Blue Ribbon Recipe Winners

We'll also call these chocolate lovers delights because that's what both recipes really are. Delicious!

Lily and Jonah perused Pinterest quite a while back when deciding on their county fair baking projects. We found recipes that suited their ages and abilities and got to work in the test kitchen.

Both kids did amazingly well and were able to replicate perfection when it came time to present their desserts at the county fair. Thankfully, the rest of us were the happy recipients of the yumminess and the kids earned Blue Ribbons for both entries. Lily's was deemed State Fair worthy, but unfortunately she was the third alternate in the category and didn't get the State Fair trip. (Some of us may still be a wee bit bitter about that, but there's always next year!)

Lily's   Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownie Bites:

BROWNIE LAYER:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)  butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

COOKIE DOUGH:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature or almost melted
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
additional miniature chocolate chips, if desired (to garnish the top)

Directions:

Prepare the brownie layer- 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x9-inch pan with nonstick spray, then line with a strip of parchment or wax paper so that it covers the bottom and comes up two sides of the pan. Spray the parchment with nonstick spray too.

In a microwave safe bowl (or in the top of a double boiler or pan set on top of a pan of simmering water), microwave in 30 second bursts to melt butter and chocolate chips together until all is melted and smooth. Whisk in the sugars, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla and salt. Sift flour into the bowl and stir that in too. Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the brownie layer is cooked through (toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Place the pan of brownies in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process (or cool at room temperature and add the cookie dough layer later).

Prepare the cookie dough layer:

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, sugars and salt until soft and creamy (1 to 2 minutes). Mix in the milk and vanilla. Sprinkle in the flour and mix in until combined. Stir in the 1 cup of chocolate chips. Scoop the cookie dough onto the top of the brownies and spread onto the brownie layer. I find that it's easiest to do this if the brownie layer is chilled and firm. Wet your hands or spray them with nonstick spray and pat the cookie dough on top in a even layer. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top to create a nicer, visual appearance. For easy, clean cutting, chill the brownies (wrap the brownies with plastic wrap and chill until firm- 1 to 2 hours or up to 2 days).

Cut the brownies: Run a knife along the sides of the brownie pan and then use the parchment paper to lift the brownies from the pan and onto a cutting board. Slice the brownies with a sharp knife, wiping the knife with a paper towel between cuts. If you'd like all of your slices of brownies to look clean-cut without edges, use the knife to cut the sides of the brownies off before cutting pieces. Keep brownies slices covered and chilled until ready to serve.

We found these to be pretty rich, so we cut them in smaller squares and labeled them as "bites".

--(Original recipe found here)

**********


Jonah's  S'mores Poke Cake: 

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (2 layer size) chocolate cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 container (7 oz.) JET-PUFFED Marshmallow Creme
• 1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
• 2 cups crushed graham crackers
• 2 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:

• Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Using an electric mixer, mix cake mix, eggs, water (amount indicated on box) and oil on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour cake batter into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes. 

          Using the handle of a cooking utensil or wooden spoon, poke random holes in the cake. In a                 microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallow creme for 30-45 seconds and stir. Spread the                   creme over the cake, making sure to fill the holes. It does begin to harden after only a short                 time, so work quickly. 

          Spread the Cool Whip in an even layer over the cake and top with crushed graham crackers,                 marshmallows and chocolate chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

-- (Original recipe found on Kraft recipes)

The kids also entered a few other categories including performing arts, digital photography, fine arts and presentation. They received all blue ribbons for each of their entries and worked hard to make their projects a success. 

Until next year, we are all ready to put aside the 4H projects and jumping right back into schoolwork.

These days sure fly on by!

Weekend Scenes: Spring Play, A Birthday & Weekend With Boys

I'm tired, my friends. How about you? It was one of those good weekends with family time, crazy time, but at home time. Semi-busy, but it still feels wearing. These are the type of weekends that begin to fill the calendar as the snow melts and the sunshine lingers. The memory maker weekends.

As I mentioned last week, we had planned that the weekend would be for celebrating Jonah's tenth birthday. While I had plans to be intentional about making a big deal over his turning double digits, he ended up just wanting to keep it simple. He wanted to have two of my brother's boys over for the weekend, so that's what we did. 

Which, if you are a mom with three girls and one boy, turns out to be a revealing weekend. One in which I thought many times "I get it now why I'm a 'girl mom' and wasn't blessed with a treasure trove of boys." Not that ya don't love 'em, but they are busy. And loud. And slightly destructive.

The boys came on Friday afternoon so they were able to join us for the kids' spring musical play that evening. Both sets of grandparents were also able to venture out to join us in watching the kids' first ever performance. It was a musical timeline portraying parts of American history. It had nearly 30 kids from our home school group that played historical figures from Christopher Columbus to a 9/11 survivor. Each of the characters lines were actual words they spoke or those wrote in their journals. Sprinkled within the musical were catchy short songs that even my toddlers and myself can now sing after hearing them practiced so many times in rehearsals. It ended up lasting only 30 minutes, but the cast did amazing performing and the historical costumes were great. I wish I could post more photos for you all to see. After the musical, several of the home school students also participated in a variety show/musical performances for us. So much fun.

A quick photo with my nephews before casting call:

Lily as Clara Barton (she was so excited since that's who she was hoping to get cast as) and Jonah as William Bradford (the first governor of the Plymouth colony):

After all the hard work and two weeks of rehearsals, we all enjoyed the final production:

While the work was grueling and the drives to rehearsals 20-50 minutes away, in the end we were happy with the outcome. With this being the kids' first debut in acting and working with other cast members, I'm pleased to say it was a wonderful experience. We are already looking forward to more theater opportunities in the near future.

Saturday turned out to be at-home day. The weather was misty and gray in the morning, but thankfully cleared up enough for the kids to head outside. Thank you, Mother Nature. While our plans had been to take all the kids out for pizza in the afternoon, turned out that wasn't their plan. They just wanted to hang out, run around like hooligans and play like crazy people. 

We gave in and scrapped our plans.

I needed to run to town for groceries and ended up also picking up pizza for supper. Gianna joined me on the outing and it turned out to be a good time away for the two of us. It's rare that I have just one kid along for an errand and she seemed to really enjoy herself as well. I labeled her my new 'errand girl' and she called herself 'a good reminder girl' since she kept track of the things we needed that I didn't have on my list. I look forward to more outings like this now that I know it turned out to be kind of a big deal to her.

Thankfully, Reed is a trooper and held down the fort with all the other kids. They ended up staying outside burning up energy at the park next door and walking in the woods. Everyone survived despite several mishaps and boyisms that seem to happen with more males around. 

Finally, on Sunday we went to Mass in the morning, had my parents join us for brunch and then both sets of grandparents celebrated Jonah's birthday along with us. The kids took advantage of every moment they could to be outside running around. It was glorious outdoors. 

My parents drove my nephews to meet up with my brother and go back home. I think I managed to get the house back in order and now this week we'll be back on track with schoolwork. My mom will join me for my 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday since she's never seen an ultrasound in person as it happens. That should be kind of fun and a chance for grandma to experience some of that same excitement we get each time we see our babies.

May your spring week be beautiful, the sunshine bright and life in full bloom wherever you are. 

The Boy Speaks

 Sometime last fall I had Lily guest post and answer a few questions. Somewhere in the shuffle of time, Jonah never had his chance to share his answers. While working on seven posts in seven days, I thought this would be the perfect time to hear from him.

Use three words to describe yourself:

Confident, Energetic and Funny


If you could have a day where you do anything you want, what would you do?

I would go to the store and buy anything I wanted.


What is your favorite meal?

Pizza


Who is your favorite Saint and why?

St. Anthony because he helps me find things I've lost.


Do you have a favorite prayer?

My favorite prayer is the Our Father because it's a way to say thanks to our Father in Heaven.


What kind of work do you want to do when you grow up? Why?

I want to be a Deacon, but also an actor. I would like to follow the path of faith and also be in movies. (Watch for me in the movies in a few years!)


What is your favorite season? Why?

Probably winter because we don't usually get blizzards. I don't like storms in the other seasons and tornadoes make me nervous.


What's your favorite thing to do in your free time?

I usually go to my 'boy cave'/bedroom for alone time. I like to play with my trains, cars or Lego figures and sets. I am pretty imaginative, so I spend a lot of time creating.

And that, my friends, is Jonah in a nutshell. I just love that boy.

First Communion Day

 As promised, a brief look at our day yesterday, Jonah's First Communion Day.

I have so many pictures, but just tried to to pull some of them to share with you all here. The weather wasn't perfect, but at least nice enough that the big kids could play outside with their older cousins. Besides, the day wasn't really about the weather, was it?

Mass turned out beautifully and Jonah was so excited for his big day. He was a bit nervous trying to remember what he was suppose to do and when, but everything went perfectly. Thankfully, he was also surrounded by family who loved him and helped him celebrate his very special day.

Mr. Studly walking into Mass and trying to pretend everyone isn't staring at him. He does not like direct attention on him by numerous people.

Toward the end of Mass, we had May Crowning of Mary. It's been the first time in quite a while that our parish did this and First Communion Sunday is a great day to have the children crown Mary.

Again, Jonah was just a little bit nervous.

But he did a great job! We had practiced and he wanted to be sure to get the crown on Mary just right. He did just that, he nailed it! He even was sure to slide the ribbons around Mary's shoulder and down her back. It was precious.

Beaming after Mass.

Many family members joined us at Mass and then later on at our house for lunch. Here's Jonah with his Godparents and both sets of Grandparents.

And his buddy, aka our priest, Fr. Michael. Jonah has been eagerly awaiting celebrating his First Communion day with him since he was assigned here last summer. He didn't disappoint. A beautiful Mass filled with memorable moments to make it very special for Jonah and the other 

First Communicants.

Another great family photo, even if the little girls aren't smiling. Gianna is a tough one to crack for photos taken by anyone but mom and Miss Margaret was tired already.

My sweet peas, my babies, growing up so fast. Special days like these make me realize how very fast time is flying right before my very eyes.

Of course, there was cake! (Thank you, Walmart bakery)

Another significant and precious sacrament celebrated in our household. I'll say it again, we just can't get enough of them. So many graces, so much joy and so many still frames, moments in time,  instilled within the recesses of my motherly heart.

Congratulations Jonah! May you always be drawn closer to Jesus in the Eucharist and desire to receive Him as often as possible.

Sacramental Mushiness

See these smiles?

These are pre-Sacrament smiles getting ready for Jonah's big day on Sunday, his First Holy Communion. How we love our faith and how we love us some sacraments at our house!

Since we can't ever get enough of them, we celebrate their beauty and the anniversaries of those special days.

Just this week we remembered Jonah's Baptismal Day (May 1st) eight years ago and Lily's First Communion Day (also May 1st), just two years ago.

Our parish is even doing May Crowning at Mass this Sunday. While it's been done in the past here, it hasn't been in the eleven years I've been a member. My kids have never had the opportunity to be a part of a May Crowning, but this year the First Communicants will be.

Since our small parish just has one boy (aka Jonah) and two girls receiving their First Holy Communion, they will be the ones bringing flowers to Mary. 

Any guesses who's bring up the crown and crowning her?

(homemade crown made by yours truly, not professional, but it's an act of love if nothing else)

Cue handsome boy of mine who's just a wee-bit nervous about being extra cautious as to not topple over dear Mother Mary.

Our house will be a flurry of activity and celebration this weekend and I'll be sure to post photos next week. You know you want 'em, don't ya?

Could you do me a favor and send Mr. Jonah a prayer or two on his special day? He would appreciate your prayers from near and far.

EIGHTastic!

Putting aside the nasty weather that kicked us in the gut, we still forged ahead on Saturday and pretended it was spring. We had a birthday to celebrate, after all.

Jonah had the idea several weeks ago that he was bound and determined to have a pinata this year.

I figured we'd do our best and see what we could do.

Going with an Angry Birds theme, I figured that would be easy and it really was.

Enter Pinterest and this great tutorial that helped us out.

It really became a fun project where everyone could help. It ended up being a good mother-son project for us last week.

And the pinata did not disappoint.

(Angry Birds templates helped with the face, thank goodness.)

As always, a small family birthday gathering with just enough kids to take a good whack at 

Red Bird.

We had a blast!

One day, many years back I made the mistake of setting the bar pretty high. I started the tradition of asking my kids what kind of cake they wanted and how they wanted it decorated. 

Well sure, I was going for Mom of the Year or back then I just had more time. While I do my best to please their tastes, it's not always easy, especially when they have pretty high expectations.

You know, because I'm a professional baker/cake decorator and all, I can just automatically do super-fantabulous cakes. 

Well, I try. Really hard.

Jonah chose to use pieces from an Angry Birds game he has as the decorations on top.

We then just made a marble cake and at the last minute I tried making the easiest Chocolate Buttercream frosting. It was a success! Y-U-M.

Yesterday, his birthday day, we kept things low key. Lily has been sick off and on for days and had a relapse on Saturday night, so it was a good thing most of the celebrating had already been done.

Jonah and his buddy, before Mass:

Seeing that everyone survived the night and seemed to be doing better, we went and hit up Cherry Berry. It was Birthday Boy's choice and of course the rest of us didn't complain.

In the end, the birthday weekend was a success, albeit in the midst of sickness. 

Jonah had a very good weekend celebrating and enjoyed every minute of being king 

(and the gifts too)!

Shortly after our arrival home from town, Gianna got sick. I pray we can kick this ickiness because  this mama and puke don't mix.

Hope you all had a great (and healthy) weekend!

Go And Sin No More

While Cardinals gathered in Rome for the conclave, my son was gathering his wits for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

My dear husband even took off the day from work to make it more special and for Jonah to remember this day.

BEFORE:

He's ready!! There he goes....

And the choirs of angels sang and his soul rejoiced!

AFTER:

Can't you just see that glow??

We have noon Mass in our little parish on Tuesdays, so we celebrated Jonah's big sacramental step by attending as a family.

Jonah, with his first confessor, our priest Fr. Michael:

If you know my boy, you would know how creative he is. He couldn't let lunch even go by without a commemoration of the sacredness of the day.

A syrup cross on his Eggo.

How else can we keep the celebration going?

Water park with daddy, anyone?

(Insert photos here of big kids with daddy having fun at water park. Without the Momarazzi there to take the photos, they forgot.)

Once everyone was back home again it was time for Jonah's favorite, spaghetti, for supper. 

Finish the day off right with a bowl of ice cream.

I'd say we did good and made this a very memorable day for Jonah.

We so love our sacramental life.

A clean soul with a side of ice cream. *Bliss*

Someone's In The Kitchen With Mommy

Jonah came to me the other day and wanted to do some baking, so I agreed to lend a hand

Yes, yes, it's Lent and we shouldn't be eating sweets.

But still, I opted to seize the opportunity of helpfulness from my holed-up-in-his-man-cave-boy.

He pulled out a recipe from his favorite magazine and we got to work.

Quarry Crunchers

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sugar

3 tsp. cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup peanut butter

3 cups crispy rice cereal

Line cupcake pan with liners (ours made about 18).

Combine butter and milk in saucepan on low heat.

Once butter has melted, add the sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Bring to a gentle boil.

Boil 2 minutes and then remove from heat.

Add peanut butter and stir until smooth.

Stir in crispy rice cereal.

Spoon crunch mixture into cupcake liners.

Place in the fridge to set for about 1-2 hours.

Enjoy your crunchy treats!

One very happy little boy.

Our bellies thanked him afterward.

*Jonah highly recommends the Thomas magazine if you can find it at your local grocery store. He's almost eight and still requests a copy when we stop at the one area store that carries them. They have fun activities, stories and an easy recipe too.

Finding A Place

.

My son seems to be at an awkward place, that in between place. Since turning seven two months ago, I have noticed a change in him. He went from little boy to young boy. He also became more boy-like and has found fascination (and laughability) at bodily functions. Yes, THAT age.

But while he reaches for further independence and time alone, he also still needs the approval of his big sister and thrives on spending time with her. She's going through her own growing phase and seeks her own space and time alone.

I think some of this searching for Jonah stems from being the only boy within the three girls. Upon further investigation and thought I think the arrival of back-to-back baby girls after him being my 'baby', has perhaps contributed.

I find my boy spending time alone and sometimes creating a play place in the oddest places (see photo above, that's my pantry and that is his 'hotel' he created). I try my hardest to include him and ask for his help throughout the day, for fear that he does not feel loved or included in a busy household that demands so much of my time.

He yearns for friends that he has everything in common with and are his exact same age. And he also wants them to share his precise and in-depth love for Thomas trains. Lily has moved on and doesn't always want to do everything he does, much to his dismay. It's hard to explain to him and help him understand. I wish it were simple.

This is a tough age. For him and for me. As I watch him grow and change, I'm reminded how we all go through the growing pains of life. How there are times we all search for our place to belong and our place to be. How do I gently lead, guide and love him while attentively caring for the needs of the rest of the family?

I cannot help but wonder if this is a little how God feels. I watch my son and my heart swells as tears fill my eyes. I deeply love my son and ache for him, with the same love that Christ must feel for me. Yet still I have only felt a glimpse of that overwhelming love that He has for me.

He has a place for us and He gently watches over us and helps us find it. I hope that I can gracefully do the same for my son.

Birthdays!

Jonah celebrated his seventh birthday on Saturday. SEVEN! My little man is growing and changing all the time and I can't believe how hard it is to keep up with him. I think it's a mama-son thing. There's just something about my 'baby' boy getting older. The weather was rainy, so we were stuck indoors all day. It worked out ok though since my parents came for the day to visit and are always a welcome distraction (and help). We had both sets of grandparents over for pizza lunch as was the birthday boy's request. We continued celebrating in the afternoon with Jonah's Godparents and our nephew and his family (you've gathered that we all live in the neighborhood together, right?).

Jonah chose a Cars 2 cake and I had him look on Google images to find one that I could try and recreate without losing my sanity patience. The racetrack cake didn't turn out too bad. It worked out great to use Jonah's Cars toy cars as part of the cake and he enjoyed picking out which ones to use. When I was decorating the cake I surprised him with his newest addition, the Pope character car from the movie. I scored it at the store a few weeks ago to give to him as part of his birthday gifts, until hubby had the great idea to put it on the cake. Jonah was so excited when he saw it that he couldn't stop smiling!

Jonah shares his birthday with my grandma who turned 90 yesterday. Her family threw her a party today, about an hour drive away. We joined the festivities for part of the afternoon and had the chance to visit with a bunch of my extended family. Well, visit as much as you can while tending to little ones. But hey, it was a free meal with excellent food that I didn't have to cook! That alone made it exciting.

I took the opportunity to take a quick photo of the Birthday Buddies since we never know when it may be the last birthday they get to celebrate together. Aren't they sweet?

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Visions Of Sugar Plums....

dance in his head.

Because he thinks gifts as great and large as an iPad and iPod Touch will be filling his stocking.

Dream on, little man.

Realistically, I don't think he's counting on these outlandish gifts, but he mentions them any way in the hopes that St. Nick will soon hear.

(Darn Christmas consumerism! It takes away from the innocence of the season)

But still, I wonder how did my little boy become a techie nut?

Searching For The Right Fit

This was my status last night on Facebook:

"Trying to find an activity for Jonah to be a part of, even if it's short term. He's not into sports, but he needs to get around some boys his age. Ideas?? Activities? Clubs? HELP!!"

Now I send out the same message to you. Can you offer any suggestions?

Mothering a boy is different than things are with Lily. He WAS my 'baby' for almost six years after all. So, despite him being a stubborn, head strong at times and energy zapper when he's in a funk, I sure love this little man.



He holds the key to my heart in a unique way and therefore, perhaps I need to let him grow wings more than I have let him thus far. Ok, so it's not like he's a teenager or something. He's six and has plenty time to still grow up.

But any way....

We are trying to figure out how to get him involved in something worthwhile that builds his character and confidence. Something that helps him learn how to work with others and preferably has more boys in it than himself. Because he's around his sisters and mom all day and most often with friends and family who only have girls his age, we think he could benefit from some male companionship.

Reed has considered starting a Blue Knights group (with my help), but even that may be difficult to find enough boys in our circles that are the right age. And, although Jonah was keen on the idea initially, as of late he has decided that if HE can't be the 'leader' of a boys club, then he doesn't want to be a part of a club. Stubborn, I remind you.

We were seriously considering checking out Martial Arts and have been looking in to it. The drawback is that we aren't getting returned phone calls to answer our questions and another place has disconnected phone service. Out of business?

Hubby has also looked in to Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts. I think the whole idea of having to go camping pretty much makes hubby shy away from that one. I then remind him that sometimes we have to put aside our own dislikes and comfort zones in order to encourage and help our children.

Jonah did try t-ball this past spring. He liked it a bit and it was six weeks long and once a week. That was ideal for him.

Other interests? No sports interests. And we've reached pretty far (even offering wrestling, despite my best judgment and dislike for it). He just loves to use his imagination, play Thomas trains and is fascinated by the idea of film making/movie making.

Our other drawback in the whole thing is the fact that we live at least 10-18 miles away from towns that provide even some of the things I've mentioned. It's another drive in to 'town', but worth it if we can truly find something that is just right for Jonah.

Can you help me, help him? I welcome any ideas (even far-fetched ones), suggestions or feedback on any of the above or something I haven't mentioned.

We'd love to help him find just the right fit.