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Tootsie Pop, Turtle Pool & Taco Soup

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How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?

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It was a gorgeous 86* today…Emilie’s turtle pool made an appearance:

And then the 3-5 year old Extreme Sliding Games began:

Ahhhhh, to be young again….

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Taco Soup was on the menu this evening.

Almost like chili, but not quite.

Here’s the line-up:

(I like to add a diced onion)

Then doctor it up with just a bit of shredded cheese, a dollop of light sour cream, a few chunks of avocado & last but certainly not least, a sprinkling of cilantro confetti.

I served it with Jalapeño Spiked Cornbread Muffins.

This was my first attempt at these and they turned out perfect. I like to use Marie Callender’s mix ~ all you need is 1.5 cups water and about 20 jalapeños, chopped. Whisk water and mix first and then stir in the spicy goodness. I used cupcake liners for easy clean up. Bake @ 375* for 20 minutes.

{Makes 1 dozen}

A little sweet. A little spicy.

Perfect with the soup.

A little cinnamon honey butter is super yummy, too or you can just crumble your muffin into your bowl!

Note: This soup is a WW recipe if you use ground turkey. I splurged and used about 1.25 pounds 80/20 ground beef tonight. I also added a small (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce and about half a can (4 oz.) of water to thin it out a bit. I don’t like it too thick….it was perfect.

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Dia Del Mama!

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Ahhhh…yesterday was Mother’s Day…the one day where I don’t feel guilty calling ALL the shots and taking a little time to sit back and take a moment to appreciate being a Mother, but also take a brief break and just BE.

My Mom was here to celebrate, of course, and we started celebrating early with our favorite neighbors on Saturday evening since we wouldn’t see them on Sunday. I made crock pot carnitas and a new dessert pizza with Nutella, bananas and strawberries! I do believe it was a hit. Super easy with the help of Trader Joe’s pizza dough…I just rolled it out, pricked with a fork, brushed with about 2T melted butter and baked as directed ~ I think 450* for 20 minutes. Then I dusted it with powdered sugar once it came out and let it cool a bit:

Then I spread Nutella over it, added sliced bananas and strawberries and finished it off with another dusting of powdered sugar. Cut it in slices as you would a “normal” pizza and serve it up!

The recipe was inspired by one of Giada’s which you can find here.

Sunday morning was greeted with some mimosas:

with our favorite, Wilson Creek Almond Champagne.

We drove into Beverly Hills for my long-awaited reunion with “Bobbie” from Capriotti’s. It was just as I remembered…all the tastes of Thanksgiving on a roll! Couple with some kettle cooked sea salt & vinegar and BBQ chips and you can’t go wrong.

My Mom and I shared so we still had plenty of room for cupcakes!

It was a toss up between Crumbs & Sprinkles, but Crumbs won this time:

We decided on Fluffernutter, Boston Cream, Vanilla/Vanilla with sprinkles (always MY fave) and Candy which the kids chose and was covered in mini M&M’s.

The cupcakes are ridiculously HUGE. They have a $30 cupcake that could serve a small village!

This is what $14.20 worth of cupcakes looks like:

The cupcakes were so good they deserved their own chair…no, we brought this old chair of my Gam’s along because I wanted to try to get some of the kids outside at a park using this special chair as a prop. It was as if Gam (my Mom’s mama) was there celebrating Mother’s Day with us!

Here I am sitting on the park bench indulging in some cupcake love:

NO shame in my game!

The ‘cakes were delish…I only have one complaint, though. They predominantly use cream cheese frosting and I am a buttercream girl through and through. I’m anxious to see what Sprinkles has to offer! Will keep you posted.

Gramma K and the kiddos played on a ginormous tree:

A few of the chair pics:

It was a gorgeous day. I just sat on the bench in the breeze watching the kids play and Jay snap pictures. I looked at the amazing homes lining the Beverly Hills park and thought “What if…?” How would it be to live on one of the breathtaking tree-lined streets off Santa Monica Blvd. with a Rolls parked in the driveway. A private chef. A live-in maid. A nanny. You know, all the things that come along with the 90210 zip code.

Yes, it would be a nice life, but it wouldn’t be MY life. I HAVE the life I envisioned I wanted as an adult. A sweet, understanding, supportive husband and two energetic, funny, curious, happy, healthy, and at times frustrating pip squeaks. All the 9o210 stuff doesn’t matter when you have what I have.

So, back to Santa Clarita we went. Jay made lumpia and we had leftover Chinese food for dinner followed by Golden Spoon!

See, I don’t ask for much. Just about 30 minutes to sit back, watch my family run and play in front of me, nibble on some cupcakes and remind myself that being a Mom is the best gift ~ a gift that I am so proud of.

{Cute matching jammies from Auntie Bucky}

Everyday is Mother’s Day to me, and I LOVE IT!

PB&J With The Crust Cut Off

Happy Friday!

It’s Mother’s Day Weekend Eve!

I had a pre-weekend party this morning at Targé and treated myself to a few things…pics to come.

Then enjoyed lunch and a walk down memory lane with my dear friend from back in the day, Deb and her darling little one, Rachel…more on that later, too. It was SO so great!

Wishing all my Mama friends a weekend free of pb&j making, diaper changing, butt wiping, dish washing, laundry folding, floor mopping, toilet cleaning, grout scrubbing, sippy cup filling, dino chicken cutting, play-doh scraping, toy sorting and taxi driving!

This one’s for you:

{Photo: Google Images ~ myrecipes.com}

I have a meatier post up my sleeve, just have to do some research first!

But now this taxi is heading to dance class followed by some sort of adult beverage and NO cooking…(hope Jay reads this before I get home!)

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend Eve!

XOXO

Bundt Love

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My friend, Sharon, passed along this Chocolate Chip Pudding Cake recipe, however, I don’t own a bundt pan.

Enter my other friend, Lisa…I borrowed her bundt pan and promised to bring some cake to the next park playdate…

Well,

…there’s none left!

We had another impromptu neighborhood get together last night and this cake was that talk of the block!

It’s the easiest thing to throw together and you can mix and match cake mixes and pudding flavors any way you like:

Chocolate cake mix with chocolate pudding

Chocolate cake mix with vanilla pudding

White/Yellow cake mix with vanilla pudding

Marble cake with chocolate pudding

OR

Banana cake mix with vanilla pudding

That’s the combo I chose and it did NOT disappoint!

Then add in a 12 ounce bag of mini semi-sweet morsels and it’s off the charts!

Here is the recipe courtesy of Sharon:

12 oz bag MINI morsels
1 Box Yellow cake mix (chocolate if you are a TOTAL chocolate lover)
1 Box small vanilla (chocolate if you are going crazy) pudding
1 3/4 c. milk
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350
Mix all ingredients
Pour into greased and floured BUNDT pan (save some of your cake mix to flour)

Bake 50-55 minutes… DO NOT OVERBAKE…. cool at least 15 minutes….

You can frost it with chocolate frosting if you like….

I splurged and used Holden’s whole milk, but lowfat or skim works just fine, too. Also, if you’re concerned about sugar, you can use sugar free pudding, as well. I didn’t! I also did not frost it ~ honestly, it doesn’t need it, but if you want to live on the edge, GO FOR IT!

So, reach into your cupboard and pull out your Bundt pan (or borrow one from a friend!) and make this. Hurry…the weekend isn’t over yet. You can always start your diet tomorrow, right?

Thanks again, Sharon! This one’s a keeper!

Friday Five

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Good Workout

Last night I drug myself to the workout room and put in almost an hour and 45 minutes on the elliptical ~ 10 miles. Wasn’t planning on it…but the Real Housewives of New York helped me get through!

You know, I really like Alex. I think she’s my favorite. Maybe it’s because she’s the only one with kids around the same age as mine, but she seems just more “no frills” than the rest. And, I really wish Jill & Bethenny would make up already!

{Photo: jimhalterman.com}

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Glee

I finally watched this week’s episode of Glee last night ~ ode to Madonna.

{Photo from www.telegraph.co.uk}

Dear Glee,

I’m “Crazy For You”.

I thank my “Lucky Star” that you came into my life.

I want to tell the world to “Open Your Heart” and watch you if they aren’t doing so already.

I was beginning to think my week was “Borderline”, but after watching you, it’s FANTASMIC!

Thank you for showing me “Where’s The Party” on Tuesday (or Thursday!) nights.

Your trying-not-to-be-so-“Material Girl”,

Amy

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Autism Speaks

Tomorrow morning we’re heading to the Rose Bowl for our 2nd annual walk with Team Intuit. It’s supposed to be gorgeous this weekend and I can think of nothing better than doing a 5K for a great cause with the sun shining, the blue skies surrounding and the beautiful San Gabriels in sight.

If you would like to make a donation, please click here.

Thank you!

Autism Speaks ~ It’s Time To Listen

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Rx: DVDs

On another note, a good friend of a good friend just received the devastating news that their 3-year old son has been diagnosed with Acute Childhood Leukemia. My friend, Alicia, is looking for friends to donate their gently used DVDs (suitable for 3 year olds, of course) to this sweet little boy to help him as he goes through treatment at Denver Children’s Hospital. Once he is through his treatments, they will be gifted to the hospital so that other children can enjoy them during their stay.

I know that we have more movies than we know what to do with, so we’ll be packing some up and sending them off.

If you’re interested, please leave a comment, e-mail or Facebook me and I will let you know where to send them.

Again, many thank yous!

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Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

{Photo: allrecipes.com}

A new, healthy recipe coming your way this evening. This one is for my friend, Lisa and it comes from one of my new favorite blogs! Lisa, let’s see how it compares to Sabor’s soup! It looks muy delish!

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Happy Friday!

P.S. Can’t figure out how to turn the text black on this post!?!


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