Grandpa's Birthday

So for my Grandpa's Birthday party I thought that it would be super cute to make all of the great grandkids some shirts, I decided to do monkeys because he is always calling them his little monkeys. I also thought that numbering them in the order that they were born would add a cute element. They turned out very cute and Grandpa Great loved them!!!

Boys Shirts (Back)

Boys Shirts (Front)

Girls Shirts (Back)

Girls Shirts (Front)

Grandpa Great and all his Lil Monkeys!!!

Sorry For Being Gone So Long

I am back!! After several weeks of spotty internet and then no internet at all we finally had the time to have someone come over and fix it!! I have also been really busy with the end of school approaching, my Grandpa's 80th birthday party, Maisyn's 5th birthday party, and making teacher appreciation gifts! I don't think life will ever slow down until all of these kids are grown and gone! But for now that is ok, I like staying busy and doing fun things!

Freezer Paper Stencil Shirts

So I am going to be very busy until April 28th! My Grandpa is having his 80th Birthday party that Saturday and I have 8 shirts to make before then. I saw a freezer paper stencil diy shirt awhile back on Pinterest and decided that I just had to try it. I did a Captain America one for our youngest sons 5th Birthday party and every special occasion since has required a t shirt! They are easy and so cute but super time consuming when you do a lot of them and with 5 kids I do a lot lol! All you need is fabric paint, an iron, freezer paper (I got mine at Wal Mart), a shirt of your choice, exacto knife, and your template to make the stencil. Below are the pics of our Easter shirts!

Don't mind the crazy face he is making!

I also added a bow to the girls shirts with hot glue.

Sunday Sundaes

So on Sundays we always have all the kids and Marc doesn't work so we like to have a family day. My Mom was in town for just a quick 24 hour trip so that Sunday morning I went with her and helped load some wood in her truck. After that we went and picked up Anthony who was so excited and surprised to see Numa (my oldest dubbed my Mom this name when she was around 1 1/2). Then we went and got Maddy and headed to my Grandparents to make some breakfast and have some family time before my Mom and Step Dad Randy left. Breakfast was yummy as always and the kids had fun coloring pictures for Numa to take home and Maddy and Matthew enjoyed showing off their reading skills. After about 2 hours it was time to go so they can get on the road, its always sad when they have to leave.

We headed home and had some fun outside on the trampoline and the swing set.We watched some baseball, had some lunch and just relaxed until it was time to make dinner. Marc had set out some ground beef and we decided to do mini lasagna cups.I will put the recipe at the end of this post! After dinner we had the kids clean up their rooms and the toy room and we started to make our Sunday night Sundaes, a fun tradition that the kids love. Who am I kidding? Marc and I love it too lol! They pick their ice cream and then they pick any and all the toppings available on the counter that night. Then its cartoons for a bit and bed since the next day is a school day. I hope that our kids always remember these fun Sundays that we have!!

Mini Lasagna Cups

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb sausage
1 cup spaghetti sauce
1 cup alfredo sauce
1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
24 wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown sausage and hamburger in a large skillet over medium high heat and drain. Divide meat into two portions. Add spaghetti sauce to one meat mixture and stir to combine. Add alfredo sauce to the other meat mixture and stir.
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta the salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Coat two 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray, and arrange a wonton wrapper in each cup. Take half the ricotta mixture and divide it among the 24 cups. Top with the alfredo meat sauce, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Place another wonton wrapper over the cheese, and repeat the layers by adding the remaining ricotta cheese, spaghetti sauce meat sauce, and top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the wonton wrappers are golden. Cool in the muffin tin for 5-10 minutes before serving. Makes about 24 mini lasagnas.

Finished project, Yummy!!!

Before going into the oven

Crockpot Chicken And Dumplings

So today in my trusty crockpot is a very easy, and very yummy recipe. Who doesn't like good comfort food like chicken and dumplings?? Who doesn't love to throw ingredients into a crockpot and just forget about it for several hours?? I LOVE my crockpot and with t ball season coming up I will be using it a lot more!! You seriously need to try this recipe!

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts 
• 2 tablespoons butter 
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup 
• 1 can chicken broth 
• 1/2 sweet onion 
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley 
• 5 grands flaky refrigerator biscuits 

Put the chicken, butter, cream of chicken, chicken broth, parsley and onions in the crock pot and cook on high for four to six hours. Mine only needed five, and probably didn’t even need that much.

As the chicken cooks and gets tender, break it up with a spoon or fork, whatever.

Get your biscuits and cut them into nine pieces. I kind of rolled them into balls to ensure they stayed whole but it’s not necessary. Stir into chicken mixture and cook for another hour. 

Fun Indoor Activities

It is days like today that I am grateful for board games, the Wii, dominoes, and all the toys that I often wonder why we have so many of. It is not currently raining but the ground is far too wet to let the kiddos out to play and it is still pretty chilly as well. Sometimes I play games with them, other times I just watch them play, and then there are the times that I give them specific games to play that take a lot of time so I can clean, cook, or maybe even go to the bathroom by myself lol!! I also like to get on Pinterest and see what fun crafts we can do or what yummy foods we could make. I found this website that I love for recipes, crafts, and lots of fun stuff to do on a rainy day: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/01/101-fun-easy-and-cheap-indoor-activites.html
We also come up with a number of fun things that the kids just make up! I love having 5 kids so close in age and with such vivid imaginations, they keep me on my toes most days and pulling out my hair other days!! Come summertime I will be posting a lot of crafts and fun activities so I hope you keep following to see what new things we may do!

Breakfast For Dinner

Breakfast for dinner last night which is a huge hit with the kiddos! Cake batter pancakes topped with a vanilla glaze and sprinkles!!

Cake Batter Pancakes
Makes about 12 pancakes

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 2/3 Cup Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• Pinch Of Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1-2 Cups Milk
• Sprinkles

Directions


Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add 1 cup of milk, eggs and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. You want the batter to look like regular pancake batter; not too thin, not too thick.  You may have too add more milk depending on the cake batter brand that you use. Start with one cup and add more if needed. Fold in the sprinkles and cook until bubbles form on top 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 more minute.

Vanilla Glaze

• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 Tablespoon Milk
• 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, you may need to add more milk or more sugar to reach desired consistency. Drizzle onto pancakes and top with extra sprinkles.