Welcome to day 4 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days of Valentines! From January 25 through February 7 we'll be posting non-stop Valentine's posts to celebrate this lovely holiday.Need something to make for the Grandparents for Valentines? These picket fence Valentine magnets are super cute, fun to make, and are perfect as a gift from the kids to the Grandparents! To make them you'll need:8 Craft sticksScissorsGlueWhite paintValentine and flower related foam decorPink or red markerSmall photo of your kidsMagnetsStart by using your scissors to cut points on one side of 6 of the craft sticks.Next, have your child line up the 6 pointed sticks evenly across the 2 un-pointed sticks. Have your child put glue dots on the un-pointed sticks where the pointed sticks meet them. (Yes, Tottie is putting glue dots on the wrong sticks in this photo. She got the first one right though).Now glue the sticks together like the photo shows. Make sure you leave a little more room on the top than on the bottom … [Read more...]
Dot Candy Valentine’s
Welcome to day 3 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days of Valentines! From January 25 through February 7 we'll be posting non-stop Valentine's posts to celebrate this lovely holiday.Disclaimer: I originally made the paper dot candy just for fun but then realized that they would make great additions to Valentines for kids. I ran out of red dye so I was unable to make more in Valentines colors that's why my photos look more Easter-like than Valentine-like.Do you remember paper candy? I sure do! I don't remember if I actually liked the flavor or if I just like the appeal of it...you know...trying hard to get the dot of candy off the paper without leaving too much paper left stuck to the back of it. I like to think of all that paper consumed as fiber! ;)Want to make your own??? It's actually really easy to do and kind of fun! You can stick with the traditional colors as I did or you can make them festive to the season such as pink, red and white for Valentines.The recipe:3 3/4 powder sugar2 egg … [Read more...]
Until We Hug Again from Hallmark–Giveaway!
Welcome to day 2 of Toys In The Dryer 14 Days of Valentines! From January 25 through February 7 we'll be posting non-stop Valentine's posts to celebrate this lovely holiday. Lindsi-- Jamie and I had the pleasure of receiving Hallmark's "Until We HUG Again" bear and bunny last week. When I first got my package from Hallmark in the mail I opened it up and thought "oh, for cuteness sake!" The bear I received to review is incredibly soft and lovable. He has the cutest heart shaped nose and adorable patches sewn on him as well. (I will add that Hallmark must have paid very close attention to our families as they sent me the more "boyish" version and Jamie the more "girlish" version! Two thumbs up Hallmark!) Each adorable animal comes in a chair shaped box with very clear instructions on the bottom. Hallmark has the most amazing patented Voice Save Technology which safely records, saves and plays back treasured voice recordings for years to come. The content is saved even when you … [Read more...]
We Love You Photo Card
Welcome to Toys In The Dryer 14 Days Of Valentines! For the next fourteen days straight (including Saturdays and Sundays) we'll be posting Valentines related posts! We're going a little off of our usual schedule during this time, but we hope you enjoy our tribute to this lovely holiday. Ok, I'm braggin' here because I think this is one of the cutest Valentine's Day cards we have ever made in this house! It didn't really require a lot of effort or work and it turned out so cute.Have your kids (or if they're not old enough you can do it) write out the words "we" and "you" and cut out a heart out of brightly colored construction paper.This next part is optional but I did it because I liked the look. Create a backdrop using a sheet, blanket or a piece of fabric and attach it to the wall.Have each child hold up their sign in front of the wall. Crop and edit your photos and create a simple Valentine's Day card. I used Shutterfly but you can use anything you choose. Many places offer … [Read more...]
Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
It's been freezing in Minnesota this week. We're talking highs of -4° F with wind chills of -20s to -30s F. What do Minnesotans do when it is this cold out (besides act normal, because hey, it's Minnesota and this is nothing new)? We eat. We eat fatty, carb loaded foods, and we love it!*tee hee hee...Lindsi is hijacking this post...ohmigosh that sounds AMAZING!*Yesterday Tottie and I made homemade mozzarella sticks for our snack. They were warm, hearty, and most of all, super yummy! Oh, did I mention they are easy-peasy to make too? Ingredients:4 string cheese sticks1/4 cup flour1 egg1 Tbsp milk1/2 cup Italian style Panko bread crumbs Or 1/2 cup plain Panko bread crumbs plus 1/2 to 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning1/4 tsp garlic powderThings you'll need:3 bowlsgreased cookie sheetoven pancake turnerStart by preheating your oven to 400°. Next cut the cheese sticks in half and put them in the freezer while you prep the rest.Line up your bowls to make an assembly line. In the first bowl put … [Read more...]
A Mom’s Review of the Nexus 7 Tablet by Google
My family debated on getting some kind of tablet for Christmas for the family to share. Nutty uses them at school, Tottie plays with Grandma's when she visits, and I would love to have one to tote around to blog meetings and conferences instead of hauling around my large laptop. Ultimately, however, we decided that we would spend our money on things for our boat because that's how we spend time together as a family in the summer. As luck would have it, a few weeks ago I fell into contact with a marketing rep from Staples who offered a Nexus 7 32GB Tablet from Google for my family to review. I don't know who was more excited, me or the girls! Our Nexus 7 Tablet arrived from Staples at the perfect time. The girls were heading to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the long weekend which meant that I had time to play with it and set it up before the girls stole it got their hands on it. Set up was a breeze! Since my cell phone runs on the same operating system (Android 4.1 Jelly … [Read more...]
