What do you get the guy who has everything?

My dad is the kind of person who buys what he wants and gets what he needs himself, so thinking of something to give him for his birthday is always quite the challenge. Last year, however, I think I hit a home run. The idea I had was awesome! Let me share it with you:

First, I asked each of my kids to think of 3-4 things they love about their grandpa. My kids were 8, 5 and 3, so their answers were cute and thoughtful, and also kind of funny.

Once you have your answers from your kids, type them up on labels (or write them out) then make some cute tags for each quote from your kids. I literally typed word-for-word what my kids said, so some of them were not the best English, but it made the gift all the funnier.

Once you have your tags, hit the store and buy a small item that represents each answer. For example, my dad is known for always having a bag of those frosted animal cookies in a high cupboard that he likes to share with his grandkids. So one of Leah’s answers was “I like when grandpa shares his animal cookies with me” and the item we got were those animal cookies.

This one was my favorite- from Ryan, my then 3 year old.

My dad shaves his head completely bald and for some reason the kids think it is so cool! So I partnered Ryan’s answer with some shaving cream and it got some great laughs!

Here are some other items for the answers my kids gave:

Once I had all the tags attached, I put the items in a basket and it was ready to go!

This idea was thought of and created all in one afternoon, and with the 12-15 items and the basket, it only cost me around $20.

Super simple, super thoughtful, and my dad loved it.

Here is a quick and easy kid fabric project that was fun for my 6 year old.  I started by sewing together the fabric strips while she was at school and then we were ready to begin when she came home.

First, you will need a long strip of fabric scraps.  All of these were 2x 6 inch rectangles that were sewn together in one big long chain, but you could do the same technique out of all the same fabrics in long strips….or make your scrap fabric any size you want.

And here’s how you do it.

Trust me when I say my almost-six-year-old loved it! She helped roll the balls, I hot glued them and she has been wearing it ever since.  A good kid-friendly project that has a gajillion possibilities.  A 4th of July one, larger-sized balls in an apothecary jar, made into a garland (I am totally doing that next….stay-tuned).  Ok, you get the idea.  Now, go get your scrap bin…..and get rolling.  It’s kind of addicting.

Come say Hi over at Simple Simon and Co…we’d love to see you!

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of Essential Swimwear- I’ve been featuring them on my site for 3 years now! Last year I even showed a picture of myself in my new suit to prove how awesome these swimsuits fit for all shapes and sizes- I was 6 months pregnant and my pink tankini fit and was as comfortable as it always is!

I now own 4 swimsuits from Essential Swimwear:

Each one of them is so different and I love them all equally the same.

I will NEVER purchase another bathing suit from any other store or online site- EVER!

The black “Starry Night Tankini” that is now 3 years old still looks as new as the “Ocean Ruffled Halter” I just got in the mail last week.

I wore the “Watermelon Twist Top” all summer long while pregnant last year and it still fits my non-pregnant body this year and isn’t stretched out one bit!

The first 3 bathing suits pictured above were all sent to me at no cost, but I’ve had my eye on the “Chocolate Stripe Tankini” for over a year now and so I bought that one myself! (It was only around $25 for the top and bottoms!)

I’m telling you, Essential Swimwear is the place to get great quality, affordable, modest swimsuits.

Essential Swimwear would like to give one lucky person a $50 credit toward the purchase of a swimsuit from their site!

Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AND NOW FOR THE LINK PARTY!!!

Please tell me I am not the only one with kids who hate brushing their teeth!

My kids think that adding toothpaste to the bristles of a toothbrush and sucking on it ’til it is gone counts as teeth brushing!

It is quite the challenge for me to get them to brush good and to brush for longer than 3 seconds, which is why this month’s Arm & Hammer challenge couldn’t be more perfect for me. They’ve asked me to give the Spinbrush a try and see if this will help with a my problem: kid’s who don’t brush well.

For the next few weeks I will have my kids replace their manual toothbrushes with the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush. It is clinically proven to remove 70% more plaque and it is the #1 battery-powered toothbrush on the market.

Plus it comes in a variety of colors and designs, so my kids can all have their own unique toothbrush. (And I will be able to tell them apart so I know who left their brush out on the counter in the pool of toothpaste!)

In addition to kids with cleaner teeth, I am also hoping it gets my kids excited to brush! I am sick of the bedtime battles and a battery operated toothbrush has got to be more fun, right?

. . . . .

This summer, the maker of ARM & HAMMER® products are giving away $12,000 in the ARM & HAMMER Switch & Save Challenge Sweepstakes. To be entered to win one (1) of twelve (12) $1,000 prizes, simply reply to the question below!

Remember to join other ARM & HAMMER Switch & Save conversations for even more chances to win!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Arm & Hammer. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

All you need is an oven mitt and some treats (candy, pencils, pens etc.), some ribbon and the free printable below.

Fill your oven mitt with the treats, add a tag with some ribbon and that is it!

If you’d like to use the same tag I used, click here to download it.

How are you showing appreciation for your child’s teachers this year?

I know I am not the only one with messy kids, right?

Sometimes it is just easier to clean up the mess myself.

I decided I needed a different approach than the threats and restrictions for kids who don’t clean up, so I came up with a fun challenge. {My kids always love a good friendly competition.}

First, come up with a few prizes. You are going to reward them for a job well-done. I avoid giving out more toys, ’cause heaven’s knows the excess of toys is how we got into this mess in the first place! I like to reward them with a special privilege, like staying up 5 minutes past bedtime or something.

Then,

I bring all the kids into the same room and I tell them that whoever can make the biggest pile of “stuff” will get a prize. We (yes, I work right along next to them) hurry around the room and form our own separate piles with everything in the room that is not in it’s proper place. This only takes a minute, and the person with the biggest pile wins the first prize.

Now with the piles of toys sitting on the floor, I tell the kids that whoever can have all the toys in their piles put away before I count to 30 will get another prize. The race is on, and I never have to slow down my counting- everything gets put away in under 30 seconds! If your room is especially messy and your piles are quite large, you may want to set a timer for an appropriate amount of time. But don’t give more than just a few minutes, ’cause too much time won’t seem urgent enough and the kids may get burned out or uninterested.

Finally, the last part of the challenge:

I give each of the kids a baby wipe and tell them there will be a prize for whoever comes back to me with the dirtiest wipe! The kids go crazy dusting the blinds, wiping the tile in the entry way, getting the fingerprints off the banister… and they usually end up laughing while they do it!

FYI- Keep the garage off limits. My sneaky child decided he’d try to win this challenge by wiping down my tires! His wipe was very dirty, but this wasn’t what I was looking for!

At the end of the challenge, you should have happy kids, a clean house and one very happy momma!

Enjoy!

You can keep this simple or get really creative. My kids love to help me when I make this!

1 Loaf of french bread

Sauce (I usually use Marinara, but I have tried a yummy Alfredo for a white chicken pizza and I have tried a BBQ sauce for a Southwest chicken pizza- both were fantastic!)

Pizza Toppings- we usually do Canadian bacon and pineapple

Cheese- I use whatever I have on hand!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cut bread in half lengthwise

2. Hallow bread out just a tad so the toppings fit in and don’t spill out and over. This works especially great if you are using any toppings that are chunky- like chicken, veggies, pineapple etc. If you are just doing a cheese pizza, you can probably skip this step.

3. Spread the sauce. Use as little or as much as you would like. {This is my kid’s favorite part!}

4. Top it off! Sprinkle the cheese and then layer the toppings. (Sometimes I put the toppings under the cheese if I am trying to hide veggies from my kids!)

5. Lay bread face up on cookie sheet and cook in oven at 400 degrees til ingredients are cooked through and cheese is melted.

6. Lastly, enjoy it as much as my 1 year old enjoys it! (But try not to make as big of a mess with it, will ya?)

Here are some more yummy French Bread recipes I found online:

1. French Bread Pizza from USMasala
2. $3.51 French Bread Pizza from Budget Bytes
3. Stuffed French Bread Pizza from Monster Mama
4. Simple French Bread Pizza from Cook Eat Share

This post was originally published on Somewhat Simple in 2009, but updated in May 2012

I’m in the process of updating my site and editing my posts and some of the ideas I published back when it was just me reading my blog have horrible pictures!!! My post about making a paper bag scrapbook is a fun idea, but you’d never know it because the process was captured with the camera on cell phone. {Any new bloggers who are reading this, please learn from my mistake! Beautiful pictures make all the difference!!!}

In order to make this post prettier, since my pictures are truly awful, I found some other creative ideas, all using paper bags. Hopefully you can get some inspiration after all and look past the dark, blurry image of my paper bag scrapbook tutorial!

. . . . .

{Original Tutorial}

Here is the fun way the boys showcased their achievements in Cub Scouts when I was a den leader a couple years ago- paper bag scrapbooks.

{YIKES! Can you even make out what that it??? Sorry guys!}

The boys decorated 1 bag for every month of the year with pictures and summaries of what we did at scouts that month.

When they were done decorating, I laminated the entire bag and then cut a small strip off of the side that opens to create “pockets” for all the papers and projects that were completed during the month.

Lastly, I punched 2 circles along the side and tied with ribbon to bind it all together. This method makes it easy to add more pages as you need to.

The boys designed their own covers and we added to it each month and displayed it again and again at each pack meeting.

When it was fully complete with all 12 months, they took it with them as they advance in scouting.

I think this scrapbook is a nice keepsake that’s easy to store if they decide to keep it for a long time.

. . . . .

Here are some more fun ideas of things you can do with a paper bag, all with wayyyy better pictures, as promised.

{Please pin the original source}

I love each one of these paper bag scrapbooks- the details are fantastic!

1. I Love You Because scrapbook from Rosy Posy

2. Holiday paper bag scrapbook from Parents

3. Pre-made Baby Boy scrapbook from Scrapbooking By Phyllis

4. Wonderful Paper Bag Scrapbook Tutorial from Do stamping with Dawn

1. Paper Basket Bouquet from Martha

2. Child’s backpack from a paper bag from First Grade Parade

3. I love this basket made from sewn paper bags from The Pinterest Project

4. Grocery Bag Easter Basket from Elinee

1. Paper Bag Pinatas from Creation Corner on Somewhat Simple

2. Owl Teacher’s Gift from Clean and Scentsible

3. Paper Bag Puppets from Martha

4. Scarecrow Craft from Somewhat Simple

1. Paper Bag Vases from Martha

2. Paper Bag Wreath from Gluesticks

3. Paper Bag Bunting from Blue Cricket Design

4. Paper Bag Floor from Lovely Crafty Home

1. Ideas on using paper bags for wrapping gifts from Mr. Kate

2. Make your own paper bags with free printable from Jones Design Company

3. Free printable for paper bag gift wrapping from Flights of Fancy

4. Gift wrap with paper bags and paper doilies from Michaels

1. Colorful hanging lanterns from Martha

2. Monogrammed hanging lanterns from Design Sponge

3. Paper lanterns from paper bags from Landee see Landee Do

4. Simple hanging lanterns from Martha

1. Paper Bag Menus from United with Love

2. Paper Bag Pinwheels from AdalynSTONE

3. Popcorn in a Paper Bag from It’s A Tradition

4. Paper Bag Ribbon from Roben Marie

. . . . .

Whew, that was quite the list!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Last week, I asked Cammie & Emily (the creators) to send me a few of their popular recipes so I can give it a try.

I chose to make the Chicken Enchiladas.

I just have to say my family LOVES enchiladas and I always like trying new enchilada recipes.

This recipe only had a few ingredients (most of them I already had on-hand) and  it was super easy to make. In fact, there weren’t any weird or expensive ingredients in any of the recipes I looked at- they all looked simple and family friendly! I would totally recommend this system to my friends. Add some variety to your meals and free up some time!

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1 Side Dishes & Appetizers Pack
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How to instructions

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