Cinnamon Rolls

This weekend, we had some fabulous, homemade, so sugary-squishy in the middle, that I wish I could have eaten 10 cinammon rolls made by Terry at The Stillwater Retreat Center in Glen Rose, TX. While my recipe (well, one that I got from my military friend Deborah Q) is not as good as the ones we had, they are still mouth-watering delicious.

Here is the recipe...

Set alarm for 4 o'clock in the morning so that you can slave over these rolls for your adoring family, or...prepare the night before and refrigerate following the directions in Step 7.

Step 1: Mix these and let rest for 10 minutes. Should start to bubble and to almost double.

1 cup milk (warmed to 100 - 110 degrees)
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. or one packet of yeast


Step 2: Mix in a large bowl

4 1/2 cups all purpose ""unbleached" flour--unbleached is optional
1 tsp. salt

Then mix in...
2 room temp eggs
1/2 cups butter, melted, or oil
1/2 cup sugar

Then mix in bubbly yeast mixture.

Step 3: Knead lightly and shape into a ball. Put ball in greased bowl and turn over to grease all sides. Cover and place in a warm, draft-free place to rise 1 hour or until double.

Step 4: Punch down and turn onto lightly floured surface. Roll about 8" X 20-24" OR
2- 8" X 12" rectangles.

Step 5: Brush with 3-4 T. melted butter and sprinkle with mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1 T. cinnamon.

Step 6: Carefully roll up starting on the long side (so your log is 20-24" long). Pinch seam shut with fingers. Cut into 1" slices with dental floss. (Slide floss under log and cross over top to cut through.)

Step 7: Put in 9X13 greased pan and let rise till nearly double (30-60 min) or put in pan, cover and refrigerate 2-24 hours. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before baking.

Step 8: Cook for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Step 9: Make icing with powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1-3 T. milk. Drizzle over cooked rolls.

Enjoy and let me know what you think if you try them!

Next time I make these, I'll add some pictures!!

"Mom, can I have some spaghetti?"

A few months ago, Shane came and asked me to make him some spaghetti. Well, of course I was busy...reading email, paying bills, or maybe on Facebook, who knows? So I told him to wait a few minutes. When I went in the kitchen, here is what I found...

1 -- a mischievous-guilty looking boy holding the canister of spaghetti

2 -- the canister on the floor, surrounded by dry noodles

3 -- a pan of dry noodles on the stove (without any water)

Thank goodness that he doesn't know how to turn on the burner, yet...Or, maybe I should teach him and then I can stay on the computer longer...I'll have to think about that!

My ears hurt, can I have some Skittles?

Shane just came up to me and said this..."My ears hurt, can I have some Skittles?" When we recently flew to San Diego, we used gum and Skittles to clear the kids ears as we landed. Now, I guess Shane thought it was as good excuse as any to get some candy. Of course, I let him eat them. :)

What a funny kid!

Shane came into the laundry room with his Shrek "Build a Bear" and was wearing this little Shrek hat that goes on his bike helmet. He thought he was oh-so funny! I did too!

Look What Steve and the Kids Caught!

Steve has taken the kids fishing several times, but they never catch anything. On their last adventure, they caught a turtle.

The next weekend, Cabela's had a Kid's Day where the kids got to fish in a tank. They each caught 4 fish within their 5 minute turn. Steve bought them little trophies. :)

Kid's Camps

Shane went to Dinosaur Camp at the Lego Education Center in Southlake. He enjoyed his camp and it got him so excited for Lego Land in San Diego. It is hard to find summer activites for 4 year olds!

His pterodactyl.

He loved these little alligators so much, he chose a pirate kit from Lego Land with one.

Sarah enjoyed her time at Girl Scout Day Camp. We got rained out (campgrounds flooded) for the last day and a half, but it was still fun!

She got to trap bugs in a little bug house, make a tye-dyed shirt (Use 100% cotton to get the best outcome.) , fold oragami animals, and go on a nature hike.

She also attended several one day "Summer Extreme" activities to earn patches for her Brownie vest. She went to a spa day, painted ceramics, toured the National Cowgirl Museum in Ft. Worth, and she'll go to the Make It, Eat It event next week!

Lovely Days of Summer

Well, summer is finally here, and how I love it! Sarah finished 1st grade! Shane, though he enjoyed preschool, is excited to be out for the summer and to stay home with Mommy and Daddy. Staying home, however, tends to not happen all too often. In January, my 3-4 week long-term sub job teaching 4th grade Language Arts ended up lasting 19 WEEKS! It was longer than I expected, but it was fun. Overall, the family handled it much better than my return to work full time the year before. I already have a 1st grade job lined up for a few weeks this fall.

The extra money helped to buy Steve's COWBOY tickets for the upcoming season and to beef back up our short-term savings account...and we will all enjoy our trip to San Diego this summer. Shane is so excited about going to Legoland. He carries the map around. We often "read" the map for storytime. Last weekend, we went to the 1st concert in the new stadium --- (Reba McIntire and george Strait). It is beautiful. I was really hoping that there would be adequate ladies' bathrooms, but alas, maybe in heaven. ;)

After a busy spring full of softball and blastball, we are opening the summer with Girl Scout "Get Buggy with It" Day Camp and nights spent at the pool. Shane is enjoying his mornings with Grandy. Hoping for a day soon when we will get to sleep in and hide away the "alarm". We'll see...