Cinnamon Roll Cake

Okay................. I SERIOUSLY need to stay away from Pinterst because I am sure to gain 40 pounds if I keep finding mouth watering recipes like this one! This cinnamon roll cake was warm and delicious! I loved every. single. bite. I mixed 1/2 a cup of butter in my glaze and made it just a little thicker. This came out of the oven and it smelled soooo good! I couldn't wait to glaze it and devour it. I poured the glaze on a little too early. The cake was still warmish/hot. But the glaze melted all down inside it and it was moist and dense. Just the way I like cake!

CAKE

3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup butter - melted

*Mix all the ingredients together except the butter. After it is all mixed, slowly add the butter and pour into a 9x12 greased baking pan.

TOPPING

1 cup butter - room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

*Mix all together and drop spoonfuls into the cake batter. Swirl around with a knife. Bake on 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes.

GLAZE

2 cups powdered sugar

4 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

*While the cake is still warm, drizzle over the top of the cake.

Simple St. Patrick's Day banner

I love to decorate for the holidays. Each and every holiday. (Well almost every holiday. I don't decorate for Cinco de Mayo, but that's about it.) My kids are always asking why we always have to change the decorations. They mainly complain because I make them help me carry the bins of decorations up and down from the basement. This year when I was setting up my St. Patricks Day stuff I decided that I needed a banner. So I just whipped one up! Well, "whipped up" might be overstated. It took me about an hour and a half is more like it.

I went to the local scrapbook store and bought some paper with wording on it. You could even use old books pages if you wanted, or sheet music. I used a triangle shape to trace and cut the paper out. You could also make the shape square or rectangular. I stuck them together with glue dots and used a circle shape to cut the four leaf clover paper and the green paper out. I glued them together and glued them to the word paper. I stuck cheap "lucky" and clover stickers on them that I bought from Walmart for 97 cents each and put some gold glitter paint on the edges. I used eyelets for the ribbon to weave through but an even simpler idea would be to just fold the paper over the ribbon and staple it on.

I have bought banners in the past and spent around $18 - $20 on them. I made this little baby for a little over $8.00 and I liked it just as well as my other "store bought" ones.

Pizza Pasta Bake

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it looked so good that I just had to make it. I swear that I am going to gain 400 pounds from some of the recipes on there. The only down side of this recipe was the preparation time. Simply because you have to brown the meat and boil the noodles and then layer it all and then bake it. But it is so yummy that you won't mind the prep time.

You will need:

*Rigatoni noodles (or wide egg noodles or whatever kind you like)

*Pizza Sauce (I used two 14ounce jars)

*Pepperoni

*Sausage (I used Italian flavored. You could use plain or even ground beef)

*Mozzarella Cheese (I use about 3 cups, but you could use more or less)

*Olives

*I didn't use green pepper but it would have been really good too!

Brown your sausage and boil your noodles.

Then pour one jar of pizza sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 dish.

Then sprinkle half your meat over that.

Then put half of your cooked noodles over that.

Then sprinkle half your cheese on top. Then top with the pepperoni and olives.

Repeat all the layers one more time.

Bake on 350 for 30 minutes covered. Then take the foil off and bake for another 15 minutes. Take it out of the oven and let it stand for about 10-15 minutes. This will not only let it cool a little but it will help it set up. If you just dig right into it, it will run all over.

Disneyland Vacation

Jeff and I took the kids to Disneyland last week. We had a great time! I love Disneyland! Our friend Vicky, who Jeff met when he was on his mission made the long 7 hour drive down from northern California to come with us. This is the first time we have all been together to Disneyland as a family since Molly was a tiny baby. I usually come with the kids alone or Jeff will come with one of the kids alone. So this trip was long overdue!

I am going to start right off with World of Color. It was an amazing show. California Adventure was lit up so neat at night.

They had a water show similar to the one at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas only it was much longer, and it had all different colors of lights.

They played music from some Disney movies and they actually showed movie clips of the Disney films in the water. They also had flames of fire shooting up.

World of Color: Two big thumbs up!

Molly was at prime age to be at Disneyland! A four year old is simply the best! We went shopping at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique just inside the castle. She picked out a Snow White costume ( I also bought her a Cinderella costume without her knowing. I couldn't help myself! It is in hiding until her birthday. May better get here quick!) She was so cute! Everyone called her Snow White or Princess all day long. I'm not sure who loved it more ~ me or her!

Jeff had never seen the 3D show It's Tough to be a Bug in Bugs Land before. My kids and I always like it.

Jens WOULD NOT get in the tea cup and take his picture with the other kids. He took one look at the Mad Hatter and flat out refused. Hummm, wonder why?

Alice in Wonderland is one of Molly's favorite shows. She was so happy to meet Alice.

We met just about every character there is. And the best part is that we hardly ever had a wait. This is probably the most perfect time to go to Disney. We would walk right on Splash Mountain, Pirates, Indiana Jones, you name it! It was awesome. I can't tell you how many times we would finish a ride like Pirates or Splash Mountain and when we came to the place where you get off, there wouldn't be anyone in line so the workers would just send us again!

Jeff had business in California so the kids, Vicky and I entertained ourselves with plenty of swimming.

I took the kids to Rainforest Cafe one of the days for lunch while Jeff was in meetings. They hadn't been here since they were really little. Only Jens and Sidney even remembered it.

They loved the fish tanks.

And all the atmosphere is really cool.

Vicky and I took the kids down to Huntington Beach one of the days. The waves were big and there were lots of surfers out.

The water was ice cold but they didn't even seem to notice!

Vicky bought my kids bubble blower. There was a light breeze and it was perfect for bubble blowing!

They had fun making sand castles too.

Disneyland, I miss you already! I can't wait to come visit you again!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year for Valentine's Day Jeff sent me these roses.

I gave Jeff these balloons. I saw this idea on Pinterest that I thought was so cute. It was an anniversary idea but I did it for Valentine's instead of waiting for our anniversary. You put one balloon for each year you have been married with a memory attached to it.

I made Sidney's last Valentine's Day box. Next year she starts at the big junior high so her days of trading cards in school are over (tear, tear ~ sniff , sniff). Cade's teacher had the class make their own Valentine boxes at school. I hate it when they do that. I have too much fun making them at home! Plus they are so much cuter when they are homemade.

~Molly had a party at preschool and at her dance class.

~Jens got a plate full of BIG, fat heart sugar cookies from a girl and it made his day.

~Jeff and I went out to dinner at Riverside Country Club with our friends.

Fun was had by all!

What Jens does for FUN

I just don't really understand boys. I grew up with 4 older brothers and my husband has 4 brothers. I have 2 sons of my own. And with all that testosterone floating around, you'd have thought that I would have boys figured out by now. "They" always say that you can never understand girls, but if you ask me, boys are just as hard to figure out.

Girls will go shopping, curl their hair or paint their nails for fun.

Boys will have self inflicted pain for fun. -- Go figure!

Jens and his buddies love nothing more than a good ol' air soft war.

They don't stop playing until they have been shot so many times and have too many welts to make if fun anymore.

I know, I don't get it either.