A photo post catch up!

What have we been up to since my computer cord died? Well, here are some photos to catch you up. :)

My little Scooter cat (on the right) has had some pretty rough days. She's been having strokes, losing feeling in her legs, falling against walls, throwing up regularly and even went to the bathroom on the middle of the floor. This is so heartbreaking. I've been pretty heartbroken about her and getting to the point where I know I need to make that horrible decision.. but then she'll turn around and have a bunch of really good days - like right now. This is so hard. She is so happy when she's not having a bad moment and honestly doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. Being a furbaby parent is not easy. I've had her for 15 years and I really don't want to say goodbye yet. I adore this picture of her and Mirri (the rather chunky kitty in the photo) because Scooter never lets the other cats cuddle her anymore. She's very bone-y and I assume it isn't terribly comfortable for her at this point. That evening she let Mirri rest her head on her bum and I could have melted. Awww.

We have had a double whammy of sick furbabies in our house. Tiernan's rat, Ratatta, has mycoplasma (very common among rats) which is a lung illness. She had what's called a "mycro flair up" and it had me crying for days. I didn't like seeing her in pain like that. She was wheezing, coughing, sneezing.. and not just gently. The poor little girl was so defenseless. She would have trouble eating because she wasn't able to breathe (but did eat, which is a good sign!), she slept a LOT, and she would look at me with those gentle little eyes asking for help. The worst was when she stuck her little paw down her throat to try and open up her lungs. Heart wrenching! I spent a lot of time holding her while she slept, giving her extra vitamins A & C and little bits of dark chocolate. I'm happy to report that the flair up is over now, and although she's still not "normal" again, she is much, much better!

Aww, look at Rhi's little nose peeking out from a hole in their hammock! Adorable! Poor Rhi felt lost when Ratatta was sick, too. Usually they cuddle together all day, everyday. When Ratatta was sick she made sure to leave her alone when she was sleeping. Ratties are so smart!

While we're on the topic of pets, November 2nd was Mystic's birthday. Mystic was our border collie cross who we had from the time Avery was 8 months old, and who we had to say farewell to back in February of 2009. She was a beautiful dog, full of life and spunk. She was a runner and loved to herd the kids around when they were little. She was a talker, could get a bit grumpy when kids crawled on her (she had back/hip/leg problems from before she was a year), and had the most amazing brown eyes. She was my buddy, my foot warmer and I miss her each and every day. Mystic loved ice cream cones and we took her over to a local burger joint to get her a doggie cone and she would literally dance across the street after she had one. Before we said farewell to her, we took her to DQ for a cone. Every November 2nd is Mystic Day and we have an ice cream in her memory. The sting from her loss is still there, and I am certain it always will be. My Mickey-Tickey, my love. I'm certain that she was the one who brought Tibby into our lives. I still remember talking about her with Kyle while doing the dishes one morning and just bursting into tears. One of us suggested going to the Quinte Humane Society to walk some dogs (something we did from time to time) so we headed out there that Sunday afternoon. We walked a few dogs, and then I saw him. Tibbs was sitting in his kennel, keeping completely quiet and just watching me. I was drawn to him like nothing I'd ever experienced before. We took him out and knew right then and there we couldn't leave without him. I truly believe Mystic was with me that day and helped me find this boy we have now.

I am a firm believer that sometimes we need down time. That goes for my kids, too. Rhianna was feeling really under the weather and was barely eating, so I suggested she stay home for a day to recoup and rest. It was apparently just what the doctor ordered because she felt 100% better by the evening and was back to her normal self - jumping out of bed the next morning with a bounce in her step, ready to take on the day!

Rhianna's birthday is back in July, but it's nearly impossible to organize a birthday party with her friends for summertime. Instead, we wait until the Fall to celebrate. This year we went out to the movies to watch Puss n' Boots with her brothers and six of her friends from dance and school. Unfortunately, one other friend of hers was unable to make it (the poor girl has been super sick.. we're thinking about you, Kayla!). Since the party was at the theatre we decided to make some popcorn cupcakes! Rhianna just loved them!

Even her loot bags were theatre themed! Everything you need to curl up and watch a movie. ;)

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. We had a dance-a-thon for the dance studio the weekend before Halloween and I had a blast dancing around with the kids. :) I sent some snackies into school with the kids (these are the kitty cupcakes I sent with Rhianna), I made some Halloween themed food (but was in such a rush I only took pictures of one thing!), and the kids went out trick-or-treating with friends for the first time ever. I followed Rhianna around with some of my friends (mothers of Rhianna's friends) and admittedly felt a little strange without my boys! Guess I need to get used to this whole independence thing.

Here is the one photo I took - our candy corn pudding dessert. Cute, yes?

Avery dressed up as Charlie Brown's ghost from 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!'... not as the holy ghost as my friend Laura thinks! Haha.

Tiernan went as Link from Legend of Zelda!

And Rhianna went as Pippi Longstocking!

My lovely little crew before everyone dispersed for the night. Kyle dressed as a Wizard that night (I was a witch, as per every single Halloween). Even Tibby dressed up in Mystic's old hippy costume. :D I love them, oh yes I do!

How cute is Tiernan's Jack Skellington? ♥

So that about sums up our lives for the past couple of weeks. Add into this a whole lot of visits to the dance studio, a first visit to Brownies, lots of exciting soccer games for Avery (good grief, this level is intense!), plenty of soccer practices and development training, working for both Kyle and I, a tummy bug that has hit only Kyle and myself... and I think that may be it. Phew! ;)

Birthdays and Chili Mac!

Happy birthday to our beautiful Mirri cat. She turned 8 today, and is back to being the same age as Rhianna. Mirri is an interesting character. She's afraid of strangers and ends up hiding a lot when people are over. She's rather... round... so we like to call her fluffy. :) She's pretty quirky, but we love her to pieces. Mirri has the most beautiful big golden eyes, and is the most loving towards the kids. At night time you will always find her in bed with one of them. We sure love our Mirri-Smirri!

I made yet another pasta dish for dinner tonight! This time I planned on making this Italian/Mexican Mac, but changed it up a bit. It had a real bite to it, was enjoyed by most and eaten by all! I'll share my version with you.

Chili Mac

1/2 large bag penne

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 large white onion, chopped finely

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp red chilies

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

28oz can water

1 block pepper jack cheese, grated

In a large pot, heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook 3-5 minutes until tender. Add the chilies, chili powder and black pepper and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the uncooked pasta and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the crushed tomatoes and water, and cook another 10 minutes until the pasta has cooked. Add the grated cheese and stir for a minute until it has melted.

Date nights, appetizers, breakfast for supper, birthday lunches and decorating cupcakes!

This weekend, like most weekends, has been busy. It's been worth it, though. I live for weekends! Having our whole family together... exploring, visiting, playing, or just doing nothing.

Friday night found Rhianna and I on our own since Kyle took the boys to Goodsell Collectibles to play some Friday Night Magic. Originally Rhi and I were just going to hang out at home, but then I read (on Facebook - what did we ever do without Facebook??) that the Kelly's Irish Dancers were performing at the Waterfront and Ethnic Festival. Awesome! We got there as quickly as we could and headed over to the pavillion just in time. We bumped into Tiernan's teacher from the past year which was a nice surprise - I adore her! The kids dancing were incredible. I love, love, love Irish dancing. I also love Celtic music... it's so comforting for me. Rhianna really wanted to join this dance school on top of the dancing she's already doing with Angela Maracle Studios, but the lessons clash with her Acro class so it's a no-go for now. Maybe next year. She took some Irish dancing when she was super small and was complimented back then for her toe points so I'd like to see how she'd do now. :)

After the Irish dancers finished we wandered around the rest of the festival together. I had told the kids there would be no rides this year because the wrist bands are way too much money when you have three kids. Buuuuuuuttttt.... since Rhianna and I were on a date and it was her birthday weekend.... ;) I bought her enough tickets to go on two rides. We fleeted from ride to ride, measuring to see which ones she was tall enough for this year. She was happy to find out she was tall enough to go on almost all of the rides of her own (except for that darn hang-glider that she has so desperately wanted to go on for two years now! She is *so* close, too.). She chose Zero Gravity (as seen in this picture.. that's her with the yellow shirt and striped skirt) and a Cobra roller coaster. Seeing that smile on her face was so worthwhile! She gave me many hugs and thank yous and told her this birthday weekend was the best ever. Awww. She bought herself some mini donuts and I treated her to a game where she was guaranteed prize. After we got home we cuddled together with a glass of rootbeer, a big blanket and some game shows. It was a perfect date night!

Saturday was mostly a get things done sort of day. We've been having some issues with tiny little ants coming into the house so we needed to deep clean our kitchen (where they were coming in). As per the advice of a friend, we moved all of the food out of our kitchen and it's now in boxes in our basement. Convenient? No. But necessary? Yes. Luckily they hadn't spoiled any of our food! We found a few on the outside of our clover honey, but that's all they touched in our pantry. Under the pantry, though... we found a red sucker... in a package... half eaten by the ants! There was probably a good 20 or so ants stuck in the package! It was so gross. Since clearing that out, along with the rest of our food, we've had far fewer ants in the house. I have my fingers crossed that this is going to work. After our de-ant-ing, we cleaned the house, bathed the dog and then I settled in to watch 'The Blue Butterfly' with the kids while Kyle took a much needed nap.

For dinner I made waffles, mango smoothies and chocolate waffles. The kids were delighted! What kids don't love breakfast for dinner? :) I got the recipe for the waffles from The Garden of Vegan years back, and we like them so much we don't really try other recipes. I did, however, decide to try a new recipe that I found in my September 2010 edition of Vegetarian Times magazine. Dessert waffles! I found them a bit too sweet - I can't handle anything that's too chocolatey (weird, I know!). The kids sure enjoyed them, though! The boys pretty much wolfed them down the minute they hit their plates. How the heck are we going to feed them as they continue to grow? Ahhh!

Nummy Yummy Waffles

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup flour

1 1/4 cups soy milk

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Grind the oat flakes in a food processor until coarse. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Spoon into a well oiled, hot waffle iron. Repeat until the batter is gone.

Mango Smoothies

(enough to feed my family of five)

1 bag frozen mangoes

milk - read for amounts

4 tbsp yogurt

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp flax seed

Empty the bag of frozen mangoes into a blender. Add milk until you reach the 750 ml mark. Add the yogurt, honey and flax seed. Blend until smooth. If it's still to thick, add a bit more milk. Continue until the desired consistency is reached.

Double Chocolate Waffles

chocolate sauce:

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

waffles:

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tbsp vegan chocolate chips

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

icing sugar, for dusting

To make the sauce, whisk together the cocoa powder, maple syrup, soy milk and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Lower heat, but keep warm.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Let it stand for 10 minutes.

Combine cocoa powder and chocolate chips in a bowl. Whisk in a 1/4 cup of boiling water into the mixture, and blend until smooth. Whisk soy milk mixture into the chocolate mixture. Whisk in brown sugar, oil and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.

Cook on a pre-heated, well oiled waffle iron. Once they are cooked, top with a tbsp of the chocolate sauce and dust it with icing sugar.

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Saturday night also brought us an unexpected date night in. Our internet connection has been terrible and sketchy lately. We're going to have to call Bell to come out and make a house call because I'm pretty sure our router is on its last limbs. Oh well, looking on the bright side is always a good idea - Kyle couldn't do any of his contract work OR his podcast. Instead we feasted on some spinach and artichoke cups that I got from my 3 in 1 Vegetarian cookbook (and altered slightly) and watched many episodes of Lost together. So addicted! Kyle really liked the appetizer that I made, but I was a bit iffy. I loved the inside of it, but would have preferred it without the wonton shells. I just ate them by dipping some pretzels in and leaving the shells. Ha!

Spinach-Artichoke Party Cups

non-stick cooking spray

24 3-inch wonton wrappers

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

5 oz baby spinach, wilted in a pan

1 cup grated monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 300. Spray the cups of a mini muffin tin lightly with cooking spray. Press 1 wonton wrapper into each mini cup, and lightly spray with oil. Cook for about 9 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Remove the shells from the pan and place on a rack to cool.

Combine the artichoke hearts, spinach, cheeses, mayo, and garlic in a medium bowl and mix well.

Fill each wonton cup with the cheese mixture. Place the filled cups onto a baking sheet. Bake about 7 minutes until heated through. Serve immediately.

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Today my beautiful Rhianna turned eight years old! I still remember very vividly when Avery turned eight and I couldn't believe I had a child who was already eight years old. And now here I am with my baby at eight! How did this happen? She's an incredible little girl, though. She never ceases to amaze me with her determination and capabilities. Everyone who meets her falls in love with her. The more you get to know her - the more you'll fall in love! Her smile lights up the world. Her laugh makes my heart sing. I don't even know what life was like before her. I love that little girl so much!

We headed out to visit my parents and hold her family birthday out there. Rhianna had requested a barbeque for her birthday and seeing as we don't have one, we opted to use theirs. :) Lunch was delicious, the cupcakes she requested were a hit (and perfect for a BBQ!) and she felt like the princess she should feel like on her birthday. She got some great gifts, and we had fun testing out her new karaoke machine!

Lunch at Rhianna's request consisted of portobello mushroom burgers (altered from the July/August 2009 edition of Vegetarian Times), BBQd potatoes (a la Kyle - baked in the microwave until soft, sliced in half, butter spread on, and sprinkled with Montreal steak spice and seasoning salt and then BBQd), corn on the cob and fruit salad with all of Rhianna's favourite fruits.

Smoky Portobello Burgers

9 small portobello mushrooms, stems removed

olive oil

1/4 cup light brown sugar

5 tbsp sweet paprika

2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp coarse sea salt

3 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp celery seed

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 medium vidalia onions, thinly sliced

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 cup prepared bbq sauce

1 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese

hamburger buns

Toss mushrooms in a bowl with some olive oil (enough to coat) and the brown sugar, paprika, black pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, celery seed and cayenne pepper. Let it sit for a while.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add the onions, rosemary and thyme. Cook, slowly, for 30 minutes until onions have caramelized and are golden, soft and sweet. Remove from heat.

Heat the BBQ and coat the grill with oil. Cook the mushrooms, stem side down, and brush the tops with BBQ sauce. Cook 3 minutes until tender. Flip and grill another 3 minutes. Add the smoked cheese to the centre of each mushroom and cook for another 30 seconds.

Toast the buns on the BBQ, put some barbeque sauce on the bottom bun, add a mushroom, some caramelized onions and the top bun. Enjoy!

A delicious fruit salad of Rhianna's favourites - watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew melon, Bing cherries and purple grapes. :)

These are the cupcakes that I whipped as per Rhianna's request! Corn on the cob! :) How perfect are these for a BBQ birthday? They looked so cute and were so simple to make - bonus! :)

A few more photos because I just can't help myself...

Candles all lit - eight little candles, and a number 8 for good luck!

I hope all your wishes come true, baby girl. Now and always.

We're alive and well!

I have been such a terrible blogger! June is typically a whirlwind, and this year is no different. It's been all wonderful though, so I'm not complaining.

So what exactly have we been up to? Well...

There has been canoeing on the Bay of Quinte!

There have been cousins visiting from Northern Ireland!

There was Dance Recital day for my two youngest kiddos.

There have been long walks along the trails and on the docks at the marina to drool over the boats.

There was Summer Solstice and all of the traditions it brings us!

And there was lots of crazy family antics!

This was only to name some of the fun. There was also a few different birthday parties, Father's Day, some soccer games for the biggest boy, watching of So You Think You Can Dance & SYTYCDCanada and more stops at playgrounds. This makes me even more excited for the adventures that await us this summer! Only three more days of school left. It's hard to believe.

Yes, we have also been eating delicious food. I admit to quite a few repeat dinners - ones that are pretty easy to throw together, along with some BBQs at my parents' house. I have made a few blog worthy items and I plan on writing a new entry tonight to include those. For now, I'm going to do some dishes and then maybe head out for a bike ride since it's not raining (yet!). They've been promising rain all week, but so far we haven't had much at all.

Enjoy the last few drops of your weekend, friends!

This week is brought to you by the food: Rice!

This is a big week for my little dancers! Recital is this coming Sunday, so we spent Monday and Tuesday in Stirling for dress rehearsals. I took many photos and videos since there are no cameras allowed at recital itself. The kids are all amazing, and it was great for my two to get the opportunity to watch the other (and mostly older) kids do their numbers. If you're interested in any of the videos I took, they're up on my youtube channel.

Yesterday my oldest kitty turned 15 years old. Scooter is the sweetest, most Zen cat you will ever meet. I think back on our 15 years together and I can only think of once when I got annoyed with her - she pulled a cold glass of water down onto a sleeping me! Even then, she wasn't intentionally trying to irritate me. She just wanted a drink. My other two cats will actually try to get in trouble because they want something (typically food). So, my Scootie Wootie is my little Princess. She loves anything pink, she has the strangest hoarse cry unless she's hunting her toy mice, she still plays like a kitten, she's recently deaf, she loves drinking water and she always has to knead the air when you pet her. I couldn't ask for a better cat than my Pumpkin Eater. LOVE her so much.

Scooter had a little stroke last week. She started walking funny, lost balance, leaned into the wall, and looked dazed. I picked her up and she leaned her head over my shoulder and pressed in as hard as she could while breathing very heavily. It broke my heart, but she recovered just fine. She's back to her normal self, so now I will just keep my fingers crossed that she still has lots of life left in her. In the meantime, I enjoy every day I have with her. ♥ We made her a kitty cake last night (soft cat food with some cheese on top) and sang her happy birthday (kind of ironic since she's deaf). It's our little family tradition.

Keeping with the birthday theme, I made all the humans in our family a chocolate zucchini cake to celebrate. Oh yes, I did! I don't even remember where I got this recipe, but I've been making it for years now! It's definitely a family favourite.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp lemon juice added (let it sit for a few minutes)

2 3/4 cup flour

4 tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix butter, vegetable oil, and sugar together. Add the eggs, vanilla and milk. Combine well. Add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in zucchini.

Grease a 9x13 pan. Pour in the batter. Top with mini chocolate chips.

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Let it cool completely before icing. (I make a margarine, icing sugar, milk, cocoa powder icing that I've been making for as long as I can remember. I even remember making a little bowl of it for myself (or me and a friend) when I was living on my own because I was craving sugar. Haha!... bring back memories, Sarah?!)

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Dinners have been easy, repeats and not always blog worthy this week. They've also been full of rice. I'll share the recipe for the carrot feta risotto (can you tell I love risotto?) because it's not a new one, and you know if you revisit a recipe it's pretty good. The Hawaiian beans I made with them are not blog worthy though. Won't be making them again. They were edible.. but.. no one loved them. Both recipes came from Moosewood Cooks at Home.

Carrot Feta Risotto

5 cups vegetable stock

4 carrots, chopped into semi circles or into matchsticks

1 small onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 tbsp chopped fresh dill (you can use 1 tsp dried in a pinch)

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Bring the stock to a boil in a covered pot. Ease the carrots into the stock and lower the heat to very gently simmer.

In a large saucepan, saute the onions in oil for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the rice, and stir gently to coat in the oil. Add the dill. Ladle 1 cup of carrots and stock into the rice. Stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to do so with the remaining stock until it's all absorbed. Remove the rice from the heat, add the feta and lemon juice and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

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Tonight I made even more rice. This time I made a fried rice with this vegetable stir fry recipe I blogged about before. I had originally planned on making my friend Jill's vegetable spring rolls, but forgot to take the filo pastry out early enough. Instead I'll make them tomorrow for Fun Food Friday - with homemade pizza! Interesting combo, but it'll be delicious, I'm sure. My fried rice really doesn't have a recipe because it's so easy. I heat some toasted sesame oil in a pan and add my mushrooms (about 6 fairly big cremini mushrooms). Once they're cooked I remove the mushrooms and add a bit more sesame oil. I add my already cooked rice (I cook it the morning of so it's nice and cool by the time I need it.. freezing also works) and coat it in oil.. cook for a little bit. Add a bunch of Braggs (or soy sauce) until it looks right. Stir it up, cook for a bit. Add the mushrooms and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas and heat it through. Voila, easy rice!

Tiernan is 10, and the world's best cinnamon buns!

Today, my baby boy turned ten. This kid is incredible. He could win over anyone's heart. He has the kindest heart - for everyone he meets. He's so wise beyond his years and had been from day one. Tiernan was always a very serious child; you could tell he was always thinking deep thoughts. Ironically enough, he also has an awesome sense of humour - one much like my own. ;) He and I share so many inside jokes that have us laughing so hard we're crying. We really get each other, and I just love that about him. It's a pretty special relationship and I am thankful each and every day for my Sunshine.

As per tradition, the kids got to eat cupcakes for breakfast this morning. Sounds like a great way to start your day, hey?

Avery is still very sick, and we're thinking it's mono since it's going around their school. We're beginning to think that's what Tiernan had when he was sick in April. Apparently you can get pneumonia after having mono. The rest of the symptoms are spot on. Avery has been so tired all week, barely being able to make it out of bed or off the couch. He has wicked headaches, and no appetite. I took him out with me, briefly, on Friday and halfway through our very short trip he was throwing up. Of course this is a long weekend here in Canada, but I'll call our doctor in the morning to see if the office is open. If not, I'll take him in on Tuesday.

The point to that little story (besides updating on the state of my guy) was to explain that we had our little family party outside on the back porch instead of inside where there are likely higher concentrations of germs hanging around. I don't want to infect my parents with mono (or whatever else it is), and the day was perfect for sitting out there. We had our garden party over lunch hour, feasting on the meal Tiernan chose. He requested pepper jack soup, VBSTCs and corn on the cob. Everyone gobbled it up, and still had room for some rainbow cupcakes (well, except for Avery who ate a few bites of his sandwich and almost all of his corn on the cob.).

I was planning on making some more werewolf cupcakes for Tiernan's family birthday, but the last week has been painfully busy. I've been far from inspired in the kitchen, and too exhausted to make anything too exciting. Instead of the werewolves, I decided to make rainbow cupcakes, and Tiernan asked if we could add a layer of Smarties inside the batter.... what a great idea! They were delicious! The best was when they first came out of the oven and the Smarties' chocolate was all melty and warm - oh my!

She picked this dress out just for her big brother's birthday. :)

And my poor Avery. He was in tears this morning because he really wanted to be healthy for his little brother's birthday.

Birthday boy with his proud grandparents!

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As I mentioned earlier, I've been feeling uninspired in the kitchen this week. I haven't been cooking anything new, and instead going for quick and easy. Last night was Date Night In, though, and that calls for some inspiration. I whipped up some cinnamon buns for us to eat while we played Settlers of Catan, and I must say - they were the best cinnamon buns, ever! Hot from the oven... oh yes. Would you like that recipe? Oh, I bet you do.

Best Cinnamon Buns, Ever!

dough:

1 tsp cane sugar

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup cane sugar

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, beaten

4 cups flour

topping:

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup cane sugar

1 cup pecans, chopped

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar and yeast in the warm water, whisk, and set aside for about 10 minutes until frothy.

Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from the heat and mix in 1/4 cup cane sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt. Stir until melted, and then cool to lukewarm.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, the milk mixture, the eggs and 1 1/2 cups flour. Use an electric mixer to combine. Slowly add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Continue mixing with dough hooks on an electric mixer. If it isn't smooth and elastic, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough.

Oil a bowl, and coat the dough with the oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let it double in size, about an hour.

While the dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and mix until smooth. Pour it into a greased 9x13 pan and then sprinkle with half of the chopped pecans.

Melt the remaining butter and set aside. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and second half of the chopped pecans in a small bowl. Set aside.

Roll the dough into an 18x 14 rectangle. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the butter. Roll the dough up from the longer side. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut the roll into 15 pieces, and place them into the prepared 9x13 pan. Brush the tops with the remaining half of the butter.

Cover the pan with the damp towel, and let it rise for one more hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Bake the cinnamon buns (uncovered) for 25-30 minutes until they begin to go golden. When you remove them from the oven, immediately invert the pan onto a serving platter. Make sure to scrape out all the butter/sugar mixture from the bottom of the pan and spread it over top.

Enjoy!

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The best part about making those cinnamon buns? It felt so good to be back in the kitchen! I'm ready for the week ahead... I'm going to make some serious messes in there. Watch out, husband of mine. ;)

Hot Mushroom Dip!

What a fantastic birthday party! Avery and Tiernan have the best friends in the world, and they sure helped make this day even more special for the boys. We went to Putt n' Blast for three games of laser tag and our birthday group kicked some serious butt. Even Rhianna and her friend got the hang of it pretty quickly and held their own through the games. All ten kids were all so good while we were there, not to mention during the hour long drive to and from Kingston. I had the pleasure of driving Tiernan and his three friends both directions and listening to their very boy-ish conversations were definitely a highlight for me. I just sat back and smiled. All of the kids raved about the party - most of them saying they now want their birthday parties there (sorry, parents!). The cupcakes I made for the party were a hit with both the kids and all the passer bys who commented on them. My boys smiled from start to finish and went to bed as happy little critters.

This picture makes me laugh. A lot! Avery's best friend's little sister (got that? She is also the friend Rhianna brought along to the party for company) picked a present out for Avery all on her own. Part of that gift was this Hello, Kitty stuffy. When Avery pulled it out of the gift bag I thought he was going to fall over from laughing! It was so funny. :) The best part was when her dad asked Avery who's going to keep the Hello, Kitty stuffy and he said himself! Ave said he'd keep it on his bed. I love that boy. Sure enough, it's on his bed now. Love, love, love it. So cute.

I am happy to report that Tiernan is almost 100% healed now. I think keeping him home for an extra couple of days to rest really helped. He will be seeing our wonderful family doctor on Monday for a follow up, just to be sure. I think I'll drag my husband along with me though.. because he really, really does not look/sound/feel good. Tomorrow should be a much more relaxing day with only a soccer wind up to attend for a couple of hours. Hopefully that will give him more time to heal, too. Luckily our kids are the best ever, and they totally let us sleep in for as long as we want. Oh yes, we are lucky!

Tonight I had a Date Night In with my husband who is sick as sick can be. Nothing stops us! ;) We had a laid back night watching 'Due Date' and eating Hot Mushroom Dip. This dip has been the hugest hit at every potluck, partini and poker night we've hosted. I always make it because it's just that good. I originally got it from me dear friend Amy who got it from her sister-in-law (I think) who found it online somewhere? At any rate, I've only altered it slightly because it was pretty delicious the way it was written.

Hot Mushroom Dip

2 tbsp margarine

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic

3 cups chopped mushrooms

8oz block cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces

1/2 tsp dill weed

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

heavy sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups grated monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup mayo

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt margarine in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes until liquid evaporates and mushrooms are golden. Remove from the heat.

Add the cream cheese, dill weed, seasoning salt and black pepper. Stir until the cream cheese melts.

Add the grated monterey jack cheese and moyo and mix well.

Bake for 30 minutes until the top is browned and it's heated through.

I serve it with some Greek pitas that I toast in the oven brushed with an olive oil/garlic powder mixture. Deeeeeelicious!

I really need to head to bed so I can join my husband. It's after midnight which means it's officially May! Blessed Beltane! Some milk is out for the fae folk... :)