This year we have:
Sushi, Sally (nightmare before Christmas), The cleverest Witch, A princess, and Toothless
We had fun, nearly sewed my fingers together. It is so worth it to see them have so much fun designing them.
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, November 03, 2008
Popcorn Balls Recipe
I figured I had better post this before I lose the recipe again. (I post a lot of my favorites here so I can find them when I want them again.)
Popcorn balls
2 big batches of popcorn (that is about 3/4 to 1 cup of kernels popped in an air popper or a stir crazy popper)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
40 marshmallows (regular size not mini marshmallows)
vanilla (or other flavoring you like)
Pop your pop corn and get the unpopped kernels out.
Melt the butter and sugar together in a large pot.
Bring to a boil.
Add the marshmallows and heat until melted.
Remove from heat and add about a teaspoon of vanilla. Orange flavoring is my favorite. You can also add some food coloring drops if you want. We added red and yellow for classic orange popcorn balls.
Pour over the popped corn and stir quickly to evenly coat.
Butter your hands lightly and start forming the mass into balls.
To store, wrap in plastic wrap.
Enjoy!
Edited to add:
We made this again this week and added a blob of molasses when we were boiling the sugar and butter. It was about 2 to 4 Tbsp. of molasses.
OH MY it was wonderful. Very carmely gooey, chewiness.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Pumpkin Day at the Byrd House
We have had a very fun week celebrating Pumpkin day yesterday, aka Halloween. We love Halloween and all the fun dress-up play we get to do. The kid's school usually picks a theme that the kids can dress up to. This year is was your favorite G rated Disney character.
The teachers dressed up like characters from 101 Dalmatians. My brother and sister are there in the photo.
The kids just loved it especially Cruella. She works in the library. She was fabulous!
My children dressed up as ... Walt Disney (Joe's idea including a Sharpe mustache), Brier Rose (sleeping beauty), Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Ridding Hood, and Jeb is simply himself (he dressed up as a Robot on Wednesday and wouldn't wear it again).
We also did the traditional pumpkin carving.
We planned out our pumpkin faces,
drew them on the pumpkins,
had dad carve them out, or ....
carved them ourselves.
Then we took them outside and lit them up with candles.
Instead of going Trick-or-Treating which is pointless when you live in the middle of no where, we stayed home and had some family fun. Joe built us a fire and we roasted Weenies and marshmallows. We tried to make biscuits to wrap around the hot dogs but they turned out nasty. So the dog ate the biscuits instead and we ate the hot dogs.
Joe made roasting sticks for everyone. Thank you go for having such good camping out skills. hee hee
Toshi came over to check it all out and helped Hannah and JEB make sure the fire had plenty twigs, grass and such to keep burning well. No campfire can burn properly if little kids aren't throwing junk on it all the time.
Jeddie simply bunt his biscuit rapped hot dog. It turned out ok though. He peeled off the charred biscuit and ate the warm hot dog inside. :o)
Sorry I couldn't resist the hat. I just love this little hat. He wore it all day yesterday. It was a treat from Vea for being so good at the store while we looked at kitchen cabinets with mom. She made it from a pattern she got off Etsy. It is fabulous for Jeddies poo bald little head and he is so stinkin' cute in it!
Last we came home and made traditional popcorn balls.
We went to our neighbor's house and delivered some of these to celebrate the day. Popcorn balls are my all time favorite Halloween treat, well that or sugar cookies with orange frosting and candy corns.
I hope you have enjoyed fall as much as our family did. Now on to Thanks Giving! My next favorite holiday!
The teachers dressed up like characters from 101 Dalmatians. My brother and sister are there in the photo.
The kids just loved it especially Cruella. She works in the library. She was fabulous!
My children dressed up as ... Walt Disney (Joe's idea including a Sharpe mustache), Brier Rose (sleeping beauty), Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Ridding Hood, and Jeb is simply himself (he dressed up as a Robot on Wednesday and wouldn't wear it again).
We also did the traditional pumpkin carving.
We planned out our pumpkin faces,
drew them on the pumpkins,
had dad carve them out, or ....
carved them ourselves.
Then we took them outside and lit them up with candles.
Instead of going Trick-or-Treating which is pointless when you live in the middle of no where, we stayed home and had some family fun. Joe built us a fire and we roasted Weenies and marshmallows. We tried to make biscuits to wrap around the hot dogs but they turned out nasty. So the dog ate the biscuits instead and we ate the hot dogs.
Joe made roasting sticks for everyone. Thank you go for having such good camping out skills. hee hee
Toshi came over to check it all out and helped Hannah and JEB make sure the fire had plenty twigs, grass and such to keep burning well. No campfire can burn properly if little kids aren't throwing junk on it all the time.
Jeddie simply bunt his biscuit rapped hot dog. It turned out ok though. He peeled off the charred biscuit and ate the warm hot dog inside. :o)
Sorry I couldn't resist the hat. I just love this little hat. He wore it all day yesterday. It was a treat from Vea for being so good at the store while we looked at kitchen cabinets with mom. She made it from a pattern she got off Etsy. It is fabulous for Jeddies poo bald little head and he is so stinkin' cute in it!
Last we came home and made traditional popcorn balls.
We went to our neighbor's house and delivered some of these to celebrate the day. Popcorn balls are my all time favorite Halloween treat, well that or sugar cookies with orange frosting and candy corns.
I hope you have enjoyed fall as much as our family did. Now on to Thanks Giving! My next favorite holiday!
Saturday, November 03, 2007
The Littlest Pirate
I am afraid I didn't get many photos take of the Halloween happenings this year. I meant to but kept forgetting the camera and had 101 places I had to be that day. What a bummer. They were such cute little kids.
I did manage to get this shot of the Littlest Pirate.
November 1st is his birthday. I did happen to get a couple photos of that but not many either. I had a meeting I had to go to so I made is cookie, gave it to him, gave him his gift, watched him unwrap it and squeal with delight, and then ran out the door. :o( He turned the big 2 this year.
We opted for a Train Cookie rather than a traditional cake. JEB is train obsessed right now. He was so thrilled when he saw it. What wasn't to like; trains and candy, the best! His big sisters decorated it for him.
He kept blowing his candles out before we could get a shot. We did it 3 times and gave up. He and his daddy did have fun though.
When I did get home from my meeting, JEB greeted me at the door and let me know what he thought of his present.
"Love a train!"
More train madness.
I did manage to get this shot of the Littlest Pirate.
November 1st is his birthday. I did happen to get a couple photos of that but not many either. I had a meeting I had to go to so I made is cookie, gave it to him, gave him his gift, watched him unwrap it and squeal with delight, and then ran out the door. :o( He turned the big 2 this year.
We opted for a Train Cookie rather than a traditional cake. JEB is train obsessed right now. He was so thrilled when he saw it. What wasn't to like; trains and candy, the best! His big sisters decorated it for him.
He kept blowing his candles out before we could get a shot. We did it 3 times and gave up. He and his daddy did have fun though.
When I did get home from my meeting, JEB greeted me at the door and let me know what he thought of his present.
"Love a train!"
More train madness.
The cookie recipe used is an adaptation of the traditional sugar cookie recipe I use. I tried subbing some more healthful ingredients. We all loved it.
Flaxseed "Sugar" Cookies
Mix and set aside:
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
In a mixing bowl cream:
1 cup butter
1 cup sucanant
1 egg
When this is fluffy, add
:1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
Really mix this well and get it good and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate 2-3 hours.
*(a note on the addition of nutmeg, If you are going to bake these right away, the nutmeg flavor is a little strong so in that case I leave it out. However, if you can leave the dough in the fridge for a couple of days, the nutmeg mellows out and gives these cookies the most wonderful flavor.)
Roll the dough out on a well floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut as desired. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F for 10 - 12 minutes.
Personally I like these cookies a little brownish. I like them crispy. Just my own personal preference.
I did frost these with the thinest bit of buttercream frosting.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Easters
We had a fun Easter party this year and my brother said I ought to post it somewhere so I will post it here. (maybe that way I can remember next year what we did!) Hee Hee.
We had 17 cousins together this year for the hunt which made things fun and a little complicated.
We divided the kids up into smaller group, babies - up to 2, Littles - 2 to 5, Bigs - 6-9, and biggers 9-11. (we have a 9 year old girl that wanted to stay with the bigs and a 9 year old boy that wanted to go with the biggers as they were all boys).
For the babies we put 1 jelly bean each into several eggs and scattered them in my mom's back yard as it is pretty small and a protected area. (the babies both fell asleep so we skipped their hunt and will do it tomorrow when they come back for babysitting)
For the littles we put treats into 12 eggs each. The older ones had fun counting up to 12. It was fun. We hid them in my mom's front yard which has many fun places to hunt.
For the Bigs, we had 12 different kinds of eggs from them to each look for and gave them a check list to help them keep track of what they were looking for. They seemed to love this. It really extended the hunt because in got harder and harder to find specific kinds of eggs. We hid these in my back yard (I live next door to my mom). It is a real mess with long grass so they really had to hunt for them. I also had my 13 year old nephew hide them and he really hid them well. It was a lot of fun.
For the Biggers, I arranged a scavenger hunt with rhyming clues around my front yard. That was tough for me but fun. On each clue there was a letter. These letters had to be unscrambled to find the candy cache. Which was my mother's treasure chest. That was fun and a lot harder for the kids than I guessed.
I will post some pictures when I have time but I wanted to put this down before I forget. This was successful enough that we would like to repeat a version of this every year. It wasn't that hard and it was so fun having so much to do.
We had 17 cousins together this year for the hunt which made things fun and a little complicated.
We divided the kids up into smaller group, babies - up to 2, Littles - 2 to 5, Bigs - 6-9, and biggers 9-11. (we have a 9 year old girl that wanted to stay with the bigs and a 9 year old boy that wanted to go with the biggers as they were all boys).
For the babies we put 1 jelly bean each into several eggs and scattered them in my mom's back yard as it is pretty small and a protected area. (the babies both fell asleep so we skipped their hunt and will do it tomorrow when they come back for babysitting)
For the littles we put treats into 12 eggs each. The older ones had fun counting up to 12. It was fun. We hid them in my mom's front yard which has many fun places to hunt.
For the Bigs, we had 12 different kinds of eggs from them to each look for and gave them a check list to help them keep track of what they were looking for. They seemed to love this. It really extended the hunt because in got harder and harder to find specific kinds of eggs. We hid these in my back yard (I live next door to my mom). It is a real mess with long grass so they really had to hunt for them. I also had my 13 year old nephew hide them and he really hid them well. It was a lot of fun.
For the Biggers, I arranged a scavenger hunt with rhyming clues around my front yard. That was tough for me but fun. On each clue there was a letter. These letters had to be unscrambled to find the candy cache. Which was my mother's treasure chest. That was fun and a lot harder for the kids than I guessed.
I will post some pictures when I have time but I wanted to put this down before I forget. This was successful enough that we would like to repeat a version of this every year. It wasn't that hard and it was so fun having so much to do.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Happy Easter
There are some things that are just plain happy.
We only get to have this cookie only a couple of times a year and Easter is one of them.
I have to share the recipe.
Sugar Cookies
Mix and set aside:
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg* (this is optional)
In a mixing bowl cream:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar (I use 1 cup)
1 egg
When this is fluffy, add:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
Really mix this well and get it good and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate 2-3 hours.
*(a note on the addition of nutmeg, If you are going to bake these right away, the nutmeg flavor is a little strong so in that case I leave it out. However, if you can leave the dough in the fridge for a couple of days, the nutmeg mellows out and gives these cookies the most wonderful flavor.)
Roll the dough out on a well floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut as desired. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F for 10 - 12 minutes. Personally I like these cookies a little brownish. I like them crispy. Just my own personal preference.
Let them cool and frost them with butter cream frosting and add some sprinkles (Mary Kay for cookies, not necessary but so much more cute.)
Butter Cream Frosting
(we put this on very thin so that we can afford to eat just one more cookie)
1 stick butter
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
food coloring
cream the butter and sugar together, add the vanilla and then the milk until it is nice and fluffy. I divide it into bowls and add a few drops of color and frost away.
We only get to have this cookie only a couple of times a year and Easter is one of them.
I have to share the recipe.
Sugar Cookies
Mix and set aside:
2 cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg* (this is optional)
In a mixing bowl cream:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar (I use 1 cup)
1 egg
When this is fluffy, add:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
Really mix this well and get it good and fluffy.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate 2-3 hours.
*(a note on the addition of nutmeg, If you are going to bake these right away, the nutmeg flavor is a little strong so in that case I leave it out. However, if you can leave the dough in the fridge for a couple of days, the nutmeg mellows out and gives these cookies the most wonderful flavor.)
Roll the dough out on a well floured surface to about 1/4" thick. Cut as desired. Place on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F for 10 - 12 minutes. Personally I like these cookies a little brownish. I like them crispy. Just my own personal preference.
Let them cool and frost them with butter cream frosting and add some sprinkles (Mary Kay for cookies, not necessary but so much more cute.)
Butter Cream Frosting
(we put this on very thin so that we can afford to eat just one more cookie)
1 stick butter
3 3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 - 4 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
food coloring
cream the butter and sugar together, add the vanilla and then the milk until it is nice and fluffy. I divide it into bowls and add a few drops of color and frost away.
Mama and Baby Byrd
Do I really need to write anything here? Doesn't she say it all? I HAD to make this last night when I saw it. Sometimes you just have to do something just for mama. This little Mama Byrd sits above my desk and watches over my crafting dreams till I get time to work on them.
Here is her little baby.
Here is a fuzzy close up. Sorry.
She is just too much fun. I am going to have to help the girls make their own little babies and eggs today to play with. (They keep sneaking off with this mama to play with her.)
If you got the bug not and just HAVE to make one, the tutorial and pattern are at MollyChicken.
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