cinnamon rolls

I might have posted this recipe before, but I've tweaked it again to make them even healthier.  The kids love them!!  I will say they are very heavy/dense.  So if your family is used to light and fluffy cinnamon rolls, it might take some getting used to. :)  But they are just so darn quick to make since they don't have yeast and you don't have to prep them the night before.

Quick and Healthy Cinnamon rolls (makes 8)

2 tbls. butter
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup milk
2 tbls. flaxseed
applesauce
brown sugar
cinnamon

Combine first 6 ingredients.  Mix with your hands and roll out onto a floured surface.  Spread a thin layer of applesauce.  Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon (I'll admit I do a hefty amount of sugar).  Roll up.  Cut into rolls and bake at 350 for approximately 15 minutes.

*We went to a friend's house for a playdate the other day.  She had baby chicks which were quite cute. :)

*A few months ago Cam requested a "momma/Cameron weekend", which we had done a couple years ago.  So this weekend Chris will take Kendall up to his parents and leave Cam and I behind.  I'm so excited to spend the weekend with just him.  I have some fun things planned.

*I LOVE meatloaf.  I used to order the meatloaf sandwich at Claim Jumpers and was sad when they took it off the menu. Tonight I tried this recipe I saw on a cooking show over the weekend.  It was good, but the sauce is what made it great (basically just add brown sugar to ketchup)!

*Yesterday I took the kids to the 99 cent store so Cam could pick out something with his toothfairy money.  He chose water balloons and they have been a big hit. I knew they would quickly go through the small stockpile I made (those little knots do a number on your fingers!).  So I turned it into a just a water activity time and Kendall was in heaven.  Cam isn't the biggest fan of getting wet, so he just farted around. :)

*Chris and I rented "Man on a Ledge" tonight.  Hope it's good!!

running

Chris and I have talked about doing a 5K sometime together.  We always talk about how nice it would be to work out together, but that is just hard with kids.

I've trained for two marathons in my life.  "Trained" is the operative word. :)  I never made it past 10 miles and gave up the training.  While I'm not thinking I want to tackle long runs again, I will definitely keep this up because I LOVED running this morning.  It's so nice to be outside in the morning when the roads are empty and it's just me and my music. :)  And while I think my normal workout (which I've grown to love) is a better workout overall, I'll enjoy switching it up with running.  It will also put me in a little better "runner's shape" for when Chris and I want to to do an official run. :)

Sorry the pic is a little blurry.  I love using Chris' tiny little iPod.  I remember the days when I would actually run holding a Discman!!! :)

palm springs

We escaped the cool weather to Palm Springs today.  We mixed up our normal routine a bit and hit the street fair.  I was hoping to find some knock off Crocs for the kids, but no luck.  We left with two frozen lemonades and two tiny bobble head animal toys for the kids.

Afterward we went to the park for a while.  The kids were VERY excited to find some turtles in the little pond.

After playing we hit up Costco on the way home for lunch and...

*Frozen veggies
*Eggs
*Peanut Butter
*Granola Bars (for Chris, since he's not a big fan of the ones I make for the kids)
*Meat

The kids didn't have much of an appetite for dinner as there were tons of samples today.   Favorites?

Me:  Pound cake with whipped cream
Chris: Guy Fieri seasoned chicken
Kids:  Healthy Choice Chocolate Ice Cream Bars

Fun day :)

food stuff

*I LOVE egg salad sandwiches (feel free to gag now, Susan).  I remember I used to get them daily for lunch in college on really soft squaw bread.  Mmmm...  It's very expensive to buy in the deli so I rarely eat it.  I make my own every now and then and always wonder why I don't do it more often.  Today's lunch included an egg salad wrap. Very yummy.

*I made some goodies for Cam's speech teachers for their last session.  I made these sugar cookie bars but instead topped them with Biscoff frosting from this recipe.  I can't believe they are so good, yet aren't chocolate. :)

*Tonight's dinner is Poor Man's Stroganoff.  We used to have this a lot growing up and I have not had it in ages.

Quote of the day:

This morning on our walk we saw a snail slurping across the street.  The kids were excited.  They were even more excited when I suggested we take him home and put him on our sidewalk so we could keep an eye on him (I was given strict instructions before Cam left for school to make sure he was kept safe).  Kendall commented:

"When I was a little girl, I touched a snail.  I touched the sticky part and I was all snail'd." :)

no more speech

Today was a bittersweet day for us.  It was Cam's last day of both his speech class through the school district as well as his sessions at the University of Redlands.  Next year he'll receive speech at school, eliminating the need for me to take him to a separate location.  We also have decided not to do his sessions again at the university.  On one hand both have been wonderful and fun experiences for him, but I must admit it will be very nice to not have something three times a week to add to our schedule.

This morning he participated in a cute performance in his district class.  This afternoon Kendall was invited to take part in his last session at the university, which was a joint one with other children and filled with water activiies.  They both had a great time!

Here they are before the water works began.  We were singing the "hello song" to each child. :)

Cameron has to warm up to the idea of getting wet.  Kendall likes to dive right in. 

 It's been a good year here. :)

staycation

This weekend Chris and I had a mini vacation here at home.  My parents had the kids from Saturday-Monday.  On Saturday our friends Jeremy and Ana drove out to hang out and spend the night (w/o kids as well).  The guys golfed, we got pedicures, watched a movie (The Vow...we both enjoyed), went out to dinner, etc.  It was so fun to have them here. :)

One of our goals for the weekend was to get Kendall's bed up.  I think my wall decor turned out nicely and Kendall has been over the moon about her bed.  In fact, she currently has been down for her "nap" (meaning singing, talking, and climbing around) for about an hour.  I'm sure bedtime will be much of the same. :)

Another goal was to paint a small portion of our kitchen wall.  We had a leak problem and the dry wall had to be torn out.  Well, after realizing we used the wrong paint color, we ended up having to paint the entire wall again.  Not really what we had in mind for our vacation, but at least it's done. :)

The kids had a GREAT time with my parents.  One highlight was going on a neighborhood scavenger hunt where they would go door to door asking for different objects (rubberband, pen, etc.).  One of their neighbors gave them each a dollar.  Later my dad took them to the 99 cent store and let them each pick out something fun.

We are sooo thankful to my parents for taking the kids and giving us such a nice weekend.  Thank you!! :)