Our favorite banana pudding recipe....

 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups cold milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) container cool whip, thawed
4 bananas, sliced
1/2 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers 

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in 1/2 of the whipped topping.
2. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch dish with vanilla wafers. Arrange sliced bananas evenly over wafers. Spread with pudding mixture. Top with remaining whipped topping and a few crushed wafer crumbs (just for looks). Chill.

A great giveaway...

Here is a fantastic giveaway to CSN stores-just go here and follow the methods listed to enter! :)
http://shoestringmuse.blogspot.com/2011/03/let-giveaway-commence.html

Good LUCK!!

My failed attempt at making something healthy

 I wanted to make these:
www.bahrlygettingby.blogspot.com/2011/03/granola-bars.html
Don't they look yummy?

Well, I didn't have MOST of the ingredients to make them, so I just took what I did have and put it all together to sort of resemble these. They turned out pretty darn good-but not very granola bar-ish...I do have a knack for taking something healthy and turning it into something the extreme opposite.

Here is what I used:
2 1/2 cups old fashion oats
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup coconut
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cups butterfinger bars left over from Halloween that were in the freezer (stuck them in the blender with the chocolate chips to chop them up)

 Mix it all up(add more honey if it's too dry) and smash it into a 9/13 inch pan lined with waxed paper...bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Then, I sprinkled the top with chocolate chips and put a cookie sheet over it to melt them.

Once they are shiny, spread the melted chooclate out to cover the top and stick 'em in the fridge until the chocolate hardens...

Easter Crafts....Comin' right up.....

Easter is late this year...so that gives us lots of time to work on our Easter crafts....Get ready...Next week we will start working on some fabulous, really cool & all around awesome things....NEAT-O TORPEDO.....or something.


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Scrap piece of wood, leftover paint, some wire....and a marker

 Paint a scrap piece of wood with leftover paint you have Don't worry about the back-it won't show, anyway..... Let the paint dry. Drill a small hole in each side of the wood and string your wire through. Smash the wire into a ball against the wood so that it will stay in place and write away with a permanent marker (after the paint dries)....These are really cute, too, if you take a piece of sand paper and sand around the edges to remove some of the paint....

What happens when you plant jelly beans....

Here is something fun to do with the kids, husband, ex-husband neighbors, etc....

Give them a handful of jelly beans-make sure they have at least one of each of these colors (red, yellow, orange, green and blue if you have them)...Take them outside and let them plant them in the ground (make sure it's fairly close to your house). Now, let them water the "seeds".

That night, when they are not going to catch you, go outside and stick a bright colored lollipop where the jelly beans were planted

So, what happens when you plant jelly beans?

A lollipop grows, of course!

Easy Easy Easy Tuna patties...

I (sort of) made this recipe up...I found several recipes online and combined them based on what I had in my kitchen...my husband said they are good and my picky 3 year old ate them (WITH ketchup) so I thought they must be okay...

First, gather your ingredients....

You will need
2 (5 oz) cans of light tuna in water, drained
1 (6 oz) pkg stove top for chicken
1 cup finely shredded cheese (all I had was the Mexican blend, so that is what I used)
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup miracle whip or mayo
1-2 T. finely chopped onion (to your liking)
1 baby dill pickle, diced into small pieces

Mix everything up (works best if you use your hands) and stick the mixture in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium. Use an ice scream scoop and scoop balls of mixture into hot skillet. Flatten with the back of a spatula. (This is a little easier if you spray the spatual with a little bit of cooking spray)....Sprinkle a small (VERY SMALL) amount of cheese onto each one. Cook approx 3 minutes and flip. Sprinkle a small (VERY SMALL) amount of shredded cheese on top of the cooked patties. Cook 3 minutes or until brown. Turn over to melt the cheese on the other side....That's it! :)

My never-ending search for baby boy clothes....

I think I became spoiled when my daughter was a baby. I could walk into any store and find something extremely cute for her to wear. She had more clothes than any one child should...then along came my son. And boy, things just are not the same (LOL)...What is it with baby boy clothing? The manufacturer can take something so cute and turn it into something awful by adding a patch across the front that says "I am a professional gymnast". No, you are not. You are baby.

I have compiled a list of actual things I have seen on baby boy clothing (this is my top 10 in no particular order)

Keep in mind, I am talking BABY here-under 6 months old....

1. Mommy's little monkey ninja...
2. Professional gymnast
3. Race Car driver
4. I will save you in my fire truck
5. I only cry when Republicans/Democrats hold me (Okay, I admit-I laughed at this one-but it's still tacky)
6. I love running
7. Rockstar in a band
8. I fly banana airlines
9. I'm too sexy for my diaper
10. I play in the dirt

Don't throw that away....

These are a few things that most people probably toss in the trash. Empty baby food jars, toilet paper rolls & baby formula cans....However, they are great for childrens' projects. I save these in a small Rubbermaid container in the laundry room and when I have enough, we make something fabulous with them! Start saving these items now, I will update soon with a list of great projects that these can be used for.....

Rainbow cupcakes-And a good lesson in mixing colors

We made rainbow cupcakes-they turned our pretty good for the first attempt at them. Not only are these really, really cute-they are also a great lesson in what colors to mix together to make other colors.

We used this recipe:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/taste-a-rainbow-cupcakes-842128/

These would be great for Easter-just use less coloring than called for to make a pastel rainbow!

Leprechaun Poop

My daughter and I made leprechaun poop! She is at the age when anything and everything related to poop is hilarious, so we made enough to share with our family and friends.

To do this easy, fun project grab a huge bag of M&M's and pick out the green and brown ones. This is a great time to practice sorting and counting with the kids. Then, type up this little poem:
   
Leprechaun Poop
I spied a little leprechaun
Outside upon the lawn.
I hurried out to catch him
for I knew he'd soon be gone.
I tiptoed very quietly
Sprang toward him with a swoop.
He shook his fist and disappeared,
All but this pile of poop!

Put several M&M's in a little clear bag, attach the poem and tie with a ribbon.
Kids and grown ups both with love them! :)

Super Super Easy Peanut Butter Cookies

Super easy and really yummy...
1 cup sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and mix well....Roll into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheet. Using a fork, press down into the dough to form a criss cross design into the top of each cookie.. Bake for approx 10 minutes at 325 degrees.

Simple as that and no flour...