scrumpdiddleumptious

I have many food quirks, one of them being that I HATE bananas...except in Banana Nut Crunch cereal or in banana bread. I think it's a texture thing? Anyway, I have attempted banana bread in the past and it's always been too dry or not sweet enough and I've just resolved myself to buying good ole Mrs. Benner's at Landis Bakery. All of that changed yesterday, when I needed to use up the 3 very ripe bananas left behind by my brother. Ding, ding, ding - folks, we have a winner with this one! http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001465banana_bread.php

I can't wait to make this for playgroup or Sunday School or neighbors or anywhere else where I want to fool people into thinking I have domestic skills. Super yummy! I was out of butter from all our holiday baking, so I used Country Crock spread, and it still didn't mess anything up. I also added about 3/4 cup of walnuts and did not reduce the amount of sugar because what is the fun in that? Enjoy!

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method
No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

christmas highlights

Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's
*Nanny dressed up in a Santa suit and surprisingly fooled her little guests. No one was even suspicious of her leopard print gift sack. Harrison knew the secret and didn't make a peep.
*Sawyer completely tipping over in his chair during dinner. It was hard to sit still with all the excitement!
*Harrison giving out the gifts he purchased at his schools Tinsel Town - my mom received a "Friends Forever" paper weight. For Cappy there was a basketball game (which the boys were eager to demonstrate) plus Harrison went through his baseball cards and gave him all of his Boston Red Sox.

Christmas Morning
*Jonathan and I were slightly embarrassed to be seen in our long johns. But it was convenient to have John and Sandra there to snap the annual family picture. I feel horrible that they didn't end up in more pictures themselves, but they were busy little elves, mounting our new tv, hooking up our new printer and re-installing Microsoft Office to my computer, since whoopsie daisy, I accidentally deleted that.
*When Harrison saw the t.v. and Wii he "fainted" and then Sawyer collapsed on top of him. John nearly knocked them both out again when they pressed their grubby little hands all over the screen.
*Jonathan's hilarious gift tags - To: Loud Talker, From: Increasingly Hard of Hearing. And the fact that he wrapped the 4 karat CZ earrings that came free with the purchase of my perfume was pretty funny too.

Christmas Day
*Family in town from Russia, California, Maryland, Nebraska and Massachusetts.
*Mom crying about...well, none of us are really sure if it was the dolls or Hess trucks that opened the flood gates? I suspect it was missing mom-mom and pop-pop. The holidays are hard without them.
*Mom then laughing so hard that she continued to cry, this time it was Cappy who apparently fell out of his desk chair when karma struck!
*Lots of first place finishes on Mario Kart, by everyone except me! I'm pretty comfortable in 12th place, it seems.

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebrating with your family! Crazy as they may be, I love mine to pieces!

warm & bright

Today was Harrison's class party at school, and I got to go in and help. After considering my options (cookie frosting, glitter ornaments, dot paint) I quickly volunteered to run the Bingo table!

And can I just say that we have the BEST neighbors. Peggy knit these hats for my boys, and gave them the book "A Very Marley Christmas" signed by Bailey, their own golden retriever (my boys love their dog!)

She's getting a tin of cranberry cookies for sure!

add to your collection

of books
Do you have any books by Iza Trapani or Lucille Colandro? I discovered both authors at Sawyer's music class, and they are so much fun!

recipe collection
make these cookies! They are both festive and yummy!
http://www.recipezaar.com/White-Chocolate-Chip-Cranberry-Oatmeal-Cookies-112683

make-up
I am becoming a bit of a junkie. And just like the no-fail cookies posted above, these products are fool proof. I've never worn eyeliner before because I was such a mess trying to apply it and looked like a raccoon. Not with Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil so creamy, so simple, and SO much better then my eyes without liner. Also, Stila eyeshadow in Kitten and their pretty lipglazes (my fave is vanilla or mocha over Stila's Karen lipstick for a really subtle/natural lip) Stick some of these in your stocking!

tis the season

for gingerbread houses

Family. Jonathan's sister was here with us last week, and my brother and SIL arrive on Wednesday.

Snow! Or in reality, an ice storm, but the boys take what they can get.

A visit from Santa.

Treats! Thanks to Holly for this adorable idea!

days six & seven

Whew! Wrapping up here!
On day six we found out that Hollywood Studios was opening early, so we were there at 8am and ready to ride Toy Story Mania twice more! I was disappointed to learn that Lightening McQueen wasn't there on Saturday, but we did enjoy the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show and Backlot Express. Harrison rode and loved Rockin' Roller Coaster.

That night we had dinner at Epcot's Garden Grille, luckily, I had already stuffed myself with the delicious orange chicken in China because the food was almost inedible for me. The atmosphere also felt dingy - our least favorite meal of the week, by a lot! But, on the bright side, it was nice for the boys to see the characters one last time.

Sunday was our last day at Disney. So we capped off the trip with a final stop at the Magic Kingdom. We rode some of our favorites one last time, as well as hitting some rides we hadn't gotten to before
Snow White's Scary Adventure & The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - I love these both!
Swiss Family Treehouse - Harrison is a big fan of the movie, so this was fun for him to explore!
Indy Speedway - a favorite for Sawyer

Who knew our flight home would turn into a ride, too?

It was a great vacation!

day five

I apologize if your eyes are glazing over at this point, but I want to document all of these details before I forget - it's already jumbling together in my mind...
So, day 5 we headed to Animal Kingdom, bright and early for our safari breakfast at the Tuskar House. We had great food and great character interaction, plus another fun parade through the restaurant.

We were first in line for Kilimanjaro Safari, and as you can see the giraffe got VERY close to our jeep - amazing!

Harrison was a thrill seeker and rode Expedition Everest twice - I didn't think it lived up to all the hype, personally. On the other hand, I don't recall anyone mentioning the ride Dinosaur, so I had no expectations and I thought it was fantastic! Harrison squeezed his eyes shut at a couple of spots, but still rode it again with Jonathan - I consider it the real sleeper ride of Disney!

We also were blown away by the Lion King show, in my opinion it was Broadway worthy! The new Finding Nemo Musical was also very good, but not as mesmerizing, and a bit on the long side - Sawyer fell asleep. Our biggest mistake of the entire trip was riding Kali River Rapids, we were ring your shirts out, soaking, sopping wet and I didn't even think the ride was that fun! Definitely not worth it for me or Sawyer - we complained A LOT about our uncomfortable wet clothes, while Harrison figured since he was already wet, why not ride it again with dad?!

To get us back into good spirits we decide to go shopping at Downtown Disney that night. Nothing like some retail therapy and a yummy dinner from Earl of a Sandwich to cheer you up! The boys were so excited to play at the Lego store and stuff a Mr. Potato Head box at Once Upon a Toy - we spent a ton on souvenirs and I would have bought Christmas presents too, if I'd had room in our suitcases.

days three & four

I really didn't expect to enjoy Hollywood Studios as much as we did, but it was an absolute hit with Harrison and Sawyer.

We made a beeline for Toy Story Mania as soon as the park opened, and it did not disappoint. This was our favorite attraction of the entire trip! We immediately grabbed fast passes so we could go again. Good thing, since all the fast passes were gone before it was even lunch time!

Another thrill for Harrison was watching the Indiana Jones show

Other rides we checked out:
The Great Movie Ride - Harrison loved the shoot outs.
Muppet Vision 3D and Honey I Shrunk the Kids - which don't compare to Philarmagic for me, but the boys enjoyed both.
Voyage of the Little Mermaid - Harrison initially protested that this was for girls, but the villain and water effect had him loving it!
Tower of Terror - Harrison loved this and rode it twice, he did however get a little apprehensive at bedtime and decided to sleep in the bottom bunk, next to us, for the rest of our trip- lol.
Playhouse Disney- Sawyer loved dancing along at this live show, but Jonathan and I (along with all the parents in our section) thought the teeny tiny size of the characters was pretty lame (and hard to see!) Here is Sawyer trying to blow out the birthday candles on Minnie Mouse's cake - so cute!

We tried to sneak our 38" Sawyer onto Star Tours which had a 40" minimum to ride, but no dice. Jonathan hopped out of line with him and I rode with Harrison, I did not enjoy this one at all - I think along with spinning in circles, I don't tolerate the flight simulator rides well, either. Harrison liked it, but didn't ask to ride again.

Since it was a warm day, we took the boys back to the hotel in the afternoon so they could swim. Harrison had been begging to use the pool from the moment he saw it (we had a great view from our balcony) The water was heated, and the water slide was a highlight for both boys. That night we had our best meal of the week at The Kona Cafe (DELICIOUS!) After dinner, we were exhausted, but Harrison really wanted to head back to Hollywood Studios and see Fantasmic, so we decided to press on. The show was truly magical, and breathtaking - we all loved it! This will be a MUST see for me in the future.

On Thursday before heading to Epcot for the day, we took some photos at the hotel. I didn't see another hotel all week that would tempt me not to stay at The Wilderness Lodge, again (well, except for the Grand Floridian - which I think my boys would feel out of place in with all it's foufyness)

At Epcot we checked out the rest of the rides
Lving with the Land
Test Track - I thought it was so cool to be taken outdoors on the track, Harrison rode twice
Soarin - Harrison loved it, I skipped it when I found out it was another simulator
The Circle of Life - short film that I took Sawyer to while Harrison was on Soarin - so BORING, Sawyer fell asleep again.
Journey into Imagination - cute! I've always liked this one!
Turtle Talk with Crush - adorable!
Maelstrom - Harrison loved the vikings!
Gran Fiesta Tour - Sawyer was excited when we told him he'd be meeting Donald Duck the next day!



As much as we loved our hotel, Jonathan and I agreed that The Whispering Canyon Cafe, where we ate for dinner, was just mediocre. Expcept for the milkshakes...those were YUM!

day two

The day kicked off with breakfast at Ohana's (located in the Polynesian hotel). My boys were especially excited to meet Lilo & Stitch and Mickey Mouse. Our pals Goofy, and Pluto were there too! After autographs and photos, they passed out maracas and did a parade through the restaurant. Our food was excellent!

Then it was back to Magic Kingdom for more rides

Space Mountain (Harrison) - he loved it, and rode it twice
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Harrison) - loved it!
Peter Pan's Flight - we were very lucky to meet Pan himself!

Mickey's PhilarMagic - a favorite for all of us! Sawyer trying to reach out and grab the 3-D images was just priceless.
Golden Carousel - Sawyer wanted to ride this over and over

Dumbo - I still remember riding these when I was five years old!

Mad Tea Party - many thanks to Jonathan for riding this with the boys, as it makes me sick to even look at!
Astro Orbiter - I decided at the top that I couldn't stomach this one either, I just can't handle rides that go around in circles. Blech. The boys (especially Sawyer) loved this! You are supposed to be 7 to ride alone, but no one questioned Harrison when I wimped out of my rocket ride.
Stitch's Great Escape - didn't scare Harrison
Barnstormer - another favorite of Harrison's from our last time at Disney, and a favorite for both boys this time!

It's a Small World - I got a little teary thinking about my grandmother and how this ride was her favorite!

That night we went to Epcot for just a couple of hours, the boys enjoyed Spaceship Earth (the new ending is so fun!) and The Seas with Nemo they were also thrilled to discover McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner! Aah, all the comforts of home!

day one

My boys appropriately wore their "are we there yet?" t-shirts on the plane, and upon landing in Orlando, Sawyer tapped the man in the next aisle and shouted "I GO SEE MICKEY MOUSE!!!" they were so, super excited for our vacation to begin!

We took the shuttle to our hotel and the lobby was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Harrison was thrilled to see the bunk beds in our room, and quickly claimed the top bunk. But there was no time to rest, we pretty much took our park hoppers and headed to the boat. Conveniently, the ferry took us right to Magic Kingdom in about 8 minutes. Before dinner, we were able to hit several rides

Pirates of the Caribbean - both boys loved it! I was surprised to find that when you sit in the front row you get splashed a lot more then you'd expect!
Jungle Cruise - never been a favorite for me, but fun for the boys
The Haunted Mansion - both boys loved it, the Russell brothers do not scare easily
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin - Harrison's favorite from last time we were in Disney, and still a huge hit!

We had an early dinner at The Liberty Tree Tavern, where we met characters - Pluto, Goofy, Chip & Dale and Minnie Mouse.

My boys were excited to break out their autograph books and get hugs and high-fives from the characters. The food was okay, not great, but the atmosphere could not be beat - it was a great way to kick off our vacation!

we interrupt your normally scheduled Disney re-cap

to bring you this...

Harrison lost his first tooth today at school! He said he was wiggling it with his tongue during circle time and out it popped! The one right next to it is loose too, so we may be singing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" this year! I seriously cannot believe he's growing up so fast!

we're home!

Jonathan asked me if I could choose any job at Disney, what would it be? I quickly decided on Sleeping Beauty (a princess + unlimited sleep? Sign me up!) Unfortunately, when you take your kids on vacation, it's more like Cinderella in her pre glass slipper days ;) We had a great time! Look for obnoxiously long, detailed posts tomorrow!