Ham Sliders

These ham sliders are so good! I found the recipe a couple of years ago at My Litter, who got the recipe from Vanilla Kitchen. We make them for a quick, easy dinner and have them quite a bit during football season. I've even taken them to church for our snack fellowship and came home with an empty pan. They go together quickly and bake in no time.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

recipe from Vanilla Kitchen

2 TB dried minced onions
1 TB Dijon mustard (I used 2 TB)
2 TB poppy seeds
I used a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 stick melted butter
1 dozen dinner rolls (We use Sara Lee)
1/2 pound ham
1/2 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese (We use baby swiss)

Preheat oven to 325°.
In a small mixing bowl mix onion, mustard, poppy seeds, and melted butter.
Leaving the dinner rolls intact, slice them open so that you have one solid top and bottom. Don’t slice each one open, but rather as a whole.
Place the bottom half on a baking sheet or in a 9×13 inch baking pan, the pan size will depend on choice of rolls.
Line the bottom half of the rolls with cheese slices and ham.
Return the top part of the rolls and drizzle the butter mixture evenly over top.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Use a sharp knife to separate the sandwiches.

Thanksgiving Turkey Treat Bags

Big Brother wanted to make something to take to school and share with his classmates for Thanksgiving. I just wanted to make something that wasn't messy. After the Halloween party a few weeks ago, I know what 21 1st graders can do with cupcakes and cookies and didn't want to put his teacher through that mess again so soon. So we came up with a turkey treat bag that we filled with goodies to share with his friends. The turkeys were so quick to make and will be an easy treat to hand out at the end of the school day.

Just start with a brown paper lunch bag.
I started by folding the bag over on the crease and cutting off the top portion so the turkey wouldn't be too big.
I then folded over the open top of the bag about 1/2 inch in order to staple the feathers on later.
Big Brother carefully decorated turkey faces using his markers by drawing eyes, beak and waddle on each bag.
He also helped fill each bag with a package of cookies and a few mini Hershey bars. I used my paper cutter to cut strips of construction paper to use as feathers. We simply folded the paper strips in half and stapled them to the back of the bag.
Big Brother personalized them by writing each of his classmate's names on their turkey. He had so much fun and is so proud of his creation. He can't wait to take them to school in the morning!

Cereal Box into Mail Organizer

I'm so addicted to Pinterest it isn't even funny. What's sad is I spend more time pinning than actually making anything I've pinned. So today, I decided to make something. I had this cute mail holder pinned and decided to give it a try.

I took one of the many empty boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats that my boys have inhaled and made a straight cut down from the top corner.


Here's what it looks like from the front.


I was totally lazy and just used double sided tape to stick my scrapbook paper onto it. I even used regular tape on the backside. It's not like anyone's going to see it. Then I attached three self adhesive magnets on the back.


It provides a little bit of organization to my alphabet magnet/artwork/photo covered fridge. Yeah, just a little bit.

Happy Halloween

No Bull

As we were driving home this afternoon, Big Brother randomly said, "Bulls can throw you off."

Hubs immediately replied, "That's why you don't ride your dinner."

Stormtrooper Down

Looking for droids really takes its toll.

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

These are the yummiest cinnamon rolls I've ever made! My whole family loves them and they are definitely one of our favorite breakfasts. I found the recipe here. They are really easy from start to finish. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer to knead the dough. It's rolls out easily too.

Here they are right out of the oven.

After the icing, they are ready to devour. Yummy!

Darth Starts 1st Grade

Cherry Pie

I LOVE cherry pie! My mom makes the best cherry pie and it's always been my favorite. I am not a pie baker. I suck at pies. I've tried to make a couple before to no avail. This time was a little better. I made a homemade crust which actually turned out pretty good.

I did get the edges a little overdone. Told you I suck. I know I should have put foil around the edges, but didn't even think about it. It didn't matter. I ate it anyway and it was delicious. Maybe I'll be a pie pro after all...with a lot more practice.

Happy Birthday Big Brother

Sonic...Yum

I'll have a New York Dog. Hold the Spicy Mustarad. Thanks!

Mmmmm.....Good

Hubs smoked ribs today. I've never liked ribs until I ate these. Oh my gosh! I could have eaten the whole slab. If you think these look good, you should see his smoked beans.

This is for the Birds

We made ice cream cone treats for the birds today.
First we spread peanut butter all over the cone.

Then we rolled the cones in a bowl of bird seed.

Added a few Cheerios.

Ready for the birds.

Crazy Vs. Normal

Do you ever have one of those "crazy mom" moments? If you're anything like me, you probably have them a lot.

I was filming the boys just being wild in the living room this afternoon. Baby Jaws was explaining to me how the "football guy" holds the football and throws it into the air. The boy was right and has quite a spiral at the ripe old age of three. Big Brother had his work gloves on and was building a floor that he had purchased at Staples. (Imaginations run rampant in this house.) They began dancing. I kept filming. 'Jingle Bells' and 'Happy Birthday' were sung and then an argument over whose birthday was next ensued. Before I turned the camera off, I asked them to say "bye". It's just a really weird thing I do every time I film them. I never want to just cut them off; I always want them to end it with a sweet good-bye.

They both said, um yelled, "BYE!" and I just couldn't press the stop button. Big Brother began acting like a cat and Baby Jaws asked, "Want some cat food?" I just couldn't stop my camera. I sat there watching them through the view finder and started crying. Yep, I filmed them and cried.

I thought to myself, 'What if I would have stopped the camera? Look at all you would have missed, Crazy Mom. Don't you want to watch this great performance 20 years from now? How can you even think about pushing that little red button?'

And I wanted to film them forever.

Sometimes it breaks my heart how fast my boys are growing up. Breaks. My. Heart.

Queue Crazy Mom. When my heart is breaking, sometimes I do crazy things. Sometimes I read the journals I've been keeping for them since they were born...and I cry. Sometimes I look at pictures of them when they were babies...and I cry. Sometimes I remember how Big Brother used to pronounce "ketchup"; he would say "parcher"...and I cry. Sometimes I remember how Baby Jaws used to say his prayers every night; he would pray, "Bub, bub, bub, bub, dad, dad, dad, dad, mom, mom, mom, mom, papa, papa, men (his amen)"...and I cry.

And I can guarantee every time I'm being crazy and crying over my babies growing up too fast, my husband will come along and catch me and ask, "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Because I'm Crazy Mom, that's why. And shut up with the "they don't stay little forever" line! It just makes me cry even more. (Men just don't understand.)

But maybe, just maybe, I'm not crazy. Maybe I'm normal. Surely I'm not the only mom on earth who cries over her babies growing up too fast right before her eyes. Surely I'm not the only mom who cries when looking through baby pictures. Surely I'm not the only mom who cries while filming her kids doing really funny things.

Yeah, surely.

First Baseball Game

Just because I'm too big for t-ball doesn't mean I'm too big to play in the dirt during the middle of the game.

Happy Birthday Baby Jaws

Turd Words

Big Brother wanted to play with my Up Words game tonight. He loves to practice his spelling with it. Little did I know he was spelling some of his favorite words: turd bucket & butt crack. I'm so proud. He is pretty good at sounding out words. I'll give him that.

After the Storm

Who are you to judge your neighbor? James 4:12

I sometimes wonder who is judging me whether it's something I say, something I blog about or even what I put on my Facebook status. I'm not perfect. I say things I shouldn't. I do things I shouldn't. I get mad over stupid little things. And I judge people everyday.

I've been remembering a devotion I did at Youth Camp when I was a counselor. It was titled, "Love sinners, hate sin". It's something I think we all forget. Jesus didn't keep himself from sinners. He searched them out. It's who he came for. It's who he died for. After all, we're all sinners.

We can disagree with things that people do or say, but we should love them no matter what. I'm just tired of hearing how bad certain "types" of people are. And who says they're bad? A human with human judgment.

We're not to judge them. We're to love them. Period. We can disagree, even hate what they do, but we love them because that's what Jesus does.

"Jesus said whatever you do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done it to me. And this is what I’ve come to think. That if I want to identify fully with Jesus Christ, who I claim to be my savior and Lord, the best way that I can do that is to identify with the poor. This I know will go against the teachings of all the popular evangelical preachers. But they’re just wrong. They’re not bad, they’re just wrong. Christianity is not about building an absolutely secure little niche in the world where you can live with your perfect little wife and your perfect little children in a beautiful little house where you have no gays or minority groups anywhere near you. Christianity is about learning to love like Jesus loved and Jesus loved the poor and Jesus loved the broken." —Rich Mullins

The Joy of Toys

I just love Toys R Us...the happy little faces...the wonder of thousands of new toys...the "Glad it's you & not me" looks I get from other parents as I drag my screaming 2 year old away from the Power Wheels...the 40 year old men examining Hot Wheels like they're rare diamonds...the look of disappointment on Daddy's face as Big Brother chooses a Toy Story Jessie doll over Legos...not being able to open Jessie's box without a knife, scissors or blowtorch...enjoying watching Hubs try as he says, "Crap!" each time he comes upon a new twist tie.

Another Man

I had a migraine Saturday when I woke up. Fun times! I didn't feel all that horrible until about mid-morning, when I started getting really sick. Hubs ran to the store to pick up a few things leaving the boys home with me.

I finally couldn't take it anymore. I texted Hubs and told him he best be on his way home. I told the boys to be good so I could lie down, which didn't last long. There was screaming, yelling and fighting. Of course there was.

Baby Jaws didn't feel too hot either going on about 3 weeks with a horrible cold. His little snotty nose was bleeding. I wiped up all the snot and blood, got him calmed down and went back to bed. A few minutes later, Baby Jaws climbed right up beside me and snuggled. He stayed there until he heard Hubs come through the front door.

I was alone at last or so I thought. I just wanted to sleep off the headache, but Hubs came in to check on me. And then I heard him say, "I see you're in bed with another man."

I had no idea, but it sure looked like he was having a good time.

10 Snow Day Observations

1. If a mom is busy enough, a 2 year old can and will get his booger sucker (bulb syringe) and suck out his own snot.
2. It doesn't matter that we have 4 trillion Legos in our house. They always fight over one.
3. It takes approximately 10 times longer to get dressed in snow suits, hats, gloves, boots and coats than it does to actually play in the snow.
4. Once outside in the snow, a 5 year old will immediately need to pee.
5. We could live in Antarctica and Big Brother would still want to play outside all day and Baby Jaws would still never wear socks.
6. If I want my Netflix movie, I have to walk to the street to meet our mail carrier because some Einstein on a tractor shoved huge piles of snow against our mailbox. Got my movie.
7. Birds are awesome.
8. Baby Jaws does not enjoy being face down in deep snow while his loving mother takes pictures for posterity.
9. Little turd got me back though when he wanted to take a bath after we came in and proceeded to shovel a good gallon of water onto the floor with a sandbox shovel while I cleaned up the dripping snow suits, hats, gloves, boots and coats.
10. Sandbox toys should be left in the sandbox.
    

Is Uranus a Butt?

Big Brother is obsessed with our entire solar system. He constantly asks questions while reading his space books. Just this week, we checked out another buttload of astronomy books from the library.

He cracked me up the other day. He was home sick from school, sitting around reading his space book when he asked so seriously, "Momma, is Uranus a butt? Sister says it's a butt."

Blizzard

Mail's Here

I love getting goodies in the mail! I don't care if it's a pair of Nikes, a free sample or just a coupon. I love them all! Here's a few things I've received the past couple of weeks.

Sample of Tide detergent and washing machine cleaner with $1 coupon.
NFL/Lays reusable bag and Gatorade coupon.
Sample box of Kleenex, which is coming in quite handy in this snotty house right now. Coupon for a FREE Yoplait yogurt and coupon mailer from Dillons including a coupon for a FREE bag of Lays chips.

Thanks Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz and Nike gave away 2011 free pairs of Nikes to kick off Dr. Oz's 11 weeks to Move It and Lose It. I had read on so many blogs about the giveaway. It began at 3 pm EST. In order to win, you had to be one of the first 2011 people to fill out the information. This info had been posted on a buttload of blogs, Facebook and who knows where else. So I sat at my computer a few minutes before it was to start and waited.

The form finally came up. I hit the submit button and got an error message. Yeah, because how many thousands of people were trying to submit the same info. I kept trying to refresh to get back to the form page and kept getting error messages. The same error message all the thousands of others were getting. I sat at the computer for about 15 minutes irritated and ready to forget about it when the form page came back up.

I thought filling it out again would be a big waste of time, but this time when I hit submit, I got a thank you message. I still wasn't sure if I'd get a free pair of Nikes, but at least I got in. After the contest, people were ticked off all over blogs and Facebook because of all of the error messages. And so many people didn't get in.

That gave me a good feeling, but I still wasn't sure I had won anything. About 1 1/2-2 weeks later, I saw a post on a blog I follow that a reader had finally received an email about the free shoes. Still not having my hopes up, I checked my email and sure enough, my email from Nike and Dr. Oz was there! I was so excited!

I went online to the Nike store and picked out the shoes I wanted from the selections they were offering. Five days later, the UPS man brought my new Nikes.
I love them! They are so comfy! I haven't worn Nikes in years because they always hurt my feet. I should know. I worked at a shoe store through college; I tried on plenty of them. But these are awesome! And orange is my favorite color!

Marshmallow Snow

My boys LOVE marshmallows! It's one of their favorite snacks. So before they ate their snack the other day, I let them use them as snowballs. Big Brother had a good time making a snowflake.
Marshmallow snowflake
I helped Baby Jaws make a snowman, but it disappeared pretty quick. I think he inhaled it.
Marshmallow snowman
This loved this activity! It was a great way to work on their fine motor skills and they enjoyed the end result of eating them.

Snotty Kids

Big Brother woke up in the middle of the night last night crying that his ear hurt. He was up a lot even after I poured some Tylenol into him. So this morning, he stayed home from school and I called the medical clinic in our town. It's closer and usually quicker than our pediatrician for little ailments.

I HATE going there, not because of the doctor by any means. He's always been great. I hate the waiting room. It is so small and always filled with sick people. Go figure. But there are never normally sick people when I go. It always seems to be filled with people hacking up a lung or choking on a dog bone. I don't know which. And then there are the snotty kids. Not snotty as in attitude. Snotty as in snot running the 3 inches from their nose to the bottom of their chin.

What irks me the most is when the little Snot Balls come over to check out my boys, completely all up in their personal space trying to grab the toys they've brought along to keep themselves entertained. And the little Snot Ball's mom always thinks it's so cute. Yeah, my kid is sick but not as sick as yours. And whatever your little Snot Ball has, I really don't need it in my house. I'm not a germaphobe at all. I do plenty of disgusting things I probably shouldn't, as do my boys. But use a little common sense. It's not cute for your little snot nosed, germ infested, barking like my German Shepherd kid to be spreading their love germs in a doctor's office like that.

And get well soon my little double ear infected boy!

Creamy Chicken & Rotini

We tried a new recipe tonight. I have so much free pasta, I needed to find some way to use some of it. I searched my favorite recipe site, Food.com, and found Creamy Chicken & Rotini Casserole. It was a great warm dinner that went well with steamed broccoli.

Place the noodles in a baking dish.
Place cooked chicken on top of the noodles.
Pour the cheese sauce on top.
Sprinkle cracker crumb mixture on top and pop in the oven.
It looked so good when it came out of the oven.
Be sure to stir it up to cover all the noodles and enjoy!