Quick Tip: Break the Yolk

When making scrambled eggs or adding eggs to a recipe, break the yolk of the eggs with your fork first.  It will make whisking them easier and combining them with other ingredients, faster. 

Make Your Own Big Book of Boo Boos

If you have little ones, you've probably heard of Disney's new show, Doc McStuffins.  My daughter loves this show and loves to give everyone in the family "check-ups".  Doc McStuffins has a Big Book of Boo Boos that she uses to keep track of all the boo boos she encounters with her toy patients.  So, I thought it would be fun to make one for my daughter to use while she gave us our check-ups. 

I was so happy and excited to find that the Disney Junior website offered print-outs to make your very own Big Book of Boo Boos!  Here's the link - Doc McStuffins Big Book of Boo Boos. 

I changed it a bit for my daughter and used a 3 ring binder I already had.  I put a piece of purple construction paper with the heart print out glued to in, in the clear sleeve on the front of the binder.  Then I printed out the boo boos from the show and  punched holes in them to put in the binder.  Then I added extra lined paper for my daughter to record the boo boos she finds during our check-ups.  She loves it and can't wait for her brothers to get home from school to get started!

I hope you enjoy this simple craft as much as we did!  Get creative and have fun!

 

Quick Tip: No More Soggy Sandwiches

Are your kids complaining that the jelly on their PB&J has soaked through the bread by the time they get to eat lunch at school? Or that their sandwich was soggy at lunchtime? Here's a quick tip: Spread peanut butter on both pieces of bread and then add the jelly on top of the peanut butter. With a meat and cheese sandwich - lay the meat on one slice of bread and cheese on the other slice. Then add mayo or mustard on top of the meat and/or cheese. You still get the flavor you want but, by keeping the wet ingredients off the bread, you lose the soggy factor.

Apple Print Onesie

I'm throwing an apple themed baby shower for a teacher and found the perfect craft for it!

Supplies:

• 1 apple
• 1 green fabric pen
• red fabric paint
• onesie (or t-shirt)

Directions:

1. Put a piece of cardboard topped with a paper towel inside each onesie.
2. Cut the apple in half and pat on a paper towel to dry off juices. 
3. Dip the apple half in the red fabric paint. Wipe off excess paint and then press on onesie.
4. Use green fabric pen to add a stem and leaf. Let dry.

Create an apple print gift bag to present gift in. Use same technique as above but instead of fabric paint, use a red ink pad. Add stem and leaf with a regular green marker. Get creative and have fun!

Pipe Cleaner Crowns

My little girl loves to have "Princess/Prince Parties" with her big brothers. Tonight she had the most wonderful idea: make crowns out of pipe cleaners! So we pulled out all our pipe cleaners and got creative. We even made bracelets and rings. It was fabulous!

Leaving Your Family Pet with a Pet Sitter

A new member of the family joined us 5 months ago.  Mickey is a Miniature Schnauzer mix and the sweetest puppy ever.  We have taken a few trips since having him and have been blessed to be able to take him with us.  However, we took a trip out-of-state and he could not come with us.  So we talked to family and friends and looked into kennels/pet boarding locations.  But, I was just too worried about leaving him in an unfamiliar place with strangers.  Besides, we would prefer to have him at home where he feels safe and comfortable.  So, we decided to find a pet sitter to come by a few times a day to let him run around the backyard and feed him.

The first people we thought of were our babysitter!  She lives just across the street and recently mentioned that she is saving up for a car.  Also, they have always had a family dog that she helps look after.  So, a familiar face for our puppy and she is close by, so coming over a few times a day wouldn't be too much to ask.  We were so excited when she agreed to watch him for us.

We had spoken to a kennel and they were going to charge us $10/day.  So, that's what we paid her.  Before we left, we let her know his routine.  We also wanted to leave her helpful information in case of emergencies.  So, I hit my keyboard and found the perfect downloadable template - Pet Care Instructions.  What I like most about it is that it includes all the areas I wanted to cover for my pet sitter but, I was also able to download the form and change it to fit my needs exactly.  I filled out the Pet Care Instructions form and was sure to leave a copy of his up-to-date vaccination records - just in case.

After being away from our pup for almost a week, when we returned I think he was disappointed that he wouldn't be seeing our pet sitter every day.  But, that made me even more confident with my decision to have a pet sitter watch him at home.

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops

A dinner my mom used to make for us that has only a few ingredients and is not only easy but fast to make is Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops.  Campbell's actually has a very similar recipe on their website called Tasty 2-Step Pork Chops.  This is how I make it:


Ingredients

• 4 Pork Chops
• 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
• olive oil
• 1-2 garlic cloves or garlic powder
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup milk (or water)

Directions

1. Brown garlic in oil then remove garlic.
2. Put pork chops in same pan.  Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper (and garlic powder if you didn't have garlic).  Brown on each side.  Then remove pork chops.
3. Add cream of mushroom soup and milk to pan.  Cook as directed on can using a whisk to include all the delicious pork chop flavor from the pan. 
4. Return pork chops to pan with soup and continue to cook until pork chops are done.
5. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Pool Noodle Fun!

I saw an article in a recent Parents magazine about all the fun you can have by getting creative with pool noodles called, "Use Your Noodle: Pool Noodle Backyard Games".  I was a little worried about the cost, since I'd never bought a pool noodle before but, I found them at our local Dollar Tree for $1.00 and I figure I could do the activities listed in the magazine for $12-15.00.  I am sold!!!  The next time I'm out and about, I'm buying a bunch of pool noodles, pulling out my husband's duct tape and using chopsticks from our recent trip to our favorite Chinese restaurant.  Then we are going to make it a family activity by working together to create our own obstacle course/backyard games.  My kids can't wait!!!

Painting with Shaving Cream

A few weeks back I found a picture online of a muffin tin filled with different colored shaving cream.  I thought "What a great idea!" and I immediately wanted to try it.  However, I thought it would be much more fun for my kids to do in the shower. 


Although a muffin tin would be great for a dry activity, it wasn't my first choice to use in the shower.  So, I used a divided rectangle Ziploc container I had for my husband's lunches.  We can keep it in the shower and not worry about rusting and it's easy for the kids to hold.  Having the separate compartments makes it easier to keep the colors separate but it isn't necessary.  The shower walls and clear shower curtain were a perfect blank canvas for the kids. They had a blast!


This is what you need:

• Shaving Cream
• Food Coloring
• Paint Brushes
• Container for "paints"

I used my husband's shaving cream which is only about $1.  The food coloring I already had but, it's only a couple of dollars a box of four in the grocery store.  The paint brushes I picked up in a 3-pack for only $1.  You can use anything laying around the house to keep you "paint" in: old yogurt bin, plastic bowl/plate, etc. 


If your shower is tiled, be careful because the food coloring might stain it.  This activity would also be fun to do outside in the summer too.  I think I'll let my kids do this in our inflatable pool!  Be creative and have fun!