Homemade Oreo Cookies!!!

Although I am a lover of all things sweet and chocolaty, there has always been a special place in my heart for the cream filled celestial cookies we call Oreos! Not only do I love the Original cookie (especially if it is double stuffed) but I've found that I quite enjoy homemade versions as well. Most commonly I've seen them made with a cake mix cookie recipe and cream cheese frosting, but the other day I discovered Deb's recipe on The Smitten Kitchen and it is by far the BEST Oreo recipe I have EVER tasted!!!

So naturally, I decided to share the recipe with YOU! However, I'm hoping that this will be one of the last calorie ridden posts I share (as I am now attempting to lose some of my well earned summer vacation fat rolls and need to STOP eating cookies by the tray!) Never-the-less, these were too good to pass by, so here you go:

Homemade Oreo Cookies: by Deb Perelman of The Smitten Kitchen

Makes 25 to 30 sandwich cookies (24 if you accidentally eat some cookies before frosting them!)

For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar [Less if you want it to be more like the original cookie, more if you like things sweet! We used 1 1/4 cups]
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions:

Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.

In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Once you are finished assembling all of your cookies I HIGHLY recommend taking half of the Oreos over to a friends house because once you start eating them, you won't be able to stop! Also, a glass of milk for dunking finishes these off with perfection!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these as much as I did (but perhaps with a little more self control) Happy Baking!

Fitness Tip #2: YOU CAN DO IT!

That's Right... You CAN do it! YOU can do it! That is something that is often VERY hard for me to remember. I look in the mirror each morning and see my cascading belly rolls and think to myself, "You are no runner. Runners don't look like this. What are you thinking? You can't do this." But then I remember that the shape of my body does not define who I am. It is the actions that I take and the choices that I make that define me!

I run. Not very fast, and not very far, but each morning I peel myself out of bed even when I am exhausted from a night full of crying babies and snoring husbands, and I run because I can.

Despite the flaws that are so visible to me, my body is strong, whole, and capable. It was made to work, to play, and to move. And so was yours! You don't have to look perfect to pull a perfect yoga pose, summit the highest peak, or finish a race. All you need to do those things is YOU telling yourself that you CAN! And remember:
You have to convince yourself that you are fit and active. You have to set your alarm a little earlier to buy some time before your kids wake up. You have to put down that tray of cookies and put on your running shoes. You have to change your negative image of yourself and recognize the amazing abilities you possess. And when you have a really bad day... when you manage to sleep in, eat a whole bag of M&M's by yourself, and sit on the computer for hours at a time, remember this:


Don't let your set backs discourage you. Something IS better than nothing. Perhaps you didn't manage to muster up the motivation to work out this morning (and to be honest, neither did I). But that is OKAY! Because you can still do a few crunches during nap time, or take a walk with the kiddos after lunch, or even run to the gym when your husband gets home from work and can watch the kids. And if you can do that, then you have proven that you may not be perfect, but you are consistent, and you CAN do whatever it is that you are setting out to do! So...

Now get out there and JUST DO IT!

(P.S. You can click on the images to find their sources...or at least where I found them.)

Outdoor Adventures: Fairy Houses by Erin Uda

(Click HERE for image source.)

Building fairy houses is a long-held tradition in many parts of Scotland, England, and New England. Legend says that fairies once lived all around us, but as people stopped believing, the fairies have retreated into their secret realm, coming out only when invited. Fairies are said to be nature-loving creatures, full of positive energy and love. Building a fairy house shows the fairies they’re welcome around you, and many say they’ve heard the faint sounds of laughing fairies once their houses are complete. Invite the spirit of nature and imagination into your home; build a fairy house today.

(Brooklyn's "Thinking Pose" on her "Thinking Stump")

It’s easier to gather the right materials if you take a moment to decide what kind of house you want to create. Sit down with your child(ren) and create a blueprint of what you want your house to look like.

Your house should reflect your personality: What do you want to tell the fairies about yourself? What shape should the house be? A box, cone, or cottage?

Talk about what kind of house you think your fairies will want. Do they like flowers, trees, water, or other items? Should you put plants and green things on your house? Should you build it all from wood to look like a tree? Should you build it from grasses, sticks and flowers so it feels light and colorful?

Be an artist, an architect and an interior designer. Think about what the fairies will need to live out in the woods. Talk about how the fairies don’t have any technology, but they live by using what they find around them.

Fairies love natural beauty. Look around to see what you can find in nature to build and decorate your creation. Gather flowers, sticks, leaves, seeds, nuts, bark, feathers, shells, pine cones, rocks, and anything else you can find. You could even brush your dog and use the hair to make a blanket or carpet! Remember to only use natural materials.

While you’re gathering, talk about good places to find each item. Smell the flowers and talk about the colors and designs, discuss what kind of nuts you found and what trees they come from.

You can also talk about what each item brings to your creation. What ‘energy’ does a piece of bark, a stone, or sand hold? Talk about water fairies, forest fairies, flower fairies, and other elements.

Remember to gather lots of flowers to decorate your fairy house and for the projects listed below, and look for easy to bend twigs, like willows or other soft wood to make the furniture.

Making a fairy house can be as simple as putting a small, fairy-like door at the base of a tree or as complicated as creating an entire mini-mansion, complete with furniture. The beauty is, you get to choose!

Once the frame of the house is built, make the inside inviting. Put up natural wallpaper, create furniture out of sticks and other items. Decorate with flowers, feathers, shells, or fur. Try using flower petals or sea glass to create fairy stained glass windows. Use twigs to create furniture for your house (beds, chairs, tables). Use leaves and flowers to make a blanket, or find some soft materials like corn silk or dog hair. If desired, decorate your house with fairy figurines to encourage visits, or leave something shiny to catch their attention.

Watch for fairies as you work. Ask questions: Do you see fairies out of the corner of your eye when the wind blows? What do the fairies think of your creation? What will they do in your new house?

You can work together with your child(ren) to create one large house, or you can each make your own. Don’t be afraid to make more than one, and if you have time, create a fairy garden around your fairy house or village.

When finished, place your creations in a natural area – maybe in your garden or a shady area under some trees or near flowers.

Experiment with different materials and watch the magic of your imagination come out along with the fairies. Be sure to come back often to see if anyone has visited your fairy house.

After the house is nestled away, help your child(ren) write a story, poem or song about how they felt while they were making it, or what they hope will happen in their fairy house.

If they’ve invited friends over to help them build, host a fairy tea party! Ask the girls to come over in fairy outfits (ballet items come in handy), make your own fairy wings and paint your faces with some glitter make-up. Then sit at a table and eat finger sandwiches, drink pink kool-aid and tell stories about fairies.

If you’re looking for an item to send home with the girls, press some of the flowers you collected and turn them into bookmarks or other fun crafts. Or, you can try your hand at THESE fun handmade fairies!

Recommended Book List:

• The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies, Cicely Mary Barker
• How to Find Flower Fairies, Cicely Mary Barker
• Flower Fairies Paper Dolls, Cicely Mary Barker
• Fairyopolis: A Flower Fairies Journal, Cicely Mary Barker
• Magical Secret Garden, Amanda Li
• Lavender’s Midsumer Mix-Up, Kay Woodward
• Fairy Houses… Everywhere!, Tracy Kane and Barry Kane
• Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast, Maureen Heffernan
• Celia and the Fairies, Karen McQuestion
• In the Realm of the Never Fairies: Secret World of Pixie Hollow, Monique Peterson
• The Fairy Bible: The Definitive Guide to the World of Fairies, Teresa Moorey

Good Friday: American Legion Veterans Luau

Today for our "Good Friday" good deed, our entire family went to perform for the American Legion Veterans of War! (We were so busy dancing that I wasn't able to get any pictures until we got home and I shot this one of the girls, but to me that is a good sign that we were having fun.)

The show was done by the Polynesian dance group that I perform with called Halau Hula O Puanani. Kevin and I and a few of the other girls in the halau performed a 45 minute show for the Veterans while they ate dinner and waited for a special appearance from ELVIS! ... and from what we could tell, they all had a BLAST!

Brooklyn and Lily helped me all day to get costumes together and pack things up for the luau, and then they helped to carry things into the building and set up our dressing room... and aside from that, they both behaved like perfect angels while Mommy and Daddy were running in and out of the dressing room between numbers.

The luau was a great experience for Kevin and I, as well as the girls, and I was so glad that they could do something good and fun, and learn about their culture at the same time. Anyway, hope you all had a good Friday too!

Fitness Tip #1: STOP Making Excuses!

Today's Fitness Tip is simply this: STOP MAKING EXCUSES! I used to be the queen of excuses until I realized this...

(Click HERE for source.)

All those people I see running in the early morning, or who have those amazing bodies that I secretly wish I had... they all started somewhere. They stopped making excuses, and they found the time to make their health a priority.

(Click HERE for image source.)

Even if its not an issue with time, we often find other excuses to hold us back. For a long time mine was that I was too fat to run! I was embarrassed to be seen with my jelly rolls and swishing boobies bouncing down the street. I kept telling myself I would eat better and lose a few pounds and THEN I would get outside and run. And since I've NEVER eaten well, I NEVER got out the door.

(Click HERE for image source.)

Then I realized I had a choice. I could sit around and feel sorry about the way I looked, or I could be embarrassed for a short time about my fleshy food storage, whilst simultaneously working it off and gaining a body that I would no longer feel sorry about!

(Click HERE for image source.)

Admittedly, It is still a trial to get out of bed and out the door EVERY morning. But when my alarm goes off at 6 am (and sometimes 5 am if that's the only free time I have) and the excuses start to flood my mind, I simply repeat to myself, "You will regret it if you don't get up! Get up! Get up! GET UP!" And then, I get out of bed and do something good for myself and my body!

(Click HERE for image source.)

So remember, a year from now you will wish you had started today. Don't wait until then to get yourself in gear. Stop allowing your excuses to rule your life and just get up and DO IT!

Monster Madness!

When I was out in Utah with my family, my little sister Sarah and I decided to give these little crochet monsters that I found on THIS website a try. Ours didn't turn out as well, but they still turned out really cute and weren't that hard to make. We couldn't find any safety eyes where we went shopping, so we just used felt and a hot glue gun. The eyes won't last as long with little kids around, but they will work for now!

So what would a person do with such silly little monsters? We started out by doing some monster attacks with our kids and all their cousins. Basically all we did was had a snow ball fight with stuffed monsters. The kids thought it was pretty fun but I eventually had to call it quits when they all started to gang up on me... Who knew little kids could retaliate so well?! :)

My mom's dog also loved the little guys. He thought they were his new fetch toys! Not a bad idea, but I would make sure all your parts were sewed on super good to avoid choking (for kids or dogs!)

I also thought you could use the monsters for a fun little bean bag toss game, or you could reuse an old milk carton like I saw HERE to play a fun game of catch.

Whatever you decide to do with them, they are super easy to make and the kids really seem to like them. So good luck and happy crafting!

Outdoor Adventures: Animal Tracking by Erin Uda

Let’s face it: footprints are cool, and animal footprints are even cooler. So today we’re going to spend some time outdoors learning about the different ways animals make and leave tracks.

An easy way to explain tracking to your child is to walk barefoot through dirt or sand and look at the impressions you leave behind; talk about how everything leaves a footprint, and sometimes we can follow those tracks to find animals.

Each animal has a distinct print when it walks. Here are some of our favorites:

(This image and the accompanying flashcards can be found at THIS link)

And just for fun, here are the animals they match up to:

Use the chart above to become familiar with the tracks each animal leaves behind. If you like, you could make it into a game like Memory or Bingo until your child is familiar with each one.

Activity Ideas:

Host a relay race based on animal tracks: at each section, have a sign with the footprint and picture of the animal. Once this is set up, the children walk like the pictured animal until they reach the next check-point.

For younger children, you can still walk like the animals without the race component. Just use the animal pictures above, turn them into cards by printing and cutting them out, then act out each animal as you turn over the card. Do actions like making sounds and walking like the animal you chose.

Follow a set of tracks to find a treasure at the end. Again, use the pictures and tracks above. As you follow each trail, ask questions: What kind of tracks are these? What did we find?

For older kids, do something more advanced – create a trail using specific items or clues, like breadcrumbs from Hansel and Gretel, for a more challenging treasure hunt.

Use animal tracks to play a variation on hide-and-seek: Leave a trail of some sort (tracks, items, clues) and see how quickly the others can find you. Be creative about the kind of trail you leave. Think about using rocks, sounds, or maybe you could even make a big stamp of an animal track and squish it in the ground as you go. Potatoes make a great base for a homemade stamp. Put one at the end of a long stick for an easy track-maker. Check out this link for instructions: http://www.camping.com/articles-and-info/kids/2077

If you’re able to take a field trip, visit a local pond or beach and see how many different types of tracks you can find and identify; there are usually a lot of ducks and birds near water, but there can be other animals too. Use your tracking guide (see above, or find a book at your library) to identify all the tracks you see in the wet sand or mud. Remember to bring along a picnic and enjoy being outside!

If you don’t have a pond, beach, or stream nearby, try going for a hike. Take your camera and have the children document all the different tracks and animals you see.

If you live in a place where nature is scarce, think about visiting your local zoo. There may be some good opportunities to find tracks in each cage or preserve area. They may even have an activity area focused on animal tracks.

If you aren’t able to leave the house, ask your children: How easy are you to track? Do you leave a trail of something behind you? Maybe toys, or dirty clothes? Maybe trash? Walk around your house and look at all the clues you leave behind to let others know you were there. Make a plan to be sneaky, so people can’t track you. (This can be a great way to make cleaning fun for younger children.)

When you’re ready to sit down and be creative, break out the Plaster of Paris, paint, or the ink pads and make handprints and footprints. Once they’re dry, hang them up somewhere. While you’re working, talk about how everyone leaves tracks. If you have children interested in dinosaurs, talk about fossils and how we can even track the dinosaurs through fossilized footprints.

If your child is interested and wants to do more tracking activities, consider researching animal dens / homes. Learn what they look like, where they are, and how you can find them.

Suggested Reading:

• Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne (ISBN: 0525430350; Call #: J Milne) *I love the part where Pooh and Piglet get lost following their own tracks.
• Hansel and Gretel - The Brothers Grimm (ISBN: 0803734913; Call #: J 398.231 H198)
• We Walk in Sandy Places - Byrd Baylor (ISBN: 068414526X; Call #: P Baylor)
• Who’s Been Here? A Tale in Tracks - Fran Hodgkins (ISBN: 9780892727148; Call #: P Hodgkins)
• How to be a Nature Detective - Millicent E. Selsam (ISBN: 9780064451345; Call #: 591.5 Se49)
• Animal Tracks and Traces - Kathleen V. Kudlinski (ISBN: 0531151859; Call #: J 591.51.K953)