Chocolate Chip Pancakes With Buttermilk Syrup

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Okay, this is seriously so yummy!  It's basically the epitome of dessert for breakfast because the pancakes taste like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.  Mmm!

I don't have a special pancake recipe.....I just use Bisquick mix, but trust me, they are divine!  In order to make your chocolate chip pancakes simply whip up some Bisquick pancake batter and the pour it onto your greased griddle or pan to start making pancakes like normal.  Then grab some milk chocolate chips and sprinkle them on top of your batter (shown below).  You can flip the pancakes just like normal too....easy peasy!

The buttermilk syrup is so good.  I honestly don't know if I can go back to normal maple syrup.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla

Directions
Put the butter, sugar and buttermilk in a large sauce pan (you want it to be large because this syrup foams and you don't want it to overflow).  Bring those ingredients to a boil.  Continue stirrings and let it boil for several minutes (around 4 or so).  Remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla.  This is where it's going to foam up.  Keep stirring.  The foaminess will go away as the syrup cools down and as you keep stirring it.  Then pour it over your pancakes, french toast, waffles or just drink it up haha.

If you have left overs, you can just refrigerate it and then heat it back up in the microwave.  I'm not entirely sure how long it lasts....ours is always finished off within a week - so I know it at least lasts a week :)

Wish I'd Known: Extra "lovey"

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Today's tip is from Alysha:

Have an extra "lovey"

If there is a particular stuffed animal or blanket you notice your child is attached to, buy a twin!  We noticed this with my little sister-in-law who loved her 'puppy' and so they could never get it away from her to wash it, and if they left/lost it somewhere, the world stopped until they could find it!  Seeing that, we bought a twin for Wyatt's favorite toy, Dumbo, and it's great!  We switch them out to wash when one gets dirty, and if we leave/lose one, we have an extra!

What a great tip Alysha.  Thanks!!!

Bath Foam Faces

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My daughter LOVED this.  I used the foam sheets that can be bought at any craft store, Wal-mart or even dollar store.  Then I cut out the different shapes needed to made a face.  For the eyes I used permanent marker to draw the iris and pupil since I didn't want to have to cute out more little circles, but I would recommend just using foam.....the marker still came off a little bit.  The great thing about the foam is that you don't need magnets, velcro or anything other than water to make it stick to the bathtub wall or onto itself!

She put the boys nose on crooked so he looked a bit like Pinochio ha.

Mommapproved: Gentle Naturals

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I am so excited to start doing "Mommapproved" posts.  These posts are designed to have things that moms think are a must buy or a waste of money.  If you have anything you just couldn't live without as a mom or you wish you hadn't bought, let me know!

Our first mommapproved product is from Dana: 

My son was born with really bad eczema and I had a hard time trying so many different things and wasting money to help his skid.  I know every kid is different, but I found a cream called Gentle Naturals that really helped him and helps keep the eczema somewhat under control.  It's really hard to deal with so I feel like mom's can be unprepared for that!  It seems to be very common from asking other people.

I also have other tips and tricks I've used for his eczema.  One of the best is Vaseline and LONG socks to cover him up.

Thanks Dana!  I'm so glad you sent this in.  I know several people who have babies suffering from eczema and with Winter heading our way it's just going to get worse.

Alphabet Handprint Art

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It's the post you've all been waiting for.....the WHOLE alphabet!  Here you go!

Like I mentioned before, there are some letters that you have a ton of options, so I thought I'd list a few other options I cane up with for the letters!  I'd love to see your handprint art!

A - Apple, Acorn, Aligator, Alpaca, Angel, Antelope, Ax

B - Bird, Bat, Balloon(s), Baboon, Baseball, Basketball, Bee, Boat, Broccoli, Butterfly

C - Crab, Cat, Cabin, Car, Camel, Camera, Castle, Caterpillar, Cow

D - Dinosaur, Dog, Deer, Dandelion, Donkey, Dragon, Duck, Drum

E - Elephant, Eagle, Earth, Eggplant, Elk, Evergreen, Eye

F - Fish, Fire, Face, Fireworks, Flamingo, Ferret, Fox, Frog, Fries

G - Giraffe, Gorilla, Ghost, Goose, Guitar, Gerbil 

H - Heart, Hamburger, Hat, Hamster, Helicopter, Hippo, Horse

I - Ice cream, Igloo, Iguana, Impala

J - Jelly fish, Jack-O-Lantern, Jaguar, Jester

K - Kite, Kangaroo, Key, King

L - Lion, Ladybug, Lamp, Leaf, Leopard, Leprechaun, Lightbulb, Llama, Lizard, Lobster

M - Mouse, Monkey, Mermaid, Monster, Moose, Money

N - Nest, Nose, Newt

O - Octopus, Orangutan, Ogre, Ox, Ostrich, Owl, Ox 

P - Peacock, Painting, Panda, Palm Tree, Penguin, Pig, Pineapple, Pine tree, Pumpkin

Q - Queen, Quail

R - Rose, Raccoon, Ring, Rooster, Rino, Rocking horse, Rocket

S - Spider, Sailboat, Starfish, Seaweed, Ship, Shoe, Skirt, Skunk, Soccer ball, Strawberry

T - Tree, Teapot, Tent, Tiger, Turtle, Tongue, Turkey, Taco

U - Umbrella, Unicorn

V - Vampire, Volcano, Van, Violin, Vulture

W - Whale, Wagon, Walrus, Watermelon, Windmill, Wolf, Wolverine, Woolly mammoth 

X - Xylophone, X-ray

Y - Yak, Yacht, Yarn

Z - Zebra, Zucchini, Zoo

Mommy Moment: Baby "Rocks"

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Today's Mommy Moment is from Linsey

I was getting my 5 year old out the door to kindergarten this morning when I opened her back pack and realized I had forgotten to give her her teach and tell object. I pulled out the special bag, placed the object inside and as I was putting the special bag back in her pack, I noticed a few somethings that were tiny and round rolling around in the bottom of her back pack. 

As my curious and, hopefully, imaginative mind started to mull around the possibilities of what these small, brown, round, dry looking objects could be, I said, "What's this? Did you have a snack at school?" Then I pulled it out starting to guess as to what these little things could be... hoping they were maybe some new product I hadn't seen before, like cookie dough bites or little round cookies.

As I pulled out what I was starting to suspect were something pretty disgusting my daughter said, "Mom! Those are my surprise I brought home for you!" 

I chuckled as I said, "Oh! That is so sweet of you to think of me! Where did you find this...'surprise'?"

"On the playground during recess!"

As I saw little bits of grass through the dry round balls, further evidence proving what I already knew in my heart, I said, "Thank you so much, sweetie! This is so great, but next time you see these you better just leave them on the ground."

"Why?"

"Because, sweetie, they're droppings. They're deer poopies."

She just laughed out loud and crinkled her nose as she said, "Oh they are!? I thought they were little baby rocks!" She tossed her back pack across her shoulders and happily skipped out to the car while I promptly threw them in the garbage and washed my hands thoroughly... hoping she had also done the latter yesterday.

Columbus Day Ships

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Since today is Columbus Day, I decided to do a little ship craft/activity with my daughter.  We used a Powerade bottle lid, but you could also use any lid around that size that you have around, or a small plastic bowl.  All you need is a lid, sticky tac (or hot glue) a toothpick and paper.  So easy!

I filled a baking dish with water and put the little ship in the water.  My daughter then got to blow it around the dish.  If she blew too hard, the ship would sink, so that was a bummer, but she still liked it.  

 I then did the same thing with a little plastic bowl that we had so it wouldn't sink.