Memorial Day and Pinterest

Memorial Day is the second best holiday around our house. The second only because the very best holiday is the deer hunt. Yes that is a holiday and everything else around us must stop for this special occasion. Memorial Day is the second best holiday because that's the weekend those boys load up all their 4wheelers, camo gear, bow and arrows and silly toys like pellet guns and sling shots and head south to open the cabin for the summer. It used to be a family thing where we all got to go and open the cabin but a few years ago that was changed and its BOYS ONLY! Honestly I don't mind so much because that means by the time we go everything is working, put together and we don't have to wait around and pray a water line didn't break in the winter. Ryan has been counting the days to go back to the cabin since the last time he was there in October. He loves that place and on several occasions tried to plan a way to live down there and still work somehow. He has grown up on that mountain and loves it more than anything. He seriously cant wait to take baby T there. Depending on when Tman gets here we might get to squeeze a weekend trip in before it gets to cold but we will have to see. If not, I fear Ryan will think he is taking him next Memorial Day and I have to sadly report that will not happen. I don't plan on letting that boy out of my sight until he is at least 18 YEARS old. I have seriously considered homeschooling him but if I want him to be anything productive in this world I guess its best to leave the teaching to the professionals.
Anyway... so with Ryan going away for a few days I had big plans of getting a lot done around the house.
painting, decorating, cleaning, organizing.
but then I found out I had to work all weekend.
and I adopted 2 little kids.
So all my plans went out the window.
Good thing my mama was there to help take care of the kids while I worked.
and when we were home we went a little crazy on pinterest activities and recipes.
They were my guinea pigs and I took full advantage.
Although I could have made homemade clay and paint with Ryan, I don't think it would have been as effective and fun.
After making several recipes and a few crafts I decided I should do a post on pinterest reviews. Strictly my opinions. That way those of you pinterest addicts like myself-- if you find something that interests you, you will have a little feedback before diving in. I make something from that site at least once a week and honestly there has been some amazing finds as well as some seriously horrid finds.
Food wise mainly.
Ill just start with what we did over the weekend and keep up to date with my different finds (good or bad) as I do it. That also gives me a place to remember some of the best ones.

My guinea pigs---
Devlin age 8
Teagan (aka-- the mini) age 4

Parmesan Chicken
Okay I will start out with this recipe because its pretty much a favorite in this house. I have made it several times so this wasn't really an experiment. There are 2 other recipes on Pinterest that I got confused with when I first started making this and we have accidentally tried the other 2 THIS ONE and THIS ONE and we ended up liking both of those as well all but we LOVE the Parmesan Chicken the best. Its the best of all of these.
and both kids loved every bit of this chicken. They both asked for seconds and ate it all.

Cinnamon Bun Cookies
So I know I'm pregnant and all so I shouldn't eat the cookie dough but I had to sample a little of it before it went in the oven and I have to say it was amazing. I couldn't wait until the cookies got out and we could gobble them right up. They were fun to make but did take a little time so don't use this recipe if you are just wanting to whip up a batch of cookies really fast. You need to put the dough in the freezer until its firm which the recipe says its only like 15 minutes or some silly number like that but it took closer to 2 hours for my dough to actually firm up. Not FREEZE but become hard enough that I could cut through it without it squishing.
I don't know if it was me or the cookies but they were not as soft as they look. They were a bit hard but I thought the cookies were actually really good.
Devlin said: "um they are okay." and finished his cookie
Teagan said: "I don't like it" and barley took a tiny bit and wouldn't even lick the frosting.
Soo this one has some mixed reviews.

Dole Pineapple Whips
Everything we made the kids picked out and they couldn't wait to try this. They love anything pineapple. It was rather simple to make but it took all day. Again this is something you have to freeze at different times and maybe my freezer is going out but their 1.5 hours took well over 4 hours to actually freeze to a slush.
We got it all made and served it up.
Devlin said" "Oh this is so yummy I love it." but didn't finish his little serving I gave him and never asked for it again.
Teagan said "Its kind of yummy but I don't want to eat it." and took maybe 3 bites and was done.
I thought it was good. Its something that on the first bit I didn't really love it but after taking a couple bites couldn't stop eating it.

Easy Crafty Clay
So this was kind of fun. We made the clay and actually put food coloring in it so it wasn't just white. We wanted purple but it turned out more grey. That's alright. After we got it all mixed together and cooled off they started creating. Making it was rather easy. Devlin had a vision to make a big D and put it in his room. He worked really hard to make it just right and finished within 30 minutes of when he began. The 4 year old girl played with hers for close to 2 hours. By the time she finally decided to be done and make it into some kind of shape it was a bit dried out and wouldn't hold together very good. We made a couple different shapes that were pretty flat and called it good. It says it can take a day or two to fully dry. The next morning Devlin was really upset to find his D split in like 5 places. We have no idea what happened. No one even touched it. There was no putting it back together on its own but super glue worked fine. His was still not completely dry. It was pretty moist in the middle so his took a couple days to actually dry all the way. Teagans looked okay but was cracking all over but she was still happy with hers.
The clean up was pretty easy and I would recommend making a solid shape that isn't very thick. Her heart did the best. All the pieces that were pieced together didn't hold after it ended up drying.

Painting with condensed milk
This was actually a fun one. Teagan and I loved it. Devlin--- not so much. Its fun for kids who just slather on the paint and is not trying to make a master piece. Its pretty stringy and thick so its hard to do intricate work. but for smaller kids I think its great. The colors are really fun. We used neon food coloring so the colors were super bright. Teagan painted her little heart away. When it dried it looked even cooler. It looked like it was still wet. It was really shiny and a little thicker so it stood off the page. Devlin was not such a fan. He would rather have regular paint but Teagan said she couldn't wait until we painted with the yummy paint again. Yes people we did a little taste test. I gaged but both kids thought it was yummy. My advice on this one. The paint goes a LONG way. I used a whole can of condensed milk and seriously it didn't even look like we used a single bit of it when we were done. The website has you put the colors in ice cube trays which I should have done.

*Devlin was making baby T a pic so I blurred out his name since its still under wraps*

It was a fun doing all these little things.
Hopefully it gives you some fun ideas to do with your family.


On Monday we headed to the cemetery to see Kenzie and have lunch with family. Ryan and the other boys met us there and it was sooo good go see my husband. I miss him way to much when he leaves.

*look at these little loves next to their cousin. Kenzie is just a year younger than them. I cant imagine how big she would be and how much fun these girlies would have together*

Memorial Day really isn't about the cabin or a day off work or bbq's and I don't ever want to forget that. Its a day to remember and honor so many man and women who were and still are serving our country. I am honored to have a brother who is my hero. He spent his memorial day half way across the country in a training. He has been away from his girls for 2 months now and still has another month to go. He has missed birthdays, holidays, first steps, smiles and so much more over his career. but he continues to do what he has to do to protect all of us and do his part. I couldn't be more proud. Ryan and I both have many family members, uncles, cousins and grandparents who serve or served and we are forever grateful for the sacrifices they have made. and for every single other military family out there. Its not just those who are gone, those who are serving, its their families as well. Its their wives and children.
We are so thankful to live in this country. So honored to have this freedom.