whatever

saturday morning tradition (with the recipe)

i know i have talked about this before but...

for 13 years pancakes from scratch have been craig's specialty.

his helpers have changed over the years.

annie can't wait to get started and she calls them pam-Takes.

they fight every week over who gets to turn the blender on and off.

one turns it on and one gets to turn it off.

they alternate pouring the ingredients.

(crystal...notice my jars...i'm loving the flour and sugar in here!)

occasionally they do a pancake dance....

almost done...the blender is full now.

the best part.

pouring it out...trying their best to make shapes that are legible.

then adding the chocolate chips or blueberries on top before you flip them.

this red spatula was the only christmas gift i gave craig this year.

it was the perfect gift for him.

you can get one here.

i am usually asleep for all this fun daddy/kid stuff.

then a child comes up to my bed and says 

"mommy your pancakes are done."

the sweetest words....

there is more to life than bisquick.

no pressure bisquick mommies....

but they are really really good.

craig you are the king of pancakes.

i should make you a crown.  

recipe is in the sidebar.

happy breakfast.

or dinner?

chalk paint

we made our own.

i wanted to do it all together but annie was the only one i could pry away 

from webkinz.com....which is so annoying to me.

but annie and i had great fun.

the other kids did come out to use the paint

i was reminded of the little red hen...

(i can hear my dad's voice reading it to me right now)

and afterwards our driveway looked like we'd been vandalized.

it rained two days later and it was gone.

that's the best kind of mess.

*paint is equal parts cornstarch and water...then add food coloring.

it's very hard to stir in the beginning but keep trying till it is like watery paint.

it dries very bright.

a quick trip

while lauren was sweating it out at basketball practice

we cooled off at the sprinkler park down the street.

this is why i've started to keep a box of cheap bandaids in my purse.

it puts a very quick end to the tears over "bleeding".

it's worth the 97 cents per box.

and then our neighbors showed up!

we were even in different town.

annie was screaming with excitement.

(it was great to see you amy)

we were here an hour and it was just right.

not too long and not too short.

and we probably won't get there again all summer.

but it's checked off the list....