Polka-Dotty Place: Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you've had a nice week. We are ready for the weekend! I need to do a lot of reading so I'm ready for my bookclub dinner on Sunday. We had a fun week. I'm saving my favorite new dinner for the end of my post. Don't miss it!

The best parts of my week were:

1. Making this candy snackle box with my kids for their friends to enjoy when they came over. It was so much fun to shop for, to prep and to sample. The Dollar Tree has such a fun assortment of candy.

2. Jellycats. Olive got this one for Valentine's Day and it's so sweet. My Valentine's Day roses are still going strong.

3. We have almost polished off an entire box of these chocolate dipped strawberry Jonny Pops from Costco. Try them!

4. Happy to host. That's my motto when anyone wants to invite friends over. It worked out great because we set up all different zones for the kids to hang out in. We set up a football game and ping pong in the garage. Play Station upstairs. The office was cleaned out for crafts. Sleepover zones. Snacks galore. The only thing I forgot was to restock the upstairs mini fridge with mini water bottles for the kids. The weather wasn't great so we had all of the indoor spots ready for the kids to enjoy.

5. A sweet student made my morning with a Donut Bank smiley face cookie. She stopped there for breakfast and picked up something for me. Too sweet.

6. Homemade Guac. Sams has the best avocados. I love to buy the store bought pico and make the yummiest guacamole. It makes Taco Tuesday extra fun with some homemade guac. My recipe is so easy - 3 avocados, dump in a lot of pico, squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice and a generous sprinkle of Kinder The Blend seasoning. Stir and enjoy!

7. Civil War diorama. Fletcher had to make the battle of Gettysburg. He had the best time learning all about the battle. He learned so much and mastered the hot glue gun.

Fletcher spray painted and positioned every piece just so. He presented it to his class earning an A+ and a spot to display it at school. Way to go, buddy!

In a surprising turn of events, Leo is also becoming a Civil War expert right along with Fletcher. They've had a lot of fun going over history to recreate battle scenes this week and learning about the war.

8. Hugs from home! It takes a lot of time and effort to make sure the kids have delicious lunches from home everyday. They love them and it makes me happy to send a big hug from home to them in the middle of the day. I'm adding in all the leftover Valentine's day treats, some fun things like Reese Puffs cereal and then all their favorites.

9. Pumpkin got his first hair cut this week. He's SO fluffy that he required some at home salon care.

10. Pizza Party! Fletcher's teachers surprised the kids with a fraction review pizza party. They got to be chefs to make paper pizzas and cut them into fractions. Then they surprised the kids and had real pizza delivered to their classrooms. How fun! He said it was the best day of 4th grade.

11. Leo is very into battles. Peppa Pig and friends vs dinosaurs. The dinosaurs won obviously.

12. Leo is such a good writer! His teacher brought him over to my class this week to show off his writing. He is learning so much in kindergarten.

13. Aldi pizza dough! I grabbed two of these to try at Aldi for homemade pizza night. The crust is delicious and perfect for a fun dinner at home. You bake it at 450 for just 12-15 minutes. You press the pizza dough out on a cookie sheet, add the sauce and toppings and bake. We can't wait to get this again. Definitely grab it the next time you're at Aldi.