MiWonderings

Lion Country Safari

2018-06-27T13:29:00.002-04:00

The Florida Summer Savings Pass is a great deal for vacationers to South Florida and Florida residents looking for fun day trips. I first purchased one for my family years ago when we visited Boca Raton and visited 3 of the attractions. Now that we live here, I know I can get even more value from it all summer long. For $58/adult and $48/child, you can enjoy unlimited visits to Miami Zoo, Miami Seaquarium, Museum of Discovery and Science, and Lion Country Safari from 5/12-9/30.

When you consider the regular price of admissions for each of these attractions, you'll quickly see that you could easily get your money's worth.

	Adult	Child
Lion Country Safari	$35	$26 (age 3-9)
Miami Zoo	$22.95	$18.95 (age 3-12)
Seaquarium	$46.99	$36.99 (age 3-9)
MODS	$16	$13 (age 2-12)

This past weekend, we took a trip to Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, which is about 20 miles west of West Palm Beach and 60 miles north of Ft. Lauderdale. We first came here 2 years ago and it's exactly what as I remember it. It's not a huge, fancy park but there's plenty to do and see, especially for little ones including rides, attractions and animal encounters. Their website says to plan for 4-5 hours at the park but we were there for almost 8 hours.

You start with a drive through the wildlife preserve. It's pretty neat to get so close to the animals. You'll see lions, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, alpaca, rhinoceros, alpaca, just to name a few.

The animals wander everywhere (except for the lions which are behind a fence) and signs remind visitors that this is their home and the animals have the right of way. Sometimes they cross right in the path of the cars. You are allowed to pull over and watch the animals. Just don't be that car that stops in the middle and blocks everyone else behind you!

While we waited for one ostrich to move out of the car path, another one surprised us and came pecking at our window.

As typical of Florida summers there's often rain or lightning. Apparently the state of Florida has the greatest occurrences of lightning in the entire United States. So on this visit while there was no rain, all the water attractions were closed because of lightning activity within a 5 miles radius.

While we waited for the spray park and water slides to open, there was still plenty to do. The kids rode scooters, ran through a hedge lined maze, played mini golf, and visited the petting zoo--all included in the price of admission.

For nominal costs ($1/a stick to feed birds, $2/a small head of romaine), we fed the goats and budgies while we waited.

They also have gemstone and fossil panning, which we didn't do on this visit. But my kids enjoyed it on our previous visit. You purchase a mining bag and pour it into a screen bottom box. You place it in the sluice, a trough of running water. And as the dirt is washed away, you'll find various gemstones and fossils. Of course, what you find will depend on the type of bag you purchase.

Finally, 3 hours later, just before we were about to call it quits. The lightning warning was lifted and the kids got to enjoy the spray park, 2 water slides, water wars, and paddle boating.

Honestly, my older son was not that excited to go here when I told him our plans. But in the end he said he had a great time. And isn't that so much of life? Often it's just a matter of readjusting our
attitude and remembering it's not necessarily about what we're doing but enjoying the people that we are doing it with.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2018-06-25T13:03:00.000-04:00

My husband likes to tease me for my chronic over and misuse of the word "literally." Of course I mean it metaphorically when I use it but I think culturally it has just become a way to add emphasis to get a point across. Randomly, I happened to look up the word "literally" in the Merriam Webster Dictionary and I literally fell out of my seat when I read the definition. (Note: I did not end up on the ground but I was really surprised to read the secondary definition).

The secondary definition says: "in effect: virtually -- used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible."

Huh! I wonder if it was always a secondary definition that I wasn't aware of or added as a result of the shifting cultural use of the word.

Nonetheless, as these muffins came out of the oven, I LITERALLY scarfed down 3 of these. These are really light and fluffy, not overly sweet and quick to pull together.

The original recipe is from Gonna Want Seconds, but I omitted the lemon glaze. I thought the muffin had the right about of sweetness without the added glaze.

RECIPE:
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. buttermilk* (see NOTE below for a substitute)

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Combine wet ingredients
TIP: I use a pint measuring cup, start my buttermilk substitute in it and then add all the other wet ingredients to that cup to minimize the number of dirty dishes.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined.
4. Portion into muffin tins.
TIP: I use a large cookie scoop to muffins all the same size
5. Place in a preheated 400°F degree oven and bake 10 minutes, lower the temperature to 325°F and bake another 5-7 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick. It should come out dry. Otherwise, lightly press the top of the muffin and it should spring back.

Makes ~21 muffins

NOTE: I rarely have buttermilk in the fridge. So an easy substitute is to combine 1 cup of milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes. Use normally as you would buttermilk. Don't worry, you won't taste the vinegar in your muffins!

ENJOY!

Disney World - First Visit as Annual Passholders

2018-06-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

This year our family moved from New Jersey, the only home my children have ever known, to Florida. It was a really sad move for them. To cheer them up, hubby bought annual passes to Disney World.

The goal for my Disney World posts to come is to document our Disney travels to see at the end of the year if we would want to renew our passes. I'll fill each post with highlights of each trip, tips, dining suggestions, and to-dos aside from rides, because there really are so many unique experiences that will complete your trip.

Our first Disney trip was over MLK weekend. On a spur of the moment decision, we decided to spend the long weekend at Disney. Even just days before the trip it was really easy to find a reasonably priced room on Disney property. We stayed at the WDW Dolphin Hotel, which is considered a Deluxe Resort. It is what you think of in a traditional hotel with a large lobby, restaurants on premise, meeting rooms etc. For our family of 5 it meant 2 double beds, a roll away bed and 1 bathroom. Since it was winter we didn't enjoy the outdoor amenities but they do have pools, tennis courts etc. The Dolphin Hotel is close to Epcot and accessible to the parks by bus or boat. See an interactive map of WDW resorts in relation to all the parks here.

Know Before You Go: Florida Weather in Winter
We are from NJ, a place where my son will wear shorts even in the snow until I beg him to wear some pants or at least long socks. Our agreed cut off used to be that below 50 degrees he wears pants. So imagine when we got to Disney World in January and it was in the 60's and he came in shorts and the rest of with short sleeves. I quickly learned that 60 degrees here is not the same as 60 in NJ. With the high humidity, the cold cuts through you. So prepare some jackets and sweatshirts if traveling to WDW in the winter.

Magic Kingdom (MK):
To Do:
1. Watch the Happily Ever After Fireworks at 9:15 p.m. as the grand finale to your day. It's more than a firework show--it's fireworks, lasers and projections of Disney characters on Cinderella's castle all synchronized to well recognized soundtracks that will take you on a musical journey of watching dreams come true. If you stay til the end of the 18 minute show you can see Tinkerbell fly across the night sky. What a magical way to end your best day ever.

TIP: You will want a view where you can see the base of the castle all the way up to the spires to enjoy the full experience because the projections are a huge part of the show. We didn't stake out a spot early but showed up on the middle of Main Street right before the show started and found a place to stand. The view from Main Street is good depending on if you have anyone directly in front blocking your view. It certainly was great for my 2 little ones sitting on our shoulders but not for my 9 year old who couldn't see with so many people packed in front of us. Honestly by the end of the show, my shoulders were sore from holding a 40 pounder while trying to crane my neck around for a view.

front view of the castle from Main Street USA

We've also watched the fireworks from the entrance to Tomorrowland and by boat which I'll post on later.

View from the bridge by Tomorrowland

2. Catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Check the performance times on your Disney app and add it to your schedule.

TIP: Many people would recommend Main Street to view the parade because it only seems fitting to watch it with the backdrop of the castle. On this trip we did find seats on the curb along Main Street. But on another visit we watched it in Frontierland near the edge of Adventureland where the parade begins and we got a great view of each float and the performers. Having already seen it we weren't as concerned about creating that perfect ambiance than just taking a break while watching the parade.

Animal Kingdom (AK):
To Do:
1. Watch the Tree of Life Awakenings at night. The Tree of Life is prominently displayed at the center of AK and is a towering 145 foot symbol of all living things and their place in the circle of life. At night, it transforms to an amazing display of lights and animals. It is visually mesmerizing.

2. Face Painting
So your child (or you) want to get some face painting and you're wondering if you should spend the ~$15. The process doesn't take long to have done nor have we ever had to wait in line very long for our turn. It's also a fun alternative to pass the time while with a little one while waiting for members of your party to finish their thrill ride. And the results are pretty amazing. But remember that you will have your face-painted child in all your pictures for that day if you were thinking you wanted to use that family photo in front of the castle for your holiday card. So maybe do that photo first and then get the face painting.

TIP: Get the face painting done early in the day so you can maximize it on your child, and you can get FREE touch ups as necessary during your visit at that park! That's pretty awesome.

Hollywood Studios (HS):
To Do:
Jedi Training
We, along with many others, ran to get in line for Jedi Training tickets at the opening of HS. Tickets are first come, first served and you register for the time slot you want to do the training so you can work around your already scheduled fast passes. After the group training, each child will have an opportunity to use the force while armed in light sabers to "fight" Darth Vader or Darth Maul.

TIP: 1. There will be a mad dash of parents trying to secure a spot for their Star Wars loving kids, so get there early and look at a map beforehand to know where you're going. My first time, I found HS to be less intuitive to navigate than the other parks.
2. Your kids need to be with you. They will be "interviewed" to see whether they are able to participate. They will need to be able to follow simple instructions. So don't leave them behind with dad while mom runs ahead.

Memorable Eats:
If you stay at the Dolphin or Swan Resort, stop by The Fountain for the "Fountain Funnel" -- 7 flavors of ice cream, 3 sauces, 3 toppings, topped with whipped cream and a cherry for $28.99. You'll want to share it, or maybe not.

7 scoops, 3 sauces, 3 toppings-dig in!

Watermelon Helmet and Football Strawberries

2016-02-08T14:22:00.001-05:00

I don't follow football but I do like any opportunity to make festive food. So for this weekend's Superbowl festivities, I made some football themed food.

I carved a football helmet out of a watermelon and filled it with fruit. Unfortunately, it's not watermelon season right now and despite paying triple the price, the watermelon did not taste good. Luckily, hubby was able to run out and pick up some precut watermelon to use instead.

As far as carving goes, this was pretty easy since it's very minimal cutting and mostly straight lines. I found instructions at Watermelon Board, which has other great ideas for carving watermelon. If I were more ambitious or skilled I would have carved a Panther or a Bronco on the side of the helmet. We'll save that for another time.

Fruit filled watermelon helmet

To go along with the helmet, I made a tray of chocolate covered strawberries decorated with white candy melt to resemble footballs. Candy melt hardens pretty quickly, especially if the strawberries are cold so dipping 120 strawberries was pretty quick work. The piping takes much longer and because I was running out of time, I only piped white laces on half.

Instructions:
1. Melt chocolate candy melt according to the package.
2. Dip washed and dried strawberries in melted chocolate. Place on parchment paper.
3. After chocolate has hardened, pipe melted white candy melt. Use a piping bag or zippered sandwich bag with the corner cut off.

Both were quite a hit, but the strawberries disappeared instantly. You can never go wrong with anything dipped in chocolate!

A Tour of Downtown Dallas

2016-01-01T16:19:00.000-05:00

While we were in Dallas, I wanted to take the kids on a tour of the city. We booked a narrated trolley tour that took us past all the major sites of downtown Dallas, including Dealey Plaza, the 2 marked spots on Elm Street where President Kennedy was shot, the Reunion Tower, First Baptist Church of Dallas with 50 feet water fountains synchronized to music, the Perot museum, and Pioneer Plaza.

The GeO Deck of the Reunion Tower is 500 feet up and provides a panoramic view of downtown Dallas. We took the kids there for some holiday activities. They got to pet animals from the Dallas zoo, take pictures with Santa, and get balloons made by an elf.

The Reunion Tower in the background

A visit from the Dallas Zoo

Santa isn't so scary for any of the kids anymore

balloons made to order by Santa's Elf

After an hour long tour, the kids got to enjoy some time outside just running around and enjoying the statues at Pioneer Plaza, which celebrates the history of longhorns being driven by cowboys. This is the 2nd most visited landmark in downtown Dallas, the first being Dealey Plaza.

I was surprised to find that downtown Dallas was pretty quiet the Sunday before Christmas. I had braced myself for holiday crowds and traffic, but our tour guide told us that Dallas being a suburban city gets its traffic during the work week. In that sense we lucked out and got to enjoy a leisurely visit in downtown Dallas.

Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine, TX

2015-12-22T13:11:00.001-05:00

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Dallas. Since we were traveling so far for a wedding, we decided to extend our stay and make a mini vacation of it and booked ourselves into the Great Wolf Lodge for 2 nights. It was the perfect length stay for our family. There was plenty to do and lots of fun for the kids.

I spent a little extra and booked the Wolf Den, which has a separate cave themed sleeping area for the kids with bunk beds and their own TV. Unfortunately when I was booking the room, they were out of the rooms that had a 3rd bed in the cave and baby T was sad he didn't get to sleep in the wolf den.

The kids enjoyed plenty of time at the 84 degree, indoor water park the first night we arrived and most of the day of our second day. It was balmy and warm. There was plenty for all ages from sprinklers for baby T to big slides for lil P and big L. And the whole family loved circling the lazy river over and over.

In the morning the kids enjoyed a Wolf Walk, learning about different animals and making origami wolf. And, in the evening, the kids enjoyed story time in their PJs at the Great Clock Tower, complete with falling snow.

In addition to wolf ears, the front desk gave the kids special bands so that they could get free ice cream every day. Is there anything better than enjoying ice cream in PJs?

The entire Lodge was well beautifully decorated for the holiday season.

letters to Santa

The Great Clock Tower

The next time we go to the Great Wolf we'll try other activities like MagiQuest which we just didn't have the time to do. Overall, it was a great, short visit with plenty to do and reasonably priced.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies

2015-12-08T12:24:00.002-05:00

I recently found a recipe for Whoopie Pies in my email inbox and wanted to give them a try since I've never actually made them despite having eaten many of them....

plain (LEFT) and rolled in crushed peppermint candy (RIGHT)

After reading reviews on the recipes, I took the Food Network cookie recipe from here and combined it with the filling recipe from here and they were a hit. The cookies were chocolatey, almost brownie like and the filling was sweet and fluffy.

Recipe adapted from Food Network
For the Cookies:
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup natural cocoa powder, such as Hershey's or Scharffen Berger
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons fine salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.

Combine unsweetened and semisweet chocolates and butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat at 75 percent power until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir, and continue to microwave until completely melted, about 2 minutes more.

Whisk the sugar, eggs and vanilla into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until moistened. Switch to a rubber spatula and finish folding the batter together; take care not to over-mix. *Let the mixture sit for a few minutes. It will thicken and lends to a puffier cookie.

Use a small cookie scoop to drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto the baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart. Bake about 6-8 minutes until the top bounces back when lightly touched. *I made 41 cookies using a small cookie scoop.

For the Filling:
2 cups confectioners sugar
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup marshmallow creme
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)
About 12 candy canes, crushed (optional)

Beat the confectioners sugar and shortening in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the marshmallow creme, milk and peppermint extract and beat until light and airy, about 5 minutes.

Spread a heaping tablespoon of the filling on half of the cooled cookies. Sandwich with the remaining halves, pushing down slightly to move the filling to the edge. Put the crushed candy canes on a plate and roll the sides of the whoopie pies in the candy.

Tip: Rolled in peppermint, these make a lovely holiday gift but packaging them can be tricky. Stacked in cellophane bags, the filling will squeeze out and make the clear packaging less attractive and crush your cookies. I recommend packaging them in a plastic container or metal tin where they can be laid flat or just slightly overlapping. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Festivities

2015-12-05T10:13:00.003-05:00

This year I felt like Thanksgiving was being so rushed and overlooked in many of the retail stores. Even before Thanksgiving was near all the Christmas holiday decorations were starting to appear. I made a point of not even thinking about Christmas until we celebrated Thanksgiving. So here is my post on our Thanksgiving celebrations.

This year, I have the privilege of being lil P's class mom. And yes in our school it is considered a privilege, complete with an application specifying how many number of times you served in various PTA activities. So, I was surprised and excited to be picked by the committee for lil P's class.

Lil P's class had a Thanksgiving party, for which I prepared the food.

A gaggle of turkey pretzels

How to:
1. Dip pretzel rods in melted dark chocolate candy melt.
2. Place on a Keebler Grasshopper cookie. (to support the pretzel up put a chopstick/dowel under the undipped pretzel)
3. Use melted chocolate to attach 5 candy corn.
4. Use melted chocolate to attach candy eye balls.
5. Use melted chocolate to attach half of an orange m&m.
6. Use melted red candy melt to make the wattle. Use a piping bag or a ziplock bag and make a small cut in the corner.

Turkey cups filled with carrot and cheese sticks

How to:
1. Print turkey pictures and attach to plastic cups with pedestal base (Found at Party City).
2. Cut carrots into sticks long enough to protrude over the top of the cup (to look like the turkey's feathers).
2. Cut cheese sticks (white cheddar and regular cheddar) to match carrots.

A cornucopia of fruit

How to:
1. Steam waffle cones for 30 seconds until they fall apart and are soft (one at a time, two if you are super fast because they harden quickly)
2. Quickly wrap it around a cone shape (I made one with foil) to reshape and the bend the bottom up.
3. Fill with fruit.

Thanksgiving in VA
We spent Thanksgiving in VA with family and feasted on a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey and all the fixings. Then we enjoyed the Reston Town Center Holiday Parade which was celebrating their 25th year.

Nats' Teddy Roosevelt

Macy's style balloon including this gingerbread

Time with the cousins
We also had some special time with the cousins.

And now, I am ready to put up the Christmas decorations.

Daisy Scout Cookies

2015-11-21T16:31:00.002-05:00

When I was in elementary school I remember joining Brownies. For the initiation ceremony I remember coming out of an oven and then being embarrassed as I blanked when I had to recite the Girl Scout pledge. I had practiced over and over but got stage fright and couldn't remember it in front of the crowd of adults staring at me. That was years ago...

This year lil P joined Daisy Scouts and I'm one of her troop leaders. For the first meeting I wanted to made daisy cookies since the girls would be earning petals, each of which have a different meaning. It was quite a task of making and coloring fondant because there are 10 different colors of petals, plus the blue center.

I used a cookie cutter to cut out a daisy in each color and then used a knife to cut apart each petal. Then I adhered the colored petals onto a white fondant daisy base. I finished the cookie with edible glitter.

a rainbow of fondant

I didn't get to see the girls eat it but I heard they were quite a hit, which made all the effort so worth it!

I also made rainbow fruit skewers using leaf and flower cutters for the honey dew and pineapple.

lil P proud to be a daisy scout

Ch Ch Ch Chia

2015-06-25T00:34:00.000-04:00

When I hear "chia" I automatically think of Chia Pets which were popular back when I was in elementary school. I didn't even know they there were still around until I looked it up on Amazon and found that now they come in all sorts of designs--you can even get a Chia Barack.

Lately, in my attempt to encourage healthier eating in our family I researched and bought some chia seeds, which are considered a super food. Chia seeds are high in fiber and protein, full of omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, because they absorb so much water they keep you feeling full longer. Eating just one ounce (2.75 Tbsp) adds 11 grams of fiber to your diet. They offer so many other health benefits that I thought it worth incorporating them into our diets.

1. One of the easiest ways to use chia seeds is to simply sprinkle it on top of your food. They are less noticeable to the particularly sensitive palates when mixed with foods with texture.

Sprinkled atop steel cut oatmeal

Sprinkled on kimbap

2. Make a chia gel (Combine 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 9 Tbsp filtered water, mix and let sit for 15 minutes) and use the gel to replace oil or butter in recipes.

I replaced half the oil in a boxed brownie mix. Because of the sprinkles, the texture of the chia seeds were not easily noticeable though I did get the occasional seed stuck in my tooth.

3. I haven't made an egg substitute with chia seeds yet but the recipe is 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 3 Tbsp filtered water left to sit for 15 minutes.

3. Added to a smoothie, they are completely unnoticeable and help to thicken the smoothie.

I'm not going to lie, chia seeds are well...seeds. While they don't really have any particular flavor, when added to foods without pulverizing them they may still be noticeable to the extremely sensitive and discerning palates. I just tell my kids they are like sesame seeds, which they are used to. And other times, I don't even tell them they are there.

Zucchini, Carrot and Apple Muffins

2015-06-12T13:37:00.000-04:00

Whenever I buy zucchini, somehow it ends up going bad before I've had a chance to use them mostly because I just forget that they're there. Before this happened again, I found this recipe from Wine and Glue which combines zucchini with carrots and apples to make a healthier muffin.

Recipe: (from www.wineandglue.com)

Yield: About 18 muffins

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup shredded apple

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, and oil.

3. In another large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Slowly add the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture. The batter will be very thick.

4. Mix in the zucchini, apple, and carrot.

5. Fill the muffin tins 2/3 full.

6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick stuck in one of the middle ones comes out with a crumb or two.

"Fruit of the Spirit" Popcorn

2015-06-04T13:39:00.001-04:00

I made fruity candied popcorn for a fundraiser using the recipe from a previous post and this time since it was for church, I added a bible verse about the Fruits of the Spirit. Get it?

Strawberry, Green Apple and Grape popcorn

These aren't the easiest to make in large quantities but they are fun to make and the kids enjoy the myriad of flavors. Since the recipe uses Jello as the base, the possibilities are endless...well not quite endless but as numerous as there are Jello flavors. This time I used Strawberry, Green Apple and Grape. I would have like the Green Apple popcorn to be a brighter green but it still tasted apple-y.

Recipe:
8 cups popped popcorn
1/4 cup butter
3 T light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
3.5oz box flavored Jello gelatin (not the sugar free kind)

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place popcorn in an extra large mixing bowl.
3. Melt butter and corn syrup in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add sugar and gelatin and stir to combine.
4. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Immediately pour syrup over popcorn. Mix quickly and stir to coat. Spread mixture onto prepared pan and spread out evenly.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes until candy coating is crisp.

Lunch Box Tools

2015-06-04T13:15:00.001-04:00

I am a sucker for cute tools for packing lunch boxes.

Sandwich Cutter
I bought the Bento Sandwich Cutter Molds which cut and imprint animal faces to make mini sandwiches. I like that the cutter is sharp because I find some sandwich cutters to be dull and end up ripping the bread. The imprinting works well on plain sandwich bread. I thought these would also be nice to use for little tea sandwiches for a tea party.

Egg Molds
I also bought some Japanese egg molds. I used large eggs but I think jumbo sized eggs would fill the molds better. For the star and heart, the eggs are positioned vertically into the mold. To use the molds freshly hard boiled eggs are peeled and placed into the molds while still warm. Then the molds are snapped closed and left in ice water to cool. The eggs can be left in the molds in the fridge as well until needed.

a bunny, fish, heart, star, car and bear shaped eggs

Food Picks
I've also been adding little animal food forks for my son to use to pick up cut up fruit and veggies. I find that some forks, while cutesy, are too small and impractical. If they are just being used for decoration these are fine but I want the forks to be functional. The giraffe fork is the longest and in my opinion easier to hold. But my son has never complained about the tiny forks. I also like these long single picks to use as mini skewers.

Big L's First Science Fair

2015-05-15T13:38:00.001-04:00

Big L participated in his schools' science fair for the first time this year. The whole process was a great learning experience for him and I'm so proud of him.

Using the scientific method he measured heart rates for various activities to see what made his heart beat the fastest. In addition to conducting the experiment, he put a lot of effort into practicing explaining his project succinctly and calculating individualized target heart rates for people stopping by his table. He started out a little shy taking to students he didn't know but by the end of the night he became more confident and even calculated target heart rates for the principal.

He did such a great job, and having gone through it once I'm sure next year's will go even smoother!

Disney Cruise to the Caribbean 2015

2015-05-15T13:36:00.006-04:00

We haven't taken a real family vacation since the birth of baby T. But now that he is almost 2, we decided to take a 7 day trip aboard the famed Disney Wonder to the Caribbean and boy, was it "magical" indeed.

T passed out before we boarded

Character Pictures
Some of the highlights were the meet and greets with the various characters. Some required tickets and others just a short wait in line. I brought along Lil P's Sleeping Beauty dress, but unfortunately Aurora wasn't one of the princesses on board.

Deck Parties

There were several deck parties like the Sail Away Party and the Pirates on the Caribbean Party. Lil P absolutely loved dancing, especially when the kids were invited on stage. Big L was happy to watch from afar.

this picture is a true reflection of their divergent personalities

Cozumel, Mexico
Our first port of call was Cozumel, Mexico. I booked a port adventure which included a narrated tour of the Mayan ruins, a trip to the Discover Mexico museum, and a chocolate making demonstration.

Mayan ruins

chocolate making demonstration

The Bahamas
Our second port of call was supposed to be the famed Castaway Cays, Disney's private island in the Bahamas, but high winds and rough current from a cold front diverted us instead to Nassau. I was really looking forward to biking the island and snorkeling but we settled for some souvenir shopping in Nassau and then enjoying the rest of the day in the pool. The kids loved the water slide and watching movies on a huge screen while lounging in the pool. My parents enjoyed the adult only pool and hot tub where I imagine it was much more quiet and peaceful.

Fun Things to Do
While we spent a lot of family time together at the pool and watching the evening shows, the kids also loved hanging out at the Oceaneer Lab and Club where they participated in activities, crafts and games. It also gave us time with just Baby T. It made us chuckle at how easy it is with just 1 kid, when we're used to juggling all 3.

There was always something going on aboard the ship. Even after the kids and I went to bed exhausted after a full day of playing hard, hubby would go play basketball, watch movies (including the premier of McFarland) and make friends, like he is so good at doing. The family even bought into a round of Bingo. Unfortunately, we didn't win the $15,000 jackpot but it was a fun experience learning the Bingo lingo.

One night there was a Pirates on the Caribbean themed dinner. They provided bandanas for all the guests. I brought some pirate gear and ended up buying a few extra things for the kids.

The last night the kids rehearsed and participated in a farewell Friendship show where they danced on stage with Mickey and Minnie.

Food and Service
The food was also pretty good. I appreciated all the fresh fruit and the kids loved the limitless ice cream. There was always food available somewhere anytime of day. I'm pretty sure I gained 5 pounds which is better than our trip to the Bahamas where I gained 10 pounds! Eating breakfast on deck was also memorable.

The service was amazing and the staff really catered to all our needs. Our server would even cut up food for baby T. Supposedly there were 1000 staff for the 2700 passengers. That ratio was certainly visible. My kids and I loved coming into the room at night to see what new animal our stateroom host had fashioned out of towels. The kids loved the bunk beds too that our stateroom host would set up in the evening and put away in the morning. It's really in the details that quality becomes apparent.

Tips:
In the months leading up to the trip, we did a lot of research online and talked to several veteran Disney cruisers to help us prepare. Some tips I gathered:

1. On the first day bring a souvenir (new t-shirt, photo mat, pillow case, etc) with Sharpies to Guest Services and they will have the characters of your choice autograph it. They will return it the last night of the cruise. It makes for a unique souvenir. I brought photo mats which I later framed photos of the kids with their favorite Disney character.
2. On the first day go to guest services for tickets to the special meet and greets because they are limited and will run out. We were able to get tickets to see Elsa and Anna.
3. There is a pirate theme night. They provide bandanas but many families get all decked out. I suggest you stop by the dollar store to pick up accessories instead of paying the premium on board for eye patches and such.
4. Check the navigator and highlight (literally bring a highlighter) the events you want to participate in. Or download the app on your phone, but I prefer the hard copy. There are so many events that you won't want to miss.
5. On the first day sign up for Internet access and they will give you 50 mb free.
6. Take bubbles for the Sail Away Party.

We definitely want to go on another Disney cruise again, but once baby T is potty trained so he can go into the pools and go to the kids club. Looking forward to the next cruise!

A Titleist Hat Cake for My Golf Fanatic Hubby

2015-05-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

This year I gave quite a bit of thought to what type of golf themed cake I would make for hubby's birthday. I've done golf balls and holes and I got so excited when the idea came to me while looking at golf pictures--a Titleist hat cake just like the one he always wears!

Cake on the left, real hat on the right

I secretly borrowed his hat for a few days to make a template of the brim and to let the fondant cutout dry on the curved brim so that it would take a curved shape. The brim is actually two layers of fondant (red and black) because the real hat has a black lining. FYI, I covered the hat in plastic wrap to protect the hat and to keep the fondant clean. After a few days it was holding its shape well.

To make the "Titleist" accurate, I printed out the text and placed it under parchment paper to use as a template. I used long thin ropes of fondant to mimic the embroidered look.

To make the round part of the hat, I used half of a 3D ball cake pan and a 6" round cake pan to make a double layered cake. The cake was hubby's favorite red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. The recipe is below.

For the embellishments, I used a dotted roller to make perforated lines for the seams. I made small flattened balls and used a toothpick to make a hole through the ball to make the vents. A bigger, flattened ball was used for the top of the hat.

The recipe for Red Velvet Cake comes from Sally's Baking Addiction. Her recipe varies from others in that the eggs are separated and the beaten whites are folded in last for a lighter texture.

I'm not sure what the next golf themed cake will be. Lil P suggested a golf cart. Perhaps a golf bag with clubs in it? I guess I have another year to think about it!

Big L's 7th Pokemon Birthday

2015-03-28T01:01:00.000-04:00

This year Big L decided that he wanted to tie-dye t-shirts for his birthday. So we had his birthday party at Tie-Dye Town. I had them personalize the shirts with a drawing of Mega Lucario since L wanted a Pokemon theme.

modelling the finished shirts

The kids painted a big mural for the birthday boy, did spin art and tie-dyed shirts.

Then the kids dressed up with crazy wigs and sunglasses. I loved this part!

As the theme L chose was Pokemon, he had to have a Pokemon cake. This is Mega Charizard X blowing blue flames in front of a 3D pokeball. I made a chocolate cake with a ganache coating and covered it in fondant. And for the guests, I had Pokeball cupcakes.

Dear Big L,
You are growing up so fast. I can't believe you are already 7. You tower over your classmates, topping the height charts over 95th percentile, but you are so tender hearted and a big softy. A true gentle giant. You look just like your dad but our personalities are so identical. Yet you are still fierce when sparring in TKD and competing in sports. You've become an amazing swimmer this past year already learning multiple strokes. I'm proud of how far you've come from last summer when you wouldn't even put your head under water. Your school teacher tells me you are a great student and how she intentionally puts struggling kids at your table so that they can learn from your example. These days you are really into battling and trading Pokemon and have developed an interest in Minecraft. You like reading instructional books about Minecraft and different Pokemon. You still love to build freestyle out of any construction toy. You bring such laughter and joy to our family and I pray you will carry that with you whereever you go.

Lil P's 5th Birthday

2015-03-23T20:57:00.000-04:00

This year Lil P wanted to cook for her birthday. I found a local culinary school where she and her friends could make their own pizzas and decorate cupcakes. It was a success!

The culinary school provided aprons for the kids to decorate. To complete the look, I bought kid-sized chef hats and personalized them with each guest's name using iron ons that I photoshopped. The mini chefs looked so cute.

Lil P also requested a Frozen cake. Every cake I've made over the last few years has been a learning process. This was no different. This was the first time I put fondant over a cold buttercream coated cake. While it produced a nice top and edge and smooth finish, the next day the fondant started to sag in some parts due to the softened buttercream. Next time I will try a ganache coating under the fondant. The tree also turned out a little wider than I had planned but I had just enough leaves prepared for one tree so there was no redoing it. The icebergs in the back were fondant with tylose powder mixed in. It could probably have used a little more tylose powder to firm it up more but otherwise, the dowels I used provided great support.

Dear Lil P,

You have grown in leaps and bounds this past year. You started pre-k4, and your new teacher tells me you are the "model student." You are also such a big help to me at home too, always playing with baby T and attentive of his needs. You always understand what he's asking for and interpret for us. You are his "Bom-bee." It's no wonder that he always looks for you when you are at school and happily hugs you when we go to pick you up. You are an awesome older sister and I hope you will always look out for baby T.
With each year, I see your vibrant personality come out even more. You wear your heart on your sleeve. Your smile can light up a room. And, even when you stick out your lower lip and hunch over in disappointment, you draw the attention of onlookers who say you are so cute.
You still love to dance and sing. I think you may become a performer one day. You've made up your own "dumpling" dance which makes me laugh every time you do it. You know how to pose with sass. And you still love to belt out songs from Frozen or these days, Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off".
You are one tough girl. You have no problem keeping up with your big bro. I often find you two sword fighting or trying to best each other. You've even started learning nun chucks in TKD. You are fierce and determined. Sometimes I have to remind myself that you are still a little girl.
Lil P, I pray that you would grow to be a strong, woman of God, confident in your identity and knowing you are so very loved.
love,
mom

Baby T turns 2!

2015-03-20T22:18:00.001-04:00

This year we celebrated Baby T's 2nd birthday together with Grandpa's birthday with a quiet meal at home--well as quiet as it could be with 6 kids running around. My sister and her family came up to celebrate with us.

In keeping with tradition, I made Elmo cupcakes for Baby T since he has come to love Elmo this year. I used a combination of fondant and modeling chocolate. The white part of the eyes and nose are fondant and the rest is made from modeling chocolate.

Dear Baby T,
You have officially gone from being an infant to being a toddler. Over the past few months you have become so independent and eager to do everything on your own. Sometimes it's hard keeping up with you or to convince you to let me help you.
You have a comical side to you and know how to make me laugh. You have a special Cocomong dance that you do when you ask to watch it. You love to squeeze your chubby little hands into my shirt sleeves. It's become part of your bedtime ritual. You've learned how to furrow your brow and hunch over when you are upset and sometimes you do it just to make me laugh. You love back scratches and ask to be cradled like a baby right after a bath. You love snoring, making fish faces and kissing the phone during video chats with your dad.
When you are not busy amusing me, you are busy amazing me. You love music and intently following along in music class. You confidently sing the theme song to Elmo's World. You love any sports ball that you can throw and anything that you can swing. Your love for golf must be hereditary because you are always doing a golf swing even when you don't have a club in hand, just like your father.
You love your "Bon-bee" and "Dan-din" (names you have given your big sister and brother because you can't pronounce their names) and love to do anything they are doing, whether it's wearing a tutu or sword fighting. When they are at school you are always asking for them and eagerly greet them when they come home.
Baby T, I pray you will always be filled with the same innocent and pure joy you exude now and will bless others with that joy wherever you go. You fill our lives with so much laughter and we thank God for you.
Love,
Mommy

The Lightest, Most Tender Cornbread Muffins Ever

2015-02-26T11:43:00.003-05:00

I found this recipe on Thibeault's Table and it's probably my favorite corn bread recipe. It makes a really tender corn muffin on account of the cake flour. It's best eaten fresh but I've refrigerated it and microwaved it for a few seconds for an almost-fresh result.

Recipe:
1 egg
1/2 c. melted butter
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. milk, warmed
1 c. cake flour
2/3 c. yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar*
* The original recipe calls for 3 Tbsp of sugar. I prefer a sweeter corn muffin and would double the sugar.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine wet ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix just until combined. Batter will be loose. Spoon into paper lined muffin tins. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Red Bean Mochi Cake

2015-01-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

I had a can of red bean paste left over from making Pat Bing Soo (Korean shaved ice dessert) over the summer and was looking for a recipe to use it up. I found this one and it's a keeper. The ingredients are pretty simple and it produces a chewy texture typical of mochi in the form of a cake that makes it easy to slice.

Ingredients

1 pack (1 lb.) box Mochiko (or sweet rice flour)

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs
2½ cups milk

½ stick butter, melted

1 can (18oz.) sweetened red bean paste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined.
3. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan.
4. Bake for about 45 minutes.
5. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Christmas 2014

2014-12-29T14:07:00.000-05:00

This year Christmas seems like it came and went so quickly.

Keeping with tradition, the kids each picked out an ornament. Lil P picked a cupcake, Baby T picked Elmo and Big L picked Darth Vader in a Santa cap. I love how these ornaments are a little reflection of who they are this year and look forward to them looking at their complete collections when they are older.

Since we were heading to VA for Christmas, on Christmas Eve we let the kids open their presents from us.

Christmas day we opened presents with the grandparents and cousins.

animal hats all around

In the evening we went to the Bull Run Festival of Lights, a 2.2 mile drive though of holiday lights. The signs posted said to maintain a speed of 10 mph, but there were so many cars we didn't even hit 10 mph. It was fine anyways since we weren't in a hurry and it gave us more time to enjoy all the lights.

The following day we went to see ICE at the National Harbor. It's an indoor ice sculpture exhibit made from 2 million pounds of ice. They even had ice slides. The rooms are kept at 9 degrees, and I think it was way too cold for Baby T despite the many layers of clothing and parka they gave him.

Frosty the Snowman & Nativity Scene Ice Sculptures

Hubby takes a ride down the ice slide

Afterwards, since it was a beautiful day we took a walk around the National Harbor. This area has been completely gentrified since I remember it growing up.

The weekend was a blur. I jam packed it with visits with friends and activities. It may be what made me and Big L get sick but we still had a blast and made lots of memories.

Frozen Disney on Ice

2014-12-22T10:18:00.002-05:00

I usually don't plan too far in advance, mostly because with 3 kids I only have the brain capacity to think about what's going on right now. But when I saw Frozen Disney on Ice tickets on sale back in June, I knew I had to get it for Lil P. Ever since she saw the movie, it's been non stop Frozen.

I loved looking over at Lil P during to show to see her sitting on the edge of her seat absolutely mesmerized and mouthing the words to "Let It Go".

Every little girl wants to be Elsa

Even though Big L covers his ears in the car whenever we listen to the Frozen soundtrack, he still enjoyed watching the show decked out in his Olaf hat.

What a memorable day!

Caramel Corn

2014-11-07T13:16:00.001-05:00

My favorite part of making caramel corn, aside from eating it of course, is watching the caramel change after adding the baking soda. I even called the kids over while making it this time to watch the transformation. They oohed and aahed as they watch the dark caramel bubble up and turn foamy and lighten in color. The baking soda makes it easier to coat the popcorn and keeps the caramel coated popcorn from sticking together, which is a good thing unless you want one huge piece of caramel popcorn. That wouldn't really be a terrible thing though.

Recipe
7 - 8 c. popped popcorn
3/4 c. lightly packed brown sugar
6 T. butter
3 T. light corn syrup
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. vanilla

1. In medium saucepan combine sugar, butter and corn syrup over medium heat. Stir until mixture boils. Boil gently for 5 minutes without stirring.
2. Remove pan from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour mixture over popcorn in large bowl and stir to coat.
3. Pour popcorn onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes. Stir and bake 5 more minutes.
4. Cool on 2 separte sheet pans. Store tightly covered.

Enjoy!

Decorating Halloween Cookies

2014-10-22T12:40:00.000-04:00

Usually when one of my kids is away at a play date, I try to do something fun with the ones left at home. More often then not, it ends up being food related. One Saturday afternoon, Big L and I ended up making Halloween themed sugar cookies while Lil P was off with her friend.

We started with a basic sugar recipe and Halloween themed cutters.

I've found that the most kid-friendly way to decorate cookies is using a simple sugar cookie icing (see recipe below) in small squeeze bottles. The trick to getting the icing into the small opening is first putting the icing into a zipper top bag, cutting a corner of the bag and then squeezing the icing into the bottle. Having air in the bag helps to push out all the icing. Sometimes I use food coloring to tint the icing into different colors and the kids can make designs and draw with the icing. This time, we kept it white and went on a frenzy with an assortment of sprinkles.

The nice thing about using the bottles is that it give more control to little hands. They can outline the cookie and then fill the inside. Or draw designs. Using a bottle is also less messier, which I love.

i love the simple look of this cookie

While the glaze is still wet go to town with the sprinkles. Using a rack on a sheet pan will catch all the excess sprinkles so there is less waste. Just remember to collect the sprinkles between each different one, otherwise you'll end up with a jar of what I call "hodge-podge" sprinkles which the kids love to use too.

Sugar Cookie Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2-4 tsp. milk
2 tsp. light corn syrup

Mix the ingredients together. Adjust the amount of milk to the consistency you want.
* This icing will harden as it dries allowing you to stack the cookies.