face!

Happy Birthday, David!

Today is my nephew David's 10th birthday. His golden birthday. It is also one of the first times that I have missed being there with him on his special day. It's still odd to think that we are 1,000 miles away from extended family, and that this will be one of many special days that are missed. Not a fun thought...now, on to happier thoughts!

I was in the delivery room when David was born. Birth is an incredible miracle. A different attachment is formed when you see a babies first seconds of life outside the womb. David Andrew was a big baby at 8lbs, 15 oz, and he was perfect: 10 little fingers and toes, a button nose and red hair!

Ten years later, he is still a pretty awesome kid. David is incredibly helpful, friendly, caring, strong, spunky and funny. He loves sports, playing baseball for the first time this year, as well as skateboarding and football.

We love you David, and hope that you have a great 10th year!

Wordless Wednesday

I've seen this on a few other blogs and liked the idea of just posting a few pictures...so here they are!

We visited a local waterpark for some Saturday fun!

Our Drive out East

August 8, Day 1:

We got a good night's sleep and headed out at 10am on Monday morning. Andy, who thinks the moving truck is the best thing ever, rode with Beau, and Belle joined them too! We drove about 400 miles and stopped for the night in Rockford, IL, at the Clock Tower Resort with the CoCo Key Water Park. Kids had a fun time in the water, going down the slides and playing in the adventure pools! Before we knew it, we closed out the park at 8:00! Off to bed to get ready for another day of driving!

August 9, Day 2:

The little guy again decided to ride with the big guy, and the girls were with Mom! Another full day of driving another 400 miles and we were all ready to stop! Beau booked a room at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, OH. Let me tell you, this was an awesome location for our family. The water park is incredible: indoor and outdoor areas, waterslides for all ages, a water rollercoaster, surfing FlowRiders, toddler area with swings, and a wave pool. We again closed it out on Tues evening and all went to sleep exhausted!

August 10, Day 3:  

We woke up Wed morning and wanted to have more fun so we headed down to the waterpark, and left about noon for the remaining 300 miles of our trip! Another great day of driving. Andy and Belle were in the big truck again and Emily and I hung out in the van. The kids were rockstars with hardly any complaints the whole trip. We couldn't have asked for a better roadtrip!

We arrived to our new home in Sterling, VA around 8pm, after driving 1,123 miles. Beau gave a quick tour, we got ready for bed and immediately went to sleep! Good to be in our new home, but sad to be without extended family in our new location. We are looking forward to new adventures and making many new memories!