Tea for two or more!

Well, it's winter! The temperature is 1* and it feels like -9. These frigid temperatures limit the   activities to inside play. After sticker collages, play dough and a few dragon battles we settled down to have a tea party!  

Menu

Colby cheese cubed

apple slices

heart shaped carrots
mini muffins

orange kool aid

During our most delightful tea we were entertained by listening to Rumpelstiltskin on Story Nory.  This set up captivated the natives and kept them entertained for well over an hour. 

All it takes is faith and trust with a dash of creativity to keep the day interesting. 

Muffins!

I have few arch nemesis in the kitchen. One of them being rice and the other muffins! For years I would try, try, and try. Different recipes, different ingredients, different muffin pans, oven temperatures. You name it! I tried it!I threw in the towel and started calling banana bread, muffin bread. That was our life till a few months ago when a friend posted this Zucchini Banana Bread Muffins recipe. The whole idea of following an actual recipe is completely foreign to me. The vast majority of recipes I use require me toss in ingredients and assume it will taste as good as it smells! I am rarely disappointed:)Apparently for muffins you can't do that. So... FOLLOW this recipe and you will have ah-mazingly healthy and delicious muffins.

Super Hero's!

Power Ring

Mask's and wrist bands

Wrist Bands

SUPER HERO'S TO THE RESCUE!! ((Doo do dooo!)) 

My lil guy has absolutely fallen in love with super hero's:) it's adorable! Trying to outfit him superhero gear, not so adorable or do able on a tight budget. So.. what should a super hero's mama do? Go to Joann's!! (any excuses is a good one to spend a few hours in that store). There we found felt in the colors of the super hero's he loves, FLASH(red), Green Lantern (green), Batman(Black), and his personal favorite SUPER B(him self-a teal color). With a ink pen, scissors, elastic, Velcro and some Fabri-Tac I set to work... and soon came out with four super hero mask's, wrist bands and even was able to find supplies to make power rings(shopping those end caps is a life/budget saver)! All for the bargain price of one super hero outfit in the store! It's SUPER MOM!! To the rescue!!


A few notes: I should have washed the felt before making items, it's a little scratchy. I should have kept the receipt to show you how awesome of a deal this venture was! (felt $1.25 for 1/8 yard, elastic$2.99 for more than you could ever want/need, glue $5.99(ish) worth every penny but sewing is an option!) Also I should have made a pattern out of paper instead of tracing a fabric version. But so far they are holding up well to two weeks worth of playing! As soon as I figure out how to upload drawings I will post patterns:)

ugh! pull ups?!?!

I felt like such a failure when my son, who was once potty trained through the night started to wet the bed... I figured it's just a phase, he'll "grow out of it", he didn't. Then my hubs and I tried waking him up twice a night (BAD IDEA!!! NEVER!! EVER!! Wake a sleeping child!) not only does it mess with the child's sleep, it messes with your sleep... phew! The next step was to buy plastic pants and let him feel the wetness...ha! That didn't work... he slept through and the bed still ended up wet. Finally(two months from first wet bed) in a fit of 'I cannot wash another load of pee sheets or loose more sleep over this issue' rage I bought my first package of pull ups. It hurt my green heart! But we are a much better family for it:) I figure I saved the world from all his diapers in the early stages, a few pull ups wont hurt, right? Except the budget, those pull-up brand pull-ups are expensive!! So I did coupons, watched for sales and tried my best to keep the cost down but!! When I saw 15 off brand pull ups for $5.99 and 10 pull up brand pull ups for $11.99 the math won! Feeling guilty I went down the book/sticker isle hoping to lessen the blow with a $1 treat I found super hero stickers and that's when it clicked!! He could decorate his own "special night time under-roo's" any way he wanted!! What is cooler than that? So we now have super hero, smile face, puppy dog, bug "special night time under roo's". He is not limited to my budget:) PHEW!! Hope this tip helps ease your mind and your budget! 

He tends his flock like a shepherd: 

He gathers the lambs in his arms,

and carries them close to his heart;

he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:11

Anti Veggie?

Do you have one of THOSE kids? You know the one who refuses to eat anything but noodles and yogurt:) I used to have one of those kiddos, boy howdy did I have to get creative!! Veggie pancakes, veggie packed marinara sauce, sweet bread with carrots, the list goes on and on my friend! And so does the list of things your child wont eat... but never fear! Help is near! Manufacturers are starting to gets smart (starting to) meaning you still have to read labels and make your judgment calls but! I have found a few products that will assist in the feeding of the small child. Pictured are Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta-full serving of vegetables in each serving. Mott's Meadly's-cherry berry with a full serving of fruit and vegetables in each serving. Frutables by Adam and Eve-full serving of fruit and veggies in each serving. Last but not least Kraft Macaroni and cheese- 1/2 cup of veggies in each cup of noodles. Each of these products are B tested and approved and full of good things!! Happy Feeding!!

Free-bee!

Hey! Need a card in a instant? A real, actual, factual, paper card... then look no further! Free printable cards-easy to personalize! Just thought you and your budget should know this pertinent information! 

Magnetic Tape

"All you need is trust and a little bit of pixie dust"(Peter Pan)....or an active imagination and some magnetic tape! Yes, that is correct, magnetic tape, a metal cookie sheet(or refrigerator) , and story props. Print the story prop out and color them or print out the colored version. Add magnetic tape to the back of each piece (may need two strategically located pieces of magnetic tape to hold the character or prop to the cookie sheet). Print out the words to the story, or have a copy of the book on hand and let the story telling commence! It doesn't have to be a beautiful theatrical performance just an animated telling of .... what ever story you wish to relay to your child! A few favorites: 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?', 'Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?', 'The Ginger Bread Man' or any other favorite you can think of! Just print out a few of the major characters and props from your clip art, add magnetic tape and "off to never never land!!"