Homemade pizza

Ever since I can remember pizza has been my favorite food.

I like it hot or cold 

with all the fixings or just plain cheese

thick crust, thin crust...it doesn't matter.   

Come to think of it 

I don't think I have ever met a pizza I didn't like.

But lately I have been loving homemade pizza.

Well semi homemade pizza. 

Mmm... doesn't it look gooooood?!

I thought I'd share the recipe (if you can even call it that) with you in case you want to make some for yourself.  

And trust me you will. 

The minor catch is you have to live by a Trader Joes (unless you know of another place that sells fresh pizza dough OR you could go all Betty Crocker and make your own from scratch) AND a pizza stone (for optimal results). 

Step One- Buy some plain pizza dough from Trader Joes. It's found in the refrigerated section.

(We have tried the whole wheat and the herb dough but like the plain the best). 

Step 2- Buy a can of crushed tomatoes or if you can't find those buy a can of diced tomatoes and give them a whirl in the blender or food processor. 

Step 3: Take out your dough 20 minutes before you want to start making your pizza so it can rest or rise or do whatever it needs to do (just following the directions on the package here). 

ALSO...turn on your oven to 550 degrees AND put your pizza stone in while it is preheating so it can get nice and hot.  

Step 3- Roll out your dough on a floured surface. 

And chop up your toppings. 

Step 4: Once the oven is heated to 550, take out the HOT pizza stone and lay your dough on it. 

Top with mozzarella cheese (I use about half a pound).

Then sprinkle some of the crushed tomatoes on top of the cheese 

and grind or sprinkle some pepper on top. 

Step 5: Add your toppings (the hubs and I love it with veggies but the kids prefer plain cheese so I leave a bit plain for them).

The drizzle olive oil over the whole thing.

Step 6- Pop it in the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown and bubbly 

and enjoy!!!

It's also super yummy with some fresh basil on top (after it comes out of the oven). 

Mommy daughter date

Kenzie and I were way over due for a Mommy daughter date. 

 When we started our date days we had planned on taking a kid out every other month.

Let's just say it's been a little (or a lot) more than a couple months since our last date day. 

So on Saturday Mackenzie and I decided we needed a little girl time together

and we snuck out while the little ones were napping for a few hours of fun. 

Since it was totally impromptu we ended up just going to a little Children's Museum down the street. 

It ended up being the perfect place to go with only one kid.

I got to actually play with my big girl and listen to all she had to say and there was no fighting or changing diapers or chasing after little ones who would have all been running in different directions.

We had a blast together!

Does anyone know where you buy this fun stuff (kind of like play dough but made out of tiny little foam balls?) 

Mackenzie thought it was the coolest. 

Dr. Mackenzie

picking fruit 

going fishing 

And on the way home we stopped by 7 Eleven for Mackenzie's very first Slurpee.

She was in heaven. 

An aqua desk

I love Craigslist.

It's pretty much my go to spot whenever we need to buy or sell something. 

I love the selection you can find on there and well...

 I'm definitely a sucker for a good deal. 

A couple months ago I scored a beautiful roll top desk for $20. 

Bam! 

Try finding that deal in a store. 

The moment I laid eyes on it I knew it was destined for greatness.

Aqua greatness that is. 

  

Isn't it pretty?

I wish I would have remembered to take a picture of it before we had taken it apart to be painted but as you can kind of see it started off a darker wood color.  

To get it ready for it's paint job 

I lightly sanded the entire desk and drawers with this sand sponge 

as well as some regular sand paper. 

It was super easy and didn't take long at all. 

Then, after I got all of the sawdust off the desk, 

came the fun part!

Painting!

And after 3 light coats of aqua goodness, 

and 6 or so cans of spray paint later 

our desk was finished! 

I love how it turned out!

The color is so bright and cheery.

When I see it I get happy. 

Oh and after I was finished painting I went back with the sandpaper and lightly sanded off a tad of the paint on the corners and edges to distress it a bit.

I figured it would be distressed soon enough whether I liked it or not so I might as well make it look intentional. 

Thanks for stopping by!

And come back next week to see another spray painting project I've been working on. 

Day in the life of the Sellars' family

A year or so ago I came up with a little something called

A Day in the Life of the Sellars' Family.

It's your chance to spy on me and see what really goes on in the Sellars' household. 

Here's how it works. 

Basically I wake up one morning,

grab my camera 

and document the day exactly how it unfolds.

The good the bad and the ugly :)

Here's how our day unfolded on Tuesday,
January 3rd, 2012.

5:30 a.m.- The alarm goes off.

6:00 a.m. my second alarm (i.e. Madelyn) goes off. 

The hubby lures me out of bed with hot coffee (he knows the way to my heart), I grab the baby and head into the family room with Aaron. 

6:10- Feed Maddie and read our daily dose of this with Aaron.

 Reading through the Bible together is one of our goals for this year! It's been awesome so far...except the getting up at 5:30 part. That has definitely not been so awesome but coffee sure does help.

6:15 a.m.- The big kids are up and come to join us.

We tell them it's still night time and put them back in bed.

Because waking up at 6:15 a.m. should be illegal.

At least in the Sellars' house.

6:30- The big kids are back and up for good.
Our day has officially begun!
They come into the family room and play Legos. 

The first thing that comes out of Wesley's mouth when he wakes up in the morning is "May I have a drink please?"
And he says it over and over and over again until he gets it.
So I change diapers and get the boy some "Apple Spider" as he calls it. 

6:45- Start laundry.

Tuesdays are not my favorite day
 because Tuesdays are laundry day.
And 5 people yield a whole lot of laundry.
All I have to say is thank goodness for Oxy clean. 

7:15- Start breakfast

with my little helper boy.

I love that he loves to be right next to me with whatever I'm doing. 

7:20 a.m.- Eat breakfast 

together.

as a family.

It's one of my favorite times of the day. 

Today we all have our usual...

Eggs and toast for the big people and cereal for the little people.  

I though I'd snap a quick picture of the prayer pail in use! 

We let the kids each pick out a stick and pray for whoever they choose (or we pray for them if they aren't in the mood) before meals. 

Today we picked Gracie, Mackenzie and our church The Village Church of Irvine. 

During breakfast Daddy reads The Jesus Storybook Bible to the kids.
It's their favorite (and my favorite too!).   

7:30- I feed Madelyn her breakfast. 

She's finally a fan of food! 

The girl loves to eat 

just like her Momma.

7:45- Aaron leaves for work :(

7:50- Kids play through the mountains of laundry

while I clean up after breakfast.

Just the other day I told Aaron that I'm sure I spend a least a few h.o.u.r.s. (I'm thinking maybe 3) a day just making meals, feeding meals, and cleaning up after meals.
Does that sound about right to any other moms?
And if it's not quite that much it sure feels like it. 

8:20- Turn on a show for the big kids and
stick Maddie in the bouncer while I hop in the shower.

8:50- Put Madelyn down for her morning nap.

9:00- Finish getting ready (with my helper who has a major addiction to chap stick) and then get the big kids dressed and ready. 

9:30- Pack lunches and snacks for the park. 

And rotate the laundry.

10:00- Feed Madelyn and then leave for the park. 

We got to the park a few minutes before our friends
so I attempted a little photo shoot with the kids. 

The kids however were NOT into my mini photo shoot at all.

Even with my candy bribes and me acting like a silly lady behind the camera. 

I couldn't even get this one to crack a smile. 

Maybe she was mad I didn't bring a candy cane for her too.

Well despite the photo shoot blunder we had a great time at the park with friends. 

One of my friends even hooked us up with tons of cute clothes for Maddie. 

Thanks Amy!
I think Maddie would be naked without you (ALL of Mackenzie's old clothes have been the wrong season). 

1:00- Home from the park.
I fed the littlest one (who had fallen asleep in the car) and put her down for her nap. 

Then I put Wesley down for his nap. 

Lately I have been putting him down in the pack and play in Madelyn's room.

It's pretty much the only way I can get all 3 of them to nap at the same time.

And that is really really important to me so I'm willing to do whatever it takes.  

I let Kenzie play in her room for 15-20 minutes and then I make her take a nap too.

1:20- Once everyone is down I rotate the laundry again and fold the clothes

and then...

1:35- Momma takes a nap! 

YAYY!

Lately I have been taking a snooze (or at least a 15 minute rest) while the kids do and it has been fabulous.

Otherwise I'm ready to go to bed when they do. 

Seriously.   

Being a mom to 3 little ones is tiring stuff.

2:15- Madelyn wakes up and I sneak in to get her as soon as I hear a peep so Wesley doesn't wake up. 

I also realize I'm starving because I forgot to eat lunch!

Whoops!

I reheat some Navy bean soup my mom brought over the day before. 

*Normally I eat lunch with the kids but since they ate at the park and I wasn't in a peanut butter and jelly kind of mood I decided to wait and eat at home. 

I enlist Maddie to help me sort through ALL of the super cute clothes my friend gave me. 

And was reminded about God's faithfulness.
He always provides for us in ways that blow my mind.  

3:45- Kenzie woke up and came out into the family room telling me, "Mom, I just made me and Wesley's beds. Do you want me to make your bed too?"

Ummm, let me think about that.

Yes, please!

Clearly she is Aaron's child. 

Not mine.

4:00- Wesley wakes up from his nap and joins the fun.

 I put all the new clothes into tubs and the folded laundry away.

and do another load of emergency poop laundry thanks to this little one :) 

4:45- Daddy comes home and saves the day! 

He takes the big kids to the park down the street while I get dinner started. 

While the big kids and Daddy are at the park Maddie and I rock out to Pandora 

 while I make some pizza
which is a weekly staple around here.

5:10- The kids and Daddy get home and play together while I finish dinner. 

Did I mention I have the best husband ever?

Because I do. 

5:25- Dinner is served! 

Mmmmm...I could eat pizza and salad every day. 

Seriously.

6:00- After dinner the kids help Daddy make a juice to take to work for lunch tomorrow. 

While Daddy juices, I give Maddie a bath. 

Then Aaron washes the dishes from dinner 

(see I told you...best husband ever)

Maddie hangs with Daddy while I get the big kids in the bath. 

Than I tag team Aaron and he finished the kids bath while I fold some more laundry. 

6:40- We brush the kids teeth and let them pick out a couple books to read before bed.  

A picture with me in it just to prove I was really around that day. 

6:45- Book time!

I feed Madelyn while Aaron reads to the big kids and then put her to bed. 

7:15- Put the big kids to bed 

and then take a deep breath!

We made it! 

Another day of fun and craziness in the the Sellars house.  

Well that's it for our very normal, not super exciting day.

Hope you enjoyed getting a little peek into our life. 

Feel free to check out the past versions of A Day in the Life of the Sellars' family. It's kind of fun to see how our days have changed as the kids have gotten bigger (and as we have added more kids to the mix).