A Few of My Favorite Things

I am sorry to keep you all waiting for this!  I made this ice cream today,but was running late and couldn't post it up. This is my new summer get together dessert. It was EASY and YUMMY and looked like a professional made it.  Did I mention it was Yummy!   :)   The original recipe is from Allrecipes and was submitted by KLONGMORE.  The best part of this recipe is that is can be changed up a bit and still be awesome!  I used chocolate sundae syrup and crushed Oreos, but you can add any flavors you'd like!  Check out the recipe reviews .  There are a gazillion different ideas there!   The ingredients can easily be doubled for a bigger cake, too!   Easy Ice Cream Cake (Ali's version) Submitted By: KLONGMORE Photo By: silversong Prep Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Servings:  10 Ingredients: MY additions are in BLUE 16 ice cream sandwiches (I used 10) 1 (16 o...

My oldest son started saying this a few months ago.  It was always totally unrelated to anything going on.  He would yell it out the front door.  Out the car windows.  At little league.  I just thought he was silly and weird.  (I mean that in the nicest, motherly way possible.) Then I went into his class for his end of the year party.  His friends drew turtles on his shirt.  "They must know he likes turtles," I thought to myself.  "How sweet."  Then I noticed all the boys had turtles drawn on their shirts.    Where did this infatuation come from?  Well, you know when you have an older sibling, you sometimes see different shows.  Or if you have kids, you can't stay up to watch any shows because you're so freakin' tired.  Anyway, I digress...   This is why the boys in my son's class liked turtles so much. This was actually shown on Tosh.O.  If you don't know about D...

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I try to stay organized.  I really do!  It's not easy being the CEO of the household.  I have 5 different schedules to manage.  And as many times I share the schedule with DH, he never seems to remember it.  Annoying! MomAgenda is an amazing website with tons of organizing planners and items to make a mommy's life a little more manageable. Every year I "arm" myself with a new momAgenda (this year it will be this ). The momAgenda Mini-Daily is great to carry in your purse and allows you to keep the family's schedule at your fingertips.  The calendar runs from August to August, so it is perfect to pick up when you are shopping for all those school supplies. To keep my hubbie on track, I use a Family Planner .  I copy the schedule from my Mini-Daily to the Family Planner that is magnetically attached to my fridge.  There are no questions about who belongs where because everything is posted. If you can see the picture ...

As I was perusing the alcohol aisle at my local Costco, I was stunned to see a favorite of mine for $6 for 1.5 Liters. (Yes that's a BIG bottle, my friends!)   Forza Moscato For those of you who have not tried Moscato, it is a light flavored white wine.  It tastes like a sweet and sugary dessert!  Forza Moscato is described as a "refreshing wine product." Check out its review on What's In Your Glass? I think I am developing a pattern here.  Most of the "beverages" I prefer tend to be light and easy to consume.  Forza Moscato is great on a hot, humid evening (we've been having LOTS of those here on Long Island- not good for your hair, but JUST FINE to drink in).  It is easy to serve and "likeable" (I'm giving it a "thumbs up" in my head.) It is also an AMAZING value at $6 for 1.5Liters.  I DOUBLE HEART Costco! Cheers,

I was thinking this weekend that I never properly introduced myself to you- my "friends in my head". I am Ali, 34, mother of three.  Two boys ages 7 and 5 and a little girl, 10 months old. I am a Speech Pathologist.  I work in a special education school for children with varying degrees of autism and behavior disabilities.  I work September though June and am off the summers. DH is in the restaurant business.  He works alot! So there's my background.  DH has been working 2 to 3 days out of state for the last month and a half.  It wasn't so bad when the kids were at school and I was at work.  Life continued as usual.  This summer we were lucky to take a family vacation the first week of July.  It was the first time in years that we spent a full week together.  It was wonderful! Now that we have returned, it's back to reality.  I KNOW it's not easy to be at home all day long with the rugrats.  However, ca...

In an attempt to keep the boys off the DSi XL and Wii during the heatwave the Northeast is having, I have been crafting or cooking with them.  Today I am posting about one of favorite crafts- Sand Art! How, you may ask, do you keep this budget friendly? All you need is a few ingredients from you home: Salt (table salt works better, coarse salt is hard to color) Sidewalk Chalk cups Step 1:  Line up a bunch of plastic cups and fill with salt Step 2:  Have the little ones pick their favorite color chalk. Step 3: Swirl the chalk into the salted cups (sounds like a Margarita, but it's too early in NY for that- I'll take a Bloody Mary instead).  The longer your "swirl", the darker the color with be! Viola!  Colored "sand"! Step 4:  Find a container, make a picture, whatever you like!  Sorry for the pictures!  I am trying to get posted before I bring the kids to the children's museum before it gets crowded.  My foo...

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This is an oldie I found from a few years ago.  It's is a favorite of mine! It is cooling and deep cleaning. Why do I need it this morning- read on and I will explain. Queen Helene Mint Julep Mas que First of all, this masque will not break the bank (you can find it at CVS, your local drugstore, or here ). Secondly, it will remove all your blemishes, blackheads, and other yuckies. Third, you can use it on your face, neck, legs, arms, back (good for the hubbies), etc... Fourth, it is really refreshing after a night of vino and partying.  Why do I need that masque you ask?  Whadidyado  Ali?  Well... I went out last night! No kids, no hubbie (though I wish he was there). I saw the most AMAZING concert of my life! U2 OMG! What a night!  Before U2 start their shows, "Major Tom"is played.  We watched video of the band walking onto the stage! Talk about the crowd going crazy!  U2 started the show with "The Re...

I found the original recipe on Allrecipes.com.  I have altered it a little bit, but the basic recipe is a good foundation to start with.  Our Family's Banana Banana Bread Recipe Adapted from Shelley Albeluhn's Banana Banana Bread 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas(or as many bananas as you have in your kitchen.  We usually use 6.) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract for flavor Granulated sugar to sprinkle on top of muffins DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Put liners into muffin pan. 2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to combine.  The batter will be moist. Pour batter into muffin pan. 3. Bake in prehea...

Here is my first edition of Tipsy Tuesdays !  Every week I will review a new "spirited" beverage.  My first review is of one of my all time faves Hob Nob Pinot Noir Let me start by saying I love red wine!  It's great with a fancy dinner, appetizers with friends, or pizza with the hubbie and kids.  (The latter is typically my "wine scene" these days)  I used to drink primarily Merlots, but sometimes a vintage would be a little too acidic for my taste. A wine sommelier may differ in her interpretation of Merlot wine, but that's what I taste and I'm sticking to it! I found Hob Nob during our yearly trip to cut down our Christmas tree.  After hours of walking through fields of pine needles and whiny kids, we stopped at a local  pizzeria to feed the beasts before our long ride home.  There DH and I enjoyed our first bottle of Hob Nob Pinot Noir.  (Do you hear the choirs of angels singing?  Believe me, it was a miracle that we...

Hi everyone! Not sure if this is necessary, but my new blog name is Ali's Answers. My new address is www.alianswers.blogspot.com. It is great to start catching up with all my old blogging "friends in my head". It has been too long! Happy Monday!

I have that LL COOL J song in my head- Mamma Said Knock You Out!  Cheesy I know! It's been well over 2 years since I've posted.  Time flies!  I have been lurking on my favorite blogs, but just not in that "blogging state of mind".  Something just clicked recently and I felt like I needed to get get back on here.  I look forward to getting to know you all again. Some major changes have occurred for me since my last post: 1.  Our family of 4 is now a family of 5.   Number 1 is now 7 1/2 and  Number 2 is now 5 1/2.  My Peanut girl is 10 months old.  It was definitely an adjustment going back to "baby" again.  The boys were well past diapers and sleepless nights.  Oh sleep- how I miss you so! 2.  DH is still working hard!  He works for a celebrity chef's casual dining chain and is traveling all over the Northeast!  3.  I have been trying to lose weig...