Good Times & A Kooky Recipe

I know I say this all the time... but I do so love this parenting gig. It is absolutely, hands down some of the most fun I have ever had. Every single day is an adventure... and I am ever so thankful that I have the opportunity to stay home with our little guys. While it's true we don't always get a whole lot of the boring, mundane things, like laundry, done. We Always enjoy lots 'n lots of awesome together time - just goofing around and laughing our "bum-bum's" off.

We had such a terrific time today... cooking, crafting and playing. Flynn discovered the ball pit for the first time and crawled right on up, over and in. He and Henry laughed and squealed for nearly an hour in there... it was delightful. H & I worked on some really cute reindeer crafts... practicing his cutting and tracing skills. He got a little crazy during the gluing segment, bored with all the tracing but truly excelled in the cutting department. He's getting so very good with the scissors. We even lived a little dangerously and tried a crazy sounding recipe for dinner... at the urging of my pal Katie... Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie.

Doesn't sound very kooky, you say? Well, high tail it over there and check it out. Go ahead, scoot. I'll wait.

See what I mean... Green Olives AND Raisins... are you insane?? Gross. BUT, since Katie is all kinds of Gourmet and had guaranteed me success... I figured I was feeling rather daring and decided to risk it. And crazy as it sounds - it was really, really good. Like, I'm still a bit shocked. I can't believe it was not only edible... but that I actually had seconds. It was a huge hit... although a little spicy for the Hen - so he just ate all the Sweet Potato topping.

Here are the alterations I made:
I skipped the picadillo peppers and used both pimento and jalapeno stuffed green olives. I also substituted 2 cans of yams and one can of potatoes in place of fresh ones (we never have potatoes in the house). I'll definitely make this again... and think the only thing I'll change next time is to cut the Cumin down from Two teaspoons to just One. And whatever you do... Don't leave out the Raisins. Seriously!