We are back!

Here is what we've been doing this summer...in photos.

We celebrated 2 birthdays, had a ton of company, and dusted off the canner for summer harvest.

We are getting ready to start school and another year of Classical Conversations.

How is your summer so far?

High Chair Remodel

I purchased a used Peg Perego high chair for $15 a few months ago.  Everything works fine, except the seat cushion was all ripped-up.  I pondered what to do as a new seat cushion costs around $50.....hmmmm, instead I bought a plastic tablecloth and attempted to make my own.

I traced the cushion onto the front side of the tablecloth and left an extra inch for some wiggle room. The last thing I did was add the rick-rack to make it look like a custom cover.  I must say this is probably my best sewing remodel EVER!

Prepping For Turkey Day

Every time I see a full fridge I feel so blessed.  I had a hard time trying to stuff all of tomorrows bounty inside.

I am making the bread and potato stuffing this morning, prepping my veggies, and getting ready to brine the turkey. My family will be joining us and some close friends. We have so much to be thankful this year, have a wonderful turkey day.

Menu: Turkey, green beans, stuffing, yams, broccoli, creamed corn, carrot casserole, 1/2 of ham, cranberries, apple bake, and yummy pies.

First Art "Still Life"

We purchased some new paint brushes and small canvases to paint, but instead of just painting I thought it would be fun to set up a still-life scene for the girls. I used a play scarf, bowl, banana, and peach.

At first Olivia got frustrated because her peach did not look like the real one. We had a talk about how art is a process, a way to express what you see, and how you feel. I think her finished product turned out great and I was proud of her for sticking with it.
We also used recycled paint trays left over from a cookie package. I blogged about that HERE.

I am also linking up with Welcome To My Wonderland to her little masterpieces link up.

Coffee Cake Perfected

Today is a happy day....After 10 years of marriage, I have found the perfect coffee cake recipe. I will now share this delicious piece of yumminess with you. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
• 2 cups Sugar
• 3 cups Flour, Sifted
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1-¼ cup Milk
• 3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff
• _____
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 1-½ stick Butter, Softened
• ¾ cups Flour
• 1-½ cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
• 1-½ cup Pecans, Chopped Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don’t overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 pan. I used my lasagne pan as it has high sides.
In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle all over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes

(I found this recipe over at The Pioneer Woman, it's a great blog, thank- you for this recipe.)

Monday Fun- Baking and Pipe Cleaner Animals

Make this for breakfast, I promise you'll love it!

Aunt Eileen's Baked Oatmeal

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup oil or applesauce
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup any fruit you want (we added strawberries)

Mix all together, place in baking pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I baked this in my new Le Creuset rectangle baking pans that I ordered from CSN web site. The product came in 10 days and was simple to order. The Le Creuset baker is of top quality, heats evenly, and came in this lovely blue. You can really order almost anything from CSN and they even have free shipping on some items, like the one I ordered. The only downfall is that many items have hefty shipping costs. To conclude my review on CSN....yes, I would for sure order a product again, if it had free shipping.

We are also having a good time this morning making pipe cleaner animals.

I glued eye onto buttons that I purchased from Oriental Trading Company and the girls went to town twisting legs and tails for their animals. Enjoy your Monday!

How does your garden grow?

My girls love, love, love, to be in the garden. Usually we have a big raised bed, but this year we just did a few planters with tomatoes, peppers, and basil. We love to watch anything grow!

Breakfast Fun.

We made these cute sunshine faces out of yogurt, raisins, and strawberries for breakfast. The girls were happy and ate it all. Enjoy your morning with your family.
Mama Jenn has this cute idea as well here.

Chopstick fun

There are so many fun things that we do with chopsticks...around here they are not just for eating. The girls love to pick up poms-poms, little toys, and snack food. Olive thinks that chopstick make everything more fun. Plus, I like them because they are good for hand- eye coordination.

 

You can find some great ideas from Chasing Cheerios here and Counting Coconuts here on how they use chopstick to enhance their Montessori learning environment.

The BEST darn sheet cake!

Trust me, this is the best darn sheet cake you will make this year. I got this recipe from the Pioneer Woman's site  here.

 

It's super yummy, but make sure you have some friends over to share it with or you will eat the entire cake by yourself!

Best Sheet Cake Ever:
From the Pioneer Woman.

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

 In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. 

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat.

Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool. In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. 

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. I added hazelnuts. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the nuts, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Free Denny's Breakfast 2/9 ONLY

Free is always good!
From 9am to 2 pm on Tuesday, February 9th, Denny's will be giving away FREE Original Grand Slam Breakfasts at participating locations! Call your location to make sure and enjoy your meal!

Froggy snacks

We made these cute froggy snacks to hand out to Olive's choir friends. Take any sandwich cookie, stick on pretzel legs, and jelly bean eyes with peanut butter, and enjoy!