toddler heart day fun

Addi had a great Valentine's Day party at her school on Friday.  As you know, she sat down on Wednesday night and diligently signed Valentines for her classmates, friends and teachers.  Thursday night, we got treat boxes all packaged and ready for her party on Friday.

The finished product:  Valentine's Day take out boxes with 100 Calorie packs of Cheeze-Its, graham crackers, fruit snacks and Yogos Bits (which are one of Addi's favorites!).  I thought they turned out pretty darn cute!

Addi loved helping with the curly ribbon...or maybe I should say playing with the curly ribbon.  

 The kids loved their goodie boxes but I think they loved the cookies at the party even more!

The tables in her classroom just crack me up!  I love seeing thier little feet just dangling under the table.  Looks like Charlie-Man and Tehan lost a shoe!

 Party fun!

This boy LOVES him some cookies!  He was like Cookie Monster!

Cutie-Pie Toddlers!

Charlie chowing on his second cookie.  He wasn't very interested in his banana or chesses...he just wanted cookies!

LuLu surprised Addi at her party.  She was so excited that she came to her school!

And she loved showing LuLu her favorite toys in her classroom!

It was such a fun way to end the week as we headed into Valentine's Day weekend!  Addi had so much fun and thought she was really cool when she got to leave school early with MaMa and LuLu!  Thanks to the Toddler teachers and especially thanks to Miss Beth for coming on her day off!

valentine's day love

We had such a wonderful Valentine's Day.  It was very low-key and relaxed, which made it just perfect. 

Addi enjoyed opening her gift this morning!

New books from Mommy and Daddy!

Look at how much this girls is loved!  Her surprises from her grandparents didn't make the picture, but she is so loving thier gifts too!

This was one of my favorite Valentines!  Addi made it at school just for us and we proudly have it displayed on the refrigerator!  We love you sweet girl!

For dinner, I made Shredded Pork Tacos with our favorite gaucamole and it was so yummy!  You'll have to try this recipe soon!

Shredded Pork Tacos

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
½ t. dried thyme
½ t. dried oregano
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
3 T. tomato paste
3 lb. pork shoulder
1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes in juice
1 large chipotle chili in adobo sauce (from small can), minced
Tortillas
Feta cheese

Directions:
In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves; season with salt and pepper. Cook until onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, add pork, tomatoes (breaking them up) and their juice, chipotle, and 1 c. water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is very tender, 2 to 2½ hours. Discard bay leaves. Using tongs, transfer meat to a large bowl; shred with two forks. Return meat to pan and simmer until sauce is thick, 30 to 45 minutes more. Season, if necessary, with salt and pepper. Serve in warmed tortillas with feta cheese crumbled on top.

Yesterday while Scott was playing golf, Addi and I made a Valentine's Day cake.  I found the recipe on this blog for Strawberry Soda Cake and it looked too good not to try!  We put the sprinkles on this morning.  Addi liked helping...she would put one sprinkle on and then eat five!  That's my girl!

Strawberry Soda Cake

Ingredients:
1 box strawberry cake mix (any brand)
1 cup Strawberry Soda (strawberry soda is substituted for the amount of water on the cake mix)
3 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Mix ingredients and bake cake according to package directions.  I used Pillsbury cake mix and it called for 1 cup of water, so I used 1 cup of soda.  It can be made in any shape/size pan, but I chose to use two 9-inch round cake pans so we could make a layerd cake.  I just bought icing at the store instead of making my own...I know I'm a cheater!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day too!

happy valentine's day

hope you have a wonderful day with the ones you love!

love,

the hofmann fam

signature required

On Wednesday night, Addi sat down at her table and took care of business.  She pulled out her red Crayola and signed every one of her Valentines personally! 

After bathtime, Addi and I made Raspberry Muffins.  She wanted to wear her apron, but refused to put her jammies on before we got to work.  Nothing like baking in your diaper and apron, right?

She was such a great little helper!

Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 T. flour
1 box white cake mix
1 small box raspberry Jell-O
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. cold water
5 oz. frozen raspberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F.  Mix all ingreadients together.  Pour batter into either lined muffin tins, 2 regluar loaf pans or 3 mini loaf pans.  Bake muffins for 20 minutes; regular loaves for 40-45 minutes or mini loaves for 30-35 minutes.

Viola!

Yesterday after school, Addi snacked on our yummy muffins!  I'd say they passed her approval, wouldn't you?

"Gosh Mama, these were so easy to make and they are so yummy!"

We're excited for Addi's school Valentine's Day party this afternoon!  Stay tuned for pictures! 

It's looking a lot like "Loving Day" around our house (as my friend Taryn would say!).  We're looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend!

what's for dinner?

A girlfrind and I chatted last week about our least favorite question that comes up every day...What's for Dinner??

I know that every household has a system that works (or doesn't work) for them.  Through trial and error, I've come up with a routine that seems to work for us.  Here is what ours looks like...

First, I plan (roughly) our meals for 2 weeks on this Menu Planner.

Menu Planner

Then I pull the recipes from my recipe box and head to the pantry and refrigerator to begin making my grocery list.  I keep the following two lists (Sam's Shopping List and Wal-Mart Shopping List) on the side of the refrigerator at all times so we can be sure to mark needed items as we think of them or run out.  I really have no short term memory, so this helps me compile the most complete list.  I absolutely hate getting home from the store and realizing that I forgot to add toilet paper to the list!

Since the Sam's list is short, I print it and then cut it in half.
Sam's Shopping List

The shopping list is printed double sided.
Shopping List

About this time every year, I get inspired to freeze more things that can be thawed and prepared in short amounts of time.  It never fails, though, I forget what's in the freezer and 6 months later I find it covered in freezer burn and have to throw it away!  I recently started keeping this list on the side of my refrigerator.  So far it's serving the purpose beautifully.  I just like to be able to see what I have frozen. 

What's in the Freezer

So I know it looks like I'm pretty crazy (and I probably am) but this keeps me sane!  Sure, things come up and we usually end up getting off track, but at least there was a plan in place when the week started.  I typically go to the grocery store close to every weekend, but my larger trips are just once every other week.  On the off weekends, I mainly just pick up milk for Addi, fresh produce and then any incidentals we might need.

So here's a picture of the side of my refrigerator.  I would prefer to have a clean refrigerator with nothing on it, but this keeps us organized so I can deal with it.

I've been in this blog world long enough to know that there are some really talented and creative bloggers out there! It seems that we all face the same struggles when it comes to taking care of our children, our houses and our lives.  So I'm interested to know...What's your routine?  How do you plan your meals?  Do you batch cook or use freezer meals (if so, what are your favorite recipes)?  Please share with us your great ideas!