Addison pee peed in the big girl potty for the very first time today!!! She squealed and said I do it again Mommy!!  She has been running a pretty high fever today. I'm hoping its just a 24 hour thing.....

DIY PLAYDOUGH

BY DIYFEBRUARY 23, 2012 @ 6:00 AM

by: Jenny of Hank + Hunt

I’ve always wanted to try making my own playdough. Playdough is good for sensory development, and is just plain fun.  Make your own in some bright colors, and your kids will never know the difference!

I tried a few recipes, and here is the winner:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tbsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
gel food coloring

Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Add your wet ingredients, including a good amount of gel food coloring and mix well. It will remain roughly the same color, so add more in this stage, if needed.

Place your pan on the stove top over medium heat. Stir continuously until it starts to get chunky.  Trust me — the first time you see this, you will think you have done something wrong, don’t worry. Keep stirring until it forms a big dough ball.You will know when to take it out, then place on a plate to cool. Once cool, knead it a bit yourself or get little helpers to do it for you. The whole process takes about 5 mins. I did all of these colors in about a half an hour. You can really whip out a multicolored set in no time.

Helpful Hints: I used Americolor Food Coloring to dye the dough. I have included the names of the colors above. It worked great and did not come off on our hands — bonus! You can also use Kool-Aid in place of food coloring. It scents the dough, but the colors weren’t very vibrant. Be sure to buy plenty of cream of tartar. I got about 3-4 batches out of one large bottle.

My boys have been playing with the playdough nonstop.  They love using cookie cutters with it. We got a mega setfrom Bed Bath and Beyond with cool shapes, and the letters are amazing. Perfect for the last few rainy days.  Half of our batch is already a shade of “mixed” colors and the other half is on its way.  Luckily it is so easy, we can make more in no time.

There is NO way this is real.......

Five planks of wood, a few nails and paint

One of the things on my ‘Pinterest’ list was to make Bleach Pen T-Shirts. I finally got around to making them and I think they turned out so cute. I will definitely be making them again. I bought the shirt below because it was a gift, but they would be great to do on an old t-shirt.

They are really simple to make. For those of you that have a cutting machine such as a Cricut orSilhouette and can import svg files I have created this ‘Love’ image for you to download. I’m still holding out for some magic fairy to bring me a Silhouette Cameo, but for now my Cricut is still my friend. I guess I won’t hold my breath.

How To Make Bleach Pen T-shirts

1. Find a piece of cardboard and place it inside the shirt under image. You don’t want the bleach to run through on both sides.

2. Cut out your image on contact paper using the one I designed or any other stencil you may have. You could even buy large stickers and use the negative side to stick onto your shirt.

3. Place your image on your shirt where you want it and press it down so that there are no openings. Take your bleach pen (you can buy them at The Dollar Tree now!) and ‘color’ in your image.

4. Wait 10-25 minutes for the bleach to start working. The gray shirt turned out so cute because it turned this pinkish color. I think it took about 15 minutes. The darker shirts I made for my girls below took a bit longer for the bleach to start working.

5. Once you are happy with the color take off the contact paper. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. It makes it unique! Run the bleached part of the shirt under cold water and wipe most of the bleach off with your hands. Then wash your t-shirt in the washing machine.

My cute girls.

I ‘LOVE’ how each color bleaches a little bit differently.

Click on the ‘LOVE’ image below to download the svg file.

I grocery shop weekly. That used to mean that I would menu plan weekly too. You know the dreaded menu planning routine– flipping through cookbooks and recipe cards, penciling a few ideas on the back of a phone bill, and frantically glancing at your calendar hoping to avoid planning a meal that you won’t have the time to cook. And THEN you need to make your shopping list which means more flipping through your recipes to make sure you don’t forget anything like Worcestershire sauce. (Spell that three times.)

I got so tired of reinventing the meal… I mean wheel. After admiring several different menu boards on Pinterest, I decided to take what I loved about each one (i.e. what I thought would work for me) and combine those aspects into a menu board that would serve my needs perfectly. And thus The Ultimate Menu Board was born.

What I love about this particular design—
1) It’s weekly. I shop and plan my calendar weekly. I can adjust for company, evenings out, leftovers, etc.
2) Ingredients are listed on the back of the meal cards which measure 1 ½ by 4 ¼ inches. Hello shopping list! Sources such as recipe card, cookbook and page number, or binder are also noted.

3) Using the two pockets (made from 16 count crayon boxes,) I can store all of my meal cards right on the board. With a rotating system, I start with all the cards in the lower box. After we have a particular meal, I place its card into the upper box until we go through the majority of the cards. Then, I start over choosing from all of them again.
4) Clothespins mean no slipping of the laminated meal cards and no pin holes.
5) The base is an 11×14” picture frame, so it’s a cinch to hang. Using two nails keeps the board from tilting under its lopsided weight.

I shared my finished board on Pinterest and was surprised at how many sweet ladies sent me a note to say they couldn’t wait to make their own and start using it. (Hooray for making life in the kitchen a bit easier on busy mamas!) Along with the notes came inquiries about exactly how I set up the meal cards and what I was serving each day. (Many would be disappointed to see my recipes like this one for spaghetti- brown ground beef, add a jar of sauce, boil noodles, and mix. Several meals are that easy.)

At the end of this article is a one week sample of what I am currently serving along with a few favorite recipes. However, I want to share what I think will be even more valuablel—not what I serve, but how I go about planning it. The key is themes! Assigning a different theme to each day of the week helpfully narrows your focus as you plan. It also ensures that you have a nice variety of foods without similar repeats during the week. A different color of cardstock for each theme’s meal cards makes choosing meals for the week even easier.

The key to having themes that will work for you is to choose themes that go along with what your family already eats on a regular basis. I suggest brainstorming and writing down all the meals you regularly serve (or even keep track for a month as you go.) Then, look at your list and see what types of themes are already represented. Eat a lot of fish? (Me neither, ha.) If you do, you could have “Seafood Night” or “Under the Sea.” Do you have several pasta dishes? “Pasta Night” or “Mambo Italiano” might work well. Love to try new recipes? Assign a day to do that. The recipes that you try and love can be added to the rotation of another night. Do you typically have leftovers? Make it a theme. Some people plan by what type of meat they serve– chicken, beef, pork. It can be that simple. The important thing is to choose themes that will work for you and your family. After you identify your themes, try to come up with 4-5 different meals per theme. This is going to take time. It is an investment that will eliminate hours of busy work and stress once you get your themes and meals into place.

The themes I use right now are–
Monday- Mambo Italiano (pasta dishes like spaghetti, chicken/broccoli alfredo, etc.)
Tuesday- Dicksons’ Diner (quick and easy stuff like hamburgers, grilled cheese and soup, etc.)
Wednesday- Crock Pot (I love the crock pot! In fact, I use it twice a week. I try to choose a chicken meal for one day and something else for the other while also considering what I am serving on the days next to it.)
Thursday- Fiesta Ole (burritos, quesadillas, etc.)
Friday- Homestyle (meat and potato types of meals like baked chicken, steak, etc.)
Saturday- Eat out
Sunday- Crock Pot (yes, again)

When you assign your themes to the day of the week, think about your family’s typical schedule. For example, a crock pot meal is perfect for my family on Sundays because I can start it before we leave for church, and we get to come home (starving) to something good to eat. Plan simple, quick things on the nights you know your time to prepare will be limited. Does hubby work late every Tuesday? Make it “Kids Stuff” Tuesday. You get the idea.

What I love about The Ultimate Menu Board is that it is super flexible. Let’s say I notice mid-week that we have plenty of leftovers to feed the family for one day. I can slip the “leftover” card on top of Friday’s meal and just plan on doing the original meal the next week. And it’s not a problem to make a change. I can flip flop nights if I want. Life happens and it always threatened my carefully planned and printed “monthly menu.” No more. Want to add something new to the rotation? Simply make an additional card.

I hope this menu board and the tips on planning with themes will make time in the kitchen a little more pleasant and much more efficient for my fellow creative mamas.

If you still need a little inspiration, perhaps the following examples will help you get started.

One Week Meal Plan
Monday- lasagna, garden salad, French bread (wheat)
Tuesday- grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup (or ramen or ravioli)
Wednesday- garlic chicken, roasted zucchini, pineapple and cottage cheese
Thursday- burritos, corn, tortilla chips
Friday- party chicken, baked potatoes, honey mustard salad
Saturday- eat out
Sunday- mushroom and onion pork chops, brown rice, mixed veggies, rolls

Mom’s Lasagna-
Make sauce mixture using 1 lb browned ground beef, 1 can tomato soup, 1 can cheddar cheese soup, 15 oz tomato sauce, 1 T Italian seasoning and 1 tsp onion salt.
In a 9×13 pan, layer boiled noodles (9 in all,) sauce mixture and shredded mozzarella cheese three times.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches-
For an extra special sandwich use sourdough bread, three cheeses (a spread of cream cheese, a slice of American, a slice of provolone,) and slices of tomato and red onion.

Ella’s Honey Mustard Salad-
Combine lettuce, chopped apple, red onion, shredded cheddar cheese, sunflower seeds and bacon bits. Top with your favorite honey mustard dressing.

Happy planning, shopping, cooking and eating!

Not a good week

I weighed in and gained this week! A little discouraged but not giving up. I have to admit that it threw me off but today I dug my heals back in and I'm back on the wagon. This is the hardest thing in the world. I just LOVE to eat. There does not have to be a reason, I just want to. Its almost uncontrollable. Even after I've eaten, I'm thinking about what I'm gonna have next time I eat. That MUST be a sickness. I'm telling you, I have HUGE sympathy for alcoholics and drug addicts. Food is definitely my addiction and I haven't won the battle yet. I know I would be so happy to be thin, but the food is such a temptation. I am all about some instant gratification. Weight loss is definitely NOT conducive  to that. God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference..........

This is for you Amy

I think you should just go ahead and delete me off your favorites. Its just too much pressure to keep you happy. Its NOT possible.

iHeart You

Love her so very much

Weigh In this week......

I weighed in on Tuesday and I lost.......5.6 lbs. Thats a total of 10.6 if anyone is counting :) I'm off work today and tomorrow because Lanny had to have his wisdom teeth removed. I don't know what my deal is but I have the WORST insomnia lately. I was up until 4:00am tuesday night and last night I was up until 2:30. I just can't seem to get to sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open right not. I can't wait until its Addison's nap time.

Up to no good