Tag: traditions

Chocolate Covered Eggs

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog13 Comments

Updated on 4/20/19 to include a few new flavor varieties!

This is one of those recipes that I could’ve sworn was posted at one time but I can’t find it anywhere. With the Easter holiday quickly approaching I have been asked a couple of times for the recipe and just now took the time to look for it… hence the reason for this post.

You can cover these with white chocolate or any chocolate that you prefer if you like. I can remember my Mom using the ‘leftover’ chocolate scrapings that my dad would bring home from the Hershey factory when we lived in PA. That was so good! We have also used the candy coating that you can find in the baking aisle but mostly we use chocolate chips now.

While the most popular shape for these candies is the egg shape you can also shape them and decorate them in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors for whatever the holiday or occasion. I try to decorate the eggs differently to identify the filling inside because it gets quite confusing when you make several different flavors.

We also like to try out different flavors and variations so there is a base recipe that you can adapt and experiment with. I have also seen some variations with candies like M&Ms and Reese’s pieces mixed into the filling… yum!

Just have fun and let the kids help with this one! I have many fond memories of helping to make these as a child. We also made these in high school for many fundraisers and sold out every time. Continue reading “Chocolate Covered Eggs” →

Celebrate With A Birth Date

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

We all have one and so do our kids, parents, friends, and other family members. Around here we have more than others or at least we celebrate more than others. However this is one topic I’ve failed to post a lot about… birthdays.

I recently read about the ‘new minimalist’ birthday trend called ‘Fivers’. I laughed a little as the article explained the trend and how it worked. Basically, according to the article I read, you have a birthday party and ask the guests not to buy a gift but they may give a card with $5.oo, if they like. This money can then be pooled for a larger gift of the child’s choosing, used for an ‘experience’, or saved for a later date.

Sounds great and I’m so happy to see so many people jumping on board with this idea. I just thought I’d share how we do birthdays here which is how we’ve done birthdays for a while now. Now don’t get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with the way anybody celebrates birthdays but we do things a bit different than most.

When my older kids were younger we did do the traditional parties… cake, ice cream, and gifts. Sometimes I would have two parties instead of four as they had birthdays close together and sometimes we would just do one big party.

Most of our parties were just for family and a few very close friends and they were never very big. The biggest one we probably ever had was in NC. We held an ice cream party for all four of my older kids. That was so much fun! We had everyone help to make homemade ice cream and then we had a variety of toppings. There was plenty of other food too but everyone always remembered the ice cream and how good it was.

There have been many times where I would plan a semi-elaborate themed party like the Sock Hop party we did several years back. It was so much fun and the kids really enjoyed it. Continue reading “Celebrate With A Birth Date” →

Pumpkin Pie Filling From Scratch

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog14 Comments

I know that this time of year there are ao many pumpkin-related recipes going around but Pumpkin Pie is a big tradition around here so I wanted to share our recipe. You can put this into a store-bought pie shell or try your hand at a made scratch from pie crust as well.

**Special thanks to my son-in-law @moments2lifephotography for the amazing cover photo! Continue reading “Pumpkin Pie Filling From Scratch” →

Made From Scratch Hot Cocoa

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

My kids and I love Hot Cocoa. The weather right now is just right for sipping on a steamy cup. I have many fond memories from when we lived in Virginia and North Carolina that involve this delicious treat. It is even better after coming in from building snowmen and having snowball fights.

We haven’t seen any snow since we’ve moved to Florida several years ago but the weather still gets a bit nippy. This weekend was definitely cocoa weather. I used the Keurig to make my cocoa to take out to the woods with me. Just place the cocoa in your mug and set it under the Keurig. You don’t need a K-cup as the hot water will flow right through it, into your cup, and Voila… Hot Cocoa. Enjoy it as it is or add some marshmallows.

We also enjoy making this when we have our ‘Polar Express’ parties… hopefully, I’ll be writing a post about this soon. This is also a great treat to take camping with you to enjoy on those crisp mornings.

I have two versions of this and you can try them both to find your favorite. I often make double batches as we can go through quite a bit of this rather quickly. (You will need a large container with a tight lid to store this in.) Continue reading “Made From Scratch Hot Cocoa” →

Making Memories With Family

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My oldest daughter and her husband came to visit this weekend. We decided to have an impromptu cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, deviled eggs, baked beans, and pasta salad… yum!

The best part of the whole time was not the food but the time we spent together. I wasn’t feeling really well and tried to ‘keep away’ but watching the kids all spend time together was really amazing. The little kids enjoyed having big sister around and they loved playing with their dog.

The older kids decided to get down some games… I normally have them in a big coffee table, however that coffee table is out on the porch because we have no room right now, so they had to get them down from the storage loft. (We have a big collection of board games as we would request these for Christmas gifts as the whole family can enjoy them. Board games do make great Christmas gifts!)

First came Battleship, we have the older version somewhere but couldn’t find it so they got down the Electronic version, however we couldn’t find all the pieces so I guess that will need to go on the Christmas list. I am thinking about getting this Star Wars version.

Next came the classic Monopoly. We would spend hours playing this game when they were younger. We also have the set with a speed die. DD18 is planning on getting this out later to play again with the kids. I am thinking about checking out the Junior edition too as this is a great game to teach money skills.

Last they pulled down the old Scrabble. (We have a couple version of this game too.) I love that you can buy replacement tiles for this game fairly cheap and these tiles also work great for crafts. I think my oldest daughter took the electronic version home with her to play with her husband. This is also a great game to help with reading, spelling, vocabulary, and math as you count up the scores. You could start younger kids out with this junior edition.

After they played for a while we ate dinner together and talked a bit. Big sister also passed out some bags of Halloween candy for everyone. We cleaned up and they went home as it was starting to get dark and they had to work the next morning.

DD18 wasn’t ready to put up the games though. She asked Mr. Awesome and me if we would play and we did. We played Scrabble first and she went to grab the dictionary so she could make sure my words were ‘legal’… lol. Like I would really cheat. I do pull words out of my head that I don’t even know that I knew sometimes though.

Once that game was over they decided to play Monopoly again. We had a blast playing even though they lost… again. This was definitely one of those days that we will keep in our hearts forever. It has also encouraged us to start some new traditions with the younger kids. I am hoping to start having a game night at least once week like I did when my oldest kids were younger.

All in all today was a great day. I am so thankful for these days and feel so very blessed to have such a wonderful family! I definitely feel like a winner!