Button Board Activity

I tried another preschool activity with Morgan from education.com. I made her a button board, but it didn't work quite how it was suppose to...
I was suppose to be able to ask Morgan to make shapes by wrapping the string around the buttons or have her wrap the string around a certain number of buttons, but the best she could do was make a line with the string. I think she is probably still a little young for the activity, since it was even hard for me to keep the string from slipping off the buttons! LOL!
I did figure out how I could make it work for her, though. I ended up making a shape with the string and she would tell me what shape it was and then count the buttons inside it. It turned out to be a lot of fun even though it didn't go as planned. :-)

If you would like to try some new activities or worksheets with your kiddos, just head on over to education.com for some fun ideas!

Wordless Wednesday: New Use for a Dump Truck

For more Wordless Wednesday, check out 5 Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go! and Healthy Moms.

Frankenmuth

Rich and I had a wonderful time in Frankenmuth this past weekend. Friday was beautiful! We were able to walk around town without our coats on and enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather. We went to the River Place first and got some popcorn at the Popcorn Wagon. Rich picked up some Spicy BBQ popcorn and I went for the milder Sour Cream and Chive popcorn. Both of them were delicious! We also went to a fudge shop and got this huge cashew turtle type thing. I think it was around 6 inches in diameter, an inch tall and it weighed a half a pound! We also picked up some German Almonds while there. Both were very yummy! :-)

After the River Place, we went wine tasting at St. Julian Winery. We each tried 6 wines and then bought a Passionate Peach Spumante and a wine called "Sholom". Both are very delicious and sweet wines. I could have bought every wine we tasted, though! They have some really good ones there :-)

We then checked into the hotel and did a little meandering down the main street. We stopped in all sorts of little shops and then, since the Frankenmuth Brewery was closed (so no soft pretzels and horseradish mustard butter), we went to the Black Forest Brewery for dinner. (In a German inspired town-you have to have wine and beer-it's a must! LOL!) I am really happy with our restaurant choice for that night. We had a really fun waitress and wonderful food! (I had a chicken club sandwich on a pretzel bun that was very good!)

Saturday morning Rich woke up way too early! He woke up at 5:00 am and since there was no way I was getting up that early when I didn't have to, I went back to sleep. Rich went and worked out for an hour, came back and showered. I still wasn't up, so then he went for a 45 minute walk through Frankenmuth. I still wasn't up, so then he went to breakfast. I finally woke up around 8:00 am and we just hung out and watched movies until we had to check out. We had seen most of what we wanted to in Frankenmuth and just wanted to take it easy.

When we checked out of the hotel around 11:00 am, we went to the Cheese Haus and got some Dill cheese curds and a little container of horseradish cheese spread-delicious! Then, since Rich had finished his popcorn, we went back to the Popcorn Wagon to get some more Spicy BBQ, so he could have some to bring home. We also checked out a few more shops before meeting up with my sister and her boyfriend for lunch at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant. We each got the all-you-can-eat family style chicken dinners. Rich didn't realize that it was 'all-you-can-eat' at first, but when he did, we ended up ordering more food like crazy! We got thirds of both the noodles and the potatoes, plus seconds of the chicken. Rich was determined to eat until it hurt, since it cost us $19.99 per person! LOL!

After lunch, we tried walking off all the food we ate until it started raining us, so we headed for home. Rich and I really had a great time on our little getaway! We were able to do almost everything that we planned while there. We came back feeling closer as a couple and very relaxed (plus a little bloated-lol!) We can't wait to do it again, even if it is another 3-1/2 years. :-)

Make Something Monday: Cinnamon Biscuits

This recipe is something that I made several times while I was pregnant with Morgan, but haven't thought to make since. I was getting a little tired of chocolate baked goods the other day and wanted to make something with cinnamon when I remembered these:

Cinnamon Biscuits:

• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup milk, optional

1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and mix well. Stir in vegetable oil. Add buttermilk and stir until blended.
2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Roll dough into a 15x8-inch rectangle.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9-inch round baking pan lightly.
4. Spread butter over the dough. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over butter. Roll up rectangle, jelly roll fashion, starting from one side. Pinch along seam to seal.
5. Cut the roll into 1-1/2-inch slices. Arrange the slices, cute side up, in prepared baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour milk over the top if desired. Serve hot.
   

I like to make a powder sugar and water glaze to over top. (I've never tried them with the optional milk.) Without the glaze, the biscuits are 270 calories each, so not the best for you, but I think they are delicious! :-)

For more Make Something Monday, check out Go Graham Go!

A Little Getaway

So today Rich and I are headed out for a little getaway. We just need to finish packing then drop the kids off at their grandparents and we'll be on our way to the little German inspired town of Frankenmuth, MI. I'm excited to do some wine tasting at St. Julian's, get some yummy cheese spread at the Cheese Haus and pick up a couple sample size bags of flavored popcorn at the Popcorn Wagon.

The whole trip isn't just about the snack food, though. I'm also excited to eat at the Frankenmuth Brewery (if it's open) and the Bavarian Inn, too! The Frankenmuth Brewery has a tasty appetizer of soft pretzels and horseradish mustard butter that I have been craving since we planned this getaway! (It may sound gross, but it's really good!) And the Bavarian Inn has some wonderful chicken dinners that, apparently are not really German at all. (Thank you to the German guys sitting next to me on the plane ride home from Germany for that bit of info.) Though not truly 'Bavarian', the dinners are still quite good and are a big draw to Frankenmuth.

Really, the trip isn't about food at all, though it is an added bonus! Rich and I really just need a little getaway for the two of us. We haven't gotten away together since before the kids came, so this is a much needed break! I'm looking forward to just going and having a good time without worrying about the house, the kids, work (in Rich's case), etc. (I'll probably still worry about how much we spend, but that's just me, so I can't help that one! LOL! ) So, we'll be back tomorrow afternoon/evening hopefully rejuvenated and most likely with a couple of very full tummies! :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!