Posts Tagged ‘mom blog’

This morning when I was getting my daughter ready for school she requested a “Tangled” braid.  We did 3 braids total.  With her hair parted just to the side (her natural part) I braided two small ‘half’ braids.  I then gathered the two small braids in the back together with the rest of her hair and did one long braid down her back.  We decorated with flower clips that are part of my hair accessory line from Too Tutu Cute.

Along with the traditional Turkey, Stuffing, and Mashed Potatoes, there are two other staples that you will find on our Thanksgiving table every year…Broccoli Casserole and Potato Rolls.  The Broccoli Casserole may sound different but  is a fabulous alternative the the green bean variety that everyone serves.  And after you’ve had these potato rolls, you’ll never try another roll recipe again!  So, if you need to add an extra dish to your spread you might just want to give these a try.

Broccoli Casserole

• 2 packages frozen chopped broccoli
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup mayonaise
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheedar cheese
• onion powder
• white pepper
• Salt
• Crumbled Cheeze-it crackers

Combine all ingredients (sorry I do not have amounts for the onion powder, white pepper, and salt~most of my holiday recipes are kind of by taste/smell~add just a dash of the pepper though), bake at 350 for at least 45 minutes.  Consistency should be soft but not gooey when knife is placed in the center.

Potato Rolls

• 6 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp butter
• 2 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup hot mashed potatoes (instant are fine if you are making these ahead of time)
• 1 1/4 cup scaded milk
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4-6 cups flour

1. mix yeast w/warm water in small bowl
2. combine first four ingredients
3. add milk, beat on medium speed and let cool to luke warm temperature
4. add yeast, baking soda, and baking powder
5. add flour, let rise 15 minutes
6. add more flour until dough is no longer sticky
7. kneed dough until smooth
8. place in a buttered bowl and trun to coat
9. refrigerate for one day, punching dough down once
10. shape dough into small balls and let rise on baking sheet for one hour
11. bake on 425 for approximately 15 min.

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble!

Celebrate all that your child is Thankful for with this cute and easy handprint craft.

You will need:

• White Paper (thicker paper or cardstock is better)
• Brown Paint
• Red, Yellow, Orange Construction Paper
• Scissors
• Glue Stick

Start by painting the inside of the child’s arm and palm with brown paint.  Press onto the white paper to form the tree trunk and branches.  Let dry.

Cut leaf shapes out of the consturction paper.  If child is old enough have them write things they are thankful for on the leaves.  I also did this project with my 1 and 3 year olds.  The 3 year old dictated to me and I wrote for him and the 1 year old’s tree has blank leaves.

Have child glue their leaves onto the tree branches.

Frame and display for the Thankful Season!

Yes, this mom of three, who hasn’t thought about herself before anyone in a LONG time, is celebrating her very own day.  ME!  MOI!  MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE! (okay, I’ll stop now)

Yes, it is MY day.  My day to be featured by one of THE most fabulous group devoted to female bloggers.  It’s my SITS day! 

What you ask?  SITS!  The Secret is in Support!  A group of THOUSANDS of femail bloggers all supporting one another.  How awesome is that?!  Now…GO CHECK THEM OUT!

AND, for all of you that have come on over to visit little ol’ me from SITS, I am truly honored! 

I began blogging over two years ago (yikes! where does time go?) and almost simultaniously found The SITS girls.  They really opened my eyes to the world of blogging and gave me the confidence to continue writing and sharing my experiences.  Needless to say, I was so surprise and super excited when I finally got the email saying that it was my turn!

WELCOME!  and thank you for coming over to check out my little piece of the World Wide Web…I hope you’re wearing your Tutu!

A Halloween decoration that is super easy to make and under $10?

Yes! This centerpiece took about 10 min. to put together. You do have to wait for the paint to dry but that didn’t take very long either.

You will need:

1. Tree branches (free!  I cut some from the tree in my front yard)
2. black spray paint ($2.99 I bought a small ‘short cuts’ can)
3. Glittered paint ($1.99)
4. Cylinder Vase($1 from The Dollar Tree)
5. Bag of Candy Corn (about $2)

To make:

Cut the tree branches and arrange in the vase to make sure you like how they look.  Trim them as necessary.

Arrange the branches on old newspaper, OUTSIDE.  Spray them with the black spray paint.

When spray paint is dry, brush on the glitter paint using  a sponge brush.  When the branches are dry arrange them in the vase and pour in the candy corn.

Okay, I know the P’s Birthday was in April but I figured this post is just in time for Football Season.  If you have any Football/Cheerleader fans in the house you may want to read on

P1 and P2 have Birthdays just weeks apart and after throwing a huge Easter Birthday Bash followed by an Earthday Birthday Party two weeks later last year, I decided to have a double birthday party for them this year.  Being only two years apart they have most of the same friends anyway.  The tricky part was coming up with a theme that they would both be happy with.  We decided on a Football/Cheerleader theme and chose the color RED for their favorite team, the AZ Cardinals.

I outfitted P2 with a RED football Jersey from www.teamsportswear.com/ and had his name and age put on the back by a local screen printing shop.  P1 got her very own RED Cheerleading uniform from www.cheerleading.com/. 

The Balloon Arch was made by my Mom and I and really gave the party that Homecoming Football game feel. 

I ordered the Football toss game pictured above and Party Favors from Oriental Trading Company.  I loved the personalized megaphones that say “Happy Birthday Peyton and Preston.”

Each child took home a Megaphone, Pom pom, and a mini football (these I found at the Dollar Tree.)

I used extra megaphones, along with Pom poms we had here, as decorations throughout the house.

For entrtainment we had the Football Toss pictured above and I bought lots of outdoor toys like balls, jumpropes and hoolahoops.  I covered the back patio table with white paper for the kids to color.

We had the sand box out filled with tiny treasures hidden in it.

The football pinata ( which I always try to fill with more trinkets than candy) was from Party City.  And almost impossible to break!

The cake we ordered from Vons and was a simple Football Field design with their names on it.

And a youth football game isn’t complete without a Breakthrough, so before singing happy birthday and cutting the cake they all lined up and tore through the paper.

When the day was over I had two very tired and happy P’s.  They LOVED their football birthday party.

Our family has a first day of school tradtion that involves donuts but this year my daughter started Kindergarten and she is in the afternoon class.  That means she doesn’t go to school until 1150am.  With a lunch time start, getting up a little early and going to a donut shoppe didn’t make much sense so I asked her what special breakfast she would like me to make.  Pancakes! 

Pancakes are by far her favorite but they are such a dull food.  I asked if she’d like me to put chocolate chips in them…she said “no, just plain”.  Seriously?  who doesn’t like chocolate chips in their pancakes?  So to make them a little more fun for the first day of Kindergarten I decided to do “school shapes”.  We did numbers 1-2-3 and letters A-B-C and then she decided she’d like to see some shapes so we made a circle, square, and triangle.  To make the shapes I poured the batter into the pan (already hot and on medium heat) using a large spoon to draw them.  Then traced back over them where needed.

She loved them and ate the whole plate… 1-2 & 3!

If you have read my review of Boogie Wipes then you know that I love them!  They are so great to carry around for the littes ones or stick in your childs backpack for school.

Now, I’m here to tell you that they are searching for a child to be featured on the Boogie Wipes Canister.  Not just any child, they want someone whose ‘Snot Your Average Kid.  Has your Boogie Kid done something extroardinary?  Enter the Contest!

Boogie Wipes is looking for a child between the ages of 2-10 that has done something that has “possitively impacted family, friends, and comunity”.  Head over to the contest link and be prepared to write 100 words or less on why your child is ‘Snot Your Average Kid.  You will also need to upload a photo.  A Youtube video of your childs version of the story is helpful but not required to win.

Good Luck!

*All opinions in this post are solely my own.  I was not compensated in any way for this information.