heart day

I made these cute little lollipop cards for Jordyn's class. I left out her name in case you want to download it for your own. 

You're welcome. 

They were really easy. Once I printed them out, I folded them in half and cut three slits.

Then pushed the lollipop through the slits. 

Make sure you use heavy weight card stock otherwise the paper will rip. 

Valentines Day isn't too crazy over here, but I do like to have little subtle hints of love around the house. 

I got two banners made this year since I wasn't feeling like Martha Stewart. 

The felt heart banner here

&

The felt Ball banner here

I brushed the dust off my wreath I made two years ago at craft night and decided to finally finish it. I added the flowers on the left and called it a day. 

This morning the kids woke up to tin cans filled with suckers, cotton candy, I love you straws, and little dancing and singing Valentines day stuffed animals. 

Tonight will be date night with my love. 

Can't wait. 

Wishing you all lots of love!

Santa's Message

photo found on pinterest via Tracey Lau

So I discovered this very important Santa Clause message that every child should get a chance to see and hear. Click here to see one of the videos I sent to my child. Or click here to make your own. My kids are obsessed and have watched it possibly 30x's today. I cried the first time I saw my kids watch the videos. They are amazed.

Enjoy!!

eating

My way through the  long weekend. 

It was chilly outside, 

but we were nice and  toasty inside

stuffing our bellies.

Made Maple Cranberry Syrup and Butter

Maple-Cranberry Butter:

1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (no aunt jemimas! :)

1 cup butter, at room temp

To make the maple cranberry butter, combine cranberries and maple syrup in a saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until the cranberries have softened and popped, about 5 minutes.

Let cool, then place in a large bowl with the butter. Beat with a wooden spoon until just combine, cover and set in the fridge until ready to serve

Recipe courtesy of me oh my

Chopped up homemade 

Chicken noodle soup 

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth

1/2 pound chopped cooked chicken breast

1 1/2 cups egg noodles

1 cup sliced carrots

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

• In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.
• Recipe courtesy all recipes.com

Made my own rendition of 

Brie Grilled Cheese with Rosemary salt and Clover Honey. 

amazing!

Made Gingerbread houses with our cousins.

decorated the tree

Had hot cocoa

Sat by the fire and cuddled with hubby and kids while watching, what else, football. 

 Christmas is here and I am loving every second!

Lunch Time

I don't know about you, but I am in the market for a cute little lunch box. Eco friendly and maybe even BPA- free. Here's what I found out there so far. 

1. Dwell Studio Lunch Box 2. Oots Lunch 3. Beatrix Lunch 4. Goodbyn Original Kit 5. Skip Hop Zoo Lunch Bag 6. Lock & Lock Mini Lunch Box 7. Kinds Konserve Lunch Kit 8. Smart Planet Eco Lunch Box 9. Hoohobber Lunch Box

Do you have any others you would recommend?

Love it - Ice Cream Sandwiches

Last weekend was my lovely niece's 3rd birthday party.

 Her amazingly talented Mama put together a "Bubbles & Butterfly Party". 

As usual it was nothing short of spectacular, however there was one part of the party I couldn't stop taking pictures of... or eating for that matter. 

I thought these little ice cream sandwiches would be great for any party or just on a hot day with your kids in the backyard. 

Method:

 Sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream between two home made chocolate cookies,

 then roll the sandwiches in a topping of your choice.

Rainbow sprinkles were definitely a favorite, however

crushed oreos, graham crackers, and mini chocolate chips

were super yummy.

Don't these look delicious! 

My baby girl couldn't get enough!

Happy Birthday P-dog. Check out Me Oh My for more party tips, design ideas, how to's, and just about everything in between... oh, and more pictures from her daughters beautiful party!

4th Block Party

Our 4th was loaded with lots of fun in the sun. We started off with a Parade with all the kids in the neighborhood. They all decorated their bikes and road around our cul-de-sac. Afterwards I slaved away in the kitchen and made Aunt Nicci's pasta salad (delicious) and the berry tart I talked about in an earlier post. Thanks for the recipe Kris!

Then we headed over to our neighbors house for a bbq, which was so fun. Then I rushed home got the kids washed up and in their jammies and head out for the fireworks. My honey put on a little show for all the neighbors and handed loads of sparklers to the kids. They were in heaven.

After all the craziness we jumped into the truck and headed up the street to watch 3 fire work shows off in the distance. It was a perfect 4th. Hope you had fun too.

Now go enjoy this beautiful weather and get outside!

Snacks

or "Nacks" as my kids call them. I don't know about you, but my daughter asks me breakfast, lunch, and dinner and sometimes in between for ice cream. It drives me nuts. If I turn my back she is in the freezer. Not to mention if we're outside playing with the neighbors she runs in the house and gets ice cream for the whole neighborhood. I love that she likes to share, but I'm sure the parent's as well as I would love to see her come out with grapes or apples. Although, she is the neighborhood "NACK" lady. All the kids cheer when she comes out. It's quite a site sometimes.

Never the less I have decided to not buy ice cream any more, and by ice cream I'm also talking about the popsicles. Instead I have opted for frozen fruit. This week my precious has been loving the frozen mangos I got from Trader Joes. I think it's a great buy and she only has one or two, instead of a bowl or ice cream or a few popsicles. Yes, I have thought about putting locks on my appliances, but I rather teach my kids good habits then locking them out for good.

So try some mangos, not just in your morning shake, but maybe as a nice cold "nack".