Eggs, and Cookies, and Baskets, Oh My!

I was lucky to have Good Friday off work again this year! It's always up in the air depending on what the other clinics in our building do, but I was very grateful for a day off after an otherwise hard work week. The kids and I went to the library right after breakfast. And then my sister and I continued our tradition of taking the kids to Nana & Papa's house to color eggs and find Easter baskets. This year, we also frosted cookies that the kids helped cutout and bake earlier in the week.

Of course, Will started with his two favorite colors. Love his sweet face in this pic.

A couple of the eggs were cracked so Nana and the kids ate them instead of coloring. I was surprised and pleased to find that Will actually liked it! Well, the white part anyway. :)

So cute.

Love this one of my Goddaughter.

Babes in dipes... and "piggos". ;-)

Soph has a temporary wardrobe malfunction... She spilled dye on her shirt and jeans and they're in the wash. In the meantime, Nana's helping her color some frosting for the cookies.

This cracks me up. All the kids were playing with this magnifying glass at some point this morning. Stella's checking Sophie out here. Haha!

Each of them got to lick a frosting spoon.

Frosting some spring cutout cookies.

I love the bling, Stell. :)

After cookies, they set off on a hunt for their baskets upstairs. Another wardrobe change for Soph. ;)

Hunting high and low! Really, they were just following Nana around asking for clues.

Will found his under a bathroom sink!

Sophie's basket was under some new bedding for one of the upstairs bedrooms.

I think Mya found hers behind a standing mirror (?) and Stellas was in a shower.

The three girls got matching ruffled bikinis and a terry cloth cover-up dress.

Will got this sweet Nike t-shirt and shorts... which he put on immediately. :)

They all also got a card and a little bit of candy. After baskets, Nana served lunch.

And each of the kids got to choose a frosted cookie for dessert.

Isn't this bunny cookie cute? Casey made it with her uber-skillful frosting abilities. :)

We LOVE time spent with cousins!!! And thank you Nana for organizing a fun and festive morning!!!

Oh, one last thing. Nana got one of these musical/dancing ducks for each family. They play a song to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It", with the words: hippity hoppity-something, shout 'hooray'! ;-) Sophie LOVES it and has carried it around and slept with it several times. When it's singing and dancing, you can tickle it under it's wings and it laughs hysterically until you stop.

It hasn't gotten too annoying yet, but how could I refuse her such simple pleasures anyway?

P.S. - we had a GREAT potty training weekend!! Hence the undies. :)

What's For Dinner? April Week 1

{Week of March 31 - April 6}

It's been a Many Makings kind of week. Have you visited this little food/craft blog yet? Written by my friend Melissa and her friend Casey. LOTS of great recipes and ideas!

This was a recipe I'd wanted to try back when I first made the Chili Rubbed Pork Chops with Pineapple Mango Salsa. They're Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas and they were delicious! Shredded colby jack, grilled barbeque chicken, thin sliced pineapple, bacon pieces, cilantro... (I added a little red onion)

My assembly station:
The tortillas are pre-crisped in a skillet and then, after layering everything, I popped them in the oven to melt and glue themselves together. Deeelicious!

Also this week: Hungarian Beef Goulash in the Crock Pot.

Easy and very tasty!

Another very starchy meal though. It seems whenever I try to put together flavors that go with "country/farm" fare, I always end up with lots simple carbohydrates. Hmm. I think that's just the way people eat when they do a "meat and potatoes" kind of meal.

My fam enjoyed it!

I've made this next recipe from their blog before: Pineapple Chicken Salad. I don't know what exactly it is (the pineapple? the Worcestershire?), but this chicken salad is so freakin' good. I LOVE it! Like Melissa suggests, I doubled all the veggies listed and left the rest the same. I served it in pitas this night, but I ate all the leftovers with Ritz crackers and slices of cheese for packed work lunches. Delish!

Our "side" plate this night. I know... bananas are a weird addition, but we were running low on fruit this night and that's what we had. The kids never care when something "doesn't go". The lettuce was for the pitas and chicken salad.

Kids plate:

Neither kid wanted lettuce on their pita, but later in the meal, they both claimed to want to eat it all by itself!?!? And eat it they did! I told them the Easter bunny probably likes to do that too. :-)

Sometimes Sophie eats so well...

...and other times we get this:

It just depends on the night/meal/minute. ;-)

This last recipe is kind of the cheaters Philly Steak & Cheese sandwich. Can't remember where I first found it (Quick Cooking maybe?) but I've had the idea for years and sometimes it's just handy.

Hoagie buns toasted with olive oil and garlic powder, layered with deli roast beef, sauteed peppers and onions, and topped with Provolone. Toast all under broiler and voila! A tasty, hot sandwich!

Kids had avocado smoothies to go with this meal.

Happy eating, friends!

We've "Bean" Good!

We tried a new behavior reward idea from Family Fun this Easter season.

One month before Easter, we began placing a dry bean in a mason jar for every good deed we caught the kids doing. The kids get to transfer the bean themselves from the bowl to the jar for their good behavior.
Here are some good deeds the kids earned a bean or two for:
*picking up toys
*eating a meal without complaining (sadly, that's uncommon)
*putting coats and shoes away
*complimenting/cheering up a family member
*getting a good report from the babysitter/teacher
*feeding the dog
*helping set the table
*"making" their bed (pulling up and straightening covers)
*just listening in general without having to be told twice
etc.

It might not look like much - in hindsight, we should have used a smaller collection jar - but each one of those beans represents some good behavior in the last month and that add ups to a LOT!
And on Easter Sunday, when the bunny comes to hide our eggs and baskets, he's going to trade in each one of those dry beans for JELLY BEANS! The kids cannot wait!

Oh, also...
I'm loving this little corner of my dining room:
Aren't these eggs so cute? I got them last year from Etsy.