A Weekend Without Daddy

Last weekend, I flew solo with the kids. At least once a year (twice if we can swing it!) Sean head's off to Men's Advance with Young Living. It's such a good way for him to take a break from us....because yes. You do need breaks from the people you love most. He always comes back rested and on fire to invest in us even more. And on the flip side, it's a good way to make sure that I'm staying appreciative of everything he does to help keep the house running smoothly. It's easy to forget that the trash magically gets emptied and the laundry always seems to be clean. It's definitely quite a bit of work to keep up with these guys, a household, and work when I'm the only parent on duty. If you are a single parent and you are reading this...I'm super impressed with what you handle day-in and day-out!

I love my kids to pieces, but let's just say that I was very glad to see Sean walk back through the door at the end of it. :)

While I think the kids would agree that a weekend with Daddy is way more fun than a weekend without Daddy, We still managed to have a *little* fun!

One of the new activities that our kids discovered last weekend was making "pizza" out of cut up paper and glue sticks. Sadly however, no glue exists now after their two day art fest. It seems we go through a LOT of glue when creativity is reigning supreme. And then, of course, some of the caps didn't find their glue stick friends again once they became separated. Now I know why their Kindergarten teachers asked for extra glue sticks!

Anyhow, they spent two days snipping paper, gluing paper together, and when the glue ran out, they just kept on snipping, and snipping, and snipping. I probably should have just taken a picture of the floor after all of that, but hey! They were happy! And no specialty haircuts were performed. Ellie now has ziplock bags full of snipped paper divided by color. She's a little Type A. 

Abby, Elijah, Ellie, and Caleb

This boy....lol!! Caleb has very eclectic taste at times! Check out his Thor hammer, my old purse, an owl backpack, Captain America headphones, and Spiderman slippers all compiled into an outfit designed to take on the world! He was happy as a lark as he charged around the house with all of his supplies in tow!

Caleb

Then there is this boy....Elijah totally melted my heart when he said just a couple of hours before Daddy came home, "I think I found the perfect mom....it's YOU!" After four days of trying to keep up, that just about made me cry! I'm a words of affirmation girl anyway, so hearing that from my 5-year-old made my entire weekend.

Then he drew this picture of him and his Daddy. He is becoming quite the artist! There are pictures ev.ery.where. in our house these days.

Elijah

I spent a good part of the weekend cleaning the house. I was determined to finish unpacking our bedroom since, you know, we've lived here for 3 months now. Hahaha! I did manage to get that done, unpack the last box in the bathroom, and get most of the house picked up. After that, I had four kids who desperately needed some entertainment, so I took them to the little Main Street in our town, and we hit up the local cookie place.

The cookies were GIANT, so we shared, but I think it was the highlight of their weekend. It was one of the very first things Daddy had to hear about when he walked in the door.

Elijah, Abby, Caleb, and Ellie

What I didn't know when we drove to Main Street was that there was actually a car show going on. So in one fell swoop, I managed to treat the kids to cookies and take them to their first car show. Truthfully....they weren't all that impressed. Check out Ellie's face below. HA! They were far more interested in cookies.

Abby, Elijah, Caleb, and Ellie

Elijah, Caleb, Ellie, and Abby

The other weekend adventure that I WISH I had a photo of was when we stopped by a friends' house to pick up a pie plate from them since they are moving. They just sold their house, and are moving into a 5th wheel to head out and see the world. They invited the kids in to see it while we were there. They were TOTALLY impressed with "the house in a truck" and declared that they want to move into one too. Abby especially was completely taken with it!  told them that we could move into one too, but we'd have to give away all of their toys and take none of them with us since there was no room in the house in a truck, and we wouldn't have a regular house anymore. They quickly reconsidered. haha!

So a bunch of random photos and stories from this weekend! I love that we can get out and DO things now with them! After spending the first two years of their lives on lockdown, we don't take outings for granted. I'll add, though, that they are a lot more fun when Daddy comes with it. We are happy he had a chance to go to his conference, but we are VERY happy he is home!

Last weekend, I flew solo with the kids. At least once a year (twice if we can swing it!) Sean head's off to Men's Advance with Young Living. It's such a good way for him to take a break from us....because yes. You do need breaks from the people you love most. He always comes back rested and on fire to invest in us even more. And on the flip side, it's a good way to make sure that I'm staying appreciative of everything he does to help keep the house running smoothly. It's easy to forget that the trash magically gets emptied and the laundry always seems to be clean. It's definitely quite a bit of work to keep up with these guys, a household, and work when I'm the only parent on duty. If you are a single parent and you are reading this...I'm super impressed with what you handle day-in and day-out!

I love my kids to pieces, but let's just say that I was very glad to see Sean walk back through the door at the end of it. :)

While I think the kids would agree that a weekend with Daddy is way more fun than a weekend without Daddy, We still managed to have a *little* fun!

One of the new activities that our kids discovered last weekend was making "pizza" out of cut up paper and glue sticks. Sadly however, no glue exists now after their two day art fest. It seems we go through a LOT of glue when creativity is reigning supreme. And then, of course, some of the caps didn't find their glue stick friends again once they became separated. Now I know why their Kindergarten teachers asked for extra glue sticks!

Anyhow, they spent two days snipping paper, gluing paper together, and when the glue ran out, they just kept on snipping, and snipping, and snipping. I probably should have just taken a picture of the floor after all of that, but hey! They were happy! And no specialty haircuts were performed. Ellie now has ziplock bags full of snipped paper divided by color. She's a little Type A. 

Abby, Elijah, Ellie, and Caleb

This boy....lol!! Caleb has very eclectic taste at times! Check out his Thor hammer, my old purse, an owl backpack, Captain America headphones, and Spiderman slippers all compiled into an outfit designed to take on the world! He was happy as a lark as he charged around the house with all of his supplies in tow!

Caleb

Then there is this boy....Elijah totally melted my heart when he said just a couple of hours before Daddy came home, "I think I found the perfect mom....it's YOU!" After four days of trying to keep up, that just about made me cry! I'm a words of affirmation girl anyway, so hearing that from my 5-year-old made my entire weekend.

Then he drew this picture of him and his Daddy. He is becoming quite the artist! There are pictures ev.ery.where. in our house these days.

Elijah

I spent a good part of the weekend cleaning the house. I was determined to finish unpacking our bedroom since, you know, we've lived here for 3 months now. Hahaha! I did manage to get that done, unpack the last box in the bathroom, and get most of the house picked up. After that, I had four kids who desperately needed some entertainment, so I took them to the little Main Street in our town, and we hit up the local cookie place.

The cookies were GIANT, so we shared, but I think it was the highlight of their weekend. It was one of the very first things Daddy had to hear about when he walked in the door.

Elijah, Abby, Caleb, and Ellie

What I didn't know when we drove to Main Street was that there was actually a car show going on. So in one fell swoop, I managed to treat the kids to cookies and take them to their first car show. Truthfully....they weren't all that impressed. Check out Ellie's face below. HA! They were far more interested in cookies.

Abby, Elijah, Caleb, and Ellie

Elijah, Caleb, Ellie, and Abby

The other weekend adventure that I WISH I had a photo of was when we stopped by a friends' house to pick up a pie plate from them since they are moving. They just sold their house, and are moving into a 5th wheel to head out and see the world. They invited the kids in to see it while we were there. They were TOTALLY impressed with "the house in a truck" and declared that they want to move into one too. Abby especially was completely taken with it!  told them that we could move into one too, but we'd have to give away all of their toys and take none of them with us since there was no room in the house in a truck, and we wouldn't have a regular house anymore. They quickly reconsidered. haha!

So a bunch of random photos and stories from this weekend! I love that we can get out and DO things now with them! After spending the first two years of their lives on lockdown, we don't take outings for granted. I'll add, though, that they are a lot more fun when Daddy comes with it. We are happy he had a chance to go to his conference, but we are VERY happy he is home!

{Recipe} Biscochitos: Traditional New Mexican Christmas Cookies

There are a few things I really love about December: Extra time with Sean, our national quad family Christmas card exchange ("Look! We're normal!"), and baking up a batch of biscochitos.

Growing up in New Mexico, I certainly ate my fair share of the sugary Christmas cookies that are so well known and loved, but there is another cookie that is distinctly New Mexican, and a tradition in many households: Biscochitos (bis-coe-chee-toes)!

It makes me really happy to share these with you! In fact, this post has been planned for a year...as in, I took all of these photos last Christmas. I still need to make this year's batch, and hope to do that next week. BUT, if I wait that long to share the recipe with you, then you might not have time to make them. So here you go!

This recipe was passed from my aunt, to my mom, to me. My copy is on a piece of paper with a handwritten note at the top that says, "from 'The Best of New Mexico Kitchens.'" I always try to credit sources, so I did a Google search to look for a book with that title. I'm assuming it is this, The Best of New Mexico Kitchens, but I'm not entirely sure.

It's a short ingredients list, and you should have most of it on hand!

 Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, cream the lard (traditionally) or vegetable shortening, sugar, and anise seed.

Let's stop for a minute and talk about anise (a-nees) seed. It isn't as well known as a lot of herbs, but is pretty cheap. Tones is one of the cheapest spice brands, and the smallest containers lasts me a good 3-4 batches of cookies. It has a licorice taste to it, but the flavor is not overwhelming in these cookies. It's really an interesting flavor, so give it a try if you haven't in the past!

Back to the recipe: Then add the eggs to the creamed mixture.

Followed by the brandy....

 ...and the flour mixture.

Mix it up, and it will look like this:

In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together to top the cookies once you roll them out!

Roll your dough out with a rolling pin, and use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. The traditional shape is the fleur-de-lis, but I don't have that cookie cutter, so I used a circle last year and a heart the year before. It's kind of whatever cookie cutter I come across first.

Lay them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top, then bake!

They have a drier texture than sugar Christmas cookies, but are just as delicious! They are also kind of addicting. You've been warned!

Biscochitos

Traditional New Mexican Christmas Cookies

This recipe makes a BIG batch!

• 6 cups Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 cups of Lard (or you can use vegetable shortening)
• 1 1/2 cups of Granulated Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Anise Seed
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Brandy
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Cinnamon

Sift flour in a bowl with baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Cream lard, 1 1/2 cups of Sugar, and anise seed in a mixture until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add the brandy and flour mixture to the bowl and mix until combined.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness. They cookies will be thin! Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a mixture of 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. They will be lightly browned and delicious!

 

Do you have a cookie that is part of your Christmas traditions?

There are a few things I really love about December: Extra time with Sean, our national quad family Christmas card exchange ("Look! We're normal!"), and baking up a batch of biscochitos.

Growing up in New Mexico, I certainly ate my fair share of the sugary Christmas cookies that are so well known and loved, but there is another cookie that is distinctly New Mexican, and a tradition in many households: Biscochitos (bis-coe-chee-toes)!

It makes me really happy to share these with you! In fact, this post has been planned for a year...as in, I took all of these photos last Christmas. I still need to make this year's batch, and hope to do that next week. BUT, if I wait that long to share the recipe with you, then you might not have time to make them. So here you go!

This recipe was passed from my aunt, to my mom, to me. My copy is on a piece of paper with a handwritten note at the top that says, "from 'The Best of New Mexico Kitchens.'" I always try to credit sources, so I did a Google search to look for a book with that title. I'm assuming it is this, The Best of New Mexico Kitchens, but I'm not entirely sure.

It's a short ingredients list, and you should have most of it on hand!

 Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, cream the lard (traditionally) or vegetable shortening, sugar, and anise seed.

Let's stop for a minute and talk about anise (a-nees) seed. It isn't as well known as a lot of herbs, but is pretty cheap. Tones is one of the cheapest spice brands, and the smallest containers lasts me a good 3-4 batches of cookies. It has a licorice taste to it, but the flavor is not overwhelming in these cookies. It's really an interesting flavor, so give it a try if you haven't in the past!

Back to the recipe: Then add the eggs to the creamed mixture.

Followed by the brandy....

 ...and the flour mixture.

Mix it up, and it will look like this:

In a small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon together to top the cookies once you roll them out!

Roll your dough out with a rolling pin, and use a cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. The traditional shape is the fleur-de-lis, but I don't have that cookie cutter, so I used a circle last year and a heart the year before. It's kind of whatever cookie cutter I come across first.

Lay them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar on top, then bake!

They have a drier texture than sugar Christmas cookies, but are just as delicious! They are also kind of addicting. You've been warned!

Biscochitos

Traditional New Mexican Christmas Cookies

This recipe makes a BIG batch!

• 6 cups Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 cups of Lard (or you can use vegetable shortening)
• 1 1/2 cups of Granulated Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Anise Seed
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Brandy
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Cinnamon

Sift flour in a bowl with baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Cream lard, 1 1/2 cups of Sugar, and anise seed in a mixture until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add the brandy and flour mixture to the bowl and mix until combined.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thickness. They cookies will be thin! Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

Place the cookies on a baking sheet, sprinkle with a mixture of 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. They will be lightly browned and delicious!

 

Do you have a cookie that is part of your Christmas traditions?

{Recipe} Quad Cookies

Ooooohhhh goodness. Talk about an all American dessert. I'm about to rock your world!

I was sitting in the living room a few months ago chatting with Sean and a friend. She was telling me about these bar cookies she really liked that had three layers to them. Then inspiration struck. Why not add another layer, bake them in a muffin tin, and make them our family's signature cookie?

Watch out world!

These little HUGE cookies are rich, decadent, and literally have something for everyone in them. Or in my case...ahem...it has everything I love in them.

I took an afternoon and experimented with the best way to make these. I tried no cupcakes liners, cupcake liners, and baking the layers in different orders. Some of them fell apart, some stuck to the pan, and some came out intact. In the process, I figured out the best, prettiest, and easiest way to make these.

Start with your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Make up a batch...or if you want to channel how I bake, mix up a double batch and freeze the extra for later! I typically just use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package, or use this one here. It really doesn't matter how fluffy of a recipe you use since it's the bottom layer.

Scoop just enough cookie dough into the muffin tin to cover the bottom of the cupcake liner. Use your fingers to pat the dough out if necessary.

Then, make sure you have two packages of Oreo cookies on hand. While I normally buy store brand items, I've tried the other ones on the market and nothing compares to an authentic Oreo. I'm all about going with the real deal when it comes to these cookies. Take the first package of Oreos and pop a whole one on top of the cookie dough in each hole.

Open the second package and snack on those Oreos while you are mixing up all of the different layers for these cookies. (Oh boy, you are finding out way too much about my baking techniques...)

Yummy, Cheesecake! Plain cheesecake batter is your best bet for this layer because of all of the other flavors in these cookies. I usually use this recipe and triple it when making these, but any plain cheesecake recipe will work. Put a nice thin layer of cheesecake over the Oreo, making sure that you cover the lower layers.

And for the last layer, brownies! I'll be honest, I haven't found a brownie recipe that I've fallen in love with yet. (If you have one let me know!) So to keep it simple, I grab a box of family-size brownie mix and just use that. I've used the Mocha Fudge version (gives it a little coffee flavor) and the Dark Fudge version. In my opinion, the regular fudge brownies are best.

So to recap:

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Watch the top layer and use a toothpick to see when the brownie/cheesecake layers are baked through. 

How should you serve these? Well at my house, this dessert gets the plate and fork treatment. Drizzle the top with a bit of caramel sauce, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and enjoy! Keep the extras close at hand, as it's hard to eat just one!

If this looks amazing to you, don't forget to pin it!  

Ooooohhhh goodness. Talk about an all American dessert. I'm about to rock your world!

I was sitting in the living room a few months ago chatting with Sean and a friend. She was telling me about these bar cookies she really liked that had three layers to them. Then inspiration struck. Why not add another layer, bake them in a muffin tin, and make them our family's signature cookie?

Watch out world!

These little HUGE cookies are rich, decadent, and literally have something for everyone in them. Or in my case...ahem...it has everything I love in them.

I took an afternoon and experimented with the best way to make these. I tried no cupcakes liners, cupcake liners, and baking the layers in different orders. Some of them fell apart, some stuck to the pan, and some came out intact. In the process, I figured out the best, prettiest, and easiest way to make these.

Start with your favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Make up a batch...or if you want to channel how I bake, mix up a double batch and freeze the extra for later! I typically just use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package, or use this one here. It really doesn't matter how fluffy of a recipe you use since it's the bottom layer.

Scoop just enough cookie dough into the muffin tin to cover the bottom of the cupcake liner. Use your fingers to pat the dough out if necessary.

Then, make sure you have two packages of Oreo cookies on hand. While I normally buy store brand items, I've tried the other ones on the market and nothing compares to an authentic Oreo. I'm all about going with the real deal when it comes to these cookies. Take the first package of Oreos and pop a whole one on top of the cookie dough in each hole.

Open the second package and snack on those Oreos while you are mixing up all of the different layers for these cookies. (Oh boy, you are finding out way too much about my baking techniques...)

Yummy, Cheesecake! Plain cheesecake batter is your best bet for this layer because of all of the other flavors in these cookies. I usually use this recipe and triple it when making these, but any plain cheesecake recipe will work. Put a nice thin layer of cheesecake over the Oreo, making sure that you cover the lower layers.

And for the last layer, brownies! I'll be honest, I haven't found a brownie recipe that I've fallen in love with yet. (If you have one let me know!) So to keep it simple, I grab a box of family-size brownie mix and just use that. I've used the Mocha Fudge version (gives it a little coffee flavor) and the Dark Fudge version. In my opinion, the regular fudge brownies are best.

So to recap:

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Watch the top layer and use a toothpick to see when the brownie/cheesecake layers are baked through. 

How should you serve these? Well at my house, this dessert gets the plate and fork treatment. Drizzle the top with a bit of caramel sauce, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and enjoy! Keep the extras close at hand, as it's hard to eat just one!

If this looks amazing to you, don't forget to pin it!