Time For Hot Cocoa

This is the view out my bedroom window this morning:

It's been snowing at our house for the last couple of days and putting me in the mood for some nice hot chocolate. But to my dismay, we're out. Isn't hot chocolate like a winter staple? How can we be out! So I googled and found an easy hot cocoa recipe at Martha Stewart.com. There is only three ingredients and quick to mix up. So find these three things in your cupboard and lets get started.

Hot Cocoa

3 1/2 C sugar

2 1/4 C cocoa

1 T salt

Mix them together and store in an airtight container.

When ready to use heat 1 cup of milk to desired warmth and add 2 T of cocoa mix. Mmm.

I've Fallen In Love

Move over honey- I've officially fallen in love! Remember on my old blog how baking soda became my best friend in the kitchen. Well I fell in love with it in the bathroom! Yes I know that's an odd place to fall in love but it's true.

I finally tried using baking soda on that persistent soap scum and hard water spots on my sinks. Hallelujah! Why didn't I try it sooner, back when I said I was going to? I'm still kicking myself for that. A little baking soda and a Scotch Brite scrubber and my sinks came cleaner easier than my stove did!

So now my bathroom cleaner caddy holds a box of baking soda. Try it- you'll fall in love too!

When Momma's Sick

Have any of you noticed how everything falls apart when Mom is sick and unmotivated to get off the couch? This is the case at our house. I woke up yesterday feeling miserable and have had a lack of motivation to do any chores. I'm sure it has something to do with the fever and nausea but I just want to lay around and do nothing.

Therefore, my kids have run a muck and the dishes have pile up. I really do want to get feeling better but at the same time not looking forward to the catch up. Anyone know a good maid service?

A New Little Sunday Suit

Have you ever had a child that grows like a weed! My little one is so tall that we go through clothes like we do diapers. He is quickly running out of things to wear. Last sunday he went to church in pants, shirt and jacket all from different outfits and they only sort of matched. So I decided it was time for some new sunday clothes.

I found a tutorial for some slacks over at MADE. I followed pretty close to what she did, just a few adjustments. One thing I added was cuffs on the bottoms. Here's what I did:

First (for each leg) cut two rectangles the width of your pants. The height should be twice the size you want for the cuff plus 1 inch. With right sides together sew the short sides of the rectangles together, making a tube.

Next, fold your tube in half, wrong sides together, matching the raw edges. Pin and iron.

Now turn your pants inside out and turn the bottom edge up 1/2 inch. Pin and iron.

Now slide pant leg inside cuff and match up the raw edges.
Pin and stitch 1/4 inch from raw edges.
Turn your pant leg right side and it should look like this:
Now fold cuff over pant leg. Pin at side seams and hand stitch to tack them in place.

I made my pockets on my pants a little big so I didn't have room to make the fake fly. And since I didn't do the fly, I left off the button on the waistband. I also meant to do belt loops but realized as I was taking the final picture that I forgot. Oh well, maybe I'll add them later.

I also decided to add buttons to the fake pockets on the back. I thought it made it look a little more dressy.
Now my little guy has pants but he still needs a top. I followed another tutorial by MADE to turn this: a sweater of mine that's too short for me
Into this: a brand new sweater for my little man
Put that together with the pants and he's ready for church on sunday!

Zucchini Bread

This weeks recipe is a great way to get your kids to eat some vegetables. Normally I have a hard time getting my kids to eat zucchini but they love this bread because it tastes like cinnamon.

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 c flour

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1/4 t baking powder

1/4 t nutmeg

1 beaten egg

1 c sugar

1 c finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini

1/4 c cooking oil

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease bread pan (makes 1 regular loaf or 1 mini loaf pan). In medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Set aside. In a separate bowl combine egg, sugar, zucchini and oil. Add zucchini mixture to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes. *If using a mini loaf pan you may want to reduce baking time.

Halloween, Country Style

Do you remember when you were in elementary school and you got to parade around the school in your Halloween costume for all the other kids in school? Well in our small town that elementary parade is bigger and better! They didn't just have the kids parade around the school, they bussed them all over to Main Street and they did a parade for the whole town!!! And all the business came out and give the kids candy as they went by. How cool is that! Only in

a small town! I love it!

Our Halloween was an entire weekend production and so much fun. They had the parade Friday morning. Then friday night a big Halloween carnival. Saturday morning we went to a party with some friends. And then Saturday night the fire department, police, and ambulance hosted a trunk or treat. It was so much fun for the kids to get to trick or treat at an ambulance and fire truck and police cars! And of course trick or treating afterwards. We will have candy for years.

I love that in a small town there are so many more activities that can be done that don't happen in the city. It makes the holidays that much more fun. Oh how I love the country!

Halloween Treats

I had to make cookies today for the school carnival cake walk and I've also been meaning to take some treats to the neighbor who has been helping with rides to school. So I though, hey kill two birds with one stone right. I decided to make some cute Halloween sugar cookies and I used my Great Grandmothers recipe for sour cream sugar cookies. Mmmm! My favorite! And I'm going to share this wonderful recipe with you.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 c sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

4 1/2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs- beat well. In a separate bowl mix sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice. In another bowl mix baking soda, baking powder and flour. Now add small amounts of sour cream mixture alternately with small amounts of flour mixture until well mixed.

Roll out dough on a floured surface until 1/4 inch thick. Cut shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. Place cookies on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375* for 10-12 minutes.

I cut my cookies into pumpkin and ghost shapes. To decorate them I used a round tip to pipe on zig-zag designs. If you don't have cake decorating tips you can use a ziploc bag and cut the tip off.

For the ghosts I added two mini chocolate chips for eyes.

Then remember those little Frankensteins I made. I put some of those on a plate with the cookies and it made a fun treat for the neighbor.