Posts Tagged ‘parenting blog’

My daughter came home with a note a couple weeks ago saying that they were having a Valentine’s Day party in her Kindergarten class and that she needed to bring 31 Valentine’s for her class mates.  My son’s preschool is also having a “friendship” party to celebrate and he needs 20 Valentines.  The catch?  The teachers requested that there be no candy in them.  NO Problem! I’ve got this!

I’ve always preferred making Valentines to buying them and this year we get to be extra creative.  Here are 10 Candy-free adorable Valentines for the kids to give to their friends.  Some we came up with, and others were found on various blogs.

Peyton chose pencils and erasers for her classmates and we made these:

You’re Just “Write” for me!

I printed out the message on cardstock and used a cookie cutter to trace the heart around it.  We cut out the hearts and used a hole-punch to make the holes for the pencils to slide it.  Really easy!

 Preston, the Cars fanatic, will be handing out these to his preschool friends:

You make my Heart race!

For these we used plain white cardstock cut into small squares and I drew the road with markers.  Preston place the heart stickers on them so he could be a part in ‘making’ them.

And I made these little apple packs to send to school with the P’s for their snack:

You are the Apple of my eye!

 

Here are some other super cute Valentine gifts that I found:

“Doh” you want to be my Valentine?  From The Wilson World

Happy Valentine’s Day Love Bug!  From Dandee Designs

Our class would “knot” be the same without you!  Also from Dandee Designs

You make my heart Glow!  From The Teacher Wife

You make my heart bounce!  From The Crafting Chicks

I’m Wild about you!  From Disney’s Family Fun

Will you O’fish’ally be my Valentine?  From Tammy Mitchell Photography

 

 

 

 

 

Remember that cheap and easy DIY Haunted Tree Centerpiece we made for Halloween?  Well, we’ve made one for Valentine’s Day too!

I’ve been wanting to re-use the vases from this centerpiece for a while and after making my Sweetheart Votives I had an idea.  Glass Vases + conversation hearts candy +  silk tulips!  For easter I think I’ll just swap out the conversation hearts for jelly beans.

 

I made these on a whim after wandering the Dollar Tree looking for some cheap crafting inspiration.  My total cost for supplies ended up being $2.16!  The votive candles came in a two-pack and the conversation hearts candies were 4 box-packs.  All I needed was a hot glue gun and about 10 minutes to finish the project.

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!

 

 

 

Welcome to the second week of What’s For Dinner, Wednesday where I’m sharing a new recipe each Wednesday.  This recipe is from Pillsbury and is a great variation of Lasagna.  The best part, you refrigerate it overnight.  Make it the day before you know you’ll be busy and at dinner time all you have to do is pop it in the oven.

• 1 tablespoon butter
• lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper (2 med)
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup choped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pint half and half
• 1/2 cup Progresso chicken broth
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 7 oz Gouda cheese shredded (I used a mixture of mozarella and colby-jack because i forgot to get the Gouda)
• 1 container (12 oz) small curd cottage cheese (again, I substituted and used ricotta)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips
• 1 egg, beaten
• 9 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 package (16 oz) sliced mozarella (I just used shredded)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese

 

1. 1.  Spray 13 X 9 inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.  In 4 quart Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add chicken; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in bell pepper, celery, onion, and garlic; cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in center.
2. Reduce heat to low.  Add half and half, broth and cream cheese; cook and stir until cream cheese is melted.  Gradually add Couda cheese, stirring until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat; set aside.  In bowl, mix cottage cheese (or Ricotta like I did) 1/4 cup fresh basil and the egg until blended.
3. Spread 1 cup chicken mixture in baking dish.  Top with 3 noodles, 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture, 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture and 1/2 of the mozarella cheese.  Repeat layers once, starting with noodles.  Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining chicken mixture.  Sprinkle with Parmesean cheese. Cover with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
4. Heat oven to 350.  Bake lasagna covered for 45 minutes.  Uncover; bake 30-35 minutes longer or until noodles are tender and casserole is bubbly.  Cover; let stand 15 minutes before serving. 

This recipe is a bit of work to prep so you have to plan ahead.  Hope your family enjoys it as much as mine did! 

And Please feel free to leave a link to your favorite recipes in the comment section!

 

 

 

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.