Toddler Memory Game

So, I've decided that I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the foam shapes and foam sheets that they have for kids.  You know the ones I'm talking about right?  They are down the craft isle at Wal-Mart and they keep the kids busy for sometimes hours on end.  Yeah, I knew you did.  They are great right?

Anyway, for 8 years I was a teacher for 3 year old's in my church and that is when I found out about the awesomeness of this foam.  I would take the foam shapes often to let the kids put stick them on plain paper or we would make picture frames or even just another sheet of foam.  It was awesome it took up a bunch of time.  It was also a plus in letter them work on their motor skills in trying to figure out how to take the paper off of the back of the sticker and then trying to stick it on the piece of paper.

So,  I almost have a two year old and right now we are working on recognizing animals and their sounds.  He also loves anything that has to do with a farm right now.  He also loves being in the kitchen with me when I am cooking so, in order to work on our sounds and recognizing and allowing him to be in the kitchen while I am cooking I made a game for him that allows all of that.

I just went and bought some foam sheets and then I found some farm foam stickers on Amazon.com and put them together to make a memory game for him.  I cut the foam sheets into two inch squares and then stuck the stickers on them with a magnet on the front and back.  It's just hanging out on our fridge and when he turns them over, it works not only on learning but also his motor skills.  He loves it and so do I.  We have a lot of fun saying the names and making the sounds.

It took such little time and such little money both of which are bonuses. Not to mention, I think it turned out kinda cute!

Half Apron Tutorial

 With a hectic weekend with lots to do and much needed family time, I'm back with a cute, easy half apron tutorial. 

We were having a night where a group of girls from our church were serving other members of the church dinner and dessert.  We had the girls dress in their best dress in order to make it more like a fine dining restaurant instead of just a fast food drive through window.  To make it even a little more special for the girls, we made them each an apron to wear so if accidents did occur while serving the food, they wouldn't get it all over their nice clothes.

This is what we came up with.  Isn't it fun!  (Mind you, it would look lots better if I knew how to use my camera and the editing program I have.  But, I'm working on it! :) )The best part is that it is super easy and pretty cheap to make.

Materials Needed:   I used duck cloth for this one because it is a little heavier but any cotton should work fine.

2/3 yard fabric (This will probably give you two as you only need one piece of 22x22 inch piece)

1/2 yard coordinating fabric (This will also be enough for two)

Thread

Pins

Scissors/Rotary Cutter and Mat

Ruler

Steps:

1. First cut a square for the apron part that is 22x22 inches long.

2. Cut a strip of coordinating fabric that measures 5 inches wide and 23 inches long for the band

3. Cut two strips of coordinating fabric that measures 4 inches wide 30 inches long for the ties

(This is what you should have after you have completed cutting out all the parts of the apron.)

4. Take the apron part and fold 3 of the sides over 1/4" and iron then fold 1/4" again and sew the folds down, near the edge of the fold. (I surged mine to finish the edge.  If you have one do so, if not make sure you fold it over to make it look clean and finished.)

5. Take the band piece (5x22 inch piece) and fold down the short edges 1/2 " and iron down. Then fold down long edges 1/2" and iron down. After ironing the edges fold the band in half lengthwise and iron it again to create a crease in the middle. (Don't worry about folding this part over 1\4" and 1/4" again as it will be enclosed and looked finished when done.)

6. Take your apron piece and your band piece and pin the top part of the apron (the side that was not folded down 1/4' twice.) into the crease of the band. First pin the apron to the bottom of the band part like pictured below then bring down the top part of the band and using the same pins you used from the bottom pin, take the pins out one at a time pinning all three pieces together.  This allows for the apron part to really stay up in the crease without having to re-adjust while sewing. 

7. Sew band down close to the edge. 

 

 8. Take your two tie strips and fold down 1/4" and iron and then down 1/4" again and sew down. (You do not have to do this to one of the small sides as it will be going into the band of your apron)

9. Place the unfinished edge of your ties into the side of the apron where there is an opening between the band and the apron.  Place in about a half and inch and stitch the tie into the apron by sewing over the band and tie. 

10. Wear and enjoy!  This would make such a great gift also!

H is for Hummus!

 

I have to admit, the first time I tried hummus was only about two years ago.  I was eating lunch at work and a friend of mine pulled out some chips and some sort of dip that quite honestly at the time looked disgusting!  She asked if I wanted to try it and in trying to be a bigger adult with food and the textural issues I have with it, I thought I need to give it a whirl.  Oh boy, am I glad I did!  It was delicious!

So, after that brave new adventure, I thought to myself "I must play around with ingredients and make this delicious concoction."  I am a fan, but unfortunately the hubs doesn't like it so much.  So, I can't make it often or I eat the whole thing. 

I love eating this hummus with tortilla chips the best but crackers or pita bread is also delicious! 

I promise this tastes as good as it looks!

 

 Hummus Recipe:

1 can garbanzo beans

l juiced lemon

1/4 cup onion

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons cummin

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4-1/3 cup Tahini

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Add all ingredients to a food processor except the garbanzo beans and blend together. (Make sure it is blended well.) Add the garbanzo beans last and blend again until beans are incorporated into the other ingredients.

Enjoy!

And the "SKOR" is...

Cake!!

That's right my friends, you will definitely score with friends or family if you make this delicious SKOR Cake.  This is one of our favorites at our house.  It's moist, light, super easy to make and delicious!

Because this cake is so fabulous, I wanted to share the goodness with you and not keep it all to myself!

Doesn't this look divine?

SKOR Cake Recipe:

One yellow cake mix
A small package of  dry instant chocolate pudding (DO NOT MAKE PUDDING)
2 cups water
2 eggs

Beat all ingredients for two minutes.  Place in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 35-38 minutes.


 Frosting:

1 cube margarine (softened)
2 egg yolks
1 cup powdered sugar
Cool Whip (8 oz)

Mix together the softened margarine, egg yolks and powdered sugar and then fold in the cool whip.   Put on top of  the cooled cake.

Then add:

3 Crushed Skor bars

Enjoy!  Make sure if this isn't all eaten in one sitting that you store it in the fridge!

Wassail in May?!

I'm not sure where all of you were today, but I was at home bundled up in blankets, slippers, and a sweatshirt because my house was so cold.  The weather outside wasn't so warm either today with the wind and rain.  It's the middle of May people!  Why is it so darn cold here?

While trying to figure out the answer to that question, I took myself back to when I was growing up and my mom would have wassail and cinnamon rolls waiting for my siblings and I after school on a cold rainy day.  Well, I took myself partly back, with two grumpy little boys who did not take naps and woke up early this morning all I had time for was to make the wassail.  It was heavenly!

While taking my first sip, I pretended for a quick minute that I was sitting by a fireplace, reading a great book, sipping my wassail with the kids playing nicely with each other in the background.  Mind you that is all it was is a pretend quick minute, because the next thing I heard and saw was my two year old slipping on the kitchen floor with wet toilet paper all over him. my bathroom, and my kitchen.  I'm pretty sure I know where that water came from and it wasn't a sink or tub. Gross!  ( I love my little man but he sure is curious!)

So, I wanted to share with you the recipe for my favorite childhood cold day drink and then when you take your first sip, you can pretend that you are sitting by a fire too!  Sometimes all you need is a pretend quick minute!

Wassail

Blend and boil for 5 minutes:

2 cups sugar
1 cup water

Add:
2 cups frozen orange juice concentrate (water added)
3/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons almond flavoring
2 quarts water

Simmer until hot


Enjoy the tasty goodness!

Sometimes I like to add this Aspen spice to it and it makes even more amazing!  However, its getting more and more difficult to find.  The only place I have been able to find it is Orson Gygi or every once in a while Tai Pan.

There's a cowboy coming soon!

Hello All!

Before I write about the cowboy, let me introduce myself.  I'm just starting on this blogging journey and so excited to do so.  I love sewing, crafting, and cooking/baking, and creating learning activities for my toddler as I am a graduate in Elementary Education.  When I am not taking care of my two insanely cute boys and my kid at heart husband, those are the things you will probably find me doing.

Now, on to this cowboy coming soon.  My sweet sister-in-law is pregnant with her first little boy due now at anytime.  His daddy is a cowboy at heart and wants his little one to be also.  I couldn't be more excited to be an aunt again.  So, in honor of this little cowboy joining the family I threw her a much needed and much fitting cowboy/western themed shower.

This was tons of fun to plan and set up for, but the unfortunate part was only about four people were able to attend because of other obligations or the weather.  However, those that showed up were awesome and we had a blast.

While trying to figure out the set up and food for the shower, this is what we came up with. (Oh, man, my camera didn't do such a hot job)  This was super fun to set up! You can't quite see all of it and I'm afraid that a cute little two year old got his hands on the camera and deleted some of my pictures.  But, for the tablecloth I used denim material with a red table runner and the cute cow print banner (it was supposed to have the cowboys name on it, but I was running late and somethings you just have to let go of.) I had the food served in things such as fruit and veggies were served in pie tins with their dips being served in plastic cowboy hats on the side, the chips and rolls were served in cowboy hats, and the silverware were in mason jars.  My favorite part however, which is not pictured were the doughnuts my awesome mom made for the dessert.  We also had delicious kabobs with steak and chicken that were smoked! (Delicious!)

 

 I also created a candy bar of sorts for the guests to be able to take something home to thank them for coming.  This was really fun to put together and my mom and I put our heads together to find some candies that were just a little bit "older."  We found chic-o-sticks, black and red licorice, kits taffy (my favorite), trail mix, bridge mix, Neccos, and jawbreakers.  We had the guests pick what they wanted and put them in a small brown paper sack.  The guests that did show up loved it!
P.S.  Aren't those jars cute!  Totally ones that were found in a mercantile store way back when right?  (At least that is what they show on Little House on the Prairie)  They were a great dollar store find!

The shower is done and now Mr. Little Cowboy can come at anytime!  I hope you enjoyed my ideas!  Let me know what you think!