Marshmallow Mummy

Quick cute craft for your little one. All you need is some mini marshmallows, glue, construction paper, marker, and googly eyes. 

First draw a basic mummy face on a paper. (It's just a circle with some random lines that look like cloth.)

Next set out the supplies.

I set up a plate with marshmallows and put a big blob of glue for her to dip the marshmallows in.  I set a small bowl to the side and told her if she wanted to eat she could only eat from the bowl. I didn't want her accidentally eating the glue. 

Put the eyes on before you start glue on the marshmallows.

Then start glueing and have fun making your marshmallow mummy!

Toilet Paper Tube Ghosts

Need a fun halloween craft that can be done quickly with only a few basic supplies? Here is a fun easy on that children can do with very little assistance. 

Supplies: 

Toilet paper tubes

White paint

Paint brush

Wiggly eyes

Have your child paint the tubes white and set them aside to dry for a few hours.

Once the tubes are dry put on the googly eyes. (I love the self adhesive eyes, it's a few more cents but well worth it!)

Let your little one add any other decorations. My daughter insisted that the ghosts needed smiles and arms.

Here is our little ghost family. 

Very simple and basic craft that a preschooler can do almost independently.

Applesauce

Apples are in season! What should we do? Make applesauce.

Wash and cut the apples into quarters. With the Kitchenaid attachment you 

do not need to core or peel the apples. 

Bring the apples to a boil and cook until soft.

Meanwhile place the grinder and fruit/vegetable strainer attachments on the Kitchenaid. These attachments can be purchased online or most anywhere Kitchenaid are sold they will cost about $100 together depending on where you purchase them..

When the apples are soft pull them out of the water with a slotted spoon. (This way you can place the next batch of apples into the hot water instead of filling it and having to bring a new pot to a boil all over again.) 

While the second batch of apples are coming to a boil start feeding the cooked apples into the grinder. Push them down slowly, they are hot and you don't want hot apple squirting out at you.

As you push the apples in the applesauce will start to push through the stainer and drip out the peel, seeds, stem, and any other unusable parts will be forced out the end. 

When you are done you will have a bowl full of hot applesauce. I add a 1/2 cup sugar, a few shakes of cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. 

Notes: 

*The applesauce has a pink tint because you are leaving the skin on but think of all the nutrients you gain!

*I cooked up a peck of apples from the orchard and it made me 3+ quarts of applesauce. I can't give you an exact measurement because we were all eating it hot and fresh so all of it didn't make it into the containers. 

*From taking out the apples to the end of clean up it took about 3 hours (including distractions from my 4yr old.) A chunk of time but well worth it! 

*Applesauce freezes well. 

Construction Party

A friend of ours had a construction themed party for their 3 year old son. The decorations were out of this world! She said that pintrest ideas gave her some inspireation and she filled in the rest with her own ideas. 

It was sooooo cute I asked her if I could photograph some of the items to share with all of you. 

So here is a peek at a Construction Birthday Party. 

When you entered the party there was a great traffic barricade made by Michelle's father and the black tape of the sidewalk made it feel like a street. 

Inside the kitchen was construction central with construction themed signs she purchased, handmade tissue paper balls in coordinating colors, toy construction equipment, and themed food. 

All the food featured fun labels that tied it into the theme

 and the use of black polka dot ribbon made it pop.

Clementines: Boulders         Wrecking Balls: Gum balls
Lumber: wafer cookies        Nuts and Bolts: Chex mix

Below are more  examples of themed food. I love how the tortilla chips were placed in the dump truck, construction cookies (forgot to ask where they were made) and of course, cups of dirt with worms and all. 

Bottom left picture show the favor bag that was passed out. A little shovel tied inside
of a bag with Reeses Pieces and a tag that said "I Dig You".

Michelle did a great job using the traditional yellow, orange, and black construction  

colors to tie in the theme and make it bright and festive. 

Even the utensils were tied into the theme. Each set of utensils were tied together with ribbon and a little "tools" label. 

In this last picture you can see that the fun continued outdoors. A sandbox with bulldozers to play with and a cut out to take your picture in. Also in the picture you can see the little yellow hard hat on the ground. Each child that attended got a hat with their name written on it. 

Way to go Michelle. This was on the best decorated theme parties I have ever been too. I look forward to seeing more of your creative ideas! 

Halloween Decorations

I love to decorate for Halloween. I used to go way overboard but the last few years I have found that keeping it simple is much easier and makes me just as happy. Here is a peek at my front porch. 

This witch is one of my favorite things. My mother in law saw the idea in Martha Stewart magazine and had her husband make it. He made one for me as well. He simple drew it on plywood, cut it out, and painted it black. Mine is about 5 feet tall and is hinged to fold in half for easy storage. On the back are two hooks that a metal pole slides through and into the ground to hold the witch up. Under the hand is a little hook that the lantern attaches too.  

I found a plastic black cauldron to set in front of her and have orange lights it is so it "glows" at night. For added fun I also put purple lights in the lantern.

Above is my little pumpkin patch. I picked up the sign from JoAnn's many years ago. It is versatile because it works at halloween with the spiderweb. After halloween the web and Jack-O-Lanturn (not carved yet at time of this picture) will get tossed out and I keep the gourds and uncarved pumpkins sign since they are still make with the seasonal decor.  These will stay out through Thanksgiving day. 

P.S. the mum in the container should be more colorful but it is a bit dry because I haven't been faithful at giving it water. Oops.

Another good Audiobook

For those of you that love mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, audio books, or all of the above... Here is another good book for you. 

I have literally listened to every Sherlock Holmes story written by Sir Arthur Connon Doyle, so you can imagine how excited I was to find this book. It is written so similarly that you can't even tell it is a different author.

Two thumbs up on this one!

PB Banana Wrap

Here is a quick and easy snack/lunch idea for kids. 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Peanut Butter 

1 Banana sliced down the middle

1 Tbsp Mini chocolate chips

1 Flour tortilla 

(healthy alternative: wheat tortilla,  gluten free alternative: corn tortilla)

Spread peanut butter on tortilla, slice banana long ways down the middle and place in the center, sprinkle with chocolate chips. Roll up. Let the kid eat and enjoy. 

I forgot to take picture when it was all nice and rolled up, my daughter quickly gobbled it up and this was all that was left. 

I will take that as a good sign!

How does so much dirt find its way under there?

Actually had an hour to myself this afternoon, so instead of finding something relaxing I decide to get some cleaning out of the way and I clean underneath the oven....

 I know things drop, I know dust builds up, but really! How does so much dirt find its way under there? 

PS I will admit the picture makes it look like it's really not that bad, but there was so much more there!

Q-Tip Skeleton

My daughter wanted to carve her pumpkin tonight but I didn't want to start that endeavor at 8pm. So I offered a skeleton craft. She went for it!

Quick Q-tip Skeleton

Cut out a "skull shape" for the head about 2 inches tall and glue on the top of a 8x11 piece of black card stock.

Using a pencil draw out where the basic bones will go. 

(I drew the lines one by one and allowed my daughter to put down the glue. Good motor control practice for preschoolers.) 

Place a Q-tip on the glue 

For the hands/fingers, cut 2 Q-tips in half.

As you can see the gluing became messier as we worked....

For the feet, cut one Q-tip in half and use one for each foot.

Draw eyes, nose and a mouth on the skull.

There you have a friendly Q-tip skeleton! A fast easy and fun halloween craft. 

Do you have any favorite halloween crafts that you like to do with your kids? 

Quick and easy (cheater) crock pot stew

Quick and easy (cheater) crock pot stew.

How often do you have a time crunch and need to make a dinner fast? Here is my answer to a "rush night".

Take 1/2 lb of carrots and cook partially cook them in the microwave till outside is soft to the touch. (In my steamer it takes about 5 minutes)

Bonus: these are the carrots we grew in our garden!!

While the carrots are cooking out 2 cups water in the bottom of the crock pot.

Cut up some potatoes. (I used about 6 medium sized potatoes) as you can tell my specific measurement ago out the window when I'm in a rush...

Add a can of tomatoes if you have then in your pantry.  I didn't, but I has lots of tomatoes for my garden.

Next, (this is where quick and easy comes in) you can use leftover beef or in my case canned meat. (Yes, my mom canned some beef and it's actually really good. If you ever have a chance to pick some up from a market I would recommend it. (And it stays good in the pantry for a long time.)

Last, sprinkle on some extra herbs and seasoning. This is to taste, I was in a rush so I didn't measure. Go with your gut. Once its warmed up you can taste it and you can always add more if need be.

Now pop on the cover set it to the highest setting. (My highest setting is 4 hours) Because the meat is already cooked and the veggies are precooked, this only needs time to heat up. 

I popped this in the crock pot at 4:45, ran out the door for gymnastics, ran a quick errand, filled my gas tank.  When I pulled back into the house at 7pm dinner was hot and ready to serve!

Parmesan Truffle Popcorn

I love homemade popcorn. I believe that it is way better than microwave popcorn. 

It is easy too, just throw a few tablespoons of canola oil or peanut oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Add 1/2 cup of corn kernels. 

Turn heat on high. 

Give it a shake. 

As soon as you hear the first pop turn heard down to medium.  

When popping slows, turn off and remove from heat.

For tonights popcorn my husband requested parmesan truffle. 

Ingredients:

truffle oil

fresh grated parmesan cheese

pepper

chili powder

sea salt (not pictured)

Give the popcorn a spray with canola oil as you toss it around to get most of the popcorn. This helps the toppings stick to the popcorn.

(You can also drizzle 2 tbsp of melted butter. I prefer the spray because it is less fatting.)

Add about a 1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese, a few shakes of pepper, a 1/2 tsp chili powder, and sea salt to taste. Toss all ingredients until popcorn seems evenly coated. Then drizzle a tablespoon of truffle oil and gently toss one more time. 

EAT and ENJOY!

Do you have a favorite homemade popcorn recipe? 

Missing postings...

I've been overrun by life. I have had no time to post. In my life, family comes first and work (which pays the bills) is second. After that the rest of things fall into place.  

I miss blogging and hope to be back to doing it more often now they things at work have calmed down a bit.

See you soon!