I Didn't Need A Camera For This Post...

Supposedly it had been "a long day," or at least that is the excuse my husband
used when he got into the wrong van...

Yes; THE WRONG VAN! We very recently traded our car and van for another van that we paid cash for. In fact; it is a 2001 Chrysler Town and Country Limited. It suits us well and the best part is, is that we own it free and clear. NO MORE LOANS!!!

Anyway; the Dodge Sport Van is I guess very similar and I will vouch for poor Kris they look very similar. To make a long and absolutely hysterical story short; Kris came out of Papa Murphy's Pizza and proceeded to get into a van, not ours, but one identical. I was kind of confused because there was a young lady sitting in the front passenger's seat. Kris said that he just opened the door, got in, and couldn't figure out why some other lady, instead of his wife, wasn't sitting next to him. LOL! I laughed so hard, not to mention couldn't help but poke fun at him, but just a little. This must be a guy thing. I might have made a similar mistake, but the passenger would have been a clue that I was headed for the wrong car. LOL. I still can't stop laughing. I looked over at the frantic young lady and she just kept smiling, but not before locking the doors. This story I must confess, will go down in Zito history!

(Note to all my BLOGGER Fans: I had to send my Canon into the maufacture for repair...yes I know, major bummer! This is a major travesty!!!)

Hot Cross Buns

This recipe was a request from Merilee!!!

Hot Cross Buns
*These slightly sweet rolls are often served during Easter season.

4-4 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1-package active dry yeast
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
*Dash of cloves
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
3/4 c. raisins
1 egg white, beaten
1 tablespoon water

1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and then put aside. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, butter, sugar, and salt until warm (120'F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture along with eggs, Beat with an electric mixture on low to medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high for another 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in raisins, and as much of remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (about 5 minutes). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 2hours).

3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two baking sheets; set aside. Divide dough into 15-20 pieces. Gently pull each piece into a ball, tucking edges under to make smooth tops. Place balls 1 1/2 in. apart on prepared dabbing sheets. Cover; let rise until nearly double in size (about 1 hour).

4. Preheat oven to 375'F. Using sharp knife, make crisscross slashes across the top of each dough ball. In a small bowl combine beaten egg white and water; brush over rolls. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden-brown. Immediately remove buns from baking sheets. Cool slightly and then drizzle Powered Sugar Icing on each bun. Serve warm!
(I used my Kitchen Aid mixer to mix and knead the dough, if you have one...use it; it makes the process more care-free! Also, I did not score my dough balls...I prefer a smooth top; I modified this recipe to perfection...ENJOY!)

Jennifer Zito's Homemade Cream Cheese Icing

8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 1/3 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
4 tablespoons milk

Blend on high for 5 minutes...and you're golden!

Oh Man...

Kris, Tyler, and I went on a bike ride yesterday. It was beautiful, exciting, and you guess it, a nice sunny day, (temps. around 80'). We biked along the Willamette River past Kris' work, which is about 8 miles from our house. We stopped at Subway to get a bite and then had a picnic right off the river. (Awwww...it doesn't get any better, does it?) We saw Salmon practically jumping out of the river; turtles on every log in sight, (Tyler even got to touch one, because it made its way to the bike path) flowers and trees galore, and the beautiful Willamette River beside us almost the whole trip. There was a slight breeze, so we didn't even become over-heated. After a couple of "pit stops" for Tyler we were ready to return home. I could have biked all day, but we had to return home for Dominique when she got off school. On our way back we stopped off at DQ, for a Chocolate-Cherry Blizzard. MMMmmmMMMM. As we sat on the steps I noticed that I might have gotten a little too much sun on my arms, but what is one to expect on a 16 mile fun-packed adventure along the Willamette River!!!

(Our brand-new Canon camera broke at the Oregon Zoo, so I do not have any pictures, however, we are going to go exchange it today! All you have to do is imagine the "coolest" people in the most "beautiful" place on earth, and that my friends was our experience...lol.)

Easter in our neck of the woods...

Our Easter was very pleasant and fun-packed. The day before Easter the kids and I made homemade cupcakes for the neighbors. They had so much fun choosing different colors of food-coloring to add to the ingredients.

As you can see, they chose pink and green. (Good choice!) We made the cupcake batter "two-toned"...they thought I was "magic."
I found these absolutely adorable baking cups to enhance our luscious cupcakes.

And of course coconut is the perfect topping! I simply added a few drops of blue food-coloring to "make it blue."

And...a tasty homemade cream cheese frosting to go on top! They tasted as good as they looked!

Total, I made 20 cupcakes...Tyler ate 8 of them...

One of my hobbies is cooking. I love cooking anything and everything, and I will always try something at least once. I made dinner roles...

Hot - Cross - Buns...These are our new favorite...they also make a good breakfast!

To heck with a little cream cheese frosting...we frosted our buns..lol.

A delicious ham, with a Mustard-Maple glaze...mmmmmmm...WOW, that was tasty!

...Deviled Eggs

Banana Cream Pie...(A request from Kris)

Green-Bean-Casserole, and mashed potatoes. WE HAD A FEAST!

Easter isn't Easter without dying eggs. Dominique makes everything fun...She was so excited when she removed her egg from the dye.

Tyler did so well and was very careful dying his eggs! I put the kids in their PJ's to avoid getting dye on their "good" clothes. I figured that a few new added colors to their PJ's wouldn't hurt a thing!
Of course Kris and I got in on the action...Just cause were adults doesn't mean we can't have fun too...lol.

This is Dominique's friend, Austin. He is such a nice boy and is very pleasant to have around; we invited him over to dye Easter eggs with us.

This is truly amazing...I would have to say that most three year old kiddos don't have this much discipline. Tyler ended up with the "prettiest" egg of all!!!

The greenish-blue egg is Tyler's...We were all out done by a three year old...WAY TO GO BUDDY, YOU HAVE SOME SERIOUS SKILL!

Dominique also made an array of beautiful eggs!

Kris made "Humpty-Dumpty," how creative...and he says that he isn't artistic?

Tyler inevitably dyed his fingers...I think we all got a little on our hands...surprisingly enough, not a single cup of dye was spilt and none got on the floor! Wooohooo!
Tyler told me to take a picture of his fingers...what a cutie. I told him that he was turning into the Incredible Hulk...lol.

He was so proud!

Austin dyed an egg for each of the kids, he is a very thoughtful friend!

Smiling is contagious when you're around Dominique.

Kris hard at work!

... still working

Tyler's "Golden Egg."

Who is that girl?
I am known for buying and making practical things. McDonald's Happy Meal Toys are my worst enemy. I cannot stand clutter or buying "cheap" toys just for the sake of buying something. So...I made these neat Easter Baskets. I ordered Dominique a garden tool set which came in an adorable little bag. I then stuffed it will eggs filled with different kinds of chocolate only. (Kris calls me the "Candy Nazi." I do not really allow my kids to eat a lot of candy and I never buy the candy that sticks to their teeth...such as gummy bears, hard candy, etc. Not only is candy bad for you, it truly rots your teeth. In the past year we have spent 1,500.00 on Dominique's teeth...need I say more. Also, I am very picky when it comes to a nice smile...so I don't buy all that junk. My kids seem to not mind having ice-cream, cookies, pie, cake, and chocolate as an alternative, so why open a can of worms?) Anyway, I also put in Peeps...garden gloves, velvet coloring poster, a watering can, and PEZ Bunny...I gave in slightly.
The kids really liked their "Easter Baskets!"

I purchased Tyler's Garden Kit at Target. He was ecstatic...he calls it his purse...lol. You can tell he has an older sister.

And of course they had to find the Easter Eggs that the Easter Bunny hid.

This was the last one found...sitting in plain sight on the microwave. It was funny to watch them over look it, over and over.

Dominique is a good "finder."

All in all we had a wonderful Easter. We got to spend the day as a family and it was well diserved. Tax Season spreads Kris so thin; we were so thankful to have him home for the holiday. This was officially our first holiday by ourselves...it was fun, but I have to admit that we miss our families. Thanks to blogging I feel a little more connected!

At the request of my sister Misty, here are some of the recipies of the goodies I made. . .

Banana Cream Pie

Ingredients

3/4 c. white flour

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 salt

2 c. milk

3 egg yolks beaten

2 table spoon butter

2 tsps. vanilla extract

1 graham cracker crust pie shell

4-5 bananas

Directions

1. In a sausepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Add milk in gradually while stirring gently. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Keep stirring and cook for about 5 minutes, and then remove from the burner.

2. Stir in egg yolks and cook for another five minutes over medium heat; don't forget to stir constantly! Remove mixture from stove, add butter and vanilla extract. Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.

3. Slice bananas into the bottom of the pie crust, then top it with pudding mixture.

4. Bake @ 350'F for 12 mintutes, then chill for 4 hours.

5. Top with Whipped Cream ( I used a vanilla mousse, it's just as good!)

Mustard-Maple-Glaze (Wonderful for glazzing ham!)

1/3 c. mustard

1/3 c. maple syrup

3 TB. brown sugar

2 tsp. onion powder

NO MORE DIAPERS!!!

Tyler is officially out of diapers. He hasn't needed them during the day for quite some time now, but I have been putting him in one to go to sleep at night. Two nights ago I ran out, and was way too tired to go purchase more. (Maybe lazy, but tired sounds better...lol) Anyway, I decided to "chance it” and the results were outstanding... You guessed it, Tyler woke-up dry! At this point I was feeling a little confident and decided to try it again! The results were the same! Tyler is going on his fourth night without an accident. For all you parents out there, this is a milestone we all look forward to!


When we were at Costco today Tyler reminded me that he was a big boy and no longer needed to wear diapers. I bought Tyler a whole great big box of fudgesicles from Costco for a job well done, if you look closely, you can probably see some left-overs on his shirt...lol. I am so proud of him, even though there is a little part of me that is sad he is growing up so fast. Kris and I do not plan on having anymore children and now my baby is not a baby anymore. Oh well, I have a million and one pictures to remind me of the past, and I look forward to the not so distant future. CONGRATULATIONS T-MAN!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

Spring-time Fun...

I recently purchased a patio set and I needed a centerpiece for the table. I went and bought some acrylic paint, acrylic sealer, paintbrushes, and clay pots...then the kids and I had some Spring fun!

In order to keep the kids' clothes clean, I cut room for their arms and their head in a plastic garbage bag. This worked out fantastic. Their clothes were saved and so was my floor!

Dominique had lots of fun designing her new spring pot. She is so artistic; this makes it so much fun when doing crafts with her.

This is Ellie, Tyler's little buddy 'ol pal. She is as cute as a pixy and we LOVE her company every Tuesday.

Both Tyler and Ellie thought that painting the bottom was most fun.

Tyler did so well. I couldn't believe how focused he was the whole time.

The end results were FABULOUS...Now I have three beautiful pots to go out on my patio table. Thanks to my artists at work!

Of course I painted one too; I couldn't let them have all the fun...lol.

Dominique wrote, "Spring is here," on hers...too cute!

And Tyler's is just plain beautiful. I am so proud of him. GREAT JOB T-Man!

When the acrylic seal dried, we filled them with potting soil and these flowers in the above picture. In a couple of months I will have beautiful flowers to match my lovely spring pots!