Just picture it...

Do You Remember Shrinky Dinks?

2016-05-22T18:30:00.000-05:00

Well, they haven't gone anywhere! You can still buy them, people! And they're just as cool as ever! I buy mine off of Amazon. Now, you can buy name brand still. But I buy these cheaper ones. They come in clear and white.

Some ideas for how to use them:
1. magnets – we made Christmas ones!

2. necklaces and bracelets 3. keychains – I put these together because the only difference is the length of the chain they're attached to. I made this one with ink and my son's fingerprints.

4. brooch – clearly these are not going to be as fancy as the ones your grandma used to own, but they will be personal and interesting and cheap and easy. These are quite easy to make. Simply follow the directions on the package! I use permanent markers and permanent inks to make designs on the paper. Then, cut them out. Punch a hole if you plan to make it into a necklace, bracelet, or keychain. Now put them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and put them in a preheated oven. Watch them shrink before your very eyes! Take them out when they're done (about a minute or two). Attach a chain or magnet or whatever you need to finish your project! You're done!

Minion Party Favors

2016-05-21T18:30:00.000-05:00

It's been 3 weeks since I last posted. So, now that I'm back, I am ready for some fun stuff!

I for some reason absolutely love party favors. I know a lot of people think that they're a complete waste of time and money, but seriously, don't you kind of wish that you could go home with a swag bag after every party you attended? I think that would be pretty cool. I have been collecting things for 3 months to put in these favors for a couple reasons. 1. This helps to spread out the cost. 2. I buy things as I see them. And 3. I have been planning his party for 3 months and I keep getting new ideas; so every time a new idea comes, I collect something new!

In the past, I have put together really cheap favor bags that cost me maybe $1/bag and I just didn't feel like doing that this time. I wanted things that kids would really enjoy instead of some cheap favor toys that parents would throw away as soon as they got home.

So here are the amazing bags that I put together and the price breakdown of everything:
1. Yellow Reusable Bag = $1.75
2. Happy Birthday Cup = $1.60
3. Minion Playpack = $1
4. Fruit Snacks = $0.40
5. Minion Bracelet = $1
6. Candy necklace = $0.50
7. 2 pieces of Minion candy = $0.15
8. Minion sticker sheet = $0.40
9. Goody bag from the zoo = FREE!
Total = $6.80

Now, that may seem like a lot to you, but these are just some ideas. I go above and beyond what most people do for birthdays. And I'm sure everyone has their favorite thing. Mine happens to be gift bags.

Just for fun, let's take a look inside the goody bag that the zoo sent home with everyone! It looks like this:

Contents: Activity Page (coloring, word scramble, maze, code puzzle, word find), Color by Number at the Zoo Coloring Book with stickers, Paddleball Game, rubber bracelet, stamp, pencil topper eraser, ruler, 3-pack of crayons, and a coupon for one free youth admission to the Miller Park Zoo.

Summer Bucket List

2016-05-01T18:30:00.000-05:00

It's officially May. It's time to start thinking about summer fun! And if you're like me, you have almost every weekend planned for your summer already.

Every year, we like to make a list of things we want to do during the summer. That being said, we don't always do everything on the list. We just try to do as many things as we can! It helps us make the summer fun and keeps us from getting bored. And since school ends in just a couple weeks (about 3 for us!), I thought now would be a good time to make our list! Scroll through the list to see if there's anything you might want to add to your summer bucket list!

30 Items to Put On Your Summer Bucket List This Year:

1. See a Drive-In Movie
2. Have a Water Balloon Fight
3. Go play Mini Golf
4. Swim in the Pool
5. The Beach
6. Visit Family
7. Slip & Slide
8. Backyard Camping
9. Make S'mores
10. Go hiking
11. Go for a paddleboat ride
12. Wash the car
13. Go Bowling
14. Go to the Farmer's Market
15. Go on a roadtrip
16. Watch fireworks
17. Take a train ride
18. Make homemade popsicles
19. Go to a baseball game
20. Visit a carnival
21. Go to the zoo
22. Visit the children's museum
23. Go fishing
24. Walk through botanical gardens
25. Go to some horse races
26. Go to an art's festival
27. Visit an amusement park
28. Have a photoshoot
29. Make cookies
30. Go to a kids building workshop

I really hope that your summer is awesome! Just like I'm sure that ours is going to be. I'll let you know at the end of the summer how many of these things we ended up doing!

DIY Lanyard

2016-04-24T18:30:00.000-05:00

For my son's minion birthday party, I made some super easy and cheap minion lanyards. I think I made about 16 of them in an hour. It took no time at all. And with just a little bit of effort, you can make them look way better than mine did.

Here's what you need:
needle and thread
minion ribbon
lobster clasp hooks

Step 1: Cut your ribbon. I was making these for kids in kindergarten and younger so I only cut about 28-inch pieces. However, it is best to measure what is going to work best for you. A lanyard should hit right above your tummy when standing.

Step 2: Put your ribbon through the hole in the clasp hooks and fold it up to the back.

Step 3: Sew the ribbon closed around the hook.

Step 4: Add your name tag and wear it!

See? Wasn't that easy? And the kids loved it! It was great!

6th Birthday Party at Miller Park Zoo

2016-04-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

This year, my son's birthday was held at the zoo. They have 2 options for parties. One is outdoor at their covered area right after you enter the zoo ($125 for 20 people for 2 hours; $7/person extra up to 40 people). The second option (the one we chose) is in the large classroom ($175 for 20 people for 2 hours; $9/person extra up to 40 people). Both of these options include a treat bag for each child. You can purchase carousel rides for $1 per rider. You can also get an animal encounter for 20 minutes with 2 animals of your choice (in advance) for $75. We were going to choose to add both of these add-ons to make our party experience complete, but it was raining that day so we decided to just get the animal encounter.
Members of the Miller Park Zoological Society receive a 10% discount.

My son wanted a minion party. And I think it turned out pretty great! (But that's a post for another time.) We called 3 months in advance and both times on Saturday were already booked. However, Sunday was wide open. We chose the later time (1pm-3pm) because the early one on a Sunday just seemed too early (10am-12pm). Well, we ran into quite the issue about 2 days before the party. They had double booked the room and accidentally written ours on the schedule from 10am-12pm. This was very stressful and I still get sick whenever I think about it. They did not handle this in the correct way at all. The simple fact is that we booked first so we should have gotten to keep the room. But no! That's not how it worked out. We ended up with a much smaller room that was half way across the zoo. It turned out to not be a HUGE deal, but I can tell you that after the party was over, I was definitely thinking about how the party would have gone much smoother if we had been in the larger room. They did, however, wave the fee for the animal encounter.

Overall, it wasn't the party that I wanted and I'm very disappointed in it. I would say that I wouldn't recommend using the Miller Park Zoo as your party venue. However, one of the employees did say that they're surprised this doesn't happen more often which leads me to believe it's not a very common occurrence so I suppose you could give it a try.

The Coolest Cups Ever!

2016-04-10T18:30:00.000-05:00

For my son's minion party, I thought it would be kind of cool to have some personalized (but not too personalized) cups to give as part of the favors. I found these cups on TotallyPromotional.com and I think they're amazing. So the cups are a frosted colored plastic cup that change to blue when you add cold liquid to it (they were blue when I got them because it was so cold outside!). I chose to use one of their clipart choices. It said Happy Birthday. I put that in yellow to go along with our yellow and blue minion theme. I then bought some lids and straws to go with these cups (little hands make easy spills). Everyone thought they were great! And like I said, they were personalized because they said Happy Birthday. But they weren't too personalized because like a lot of wedding favors, putting your name on things leads to favors that people aren't going to keep. Another way to use these cups outside of promoting your business is to commemorate a trip. We received a cup just like this when we went on a Disney Cruise when we participated in fish extenders. You could use them to commemorate a wedding (for the kids) or a family reunion or pretty much anything where you're hosting more than 20 people because that's the minimum order. I ordered 50 and am going to save the extras as birthday gifts for my students next year.

Recipe: My Favorite Slow Cooker Meal

2016-04-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

My husband and I have been making this slow cooker meal for a while now. I've tried a couple different ways of making beef and potatoes and this is definitely the most delicious. Well, let's just get right to it:

Ingredients:
1 small bag of baby carrots
2.5 lb bag of Honey Gold Potatoes
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 packet of dry onion soup mix
1.5 lbs of stew beef

Directions:
Layer the baby carrots on bottom, then the potatoes, and then the meet. Now pour the onion soup mix on top of everything. Then pour the mushroom soup and one can of water over top. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

I hope you enjoy your meal as much as we do!

I Spy Sensory Bottle for Preschoolers

2016-03-27T18:30:00.000-05:00

So I made this really cool I Spy Sensory Bottle for my preschool kids and I thought I would share it with you. It was so easy! And fairly inexpensive, which is always a plus.

You will need:
Water bottle (I used this really cool one that you can find at any pharmacy or gas station)
beads
glitter
small objects (I used a penny, Olaf figure from dollar tree, button, snowflake bead, etc)
clear glue
super glue
warm water

Steps:
1. Remove all stickers and wrapping from bottle.
2. Take a picture of the items you want to use for the I-Spy.

3. Add all small items to the bottle.
4. Add clear glue to the bottle.
5. Add warm water to the bottom of the top of the bottle and shake. Warm water helps to dissolve the glue.
6. Add a little glitter to make the items a little harder to find.
7. Use super glue to glue the cap back on the bottle so that kids can't open it on accident.
8. Print off the picture that you took of all the items in the bottle and laminate it so that kids can use a dry erase marker to circle or cross out the items as they find them.

That's it! So easy, right? Now all you have to do is make like 20 more so that all the kids in your class can look at one at the same time!

My son's 6-year pictures

2016-03-20T18:30:00.000-05:00

Owen is about to turn 6 in a mere couple of days! Well, I always try to get his pictures done a couple weeks beforehand so that I can order prints and show them off at the party. After taking my son's pictures for about 4-5 years, I'm starting to run out of new locations for photoshoots for my son. But no worries. I found some new places! As for next year, we might just have to travel a little to get some amazing new backgrounds.

Anyway, my son was being a little bit of a brat during our shoot, but I think I still got some cute pictures. Ready to take a look? Here they are:

Recipe: Sugar Cookies

2016-03-19T18:30:00.000-05:00

I use the same recipe every time I make sugar cookies and I always get compliments on them. I love these cookies. They taste good. They're easy to make. I see no downside. I've made these for baby showers, birthdays, Christmas, Super Bowl, etc.

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:
1. In a separate bowl whisk together flour and baking powder.
2. Beat together unsalted butter and sugar. Once mixed well, add in egg. Mix again, then add in vanilla.
3. Slowly add in flour mixture about a cup at a time. Mix until dough forms and begins to clump together. (I don't always end up using all of it, so make sure you're paying attention. You can use the extra for dusting.)
4. Gather up dough and knead it with hands until it's nice and smooth. Roll it into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and place in fridge to chill. I like to let mine chill about 20-40 minutes. You will want it to be kind of firm, but not hard. If it's too hard, just leave it out on the counter for just a little bit until it softens up. Then you can work it a little bit to soften it back up. After I've cut all my cookies, I place them in the freezer for 3-5 minutes before putting them in the oven so that they don't expand at all when baking.
5. Bake at 350, time will depend on cookies size and thickness. Normally, between 7-11 minutes.
6. After they have cooled, decorate and eat!

Children's Book Review: Mustache Baby

2016-03-13T18:30:00.000-05:00

Mustache Baby is a children's book about a baby that is born with a mustache and during the book, you are trying to find out if he has a good guy mustache or a bad guy mustache. This book is completely adorable and I just love reading it to my son. He thinks it's absolutely hilarious so it's a win-win. And then, there's a sequel! That's right. Mustache Baby Meets His Match is the second installment in this great series. This time, a new character is introduced. A baby with a beard shows up for a playdate and Mustache Baby is only slightly thrilled by this. I highly recommend these stories! Please, read them for yourselves to find the magic of these books.

“It's my favorite story. I think they're funny.” - Owen, 5 years old

You can buy Mustache Baby here and Mustache Baby Meets His Match here.

Review: Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort

2016-03-06T18:30:00.000-06:00

Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort
2643 Illinois 178
Utica, IL 61348
(866) 399-3866
Website

There are a lot of different options when it comes to staying here. If you stay in the lodge, you have 7 different options!
Family Suite (2 queen beds, queen sleeper sofa, fridge, microwave, TV)
Family Suite with Balcony
King Suite (same as queen, but with 1 king bed)
Kid Cabin Suite (queen bed, twin sofa sleeper, twin bunk beds, fridge, microwave, TV)
Deluxe Family Suite (3 distinct sleeping areas with 2 queen beds, queen sleeper sofa, master bedroom has 2-person whirlpool tub and king bed, living room, and 3 Tvs)
Whirlpool Suite (2 person whirlpool tub, king bed, fireplace)
Combination Suite (Family Suite and Whirlpool Suite with a connecting door)

There are also 2 different cabin options for larger groups.

As for prices, they can be somewhat on the expensive side, but there is so much included! Plus, look for special deals on their website (especially during the off-season). Make sure you look to the right when on their website and click on the part that says 'Click here for internet special' instead of the button that says 'Specials & Packages'. That second button is more for AARP and AAA and Military discounts. We have gone 2 years in a row. Our first year, we decided last minute to go in January. This year, I was looking for a great deal and found one so we went in February. Let me tell you about this deal:

When I booked this, there were special dates that this could be used (weekends in January, February, and parts of March): 2 nights for $222 for a Family Suite with Balcony. This is an amazing deal! Before I found this, I was looking at paying over $400.

Check-In: Check-in begins at 4pm. Guests are welcome to arrive as early as 1pm to pre-register for the room and begin using the waterpark and amusement park until the room becomes available.
Check-Out: Check-out time is 11am. Guests are welcome to utilize the waterpark and amusement park after check-out on the day of departure.
Be aware that on busy days, the check-in and check-out process may take quite a while. We waited in line for about 45 minutes.

The Room: Family Suite with Balcony
There are 2 queen beds, a queen sleeper sofa, fridge, microwave, TV, and all the amenities you would expect.
There are lots of add-ons you can get with your room like birthday packages with balloons or roses or milk and cookies.
There were a lot of great things about our room (like the balcony, the beds, the living space with couch and dining area), but there were some not so great things as well. Our shower head was terrible. I felt like I was never going to be able to get the shampoo out of my hair due to the lack of pressure. All of the buttons were popped off of our phone and then to top it all off, the phone didn't work at all. On our television, the power button was popped off. That was just weird.

Waterpark:
During the winter, the waterpark is only open Thursday and Friday night (4pm-10pm) and all day Saturday and Sunday (9am-10pm). That being said, you can still swim on Friday mornings from 9am-4pm, but there are no lifeguards and the water is still (no slides, no wave pool, no lazy river). *
The 24,000 square foot indoor waterpark boasts play zones, slides, a wave pool, lazy river, and spa.
There is a concession stand area inside the waterpark (that is freezing compared to the hot air near the water – although it wasn't nearly as cold as it was last time) that offers soda, soft pretzels, hot dogs, nachos, and other typical concession offerings.
There is no outside food or beverage or coolers permitted in the Waterpark at any time. However, I did see people bring these items in and no one said anything to them so I don't know how much that rule is really enforced.
The park was very busy while we were there! Everyone must have gotten in on that sweet deal we got.

Adventure Park:
Closed toe shoes and socks must be worn to participate in activities at the Amusement Park.
During the winter, the adventure park is only open Friday night (4pm-10pm) and 11am-10pm on Saturday and Sunday.*
Guests with overnight accommodations can enjoy $15 Adventure cards. Since we stayed for two nights, we got 6 cards. You can add money to these cards if you wish. There aren't really any things in here that I can do so that leaves $90 for my husband and son to split (mostly my son). We also got 3 more $15 cards after eating at the buffet on Friday night. That's $135 to spend at the park!
The Adventure Park features:
32' rock climbing wall – $5 – minimum: 40 lbs; maximum: 200 lbs
Euro Bungee trampoline – $5 – minimum: 4 yo and 30 lbs; maximum: 200 lbs
indoor zip line – $5 – minimum: 30 lbs and 42 inches; maximum: 250 lbs and 6' 3”
super slide – $3 (however, I didn't see anyone charging for this)
ropes course – $5 – minimum: 48” to go alone, shorter kids are allowed with an adult; maximum: 300 lbs
laser tag – $5
and kiddie play zone with bouncy houses – $2 (although, we didn't see anyone having to pay for this)
Plus, there's an arcade.

There are plenty of other amenities and activities going on around the resort as well as the adventure park and waterpark.
Family Craft Time: Spend time with your children as they color and paint their very own Grizzly Jack and Grand Bear t-shirt. Family Craft Time is the perfect way to take home a GRAND memory of your family vacation. Some crafts may require nominal fee.
Grand Ducky Derby: Play and have a blast at Grand Bear Falls, the indoor waterpark, and race to the finish! Open to kids of all ages, the Grand Duck Derby is an action-packed race with fun and prizes for the kids. This activity happens every Saturday and Sunday at 8:45am and on holidays. On Sunday, my son won! They take the first 3 ducks to give a prize to. Everyone received a free scoop of ice cream from the Honey Pot.

Family Story Time: Every night at 7:20pm, the Grand Lobby comes alive for Story Time. Folks gather around in front of the glowing fireplace to hear Grizzly Jack and Grand Bear tell the story of their friendship.
Family Movie Time: Settle down and enjoy a relaxing night of movies with the kids. Showing Thursday-Saturday at 8pm. Family Movie Time presents popular movies for kids of all ages. While we were there, they showed Minions and The Spongebob Movie.
Cave Arcade: Over 60 arcade games to play and win tickets that you can redeem for prizes at the prize shop.
Canyon Creek Mini Golf: This 18-hole mini golf adventure is a blast with a flowing stream and waterfall. The course is open weather permitting. While we were there, it did happen to be open. You got your clubs and balls at the gift shop by the front desk and since it was February, there were no waterfalls or flowing streams. Cost: $5/person

Bear Island: Get wild in nature at Bear Island, a four-tiered observation deck that overlooks Curtis Canyon – a breathtaking 80 foot seasonal waterfall that gives you a real appreciation for nature's artwork. It would be much more amazing if you could see the waterfall. However, you are located at the top so you really just see the water flowing over the edge.

Castle in the Woods Playground: Open daily until dusk, the Castle in the Woods playground is the fun spot for your little bear cubs to run, play, swing, slide and smile. My son really enjoyed it.
Moose Crossing Convenience Store: Toiletries, souvenirs, t-shirts, goggles, swim diapers, snacks, grocery goods, wine and beer available 24 hours a day. We bought a hairbrush and nail clippers from here. The prices are clearly going to be more expensive than Wal-Mart, but I didn't find them to be outrageous.
Northwoods Niche Gift Shop: Grand Bear logo apparel, swimwear, stuffed animals, books, home décor, souvenirs, jewelry, phone accessories, and bottles of wine.

Dining:
Jack's Place Restaurant & Sports Bar – Located inside the Enchanted Forest Indoor Adventure Park. This is a casual dining spot serving classic American cuisine. Order to your suite, villa or cabin with the restaurant's delivery service. We got some amazing food from here. My husband found the Big Grizzly to be especially noteworthy. This item was a large handful of tator tots and fried cheese curds topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and a fried egg. I highly recommend ordering to go or delivery to eat in your room. We also ate at the buffet which had pizza, pasta, and salad. Everything was really good. And for less than $30 for our family, not a terrible price.
Honey Pot Sweet Shop – chocolates, decorated cookies, hand-dipped pretzels, saltwater taffy, seasonal fudge, sweet gummies, homemade waffle cones topped with mountainous scoops of ice cream. What more could you want? We have gotten ice cream from here 3 times and every time has been amazing. They also seem to keep a great selection of decorated cookies that are just adorable.

Nearby Attractions:
Starved Rock State Park – We've been here at least 4 or 5 times and we definitely make it a point to visit when we come to Grizzly Jack's. It's so close to the resort! There are so many beautiful trails and wonderful waterfalls. There is always something new to discover when you visit here. And every season brings new and beautiful adventures.
and not too far from there is another great place: Matthiessen State Park.
There are also places nearby to Zipline, Skydive, and Golf.

*During the summer, I believe the waterpark and adventure park are open every day with weekend hours.

Accessories for Princesses in Disney World

2016-03-05T18:30:00.000-06:00

I'm planning a trip to Disney World and I'm working on my accessories right now. The outfits can always come second to some fabulous accessories. Anyway, I'm thinking about some princess themed outfits so here are some accessories to go along with them.

For Merida:

A cute arrow necklace from Amazon, of course. Cost: $14.95

For Belle:

This cute bow from Etsy. Cost: $10

And this necklace from Eve's Addiction. Cost: $27.30

For Ariel:

This dinglehopper necklace from Amazon. Cost: $7.99

And this starfish ring also from Amazon. Cost: $24.99

And finally, for Snow White:

This apple necklace from Heirloom Finds. Cost: $13

I would seriously wear any of these! I hope I've helped with your online shopping!

Dr. Seuss Bookmarks

2016-03-01T14:43:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Dr. Seuss's birthday! Isn't that fun? Well, I thought it would be a great idea for my kids at school to create some bookmarks to bring home, but I just couldn't find exactly what I was looking for online so I decided to just make my own! Here they are:

I'm pretty proud of them! So, we're going to let the kids color the bookmark, cut it out, glue it to a piece of cardstock, laminate them, poke a hole in the top, and add some ribbon. That may seem like a lot of work, but I want these bookmarks to last a while! I hope my kids use them to read some amazing books!

Now, for the real reason you're all here: a FREE download! Click here to download a PDF of the Dr. Seuss Bookmarks!

Review: Artful Designs

2016-02-28T18:30:00.000-06:00

A couple months ago, my son and I went to Artful Designs (you know, one of those places where you can paint pottery). Well, after we got there, my son decided that he didn't really want to paint anything so I ended up painting most of it myself. However, I did see a lot of kids there having a great time (as long as your kid likes art and painting). The prices are about on par with every other pottery painting place I've seen. However, that being said, it is a little expensive compared to other things you can do with your kids in Bloomington-Normal.

We made two items. One was a bowl and one was a platter. I think they turned out great. Take a look:

I believe my total was around $50-$60 after the sitting fee and cost of both items. After painting your items, you sign the bottom and leave them with the people at the front. Pay for your items and then collect them in about a week after they have been glazed and fired.
They had a great selection of items to paint and they're always adding seasonal items to change things up. Everyone that worked there was very nice and willing to help. They also offer classes for adults to paint something specific (check out their Facebook page) and they also offer classes for kids where parents can leave their kids for a couple hours to paint, watch a movie, and eat some pizza. The kids classes are aimed towards kids 6-12 and cost around $30/child plus tax.

If you go, I hope you have as much fun as we did!

What to Wear to Animal Kingdom

2016-02-27T17:00:00.000-06:00

Recently, I have been researching everything to do with Walt Disney World in Orlando for our trip at the end of the year. Recently, I came across some items that I thought would be great to buy for the upcoming trip. I have been putting a lot of thought into what I want to wear (as a lot of women do) and I've decided that I don't want to be as blatantly obvious about my Disney-themed clothing as I was when we went on our Disney cruise. I want it to be a little more subtle.

Here's what I have come up with for the day we will be visiting Animal Kingdom.
I want to wear neutrals. Olive Green, Khaki/Tan, and Brown all seem like good options for clothing. I'll buy new clothes or look at my wardrobe a little closer to our departure date (because I'm trying to get in a little better shape and I don't know what size I'll be by then). Here is some inspiration that I've found online, though.

Now, to the part that I really want to tell you about! I have been looking at accessories that I think will be amazing and I've found 3 that I want to buy!

Ivory Ella has these beautiful elephant necklaces that would be perfect! Plus, a portion of each sale goes directly to savetheelephants.org! Cost: $28.99

Tom's sells these cute jaguar shoes in their Big Cats Collection that is in support of National Geographic's critical nonprofit work! Cost: $59

Savannah Co has these cute bracelets in lions, monkeys, elephants, etc. They donate 10% of profits to lion conservation. Cost: Reg $20, but currently on sale for $14.99

Do you notice a theme with any of the items I'm looking at buying? Of course! They all donate to animals! So why not do some good when shopping for your Animal Kingdom accessories?

Travel Gifts

2016-02-21T18:30:00.000-06:00

I've posted a couple travel posts about roadtrips and flying in a plane and one of my favorite things to do is to pack some travel gifts. I don't just pack them for my son. I also pack them for my husband sometimes. I'm definitely going to repeat some of the ideas I've shared in previous posts so this is going to be a large list of all my ideas in one place.

For those that don't know, travel gifts are a way to make traveling just a little more fun (especially for kids). I know some people will just go out and buy a bunch of new things to pack in their carry-ons and call it a day. Well, I think it's just a little more fun to open them as presents to add a bit more whimsy to the trip.

For Adults:
1. Sudoku book (or crossword) – or any kind of puzzle book that you're into
2. Fancy Pencils – to go along with those awesome puzzle books

3. Magazine – We don't have a subscription to any magazines for my husband so he loves it when I go to the store and buy him a Wired magazine for the trip.
4. Gum – This is especially useful if you're riding in a plane and need some to pop your ears.
5. Sunglasses – (this is on the kids list, too) These are useful if you're traveling someplace sunny or if you're going to be in the car for a long time.
6. Fun Snacks – I usually buy my husband some snacks that he doesn't get on a regular basis like beef jerky or my homemade seasoned crackers.
7. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket– If you don't already have one, sometimes it can be great to have something to relax with.

8. Book – I know a lot of people like to have a new book to read while they travel.
9. Power Bank – While on your travels, sometimes you can't find an outlet when you need one so this will let you charge your phone on the go!

10. Book Light – So that you can see your puzzle book, magazine, or book on the road when it's dark or in your hotel room while your traveling companions are sleeping.

For Kids:
1. PlayPack – they come in all sorts of characters from Mickey to Blaze to Princesses to Frozen

2. Small Lego Sets – they make these in every interest known to man! (well, not quite, but it seems like it) Plus, if you have a travel Lego lap tray like we do, these aren't even messy.
3. Coloring Books – they make these in full size and mini sized (perfect for when space is tight).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!

5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.
6. Sunglasses – This is an especially great gift if you're traveling somewhere sunny or traveling in the car.
7. Pez Dispensers – You could include this with candy. But my son especially loves all the characters you can find!
8. Books – I usually keep a small supply of new books that my son has never seen in the closet. I buy them from Scholastic during the school year and keep them for gifts. Now that my son is starting to read, these are especially great!
9. Movie – This doesn't have to be expensive! Haven't you seen the $3-$5 movie bins at Wal-Mart? Or how about all those cheap movies you can buy on Black Friday.
10. Create-A-Scene Magnetic Playset – Search it on Amazon. They have so many different ones! I found a Star Wars one for my son last year. He also has a farm one and I know they have a ton more!

11. Small toys – So, sometimes, I save up McDonald's Happy Meal toys to use as travel gifts or stocking stuffers. I take them out before giving the Happy Meal to my son so often that he doesn't even think it's strange or unfair anymore.
12. I-Spy Books – I put this in a separate category from regular books because they hold an entirely different level of entertainment. These books come in all types of characters and themes. Plus, they come for all different age levels. And to top it all off, they come in different sizes (I love the small ones for traveling).

13. Travel Pillow or Travel Blanket – They make these for kids, too! And I know at least my son loves to be comfy when we're on the road or in a plane.

14. Fun Waterbottle – You can buy a bottle with just about anything on it so I like to theme ours around our destination!

15. Collapsible Beach Pail – Seriously! This is only helpful if you're going to a beach. But come on! I don't know how many times we've gone to a store and bought some cheap beach toys after we got to our destination just to leave them at the hotel or throw them away so that we wouldn't have to put them in our luggage. This eliminates all of that!

I hope that some of these ideas are useful to you! And have fun on your trip!

Review: Batter Pen

2016-02-14T18:30:00.000-06:00

I have seen these products around in stores and on TV and I really wanted to try it, but I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend $10-$20 on something that I might not use very often. Well, I went to this Christmas Buying Warehouse event before Christmas and saw one of these things there! It was only $1.50. How do I pass it up, right? So I bought it. And then I used it a couple weeks later to make some awesome pancakes. And you guys! I'm serious! It was so cool! I mean, you can make any shape that you want from the simple (snowman) to the difficult (holly). It was so easy. If you can make simple shapes, you can use this pen! I recommend it. My son especially enjoyed when I was able to make a pancake that read his name. Buy one!

Roadtrip Tips

2016-02-07T18:30:00.000-06:00

Recently, my family (husband, myself, and 5-year-old son) went on a 13-hour roadtrip to Washington, D.C. From Illinois. Then, we came back after 3 days there. That may sound a little crazy to some people. It sounds crazy to me! However, it was for a good cause. My husband's cousin was getting married and we wanted to be there so we did the best we could and made it there and back in one piece.

I did my research ahead of time and planned the best I could. Roadtrips are hard. Especially with a little one. They're just so unpredictable. Are they going to sleep? Are they going to throw fits because they're so tired? Are they going to entertain themselves? Are they going to need you to entertain them? You never really know until you're on the road.

Let's start out with the packing of the car. I think the best piece of advice I can give you is to have everything you might need within reach. I even bought a 3 drawer organizer to help us with this. I kept snacks, travel gifts (more on that later), and things to entertain the adults in this. It was a great thing to have handy. My husband and I (whoever wasn't driving) sat in the back with our son so we kept the drawers in the passenger seat, facing the driver so that the driver or the person sitting in back could reach them.

The thing I find to be most helpful with my 5yo son is to bring travel gifts. I buy little toys and things that will entertain my son on our trip and then wrap them like presents (usually in tissue paper rather than wrapping paper to make it easier to open) and then number them. I let my son open them about 1 every 2 hours. Sometimes more often depending on how many gifts I end up buying.
Some ideas for travel gifts:
1. Playpack – there are so many different ones to choose from! They have everything from Star Wars to Hello Kitty to Minions to Inside Out.
2. Small Lego sets – we have one of those awesome travel trays so the Legos stay in one place, but if you don't have one of these awesome trays, bring along something else, like a cookie sheet to keep all the Legos in one place.
3. Coloring Books – I particularly like the Color Wonder books. That way, there is a guarantee of no mess (how often can you say that?).
4. Candy – Clearly, we don't want our kids to be on a sugar-high while stuck in the car, but a fun candy necklace is entertaining and delicious!
5. Pen and Journal – Even for my little 5yo son, he absolutely loved the 6-in-one pen I bought him with the different colored ink and a sketch journal to draw in. Add some stickers and you've just provided hours of fun.

Take breaks as often as you need them. I know there are some people out there that say to take a break every couple of hours. But I'm here to tell you that as long as you have gas in your tank and a sleeping child in the backseat, DO NOT STOP unless you have to. The ride will go so much smoother if you don't have a whiny child. We left at 5am and my son doesn't usually take naps, but sometimes, traveling just makes everyone tired!

Play games. You can play the license plate game or travel versions of regular games (battleship) or paper games (tic-tac-toe or hangman). There are so many options out there!

These are just a few tips to help you on your roadtrip. I hope they help you on your next adventure.

Crochet Earrings

2016-01-31T18:30:00.000-06:00

So I made these crochet earrings a couple months ago and they are so easy! Plus, they are so light! I almost forgot I was wearing them one time. So here's the pattern:

Ch 13
Row 1: ch1, skip 1, 4 dc, skip 1, sc, skip 1, 4 dc, skip 1, sc, skip 1, 4dc, skip 1, (sc, ch1, sc, ch1, sc – you should now be on the other side of your work), skip 1, 4 dc, skip 1, sc, skip 1, 4 dc, skip 1, sc, skip 1, 4dc, skip 1, (sc, ch1, sc), ch1, sl st into first st, sew in ends.
Add a pearl to one side.
Add an earring hook to the other side.
Make another one just like it.
And voila! Beautiful earrings!

And if you don't want to make them yourself, you can buy them from my Etsy shop here.

Review: Miller Park Zoo

2016-01-24T18:30:00.000-06:00

I have been to this zoo more times than I can count on my fingers. It's a great little zoo. My family has a membership so we get in for free with our card. It pays for itself after the third or fourth visit for us. Once you enter, you can go left or right. The zoo is pretty well set up in a circle so it doesn't really matter which way you go. We normally go to the left, but that's just us. Right now, there are no concessions, but I believe they've been talking about putting some in when they do their next renovation.

Update: They are currently under construction right now so you can't turn right when you first walk in. They're putting in a flamingo exhibit.

There are some really great animals here. The river otters are always entertaining. We love to see the harbor seal feedings. They do training exercises with them. In the back are the large animals like the Sun Bear (who has terrible arthritis, I've been told by the trainers) and the tiger and the 2 snow leopards (who just had 2 babies in early 2015, which is very rare). There are also 2 eagles, singing dogs, reindeer, and many other animals. We love the petting zoo. It's always fun. There is also a carousel in the middle.

One of our favorite things about this little zoo are all the events they hold. We have been here to see if our reindeer could pass Santa's tests to be a backup for his Christmas Eve trip. We have been here for Halloween (always the Sunday before) to go trick-or-treating. We have even been here for Star Wars Day! In 2015, we went to the Zoo Wild Lights event for the first time. This was pretty cool. One thing to know about all the events is that you need to come early. Come right when the event starts. These things get very busy very quickly. We normally finish up about an hour after it starts and by then, there are lines 30 people deep for everything.

Now, if you're not visiting during an event, you will probably need 1.5 hours to see everything. It's a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids. Don't pass up the zoo if you're in town.

We have a couple things planned in the next couple of months with the zoo that I'm really excited about! First, we're doing a 5k through the park as a fundraiser for the zoo in March. My 5yo son is even going to do the Fun Run (¼ mile). Then, we're having our son's 6th birthday party at the zoo in April. There will be a post about that later. I just love this place.

Recipe: Spinach Dip Bread Bowls

2016-01-17T18:30:00.000-06:00

I said I wanted to post more than just reviews this year so here is my first recipe of 2016!

I made these in a regular-sized muffin tin first, but then a couple weeks later, I made these in a mini muffin tin and in my personal opinion, they were much better. They're super filling, so if you're making these as appetizers or for a party, the mini just makes more sense. These have just now become my go to appetizers. I have actually made them 3 or 4 times in the past year (which is a lot for me). Hopefully, you'll love them as much as I do.

Ingredients:
Roll of refrigerated french bread loaf, I used Simply Pillsbury
2 Tablespoons oil, I used canola
2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
3 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup light sour cream
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, I used grated
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 20 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Unroll the package of french bread and slice into 10 equal slices, about 1 inch thick. Then, cut each of those slices in half. Press each slice into a circle with your hands. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir spinach until wilted. Add garlic, cook and stir for another couple of minutes then turn the heat off.
3. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. With a spoon, scoop dip into each of the centers of bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded cheese and bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown. Remove and let cool for a couple minutes.

A New Year

2016-01-10T18:30:00.000-06:00

So 2015 is gone and 2016 is here (and has been for 10 days). Last year, I made some resolutions. They included to blog more on the regular, lose a little weight, and get a job. Truthfully, I didn't do too bad. Except for August, September, and October, I blogged about once a week. But I'm pretty okay with that because that is exactly when I started my new job. I am an assistant teacher at 2nd Pres Preschool. That's two boxes I was able to check off. As for the last one: lose a little weight. Well, we all know how easy that is. I lost about 17 pounds so at least I didn't gain any.

All of that being said, I have a few resolutions I would like to make for this year.

1. Keep up with blogging. I have been increasing my number of blog posts every year (2012: 18 posts; 2013: 32 posts; 2014: 62 posts; 2015: 70 posts). Let's see if I can keep up that momentum, huh? I also want to keep my posts diverse. In 2014, I did a lot of recipes and reviews. In 2015, I did a lot of reviews (like a lot!) and the 25 Days of Christmas. I mean seriously. I did like no recipes or crafts. What was I thinking? Oh well, I want to put a lot of my school crafts on here too to help out some fellow teachers!

2. Lose Some Weight. And I seriously mean just a little. I hate having unrealistic expectations for myself. I want to lose like 40 pounds this year. I got a FitBit for Christmas. I'm hoping that helps keep me on track.

3. Become a better teacher. Now, this shouldn't really be THAT difficult since I just started 4 months ago. But still, I think we should always strive to be better.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 24

2015-12-24T18:30:00.000-06:00

Elf on the Shelf: Merry Christmas!
Our little elf just loves Christmas so much, he wanted to be a part of it! So he made himself part of our Charlie Brown nativity set!

Day 24: Charlie Brown
Every Christmas Eve, my son opens a box that has a new pair of pajamas, a Charlie Brown Christmas DVD and book, hot cocoa and popcorn. So of course, we read the book, watch the movie, and eat popcorn and sip on hot cocoa all while wearing new PJs! It's a fun tradition.

25 Days of Christmas: Day 23

2015-12-23T18:30:00.000-06:00

Elf on the Shelf: Hiding in the Wreath
My son loves finding our elf every day so to make it extra hard, he hid someplace that took my son quite a bit of time to find.

Day 23: Apple Cider and Coloring
We had a great time just watching Christmas movies, coloring some Christmas coloring pages, and sipping on some hot apple cider. These relaxing moments with my family are some of my favorites.