Like Playing House

Library Pockets for Speech Homework

2013-09-11T18:26:00.001-07:00

So, I was killing time the other day at the local teacher supply store and what did I leave with? Everything chevron of course! I bought some adorable chevron library card holders, or library pockets, from School Aids. I sat them on my desk, since they were so pretty, and had a great idea during my session...actually using them in the books I send home to parents!

I cut a blank note card in half and used one card as a checkout card with the date the child was given the book. Make sure you do not use full names due to privacy concerns, of course. The date will help the parent stay accountable and will encourage them to bring it back! For the other card I wrote out homework ideas specialized for the child! This child was working on carrying over some articulation sounds that were found in the chant in this particular book so it was perfect. I also provided some other tips for using the book in different ways so the book could be used multiple times for practice.

I would usually stick a post-it on a book that I was sending home with homework tips and I love the idea that this way my homework is much less likely to get lost. It saves paper too. I also like the fact that I can start this system and have multiple therapy ideas for my books to pull from if I keep up with this system in the future! Future TPT ideas are brewing in my mind....

I bought this book at a book resale event and highly recommend it. It is a cute alternative to The Three Little Pigs.

Now I'm off to think of new ways to use the rest of my library card holders! What do you use them for in your speech room?

SLPs Care for Oklahoma

2013-06-04T10:20:00.001-07:00

Some amazing SLPs banded together to put some of their best therapy materials up on TPT in honor of the Oklahoma tornado victims. ALL proceeds go to Oklahoma. You get the benefit of over $140 worth of therapy materials for only $15. They have 2 packs available.

Like Playing House just showed our support by buying pack 1 and pack 2. Will you do the same?

Click here to show your support and gain a lot of therapy materials for a small amount of money.

If only I actually had things up for sale on TPT, I could have tried to join it! (Next goal!)

*****Update***** BOTH PACKS HAVE AMAZING MATERIALS IN THEM! I had many of these things on my wishlist and defiantly saved money purchasing these... for a great cause!

-Lacey

Speech FREEBIE: Auditory Processing Number Recall Cards

2013-05-29T20:53:00.006-07:00

I just posted a new speech therapy FREEBIE here.

This download contains 120 Number Sequence Cards (4, 5, and 6 number sequences) for recall

I don't know about you guys, but I get tired of thinking of number sequences on my own when working on this goal. Now, you can save your brain power and even use these as cards with games to make things more fun.

Easy cut edges and cute chevron backgrounds to keep you feeling sassy included!

-Lacey

Speech Freebie: LaLa L Blends Ragdoll Artic Game

2013-05-02T19:27:00.006-07:00

I made a new freebie for you guys!

One of my favorite speech kiddos is an adorable little girl with apraxia of speech. We have cleaned up her speech a lot but her blends are just really adversely affecting her speech intelligibility. "The sa-nake sa-lithered down the sa-teep sa-lope." (The snake slithered down the steep slope.) Epenthesizing her blends every time... After working with her I found that targeting 1-syllable /l/ blend words to work on the motor planning of these words has really helped. I made these cards and this game to help my little speech friend, and all of you SLPs who have clients just like her, master this skill. Of course, this activity will work well for all kids working on /l/ blends as well!

This download contains 96 total 1-syllable /l/ blend cards:
16 /gl/ cards
16 /cl/ cards
16 /pl/ cards
16 /sl/ cards
16 /fl/ cards
16 /bl/ cards
1 Game Board
16 special cards

Graphics by: © prettygrafikdesign & Osagadesign and licensing inc. & MyCuteGraphics.com

There are more previews on TPT. Grab your freebie here. I would love for you to comment and let me know what you think!

Calm Parenting Experiement

2013-04-22T12:17:00.001-07:00

Today is the first day of my year of calm parenting. I am a very high strung Type A personality who wants to be the best at everything I do, but sometimes stress gets in the way of me being the most patient, best mother I can be (which is my number 1 priority). So I am starting a challenge today. The goal? Absolutely no yelling at my daughter for ONE YEAR! I don't yell a lot, but I always feel like a terrible mother after I do it, so I am going to try to not scream for a year. I will try to update you guys along my journey, and hopefully inspire others to parent in a calm manner. Just because our lives are hectic doesn't mean we should instill that in our children. My hope is that my daughter will be able to truly see my love all of the time, even in the most challenging of moments. Wish me luck!

Have any of you tried "calm parenting?" What were your results?

Getting To Know You Kit

2013-04-11T17:28:00.002-07:00

Speech/Kid Post: I have so many kiddos on my caseload that need to work on having a conversation. I created this free printable kit so that parents and SLPs can have an easy start at working on these skills. My awesome intern, Melissa McCoy, also helped with the content! Check it out below and download it here.

This kit contains:

36 Personal question cards with visual stimuli

6 Asking questions visual cue cards

2 Reminder cards for conversational turn taking

8 Reminder cards for SLPs to coach their students during conversation

Print this kit and laminate the cards for best use.

Have your child practice answering the personal and biographical questions, with the included cards, that will be needed for having basic conversations with peers and adults.

Once your child has mastered answering questions about themselves, use the asking question visual cards to help your child practice asking a communication partner questions.

When this skills is mastered it is time for learning basic conversational skills. Use the turn taking visual cards to role play conversations and show when it is the child’s turn to communicate.

The conversation reminders are great for helping the child repair communication breakdowns without stopping the flow of conversation or calling too much attention to their errors. You can also use the question cards as topic cards for conversation.

I hope all of you find these tools useful for giving the gift of communication to your kiddos! Also, feel free to link your parents to these for home practice!

I'd love to hear what you guys think and if you find these useful. :)

-Lacey

Cupcake Questions- Why Edition FREEBIE

2013-03-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

I finally did it guys! I made my first freebie for Teachers Pay Teachers! I am so excited to share it with you guys. I really hope you like it. Here are some detailed pictures of my why question game for you. Go download it here now and leave me some feedback if you like it! (I hope you do!)

I created 24 why questions that are all related to making or enjoying cupcakes.

We know all our speech kiddos love those!

I tired all of these questions with my speech students and they really helped to make

them think deeper and to open up a dialogue.

I tried to follow suit with other TPT sellers and provide you with some game ideas. There are so many ways you can adapt a card game, as we all know, and I also added some other elements below to mix things up.

There is a cute board game here and some dice that you can make to change the game.

There are a couple of other elements included so I won't spoil all the fun. I hope you dowload my first printable on TPT for free and enjoy it!

Lacey

St. Patrick's Day Birthday Party

2013-03-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

My daughter was born on St. Patrick's Day. Her first birthday was before there was Pinterest to get ideas, but that didn't mean there weren't ideas on the internet. Basically I did a lot of research and finally found Amy Atlas (she is who I want to be when I grow up), which was my inspiration and first attempt ever at party decorating, so don't judge it too hard.

The main area was mainly green since it was St. Patrick's Day with a hint of pink for my little girl.

The scrolls on the left are a table cloth cut up and surged on the edges and then mongrammed (one for each child invited). These were intended to be used as functional party favors. They are reusableo on the table mats for toddlers eating finger foods.


The clover lollipops were all made with molds. The hat was made on by my mom on her embroidery machine.


These are three wrapped Styrofoam cake forms used to display cupcakes with character.

This was a framed bulletin board. The candy favors are in mini plastic storage bags and then stapled shut with scrapbook paper.. They were then pinned on the cork board with clear push pins.

These were cupcakes with my little girl's face on them. They didn't come out great, but what can I say, it was our first try.


This was the pink table filled with: pink cupcakes, pink and green cookies, pink large mylar balloons, and pink clover lollipops.

I also made the cake and the inside was pink strawberry cake.

This party was simply a first attempt and was a lot of fun. The green was because she was born on St. Patrick's Day (and this was likely the only year she would let me get away with it) and the pink was to celebrate the precious little girl. I hope you enjoyed seeing one of our first every parties.

Envelope System App

2013-02-23T20:43:00.003-08:00

As much as I love the envelope system and think that it's the best way to go when trying to make your money work for you, I have to admit that some months I just can't keep track of where I spent my money, because although I have the money, I don't always have the actual envelopes with me. If you seem to have this same problem I found the app for you! I don't know about you but I always have my phone with me, so it's logical to keep track of my spending using my phone.

The Budget Envelopes by Mobile Innovations LLC is basically a checkbook balancing sheet that is interactive. It offers a lot of different benefits, but I simply typed in my budget amount for each category and I simply typed in the name of each place I spent money and the amount. Every time I spent money I simply added it to the category and it automatically shows you how much you have left for the month in the category. This app has really helped me get my spending under control and help me see exactly where I've spent each dollar (I got to Chick Fil A way too much!).

The coolest part is that you can try it for free, but after 20 transactions you are asked to buy it for 2.99. The Budget App also offers the following for your 2.99:

Recurring Budget Envelopes
Charts and reports for your income/expenses
Syncs data across multiple devices
Print reports directly with any Air print enabled printers
Optional Passcode protection

Try it for free. What do you have to lose? It saved me $200 my first month using it simply by making more aware of where I was spending my money. I hope this app can do the same for you!

*I am in no way affiliated with this app, I just like to share things that make my life a little easier.

Valentine Time

2013-02-12T15:32:00.003-08:00

Cute Valentine Alert! I have to show my speech students some love a few times a year. I was lucky that some awesome bloggers helped me accomplish this task for Valentine's Day in less than 30 minutes and for well under $5.

I used Pinterest to find a cute Valentine for the boys and one for the girls. They are both made using glow stick bracelets from the dollar store. (Dollar Tree only had 5 packs for $1 when I purchased them but Target had 15 packs for $1 so shop around!)

Print out your girl's Valentine printable from The Teacher Wife and print out your boy Valentine printable from Stitch Craft Creations. They both came in color but I decided to just use black ink to save money. I used some heavy paper, grey and pink, to give them a little stiffness.

I used my scissors to slice a place for the "light sabers" to slip through on the boys Valentines.

I slipped on all of the bracelet joiners and tried not to crack the glow sticks! (I only failed on a few.)

Grab some tape or some labels to cut up like I did. All you have left to do is to tape your glow sticks to the back of your Valentine's and you are done!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Lacey

Free SLP Fluency App: Fluently

2013-02-08T13:34:00.003-08:00

This awesome app for self monitoring when stuttering is free today. Grab it while you can. It is regularly $9.99.

Below is what the app icon looks like. The audio sensitivity can be adjusted for background noise. The green button turns red and the phone vibrates when the child stutters. The applications for your speech therapy sessions are endless. Also, this is the perfect tool for speech homework for those children with fluency difficulties.

I'm so glad a fellow SLP shared this deal with me today so I could share it with you!

-Lacey

Are You Potty Training Too Early?

2013-02-03T07:15:00.001-08:00

I have been very busy this month, organizing, cleaning, making a plan for a year, not to mention beginning the introduction of the "potty" with my almost three-year-old. My doctor has been harping for me to start potty training since before my daughter was even 2 1/2. I had read this article by Dr. Steve Hodges, when my daughter was very young and had decided to follow his recommendations regarding potty training.

However, my doctor (who I typically love very much) made me feel like I wasn't being a good mother, because I wasn't already trying to potty train. Don't get me wrong, we had a little potty and offer for her to try it, but we weren't forcing the subject. Well, finally he made me feel neglectful, so I tried hard core potty training for a week and it made both my daughter and I feel like failures, and our success rate decreased. I decided it wasn't right for her to be potty training yet. She didn't even have words for "poop" and "pee" yet for goodness sake!

A quick summary of Dr. Hodges' research: Dr. Hodges is a urologist and he has done extensive research, including x-rays of children's bladders. Dr. Hodges states, " I believe in potty training when kids are ready -- when they show an interest and can tell you when they are peeing or pooping -- and I believe that few kids are genuinely ready before age three." My daughter cannot actually tell me when she is going, which tells me she isn't quite ready to successfully potty train.

Furthermore, Dr. Hodges stated, "Kids hold their pee and poop because they simply don't understand how essential it is to get themselves to the bathroom when nature calls. Kids think you only go to the bathroom only when you desperately need to, or when your mom threatens to withhold treats if you don't. The most seriously constipated kids I treat are those who trained earliest and with ease. In other words, they've been deciding for the longest period of time when they should pee or poop. But even kids who train later can develop problems, especially if Mom and Dad aren't keeping tabs on them. Parents cringe when I say this, but getting your child out of diapers is the easy part!" His point here is that children don't understand the importance of going to the restroom, instead they are more concerned with playing, which may result in accidents or even worse over the long term, true medical issues with toileting. It is our responsibility as parents to make sure our young children go to the restroom enough, so that they aren't "holding it" too long.

I plan to ask my doctor next time we visit, what exactly are the benefits of potty training early. The only things I can think of are less diaper rash (which my daughter never has) and not having to change diapers (which don't really bother me).

Hopefully you take the time to read Dr. Hodges' insight on potty training. He does not define a specific age that is "perfect" for training your child. Instead he simple reminds us that our child knows when they are physically ready to use the potty. He also explains that accidents (once potty trained) are not normal and that the child may have urinary problems or be severely constipated. I wish you luck with potty training your child. I know (from experience) that it's not all rainbows and butterflies! Just remember to celebrate your child's successes and expect a few accidents.

SLPs: Have you tried TPT?

2013-01-29T10:57:00.001-08:00

As an SLP I have been excited to see the increase in the amount of SLPs sharing their therapy materials on the Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) website. I have downloaded lots of freebies but just only browsed the "pay" items. With all the free stuff why pay to download anything right? Boy was I wrong! I finally took the plunge and decided to actually pay for some materials. I feel like I hit the jackpot. My $4.00 that I invested was totally worth it and I will have these materials for years! So, fellow SLPs, read on, pull out your laminator, file folders, plastic baggies, scissors, and cardstock. Get ready to download, print, and make some cheap, adorable, and everlasting therapy materials. Tip for printing things from TPT: Actually read the directions on how many of each page you should print. I forgot to do that! Okay, now lets get to the good stuff.

I decided to start with one of my very favorite SLP blogger's, Jenna Rayburn's, TPT store. At her store, I browsed and browsed and finally decided on my first purchase. I chose to buy her Winter Receptive Language: Speech Therapy digital download. This digital download came with 4 separate games. I will give you a brief description of each since she already has the descriptions available at her store.

Game 1. Ski Trip: Following Directions had more than enough cards for a session ranging from very basic directions, conditional directions, to two-step directions temporal directions. She also includes some "special" cards to make playing a game with these cards more fun. I love that I could use the title sheet on a file folder to make it look like a real board game for my kiddos. It included the game directions as well. I stapled the sides of the file folder to make a pouch that holds everything. This game also came with two place holder cards. All the items were printed on cardstock, laminated, and the cards were held in a plastic baggie.

Game 2: Penguin: Answering WH Questions. This game is pretty self explanatory. It contains a visual for types of WH question words which is a great bonus and has lots of "special cards" and even blank cards. I use the blank cards to ask personal questions.

The graphics are just so cute!

Game 3: Hot Chocolate: Comprehension. This game includes some well written winter related paragraphs, some adorable special cards, five task cards, and two place holder cards. The instructions are also included.

Game 4: Artic Animals: Sequencing. This game has all of the same awesome features. The cards have a topic and 4 steps to sequence.

Ugh, I just love everything about this set of games! $4.00? That is $1.00 a game. I know how long these things take to make too. Just think, if you invested $10.00 a month to new therapy materials on TPT you could have an amazing collection in no time. I will continue to shop here. Now that I know it is worth it I'm hooked. I hope you guys check out Teachers Pay Teachers and get some inspiration!

Lacey

Sorry we have been MIA!

2013-01-29T10:56:00.004-08:00

Sorry my friends! Amber and I have been super busy lately and have ignored our blog. We are terrible; I know. I am in the process of moving to a new place and Amber has had a sick baby and lots of traveling. We also fit in an awesome week at the lake. Wasn't the sunset incredible! I promise we are back now!

After my juice cleanse, I decided to completely switch gears and try a high-fat, low-carb diet, otherwise known as Ketogenic or Keto. I'm completely obsessed with perfecting recipes for this to drop some weight. So far I have had great success. I will probably be posting about that. I've also been working on budgeting with lots of new financial changes that came with the new year. Dave Ramsey-influenced budgeting of course. I have not really been crafty lately since I am living in between two houses right now. I have been making some new therapy materials, however. Some that I purchased online. That will be my next post!

Maybe Amber can update us on what she has been up to lately.

Summary: We are back and ready to blog!

Lacey

Juicing

2013-01-15T12:06:00.001-08:00

I've recently starting juicing fruits and vegetable to help improve my health and boost my immune system. This winter I just cringe as I look around at all of the sick people coughing, sneezing, and hacking in public places. It seems like they are everywhere and I am just bound to get the flu!

I'm still fighting bronchitis and I have already battled pharyngitis, allergies, and ear infections this winter season. I do not want to get sick again. I think taking in the nutrients of 10-20 fruits and vegetables a day can do nothing but help me in this fight. Juicing, of course, has a million other health benefits too. If you are interested in what it is all about I highly recommend that you watch my favorite documentary, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It is available on Netfix and Hulu amongst other places. In the documentary, Joe commits 60 days to juicing alone and in turn drops more than 100 lbs, cures his skin disease, increase his energy, inspires millions, and changes his life. It is great. So far I am just supplementing my diet with juice but I do plan on doing a juice cleanse/fast soon as well.

Here I will let you in on my journey with juicing. I will let you know how I feel about jointhereboot.com recipes I try and any I make up on my own. I will also document my juice fast/cleanse when I do it.

Here is my Breville juice. It is the same one Joe uses in the movie. I love it! This morning I made a juice in less than a minute.

The main juice I make is Joe's Mean Grean Juice. (In the picture I made a double batch.) Here is the recipe:

1 cucumber
4 celery stalks
2 green apples
6-8 kale leaves
1/2 a peeled lemon
1 tbsp of peeled ginger

Hint: A tiny bit of ginger goes a long way! Less is more. Also, I prefer to peel my cucumber but you really don't have to.

Here is my finished Mean Green juice. I love it! It tastes like a greener lemonade. It is really not bad at all. I used to add a red apple to make it sweeter.

When celery and cucumber are in a juice, that is mainly what you taste. You can disguise other vegetables that you don't like with those two. For instance, I have a friend who tried juicing but she absolutely hated carrot juice. If you really want to try to "eat across the rainbow" you could put carrots in this juice you wouldn't even taste them. Really, I tried it.

Here is one I made up that tasted really similar to Mean Green:

2 handfuls of spinach

1 cucumber

3 celery stalks

3 carrots

2 oranges

1 apple

This morning I made this juice recipe up:

1 cucumber

2 peeled oranges

1/2 a peeled tangerine

It tasted really good! Surprisingly, the tangerine had the strongest flavor.

I like to use blender bottles to store my juices for the day. I love that they have that little silver ball inside that helps keep my juice mixed since fresh juice separates a lot.

I hope you are inspired to check out what juicing is all about. You will really like the movie...I promise!

Of course I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor. This is just me writing about my experiences, reviewing recipes, giving some of my own and giving you tips that have helped me. yada, yada, yada.

Getting the Most out of Your Money at a Football Game

2013-01-10T11:27:00.002-08:00

Since it's football season and I am a season ticket holder I thought I would let you in on a few of the tricks to saving money we have discovered over the last year of going to games. My husband and I stop and eat brunch before the game so that we don't have to eat at the game because the food is over priced and the food at the game tends to lack in quality. Or even better tailgate and enjoy some BBQ before entering the game!

Before entering the stadium there is an area where they have lots of booths set up that offer various ways to sign up to win things like autographed pictures of players. Different booths have silly little games or giveaways. They always have key chains, magnets, backpacks, t-shirts and sometimes you can even get a free souvenir picture taken. Every week it has different events and free items and I am sure each football team does this a little differently. You can also sign up to win lots of free signed pictures and other football items.

We typically go into the stadium as soon as they allow spectators in because my husband is a HUGE Texans fan and enjoys cheering on the players and trying to get autographs during warm ups (don't forget a Sharpie if this is your plan). I don't know if that's really a money saving tip, but it's definitely a way to get the most out of your money. How cool would it be to have a story to tell that your favorite football player came up and gave you a high five or even better autographed your jersey? On the way into the stadium they typically give away some sort of "swag" to the first spectators entering the stadium. For instance last week was "Battle Red" week so they gave out red t-shirts. The week before they gave away pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness week. At other games they have given away towels. We also sign up with Reliant Energy each time and get a free "power towel". They also have prizes for some early arrivers such as $100 gift cards to restaurants and even scratch off tickets.

My favorite money saving tip: Drinks at the game cost around $5. Since we never drink beer we always go to the customer service desk (the area where you would check strollers) and we sign up as designated drivers and thanks to Budweiser we each get a free drink voucher! Since there are no free refills (and the fact that we both hate watered down soda), we always ask for no ice when redeeming our vouchers.

Top Tips:

Get there early (there are games, meet and greets, prizes for the first to arrive and free swag)
Get your Power Towel
Bring a Sharpie in case something can get signed
Sign up to be a designated driver and get a free drink

Recipe: Easy & Delicious Chili

2013-01-09T12:02:00.004-08:00

Well, guys I am finally back from my winter hiatus. Sickness, Christmas visits, a fun vacation to Buffalo, NY and NYC, and then recovery and packing to move have kept me away. Sorry I was gone so long! Now, I have a recipe for you guys.

I love this chili recipe so much that I even make it once or twice in the summer. This is my go-to-under $10 meal that will feed my family and any company that is coming over. It reheats really well and you just can't mess it up.

From your pantry you will use:

Chili powder

Cumin

Garlic Powder (I love Lawry's brand with the parsley in it.)

...and don't forget the cornbread! (I just use Jiffy and add sugar because it is so much cheaper than sweet cornbread mixes!)

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of ground beef

1 bell pepper

1 onion

2-4 cloves of garlic

2 small cans of tomato sauce

(add another plus water if you want to make a bigger batch)

1 can of chili beans

corn chips-Fritos

Cheddar for topping off

Directions:

Brown 1-2 lbs of ground meat. Salt, pepper, and add garlic powder to your meat. The more "brown" it is the better flavor you will get. Add in a chopped onion. (I'm aware on this occasion I didn't follow my recipe. I just cooked the meat and the onion together. I was hungry!)

Once the onion is almost clear, add a chopped bell pepper. Add the chopped garlic when the bell pepper is almost finished.

Add the tomato sauce, plus equal parts of water. (If you are in a rush, add a little less water so it doesn't have to cook down as much.) Add 1/4 teaspoon of each of the following: chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Let it cook down a bit and add your chili beans with the sauce. Add equal parts of your three spices to taste. Crush two handfuls of Fritos in a ziplock. (I use a canned food to do it) Pour in the Fritos to salt and thicken your chili. Let your chili cook down until it is thick.

Serve with Fritos and Cheddar cheese. It goes great with sweet, buttery corn bread!

Save the recipe card from this image.

Chili Recipe

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs of ground beef
1 bell pepper
1 onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
2 small cans of tomato sauce
(add another plus water if you want to make a bigger batch)
1 can of chili beans
corn chips-Fritos
Cheddar for topping off

Directions:
Brown 1-2 lbs of ground meat. Salt, pepper, and add garlic powder to your meat. The more "brown" it is the better flavor you will get. Add in a chopped onion. Once the onion is almost clear, add a chopped bell pepper. Add the chopped garlic when the bell pepper is almost finished. Add the tomato sauce, plus equal parts of water. (If you are in a rush, add a little less water so it doesn't have to cook down as much.) Add 1/4 teaspoon of each of the following: chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Let it cook down a bit and add your chili beans with the sauce. Add equal parts of your three spices to taste. Crush two handfuls of Fritos in a ziplock. (I use a canned food to do it) Pour in the Fritos to salt and thicken your chili. Let your chili cook down until it is thick. Serve with Fritos, cheddar cheese, and cornbread.

I have even substituted jalapeno for bell pepper, omitted the garlic, omitted the beans and it always turns out good!

I hope you try it because I know you will love it!

Melt In Your Mouth Steak

2013-01-04T05:27:00.003-08:00

Do you want to make the perfect steak? It's been something I have aspired to do ever since I went to a fancy steakhouse with my husband. If you make your steak the way I suggest below you will have a perfectly cooked, melt in your mouth, begging for more, delicious steak.

If you are Cajun, you likely have a lovely cast iron skillet. It is key to this recipe. I have tried cooking steak on the grill like you always see in movies, but this always tends to leave steaks a little drier than I prefer. I discovered that if you cook a steak in the oven it makes the perfect steak. Yum.

First, take your ribeye steaks out of the fridge, sprinkle meat tenderizer and pepper (I also added a little garlic powder for pizazz) on them, and allow them to get to room temperature. Next, preheat your oven to 500 degrees with your 12 inch (or whatever size) iron skillet inside to make it nice and hot.

Then, take your iron skillet out and place it on a burner. Turn the heat on high and place 2 tablespoons of butter in the bottom. Place your ribeye in the skillet and cook on each side for 30 seconds.

This is what it should look like after the steak is seared on each side (which keeps in the flavor and juiciness).

Place in the oven (still at 500 degrees) and cook for 3 minutes on each side for a medium steak.


Take them out of the oven and place them on a plate. Allow them to rest for a minute or two and then you are ready for melt in your mouth delicious steaks.

My ribeyes were probably half inch or three quarter inch thick steaks. If you prefer your steak cooked differently here are approximate times to cook for 1 inch thick steaks. Cook them on the stovetop for 30 seconds on each side and then the following times in the oven at 500 degrees:

Medium Rare: 2 minutes on each side
Medium: 3 minutes on each side
Medium Well: 3.5-4 minutes on each side

I always cut into the center of my steak and see if it looks close to how I want it to look. Remember it's going to continue to cook for two more minutes when you place it on a plate. I hope you enjoy!

Change How You Change a Diaper to Reduce Fussiness

2012-12-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

A friend's infant's chiropractor recommended this video. Apparently we've all been changing babies ages 0-6 months incorrectly. Rather than lifting their legs, we should roll them from side to side because 80% of their learning (I am assuming he means neurologically) is through their "gut." He says that this technique reduces colic significantly. It' amazing that such a simple change (once you get used to it) can change you from having an extremely fussy baby to a happy baby. I will definitely try this with my next little skittle!

If you have a baby that's not yet crawling please take a moment to watch this video and you will make your life a lot easier!

DIY: "Idea" Gift

2012-12-14T12:12:00.001-08:00

Today I am on the way to Houston to celebrate a great woman's life and to welcome a new little one into the world. I am car crafting on the way. I have a couple writers in my life that I am making this gift for but it can be a fun gift for anyone who likes ideas of fun things to do or date ideas. Here is how to make your idea gift.

You need a light bulb jar from Hobby Lobby. On sale it is less than $ 0.75. Then you need some scissors, a pen. And a piece of paper. 1. Write out a list of fun things to do or a list of things you think might inspire your writer friend.

2. Cut in between each item. Then, cut the ends off so you don't make a big mess.

3. Fold and crumple your mini strips and put them in the jar.

4. Use your pen to push them down more.

5. Gift it!

It might even be cute to write on it in puff paint. Since mine are for adults I tried to keep it classic.

I hope you enjoyed! - Lacey

DIY: Dog Bed Tutorial/Re-purposed Dog-Destroyed Throw Blanket

2012-12-06T06:28:00.001-08:00

Here is an easy tutorial for creating a no-sew pet bed from a throw blanket. Anyone can do those- even your kiddos. It is also a great way to re-purpose your pet's favorite blanket....or your favorite blanket that your dog may have damaged. This tutorial is also unique because you can make the dog bed have its own attached blanket easily.

This was my favorite throw blanket ever. It was super soft and just my size. I loved the different textures and the look of it.

Then, the damage occurred from a puppy initiated game or two of tug of war, also known as "Put my favorite blanket down!", gone wrong. I refused to let this soft thing go, however.

To make your dog bed you need a big bag of fluff, a throw blanket made from two pieces of fabric, and a pair of scissors. (I also used half a small bag of fluff too but I think I overfilled it a bit.)

As you can see both my animals were very weary of what I was doing to the blanket they had claimed. Next, decide what size you want your dog bed to be. I just went for the halfway point where the dog bite marks were. I cut my blanket in line at that point.

Now, cut strips that are long enough for you to tie. Mine were about 1 1/2 inch strips. I could of made them a little longer too.

To make a dog bed without a blanket just use one side. Heck, you could even make one out of each side. To make a dog bed with a blanket we are going to knot both sides of the fringe together.

I pulled the knots through on just one side for a clean look. Cross a strip from the bottom to the opposite top side and knot. Then, pull the other bottom strip up and tie it with the other top strip. These knots will go on top of each other. Having a blanket with two different sides makes this part easy.

Leave yourself a hole to stuff. My dog was not budging.

When you can't stuff anymore move the dog.

Steal the rest of your fluff from your other animals.

Now, make your last few knots and you have a beautiful seam with an un-stuffed blanket attached that they can use to cuddle under when it gets chilly.

This would be an awesome gift for any pet lover.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Advent Calendar Activities

2012-12-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

Help decorate by putting your favorite ornaments on the tree.
Take a picture wrapped in Christmas lights
Write a letter to Santa and mail it
Make e dible snow (it only takes 5 minutes)
Make Popsicle Nativity set:

Click Here for Instructions from the Original Post

6. Find a toy you no longer play with to donate to a child in need

7. Make and mail a Christmas card to your Grandparents

8. Read “Polar Express” while drinking hot cocoa

9. Snuggle and have a Christmas movie marathon

10. Visit Santa

11. Walk/Drive around and Look at Christmas Lights

12. Cut out snowflakes and put them on your window

13. Make a paper bag Gingerbread house:

Click Here for Instructions from the Original Post

14. Have snowmen for breakfast

15. Make a hand print Santa Clause

16. Make a snow man out of half glue/half shaving cream. It dries puffy!

Click Here for the Original Post

17. Read the story of Christmas

18. Make Moldable Snowmen

Click Here for the Original Post

19. Sing Christmas Carols

20. Make 3 wise men handprint craft

Click Here for the Original Post

21. Make Reindeer food

22. Make Finger Puppets

Click Here for the Original Post

23. Make cookies for Santa

24. Put out Cookies for Santa and food for reindeer/ Open One Gift

25. Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Advent Calendar

2012-12-03T11:13:00.001-08:00

I have a friend that I swear should be an interior decorator. This was her craft so I don't have many pictures, but she gave me permission to share her idea with you.

First, she went to Hobby Lobby and bought a frame that did not come with glass. She was planning to paint a frame, but this rustic look was perfect for her vision. Then she chose a variety of different designs, such as miniature clothes pins, stockings, large cute gift tags, and she added some kid socks for character. Next, she cut chicken wire and stapled it on the back of the frame. Finally, she hung up the various Christmas stockings and tags after writing an activity for her children to complete each day. Such a simple, but cute idea. Thank you Natalie for allowing me to share your creation! I can't wait to make one for my house!

Stay tuned for Advent Calendar activity ideas....

DIY: Leaf Flower Tutorial

2012-12-02T15:23:00.002-08:00

I don't know about you but I always end up with lots of extra leaves when I am crafting. I always think, "What a waste." Well today I decided to put those extra scraps to good use. Here is my tutorial on how to make flowers from your extra floral scraps.

Take all of your leaves and push them off the ends of the wires.

Now you have so many "petals" to work with.

Gather your supplies. I used beading wire and a piece of rhinestone ribbon to make my center embellishment. You could use string and you could hot glue anything into the center of your flower.

Simply bead your first leaf on. Take the rest of the green plastic stem pieces off so that the petals can lay flat.

Once you have all the leaves you want for your flower strung, twist the wire to the back and knot it. Re-fluff your leaves and add something to the center and you are done! If you want to use rhinestone ribbon or bead something into your center follow the next step.

Move your wire knot back to the front. String the beading wire through the ends of the ribbon. When you tie it tight it will form a loop in the center. Snip the ends of the wire you are finished.

You can use these flowers on anything. I chose to use mine on a wreath that I am making. You could also spray paint them another color. I hope this inspires you in your crafting!

This Link was Shared Kindly at:

Tutorial: DIY Cheap Christmas Berry Ornaments

2012-12-01T13:55:00.003-08:00

I have really been in the Christmas spirit lately! My husband and I put up our beautiful new frosted tree up but there was one problem. All of our ornaments were still in storage in Texas. I decided to give myself a very tiny budget for new ornaments this year and that meant making my money stretch. I hit the dollar store and ended up creating some beautiful, natural ornaments for my new tree! Here is how you can make them too.

Purchase a bunch of berries. This was $1 at Dollar Tree. I actually chose a dark color and a light color of these to make my ornaments. Grab some ornament hangers and your wire cutters.

Spread out your berry bouquet. If your kitten didn't eat any of your foam berries you should have 6 individual bunches. Cut them above the part where they meet the wire.

My feline "helper."

Now, you have all of your bunches separated and ready to go.

Don't throw these away! Save these for tomorrow's tutorial! You won't regret it.

Next, take your ornament hook and thread it through the mini branches so that it hooks in securely. Squeeze it to secure it more.

Snip the tops off once you have the hooks in and you are done!

How beautiful are these simple, thrifty ornaments? I just love them. I made 18 for $3.

Don't forget to check back tomorrow to see what you can do with all of those extra leaves you have.

This tutorial was shared on these blogs: