Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Yesterday while I was shopping for groceries, I saw that the little can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls were on sale for $0.98.  My boys love cinnamon rolls so I picked up a couple of cans.

This morning I decided to try one of the ideas I saw on Pinterest.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles:

I got this nifty little waffle iron at our local Fred's a few months ago. I sprayed the surface with some spray/oil and squished the cinnamon rolls into more of an oblong shape to fit the waffle iron.

The only issue I had was how long to leave them in the waffle iron.  I just kinda "winged" it.  :)

And Voila! Cinnamon Roll Waffles!  Oops!  Forgot the icing!

The icing just pooled into the crevices of the waffles.  

They are really good too!  Zach and Shane ate two each!  At first, Shane wasn't too sure about this new Cinnamon Roll Waffle . . .  

But after trying it, Shane loved it!

Don't y'all just love the green "sleeve tattoo" that Shane's sporting?!
For some reason, Shane loves to draw on himself with markers. Thank goodness the markers are washable.

So while the cinnamon rolls are still on sale at Tems, y'all go get some cans and try these Cinnamon Roll Waffles.  They are so easy to make and really good for breakfast -- especially for . . .

                              the Ferrell boys and me!

Surviving Summer!

My boys are busy little boys.  If I don't keep them busy with projects, activities, or chores, then my house usually becomes a mess!  And then I become a screaming no-fun mom.  :/

So the win/win solution for us this summer is to come up with a plan.  The chores are pretty easy since we do those year round, but the activities and projects can be difficult and costly.  So I've searched my favorite blogs, pinners, and friends for some cheap and fun things to do this summer with the boys.

First, I am following this blogger (The Joys of Boys) who has the summer planned out already with fun crafts, activities, and creative ideas.  

She is posting a Summer series with other participating bloggers for planning a Summer Survival for Moms of Boys.  I mean, how perfect is that?!  The boys and I have already started the bouncing egg experiment I found on her site.  

I've also started following The Confident Mom website.  She has a summer calendar planner called the Summer Survival Calendar that you can purchase from her that maps out daily activities for each day during the Summer along with all the links to the activities.

Besides the great ideas that both of these websites suggests, I'm also planning some fun excursions for the boys.  We're obviously going to the Lake every day we can this Summer.

And I've also signed them up for free skating coupons through the Kids Skate Free website.  Both the skating rinks in Starkville and Columbus participate in this program.  Once you register for the skating rink in your area, you get coupons emailed to you each week for each child you register allowing them to skate free twice a week.  My boys Love to skate!  We haven't been yet, but we have plans to go next week.

Also the Columbus Cinema is showing $2 movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10 o'clock as a part of the Kids' Summer Film Fest.  Here's a poster showing the movies and dates:

So between the movies, skating, swimming, and daily suggested activities . . . maybe the boys and I will do more than just survive this Summer!  Hopefully, this will be a great Summer full of memories and fun for  . . .

                                 the Ferrell boys and me!

Summer at the Lake

This is the first summer where we have been members of the Lake.

I have wanted to become a member of the Lake ever since we'd moved to the country, but it wasn't until the end of last summer that I got an application for membership. When we were accepted for membership,  I was soooo excited, but the boys couldn't really appreciate how much fun it was going to be for us!

There is a beach area at the Lake.  I pack up and go to the Lake like I'm going to be there for hours.

Mostly because when we go to the Lake . . . we are there for hours!

The boys play in the water and swim and jump off the pier over and over again. 

The boys love hunting and catching tadpoles and baby frogs when they're at the Lake.

They catch the tadpoles and they let the tadpoles go . . .

I guess you call that "catch and release" tadpoles.  :)

For some reason, when we are at the Lake, the boys seem to get along and play well together.  It's like a magical place . . .

Even when most everyone has already left the Lake, the boys still want to stay and play.

Shane loves sitting in his little green chair right beside me on the beach under the umbrella as much as he loves playing in the water.  He's so funny.

After the boys play and play at the Lake, we usually end the day with a picnic meal under one of the pavilions by the Lake.

And so this summer will always be remembered for being the very first summer spent at the Lake for . . .

                                 the Ferrell boys and me!

Gardening at Nana and Pawpaw's House

My boys love going to my momma's house.  They call her Nana and they call my daddy Pawpaw.  :)

It's not a vacation for the boys when they go to visit my parents. Nope, my parents put them to work . . . usually outside in the garden.

On this day, the boys were helping Pawpaw dig for potatoes.

Even Shane helped by washing off the newly dug up potatoes.

The "fruits" of their labor . . . 

And as if digging up potatoes in the garden wasn't enough work for the boys . . . . Pawpaw had them take some of the dirt from the garden to the front yard to patch up some areas there.  The boys hitched a ride.  :)

While they were "working" so hard with Pawpaw, I was getting a tour of Nana's flowers blooming in her yard.  She calls these Lace Hydrangeas.

Some Coneflowers . . .

Pretty Pink Hydrangeas . . .

My momma's favorite part of her garden is her daylily flowerbed. 

She's going to a daylily farm this weekend that has special hybrid daylily bulbs.  

She had me take pictures of the different daylilies she already has so she wouldn't buy the same ones again.

She's making a daylily bed with just her fancy hybrid daylilies that she bought last year.

They are all so pretty . . . even the  common "ditch lilies" you can see in the background behind the special daylilies.

  My plan is to make a daylily bed at my house and take the bulbs that she "thins" out from her daylily flower bed.  :)  

Some of the daylilies were already passed their blooming prime, but you can tell how pretty they were.

All these special daylilies were mixed in with momma's "ditch lily" bed.  She's determined to get the special hybrid fancy daylilies out of the plain everyday "ditch lily" bed.  Which is great for me cause I can probably get as much of the "ditch lilies" as I want!  They're just as pretty to me.

Momma also has a herb garden with a great variety of herbs . . . chives, basil, and parsley . . .

Oregano and Thyme . . . 

Really and truly, my parent's gardens are pretty awesome.  Even their trees are better for climbing than the ones we have at our house according to Zach!

I don't know what makes Nana and Pawpaw's house so much fun, but for some reason . . . it's just a whole lot of fun for . . . 

                           the Ferrell boys and me!

Cheap Summer Fun

Summer is fun.  It can also be long when then kids get bored with everyday - all day - at home and same activities day in and day out. What do you do to make the everyday special?  Add water to the everyday activity!  And for an added bonus:  add some liquid soap!

We put a sprinkler under our trampoline.

 And then added liquid soap from the kitchen to make it really slippery.

The water made the trampoline more flexible so the boys could really get some height to their jumps.

Shane had on a graduation gown pretending to be Harry Potter.  He couldn't wait to get on the trampoline and join the fun.

This is such a fun activity, but it's also potentially dangerous so adult supervision is necessary and essential.

This has been a favorite repeat activity of the Ferrell boys.  

In fact, I caught them outside on the trampoline one afternoon with all their clothes on jumping and getting soaking wet!

I've moved the sprinkler and hose now so that they can't sneak outside for unsupervised Ferrell boy fun!  These boys really keep me on my toes!

Summer fun is what it's all about here with . . .

                               the Ferrell boys and me!