Happy Belated Mother’s Day!  Mother’s Day weekend plus a sinus infection plus an awful case of food poisoning Sunday night through Monday has kept me away from the blog for the last few days.  But now I can finally share the gifts we created for my mom and mother-in-law for Mother’s Day this year.

The first gift was The Littlest Apple’s idea.  He told my mom that she needed a birdhouse for her newly landscaped backyard, and she requested that he make one.  I thought a birdhouse would be a great idea for BOTH grandmas, so an idea was born!

I purchased the unfinished birdhouses and glass tiles at Hobby Lobby.  The Littlest Apple selected the beautiful Spa Blue paint color (intended for outdoor use), and he also helped put hot glue on the roof tiles (though he wasn’t as interested in placement; I took care of that….as you can tell!).  I think the glass tiles really MAKE the birdhouse, don’t you?  The Littlest Apple also placed his handprint of the back of the birdhouse.  I would have stopped there, but The Picky Apple added a perch for the birds to stand on, a hanging hook to the top, and requested that I paint the trim white, which I did.  It does look much more finished that way, I’ll admit.  What began as a quick little Mother’s Day craft from The Littlest Apple turned into a labor of love from our whole family, and I’m very pleased with the result!

Mother’s Day is tomorrow and the end of the school year in quickly approaching.  If you are a procrastinator, but would still love to make something for the mothers and teachers in your lives, don’t worry!  Here are a few gifts I’ve made in the past that are simple to throw together.

Handprint Lilies

Sweet and Spicy Brown Sugar Bath Scrub

Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub

Crayon Monograms

Spicy Garlic Nuts

Candy Glazed Nuts

Count Your Blessings Chalkboards

Since the mothers in my life and some of The Littlest Apple’s teachers read this blog, you’ll get to see this year’s gifts in a few more days.  I can’t wait to share them!!

The Littlest Apple frequently eats ice cream after dinner as a high calorie sweet treat.  Remember, he’s on the “eat all the milk and butter in the land” plan to gain weight. (His current favorite ice cream is Haagen Dazs Five Milk Chocolate)  On the other hand, I’m on the “dessert is an occasional treat, not something you need after every meal” plan.  But I do loooooooove ice cream.

I heard/read somewhere (though I have no idea where) that frozen bananas can make a great substitute for ice cream if you pulse it in a food processor for a minute or two until it is a custard-y texture.  And it absolutely tastes like ice cream, particularly if you love Chunky Monkey Ice Cream.  I like to add chopped pecans, coconut and (sometimes) chocolate chips to mine.  A teaspoon or so of Nutella mixed in the food processor is pretty fantastic too!

It’s been so nice to have a weekend with nothing planned.  We went to our local Farmer’s Market yesterday and church this morning, but the rest of the weekend has been spent puttering around the house not doing much of anything.  It’s been so relaxing!

Here are some blog posts I’ve bookmarked recently….

Grilled Pineapple Chili @ My Insanity

Good Fats, Bad Fats, and Why I Eat Plenty of Butter @ Keeper of the Home

DIY Crushed Chalk Paint @ The Chocolate Muffin Tree

Marbled Paper Journals @ Frugal Family Fun Blog

Carrot Apple Coconut Muffins @ Weelicious

Chevron Door Hanging @ Tatertots and Jello

Superhero Preschool Pack @ Musings of Me

Chicken Pesto Stuffed Focaccia @ What’s Cookin’, Chicago?

Happy May 1st!!

As of today (April 29, 2011) The Littlest Apple has had a feeding tube for one whole year.

One year ago today (April 29, 2010), The Littlest Apple got his first NG tube.  At that time, he weighed 22 pounds (2 years and 7 months old).

5 rather rocky months later, The Littlest Apple had surgery for placement of his g-button.

pre-surgery, in his cool hospital jammies

Since then, things have been great!

Here’s The Littlest Apple today (3 years and 7 months old)….

He’s now 29.2 pounds and 37 inches tall.  He’s finally on the charts for weight (3%) and height (10%).  We’re so thankful for his feeding tube (g-button)!

….and he goes by the name of Super F!  (Cape and mask from Peanut Pop)

Watch out, bad guys!  He’s got a bubble gun!

Sometimes he even wears a mask to disguise his true identity.

He can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Right now Super F is enjoying an ABC book all about Superheros.  It’s the perfect book for The Littlest Superhero in your life…

My go-to breakfast these days is yogurt (with oatmeal running a close second).  Greek yogurt, to be exact.   I eat plain Greek yogurt with homemade granola OR with cinnamon, ground flaxseed and honey mixed in, topped with slivered almonds and blueberries or blackberries.  Plain Greek yogurt is definitely an acquired taste, but now I don’t even like the taste of the other flavored yogurts.  They seem way too sweet and artificial tasting!  My favorite store bought Greek yogurt is Fage, and I can easily go through a large container of it in a week or less, since it can also be used for baking, cooking and dips.

Last year I started reading about other bloggers who regularly make their own yogurt, and decided to give it a try.  There are many methods out there that don’t require any special equipment.  If you’re not quite ready to splurge on a yogurt maker (though you can get one for around $40), here are a few homemade yogurt recipes to try first:

Make Your Own Yogurt (and Cream Cheese) @ Heavenly Homemakers

Homemade Yogurt, the Easy Way @ Kitchen Stewardship

Homemade Yogurt: Crockpot Style @ Finding My Niche

Making Homemade Yogurt @ Keeper of the Home

I decided to splurge on a yogurt maker (using a gift card), and I LOVE it!! This is the one I’ve got:

This yogurt maker is available from Amazon or King Arthur Flour for around $40.

I love the little glass jars and just how easy it is to make yogurt with this!!  The recipes I tried previously seemed a little fussy, but I’ve had nothing but success with this little appliance.

How to make yogurt:

Bring 4 cups of milk to a boil.  Then mix 1 glass jar of store bought or previously made yogurt (6 oz) with the milk until smooth.  Then divide the mixture evenly between all 7 jars, place in the yogurt maker without the jar lids and cover with the large plastic lid.  Set the timer for 9-11 hours (varies depending on what percent fat milk you use and how thick you want your yogurt) and let it cook!  Once the yogurt is finished cooking, you refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before eating.  This yogurt has wonderful texture and firmness, but to make it even more Greek-like, you simply strain the yogurt overnight through cheesecloth to get rid of the excess liquid (which is actually whey).

I haven’t tried adding flavoring or fruit add ins just yet since I enjoy plain yogurt, but this is definitely something I plan to experiment with in the future.  Maybe some honey and vanilla, maybe some blueberries or strawberries.  I’ve also seen some recipes for savory yogurt with basil or pesto that can be used as a sandwich spread.  With my next batch, I’m planning to freeze some for delicious frozen yogurt….mmmm!

Have you tried making your own yogurt?  What was your experience like?

This week I’m doing a mini Eat From the Pantry/Freezer Challenge, and this Manicotti Italian Casserole is one of the meals we’ve got in our freezer right now.

Why the mini challenge?  At the beginning of April, The Picky Apple and I sat down and talked through a monthly budget.  Not just for groceries (which we’ve done before, but never really stuck to), but for everything.  We’re trying to reign in all of the mindless $10 here, $100 there at places like Target (me), Amazon (um, me again) and dining out.  We review our transactions every other night to see where we stand.  This is the first month in our marriage (7 years) I can say with certainty “we have $X left to spend on groceries, I have $X “fun money” left for the month, we can go out to eat as a family this weekend because we have $X left in our dining out budget for the month.”  Granted, this is still our first month of sticking to a budget, but instead of feeling overly restricted, I find it amazingly freeing and a fun little challenge.  We’ll see how I feel about it in a few more months!

So, this week is Eat from the Freezer and Pantry because we’re $11 over budget for groceries with 5 days left in April.  I’m actually feeling great that it’s only $11.  We just hosted a big Easter Brunch for 14 adults that took up about 1/3 of the month’s budget (including 2 floral bouquets).  But I still thought I’d challenge myself to eat what we’ve got on hand.

I made this Manicotti Italian Casserole for the first time a few weeks ago and froze half of it.  This is definitely a recipe I’ll be using again.  I also think the sauce I used (not my usual homemade, but Newman’s Own Sockarooni, a zesty, chunky sauce) really made the dish.  This casserole would be a great dish to make for a big crowd or to have on hand for care meals to pass along to others in need.

Manicotti Italian Casserole

from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

Happy Easter!!

Are you wondering what to do with all of those leftover plastic Easter eggs?  Well, here’s an easy little project: create an Easter egg sculpture!

The Littlest Apple made this all by himself, using a glue gun.  Yes, a glue gun!  After reading all of Teacher Tom‘s posts about using glue guns with his preschool co-op, I thought we’d give it a try.  The Littlest Apple is always so fascinated with my glue gun whenever I’m using it for my own crafts, but I’ve never let him use it (or even touch it).  I explained the “rules” of using a glue gun, showed him which parts are hot, and how to use it safely.

I was so amazed at how much care The Littlest Apple took while using the glue gun!  He didn’t burn himself at all, and worked until we had used all of the supplies I provided.  For my impatient little guy who doesn’t like to wait for glue to dry, the near-instant dry time of the glue gun was just perfect.  He was pleased as punch not only with getting to use the glue gun, but also with his sculpture.  I’m looking forward to creating more sculptures using the glue gun in the future!

Have you let your kids use glue guns?

image from Martha Stewart

Our Easter Brunch has become an annual tradition!  This is my 3rd (or is it 4th?) year hosting!  I just finalized the menu for Easter Brunch 2011..  As in previous years, this is a potluck so I’m only responsible for about half of the menu items.  This year, Brunch starts at 11:30!  I’m attending the 8:45 Easter Service at my church, so my goal for this year was to select dishes that could all be made the day before.  The potatoes reheat wonderfully, the waffles can be made ahead of time and popped in the toaster during Brunch, and all of the dips and salads will be prepared on Saturday.  Looking forward to this year’s menu!

image from Martha Stewart

Easter Brunch 2011

Breakfast Casserole

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Bacon

Muffins or Scones

Lemon Poppyseed Waffles with Blueberries

Breakfast Bread Pudding

Melon and Mozzarella Salad (recipe coming soon)

Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

Mini Crab Cakes

Spring Vegetable Orzo Pasta Salad (new recipe)

Spinach and Artichoke Cheeseball (new recipe)

Red Pepper Feta Dip (new recipe)

Carrot Cake

Blackberry Sangria

PS.  If you noticed, there’s no ham on this year’s menu.  I really debated that one.  I like it, but I don’t love it.  The Picky Apple doesn’t care for it.  What about you?  Is Ham a must-have Easter menu item at your house?

What’s on your Easter Menu this year?  Do you serve the same thing every year or switch things up?