Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Fun Times




We went to a friend's birthday party at this party place called The Maxx.
The boys had a blast.

It's kind of like Chuck E. Cheese...without all the cheesy mouse junk and band.


There is a huge indoor playground with slides and nets, a train and a huge bouncy house.
They sell pizza and drinks.



They also have a game area, where the games spit out tickets when you win.
I think that was their favorite part.



You exchange the tickets for junky toys or candy.
It's such a tough decision for a kid....I think we stood there for at least 15 minutes while they decided on what they wanted.



They had fun and it gave them something to do.

and the best part was the very next week.....
another friend had a party there too.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Pocket Full Of Posies

We've been to several birthday parties recently where they had these little frisbees in the treat bag.  Rather than find them scattered throughout the house or throw them away, I decided to use them in a craft. 

I bought some big blue poster board....Cut out flower petals using several colors of construction paper....Nathan painted grass, stems and leaves and glued it all together.  I think it came out great.



Glue the frisbees to the poster board.


Glue on the flower petals




Using green paint and a wide paint brush, paint some grass on the bottom.



A smaller brush can be used to make the stems and leaves.




(I just love the look of concentration on his little face)


Our little flower garden.....in the kitchen.



Winner of the Barefoot Books Giveaway is....

#18  Domestic Diva!!

I follow on gfc.

lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com



Congratulations! I will be emailing you soon with the information.

Just Answering a Question

I was emailed a few times now, requesting to know where I found the liquid laundry starch for my PEEPS bunny craft.   And specifically what it looks like.  So, I thought I would answer that here for everyone that has asked (and for anyone to shy to ask).

This is what you are looking for..........


The bottle says Niagara Non-Aerosol Spray Starch

I found mine at the local grocery store, but I think Walmart sales it too.  It's in the laundry aisle.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Rent College Textbooks? Yes, Please!

With Amanda approaching college days (way too quickly, mind you), we have been searching for ways to save money.  She has applied for and won several scholarships, but it is still crazy expensive.

When I heard that you can now rent college textbooks as opposed to buying them, we immediately bookmarked the site for future use.  How cool is it that you can rent a book, as easily as you can rent a movie!? When she's done with the class, she won't have to worry about selling the book back for a fraction of the price that she paid for it.  She can just return it using the free shipping label and rent another one.  Plus, she won't have to run around to different book stores looking for books.  She can just search the site, find the book she needs and click rent. 

Campus Book Rentals has over 3,000 titles to choose from and several different majors (such as Nursing, History, Accounting, etc)., plus free shipping...this has to be the smartest decision ever! You can even use a highlighter in your rental books.  With Campus Book Rentals, there are no membership fees and you can track your books while you wait for them to be delivered.  They also buy books and will give you a fast, instant price quote, plus a shipping label.

Since finding out about renting textbooks, we now have one less thing to worry about when Amanda goes to college. 






*Disclosure - I will receive a coupon code for 50% off Amanda's first sememter of college text books for this review.  The opinions herein are my own and were not influenced by Campus Book Rentals.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

~ Roly-Poly Egg ~

One of our new favorite books is Roly-Poly Egg by Kali Stileman. 


The story begins with Splotch.  Splotch is a bird that lives high up in a tree and she lays a very small and very spotty egg.  She is so excited that she jumps up and down and shakes her egg right off the tree branch.  The egg then goes on a little adventure, shall we say.  It rolls down a giraffe's back, gets kicked by a zebra, almost eaten by a crocodile, sucked up by an elephant's trunk, and passed through the trees like a ball by monkeys and passed back to Splotch.   As soon as Splotch can breathe a sigh of relief that her egg is back, it's starts to hatch.  Out comes a very small and very spotty baby bird. 

This was such a super cute story.....that of course, inspired me to make a craft using this book as a theme.

First, we started by making an egg that the baby could hatch from.


I cut an egg shape out of blue construction paper and cut zig zags to give it that cracking/hatching look.


We glued the edges to a sheet of poster board, so that the egg could open and show off it's surprise inside.



Nathan glued foam circles to the egg to make it look like the egg in the book.


Next we started making the birds.



We used Red and Blue fingerpaint to make the birds' bodies.




While the paint dried, we started working on the legs.



We used pipe cleaners and beads.


We threaded the beads on the pipe cleaners.

I cut the birds down to size and Nathan glued some fun wiggly eyes to the birds and orange foam triangles for their beaks.


Then, we opened the egg and glued the baby bird to the poster board


Our little baby bird is hatching from it's egg.



So Adorable, right?

We put Splotch together next.


We glued Splotch's body to a sheet of construction paper, added her legs, beak and eyes.  Plus, a few feathers for fun.


Splotch.....


.....and her baby.

Such a fun, cute craft to go with an equally fun and cute book!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of this book, head on over to Tiger Tales (the blog) and leave a comment telling what your favorite book is and why you love it so much....the contest is over April 18, so hurry now!

*Disclosure: I received a copy of Roly-Poly Egg from Tiger Tales, for review purposes only.  The opinions herein are my own and were not influenced by Tiger Tales in anyway.  The crafts, however are mine :)



Linking to.....

Shibley Smiles






So, today is my birthday.....

I don't *feel* like I'm 39

And how the heck did I end up being 39 anyway?

39?

What the heck?

Yesterday, Sarah told me I wasn't allowed to have any more birthdays, because she didn't want me to get any older.....I think I have to agree.

When I was younger (like...30 and under), I always wondered why people, especially women, got upset when they got older.  Age - it's just a number, I'd say.

Then, I hit 35 and looked in the mirror after I had been smiling about something and saw those little (now bigger) laugh lines in the corners of my mouth .... I started freaking out. 

And have been doing it ever since!

I keep thinking I don't want to get old.

And working in a nursing facility, doesn't help.

Especially when you see them in wheelchairs and some of the aren't all there mentally speaking, know what I mean?

It really does a number on me.

And then I remember those people lived their lives.....hopefully, to the fullest.

And even though I've had some rough patches with my health recently, I'm doing ok now.

Life is pretty darn good and I don't have any major complaints.

So why the heck am I afraid of a number??

They say a person is only as young as they feel.

Some days, I *feel* pretty darn old....

but, other days I don't feel 39 at all.  I don't even feel 29 sometimes.

I still have alot of life to live

And hopefully, I have the best years yet to come.

So screw you - number 39!!

I'm happy and feel great.

So, Happy Birthday to me!

This is going to be my best year yet!

Free Clipart Picture of a Birthday Cake with Candles. Click Here to Get Free Images at Clipart Guide.com

Linking to Shell's PYHO

Monday, April 11, 2011

Yum Yum

The minute I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting
Recipe by Tidy Mom


For the cupcakes:


■3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

■1½ cups light brown sugar, packed

■4 large eggs

■2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

■1 tsp. baking powder

■1 tsp. baking soda

■¼ tsp. salt

■1 cup milk

■2 tsp. vanilla extract

■1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)


To make the cupcakes

1.preheat the oven to 350° F.

2.Using the paddle attachment on your mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, approx 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3.Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

4.Alternating add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl with the milk on low speed, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated.

5.Blend in the vanilla.

6.Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

7.Divide the batter evenly between 24 cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


While the cupcakes bake and cool, prepare your cookie dough filling.


For the cookie dough filling:

■4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

■6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed

■1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

■7 oz. sweetened condensed milk

■½ tsp. vanilla extract

■¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

To Make the Filling

1.Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl on medium-high speed until light and fluffy(approx2 minutes).

2.Add flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.

3.Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, (approx1 hour).



After cupcakes have cooled, fill the cupcakes by cutting a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.




For the frosting:

■3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

■¾ cup light brown sugar, packed

■3½ cups confectioners’ sugar

■1 cup all-purpose flour

■¾ tsp. salt

■3 tbsp. milk

■2½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions to make icing


1.Beat butter and brown sugar with the paddle attachment on high speed until creamy and fluffy.

2.Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

3.Beat in the flour and salt.

4.Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and combined.


Frost cupcakes using a pastry bag and 1M tip. Decorate with mini chocolate chips and a mini cookie.




These Cupcakes are the Bomb!