It Ain't Food Network, But They Eat It....Tuesday!

Last week when the boys were home from their dad's house, I decided we would try to make a treat together. Notice the word try. It ended up being a "everybody get out from under my feet....I'll call you when it's done" kind of treat. But it was good! It only has 3 (maybe 4) ingredients.

Oreo Truffles

1 package oreos (I used double stuffed because that's our favorite)

1~8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened (I used regular...might try 1/3 fat next time)

2-3 cups chocolate chips (the kind you make chocolate chip cookies with)

1 tsp. Crisco (I found a few recipes on line that said to use this and some didn't....I guess it makes the chocolate chips melt smoother?)

I put a row of each of the Oreo's into Ziploc bags...one for each kid. Even Brayden got in on the action. They crunched and crunched until I stopped them because I was afraid they were going to bust the bags. Then I mixed with the mixer the cookie crumbs with the cream cheese. Once this was mixed well, I put the chocolate and Crisco into a Pyrex bowl and sat it on top of a saucepan that had a couple inches of water. I let the water simmer (not boil) and started stirring as the chocolate started to melt. This is something else I thought the little boys could help with but they started fighting over it and I was afraid they would get burned or knock it off the stove. By this point Brayden was in his room playing his guitar.

And that method of melting the chocolate is an improvised double boiler, by the way.

Now onto mistake number 3....maybe 4 now. I started rolling them into 1 inch balls. Some recipes said to freeze it before and some after this step. I was in a hurry so I started rolling and then went ahead and rushed onto the next step of dropping it and covering it with chocolate. Not sure what mistake count I am up to now, but they melted and fell apart in the chocolate, so onto plan D now, I think.

Just put the whole stupid bowl in the freezer at this point for an hour and go play games.

After the timer goes off (yes, set a timer because you will forget) turn your improvised double boiler back on to make sure the chocolate is melted well enough. Now make small balls out of the cookie and cream cheese mixture, roll in chocolate quickly, and put on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Pop them back in the freezer and play some more games for about 30 minutes and they will be done!

I'm sure that was all confusing so let's recap:
Mix Oreo's with cream cheese. Freeze. Roll into balls. Dip in melted chocolate. Freeze. Eat.

I didn't think to take photos of these since we were in a hurry. The boys had to be back at their dad's house for visitation and I had craft night with the girls. Maybe the next time I make them I will remember to take a picture.

But don't count on it.

Can You Believe It?

Do you see this? Yeah. That's me. I am so excited I can't stand it! I won fabric! Woo hoo! I have been wanting to make something with vintage sheets but I was waiting until my crafting area is finished to start trying to collect some. These that I won are already cut for me so all I have to do is sew them together! Can't wait!

I have nothing to post this week that I have made :( My machine needed a little time in the shop for a tune~up. They are kinda like cars in that way. I guess I have been using it too much! I do have plans to finish a few projects in the next few days so hopefully I will have some things to post later. And tonight is craft night with my friends! I think I am going to work on my solid circle quilt that I started a year or so ago. Like Roman's quilt only made with all different solids....and bigger!

This is the month that the boys go to their dad's house. You would think I would be able to get a lot done, but last night was the first night that we ate dinner at home since the last time I cooked for them when they were home! I always have big hopes of cleaning out a closet or toy box here or there when they are gone but never seem to get things done like I want. I don't get it. I have 2 less people to take care of, a lot less laundry to wash and smaller meals to make but I seem busier. I guess that is a good thing seeing how this is a really hard month for me.

It's a long story.....

I just took two loaves of banana bread out of the oven so I better get it cut and buttered before the boys eat it out of the pans! Have a great weekend!

Sara

Fabric Pennants

I keep seeing the cutest pennants everywhere. My momma taught me long ago to see something and say, "I bet I can make that!" So I decided I would try one for the 4Th of July and I love the way it turned out.

I'm not sure where I am going to use it yet, so I went ahead and made it double sided so I don't have to worry about having to cover up the back. I used a rotary cutter with a pinking edge to cut the flags. I almost didn't do that but I am glad I did. And I can use it for Memorial Day and Veterans Day, too! Now I can't wait to make one for Halloween and Christmas :)

This week I will be linking up to Made By You Monday over at Skip to My Lou, Too Cute Tuesday at the Funky Polka Dot Giraffe and Making the World Cuter. All of these have great crafts and recipes to see! Check them out!

Sara

Gift Card Holders

This past week was my MIL's birthday. She is a hard person to buy for! Me and my husband were discussing what to get her and it always ends up with a "We've already done that" or "I don't think she would like that". She is a school teacher and spends much of her summer reading. Her and the ladies she works with trade books a lot so she always has a lot of reading to do for the summer. But we got to thinking that maybe there was something she might want to read that she hasn't been able to borrow. We decided to get her a gift card to Books-A-Million. I always hate giving gift cards (although I love to get them!) because I am always afraid the receiver will think that is a cop out for getting them something. But in my opinion, they are the right size and color, and you can get exactly what you want!

So to make it a little more personable, cute and not so "all I got you was a gift card", I made a gift card holder out of my scrap stash.

I was pretty happy about the way it turned out. I love the bright colors! And it is something that she can reuse! I think I may tackle some more of my scraps and have a few on hand for last minute gifts. Wanna make one? Here is where I found it! Love that blog.

Today I am linking up to Made By You Monday over at Skip to My Lou. Go take a peek at all the fun stuff people are making and get some ideas!

Also linking up on Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, 20 Minute Tuesday and Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story! Lots of fun stuff!

Sara

Conversations With Bryson

We were getting ready today to go run errands. I asked Bryson to get dressed, brush his teeth and fix his crazy hair. He took off and got everything done without being asked again. (Maybe I should let the big brothers read this.) He came back to show me his teeth and how good he brushed.

Bryson: "See my teeth?"

Me: "They look good!"

Bryson: "I washed my hands too! Smell!"

This always scares me because I am scared of where they have been. It's a boy thing.

Me: "Mmmmm. They smell good."

I did notice they didn't quite smell like the Bath and Body Works soap in his bathroom, though. He must have noticed by the look on my face. Before I could ask he started to explain.

Bryson: "I washed them with mouth soap."

Me: "You washed your hands with toothpaste?!?"

Bryson: "No. Mouth soap."

Me: "You washed your hands with mouth wash?!? How did you get it open? Did you drink any?!? Where did you find it?!?"

Panic starts setting in. There for awhile the Poison Control Center was getting to know us a little too well.

Bryson: "No. With mouth. soap."

Me: "Do you mean the white bar soap that I wash your mouth out with when you say ugly words?"

Bryson: "Yes!"

I get it now. The Ivory soap that I leave next to the sink as a reminder to all the boys that came in a pack of 3. One for each of them.

Sara

Boys Are Gross

I have said it before, and I will say it again.....

Boys are GROSS!

The other day Bryson asked his daddy to put a train track together for him. It has been a couple of months since he has played with his trains. He has been on a Hot Wheels kick for a little while. His train tracks are sorted out in plastic tubs under his bed. Stephen put one together for him and left the plastic tub out. When I went in last night to put some clean clothes away, I went to slide the tub back under his bed to get it out of the way.


Let me explain a little first. Bryson is a snot head. Big time. I even call him that sometimes. I carry tissue around all the time because he sneezes so much. He was the inspiration behind the tissue holders I started sewing.

Several weeks ago I was putting him to bed. He reached over in the corner (he keeps a box up by his pillow in the corner against the wall) and grabbed a tissue. He blew his nose and before I could take it from him, he threw it behind the bed. This bed is not just any bed. It is the top bunk that went to Brayden and Blaine's bedroom set at one time. It is heavy. It takes me and Stephen both to move it. So when he threw that down there I explained that he couldn't do that because I couldn't get it out. I explained about how germy it is and all the nasty stuff growing there. He said okay and that was the end of that. Well, apparently he blows his nose in the middle of the night and has been throwing them down there ever since.

I just about threw up in my mouth. This is what I found.


I told him to go find his grabber. He was cleaning up all of it. He was so excited to get to use the grabber.
See how happy he looks? It didn't last long before I had to crawl under there and help. And that is when I found a half eaten bag of jelly beans and an open can of smokehouse almonds.

Why am I telling gross stories like this, you may wonder? Because one day they will have a girlfriend and I think it would be wonderful to let her read how weird her boyfriend may be. Just like his bother Blaine here, or his brother Brayden, here.

You just wait. Their time is coming....

Sara

Conversations With Blaine

I repeat myself a lot around here. Waaaay too much, in fact. One thing I am always telling the boys is, "Don't put your cleats on in the house!" Blaine was getting ready for practice tonight and I look over at him. He is sitting in the living room putting on his cleats.

I said, "Don't put your cleats on in the house!"

Blaine says back to me, "Why? I always put my cleats on in the house."

I begin explaining to him (again), "I know you do! And I always tell you not to!"

Blaine proceeds to explain his reasoning to me and the argument starts, "They aren't dirty."

I take the bait, "They aren't dirty."

Blaine says, "No."

I tell him, "Okay then. Lick them."

Blaine gasps and says, "Lick them?!? That is gross! Why would I lick the bottom of my shoes?!?"

I proceed to explain MY reasoning with him, "Because they aren't dirty, remember? If they are clean, lick them. From the heel aaallll the way to the toe. On the sole. Go."

I guess he decided they were a "little" dirty because he waited until he got outside to put them on.

Sara

Baby Boy Blanket

Friday night Stephen chaperoned a lock in with the church kids. Bryson had fallen asleep on the way home from dinner. Right after Stephen left for the lock in, the cable/internet went out. It got really quiet, really fast! I decided to put my time to good use. I knocked out a baby blanket made out of Riley Blake's All Star 2 fabric. I have been seeing this fabric for awhile and I thought it was so cute! I love the way it turned out and I have just enough fabric to make one more!
And then my helper woke up.
Today I will be linking up to Made By You Monday over at Skip to My Lou!

Sew and Tell Friday

Today is Sew & Tell Friday over at amylouwho's blog. I am also linking up to Whoop Whoop Fridays over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict! Scroll down to the bottom of the blog posts to see what others have been making this week. There is always lots of good stuff to see!

This week I made a couple more crayon rolls. I made a blue sock monkey, another red sock monkey, and I had to order more groovy guitar fabric and make another of those. I have narrowed it down to those being my favorite! This week, anyway :) There is nothing better than getting a new shipment of fabric to start creating something.

Except for chocolate.




Have a great weekend!

Sara

Costume Idea

Brayden has been wearing this bandanna on his head off and on since he got it at a youth activity last Saturday. When he came home I told him he looked like Ralph Macchio.

"Who is Ralph Macchio?" he asked.

"Ralph Macchio is THE Karate Kid." I explained.

"And that would be an awesome Halloween Costume for you next Halloween!"

We will see if that sticks.

Photography by Aunt Aimee. I stole it from her blog :)

Welcome Summer.....Almost!

Most of you already know that summer is definitely NOT my favorite season. I don't like the heat. I don't like the humidity. And I don't like the beach.

*gasp*

But one thing I do lOvE is this "wreath"! It's not really a traditional wreath shape which is why I think I like it even more! I could even put "I hate summer" on it and it would still be awesome! Or maybe something not so negative like "Welcome Air Conditioning". I would have to put it on the outside of the glass door but I would have to figure out how to keep it from banging the door. The front door doesn't get used that much (thank you barn swallows) so I think it would work. Or, I might just make it and hang it in my new sewing room!

Next summer.