The Weekly Review

Happy Easter! I know our day is going to be filled with eating and finding eggs. I hope you all had a great weekend.

Here's the posts from the past week in case you missed any:

• April Fool's Day: I have some easy and fun ways to celebrate April Fool's Day (4/1)
• Painted Eggs: The last of our Easter eggs got painted. The kids had lots of fun with the eggs and they are already asking to make more.
• International Waffle Day
• Boys Will Be Boys
• Easter Posts: Links to my Easter posts from this year and last year.
• Easter Coloring Page
• Peeps, My Arch Nemesis

Peeps, My Arch Nemesis

Happy Easter! There are several givens at Easter time: we will celebrate with our families, our kids will go on egg hunts, the Easter baskets will be found, and Peeps will come our way. I am not a marshmallow person and my kids are only to a certain extent. We usually somehow end up with Peeps, of which a few will be eaten and the rest will sit in the pantry for weeks. Last year at Easter, someone started a fire and brought out graham crackers and chocolate bars. We roasted the Peeps and made s'mores. I've got to say that it was the best way to eat a Peep! If you find yourself with extra Peeps this year, try s'mores!

Easter Coloring Page

Easter Posts

It's almost time for Easter, so I thought I would put all my Easter links in one place.

FOOD:
Bunnies, Chicks, and Sprinkles...Oh My! Easter themed cake pops.
Last Minute Easter Ideas: cheese puff carrot bags, jelly bean bracelets, lollipop Egg Basket.
Veggie Trays. I have an example of an Easter veggie tray towards the bottom of the post.
Rice Cereal Easter Treats: Egg and flower shaped rice cereal treats make the perfect snack or dessert for Easter!


CRAFTS and ACTIVITIES:
Eggs, Eggs, Everywhere...It's An Eggstravaganza!: Food coloring eggs, natural dyed eggs, impression eggs, bubble wrap, Diva Eggs
Easter Eggs: Space Invaders, Glitter, and Snorkel, Painted Eggs
Scavenger Hunt
Clay Pot Baskets. These are super easy (and cute) baskets that work great as centerpieces.
Coloring Page

Top Row(left to right): Aluminum Foil Painted egg, Alien and Planet Egg, String Painted Egg
Middle Row(left to right): Duck fingerprint, Monkey fingerprint (well, it's my attempt at a monkey)
Bottom Row(left to right): Diva Egg II/Glitter egg, Making the eggs, Snorkel egg

Boys Will Be Boys

"Boys will be boys."

I have heard this expression many times during my life as a kid, an adult, and as a mom. I hate this expression. I feel it gives an excuse to bad behavior. I have two boys, who are without a doubt boys.

Bernardo is energetic, loves to play, and his natural volume is loud. We've been working on it and he honestly doesn't even realize that his normal volume is much louder than everyone else's. We even had his hearing tested to make sure it wasn't something wrong with his ears. Nope, that's just his normal state. However, he will now sit and read or draw quietly.

Higgins is what some people would call "all boy". He does not sit still for long, which makes going out to eat a challenge. He loves castles, knights, dinosaurs, guns and swords. As soon as he walks in the door he arms himself, normally with a sword strapped to his back. Recently he wanted to wear his hoodie sweatshirt to school. It was also below freezing, so he had to wear his winter coat too. I went to the bathroom before we left to take everyone to school. We dropped Bernardo off and then I took Higgins to school. Once we get there he hangs his coat up in his cubbie. However, his hoodie is still sticking up a little so I try to fix it. What do I discover? His sword (it's foam and flexible) stuck down his back hidden under the hoodie. *Sigh*

"Boys will be boys." Yes and no. My mom had two girls and she would tell me that we used to sit quietly and play. She used to think that there wasn't a big difference between boys and girls until I had two boys. She now admits that there is. My boys do not sit still for long and play constantly throughout the day. I know that there are always exceptions: some boys will play quietly all day and some girls will be the "tom-boy". It's been shown that boys mature at a slower rate than girls, so that may make a difference between me as a child sitting quietly playing and my boys playing "good guys and bad guys" and running around the house in circles at the same age.

Higgins has a few beloved stuffed animals. Bernardo has one from when he was a baby. Neither one really wants anything to do with dolls. Higgins had a baby doll, which he did play with. However, the baby doll rode on trucks, fought dinosaurs, and generally played as an action figure. Even at a young age, they gravitated towards the boy toys in the toy stores. The closest they came to wanting a "girl" toy was a super pimped out doll house. Why did they want it? Their army guys and knights could have an awesome battle at the "castle".

I do believe that boys and girls are (generally) wired differently. However, that doesn't mean that boys should get a free pass because "boys will be boys". They still need to be taught manners and how to act in public. I know my boys have a ton of energy and need to let that  out. However, climbing over the booths at restaurants are not the right way to do it. Does Higgins ever try it? Sure. Do we let him keep doing it and disrupting other people? No. I let my boys have toy guns and swords. I do think is is disrespectful to let kids shoot at people (whether a toy gun, their finger, etc.). I have a rule that we don't shoot at people. This is both to be respectful and because when they are old enough to go to friends house alone, who knows if their friends' parents might have a real one laying around. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I support the 2nd Amendment. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" is an accurate statement. The gun is not going to shoot itself. Just like cars don't kill people, the driver behind the wheel controlling the car causes the accident. We know people who own guns and they are very responsible, but I can't assume that everyone is so I teach my boys not to point a gun and shoot at people. When they're older I will go into more detail, but for now I am hoping that the rule is enough. I do know that not teaching them about safety is not a good option.

I also teach my boys to say please and thank you. These are manners that I see so many kids not using or being taught, which were drilled into us when we were kids. Even when we go to the store and the cashier gives them a sticker, they say thank you. Bernardo is also learning how to open the doors for people. When Higgins was in a stroller, I would be trying to hold on to Bernardo, open the store's door and wiggle the stroller through. I was cut off many times by men and women alike.

Are my boys perfect? Are my manners perfect? Heck no! However, I think that teaching our kids (boys and girls) how to have manners and be respectful of others will help them go far in their adult lives. Especially since I see these skills lacking in so many these days. When my boys are successful, I'm going to take full credit :) Just kidding...

Painted Eggs

Last year we painted eggs using bubble wrap. This year we tried a few more things we had laying around the house to paint the eggs. The boys had lots of fun. If your kids are anything like mine, I would recommend putting down a plastic drop cloth or newspaper to cover the work surface!

Egg Painting: (Make sure you use a non-toxic paint.)
        *Aluminum Foil: Crinkle a piece of aluminum foil. Open foil and lightly paint. Place egg on foil and gently press foil around the egg. Remove from foil and let dry. You could paint other pieces of foil and repeat  the process for a multicolored egg. Higgins got impatient and put lots of colors on the same piece of foil. It turned out pretty well, although there were a few muddy looking splotches. If you want more distinct colors, I would apply the colors one at a time.
       *String: Dip pieces of string in paint. Drag across egg to create designs. Use different sizes and textures of string to get different effects.
       *Fingerprints: Lightly coat your finger or thumb in paint and press to egg. Let dry. Use a marker to create faces or animals. We made a chick and a monkey. Ok, I know it doesn't really look like a monkey, but that is what it is supposed to be. I think I need to work on my monkey making skills.
       *Light Bulb Wrapper: Ever wonder what to do with the cardboard cushion that comes with your light bulbs? Unfold the wrapper and lay flat with the ridged side facing up. Coat a layer of paint on the cardboard and roll your egg across to get a cool effect. Paint designs on the cardboard before rolling for even more fun. Example: Green on bottom for grass, blue in middle for sky, maybe some bird shapes, and white clouds.
      *Piece of Lace: Cut a piece of lace to wrap around the egg. Lightly brush on a thin coat of paint to the lace. Carefully wrap around egg, press gently, remove lace. Let dry standing up.
      *Polka dots:  Brush a thin layer of paint on a new pencil's eraser. Gently dab around the egg to create polka dots. Use different colors to add even more fun!

It's April Fool's Day!

Just kidding! Here are a few ideas for fun, harmless pranks to play on your kids on April Fool's Day (April 1st).

JOKES/ACTIVITIES:

• Soap: I made dinosaur soap dispensers (trust me, these are super easy) to make hand washing more fun for the boys. For April Fool's Day, try using bugs and toy snakes!
• Play hooky! Get the kids ready for school and pull into the school parking lot. Then tell them "April Fool's" and take them somewhere fun for the day (zoo, indoor play area, putt putt, amusement park).
• Place plastic bugs, spiders or snakes in their lunch boxes.
• If you don't mind cleaning up a small mess, toilet paper their room while they sleep.
• For older kids (or even hubby): safety pin the corners of all their underwear together. When they try to pull out one, they will get a whole string of underwear.
• Fill their closet or armoire with balloons and wait until they open it!
• Carefully unwind some of the toilet paper roll. Place a dollar on the roll and roll back up. First one up wins!
• Pack jelly beans in their lunch, but have them be unexpected flavors. There are a lot of options for gross and unexpected flavors such as Harry Potter Bernie Botts, Bean Boozled, Beer, Chili Mango, Tabasco flavored.

FOOD:

• Egg Cupcakes: You may remember these from the Backward's Day post. These were a big hit with  my kids. They are vanilla/white cupcakes topped with an egg. The egg is made out of candy!
• Egg Candies: For a fun snack for their lunch boxes, try making egg candies. Melt white chocolate chips and pipe onto wax paper. You want it to look like a fried egg shape. Before it hardens completely, place a yellow M&M on for the yolk. Let set.
• Colored Milk: Add a few drops of food coloring to their morning milk.
• Make them wormy apples for an after school snack. Use an apple corer or sharp knife to cut a hole in the side of an apple. Place a gummy worm in the apple.
• Place the bags of cereal in different boxes!
• Make mini meatloaves in muffin pans. Pipe on mashed potatoes for 'frosting'. You could even add a little food coloring to the potatoes to make the frosting look more realistic.
• Cut a pound cake into strips. Toast in the oven to make them look like fries. Serve with a side of red frosting. DM Tip: Broil cake for about 20 seconds to brown. Watch carefully so they don't burn. Flip and toast the other side.
• Fly ice cubes. Freeze plastic or candy flies in ice cubes and serve in their drink at lunch or dinner. You could also use raisins.

It's International Waffle Day!

Today is International Waffle Day! It began as a Swedish holiday, but who doesn't love waffles?There is also a National Waffle Day (US) on August 24, which honors the waffle iron being patented in 1869. Of course, it just gives me another reason to make waffles!

The boys and I love waffles. We eat the frozen waffles, make waffles at home(out of a mix since I haven't tried making batter from scratch yet), and have eaten waffles at restaurants. For Christmas we received a rotating Belgium Waffle Maker, which has worked out great and I love it. The boys have lots of fun seeing what kinds of waffles we can create. We like to try different shapes and toppings: heart shaped waffles, a butterfly out of waffles and fruit, blueberries, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and sometimes just butter. I tried a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day, but it ended up becoming just a big blob. There are some really cute waffle makers that are already in shapes (hearts, heart on a stick, circus, Mickey Mouse, etc.) that I would probably get if I had the room. I'm always surprised how much faster food gets eaten when it's in a fun shape.

How do you like your waffles? What are your favorite toppings?

LINKS:
If you like shaped breakfast food, there are a lot of shaped pancake pans!
Waffle Day, Wiki
Waffle Day
Waffle Iron, Wiki

The Weekly Review

This past week has been busy for us, and I'm both happy and sad to see it end. We had lots of fun making Easter eggs, and I think we will probably make more this week. (It's a good thing we like hard boiled eggs on our salads and for breakfast!) In case you missed any posts from this week, here are the links:

• Easter Egg Space Invaders: The alien and spaceship egg were by far the biggest hit with the boys.
• Shaving Cream and Paint: Who doesn't love painting and getting messy? As an added bonus, your hands will smell nice after you are done.
• Easter Eggs: Glitter and the Snorkeler: The glitter egg was fun to look at and hubby loved the snorkel egg.
• Easter Scavenger Hunt Card: Our neighbors didn't decorate for Easter as much this year, but the boys still had a good time finding the items on the card.
• Easy Easter Basket Centerpieces: All you need is a clay pot, decorative paper, and glue!
• Rice Cereal Easter Treats: These are fun and easy snacks or desserts that are perfect for spring or Easter.

Rice Cereal Easter Treats

You will need:

• Rice cereal treat mix (see link for directions/recipe)
• Icing
• Small candies like M&M's or sprinkles
• Cookie cutters
• Cake or cookie pop sticks
• Candy Melts

Rice Cereal Pops Directions, Flowers:
1. Make a batch of rice cereal treats.
2. Press evenly into a greased baking dish. DM Tip: I like to use butter to grease the dish.
3. Allow to cool.
4. Use the cookie cutter to cut out shapes and remove from dish/pan.
5. Place a small dab of icing on top of cookie stick and insert into bottom of cereal treat.
6. Decorate.


Rice Cereal Egg Directions:

1. Make a batch of rice cereal treats.
2. Allow to slightly cool, but not all the way.
3. With your hands, form into a large egg shape.
4. Allow to cool completely on a piece of waxed paper.
5. Once the egg is cooled, decorate with small tubes of icing and candies.
6. For the small egg shaped pops,  form small egg shapes with your hands and allow to cool. Melt some candy melt and place a small dab on the top of a cookie stick and insert into the bottom of the rice cereal treat. Let set. Dip egg into melted candy and let excess drip off. Place standing up in a styrofoam block to set. Once candy melt has hardened, decorate. DM Tip: If you use sprinkles, decorate before the candy melt hardens completely.

Easy Easter Basket Centerpieces

These cute little baskets are easy to make and pretty versatile. You can use them as a centerpiece or place setting at Easter dinner, or fill with goodies for a Hostess Gift. If you use floral and neutral colors, they would make a great Mother's Day gift (fill with candy, a necklace or earrings, etc.)

For these you will need:

• Clay flower pots
• Glue
• Ribbon (optional)
• Thick decorative paper (like cardstock or scrapbooking paper).
• Clothespins, optional

Directions:
1. Cut out handle and attach to the pot using craft glue. I used clothespins to clamp it on while it dried.

2. Next cut out the ribbon or paper for the top edge, attach with glue and clamp on.
3. Finally, fill with Easter grass, eggs, candy, egg candles, etc.

Easter Scavenger Hunt

Easter Eggs: Glitter and A Snorkeler

It's egg time again! The boys wanted to make eggs again, so we tried two more ideas. The boys loved the sparkly Diva Egg from last year, so we made an even more glitter covered egg this year. The snorkel egg is an adorable egg that I saw a picture of online. I didn't see any directions with the picture, so below is how I made the egg. It is pretty easy to make with items you probably already have in your kitchen.

Diva Eggs, Part II (aka Glitter Eggs): Dye a hard boiled egg any color you like, or you could also leave the egg white. Brush on non-toxic craft glue with a paint brush and sprinkle on glitter. My glitter had a shaker top, but you could also use a spoon to help shake glitter over the egg. Let glue dry. DM Tip: The glitter does tend to get everywhere, so be prepared to have glitter show up randomly around your house! If you use Elmer's school glue, the glitter and glue will wash off pretty easily when you are ready to peel and eat the egg.

Snorkel egg: Dip the bottom part of a hard boiled egg into dye. Let dry. Cut out fin shapes from black paper or foam sheet and attach to egg with glue or glue dots. Draw eyes on a white bottle cap with a permanent marker. Set aside. Place a small rubber band around round the top of the egg and attach the cap to create the face mask. To create the snorkel you will need a bendy straw. Cut a piece of straw, about 2 1/2 inches long and make sure the bendy section is towards the end the cut section. Attach to rubber-band (I used glue dots). DM Tip: I have a stencil below for the flippers.

What Does Shaving Cream and Paint Have In Common?

Lots of fun!

My boys have made shaving cream paint art at preschool through the years. I always wondered how they did it, so I had Bernardo show me the other day. There are several variations online, but this is how he said they did it at school.

You will need:

• Shaving cream (white color)
• Craft paint (Tempura works well)
• Paper
• Hands willing to get messy

Directions:
1. Spray small mounds of shaving cream onto the paper.
2. Squeeze a dot of paint onto the mound and repeat for each mound.
3. Use your hands to move the paint through the shaving cream and spread all over the paper.
4. Let dry. Some methods have you scrape off the shaving cream to leave the paint behind. Bernardo was quite insistent that they left theirs on until it dried. DM Tip: The spots where the shaving cream was spread in a thin layer on the paper dried pretty quickly. However, the larger spots of shaving cream dried to a pile of fluff that was easily knocked off. Once everything dried, I ended up scraping the dried foam off so that I wouldn't have to worry about pieces of dyed shaving cream appearing all around my house after we hung the crafts on the fridge.

Easter Egg Space Invaders

If you were around here last year, you may have noticed that we love to decorate Easter eggs. In fact, as soon as the stores start putting out Easter displays the boys want to know if it is time to make eggs yet. Last year we decorated our eggs using a lot of different methods: food coloring, Diva Eggs dyed with food coloring with glitter dots (use red dye and black glitter for ladybug eggs), painted eggs with bubble wrap, natural dyes, impression eggs, and some classics like crayons and rubber bands. (Check out my Eggstravaganza post for directions.) This year we are venturing into a few different ideas:

The first one we tried was a Planet egg. I saw this one online last year and wanted to try it out. However, I thought something was missing. What goes better with a planet than an alien on a spaceship? I came up with a really easy alien and ship. The boys had lots of fun making the eggs, although Higgins was a little upset that he couldn't fly his alien and the spaceship around.

Planet Eggs: These are pretty easy to make but look super cool. The original directions online said to use a tie dye kit to create the eggs. However, I found that if I added less water to normal egg dyes and used a Q-tip and cotton ball to blot the dye on the egg, it worked just as well as the tie dye kit. Blot with a rag to keep the dye from running and let dry. Next, cut out a ring  from a craft foam sheet or cardstock paper. Cut out an inner circle in the ring to fit the egg. Place the egg inside the ring and you have your planet! DM Tip: I have a stencil below for the ring. This fit the egg I used, which was a large white egg.

Alien eggs: Dye an egg green (or blue, purple, etc.). Add on googly eyes and pipe cleaners for antennae. I attached with glue dots. For an extra wow, make a spaceship out of an old egg carton, drink carrier, or toilet paper/paper towel roll (cut out paper triangles and glue on for rocket fins). DM Tip: To get more of a lime green color, I used Betty Crocker Neon Food Gel. I mixed it with a tablespoon of vinegar and about 3/4 cup water to create the egg dye.

Thank you!

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award again by three different people. I want to say a big THANK YOU! to Shelley's Daily Dose, tickles and tots, and BebeSweetz. This made my day!

The first time I received this award it took me a long time to come up with my answers and questions, so I know how hard these women worked at coming up with their own replies and queries. It's been crazy here lately and I didn't want anyone to feel like I was ignoring this wonderful award, so I picked a few questions from each person who nominated me.

What is your favorite hobby? For relaxing, I would definitely have to say reading, followed closely by listening to music. For learning new skills, it would be cake and cupcake decorating.

Share one of your favorite recipes? I would have to say the chicken casserole recipe that my mom and grandma make. I grew up loving it and it still makes me happy when I eat it.
What do you enjoy most about blogging? I enjoy seeing comments and knowing that what I put out there was helpful to others. I've only been doing this a year and I love exploring the blogging community. There are so many great blogs out there and there are many bloggers that I see supporting each other.

Which household chore is the hardest to tackle for you? Laundry. I know, it's a pretty easy thing. I will gladly put the clothes in the washer and dryer but for some reason it's the folding that I get hung up on. Cleaning the bathroom is right there too.

Do you have pets?  If so how did they react when you first introduced your new baby? We have a wonderful dog. She was curious the first day we brought our oldest home, and then sad when she realized she wasn't the baby anymore. However, she gets along with the kids pretty well now...mostly because they feed her.
Do you ever doubt your decisions as a mother? Yes, quite a lot. On days where I think I am doing it all wrong, the kids will say or do something that makes me think that I can't be all that bad.

What do you do for a living? I am currently a stay at home mom. Once both the kids are in full time school, I will find a part time job. I want it to be flexible so I can pick them up if they are sick and be there to drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon. I have no idea what this future job might be though!

How many kids do you have? 2

Do you have any hobbies and if so, what are they? I make lots of crafts with my boys. However, I love decorating cakes and have recently ventured into cupcakes. I make a themed birthday cake each year for their birthdays and try to outdo myself each time. I will spend probably 1-3 days on their cakes. I know...it's crazy. But I do enjoy doing it!

The Weekly Review

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here are the weeks posts, in case you missed any:

Johnny Appleseed Day. Apple craft and food ideas.
St. Patrick's Day Coloring Page. If you need something to keep the kids occupied for a few minutes, I have a shamrock coloring page.
Simple St. Patrick's Day Lunch Ideas
Rainbow Cupcakes: Part 2. I made the rainbow colored batter cupcakes again and tried a couple of different ways of decorating them this year.
Learn About Butterflies Day. We went to a butterfly exhibit and the butterflies landed right on us!
National Pi Day
It's Been 1 Year! It's been 1 year since I started blogging.
St. Patrick's Day Posts. Links to all my St. Patrick's Day posts from this year and last year. If you need any last minute ideas, there are craft and food ideas.

St. Patrick's Day Posts Lists

St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow! If you are still looking for ideas to celebrate, check out these posts!

FOOD:
Beef Stew, Soda Bread, Shamrock Pancakes, Shamrock Sucker Napkin Rings
Rainbow Cupcakes Part 1, Rainbow Cupcakes Part 2 (These will really wow your kids or guests for a St. Patrick's Day.)
St. Patrick's Day Shake (My version of the Shamrock shake)
Shepherd's Pie (An easy shepherd's pie recipe that works great for St. )Patrick's Day or any night of the year
St. Patrick's Day Lunch

CRAFT/ACTIVITIES:
Fingerprint Shamrocks, Leprechaun Pots of Gold Treats
Shamrock Coloring Page
Paper Ring Rainbow

It's Been 1 Year!

It was one year ago yesterday that I started blogging. Some of it went as easy as expected (such as getting a domain name), other parts were and are a lot harder. Why I thought Daily Messes was a good idea, I cannot remember. Trying to come up with something every day while balancing home life and kids is hard. However, I hope I'm bringing something new into someone's life out there in internet land. Blogging also makes me use my brain a lot more, which is a good thing since I stay at home and listen to Caillou and Curious George. My kids love it because we are trying out a lot of new recipes and crafts. Other than spending way more than I normally would on recipes and craft supplies, I would say this has been successful for us and brought good things into our lives. I have also found a lot of new blogs that I love reading since entering the land of blogging.

I wanted to take a second to say thank you to all of you out there that read the blog. I love seeing my pageview numbers slowly increase and seeing your comments. It makes me smile knowing that I am not just writing into a big vast void of nothingness.  :)

So today, to say thank you to my readers, I brought Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. The cupcakes are topped with buttercream and chocolate buttercream icing. I have a pot of coffee brewing in case you like coffee with your cupcakes!

Learn About Butterflies Day

If you were around last year, you know my kids love butterflies. We were lucky enough to go to an indoor butterfly exhibit and got to see a lot of different butterflies up close. We wore yellows and blues to attract the butterflies.  As long as we didn't touch their wings, it was ok for the butterflies to land on us. The boys wanted a butterfly to land on them so badly, that they sat completely still for several minutes. (Which if you know my kids, you know that doesn't happen very often!) The boys loved being surrounded by butterflies and had a great time.

Last year for Learn About Butterflies Day, we made butterfly shaped snacks including a butterfly clothespin snack bag, a butterfly snack made out of fruit and a breakfast butterfly waffle. (To get the directions, check out my When Is My Friend, Little White Butterfly Coming Back? post.) We are still making the butterfly shaped snacks, but we made a few new crafts this year.

Footprint Butterflies:

This craft works best with smaller feet, but the handprint butterfly works great for older kids.
You will need:

• Craft paint
• Paper (cardstock works best)
• Black marker
• Paint brushes

Directions: Lightly paint your child's foot and press onto paper. You want to press the left foot on the right side of the paper and the right foot on the left side of the paper to form the wings. Leave a little space between the wings. Once the paint is dried, you will use the marker to draw on the body and antennae. Dip a finger in paint and dot on to form the top of the antennae.

To make it extra fun for the kids, leave the paintbrushes and paint within reach while you leave to get some rags for clean up! I left to grab some wet rags to wipe off Higgin's feet. I came back and he had painted the extra pieces of paper, his feet, and part of the kitchen floor. Oh well, at least it was relatively easy to clean up.




For a really easy butterfly, try making a paper cut out of a butterfly.

You will need:

• Piece of white paper
• Paint or markers
• Scissors
• Black or brown pipe cleaners for antennae. 

Directions:
1. Fold the paper in half and cut out a butterfly shape (or use the stencil below*).
2. Paint decorative spots on the cut out.
3. When the paint is dry, glue the pipe cleaners to the back of the head.


Other Butterfly Posts You May Like:
Butterfly Suncatchers
Handy Butterflies
When Is My Friend, Little White Butterfly Coming Back?
Flighty Cupcakes

Here are some facts I found online:

• Butterflies can see the colors yellow, red, green, and colors in the ultraviolet range.
• Butterflies use their antennae to "smell" and their feet to taste.
• Most butterflies use their tongues to sip nectar from flowers for food.
• The dust on the butterflies wings are actually tiny scales.
• Butterflies live from 2 days up to 11 months.
• The smallest butterfly is the Western Pygmy Blue with a wingspan of up to 7 mm.
• The largest butterfly is the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing with a wingspan up to 12 1/2 inches.

Links:
http://butterflywebsite.com/faq.cfm
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-butterfly.html
http://www.amazingbutterflies.com/frequentlyaskedquestions.htm
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/allabout/Extremes.shtml


*Cut Out Butterfly Stencil

National Pi Day

Today is National Pi Day (3.14)! For this very special holiday, we made an apple pie (with a homemade wheat pie crust) to honor National Pi Day.

Rainbow Cupcakes: Part II

Last year I made Rainbow Cupcakes with a rainbow colored batter. They were topped with white icing, a star sprinkle rainbow and a chocolate gold coin. This year, I made the rainbow colored cupcakes but decorated the tops a little differently. For some of the cupcakes, I iced in a green buttercream and sprinkled on green jimmies/sprinkles. I placed the candy rainbow in the middle and then added the gold at the base. For the other cupcakes, I iced in blue icing and then added on the candy rainbow. I piped on white icing for clouds at the base of the rainbow and finished by adding the gold candy.

You will need:

• Airhead Extremes
• Rolo's
• Gel Colors
• Icing
• Cupcakes

Directions:
1. Make the cupcakes and allow to cool completely.
2. Ice the cupcakes in the desired color.
3. Cut a three or four inch piece out of the Airheads strip.
4. Place candy strip into the cupcake to create a rainbow. DM Tips: You could cut a slit in the cupcake and push the end of the candy in using a toothpick. You could also push the candy into the icing and pipe additional icing around the base to help hold into place. On the blue cupcakes, I used the white clouds to help hold the candy in place.
5. Finally, place a wrapped Rolo at the base of the rainbow.

DM ALTERNATIVES:

• Instead of the Rolo, use a chocolate gold coin at the base of the rainbow.
• Ice cupcake blue, place on candy rainbow, and then place white mini marshmallows at the base for clouds.
• Have a cloud inspired cupcake by piping on white dots for a cloud-like look. Add a candy rainbow or rainbow covered sprinkles.
• Create a rainbow on a tray: Make cupcakes in the different colors of the rainbow. Place the red cupcakes in an arch. Then place the orange cupcakes underneath the red, then yellow, green, blue, and purple. You could pipe a dollop of white icing in the middle of the cupcake or ice in the same color as the cupcake.
• Ice the cupcake in white icing. Using sprinkles, create strips of color on the icing to make a rainbow.

Simple St. Patrick's Day Lunch Ideas

You may have guessed by now, but I love making holiday themed lunches for the boys. For St. Patrick's Day, I made a couple of different kinds of lunches.

For the first lunch, I found a green pepper that had three loops and cut horizontal slices. I then cut little slivers for the stems from the left over pieces to create a shamrock shape. I made a sandwich and added 'golden' carrots and sugar snap peas to keep with the green St. Pat's Day theme.

The second lunch also had carrots and pepper slices. My boys generally eat the fruit and vegetables first and save the sandwich for last. I placed a chocolate gold coin under the sandwich for them to find.

Another easy idea is to make a sandwich and to cut out a shamrock shape with a cookie cutter.

Green food ideas: (Some of the ideas you probably wouldn't eat plain, like parsley or limes, but they can be added to a dish or used as a garnish.)

• Vegetables:
• Green Beans
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Snow Peas
• Salad (there's a ton of different lettuces and most of them are green!)
• Zucchini (if  you have a large enough zucchini, you could make stuffed zucchini and use lots of green veggies in the filling)
• Cucumber
• Celery 
• Cabbage (green)
• Green bell peppers (maybe make stuffed peppers)
• Broccoli (baked potatoes topped with broccoli, anyone?)
• Kale
• Spinach
• Brussels Sprouts (our favorite way to eat them is seasoned and grilled, recipe here.)
• Lima beans
• Asparagus
• Peas 
• Parsley
• Green onions
• Leeks
• Bok Choy
• Cauliflower (I saw a green one at the store the other day.)
• Greens (collard, mustard)
• Fruit:
• Kiwi
• Green apples (granny smith, golden delicious-more a yellow color)
• Green grapes 
• Pears
• Cantaloupe 
• Star Fruit (more of a yellow-green color) 
• Avocado (green on the inside) or make guacamole and serve with green tortilla chips
• Green olives
• Artichokes (maybe make artichoke spinach dip)
• Green tomatoes (fried for extra deliciousness) 
• Limes
• Desserts:
• Green Shakes
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
• Lime sorbet
• Ice Cream Sandwiches with Green Sprinkles
• Key lime pie 
• Green (lime) jello
• Candied Popcorn (using green colored white chocolate or candy melts)
• Ice cream punch using lime sorbet and lime soda
• Make Green Noodles to go with lunch/dinner. Many stores carry spinach noodles, which are green in color.
• Pistachio nuts 
• Green Tea 
• Pesto
• Green Salsa (salsa verde)

St. Patrick's Day Coloring Sheet

Johnny Appleseed Day

Johnny Appleseed Day is celebrated on March 11 (possible date of death) and on September 26 (birth date of John Chapman). To celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day, make crafts with apple stamps, eat apples or applesauce for snacks, maybe even plant an apple tree! I have a chicken/apple recipe for dinner and baked apple recipes for dessert below!

For my stamps, I used 3 apples to get three different shapes. Cut one apple in half, through the middle horizontally, to expose the star shape. For the second stamp, core an apple. Then cut the core in half across the middle to expose the star shape. Serve the cut off pieces for a snack! For another shape, cut an apple down the middle vertically.

Cut an apple in half, dip or brush on craft paint and use as a stamp to create artwork. Some ideas are to use the apples to make tree tops, clouds, a sun, or just see how the apples stamp.

Tree on far left made with a vertically cut apple. Tree on
far right made with horizontally cut apple. Flowers made
from horizontally cut apple core.

Other ways to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day:

• Visit an apple orchard
• Try different kinds of apples
• Make applesauce or apple crisp (click on link for recipes)
• Make apple shapes out of clay. Place a small stick in the top to form the stem. Once dry, paint red.
• Make snacks using apples:
• Octopus Apple
• Peanut Butter Apple Wraps
• Apple Cider and Apple Cups
• Monster Apples
• Pork Chops with Apples and Stuffing
• Flower Snacks

For dinner, make Just In Thyme For Apple Chicken! 
by Daily Messes
Serves 4. Time: About 30 minutes

You will need:

• 4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, any fat trimmed off
• 1 tsp crushed dried thyme, or 1 tbpn fresh thyme leaves
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 red onion, diced
• Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Arrange chicken breasts in baking dish, making sure they are in a single layer.
3. Place apple slices on top and around chicken.
4. Next, sprinkle on onion and thyme.
5. Pour balsamic vinegar over the chicken.
6. Bake until chicken is cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes.

For dessert try making Baked Apples
These take about 1 1/2 hours.

You will need:

• 1 apple per person
• Apple corer
• Cinnamon/sugar.

Directions:
1. Core the apple and place on a baking sheet.
2. Fill the hole with cinnamon and sugar mix.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F until apple is soft, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. An easy way to check is to stick the apple with a knife. If the knife sticks in easily, the apple is done.
4. Remove and enjoy! (Apples with be HOT!)


LINKS:
Johnny Appleseed Festival
About Johnny Appleseed

The Weekly Review

I can't believe that it's Sunday already. I have no idea where the weekend went to! In case you missed any posts this week, here are the posts:

Easy St. Patrick's Day Craft (and Decoration): A paper chain rainbow craft.

Sick Days: A Word Find

Frozen Food Day/St. Patrick's Day Shake: The shamrock color inspired shake is towards the bottom of the National Frozen Food Day post.

Tap, Tap, Tapping On The Trees: We went to a tree taping to see how they make Maple Syrup!

Identify This: Part 52

Ice Cream Tower. Another one of my husband's crazy dessert concoctions for the boys!

Shepherd's Pie. This makes a really easy dinner for St. Patrick's Day or for any other day of the year.

Identify This: Part 53

Identify This: Part 53

STOP! ANSWER BELOW!

It's a blacksmith! The close up was of the horseshoe on the anvil.

Shepherd's Pie

This Shepherd's Pie is easy and super filling!

Prep Time 10 min., Total time 30 min. Serves 6.

For this recipe you will need:

• 2 cups hot mashed potatoes (3-4 medium/large potatoes)
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
• 1 cup beef gravy (about a 10 1/4 oz can)
• Optional: This recipe is produces a mild flavored shepherd's pie. I like to add some garlic and black pepper to spice up the meat mixture.

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Drain any grease.
2. Mix mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, garlic, and cream cheese until well blended.
3. Add the vegetables and gravy to the meat. Stir.
4. Place meat/vegetable mix in a 9 inch square baking dish.
5. Cover with potato mixture and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
6. Bake 20 minutes (or until heated all the way through).

(DM Tip: If you use instant mashed potatoes, do not add the milk. That way when the cream cheese is added, the potatoes will remain fluffy.)

Ice Cream Tower

As you might recall from my Big Wheeled Ice Cream Sundaes post, Hubby makes the boys crazy deserts on Thursday nights. This time was no different. He made an ice cream tower sundae. The boys flipped over it.

You will need:

• Ice cream sandwiches
• Ice cream
• Graham crackers
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate sauce/syrup
• Sharp knife

Directions:
1. Place a scoop of ice cream in the middle of a plate.
2. Cut strips from an ice cream sandwich and place 4 around the scoop. These will form the towers.
3. Place a graham cracker square on top of the ice cream sandwich sandwiches.
4. Top with another scoop of ice cream.
5. Fill gaps between the ice cream sandwich towers with whipped cream.
6. Drizzle chocolate syrup over the entire tower.
7. Enjoy!

Tap, Tap, Tapping On The Trees

One of the local parks host maple sugar events in late February. They have an event/class for kids during the week that teaches them about harvesting and making maple syrup. For one weekend only, they host a larger event with different types of maple syrup foods, including cotton candy made from maple syrup! The weekend activities also allow everyone to see the tapping buckets and the evaporator in action.

I have wanted to bring the kids to a maple syrup event for the past couple years, but I always seem to forget about it until it's too late. This year I had it marked on the calendar and actually remembered it in time! We went to the kids class, which started out in the barn. The kids watched a short movie on maple syrup and then we went on a hike with a naturalist. All the kids carried a small pail to collect sap. As we walked around, we saw a few trees with buckets hanging from them. The buckets had covers on top to protect the collecting sap from debris (think birds), extra water from rain and to keep most bugs out. (We did see a few bugs in the sap.)

Along the way we saw a couple of trees with a spout and tube attached. The tubes ran down to a large bucket to collect the sap. The naturalist told us there were a few downsides to the piping though: it was more expensive to use, larger animals could walk by and pull out the tubing or knock the buckets over, and squirrels liked to chew through it to eat the sap. However, there is a coil that can go around the tubing to help keep the squirrels off.

Towards the end of the hike, we stopped at a tree that had been tapped. The naturalist poured some sap into everyone's hands to try. It was clear and ran like water. It also tasted a lot like water, but slightly sweet. The kids then got to take a turn at hand drilling a hole in a trunk and hammering in a spout.

After sap tasting, we ended back in the barn. The naturalist told us that real maple syrup is more expensive because it can only be collected for a short time (when the ground starts to warm up, with cold nights and warmer days, but before the tree buds open) and because the maple trees only grow in certain areas (mostly Canada and parts of the United States). We also learned that the sap usually starts at 2-4% sugar content. After boiling it down to remove a lot of the water content, the sap will turn to a syrup of 66% sugar content. The syrup will be strained to get any particles (or bugs) out before bottling. It takes 10 of the parks buckets to make 1 gallon of maple syrup!

At the end of the program, the boys got to taste maple syrup and even a piece of maple candy! The candy is created when they keep boiling the sap past the point when it becomes syrup.

I would highly recommend checking out your state and local parks for kid programs. So far, I've been happy with the programs and the kids really enjoy them. Many of them are free, although a few have a small fee (like the maple sugar class during the week for $5/kid).

Other Random Facts:

• The grade of syrup is based on the color of the syrup, not on quality. The lighter color has a more delicate maple taste, whereas the the darker colors will have a stronger maple flavor.
• When the sap is boiling, you can add some butter to stop it from boiling over.
• If you want to try making your own maple syrup, it might be ok to boil it in your kitchen for a small batch. However, the naturalist said that larger sized batches are always boiled outside since the steam is sticky and can even peel off wallpaper.
• The sap is stored in the tree roots during the winter. In the beginning of spring the sap starts to come up from the roots and travels up the tree towards the branches. During the summer, the leaves convert the sunshine into food for the tree (sugar). 
• The naturalist stated that they tapped sugar maples. She said you could also try red maples, although their sugar content isn't quite as high.
• The weekend exhibit had a Native American and pioneer demonstration on how they made maple syrup. According to the naturalists, the Native Americans would use wooden buckets to collect the sap. Once the sap was collected, they would place the sap inside a hollowed out piece of log. They would then place hot stones that had been sitting in a nearby fire into the sap to evaporate the water. Once the stones cooled off, new hot stones were placed in. The sap was cooked all the way down until it became a block of sugar. The sugar could be easily carried and traded.

Other posts you might enjoy:
National Maple Syrup Day (12/17). More about Maple Syrup.
Hidden Bacon Pancakes. These go great with maple syrup!

Identify This: Part 52

If you think you know what it is, or just want to guess, post in the Comments! For the answer, scroll down to the bottom!

STOP! ANSWER BELOW!

An old style phone!

It's National Frozen Food Day!

I love my freezer. It lets me buy food when it is on sale and store it for when I need it, keeps my extra homemade soup for later, and stores the magical popsicles that heal all boo-boos (well, almost all). We have a lot of favorite frozen foods that we eat on a semi regular basis. Anything from popsicles, ice cream, pizza, and even chicken and burgers. The boys of course love the popsicles and ice cream. Hubby's favorite item from the freezer is the ice cubes. He will not have a drink without ice. However, my favorite is probably my secret stash of Magnum bars that I keep in the back behind the ice. Seriously, the kids don't appreciate them enough.

Of course this time of year, one of the big frozen treats is McDonald's Shamrock Shakes. I love the shakes, but the super bright green coloring is slightly off putting. I've been trying to recreate the shake so that I can make it a little healthier. This isn't a perfect match, but it's close!

St. Patrick's Day Shakes
You will need: (Makes 2)

• 2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp mint extract
• Green Food Coloring (About 8 drops for a light green color.)
• Whipped Cream
• Cherries, optional
• Green Sprinkles, optional

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients into a blender and mix together.

2. Pour into glasses. Top with whipped cream, cherry, and sprinkles. DM Tip: If you like a thicker shake, place in the freezer to firm up.

3. Enjoy!

DM TIP: Mint extract can be hard to find. Here are some alternatives:

• I also tried Créme de Menthe flavor (found in the candy making section of cake and/or candy supply stores). I added 2 drops of the flavor and it was a really close match!
• You can use peppermint extract instead (1/4-1/2 tsp, depending on your taste). I found that a 1/4 tsp of vanilla made the taste round out nicely, especially if the peppermint is too strong. 

What Is Your Favorite Frozen Food?

HISTORY
Food is preserved to keep bacteria and molds from growing and to keep food fresher longer. There are a lot of ways to preserve food: smoking, curing/salting, drying, pickling, canning, refrigeration, and a few others. However, one of the best ways to keep the texture and taste of the food intact is with freezing. Clarence Birdseye is given the credit for inventing a method for quick-freezing food in packaging without changing its taste in 1923.

Links to Some of My Frozen Food Recipes/Posts:
Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas
Oreo Pudding Pops
Homemade Popsicles
Ice Cream Sandwiches
Summer Time Snacks
Fruity Yogurt Flowers


Additional Information:
Frozen Foods, Wiki
Inventors, Clarence Birdseye
Food Preservation, Wiki
Clarence Birdseye, Wiki

Sick Days: A Word Find

This winter we've caught a lot of cold and stomach bugs. In honor of all the sick days, here is a Word Find!

STOP! ANSWERS BELOW!