Tag - homemade

Cinnamon Rolls for a Really Good Day

September 24, 2015

Some days I actually manage to get on top of all the craziness of life and check enough things off the to-do list that I feel accomplished and able to relax. Some days my boys are sweet and cooperative, I am focused and ambitious, and we have a really great day.

This was such a day. One Tuesday when Josiah (my middlest) was about 2 years old. I’d managed to straighten the house, vacuum AND mop the floors, and spend time with my littlest guy before he had a good nap. Josiah even managed to wake up on his own from his nap (instead of me having to wake him) so that we could go pick up Elijah from school. Elijah had had a great day at school – he’d taken in a story that he’d “written” and got to “read” it to his class. Plus the weather was nice enough that we even spent a little while at the playground, which my boys always love.

Everyone was having a fabulous day.

So when we got home, I felt like making something special for us. We do a lot of brownies and cookies around here, so I decided to veer a little off our beaten path and make cinnamon rolls.

I have a really easy recipe that my mom found years ago that is delicious. In theory, it shouldn’t take more than two hours from start to finish, with lots of down time while the dough is either rising or baking. My house was fairly clean, my boys were happy, and dinner was already made (leftover Beef, Barley, & Veggie soup). I could do this. No problem.

Mixing up the dry ingredients went well. Adding the water, butter, and egg was simple. Letting it rise the first time was actually so easy that I let it go a little longer than 30 minutes. My boys were happily playing together, and things were good.

: Combine flour, sugar, yeast, & salt.

: Stir in water, butter, & eggs. Combine until smooth.

And then it came time to roll out the dough, and my boys volunteered to get in the way and make a mess while they ignored my directions help. Whatever playing they had been doing since we got home seemed to have amped them up to busy levels too fidgety to be truly helpful with the dough. After getting out unnecessary utensils, rearranging the mail on the counter, getting into the flour one too many times, and someone shoving someone else AGAIN, they were sent upstairs to play so that I could use just a few minutes to spread out the dough, smear butter on it, and top it with cinnamon and sugar before rolling it all up together into a happy little tube of deliciousness. It would take me 10 minutes tops.

Josiah must have known the perfect moment that Mommy’s hands would be covered in melty butter, cinnamon, and sugar and busy wrangling stickier-than-normal dough into a long tube.

That’s when I heard the squeal-meets-laugh from Elijah and his yell of, “Josiah is trying to flush stuffed animals down the potty!”

: After dough has risen, roll dough out on floured surface.

: Spread with butter, then sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mix over it all.

So, I had to leave my cinnamon half-rolls, hurriedly rinse my hands, and sprint to the bathroom to rescue a random toy from a swirly. I was bit too late – when I got there, Elijah was giggling while holding a dripping, soggy Cookie Monster over my just-mopped-this-afternoon floor, and Josiah was standing with his hand on the toilet handle, excitedly waiting to flush it again.

Josiah was “firmly informed” that playing in the toilet is not allowed. After wiping up my bathroom floor with a disinfectant wipe, I “adamantly requested” that my boys take all the other stuffed toys piled in the hallway – How did all these get downstairs? – back upstairs and put them away (there were at least a dozen of them). Elijah was stationed on the couch, punished as an encouraging accomplice. Josiah was relocated to the high chair in the kitchen where I could keep an eye on him while I somewhat discouragedly finished rolling, cutting, and moving cinnamon rolls to the pan.

With a sigh, I put our “treat for having such a good day” into the oven.

By the time the rolls were baked, cooled, and covered in icing (I adapted a recipe for icing from here), all warm, gooey, and cinnamon-y, the boys were behaving better, finishing their dinner, and regaling Daddy with tales all about their day.

They told him about going to the playground, Elijah reading his story at school, Josiah doing puzzles with Mommy that morning.

They left out getting in trouble for fighting, playing in the flour, and flushing Cooking Monster (okay, well, Elijah made sure to mention that, but not his part in it).

They only focused on the better parts of the day.

I had had time to get over my frustrations with curious, active boys who can go quickly from sweet and cooperative darlings to mess-making tornadoes with a tendency to argue and fight with each other. I decided to follow their example and focus on the better parts of the day. When I revisited it, the nice things definitely outweighed the bad, and it was still a pretty good day.

For that we all should celebrate. Thankfully, I’d made just the thing.

Here’s the recipe for those special days when you need a little reward.

Easy recipe for delicious homemade cinnamon rolls.

Get more recipes, ideas, & encouragement from this real-life mom as I experience God’s faithfulness through the joy and chaos of motherhood.

Join my email list!
First Name

Email address:

Tried It Tuesday: Kings Island Blue Ice Cream Copycat Recipe

August 25, 2015

13 Comments

LifeinLapeHaven.com: Tried It Tuesday - Kings Island Blue Ice Cream copycat recipe. This creamy, slightly berry flavored blue ice cream is a close substitute for Kings Island's famous blue, blueberry, Smurf ice cream. Yum.

For several years, the company that Brad worked for rewarded their employees with tickets for them and their families to different special events. When we were first engaged, in fact the day after we got engaged, we had passes to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio (the BEST amusement park EVER). I spent the day staring at my ring, getting used to the feel of it, and answering congratulatory texts from friends and family while waiting in line to face down some epic roller coasters (Millennium Force, anyone?)

Over the next few years, we got to pick between either Cedar Point or Kings Island (since both parks are owned by the same company). When Elijah was a little over two, we decided to use our tickets for a family day and introduce him to one of the parks.

Since Kings Island was closer to home, and since we knew we’d be in the kiddie area all day (Planet Snoopy features all the Peanuts characters, and Elijah has ALWAYS loved Charlie Brown), we headed to Cincinnatti for a little getaway. We spent the morning at the park, then checked into a hotel in the afternoon so that our little guy could get a good nap before we went back to Kings Island for the evening. The next morning, after time in the pool, we headed home, taking our time and finding a few other adventures along the way.

It became an instant tradition for our family, and when Josiah was all of four months old, he enjoyed the sights and sounds of Kings Island from his stroller or being snuggled up to mommy in his carrier.

Then a couple of years ago, Brad’s company changed plans, hosting their employee outings at the zoo instead. It was still a great event, but Elijah missed our tradition.

So that year we made sure to set aside a day to visit Kings Island. Elijah even saved up his birthday money to pay for his own ticket because he REALLY wanted to go (and we were trying to teach him that if you spend a dollar here and a dollar there, you don’t get to do anything big with it).

: Our boys and Snoopy

: The Eiffel Tower at Sunset

: Our twice-rained-on, hot, tired, but happy family

: The fountains in the plaza at sunset

Having grown up in Ohio, I remember going to Kings Island when I was about Elijah’s age, and it was something special to see my little guys smiling at the fountains at the entrance and leaning way back to look up at the (replica) Eiffel Tower. With two boys big enough to enjoy the park, or at least their portion of the park, we knew it would be a wonderful day.

And it was…even when it stormed. And it did, as in thunder and lightning and downpours stormed. After hanging out in a gift shop until the rain let up, we wandered out to see what rides were open. That was when I noticed the blue ice cream.

Even though I’d been to Kings Island often in my lifetime, I’d never paid any attention to the blue ice cream sold in the park. However, a few days before this year’s trip, someone mentioned it on Facebook. So when I saw it, I was curious. What does blue ice cream taste like? Why are there so many people in line for it? Have I been missing out on something all these years???

I had to know. I suggested we have some ice cream while we waited for the rides to dry off. Hubby requires very little coaxing about that kind of thing, so that’s what we did.

One bite, and the long lines made sense: Creamy and sweet with a subtle blueberry-raspberry flavor. Yum!

We were all pleasantly surprised and immediately hooked, and it was declared that blue ice cream would become part of our Kings Island tradition from that day forward.

: Raspberry & vanilla extract, pudding mix, and optional food coloring bring this ice cream its personality.

: Egg yolks whisked with sugar.

: Cream, milk, and remaining sugar heating up.

Only I didn’t want to wait until next year, so a few days after our trip, I was on Pinterest, looking for a copycat recipe for Kings Island’s blue ice cream, or blueberry ice cream, or Smurf ice cream (The blue ice cream was originally created in 1982, when the kiddie area was all Hanna-Barbera, and they introduced a Smurf ride – That was my favorite ride when I was a little girl).

However, if someone has a copycat recipe for this blue ice cream, they aren’t sharing it. After Pinterest, I tried Google. The only thing I learned was that there is a small ice cream shop near Cincinnatti that buys the same mix that Kings Island uses, and they serve it year-round. Nice for them, but no recipe for me.

I went back to Pinterest and pulled the recipes for any blue ice cream I could find, even though none of them said anything about Kings Island. One did mention Smurf ice cream and used raspberry extract, so that’s the one I tried.

In case you’re wondering, here’s a link to the ice cream maker that we use. (It is an affiliate link which means that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a small commission when you purchase something through the link.) —> ICE CREAM MAKER

: Whisking the pudding mix and extracts into the ice cream base.

: Making it blue, like a Smurf.

The first time around I followed the recipe exactly and was rewarded with a blue ice cream that tasted like Froot Loops milk. Boo. The boys liked it, but eh…not me. The lemon oil really takes over.

The second time around I left out the lemon completely, hoping that the raspberry would shine through more but still be subtle.

Now, since it had been a few weeks since we’d had the original ice cream at the park, it was hard to say for exactly sure that it’s a 100% copy of that ice cream, but it was close enough and tasty enough that my household was happy. This recipe will definitely work for us to satisfy those blue ice cream cravings until we can get back to the park each summer.

: Watching the ice cream churn…and hanging on the counter.

: Churn, baby, churn.

: Our version of Kings Island’s Blue Ice Cream

Updated Note: If I weren’t making this to show others that it tastes like the blue ice cream at Kings Island, I would not have added any blue food coloring. It really isn’t necessary to the taste. We have since learned that our boys are sensitive to artificial food dyes (it causes behavioral changes in all of them), so we avoid them completely now.

Also, I might play around with how much raspberry extract I add the next time I make it. I’m just wondering how a little more would taste…

If blue ice cream isn’t your thing, you can always check out my recipe for homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, too. 🙂

Get more ideas, recipes, & encouragement from this real-life mom as I experience God’s faithfulness through the joy and chaos of motherhood.

Join my email list!
First Name

Email address:

Tried It Tuesday: 2-Ingredient Tub & Shower Cleaner

July 14, 2015

1 Comment

About three years ago, we had to redo our entire bathroom due to a leak. (Ok, actually we only HAD to replace the tub and surround and flooring, but we CHOSE to update the sink, vanity, mirror, and toilet at the same time.) We put in a new tub and surround and finished it off with beautiful oil-rubbed bronze fixtures. Since everything was being redone, we put bronze fixtures on the sink as well. It was so pretty and pulled together.

Within a few weeks’ time, I was regretting the bronze fixtures. They were not the easiest things to clean. Then I started noticing calcium build-up from our water on the shower curtain, fixtures, and I could even feel it on the shower walls, despite the fact that I was cleaning them all as recommended with “gentle cleaners.”

So for the last few years, I have hated cleaning our bathroom. I do it, but I have dreaded it every time. It feels like wasted effort when you clean, and then what you cleaned (and tried really hard to clean well) doesn’t look or feel clean. Ugh.

And I tried all kind of cleaners, techniques, and ideas. Nothing worked well and easily. If it worked decently, it took forever and wore me out. If it was easy, it didn’t really do the job.

Then, hallelujah! I found a new idea to try in late February this year. Scrolling through my Pinterest feed, I saw a recipe for what some called a soap-scum remover and others named it a shower cleaner that only required vinegar and Dawn dish detergent, the two darlings of homemade cleaners. Since I’d been using vinegar to get some of the calcium deposits off, I was intrigued. When I read the directions that made it seem rather simple and easy, I was ready to try it out.

I heated ½ cup of white vinegar in the microwave (about a minute or so), poured it into a spray bottle, added ½ cup of dish detergent (I didn’t have Dawn on hand, so I used my generic-version of Dawn), and swirled the bottle to mix the ingredients. Then I sprayed down my entire shower surround, tub, fixtures, and even the shower curtain. Following the instructions, I left it alone for 2 hours…and then some. I had lunch to make, kids to wrangle, and then it was time for naps.

So, a bit over 2 hours later, I went back in with a damp kitchen cloth (it has some texture to it), took a swipe at the bathtub ring, and the results: AMAZING.

I actually stood back in shock.

The yucky stuff had wiped right off! I was staring at clean, shiny tub! Excited and inspired by the first result, I went to work wiping down and rinsing the rest of the tub. I did have to slightly scrub at a few places that were more built-up, but even those were easy compared to my previous cleaning attempts.

This worked so well, even on the bronze fixtures, that I was HAPPY to be cleaning.

Wait…what?!?

Yep. Happy to finally be able to really get my bathroom clean and sparkling without stinky chemicals or hours of scouring.

I have been using this recipe ever since. Always works like a charm.

One warning, though: Hot vinegar is potent. Whew! When I spray this in the shower, I do it quickly and hold my breath. It will make your bathroom smell like vinegar during those two hours you leave it on there, but once you’ve rinsed it off, your bathroom will just smell clean, which is exactly what you want.

2-Ingredient Tub & Shower Cleaner

½ cup Vinegar

½ cup Dawn (or equivalent dish detergent)

Spray Bottle

Heat vinegar in microwave for a minute to a minute-and-a-half. Pour into spray bottle. (I use a funnel to limit the mess). Add ½ of dish detergent. Put the spray nozzle on, and swirl the bottle to mix the ingredients. Spray tub, shower, or fixtures. Leave it alone for 2 hours. Wipe off with a damp cloth and rinse area clean. Rejoice over an easily cleaned bathroom.

Tried It Tuesday: Homemade Sidewalk Paint

July 7, 2015

5 Comments

Tried It Tuesday - Homemade SIdewalk Paint. This easy DIY homemade sidewalk chalk paint is a great way to get your kids outside and creating some adorable masterpieces. Made with ingredients you already have in your cabinet!

With the rain finally staying away and allowing us to have some summer sun, the boys want to be outside constantly, and being energetic, curious, creative boys, they are always looking for something different to get into, especially if it’s messy.

Yesterday, we satisfied that mess-loving, outdoor-play need with a little homemade sidewalk painting.

We’ve actually tried this once before, so I knew it would be a hit. Elijah is our resident artist, so anything crafty or involving drawing or coloring, he’s there. Josiah is not quite as artistic, but he’s starting to enjoy drawing simple things, like circles and his interpretation of faces and “writing” letters.

If nothing else, I knew they would both have fun getting messy. Because that will happen. It did last time, so I fully expected it this time.

I was not disappointed, and neither were they.

Whipping up a batch of sidewalk paint is really easy:

SIDEWALK PAINT

1 part cornstarch

1 part water

Food coloring

I actually used 1½ cups each of water and cornstarch, mixing them thoroughly together in a large spouted bowl, then poured the slurry into a couple of my muffin tins.

I’ve found it’s a good idea to fill every other cup of the tin because little guys will slop colors around, and if they are all side-by-side, you’ll end up with murky brownish colors in every cup really quickly. I filled each cup about halfway full and ended up with at least 10 cups to paint from.

When we added food coloring to the half-filled cups of the muffin tin, we mixed up a rainbow of colors, plus black (all colors) and brown (red, yellow, & green), and we left a couple of them white.

All that’s left to do is get painting.

We started out using foam brushes, which work really nicely on the smooth concrete by our fish pond (The foam can get a little mangled when used on the rougher sidewalks if you aren’t careful).

The paint dries the brightest if you paint slowly and let portions somewhat dry before adding a new color, but try telling that to a little one who is just having a blast with the swirling colors. At their age, they aren’t as concerned with the final result as we might be.

Inevitably, my guys discarded the brushes to do a little sidewalk finger painting.

And then some body painting.

And some pour-everything-out-and-mix-it-around-with-your-hands-and-feet painting, which actually gave us some pretty cool results.

Yes, they were messy, but as I said, getting messy is part of the fun.

So far, we haven’t had any issues with the paint staining clothes, but I can’t make any promises. We did have two little boys who needed a good soak in the tub afterward, but they were two very happy little boys.

This is definitely something I can see us trying again soon.

Tag - homemade

Cinnamon Rolls for a Really Good Day

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Tried It Tuesday: Kings Island Blue Ice Cream Copycat Recipe

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Tried It Tuesday: 2-Ingredient Tub & Shower Cleaner

2-Ingredient Tub & Shower Cleaner

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Tried It Tuesday: Homemade Sidewalk Paint

SIDEWALK PAINT

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: