Is it really almost July?

 I love this time of year...it finally feels like summer!!  We are headed to have an early 4th of July celebration at Huntsman Springs....so I thought it would be fun to have a little patriotic breakfast.

 So I made star shapped red, white, and blue pancakes.  When I was growing up I have found memories of pancakes.  My grandpa used ot make them for us...and he used to make Mickey Mouse Pancakes.  They were so special!!! Many times when he took us to the ranch house to fish he would make his specialty.... pan fried fish...that we caught and Mickey Mouse pancakes. So now with my girls I will make them Mickey Mouse pancakes on special occasions.

To make the pancakes I made up my batter and then spooned it into a mustard squeeze bottle that I picked up at the dollar store.  I clipped the tip off to make it bigger and then drew my star pancakes on my hot griddle.  Then Avery decided I should add some sprinkles to the pancakes...then we added some yummy syrup, berries, home made whip cream and more sprinkles to the top.  There ya have it a 4th of July pancake.

The House

 Finally we broke ground on the house...it has been a bumpy road and very stressful.  Matt and I are really learning a lot...and I am learning to trust my decisions.  It is so hard picking out all the details but hopefully it will all come together and the house will look good.

Matt has been helping out with the concrete.  Our basement floors will be stained concrete and they cut the design in it yesterday....I am excited to see how it turns out.

               Is it weird that lately I have been feeling like a shabby cat....you know what I am talking about.  Those cats that are just so ugly you wouldn't want to come 10 feet of it.  I was in the grocery store yesterday and saw the main article in the magazine was about beautiful celebrities and their post baby bodies.  I could not help but think my picture on that magazine would be more like this cat.  Now I am not trying to get sympathy or  trying to throw a pity party...I just can't help thinking their are others out there that may feel the same way. 

Sadly my hair has been falling out like crazy and has really thinned....making it really hard to do anything with....why does this even happen after pregnancy?...Like our bodies haven't been through enough!  Not to mention my baby weight does not go away till after I am done breast feeding...if it goes away at all....so needless to say I have 4 outfits that fit and shopping for clothes at the moment is miserable.

I wish they would make a real magazine about real women with real topics...not topics like how to throw a great cocktail party, or the perfect red carpet hair, or the best beach bodies of the season.  I want topics like...how to deal with your thinning hair, how to love your stretch marks,how to find a shoe in a size 12:) The people on the magazine would be real...imperfect people.  That is the type of magazine I want...but sadly this would probably never sale....which is too bad....because I would love to know where to find a size 12 shoe:)

Fathers Day

 I just have to post a little about Matt.  I know it is way past Fathers Day....but like everything in my life I am way behind.  Matt is an awesome Dad.  His girls love him....especially Hailey...she is a huge daddy's girl.  Matt has had to put up with a lot having 4 girls in the house.  He is very adapting...he has had to learn how to put up with a lot of girl things...dress up being one of them.  The girls love to dress him up and then on the other hand they love to wrestle with him. 

Their favorite part of the day is when daddy comes home...they scream and jump on him and shower him with love...which is hard to have happen when your exhausted from working all day, but he puts up with it well.  With his work schedule he has had to work long hours and has still managed to be there for his girls.  He was Avery's T-ball coach...he attended all her school activities and with his extra time he plays with the girls....he is teaching them how to play golf.:) 

Getting My Bake On

 This is my super chocolate cake....it is yummy and moist and gets a 10 on the chocolate craving scale.  It is chocolate cake with chocolate mouse filling, chocolate butter cream icing with chocolate ganache on top.....on top of it is a chocolate topper.  I made this for Matt's Aunts birthday who was turning thirty something.

 These were the treats Avery requested for her T-ball team.  She wanted me to make cupcakes so I thought I would add little chocolate T-balls to add as a fun decoration.

This was Matt's request for fathers day.  It is a White Raspberry Cheeescake with a chocolate crust, raspberry jam on top and decorated with white chocolate shavings and whip cream.  The center of the cheesecake is decorated with white chocolate roses...but it is hard to tell on this picture.

 For Matt's dad Ron....the girls decided we should make him a pie...he loves pie...or pretty much anything sweet.  So we went with my Dad's famous Banana Cream Pie...only I added my own twist to it...and I have to say it is a new favorite.

 Ward Party treats...The theme was red white and blue so we decided to make these fun cupcakes.  Matt's cousin came over and helped make them with me.  She is 12 and starting to get interested in baking so I thought this would be a fun .  They are topped with a vanilla butter cream and a chocolate star. 

Three Musketeers

Having three girls I have noticed a lot of similarities between them...and a lot of differences.  Avery has really taken to her big sister roll and when she wants to be she is such great help.  She loves to read and loves to stay active.  She can't sit and just watch a movie...she has to draw or get up and do something else.  She is a great little artist and has really turned into a good little athlete.  She loves t-ball and is now getting into golf. 

Mattie is my love bug....as of now she is just so chill...as long as she has someone to hang out with.  She rarely cries and has been sleeping through the night since two months.   She is not the best napper during the day, some days she wont really even nap....that can be a little frustrating.  She really is a happy kid and smiles all the time.

Hailey is my character.  She is sassy, sarcastic, bossy, and hilarious.  She is also a tough kid...her big eyes make me melt and at two years old she already knows how to manipulate me. Also lately she loves being naked...I can not keep clothes on this child.

Playing Catchup

 It has been a busy last few months around here so I thought I would play a little catch up and post some things Avery has been up to.  her school had an end of the year play and her class were farmers.  The play was pretty cute and entertaining full of singing, suspense, cute little actors and best of all...adorable little kindergarteners.

 Avery has also been busy spoiling our little Mattie.  Avery has a habit of kissing all over Mattie's cheeks.

 For school the kids had to dress up as a vocabulary word.  She picked the word smelly...so she went as a perfume bottle.  Her hat is the spray cap and the rest is the bottle.  Her best buddy was dressed up as the word silly.

 Field Day...Avery did great and got a ribbon in every event...I was so proud...she is turning into a little athlete:)

 Kindergarten Graduation....I can't believe she is 6 years old!!!  She is getting so big...and so smart...it is bitter sweet.

All smiles on graduation day. 

Kid Friendly Sushi

Sushi and Spring Rolls

It is hard to find a great sushi place when you live in a small town in Idaho....I was craving sushi last week and my kids love finger foods....and foods you can eat with chopsticks.  So for Avery's biorthday I decided to make a spread of Asian food. So I made California rolls, spring rolls, egg rolls and potstickers.  So I thought I would share how to make kid friendly sushi and spring rolls.

For the sushi I opted not to use nori or the seaweed paper stuff....my kids don't like the taste and they don't like the taste of raw fish so I leaned toward the California Rolls.  So instead of the seaweed paper I used rice paper wraps....the same you use for spring rolls....it worked great and my kids loved them.  Avery even asked to take some for school lunch.  I am sure she would of been the first kid in Tetonia Elementary to bring sushi for school lunch:)

I am not a sushi expert but what really helped me was having good sticky rice.  Matt asked the guy that makes the sushi at our grocery store and he showed him what to use....the rice was found in the Asain isle at our store. 

All you need is.....
-rice paper
-rice
-avacado
-cucumber
-carrots (for color)
-crab...I use imitation crab
-rice vineger, sugar, salt
For the recipe go to this site.... http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/california-roll-recipe/index.html  For a tutorial on how to roll up your sushi you can check out this site.... http://norecipes.com/blog/california-roll-recipe/

For the spring rolls check out this site.....also serve these babies up with some yummy peanut sauce. ://www.phamfatale.com/id_1607/title_Shrimp-Spring-Rolls-Vietnamese-Roll-Recipe/.  The nice thing about these are you can put in anything you want...they are healthy and very portable:)

Meatball Sub

Meatball Marinara Sub
 This is not a great picture but these subs are awesome!!!!

Warning..these subs may cause a food induced coma along with a general feeling of complete satisfaction.

These are really easy to make.  When I am making meatballs I always double the batch and freeze half.  So I can have a quick go to meal.  So to make this sandwich just bake up some meatballs and add them to a pot of spaghetti or marinara sauce and add your favorite seasonings.  Then I take some yummy french bread add a little provolone or mozzarella cheese and melt the cheese a bit in my oven....add a nice scoopful of sauce....add some Parmesan cheese....and there you have a yummy and easy to make meatball sub.

Food for Thought

Steak topped with Herb Butter with Sauteed Green Beans and Orzo

 I was craving a yummy steak the other day and found a interesting way to season a steak.  It has to do with how you salt the steak and how long you leave the salt on.  So I gave it a try and Matt loved it.  It had good flavor...especially with the garlic and herb butter.  Here is the recipe if you want to experiment with some steak. http://steamykitchen.com/163-how-to-turn-cheap-choice-steaks-into-gucci-prime-steaks.html

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This is another favorite of mine...the flavor of the chicken is yummy and it is a lower calorie meal...which is always nice...oh and my kids call it a lettuce taco...they love it.  You can find the recipe here http://iowagirleats.com/2011/04/26/p-f-changs-lettuce-wraps-remade/

Birthday Cupcakes

Avery's birthday cupcakes for her class.  They are chocolate cupcakes with green butter cream frosting.  I wanted to make the frosting look like grass but I did not have a tip for it so...I dug through the play-dough box and found a little tip that I was able to use in my piping bag.  Then to top it Avery wanted bugs, worms and slugs with flower sprinkles.

I had Matt take the cupcakes to her class and he became the most popular dad in class.  He got swarmed by twenty three kindergarteners and hugged by all of them.  Later that day Avery had a friend over and we all played beauty shop.  Matt painted the girls nails...including sparkles and stickers...he is a good daddy:)

Big 6 year old

 Avery turned 6.  She is such a big girl and she has grown so much.  She loves school and is turning into such a smarty pants.  She loves to come home and tell me all about what she did at school...I love it...she tells me about what she learned, what she ate, who she played with, who was sick, what kids are not getting along, what is going on in her teachers lives...and of course about the boy she has a crush on.  I never thought I would learn so much from a kindergartener but I do.  Today she taught me all about bugs and I actually learned some facts.....she is pretty awesome.

Great Grandpa Erickson is always the life of the party!

Mattie at 3 months

She is so smiley and full of personality....she tries to talk and squawks when she gets upset

Hailey has learned how to feed babies...she says the baby is eating her body...I caught her multiple times with a baby shoved up her shirt and after she feeds it she burbs the baby and puts her down for a nap.  Then she makes us all be quiet so we don't wake the baby.

Matt has had two adjust a lot to living in a house full of girls.  He is now very good at piggy tails and painting nails....and the occasional dressing up.

I love the happy face she makes in her sleep after she has just eaten....you can see the milk dripping from her cheek:)

Mattie at one month...I bought these boots for her before she was born and I love them on her

Mattie at two months

My little cuties

Mattie Faye meet Betty Lou......My grandma is a baby charmer.  She is so good with babies and she knows the best songs to sing to them.  I love watching her with my kids and I am so glad my daughters get to know this amazing woman.

Hailey...not to be upstaged by her baby sister.  This is a typical Hailey outfit....she is obsessed with being a princess.