Dinnertime!

I don't know about any of you, but I have the hardest time coming up with dinners that my 4 kids will eat that Mommy and Daddy will enjoy too! They're not overly picky eaters, but they each have their own quirks. Madison has gotten to the point where she will at least take a "Try It" bite of something new. Ethan is a Carnivore who's only acceptable veggie is broccoli. Riley and Abby are Herbivores and I have to bribe them to eat meat. They are also the only ones that will try any kind of sauce.  NONE of them will eat anything casserole/crock pot style where everything is mixed together.

The other night I made a meal that I HOPED everyone would enjoy. Ground Beef was the Meat Du Jour and that is usually the most difficult for me to please everyone with. So this is what I came up with.

Italian Stuffed Peppers for Mommy and Daddy



And Mini Meatballs for the Kiddos

The kiddos were thrilled! Apparently Mini Meatballs on toothpicks are the coolest dinner ever!





Unfortunately, that was the extent of their coolness. When it came down to actually eating the fun little tidbits, it was business as usual. My Carnivores, Ethan and Madison, gobbled them up. My Herbivores, Riley and Abby, couldn't be swayed.

Anyone else have this problem? I'll take any tips I can get!

Happy Birthday Abby!

My baby girl turned 3 last month. Wow. That's all I have to say.

This little Munchkin has been both my saving grace, looking at that sweet face when things are rough, and the cause of my gray hairs when that red headed monster temper decides to rear it's ugly head.

Abby is the epitome of the nursury rhyme:

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very, very good.

When she was bad,

She was horrid!

So, Happy Birthday to my Dear, Sweet, Loving, Beautiful, unbelievably Frustrating Little Redhead!

You're gonna go far! And you'll do it your way! ;)





Since I've Been Gone...

Umm...I'm not a very good blogger. There, I said it. So instead of trying to be witty, funny, entertaining, or anything else interesting, how about I just show you some pictures of what I've been up to in the months and months since I posted last. (Apologetic Smiley Face)

My Sister-in-Law has Liver Disease and is currently awaiting a transplant. Her medications were starting to pile up, so I made her this cute organizer to help carry them all around to her various doctor appointments.

I made my Oldest Daughter's ballet class some pretty bun covers for Valentine's Day.

I threw together this Thing 2 costume for Dress As Your Favorite Dr. Seuss Character Day

I discovered one of my 4 year old sons is a pretty darn good photographer!

I made some fun, new hair do-dads

And I made my second and third wedding cakes!

In between all this was the usual...you know, holidays, kids, school, work, husband, laundry, laundry, and more laundry, little projects I forgot to take pictures of....

Here's to trying to be a little more consistent with my blogging!

Happy Birthday Madison!

Sunday we celebrated our oldest's birthday. I just can't believe 7 years have already gone by!

She had an Under The Sea themed party.

Little Mermaid Cupcakes

We're on a shoestring budget...family of 6 on a police officer's salary and all....so the cupcake toppers are just free Disney clipart taped to toothpicks. But the girls all loved them and that's what matters, right?

and Sea Star Cookies!

We also had star shaped sandwiches, fruit kabobs, and cut veggies. I don't have the greatest picture of all that, the guests got to the table before I could snap a good pic!

Any Suggestions?

First off, I have to apologize. I have been a terrible blogger. I am so in awe of those of you out there that can keep this up on a daily or even weekly basis! With school and dance teaching starting back up I just haven't had my head in the game. My oldest is in 1st grade now, dancing two days a week, and doing Girl Scouts. My twins are in VPK, which is wonderful, because now I have some one on one time with my youngest daughter who is 2. The only downside is VPK is only 3 hours a day so I feel like I am constantly in the car running kids all over town or running errands. One thing I've noticed since all of our activities have started is that the quality of our diet, and the amount of exercise/play we are all getting, well, to put it bluntly, sucks. OK, so it's probably only MY exercise level that sucks, my kiddos are really active. But all of our diets need help. We have already driven through The Golden Arches WAY more than we should. I have 3 days a week where we don't get home until 6:30 pm, and with 4 kids under age 7 that is just too late to start cooking a healthy meal. I've started relying on convenience foods too much, and it's starting to show in our behavior and attitudes. I don't know about any of you, but my kids and I get cranky when our diet goes down the tubes! I need help! Anyone out there have any suggestions for super quick healthy meals? Yummy, kid friendly mini meals that can be eaten on the run? I tried slow cooker meals, but my kids are opposed to anything that mixes their food up. Any comments or suggestions would be awesome!

And because I can't post this without at least one picture.....here is the one little project I did get accomplished.

Sharing at some or all of these fun parties!

Crochet Cuteness!

I've added some new cuteness to my Etsy shop, Miss Nicole Creates! My Mom taught me how to crochet some basic stitches when I was about 10 or 11, but I really wasn't all that into it. 21 years later and I'm so glad she taught me! I've gotten hooked, (pun intended!) and have been crocheting up a storm. Here are just a few things that I've been working on, and what I think are cute enough to add to my shop.

Some fun Button Flower Hair Clippies

Here's my youngest modeling the pink one, so you can see the size. Please ignore the bedhead!

And a cute Flower Headband...modeled by my oldest who complained it was WAY too sunny out to keep her eyes open. The life of a model!

These can be found in my Etsy shop, Miss Nicole Creates! Convo me for additional colors/styles!

Linking up to these fun parties!

Another Baker in the House!

It looks like my oldest daughter has caught the baking bug! She asked me today if she could bake some cupcakes. "Like for real all by myself!" So she did it all, read the directions, measured ingredients, filled the pans and even put them in the oven. (With mommy nearby of course...)

Then she patiently waited for them to cool, tinted the icing, (pink DUH) iced and sprinkled.

And the finished product!

She was so proud of herself and her cupcakes....and of course so is Mommy!