Just Another Day in Paradise

Teacher Gift: A TOTEally Awesome Teacher- FREE Printable

2013-05-20T07:24:00.000-06:00

I can't believe the end of the school year is practically here.

I can't believe it is almost Summer and all too soon I am going to have to be entertaining a small pack of wild and crazies. Ugh, let's not think about that just yet...

For now let's focus on all the wonderful teachers. I love great teachers. Every time I go into one of the boys' classrooms and help out I am reminded at just how hard it is to be a teacher. I sure want to make sure great teachers know they are great teachers.

Teacher's Appreciation Week was only a few weeks ago. I shared with you my Teacher Appreciation Gift "Thanks for Being a SOAPer Teacher".

Even though the two are close together, I also like giving an end of the school year gift to our teachers.

I really wanted to make a tote and use the cheesy phrase "TOTEally Awesome Teacher." Then I found this gloriously Summery chevron and I knew the bag was meant to be.

I gave a little sneak peak of this Teacher Gift yesterday on Instagram.

Yes people I have finally joined and I am slowly...okay not so slowly...and very surely loading up my Instagram with photos. Follow along (@larissa_anotherday)

I designed and sewed this little tote bag. (tutorial in the works)

Perfect for our teachers to haul things to the beach, the library, or a park during their Summer break.

Then once school is back in they can TOTE around (hehehe, sorry I had to) planners, lunch, books, and other teachery things.

I folded the bag up and added in a coordinating little chalk board. I was fortunate to have some of these chalkboards left over from Little's Charlie Brown Birthday Party.

I tied it all up with a scrap of fabric that I had left over from the inside lining.

Then I printed off the tag that I designed in PicMonkey.

Then I slipped the tag on the gift. One TOTEally easy and TOTEally lovely gift for one TOTEally awesome teacher. Really I just couldn't seem to help myself...hahaha.

Such an easy and fun way to thank a teacher.

Here is a tag you can download by right clicking and saving it to your computer.

You can just attach it to any tote--store bought or handmade. Easy as that.

What is your favorite way to thank your awesome teachers?

Recipe Thursday: Guacamole AND Pico de Gallo

2013-05-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

Years and year and year ago, my very cute and somewhat blonde sister (blonde in her youth naturally and now not so naturally) gave us many opportunities to reflect on her blondness.

One instance was a funny little phone conversation that went a little something like this--

Me: "So Sister Dear (yes I am proper and affectionate like that), when is your next day off of school?"

Sister Dear: "Um not like until October." (I totally added the like. She may or may not have said that).

Me: "Oh, do you have Columbus Day off?"

Sister Dear: (in a know-it-all tone) "Uh...Rissa...I don't live in Ohio (at the time we lived in Ohio)." You could almost hear the DUH!

Me: "Uh Sister Dear, Columbus Day is for Christopher Columbus...not Columbus, Ohio."

Sister Dear: "Oh...hehehehehe...I should probably know that."

Another Sister Dear blond moment has much more to do with this post.

During a trip through the drive through with my dad, my dad happened to be saying something about guacamole and about how it was made from avocados.

To which Sister Dear said, "Oh really? I thought guacamole came from guacomolies."

Insert Silence. Chirp. Chirp. Chirp.

Followed by some serious laughter.

Dad: "Uh no." (as he wipes tears of laughter from his face).

Thanks to my Sister Dear I will always think of guacamole coming from guacamolies.

Truth be told for most of my adult life this amusing little tale was all that I liked about guacamole. I am not a huge fan of avocados. Therefore, guacamole never appealed to me. Which is CRAZY because I love, love, luh-ve tortilla chips and salsa.

Which should of course reason that I would also like guacomole. Alas, it didn't seem to matter how much I liked tortilla chips and dips into which to well dip them...I just couldn't appreciate guacamole.

UNTIL now.

Goosh! I love this guacamole. Like scarf down half the bowl "checking" it to see if it tastes good enough to serve guests.

My guests didn't get much. Hanging head in shame.

So how does a girl who doesn't like guacamole even decide to make it.

Well see there was this Mexican Fiesta First Birthday party...oh you remember it? Yeah I went a little overboard.

My menu was more for 40 people instead of the 15+ that we had. I wanted to cover all of my Mexican food bases.

So guacamole was made. The great news is that this recipe also required me to make another tortilla chip favorite...Pico de Gallo.

So today I am sharing with you not one, but TWO recipes. To tortilla chip favorites. Two dips.

We are DOUBLE DIPPING in a completely socially acceptable way.

This is a super easy and basic recipe. You shall have some yummy dip before you know it. Now grab that bag of tortilla chips and get ready to munch. Mmmmm. Now I wish I had some tortilla chips and some of these dips in the fridge!

Happy snacking!

Guacamole AND Pico de Gallo
The Pioneer Woman

Printable Recipe

Pico de Gallo:
equal amounts of the following:
chopped cilantro
diced white onions
chopped Roma tomatoes

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely diced
lime
salt to taste

The cilantro, onions, and tomatoes once chopped and/or diced should be in equal quantities. Basically that means if you have two cups of tomatoes, you need two cups of both onions and cilantro.

Seed the jalapeno. Very finely dice the peppers.

Mix the cilantro, onions, tomatoes and jalapenos in a bowl. Squeeze the juice from half a lime over the ingredients in the bowl.

Sprinkle with salt. Stir to mix everything together.

Taste to make sure the flavor is good. Add more salt if needed.

Use in the same day.

If making guacamole (and I really think you should), set aside the pico de gallo.

Guacamole:
6-8 avocados
salt
1/2-3/4 cup premade pico de gallo
lime

Slice and remove the pit from the avocados. Scoop into a medium serving bowl. Salt and then mash with a fork.

Add in a heaping pile (1/2 + cup) of your reserved pico de gallo. Squeeze the juice from the other half of the lime over the guacamole. Gently fold in the pico de gallo to the avocado.

Taste. Add more pico de gallo if necessary.

Don't forget to check out my other RECIPES.

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The Sweetheart Sewing Kit

2013-05-14T04:00:00.000-06:00

Recently my baby sister left to serve an 18 month mission for our Church.

There was a lot of preparation in getting ready for her to leave.

One day my mom was listing off what they still needed and one of the items was a sewing kit.

I excitedly said, "Oooh let me take care of that!" Yeah I am a nerd like that and something as little as a sewing kit excites me.

I know I could have bought one, but heck she is the baby and she is doing something fantastically awesome. So I figured she could use a little sewing kit made with love.

I designed the sewing kit to open and close like a tiny notebook.

I used some of my more vintagey and lovely fabrics. She is going to Oklahoma and I really wanted a gingham dress and eyelet lace petticoat kind of feel. Basically I wanted it to scream county fair, blue ribbon pies, and mending on the front porch of a ranch house.

I have watched Oklahoma! the musical way too many times...

Funny story, once on Christmas Eve (technically Christmas Day) at three in the morning my siblings and I found ourselves unable to sleep. We were under strict instructions not to wake up our parents until 6am. As a tradition on Christmas Eve, we all slept in the same room. This room just happened to have a TV. So we turned it on and randomly enough this movie was all that was playing. So we all watched this movie together.

Ahh...good times.

Okay back to the sewing kit and wanting it to like a county fair...

This might be a little over the top with my theme...but I kind of love it.

There are pockets on both sides.

One side is a divided pocket to hold the cutest and daintiest scissors. There is also a felt flag banner to keep safety pins on.

I also managed to find a pink measuring tape.

My sister insisted that she didn't think she would need a measuring tape, since there probably wouldn't be much measuring. I went along with her...

...until I found the pink measuring tape.

Could.Not.Resist.

The pocket on the other side is a vinyl pocket with a velcro closure.

I bought mini rolls of thread and displayed them proudly in the clear pocket.

I added more felt details...because when have I ever not LOVED adding felt to a project.

I sewed a heart-shaped piece that holds needles.

I also cut more felt banners to hold spare buttons. I only attached these banners at the top so that the buttons were accessible.

The whole sewing kit easily folds closed and velcros shut. She can easily pack it away. It takes up no room at all.

She will always be ready to face any sewing/mending mishaps. AND she can do it with pure Oklahoman style.

Plus, I hope when ever she uses it she will remember how much I love her.

Kind of like I am sending her the prettiest hug from so far away.

Baby Gift: Baby Bath Towels

2013-05-13T04:00:00.000-06:00

One of my friends just had the most beautiful and precious little girl.

Oh, she is just so sweet. There is almost nothing better than holding a newborn baby.

I wanted to give my friend and baby a little baby gift.

I was tempted to get dresses and frilly things (you know since I never get to buy those things), but I knew her mom had already got/made her tons of cute new clothes.

After thinking a bit, I remembered the Hooded Baby Towels I made right after Bean was born.

Then during a trip to Target I saw these fun and girly towels.

Could you die??? Ack! I love them!

I grabbed that towel and a coordinating solid one and head home for some sewing.

I made some biased tape out of a solid softer pink fabric.

I followed the same instructions from my Hooded Baby Towel tutorial.

I used the pattern towel to make a hood on the solid towel. I thought that would be a fun twist on a completely solid towel.

Bam! Two towels done.

I folded them up, wrapped them with a strip of fabric and gave them to my friend to wrap up her sweet baby after her little baths.

These towels are really easy to make (especially if you already have the biased tape made).

I had so much fun making these. I also had so much fun doing a girly project. I don't get to do too many of those.

Such an easy homemade gift.

So did you get that I said they were easy to make?

Easy peasy.

Enjoy sweet baby girl!

Slow Cooker Saturday: Honey Sesame Chicken

2013-05-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Slow Cooker Saturday.

I have a super delicious slow cooker recipe for you today.

This dish has quickly become a family favorite. We serve it over a hot helping of steamed rice and top it with fresh and crunchy green onions.

We serve it up family style on a big plate. Then we spoon ourselves a not-so-modest serving onto a plate.

Then we pretty much shovel the food into our mouths in a manner suggesting that we have not eaten in days.

Oh-so-good.

Sometimes I like to pretend that I have houseful of napkin-toting, fork-using, proper-manners, please-and-thank-you using Little Men.

Then there are times I am just gonna say it like it is...

They inhaled this meal. I am not sure napkins were even considered. I served it up and then the next thing I knew their plates were already empty, their little faces saucy (aka covered in sauce), and they were requesting seconds.

Note to self...double the recipe. I mean the Momma and Daddy have to eat too.

This is a great recipe and should definitely make your Slow Cooker rotation. I promise. This Momma does not take a yummy and family friendly recipe lightly.

Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
adapted from Your Homebased Mom

Printable Recipe

2-3 chicken breasts
salt
pepper
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup honey
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
4 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
3-4 green onions, sliced

Put the chicken in the crock pot and liberally salt and pepper on both sides.

In a bowl, combine onion, garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oil, and sriracha. Pour the sauce over the chicken.

Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Remove chicken and shred. Set aside.

Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Strain the fat off the sauce that is in the slow cooker. Discard the fat and pour the sauce into a small sauce pan. Add in the cornstarch mixture. Cook the sauce over medium high heat, stirring frequently for about 10 minutes OR until the sauce thickens.

Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.

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Teacher Appreciation Week: For a SOAPer Teacher

2013-05-06T04:00:00.000-06:00

EDIT: I have fixed the post, so that the printable images

are now available! Just scroll down.

It is Teacher Appreciation week. We love our teachers! We have had some fabulous, fabulous teachers.

Today I am sharing one of our teacher appreciation gifts.

This year one of the ideas I had involved some gloriously, lovely, and altogether delightful smelling handmade soap. Then I came up with on oh-so clever tag line...

"Thanks for being a SOAPer teacher"

I know, I know you are dying from my cleverness.

I ordered my handmade soap from Rachael's Homemade Soap Shop. I ordered black raspberry vanilla and honey almond oatmeal.

They are so pretty!

They also smell divine. Divine I tell you.

Then I whipped up two different tags in Picmonkey. One telling the kind of soap, and the other with the SOAPer teacher tag line.

I packaged up the soap in a berry container. Then I tied some fabric around it and used a clothespin to attach the tags.

Here are the tags just for you. You can click and save them to your computer. Then just insert it into a Word document and print it off. You could use this idea with handmade soap or even fancy and lovely hand soap in a pump.

Happy Teacher Appreciation week to all the fabulous teachers we know!

Sunday Lessons: Forgiveness Handout

2013-05-05T04:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Sunday! Over a month ago I gave a lesson in church about forgiveness.

A big part of the lesson was about the concept of letting go. When we hold on to grudges and allow past wrongs to continue to hurt us, really we are hurting ourselves more than the one we are not forgiving.

There is also a bit of the Golden Rule where forgiveness is concerned.

None of us are perfect, and we all are in need of forgiveness. As we hope for forgiveness, we must also be willing to give forgiveness.

That can be hard.

But it is doable.

I loved this quote by the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley--

"May God help us to be a little kinder, showing

greater forbearance, to be more forgiving,

more willing to walk the second milk,

to reach down and lift up...

to lay aside old grudges and nurture

them no more."

I centered my hand out for the girls on this quote.

Since forgiveness is all about healing, both others and ourselves, I thought it would be cute to attach a band-aid to the handout.

I simply printed off the Forgiveness Tags (which I made using PicMonkey...do you guys ever get tired of me talking about that site???).

Here is the tag for you--

(right click on the tag image, save to the computer and insert to a Word document)

Then just hole punch a bunch of band-aids and each handout. Tie the band-aids to the handouts.

A lovely little reminder of the importance of forgiving others. I love the part of the quote that says, "to lay old grudges and nurture them no more".

I think I shall work on that!

My Favorite Cinco de Mayo Recipes

2013-05-02T05:00:00.000-06:00

First, I am over at Crafter Club celebrating Birthday Week.

I am sharing my favorite buttercream frosting recipe that is

great for birthday cakes, cupcakes, and sugar cookies.

Stop by and say HI!

The 5th of May would have totally sneaked up on me if it weren't for the fact that as I was menu planning for visiting family I realized that the Sunday they are here was Cinco de Mayo.

A perfect excuse to make a veritable Mexican (aka American version of Mexican food) feast. The last Mexican feast we had around here was on Bean's Mexican Fiesta First Birthday.

Uh that was over a month ago, and that is WAY too long to not have had Mexican food on our dinner table.

I excitedly put together my Cinco de Mayo menu.

Shredded Beef Tacos

Cheesy Rice

Refried Beans

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Guacamole

Homemade Salsa

Churros

Yum. I am wishing it were May 5th already.

As I was figuring out what to make, I realized that maybe Cinco de Mayo was sneaking up on some of you as well. So I put together a little round up of our favorite Mexican Food inspired recipes here on Just Another Day in Paradise.

Enjoy!

Cinco de Mayo Approved Recipes

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Three Bean Corn Salsa

Shredded Beef Tacos

Sweet Pork Baked Taquitos

Tex Mex Shredded Pork Burritos

Cheesy Spanish Rice

Thanks for stopping by! I would love for you to share the Fiesta Fun by pinning or sharing on Facebook. One big Mexican food love fest!

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A Pinteresting Wednesday: A Cinderella Apron

2013-05-01T04:00:00.000-06:00

Woohoo. Another A Pinteresting Wednesday is upon us!

I have had quite a long list of "want-to-accomplish" items from my pinboards for several weeks. I had lofty ambitions to bust a bunch of them out. Several of them are in the B-U stage of being BUSTED out.

AKA, they are started but not close to being finished. Hahaha, short and unfinished story of my life as of late.

This little project was an immediate put on list, go buy fabric, and sew in an afternoon. I originally saw a pin of this awesomely girly array of these princess aprons created by Giggleberry.

I pinned it to my Gifts for Others board.

We have a oh-so-sweet neighbor girl who just happens to be Little's bestest friend. We had previous bought her the cutest tea set from IKEA and had been holding on to it for her birthday.

After seeing these aprons, I decided she needed to have a Cinderella apron to go with her tea set.

Here is a little known fact about yours truly...

All through my preteen and teenage years, I collected Cinderella items.

I loved the movie AND I loved Cinderella. I kind of wanted to be her and was majorly bummed out when I found out that there was a height requirement to be a Disney Princess at Disneyland. My meager 5'5" height was not fitting the 5'7" requirement.

Boo.
Dreams dashed.
How was I supposed to meet Prince Charming? (That one ended up working out for me even without Disneyland).

Fast forward a few years...or a few ten...

Now I had all of this Cinderella stuff and not a single Little Lady in our home. I very happily went through it and passed it on to our cute little neighbor girl.

Now she has one more thing for her pile of Cinderella stuff.

There was no tutorial for the apron. I just kind of made it up as I went a long. I mostly like how it turned out. I made the "skirt" part wider than the "bodice" part of the apron. In theory I thought that would be better that way so that it looked more like a skirt.

I think I will tweek it a little more next time. I will probably have the skirt and top meet up better.

Even with the little imperfections and the differences in look from Giggleberry's aprons, I still like how it turned out. I have plans (and fabric) to make more. Aurora is next on the list, so little girl cousins be prepared.

I am also dying to try and recreate her Ariel one. LOVE it.

I made a little gift tag with one of the main themes from Cinderella. It also happens to be one of my favorite Disney songs and a song I have sung repeatedly to all of my babies.

Apron done and present ready to give to one of the cutest little princesses we know.

This was a really fun and easy project. I look forward to making more princess aprons.

One more Pinterest projects knocked off the list. Yippee!

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Thanks for reading!

Fun with the Kids Friday: Tornado in a Tube

2013-04-26T04:00:00.000-06:00

When I was in 7th Grade, I had a pretty awesome science teacher. I don't remember exactly what made him awesome, but I distinctly remember him being awesome.

Three things I do remember:
1. His name was Mr. Condon....yup that was his name.
2. He was rather fond of Mariah Carey.
3. He had the most awesome Tornado in a Tube.

I loved that thing. He would swirl, twist, tip and produce a water tornado every time.

Obviously I have remembered that little bit of science fun over the years. I have been wanting to recreate our own Tornado in a Tube for a while. Finally the other day I just happened to remember the Tornado in a Tube right at the same time I was passing the soda aisle at the grocery store.

In the time it took for us to drink two 2-liters of soda, we had our very own Tornado in a Tube...BAM!

Easiest thing to make ever.

The part that takes the longest is drinking the soda. So if you already have two empty bottles, the hard part is done.

You will need some duct tape.

Of course you will need water.

Then to make things fun you can add some Monopoly houses or maybe even some food coloring.

You simply fill one of the plastic bottles 3/4 full of water. Then you add in the food coloring and/or teeny tiny houses.

Take the empty bottle and turn it upside down placing the mouths of the bottles together. Wrap strips of duct tape to secure the bottles together.

Keep wrapping, around and around. You really want to just keep wrapping until you have the necks of the bottle completely wrapped up too.

When in doubt, keep wrapping. You want it wrapped up enough that it doesn't leak.

Now, it still might leak a little OR will start to leak after a lot of playing.

Because it will get played with for sure.

With everything all taped up, the fun can begin.

Just grab the Tornado Tube by the taped part.

Turn it over and shake and twirl the whole thing.

Then just wait and watch as the water tornado forms.

The whole thing is very cool and my boys loved it. They used it so much and created so many tornadoes that it I had to re-tape it!

After making these, I did find that there is an online store that sells Tornado Tubes, that are made to attach the two bottles together. Hence no more duct tape. So if you think ahead enough you could always order some of those.

My boys really, really loved this. When they happened to walk by the Tornado in a Tube sitting on the counter they couldn't help but reach out and grab, flip, and twirl. Then, mesmerized they would watch another water tornado make its way through the bottom of the tube into the next tape.

Thanks for joining me for another installment of Fun with the Kids Friday .

Kids' Denim Gardening Apron: Tutorial

2013-04-23T04:00:00.000-06:00

Spring is here. The perfect time for getting outside working those gardens. Spring is the perfect time to plant flowers, seeds, and start a vegetable garden. Spring is the perfect time to let your Green Thumb out of it's cage.

For me there is only one little problem. What is the opposite of a Green Thumb?

My Little Men say it is a Black Thumb, because if the plant dies it is black.

Whatever the opposite of Green Thumb is, that is what I have. On both hands. Double the gardening trouble.

In fact, the only plant (besides a vegetable garden...which even that is touch and go) I have managed to keep alive is the set of cacti we have had since Bean's Mexican Fiesta First Birthday.

I have kept them alive a whole month.

I attribute that to a couple of factors.

One: Cacti are pretty hardy. After all they live in the desert.
Two: Cacti are used to neglect. I mean you don't see a wondering nomad pruning, feeding, and watering them now do ya?
Three: Hubby has been seen watering said cacti when they are on the brink of death. Thank you kind sir. They owe you their lives.

See! I really can't say that I have kept them alive. They have stayed alive despite me.

So imagine my shock when my Little Men, especially Oldest, came to me with a desire to plant and take care of their own flowers. Oldest even used his own money to buy some extra seeds and another planter.

We went to our favorite garden store and the boys picked out pots, flowers, and soil. We immediately planted them. I immediately began to worry I was going to kill them.

Middle very vigilantly reminds me daily that the flowers need watering. He reminds me they need the sunlight. They all worry about the wind blowing them over (spring around here is like living in a wind tunnel).

Bottom line, they already seem to be much better gardeners than their mother.

They already have plans to start planting more things. Oldest wants his very own little vegetable garden to take care of this Summer.

I figured with all of this gardening (aka digging around in the dirt) they could use a no-nonsense Denim Gardening Apron just right and sturdy enough for Little Men gardeners. The apron is a convenient place to carry seeds and tools. Plus they have a place other than their clothes to wipe their dirty little mitts.

Lucky for me I have a pretty hefty pile of old holey jeans just waiting to be repurposed.

If you have some old jeans and a budding gardener, this would be the perfect project.

All you need:

several pairs of jeans
thread
(you might need a heavy duty sewing needle if your denim is thick)
a little gardener

First you cut the legs of the first pair of jeans. Next you cut each of the jean legs open at the inside seam.

You trim each piece down to a 14"x11" rectangle. You will have two pieces, the front and back of the apron.

Then you will cut one leg off another pair of jeans and again cut that jean leg open at the inside seam. Then you will trim that piece to 14"x8". This piece will be the front pocket.

The jeans previous have been children's jeans. For the waistband/ties I used a pair of my jeans.

Cut off one leg of an adult sized pair of jeans, and cut it open. Then cut two strips measuring 3"x26".

Sew the two strips together, right sides facing, with a 1/2" seam allowance.

With the two pieces sewn together you have a long strip of denim. Iron in half lengthwise and then iron top and bottom edges into the halfway point, and then fold and iron again. Basically, you are making your own long strip of biased tape (just not necessarily on the bias).

Set aside.

The next step is to prepare the pocket. Iron one edge down 1/4". Then fold down that edge another 1/4" and iron. Sew along this edge. This will be the top seam of your pocket.

Next pin the pocket to the right side of the front piece of the apron. After you have pinned the pocket in place, divide the pocket in thirds and mark. This will be where you sew down to make the pocket dividers.

Sew the pocket lines. Back stitch right at the top and then continue sewing all the way down in as straight as a line as you can sew.

Now with the front of the apron done, layer the other piece of denim on top, right sides facing.

Pin all around the edges. Sew together with 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 3-4" gap at the top to turn out the apron.

Turn out the apron.

To sew on the waistband, match the middle of the long strip to the middle of the apron. Open up the "biased tape" denim strip and sandwich the top of the apron into it. Fold over, so the biased tape is covering the top edge of the apron. Pin in place and pin the part of the biased tape that is the ties, in order to sew them closed too.

Start at one tie and sew all long the bottom edge over the apron and to the end of the other tie.

Boom, you are done. One Little Gardening Apron perfect for kids who like to garden.

They stay a little cleaner...noticed that I said a little. I mean gardening equals dirt and dirt and kids are pretty much always going to create some kind of glorious mess.

They will also look pretty profesh and legit. So legit they may start charging you for all their gardening advice and planting services.

Or they may just want you to shower them with praise and accolades for their hard work and beautiful flowers.

Done and done.

I really believe that encouraging kids to garden is a great things. Gardening is a skill that will help them their whole lives.

They will have a greater appreciation for the Earth (a late plug for Earth Day).
Gardening encourages them to eat more fruit and vegetables.
Gardening teaches hard work.
It teaches patience.
Gardening is something they can do with their little hands.
They can see the "fruits" of their labors.
Gardening teaches self reliance.

Just to name a few.

Make them a Denim Gardening Apron all their own, give them some tools, and let them pick out their own seeds and they are sure to get the gardening bug.

Have a marvelous day!

Thanks for reading!

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Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sandwiches

2013-04-20T04:00:00.000-06:00

First things first people ... I have done it.

For better or worse I put my big girl social media pants on and I joined Twitter.

I am officially ready to Tweet.

Tweet what?

Oh I have no clue.

I am officially ready to hashtag...or should I have just said I am officially ready to #?

Oh good grief. I am in trouble.

I would love it if any of you out there on twitter would ~~hold my hand~~ follow Just Another Day in Paradise on Twitter and be there with me during this social media journey.

Thanks for being the best readers ever.

You are grand.

On with Slow Cooker Saturday. Another week, another Slow Cooker Recipe.

Can I get a WOOT, WOOT?

I LOVE sandwiches. Pretty much all sandwiches. There are a very few I won't eat...cough...cough...seafood salad sandwiches...ehem....

I love that this recipe was for chicken that was going into a sandwich.

The roasted red pepper and chicken cooked away in the slow cooker with no never-you-mind from me. When it was time to eat, I just had to get the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and spread ready.

Then it all cozied up together and got put on a plate waiting for my undivided attention.

Well, not undivided. I couldn't help but giving some of my attention to these insane homemade Garlic Parmesan Fries (recipe included today).

I felt just like I was eating at a restaurant. Except I didn't have to leave a tip and I had to wash the dishes afterwards. But other than that...yeah it felt like a restaurant.

This is an easy and completely yummy sandwich recipe. Plus you can really switch it up how you like. With the Roasted Red Pepper Chicken as a base you can choose the type of bread. You can choose different spreads. Hidden Valley has these great new spreads that work perfectly on sandwiches (they don't know I am saying that, I just really like their spreads and want to pass on this little gem to other sandwich lovers).

We used the Spicy Chipotle Pepper flavor on one sandwich. We used regular pesto on another.

Both were super tasty.

See, you can switch it up how ya like.

Anyway you make the sandwich it will be tasty. Okay I take that back. You probably won't enjoy the sandwich if you use Peanut Butter as the spread.

This recipe is definitely worth trying.

Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Sandwiches with Garlic Parmesan Fries
Chicken Recipe adapted from Your Homebased Mom

2-3 chicken breasts
1 jar roasted red peppers (about 1 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

spreads--pesto, mayo, pepper spread...
sliced tomatoes
lettuce
bakery style focaccia bread

Place the chicken into a slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Add in the jar of roasted red peppers.

Cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred. Return back to the crock pot and mix.

Make the fries.

Garlic Parmesan Fries

1/2 bag of frozen french fries

3-4 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bake fries according to directions. Just before the fries are done, stir the garlic and Parmesan cheese into the melted butter.

Drizzle the garlic Parmesan mixture over the fries. Gently toss to coat. Make sure all the fries are coated evenly.

Assemble the sandwiches and serve with a side of fries.

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Mashed Potato Topped Mini Meatloaves

2013-04-18T04:00:00.000-06:00

Last October Middle had a birthday. On birthdays the birthday boy (and once a year girl...that's me) get to pick whatever meal they want for dinner. On this particular birthday for whatever reason, Middle wanted meatloaf cupcakes.

Yup, meatloaf cupcakes.

I searched around a bit and settled on a mixture of recipes.

We made them as requested by Middle. They were an instant family favorite. In fact they have been requested and made several times in the last 6 months.

I however have changed the name, since Meatloaf Cupcakes just sounds like an April's Fools joke gone wrong.

We now hereby refer to these little meat/mashed potato morsels as Mashed Potato Topped Mini Meatloaves...okay only I refer to them as that. Everyone else, much to my dismay still refers to them as Meatloaf Cupcakes.

Mashed Potato Topped Mini Meatloaves or Meatloaf Cupcakes, you can call them whatever you want, they are delicious.

I really like how they are perfectly portioned with just the right amount of mashed potatoes. The other thing I love about the recipe is the lack of ketchup. Instead of ketchup or a tomato sauce it has sweet chili sauce.

Yum. Yum.

That would be a double yum.

They will be a family favorite.

Mashed Potato Topped Mini Meatloaves

1 pound ground hamburger
1 pound ground pork
1 small onion, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspon black pepper
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
2-3 splashed Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten

sauce:
1/2 cup Asian sweet chili sauce
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard

mashed potatoes:
2 large potatoes, cut up
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup half and half
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the meatloaf by combining the first set of ingredients together in a big bowl. Mix until everything is well incorporated, but do not over mix. Put the bowl in the refrigerator to chill while make the sauce.

Make the sauce by whisking the sweet chili sauce, brown sugar, and mustard together until completely mixed.

Spray a cupcake tin with cooking spray. Fill each cup with a handful of meat. Gently press it down to completely filled. Spread a spoonful of sweet chili sauce over the top of each mini loaf. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

While they are baking, make the potatoes.

Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with water. Add the garlic to the water. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until tender. Drain. Let the potatoes cool slightly. Whip the potatoes with the half and half and the egg yolk. Whip until fluffy. Stir in the melted butter. Prepare a pastry bat with a large tip and fill the bag with the potato mixture. OR you can fill a Ziploc bag and cut one tip of the bag.

Once the mini loaves are baked, remove from the oven and turn on the broiler. Top the mini loaves with the potatoes and then put the mini loaves back in the oven for a few minutes until the potatoes are lightly golden.

Let them set for a couple of minutes and then remove them from the pan.

A Pinteresting Wednesday: Duct Tape Wallets

2013-04-17T04:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome everyone to A Pinteresting Wednesday!

Do you remember when duct tape only came in like two colors??

How boring was our life?

I recently was in charge of an activity for the girls at my church. I remembered having a friend a couple of years ago make duct tape wallets with a group of girls. With all the really cool duct tape available now, I thought that would be a really fun thing to do with my girls.

I had never made one so I went to the best place available to find the instructions. I went to Pinterest and typed "duct tape wallets" in the search box.

Several options came up, and THIS tutorial from Crafty Nest seemed to one that had a lot of pins, and links back. So this one was the tutorial I went with.

I went to pick out some girly duct tape and then was faced with the most awesome boy duct tape EVER.

I suddenly realized that I should probably create a couple of test wallets before teaching my girls. So I decided I should probably purchase some awesome boy duct tape and make some wallets for my Little Men.

I mean, seriously, did you see this Super Mario Brothers tape? How awesome is that?

So I busted out three duct tape wallets.

In the original tutorial, she says it will take you 45 minutes to make one. I think that is more time for sure. The first one will take a little longer as you figure out what you are doing, but then the multiple ones I just busted out.

I played around with mixing and matching. Seriously it was really fun.

My boys were kind of obsessed with their wallets. Their first question was, "how much money can I have to put in it?"

Then I nicely informed them, "uh, none. But I love you and you have a really cool wallet."

I am not sure that is the answer they wanted. Hahaha.

This was a super fun project, and Crafty Nest has a pretty easy-to-follow tutorial.

Not only did my boys love their wallets, but my girls had a blast. Their wallets turned out great. They immediately asked if they could make more. Unfortunately making wallets with a fun and giggly group of girls will take a little longer, so they only had time for one wallet...at least for that night's activity.

There will probably be more wallet making in the future.

How has Pinterest helped you plan an activity?

Pinterest just has so many ideas all in one place.

Love.

It.

I would also LOVE if you followed Just Another Day in Paradise

on Pinterest or Facebook.

That would be grand.

You are the bestest.

Mother's Day Poster (Free Download)

2013-04-16T04:00:00.000-06:00

Just the other day I was walking up our stairs with Little by my side. As he often does, he reached out with his sweet little hand and grabbed my hand. Tightly he holds on, at first for stability but then it turns into simple sweet hand holding.

I glanced down at his precious glasses-clad cherub face. My heart was immediately happy and filled with so much love. A Momma's Love.

Then I had the fleeting thought, he won't always want to hold my hand like this.

No, he won't. Someday he will be a little bigger and hand holding with his mom won't be necessary or cool. And that is okay. He has to grow up. They all do.

But for now he does want to hold my hand. He happily and eagerly does.

So I will keep on holding his little hand while he will let me. And I will hold it even after we have safely made it up the stairs, across the road, or through a crowd.

It is totally true, that a momma holds their children's hands for just a little while.

So I will cherish teeny tiny hand holding while I get it.

Between all this love, and warm and fuzzy feelings overflowing, and the fact that Mother's Day is quickly approaching I decided I wanted to make a poster with this saying I found.

This saying really captured all of the tender Momma feelings I had experienced while walking Little up the stairs.

This poster would make a lovely Mother's Day gift.

You can print it as a poster and frame it, or print it smaller and make it a magnet. Oh the endless possibilities.

You can also do what I did and print it and put in your house to remind you of all your warm and fuzzy feelings.

I hope you enjoy this print and that it helps with your Mother's Day gift giving.

Just right click on the image and save the jpeg to your computer.

Then you can print if off as large as an 11x14.

Happy hand-holding with your little ones.

Happy Mother's Day.

In a Nutshell: Spring Break

2013-04-14T09:03:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted an In a Nutshell post in a really long time.

I hope you will indulge me in sharing an itty bitty bit of our recent Spring Break.

We had a great time spending time as a family. The boys especially loved having Gram and Papa here. Just after that their favorite part was of course being out of school.

We made a trip to the library, where of course the books of choice were those about dinosaurs and dinosaur poop.

We flew kites that Gram and Papa brought. The weather was especially windy that day. They boys frantically ran back and forth in one direction trying to stay with the wind and keep their kites up.

We made our way to our local farming store and visited the chicks, ducks, and bunnies. They were super cute and looked really fluffy. We will never know though because there was no holding allowed.

So we just "awed" from the other side of the glass.

Toward the end of Spring break week it was time to get ready for Easter.

We made sugar cookies. We made funny faces. We ate cookie dough. We colored Easter eggs. Some of us in sweet muscle tees. The Easter Bunny hid our eggs and we went on a hunt to find them.

Bean very patiently shared his time with all the other siblings. He wasn't quite sure about what to do with them around all week. However, he did eat up all the attention he got from his brothers and his grandparents.

We also celebrated Little's birthday.

We celebrated with presents and balloons. We celebrated with kisses, hugs, and ice cream cake.

He didn't see the need to use silverware. After all it is his birthday, so he shouldn't have too.

Spring Break ended with Easter Sunday.

We dressed up all our Little Men for Church. Aren't they handsome?

We had such a great week. I feel blessed to have had our little family all together for so much of the week. I am one lucky wife and Momma.

Slow Cooker Saturday: Shredded Beef Tacos

2013-04-13T04:00:00.000-06:00

Hoorah for me actually showing up to a Slow Cooker Saturday. I have been MIA on Saturdays around here for a couple of weeks. Chalk it up to crazy weekends. It surely isn't because I haven't been using my slow cooker, 'cause I have.

A slow cooker using fool, that is me.

Let me introduce you to these Shredded Beef Tacos.

Reader, meet Taco...

Why Hello....

Sorry for the food conversation. Where was I.

Oh right, the tacos.

These are scrumb-diddli-umcious people.

Srumb.Diddli.Umcious.

We served these at our recent Turning Uno Birthday Mexican Fiesta. These tacos were a crowd pleaser. In fact, the next day when Oldest asked for leftovers and I had to tell him they were gone, he was pretty displeased.

He was really counting on another Shredded Beef Taco.

Oh this meal was yummy. I am kind of wishing that it wasn't several weeks ago when I made this. I am kind of wishing it was like um cooking in my slow cooker right now...okay like really I wish that it was already done cooking so I could eat while typing. All the while dripping yummy taco bits all over my keyboard.

The rice and beans were good too...we will talk about that another day. Here is a teaser. Yum.

Besides being delicioso (yea I just threw in my best Spanish, which I know thanks to Dora), these are insanely easy to make.

Roast and fixins just chilax in the slow cooker for the day. Then when it is done cooking, you just shred it up and serve it up on a tortilla with your favorite taco toppings.

Seriously yum.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Taco
classy cooking

Printable Recipe

1 2-3lb chuck roast
1 14oz can beef broth
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
juice of 1 medium lime

flour tortillas
lettuce, shredded
cheese (I used cojita a Mexican crumble cheese)
guacamole
sour cream
pico de gallo
cilantro

In a bowl, whisk together the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Place the roast in the slow cooker. Pour the beef broth over the roast. Then add the lime juice. Sprinkle the roast with the spice mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker. Remove any fat. Shred the beef and return to the slow cooker. Cover with a lid and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Remove the shredded beef from the juices. Serve up on a warm tortilla, topped with your favorite taco toppings.

Fun with the Kids Fridays: 10 Boy Approved Picture Books

2013-04-12T04:00:00.000-06:00

Today I thought I would share some of my Little Men's favorite picture books.

Reading is kind of a big deal around here.

I am a big fan of reading and have been for as long as I can remember. The hours I spent reading The Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew.

One of the first things I bought when we were ready to start our family was books. Oh how I love books.

Actual in my hands, turn the pages, books. I especially love beautiful Children's books.

So I bought away. Green Eggs and Ham. Cat in the Hat. The Monster at the End of This Book. So on and so on.

While the boys still love all of the classics I bought while Oldest was bakin' away in my belly, they have evolved a little in their tastes in books.

We have gone from Green Eggs and Cats to Construction, Boogers, Dinosaurs, Monsters, Funny Sounding Names, Silly Words, Bad Manners, Shenanigans, Burpring, and of course Underwear.

They are after all a houseful of rowdy, sometimes disgusting boys.

So I have compiled a list of 10 boy approved books (favorites in our house), sure to make any dinosaur-lovin', booger giggling, little boy super excited for story time.

Dinosaurs Love Underpants

by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort

The double whammy of boy perfectness--Dinosaurs AND Underwear.

Perfect.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichentheld

Not much is better in the eyes of a little boy than

construction equipment. In this book you can say goodnight

to the entire construction site.

The Hiccupotamus

by Aaron Zenz

The.Best.Book of all time.

This is a family favorite.

Remember how I said love beautiful children's books?

I LOVE the artwork of this book.

Remember how I said boys like silly words?

Silly words like bottomus. Hehehe.

Speaking about silly words and funny names...

Edwina

The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

by Mo Willems (our favorite author)

This is a very silly story that showcases a

dinosaur (yes a girl dinosaur) and a little

boy by the name of Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie.

They laugh every single time we read his name.

More Mo Willems?

Yes, please.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late

(or any of the Pigeon books really)

by Mo Willems

This pigeon has a level of weasel and deals

mostly in shenanigans.

I think my boys totally root for him to get his way.

I am sure they are hoping for the same victory.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,

No Good, Very Bad Day

by Judith Viorst

A classic. Poor Alexander just can't

catch a break. Grumpiness ensues.

There are days I am sure my boys relate to poor,

poor Alexander. They too probably want

to move to Australia...

or at least to the neighbor's, whom I have been told are way

funner parents than me.

Speaking of another classic.

Where the Wild Things Are

by Maurice Sendak

Could there be a better book for a

little ~~wild thing~~ boy?

I don't have to recap this story, you all know it.

Best little monster story ever.

Russel the Sheep

by Rob Scotton

Poor Russell can't sleep.

Whatever will he do to get to sleep?

He might give your little ones some ideas.

No, David!

by David Shannon

All of the David books are awesome.

I think my boys feel some camaraderie

with Little David.

Hearing "NO!" all the time and all.

I kind of saved the best for last.

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?

by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

A house full of boys can not get enough dinosaurs.

These books have awesome illustrations of dinosaurs who all

find themselves in situations similar to regular little boys.

There are tons of "How Do Dinosaurs..." books. They are all pretty

fantastic and dinosauriffic.

I hope you enjoyed seeing our list of favorite boy-approved pictures books. Now these books are also delightful for the little ladies in your house too just in case you were worried I was leaving them out.

I just tend to know more about Little Men, being as I am surrounded by them day in and day out.

Stay-tuned for an upcoming boy-approved chapter books list.

Happy Friday.

Happy reading!

Linking:
Your Homebased Mom,
Love and Laundry

Honey Oat Granola

2013-04-11T04:00:00.000-06:00

We love ourselves some vanilla yogurt and granola around here.

For breakfast it is a definite hit. All.the.time.

Well for that matter most of my kids would eat it any time of day. Okay, I am pretty sure everyone in the house BUT Bean would eat granola and yogurt all the time. AND to be fair, he doesn't have enough teeth to eat granola otherwise he probably would too.

Bottom line, we wouldn't pass up a bowl of yogurt and granola if it were offered to us.

For as much as we like this lovely duo, I shockingly had never made homemade granola.

Shriek. Gasp. What?!?

Don't judge. I am kind of lazy and have been just fine with filling up on granola bulk-style at our local grocery store.

For some reason I was feeling pretty ambitious lately ( I blame being in party mode the last month) and I decided to make myself some homemade granola.

Good news is that it was super duper easy to make, because the bad news is I am back to feeling a tad bit lazy!

We have already almost completely gone through my first batch of homemade granola. It was so, so yummy.

I am already imagine all the variations I can make. Alas, that will have to wait until I am feeling less lazy...hahaha.

For now this will do, after all I already have all the ingredients already on hand. I am probably going to be making more soon. Very soon.

Happy eating!

Honey Oat Granola
adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Printable Recipe

3 cups quick oats
1 cup crushed cornflakes cereal
6 Tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup honey
4 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oats, cornflakes, cornmeal, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

In a glass, microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, mix the honey and coconut oil. Place in the microwave fro 30 seconds and stir. Then heat it for another 30 seconds and stir until the coconut oil is fully melted. Add in the vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk to mix. Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture. Mix until completely combined.

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish and press down into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.

Let the granola rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Then take a spatula and break up the granola into crumbles. Lay out on a cutting board or a baking sheet and let cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Store in an air-tight container.

Linking:

Your Homebased Mom,
Love and Laundry,
Suburbs Mama

A Pinteresting Wednesday: Charlie Brown Party Invites

2013-04-10T04:00:00.000-06:00

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Welcome to another A Pinteresting Wednesday--Charlie Brown Party Edition.

I am kind of hoping you all aren't all Charlie Brown'ed out. When I do a party it tends to kind of consume all my creating time. Consequently I have a lot of party related projects to share.

So fingers crossed you guys are waiting on the edge of your seats for the next Charlie Brown Birthday Party installment...

Or at the very least you are mildly interested in the crazy antics of yours truly and are kind of waiting to see what I come up with next!

I have said before that Pinterest has made throwing a party all the easier.

Not only can you find entire parties in certain themes, but you can also find different ideas here and there that would fit into a specific theme.

I have used Pinterest to help me plan a Superman Party, a Harry Potter Party, an Avengers Party, and recently a Mexican Fiesta First Birthday and of course a Charlie Brown Party.

Most of the time I use ideas I pin as PINspration...sorry I had to..ehem..

So as I was saying I use Pinterest as a jumping off point.

Today I am sharing with you my Charlie Brown Birthday Party Invites.

I had THIS invite from Piggy Bank Parties on my Charlie Brown Pinterest Board.

I made a simple little version of their card for Little's invite. I used PicMonkey, of course.

I didn't just want the party invite, though. I also wanted an envelope for the invite.

I had this little idea to use Peanuts comic book images as the paper for the envelope.

I had this Peanuts comic book.

I scanned in one of the comic strips that I liked.

I edited the image in Picmonkey, adding a text box saying, "You Are Invited".

I printed off the image twice, once with the words and once without.

Then I sewed the two papers together right sides facing out.

That made a perfect little pocket envelope for the Charlie Brown Party Invite.

All I had to do is repeat so each little party guest got one.

Pinterest is perfect for a little inspiration.

My Time to Party Board is jam-packed full of party ideas.

Are you throwing a party anytime soon? Do you use Pinterest too?

I would love for you to follow Just Another Day in Paradise on Pinterest.

Printing on a Lunch Sack

2013-04-09T04:00:00.000-06:00

Printing on lunch sacks is one of my new favorite ways to create my own cute packaging.

I first did printed on lunch sacks for our teacher Brownie Points Valentine's.

I have used it several times since...it is AHHHHdicting.

Most recently I made these take-home bags for Little's Charlie Brown Birthday Party. Through a little bit of trial and error I have worked out a method of printing on lunch sacks that works out pretty well for me.

Today I am sharing my handy dandy method of printing on a lunch sack.

The very first step of course is creating the image you will use on the lunch sack.

I created this image by using an image of Charlie Brown and adding the text and word bubble in the online photo editing program PicMonkey.

I saved it to my computer.

Then I opened up a Word document. I edited the margins to the narrow setting.

Insert the image into your document. You will want it justified left. The image will most likely need to be shrunk down a tad to make sure it fits on the bag. You will also want to move the image down a tad.

Now, if you print the bag now, the image would be facing the wrong way. So you need to flip it.

First, under page layout go to the ROTATE icon. Flip the image vertically. If there is any writing it will be as if you are looking in a mirror.

So the last step is to ROTATE the image HORIZONTALLY.

Now the image is upside down and facing the proper way.

To actually print the image on the bags, first grab some lunch sacks. For this project I used white bags.

You will want the "bottom" of the bag to face the top and the "bottom flap" of the bag to face you.

Load the lunch sack into your printer with the "bottom" facing up.Move the slider in the printer over so it rest right against the edge of the lunch sack (you know like when you print on an envelope).

Now all you have to do is print it off.

I do recommend doing a trail run first. Sometimes the printer has a hard time feeding the bag through. No matter how many times I have done it, there is still a little bit of trail and error. You might have to move your image up or down to get it right were you want it.

Once it comes out perfect, just keep printing until you have all your bags.

I had fun adding these Charlie Brown Chevron Sugar Cookies to my freshly printed Charlie Brown take-home party bags.

I tied them up with a little strip of fabric. Then they waited patiently until the end of the party until it was time to go home with our cute and happy party guests.

I pretty much promise that once you try this, you will use this technique all the stinking time. You might even come up with gifts you can give out just so that you can print on some more bags.

You probably should just go buy lunch sacks in bulk.

Just sayin'.

Thanks for stopping by.

I would love for you to share this how-to

on Pinterest and/or Facebook.

Love, love, love it.

Linking:
Sugar Bee Crafts, Today's Creative Blog,
Lil'Luna, High Heels and Grills,
The 36th Avenue,
Your Homebased Mom,
Love and Laundry,
Suburbs Mama

A Charlie Brown Birthday Party

2013-04-08T04:00:00.000-06:00

Whoosh! Guys, what a week. Heck what a month. Okay let's be realistic...it has been a crazy SEVERAL months.

Good news folks! This Charlie Brown Birthday Party marks the end of our CRAZY, with a capital CRAY, run of birthdays.

Little came up with this birthday theme around Christmas time when he developed a mild obsession with all the Charlie Brown movies playing on Netflix. I readily agreed because to be honest it is really hard to tell Little no when he asks so sweetly.

For the next 3ish months we have heard of very little else.

He was very excited. In fact in every sweet little prayer he has uttered for the last month plus, he has thanked Heavenly Father for his birthday and birthday party coming soon.

It was really rather sweet.

So sweet in fact that I was given to panic when just a few short weeks before his party, nothing was actually planned, and I was worried about letting his sweet face down.

AHHH!!!

A Charlie Brown Themed Birthday Party was a little harder to put together than I had anticipated.

Everything finally came together and there was plenty of Charlie Brown fun!

I decorated with a lot of yellow and black in true Charlie Brown fashion. Although, did you know that Charlie Brown did not always wear his oh-so-well-known yellow with black chevron?

I found that little gem out while putting stuff together for this party.

For a little pop there was some red added in, but it was just a tad since Charlie Brown was the star.

One of my favorite things were these simple graphic Charlie Brown poster that I made using PicMonkey.

Ya wanna know what my very favorite part was?

The birthday boy in his custom-made Charlie Brown Shirt was my very favorite part.

The kids' favorite part was lunch.

The lunches were packed with traditional lunch items.

Fresh cut red apple slices.

Pretzel twists.

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Of course we can't forget the PB and J. Everything was nestled in a cardboard lunch box.

Just add a glass of milk and let the eating begin.

Happy, happy eaters.

Cute, happy, happy eaters.

We followed lunch with a few games, hot potato Snoopy being the crowd favorite.

Next we went on to coloring and chalkboard fun.

Coloring took a lot of concentration.

They weren't concentrating hard enough to forget about the baked goods though.

Black frosting adds a bit of fun to an otherwise boring cupcake.

Little had a really good time and as always, was very appreciate by saying "thank you" over and over.

When the party was done he said "thank you" to his little friends with Charlie Brown take home gifts.

My new favorite thing is printing on lunch sacks. I am all set to show you how I made up these bags tomorrow in a little tutorial.

Thanks for sticking with me last week while I was MIA. I would send you each a little Charlie Brown Thank You, but that would be a lot of lunch sacks AND more ink than I could buy at Sam's Club.

So accept my little virtual "thank you". You guys are the bestest.

See ya tomorrow!

Linking Here:

Skip to My Lou, Craft O Maniac,
CRAFT, Sugar Bee Crafts,
Today's Creative Blog, Huckleberry Love,
Lil'Luna, High Heels and Grills,
The 36th Avenue, Your Homebased Mom,
The Mandatory Mooch,
Love and Laundry,
Suburb Mama

WINNER: Firmoo Glasses Voucher

2013-04-03T10:11:00.000-06:00

I am finally stopping by and announcing the winners of the Firmoo Glasses Voucher GIVEAWAY...

YEP...WINNERS.

I have SIX vouchers to give away, so there are SIX winners.

The winners are:

83. Corrie Hummer Gibson

53. Dezi Allen

34. Andrea Jones

7. Natalie

18. Jessica Williams-Boling

78. Willy Vh

Congrats. I will be contacting you by email and sending you the

voucher code. So excited for you and your new stylish glasses.

In Charlie Brown Party News...

I am whittling down list items one at a time and

we are getting closer to the party date.

I am excited to show you some of the features of this party.

I hope you are excited to see them...

humor me...

just say, "why yes, yes of course we are!"

Love ya all!

Have a great day.

Pardon The Blog Silence

2013-04-01T12:10:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the silence around the blog lately.

I can guarantee there has not been actual silence around our home. We have had birthdays, visitors and Spring break.

Basically we have had tons and tons of fun!

I am now up to my eyeballs in planning our last birthday party in the a long line of birthdays.

A Charlie Brown party is harder to put together than you would imagine. I am 15% done and I have roughly 5 days left.

Hopefully you will see my face around here whilst I party plan my fanny off...which is much needed after a very yummy Spring Break and Easter.

Have a great Monday!

Four Years Old

2013-03-30T12:58:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Little.

You make everyday so much fun. We find ourselves in

constant laughter and awe of your cuteness.

You are super affectionate and kind.

You have the funniest facial expressions.

This last year you experienced:

The arrival of a new baby brother.

Swimming lessons.

Camping.

Starting preschool.

Developing a lazy eye.

Getting glasses.

Rocking said glasses.

We are blessed to have you in our lives, and can't imagine a day without

you in it. We wait for your small and genuine "I love you" every day, never

disappointed you say it happily.

For at least a month you have been thanking Heavenly Father

that your birthday is almost here.

I hope your birthday answers your sweet little prayer and we showed you

how special you are to all of us.