Banana Bread Recipe

Ok- it's no secret that my cooking isn't great... but this is one recipe that everyone seems to love. It is NOT good for you, but it is good. I got it from my mom but I think it is originally from Christy Hilmes- not sure though.

Here it is:

6 mashed bananas
3 tsp backing soda
* mix together and set aside

4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp salt

Add sugar mixture to the banana mixture
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

(okay- here's the real trick.... I spray the pan with pam then sugar it (like you'd flour a pan) and add some cinnamon. I also top it with cinnamon and sugar (c'mon after 4 cups of sugar- what's a little more) the cinnamon and sugar make a REALLLY GOOD crust. Try it- it's my favorite recipe EVER!

Delaney's 3rd Birthday party

Laney's 3 !!! I can't believe it- she's such a big girl, when did that happen?! Last Saturday we had her birthday party- and I've never seen her so excited for anything. We talked about her birthday party everyday for at least a month- every night before she went to sleep she'd ask me, " Mom, how many days till my birthday party?"

All of her excitement rubbed off on the rest of us and I think this has been my favorite holiday with her so far. She wanted to help with everything- sending out the invitations, picking out her decorations (Mickey Mouse) her cake, her "party dress". It was so much fun- I'm a little sad its over! So here are some pictures of her big day...



Helping mom bake cupcakes for the party- you can see that neither kid was doing a whole lot of helping!

The night before her birthday I stayed up late and decorated the house so that it would be there for her when she woke up- and I have to tell you I think that was my favorite moment of the day- seeing her wake up and going around the house with her at 5:30 am to "look at all of her stuff".

We rented a bounce house (they said it was the small one- turns out- not really that small) The kids LOVED it- and were pretty much in motion all day. Although toward the end of the day it got unplugged and started to deflate a little which terrified Delaney- so she did go in it much after that.

Opening present- she made out like a bandit! Lots of princesses and girly toys. We've averaged 15 tea parties a day since the party!

Her Mickey Mouse cake!

What would a party be without your best friend (moo moo) and a party horn?

Her babysitter, Olivia, stopped by with a little "angus" puppy that barks and rolls over- it has not left Delaney's side since- she even puts it to be with her!

A view of all the fun from above

And, of course, Todd and Ryan couldn't let the kids have all the fun so they ended up in the bounce house!

It was SO much fun this year- thanks to everyone to took the time to come help our little girl celebrate. Happy Birthday Laney!

Kids Hooded Towel

Before Delaney was born someone (Mrs. Peterson) gave me some hooded bath towels. They were big and fluffy and are still my favorites. So I sat down to make some for Colton but couldn't find instructions I liked so here's what I did. They make SUPER simple shower presents and aren't expensive at all. They took about 10 minutes to make from beginning to end and will last forever. There are some good tutorials online for fancy ones but I just wanted plain jane towels- no ribbon or pleats- so here you go!

For two towels you'll need two bath towels and one hand towel. I would pick nicer ones- nothing from the dollar store so they'll hold up over time.



First, cut the hand towel in half- like this (only try to make yours straight)



Then find the center of the bath towel and mark it with a pin, do the same for the half of the hand towel. Align the centers and sew RST.



It should look like this:

then fold the top part (the hand towel) in half to make the hood. Sew along the top ( I sewed a straight line then a zig zag on top of that to prevent fraying along the unfinished side)

Then put it on your cute baby! See- simple!

Lately

We've been doing a lot of running around lately- trying to fit everything into summer we can I suppose... so here's a little of what we've been doing...


Last week the kids and I spent a few hours at a friends house making jam. This was my first try making freezer jam, but I had a lot of help so there was no major catasrophe's! Here are the girls helping to mash the raspberries- you can see that Delaney's not sure about this whole "work" thing!

People always tell me what beautiful hair Laney has- but they don't see it like this every morning! I don't think all the sunscreen and chlorine have been doing her hair any favors!

Delaney has been taking swim lessons but it has been a little bit of a struggle, she loves the water but is afraid of the teacher and other people (go figure) so it took us two weeks to get her to hold another person's hand but I think that we finally got it figured out. I signed her up for another session so hopefully this one will be smooth sailing...

Every once in awhile we take a break from all our fun and clean, you can see that I have my own little Cinderella that I put to work around here.... this little lady is all girl. She even cleans in a "princess dress" and crown!

We also spend a day out at a park with Fran and Jake- the kids LOVED it!

Laney got to try out her beloved Dora fishing pole- there weren't really any fish but she had a good time with her daddy anyway!

5 Months

Another month has flown by... my little man is 5 months old... Here's a little of what happened this month.


He discovered his toes, and is fascinated by them. It's amazing to me that with all that chub he can still touch them!



He's pretty smilie, as long as his momma's around...




He got his first taste of cereal...




... and this was his reaction. NOT a fan! Which means he and I still get A LOT of together time, since he also refuses the bottle!

He's getting so big!

Close Call

Guess I can't leave him up here any more....

Look at those rolls!

DON'T look at my messy house in the background... eek!

Have you ever...

* cleaned toliets and then not flushed one (you know, with the blue cleaner) just to prove to your husband that you did accomplish something that day?

* laughed about the new cell phone laws? Most of the time I'm driving while using my go-go gadget arms to give the baby his binkie back, opening a package of fruit snacks with my teeth, and holding a sippy cup between my knees all while listening to the radio and a DVD of Dora. How about driving without small children?

* Seriously considered fitting your 2 1/2 year old with a shock collar so as to prevent her screaming and general bad behavior in public? (No one call CPS- I'm just considering it)

* Forgotten where you put the baby down.....

* Wished that your skinny ass husband would have gotten a few sympathy stretch marks? Just so he had to spend hours figuring out which swimsuit would cover them?

*Watched Glee? NO? Seriously? Go our right now and watch it. When the football players dance to Single Ladies? One of the best TV moments ever-seriously- right up there with the episode about Monica's closet.

* Found yourself singing a Dora song in your head, over and over and over.... Backpack, backpack..... I'm the map I'm the map....

* Started a diet Monday morning..... then eaten 2 brownies Monday after lunch?

....No?.... Just me?.... huh.