HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Today is the day to do ALL the bad stuff you did you did in 2009 so you can start FRESH in 2010 RIGHT?!?! Blah! Man, if that truly was a tradition, could you imagine?  People would have to lock their doors and hide! That is of course, if they didn't follow the tradition!  You following me here? I'm glad someone is. Well, our family goals for 2010 are pretty normal and boring, but they work for us!

-Become debt free
-Build our Business
-Become more Homemade
-Become more Simple!

We want to keep our family strong, and our worries weak!  Heres to hoping! What are some of your goals for 2010?

New Years Eve Ideas!

Check out these super Sassy ideas from Cathie Filan!  Oh my goodness, SO CUTE!

 New Years Eve Party Sign

 

 New Years Party Hats

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

-Mary

Story Stones

Oh! I forgot to mention another craft I am working on in my sit down time. I got the idea for these story stones and I am so excited to make some for my girls at home!  I think these will really help them create stories and explore their imagination. She did such a great job getting my ideas-a-rolin'! I am working on the 3 little pigs right now! Check out her etsy shop if you would like to purchase some of hers!

Creative week!

I saw this color mobile and I just LOVE the simplicity of it!  It is a great way to talk about colors with your kids and make your front or back porch look sophistcated at the same time!  She mentions and I agree that this would look awesome with different shades of the same color, like blue or red. So simple!

I still need to go grocery shopping this week and get some things done for our business, but my head is just spinning!  I might have to end up just getting creative with my meals.  I have a book, 5 ingredients or less that really helps me to make simple meals.  Plus I like to play my own version of chopped in my kitchen, which usually ends up with something edible.  My husband is such a good sport about it!  Anyone have any good recipes? Comment below!

Marshmallow Guns

 Making a Marshmallow Gun

Merry Christmas all!  I hope all is well! We had a great time here, and we have more fun times coming this week!

My nephew is having his 12th birthday party today, and with all the costs of Christmas and my daughter's birthday (she is a Christmas Eve baby), the thought of spending a ton is daunting!  So I came across this blog, that led to this blog that had info about making a marshmallow gun!  How cool is that?  It only requires a quick trip to the hardware store for pvc piping and accessories and a hand saw or pvc pipe cutter. Oh, and a bag of mini marshmallows.  I made him 2 of them, so he can play with someone else or his brother, and they were VERY easy to make. Chris and I had a blast playing with them when we made them! (Sorry Joe).  They do not come out too fast, so no injuries, and we made a rule that you must aim below the belt. The awesome news? Making 2 guns and 1 bag of mini marshmallows cost only...drum roll please...(cover your eyes Jen and Joey)...$4.38!!.  I am so proud of myself! It is so hard to find a craft for boys, and this one was so cool! I will defiantly keep it on my list of quick and easy gifts!

Ideas to make Holiday cooking easier

So Christmas is at my house this year, which is actually easier for us. This way, we don't have to track 3 young kids and their new "favorite" toys (all of them) to someones house, then do it again later that evening. But with that comes the dinner, which I am in charge of. Both my Chris and I come from big families, so we are quite used to entertaining the masses. So I came up with some ways to make it a bit easier on yourself and well, the loved ones around you too. Cause lets face it, no one likes a frazzled, stressed out maniac on the holidays.

1. Ask your loved ones to bring a dish to the event. This will take a ton off of your list. Even if it is someone who is not known as the "cook" (not calling anyone out here) can bring chips and dip or soda for the party.

2. Do as much done ahead of time as possible. This also includeds prep such as chopped onions and celery, and measurments of things in containers. So when you make the dish the day of, it is super easy. You also feel like a t.v. cook who has everything perfectly measured for the camera! Also, you can do the turkey or ham the day before and warm it in the crockpot the day of. This keeps your oven free!

3. Don't over do it. I am NOT Martha Stewart, and I do not want to be. I would rather cuddle with my hubby and kids or play a game with my family than slave over the stove or stress about a new recipe coming out. I really recommend you not do a ton (like, MAYBE one) brand new recipes for the day of. You can do more if you can get a "practice run" before then. Also, try to stick to about a max of 5 ingredients per dish. This will keep it simple.

4. Write down a plan of what needs done. The days before, and the day of. Write down temps and minutes of cooking, and make sure you have enough stove tops and oven space to get it done. Also make sure that you know where all of your recipes are.

6. Accept and even request help. This include set up and clean up.

These tips really help me to enjoy the holidays, and the people around me! Do you have some helpful tips? Comment below!

Hot drinks for a cold day

So anyone who really knows me knows I really am not the biggest fan of snow. Is it beautiful? Oh yes, spectacular...but see, I can't enjoy it because I know that it is cold, sludgy, dirty, has the ability to be wet and dry at the same time, and did I mention COLD??? I live here in Michigan for 2 reasons only, Chris loves it, and my family lives here. So I have to suffer through the season and try to keep a positive attitude. But one thing that I really do love is all the soups and hot drinks we can consume! I absolutely LOVE to hold my coffee cup full of either coffee, cider, or hot chocolate. So I was thinking while drinking my coffee and watching the snow fall (YUCK!) how I should post some of my favorite hot drink recipes. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cider

I use this recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1 1/2 tablespoons caramel sauce or caramels, dip
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Combine apple cider, caramel and vanilla into a sauce pan.
2. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until apple cider is hot and caramel has melted.
3. Pour into a mug and enjoy.

Ginger and Lemon Tea

Ingredients:

• 1 medium piece fresh Ginger, peeled (a spoon is great for this) and chopped
  
• 2-3 fresh lemons
• 3 quarts water

Directions:

1. Fill pot with water.

2. Put in ginger and lemons zest from 2 lemons, squeeze in one of those lemons juice (more if you like flavor).

3. Bring to boil then simmer about 45 minutes.

4. Put through a colander to get out the pieces.

5. Pour tea into cup, then but lemon slice on top to float, enjoy!

Russian Friendship Tea

This is also great as a gift, just put the mixture in an air tight container

Ingredients:

2 cups instant orange drink (like Tang)
1/2 cup sweetened iced tea mix powder
1 envelope sweetened lemonade mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Instructions:

Fill a mug with boiling water and stir in 2-3 teaspoons of mix, to taste.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tbsp of chocolate (about a square of Hersheys) (totally optional, I like the chocolate taste)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. water
1 c. milk
a bit of vanilla, if desired

Directions:

1. Combine cocoa, sugar, and water in a small saucepan.

2. Heat it on low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the paste from sticking to the pan.

3. After about 1 to 2 minutes, add milk vanilla and Hersheys if you want.

4. Mix it all together until it reaches your preferred temperature. I add Cinnamon at the end, yum!

These are so yummy to make, give them a try! And as a side note to you moms with little ones, please be careful when cooling the drinks on the counter or table. I have a close friend who set her hot chocolate on the counter to cool, turned around to get a glass, and her two year old somehow grabbed it off of the counter. She ended up getting 2nd degree burns! Poor baby!

Christmas Spirit

So this week has been SUPER crazy! Between my work meetings, concerts, family get together's and activities, I haven't had a chance to breath!

While at my meeting on Monday, a good friend of mine, Amanda, spoke and touched my heart. She talked about the magic of Christmas, the fun of gifts, and focused on the best gift of all, Jesus. See, I always "knew" that, I always remember to keep Christ in Christmas, talk about the birth to my kids, and sing the religious songs. But she really made it "click".

She talked about Jesus being the beginning of our everything. All of our lives go back to that day, the day He was born. For that day started His life, and we all know how awesome his life was, but His death is really the most significant. That is the day our sins were forgiven, and without Him, we would be lost souls. So as I sat there listening, I swelled up with tears and felt comforted by the information I received, and excitement that I will get to teach my kids this.

So I want to remind you of how special Christmas really is, between the lights, cookies, ham, and gifts, please take a moment to reflect, just how magical and blessed the day really is!

Homemade Fabric Softener (Sheets)

Homemade Laundry Fabric Softener Sheets.

In my attempts to really cut costs down in the home, I came across this blog and found an AWESOME recipe for homemade fabric softener sheets! I totally love it, it makes our clothes smell good and gets rid of static, and use it all the time!

You need:

2 Cups of water
1 Cup of vinegar
2/3 Cups of hair conditioner

Mix ingredients together, use a whisk, do not shake, this will cause foaming. To use in dryer, I keep a washcloth inside a Glad container filled with the softener. I then throw the cloth in with each load. I use it over and over! This recipe can also be used as fabric softener in the washing machine.

Making Homemade Baby Food

Did a great shopping for the week, we ran out of coffee, something we can't live without it here, so we had to get that. Bread was is on sale, 75 cents a loaf, so I got 5 loaves, can't beat that!

Making you Own Baby Food

We have 3 girls, all 4 and under, and by the time the third princesses (Lucy) came along, the thought of spending 70 cents per jar of baby food made me sick. We made a lot of Ellie's (second child) food but mostly after she was able to eat meat, so we just blended what we ate for dinner. Well, this time around we are making ALL of the food. It end up being less than 5 cents an ounce, she eats about 5-6 ounces a meal. A large jar of baby food (5 ounces) around here is about 98 cents, that is about 75% savings! That's saving some major dollars in a month! We also make our own oatmeal for her! These are the kinds of foods we give her (we buy in season for the best savings): -Squashes of all kind -Sweet Potato -Pumpkin -Pears -Apples -Bananas -Peaches -Nectarines -Peas (we use frozen) -Green Beans The list of possibilities goes on and on!! Just remember to not give a baby under 1 years old peanut butter, honey, or citrus fruits.

Prepping the food

-Squashes and pumpkins: cut in half, take out seeds and pulp, put face down on cookie sheet and put in oven for about 20-30 minutes or until you can easily put fork in "meat". Peel off skin. -Fruits with thin skin (i.e. apples, peaches, pears, ect): Bring a pot full of water to boil, than put the fruit in water for a minute. Pull out, and skin will be easy to remove. Cut and remove seeds/core. -Be sure to thaw any frozen vegetables or fruit under warm water before blending.

Blending the food:

To blend our foods we use a cooks food processor. There are many of other types of baby food makers, or you can simply use a food processor. Most fruits depending on thier ripeness, will be easy to blend. But some might require a bit of water to blend easier. I have noticed that peas and green beans need some help.

Storing the food:



We store ours in ice cube trays in the freezer. We simply fill the trays, cover with plastic (or the tray lid if we can find one) and put them in the freezer. When they are frozen, we transfer them to a ziplock freezer bag and mark what they are. Each cube is an ounce. When it is time to feed her, we put about 5-6 cubes in a bowl and microwave for about 1.5 minutes (some people not to do this, due to hot spots. Just be sure to stir well and double check the temp). We also make our own oatmeal, way cheaper than a box of baby cereal. Just be sure your food processor is dry then chop the dry oatmeal up. Just use it like store bought cereal!

Meal Planner

Lots of family time this week, Christmas get togethers, and my middle child's birthday party. Gonna have a great time!

Monday: Kid Friendly Orange Chicken
Tuesday: Creamy Chicken and Noodles
Wednesday: Turkey Mini Meatloaves and Roasted Root Vegtables and homemade bread
Thursday: Veggie Egg rolls and Fried Rice
Friday: A la Carte Leftovers
Saturday: Make your own personal pizzas
Sunday: Turkey and fixin's for birthday party (got a GREAT deal on a turkey)

Check back tomorrow to see how I did on the shopping trip. Also, check out how easy it is to make your own baby food!

Homemade Potato Chips Recipe

So yesterday I had a case of the major-munchies. As I searched though my cupboards and pantry, I got the sinking feeling that I probably ate the last of the popcorn earlier that week....dangit! What to do now! Well, I then remembered that last year I had made my own potato chips and absolutely LOVED them! They are SO easy, I made them by memory, and my memory is not that great. I made just salt and pepper chips (I love me some pepper) and as Chris and I devoured them, I thought about how many different flavors there would be. I could make chili, ranch, Parmesan, dill...there is a ton of options!

Baked Potato Chips
Ingredients:
-Potato, any kind works
-Olive oil (I use spray type, but you can also toss them in oil before baking)
-Salt
-Any flavor you would like

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the potatoes, thinness is not as necessary as you would think, just make sure they are a consistent size, so they cook evenly. Season lightly with salt and arrange them in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven until golden brown — about 12-15 minutes. I spray them again with the olive oil, then season lightly with salt and pepper or whatever you would like when they come out of the oven. Transfer to a rack to cool for maximum crispness.

There you go! So easy and yummy!

Decorating the House today!

Fun Things to do for the Christmas Season!

So this year we have cut down on costs DRAMATICALLY for Christmas...sorry kids! Well, OK, not too bad, but enough for our wallets to feel the difference but not the kids. They are quite little anyways and really won't mind, but the guilt still lingers when I sit and count the gifts while wrapping. SO, to try to make myself feel better, we are upping our family activities! We have not had any snow yet this season, which is personally great for me, but that takes snowballs fights, sledding, and building snowmen off the list. So I had to think of things I could do inside, or at least without snow. I thought of my childhood, and also did some research on the good ol' internet, this is I what came up with!

1. Making construction paper links:
You will need:
-Construction paper, in whatever colors you would like.
-Tape or glue
-Holding paper horizontally, Cut paper into 1 2/2 inch strips
-Tape or glue one strip in a link.
-Take the next piece of paper, put it in side of that link, then tape closed to make another link. -Repeat for as long as you want the link!


2. Coffee Filter Angels These are just so pretty! We are making a few to put on our Christmas tree!


3. No flame Advent Wreath Wow, I have such fond memories of my family lighting an Advent candle each week. Here is a safe one that is both fun and representative of the joy of Advent!

4. Popcorn Garland Oh how I LOVE the smell of popcorn! And man, can my kids eat their weight in it! This is so fun to do, and a great way to just enjoy each other during a snack time!

5. Christmas Countdown Chain What a fun and creative way to count down the exciting days until Christmas! Just pull a link for each day!



6. Make a Ginger Bread House My kids absolutely LOVE making a gingerbread house! Of course, not much of the candy actually makes it to the house, and if it does, it seems to disappear as the days grow closer to Christmas, but man, is it FUN to make!

Home Made Laundry Detergent and other stuff

So today I am going to meet with a hostess, and since my husband with be home having daddy time, I am going to go across town to Meijers to get the stuff for my own home made laundry soap. I always wanted to do this, and after searching many stores to find the supplies to make it, a friend (Thanks Kristine!) told me I can get the supplies there! She also said that I could use Ivory instead of the Fels Naptha soap, so I might try that. I will take some pics and fill you in, hopefully all goes well!

I did pretty good on my shopping trip yesterday, got food for the week, 2 gifts, foundation and eye shadow for $32.00. I was going to put all the info from my receipt on here, but Ellie, my almost 3-year old, decided to "read" it, and took off with it. Who knows where it is now! Unfortunately, that is something normal for her. She keeps me on my toes. So maybe I will get it up here next time!