Eggnog French Toast!

Here is a simple idea to spice up your morning French Toast! Around the Holiday season when they are selling Eggnog, Silk nog, or pumpkin spice milk just add a little to your egg mixture and there you have it, Eggnog French Toast! If you have never made french toast before I will tell you my normal recipe for our family of four.

Mix 3 eggs in a bowl, add about a half a cup of eggnog, and whisk together. Dip your bread into the mixture on both sides, one piece at a time. This makes about 6 pieces of french toast. Cook on a skillet or hot pan with just a little butter and as it's cooking add a dusting of Cinnamon!

Such a simple suggestion but the eggnog really adds to the flavor and is a family favorite around the holidays!

Thanksgiving Day Game and/or Craft!

This past Friday I was watching four kids ages 5, 4, 3, and 3 years. We had lots of fun playing! I made up an activity that could be fun any day around Thanksgiving but it would be perfect for the actual day when all the family is together. It's very simple and helps to keep the little ones entertained. There are two steps to this, a game and then a craft. You can decide to just do the game but if you wanted to take this a little further, I will show you how! 

Give each child a brown or white paper lunch sack to decorate. Get out stickers and markers and let them create! While they are doing this, go to another room or if it's nice, go outside. Get a bag of feathers from the craft store and hide them everywhere. You can make it harder for older kids and easier for younger kids!

After they are done decorating make up a story about a Turkey who lost all his feathers in the other room and how they get to go collect them! This is the fun part, let them run crazy trying to collect feathers! This is kind of like an easter egg hunt on Easter! =)

The next step I added because I wanted them to do a craft with their feathers they found. If you want to make things easy just give them paper, markers, and tape and let them create whatever they want! I wanted them to make turkeys with their feathers so here is what I did.

IMPORTANT: If you are planning to make the turkey, I got all of this stuff ready BEFORE we even did the feather hunt!

I made my favorite playdoh, which I used to make the the golf pen holder! If you have another easy self drying dough recipe, you can use that also but for this all you need is:

• 2 cups of corn starch
• 2 cups of baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups cold water

You mix all the ingredients together in a small pot over medium heat and stir for about 2-3 min until the mixture looks like mashed potatoes (photo on the right). 

I added brown paint to the mixture because I didn't want to deal with the kids painting on this project. This dough will be the turkeys body.

I took an orange pipe cleaner and cut it in 2 inch strips and twisted it in half. You will need two of these per turkey, they are the feet! I also got out two googly eyes per turkey and cut one small triangle, per turkey, for the beak out of thick paper.

 Separate out the playdough in equal parts on a paper plate for each child. Tell them to make one big ball, which will be the body, and one small ball, which will be the head. Place the head in the front of the turkey and then let them put their feathers behind the head however they want to. Then have them place the eyes and beak on their face and stick the orange pipe cleaners below for the feet. There you have it! A cute Thanksgiving Turkey!

The Many Ideas For A Simple Mason Jar!

As you've seen before, I love Mod Podge! You can do so much with this stuff! How about decorate a Jar, either for your home or to give as a present!? I'll show you how we decorated our jars and then I'll give you some fun ideas to do with them. The only things you will need are a few pieces of scrapbook paper to match the theme you are going for and Mod Podge!

The next step is to rip the paper up into pieces. However you would like them, big or small, it doesn't matter. 

 Paint the Mod Podge on your jar and start placing your ripped paper all over, overlapping the paper so no glass shows through.

 After you are done adding any last touches (example: stickers or pictures) then paint Mod Podge over the whole jar!

Here is one of our finished products! We made this for Brenden's Kindergarten teacher. She expressed she wanted a school theme and we also knew her favorite color is purple so we had to add that into it! What a perfect present to give to a teacher that would look pretty sitting on his/her desk!

 Here is how we got started with these jar projects. We made a special jar for Brenden to keep his marbles in. It's a reward system for him! He LOVES marbles so whenever he does a good deed that is noticed by someone else, not by him telling us about it, he will get to keep a marble from his jar!

To make this jar I printed out free coloring pages of ironman and he colored them. You can look up any character online and get a free coloring page so you and your child can make the Jar unique to what they like!

   

More Ideas For a Jar at home:

• Good choice jar: Buy glass beads from the dollar store or even collect rocks from outside and whenever you notice your child doing something good, let them put a bead or rock in the jar you made! When it is full do something fun as a family. Some examples could be go out for frozen yogurt, your child's favorite restaurant, an indoor playground, or go out to see a movie. Anything to let them know that their good choices will bring positive consequences!
• Rainy day Jar: Get some craft sticks or slips of paper and start writing on them things you enjoy doing inside. When the weather is bad and you need an idea of things to do, pull out this jar and pick one out! Here are some examples of things you could write! Hide and seek, Plastic cup bowling, freeze dance, make a fort out of blankets, jump rope, or one of my own craft games (Indoor Tennis: see october 2011). 

Ideas you can do as Christmas gifts are:

• Fill your jar with christmas candy! A yummy treat to whoever receives it!
• For those on your list who are animal lovers, fill with doggie or kitty treats!

Thanksgiving Gift in a Jar:

• Here is a yummy recipe for pumpkin butter in a jar! Good for everyones Thanksgiving meal! 
• You can also fill your Jar with pumpkin spice sugar scrub, a great hostess gift! All you need is:

2 cups of brown sugar

1 cup of granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup + 1 Tablespoon of oil (sunflower, safflower, or vegetable)

Mix the sugars and spice together, making sure there are no lumps. Then add oil and mix well! This will keep well in a sealed clean glass for months! Just keep out of direct sunlight as you would with oil.

Have fun with this, get creative on the outside and inside of your jar!

Craft/Gift: Easy Golf Bag Pen Holder

Let's face it guys, no one wants to admit it but CHRISTMAS is next month!!!!! We all want to find cheap ways our kids could give presents to the ones they love. I am going to give a few ideas over this month of things you can do with your kids to make gifts for family members. 

This first idea is for all the men in your life that LOVE golf! This idea could also be used for Fathers Day. I'm going to show you the finished product first and then explain what I did to make it!

Here is a cute Golf Bag Pen Holder personally painted by your child.

The first thing you will need to do is make homemade playdough. Over the years I've made a lot of different dough recipes but this one is my favorite! It's so soft and smooth and so much fun to play with! What you will need is:

• 2 cups cornstarch
• 2 cups baking soda
• 1 1/4 cup cold water

Have your child mix baking soda and cornstarch in a pot. Then gradually add water till it's smooth. On medium heat, stir constantly until it has the consistency of mashed potatoes. Dump out dough on a plate and cover it with a damp cloth to let cool. When it's cool you can knead it and it's ready to go!

While you are doing this next step let your kids create whatever they want with a lump of this soft smooth dough.

You will form you golf bag over a toilet paper roll. I drew a picture of the shape I created around the TP roll. It's really not that big of a deal if you get the shape exact! They will get the point of what it's supposed to be.

Here is a picture after I formed the dough around the TP roll. Once it dried a little I drew some lines in it with a toothpick to make it look more realistic. 

Let your "Golf Bag" sit in a safe place for a few days until its's all the way dry. Then have your child paint it. If you have a younger child I would suggest you only allow 3 or 4 colors (not black or brown). After all the work put into this, you don't want them to go crazy mixing colors and it turn out all purplish/brown.

I found these pens during Fathers Day season in the dollar section at Target so you will not be able to get them as cheap as I did BUT I found them for sale at Pier One! Here's the link:

http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/Gifts/tabid/978/CategoryId/122/ProductId/6265/ProductName/Golf-Pens/Default.aspx

I also came up with an idea if you don't want to buy these pens! Just make your own!!! All you will need is the cheap pens that come with a removable cap and masking tape.

Put a few strips of tape on the top of the pen, folded over so there is no sticky sides exposed.

Then cut it into a shape of a club. If you have a silver sharpie, you can let your children color the taped end! 

There you have it! A cute cost effective present for a man who loves golf!

*Another cute idea, I had to add, for dad for Christmas or even Fathers Day would be this cute picture for his desk! "We're watching you!" Just have your kid/kids pose for the shot and put it in a double frame!

Aimee from Itsoverflowing.com featured my picture and also compiled many other CUTE ideas for pictures for Daddy! Remember, these cold be used for Father's Day, Christmas, or even Daddy's birthday! Check it out HERE!

Healthy Biscuits & Gravy

Biscuits & Gravy is one of my families FAVORITE meals!!! We were eating it so much, I decided it needed vegetables!!! =) Here is what you will need to make this yummy and healthy dish!

• One pound of sausage (here is where you can go healthier or not, don't forget to read the ingredient label on the package. We don't want sodium nitrate, MSG, artificial coloring or chemical preservatives. Also, would be good to get hormone free meat but that is not always cost effective.)
• biscuits (pack or homemade)
• about a cup to 1 1/2 cups of milk (or almond milk for dairy free)
• about a cup of whole wheat flour (or almond flour for gluten free)
• about 1-2 cups of ground up veggies (Use whatever you have in your kitchen) 

Preheat your oven to whatever temp your biscuit package says or follow the directions in making your own biscuits. It's always a healthier option to make your own biscuits because you know EXACTLY whats going in them. I found a great biscuit recipe for my gravy that I added below.

The next step is to grind up your veggies. This time around I used a carrot, two celery stalks, a few pieces of broccoli, a few mushrooms, and a piece of zucchini. Zucchini, celery, and eggplant are good because they are light in color so your family wont be able to SEE them when ground up with the sausage! Make sure you grind your veggies up REALLY FINE!!! 

 Here is my veggies ground up! No large chunks!

At a regular grocery store, Turkey breakfast sausage is probably your healthiest option. Start browning your sausage meat.
*update* I found additive free (Never Any) pork sausage at Aldi that is AMAZING

As your sausage is cooking, get your biscuits on a cookie sheet and throw them in the oven! The quick option we used this time around is Trader Joes Buttermilk Biscuits. They have a lot less added stuff. Whole foods has their brand also. The only thing I don't like is they used enriched flour but it's WAY better than Pillsbury!!!!
Also, if you are going dairy free, these biscuits wouldn't be good because they use real buttermilk.

Then add your ground up veggies to your cooking sausage. I wait for it to brown a little bit but not fully cook.

 Here is what your veggies and sausage will look like when almost fully cooked! Just make sure you have no raw meat!

Then I grab about two large handfuls of whole wheat flour and sprinkle it over top of the meat mixture. You can use other types of flour if you have them. Check my post in October 2011 about White Vs. Whole Grain for best options.

This next step I used my almond milk (Dairy free) but you can you your regular milk!

I am so sorry that I don't have exact measurements for this, I just pour the milk over the meat mixture till it covered. I would just guess its about a cup or a little over. It needs to simmer for 5-10 min so it will thicken. Stir constantly! If you like thick gravy add more flour, if you like it on the runny side, add more milk! My husband and I ALWAYS do this different because I like to make it thicker than he does.

Here it is after ALL the milk is poured in! Remember stir and let simmer for 5-10 min and then your done!!!

YUMMY!

Here is my family chowin' down!!! I know it's funny but we do sit and eat dinner a lot at this kids table! =) 

*UPDATE*

December 2017: I now eat dairy free and gluten free! I found the best Paleo biscuit recipe to go with my gravy. Just click on the picture below to take you to the recipe!

Thanksgiving Count Calendar!

Ok, I've decided to change things up a little bit and do something other than a paper chain. Here it is! We are doing a Thanksgiving Count Calendar! I always hated the question on Thanksgiving, in front of all your family, "What are you Thankful for?" I mean, I'm thankful for a lot, I just don't know what to say when put on the spot! Also, I want to get my kids thinking about being thankful more than one day of the year so I decided to make this cute calendar! Everyday we will be thinking of just one thing we were thankful for and place it in the days number. Here is what you will need:

• Small white envelops (as many days till Thanksgiving)
• Ribbon
• Hot glue gun
• scissors
• markers/crayons/colored pencils
• a couple sheets of colored construction paper
• Tacks to hang up the calendar on the wall (you can choose to do it a different way)

I bought some note cards in the dollar section at Michael's. Buy as many packs as you need envelopes, one per day of the countdown. I pulled out only the envelopes and licked them shut.

Then cut one side off so now the envelop is a pouch!

This next step was so much fun! We basically had a family craft night decorating each number pouch! I drew numbers 1-24 on the front with the opening facing up and then we decorated around them. Another reason I came up with this is the number practice for my son. I am trying to find ways to get him to recognize and memorize what each number looks like and it's also good practice for younger siblings!

Then I got a bunch of different ribbon and cut them in two inch strips, folded them in half, and then hot glued them in a little loop.

Then I hot glued the loop to the front flap of my pouch, directly in the center. 

Here are all of our pouches with loops on top in numerical order. Now I chose to do a Thanksgiving count but you can also make this a countdown till Thanksgiving. I just chose it to do it this way because we were starting on the first of November. Since today is November first and you probably cant start this today, maybe you will choose to do a countdown to Thanksgiving from whenever you can get your calendar made! =)

We then strung a longer piece of ribbon through each loop and I hot glued each pouch in place on the ribbon.

I then tacked each side of the ribbon to the wall. 

Each person in our family chose a color to be what they write what they are thankful for on so we don't have to always write names. I cut long strips that would be long enough to stick out of the top of the pouch. 24 strips for each day on the count calendar.

Here is what Brenden, Keaten, and I wrote on our strips for today. Brenden is blue, Keaten is red, and I'm yellow! Jason didn't write his yet because he is at work.

This is what it looks like once your thankful strips are in. Then On Thanksgiving, you don't have to come up with anything you are thankful for! Just pull your strips out of your Count Calendar and read what people said!

Here is the fun twist to the calendar that I came up with when I was talking with a friend yesterday. What do you do with ALL of your Halloween candy that you have in your house? How do you get them not go crazy with eating all that candy? I had my kids pick out 24 of their favorite pieces of candy. I labeled a B on Brenden's candy so they don't fight over which piece of candy was supposed to be theirs.

Then they got to put a piece of candy in each pouch! Great way to spread out all that candy. Then after Mom and Dad pull out all their favorites, throw away the rest! =) This prevents your child sneaking their Halloween bucket into their room and chowing down on a handful of candy before you find them in their bed with wrappers everywhere and chocolate all over their face. Yep this happened to me TODAY, with my three year old, right before we were going to put our candy in the pouches. 

Another idea you could do with this is in the days count you could add a special activity for that day that you are going to do with you kids. Some examples could be, Bake some cookies and share them with your neighbor, make up a song of things you are thankful for, or sit in a circle with everyone in the family and give each other back rubs at the same time! Get creative! They can be as simple or as complex as you would like!

I reposted our calendar again for 2012! I made it into a COUNTDOWN calendar.

Click HERE to see the post!