We Leggo Our Eggos!

Lately I've been looking for ways to cut out processed foods, so I decided to take the plunge and buy a waffle maker. I can't believe I've waited so long to do this!  There is no way to know how much money I've spent on Eggo waffles.  My kids are totally addicted! I'd already found several waffle recipes that I couldn't wait to try.  And that Macy's gift card that's been burning a whole in my wallet since Christmas, well it paid for my new little appliance!  My new little appliance that bakes the yummiest waffles you ever did taste!  I was concerned that my kids would say, "Ew, these don't taste like our regular waffles!"  But they didn't!  They loved them!  I am beyond excited!  Can you tell?  Since my kids aren't always thrilled with new foods, I decided to go with the classic waffle maker instead of the Belgian waffle maker.  The classic one makes waffles that more closely resemble those disgusting frozen things they're used to eating.  I'll have to write a post on some of our other food changes, but I'll save that for another day.  Right now I'm basking in the success of my homemade waffles!  Oh, and here's a link to the recipe I used.  Dee-lish.

Loving my new waffle maker!

They turned out beautiful!

Passed the taste test of my biggest food critic!

This guy likes them also!  Check out his hair!

I'm not sure why I didn't get a picture of Allie eating the waffle.  But she approved of them too!  The best part is that I know exactly what my kids are eating.  Gotta love it!  But my sincere apologies to Eggo.  I fear they may go out of business now that we won't be buying their Chocolate Chip waffles anymore!

Allie and Judson at the Museum

Last month Allie and I met Candice and Judson at the Children's Museum for a fun day with friends!  We always have the best time with them.  It's a little sad that the older boys are all in school, but I have to say, Candice and I get to do a lot of chatting since we only have 2 kiddos to watch!  And Judson and Allie enjoy hanging out with each other too.

I don't think I got any good pictures, so I'm going to link to Candice's blog post so you can see her photos from our play date.  Thanks for sharing your pictures, Candice!  And thanks for being my friend for the past 30 years!  You're the best!

Homemade Valentines!

This year I decided it would be fun to make homemade Valentine's cards for the kids to pass out at school.  It was fun, but like most projects, it turned out to be more work (and money) than I anticipated!  But it's done now so I can be excited about how they turned out!  Of course since there's Pinterest, I didn't have to think up anything on my own.  I found a few ideas and let the kids choose their favorites.  I was trying to keep them candy free, but Spence really wanted to make the Robot Valentine whose body is a small chocolate bar.  And I'm so glad he did 'cause it's my favorite!  Click on the pictures to get a better look.

Spence's Robot Valentine says, "I like you a bot!"
(Idea taken from Better Homes and Gardens)

Coleman's Star Wars Valentine says, "The force of our friendship is strong!"
(Inspiration from this blog)

Allie's Valentine's have a variety of bath toy animals.  The frog one says, "You're toadally awesome!" and the crab says, "I really dig you!"
(Inspiration from this blog)

The teacher Valentine's are mini hand sanitizers from Bath and Body works.  I figured they'll get plenty of candy!  The tag says, "You deserve a hand!"

Allie chose the bath toys, and that was pretty much the extent of her help.  Spence actually helped out a lot!  I cut out all the parts, then he drew the mouths on and glued on the arms and hearts.  He wrote out the message, then I scanned it and made copies.  This is a great way for him to write the message himself but only have to write it once!  And it doesn't matter how big he writes, I just scan it and make it the size that works.

Coleman chose the Star Wars characters he wanted to use, added stickers, and signed his name.  He pretty much complained the whole time!  I might have been doing a little complaining myself once I realized how much time this little project was taking.  It's pretty hard to attach glow sticks without bending them and therefore causing them to glow!  I thought ahead though and had extras!  How many did we make, you ask?  19 for Coleman, 19 for Spence, and 14 for Allie.  Whew, Happy Valentine's Day!