Tots and Me... Growing Up Together

Saturday, January 3, 2015

First Day January 2015

I can't believe it is 2015 already. I didn't do a very good job staying faithful to First Day after the middle of last year, though I hope to keep up with it this year. Without further ado, here are my pictures from January 1st, 2015

Friday, January 2, 2015

Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen #106: Peanut Butter M&M Oaties

Time for Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen

(A weekly linky to share what you and your children have created in the kitchen.)

The linky is at the bottom.

I needed a quick but yummy recipe for cookies to take to our church's Christmas program a couple of weeks ago. Originally we were going to make Gingerbread Boy Cookies, but I didn't have all the ingredients. I found a yummy recipe over at Home to 4 Kiddos. She had linked up this recipe post back in December of 2013 and I am so glad I took the time to check out her recipes. She has so many amazing recipes she shares (she has her own recipe linky on Tuesdays). Of course, we did change it up just a bit. We loved them so much we ended up making them again for Christmas.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Mini M&M's

First we combined the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and oats in our large bowl.

Then we melted the butter in a saucepan over low heat.

When it was completely melted, we added the peanut butter and stirred until it was smooth.

In a separate bowl, we combined the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. The older girls continued to stir the butter/peanut butter mixture.

I poured the melted peanut butter mixture into the sugar mixture. We blended it thoroughly.

Then we combined that mixture with the flour mixture. We were supposed to mix the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture, but I only have one large bowl, so we did it in reverse, adding the peanut butter mixture to the flour mixture, gradually.

We added 1/4 cup mini M&M's to half the mixture. Yes, we kept some without.

Then I dropped by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet.

They baked for 12-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

They are still soft when they come out of the oven, though they are nicely golden. I left them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then removed them to cool completely. They remained chewy in the middle, though the sides were crisp.

Directions:

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and oats in a large bowl.

3- Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.

4- Add peanut butter to melted butter. Stir until smooth.

5- In a separate bowl, combine white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

6- Pour peanut butter mixture into sugar mixture and blend well.

7- Combine peanut butter/sugar mixture with flour mixture, a little at a time.

8- Add in 1/2 cup Mini M&M's (1/4 cup for half batch), stir.

9- Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

10- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden.

11- Let cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to cool completely.

Do you have your children help you in the kitchen? What lessons do they learn? Do you have any kid friendly recipes to share?

I'd love to see your posts, whether you have done something this week or some time in the past. Just link up below. This is a weekly linky.

I am linking up to:

Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Try a New Recipe Tuesday at Home to Four Kiddos
The Gathering Spot at Mamal Diane
Friday Food Frenzy at Close to Home
Fantastic Thursday at Five Little Chefs
Foodie Friends Friday at Robyn'sView
Family Fun Friday at Happy and Blessed Home
Find a New Recipe Friday at Almost Supermom

And here is my Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen linky

Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Word For 2015

This is the second year I have decided to choose a "Word of the Year." Let's just say, last year didn't go very well. I was hoping to focus on Organization. As usual, I started out strong, but I lost my oomph very early in the year. My house and our homeschool are still not near as organized as I would like them to be. I began to realize lack of organization isn't my biggest problem and I am not going to be able to work on organization without also working on something else. That something else is my word for 2015:

Diligence

Yes, it is my goal this year to be more diligent in all I do.

2 Peter 1:10 says, "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble."

In the NIV version, the word "diligent" is changed to "make every effort."

In my life as a Christian, as a mother, as a wife, and as a homeschool mom, I need to make every effort to do my jobs faithfully. I have been called lazy before, and I am beginning to finally see that there is truth in this. I have trouble finishing things that I start and concentrating on what needs done. I need to work hard, or instead of success there is going to continue to be failure. And, frankly, I am tired of failure.

The Bible talks quite a bit about being diligent and not being lazy. Diligence is a trait that I want the children to see in me, so they can also develop it in themselves.

There is so much that I want to work on this year, but if I am not diligent, I will lose track again. So, to keep on track, I have decided to post about my journey monthly and I am going to open up a linky so you can also share how your year is going, if you so choose. I have definitely discovered that I do much better with accountability and I'm sure I am not alone.

So, would you like to join me in this journey? You can start by linking up your Word for 2015 post below. Then don't forget to stop by and share how your year is going at the beginning of each month.

Let's get this new year started on the right foot!

Throwback Thursday Blog-Style #28: January 1, 2015

Welcome back to...

Happy New Year!

I know, I know, Throwback Thursday seems to be all about sharing pictures from the past, great memories that mean something to you, that you would like to share with others. At least that is how it appears to me. Throwback Thursday wasn't something I was participating in, and then I came up with an idea.

I thought it would be great fun and a help to my blog to share old content, but not just any old content. Each week I will share an old blog post from a previous year, any year, BUT it has to be from the current week (for example, something I've posted around January 1st, from any previous year) I will go in, edit the post if needed, add a pinnable image if I don't already have one, and share it on Facebook.

Would you like to join in? You do not need to edit your past post in any way, you don't need to create a pinnable image, though it couldn't hurt, in fact it will help your blog traffic to add quality pinnable images to your posts.

Just go into your archives, choose a favorite post from this current week from any previous year, and link it up below.

I will be pinning posts to my appropriate Pinterest boards and will be randomly selecting a Featured Throwback Thursday post to share next week. Just a note, I will be sharing a picture from your post if you are selected as the featured post, but I will link back to your post. I will ALWAYS give credit and link back. By linking up you are giving me permission to use your picture in the post.

Here is my Throwback Thursday post:

Originally posted January 3, 2014
Kids and a Mom in the Kitchen #67: White Cake with Icing

Here is this week's randomly selected

Featured Throwback Thursday:

A Kinders Garten Vintage Homeschool shared:

Our L-rd's Christmas Candle

To participate, link up below. It would be great if you could visit several of the other posts that have linked up. Stop by, comment, and pin images so we can help each other.

If you would like to help spread the news: