It's Time to Make the Doughnuts....

....and so this week, we did!

I've always tried to give my three monkeys ample opportunities to make a mess  cook & bake with me because, well....they like to!  They always have a great time, it builds fun memories & it reinforces many skills that I try to teach them in school {reading, math, science, working together, blah, blah, blah ; ) }.  In the past year, this is one fun activity that did not get tackled very much ~ so burdened down with guilt, I decided at the beginning of the summer it was time to get back on the Fun Track!!  With my three precious angels driving me crazy blessing me daily with frequent whining, arguing, and downright annoying behavior,  I knew a major behavior modification plan was in order. So.....I drew a chart on our handy-dandy dry erase board. Every time they acted "ugly" to one another, were disrespectful, disobedient, etc. they got one tally mark by their name. Whoever had the least tally marks at the end of the week was rewarded with being my assistant chef while making one of their favorite treats. Being the savvy mom that I am, I picked their two highest motivators for the prize......individual time with me (yes ~ the fact that this really is a motivator even for my MIDDLE SCHOOLER does indeed give me warm & fuzzy feelings inside ♥) and making a mess the chance to cook/bake. The competition has been cutthroat and while they still aren't behaving perfectly (sigh), improvement has been sighted!!



The first competition was won by a landslide by ♥Ashlyn♥, who was delighted to make one of her favorite indulgences ~ cinnamon rolls!  I didn't get any photos of my assistant chef in action, but you can see some of the final product......

Can't you almost smell that ooey-gooey cinnamon goodness?  ; )

During the cinnamon roll competition, I noticed that ♥Jacob♥ wasn't nearly as motivated to win as I would have liked ~ so once again, I played the part of savvy mom & chose the next prize to be something he had been asking to make for a VERY LONG TIME.  By "very long time", I mean the first time he asked to make them was about 3 years ago.  I'm such a very bad mom for not making them until now!  : (  Anyway, it turned out that ♥Jacob♥ and ♥Robert♥ both found this prize highly appealing....

The competition was neck-and-neck & resulted in a tie.....as you can see, with ♥Ashlyn♥ having already won the Cinnamon Roll competition, she felt she could loosen up a bit.  They all probably deserved many more marks that this.....I guess I was a little soft on them this week!  ; )  BUT, we did have their Gram visiting also ~ so the fun times associated with that naturally resulted in better attitudes.

♥Jacob♥ likes using the mixer.....it's like using a power tool for the kitchen!

Assistant Chef ♥Robert♥ sharpening his math skills and coordination skills by measuring ingredients, then posing for a picture and adding the flour to the mixer at the same time.  ; ) 

Some of the doughnuts before getting their oil bath.....and no, that is not a dirty piece of stonware that they are rising on.  All Pampered Chef connaisseurs know ~ it is just properly "seasoned"!

You know you want one  ; )

It looks like he is saying "ewww!", but he was actually jumping up & down saying "Oh, Oh, Oh my goodness...these are so good I can't even stand it!" after his first taste test of his homemade doughnut!

He tends to live on the expressive side of life!

♥Robert ♥ with his eyes closed because he just had to focus and relish every sweet & unhealthy second of his reward!

2 Thumbs Up.....followed by, can we make ♥chocolate ♥ doughnuts next week???

Want to try making them yourself?  Click on the image to see a larger version of the recipe  : )

The recipe states that you will get about 18; we got 12 doughnuts & 11 doughnut holes.