Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Treat Sharing Thankful Tom Turkey

At Halloween most people are familiar with getting boo'd. Where you get left a treat, a poem and a ghost picture. You usually hang the ghost up and are instructed to create treats and do the same for someone one else. I know I didn't explain that well, but oh well. I thought it would be fun to do something similar in November.
Something that was one step above sharing treats. Something that showed others why you are grateful for them. So here is something very similar. Thankful Tom Turkey. You can still make treats and door bell ditch your neighbors, only this time you get to add at least one thing you are thankful about them. It could be that they mow your lawn when you are out of town, or you saw them picking up litter when walking down the street. Maybe they always have a smile on their face, or know everyone name. Maybe they have a beautiful flower bed you love or always treat your kids with kindness. Whatever the reason, share it with them. Share it with treats. Then encourage them to pass it along.

Here is the link to download and print one yourself:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pxzSSwwAptk4vVjOnS7f6lsVsvqhlf-3jEVl6_n6Q04/edit?usp=sharing
Happy November!

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

The Post Halloween Candy Controversey


Post Halloween Trick Or Treating Candy 


There are a lot of moms or  parents that get together and have the following discussion; How do you let your kids eat their Halloween candy?  Sometimes we get a opinions from parents, in-laws, other family members, neighbors, dentists or even just random strangers.  So what's the answer?
Do you put it all in one bowl for all your kids to share?
Do you let them try and eat it all in one night?
Do you let each child keep their own candy? To each their own?
Do you eat half of it and claim you don't know where the rest went?
Do you buy it back from them?
Do you make gingerbread houses with it?
There's lots of different ways to do it.  Often I think we place too much guilt on ourselves and sometimes (knowingly or unknowingly) on other parents. What is the answer? There are plenty of pros and cons to all these options and more. What thing do we leave out when we sit and way our options when trying to decide? The kids. That's right the kids. I know you are thinking about what is best for your kids when deciding on a plan. My point is, we leave out the fact that all kids are different when we advise others on this topic. How I choose to parent my kids is different than how you choose to parent yours. There are many different reasons to why this is, but one major factor is because my kids are different than yours. My kids each react differently to sugar, decisions, responsibility and more. So what works best for me and my kids, won't work best for you and your kids.
My point is don't feel bad if you let your kid sit and eat it all in one night. Don't feel bad if you only let your kids have 2 pieces a day. You know your kids better than anyone. It's ok to share ideas and options with others, but lets be careful to how we do it. Let's not assume our way is the best way. Just because it is the best way for your family, doesn't mean its the best for everyone elses!
With that being said, Happy Post-Halloween Candy Eating! Especially if your son brought home almost 8 lbs of it himself. Eat up and feel guilt free with whatever you choose to do with it. Unless you hand it out as candy next year, that's just gross!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Pot Pie

I came across this recipe on Kraft's website or magazine a few years ago and it is my favorite. I use this with leftover turkey, corn and green beans. It's super fast and easy to make as well!
Zippy Turkey Pot Pie

3/4
cup  milk

1/4
cup  MIRACLE WHIP Dressing

1
Tbsp.  flour

1-1/2
cups  KRAFT Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

3
cups  chopped cooked turkey (about 1 lb.)

1
pkg.  (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables(peas, carrots, green beans, corn), thawed - This is were I add any leftover veggies I have. 

1/4
cup  chopped onions

1
 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust 

HEAT oven to 400°F.
MIX milk, dressing and flour in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 2 to 3 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring after each min. Stir in cheese; microwave 1 min. Mix until well blended. Add turkey, mixed vegetables and onions; toss to coat. Spoon into 9-inch pie plate; smooth surface. -Note this recipe only calls for the top part of the pie, which I actually like it that way.
PLACE crust over filling; flute edge and seal to rim of pie plate. Cut several slits in crust to permit steam to escape. Place on baking sheet.
BAKE 30 to 35 min. or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 10 min. before serving.


What do you like to turn your Thanksgiving leftovers into? 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Valentine's Traditions

Last year we had a packed day on Valentines Day. Looking back to plan for this years I am trying to decide what we should do. Should we get a sitter and have a date night? Should we go do something fun as a family? Maybe stay in for some fun?
 
 
 
Last year I made yummy Red Velvet Crepes. My husband and I really enjoyed them, my girls liked them, my son openly announced he preferred the regular kind of crepes. We could do that again for breakfast.
 
We also went to Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. We could go out to eat, or order some to go at home. I even heard you can buy just their sauce, and we could make our own at home. Hmmm that sounds good.  Then I could watch one of the movies from my top 5 Valentines movies lists.
 
My kids love crafts and my son has gotten into origami lately. Maybe I could teach them to make something origami, play some games and decorate sugar cookies.
 
I'll have to keep thinking about this one. So many choices what do I do? It's not every year that Valentines falls on a Friday night.
 
Comment, Tweet or Facebook me what you are doing this year for Valentines Day, I would love to know! I feel like my creativity pool is running a little shallow.
 
 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas and I wanted to share a few of the highlights.
 
 
 The best part of the whole day was seeing my brothers face on Skype. My brother is serving a mission for the LDS church in El Salvador. He is my partner in crime, and I miss him. I am counting down till he comes home. I got to see his handsome face and have a few laughs with him. We got to talk to him for a little over 2 hours. Every time we talk to him (which is Mother's Day and Christmas) I bring a pineapple and we put it in the back round or hold it. Sometimes we stick it behind people heads like bunny ears, and all sorts of goofiness.
 
 
 I also made my niece and nephews presents this year. I made shirts for them. My nephew is always quoting movies so I made him this one.
 
 
 
First I went to Dafont.com and downloaded the Movie Film strip font. Search for film and it should come up. Then I printed it on iron paper that I purchased at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon.
 
My niece is a big Harry Potter fan so I made her these 2 things. The shirt I just googled the image I wanted and printed it on the same iron on paper.
 
 
 
Then over the year I tried to collect as many skeleton keys as I could when I cam across them. Then I bought some cheap butterfly ornaments and tore them apart and glued the wings to the keys. I think they came out super cute. I like the sparkly silver one in the bottom right corner the best.
 
 
 
They look cute in her room, we just need to make a few more.
 
For me the best part of Christmas is spending time with our loved ones. We are always so busy with others we don't actually sit around and enjoy Christmas Day gifts till the next day. We usually have scones or aebelskivers for breakfast on Christmas morning. We always watch one of the movies we get, this year it was Phineas and Ferb meets Marvel. Then we head over to grandma's. We play games, chat, enjoy company and then eat our tamale dinner.

 We even watched Despicable Me 2 while waiting for everyone to arrive at Grandma's. It was a fun relaxing day with lots of loved one's.  Although my kids got more goodies then they need and I just had to highlight one. My girls got the 2 princess's from Frozen. It was perfect cause not only had we watched it Christmas Eve, but my girls are starting to play together. They love to play the sisters and I love to sit and watch them play together. It was a wonderful Christmas, and I look forward to next year, where we are planning to change things up a bit. Which will be fun to blog about.
 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Our Chatoic Christmas Eve

I love the holidays, spending time with family and traditions. I love to do old Traditions and start new ones.

My family for as long as I can remember always makes tamales on Christmas Eve and eats them on Christmas Day. The first year I had Christmas with my husbands family was my first traditional Christmas dinner. I remember calling home and telling my mom, "Guess what, I got to have Thanksgiving twice this year." I knew that a tamale dinner wasn't people's normal Christmas dinner, but I had never thought about what was considered an average dinner. So when we had turkey, cranberry, mashed potatoes, rolls, and pie I thought I was the luckiest person ever to have 2 Thanksgivings that year.
 

Last year we went and saw Monsters inc. with our kids on Christmas Eve. So this year the kids asked if we could start a new tradition and go see a movie on Christmas Eve again. Why not? So we ended up seeing Frozen in 3D with my sister and her kids. It was way fun, and good. I love musicals, which I didn't realize this had so much singing in it, I was in heaven. Not to mention the voice talents of Kirstin Bell and Idina Menzel, it was amazing!
 
 
 

Then we drove through the lights and Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. Then went home and had a yummy rib dinner and finished the night with the Christmas story from the Bible. Growing up I always wanted to open 1 present on Christmas Eve like all my friends talked about doing, but never was able to convince my parents. So when my husband told me that was his tradition growing up, I was thrilled to carry it on. So yes we are like the many millions who open pajamas on Christmas Eve, to make up for the years I wish we did as a family.

 
So yes it was a very full and fun day. I did it on purpose. That night all my kids were asleep within 5 minutes of tuck in, that has got to be some kind of Christmas Eve record! I purposely wore them plump out!

Friday, December 20, 2013

My top 5 Must Watch Christmas Movies


I like to watch movies, especially with my family. There are a few movies that I love to watch every year right before Christmas. Here is my list of family friendly movies that I can't go a Christmas year without watching.
5. Jingle All The Way

I remember when this movie first came out, and it still cracks me up. I've watched it with the kids a few years now. It takes a few minutes for them to get into it, It's not till the Dad's start fighting that they really pay attention. It's really cheesy but perfect for a funny family movie night.
4.  A Muppet Christmas Carol

I love watching the Muppets, ever since I was a little girl watching it with my dad. I miss watching one Muppet movie that they did a long time ago where the meet the fraggles from fraggle rock. Anyone remember that? Or know where to get one? A Muppet Christmas Carol, however, is one that we watch on a Sunday leading up to Christmas because of it's good message. I love the music and the classic Muppet sarcastic jokes while my kids love the characters and the silliness. It's the perfect combination to keep everyone happy.
3. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas



Which one you ask? Well usually both. When I watch one it makes me want to watch the other. I do love the Jim Carrey version though. When I was in high school I use to watch this almost every Sunday and then take a nap. Kind of an odd routine, but that's what I did. I really enjoy Jim Carrey's portrayal of the Grinch, the costumes and the way they make the Dr. Seuss classic come to life.
2. Elf


This is first year I remember actually sitting down and watching it with my kids. They loved it. In the past I have just watched it with my husband. It was such a good and fun movie to watch as a family. I really wanted something not cartoony, but would still keep my kids attention. It was perfect.  I love Zoey Deschanel and she also happens to sing my favorite Christmas song in this as well. In the future I would love to go see the musical.
1. A Christmas Story



This is my all time favorite Christmas movie! For YEARS I watched it at least once during TBS's 24 hours of The Christmas Story. A few years ago when we were living in Oklahoma we didn't have cable or any way of watching it. I was really sad to be missing out on my favorite show. Then I found it on DVD and it made my day. It was like a little piece of home even though I was far away and missing my traditions with my family.
Just talking to people about this movie cracks me up and makes me want to watch it. I love the grumpy Santa, the little brother who can't put his arms down, and the many dreams that Ralphie has of himself in the future. If you have never seen it before don't watch it with me, I laugh so loud throughout it you'll never know what's going on.

Bonus: Favorite Not Family Friendly Movie:
The Family Stone

This is a movie I do not recommend with young kids. I know this movie didn't get great reviews, but I love it. I love sarcasm and realistic awkward family situations that may or may not have happened to me. I know in real life we wouldn't act or react like they do in TV, but that's what makes it funny. Like the scene where the girlfriend doesn't quite know whether to join the family picture or not. Realistically people with common sense either offer to take the picture to avoid the awkwardness or the boyfriend makes a big deal about getting in the picture. Now that's if you have common sense. We should all know by now that not everyone in this world has common sense. So we get this funny uncomfortable scene where you want to laugh and feel bad for the character at the same time.
The quirky brother played by Luke Wilson is one of my favorite characters. He just marches to the beat of his own drum, and I love it. It reminds me not only of myself, but my baby brother who is currently serving a mission for our church in El Salvador. Ok, so he reminds me of my brother minus the drinking and the pot.
I also love Rachel McAdams. She plays that one person that no matter how hard you try to be friendly and nice to she just will never warm up to you. So you get to a point where you say, "Fine I'll just be mean to you then!" In the end you end up best buddies and think, "Why did I try so hard in the first place, I should have just been mean from day 1, It would have saved so much time in the end."
This show is bursting with characters with very dynamic personalities. It's nice when all the personalities clash and get together when it's not real life. Then instead of being in the drama you can just laugh at it.
 I will warn you that right before the end (and the funniest climax ever) is one of those scenes that can be awkward if you are watching it with your sweet granny. You know the ones I'm talking about. Then you get to my favorite part. The realistic family fighting, chasing, and rolling with laughter part. Maybe a family wrestling match doesn't break out in your home, but that's probably cause you have all girls. I just laugh, and laugh till I can't breath every time. I recommend getting your hands on a copy for some fun cuddle time with you special honey bunny.
So those are some of my favorite Christmas movies. I posted them with enough time to watch 1 every day till Christmas. Or make a top 5 list of your own. What movies can't you go the holidays with out? I would love to know. Comment or tweet me your favorites.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Larry H. Miller Sing Along -Free Family Event

In 2011 in addition to seeing the lights in Salt Lake we decided to attend the Larry H. Miller sing a long. We weren't quite sure what to expect and it exceeded our expectations.
Everyone got a yummy treat and a little envelope. In the envelope we ended up with free movie tickets, free popcorn vouchers, raceway tickets and other cool things. On top of the fun free things we got to sing along to beloved Christmas songs as a family. Even cooler was we got to sing along with Alex Boye. How awesome is that? If you are not familiar with him here is what you are missing out on:

Incredible! This year Emmy award winning and Grammy nominated Kurt Bestor will be there. I suggest bundle up the kids, enjoy the Christmas lights, get some hot chocolate and go to the free Larry H. Miller sing a long. It starts at 6:00 PM at the Energy Solutions Arena.
For more info check out http://www.kurtbestor.com/index.php?page=calendar&display=2505
or http://www.lhm.com/giving-back/christmas-sing-along

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Another Norwex Post and Hot Chocolate Bar

I just got done with hosting a Norwex show. It was a lot of fun and also very informative. I did a fun hot chocolate bar which was really yummy. Here are a few things that stood out to me from the Norwex consultant Tricia, and my printable hot chocolate bar tags.

The first thing was the label on Lysol wipes. I know have used these a lot in the past. I have even given them to my kids to use to clean stuff. Never have I ever actually read the instructions before. I never noticed the not to be used by children, or keep out of reach of children before. I also didn't notice that in order to it to actually disinfect it has to stay wet for 10 minutes. To sanitize it's 30 seconds (I just pulled that off Lysols website) and to disinfect (especially the big ones like salmonella and H1N1) it has to remain wet for 10 minutes. Then it says to "rinse all food contact surfaces and toys with water after use." Why would they say to rinse it with water? Well to clean off the chemicals left over before you eat them, putting it bluntly. I found a Lysol container in the way back of my daughters bathroom that was dried out, but sure enough, that's what it said. Here is the picture I just took:


That just made their enviro cloth shine that much greater to me. I tried to find a good video on how well it works, and this is the best one I have found.



She also gave us a list of products that her niece's oncologist gave her of products not to use. I was amazed at the list. I'll have to get a copy of it to share. My 3 favorite products are the enviro cloth, the window cloth, and the dust mitt. You can buy all 3 for just under $50.00. These products are amazing. You can look up more about them here.

Only 24 hours left in my giveaway for and enviro cloth. Go check it out here.

I also did a hot chocolate party while I hosted the Norwex party.  I felt really crafty and special. Click on the picture to download the tags I created for the hot chocolate bar. My only suggestion is printing it smaller, maybe 2 to a page. I thought mine came out a little big.



Thursday, November 7, 2013

Dulce De Leche in the Crockpot

Growing up when my mom wanted to make dulce de leche she would put a can of sweetened condensed milk in the pressure cooker. I wanted to make some, but I don't have a pressure cooker. So I decided to try a crock pot recipe. I know some people try this for caramel. If your not picky then your fine, but keep in mind this is not caramel, it's dulce de leche.
What's the difference you ask? Dulce de leche is milk based, it literally translates to sweet milk. Caramel is sugar based. It's cooked sugar and water to a certain precise point. The word caramel is of French origin meaning "burnt sugar."
All I did was put 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk in my crock pot on low for 8 hours. Take of the paper around the cans and make sure the cans are submerged and stay submerged through the process. They usually turn the last hour or so. I left one can in approximately 30 minutes longer than the other and it was a little thicker. The cans will look a little rusty too, no worries they will come out fine. It did leave a slight ring in the bottom of my crock pot. I read on someone else's blog that they put a towel under the cans to prevent the rust transfer to the crock pot.
Here are some pictures.



I used it to dip apples. It wasn't as firm as caramel, but it was quicker and still very yummy!

Thursday, October 31, 2013

We're Off To See The Wizard...

We decided to do a Wizard of Oz theme for Halloween this year. A few years ago when Kadan was the lion we bought it too big for him. Now since he hardly grows it still fits. Yesenia's old Dorothy costume now fits Graciella. The problem was Kadan kept scaring her in his lion costume.
 
Yesenia wanted something "princess" and pink. So we used one of her Barbie dress up dresses to be Glenda the Good Witch. We spray painted a crown from Buffalo Wild Wings and used a pink star wand from the dollar section at Target.
 
The hardest was Adrianna's scarecrow costume. It was the first time I actually made something all the way from scratch. I used an elastic around her waist and tied glittery tulle on it. I hot glued a flower and some leaves on it as well. I was surprised she wore it as long as she did.

Then I was the wicked witch and my husband the tin man. I was going to paint my face green but I was afraid it would scare Graciella too.
 
Voila! Our Wizard of Oz family.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Happy Halloween

This time of year is my favorite. I love Halloween. Not the spooky, scary side of it. I love the decorations, dressing up, and candy part of Halloween. Most years we try to be matchy, matchy. This year isn't any different. We are doing a repeat of 2009, only our family has doubled. We are doing Wizard of Oz! Here are a few pictures from the past.
 
2009- Wizard of Oz


2010- Spiderman & Spidergirl


2011- Princess Peach, Luigi and Mario

 
2012- Spiderbaby, Spiderman, & Spidergirl
 

Pictures for 2013 are soon to come!
This week has been madness, so I am posting the winner to the gift card late.
 
Thanks for everyone that entered! The winner is...
 
 Candice Foster

Thanks for everyone that entered!

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all those special Mom's out there. I thought I would post some of my favorite Mother's Day You Tube Video's for your enjoyment.

 
 
Hope you enjoyed the video's on such a special day. I personally got to Skype with my baby brother who is in El Salvador right now. Plus I had my visiting teachers (which are 2 friends from the neighborhood that come monthly just to visit) brought me paper goods so I don't have to do any dishes. Home made gifts from the kids and chocolate covered pretzels were nice as well.

 
Happy Mother's Day

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Mother's Day Bookmark Printable

One thing I do in my spare time is volunteer my time to work with the 8 and 9 year old girls in my neighborhood. The LDS church has a program for 8-11 year old girls called Activity Days. Twice a month I get to work with these amazing young ladies. Last time we decided to do something for Mother's Day. What could I do that would be easy, nearly free or ridiculously cheap and fun? We ended up making bookmarks.

The bookmark I made is meant to list 10 reason's why you love your mom on one side, and then do an acronym of the word "MOTHER" on the other. Then we tied a ribbon on the top and voila a great homemade gift. I would recommend laminating them first to help preserve the sweet memento.
 
 
The bookmark itself is nothing fancy, but what your kids can do with it is what makes it special!
 


Sunday, May 5, 2013

Cinco De Mayo Fun

My husband and I kept going back and forth on how big or small we wanted to celebrate Cinco De Mayo this year. In the end we decided to relax at home with just our family. I'm glad we didn't invite lots of people over because Steven's sister came to visit from Idaho. We had quite the fiesta. We celebrated with their family on Saturday night before they had to leave back home.
First I decided to cook some yummy authentic Mexican food. My husband and I laugh often about how well I cooked our first year of marriage. As a Mexican it was and is my comfort food. It was the main thing I cooked. Then when we went out to eat I often also chose Mexican food. For dinner I made yummy Mexican rice, which has to be eaten with corn.  As well a buffet of typical Mexican food leaving a plethora of choices. We had all the fixing to make either quesidilla's, burritos, taco's, taco salad, nachos or any other concoction in between you could think of. Not to mention enough homemade guacamole and salsa to last us all weekend long.

I got some fun free printouts from The 36th Avenue.  They added a nice extra element to the fiesta. The kids enjoyed the straws and they helped differentiate who's cup was who's. I purchased some of our favorite drinks for their family to try as well. My favorite being Sangria's, Steven's Tamarindo, and the my kids favorite is the Sidral Mundet.  Creating a mariachi station on Pandora made the environment perfect.
What's a Cindo de Mayo Fiesta with out a pinata? We got a huge angry birds pinata filled with some cheap goodies. This was the kids favorite part. We went to the local park and use our Louisville Slugger mini bat for some fun swinging. My 10 year old niece loved busting the thing open, and the kids scattering to get as many goods as they could.

Then we did our own family photo shoot. The kids loved dressing up and and having their own spotlight for a little bit.
 
 


After all the set up, fun, junk food, and clean up we were all ready for a little siesta. Happy Cinco De Mayo!