Friday, July 31, 2009

Homemade Pop Tarts

Last month, we were leaving the Y, when a boy walked in carrying a Pop Tart. Since then, Arin has been asking for Pop Tarts. I think it is mainly because she wanted the sprinkles that she saw on top :) It has been a while since we did any baking together, but today we attempted homemade Pop Tarts.

For the crust (any pie crust will do, but this is the one we tried):

1 ¼ c. flour (we used fresh milled whole wheat)
¼ t. salt
5 T. cold butter
4-5 T. water

Mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Mix in the water and form into a ball. Wrap the ball of dough with saran wrap and put in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Then, roll out on a floured counter. We rolled our's out too thin. Next time I will remember to keep it thicker because there is no leavening in this particular pie crust recipe. Cut the crust into equal-sized rectangles or whatever shape you want. Spread jelly (we used Polaner All Fruit) in the center of the dough rectangles. Top with another dough rectangle. Then, with a fork, press the edges of the two rectangles together to seal. Poke the top of the Pop Tart with holes - we didn't make enough holes because our tarts still bubbled - but hey, it was just our first attempt! Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown (about 15 minutes). While they are still warm, frost them with a glaze made from a mixture of powdered sugar and milk. Then, Arin's favorite part - put sprinkles on top!

These were pretty good, except they were too thin, but they were easy to make and the crust had a good flavor. Plus, they were a little healthier to feed the kids than the store-bought varieties.

Receive a Letter

One of the things on our list to do before kindergarten, is to receive a letter. Yesterday, when I got the mail, I saw a package in the mailbox addressed to Arin. It was a birthday present from our good friends Patty & Marshall. They used to be our neighbors, but have recently relocated to Texas! They visited the Dallas Zoo a couple of weeks ago and picked up this cute monkey bottle holder for Arin. Arin was super excited about it. She said, "My daddy calls me monkey and now I have a monkey!" Along with the present, there was a card and in the card were two sheets of stickers, which Arin was equally excited about! Thank you Patty & Marshall for the wonderful gifts and also for helping us cross another thing off of our list!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Arin's Special Lunch

Arin will be three years old on Sunday.

My parents and little sister were visiting us this week, so we decided to have a little birthday lunch for Arin. I made her favorite foods: corndog muffins, macaroni and cheese & fruit.
Arin loved to help put together the fruit kabobs.

Andy came home from work to surprise Arin for lunch.

We played a cd of kid's music during lunch. Arin had fun dancing to the music.




We gave her a digital camera (made for kids). She takes after her mommy with loving to take pictures :)

After lunch, we let Arin decorate everyone's cupcake with frosting and sprinkles. I think this was her favorite part of the whole party.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

New Friends

Today, we went to visit our new friends.
We had a great time at their house. The girls colored together, played together and jumped on the trampoline together. Then, we had lunch, which was very yummy. After lunch, Jessica took us on a golf cart ride to tour their farm. We saw sheep and goats.
Then, Arin helped gather eggs from the chicken coop.
Finally, we toured the garden and saw lots of fruits and vegetables growing. Jessica let the girls pick strawberries and eat them.
It was a great day and we can't wait to go back and visit again soon!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Big Girl Bike

Arin has gotten too big for her bike.


It was time for a new one. She got her new Dora bike yesterday. She loves it!


Now, she can pass her little bike down to her sister.

Monday, July 6, 2009

A Sunday at the Park

Yesterday, we had a great time together at the park with my sister and three of her boys.





Mom & Dad

Something happened this weekend and Andy and I are no longer mommy and daddy or mama and dada - we are now mom and dad. I am not sure if it is because Arin can read the words mom and dad or if it is because Arin's cousins called my sister mom. My baby is growing up. She will soon be three, so I guess it is no longer cool to say mommy and daddy :(

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Circling and Crossing Out

Arin has been really into circling things and drawing lines through things. We have also been working on a few of her sight words. Tonight, I wrote several of the words she knows on a dry erase board. Then, I'd ask her to find a certain word. If I was asking her to find a name, then I'd have her put a circle around it. If I was asking her to find a different word, I would have her cross it out. She did like this game a lot, although next time I will have to put less words on the board at one time.