A Room for Ruby

Remember when we made Walt 

a big boy room for his second birthday?

Well we're at it again.

Ruby turns 3 in April and we need the nursery for the next baby,

so she's getting a brand new room downstairs.

 This bedding has been my inspiration.

We ordered it from Target 

and have been checking out paint samples 

to see what colors should go on her walls.

 Also, I picked this old metal bed frame up from my aunt.

It had belonged to her late uncle 

and I thought it would be beautiful repainted.

It's at a car shop now getting sandblasted and painted.

I can't wait to get everything put together

and to surprise little Ruby on her big day!

Disappearing Marshmallow Blondies

I had some family coming over,

so it seemed like a good time to try out a new recipe.

I checked out my dessert pins and settled on this one

for Disappearing Marshmallow Blondies.

  

I gathered the ingredients -

and found the bars were easy enough to make.

You start by melting a stick of butter-

and a cup of butterscotch chips in a saucepan.

Then you set it aside to cool for a bit.

The recipe warned that if you overheat the mixture the butter and

melted butterscotch chips will begin to separate.

I removed the mixture from heat as soon as it was melted 

and stirred constantly, 

but mine started looking a little clumpy after cooling for a bit,

so I decided it was time to press on.

Walt helped me dump in brown sugar, flour, baking powder,

salt, vanilla and eggs.

Then I beat everything together with the hand mixer,

before adding the final ingredients,

 mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Spread the mixture out in a greased 9 x 13 pan 

and pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

Here's how it looked when it came out -

I wish I had a nice picture of the bars -

 but they disappeared so fast,
all I've got is a few pics of them still in the pan.

They were that good. 

I'll definitely make them again!

Disappearing Marshmallow Blondies

1 c. butterscotch chips
1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 c. mini marshmallows
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butterscotch chips and butter, stirring constantly until smooth. As soon as the they butter and chips are melted, remove from heat and transfer the contents to a mixing bowl. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Using an electric mixer, beat the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla and eggs into the butter and butterscotch mixture. Once blended, stir in the chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows. Spread the batter evenly into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes and let cool before cutting.

I've been doing a little baking

  

We're adding one more little one to the fam 

and couldn't be more excited!

Valentine's Arts & Crafts

The kids were invited to a Valentine sleepover party at Grandma's.

So we grabbed some supplies 

to make Twinkie minions for their cousins!

It was such an easy project we didn't even need the glue :)

We just used black duct tape 

to make the headband around the top and

the googly eyes were self-adhesive so they stuck right on.

Then I cut blue strips of paper -

and wrapped them around the Twinkies 

with a little tape and a message -

 "You're one in a minion!"

 The kids had never eaten Twinkies before,

 so not only did they love the fact 

that they were dressed as minions, 

but they enjoyed a tasty new treat as well!

After our minion crafting, we did a little painting.

We started by painting Walt's hand white -

 and pressing it onto some scrapbook paper.

 

Then we did it again with his other hand to make a heart.

He had a good time with his portion of the project.

Next, we moved on to painting Ruby's feet -

She went with pink.

We pressed her feet onto the same piece of paper 

that we used for Walt's hands to make another heart.

 

They each signed their name and we added some words -

and gave one to each set of their grandparents.

I think they turned out pretty cute!

Baking with Grandpa Woody!

Last time we were in Long Prairie

Grandpa Woody had a fun recipe for the kids - 

They made cookies with Jello!

 

You can use any flavor jello you want. 

Walt picked Berry Blue.

First you just cream together the butter, sugar,

eggs,

 and jello.

After a quick review of the recipe card -

Walt said we needed to add in a few more ingredients,

like vanilla, salt, baking soda,

 and flour.

Then you mix everything together well,

 until it looks like this -

 Finally, roll the dough into balls 

and then smash them down a little with a fork before baking.

 Here is what the tasty finished product looks like.

 The kids had a great time baking with Grandpa
and loved picking out which jello color to use.

It's a fun little recipe for kids!

Jello Cookies
3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 package jello (any flavor)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Cream together butter, sugar, eggs and jello. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Roll into balls and flatten with fork. Bake for 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees.