So for the holiday weekend Chris has been either upstairs on the PS3 or downstairs on the computer playing video games, and Karenna and Jude have been playing together outside, leaving me to find something to do.

Every once in a while Karenna has come into the house and begged me to pay attention to her, at which point, I put down the computer, and we find something to do.  She has gotten out paints, we have watched movies, etc.

Before we get too far however, I find that Jude and Karenna have scampered off to do cartwheels in the living room or to run across the neighborhood and I am left to cleanup what was supposed to be mother daughter time.

Fast-forward to this morning when Karenna decided that I spent too much time on the computer and should pay attention to her.  We decided on a Netflix movie, an animated movie in French with subtitles.  (She even yelled at me as I checked email while it loaded.)

Not 5 minutes into the movie, I noticed that she and Jude were fighting and that they each had a PS3 controller in their hands...

Me: Karenna, you're not watching the movie!
Karenna: Yuh-huh.
Me: What's that in your hands?
Karenna: I'm playing the game and watching.
Me: It's subtitled so you have to read. You can't just listen.
Karenna: I'm watching.
Me: No. [Turning the movie off.] I'm not going to hang out and be ignored again.  I'm going to find something else to do.
Karenna: No Wait! I'll watch with you.
Me: I've heard that before.  What part of my job of mommy means I have to spend time with you attention to you while you ignore me?  Why don't you ever do that to daddy?  Go get him out of his basement hole.
Karenna (begging): No! I don't want to play games with Jude.  I want to play with you.
Me:  I'm not angry and I'm not disappointed.  But if your going to just go play with your brother, just go play with your brother.  You are getting along, and that never happens.
Karenna: I don't want to play video games. Please don't make me play video games!
Me: You're just saying that because you think my feelings are hurt.  They are not.  You are just driving me crazy.  Really just go play with Jude.  Or daddy.
Jude: Karenna, mom doesn't want you. Play with me!

So for the holiday weekend Chris has been either upstairs on the PS3 or downstairs on the computer playing video games, and Karenna and Jude have been playing together outside, leaving me to find something to do.

Every once in a while Karenna has come into the house and begged me to pay attention to her, at which point, I put down the computer, and we find something to do.  She has gotten out paints, we have watched movies, etc.

Before we get too far however, I find that Jude and Karenna have scampered off to do cartwheels in the living room or to run across the neighborhood and I am left to cleanup what was supposed to be mother daughter time.

Fast-forward to this morning when Karenna decided that I spent too much time on the computer and should pay attention to her.  We decided on a Netflix movie, an animated movie in French with subtitles.  (She even yelled at me as I checked email while it loaded.)

Not 5 minutes into the movie, I noticed that she and Jude were fighting and that they each had a PS3 controller in their hands...

Me: Karenna, you're not watching the movie!
Karenna: Yuh-huh.
Me: What's that in your hands?
Karenna: I'm playing the game and watching.
Me: It's subtitled so you have to read. You can't just listen.
Karenna: I'm watching.
Me: No. [Turning the movie off.] I'm not going to hang out and be ignored again.  I'm going to find something else to do.
Karenna: No Wait! I'll watch with you.
Me: I've heard that before.  What part of my job of mommy means I have to spend time with you attention to you while you ignore me?  Why don't you ever do that to daddy?  Go get him out of his basement hole.
Karenna (begging): No! I don't want to play games with Jude.  I want to play with you.
Me:  I'm not angry and I'm not disappointed.  But if your going to just go play with your brother, just go play with your brother.  You are getting along, and that never happens.
Karenna: I don't want to play video games. Please don't make me play video games!
Me: You're just saying that because you think my feelings are hurt.  They are not.  You are just driving me crazy.  Really just go play with Jude.  Or daddy.
Jude: Karenna, mom doesn't want you. Play with me!

Jude's party this year was a PVZ (PLants vs. Zombies) themed party.  You would think that since the game is fairly popular on a number of platforms and it features common plant, I would be able to easily find things to meet the theme.  I t was a bit more challenging than I thought.

Kudos to PopCap for giving a free template for party invitations, envelopes, and thank yous instead of licensing them.  I took there design and modified my own in Photoshop:

My sister Lisa couldn't resist buying Jude this shirt as a birthday gift. This photo, as well as others of the partygoers (with PopCap zombies showing up) were our thank you notes...

As I mentioned back with the White Chocolate Blueberry Pancakes, Chris loves to tease me that my pancakes are too much like candy.

I decided to make this flavor like his favorite brand of ginger snap.  He likes Stauffer's Ginger Snaps for two reasons: first is the last of preservatives and second is the addition of chili powder and red pepper for extra kick.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tbsp table sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper
  
• 1 pinch chili powder
  

Wet Ingredients, Beaten Together

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup molasses
  
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp vinegar
  

This recipe was a combination of traditional pancakes, gingerbread cookies, and a the inspiration from the Stauffer's bag.  It's got a kick, so serve with milk or whipped cream.

I think that what we get for putting up with all the other stuff of Central Pennsylvania (like the allergens) is that we have Gardner's Candies. 

If you have never had a Garnder's peanut butter meltaway, I feel very, very sad for you.  If you have, but have moved far away and know what you are now missing, I feel worse.

So here's a pancake to make you feel better...

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
  

Wet Ingredients, Beaten Together

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
  
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix wet and dry together.   You may need to mash down the pancake batter as it is rather thick. 

And if you think this recipe is just a tad to sweet, the next recipe kicks it up a notch with crushed red pepper and chili powder...

Me: Karenna, I always wanted a daughter.  You turned out to be everything I could have ever wanted in a daughter and more.  I couldn't me more proud of you.  Everyone I know gives me compliments on you.  But [weeping tears of joy] these pancakes are the best thing that has ever come from me.
Karenna [stuffing mouth with pancakes whilst giving me a dirty look]: Hey!

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp real vanilla (do NOT under any circumstances go all cheap on my recipe with that imitation crap or I will personally disown your work)
  

Wet Ingredients, Beaten Together

• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine wet and dry ingredients and smell the aroma that I can't even begin to convey here. Know the joy of creating something akin to parenting.  Then eat it.  If you want a pancake that is a bit more rich, try the Peanut Butter Meltaway Pancake...

Anyone can do plain old chocolate chip pancakes, but replace a little table sugar with brown sugar and you've got chocolate chip cookie pancakes:

Dry Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
  

Wet Ingredients, Beaten Together

• 1 egg
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine wet and dry ingredients for cookie goodness!  But if you really want a pancake that will make you weep, a pancake worth trading in your firstborn (sorry, Karenna), try the Brown Sugar Vanilla Pancake...

Chris turned me on to this recipe for White Chocolate Blueberry Pancakes: ...and yet he make fun of my Chocolate Chip Cookie flavored pancakes. Hmm...

Much like the Pumpkin Spice Pancakes from yesterday's post, banana pancakes are a flavor I make when I have leftovers. 

I'm not sure how I make them. It varies every time.  I either make it up as I go along.  Combine a regular pancake recipe with a banana bread recipe.  Use an actual banana pancake recipe.  Or use the pumpkin spice recipe and substitute bananas, like so:

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Wet Ingredients, Beaten Together

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup mashed banana
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together and you have another pancake that is great for using up excess fruit and can be good with or without syrup.

Up next, White Chocolate Blueberry Pancakes...

So if you follow my on Twitter (@nikkimk) or are my friend on Facebook, you know I have been crazy for making flavored pancakes lately.  So I thought I'd blog my pancake recipes here for all of you.

Let's start with a recipe that is not my own but once that I've found and bookmarked from other sites:

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes from The Comfort of Cooking

In Fall of 2009 there was a pumpkin shortage,and my local grocery store limited the amount of pumpkin I could buy.  So this meant that I had a major craving for pumpkin and stocked it like a fiend in Fall of 2010.

What did I do with that leftover canned pumpkin?  I made pumpkin pie.  I made pumpkin bread.  I made pumpkin cake.  And then I found this recipe for pumpkin pancakes, which is divine with maple syrup or just with a little powdered sugar.

And it would have remained my all-time favorite pancake flavor, if it hadn't been for another flavor on the list...