A simple father's day gift

Today the kids and I made a simple father's day gift. I modeled it after the gift Madeline made for me at school last month.

This morning I did an interview with Madeline and with Owen about there dad, asking them questions and writing down their answers just as they said them, without correcting grammar.

Here are the interviews:

Interview with Madeline, age 5
June 17, 2011

My dad’s eyes are green.

His hair is black.

His age is 10.

His favorite food is chicken parm.

He really loves me.

My dad’s favorite tv show or movie is Martha.

My dad’s favorite clothes to wear are red, white and black.

He cooks the best chicken parm.

I love my dad because he is nice!
 
Interview with Owen, age 3
June 17, 2011

My dad’s eyes are blue.

His hair is blue.

His age is 3.

His favorite food is chicken.

My dad really loves Madeline and me.

His favorite tv show or movie is Toy Story 3.

My dad’s favorite clothes to wear are Toy Story 3 clothes.

He cooks the best chicken parm.

I love my dad because me love him!


Afterwards I had them each draw a picture of Jon. When they wake up from nap we are going to glue the interview and their pictures each onto a sheet of construction paper and then staple the construction papers together to make a small book. I would prefer to put both papers onto one sheet of construction paper, but I don't have paper that large and I didn't preplan enough to go out and buy paper in advance.

I hope Jon enjoys these gifts as much I I enjoyed mine last month. I plan to do this same interview each year, that way we can see the changes as the kids grow.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

For the past few years I have participated in a cookie swap at Christmas. It looks like this will be the first year I won't in but I am still baking up tons of cookies.
One year during the cookie swap one of the women made the BEST cookies I have had in a long time. She very kindly shared her recipe. They are super easy to make and everytime I make them I get compliments. I tend to eat at least half the batch on my own so I try to only make them once a year.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups of flour
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 can of chocolate frosting (I used milk chocolate)
18 marshmallows cut in half
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup crisco or other shortening
1 egg
1/4 cup of milk
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
1. Mix all dry ingredients, except sugar.
2. Mix sugar and crisco until smooth. Add egg, vanilla and milk. Mix well.
3. Add flour mixture and mix.
4. Place spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Do NOT overbake.
5. Place 1/2 of a marshmallow cut side down on each cookie. Press lightly. Bake 2 minutes longer.
6. Cool on wire rack then frost.



I made two recipes (these and peanut butter blossoms) yesterday and plan to make some sugar cookies with Madeline and Owen later this week. I love any excuse to bake and homemade goodies make for a great gift. I put together three small boxes of cookies and fudge for my coworkers.

Enjoy baking!

Saturday Savings

Restaurant.com has a sale this weekend. They are offereing their gift certificates at 75% off. That means you can get s gift certificate for $25 and it only costs you $3! Just enter the promo code "EAT" when you checkout and the savings will be applied. These make great gifts and I am planning on getting a few for my parents anniversary!

This expires June 7 so head on over there now!