Thanksgiving tree

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! This Thanksgiving tree is a tradition that I have done with my kids since they were little. Franky, it is something I have started doing myself every day with journals I have sitting open around the house... Thanking God for everything, even the seemingly small things (got this inspiration from the book 1000 Gifts by Anne Voskamp... if you are looking for a change in your perspective or want to be more thankful in general I would encourage you to check this book out. I think everyone can use an extra dose of thankfulness). I love listening to the things my children are thankful for, and its so fun to look back at the past year and see what they said. Last year, when my daughter was 2, the first thing she was thankful for was Bass Pro- HaHa! My husband loved that one! If there is anything I want to stick with my kiddos when they leave the nest, I want it to be love for God and others and a thankful heart. The Bible is filled with verses on thanksgiving, but one of my personal favorites is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 " Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Happy Thanksgiving... Lets make it more than just in November :)

Crock pot chicken tacos

With trick or treating and all the holiday festivities this week, I found myself migrating back to the crock pot. Love it because you can make healthy meals and save yourself loads of time by using it. One of my personal favorites is chicken tacos. Heres how I make them, nice and simple yet extremely tasty. Enjoy!

For a family of four, you will need two frozen chicken breasts, salsa, a can of chopped green chilies (smaller can if you can't take the heat) and about a tablespoon of garlic.

Pour it all over the chicken breast and put the crockpot on low for 7 hours.

At the end of the 7 hours, shred the chicken and add as much mexican seasoning as you would like. My husband makes the most delicious of mexican seasoning that I use every week. Maybe I can coax him to put up a video of how to make it and I can post the link on here later! SO, mix it all together, them heap some on a tortilla and enjoy! I added a huge can of beans this time to bulk it up since we had friends drop by, so we fed 6 instead with some left over. I love to top mine with fresh green onions. Avacados and tomatoes are yummy on it as well, or some cheddar cheese and sour cream... but to be honest, it is satisfying without any of the extra trimmings. Hope you agree!

Caramel apple pie

What is better than the smell of a fresh apple pie wafting from your oven? Well, eating it, for one... And upgrading it to a caramel apple pie! I actually never liked any of the apple pies I have tried over the years until I started experimenting and making my own. Here is my own recipe... The one I feel certain that I could finish the entire pie by myself. Luckily, my family loves it too, especially my five year old son. He eats it with such enthusiasm it makes me grin to watch him. Enough about it, here are the pictures and the recipe:

Crust is simple perfection: 2 sticks of butter, 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar. Bake for 10-15 min at 350. I seriously use this crust for every dessert I need that requires crust. The apples I used this time were macintosh (honeycrisp are good to use as well)... you can cut those up while the pie crust is baking. The stuff in the pan under the apples is the rue I made with butter and flour. Just add until you get the consistency you would like when you eat your apple pie :)

This time I did not make caramel from condensed milk (you can do that in the crockpot by pouring the c.milk into a mason jar and covering it with water on high until the color changes... pretty neat!), just used this Smuckers caramel since I had it in my fridge already. I mixed this in with the rue, then added all these spices: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger (don't forget to add sugar, as I forgot to put it in the picture lol but your pie WILL need it). I mixed all this in the pan with the apple slices until they were all coated nicely. I had my kids taste test to make sure they liked the seasoning, of course :) I don't use measurements for the seasoning, we just TASTE, TASTE, TASTE! Sound familiar to anyone?

Pour it all in the pie crust and place your decorations of leaves (I just cut them out with a knife) on top, then bake for an extra 15-20 minutes, whatever the crust allows. You could always do something besides leaves too... I was just in that fallish mood :)

Finished and ready to devour! With a steaming cup of coffee, I'll take it for breakfast any day! Enjoy!

Diy edible arrangement

Want to bring something beautiful, healthy and inexpensive to the next baby shower or party you go to? Enter the diy edible arrangement!
All I did was get a pretty vase, put some styrofoam inside, buy the skewers, fruit and flower cookie cutters (found at Bed Bath and Beyond) and started working. You can use pretty much any fruit that works with the cookie cutters or others you think would be pretty (or are in season). I made the centers of these flowers with grapes and tooth picks, but I have made others with a melon baller and cantaloupe. That one looked pretty too! Get creative :) The best part about this blog is that it is a gift made by your own loving hands (not to mention you can eat the scraps while you work lol). Enjoy!

How to Make a Flying Unicorn Costume

SO, the kids Halloween Party was supposed to be today, but my friend who I am co-partying with... her daughter came down with a fever and then the flu. Poor girl! Of course we decided to reschedule the party. Unfortunatly, it won't be until November, so you will have to contain your excitement over seeing the party awesomeness.

To make things a little more bearable, here is a picture of my daughter's halloween costume I made. All she has been asking to be for months is a unicorn. I was not planning on making it because I do NOT sew... at all. Seriously, the stitching looks awful and I pricked my finger more than a few times, but I have to admit it looks cute from this far back!

I had left over tulle from the rainbow tutu I made for her last year (maybe I will post a picture and tutorial of that later, it's a no-sew one, of course) so it worked perfectly! Picked up the wings at a dollar store and just scrunched up the left over scraps of tulle and hot glued it to the wings. For the mane I just cut the tulle and folded it and sewed it onto her hoodie. I sewed a tail on her pants too and added a ribbon with some sparkly flowers to it, only you can't see it in the picture. It only took me one night to make, not to mention it was cheap because I already had everything in the house. For the horn I cut up an old tea party hat that had long since broken, then I wrapped ribbon around it and sewed it together and then onto the top of the hoodie.
 Easy peasy :)

Have a Frightfully Fun Halloween Party For Your Kids!

 

 

Candy corn, caramel apples, spiced cider and pumpkin donuts… it’s that glorious time of year when the leaves change their greenery for the majestic hues of autumn. With the change of the season comes all this excitement of the festivities of fall, especially when you have little ones like I do.

Paint to a toddler is like chocolate is for moms... irresistable!



A tradition I have started up that my son (5) and daughter (3) always look forward to is our annual Halloween Party for them and their little friends. This year it is getting big enough to outgrow our house so we are going to try it at a little neighborhood park that just so happens to be in the middle of an enchanting little wood so we will get to enjoy the sights and smells of fall at our party. One of my party-loving friends has graciously offered to help me out this year as well, so it should be totally awesome!

We love this park... and caramel apples

 

 

 If you and your family love to get into the spirit of the fall season and are looking for some fun ideas for celebrating with your kiddos, look no further! Below are pictures of various foods and games and activities I have incorporated into our Halloween parties these past two years. Browse, copy or enhance my ideas (or many, many takings from pinterest-ahem) for your parties and above all, come up with some fun ideas of your own and share them with me!

 

 

 

Cream cheese creepy crawly crackers

Spooky apple bites

Witches fingers

 At this point I would like to say I promise I do more than food... I put on a puppet show both years and we always read some good Halloween books like Splat the Cat, Cliffords Halloween, or like this years: Mouse's First Halloween by Lauren Thompson (really love this one because it is interactive for the kids).

Jello with cut up grapes

Jello and gummy worm cups

Salt dough ornaments and glitter glue station
To make the salt dough ornaments you mix 1 cup flour with a 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of water. Roll and cookie cutter them out, then bake in the oven at 250 degrees for two hours. Paint, glitter, etc later!

 

Game "Wack-a-Spider" Stuffed spider, fishing line, paper towel roll... awesome fun!

Bat masks were my son's favorite

Daddy was Curious George for our little monkey girl... yes, I made his outfit, no, don't ask me how I made the hat because I totally just winged it and that was a year ago so frankly I don't remember how I pulled it off...

Puppy dog!

He-he-he! Just noticed what the plastic wrap box next to the plate says... did not plan that

Clementines and spinach leaves, mini healthy pumpkins my kids loooove

How to make slime: Dissolve one tsp of borax in one cup of water, then mix that in a bowl with one bottle of elmers glue. Add a few drops of food coloring. Stir, squeeze with your hands for a while then drain the excess water. Don't be afraid to get messy! This will keep in the fridge for quite a while. Also, we have added glitter and that is even more fun! Want to try glow in the dark paint sometime soon... I imagine it might work :)

See how wonderful it is?

 

What is a party without apple bobbing?

 

 

There is nothing better than seeing the joy-filled faces of children and I am all geared up a fantastic party next week. I will be posting pictures, for anyone who is interested. Have a safe, scrumptious and slightly spooky Halloween!