Cecelia's Spot

12 Spooktacular Treats:part1

farleyaj — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 21:00:47 +0000

Halloween is a great time to get creative with spooktacular foods! Some foods take more effort than others. I will start by listing the treats that are easier to make with their recipe link. On another post I will put more extravagant recipes that take longer to concoct.

Add a little candy corn to your chex mix treat! You can easily add candy corn and pumpkins, gummies, or any other Halloween treats. The one below also has honey bears- yum!

Ingredients:

4 cups Corn Chex and 4 cups wheat chex
2 Cups of cinnamon Teddy Grahams
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (melted)
6 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 cups of candy corn/pumpkins or whatever amount you like!
2 cups of chocolate covered pretzels (or regular)
2 cups sweet potato chips (or whatever type you prefer)
1 cups of reese’s pieces or m&ms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250°. In a large bowl, combine Corn Chex, Wheat Chex, and Teddy Grahams. In a small bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
2. Drizzle about one-third of butter mixture over Chex mixture. Toss to coat, then repeat with remaining butter mixture until every component is coated.
3. Divide Chex mixture between 2 unlined rimmed baking sheets; spread in an even layer.
4. Bake Chex Mix, tossing every 15 minutes, until toasted and crisp, 30 to 45 minutes.
5. Let cool, then mix in candy corn, pretzels, sweet potato chips, and Reese’s pieces.
6. Make Ahead: Chex Mix can be made 2 weeks ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

If you prefer nuts and cinnamon toast cereal- then this bowl is for you!

Spaghetti with eyes! AHHH

Make your spaghetti and meatballs and sauce as usual.
To give the spaghetti the twirled “nest” look, just twist big scoops spaghetti with a fork in a ladle
Use olives and canned black cut up olives on top of mozzarella slices.
Serve with a side of parmesan cheese for sprinkling.

Pasta pumpkins! Cut the top of the pepper off and carve in the features! Then cook the pasta and sauce and scoop it all into the pepper.

Mummy Garlic Bread!

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Use italian bread cut in half long way (of buy premade garlic bread). If making own you can smother it in butter and place garlic powder/garlic precut on the bread.
cut up some strips of mozzarella cheese (strips of string cheese work well too).
Place them on a bakery garlic bread or home made
Heat the bread in the oven at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes.
Finally, add a couple olive slices for “eyes”.

Ghost Bananas and clementine pumpkins!

All you need to do is use celery of the clementine and mini chocolate chips for the eyes of the ghost and a regular sized chocolate chip for the mouth! Kids love them!

Toes! Just use hot dogs- either cut up regular size or mini hot dogs. Cook them up and wrap them with cut up tortillas! You can also cook them in the oven with crescent rolls like the next recipe of mummy hot dogs! Then place mustard on strategically to make nails!

If you prefer to go healthier, you can make fingers or toes from carrots with cutting s small area on the top or bottom of the carrot and using hummus and putting on a sliced almond! You can also use cream cheese and cut up peppers!

Another hot dog recipe! This time it is for a worm sandwich! This time you slice the hot dogs into long strips and boil them until they curl- then add ketchup!

Spider Deviled eggs!

Make your deviled eggs as you usually do, then add olives to make the spiders- such a cute and easy idea!

Pumpkin seeds take a little more work as you dig them out of your pumpkin, clean them and let them dry- but well worth it! This website has 10 great seasonings and ways to roast them- try it this year- you won’t regret it!

Rain cloud in a Jar

farleyaj — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 17:55:01 +0000

My daughter can’t get enough of science experiments. She will ask for one after another. I don’t always have all of the ingredients around but rain cloud in a jar is a simple experiment with materials you will have on hand!

You will need:

blue food coloring (or hey-you could do any color, go for the rainbow)
shaving cream
dropper
water
clear mason jar/vase/glass

Fill the glass jar with 3/4 cup of water (leave room for the “clouds” aka shaving cream). Next put some shaving cream on top. We went a little crazy as Maddy wanted a giant cloud (cumulus-big, white & fluffy). You could also talk about the different types of clouds: cumulus, cirrus, stratus, nimbus. There are more clouds but those are the main 4 and that would be more for older elementary students. This cloud demonstration could be fun for any level!

After putting the shaving cream on top get a bowl or small cup and mix a few drops of food dye with water. This will be the rain.

Have your child use the dropper to get some rain and put it on the clouds. This works best if you insert the dropper about half way into the clouds and squirt it out.

Soon they will see rain fall through the clouds when they get so full of the water they can’t hold it anymore!

This can be repeated with different colors and different amounts of liquid. You can have your child hypothesize what they think will happen before they put the drops in and make a conclusion afterward.

The science behind this: Clouds are made when water vapor (gas) turns into liquid water droplets. They form on little particles that are floating in the air (like dust).

If you see puddles outside but then they disappear where did they go? They evaporated (liquid to gas-water vapor). The water vapor travels through the atmosphere to create the clouds. When too many water droplets are in the clouds and it gets saturated, it rains. This is a very simplistic version of some of the water cycle but if you want to dig in more I suggest going here: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-are-clouds-k4.html . If you scroll down there is also a link at the bottom of that website explaining how clouds form for kids in grades 5-8.

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Lights in the Lehigh Valley: Horvath Holiday House

farleyaj — Sat, 03 Dec 2022 02:43:57 +0000

If you live around the Lehigh Valley you know that driving around with a tin full of Christmas cookies and a cup of hot chocolate is a great way to enjoy the season! In the coming weeks I will feature different houses and their wonderful light displays on the blog! Feel free to share your favorites!

Horvath Holiday House :

4244 Briarcliff Road, Allentown Pa 18104

Reasons to love:

-Walk through display to the side and back of the house where you can meet Santa. Check their Facebook page for times that Santa will be there!

-There is a mailbox where you can write to Santa and he will send you a letter back (be sure to include a return address).

-You can see a blow mold Santa train go around in the backyard!

-They have an awesome area to take family pictures!

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Summer Yum

farleyaj — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 13:23:56 +0000

Summer is a wonderful time to pick fruits and veggies! Kids love picking (or eating them as we are picking like my daughter).

To start off the summer we went strawberry picking: yum!

Some things to remember when you go picking are:

-Call ahead or check online to make sure they are open. Sometimes they get picked out.

-Don’t forget to bring a bowl, sunscreen and hats!

-Bring cash. Many local farms don’t accept credit cards.

-If you have a little one don’t have them wear their best clothes! If it rained the night before, wear boots!

Blueberry picking is currently in season and bring the same things to pick those blueberries as you did strawberries! There are so many wonderful things you can make with blueberries from smoothies and pies to different things you can try like cooled blueberry soup (yum)!

Try going with friends or cousins to have even MORE FUN!

We are excited for raspberry picking and peaches. Have fun!

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Strawberry Picking

farleyaj — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 14:00:35 +0000

Yum!!! It’s the season for delicious mouth-watering strawberries!!! There’s nothing like picking them right from the field and eating them. Of course you don’t want to eat so many you have strawberry juice all over your face like our kiddos.

We ended up picking tons of fresh strawberries which we will use for countless recipes like strawberry pie, smoothies and shortcake!

Here are some things to remember before you go picking:

Call ahead. Many strawberry fields get picked out in a day, especially at the beginning of the season. Call ahead to wherever you are picking to make sure there are plenty left!
Bring a hat, apply sunscreen and wear your old sneakers. If it rained recently you might consider rain boots as it may be muddy!
See if you need to bring buckets or bowls to pick. Some patches have a policy where they give you the container to pick. Other patches like you to bring your own bowl which they will weigh ahead of time. Your bucket will be weighed afterward to figure out the price per pound.
Prep the kids on what to pick. Tell them to pick ripe only-red but not mushy. You don’t want a bowl full of white or green strawberries!
Taste some while you are there, but not too many as it’s rude and they probably still have chemicals on them! My daughter ended up with NO strawberries in her bucket because she kept eating them. It happens.
ENJOY!!!

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How to draw

farleyaj — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 13:57:36 +0000

My daughter is still in virtual school due to covid rates rising again. I’m not the biggest fan of having her on the tablet for too long, but I definitely found some helpful sites from her teacher.

One of the activities is the videos on how to draw. She loves doing these and produces some good pictures for her age. She also has her little brother participate. He’s 4 and even likes it!

There are all types of videos, so you have to make sure you look up kids art hub drawings and make sure it’s appropriate for the age group.

My kids like the art kids hub videos which frequently are for young children and use shapes to draw. A small child is also drawing with the host for the videos so it is more relatable and realistic.

So try them out on a rainy day, or if you are looking for holiday decorations, or simply dinosaur time! My kids are currently interested in dinosaurs and love drawing them!

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Fresh Lemonade

farleyaj — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 12:14:44 +0000

Nothing is more refreshing than some fresh squeezed lemonade! I remember getting fresh squeezed lemonade at farmer’s markets and fairs. So delicious! When I saw a friend’s post on Facebook about making fresh squeezed lemonade I couldn’t resist…not even in the middle of winter with over 2 feet of snow outside! It’s a fun activity to do with your family!

Materials: measuring cup, pitcher, spoon to stir, lemon squeezer

Ingredients: 8 lemons (1 cup of squeezed lemon juice), 1 cup of sugar, 6 cups of cold water

To make the lemons easier to squeeze, roll them between your hand and the counter a few times. Cut each lemon in half, put in your squeezer and juice it! We juiced it into a large measuring cup so we could measure around 1 cup of juice.

Maddy loved squeezing the lemons, although is got to be tough. She decided to be my helper and put the lemons in the squeezer. We combined the lemon juice, sugar and water in the pitcher and mixed it. So yummy, even in the middle of winter!

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Christmas Milk Magic Experiment

farleyaj — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 02:18:53 +0000

If you want an experiment that will have your kids screaming, “MORE,” this is it!

Materials: Shallow dish, red & green food dye, milk, dish soap, cotton swabs

First, pour a thin layer of milk in your dish.

Next have the kids or yourself put in drops of food coloring.

Third, have your child dip the cotton swab into the dish soap. Finally, have them press it down in one spot and hold it for 15 seconds. An alternative action is to have them let it drip down into the milk/food dye and observe what happens.

My daughter had other questions and we talked about what she thought would happen if she did something in particular (hypothesis). She wanted to use a dropper and see what happened. She also wanted to pour the dish soap in to see what would happen. We did this 3 times emptying & refilling the dish. She would’ve done more if I let her (but we wouldn’t have any milk left)!

My daughter doesn’t understand exactly why things happened in this experiment, but that’s okay. Doing experiments at a young age breeds curiosity and helps them learn to observe.

The explanation is that milk has fat in it. When the dish soap enters the milk, it breaks apart the fat. The soap molecules try to attach to the fat molecules in the milk. You can see what’s happening because of the food dye. Here is more information from Steve Spangler.

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25 Ideas for Advent Calendars (&Crafts)

farleyaj — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 20:22:17 +0000

Today there are many advent calendars that can be bought, ranging from simple chocolates to complex lego advent calendars. There are wine, book, superhero, and just about anything advent calendars that can be bought for a price. I remember having certain Christmas traditions in my home as a child and want my children to experience similar fond memories when they are older. So I purchased a German Christmas pyramid second hand (as they can be very expensive and knowing children, it most likely will break).

I also decided to buy an advent calendar for my children. I decided one sturdy wooden advent calendar would do the trick! I saw many beautiful lit ones for higher prices; however, I felt they could easily be broken. I finally decided on one I purchased at Lowes.

Now, the big question is, what should I fill each day with? So many options, but such a SMALL space. So, only very small items fit, such as two Hershey kisses or two small mini candy bars and the door wont completely shut. I didn’t want to start off with something too grand in the first door. My kids were excited about chocolate, so that’s what I did, two very small pieces of chocolate.

For the other doors, I will have some small chocolates in a couple, but I have many other cute and fun items for the kiddos. I’ll leave a very small piece of paper in the day that will have a clue to where their item is located. I was going to go into scavenger hunts, but lets be real, I would rather relax for a couple minutes after bed (or do this post), instead of trying to come up with an elaborate hunt they will be done with in 5 mins! Since my children can’t completely read yet, I decided using pictures might be best. So in day 2 I will put a picture of a christmas tree. They will run to the tree and see a pack of fruit flavored candy canes under the tree to hang up on the tree.

Here are some other ideas of items you can leave notes for:

Candy
Christmas books
Plato
wooden /ceramic projects
Felt snowman fun
any kind of christmas project including photo ornaments, easy glitter ornaments, and many other ones on this website
ornaments for the tree
Christmas clothing
Christmas lights
coloring books
Christmas cookies
Baking recipe to make cookies
Sprinkles for cookies
Hot cocoa packet/marshmallows..or homemade hot cocoa
Christmas movie
Christmas mask (2020)
Christmas headband, clips, socks
Small stuffed Christmas santa, elf etc.
Sock Snowman (either made or have supplies to make)
Felt Christmas tree (can make one, or if child is old enough they can make it!) or just an ornament to add to their current felt C
Christmas tree!
Tree Prints!
Salt dough wreath, ornament, or garland!
+Pomander Ball supplies
Felt Snowman Fun!
Singing holiday card/toy/Christmas solar bobble head

ENJOY AND HAVE FUN!!

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The 12 Days of COVID Christmas Ideas

farleyaj — Mon, 30 Nov 2020 02:02:32 +0000

It looks like we will all be quarantined from our extended families for the holidays again as COVID is raging in our area. Having small children in the family makes it extra tough. Instead of the kids remembering not being with their uncles, aunts, cousins & grandparents, let’s have them remember the wonderful time they spent at home. Let’s have them remember it as a special time with the family.

Here are some ideas to try to make the time leading up to Christmas special.

The 12 Ideas of COVID Christmas…

On the 1st day of COVID Quarantining Christmas…

Put up extra Christmas lights to add to the holiday cheer! Add a fun blowup or blow mold to surprise your kiddos! Have your kids help you place items or string the lights-they will LOVE it!

On the 2nd Day of COVID Christmas…

2. Do a light tour! Drive around to neighborhood displays. Take some hot chocolate in a thermos and cookies! Our local newspaper always features a light tour so we follow them. Many time local news also shares different homes to see. Check out to see if there are any light displays you can drive through in your area. Definitely a de-light!

On the 3rd Day of COVID Christmas…

3. Get family Christmas mugs! My daughter woke up to run into the kitchen for a surprise. I let her pick which one she liked. She picked the gingerbread man mug and called him “cutie.” She told me she would leave him out for Santa to have milk in and he would LOVE it! We had hot chocolate as a family immediately!

On the 4th Day of COVID Christmas

4. Paint Christmas rocks! My daughter and I have been painting rocks with regular acrylic paint for a while since COVID began.

The other day I discovered acrylic markers for painting rocks and shells and this was a game changer. They are so easy to use, less messy, and much better looking! Fun for the whole family!

On the 5th Day of COVID Christmas…

5. Give out the rocks! We love going around the neighborhood and leaving them on people’s doorsteps or tables in the front. Madison gets a thrill knowing she is making someone’s day. They also teach kindness and that everyone can make a difference. Another option is to leave them in places around the community like parks. Many people trade rocks too.

On the 6th Day of COVID Christmas…

6. Make some special breakfasts! You must excuse my poor pancakes, I am a newbie at this. Madison loved them and they did taste good. Kids will LOVE your snowman pancakes…even if they turn out like mine!

On the 7th Day of COVID Christmas…

7. Write to Santa! Check with your local community, post office, and online to find where to write. Our local community has Santa write back! There are also many services online you can pay for and they will have Santa write back to you. Another option is a zoom or digital call with Santa!

On the 8th Day of COVID Christmas…

8. Make cookies! Each year you might make cookies-but try some new ones! Your little ones will love to help. Yes, we ended up with flour all over us and bellies full of yummy cookies, but it was great! As an extra bonus get your Christmas mugs and cookies and have a movie night!

On the 9th Day of COVID Christmas…

9. Make lots of crafts! Kids adore crafts and family loves getting them! Look up crafts on blogs and pinterest. Make ornaments, fun photo crafts, and smelly playdough! For extra fun make more for family and deliver it on their doorstep for a nice surprise!

On the 10th Day of COVID Christmas…

10. Read, read, read! Get more Christmas books! There are so many interactive, smelly, sound, and regular Christmas books! Madison has her favorites and talks about some of them year round!

On the 11th Day of COVID Christmas…

11. Wear matching PJS! It’s so much fun! They not only make matching pjs now, but matching sweaters and hats. It’s fun to wear cheesy and cute clothes and now you can match with your entire family! Turn on some Christmas music and dance in your matching clothes to a Christmas dance party!

On the 12th Day of COVID Christmas…

12. Get creative with your advent calendars! Some people do 24 days of books. Check a thrift shop online or marketplace to find cheap books. Stores & online sell all kinds of fun advent calendars with toys, chocolates, cheeses, and just about anything you can imagine. This year I have a wooden advent calendar with drawers. I plan on have a clue for a craft I will complete with Madison each day leading up to Christmas. My sister is going to have something similar for her kids, but have scavenger hunts to find their gifts. The first clue will be in the wooden drawer on the advent calendar.

No matter what you do for the holidays, stay safe and make the most of a crummy situation by turning it into a gift. You are home and make home a special place for you and your family this holiday season!Follow
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