recipe: white chocolate popcorn with m&ms

soooooo.. i made something yummy today.

we were invited to my sister in law's parents house this weekend.

it'll be our family, my parents, my brother, his wife & her parents.

the bonus is they live on the beach!

can you hear my excitement?!?!?!

(if not mine, can you hear mason's incessant nagging about when it's going to be saturday?!)

so i made a little something 'cause my mama taught me to never show up empty handed.

well, not really, i mean she never SAID it..

but she's pretty much always showed up with something.

and can i just say, m&m's needs to get with the program!

they have seasonal colors for every other holiday, why not the fourth?!

so, i bought a big ol' bag of regular m&m's and set to pickin' out the red, blue & yellow last night.

i set those aside for later...

& the remaining colors were gobbled up by one little dude whose mama felt bad he had a busted chin.

so this morning i opened up some white chocolate chips..

and popped some popcorn...

melted those white chocolate chips in the microwave & gave them a good stir..

and much to my dismay i found i had overheated them & they started to lose there gooey-ness..

it got clumpy & not at all liquid, have you been there before?

ya, so don't know how i messed that one up but i did..

so i quick saved myself & pour a teensy bit of canola oil in.

fixed it right up. shhhh don't tell anyone! :)

drizzled that white chocolate over the popcorn..

toss, toss, toss..

you see where this is going right? 

dump in those red, blue & yellow m&m's..

put everything in a clear cellophane bag..

add some stickers to a tag & tie it all together with some curling ribbon..

stick it in a plastic popcorn tub..

and viola!!!

ya got yourself a perfectly pretty & festive holiday hostess gift :)

and it doesn't taste too bad either!

so this isn't really a recipe...

i'm sure you could tell.

it's so easy a caveman could do it ;)

seriously though..

i didn't measure anything.

i popped maybe 3/4 a cup of kernels.

spread it out on the baking sheet lined with foil.

(sprinkled it with a touch of salt)

melted one 15 oz bag of white chocolate chips

(added in maybe 1 1/2 tsp of canola oil)

& tossed it all together.

i don't think you can ever have too much chocolate..

so just go with your preference! :)

i'm off to finish out this rainy day by watching a movie with the dude!

xo-k

linking to:
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somewhat simple
whipperberry
tidy mom
tatertots & jello

life: misadventures of summer

i need to have a little talk with irony.

ya know, cause when i set out for wednesday's to be an adventure..

it was about walking somewhere new & being outside exploring!

maybe i should have called them 'exploring wednesdays' instead... maybe it's my fault.

now i won't get overly dramatic with you, cause in the end both situations turned out okay.

but at the time, they seemed a little intense...

but i guess that's how all incidents go, right?

so yesterday we had 3 of the members of c4 (the bf's family) over..

we set out to tie dye shirts for the fourth..

let the kids play in the sprinklers..

and catch the bf up on the season 4 opener for true blood (just her & i of course)

did you know, it's darn near impossible to monitor a 7, 5 & 3 year old while they tie dye & take pictures?

well, just in case you were curious... it is.

therefore we have no 'during pictures'.

the bf & i were up to our elbows in liquid dye, while trying to keep the kids from squirting the stuff all willy nilly.

(yes, i said willy nilly!)

and talk about deflating...

it didn't really occur to me that these things would have to sit for 6-8 hours afterwards.

so much for immediate gratification.

thankfully the kids were hungry & eager to play outside, so they didn't notice much.

the sponge water bombs got another beating.

& only one came apart..

the one i had set aside to re-tie that sneaky fingers mcgee (aka cogan) snatched up before i realized it.

they didn't really seem to care about that though as they hurtled the little strips of sponge across the yard at each other.

and little miss calla was stuck in the midst of these two crazy boys.

she just kinda stood still & waited for them to move away each time they got close.

she's a pretty smart girl :)

so after a short break for a snack, the boys went back to pummeling each other with the sponges.

calla was apparently tired of getting in the crossfire & wanted out.

isn't she a doll baby?! :)

i love the dirty little feet with pink glitter nail polish.

she is SO her mommy made over!

so everything was going well until the dude tried to escape a bucket full of water cogan was launching towards him..

he tried to jump over the edge of the little pool, & only got one foot cleared..

can you guess what happened next?

this....

he tripped & fell, landing his chin square on the sidewalk in front of the house.

he landed right where they put those stress breaks in the concrete..

which left him with a nice gaping hole the size of a BB pellet.

both the bf & i were fairly certain he'd need a stitch or two.

so a quick change out of our soggy clothes & the dude & i were on our way to the doctor's office.

in the end he MAY have needed a stitch, but because the skin around the wound was all chewed up as well..

the doctor figured a stitch wouldn't hold..

i was certainly more than okay with not having to go through that, as was mason!

by the time we left the doctors office he was more concerned about whether or not cogan would still have time to play when we got back!

when we got home, dada (the booboo fixer in our house) cleaned it up & got it all bandaged.

isn't it funny how kids think they can't move something when they get a band aid on it?

it's been interesting to watch him try & eat.

he's perfectly capable of opening his mouth..

he just thinks he needs to use the babe's spoon for portion control... :)

so three wednesday's into the summer & two of them have been MORE than an adventure.

heat exhaustion. giant gash in the dude's chin.

and that's not to mention all the bumps & bruises the babe has from just crawling!

sheesh. at this rate we are in for serious injury before the end of the summer!

(hopefully nothing like my seriously sprained ankle @ 8 months pregnant in the middle of july!)

here's to positive thinking & possible full-body padding for both my boys!!!!

xo-k

diy: sponge balls

i got to tell ya.... water balloons got nothin' on these jokers!

i've seen this idea a hundred times over.

family fun.

pinterest.

martha stewart.

there are a few different takes on how many sponges to use..

what to use to tie them up...

well. here's how we did it... :)

sponge balls (aka water bombs)

supplies:

-2 kitchen sponges per ball

-scissors

-fishing line

1. cut each sponge in half lengthwise.

2. cut each half in half again lengthwise.

i cut up all the pieces ahead of time so the dude could help assemble them. 

and of course what does he want to do when i bring him out...

he says 'watch i can make spongebob!'..

and so he did. :)

3. stack 2 layers of alternating colors, 4 pieces wide. (this is the part i had him do)

4. take your fishing line & wrap it around the middle of the sponges. pull as tight as you can. put one side of the string through the other & pull tight to keep secure. run the two ends back around to the other side & loop again. bring the two ends around & back up the first side & tie off with several knots.

i know the above tying seems excessive...

but just trust me & do it.

i did it on all but the first one, and that was the only one to fall apart during play.

the fishing line is tricky to keep tight on itself.

(some tutorials said zip ties, which i think may hurt if you get beaned with it...

and string may rot... rubber bands may be the next best thing..)

and above you have the before...

and below the after...

a wet, dirty mess..

but i tell ya.. they were pretty dang fun.

the dude was pretty disappointed when the next door neighbor kids weren't home to play with them when we finished..

so, i did the only thing a mama can in that situation..

i picked up a sponge ball & and launched it at him!

the water wasn't so bad.. but the dirt was kinda gross.

he had soo much fun once the kids next door were home to play with!

(i think we are going to have to make more!!)

xo-k

linking to:

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recipe: creamsicle float

i did a bad thing a few weeks ago..

well not really... but i hoarded something from the dude.

the last bit of orange soda.

shame on me, right?!

but i had good reason.

i never EVER have vanilla ice cream in the house..

mostly because it's just kinda blah, and if you are going to do ice cream, get the good stuff..

but mainly because i'm a diet root beer drinker..

and having vanilla ice cream & root beer together in my house is bad.

because i will gobble it up like nobodies business...

& it will end up permenantly residing on my hips.

so here i sat with this half eaten carton of vanilla ice cream...

and this tiny bit of orange soda that i had hidden from the dude...

having just made the creamsicle frozen dessert for my mama for mother's day..

and it hit me.

why not a creamsicle float?

i know, it's not like i concocted some genius recipe.

i mean i poured orange soda in a cup & added some ice cream.

but as many creamsicle recipes i've seen on blogs & pinterest..

i've not yet seen this... and it's so good.

obviously, a love of creamsicles, orange soda & ice cream are required.

it seems like the perfect summer drink for kiddos..

or mama's who hoard orange soda from their small children! :)

just don't follow my lead & put too much soda into your cup..

because when your yummy drink spills out over onto the edge...

 you will actually find yourself contemplating whether or not to lick it off the counter..

rather than wiping it up...

orrr.... maybe that's just me.

at any rate, it's goooood.

(like lime sherbet & sprite kinda good)



big plans for the week.

couple of crafts...

couple of new recipes...

(does anyone have a good recipe for seared tuna?)

and a trip this weekend to cocoa beach, to my brother's generous in-laws house.

family, fun & sun :)

what's up your sleeve this week?

xo-k

ps. on a crazy side note, spell check wanted me to change 'creamsicle' to 'crepuscular' which apparently has something to do with resembling twilight or occurring during twilight. random?

linking to:
skip to my lou
craft
under the table & dreaming

diy: redneck sprinkler

i am not sure i could call this one a project..

but were just gonna lump it in there with summer stuff.

complaints? nope, didn't think so.:)

i just went outside to move the hoses & sprinklers so the hubs could finish mowing..

you should have seen his face when i lifted this joker up outta the grass!

of course now i'm inside, sneezing up a storm..

(hello grass & ragweed allergies)

and trying to kill the gnat that keeps flying up my nose!

the hubs would probably kill me for posting pictures of our grass that obviously needed to be mowed..

but in his defense he just came off a 10 day shift...

working 90+ hours in 90 degree heat with 102 heat indexes.

i wasn't going to complain one bit about tall grass.

(especially since i would look like some version of hitch during his allergic reaction to food,  if i tried to cut it myself)

enough about me, my grass, and swollen facial features.

i came across this idea on pinterest via making memories with your kids, and knew i had to try it out

mason & cogan were laughing when they saw me put it together.

& really it only took a few short minutes once i pulled everything out.

empty a soda bottle.

poke some holes on 3 sides with a screwdriver (the fourth will be facing down)

tape it to your hose. (i used electrical tape 'cause it's what i had)

turn on the hose & marvel at your redneck sprinkler!

you're laughing right?

'cause if you're not, you totally should be.

it's funny!

i mean seriously.. in a pinch, this would do the trick, right?!

cheaper than that thing that fell apart after 15 minutes the other day!

just a note. you NEED good water pressure.

(we have average pressure)

the less water pressure you have, the fewer holes you should poke.

trial & error people, you are only out an empty soda bottle! :)

xo-k

linking to:

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life: with three boys

i should probably just save this post & come back to it..

the words just aren't a'flowin from me tonight.

could be because i spent the day with three boys.

7, 5, & 9 months.

and there were times when the 7 year old (the dude) had me wanting to pull my hair out.

(like when he just said the word 'sex'  to the 5 year old & my eyes came popping out of my head)

and then there were times when the 5 year old (cogan) made me want a mute button.

(like when he argued that 3 teenage girls in bikini's were naked & would not relent)

and rance is just teething & grumpy and miserable unless he's shoving something in his mouth. 

(just to clarify. the dude had no idea what sex meant & couldn't remember where he heard it other than a movie. & cogan thinks anyone not fully clothed is naked apparently. i've already decided they will be trouble together as teenagers!)

so.

back to what i was going to talk about.

(like that nice little detour? ya. it ain't all sunshine & flowers around here :)

i'm no expert on how to get your kid to not be a sore loser.

not by any means, as my child sees fit to throw tantrums in the middle of bowling alleys.

often.

after two birthday meltdowns at bowling alleys...

i decided some effort was required on my part to so call 'tame the madness'

(please excuse the obviously TOO short pants. he insisted on wearing them & it was so not worth the fight!)

this is what i got the first 10 frames he bowled last week.

total pita.

(that's pain in the you know what.. just in case you needed an explanation!)

whiny. whiny. whiny.

he wanted to quit after the first game.

i'll admit, it was REALLY tempting to just give him his way.

but instead i made a deal with him.

i promised him that if he played the next game, with no whining whatsoever, he could play video games after.

but the least bit of tantrum & we would quit & go home.

and ya know what..

he bowled a 78 (vs a 55) & had a blast with it.

yes. this is him having fun!

(and it's my favorite shot.)

me...

well, i hate bowling.

you're gonna laugh, but i don't think i've EVER bowled higher than a 120 MAX.

and one time i almost hit an innocent bystander.

well, he was more like a highly intoxicated heckler...

but the point is, the ball went the opposite direction it was supposed to.

yep.

bowling is only a few notches above golf & basketball in my book.

so this is me, fumbling through parenting.

trying my best to teach him it's okay to fail.

that not everyone is the best at everything & that's okay.

it's that very thing that makes everyone special & unique.

today cogan kicked his butt, twice, in bowling... and he hardly noticed.

so maybe i'm doing something right.

or maybe he really was dying from starvation like he claimed.....

and this little guy..

well just keep giving him something to shove in his mouth & he'll be fine!

xo-k

tomorrow. redneck sprinkler. say wha?!

ps. if you too have a sore loser.. i found some good tips here. check 'em out!

linking to:

sweet shot tuesday

life: the if game

i'm sitting here, knowing good & well i should be doing something else... but not doing it.
we got home last night after spending 3 days at nana's & papa's, and i'm tired.
i'm working on my third load of laundry, with probably two more to go..
why does it feel like i come home with more dirty clothes than clean clothes i left with? is that just me?

anyways.. so back to what i was saying.
i had to rearrange some plans for our 'craft/project' today because apparently although we HAVE a drill in our possession, it lacks the ability to be charged.
uhm, why haven't we rectified that yet?
so we have to wait for the hubs to return home with his 'work' drill to help us out.

in the meantime i felt like blogging. about what?
our trip to nanas? i have plenty of pictures. nope. don't feel like downloading.
our bowling trip? nope. requires downloading pictures.
am i being lazy? yep.

but then this sweet new friend of mine wrote me a little message, & i decided to take a cue from one of her recent posts :)

do you play the if game? i play it with myself endlessly.
i use the word 'play' loosely, because sometimes it's an alternate word for the truth.
which is 'worry'.
see, now you know what i'm talking about, right?
you're not fooling me. worry-wart.
it's okay. i understand. i do it too.
i'd like to say it's a mama-thing.. but the truth is, i've been this way all my life.
maybe it's cause i'm a libra? although i'm not one for attributing actions to birth signs.
but i'm telling ya.. the scales works as a symbol for my thoughts process on more occasions than i can count.
i'm a pros & cons kinda girl.

but. i'm not here to talk about signs. or worrying.
i'm here to talk about the actually 'if...' game.

specifically.. 'if...' you could have any job, what would it be?

1. artist. i can still feel it itching there under my skin. i was always better with words than with lines. but i can't draw, and i can't paint. i look at pictures of artists, pouring their heart & soul into their work, and i know i'm not one. not in that sense that you give up eating to buy the tools to make your art. (ya, anyone who knows me would know i'd through over a paintbrush for a scoop of ice cream in a heartbeat) i want to be that semi-crazy, emotional, filled to the brim with inspiration kinda person. in some ways i am, i think.. or rather i hope. but i surely ain't no starving artist.

2. writer. words move me. every time i sit down and get into a good book i wish i had the drive, the determination to sit down and figure the whole thing out. i feel like to be considered a writer worthy of recognition you have to be someone who says something that changes people... that's what i'd like to be. i could care less about the hoards of money & fame. but sadly, i feel like often that follows the stigma of artist.. that you're not recognized as having been such until you are long gone. (well that & it seems that some of that genius comes in the form of mental illness, or extreme distress in life.. none of which i care to have, thankyouverymuch)

3. jewelry artisan. i see the ideas in my head, and for me, this one seems almost tangible. unfortunately the ideas don't always meet with funding, & it's more important to me to feed my children as well. (plus i have a total lack of confidence. i keep reciting to myself something along the lines of if you never try, you will never fail, but you'll also never succeed.)

4. cupcake baker. seriously. like as a full-time grown up job. i never really considered it before we went to nyc in 2009. we went to crumbs bakery & it was life changing. well, not really. but it was like a giant light bulb went off over my head. why couldn't we have one here? i felt like this thing would only take off if people were walking by, tempted by the smell of chocolate & sprinkles looming in the air. i worked with my aunt a few days many, many years ago in a cookie florist shop she worked at. it was SO much fun. maybe when i'm a withered old lady with lots of grandkids & blue hair on my head :) 

5. party planner. you saw the lego party... if i could do that kinda stuff all day everyday, i'd be in hog heaven. i really don't think there is anymore to be said about that!

6. museum curator. yes. this is all about 'if's' here. like IF i was willing to live in a big fancy city with big fancy museums. which, i'm not. but i could do it, and totally love it. this was what i started college with the hopes of being all those years ago. then reality set in. i'd have to move away from my family. that's never been something i've really wanted. i'm a small town girl at heart, even though the city excites me for awhile. i like knowing the person i run into at the gas station. i like remembering that my friends & i used to visit 'this' subway before band practice, every single day. i like how the memories surround me on any given day. i like roots. i like history. call me boring.

so. these are some of the ideas i've truly entertained in my life. what have you dreamt of doing? if you blog about it, leave me a link so i can come & visit and find out about you... i love making new friends ;)

xo-k

diy: lego instructions binder

so... i can't promise you this is my LAST lego project..

but it's likely the last for at least a little while.

maybe.

 inevitably, when you have a lego birthday party for a little boy...

you are going to come home with just a few, or 8 different lego creations.

and in each one of those boxes is at least one instruction booklet, and sometimes as many as three.

the dude burned through putting these things together in record time.

he had all 8 creations put together in the span of about 4 days.

as each one was finished, i stacked the instruction booklet on top of his tv, with this project in mind.

because i just KNEW, that one of these bad boys was going to come apart..

and heck if i was gonna know how to put it back together..

and if i didn't have the book to tell us how, i was in for lots of whining!

so this is what i came up with to keep 'em all together.

it's certainly nothing short of genius.......

wait. i mean it's nothing if not genius..

i kid. it's so simple i'm sure someone has already come up with it.

 but i did give myself a little pat on the back. :)

i can't really consider this a tutorial, because...

well because it's just so simple i'm sure you could figure it out.

binder & some sheet protectors are necessary..

everything else is optional pretty stuff.

(but don't tell the dude i called his lego stuff pretty, m'kay?)

i really, REALLY thought i was done with the coloring.

i really, REALLY am now.

maybe.

snip snip here, and snip snip there... and a couple of tra la las...

oh wait we're talking legos here, not wizard of oz!

sorry.. i get sidetracked :)

here's the part were i smacked myself in the head for not measuring the size of the cover first..

and then thought to myself...

he's a 7 year old BOY, and could probably care less if the sheet fills the cover!!

i added a baseball card protector sheet to the front for some of the smaller instructions..

like the ones that come with the minifigures & smaller sets.



...and there ya have it.

all those little stapled together, destined for destruction in the hands of the dude, instruction booklets

tucked safely away in his closet...

up & away from little visitors & brothers alike.

and far from the dudes impulsive whims to decorate things with stickers!

(what IS it with kids & stickers!?!)

we are off to nana's tonight..

if he ever gets his room cleaned up.

lots of swimming & 4 wheeler riding in the next few days!!

it's been a great first week of summer!

what are you up to this weekend?

xo-k

linking to:
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under the table & dreaming
i heart naptime