Silly Boys

We spend most of our family time together, laughing at the boys. They come up with the funniest things! We pulled in the neighborhood the other night and Brandon says,

"Whoa mommy...lots of houses!"
"Yeah buddy..we see these houses every single day."
" They all have front doors too Mommy"

They were waking up from their naps the other afternoon...and I was sneaking one myself. I heard Brandon yelling at me over the baby monitor..."I LOVE YOU MOMMY...I LOVE YOU MOMMY" he said it over and over! What a nice way to wake up!

Eric came into the boys' room with us after I finished reading their bedtime stories. He picked up Brandon to give him a hug and a kiss and Brandon said to him, "I smell cookies...did you eat one" Eric had just eaten an oreo...so funny! The funniest part is that Brandon got RIGHT UP to Eric's mouth and started sniffing. What a goof!

I asked "Guys what do you want for dinner" B said, "I already ate a star" Me, "You did...I thought they were too far away...what did it taste like." B said, "Squitos" As in mosquitos. Then he told me that lizards eat squitos!

Connor asked me one night, "Mommy, are you happy when you look at my poop?" He was DEAD serious too!

Eric gave them each a hat as a potty prize the other night. We have been DIAPER FREE for one whole week now. No more pull-ups or diapers with the exception of Brandon wearing a diaper at night still. He stays dry during his nap, but it still a little wet at night. Today, they put their hats on, starting singing itsy bitsy spider, in their underwear all while dancing around one of their toys. Don't believe me...

Remembering...

The boys love to watch themselves on youtube. I'm SO glad I took the time to video all the funny things they did...especially while Eric was deployed. Here are a few of their favorites...brings back some awesome memories!

Some funny videos

I'm a little upset with myself about the lack of picture taking lately. I haven't pulled pictures for the boys' scrapbooks for the months of September and October yet, and I'm afraid I won't have much to chose from. I'm hoping to get caught up on my scrapbooking while my mom is here over Christmas!

Even though I don't have a lot of pictures, I still have some pretty funny videos...enjoy!

Here's a video of Brandon having a little meltdown!



Here's Connor at his finest

How To Make the Flock of Turkeys

I've had a lot of people ask me "how to" make the turkey cookies...so here ya go!

You need...

2 dozen sugar cookies (I purchased them from the bakery at the grocery store!)
1 package of Nabisco Pinwheels (I've never heard of these, but they are in the cookie aisle)
1 can chocolate frosting
1 can vanilla frosting
yellow and red food coloring

Color half of the vanilla frosting yellow and the other half red. Prepare an icing bag filled with red, one with yellow, and one with chocolate. If you don't have icing bags, no big deal! Use ziploc bags instead. Put #3 tip on the yellow and red and a #12 on the chocolate. If you're using ziploc bags, snip a small hole on the red and yellow and one about the size of a pencil eraser on the chocolate.

Cut the rounded edge off of 1/2 of the sugar cookies,and cut the Pinwheel cookies in half.


Spread a small amount of chocolate icing on the bottom of the Pinwheel and attach to the flat edged sugar cookie

Make "feathers" with the red icing around the edge of the Pinwheel


Spread more chocolate icing on the cut edge of the Pinwheel and attach to a whole sugar cookie


Pipe a neck and head out of chocolate icing


Use the yellow icing to draw in the legs, feet, eyes, and nose


Finally, use the red icing to make his snood!!!

You can make these on a smaller scale with Ritz crackers and oreos cut in half. I used brown sugar cinnamon Ritz...didn't know they made them, but they are DELICIOUS!!!

So I typed this all up only to find a link to it online...oh well! Their directions are probably a little better than mine!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/A-Flock-of-Turkeys

SUPER BOWL SNACK THROW DOWN WEEK 9

TRIPLE "S" SNACK SACKS

Let me first say, thanks to all of my friends and family who took part in last week's challenges! My aunt dressed up her kangaroo and had him hold a spatula, my optician donned face paint, and my husband made his coworker pose with a plastic spoon. I have some pretty awesome friends and family!!! I was fortunate enough to be able to pick the ingredient for this week as the prize for winning. I went back and forth between cayenne and artichokes, but ended up settling on cayenne. Hopefully, artichokes will come up again because I already have a recipe in mind...HINT HINT everyone!

Head on over to HIGHLOWAHA to vote, starting Friday the 13th. Click on the red oval to enter the site and look for the voting boxes on the right hand side. You all get to vote for the ingredients for the next 2 weeks as well. The voting goes from Friday through Sunday at 9 CST.

I named this recipe Triple "S" Snack Sack because it has 3 different flavor profiles.

Sweet, Salty and Spicy!

INGREDIENTS

1. 1/2 lb butter, melted (2 whole sticks)
2. 4 Tbsp brown sugar
3. 1 tsp chili powder
4. 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
5. 2 tsp garlic powder
6. 1 tsp onion powder
7. 1/2 tsp tobasco
8. 1/2 tsp cayenne
9. 8 cups rice cereal (I used Crispix)
10. 6 oz cheddar crackers (I used goldfish)
11. 11 oz pretzels
12. 6 oz mini ritz (I used the cheddar filled ones)
13. 12 oz can cocktail peanuts
14. 11oz Fritos

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but the directions are very easy.

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a sauce pan over low hear and stir until all combined.
2. Put the last 6 ingredients in a large pan. I used my turkey roaster
3. Pour the butter and spice mixture over the dry ingredients in 2 batches and toss to coat
4. Place on lipped cookie sheets in a nice thin layer. (I used my broiler pan bottom, my stoneware bar pan, and a 9 x 13 pan. Use whatever you have!)
5. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Stir it every 15-20 minutes to ensure even cooking.
   

Look at that YUMMY plethora of crunchy goodness!

I wrapped them up in little homemade sacks. I made them out of large triangular shaped pieces of freezer paper. If you wrap them up with the waxed side on the INSIDE then you won't have grease spots on the outside! I used my boys' crayons and put footballs, helmets, field goals, and pom poms on the outside for a little festive kick. You can also use wax paper, parchment paper, or even scrapbook paper, but beware of grease spots! Pack these to a weekend soccer game, set out at a birthday party, and definitely take them to next weekend's football gathering!

Recent Happenings

Wow...I don't even know where to start. We've been extremely busy, as usual, but it's not been anything crazy or super interesting.

I made a "shoe box cake" for Cakes for the Cure which was a breast cancer fundraiser put on by the Officers' Spouses' Club. I had a blast making the cake and LOVED the outcome. It brought in the most money of the 12 or so cakes there. Plus, I got to meet the author of army Wives, Tanya Biank. PLUS, I got a few cake orders! Great night.




Last week was a very busy week with the HIGHLOWAHA website I follow. We took a week off from making a recipe and had daily challenges. I have to say a BIG THANKS to my awesome friends and family who participated. The DANKO DEFENDERS won the week!!! Here are a few pics...


The boys are growing and changing so much. Brandon is making some AWESOME strides in the potty training area. I've revamped our schedule and stay home more often now. I try to cram all of my errands during Mother's Day Out so the boys and I can stay home more, stay healthy, and pee on the potty. Although, the boys love to pee in their potties in the back of the Yukon. So funny! Connor has been diaper free for about 2 months now even during nap and bed time. Brandon is staying dry 80% of the time, INCLUDING NAPS!! He has about a 50% rate of getting #2 in the potty. I can tell when his #2 moment is approaching and I'm on him like WHITE ON RICE! I follow him around, and if he's quiet, I have to jump up, follow him, and convince him to go on the potty. He'll sit down and say, "I making a caterpillar" He thinks that #2 looks like caterpillars...so cute! I see the end of the tunnel on diapers! I started training them both in about June, and it's now November. If I can get them totally potty trained by the time they are 3, I will feel accomplished and SO proud of them. I know I say they are smart little boogers all the time...and they definitely are. I'd rather take this moment to show a few funny pictures...

This was from today. They were being quiet and I immediately thought they were getting into trouble. Nope...they were sitting in their recliner, sharing their Cheerios! So sweet...how DARE I think they are getting into trouble? Sorry for the blurry picture...I'm a horrible photographer.
They LOVE LOVE LOVE Rena, and Rena is so patient with them. We ate lunch outside the other day and Rena joined them.
Connor...oh Connor. I don't know what to say about this picture, but it's a great depiction of his personality. That is one of my athletic headbands. They take them and play "rambo" with them, but putting it on the nose was new. He walked around snorting like a pig. Gotta love it.

Once again, they LOVE Rena!

I joined a group called Operation Baking GALS. We make home baked goods and send them to the troops overseas. I'll be sending out my first donation tomorrow. The boys helped me!!




Did I post any pictures of them from Halloween????? I can't remember! I made them their Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes. I took them to about 5 houses, but then had to pick through their candy since they can't have most of it due to allergies. No problem...we just handed that candy back out to the kids who came to our door.

HIGHLOWAHA Weekend Challenge

OK, today is the LAST DAY of the Half Time Challenge at HIGHLOWAHA. This challenge is a little different. They are looking for the best RAYving fan. So, you need to deck yourself out in the DANKO DEFENDER blue color sporting your favorite kitchen utensil, with a sign that says you're for the DANKO DEFENDERS...then take a picture of yourself.

Email it to info@highlowaha.com. You have until Sunday at 5 pm CST to submit your picture. If anyone in Fayetteville needs BLUE things, please let me know! I have plenty of blue hair gel left over from the boys' halloween costumes.

Who ever has the most entries will win points and then whoever has the BEST entry will win points. I will try to post my pictures by Saturday on THIS blog so you all can see what I looked like to get some ideas! Dress up your kids, dogs, lizards, Roos (Aunt Jo), chickens, whatever other living beings you may have!

Please help me out with this! Wear a blue shirt and hold a whisk, wear a UK shirt and hold a fork...just don't forget a sign that says DANKO DEFENDERS.

I'm 2 points up so far this week...thanks to all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to help me. I have some pretty awesome family and friends!

HIGHLOWAHA Today's Challenge

Here is today's task from HIGHLOWAHA. You have to actually email your response in...not a comment. Read the little blurb below and send in your submission.

The Yellow Envelope Project is an initiative Highlowaha readers participate in each Saturday. I post the first name and address of someone in the country who, for reasons big or small, shines and then our readers send an anonymous note to that week's nominee. Notes are short and simply recognize recipients for going above and beyond. The only other rule is that notes must, must, must be mailed in a yellow envelope and must read, "Yellow Envelope Project" in the return address.

Today we turn to you for new recruits. If you hang around with the likes of Lauren and Kate, we know you know people that shine. Your task... send an email to info@highlowaha.com telling us of someone you know who shines. Share the first name and a mailing address (work addresses are ok too), along with a few lines about why you think his/her mailbox deserves to be flooded with yellow envelopes.

Thanks everyone

HIGHLOWAHA Today's Challenge

Ok guys...We won 2 points yesterday and Lauren won 1 with the cookie cutter challenge. Therefor, Lauren and I are tied for the week thus far, YAY! You guys are SO awesome. Thanks so much for helping out and submitting TONS of ideas. You all are awesome.

Today, head on over to www.highlowaha.com and compete in "the wave" This is how it works.

They supplied the very first word.

Building off of that word, create the most compelling statement for why me, your captain reigns supreme. BUT... each team member may only post one word.
One word at a time and only one submission per person!

Example

Starting word: The

Person #1: reason

Person #2: Claudia

Person #3: must

Person #4: be

Person #5: crowned

Person #6: winner...

So, all you have to do is go the the comment section, read through the words describing KATE and add a word. I have to add the final word/punctuation no later than 9 CST. Be sure to put DANKO DEFENDERS or KATE in the comment as well, so we know who that word goes to.

Have fun and get your friends, family and co-workers to help out!

Kate

HIGHLOWAHA Today's Challenge

Well, thanks to everyone who submitted names yesterday. We won the slogan, but lost the "quantity" vote. I didn't know whoever had the higher number of PEOPLE would get the win over the number of SLOGANS. We blew her out of the water on the number of slogans, but she had one more person participate than we did. Oh well.

Today, all you have to do is pick a cookie cutter for the Fancy Flours Cookie Cutter Challenge. Go HERE and pick out the cookie cutter you think would be the HARDEST for them to relate to NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH. It doesn't matter which one you choose, as long as if hasn't already been posted in the comment section on HIGHLOWAHA. Eric picked the tooth, go figure, and I picked the animal lizard.

Please submit your cookie cutter choice and have your friends do the same. The points today go on SHEER volume of participants. There are hundreds of cookie cutters to chose from.

Other ones off limits since they've been used before

Ear of Corn
Porcupine
Big Mouth Bass
Mermaid
3D airplane
Owl

Please pass this on! It's a super easy task today! DANKO DEFENDERS WILL PREVAIL!

HIGHLOWAHA This week

Friends and family

Head on over to HIGHLOWAHA to help the DANKO DEFENDERS. This week, we aren't making a recipe, but there will be a daily challenge of your creative mind.

This week, we need to come up with a name for "Ray" based on the picture at the top of the post. Ray is the name of the light bulb, and his goal in life is to tell everyone that they SHINE in everything they do. So, head on over and cast your creative name in the comment section. Here are some ideas that have already been posted from the DANKO DEFENDERS

Standing OvRAYtion
For RAYS a Jolly Good Fellow
Ray Wins the SHINEsman Trophy
Game Winning Play, Hail MaRAY

I NEED HELP WITH THIS EVERYONE! If you have the beginning of an idea and need a little help, let me know! My brain is pretty fried from all the thinking already!

This is for TODAY only! There will be another task tomorrow.