year : 2013 183 results

Become Carton Smart & Thai Peanut Noodles

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Carton Smart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine. Holiday's are a time for traditions. My Little Chefs keep track of all the traditions we HAVE to do each year to make it a great holiday. A lot of our traditions include a lot of time spent in the kitchen which then means a lot of dishes and a lot of garbage including many metal cans. This holiday season TetraPak wants to wants to inspire people to make smart, small decisions when ...

Top 13 posts of 2013

Our Top 13 Posts of 2013 Nature Scavenger Hunt for Kids Soft Pretzels Fast & Fantastic Chicken Salad Easy Weave Scarf Cleaning House St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt Summer Fun Sailboat German Chocolate Cake Oreo White Chocolate Cookie Recipe Butterfly Melted Crayon Art Bite Sized Cinnamon Rolls Zesty Orange Bites Mandarin Orange Jello with Lemon Pudding

Blueberry Orange Surprise Smoothie

We were so excited when Chef Dad came home from work one day with a gift, and not just any gift.....the Blendtec!! One of our favorite things to make with our breakfasts, lunches and dinners, and for snacks, and even for desserts are BlendTec SMOOTHIES!!! We love them! And how easy is it to give my Little Chefs a full serving of fruits and vegetables all in one yummy drink! And now with the Blendtec it seemed to me and my Little Chefs that our options are now endless.  There is a ...

Breakfast Burrito

Disclosure: I was paid to produce this post but the opinions in it are my own. Do you ever shop at the grocery store thinking about what to make for breakfast for your house guests?  Frozen and refrigerated foods are great because a lot of the hard work is done. When you are up late having fun the last thing you want to do is get up super early to make something delicious. Why not get a little help from the frozen and refrigerated sections while you sleep in just a little bit longer. One ...

Countdown Plaque

If you like counting down the days to anything and everything, then this Countdown Plaque is something you need!  Whether you are counting down to a birthday, a holiday, a vacation, days until school ends or begins, days until Grandma and Grandpa come to visit, days until a movie is released....you get the idea, you can customize the Countdown Plaque for your own countdown needs. The frame is removable so you can switch out the picture or subway art. The cabinet pulls on the bottom are to ...

Christmas Bingo

One of the things my Little Chefs love about Christmas is the lights and the decorations. We frequently take a new route home or go for a drive to see all the lights and decorations on homes. This year instead of just checking them out we decided to play Christmas Bingo! This is a great game to get everyone out of the house, yet still keep them contained and warm. You can warm up the car before everyone climbs in, or bring some extra blankets to put on your laps. One of the things we like ...

Bacon and Potato Chowder

We had a little help with the post today. Let's just say it's almost 11 weeks after Haley's surgery and things are still not back to normal. It is pretty difficult staying on top of everything. The Thanksgiving holiday was super busy for us which was more then Haley could handle. As a result we are currently working through a set back. She is crying a lot again which is not fun for anyone in the house! It is too painful to go out of the house but because I am good friends with Amazon now ...

Christmas Tags using the Cricut Mini

There are so many ways to dress up a present. We thought it would be fun to create a couple tags using the Cricut Mini. The Cricut has so many cartridges and options but we used the basic shapes that came free with the machine. We discovered the machine is easy for kids to use. They are able to visually see where the shape will be cut by reading the grid on the screen and on the mat. For the first tag we cut out the first two shapes. The snowflake we cut out with a punch. Next, Little Chef D ...

Etched Ceramic Loaf Pan

Remember the Easy Striped Glass Vase? Today I'm sharing something similar. I found these cute mini loaf pans at a craft store. They were a solid red color. I don't mind the red but it was a little plain. I decided to take some glass etching paint and a stencil and see if I could make it a little more interesting. I chose snowflakes because snow is not as seasonal as a christmas icon. Materials Martha Stewart Glass Etching kit with brush Martha Stewart adhesive stencil Mini loaf ...

Sponsored Post: Just Dance Kids 2014

We do a lot of dancing and a lot of listening to music at our house. Recently, the Just Dance Kids 2014 game for XBOX 360 KINECT was sent to us to try out. My Little Chefs have had a great time dancing while listening to music and learning new moves! They especially love turning it on when friends are over. We all smile, laugh and cheer each other on while having so much fun! In fact, we have so much fun their friends request to play the game when they are over! As a parent I'm ...

Handprint Turkey

We have already shared a Pom Pom Turkey and a Yarn Turkey but we are having fun with different turkey crafts for kids! The kids will get a little dirty with this Handprint Turkey because of the paint but if you have a sink nearby or baby wipes the clean up will be quick. This turkey craft is great for all ages. The young ones are even able to participate this time. Materials: construction paper foam paint brush paint, a few different colors (we used red, green, blue, white) s...

Black Friday Bingo

Are you one who likes to go shopping on Black Friday?  When you are standing in line waiting and waiting and waiting to check out how about play a game like Black Friday Bingo! You are people watching anyway or talking on the phone with your friends and/or family checking in on what deals they were able to score, why not play a little game at the same time? I have created a PDF version in a 8.5 x 11 size and also a smaller 4 per page version. Choose the one that works for you and print it ...

Yarn Turkey

Last week we shared a Pom Pom Turkey. Today we are sharing a Yarn Turkey. This one only has 3 types of supplies; yarn, pipe cleaner and craft foam. This would be a fun pre-Thanksgiving activity or a Thanksgiving Day activity. Materials Brown yarn Orange pipe cleaner Yellow and orange craft foam Scissors Low temperature hot glue Black marker or pen First you need to make the body. Wrap the yarn around your fingers about 15 times. Push the pipe cleaner between ...

Pom Pom Turkey

Do you need a craft to do on Thanksgiving day while all the food is cooking? How about this fun Pom Pom Turkey. It can also be used as a table marker to "save" their seat for later. All during dinner they will look at their Turkey and be so proud of what they have accomplished. Materials: scissors hot glue (or white glue if you prefer) craft foam - yellow and red tan pipe cleaner brown pom poms - 1 large, 1 medium, 2 small 2 googly eyes feathers of different colors, about ...

Haley’s 7 Week Update

The good news is Haley is progressing. She does not seem to get frustrated as quickly when she speaks. She is trying to get all of the sounds in each word which causes her to speak a little slower. She seems to speak a little clearer. When I do not understand a key word she tells me over and over and if it is an object she will show it to me to help me understand. Yesterday she was trying to say 'headband'. I thought she said 'hair bands'. When she showed it to me I said oh you mean headband. ...

Peanut Butter Apple Crackers (with toppings!)

The kids come home from school and want a snack right away. Does that sound familiar? Our school gets out late in the day so I do not want to give them a lot to eat or they will not eat their dinner. Of course they are hungry so a little snack to keep them content until dinner is what they need. These Peanut Butter Apple Crackers are fun because the kids can choose their toppings. What kid doesn't like to play with their food! The first step is to wash and cut your apples. Add a splash ...

Easy Striped Glass Vase

With the holidays just around the corner decorating and gift giving ideas are in full swing. Martha Stewart Crafts has a full line of products to help. She has a multi-surface craft system which includes craft paint, glass paint, decoupage and jewelry. I used the glass etching cream to create this beautiful striped glass vase. It was simple to make and looks fantastic. It can be used not only for the next upcoming holiday's but as a vase filled with your favorite flowers. Materials M...

Scarecrow Face

Today we are sharing a craft that can be done with what is already in your home! I love it when I don't need to go to the store for more supplies for a simple craft with my little ones. Materials: paper plate (technically the sturdier the better, ours didn't work as well as it could) glue scissors or paper cutter 1 piece brown construction paper 1 piece yellow construction paper 1 piece orange construction paper colored markers pencil I do allow my Little Chefs to use this ...

Tangy Spinach Chicken Salad

Do you ever have a night where you want something light and easy? Salads seem to fit that description in our house. We love this Tangy Spinach Chicken Salad because it seems to have little prep work. But then when I think about it the only reason it has little prep work is because we have done the cooking earlier in the day, or the day before. We always have frozen chicken. Once thing I have learned is to defrost the chicken most of the way in the microwave. When it is still slightly firm ...

Haley’s 5 Week Update

I realized in the last update I did not include a key piece of the puzzle. We finally received the pathology report! It took so long because the two pathologists here did not come to the same conclusion. That meant the samples were sent to Massachusetts for a second opinion. After all that they believe the tumor is 99% benign and 1% fast growing. Pretty good odds...but I still think about that 1% every now and then. The name of the type of tumor is only a few years old. We discovered from ...

Bat Sucker

When I was young I remember making a bat sucker like this for Halloween. I remember it being an easy craft, quick and fun to make. I thought I could give my Little Chefs a chance to give it a try. Bat Sucker Materials: black construction paper scissors orange ribbon black ribbon black spoon 2 googly eyes sucker First, use a bowl as a guide for your circle shape. Trace around the bowl, then cut out the circle. Fold the circle in half, then cut along the line to create two ...

Halloween Treat Favor

This school year is the first year in a very long time that I do not have a Preschooler. Each year the preschoolers would have a cute Halloween party and each child brought treats to exchange. My Little Chefs always looked forward to that day! It is ironic that this year when I have no preschooler I create a fun favor. This Halloween Treat Favor is made from a piece of patterned paper folded into an envelope where you can place a treat. Close the envelope and attach a circle with an embell...

Trick or Treat Bag

Tonight we have a Halloween party and that got us thinking about the actual night of Trick or Treating. Where we live the streets are darker then the streets around our previous home. We found some glow in the dark duct tape and thought that would be a perfect idea for keeping the kids safe as they crisscross the streets. We thought of all the accessories we could make but then remembered everyone would be in their costumes. The one item everyone would have no matter their costume would be ...

Tombstone Treats

A couple years ago we had a Halloween birthday party where we made tombstones for all in attendance. All the kids, not just mine, thought they were so fun! They enjoyed finding the one with their name and reading the rhyme my Little Chefs created for them. To continue with our tombstone theme this year we created Tombstone Treats. These krispy treats are easy to make with only 3 ingredients. They are also easy to shape. First, Little Chef D make the krispy treats the traditional way. ...
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