If you say this over and over, it actually makes you happier. It was quite therapeutic typing it over and over again. I am trying to remember this…. when I am stressed…when I am hungry or just grouchy…when I am helping children with homework. Maybe I should print it up and hang it. Maybe I should imprint it on the inside of my eyelids….or on the inside of my kids eyelids. Oh, I’m just kidding. But really, Be nicer than you feel. My new motto.
This is a great after school snack and it is a fun way to get the kids involved in the kitchen.
Mix 2/3 cup heavy cream with 3-4 tablespoons honey. Seal lid on tight of container and shake! Make sure you choose a container that has room for the cream to expand.
Get your kids to dance around with it, jump up and down or whatever they like. Shake it up. Keep shaking until a butter forms. I like to do mine until it is a thick heavy cream and then I put it into the refrigerator to chill.
Serve on warmed tortilla with a bit of salsa. Yum, that’s my favorite. Of course, it is also delicious on biscuits or toast.
You could also get a bit more creative and add additional ingredients. We made a batch and added 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
I would also like to try to add some orange zest to a future batch. Have fun and remember to get the kids involved.
I leave you now with some funny pictures of Max shaking it up.
What a great idea! It sounds so yummy. I am definitely doing this with the kids!
What you need…
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
5 cups flour plus some for work surface
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary
For dipping:
Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar
In small bowl mix yeast, water, sugar. Let stand for about 10 minutes. It should look foamy.
In large bowl, stir together 5 cups of the flour and 1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt. Form a pit in the middle. This will allow you to pour in wet ingredients without it over flowing. Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl along with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
Stir with wooden spoon. Then the fun part comes, time to knead. For some reason, I love to knead dough. I find it therapeutic. Sprinkle a bit of flour on work surface and knead dough for 5-10 minutes. The dough should feel smooth. If it feels too sticky, sprinkle with flour and knead in. Form dough into a ball. Place back in bowl. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons olive oil on dough and roll around to coat the entire ball. Cover with wet towel and let raise until it doubles in size about 35-45 minutes.
At that time, punch the dough back down. Cover again and let raise for another 35 minutes.
Grease a Jelly roll pan with olive oil.
On lightly floured work surface, stretch dough out to the size of the pan. Place dough in pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Let raise again for 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 Degrees.
Now comes the fun part. Call the kids in and have them help you poke holes in the dough. You will be making the pits with your finger pokes. Doing so while singing the Hokey Pokey makes it enjoyable.
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle about 4 tablespoons Olive Oil.
Bake for 22 minutes. Piper says to serve piping hot!
Serve with Olive oil mixture. I use the olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Williams Sonoma for dipping. It is shown in the top picture with bread. What I like to do is pour oil in a deep dish plate. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and add freshly ground pepper. Dip hot bread into mixture. Watch bread disappear.
Yum. Looks like fun–and delicious.
Saturday, we made our own Magnet Scrabble Board. It was so easy, I could hardly call it a craft. It was more like a quick assembly. This is how we did it.
We used a magnet board we already had. We ordered wooden scrabble tiles found here. And magnet dots here. The magnet dots are like stickers. Just peel and stick onto tiles. As you can imagine, this could get tedious. I recruited many hands to help me. We got it done fast. We decided to keep it at the top of our stairs. Leaning against the wall so it is at a low enough level for all to reach. I loved that every time I went up the stairs yesterday, I found someone else playing with it. My thought was that each time a person passed it they could add a new word. It would be an ongoing family game of Scrabble. Evan calls it “Words with Family.” However, yesterday Max showed his skills by playing a whole game himself and using all but two tiles. So of course the challenge is on for someone to use every single tile. I also love that Piper can go up and try and spell the words she know. Hopefully it makes her want to spell more and more.
First of all, let me just say, this is in no way any kind of announcement. Many times, people will have their kids hold a number and then an extra number is set on a chair to announce a new baby is on the way. Please note, I have 6 kids and there are six numbers! No announcement here!I count to six all day long. In my mind, 1,2,3,4,5,6. Everyday, many times a day. Counting heads. Counting to make sure all are accounted for. If I don’t get to six then I have to figure out quick where the missing person is. Even when they are off to their activities I count to six. I just imagine where they are and keep counting. I am sure next year when Parker is gone, I will still just picture where he is and keep him in the count. That is why I wanted to do this shoot. It had been in my head for awhile. We decided to do it. The wood boards were left over from Parker’s Eagle Project. Each child painted their own numbers. The way they are painted actually tells a lot about the child. Pipers could don’t have had more sparkles and details on it. She wanted to keep adding more and more. Max is the one that cracks me up. He painted a blue five on it and that was that. The number was on and he was done. It was nice that Piper is number six and she actually turns 6 in April. I get asked parenting advice a lot. This is flattering but really, I just say, I am just trying to figure it out. Each day is a new challenge, we just take it one day at a time.What it really comes down to is that each child is so different with different needs. And those needs change almost daily. (While we were out adventuring on this field, the kids found a rope and started playing jump rope.)So it is knowing those needs that each child has that is the most difficult part of parenting. Oh man, sometimes knowing those needs and what to do about them is soooooo hard! When as parents do we get involved? When is it best to stand back and let them figure out life? Which activities do we get them involved in? How much is too much for them to be doing? These are hard questions every parent faces. People ask all the time, what our rules are. While we have certain rules and guidelines for the basics, what it really comes down to is asking what is best for the individual child. And so I really only have one answer to anyone asking.
It is simply prayer.
One needs to pray for their children. Each child. Pray for them all….by name….out loud…morning and night.
Pray that you will know their needs and you will know how to help. You do not need to be experienced in prayer to do so. Find a quiet place and just try it out. Then just be calm and listen to those thoughts coming to your mind. Perhaps, no thoughts come to you at first. That’s ok. But somehow things will just work out. Somehow you will get your answers. Just pray. That is my one and only parenting advice I give. Just pray. Try it. Can you guess what their fav musical is? See the photo below. They have loved Les Mis ever since we saw it on the stage in London and then with the movie, Wow, we listen to a lot of Les Mis around here.
Beautiful thoughts, beautiful pictures, beautiful family! I love the numbers idea too. So personal and creative!
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