I Got Part of the Day Off!! ;o)

Well today I got to have a few free hours to myself!! Ladies day out with my sister-in-laws & mother-in-law! It was great to get away for me for a change. It happens maybe every 6 months or so haha. No, Chris lets me get away when I need to ;o). I just don't too often because I just feel I need to be home with the kids.

So anyways we went to a movie today, I thought it was cute, but a couple of things kind of got to me. Yes I see their point in what they did, but I just felt uneasy about it. I don't want to give away anything, but I will say it teaches kids that most step moms aren't bad, that dating is important before just getting married after meeting at 1st sight, and that when you are overly happy people will come dancing & singing with you LOL! Ok that last one was a stretch haha. Best part was when she made all of her dresses out of the curtains LOL I LOVED the blue one the best! As you can see in this picture below the cut out on the curtains... LOL!It was a cute movie & I think matinée or just renting it is the best idea ;o). It was great for a ladies day out movie for sure :o).

Then I went to this kitchen store & I drooled over all of the cool things that I could use in my dream kitchen that I may have someday...I was so tempted to get these dinosaur shaped pancake/egg shapers for the frying pan!

I think the kids would love it ;o).

I also liked the shortbread pans!I LOVE shortbread. I also notice that there was a rosemary shortbread mix & I thought that was most interesting! I only thought shortbread was just like a sugar cookie (with lots of butter! haha) I will have to Google rosemary shortbread & give it a try (recipe below)! I LOVE to bake! I also saw these dough pressers that you put the dough on it & then the filling in & then you flip one side of the presser over & it closes the dough off. I thought it would be perfect for piroshki! It's a Russian dinner my mom would make a lot while we grew up! The dough takes like 8 hours to rise though...a little too high maintenance for me, but someday I want to do it for my kids! My mom learned from my dad's grandmother (who came from Russia). It's a sweet dough with hamburger, rice, and hard boiled egg inside. My family absolutely LOVES them! We would also do cherry pie filling and this cottage cheese kind. It took me a while to get used to the cottage cheese ones ;o). They grow on ya haha. There was a place in Seattle that actually made it with different things inside...I miss my Seattle road trips!

On my way home I went to 7-11 & got a Wild Cherry Slurpee (the only kind to get I think ;o)) & then I went to the Rite Aid & got me some makeup (that was a long time coming...something I hardly buy for myself ;o)). Then I got Burger King & went home.

When I got home my spirits were lifted and it was a great rest of the afternoon & evening with my kids. Something I have had a hard time with lately...I love my kids so much, but I just have a hard time knowing what to do with them. Ben & I took naps on the couch & Amelia slept in her bed. It was so great! Then tonight we made another tent & listened to Abba while reading books. Then I did the usual bath & book reading & bedtime. Benjamin has had a rash on his face & bumps on his body for about a week or so now & I am getting a little worried. His breath has really stunk lately too...I brush his teeth, so I am not sure what is causing the stinky breath! I am going to set up a doctor's appointment on Monday for the kids (it has been since Amelia was 3 months old since our last appointment! She is 16 months now!). I think I have rambled on enough ;o) I think I will play Sims 2 & then bed...early church again tomorrow 8:30AM! Night

Oh & here is a recipe I found online for Rosemary Shortbread!! I am gonna have to try it someday! ;o) Found on website...: Rosemary Shortbread

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 hr

Servings: Makes 16 cookies.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons mild honey
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Garnish: small rosemary sprigs
Special equipment: parchment paper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and rosemary in a bowl.

Mix together butter, honey, and confectioners sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed, then add flour mixture and mix until dough resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps. Gather dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until it just comes together, about 8 times. Halve dough and form each half into a 5-inch disk.

Roll out 1 disk (keep remaining dough at room temperature) between 2 sheets of parchment into a 9-inch round (trim as necessary). Remove top sheet of parchment and transfer dough on bottom sheet of parchment to a baking sheet. Score dough into 8 wedges by pricking dotted lines with a fork, then mark edges decoratively. Arrange rosemary sprigs (if using) decoratively on top of dough, pressing lightly to help adhere, and sprinkle dough with 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar.

Bake shortbread in middle of oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Slide shortbread on parchment to a rack and cool 5 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a cutting board and cut along score marks with a large heavy knife.

Make another shortbread with remaining dough.

Cooks' note:
• Shortbread keeps in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.