Kids in the Kitchen - Masterpiece Pizza

We love our Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cookbook. The girls love to flip through it and decide what they want to make next. Last night we decided to make a bedtime snack. I would love to be able to tell you that we eat all things healthy in this house. But that would be a lie. . .we love our sweets. And I think they are okay in moderation.

So the younger girls put on their aprons and helped me with this snack, Masterpiece Pizza.

Here is the recipe:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
3/4 cup tiny marshmallows
2/3 cup peanut (we left these out)
1/2 cup miniature candy-coated semisweet chocolate pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and peanut butter with electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat until combined. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add flour, beat on low speed until combined.
Take about 1/2 cup dough and place near one corner off the cookie sheet. Use the table knife to spread dough into a 5 inch circle. Repeat with the remaining dough to make 4 circles. Bake pizzas for 15 minutes or until the edges are light brown.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle the center of each cookie with semisweet chocolate pieces. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes until you can spread with a knife. Sprinkle each cookie with marshmallows, peanuts and mini m&ms.
Return cookie sheet to oven for 5 more minutes. Enjoy!


This recipe got two thumbs up.

Mom's Balance

I finally figured out how to add a little vlog to my post. Looking for a little balance in our house. . .

Golden Day

Today is Taylor's Golden Birthday. I can't believe that she is 9. . .wow! She has decided that since it is 9/9/09 it is not just her Golden Birthday. It is her Super Duper Golden Birthday.

Birthdays are always a big deal in our house. I love to be spoiled on my birthday so I make sure their day is extra special, too.

She wanted Chocolate Dipped Waffles with sprinkles on them for breakfast.

She couldn't wait until tonight to open her presents, either.

We were rebels and sent non-healthy birthday snacks to school. My end result are not nearly as cute as Bakerella, but they sure do taste good. (Check out her site for all kinds of Cupcake Pops for every occasion)

We are in the process of planning her birthday party. Every year each girl gets a Theme Party that they help me plan. This year in honor of her Golden Birthday she is having a Solid Gold Disco Slumber Party.

Nature & Nails

We had an awesome Labor Day Weekend filled with making memories.

We spent the majority of the weekend camping near our home. The kids ran wild with their friends and we were able to spend a lot of fun time with our friends.

It was really windy, but the sun was out so the girls insisted that they spend a little time at the river.



Nadia took advantage of the wind and decided to fly her kite.

Yesterday we decided to finish off our weekend with a little shopping trip. It is Taylor's Ninth Birthday tomorrow so we took her out of town for eating and shopping. At the end of the shopping trip daddy decided that the girls could get their nails done. I have never even had my nails done. . .but he wanted to treat the girls. I wish I would have had my camera to take pictures of the girls. They looked so cute sitting with their nails under the dryers.

Now back to the grind today. What kind of memories will we make this week?

I Love Packages

A few weeks ago I participated in a Birthday Swap over at Seriously Shawn.

Yesterday I received my package in the mail from Bea. She sent the perfect gift. One of the most important things to me is to create an unforgettable childhood for my girls. I love to focus on the experiences we can have together. So she sent me this. . .

Three beautiful aprons for my girls created by Studio Eight. My girls absolutely loved them. In fact, they loved them so much that when I got home from the gym at 8:30 last night they surrounded me as I collapsed on the porch and begged to bake something.

Well they should have been getting ready for bed, but they were so excited about their new aprons that I knew that I couldn't make them go to bed. Luckily I had a box of Pound Cake mix, so we whipped it up quick (and then had to wait 50 minutes for it to bake). They didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but oh well. They created an awesome memory thanks to the beautiful aprons from Bea.



Thanks Shawn for the swap and thanks Bea for the perfect gift. Now I can't wait for Kristen to receive her gift from me. . .

If you are a parent that is interested in reading one of the best books I have read as a mom. Click over to my other blog and enter to win a signed copy of the book Not So Fast by Ann Kroeker. It is a book I think every parent should read!

How I have survived 9 1/2 years of Marriage

We are celebrating marriage today at a new snazL party on snazL.com.

Today at 3pm EST/2pm Central we will be chatting on marriage, sharing videos and pictures and giving each other advice on marriage survival.

All you have to do to join the fun is go to snazL.com and register. Then go to the top of the page to the "Quick Links" button. Click on upload. Browse your photos on your computer and then upload them to your profile.

During the party click on the (+) button to add your photos, videos, etc to the party. Or do you have a favorite song that is out on Youtube? Upload that to the party. I found the song I sang to my hubby at our wedding, so I added that to the party.

I interviewed my hubby on how he has survived being married to me for 9 1/2 years. I will be adding that video to the party.

It is easy to join in the fun. I would love to chat live with you today at 3pm EST/2pm Central. Hope to chat with you there!

Backyard Campout

Yesterday as I was cleaning inside of the house my girls put up the tent in the backyard. They kept talking about how they were going to sleep in it last night. I laughed. For one thing it was a school night. Not to mention, it wasn't exactly hot out last night. So I thought they would just play in there and then we would come back inside to our nice comfy beds.

The girls somehow convinced their dad that it would be fun to sleep outside, even though they had school today. So we all bundled up and headed outside. The girls each told us a story before bed. It was hilarious. I should have had the video camera out.

We actually went to sleep a lot earlier than we usually do. Somehow the girls ended up on the air mattress and Chad and I were on the ground. He lasted outside until about 2:30 am and then he told me he had to go into the house. Nadia lasted until about 4:00am. The older girls had to be woke up to get ready for school.

I guess this was just another one of our adventures. I only had one question for my hubby. Why didn't we do our backyard campout in the summertime when it was warm out and the girls didn't have school the next day. . .


AND THE WINNER IS. . .I almost forgot to post the winner of the ECOstore USA Shampoo and Conditioner. The winner is #7 The McCormick's.
McCormick's said...
I tried using fancy salon shampoo and conditioner a few weeks ago. Liked the shampoo but my scalp got super itchy and flaky. The conditioner didn't work at all. Would love to try the eco-friendly stuff since you like it!

I will send you an email and get your address to send off your prize.