Bake Sale

So last week, I mentioned I was baking goodies for Hannah's preschool's bake sale tomorrow!  These were the goodies I made and they were absolutely scrumptious!!

 

These are Peanut Butter-FIlled Brownie Cupcakes!

Banana Cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese icing!

I shared one with Emma, the icing came straight from heaven, it was sooooooo amazing and not rich at all!

My special helper!

I also made another batch of rice krispie treats but just plain bars this time with a few chocolate chips sprinkled on top.  Still not a fan - they taste good, but sure are sticky!!! I also tried making no-bake cookies, but they didn't turn out and I had to throw the whole batch away :(  I think I either let the mixture boil too long or somehow put too many oats in, but whatever happened, it was all crumbly and wouldn't form!
Oh, here is the recipe for the banana cupcakes!   I dare you to try them - they're to die for!!

The Royal Wedding

Yep, I watched!  I couldn't wait - it's been set on the DVR since last week, I didn't want to miss any of it!  I thought it was absolutely beautiful; Catherine was stunning and their genuine love for one another was so apparent. I don't get the negativity that people give to the royal family - I get those that weren't interested (ok, honestly I don't).  But I saw so many negative comments on facebook including that Prince William and Kate didn't have to work to get where they are.  I have two thoughts on this - first, it wasn't Prince Williams choice to be born into royalty, it happened, and second, I actually feel like these two are leading a life as normally as they can.  Kate's family created a business from nothing and is now pretty big due to hard work, not being born a certain way (let's not forget she walked into Westminster Abbey as a commoner).  And before Princess Diana's tragic death, she did everything she could to raise her sons "normally" and I think it really shows.  Both Prince Harry and William are in the military and Harry has insisted on not having special treatment and was sent to Afghanistan.  Previous "royals" may have desired special treatment, but I really feel like William and Catherine have worked hard on their own.  Oh, and Catherine is the first Queen-to-be with a college education - I feel like that should say something.

Another negative comment heard was that their relationship wouldn't last, just like any other celebrity couple.  Maybe that's some of the problem with relationships today, there is no hope from the beginning.  They waited 9 years to get married and kept a majority of their relationship as private as they could - not stepping out into the spotlight until the official engagement announcement.

But I loved the wedding nonetheless!  I loved that their faith was so apparent throughout the ceremony and that you could really tell they genuinely loved each other.  I definitely had princess envy today and I am sure a lot of people did too.  I can't wait to see what the future brings to them and to see the new heir.  No matter what anyone else says, I wish them the absolute best of luck and the biggest congratulations I have!

Chaos at the National Zoo

We decided to take a trip to the National Zoo on Monday.  The girls didn't have school on Monday, Matt was off and we didn't get to go at all last year, so we thought, why not? We tried to keep it a surprise, but someone spilled the beans at Matt's Grandparents house accidentally.  So everyone was excited - I wanted to see my favorite, the elephants and Hannah couldn't wait to see the monkeys.  We left on time and headed to the Vienna Metro Station.  I should have known something was up because I saw two heavily protected police officers at the station (that could be normal, but I've never seen it before).

We got to the zoo and it was way crowded, hot and humid, and the book bag filled with our picnic lunch and water bottles was VERY heavy.  Matt told me later it was African American Family Fun Day - I later read that the event occurs every Easter Monday. I don't know that knowing that ahead of time would have deterred me, but knowing the history of violence definitely would have.  

Using the newspaper articles and watching the news to fill in the holes - this is what we experienced. Later in the afternoon, the girls were playing in the prairie dog tunnels when Matt noticed something wasn't right.  Then crowds of people and multiple police officers went running up the walkway.  We scooped the kids up and quickly went in the other direction.  While in the kids farm several ambulances showed up, we couldn't see much so we moved on.  I'm assuming this is when the teen was treated for the wounds in his arm.  By now it was closer to 4 when the exhibits start closing, we were hot and Matt and I were exhausted from all the walking (the girls rode in a double stroller after Hannah got a blister on her foot). We began to leave and saw a Guardian Angel escorting someone out in handcuffs.  We kept going (I don't know why they don't make the zoo a circle and connect the animal farm to where the main entrance is rather than making us go ALL the way back) and near the small mammal house we saw another police SUV, police and teens standing there.  Apparently this is where the second stabbing happened, putting the teen in critical condition at the hospital.  Both parties that were involved in the first incident left the park and then came back and were involved in an altercation again. We dropped our stroller off, got my license back, took a final bathroom break and headed out.  Crowds of people were leaving - we later learned that the zoo was well past its 25,000 (25,000?!?) occupancy limit and they closed the gates, only letting people out.  Where we would normally cross the street, we stayed on the same side as the zoo.  The crowds were enormous over there and Matt said it would be better to stay away and walk down a few blocks. (Matt later learned that the owner of the 7-11 across from the zoo dreads this day every year as he is usually robbed.  Well, yesterday was no exception as he was beat up and robbed and his store had to be closed for hours!) As we headed down, the crowd was huge - I was intimidated especially because it was a lot of young, rowdy teens and you just knew it was trouble.  All of a sudden I heard a large commotion on the other side of the street and turned to see a bunch of people running, so we sped up.  The next thing I hear is a bunch of yelling and a kid was thrown in the street and kicked in the face and then punched like crazy before he could get up. People were yelling, "get him, get him".  I was in a "oh my gosh, we have to help somehow", "why is no one doing anything" and "we need to call 911" state of mind.  Matt was in a "lets get out of here" state of mind since we obviously had the girls with us.  We walked further and I looked back and saw the guy running with a bunch of other people. We slipped into some fancy french place where the owner and head chef let us "escape".  I came back outside to call 911 - there was a TON of police and security in the zoo but they needed crowd control immediately for the walk to metro station.  Within a few minutes I could hear multiple sirens.  They closed the street and metro station - now we were stuck with these crazy people!  A lady walked into the restaurant, she knew the owner.  She had just gotten off the metro and said in all her years living in DC, she had never experienced anything like the sheer panic that was going on in the metro station.  When they closed it down they stopped the escalators and she said all of a sudden people started running down the escalator where the people who were trying to come up and out were on.  We stayed in the restaurant for about 20-25 minutes before we left with the lady who was walking down to the Dupont Circle.  It was another mile walk, but there was NO WAY we were going to get on at metro center once it opened and once the crowd got under control it was going too late.  Dupont Circle Station was busy but only with rush hour folk until all of a sudden a rowdy bunch of teens came running in - apparently they jumped the gates where you put in your fare card/smart trip card. Security made them show their passes and let them through.  We waited for the next train but skipped it - it was PACKED with people that I'm assuming were from metro center being opened back up.  We got on the next train and it was finally all over.  Rush hour made us packed like sardines, but it was full of business men and women and not crazy teenagers.  66 was still a little jammed so we went to Denny's for dinner and to just take a break before the journey home.

Walking through the park, Matt and I joked about things we had learned about coming to the zoo (which was what my blog was originally was supposed to be about).  They included:

• let your child bring a hand-held gaming device and let me play it at every exhibit
• when you get hot, take off your shirt
• be sure to say the "f" word as many times as you can around as many children as you can
• when you need to stop for something, stop right in the middle and don't check to see if anyone is behind you that needs to get by
• don't say excuse me or sorry when you accidentally bump into someone
• bring a weapon into a family-oriented place 
• complain loudly and rudely so everyone can hear
• oh, and thigh tattoos are apparently all the rage right now!

I wasn't so afraid in the park, but looking back the scene outside of the zoo was crazy. I've never been so disappointed with mankind before. I couldn't believe the way people were egging the kids on to fight, the way kids are raised to think that this behavior is acceptable, etc. etc. We tried to keep everything away from the kids and were successful in the zoo, but Emma saw the guy get kicked in the face and punched like an animal.  When we went into the restaurant we explained what happened in the park.  We talked about it and used it as a learning tool.  We talked about obeying God's commands including loving thy neighbor.  She knew that those fighting didn't know the love of Jesus Christ and prayed for them - I was so proud.  She kept saying all the way to Dupont that those people needed to know Jesus.  I'm still very much disturbed by everything I witnessed.  I've never been hesitant to ride metro and was even hoping to score Taylor Swift tickets at the Verizon Center for Emma and I but right now I just can't.  After the Elton John concert, metro station had to be closed down to control the crowd and I don't want to put Emma in any type of situation that can turn violent (although I'm pretty sure the crowd at Taylor Swift won't be quite the same as at the zoo, but you never know).  Apparently last year there was an incident at the zoo on Easter Monday at the same event and in 2000, seven CHILDREN were shot - at the same event.  I never once didn't feel safe within the zoo - there were several different forces of security and police, it was outside the zoo where I didn't know what was going to happen.  It easily could have turned into a riot. 

When I take my children to a place meant for families, I expect for us to be safe.  I don't expect to have to worry about crowds not knowing how to act like human beings or bringing weapons into where children are.  It is just plain ridiculous and is still bothering me now - late the next day.  We won't be back to the zoo for a LONG time and will NEVER return on an Easter Monday due to the history of what tends to happen. 

To end on a happy note, I did capture these pictures of the girls though:

Tuesday's Twin

I straightened Hannah's hair the other day.  It was her idea - she saw me doing mine and wanted her done.  (I've done a few pieces before just for fun.) But this time, I forgot we were going out and thought she would look funny with a few straight pieces and instead of just wetting it down and fixing it, we just did the whole thing!  It didn't take too long, but did start to frizz pretty early for all of the hard work!

I think she looks like a completely different child and makes me realize how much I LOVE her curls!

Easter Goodies

Have I ever mentioned I LOVE to bake? I usually only bake for other people as I don't like a lot of sweets enough to make an entire cake or something (an exception would be brownies - I could eat an entire pan by myself!).  So when I get the chance to make some baked goods I jump at it.  For our Easter Service on Sunday, we needed extra goodies for our hospitality table so I made a few things.  

I thought the sunflower cake turned out pretty well.  You can find the directions here but it was pretty easy.  I used a golden butter cake mix, baked in 2 circle pans.  Frost with chocolate frosting (you need 2 jars).  It takes 19 peeps - keeping them stuck together, slightly round them and stick them on the edge of the cake.  Use semi-sweet chocolate morsels and place in the middle for the "seeds" - this part was a bit meticulous, but not too bad. 

These were a PAIN!  I probably won't be making these for another year :)  They were soooo sticky!!  You make rice crispie treats as usual, but then use plastic eggs that have been sprayed with Pam (or Great Value Non-Stick Butter Flavored Spray like I did).  Fill each side of the egg and use your finger (I ended up going to the handle part of my butter knife because the mixture kept sticking to my fingers) and make an indention.  Let cool for a bit then fill with m&m's and stick them together.  You have to shape them a bit and fill the cracks. 

Hannah's preschool is having a fundraiser this weekend and I'm making some more goodies - anyone have any good ideas?

Monday Menu... on Tuesday

We were out at the zoo yesterday (a blog to come on that experience!) so I didn't have time to do this on Monday - oh well!

This week we're having:

Chicken enchiladas, rice and beans - I've been craving these for a few weeks now

Lasagna, garlic bread and a veggie - I haven't made one of these in YEARS! Hopefully we'll have leftovers for at least lunch the next day or dinner and then I won't have to make my roast!

Hot dogs, baked beans, fries perhaps and a veggie - we'll probably have these on Thursday (instead of soccer, Emma has a school play so we need something quick and easy to cook and clean up!)

French Toast Pancakes - Matt's dream is to open his own restaurant - this is one of his menu items 

Shrimp Lomein and Egg Rolls - I never made this a few weeks ago, so I guess we'll make it this week!

Roast - maybe I'll make it this week (the one I had for a few weeks ago ended up turning into pulled pork bbq and it was FANTASTIC!!  I went to check on the roast and it was so incredibly tender that it pulled right off the bone! We poured some bbq on it and it was probably the best bbq I've ever had!)

I've probably planned more than I needed to this week, but better prepared than not, huh?

What are you having this week?

Adventures in Couponing

I've never really been a "couponer".  I found that the coupons aren't usually for anything I "need" or the things I do need, they make me buy multiples when I only need one, or I prefer the store brand which is still cheaper than the national brand with the coupon.  But with a few tips from my sister and a few episodes of Extreme Couponing, I've decided to give it another go. 

I cut coupons for things we need or would want if the coupon makes it cheap enough.  I then compared it to the ads for the stores around us (Martins, Food Lion, Safeway - for some reason, I totally forgot to check Wal-Mart and that's where I do 85% of my shopping!).  Martins is the only store in Culpeper to double coupons, and they happened to have some pretty good deals coinciding with my coupons!  However, I didn't know they only doubled coupons up to .99 cents - NOT $1.  So I was hoping to save an extra $3, but lesson learned and they were still pretty good bargains for a first-time "couponer", imo!

So, Martins had General Mills cereal on sale for 2/$5 and then I had a $1 off two boxes making them $2/each! (I was thinking the coupon would be doubled and I would actually be getting them for $1.50/each)

Duncan Hines brownies were 2/$4 and I had a coupon for $1 off any two boxes.  I picked up marble and double fudge - mmmmmmm.  (Again, I was thinking the coupon would be doubled and it would $1/box)

Finally, we needed 3 different types of salad dressing this week!  Blue cheese for Matt, poppyseed for me (a new friend turned me onto this for sandwiches instead of mayo - scrumptious), and ranch for Hannah (and me when I'm having a weak moment).  Martins had Kraft dressing on sale for 3/$5 and I had a coupon for $1 off any two.  I'm not sure what that makes them (maybe 3/$4?), but still a bargain!

My total before my bonuscard savings was $20.45 and after my bonuscard and three coupons, I paid $11.35 including taxes.  I saved a total of $9.45 - almost half!!

I was pretty stoked despite my thinking that it was going to be $6.45 which would have been an even better steal - but I'm still pretty happy.  I do know that next time, I'll just get these same items at Wal-Mart, since Martin's sales price is the same as Wal-Marts everyday price and since Martin's doesn't double the $1 coupon, I could have saved myself a trip.

Happy Couponing!!

Monday Menu

We had a few nights of leftovers last week, so we have a few repeats from last week!  One day I'll realize I don't need to plan something for all 7 nights, since realistically I don't cook all 7 days!

Monday: BLT's

Tuesday: Pork chops

Wednesday: Burgers-n-fries

Thursday: Quick bite out between practices

Friday: Chicken enchiladas

Saturday: Pop's Pizza

Sunday: Hoppy Easter!

What are you having this week?

Book Challenge

Thanks to my good friend, Casey - I've been suckered into The Goodreads Book Challenge.  There are a ton of people participating and people have set really high goals. I, however, have decided on a measly 5 books.  I have always loved to read and have already read a lot but I don't really have time to read during school, so I'll only really be reading for pleasure over the summer.  I figured having 2 1/2 months months off for the summer will allow me to read 2 books a month and finish the challenge before the fall semester starts! I started a book, Crazy Love, over spring break but wasn't able to finish it - so I'm starting with that one first.  I'm hoping that the girls will see me reading more (and not just fat textbooks) and join in on the fun.

Will you join me in the challenge? 

Monday Meal Plan

It's Monday again!  Here's whats on the menu for the Elliott's this week:

BLT's - made from farm fresh bacon from my mom and step-dad's farm!  

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches - slow cooked all day and then drenched in Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce!

Tacos - hard and soft shell tacos made with restaurant-style taco seasoning! We'll have rice and beans on the side! You can correctly guess that the beef is from that same farm again!  Yummy!

Pork chops - again, farm fresh from the Norma Lee Ranch!  I'm not sure how I'll cook these since they are a bit thicker than the ones I like to fry!

Burgers -n-Fries - for someone who LOVES red meat, I don't like homemade hamburgers, so frozen it is!  They are still tasty with a tidge of pepper sprinkled on top!

Drive-thru run - On Thursdays, Emma has soccer 45 minutes after gymnastics lets out.  So we usually hit the Chick-fil-a drive-thru and eat at the field while we wait for practice to start.   This week, we may do Chick-fil-a again, we may rebel and try something else.  Oh, and if it rains, which it has for 3/5 past Thursdays, something will be thrown together at home!

What are you having this week?

Meal Plan Monday

OK, ok - I'll post my menu for the week!  The last few weeks haven't been anything to post about (and I'm not so sure today is any different :)  But anywho, this is what we're having this week!

General Tao's Chicken, Sweet-n-Sour Chicken & Egg rolls - it's not your typical take out. Aldi makes a fabulous frozen Chinese dinner, and I've been craving it.  It's quick, easy and requires no clean up - my kind of dinner on busy weeknights!

Banana Pancakes - I told you we have breakfast quite a bit for dinner.  I'll most likely have to make "plain" pancakes for the rest of the picky eaters in my house, but I'll be chowing on some banana pancakes and reminiscing on my childhood when my Mom would make these for dinner!

Kielbasa/Mac-n-cheese skillet - another crafty Kraft Foods recipe.  The family gave it rave reviews last time and its another quick and easy dinner.  Those tend to top my list!

Roast - my Mom brought us some meat from their farm so I can't wait to put this in the crockpot with some potatoes and carrots (and a few other things)

Ravioli with marinara sauce - served with some veggies and garlic bread!

What are you having for dinner??