Even our Pancakes are Looking like Chirstmas

Two Christmas Trees, a Candy Cane and a Rocket Ship.
Loving made by Jeff.

I know what you are thinking, a rocket ship isn't very Christmasy.
And you are right but Jake is very much into rockets.
He makes everything into a rocket ship;
tooth brushes, markers, socks, spoons, pieces of bread.
He sees the world as one big rocket ship.

So he wanted nothing to do with Christmas pancakes.
Only a rocket ship would do.

Pancakes for the Cause

Every Saturday morning, Jeff makes pancakes.

He is really gotten very good at it.
He makes pancakes to celebrate holidays.
He makes pancakes to help bring in the of change seasons.
He makes pancakes special for each child, especially Hayden.
And he even has done a how-to post for all my lovely readers.

But today, the pancakes took on a different meaning.
Our pancakes today were made in honor of Jeff's Mom.

You see earlier in the week, Grandma B found out the she has a tumor on and around her liver and bile ducts. And while we don't have the official results, all signs point the fact that she has cancer.

It is amazing how in a phone call, in a moment, life can change.

So what kind of pancake did Jeff make to honor his Mom and this new challenge?

Well, Liver Pancakes of course.
With a side of Gall Bladder.

We LOVE you Grandma B.
We are here for you no matter what.
Cheering you on, holding your puke bucket and supporting you all the way.
No matter what happens!

Daddy's Little Helper's

Yum, Pancakes!

Pancakes made by Daddy. Want to learn how?
Click here.

What an Egg-citing Day

Happy Easter! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. We sure did. This was the first Easter in a long time where is was sunny and beautiful and not raining or snowing.

There is the recap of our weekend.

You can't have a holiday without some of Jeff's famous shape pancakes.
So I give you an Easter egg and the Easter bunny.

I got a fun surprise in the mail, an Easter basket . I was part of an Easter basket swap held by Manic Mother. This basket was just for me. It was filled with awesome stuff that I just love like some cooking utensils, a candle, and a beautiful nurse key chain.

But being that I have 4 children it was not long before they became interested in what I got.

Quinn loved playing peek-a-boo with the lovely towel.

They all got in on the chocolate action

And Claire, well she was all about the paper.

So Thank You Manic Mother! This an awesome Easter basket surprise.

Then of course we all got dressed up in our Easter best.

And after church and some naps it was off to Grandma's house for an Easter egg hunt and a fabulous dinner.

There was even some high flying fun


with a safe landing, of course.


Now there is just one question I have, does any one want some egg salad? Because I don't know how much more I can eat. Making egg salad from the almost 2 dozen dyed easter eggs we had was probably not my best ever idea. If you smell my drift.

What's The Best Way to Say Happy Valentine's Day on a Saturday Morning?

With Strawberry Heart Pancakes, of course!

Happy Valentine's Day from our Pile to yours.

Big Hugs and Kisses to You All!

How Do You Make That?

So after my post last weekend on the 'pumpkin' pancakes, a lot of you wanted to know how it was done. I have to say that this is Jeff's deal. He is the mastermind that figured it out and has perfected it, weekend after weekend of Pancake Cake Saturday.
He has graciously agreed to share his secrets and tips with you.

First, mix up some pancakes. We use a batter that all you have to do is add water. Jeff could not say how this would work for a 'real' batter. That doesn't mean that you can't try it .The batter just has to be thick.

Next, separate some of the batter into smaller bowls. Today we are going to make 2 colors, orange and green. There is nothing special here just make the batter what ever color you want. Jeff follows the directions on the food coloring box. Oh and we uses the gel food colors but we don't see why the liquid drops would not work.

Mix in those colors. This is where Hayden likes to help but he was busy this morning.

Then put the colored batter into plastic bags aka piping bags.

Once the batter is in the bag push it to one corner of the bag. When it is in the corner, you will then cut the tip off the corner of the bag to pipe the colored batter onto the hot grill.

Here just watch for yourselves.
Now, just a word about the movie. There is nothing to it, its kind of long, there was no coffee yet and it was much to early for anything funny or witty.
And sorry for the screaming kids, they don't like to wait for their pancakes or they just woke up hung over from all the sugar induced craziness.


Here they are cooking away. I bet you are all just a twitter with anticipation as to what they will look like. The kids can't wait to see them. No wait, they can't wait to eat them.

Ta-Dah! Pumpkin pancakes!
One tip from Jeff, before you put the white batter over the design/color, make sure that the design has set or the color can run into the white.

Here are some other master pieces that Jeff created this morning. A 'Buried With Children' pancake, LOVED it and a 'Jackson Pollock' pancake.

Just a word about doing letters or a name; you have to write them backwards or put the mirror image on the grill so that when you turn it over its readable.

Here you can watch Jeff make some more if you want.

See, I told you Hayden was busy, he found a comic book.

Well, that is it. I hope that you all try this. It really is easy, or at least Jeff makes it look easy, and the kids (I mean Hayden, the babies just like eating) really like this. Usually about Monday, Hayden is asking when it will be Pancake Saturday again and he is trying to come up with designs that Daddy can make for next time.

Nothing says Fall...

like some perfect pumpkin pancakes.

Of course these are not real pumpkin pancakes, we will share that recipe later.

Pancake Saturday

Every Saturday for as long as I can remember, Jeff has been making pancakes for breakfast. It has become a tradition on our house. Jeff has really gotten quite good. And he doesn't just make your standard buttermilk pancakes either.
He has made pumpkin, banana, blueberry, apple, chocolate chip, blue, yellow, green, cinnamon/vanilla, different letters (mostly H's and M's for Hayden) and mom and dad's favorite the cyclops. The cyclops is a pancake with a fried egg in the middle (it is oh so good, mmmm).
All the kids love pancakes! Hayden likes the colored ones and enjoys choosing his color for the day. They babies will eat any pancake that you put in front of them but they really, really like the blueberry ones.
Hayden really looks forward to Saturdays. So much so that by Monday, he is already asking me when it will be Saturday again and when are we going to have more pancakes. And on Friday nights before bed, the last words out of his mouth are usually what color he wants his pancakes to be in the morning.
Here is how it is done.

Today's color was blue (honestly, most Saturdays blue is the color of choice). Mix those pancake well, Hayden. Then Daddy cooks the pancakes on the griddle.

These are special, there is a surprise underneath.

Surprise! H and M for Hayden Mitchell!

Daddy also likes to make abstract pancake art.

Next, its blueberry for Mommy and the babies. Yum!

Look at those berry faces.

Hayden with his special blue letter pancakes. He would not smile nicely and could not be bothered to look away from cartoons.
Enjoy!