Milk and Cookies.

My mom did this for one of my brother's friends as a thank you.



She made sugar cookies just small enough to fit in a big glass. She took puff paint to write "thank you" all over it. There is glass paint that will stay on longer that you can use. She found some cookie tins at Hobby Lobby to put the rest of the cookies in. Cute gift idea.

My new favorite thing.

I have to write a little about my nights off. I am loving them. I get Wednesdays and Carleton gets Thursdays (unless things come up and we switch days). We take care of kids, clean up dinner, and cook dinner on the other person's night off. We still eat as a family and do our little bedtime routine. It starts as soon as Carleton gets home from work. Usually Wed. is just another day but now I look forward to it all week.

Why I love my night off:
-It motivates me to get things done, like prepare a craft for the night and get the house clean so I can enjoy the night.
-I feel better and am a better mom.
-I use my time better doing things I love
-I ask for special favors from Carleton (I don't know how to put it another way). Like one night he serenaded Annie and me with the guitar. Another night I made a special request of sugar cereal instead of a meal.

Why I love Carleton's night off:
-I try to make his night special. Apollo and I experiment by making low cal desserts (from the Hungry Girl cook book).
-I get time to play with the kids. We've gone swimming, shopping, or just play.
-I like cooking a meal with Apollo for the family.
-I know he'll be busy that night so I always plan something fun for myself, too.
-Carleton says he loves it and looks forward to it.

Some things I've done on my night off:
-Craft with a friend
-Take a long bath with candles. I found all this cool stuff when we moved that I had not even opened -like this scalp calming aromatherapy stuff.?
-Read by the pool
-Work on my projects
-Eat Carleton's delicious meals he makes
-Blog
-Shop

Land that I Love.

I'm in love with Michaels. I bought a bunch of stuff to decorate the kids' stroller for the fourth. The kids are the main event and throw out candy.




I got these finger paints for a buck. We (I) painted a flag on aluminum foil and painted a mug. Apollo would turn it over and "stamp" the paper.



Fruit Pizza. My Aunt Susan, would make this for us when we got together for swim parties. Making it yesterday brought back good memories-still just as yummy.
Fruit Pizza Directions:
Crust:
1/2 C margarine
1/2 C Crisco
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 C flour
2 t cream of tarter
1 t soda
1/4 t salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8-12 oz soft cream cheese
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
3 T pineapple juice

Topping:
Sliced fruits of your choice
I used raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries and dipped them in white chocolate. To make the melted chocolate I added a little water to white choc. chips and put it in the microwave until it melted. I put the left over choc. chips on the pizza.

Mix first 3 crust ingredients, and then mix in the remaining crust ingredients. Spread around a greased cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 min. Refrigerate. Top with frosting then fruit.

I threw a shower for Lacey, and her mom brought this:
It's beautiful. She said it was pretty intense to make. I thought it would be good to just buy a cheesecake at Costco and use this picture as inspiration.


Here's a trifle her mom brought. Another beautiful dessert. Lacey sent me the recipe and it calls for fruit, shortbread, and a strawberry mixture. My favorite strawberry mixture is just strawberry yogurt, cream cheese, and cool whip.