Pancake Day Creations!

So I snapped a few phone pics of the kids' pancake faces at dinner last night. We went all out this time with whipped cream and chocolate syrup! After all, it was National Pancake Day...

Love that little smile that my son so carefully "drew" on his pancake. :o)

My daughter definitely took advantage of the chocolate syrup - that's my girl!


We'll be playing with our food later on today too when we make FamilyFun's Fruity Frog in honor of Leap Day (-see post below). Photos to come!

If You Give a Kid a Pancake...

And then give them scrambled eggs, orange slices, bananas, and grapes to go with it, their plates might just end up looking like this...

These crazy characters were actually created this past Halloween (hence the plates), but pretty much every time I make pancakes for the kids (as long as I slice up some fruit), this is what they end up looking like...

as I'm sure will be the case tonight when I flip some flapjacks for dinner in honor of National Pancake Day!

Better make sure to have my camera handy. :)

Squid Dogs, Anyone?

Sound appetizing, don't they?  We actually had them last night for dinner - no kidding. I found this "recipe" a couple of years ago on the FamilyFun website and thought my kids (then 3 and 5) would get a kick out of them...

...and they did! Two of their favorite things, hot dogs and spaghetti noodles, looking like a slimy sea creature -what's not to love (especially when they get to help push the dry noodles through the cut-up hot dogs before Mom tosses them into the boiling water)?

Noah even requested "squid dogs" for his pirate-themed birthday party this past summer. How's that for authentic pirate grub? The lil' swashbucklers couldn't get enough of 'em.

Yes, these crazy-looking things have become a kid-favorite in our house, and I must admit, I've eaten them a time or two myself. Of course, they're not fried calamari, but they aren't half bad. Not to mention, they are so easy, quick, and add something fun to the dinner table.


*What are some dinnertime favorites in your house?

A Twist on Teaching Table Manners

To curb the "yuck"s, constant interrupting, and feet…I mean, elbows on the table, I started a reward incentive called “Mind Your Marbles” to motivate my kids to mind their manners.  The kids can each earn marbles by staying in their seats, saying “please” and “thank you”, and – my personal favorite – taking their plates to the sink. The marbles are dropped into their special glasses lined with a decorated index card. Once they fill it half way, they get to choose a yummy dessert. When the glass is filled to the brim, they can choose the entire meal (plus dessert) for the family – or pick a favorite restaurant!  This incentive has worked wonders. My kids are excited to “mind their marbles” and even ask to help set the table to earn extras - gotta love that!

*What works at your dinner table? Thanks for sharing!