chick peas and whoopie pies

I saw these roasted chick peas in a magazine and wanted to try them. I think they are the tastiest little things and sooo healthy (I just did olive oil and garlic salt)! I think they'll be great on salads and just to snack on. I'm still trying to sell the kids on them, calling them "magic beans". :) Chris? Well, when he tried one he surprised me by saying that they weren't that bad. "So would you eat them if I put a bowl in front of you?" "Um, no". Darn.


Whoopie Pies seem to be the "in" thing right now. A friend tried some pumpkin ones with maple filling that sounded really good. My grocery store was out of pumpkin, so I made chocolate whoopie pies with cream cheese filling. While they were VERY good, I think I need to try ones with a marshmallow filling base. A cream cheese frosting is a little too runny. But they are very easy and make a pretty presentation, so I will definitely try more flavors. :)

more randoms

*Operation laxative with Kendall has been a great success. She poops regularly and isn't in nearly as much pain as before. :)

*We've been having some issues with Cam at school. He does a couple things (making spitting noises, getting in kids' faces and sticking out his tongue) which HE thinks are silly, but which the other kids do not. I've really had to crack down and have even started time outs at home whenever he makes a spitting noise. I'm working with his teacher and have also started a chart system. He gets to put a sticker on each day in which he doesn't land on red (naughty color). We've talked A LOT about it and I think it's sinking in. He was very excited to put his first sticker on today :)




*Bubble Guppies while mom gets dinner on the table:



No, Chris isn't an avid Bubble Guppies fan. However Cam asked if he could sit next to him. Cam NEVER asks to snuggle, so Chris wanted to take advantage. :)

*Some might think I'm dumb (Jen, maybe?), but I put my wedding gown up on Ebay today. It has sat in my closet for the past 9+ years. In this day and age, girls want their own dresses, not their mom's, so I don't think Kendall would ever be in need of it. While I adored it, I'm not a real sentimental keeper of things that I don't need. So if you know of anyone, feel free to take a look...

*I enjoyed Hart of Dixie, however it was a tad cheesy. I love made for TV movies, despite the cheese factor. However I'm not sure if I can handle an entire season of a show. :)

*Cam has to have his front tooth (it's an extra one) pulled on Monday. They'll need to use laughing gas. I'm nervous not only about the procedure, but about how the laughing gas will affect him. :(

*I think Pinterest is cool, I just can't get into it. I don't really enjoy browsing clothing websites, house decor websites, etc. if I can't purchase anything. Same with real shopping. I don't enjoy going shopping if I can't buy anything. I'm not a browser if there is no purpose. :)

*Yesterday was kind of a long day for both Chris and I with the kids. We were SOOO looking forward to a kidless dinner of Gourmet Pizza. I stopped at Staters on my way to get groceries AND to get the coupon that comes on the back of the receipt. For some reason they stopped printing them. Ugh. It's just too expensive for us without a coupon, so no pizza for us. :(

*We are starting a mom and kids music class at the library this week. I'm excited. :)

*Last week when we arrived for our appointment at the DMV, Cam loudly announced as we walked in, "I hate this place!" We got quite a few laughs from those around us as it was clearly their sentiments exactly!

*Sometimes I wish I were a coupon-er. I just get so overwhelmed with it all and don't know where to begin. Seems like the ad coupons are never things that we need. I know there are more places to get coupons besides the ads, I just don't know where to even start.

*I found the CUTEST jacket at Costco tonight, which I promptly plopped into the shopping cart and texted my mom that I just purchased a Christmas present for myself on her behalf. :)

*Wore jeans for the first time in a long time yesterday. Not a big fan. I'm just not ready to give up the heat.

*I helped in Cam's class today. I left COMPLETELY worn out and I was only there an hour. I don't know how she (or any teacher for that matter) does it...especially with kids as needy as kinders!

allowance and awana

Cam got some money for his birthday from his great grandmother. He had such a fun time spending it at Toys R Us. I think one of the highlights was looking at all the prices and trying to find items that were under his limit. :) It made me think about giving him money of his own on a consistent basis. So here are questions: What age is good to start allowance? What is a good amount for a 5 year old? What should we require? Thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Here are some pics from last night's Awana. It was parents night so I stayed the whole time. Unfortunately they were short staffed so the night was a little disorganized. Cam and I sat at a table waiting to be called for him to recite is verse for over 30 minutes. The great part was how amazing he was. For a kid who has a difficult time with attention, he was sooooo good! It was worth the kind of long, chaotic night just to see that.




Disclaimer: This video probably is only interesting to family since it's just the kids talking to the camera in the morning. I realized I want to get more videos to capture their little voices (especially Kendall's right now, which is just too adorable).

*One thing that made you smile today: Watching both kids dance their hearts out at our library playtime this morning.

*One thing that didn't make you smile: Kendall has started asking for things in this way, "I would like a cracker RIGHT NOW!!!!!!" (however secretly it's a little funny to hear her say it so emphatically)

*Last thing you ate: Green grapes (love that they are on sale at Staters for 89 cents a pound).

*One thing you are looking forward to this week: Tmoms!! (MOPS group)

*One thing you are not looking forward to this week: Braving the DMV tomorrow with both kids because I lost my license. Grr...

*Dinner tomorrow: White Chicken Enchiladas (these are among our top five, sans the jalapenos and cayenne)

*Favorite season: Summer. I'm not quite ready for fall so I'm happy the heat is continuing.

*Current favorite TV show: I'm looking forward to trying Hart of Dixie. I've always liked the actress (Rachel Bilson) and I tend to also like shows set in small, rural towns. :)

*Unlimited funds + shopping spree = The store Anthropologie. I adore everything there. I've never purchased anything because I would always be thinking, "I just bought pants for $80 and I could have bought about 4 things from Target with that..."

*You wish: Chris could get better sleep. He has trouble sleeping far too often. I wish I could help him somehow, but sleep is one of those things that can't be made easier by someone else. :(

oreos and peanut butter and brownies

Cameron informed me the other day that we hadn't baked in a long time. I realized we hadn't so I decided to try a recipe I recently saw called, Oreo and Peanut Butter Brownie Cakes

I tweaked them a little, like only putting one Oreo, covering it with peanut butter, then putting a few chocolate chips on top before pouring the brownie batter. They were very yummy and so fun to look at when you cut them open.

A before baking pose:



He was quite into counting out three chocolate chips for each one:



The finished product:

branching out

When it comes to eating out, Chris and I are not the branching out type. We typically stick to the restaurants we know we like. I HATE walking out of a dinner feeling yucky because we wasted $30-$40 on food that wasn't that great.

Tonight we decided to give it another try, but it only solidified why we just need to stick to what we know. With that said, we actually had a really nice evening together. We went to downtown Palm Springs and enjoyed walking around. The restaurant we chose was very cool looking and I loved eating out on the patio (I love people watching). We had nice, uninterrupted conversation, which we all know is a rarity with small kids.

However we both gave our meals a 6...and that is pretty low, even for us. I chose a "Tuna with Artichoke, Provolone and Garlic Aioli Panini". Sounds good, right? It tasted like tuna and bread with no other flavor. Oh well. I guess I need to look at the fact that everything else about the night was great. And Cheesecake Factory...we'll see you soon. :)