Loving 50% Off Halloween Costumes

I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween. I just love the day after Halloween, when costumes drop to 50% off. My boys, and now my daughter, have always loved dressing up. I bought several costumes to give them for Christmas as well. It is so good for kids to dress up and play. You can read a million articles that explain why. Needless to say, this prompted an impromptu photo shoot.

 

Here is my blonde version of Snow White.

 

 

I was wishing I had a really red shiny apple, but this is as good as it gets without any planning.

 

Her cousin had a costume too so she joined in the fun. This would be an adorable pose to take with sisters!

 

That is a lot of chubby in the mirror. I love every inch of her.

 

And... the guilty face after she bit into the apple. I hope you have fun and plan your own impromptu photo shoot. Time flies so fast and I just wish I could capture every sweet moment.

 

Camping Birthday Party

We had a roller coaster weekend of inaccurate weather reporting. We had a birthday party planned Saturday and the rain just would not hold off! Once we cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday, it stopped of course. Then Sunday, it rained all morning until 15 minutes into the party. The good news...our friends are some troopers. It didn't slow them down from coming and we were so grateful. We didn't want our seven year old to be disappointed. This year's theme was an outdoor camp party. It was one of my favorites to plan so far! Hopefully you will find some fun camping themed birthday party ideas that will help you plan your next party.



Here was our awesome cake from our favorite cake lady Grace. I bought the life like animal figures at Toys R Us. My son loved it!



First, all the kiddos made trail mix. They filled Ziploc bags with a combination of popcorn, chex mix, pretzels, M & M's, marshmallows, peanuts, and sunflower seeds.

 

 

Then the kids grabbed a stick and a bandana and packed up their trail mix. 

 

 

 

We had laminated camping symbols on sticks for the fire pit for smores, boat area, and hiking trail. If you look in my son's hand we had a picture scavenger hunt. (Just in case they couldn't all read well). We just pasted the nature hunt on brown paper sacks to collect their treasures in.

 

Our hike took us towards our pond. I had the book Curious George Goes Camping designed as a StoryWalk. If you have never heard of this fun idea you can read more about it here.

The Storywalk took us right down to the pond to go paddle boating.

Each group had an opportunity to take the boat for a spin.

 

We came back to the "picnic area" and the kids gave it their all at archery. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my pitiful attempt at a home made camping themed piñata. Cardboard served up the graham cracker on this smores piñata. Lol. Most of the kids only cared about the piñata with the candy and not what it looked like.

 

Three generations. My husband, father-in-law, and my princess.

 

 

Luckily, the rain held off most of the party and it was a success. Each child received a rubber band shooter and flashlight to take home. Happy Trails!

 

Chicken Tamale Casserole

We have been enjoying several snow days in a row. My daughter got to play in the snow for the first time. After refusing her mittens the first trip out, she tumbled over in the snow and caught herself with her hands. She stood up crying not understanding what just happened to the ground. I didn't have any problems getting her to wear mittens after that!

 

With all this cold weather I have been cooking up a storm. This recipe is a real crowd pleaser. It has a rich flavor and the sweet aroma of fresh corn bread muffins. I enjoy making it with chicken or ground beef. It depends what I have on hand in my kitchen. It has the delicious taste of a tamale but it is much easier to make and a little sweeter.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp chili powder

2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced

1 4 oz can green chilies, drained

1 15 oz can medium red enchilada sauce

4 cups crumbled cornbread (cooked)

1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup milk with couple splashes lemon juice

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray approximately 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. Warm oil over medium heat in skillet. Add onion and pepper. Saute onion for about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and heat for additional minute

3. Add chicken (or ground beef) and chilies. Flavor with salt and pepper. Cook until meat is cooked through. Pour in can of enchilada sauce and bring to a boil.

 

4. Spoon mixture into baking dish.

5. In a separate bowl combine cornbread and buttermilk.

6. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese over mixture in baking dish.

7. Spread cornbread mixture evenly on top. Top with remaining cheese.

8. Bake until golden brown. About 20 min at 350 degrees.

9. Enjoy!

 

We actually got snow in Texas!

 

 

This is what we do in Texas if we don't have a sled when it snows...Lol

 My neighbor took us all out for a ride.

 

 

Personalized Owl Valentine Kitchen Towel

Oooh, this project was so much fun. I had our neighbor girl over to make her mom this Valentine's Day present. I think it is especially fun to make a DIY craft for Valentine's Day. Kids just really enjoy having something special to wrap up for their parents.

 

I looked up some online instructions on how to draw an owl, and then taught the kiddos how to draw step by step. They were 4-6 years old and did an excellent job. I found the heart kitchen towels at the dollar store so this project literally cost me $1.

 

 

 

The kids wrote in their own handwriting...Owl always love you!

You can see a full tutorial here. (We made Christmas towels in the past)

 

 

You might just have time to whip one of these up in time for Valentine's Day!

 

Scissor Valentine...You are a cut above the rest

I'm always trying to find a new fun Valentine that is not candy oriented to send with my kiddos. Something that the other children might actually use, enjoy, and get excited about. This year after the school supplies were discounted, I picked up two packs of scissors for 50 cents a pack. Super cheap! At a quarter a Valentine per child this was a deal.

 

 

We just hot glued the scissors on and they were ready to go. As always, I am happy to share my templates. Just put your email in the comments and I will try and send it your way!

 

Looking for more ideas....click here for 50 more ideas I found last year.

 

 

Blind Date With a Book

When I saw this idea...I fell in love. Have you ever heard of a blind date with a book? It is the very clever idea where you check out a wrapped book without knowing what you are getting. It is very similar to a blind date. Genius! I emailed my son's school librarian and asked if I could help implement this for the whole first grade. Her response...you know there are 125 kids?!?! My response, "Yes I know I am crazy...but I think the kids will love it!" The librarian seemed to be just as excited about the idea as me.

 

 

I proceeded to wrap and decorate 125 books. I used small white stickers on the back of the books to write the number needed to check them out.

 

Rules:

1. Open me at your HOME

2. I would love to meet your FAMILY

3. Please give me a CHANCE...you just might fall in LOVE!

 

 

I also made up some fun cards for the kids to fill out in regards to their date.

 

 

 

I can't wait to hear what they have to say! I also decided to wrap one up for my sweet older friend who is like a Grandma to me. She will be receiving a book in the mail any day now. Just in time to have her blind date for Valentine's Day.

 

I am always happy to share what I have created. Just comment with your email address and I will try to send it your way.