Move over sugar bowl!

Cute, right? Way more fun than a sugar bowl, or even cubes. Perfect for when you want to add that special touch when serving guests coffee. I saw this idea in a Martha Stewart magazine and thought I would try it. She did hers in flower candy molds, which were super adorable, but my heart molds turned out pretty cute too. Next time you make coffee for someone, but a little love in it! :) I know- cheesy!
How to:
Mix one cup of sugar with two teaspoons of water until the consistency of wet sand. Press firmly into candy molds, scrape away excess sugar and then flip out onto wax paper. Let dry overnight. (I did mine one at a time because on my first try, I flipped over the tray of molds and they all crumbled [maybe I just didnt press firmly enough]. I also think they would be super great tinted with food coloring.)

Spring Fever!

Yesterday and today were such gorgeous, sunny and warm days! We just had to be outside- taking walks and playing at the park! Yesterday we drove to DesMoines and went to the zoo. Madison loved all the animals and I think both girls just loved being outside and seeing all the other kids and activity. What a fun day!

Eric bought a fishing boat!! Eric took it out for a test run this afternoon, and Madi and I can't wait for another warm day when we can go for a ride! Madison is sure she will catch just as many fish this summer as Eric. Looks like competition! I will keep you posted on who gets the biggest one! :) Looks like we will have a summer full of fresh fish! Yum!

Lemon Curd Tarts

So I have been reading a couple of food blogs lately and am really enjoying them. My favorite right now is www.smittenkitchen.com She is very interesting to read and her pictures make me want to jump in the computer and eat. Plus her recipes all appear rather simple and dont use strange ingredients. So I have been re-inspired to do some creating of my own. Ive always loved baking and I love to research recipes and I dont settle until I have a recipe that is great, not just good. So my latest quest is a tart. (I just bought a tart pan and am waiting for it to come in the mail.)
This past weekend our church held our annual chili cook-off and pie auction. I made an apple pie and some mini shortbread tarts with lemon curd and raspberries. I made too much lemon curd because I was paranoid that one batch wouldnt be enough (I didnt even use one whole batch). So now we get to finish off the leftovers. Yum! I decided to try a different tart recipe this time-one derived from smitten kitchen (with my own twists thrown in). Its the only traditional tart recipe I have ever made, so I dont have much to compare it to, but it was pretty great! Flaky and oh, so yummy! I was going to include the recipe, but its really long, and I guess Im frankly just too lazy to type it all out if Im not even sure anybody cares to have it! But if you do want it, please let me know and I will surely share it! (sorry Janelle- I know you are going to cringe at my photography! :)

The dough was really simple to roll out and work with. I think the trick to flakiness is to make sure you have butter flakes throughout the dough-meaning-dont over mix!:

Aren't they cute? I think they look like little flowers, waiting to be filled:
Mmm...Perfection! Ok, maybe not, but it sure was tasty! It just needed a little berry on top to finish it off!:

So I thought it would be funny to let Taylor try some of the lemon curd. So good, but so sour! I know Im such a nice mom, right?! Always sharing with my daughters.

Well, apparently the joke is on me, she didnt even flinch! And wasnt satisfied with just one taste! Mmm... :

The past week

Good morning sleepy head. Woa...look at that bed head! This is what Taylor usually looks like in the morning:) :

Building towers, or rather- castles, as Madi likes to think of them as. (Madi loves her new hippo bib so much that she wears it even when she isnt eating):
Going in for the knock down! Oh, little sisters can be such a pest!:

Gotta love after holiday sales. Heart jammies for a bargain!

Valentines Day

Dan and Dee and the kids came up for the weekend. It was so wonderful to have them around. We had so much fun. One thing we did was decorate heart cookies. Its so fun that the kids are getting old enough to do fun activities and so great that they are all close enough in age to enjoy the same things. Of course the best part about decorating cookies is eating them!

Arent they cute? They were VERY into the cartoon! Either that or they were all still half asleep! I think Emily fed Taylor every bottle while they were here, except for when she reluctantly gave Andrew a turn.

Madi-baby and Taylie-bear

I just cant resist matching my little girls! Eric tells me I treat them like little dolls- I said, -Yeah, obviously- they are my real life dolls! I dont have to play pretend anymore! :) I think they are really starting to look alike. You can see Taylors teeth much better in this picture, and yeah, once again I have a dirty girl- I didnt clean Madi's mouth after lunch!

We really dont have anything too interesting going on right now, I just thought I would post a few recent photos. Eric has started the outage at work, so that means he is working 12 hr nights, 6 nights a week. Ugh! Us girls are glad to be back in the swing of things and going to Bible study again on Weds. Madi likes to fill our days with playing Old Maid every chance she gets.

Mmmm... graham crackers! Taylor does enjoy her food! Except for peas, those are a challenge to get her to eat:

If you look closely you can see Taylors two little teeth that she got a month ago. And you cant miss all that drool! or soggy cheerio on her shirt! What a mess! She is managing to pick up cheerios and get them into her mouth. Its a great distraction and practice for her: