Cardboard Mobile

Some times just doing a regular art project a little outside of the box :) sparks a kid's imagination

1. Cut tabs off both ends of a small cardboard box. I used a Mac & Cheese box and a fruit snacks box.

2.  Cut down the side to open the box.

3.  Lay the box out blank side up.

4.  Decorate!  I cut shapes out for my toddlers as they requested them and let them glue them to the box.  (I have found that liquid glue is actually easier for toddlers than a glue stick.)

5. Cover the back completely.  My girls wanted to  do a rainbow but didn't want to stick to Roy G. Biv.  

6.  Use a hole punch or staples to attach string.

7.  Hang!!

Endless Kitchen Disaster

Everyday, everyday my kitchen goes from this . . .

Beautiful!  Minus the ugly table and lack of backsplash.
 I'm working on it, its a new  house.

Notice the baby wipes and kid craft stuff taking up half the table.

to this.  Some times a couple times a day.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.  I'm going crazy here.  I love my kids being little but it will be so nice when they can sit and feed themselves without make a huge mess.  Ugh and my kids are so grumpy after dinner and bedtime routine takes so long with three so little that if we don't have dinner right at 6:00 I usually have to wait until after the kids are in bed and I don't know why but letting it sit, even for just a little bit makes it so much worse.   

Smokey Pepper Steak over Potatoes

I am totally a steak and potatoes gal. My sister first introduced me to this meal about a year ago, steak and potatoes all dressed up. Eric made it again last night and I absolutely love it!  The kids ate it last time but yesterday most of it ended up on the floor.  They do that because they know how much I love mopping.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/beef/beef-sirloin-tips-with-smokey-pepper-sauce/

Summer flats!

Big news!  Not only did Eric let me buy flats, he liked them!  He actually picked the gray ones out!  And let me buy both pair in one day.

What could make this better?  The price.  I have a most always pretty firm policy to not spend more than $20 on any one piece of clothing.  Shoes I splurge on now and then but normally I like to keep it under $40. 

$19.99 at Target

$16.99 at Payless Shoes














Two pairs of flats! This is a huge deal. Before the babies I only owned heels or flip flops. This year I bought these and a flat pair of riding boots. I still love my 4" heels but with 3 toddlers, that not very practical.

My mornings

My mornings in a picture.

I have 1 1/2 year old twins and their big sister that just turned 3 and I care for another 3 year.  You can meet them all here.  I laugh every morning when I line up their cups.

P.S. They drink from big kid cups at meal times and water bottles throughout the day but they get sippy cups with morning cartoons.

Claim your money

My family in Utah just told me about this website from the Utah Treasury Department that has apparently been advertised on TV, https://www.mine.utah.gov/ .  I checked it out and it is legitimate.  It is linked to all of the other state sites, it is verified and encrypted.  This is what it says on the site . . .
     

      Each year, millions of dollars in bank accounts, stock certificates, checks, insurance checks, bonds and dividends are turned over to the State of Utah because the owners cannot be located. Some of this money could belong to you!

 My husband and I are each listed on there from like 8 years ago before we got married.  Both my parents, three of my brother-in-laws, and a sister in law are also listed on there.  None of us have filled claims yet so I don't know any more than that yet but it might be worth checking out if you live in Utah or find out if your state has something similar.  I'll keep you updated on the process. 

Finding Joy in the Journey

President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints gave a talk in October 2008 General Confrence titled Finding Joy in the Journey.  It is one of those amazing motivating talks that applies  to everyone at any time.  

My favorite quote from that talk applies to young mothers, because that is what I am.  I love it so much that I decided I wanted to dress it up, print and frame it.

If you love it too you may download the 8.5 x 11 colorful version here.

And the black and white one here.  Happy cleaning.  Hahaha.

Swimsuit love!

LimiRicki.com

LimiRicki.com

Love this store!  Fashionable, modest, and affordable.  New suits around $50, clearance from $15!  They usually have more clearance items in store than online.  Can't wait for my trip to Utah so I can check it out!

Old T-shirts

I love shopping but with a family of five, three of them growing like weeds, it is so expensive.  So when my little boy started to run out of clothes that fit I turned to Craigslist.  I found an awesome deal on a bundle of baby boy clothes.  The best part was when I went to pick up the clothes I made a new friend!

Most of the items where in really good shape but there were a couple of things with stains.  I loved these to "layered" Ts but both had stains on the sleeves. Easy enough fix, I just grabbed my sewing scissors and cut the sleeves right off next to the hem. No re-heming needed! During cold weather I simply layered them with an actual long sleeve onesie or a jacket.

Poka Dot Party

For Hanna's 2nd birthday party we had a poka dot/ball theme party.  I didn't really get pictures of the decorations but the kids cared more about the activities any way.

1.  Balloon Faces:  We decorated balloons with lip and eye stickers I found at the craft store as well as some random silly face print outs I found on google.

2.  Punch Balloons:  I bought a bunch of punch balloons at Walmart in a four pack for a dollar.  The kids loved and they each got to take one home with them!

3.  Ball Toss:  It is fun to have several ball tosses of different sizes such as with a cupcake tin, box, and basketball hoop.

4.  Ball Pit:  We filled a large kiddie pool with ball pit balls and balloons. They LOVED it!  (I actually do this in our kiddie pool all the time in the winter, keeps the kids entertained, and is easy to keep up)

Silly birthday girl

Baby version with a smaller pool

5.  Photo booth:  We made a frame on one wall using circles cut from colored paper.  We had each person at the party stand in the frame at least once.  We took their picture with our digital camera, printed them right a way and gave them to them to take home!

Here is an example of a cute simple poka dot invitation.  I've even included a full resolution 6x4 blank poka dot boarder invitation you may download for free!  Your welcome.

PB Cookie Jars!

I made some cookies for a funeral in my ward (congregation) that I wasn't going to and ran into the problem of how to send them with someone.  I didn't want to send them in a bag and have them get squished.  But I wasn't willing to give up any of my tupperware either.  Then I remembered my habit of saving peanut butter jars.

They actually looked just fine plain but it is more fun to decorate them :)

I might have gone overboard a little on these but still a fun idea.
Scrapbook paper hot glued on the top, ribbon around the lid, and thick scrapbook stickers on the jar.

I always use Goo Gone to clean any sticker or label residue and nail polish remover to erase print on any jars, bottles, or containers that I reuse.

I usually do this when I first clean them but it was a good thing I double checked these ;) 

Crazy Cake!

Super quick super moist chocolate cake!  No eggs, no milk, no beating that's why we call it crazy cake.  Perfect for those with allergies or for those Sundays you crave something sweet but are running low on ingredients.

This is a family favorite!








1 1/2 C flour
1 C minus 2 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
3 Tbs









With a fork mix dry  ingredients in an ungreased square baking dish or cake pan.












Make depressions in the cake pour remaining ingredients in the depressions. I like to all the wet ingredients together before I pour them in but you don't have to.

1 1/4 C cold water
6 Tbs oil
1 tsp vinegar
1tsp vanilla




















Gently mix together with a fork scraping the sides.  Do not beat or over mix.









Batter will be runny and look bubbly.

Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes.  Cake is ready when a fork comes out of the center mostly clean.

I've topped this with fruit or ice cream but I've never frosted it, I'm not patient enough to let it cool.  I usually just eat it piping hot right out of the oven, it's sooo good!

Mountain Climbing

The simplest things always seem to keep my kids entertained the longest.  Added bonus, this really wears them out right before nap time :)

Baking Soda

I kept seeing this on pintrest so I decided to try it.  Yeah, huge it.  It kept my 1 1/2 year olds and the 3 year olds busy until we ran out of baking soda.  The first time I posted this my mom claimed that we did this and many other fun activities like it when I was little and I should need pintrest.  Sorry mom, next time I need an idea I'll ask you first.

Baking soda

Vinegar

food coloring

We just put the vinegar in little medicine cups and 

used spoons but droppers work better if you have them.

Lunch Time!

Take art time right into lunch time.  Or just make lunch time fun!

I got the paper roll and holder at Ikea.  I liked these products because I didn't have space for a whole easel.  Some times we put the paper on the table and some times we just tape it right to the wall, as long as your kid is old enough to stay on the paper!

Mirror Road

   

I'm all about the super easy.  Toddlers love mirrors and anything that rolls.  So I grabbed the tall mirror from my closet, laid it on the floor and pushed a car across it then bounced a soft ball on to demonstrate then just stood back.


I only got pictures of the twins but 2 year big sister loved it too!