Muffin Tin Monday

It's time again for another themed, "Muffin Tin Monday!" This week's theme was PARTY! My first thought was a tin with ice cream, sprinkles & M&M's.... but I really didn't want to give my kids that much sugar! So, I finally came up with a muffin tin meal that David didn't mind eating!

David got a 3-cheese & pepperoni build-your-own-pizza PIZZA PARTY TIN! And he actually tried it! Clockwise from top left: American sliced cheese, homemade pizza sauce (with yellow squash, carrots, onion, tomatoes & garlic snuck in & blended so it couldn't be picked out!), Parmesan cheese, Colby-jack cheese, turkey pepperoni, and corn tortilla crusts.

Elizabeth's tin didn't have a party theme, but she made it into a party anyway!

Visit Sycamore Stirrings throughout the week to see all the other muffin tin parties this week. I'm sure we're in for some very creative entries!

Muffin Tin Monday / Tiny Talk Tuesday Combo

This week's Muffin Tin challenge: RAINBOW! It was a fun one to come up with. We actually did it a few days before Monday, because much of the ingredients were fresh & I didn't think they'd keep until Monday. Here's our tin:

Clockwise from top left: strawberries, baby carrots, fresh corn from the cob, fresh-picked fried okra, blueberry fruit bar, and purple grapes. Elizabeth started with grapes, then fruit bar, then strawberries & carrots. She tasted the okra, which was something new to her and passed on the corn, which she'd been eating for several days.

David has stopped accepting kisses. 4 is too young for that! For a while now, he's been wiping them off, but now he doesn't want them at all. At bedtime we say prayers, then I usually say, "Nite nite, I love you," and give him a kiss. Now as soon as I say amen, he rolls over and says, "Don't kiss me!" BUT then he gives me a kiss on each cheek. I guess I'll take the trade off!

I think I was watching Home Makeover one night when one of the people was named Jesse. David has a cousin named Jesse, but Will (Jesse's older brother) made a big impression on him at VBS a few weeks ago. When David heard the name Jesse he said, "Hey, Will has a Jesse!"

Elizabeth says new stuff all the time, but yesterday she said the best one yet. We're having to teach her her not to hit. I just got onto her (aka - said no with a mean look on my face) and she was crying. Then we snuggled & I told her "I love you, but you can't hit." Through her tears she said, "I love you." Aw....

See more Muffin Tin Monday at Sycamore Stirrings
and Tiny Talk Tuesday at Not Before 7

TTT + MTM + 4th

The 4th of July was a fun day indeed! David & Elizabeth enjoyed their time with Grana & Papa and we made it back to Uncle Bubba's house that evening for fireworks. David once again loved the sparklers. I wish I could remember what he was calling them. He & the other 4 year old that was there were running around in circles singing, "I'm a fire magician!"

Last night before bed, we read Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. David gets tickled every time by the name Mrs. McGillicuddy. I suppose that's where he picked up the Mrs... and all day long he was calling me "Mrs. Mama"!

Read more Tiny Talk Tuesday at Not Before 7!

Here we are again at the end of a long, but fun 4th of July. Like our shirts? : ) My nephew, Jesse, asked if I made him wear the shirt! Of course, he said no! It was a great 10th Anniversary... Thanks to Aunt Wee & Uncle Bubba for the picture!



Now for a little Muffin Tin Madness...

Elizabeth's most recent muffin tin meal consisted of apples, baby carrots, ABC pasta, a few bites of fruit bar, peanut butter crackers and sliced string cheese.

David's not so much into the muffin tin meal, so we did Muffin Tin Math! He had a hard time getting the right number of Cheerios into the higher number holes... because he kept eating them! So I guess it was a muffin tin meal after all! : )


Don't forget the giveaway for CPR Teddy Jr. ends on Friday! Don't miss your chance to enter the giveaway! This bear could save your child's life!

Chocolate, Avocados & More!

I just happened to have my camera with me last time we were at Double Dave's and got some really cute pictures of David enjoying the chocolate chip pizza dessert. He was really getting into it! Notice he's going for the highest concentration of chocolate chips first? Dad was proud!

How about some Tiny Talk today? Last night, David was trying his hardest to stay awake & often that turns out some crazy, nonsense, rambling sentences. Here's an example:

Out there is Good Will. (pointing to the hall) I need to go to Good Will. (then suddenly breaking into song) God is Love!!! (then he suddenly stopped jumping & declared...) I have a mustache!

David is only allowed to take soft toys or books into bed - i.e. no cars in bed! One night he had a stack of 4 Cars books - Lightning, Mater, Sally & Doc. When he stacked them up, it resembled pretty thick book. He observed, "I made a Cars Bible!"

Discussing Uncle Bubba's birthday, which we celebrated last Sunday...
David: We're going to have an avocado at Uncle Bubba's birthday.
Mom: An avocado? I don't think so. Grandma has a lunch planned & I don't think she's planning on avocados.
David: Yeah, we're going to have an avocado! And I'm gonna hit it with my bat and make all the stuff fall out of it!

There ya go. Oh, and yes, Uncle Bubba did use the shovel when it was his turn at bat!

David has been attending VBS this week and his cousin, Will (brown shirt in the background above), is the helper in his class. It seems that David is really enjoying spending time with Will because he didn't want to go home with me today - he wanted to go with Will!

Elizabeth observed Muffin Tin Monday again for supper yesterday. She ate pretty good. Clockwise from the top left: strawberries, cubes of colby jack cheese, carrot sticks, unsalted & dry roasted peanuts, whole wheat crackers, and leftover macaroni & cheese. She ate all but the mac & cheese. She is so opposite from David!

.

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway for CPR Teddy Jr.!

Tiny Talk Tuesday & -NEW- Muffin Tin Monday!

I found my note from last week and am once again joining Tiny Talk Tuesday!!! Yeah!!!
.

As we were driving to church one morning, there were some dark clouds gathering in the sky. David said, "That cloud is full of darkness!" and then, "A dark cloud is hanging over my head!" Hmmm... that's an awfully deep sounding statement from a just-turned-4-year-old!

See David's description of his ephemeral art project on yesterday's post.
.

This morning in the car, I was talking to my best friend on the phone & I let the "s" word slip out... s-t-u-p-i-d. David said with a little gasp, "Mama, did you say that word? You shouldn't say that word; we're not supposed to say that word!" Thank you, my little conscience. I did apologize to him for saying it & admitted that I should not have said it. Luckily by the time we got to our destination, he forgot all about giving me a spanking!
.


Elizabeth is trying new words all the time. She's now saying, "Thank you" regularly when you give her something & it is soooo adorable!

.
We make the rounds each night at bedtime & she now says, "Nite nite, Da-did!"

.
We tried something new this week - Muffin Tin Monday. Below is the muffin tin I prepared for Elizabeth for supper. She was quite pleased with it! And I absolutely love that worn out old muffin tin!
.

Clockwise from the top left corner: leftover cinnamon roll pieces, Cheerios & Fruity Cheerios, strawberries, dried apricots, leftover whole wheat ravioli, and cheese toast.

Elizabeth ate everything except the ravioli and some of the Cheerios, as well as the remainder of the piece of cheese toast! She was hungry! I prepared a similar muffin tin for David & he was not so thrilled. He didn't like the fruit even being on his plate! I told him he didn't have to eat everything, but that it was there if he wanted to just give it a little try. All he ate was the grilled cheese (his was an actual sandwich) and the Cheerios. I think I'll keep trying this every once in a while just to see if he'll ever try anything new... or at least try something that he used to eat but refuses to eat any more!