Stick Pony Creations

Beauty or Blooming

2017-11-09T12:37:00.000-08:00

I was recently tagged in one of those social media crazes, this one asks you to post pictures of your life. "Seven days, seven black and white photos of your everyday life. No explanation, no people, challenge a friend each day." Sounds fun, I'll play along. Coming up with something to take a picture of is the easy part, not giving an explanation, well that's another thing. The first day I posted a picture of the campfire we enjoyed after taking care of some of your leaves. Today is the second day and I just can't post the picture without sharing the conversation that surrounded it.

Black & White Photo Day 2 of 7

There are two hibiscus trees trees in the foyer of our church. Each has its own window for sunlight, they are planted in matching pots and they receive the same care, however, they are starkly different in appearance.

The first tree is tall, round, full of lush green leaves and seldom flowers. The second tree is shorter, misshapen, sparse, has yellowed leaves and blooms often.

While chatting after Bible study today, Sue says, "Oh! I see that tree finally has a flower on it!" Pointing at the second tree she said, "That one over there doesn't look very pretty because it puts all of its energy into blossoming."

Connie reiterates, "I like how you put that, 'It doesn't look very pretty because it puts all of its energy into blossoming.'"

Let that one soak in for a minute.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12)

The first tree spends all of its energy making beautiful foliage. It puts on a beautiful facade but only seldom flowers. It makes me wonder where I put the bulk of my efforts, and where you put your efforts? Do we spend our time making life look 'just right', like the world says we should? Do we seek outward beauty? Do we try to drive this car, wear that size, own that big house, take those elaborate vacations, __________, ____________, ___________? ...only to produce an occasional 'flower' for Jesus?

The second tree spends all of its energy making blossoms. It doesn't worry about looking pretty, just creating those big beautiful flowers for others to enjoy (lots of them). And I again wonder how do I bring joy to others, how do I lift them up and encourage them? And, how do you? Are we actively engaging with people (Christians and Non-Christians)? Are working on inward beauty for our selves and others? Are we building them up and encouraging them? Do we embrace the joys of our unique spiritual gifts?

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22-24, ESV)

Let's get ugly in our worldly lives; let us not concern ourselves with what the world expects. Let's focus our efforts on what God is calling us to do. Let's not let the evil one steal, kill and destroy; Let's have life, and have it to the full.

Let's life lives in FULL BLOOM for Jesus.

**Inspirations taken from my friends at Cottonwood Church and The Armor of God Study by Priscilla Shirer**

Tiny Yellow Star

2016-06-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

This week our church is celebrating Vacation Bible School (VBS). Each night children from our congregation, from our community and from an inner city community that we partner with come to our church to learn the word of God, to enjoy each other's company, to be entertained, to have fun, and just plain have a good time. We do it for them; to see the smiles on their faces and the joy in their hearts. Last night, God had something in store for my heart too.

A little brown-eyed girl in a yellow shirt came up to me in the sanctuary just before the program started. Her eyes were big, filled with joy and sparkling. She had a smile on her face. And without saying a word she placed this carefully folded tiny yellow star in the palm of my hand. Our eyes met, we smiled at each other. I said "Thank you." Then she was gone in the crowd.

I tucked that tiny yellow star in my pocket. Each time I pull it out I think of her excitement and smile and it brings me joy. The tiny yellow star also brings me joy because of what it symbolizes.

Yellow is a color that stands for freshness, happiness, positivity, clarity, energy, optimism, enlightenment, remembrance, intellect, honor, loyalty and joy.

The star signifies goodness and truth. Stars are tiny luminaries that give off gleams of light in our dark atmosphere, just as Christ is the light that shines gleams of light into our darkness.

Thank you brown-eyed girl for this beautiful reminder of joy, goodness and light!

Why I Don't Ask my Toddler if She 'Has to go Potty'

2016-04-14T11:24:00.002-07:00

We've got the paper underwear, the real underwear, the flushable wipes, the potty treats , hand sanitizer and lots and lots of extra pants on hand and ready to roll. Yes, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about its potty training time in our house! This will be our third go at it, training our third and final child how to be a 'big girl'. There are a lot of successful approaches to potty training because different things work for different kids. Today I'm going to share with you some of my best training tips.

This is how potty training usually starts out at our house. "Today we're going to wear big girl underwear and go pee on the potty. Aren't these underwear cute? We don't want to get them wet, otherwise we'll have to change them." Several minutes later... "Do you have to go potty?"

"No." Three seconds later.... "Mom, my pants are wet!"

Don't laugh at me, I know it's happened to you too! Seriously friends, this could and will go on all day, maybe all week if you let it! She had no idea she had to go potty; how would she? See the thing about potty training is that the child needs trained; not only trained on how to go potty (sit, wipe, flush, wash) but trained to realize when they need to go. Up until this point in life (unless you've dealt with constipation, and I'm sorry if you have), your child has probably never once thought 'I need to go potty'. Here's my revised approach to teaching my children to recognize when they have to go potty:

"It's time to go potty now." (See how I put that idea in their head.)

"Do you want me to carry you to the bathroom or do you want to walk?" (Let them have a choice in the matter; either way they're headed to the bathroom.)

"Do you want me to help you with your pants or do you want to do it yourself?" (I try to offer the best choice as the last choice to activate the recency effect - responding with the most recently heard option.)

"Do you want me to set you on the potty or do you want to climb up there yourself?"

This is the dialogue that happens at our house. "It's time to go potty now" has gotten excellent results. And the subsequent questions/options empowers the child to make their own decision, not about if they want to do it but about how they want to do it. When our strong willed second child was training I would often ask him if he needed me to help him and he would quickly reply, "No, mine job!" (Music to a mother's ears.)

The first week or so of training we head to the bathroom every 20 minutes (seriously, set a timer). If there is no tinkling in the toilet we go back in 5-7 minutes. This training is intense and can be exhausting for little ones and parents alike. When we're first starting I usually choose to only train in the morning, afternoon toileting is at will. Do whatever frequency is right for you and your little one.

Treats are offered at the rate of 2 for the trainer, 1 for the encourager. And yes, I give treats just for trying! In my experience the treats are self eliminating. My mom makes the 'in-training' grand kids use bathroom before she gives them something to drink. It's really quite genius because I find that children often relieve themselves while they are drinking. In this case the drink is the reward.

I make my little ones wipe up their own wet spots; it teaches them responsibility for their own actions.

My potty training tactic is incremental. I start out training just in the morning, then work up to mornings and afternoons (paper underwear/pull-ups at nap time). You can usually tell when your little one is able to stay dry through nap time. Once they are able to stay dry through the day they will a lot of times start staying dry at night on their own. Some kids take longer than others to stay dry all night, just make sure they go to the bathroom right before bed.

In the words of Grandma Mary, "They all train eventually." Keep working at it, keep researching different methods and see how they align with your unique situation, and teach them that

"It's time to go potty now."

Caramel Pecan Brownie Bites

2015-12-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Caramel, pecans, brownies, chocolate; what could be more wonderful? These little bite sized beauties are sure to have your friends impressed before they take the first bite! They will be taken over when they find a pleasant caramel surprise in the middle! In case you haven't noticed, I love small portioned desserts and treats - that way you have enough room to try one of everything. With that said, I think you should try these!

You will need:
36ct Mini muffin pan(s)
1 - brownie mix and ingredients
1 cup Marzetti Caramel Dip
7oz. Hershey's Chocolate
1/2 cup Chopped pecans
36 pecan halves
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 Tbsp coconut oil

1.) Preheat the oven according to brownie box directions (my mix calls for 325*).
2.) Mix brownie batter according to package directions.

3.) Add 1/2 cup pecans (chopped) to the batter.
4.) Spray two mini muffin pans (36 total brownies) with non stick spary.

5.) Fill the muffin cups by putting the brownie mix in a quart sized bag or pastry bag. Cut off one corner of the bag, making it just big enough so the nuts can fit through.
6.) Bake the brownie bites for about 15-17 minutes, the tops will be a little crackled and they will give slightly when you tough them with your finger.
7.) Cool the brownies in the pan for 6 minutes.

8.) Indent each brownie bite with a melon baller while they are still in the pan.
9.) Remove from the pan. Use a knife to help you get the brownies out of the pan. I had to gently squeeze a few of mine back together with my fingers.
10.) Set on parchment paper and allow the brownies to cool completely.

11.) Pipe caramel into brownies. Using the plastic bag or pastry bag method evenly divide 3/4 to 1 cup of caramel among the brownies. The caramel filling will be about the size of a small gumball.
12.) Melt the chocolate. Again, in a plastic freezer bag break up the 7 oz bar of Hershey's chocolate and melt in the microwave about 20 seconds at a time. It's important to melt all of the chocolate, but do not over heat it. Squish the bag gently between 20 second microwave intervals.
13.) Seal the brownies with chocolate.

14.) Top with a pecan half. While the chocolate is still warm, gently press a pecan half onto the brownie.
15.) Melt the white chocolate. This time I had white chocolate chips, which tend to melt thick and lumpy so I combined a 1/2 cup chips with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to get the right consistency. You can use use chips designed for melting and you wouldn't need the oil. Melt in 20 second intervals, the same as the Hershey's.

16.) Drizzle with white chocolate. Snip a very small corner of the bag, so you get very fine lines and drizzle the brownies with chocolate. Here's the reason why you cooled the brownies on parchment; because you're about to make a mess.
17.) Cool and Enjoy!

There were a few left to take home from our Thanksgiving party; they may have melted a bit, but they were equally as yummy!

Printable Recipe

20 Tips for Putting Christmas Lights on your Tree

2015-12-05T11:13:00.002-08:00

We went out and chose our family Christmas tree tonight. The worst part about having a real tree is stringing the lights; watering it every day is a close second. Every year while I'm stringing the lights I think that I should share a few of my tips with my friends who also have real Christmas trees. So this year is the year! The best part is that it only took me about 30 minutes.

Warning to Parents: If for some reason you give into buying colored lights (when you really only like white lights), either in weak moment with your children or because you waited until AFTER Thanksgiving to purchase new Christmas lights and colored lights are all that's left (or both), they will come back to haunt you year, after blessed year. Just saying.

1. Choose the Perfect Tree. Pose in front of it with your family and ask the rustic tree lot owner to take your picture. Make it a tradition and if you're lucky everyone will be facing the camera. (Hint: there's no perfect tree, go for a cheap one that is mostly even and doesn't have too many dead spots.) We usually choose a Blue Spruce; aesthetically pleasing, smells nice, has sturdy branches and is pretty affordable.
2. Level the Tree. This is a two person job. Use a sturdy stand {like this one} and while one person holds the tree as upright and balanced as possible, have the other twist in the screws.

3. Put tree on Water Resistant Rug - Save your flooring because your tree is sure to be over watered once or twice and that little drip edge on the tree stand isn't going to give you much grace. Don't worry if it's ugly, you'll cover it later with a tree skirt.

4.Check the Lights. You should probably do this before you get the tree, or at least before the store closes. If you don't check the lights, you'll surely have troubles. If you're the fix-it type, you should try {one of these} handy little fix-it guns - they do amazing things to strings of lights!

5. Wear Gloves. Get out your favorite pair of haying gloves, those branches are pokey! If you don't happen to have haying gloves - consider a pair of nice soft leather gloves {women's} {men's}.
6. Wear Long Sleeves. Unless you want itchy-scratchy skin, wear a long sleeve shirt - choose an old one in case you find some sap.
7. Wait Until the Kids are in Bed. I started this when our first son was a toddler, I didn't want him getting the idea it was okay to touch the tree so I always watered and decorated it while he was sleeping. Now our kids are a little older and they get to help decorate, but I still find it easier to put the lights on while they are sleeping.
8. Play Christmas Music. Putting lights on the tree is the worst part of it all; put yourself in the mood with a little holiday cheer.
9. Spread the Lights Out. I like to spread the lights out in the living room so I can easily see how many I have left in order to better judge how close to put the lights. I used 450 total lights on this tree.

10. Start in the Back near the Bottom. Start in a less conspicuous area to get your rhythm. Work in sections around the bottom 2/3 of the tree.

11. Wrap the Branches in a Squiggly Pattern. Please, please don't wrap those lights around and around the tree!!! That's a dizzying mess! Form a squiggly serpentine type pattern. I like to wrap the bottom 2/3 of the tree first and to the top 1/3 of the tree last. If you do a random pattern you'll get better random, more even light distribution.
12. Keep even Depth. I usually wrap the lights about 4-5 inches in from the end of the branch.
13. Hide the Plugs. When you come to a plug in the lights, just hide it near the trunk of the tree. I like to trim off the tags to make them less visible.
14. Decorate the Whole Tree. You should put lights all the way around your tree, even if it's in a corner.
15. Tuck the Plug in the Back. When you get to the end of your lights and the tree is completely lit, you should be at the top of the tree; tuck the plug end in near the trunk in the back of the tree so you know where to find it back later. This little tip will also come in handy if you have a light up tree topper - no need to run an extra cord!

16. Write the Bulb Count on the Strand. In the unfortunate (and likely) event that you have to replace a strand of lights, it would be nice to know how many bulbs are on the strand without having to count them all. I recommend writing the bulb count number on the plug of every new strand of lights with a Sharpie.
17. Hang the Glass Balls Evenly. I intend to let my little ones lavish this tree with all of our family ornaments, but I still want a little control of where the glass balls get placed so I'm putting them on at the same time as the lights. This is a win-win for me; the balls are evenly placed and I won't have preschoolers handling my glass ornaments. This year I used about 30 red glass balls.

18. Secure your Glass Balls to the Hanger. If these ornaments fall from the tree they usually shatter. I've seen on or two that bounce once, then shatter, but the almost always break. Bend the metal ornament hanger around the ornament so that if the tree gets bumped, they don't all fall and break.
19. Water It. While stringing lights on the tree is not always my favorite task, at least once it's done, it's done. Watering the tree, is a whole different story. I suggest setting an alarm on your cell phone to help you remember.
20. Removing the Lights. A couple things here: take all the ornaments off, haul the tree (lights and all) OUTSIDE! This will help keep most of the needle mess outside. Find the end of the strand that is near the TOP of the tree (in the back). Start by taking the last lights to go on the tree off first and work your way down.

There you have it - an evenly lit tree! With glass balls perfectly spaced. Now you just need to wait for the children to wake up extra early the next morning (because they always do on Saturday). Have them pile as many ornaments on the bottom 1/3 of your perfect little tree as possible, mainly in the front. Two or three ornaments on each branch is best!

Christmas Blessings Everyone!

Frosty Morning

2015-11-30T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a beautiful fall morning; cold and frosty, complimented perfectly with a beautifully warm sunrise. My 4 year old and I went to "steal some eggs from the chickens" at the farm and I captured this beauty. Not too many words today, just pictures...

Have a Blessed Day!

Fall Camo Party on the CHEAP!

2015-11-18T11:13:00.000-08:00

Whether your planning a party for opening day of deer season, a fall bachelor party, a man's birthday party, a camo wedding or any other fun fall festivity, I've got some great ideas for you! And the best part is - they're CHEAP!!

November 15 - Opening day - Deer Day - its a red neck, country boy holiday in Northern Michigan. It's the kind of holiday that requires much preparation - preparing hunting blinds, studying deer habits and sighting in guns.

Our hunters headed out a couple hours before sunrise. I was lucky enough to stay in the warm house and watch the sunrise while I enjoyed my morning coffee. It was magnificent. I stepped out side to snap this picture and while I was out there I heard four gun shots near by.

This year we had 18 hunters. They harvested 3 does. This nice doe was taken by one of our youngest hunters, Caden.

Each year my mom puts on a fabulous feast for all of the hunters who come out to the farm, and this year was no exception. Since opening day fell on the weekend we had a big turn out; around 45 people for lunch. Much to our pleasure my brother and sister-in-law welcomed us to feast and fellowship in their new garage. {print the sign here}

Now, if you know my mother you probably already know that not only will there be plenty of good food, the table will also look fabulous. (Yes, she's the type who folds the napkin and sets all the silverware in it's place, even when it's just her and my dad.) And, she's also very resourceful!

All of this decorating started out with a left over roll of black table paper {like this}, some burlap table runners from Christmas {we bought it by the yard at WalMart and cut it into strips, or you can pick it up through Amazon} and a roll of camouflage gift wrap {check the dollar store for something similar}!

Add in some washed and dried oak leaves and some pine cones from the woods and you're off to a good start! The plates and napkins are from the fall collection at WalMart.

We reserve a table (or three) just for the hunters. They love to sit together and eat and share their 'big buck' stories.

The hunters start coming in from the woods around 11. This year was unusually warm, near 60 degrees.

Hot coffee and hot chocolate greet the hunters.

Look a little closer at the details: a deer themed 'canvas', a fall mason jar, a metal tin filled with hot chocolate and spray painted oil rubbed bronze to match the decor, an antique tool box for the cream an sugar and camo gift wrap and burlap on the table.

A few more beverages on this table - but take a closer look at the 'canvas'. I thought these were real canvases until I picked one up. My mom took old lingerie sized gift boxes, painted them black, put a little rolled up bag of sand inside (to weight them down) and printed out pictures with verses and glued them to the front. So many people were fooled by these 'fake canvases'. Talk about a cheap decoration!

Did you notice the mason jars in the pictures yet? I love mason jars - they are so versatile, easy to store and the perfect size for a centerpiece. These are quart sized jars that are filled with acorns and pine cones. The acorns were collected and dried by my nieces and sister in law, the pine cones by my mother. My mom also went around trudging through ditches and fields to gather a wide variety of... get this... dead weeds. Really. Ferns, milk weeds, fuzzy flowers, dried berry looking branches and twigs - the more variety and textures the better.

Like I said before, the beauty is in the details; the mouth of the jar is wrapped in jute {find it here on Amazon} and adorned with spent rifle shells.

What is a party without a few games? This one is the good old 'Candy Count' game. Guess the number of 'Hunter ORANGE' M&M's. Have guests guess just the orange candies so you only have to count some of them, not all of them. You can buy fall colored M&M's but if you're working on a budget, buy the regular candies and pick out all of the blue ones! This jar is from the Dollar General store, it's wrapped in jute and has a coordinating deer/camo label on the top. Here's the printable label and candy guessing sheet.

What can a deer rub tell you about rack size? Just ask Field and Stream, then print out the info and mount it over camo gift wrap on black foam core board.

All set.

Enjoy the feast! Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, beans, corn, broccoli and cheese, candy apple salad, layered lettuce salad, fresh rolls and veggies and dip.

It's a family tradition. This set of deer antlers serves both as a decoration and as a reminder of our family heritage. This handsome rack was claimed by my Great Uncle Dorr in 1936!

Spike horns and broken sets are good for scattering about.

Here's another one of my mom's sweet inventions! These darling chocolate acorns are made from old fashioned fondant (not the marshmallow kind), dipped in chocolate and topped with a salted caramel melting candy that's been scored to look like an acorn. There's even a little dot of chocolate on the cap to look like the stem. And, if you're wondering, yes, they did taste as good as they looked.

Deer droppings (chocolate covered raisins).

"Take come cookies and fill your coffee cup. Enjoy them while you wait for your big buck to show up." Check out the box for the baggies - it's wrapped in camouflage paper!

My favorite hunter - maybe you'll see one next time!

After the hunters head back out to the woods, the rest of the gang enjoys playing games and doing crafts. This is my 94 year old grandma playing bingo.

And my 2 year old daughter 'playing' as well.

Amanda, Jacob and Jack studying a two dollar bill and looking it up on wheresgeorge.com

Olivia getting her craft on.

Lauren and Avery working on canvases. Here's the tutorial. I picked up a 10 pack of 8x10 canvases at Michael's on sale for $12.99. You can also get flat panel canvases shipped to your house very affordably. We removed the decorations from the table except the plastic table cover as it offers great protection from the paint.

A special thanks goes out to my family - my dad and mom and my brothers and their families for always welcoming us home to the farm; you are all such a blessing.

In case you didn't catch it earlier, here's the link to the printable PDF file with all of the signs we made along with some blanks so you can write in your own:

PRINTABLE CAMO SIGNS

Terrible Two's : We Meet Again

2015-10-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

When your first child is born, things are so simple, so sweet, so idealistic. And aren't we lucky that they break us in easy with sleepless nights, diaper changes and round the clock feedings - if babies were born with the same abilities as toddlers there would be a lot less people having children. When you set a baby down to go answer the phone or use the bathroom, you come back and they are right were you left them. When you set a toddler down to do the same, you come back to shoes in the sink, yogurt smeared all over the table and in the hair, and a half dressed child standing in the middle of the kitchen table. Now I'm no pro at it but, this will be my third go-round with the "Terrible Twos" and you'd think I'd have a better handle on things by now, but quite honestly, I don't. It is what it is.

Today marks the second birthday of our third child. Our precious little baby who was so content, so happy and so easy going is now a two year old who constantly makes messes, is quick to shake her finger, give orders and and cries easily when she doesn't get her way. I can see there are a lot of reasons why the term "Terrible Twos" came to be but I'm here to tell you, to beg you, to see the rest of the picture! There is so, so much going on and changing at this age that if you're so wrapped up in seeing the terrible in it, that you'll miss all the TERRIFFIC TWOs moments.

2 Year Olds are Notorious for:
Tantrums
Crying
Frustration
Hitting
Throwing
More Tantrums
Mess Making
Climbing
And More!

Lets start with the Tantrums; the most famous of all the two year old mis-behaviors. Why did the toddler throw a tantrum? Because she didn't get her way (insert: her toy, her favorite shoes, her friend's toy, gum at the cash register) or because she felt she was treated unfairly. Do adults throw tantrums? Yes, from time to time, especially if they don't get their way (insert: if someone cuts them off on the road, cuts in line at the deli counter, their favorite team looses) or because they feel as though they have been mistreated.

Crying. Sometimes it's warranted; sometimes it's not, most of the time it's to get attention. There are some children that can cry so loud you think you're ears will bleed; they're really good at getting attention; everyone's attention. Some kiddos get a gentle bump on the head and follow it with fake crying just to get a mother's soothing kiss, all for some sweet and simple attention. As adults do that too, don't we? We seek attention. Abrasive social media posts, selfies, shiny cars, new gadgets, expensive gifts, the list goes on.

Have you been Frustrated lately? With a co-worker, a car that won't run well, a cable company that over charges and under performs, an order that was messed up, a hair cut gone wrong? Frustrating, isn't it. Well, 2 year olds get frustrated too; because they can't get their shoes on them selves, or because they can't reach the cup off the counter, or because the page in the book keeps flipping backwards on them. Recently, from the back seat of the car I heard our almost two year old shouting with disgust, while trying to velcro her shoes, "Come on, Sunday shoes!" The struggle is real.

Hitting and Throwing come from frustration. I think it is a fairly natural behavior in small children, but one that needs to be extinguished. Alleviate the frustration when possible and punish the hitting or throwing behavior when necessary.

Our littlest one is the master of Mess Making. I was cutting out foam Minnie Mouse heads the other day to make into decorations for HER birthday and she was standing right next to me ripping their ears off! How can they be right in front of you and yet so sneaky! I can't tell you how many times she has painted the table, her hair, her clothes, her face or the floor with yogurt. She loves to mess make; I'm hoping this love for sensory exploration works it's way into creativity and craftiness as she gets older.

Our second child was exceptional at Climbing. There were at least 2 consecutive months where I kept all of the dining room chairs in our bedroom during the day so at least I knew he couldn't get on top of the table. This kid could climb the slide when he was 9 months old. Today he as excellent gross motor skills and incredible balance. The only trick here is to try to keep them safe while they explore.

Toddlers have an awesome arsenal of tools at their disposal and only with age and training do they refine them into useful adult qualities. My point here is that all of these "terrible twos" qualities are really things that develop into real life skills; they are teachable moments. Take the time to impress on your child what behaviors are appropriate when, offer reinforcement and punishment, lead by example, explore and have fun. They're only little for a little while.

And don't forget to soak up the little things. The little things like when she wraps her doll in a blanket and bounces and shushes her. The little things like when he first uses the toilet standing up. The little things like when she says "Thank you, Mama." The little things like when he got his shoes on all by himself, even if they are on backwards. The little things like when your eyes meet and they say "I love you." It's the little things that make life grand (even the 2 year old little things).

So does the big question still remain; are the two's really terrible? I guess that's just a matter of perspective.

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet Girl!

We're looking forward to a terrific year!

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6

10 Things I've Learned in Ten Years of Marriage

2015-08-06T04:36:00.002-07:00

Ten years ago today we walked down the church aisle and in front of our family and friends and before God we promised to love, honor and cherish each other for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part. It was the best day of our lives (having babies is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but they don't throw you a party for that quite like we had on our wedding day). We had stars in our eyes.

Photo Credit: Amanda Currie, Picture This Photography

We had a very traditional wedding with white candles and fresh flowers and many handmade items. We (my mom and I) made the ceremony programs, the place cards, the aisle runner, we got fresh hydrangeas from my grandma's garden, we even made our own guest favors. I'll be honest here, I felt that wedding favors were kind of a waste of money, but I also felt obligated to give something. We decided to give each guest a velum envelope, decorated and wrapped in ribbon, with wild flower seeds inside. It said, "Love Grows". It was maybe a little cheesy, but sufficient.

Photo Credit: Amanda Currie, Picture This Photography

Over the course of ten years a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same. We've laughed and cried, we've worried and prayed, we've fallen and gotten up and we have learned so much! I'd like to share with you 10 (or so) of the things I've learned in our ten years of marriage:

1.) Leave & Cleave

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:24

With Mike's current job and our new home being 100 miles away from both our families, it made leaving our parents and cleaving to each other a lesson we learned through necessity, but I'm so glad we did. The dynamic of both relationship changed. The primary relationship in both our lives was no longer with our parents but with each other; a bond that grows stronger every day. Looking back its wonderful to think about how our relationships with our parents changed from parent-child relationships to respectful adult relationships.

2.) Love & Respect
As wedding gifts we received a few books on love and marriage, Love and Respect by Emerson Eggeriches being one of them. {link: Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs} The title really says it all; the key to a good marriage is for the wife to feel loved and for the husband to feel respected. Here are a few ideas of how you could show love and give respect.

Respect your Husband By:

TELLING HIM. "I really respect you for _______." It can seriously be that simple. BUILD HIM UP; tell him what you like about him or how good he is at his job. Build him up to others and very importantly build him up to your children.
If you have a single family income (and even if you don't) show him respect by being responsible with the income he earns for your family.
Stand behind his authority with the kids.

Love your Wife By:

TELLING HER. Say it often. Make it a routine and make it random.
Hug her, kiss her, hold her hand, put your arm around her.
Stand up for her - don't trash talk her in front of the guys.
Speak her Love Language (see lesson #3).

3.) Speak Their Love Language
~ Words of Affirmation ~ Acts of Service ~ Receiving Gifts ~ Quality Time ~ Physical Touch ~
Do you know your loved one's "Love Language"? I thought I did; it turns out I didn't!

Several years ago I read the book {link: The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate } and took the test at the end, then I 'tested' my hubby. (I very much recommend 'testing' each other.) I was surprised to find out his love language and more surprised to find out that he already knew mine.

My love language is quality time (I thought his was too). All this time we had spent together doing stuff, going places, hanging out I thought was for US, but as it turns out he was doing it mostly for ME, letting me tag along for my sake; because he knew how much I loved it, to make me feel loved (see lesson #2). Then it was time for me to kick it into gear and speak his love language.

Learning to speak someone's love language has application to all relationships, more than just marriage.

4.) Choose Your Battles
Yes, its true; not everything is worth fighting over. Every morning my husband pulls out a kitchen chair, sits down and ties his shoes before he goes to work. And every morning he gets up, grabs his lunch and heads off to work without pushing that chair back in. We have a ~~very small~~ cozy house and a chair in the middle of the kitchen is in the way (to say the least). I could let him know, I could remind him and nag him (and yes I've tried), but at the ~~end~~ beginning of the day I can push that kitchen chair back in myself and smile because he went to work - so we could have kitchen chairs. :)

5.) Be Kind
Why is it that we are the hardest on the ones we are the closest to? Why do we carelessly speak our minds to our spouses, say hurtful things that we would never say to a friend or stranger? Probably because we know they'll still love us anyway, but that DOES NOT make it okay. Once you say it you can't take it back. Show your spouse the love and respect they deserve and choose your words (and your tone) wisely.

Don't forget that often times it's not what you say but how you say it.

6.) Don't Keep Score
Back in our first year or two of marriage we had a debate going about something (so significant I can't remember what). At the end of it Mike was proven to be right. Then in a joking manor he wrote it on the calendar, "MIKE WAS RIGHT". It was probably funny to him for the first 30 seconds, then we both realized that now he had it entirely wrong. Bummer. From that point we decided that we wouldn't keep score. We wouldn't keep score of who was right or wrong, or who had the most recent 'big' purchase, or who had changed the most diapers or anything else.

We still have disagreements and debates but no one's keeping track. Keeping score and comparing only leads to discontentment.

7.) Keep it Intimate
Intimacy is something that evolves and grows and becomes more complex and more wonderful over time. It is so much more than private moments in the bedroom, it's sharing your hopes and dreams, your concerns and ideas, your joys and sorrows with each other. Intimacy feels like two hearts beating as one; two lives so intertwined you can't tell one from the other; two people so in tune with one another that they can convey thoughts and feelings without speaking. Strive for intimacy.

8.) Make Time For Each Other
A wise mentoring neighbor recently pointed out to us that so many people put so much time and energy into their children and their children's activities that they don't have much left to invest in their marriage. By the time their children are grown and leave for collage/jobs/marriage they are left living with someone they barely know. (I don't want that to be us!)

You ~~could~~ don't have to plan an extravagant weekend away or fancy night on the town. Make time for each other right where you are, right now. Spend time weeding the garden together, take a bike ride together, prepare a meal together, enjoy an Amaretto Sour together or watch a movie together. We find it easier to spend time together after the kids are in bed. In the summer time it's not uncommon for Mike to go start a campfire while I'm putting the last kid in bed.

9.) It's The Little Things
It's the...
...inside jokes.
...wink from across the room.
...sound of children laughing.
...whisper in your ear.
...long ride home with sleeping kids.
...last bite of chocolate cake.
...fresh made coffee.
...first kicks of your unborn child.
...surprise bouquet of flowers.
...lunch in the field.
...rocking your newborn baby.
...yesterdays.
...tomorrows.

It's the... little things. It's the little things that make life grand. Choose to find joy in the every day happenings of life.

10.) There's an Answer Book
Very few times in your life will you randomly open the Bible to the exact spot you didn't know you were looking for (when you do it will send chills down your spine). But, if you search, read, pray and study your Bible, you'll find that all the answers are in there. Use it for your manual on how to live life; how to grow a marriage, how to bring up a child, how to handle money, how to love the unloveable and how to find hope and healing.

11.) (bonus lesson) It's Worth It

"Therefor, what God has joined together, let man not separate." Mark 10:9

Marriage is not always an easy thing, and our marriage certainly isn't perfect. You have to choose unity; you have to fight for it, for each other. "I'm not telling you it's going to be EASY, I'm telling you it's going to be WORTH IT." Judy Garland

So here we are ten years and three kids later realizing how much our love has grown. (Maybe it wasn't so cheesy after all) Beginning like tiny a wild flower seed that was blowing in the breeze, then landed in the dirt, put down roots, and started to grow. It starts as a tiny fragile plant that needs sunshine and rain and develops into a hearty stalk that eventually turns into a beautiful blossom and ultimately bears seed. Love really does grow.

Thank you to so many couples in our life; our parents and relatives, our friends and church family; you have taught us so much about what it means to grow a marriage.

How is your marriage growing? What have you learned? PLEASE leave a comment telling how long you've been married and what lesson you've learned through it.

My love for you will surpass the count of time.

Blackberry Pear Cashew Salad

2015-04-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

I created this salad a bout a week ago with some ingredients that I hand on hand. Blackberries and Dole Asian Blend chopped salad were on sale for a dollar and I had some cashews and home made poppy seed dressing on hand from having guests the weekend prior. Ever since, I can't stop thinking about it. Its so simple, yet so good. It is a wonderful combination of crunchy and tender and salty and sweet. Doesn't it look tempting?

The recipe, which is for one salad, only calls for about a 1/4 pear (you can use more if you like), but my little ones fought over who got to finish off the rest of this one.

The recipe is for just one lunch salad, but you could easily use more of the ingredients and make a larger salad to feed a crowd.

Salad Ingredients: (makes 1 lunch salad)

1 cup Romaine lettuce, chopped

1/2 cup Dole Asian Blend Chopped Salad

1/4 fresh pear, chopped

8 large blackberries

1/4 cup cashews

1/8 cup poppy seed dressing

Layer the ingredients in the order listed and serve with poppy seed dressing.

Poppy Seed Dressing:

1 cup oil, your choice

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup vinegar

1 tsp poppy seed

1 tsp grated onion

1 tsp mustard

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar completely. You can warm it up a little in the microwave to speed up the process. Add the remaining ingredients and enjoy. The dressing will usually fit into a pint sized jar. Store it in the refrigerator and shake well before serving.

Click here for the PRINTABLE VERSION of this recipe.

FREE Glow Stick Valentine Printable

2015-02-10T18:21:00.001-08:00

This year is my son's first time having a school Valentine party and we're a little excited! He is signing and cutting apart his glow stick Valentine cards as I type! We love celebrating Valentine's Day, in fact, most years we've had a party at home for the kids who are preschool aged.

Here's our first Valentine's Day in 2009 - Madelyn and Jacob.

Emily, Madelyn, Jacob, Matt, Joe and Ben in 2011.

Madelyn, Caleb, Jacob, Henry, Joe, Emily, Matt, Sam and Ben in 2013!

Do you see the trend here; more and more kids to love! <3

Anyway, back to Jacob's Valentines for his class. In lieu of candy, we decided to give glow sticks! A fun toy for any age or gender that won't rot out your teeth and you can simply throw them away when you're done. We picked up a few packages of bracelet glow sticks at Dollar Tree earlier this week, they were 5 for $1. As it turns out, Glow Sticks on Amazon are actually cheaper, depending on how many you need.

Here's what you'll need to make glow stick valentines:

1.) This FREE Valentine Printable

2.) White card stock paper

3.) Glow sticks

4.) Washi tape

5.) Pen or marker

6.) Scissors

Load Your Printer - put the card stock paper in your printer and print the number of copes of the Valentine as you'll need - remember there are four per page.

Sign Your Name - have your little one sign their name inside the red heart. They are easier to do before you cut the valentines apart. (I decided to add the word 'from' to my freebie, so they are tiny bit different from the ones my kids actually made.)

Cut Apart - the printable has a very faint gray line between the cards to show you where to cut. You could use a paper cutter to make nice straight lines, but I let my little one do the cutting himself.

Tape on Glow Sticks - use a short piece of washi tape to attach the glow sticks at each end. We like to tear it between our fingers, but you can put it on a tape dispenser as well.

Share the Light - put them somewhere for safe keeping until your little one is ready to share them with their friends!

FREE Printable - In case you missed it, here's the link to the FREE Glow Stick Valentine printable again ;)

Do you have any special Valentine traditions, like our kids party? Leave a comment let us know!

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Peanut Butter Oreo Shooters

2014-12-06T09:48:00.001-08:00

Yeah, you heard me right. Peanut Butter Oreo Shooters, YUM! My mom and I fashioned this recipe over Thanksgiving and it was a big hit at both parties I took it to. It all started with an ordinary bag of Holiday Reese's Peanut Butter Cups {like these}, a casual discussion of easy-to-make desserts and soon we had the idea for the perfect sweet treat - miniature sized, because after a big dinner you don't really need a whole lot of dessert. (Or in my case the idea that if I only have a little bit, I can try one of everything!)

The Oreo's: Take some Oreo's (Double Stuff are my favorite), put them in a quart sized freezer bags {like these} and crush them with a rolling pin. The frosting between the Oreo's will make some for sticky sweet goodness. I used about 1/3 of the package - one row of cookies (probably 10).

The Cups: We used 20 - 2oz. square shooter cups {here they are}for our creation. Use a teaspoon to put the crushed Oreo's into the shooter cups. Try to divide them up as evenly as possible.

The Filling: Beat 4 oz. soft cream cheese with a hand mixer until it's smooth (that's my trick to make sure you don't have any lumps in your filling). Add 1 cup of powdered sugar slowly and mix in completely. Add 1/2 cup Smooth Jif Peanut Butter and fold in 8 oz. Cool Whip.

Filling the Cups: Place the peanut butter filling mixture in a quart sized freezer bag, snip the corner off and pipe the filling into each of the mini dessert cups evenly.

The Topping: Again, fill a quart sized bag with 8 oz of whipped cream, snip the corner off and top each of the desserts. Avoid using spray whipped cream as it will deflate rather quickly and you'll end up with a soupy creamy mess on top of your fancy little desserts. Chop up about 12 of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (as mention above) with a knife and sprinkle the candy over the whipped cream.

Enjoy! Store these treats in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them. Teeny tiny spoons {so cute} are very fun and super cute too!

Ingredients:

10 Oreo cookies

16 oz. whipped cream, divided

4 oz. cream cheese, soft

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

12 Reese's peanut butter cups, mini

20 - 2 oz. dessert cups

Directions:

Crush Oreo's and a quart sized freezer bag with a rolling pin. Evenly divide Oreo crumbs between 20 dessert cups. For the filling beat 4 oz. soft cream cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add 1 cup of powdered sugar slowly and mix in completely. Add 1/2 cup Smooth Jif Peanut Butter and fold in 8 oz. Cool Whip. Place the peanut butter filling mixture in a quart sized freezer bag, snip the corner off and pipe the filling into each of the mini dessert cups evenly. Fill a quart sized bag with 8 oz of whipped cream, snip the corner off and top each of the desserts. Chop the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and sprinkle the candy over the whipped cream.

Here's the PRINTABLE version.

Amazon.com Widgets

Wild Wild West Party - Our Cowgirl's 1st Birthday!

2014-10-29T13:58:00.003-07:00

We had so much fun celebrating Carley's first birthday! A Wild Wild West cowgirl birthday party seemed like the perfect theme and my mom and I had a lot of fun creating decorations, food and games for the party. Go big or go home, right?

I love sending paper invitations through the mail; everyone gets a cute picture of your kiddo and hopefully they won't loose the information.

Put on your hats, grab your badge and get ready to party! The hats are from Amazon - they came in bright red and blue, my mom had the genius idea to paint them in party colors. She used Acrylic Paint to make the trim and star brown, turquoise and pink. We ended up with two different sized hats the 6 pack Straw Cowboy Hat was toddler sized and 12 pack Straw Cowboy Hats ended up being child sized. (The child sized hats had a little wider brim.) Once the kids chose their hats we wrote their name on the inside with a permanent marker because its inevitable that someone will leave theirs behind.

Check out these before and after pics of the hats:

Each kid got a Metal Sheriff's Badge to wear for the day and take home with them.

We went very simple with the table decorations. I got brown table paper at Party City and we re-used burlap table runners that we made last Christmas. My mom cleaned up some old horse shoes, painted them white, then teal and pink and finally gave them a light coat of stain to distress the a little. We used plastic horses from the toy room as 'center pieces'.

My mom told me over the phone that she picked up some cardboard while at the recycling center that she hoped to make into a western town. I had envisioned something much smaller but I have to say the town turned out awesome! A big thanks to my niece Emily who helped tape together and paint these giant buildings.

I'd like to say that we emptied out my mom's house and barn to decorate for the party, but the truth is she has beautiful western decor every where you look and probably the only thing you would even notice as missing is the giant wooden wagon wheel that is usually propped up in the front of the house. Having the party at my parent's beautiful country western home really came in handy for me. ;)

We played several western themed games at the party and we got this great idea over at Leonie's Cakes and Parties. The bottom cans are large tomato cans and the top three rows are/were green beans! My mom took images of pink, brown and turquoise bandannas and and put western themed clip art in the centers. She even got these cool Big Tex Holster Set guns to go with the theme!

Sloppy joes on homemade buns by Aunt Pam, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, veggies, chips, pickle spears, cowpies (no bake oatmeal cookies) and hay bales (Rice Krispie treats). It was nice to do a lunch party - we tried to do a combination of purchased and homemade.

I made Rice Krispie treats into hay bales thanks to the idea from catchmyparty.com. I piped warm chocolate onto the bars to look like strings - they turned out cute and they tasted really good too!

Before we played games we got all of the kids together for a picture (the willing ones anyway). Don't they look great in their hats and badges?

My mom went and dug some old barn wood out of the corn crib - who knows how long it has been in there but it looked fabulous for some western signs! She started with the Wild Wild West sign and went on to make a few more!

We played rope the calf using hula hoops that were wrapped in jute to rope a Steer Head roping dummy that was stuffed into a hay bale. We got the idea from Apartment Therapy. This game proved to be very difficult for our age group.

Again, my mom made the bottle ring toss game! She took empty Sparkling Grape Juice bottles, painted them the same as the horse shoes and added a horseshoe and star design to the front. She took a cardboard box and cut holes in it to fit the bottles so they wouldn't tip over. My mom also took these Swimming Pool Diving Rings and covered them with jute. What a fun game! We got the idea from CatchMyParty.

Daddy and the birthday girl - enough said. ;)

My SIL Aaryn let us borrow their kiddy pool and make it into a sand box. We mixed in lots of coins and let the kids pan for gold. I made sifters by taking mini foil pie pans and punching holes in the bottom with a scrapbook punch and a hammer. I think they would have worked really well in dry sand, but since it was raining our sand was wet and heavy and the pans just folded over. The kids (and even some adults) had fun searching for 'gold' regardless.

Jack found a nice bag of loot! We ordered 5x7 Cotton Muslin Bags from Amazon, painted a dollar sign on them with acrylic paint and wrote each kid's name on the bag. We tried to write names on most things in order to save on confusion and lost or forgotten items.

WANTED: Mieke and Eliot for a cash reward! Check out this cool hand painted sign my mom made to match the invitations, she used two layers of cardboard and acrylic paint.

A quick pic of the birthday cowgirl with mom and dad!

I'm not going to lie on this one; the super yummy cake was from Costco! Enough cake to feed 40 people, with 2lbs of cream cheese filling and custom colored frosting all for $18.99 how can you beat that?

The Hot Pink Paisley Bandanas were also ordered from Amazon they were nice and big; we tied them together and attached them to the table paper with rolls of duck tape (and by some miracle they stayed!).

Happy Trails Mix was our take home party favor for the adults. I mixed a combination of peanuts, cashews, almonds, M&M's, and candy corn. I also made one bag nut-free for one of my nieces who has a nut allergy. We found this idea through Pinterest, however, it's just a picture on Flickr so, unfortunately, I don't know the original source.

Carley got lots of wonderful gifts including a baby doll, a walking/talking horse, cute clothes, jammies, a hat, a purse, money and more! Thank you everyone who gave our little one a gift.

She did really well opening her own gifts!

Yee Haw! We all had fun!

A very special thank you to Grandma Mary who did so much work making Carley's first birthday extra special! We love you!

Kale Chips

2014-07-23T14:06:00.004-07:00

This year on a whim I decided to grow some kale in our garden. It's done awesome and it really is a beautiful plant; I can see why some people use it for decoration. Not only is it beautiful, it's healthy too! I have to admit that only recently have I started eating kale. I can remember when kale was simply used for salad bar and plate decoration in restaurants. One of my friends used to wait tables and we all laughed when she told us about a customer she had who asked for more kale; the poor lady was eating the garnish! Well, today I choose to eat the garnish too! ;)

About a year ago my mom's family put together a cookbook and my cousin Anna submitted the recipe for Kale Chips (its on page 55). Anna says, "Kale chips are delicious with just oil and salt, but I sometimes add other seasonings to spice t up. And kale, while so flavorful, is a super-food; it is packed with carotenoids and flavonoids that fight against cancer, is an anti-inflammatory, promotes cardiovascular health, strengthens bones, boosts immunity, and lowers blood pressure." So with all those good things going on in one little plant I thought I'd give the recipe a try!

Take a bunch of kale leaves from the garden (or the produce section at the grocery store) wash them up and let them dry completely. If they're not all the way dry they won't get as crispy and delicious. Cut the vein out of the kale and chop it into bite sized pieces.

Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray and place the kale leaves on the sheet evenly. Spray the top of the kale with an even coat of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350* for 12 minutes. The kale will be dark green, the edges lightly brown and crunchy. Allow to cool and enjoy.

I was very impressed by how crunchy the kale chips turned out! They are also light and just melt in your mouth. Kale chips are definitely worth a try - I also like them with seasoning salt.

**Leave a Comment**

Have you tried kale chips yet? What is your favorite seasoning?

Kale Chips

1 bunch fresh kale leaves, washed and dried

spray olive oil

coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with olive oil spray. Cut or tear kale into bite-sized pieces. Lay kale in a single layer on baking sheet. Coat evenly with olive oil spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12 minutes or until dark green and crunchy.

**PRINTABLE VERSION HERE**

Water Fight - Our Neighborhood Summer Party

2014-07-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

So I have to tell you a little bit about our crazy fun neighborhood! We live on a pretty quiet street with lots of kids and the best part is that several of the houses, including ours, have deep back yards. With the exception of our garden, the back of everyone's yard is open without any fences or trees. We've got some great neighbors and once a summer we all get together to have some fun.

Here are a few highlights from the 3rd Annual Connie Street Water Fight:

This year we had over 1,500 water balloons! That is 4 large coolers, 2 five gallon buckets, 2 wagons and a kiddie pool full!

In this neighborhood, the adults play right along with the kids!

But it's okay to sit and watch too, we have a water-free zone.

Once the majority of the water balloons are gone we get out the water squirters! They're just $1 at Dollar Tree - they squirt tons of water a long ways and are quick and easy to refill. IMO they are the best 'squirt guns' you can buy.

Don't make the mistake of saying that you barely got wet!

Drenched.

Buckets of water work too!

I think they worked up an appetite.

We had an awesome time with our neighbors! Try a water balloon fight for your next summer bash; a cheap and easy summer time party! Can't wait until next year :D

Do you party with your neighbors? Leave a comment telling what you do for summer time fun!

Zucchini Fritters

2014-07-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again where the zucchinis are plentiful and almost the size of a baby! If you're lucky you may find one on your door step, in your mailbox or on the front seat of your car (it wasn't me, I swear)! If your're a gardener you know that you can check those little buggers one day when they're barely 3 inches long, the next they're big enough for diapers!

So, whether you grew them yourself or got blessed with a couple, you'll be happy to know that the big ones are good for more than just bread! Here's our favorite zucchini recipe!

Wash up the zucchini with a little water, you'll want to leave the skin on. Grate up 4 cups of zucchini in a large mixing bowl. Wash up a medium sized potato and grate that in too, skins and all. You should get about 1 cup of grated potato. Add 1 tablespoon of salt, mix together and let set for several minutes.

While you've got your grater out, grate up 1 tablespoon of onion and set aside to use later. For this recipe the grated onion is far more suitable because of its delicate texture. You just want to flavor the zucchini without the chance of biting into an onion chunk.

Now that the zucchini, potato salt mixture has sat for a bit you can see that the salt has made the zucchini and potato release a lot of the water. Transfer the mixture to a thick layer of paper towels or kitchen towel (a lint-free one) to wring the water out. Use your hands to squeeze as much of the water out as you can before you transfer it.

Roll up the towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. I like to use a real kitchen towel because paper towels tend to rip and tear and they don't seem to get as much of the water out.

Here's what it looks like before you wring it in a towel:

And after you wring it in a towel:

Put the zucchini back in the bowl, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to help the fritters brown up nice and add a couple eggs. Mix it up good and you're ready to fry it in a pan.

Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil (or use a coat of spray if you have a nice non-stick pan) on medium high heat or about 375* Drop the fritters into the hot oil with a fork and smooth them out to an even thickness.

Brown them on both sides (sprinkle with a little S&P after you turn them once) and enjoy! I love them with a little sour cream :)

Last night we had zucchini fritters with ham, eggs, toast and grapes. My husband said the only thing he'd do different would be to MAKE MORE fritters! Mind you this batch makes about a dozen 2.5 inch fritters and he and I share them between us!

Zucchini Fritters by Stick Pony Creations

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded potato
1 Tbsp. grated onion
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
sour cream (optional)

Directions: Grate zucchini and potato into a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and mix well. Let set for several minutes. Wring out as much water as you can using paper towel or a dish towel. Mix in cornstarch, onion and eggs. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet to medium high heat, about 375*. Drop fritter mix by forkful into the oil and smooth out to an even thickness. Brown on both sides, season with salt and pepper. Garnish with sour cream.

**Here's a Printable Copy**

Wild Kratts Creature Power Suits

2014-07-01T12:29:00.002-07:00

Have you seen the Wild Kratts show on PBS yet? It's great for kids, lots of science and imagination and I don't even mind watching it with the kids from time to time. If you haven't heard of it yet, check it out on PBSkids.org/wildkratts where you can watch episodes, play games and create printables.

We made a bunch of creature power discs a few months ago. I printed two of everything on my computer and Jacob and I cut them all out, then laminated them and cut them out again! It was a lot of work but totally worth it. They have been well loved since then. I even had one go through the wash last week and it came out fine.

Since we made the discs my oldest has been asking for a Creature Power Suit, which I promised to make him. But when you're a busy mom sometimes those things get put to the back burner. The boys have been using Painter's Tape on the back of the discs and they were working fine, so it was easy to put off UNTIL my kids got word that their friend's mom was making them creature power suits!! So why not? Now's the time, they went together surprisingly well and I think they turned out super cute.

Jacob really wanted to help make the suits but when there is sewing involved the only thing that a kid can really do is push the pins back into the pin cushion and roll up the extra thread; he was a good sport about it though.

I decided to make the Creature Power Suits so that they slip over the kid's heads. One, so they could put them on themselves and two, because felt and Velcro are best friends and worst enemies (if you know what I mean). I used my oldest son's tank top to make a pattern on wrapping paper. Then I tweaked it a little and cut it out on felt. I straight stitched around the edges of the felt pieces to make sure they stay put.

I made a couple blue and green felt bars to sew on each of the shoulders. I used a large coffee mug to trace out the paw print on the front and a Powerade cap for the paw prints. Again, trying to stay away from the Velcro, I cut out a clear plastic circle and sewed most of the way around it to create a clear slot for the creature power disc its self. The plastic was from a plastic zipper bag like the ones you get sheets, pillow cases or other bedding in.

Here's a close up of the Creature Power Disc inside the disc holder:

As you can tell from the pictures I made one green and one blue for Martin and Chris, the two characters. However, you will see in the picture below that my boys are BOTH wearing Martin's blue Creature Power Suit! That's right, I made the perfect little green Creature Power Suit for my little man and he was less than impressed. Apparently blue (the color of a New Holland Tractor) is the best (today!). Good thing I had a few extra materials ;)

Lemon Shark power and Pigeon Power!

Let your imagination soar!

PRINTABLE CREATURE POWER DISCS

Eat Your Broccoli!

2014-04-15T12:37:00.005-07:00

I may have been a little over eager to eat healthy last week when I bought this massive 3lb. bag of broccoli at Costco. Don't get me wrong, it's delicious and oh, so good for you but 3 pounds of broccoli between the two of us is a whole lot of healthy!

It all started when we got this beautiful hand made invitation in the mail for my good friend Meg's wedding. Since it's Spring (I swear the grass is still green under the snow!) and Easter is on it's way and we have a wedding to go to it goes with out say that I need a little something new to wear. Well, no one that I know likes to go shopping for new clothes when they don't feel like they look their best. So with that said, I made the goal to loose 6 pounds before the wedding (which was about 20 days time).

Back to the broccoli! Time to eat broccoli and shed a few pounds. Ya know, broccoli is kind of boring when it's not covered in cheese sauce or ranch dip! So here's a little salad that I whipped up with the things I had around my house so we can all enjoy it a little more.

Broccoli & Bow tie Salad
3 oz. Bow tie pasta
3 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup poppy seed dressing

Cook pasta according to directions on package, drain and cool. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. This salad is best if used within 24 hours or you can make it ahead and add the cashews and cranberries just before serving.

Variations:
1.) Use pecans or sunflower seeds instead of the cashews
2.) Use golden raisins instead of dried cranberries
3.) Prepare a homemade poppy seed dressing
4.) Add 1/4 cup chopped red onion
5.) Add 1/2 cup chopped apple

Click here for a PRINTABLE VERSION of this recipe.

This recipe is quick and easy because it uses bottled dressing. Lets face it, not every one has time to make everything from scratch all of the time. ;)

I hope you enjoy it - I can't wait for dinner!

Don't miss my next great idea! Sign up for my email list in the right column and keep up on the latest at Stick Pony Creations!

Making Easter Memories

2014-04-11T13:50:00.002-07:00

Each year I've made a tradition to take a picture of the Spring's first flowers. Usually, in Michigan, we get Crocuses firs. This year they showed their beautiful faces on March 31.

I love spring; the sunshine, the flowers, the birds chirping, the horses shedding their coats, the mud puddles, the warm air, the new life. I love the new life around us and I love to celebrate the new life we have in Christ with my family. I love teaching my children about our salvation through the Easter story. With a little help from Pinterest we've found some awesome activities to do with our children each spring.

1. Resurrection Eggs
Last year my friend introduced to Resurrection Eggs, she found out about them through her MOPS group. What a beautiful idea to change the use of plastic Easter eggs to be less about candy and more about His glory. Life Your Way has it all laid out for you; a materials list and FREE printable! Each night at dinner we open one egg and discuss the Easter story. Each egg contains a small snip it of the Easter story and a small tangible item that represents it. We also encourage the kids to recall the previous eggs that we've opened. The little items in the eggs help offer memory prompts. Last year our 3 1/2 year old could tell you the entire Easter story!

2. Resurrection Garden
This is our second year planting a resurrection garden. We usually plant it 2-3 weeks before Easter. If you use annual rye grass you can have nice tall green grass in a week! It's good to discuss the tomb, the boulder and the three crosses as a family as you make the garden. You could even 'play' with the garden by placing some linen or gauze in the tomb on Good Friday and sealing it with a boulder and on Easter (while the kids are still sleeping) remove the linen and roll the rock away. The Encouraging Home has a full tutorial available.

This year Grandma B. was here to help Jacob make his resurrection garden.

Another idea would be to plant a resurrection garden and give it to an elderly person in your church, either as a thoughtful gift or as a thank you.

3. He is Risen Cards
We made these super cute and very easy cards to send to all of our grandmas for Easter. Our kids are lucky enough to have 2 grandmas and 2 great grandmas so we made four of them! The cards are simply cut and paste paper scraps. Cut out a sunshine, a few long strips to make into crosses, a brown 'hill' with a hole in it, a gray rock and some grass strips that have slits in them for texture. We made our boulder so it was attached only on one side. When you fold open the boulder the front of the card says He Is Risen!

4. He is Risen! Wall Sign

These beautiful wall signs are a compilation of two different ideas I found through Pinterest. The sign layout inspiration comes from Signs by Andrea and the chippy paint technique comes from I Should Be Mopping The Floor. I painted several layers of paint on these boards - black, turquoise, white - sanded them down a bit, added the font, stained and sealed them. I think they turned out awesome! If you like them too you can purchase one through my Etsy account, but hurry; I only made a few!

5. Canvas Painting

My 4 year old sun painted this canvas about a week ago. He asked if he could paint a canvas (I think he got the idea from watching Curious George) so I came up with this technique for him. The first day we took brown and black paints and painted the entire Canvas Panel . We let it dry over night then we masked off the bottom with blue Painters Tape . To make the jagged rock base we simply tore the tape and put it on the canvas vertically - so we didn't have any straight lines. Then he cut some tape in half the long way and we tore into pieces to make the crosses. He painted the top half of the canvas with colors that he thought looked like the sky. The top took two coats because of the dark base so I let him speed up the drying process with the hair dryer set on low. After the second coat of 'sky' paint dried we removed the tape and here's what he was left with! This was a super simple craft and since it's on a canvas I've got it hanging on the wall for the entire month of April.

6. Colored Deviled Eggs

Your family, young and old, will love these beautifully colored deviled eggs. They'll feel like they're really eating Easter eggs! The eggs are easy to make and totally worth the time. Really - you could color the boiled egg whites with your kids rather than the shells that have to be removed later. The recipe is from FOODjimoto.com.

Photo Credit FOODjimoto.com

7. Stained Glass

We made stained glass crosses that were inspired by Mrs. Karen's Preschool Ideas stained glass Easter eggs. This was a fun craft that we successfully did with 2 and 3 year olds. There is a little preparation required before you do the project but it is sure worth it. Hang your Easter cross or egg in the window for everyone to see; inside and out.

What ever it is for your family; crafts with kids, fabulous food, home decorations, time spent reading the word, praying or fasting I hope you find a way to make Easter special this year and every year.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

1 Peter 1:3-5

Chicken Noodle Soup from Scratch

2014-03-08T12:53:00.002-08:00

My grandma always made the best chicken noodle soup when I was a kid - she was the only one who actually made it. And when I say she made it, I mean she made it all from scratch, nothing from a can, no bagged noodles. When I was in college I asked her for the recipe and she said that there wasn't one (she didn't make much of anything from an actual recipe), but she said she would show me and I could write it down if wanted to. So that is exactly what I did one Saturday morning I went to her house armed with a pen and paper, she already had the chicken boiling and HER apron was on the counter waiting for ME. The rest is left to memories. Each time I make this simple, yet delicious soup for my family it brings back so many fond memories of my grandma; I love telling my children about her.

Here's What You'll Need:
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 sm. onion, chopped
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 chicken thighs
1 T. celery seeds
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Easy Step By Step Instructions:

This much I know is true; almost every good soup starts out with a handful of good vegetables. This soup is no different; a couple carrots, a little celery and some onion. I like to use the hearts and leaves of celery in my soup. I find that while its not the best for snacking on, it packs a great amount of flavor that is excellent in soup.

Chop up your carrots, celery and onion. My husband got me this snazzy food processor for Christmas this year so I'm putting it to good use, but by all means you can chop this stuff by hand; I always have before! I sliced everything in the food processor this time; I even quartered the onion and sliced that too. Put your veggies, celery seeds and bay leaf in a stock pot with some homemade chicken broth and the chicken thighs. (Any time I boil chicken I cool the broth, skim the fat and freeze the broth in a zip top bag.) You may used canned broth in this recipe, but it won't taste like grandmas! Boil the chicken until it is fully cooked, let it cool then de-bone it and set it aside.

Place the dough blade in the food processor, add two eggs, 1/4 cups flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pulse the food processor until everything is nicely incorporated then add one tablespoon of milk while the blade is running.

The mixture will be crumbly but can easily be pressed into a ball. It should not be sticky; if it is sticky add enough flour to make it more firm. If you don't have a food processor, simply mix all of the ingredients in a bowl with a fork (that's how my grandma always did it).

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or more.

Once the dough has rested it's time to roll it out. Keep your surface and your dough well floured so nothing sticks (that's the worst!). Roll the dough very thin rectangle shape with a rolling pin, about 1/8 inch thick.

Once the dough is rolled out thin, flour it very well on the top side, so that in the next step the dough doesn't stick together.

Roll the dough up cinnamon roll style.

Cut the rolled dough into spirals that are about 1/4 inch wide. I like to use a filet knife because the blade is so thin and its very sharp. Gently glide your knife blade through the dough; don't press the knife down too hard or your layers of dough will be all squished together and you'll end up with hard blobs instead of tender noodles.

Unroll the spirals of dough. I like to unroll mine as I work, or better yet, let one of your little helpers do it!

Once the noodles are unrolled, slice them into manageable pieces about 1.5 - 2 inches long. Truth be told I like to leave mine long, but it makes them a little hard for the kids to eat.

Bring your chicken broth and veggies to a rolling boil and add all of the noodles, letting any extra/loose flour fall away. The noodles take about 15 minutes to fully cook.

The noodles should plump up nicely.

Add the chicken meat back into the soup and heat it through. Remove the bay leaf.

Enjoy a large bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup with your family. This pot of soup should offer 4 hearty servings.

And to answer your question, yes the soup is better the second day but who can wait that long?

The Consolidated Version:

Noodles: Combine eggs, salt, milk, and flour with a fork, using

enough flour to make a ball of dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap

and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll the dough out very thin with a

rolling pin, about 1⁄8 inch thick. Flour the dough well and roll it into a spiral and slice

into ¼ inch sections. Unroll the noodles and let set until ready to use.

Soup: Boil chicken, celery, carrots and onion seasoned with celery seed,

bay leaf and salt to taste. When the chicken is done remove it from

broth, debone and chop into pieces. Stir in noodles, cook until tender about 15 minutes.

Add chicken to soup, remove bay leaf and serve.

The Printable Version

How To Create a Custom Car Seat Liner

2014-02-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a project I've been meaning to get at for a while now but a couple weeks ago I was REALLY prompted to get it done. We were visiting and staying with my parents for the weekend. Early Sunday morning my little one was sitting in her car seat (she does that often) when she dirtied her diaper (she does that often too). It went right through her jammies and onto the car seat cover. No problem, we had just enough time to wash and dry it before we had to leave for church. I tossed it in the wash and 30 minutes later I went back to put the car seat cover in the dryer. When I got to the laundry room the lid on the washer was still open, the washer was full of water and soap and a dirty car seat cover. I forgot to shut the lid! Darn! So I shut the lid and only had enough time to wash it ( but not dry it) before we left for church. My poor adorable infant had to ride to a and visit a church all the while strapped into a car seat with NO cover :( I felt like mom of the year that day and I prayed that she would sleep through the service so I wouldn't have to take a chance at someone seeing my short coming.
So, first thing when we got home from the weekend away I got some material to make this highly functional and totally adorable car seat liner. I thought I'd share my efforts with you too!

Materials
2/3 yard cotton material
2/3 yard batting (80% cotton 20% poly) I like to use Hobbs Heirloom
2/3 yard PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) material
1/3 yard 1/4 inch elastic (you can buy Braided Elastic pretty cheap on Amazon)
coordinating cotton thread

Make the Pattern
1. Gift Wrap - Get out your ugliest, oldest gift wrap and make your pattern out of it. The front design doesn't matter because you'll be using the white back to draw your pattern. I'm using some wedding themed gift wrap that I've had around forever. If you don't have any old gift wrap you can also use tissue paper but it's a little more delicate and less forgiving. My grandmother used to use newspaper but I wouldn't recommend that. Not only is it easy to loose your marks because of all of the writing (on both sides of it), but the black ink can rub off onto your project.

2. Make it Fit - Carefully fit the gift wrap into the car seat cover (either on or off the base). I started with the cover on the base and eventually took it off to lay and stretched it flat.

3. The Back Rest - Start with the back rest area and work your way down. Carefully fold the paper on the seams that go down the sides of the seat, being sure to leave a little extra at the top of the pattern.

4. Gently Trim - Once you have the seams folded into your paper, take it off and find the center point of your project the best you can. Fold the pattern down the center and trim the back rest area of the pattern.

5. The Seat - Fold the gift wrap horizontally at the bottom of the back rest (my car seat cover has a seam here). Do your best to match your wrapping paper to the seat; around the edges and at the bottom. Lightly mark the edges with a pen. Mark the edge of the seat flaps for an elastic loop that will help secure your liner to your car seat.

6. Make it the Same - Fold the pattern in half. Draw a straight line across the bottom of the pattern (parallel to the horizontal line between the back and seat). With the pattern still folded in half round just inside the edges that are marked. I trimmed the pattern while it was folded in half. Put the pattern in the car seat, see how it fits and trim (or add) accordingly. *Another great reason to use wrapping paper is that if you cut too much off you can just tape a little more on!

7. Mark the Belts - Start with the belts that are attached right at hip level. Cut horizontally about an inch and down about 2 inches on each side. Next, mark the receiver buckle that goes between the legs. Fold the pattern up where the belt lies and marked it with your pen. (Make sure to mark both positions because you're little person is sure to grow.) Finally, mark the shoulder belts. Again, fold the pattern then mark them with your pen on the white side of the gift wrap.

8. Get it straight - Now that your pattern is marked for the belts, fold it in half again and make sure that they are even. Straighten your lines with a ruler; make sure they are an even distance apart and that they stop the same distance from the center line.

9. Pattern Finishing Touches - Fit the pattern back into the car seat and make sure you like how it looks. I ended up trimming a little off the side flaps of the seat bottom.

10. Round it Off - Fold the top down to the height you want it fall. Take the pattern out, round off the top and trim it while it is folded vertically. Use the edge of a plate for the arc.

11. The Pattern - And there you have it; you're very own, very wrinkled, but very FREE car seat liner pattern!

Make a Car Seat Liner

1. Layer the Fabric - Layer your fabrics in this order: cotton batting on the bottom, printed fabric face up, then PUL face down.

2. Place the Pattern - Remember, the pattern fits the seat therefor you need to add a seam allowance; I added just under a 1/4 inch.

3. Pin the Pattern - Anywhere you put a pin through the PUL, IT WILL LEAK! Be careful where you place your pins. Put them very close to the edge of the pattern where you will be stitching or on the areas marked for the seat belts that will eventually be cut.

4. Cut it Out - Cut the pattern carefully, remembering to ADD a seam allowance around the entire outside.

5. Mark the Belts - Use a pen or fabric marker to mark the seat belt slits on the PUL, but DO NOT CUT them yet. (You don't need to mark the belt that goes between the legs at this point even though I did)

6. Remove the Pattern - Place the pins in the fabric very close to the edge or in the areas marked for the seat belt.

7. Mark Your Stitches - If you're not super careful you can end up sewing in the wrong spot, so I suggest marking your stitches on the PUL with an ink pen with a contrasting color, like I did in blue. Feel free to mark the whole pattern. You don't need to mark the belts that go between the legs (like I did) because they won't be sewn until after the fabric is turned right side out.

7. Elastic - Put elastic loops on each side of the seat area in between the printed fabric and the PUL, with the loop inside the material as shown above.

8. Sew it Together - Sew on the blue lines - around each of the seat belt areas (except the crotch area). Don't forget to leave an area at the bottom that is open so you can turn the project right side out. DO NOT SEW around the center belt in the seat area or you will not be able to turn your fabric right side out.

9. Confession - I actually sewed a lot closer to the seat belt lines than I marked, because you don't want gaping holes, just enough room for that skinny belt to fit through. You should probably sew them twice so that it will hold better when you turn the material right side out. The contrasting sewing lines did really help keep me on track which was nice.

10. Right Side Out - Turn the fabric right side out. Very gently push all of the corners out with a blunt object, I used an ink pen with the 'ink' retracted.

11. Cool Iron - Using a warm iron (I set mine on synthetic) quickly press the edges down. Be careful that the fabric doesn't get too hot because the PUL can MELT! Yikes!

12. Top Stitch - Top stitch the car seat cover with a straight stitch. Fold the fabric inside the hole that was left at the bottom and stitch over top of that too.

13. Mark the Belt - Take your pattern and cut slits in it where you marked for the seat belt that goes between the legs. Mark the fabric with a washable fabric marker through the slits you just cut in the pattern. ( In the picture below you can see that I used a black ink pen so you can see the lines better; it may or may not wash off.)

14. Satin Stitch - Using a satin stitch (zig zag stitch close together), stitch around, but not on the lines you marked.

15. Clip it - With your scissors, cut a slit in the fabric along the lines you marked. Be sure that you DO NOT cut through your satin stitching.

There you have it! Your very own custom car seat liner that will keep your kid's seat clean and your personal integrity intact ;)

I think it fits pretty well and the fabric is super cute (and a little more girly).

My little one seems to like it too!

Boredom Buster: Alphabet Hide and Seek

2014-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

We're having another snow day here in West Michigan. The temperature is in the single digits and the snow is waist high. So how do you keep your kids from making you crazy all day? You make up new games to play with them!

Meet my good friend (and neighbor) Tiffany. She is a wonderful mother to four energetic boys who are ages 6 and under, bless her heart. She is always finding new ways to keep their minds and bodies busy. Today she came up with this great game: Alphabet Hide and Seek!

"Snow day letter scavenger hunt! Bonus is they have magnets so they stick to vents, etc! We will make the most of today! Lol"

Gather up your ABC refrigerator magnets (as many as you can find), put them in order on a large sheet of paper (a 12" x 12" sheet of scrapbook paper works well) and have your child trace each of the letters on the paper in order. Next, take turns hiding the letters in specific rooms of the house and see who can find the most!

Tiffany says, " I am thinking I am going to paint an old cookie sheet and trace the letters on there. Then the magnets will hold the letters in place!"

If you don't have a set of Magnetic Letters & Numbers yet you can get them on Amazon for around $10.

Here are some variations for the game:
*Use a stop watch and make it a timed event
*Make the child find the letters in alphabetical order
*Hide the letters for the kids with an object that starts with the same letter (i.e. hide the letter d on the door)
*Have the kids hide the letters with an object that starts with the letter

Leave a comment telling us what other variations have you tried for this game?

Our Baby Girl's Baptism

2014-01-26T15:33:00.002-08:00

Much of our family drove over a hundred miles in the cold and blowing snow this morning to join in celebrating our daughter Carley's baptism. We had several friends come show their love and support too!

I enjoyed planning the party 'almost' as much as I enjoyed celebrating with our friends and family. I hope you'll find some inspiration for your next celebration here.

I sent out formal invitations to all of our family and friends. What I like to do is find a design online that I like and make my own version. The invitation that I found had a picture of a baby with a coral drape and a headband with a coral colored flower; I decided to go with purple. When I took the photograph I left extra space on the left side of the photo for the text.

Once I have my design made I save it on a flash drive and take it to my local printer. I had them print my images front and back onto metallic card stock. The metallic gives it a nice shimmer so it looks similar to a matte photograph. The advantage to having the invitations printed at the copy sore is that I can have them printed front and back for a reasonable price $.62 per side (two invites per sheet) and I can get exactly the number I want printed; you don't have to print in multiples of 25. Oh, and you have your prints the same day; in minutes really.

Carley wore the same dress that I was baptized in 31 years ago. It is a delicate ivory colored garment that is beautifully adorned with lace. My mom had custom made when I was a baby. It has a matching bonnet too.

Our family and friends joined us for a celebration after church. We had lunch and lots of pretty desserts. I decided to run with the purple theme this time and I had a lot of fun using food for decoration. Here area few of the details:

Oreo pops were a new adventure for me! Through Pinterest I found this blog that shows you just how to make them. They were super easy; just unscrew the tops, scrape off a little frosting, 'glue' in the stick with some chocolate then dip and decorate. I made the stand from several pieces of wet foam bricks (found in the floral section at the craft store). I actually left the foam in the plastic packaging and wrapped it with 3 layers of tissue paper (all at once) and a little ribbon. The plastic wrap and tissue paper were light weight enough that you could poke the sucker sticks right through. I made the Oreo pops five days ahead and kept the in a plastic zip-loc bag.

Chocolate covered marshmallows are super sweet and pretty cute. I attached the marshmallows to a bamboo skewer, dipped them in melted chocolate, let the excess drip off and sprinkle lightly with nonpareils. Let them sit in a tall glass while they set up and make sure that they don't touch together. I stored mine in a a gallon sized plastic zipper bag in the refrigerator. At the party I displayed the marshmallows in a tall vase that I purchased at the dollar store.

My mom was kind enough to bring chocolate covered strawberries for the party. I told her that I was going to make several purple desserts and she showed up with purple strawberries!

I made chocolate covered popcorn. I popped a cup of popcorn and melted white chocolate with violet chocolate and mixed it all together with a little salt. I let the popcorn cool on cookies sheets and stored it in an airtight container.

No child's party is complete without rice krispie treats! I pressed a few purple sprinkles into the top of mine and served the on a purple plate (from the dollar store).

We had miniature cupcakes with homemade butter cream frosting. I decorated them with tiny purple frosting flowers with white sprinkle centers. These were my favorite!

We had mini pudding cups. I found mini shooter cups at the dollar store and couldn't resist. I made these the night before the party. The bottom is chocolate pudding, the center is white chocolate pudding that I colored purple and the top is whipped cream with sprinkles. I was worried that the purple color would seep into the whipped cream over night but they turned out fine. By the time we were eating them, the sprinkles had started to melt a little but for the most part they were fine. The best method I've found for filling these tiny desserts is to put the pudding in a plastic bag, snip the corner off and pipe it into the cup.

I made a banner for the front of the table out of different pieces of scrapbook paper that I had on hand. I printed out the letters with circles around them and then cut each one out with a zig-zag scissors. I glued each of the pennant pieces to a piece of white ribbon.

Each of the dinner tables had a violet table cover and a thin, white table runner. I used mason jars and purple daisies for center pieces. Cute, cheap and easy.

Carley enjoyed her party and would smile and smile any time someone came to take to her. I can't wait until she can talk back!

Grandpa's Dresser Makeover

2013-09-11T12:38:00.002-07:00

This lovely five drawer dresser was recently given to me by my mother. It was left in my grandparent's house, which they now own. I was super excited to get it because I currently have two little boys sharing a dresser and we have baby number 3 on the way. There certainly is not enough room to put a third child's clothes in there too! Now the question is, who gets the new dresser? I'm thinking the baby does!

I couldn't help but think this dresser could use a little make over, besides, all of the other furniture in the bedroom is black. My first notion was to head on over to Pinterest.com and check out what other crafty people have done with old dressers to make them awesome. And I found some really great ideas. I really wanted to paint the dresser a bright color and finish it with Minwax Black Finishing Wax. The only problem is, we don't know the gender of our baby and baby will be sharing the room with an older brother. It's hard to decorate a room when you don't know if it will be for two boys or for a boy and girl (for a while). Ultimately I decided on a solid black dresser with a little extra color inside the drawers; I think you'll like it!

The Paint

I read a few blog posts on how to prime the dresser and most of them suggested using Zinsser Primer because there is literally no preparation; just paint and go. My better judgement decided to take a trip down to the local Repcolite Paint store and see what they had to say. (I didn't want to go through all of the work of painting this dresser only to have it chip and peel.) I told them what I was painting and they suggested X-I-M Primer for my surface. The primer was white but they were able to tint it to a medium gray color for me because my top coat would be black. The X-I-M primer was right around $20 a quart, which I thought was quite a bit, so I held off on buying my top coat.

After I painted the primer on the dresser (it only took one coat) I headed to good 'ole Wal-Mart to pick up a few more painting supplies. They had the Zinsser Primer on the shelf for around $10 per quart. Next time I think I'll give it a try.

I found a quart of Black Krylon ColorMaster Enamel on the shelf at Wal-Mart for around $10. I thought the word 'enamel' sounded exactly like what I was looking for, and the best part is that it washes up with soap and water.

Of course I was at a third store when I picked out the color for the inside of the drawers. At Lowe's I picked out the Valspar color "Rapids" #5004-10A and had it mixed in a quart of Olympic interior satin paint, because that was one of the cheapest brands available.

Here are a few of my dresser makeover painting tips:

1.) Sand it First - even if the primer says you don't need to sand it, for best results you really should. I used a 220-Grit Fine Sandpaper and sanded it by hand. The 220 is just enough to give the primer something to stick to without damaging the surface of your furniture.

2.) Use Tack Cloth - a cheap piece of Tack Cloth will lift off any dust left by the sand paper and prepare your project for primer.

3.) Use a Primer - primer is what helps your paint stick to the surface of the furniture and helps keep it from peeling and chipping later. Next time I'm going to try Zinsser. Usually one coat is all it takes.

4.) Go Disposable - I chose to use inexpensive and disposable products for this project in particular because I was painting black. It just seemed like it could be a huge mess trying to wash all of that up in my kitchen sink. I wore disposable gloves, and used inexpensive paint tray liners, foam brushes and disposable rollers. And I hate to say it but I threw it all away after each coat of paint.

5.) Use a Roller - Make life easy and get a great finish by using a paint roller.

6.) Cut Rollers in Half - I used a roller with a 1/4" nap for this project to achieve a smooth finish. I like to buy the regular sized ones and cut them in half with a serrated knife to make them fit my 'mini' roller. Just make sure you wipe off any of the 'fuzz' before painting.

7.) Thin Coats - Save yourself a lot of headache and get a great finish by painting thin coats of paint and allowing each coat to thoroughly dry in between. You'll also avoid those pesky paint runs if you go easy on the paint. This project only took two coats of black paint.

8.) Plastic Bags - I hate washing out my paint brushes because they never seem to dry in time to use them again, making my paint watery. Also, its so hard to get all of the paint out and if you don't you end up with little rubber paint crumbs in your next paint project. My solution is to use a plastic bag. If I'm using a paint brush I just slide it down into a zipper bag, mush the paint around a little bit to cover it all and then zip it shut. If I'm using a roller, I grab an old plastic grocery bag, put it in all of the way and roll the bag around the roller. No washing, and you can reuse your same brush or roller the next day. The paint seems to stay usable for up to a week or so.

The Knobs

I had originally decided to pitch the 1970's drawer pulls that were on the dresser and go for something brighter and more modern. I was thinking a brushed nickel cup drawer pull like THIS, until I got to shopping around. The drawer pulls on my dresser were 4 1/4" on center; did you know they make virtually no furniture hardware in that size today? Good Grief! So onto plan B; spray paint.

They actually painted up really nice! I even had a can of $.99 glossy black spray paint on hand. The glossy drawer pulls are a nice, but subtle contrast to the satin paint on the dresser. I would have loved to paint these knobs hot pink or teal blue but, again not knowing baby's gender, it's kind of hard to do. I guess I can always take them off and paint them again later! ;)

The Drawers

And now onto my favorite part of the project! A surprise splash of color on my seemingly all black dresser. I decided to paint the inside of the drawers a beautiful seafoam/teal/aqua color (I never know how to describe it) called "Rapids". I figure the color is pretty gender neutral and it's one of my favorites. The best part of the drawers is, I found this awesome Gray Chevron Self Adhesive Shelf Liner to line the drawers with! The best price I could find on this stuff was on Amazon.com for $11.99 and since I currently have a free trial of Prime I got it shipped for free :D

I painted the inside of the drawer fronts black and the sides teal. I was careful to cut the paint in and not paint on the drawer bottoms. Later I found out that I should have done a little over painting because it's super hard to make the contact paper go all of the way to the edges on every side. Lesson learned.

The Finished Product

Here it is! I'm totally thrilled with how this dresser makeover turned out and can't wait to start using it! I guess I better get to washing baby clothes; only 5 more weeks!

Photo Storage - Repurposed Pizza Box

2012-11-18T20:02:00.002-08:00

Where do you keep your extra photo enlargements and other large keepsakes? Well, if you're like me they're probably still in the original packaging downstairs in a drawer somewhere. I've always wanted to get one of those clear plastic storage containers for them but they run $8-10. Which seems a little steep for just a plastic box. So I've always procrastinated. Until now...

A couple weeks ago we went out for pizza and brought our left overs home in a nice clean 12 inch white pizza box. And I got to thinking! 12 inches square - that's the same size as a sheet of scrapbook paper! So why not repurpose my FREE pizza box into a scrap paper photo storage box?

There were a few small grease spots in the bottom of the box so I decided to cover the inside bottom of the box with parchment paper to form a barrier. Try to get your hands on a box that doesn't have any grease on it if you can. I'd be willing to bet that there are some pizza places out there that would just plain sell you a pizza box for cheap. Let me know if you find any! Anyway cut the parchment paper to 12"x12". I like to use my rotary cutter for large pieces - I have a seperate blade that I use to cut non-fabric items.

I glued the parchment in the bottom of the box with decoupage but later in the project determined to that using Elmer's school glue is a better option because it sticks better and leaves less bubbles.

Next pick out a couple of complimenting sheets of scrapbook paper to line the inside of the box and decorate the outside box with. I cut out the letters PHOTO from the Target Christmas Toy Catalog.

Use Elmers glue to attach the 12"x12" of scrap book paper to the top. I drizzled some on the box and then brushed it smooth with a foam brush. Rub the paper down to attach it well. I also used a piece of paper that my 3 year old painted as an accent and glued the magazine letters on it with Elmers. Drizzle more school glue over the top of the scrapbook paper and brush it smooth with the foam brush. This will glue all of the layers together firmly. **I tried decoupage for this but found that it was too thin and watery and left the paper barely attached and bubbly.

Glue a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper on the inside of the box. Again, use white school glue that is brushed out evenly with a foam brush. When the paper is firmly attached, do a coat of glue over top of the paper.

Let your project dry while you go dig out all of your photo enlargements and pre-made scrapbook pages. Set them inside and smile because you finally have a storage box for those family memories and it hardly cost you a thing!

Now, who wants pizza? ;)