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Archives for October 2012

Cotton Swab Skeletons–Pinned it, Did it!

I saw this pin on Pinterest and could not resist.  What a perfect craft for Halloween and we had everything on hand! We used: Cotton swabs (or as Tottie calls them--"ear waxers" Glue Wax paper (to prevent glue from getting all over the table Unfortunately, the photo in the pin did not link back to a website for directions so we had to guess how to make it.  Not too complicated though, we simply followed the photo... This craft was a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be.  Getting cotton swabs to stick together with glue is not as easy as it looks! Cutting the cotton swabs was fun though!  They are hard to cut (at least ours were) so when we snipped them, the small end flew across the kitchen!  Tottie thought it was funny! Hint:  Make sure to let your skeleton dry completely before you try moving him!  He's fragile and can easily come unglued! Our skeleton vs. their skeletons. We only made one because Tottie got frustrated and I didn't want … [Read more...]

Nine Awesome and Unique Halloween Treats

We've scoured the internet in search of awesome, unique, and fun Halloween treats.  Below you'll find nine of our favorites from our search! 1) Shrunken Heads In Cider--Creepy is all I have to say about this drink! 2) Cheese Witch Brooms--Cute and healthy! 3) Eyeball Donuts--Easy and fun! 4) Weiner Worms--Just plain gross! 5)  Icky Intestines--I'm not sure anyone would actually want to eat these! 6)  Mad Scientist Potion--Cool for kids AND adults! 7)  Melon Brain--Genious and healthy! 8)  Finger Food--A little too realistic for me! 9)  Pumpkin Seed Brittle--Um...Yum! What awesome Halloween treats have you made? … [Read more...]

Simple, Beautiful Sun Catchers

Last month Tottie and I made Fall Sun Spiral Sun Catchers.  Today, Nutty and I bring you simple, yet beautiful sun catchers that older kids can make! To make them for yourselves, you'll need: Fishing line (shhh...don't tell my husband that I stole some from one of his fishing poles!) Small mirrors (6 per sun catcher) Beads (6 per sun catcher) Hot glue gun (or similar glue) 1)  Make sure you give yourself plenty of fishing line.  You'll need a longer string than you think because you'll have to put a hanging loop at the top. 2)  Start by tying two beads at the bottom of your string. 3)  Next, glue two mirrors back to back a little further up the line making sure your line is in the middle of your string.  (Click on the photo to enlarge it if need be)  Your sun catcher should look like the photo below. 4) Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times moving further up the string. 5)  Make a loop at the top to use for hanging. *Helpful hint: Put a dot of glue on each … [Read more...]

Apple Nachos–Pinned it, Did it!

Apple Nachos were one of the very first things I pinned when I opened my personal Pinterest account over nine months ago.  As with almost everything I pin, it has just sat on my board waiting to be made--until now! As the original site says, there is no real recipe for this tasty treat.  It's simply whatever you think would be good with apples! I had left over caramel, chocolate chips, and cashews from yesterday's chocolate caramel popcorn (which did not last long in our house by the way) and we added apples and peanut butter. Yum!  What a great way to add some fruit and a little bit of hidden protein to your child's diet! … [Read more...]

Chocolate Caramel Popcorn

Warning: there is potential for making a large, ooey-gooey, yet yummy and fun mess while making this tasty treat! We get gourmet popcorn delivered to us at work all the time from families or doctors we work with.  One day we had chocolate caramel popcorn and it was SOOO yummy!  I thought to myself, "I could make this at home!"  So Tottie and I tried... We used: Microwave popcorn (because I'm lazy).  We used the buttered kind but it would probably be better with plain popcorn. Caramel bits Milk chocolate chips Cashews (because they are my favorite nut) We popped the popcorn in the microwave then spread it, along with the cashews, in a thin layer on wax paper lined cookie sheets. Next, we melted the caramel in the microwave.  (Be careful when you do it because you can easily burn it if you are not watching!) Then, using a spoon, Tottie drizzled the caramel all over the popcorn and nuts.  We had a problem with the caramel though...it hardened again quite quickly … [Read more...]

News Anchor Bully Response

You may or may not have heard about the news anchor who publicly responded to a "bully" on TV. If you haven't here's the clip: (Update: this video is no longer able to be embedded.  See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW6CNTXqBCM) Jennifer has gotten a lot of feedback about this clip both good and bad.  Some are calling her the bully for responding to the email publicly instead of privately.  Some are saying that instead of bringing to light the fact that she is overweight and is being made fun of for it, she should have said something about the false images that advertisers send out about being skinny.  Others are calling her a "hero" for standing up against individuals who chastise people for being over weight. What are your thoughts on Jennifer's clip?  Do you think she sends a good message? Would you let your kids see this clip and would you discuss it with them?  We'd love to know you thoughts! … [Read more...]