My Charmed Story

Beautify Your Blog- Custom URL Address

2016-01-24T00:00:00.002-06:00

I love blogger and have been using it for a few years with my other blog- Littlest Sweet Pea. I wanted to make sure that this blog (My Charmed Story) would be easy to find and not have a long url address. Unlike my first time with blogger, back in 2009, I couldn't easily change my url address.

I wanted to change www.mycharmedstory.blogspot.com to www.mycharmedstory.com. I would still be using blogger, but getting rid of the extra part in the url address. Well, I searched high and low to find easy to follow directions. I attempted multiple times to change the url address and got nowhere. Until NOW!

Here's the directions that I used to change my url address and they worked perfectly the first time. I usedMarc Ridey-blog's directions. In order to purchase my desired url address, I used Go Daddy.com. I've worked with them before and like the ease of it. I'm not a tech junkie and can easily be confused with the tech mumbo jumbo, but Go Daddy.com is easier than other places that I've tried. Yes, I still get confused with Go Daddy.com but the part that saves me is their forums- I always find my answers there!

Below are the instructions from Marc Ridey's blog.

Step 1: Go to the Settings Tab of your blog in the Blogger UI and click on the "Add a custom domain" link.

Step 2: Enter the URL you would like to use for your blog and press Save. I'm using "www.thisdemoblog.com" but the URL doesn't need to start with www such as "blog.mridey.com" where I published this article.

Step 3: You will get an error. It's expected as you have not configured GoDaddy with the DNS settings required. Now click on the "DNS settings file" link and save the file. Keep this window open, you'll need it later.

Step 4: In a new window, go to GoDaddy, login, go to the Domain Control Panel and click on your domain name.

Step 5: Click on the "DNS Zone File" tab.

Step 6: Click on the Edit button.

Step 7: We need to delete some of the existing records that GoDaddy adds by default. Select all the "A" records with "@" as host as well as the CNAME record "www" (if the URL you want to use starts with www) and press the Delete button.

Step 8: Press the "Save Zone File" button.

Step 9: Press Ok to confirm.

Step 10: Press Ok to confirm again. :)

Step 11: Now let's load the new records. Click the Import/Export button and select "Import".

Step 12: Click "Select File" and find the file you have saved in step 3, then click the "I understand ..." checkbox and press the Ok button.

Step 13: Press Ok to confirm.

Step 14: You should be able to see your new records loaded in GoDaddy. Four "A" records as well as two CNAME records. All good.

Step 15: Go back to the Blogger settings window we kept open in Step 3 and click "Save" again.

Step 16: If like me the GoDaddy DNS server processed the changes really quickly, it should all work fine and the settings should be accepted. You should be back to the main settings with your new custom domain accepted as the blog Address. So click on "Edit".

If Step 16 fails, be patient and retry later. It can take up to 48h for DNS settings to propagate.

Step 17: Enable the "Redirect ..." checkbox and press Save. This is to allow "naked domain" redirect i.e. when users type your domain name without the www at the beginning.

Step 18: Finally click the "View blog" button at the top of Blogger UI, it should all work fine and your blog should now be enabled with a custom domain.

I was not compensated by Go Daddy.com or Blogger.

FREE Sightword Passwords

2016-01-23T23:57:00.002-06:00

Something that I created to help Lily with her sight words, is the Sight Word Password game! I printed our sight words onto hand prints. I cut out the handprints and have them all around our house. In order for Lily to go into a new room or do something, she has to complete the sightword password! There are currently 3 hands on the toy room door, 3 hands next to the bathroom light, 3 hands on the outside door, 3 hands at Lily's bedroom, and 3 hands to go upstairs.

Lily gives the hands a high five as she reads the sight words. We just finished up the words- a, and, the- so those words are at the doors. Next week, I'll take out "and" (she has that one totally mastered) and add a new word to the list. I'll probably put the "and" hand in different places so Lily can still practice it. She loves this and yells at the big kids if they forget to do the password! They keep telling her that they already know how to read and she tells them "You're not following the rules. Passwords are important!"

I uploaded a FREE copy of our Pre-Primer Sight Word passwords to my Teachers-Pay-Teachers store. If you're interested in getting your own copy, download them from here.

Letter Bb Preschool Craft

2016-01-23T23:56:00.002-06:00

This past week, we worked on the letter B in mommy school. I have found so many links for us to print things out. I still plan on posting our lesson plans, but let's face it, I'm busy and the blog is just for fun.....so life takes priority! Anyways, I did create a letter B craft. I made a letter A (alligator) one, but never posted! :( Hopefully I'll get to it soon. I'm planning on making something similar for each letter.

You can print out the letter B craft, for FREE, at my teachers pay teachers store- here. I cut out the giant letter B and Lily glued it onto construction paper. She can be very stubborn at times, and only wanted white paper. So, the pics aren't very colorful, but she's the student after all!

I explained to Lily that we were turning the letter B into a bear and that the bear was hungry. Hungry for what? Letter B and b! The bottom loop of the letter B is the bear's tummy. So, she cut out the letters and glued them onto the bear's tummy.

I cut out strips of brown paper and Lily cut them into little squares. Can you believe our package of construction paper didn't have brown? So, I ended up using brown wrapping paper. You could even use lunch or grocery bags. Lily then glued the squares onto the letter B, to make the brown bear. This would be a great time to talk about B words- bee, brown, bear, etc. You could also read one of our favorite books- Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle.

I cut out the head and paws for Lily, since they're a little tricky. But Lily being stubborn, didn't like that there was a black outline on the bear's head. So, she just had to ~~hack it~~ trim it a little.

Here's what Thomas's mommy school looked like today!

(BTW- is it Thomas's or Thomas')

Lily, again being stubborn, didn't want to color the head or paws! You can glue the head of the bear onto the middle of the top loop. She added the two biggest paws to the bottom of the bottom loop. When I first made this, Lily was upset that I didn't make any hand paws! So, the version in my store has feet and hand paws.

Custom Email Signature Tutorial

2016-01-23T23:55:00.001-06:00

Have you ever thought about advertising your business within your emails? It's super easy. You can add an automatic signature to your emails. That means, every time you write an email, your custom signature will automatically be placed at the end of your emails! You can add this to your business and personal emails.

I use Outlook (hotmail/live) for my personal and business emails. So, this tutorial will be for that type of email specifically. However, just about every type of email service has customized signatures!

1. Click on the gear shape at the top right section of your email.

2. Click on "Options" on the drop down box.

3. Click on "Formatting, font, and signature".

4. Add your personal signature to the open box. Don't forget your name, title, web address, and phone number.

5. Save your work and you're done. Now every time you type an email it will be added to the bottom!

Positive Character Cards

2016-01-23T23:53:00.002-06:00

I've added something to our home school agenda! I've been wanting to teach Lily about how to make good choices. I know I did this with my older 2 kids and they were really good about using manners, making good choices, and using appropriate language. Well, now at age 13 & 11, you wouldn't have known that they were raised by a mom instead of a pack of wolves! So, I'm really trying to instill it into Lily how to make good choices and what good choices look like.

Since I'm already "teaching" her, I just thought that I'd add it into our weekly routine. As a former 2^nd grade teacher I always tried teaching my students about character and how to become a better person. Well, now it's Lily's turn and maybe Andrew & Chloe's again!

I plan on printing out the cards and each week, we will focus on 1 card. I'll try to keep the theme of the card running throughout the week. I'll use this time to talk to Lily about what a good person is and why it’s important and hard to make good choices. My hope is that by practicing, when the real time comes, she’ll be prepared to make the right choice.

If you're interested in printing out these cards, you can find them on my Teachers Pay Teachers store- here. There are 28 cards and they're FREE!

Rainbow Letter, Number & Color Packet

2016-01-23T23:51:00.002-06:00

My kindergartener is doing great learning and recognizing her letters and knows most of her numbers. Now, it's time to work with my preschooler! He recognizes just a few letters and a couple of numbers. I decided to create some fun sheets that the three of us can work on together as a game.

We'll use large dice to make it even more fun. We'll take turns rolling the die. Depending on what number is rolled determines the letter or number that we trace. The goal is to be the first to have a complete line filled in. We'll also use different colors to make the sheets more fun and to give my little guy more practice recognizing his colors.

You'll just need to go to my Teachers Pay Teachers site to download--> HERE!

Beautify Your Blog- How to Link Facebook & Twitter

2016-01-23T23:49:00.000-06:00

You can post a Facebook status update and have it converted automatically into a tweet! This will save you time, so you're not going back and forth between the different social media sites. To do so, simply visitfacebook.com/twitter. You will need to use your personal facebook page to make the changes.

On this page, you’ll be able to link all your pages to twitter – including any business pages you may have. All you do is click on the Link to Twitter button:

You’ll then be taken to a Twitter page that will ask you to sign in to your Twitter account (if you haven’t already) to confirm the link.

Enter your Twitter username and password (the login that matches the Twitter account you’re trying to link to the corresponding Facebook account (if you’re signed in to the wrong Twitter account you’ll be given the option to sign out first and re-login)) and click on Allow.
After a short “redirecting back to the application” notice, you’ll be taken back to Facebook, where you’ll see the following screen:

Under the “edit settings” option, you can decide how much information you want to share with Twitter. After you “save changes” you’ll be able to simply post a status update in Facebook (remember to keep it under the 140 character Twitter max, and leave 3 characters for a RT (ReTweet), so 137 characters total), and Facebook will automatically send a link back to your Twitter page where a status update will automatically be posted for you. This saves you from the time of having to login to both services and post updates.

How to Unlink Twitter from Facebook

Note that you also have the option of undoing this link at anytime by visiting facebook.com/twitter. This is not an application by a third-party, but the official Facebook / Twitter integration. On this page, simply select the “unlink from Twitter” link next to the Twitter accounts you no longer wish to have associated with their respective Facebook pages. Incidentally, you can also access this connection from within Twitter.

Beautify Your Blog- Custom Favicon

2016-01-23T23:47:00.002-06:00

     Ok, so I LOVE the internet! You could almost say, it's an addiction. And with that addiction comes the compulsion to have one hundred of my most favorite tabs open… at all times.    Yea, my husband loves this about me! :(

     What makes me even happier in all my tab bliss is when my tabs have a custom favicon. It makes it so much easier to quickly find the tab I'm looking for

     You know a favicon?! That teeny little squares with the brand’s logo… mini-sized right next to their name on the tab!

     Anyone can do this. If you can crop and upload a pic (use picmonkey) , then you can do it. :)

Step 1) Decide what you want your Favicon to be. This is a SMALL, SMALL pic we’re talking about here, so it needs to be something fairly cropped and zoomed. Otherwise, no one will even be able to tell what it is.   One idea is to take the initials of your blog name, or even the first letter. I chose to use the a crown since it’s the graphic image of My Charmed Story & Team Charming!

If you have a graphic in your header or blog button, that might be a good choice for your favicon.

Step 2) Crop out your favicon image. Here’s a little secret… I found my free image with a transparent background on google images. Then, I edited my image on picmonkey.com I have read several blogs where they create their image using Microsoft Word.

Step 3) Resize to a micro mini square. It’s got to be perfectly square and it can’t be bigger than 100 KB. Upload your favicon in Picmonkey to resize appropriately. Or, if you created it in Picmonkey, just change the image size. I read that you want your favicon to be 32×32 pixels instead of the previously accepted 16×16 pixels since computer screens are getting bigger and bigger.

Once you’ve resized, you can even add rounded corners in picmonkey if you desire. Then, save as a png file.

Step 4) Upload to blogger. Go to design, then on the left you’ll see the favicon editing area.

Click choose file and find where you saved your resized version.

Save and you’re done!

If yours isn’t showing, try restarting your browser and/or your computer and see if that gives it the magic touch. :) You can also do something called emptying your cache and clearing your cookies too, and you probably can google to figure that out too. :)

How to Take a Screen Shot

2016-01-23T23:46:00.002-06:00

Knowing how to take a screen shot is so important! It's a great way to help train your teammates when you can't do it in person. I love using the "Snipping Tool" to take pics of my screen. However, sometimes this tool just doesn't cut it. When I'm trying to highlight something, the "Snipping Tool" doesn't show the highlight. Simply because I have to use my mouse to highlight something AND I have to use my mouse to use the "Snipping Tool"- can't do both at the same time!

This is when a screenshot comes in handy! With a screenshot, I can use the mouse to highlight something and still get a picture (including the highlighted part). Here's how you do it...

1. Open the window that you want to take a screenshot of

Notice how my highlighted are is still shown with a screen shot!

2. Hold the "ALT" button on the keyboard and then press the "PrtSc" or "Print Screen" button

3. Click the "Start" button (circle window's icon)

4. Then move your mouse to the "All Programs", then "Accessories" and then "Paint"

5. A new "Paint" screen will open and this is where you will "Paste" your screen shot

6. Go ahead and click "Save As" and choose a location where you want the screen shot to be saved

And you're DONE!!

Updating Your Jamberry Dashboard

2016-01-23T23:45:00.003-06:00

Have you tried the Customers tab in your Jamberry Dashboard? Did you even know there was a Customers tab? I've been with Jamberry for 4 months and JUST NOW realized that we have this tab!! Seriously?! I always thought that we should have a tab to keep track of our guests other than just clicking on our Orders tab. Well duh, there is a way!

Just in case you're like me and a little clueless about the Dashboard accessories, I'm going to walk you through it!

1. Log in to your Dashboard and click on the "My Team" tab, here is where you'll find your "Customers" section

2. This is where you'll find a complete list of all of your Customers! I've blocked out last names for privacy

3. When you click on each individual customer, you'll find a complete history for them. All of the parties that have booked off of them, their history of orders, personal email and address. The only thing missing is their phone number. I really wish this was listed, so I could contact my customers (who only order online) and check up on them later.

Instagram Tutorial!

2016-01-23T23:44:00.000-06:00

So, I finally took the plunge and got hooked on Instagram! It took me awhile but after my 13 year old mastered it, I figured I should probably get on it too. Once I downloaded the FREE app to my phone, I was hooked. Immediately, my friends, family, teammates, and business customers started following me. I seriously couldn't believe how fast I had "Followers"!

I started by adding pics of my Dad's new chickens. I thought, hey they're cute and this is new for me. Then I wanted to add some of my business pics and pics of my family. The problem? Those were all on my laptop, NOT my phone! You see, with Instagram, you can only add photos to your account while using your smart phone.

That is until NOW! That's right. I found a JAMazing FREE app that allows you to upload photos from your tablet, computer, or laptop to your Instagram account!!!! This is HUGE! The app is called Gramblr! Here's the tutorial so you won't be left behind. Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram and I'll give you a follow back! ;)

1. Download the FREE Gramblr app to your PC hard drive.

2. Then this little icon will pop up

3. Click on the icon and log in to your Instagram account

4. Upload the photo from your PC that you want added to your Instagram account

5. Then add the caption and hashtags that you want to go with your new Instagram photo

6. And you're done! You now have a perfect Instagram photo from your PC :)

THIS little app just made me LOVE Instagram even more! Try it out and let me know what you think!

I'm on YouTube!

2016-01-23T23:39:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, I'm on YouTube! Stop on over and check out the videos and do you best NOT TO LAUGH! I'm still getting used to making the videos and am working on my "camera self". Honestly, I have a TON of personality at home---> just ask the family! But on camera, I'm all blah blah blah. So, let me know if you have any suggestions and I promise, they'll get better!

Click Here!

BTW--> I'm in the process of combining a couple of my blogs into 1 place! So be patient with me during the transition.

Super Easy Name Craft

2015-04-20T12:46:00.000-05:00

Hi AGAIN! The kiddos and I did a super easy and fun project today. I found this on Little Hooligan's site.

First, I wrote their names on paper with liquid glue. Lily & Thomas thought that was cool and we hadn't even started! Then I let them put salt on top of the wet glue. They LOVED this. Be sure to have your paper inside a pan. This keeps the salt spillage to a minimum.

Once the letters are covered in salt, shake the excess salt off of the paper. I mixed food coloring with a little bit of water in our ice containers. The kids used paint brushes to put the color onto the salt letters. We talked about how salt absorbs water. I reminded Lily how we'd put salt on the ice during the winter. She remembered why and we talked about absorption!

I had to show them how NOT to rub the paint brushes on the salt. To let the salt absorb the colored water. They both though it was really cool. Lily loved how the colors would bleed together.

PKU Friendly Granola Bars

2015-02-04T09:20:00.000-06:00

I made some granola bars the other day and decided to try out the same recipe, PKU style! The 3 ingredients that I used were Cambrooke's Apple Oatmeal, honey, and Dietary Specialists Peanut Butter. It was super easy and quick.

1. I took 3/4 cup of honey and heated it up on the stove.

2. Boil the honey for 1 minute. Keep stirring but be careful, it's extremely HOT!

     3. Add 1 cup of peanut butter to the honey mixture

     4. Add the peanut butter and honey mixture to 2 cups of the oatmeal and mix together

     5. Press the granola mixture into an 8x8 pan, lined with parchment paper.

6. Let it cool and use a paper towel to wipe the excess oil off. I'm not exactly sure but I'm
thinking that the oil is from the peanut butter.

7. Cut and enjoy!

Mommy School: Week 1

2014-08-04T06:30:00.000-05:00

I'm getting ready for another year of Mommy School with Lily (age 4 1/2) and now Thomas (age 2)! I'm not exactly sure how much Thomas will do, but we'll give it a shot. We'll be continuing our calendar time, math journal, and a few other things. This year, I'm going to do my best to put our lessons in a format that others can view. I've included the links to most of our activities in the lesson plan.
Lily, Thomas, and I will start school on August 18! Wish us luck :)

Mommy School~ Week 1 Lesson Plans

*No apologies for being AWOL for so long. Such is life!!

Giveaway!

2014-01-10T10:32:00.000-06:00

I've decided that with a new year upon me, I want to be a better person. I say that every year and each year I do my best to make improvements. Ususally the improvements are to get in better shape, to live for the moments, to spend more time with the kids...etc. I do want to have these improved in 2014 but I also want to make a conscience effort to make myself and the world better educated on PKU.

I know the basics of PKU and what I need to do for my children to have a good life. But I know nothing about research that is happening with PKU. I pay little attention to insurance/government healthcare and how it affects PKU. We just get by day-to-day and it works. So far, my 4 year old knows what she can and can not have. She knows how to advocate for herself also. I have been so blessed by her low levels and the easiness of her care that I've taken a lot of things for granted. That's why I want to be a better PKU parent. When people ask me questions about their food, their healthcare, advancements- I want to have the correct answers. This is going to be the biggest change for me in 2014. Hopefully, I'll have the energy and time to learn more. A family of 6 is very time consuming!

Anyways, I want to start 2014 off on the right foot for PKU by having a giveaway! My little ones enjoy quite a few products by Sanavi. The kids LOVE all of their cookies and really like the crackers/Tostadas. So, for the giveaway I have 2 packages of Sanavi Tostadas! The Tostadas are a light and crunchy bread that is specifically made for people who need to have low protein and amino acid diets- PKU!

I've found that a lot of low protein food, the packaging is printed in numerous languages! This is no exception, however the phe content is posted and is easy to find. For one tostada (6g) there is 0.03g of protein and 1g of phenylalanine! There is 0.09g of fat and 3g of carbs and 0.4g of sugar!

The ingredients are wheat starch, corn starch, cane sugar, inulin, vegetable fibre (pea), soy lecithin, sea salt, and natural caramen coloring. It may contain small traces of gluten and milk derivatives.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#DIY Fancy Clipboard Tutorial

2013-12-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

While getting ready for my first Origami Owl vendor show, I wanted to make my boring clipboard a little cuter. I purchased a clipboard from the Dollar Tree. The clipboard is not plastic, it's more like pressed particle wood/cardboard. I'm pretty sure that this tutorial would work for a plastic clipboard, but I haven't tried it.

I used scrapbook paper that I had on hand and a can of spray adhesive. First you need to trace the front and back of your clipboard onto the scrapbook paper and cut it out.

To get the spray adhesive to stick permanently, you need to spray the clipbaord and the paper. Wait a couple of minutes and then stick them together. Be careful because once they come into contact with each other, it's hard to take them apart. A word of advice, do not do this on your bedroom carpet! It's still sticky after a few weeks. Oops....we need new carpet anyways!

Back of Clipboard Front of Clipboard

2013 Father Daughter Dance

2013-12-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Last year our school hosted their first Father Daughter Dance. Ryan and Chloe went and Chloe had a blast. Well this year, they opened it up to ALL ages. So ofcourse Ryan being the terrific father, he took both of his little girls! Chloe had fun hanging out with friends and Lily was super excited. On the way out the door, she shouted "Daddy Daughter dance here I come!"

#DIY Infinity Scarf Tutorial

2013-12-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

I made my first infinity scarf! I was wanting a scarf for the winter that would keep my neck warm withoug causing me to get all itchy and take twn wraps to get around my neck! So I scoured the interenet and found a couple of tutorials. Unfortunately, I got half way done only to have them not turn out! The directions were a little baffling. So, I'm going to do my very best to recreate the tutorial that I used and corrected, so you won't sew part of your scarf inside-out! From start to end, it took me about 10 minutes to make each scarf. Ofcourse the first 2 were a disaster, but once I figured out my mistake it was pretty easy.

I used 1.75 yards of flannel fabric. This amount will get you 2 scarves. I cut the fabric in half length wise and had 2 sections that were each 1.75 yards. Each section makes 1 scarf.

I took one section of the fabric and turned it so that right sides are facing each other. The fabric is folded so that it is still 1.75 yards in length.

I then sewed along the longest sides of the fabric together. (they're still right sides facing each other) I left 2 inches at each end. You will need this to be able to finish your scarf at the end of the tutorial.

This is where the original tutorial got confusing! So here we go..... I switched out fabrics because the pictures of the original fabric didn't turn out very well. Open the fabric so that right sides are facing out and you should have a long tube. Fold the tube in half so that the openings are touching.

Take the two openings and line up the ends. You are going to sew the two openings together.

Sew the two openings together and do your best to keep the fabric even. While you are doing this be careful so that your fabric doesn't get caught in the machine. This is where the long tube becomes a circle.

I've switched back to the original fabric. After sewing the ends together, you should have an opening in the circle (this is from leaving the 2 inches from the beginning of the tutorial).

The circle is currently inside out, but by reaching into the opening, you can pull the fabric out and the right sides will be facing out.

Your Infinity Scarf is almost finished.

The only thing left to do is sew up the opening!

Just fold the raw edges in and sew the opening closed. And you're finished!

To wear, you put the scarf around your neck and wrap a second time! For the adult size, I used 1.75 yards for Lily's scarf I used 1.5 yards of fabric.

Annual #PKU Cookie Decorating

2013-12-18T08:48:00.001-06:00

For the past couple of years we have made sugar cookies using Maddy's Cookie mix. We don't make regular sugar cookies though. We have to cut them out with fun holiday shapes and then decorate them with icing and sprinkles! I mix the dough according to the directions and then we take a small ball out and flatten it on foil. To make sure that the dough doesn't stick to the foil or our hands, we sprinkle a little powdered sugar on the foil and on top of the ball. Then Lily flattens it out and and cuts it.

Lily LOVES licking up the powdered sugar and eating the dough! But the best part is decorating them at Grandma's house with her cousins!

Happy Turkey Day #DIY Craft!

2013-11-27T08:24:00.001-06:00

I got a little craft bug the other day and decided to make the kids Thanksgiving Turkey shirts. Not just my kids, but my 3 little nephews. I basically made them similar to the onesies that I made in the spring~ here. I found a tie outline on google, printed it out and used that as my template. For the eyes, beak, and waddle, I just free handed them. I also used black paint (purchased in the craft section of Walmart) for the pupils. For Lily's shirt, she couldn't have a tie! So, again I google a letter L outline and used that as my template. I also made a hair clip for Lily's turkey!

For the hair clip, I cut out circles of tulle. I then used a candle flame to melt the edges of the tulle, so it would curl in and not unravel. I used thread and basically sewed little beads to the inside of the tulle flower and this attached each piece of tulle to one another. To attach it to the shirt, I just used a safety pin! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Guess Whoooo's Up To Something New?

2013-11-09T00:01:00.000-06:00

Yeah, the title sounds a little corny but you can't blame a girl for trying! I'm up to something new and exciting and a little scary. I've decided to join with a new and incredible business- Origami Owl! Haven't heard of them. No surprise, they've been around for a couple of years but it wasn't until just recently that they exploded.

Origami Owl is known for their custom Living Lockets. You choose your window locket, your chain, and fill the locket with incredible charms. You see, the lockets tell your personal story! I've been admiring them for a little while and just now decided to take the jump and become a designer.

Being a designer, still let's me be creative while earning extra income for my family and I get to work around our hectic family schedule.

The Origami Owl necklaces and bracelets (NEW 11/9/13) are completely personal. You get to choose everything. The best part is that dangles can be added, charms can be replaced and added, plates can be inserted. There's no end to the creativity with these!

I'm still waiting for my designer box to come in the mail. And I CAN'T WAIT!! So, if you're interested in having a home or online Jewelry Bar (party) or want to order online- please click on my business page- kellynestler.OrigamiOwl.com

If you order by December 6, 2013- your Living Locket will arrive in time for the holidays!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2013-11-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

We found the perfect chocolate chip recipe. Plus it has peanut butter...GENIUS! Ryan found this recipe on Cooks.com and the cookies barely lasted a day!

Recipe
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
6 oz package chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Mix flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl, beat peanut butter, butter, sugars, and vanilla until fluffy. Beat in eggs. With mixer on low speed, gradually add in flour mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Sadly, we didn't make as many cookies as possible. ~~Some~~ A lot of the batter was eaten before it was cooked!

DELICIOUS!

Low Protein #PKU Thumbprint Biscuit Recipe

2013-11-06T00:01:00.000-06:00

Lily and I just tried out a some-what new biscuit recipe. We've made the drop biscuits from the Low Protein Cookery for PKU recipe book by Virginia Schuett before (recipe here). This time, we used the same recipe and turned them into thumbprint biscuits. The only difference, is that Lily gets to stick her tiny thumb into the biscuit, we put some strawberry jelly into the little hole and bake them!

Here's the recipe:
2/3 cup baking mix (we used Cambrooke's)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon sale
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 1/2 tablespoons liquid coffee creamer (we used Aldi's brand)

Preheat oven to 400.In a bowl, mix together baking mix, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in shortening with a fork until like coarse meal. Add coffee creamer all at once and stir until smooth. Drop batter by tablespoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Indent the top of each biscuit with a finger. Fill indentation with a 1/4 teaspoon of jam or jelly. Bake for 15 minutes.

Yields: 6 biscuits
Phe per recipe: 13 mg

#DIY #Frankenstein Craft

2013-10-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

One of Lily's favorite parts of Mommy School is making crafts! Yesterday, we ended up making a Frankenstein from things we had around home. I got the idea from an old The Mailbox (teacher's magazine) from 2001! Yeah, I'm a bit of a hoarder! The ~~two~~ things that I have a hard time getting rid of my old teaching items, hand-me-down clothes for the kids, and books. That's really what my garage is full of, along with a few furniture items from my grandparents.

Anyway, I got out the seasonal Mailbox magazines and found a really cute Frankenstein craft. Lily painted an empty oatmeal container. Don't make the same mistake as me- remove the label before painting!

After noticing that the label was showing and that it could be removed, I took it off- getting paint all over the table cloth and Lily and basically making a big mess! But the second time she painted it looked much better.

For the hair, Lily drew a wavy circle of brown felt around the oatmeal lid. I cut out the felt hair and hot glued it onto the lid. I also glued it on the outer part of the lid so the hair wouldn't stick straight out.

I cut out eyebrows from the brown felt and eyes from white felt. Lily colored the pupils of the eyes with marker. If you look closely, you can see the green felt nose. I cut out a triangle and only glued the edges of it. This made the nose stick out 3-D style.

Lily colored a piece of tin foil for the mouth. After we glued it on, she decided that the Frankenstein looked too scary! I took it off, removed a bunch of paint, repainted the mouth area, and put on a new mouth. This time I cut out a smiley face and Lily colored it with a yellow marker. She wanted Frankenstein to have yellow teeth, so the color would be like a minion!

I started a hole on each side and Lily put in bolts for the Frankenstein! She named the creation Lilystein! Very original!