The Things Mom Needs

From Grandma's Recipe Box: Kringla

2016-01-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

Kringla has always been a family favorite around here, and nobody made better kringla than grandma. That's why the first recipe from Grandma's recipe box that I'm sharing is kringla. I'd recommend eating your kringla warm with a little butter on top. Mmmm...I might have to make some. Although, when I pulled out the kringla recipe, the kumla recipe was on the same card. We might just need to have an entire Norwegian cuisine night soon!

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Keep Your House Clean in 2016!! (with printables)

2016-01-06T04:00:00.000-06:00

Of course, we need a plan to keep our house clean in 2016! I've developed this simple plan to keep your house clean and organized, including the deep cleaning, all year long! This printable set includes daily chores, such as dishes and laundry. It includes weekly chores, such as cleaning bedrooms, bathrooms, and vacuuming. But, what I'm most excited about is the yearly deep cleaning!

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Why do we need to lump all of our deep cleaning in the spring.? Let's spread it out over the year, rather than doing all of that work at once! In the once per year category, there is a different theme per month with four tasks to accomplish. The schedule asks for you to complete one of the four tasks on Saturdays. Well, now, what if there are five Saturdays, you ask. Well, I guess you'll just get a day off then. I won't complain!

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You can download your printable cleaning schedule by clicking the link here or just head on over to my download tab located at the top of this page.

Happy Cleaning! That's all for now!

Magnetic Chore Chart Craft

2016-01-05T04:00:00.000-06:00

Ok, now I know that I'm not the only one that has trouble getting their kids to do chores every day. Seriously, I can't be the only one! In an effort to get some happy participation in helping around the house, I made these amazing magnets. When placed properly on the refrigerator or any magnetic surface, for that matter, they magically become a chore chart for the whole family!

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When I started brainstorming ideas to avoid the nightly chore arguments, I tried to see it through their eyes. Why don't they want to help the family? Well, I decided that they are not aware of the things that we, as parents, are doing for the family, and they aren't given any options concerning which chores they do every day. On Monday, you clean bathrooms! That's not quite fair. I know that if I decided that I don't feel like cleaning the bathroom today, I probably won't! Ha! I'll probably use that time to do something elsewhere.

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I'm really not a very crafty person, but I can fake it fairly well when I have to, and this was a pretty easy project. All you need are self sticking magnet strips and paper printed with the names of all family members, all days of the week that you do chores, and all of the chores available. I also made some thumbs up magnets just to show if each person was keeping up on their chores or not. Cut out your words (or pictures) and adhere them to the magnets. Cut the magnets to size, and viola! You've got your pile of magnets to arrange on your metal surface. Easy Peasy!

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That's all for now! Enjoy!

A Printable Cookbook with My Swiss Green Bean Casserole Recipe Included!!

2016-01-03T04:00:00.000-06:00

I've been missing in action for a few weeks due to the insanity of the holidays, but don't worry, because I've still been working on some projects for you all! The first one that I'm going to unveil is A PRINTABLE COOKBOOK!! Check it out!! It comes with 14 recipe category divider pages. I would recommend putting the dividers in a protective cover with tabs. There is also a cover page, recipe pages, and a bonus kitchen conversion chart and meat cooking temp page. These will all print on 8.5x11 paper. Your cover page will go inside the cover of a binder, and I would recommend protecting each recipe page with sheet protectors. I also plan on using the bonus kitchen conversion and meat temperature page inside the back cover of my binder. Click the pictures below for special discounts on each of these supplies!!

Download your copy now!

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I'm pretty sure that I got this recipe from my husband's step mother, because the first time I tasted it, I thought it was the best green bean casserole that I had ever tasted! It is so packed full of flavor! Traditional green bean casserole is just "blah" compared to the flavors in this Swiss green bean casserole. Try it for yourself!

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That's all for now! Enjoy!

5 Homeade Christmas Presents That Can Be Made by Kids

2015-12-08T23:32:00.000-06:00

This might turn into a Disaster, but....The kids and I are going to make some homemade Christmas presents this year. The kids love crafting, even though their mama is not incredibly fond of it. I've found some pretty simple ideas on Pinterest, and they're not cheesy.
I would enjoy receiving any one of these gifts. I might make some extra for myself. Since I like some instant gratification, I'll give you my favorite one first:

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1. Photo Coasters

I'd definitely keep these sitting around the house. They are not the typical cheesy gift made by a child. They are gorgeous! And, might I add, relatively simple to make! All it takes is:

Pictures
Ceramic tiles
Modge Podge
Spray sealant
Hot glue
Felt

Check out the instructions here on PopSugar.

2. Awesome, Hilarious, Homeade Bookmarks

Every time I look at these, I start to giggle! They are so hilarious! My kids are going to have so much fun with this, and it's sooooo easy! You will need:

Pictures
Index Cards
Embroidery Floss
Glue Stick
Hole Punch
Scissors

You can find the instructions here at Creative Family Moments.

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3. Photo Ornaments

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I think this one is adorable, and it looks sooo easy! The ornament pictured in the original pin was different than the one on the website that it linked to, but it seems as easy as stuffing some paper shreds in along with the photo for the difference. For this project you will need:

Clear glass round bulb ornaments
Pictures
Colored Paper Shreds (optional)
Tweezers

The instructions can be found on Life as a Thrifter right here.

4. Helping Hands

Just like the website says, I'm sure that any grandma would love these, and aren't they adorable. There aren't really any instructions on the website, other than a link for care instructions, but it's pretty self explanatory.

Oven Mitts (I plan on purchasing mine at a dollar store)
Paint

I found this project here at All Things with Purpose.

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5. Birdseed Christmas Ornaments

For the bird watcher in your life, these birdseed ornaments seem fairly simple and inexpensive, even if there are a lot of ingredients required. You'll need:

4 cups birdseed

3/4 cup flour

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons corn syrup

Cookie cutters

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

2 straws

Twine

4 Cups Birdseed
3/4 Cups Flour
1 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin
3 tbsp Corn Syrup
Cookie Cutters
Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper
Cooking Spray
1/2 cup Water
2 straws
Twine

4 cups birdseed

3/4 cup flour

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons corn syrup

Cookie cutters

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

2 straws

Twine

4 cups birdseed

3/4 cup flour

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons corn syrup

Cookie cutters

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

2 straws

Twine

4 cups birdseed

3/4 cup flour

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons corn syrup

Cookie cutters

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

2 straws

Twine

4 cups birdseed

3/4 cup flour

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons corn syrup

Cookie cutters

Cookie sheet

Parchment paper

Cooking spray

1/2 cup water

2 straws

Twine

You can find the instructions on Ehow at here.

So, there you have it, those are some pretty good looking craft gifts for those who are not crafty. That would be me. Queen of the not crafty over here, but I try. I hope that you and your kids have a great time, and those receiving the gifts are in love with them.

P.S. to all family who may be reading this blog....just act surprised when you open it.

That's all for now,
Tisha

A Week in the Life, Dec 6th

2015-12-07T00:13:00.000-06:00

I've been known to tell people that my daily life consists of spending the entire day walking around in circles picking things up. Well, this week was a lot of the same. Ah, the life of a stay at home mom of three kids! It's just so glamorous! Let's see, I tackled a mountain of laundry, a mountain of dishes, kept the kids alive and thriving, and still managed to keep some focus on this blog.

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Of the four categories that I've decided to write about, I'm definitely more than obsessed and focused on creating all sorts of different planners. I've created quite a few different types of planners that you can download here, but this week I reimagined them to suit our family perfectly. Then I started thinking. Uh Oh! If the planners that I created for everyone out there to use aren't even perfect for me and my family, why would anyone want to purchase or even download the free ones from me? So, I'm going to reiterate the fact that you all can email a request to me at any time. I can design a planner that is perfect for your family, and even tweak it after a week or two. I just used ours for the first time today, and I've already got a long list of changes to make, Ha! Take a look at what I created specifically for our family:

My husband is not a planner guy. He'd never use one! And, I don't think the one year old needs one, however, I do have a schedule worked out for her just like the other kids. I'm such a geek!

Like I said, I've been focused on the planning portion of the blog, and I felt the need to even that out a bit. So, what did I do? I created a blog planner/schedule. Isn't that funny? I've got a more generic version for purchase here.

I'm also getting close to finishing a set of Christmas/Holidays planners, and my next planner project will probably be financial/budgeting planners. In the works in the other categories are some crafts for the kids and I've got recipes coming out my wazoo, so that's an easy one!

Is there anything that you would like to see in my blog? Let me know in the comments!

That's all for now,
Tisha

A Planner for Kids?!?! Amazingness!!

2015-11-27T03:16:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! I've been working on this for a couple of days now, and it's so exciting! It's a planner for younger children! This is going to be perfect for my preschool son, as long as he doesn't try to say that he is going to lego land every day, haha! Most of it is pretty self explanatory just by glancing at it, but there are lines for those early writing stages in every area that writing is required. At the top is a spot for name and "what I want to do this week". After that, is the area for each day. Each day has the an area to print the date and how many minutes the child read that day (I hear they recommend 20 minutes ;)). You will see a different shape representing each day, and this should help those younger kids to differentiate between their days. Of course, those kids will probably need your help filling in their planner, but won't they feel important for having one just like their mom! Next to the shape of the day is where the day's appointments, schedule, and reminders would be written. The last component of each day is the daily chore. In the one that I designed specifically for my child, I added a spot to record the high and low of the day in the main area of each day. It is basically divided into four quadrants: schedule, chore, high, and low.

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Asking my children what their favorite and least favorite part of the day was, is something that I try to do every day, and I'm glad that I've decided to document their answers. Someday, this will be valuable material to embarass them with in front of their high school sweethearts, hehehe. Or maybe just some great nostalgia. You know....because I would never, ever do that to them.......

The boring technical details: each week is a two page spread and is regular letter paper sized to fit in a 3 ring binder. You can preview the document below. To purchase the full document Click Here.
Enjoy! And, remember, I am not responsible for any embarrasing moments that you collect and later use on those oh so fun teens.

That's all for now!

Tisha

To Download CLICK HERE

Cranberry Fluff

2015-11-26T19:57:00.002-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I've got the single easiest recipe for the holidays to share with you. This cranberry fluff is always a huge hit at our table, and is eaten far more often than the lame slices of jellied cranberry. I've seen many people use the marshmallows in this recipe, but we do not. It is simply a can of sauce and a tub of cool whip! Even the fresh young adult preparing their first holiday dish can handle this one! I'll never divulge the family stuffing recipe though!! Well, only to my kids when the time comes. ;)

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Birthday Favorites and a Thanksgiving Craft

2015-11-23T10:53:00.001-06:00

We've just finished the birthday season in our house. When I say season, I mean our entire family of 5 all has birthdays at the end of the year. We've got one in September, two in October, and two in November. Mine is last of course!

The youngest has the first birthday. She turned 1 this year! She's a typical 1 year old. She loves music and dancing and following her older siblings around. Her favorite gift was this Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Chair, It's a fun musical chair, and it has different stages for different ages. Mostly, she likes to hide things in the seat compartment.

The next birthday belongs to the oldest kid. She turned 10 this year, and I think she turned into a teenager over night! Whew! I'm going to have my work cut out for me with this one. I should add that she's exactly like me, and that's especially scary! Her birthday presents are a little more boring to the untrained eye, but once she gets to it, I'm sure that her "The Indian in the Cupboard" book will be her favorite present

Next up is Daddy's Birthday. I think he was most impressed with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup cake that the kids made for him. I quite enjoyed it as well! Delicious! I don't have a recipe, I'm sorry, the kids made it at their Nana's house. We also had this Betty Crocker, Premium Cupcake Mix, Reese's Peanut Butter & Chocolate, 14.5oz Box (Pack of 4)

cake in the cupboard that we had planned on making, and it was pretty delicious as well!

The boy was the next birthday. He turned 5 this year, and he is obsessed with video games and electronics. He has his own YouTube channel. Let me repeat that. HE IS 5. HE CREATES AND MANAGES HIS OWN YOUTUBE CHANNEL! No, I am not linking it here at this point. He is still a 5 year old boy and a total spaz! He could, however, very well be better at using technology than I am. His favorite birthday gift this year was Super Mario Maker - Nintendo Wii U, and this game is outstanding. In Super Mario Maker, you create your own Super Mario World, and it appears that eventually you have an entire created game. You receive elements to use from all of the different Mario games periodically throughout the game. His favorite thing to do is create a world where all of the ? boxes are filled with Goombas, and then trick his older sister into "testing" his level out for him. HA!

And finally, My birthday was yesterday! I've got to say that my favorite presents were the homemade cards from the kids, and after my day was over, some alcoholic root beer and Old Fashion Vanilla 8 Pints vanilla ice cream for grown up root beer floats!

This week we'll be making a thanksgiving craft for placeholders at our table. My "thinks she's a teenager" 10 year old daughter recently opened her own pinterest account, and she's already obsessed with DIY projects, soooo.....I'm a little scared! This is what she picked for Thanksgiving: It can be found here: Pinecone Turkey

I'll make sure to take lots of pictures for you all!

That's all for now,

Tisha

Find me here:

Hi, nice to meet you!

2015-11-19T14:09:00.000-06:00

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