Folding Socks is For Losers

I HATE folding clothes.  Especially socks. 

But I think I have been doing it wrong all along.  By the end of the month (or months), I usually end up with a basket full of socks. 

   

I would then sort them by type of sock. You know ~ red stripe on the toe, blue stripe on the toe, short, long, no-shows, etc.   And every time I would swear that I am going to start buying only the same types of socks so I NEVER have to do this again.

Well today I had a new idea.  I don't know why I haven't thought of this before. You probably already do this. But if you don't and you sort socks for lots of people, this is definitely the way to do it. 

 First, I sorted the socks by person. So I ended up with 6 piles of socks.

  Then, I had the kids match up only their socks. It took like two minutes.  You can see the little guy on the end was not at all happy about this, but hey - LIFE SKILLS. 

   

 Next, I folded them. I could have let them do this but I know from experience that they would not be matched up correctly.

.  

 Finally I put each kids in a basket and had them bring them up to their room and put away.

   

 All of this in about 10 minutes versus the usual half hour or so of dreadful sorting, folding and delivering.

 I like this new way.  Now I have to head upstairs to see if they actually made it in the drawers.  But this is a work in progress right?  :)

A Circus Baby Shower

I hosted a shower last month and thought I'd share some of it with you.  It was so fun to plan and it turned out so cute.  Here was the invite I made in Microsoft Word (I blacked out any personal info...so it would read the "...Amazing expanding Smith family!"): 

I used yellow, red and blue as my color palate.  The decorations across the back and in the windows are from Hobby Lobby.  They have an entire party section devoted to circus/carnival parties!

As I was checking out I found circus peanuts near the register:

The blue pom poms were left over from my sister's shower.  They are so easy to make.  Just fold tissue paper back and forth like a fan, secure in the middle with a string or rubber band, cut the ends into tips and then pull the layers apart.  The more tissue paper you use, the fuller they will be.  Click HERE for HGTV's tutorial with pictures.  

I made gourmet popcorn for favors and attached a little poem from 'Baby'.  :)

I had so many requests for the popcorn recipe afterwards that I'll share it with you now.  It was so easy and so yummy!

Circus Popcorn

• 2 bags of Orville Redenbacher Tender White Popcorn, popped
• 1 tray of vanilla CandiQuick, melted
• 5 cups of pretzels, crushed (I used honey mustard because that's what I had)
• 1 bag of M&M's (I pulled out the red, blue and yellow ones and gave my guys the others)
• Sprinkles

1. Pour the CandiQuick over the popcorn and mix (you may have to use your hands but be careful because it's hot).  
2. Mix in the M&M's and crushed pretzels.  
3. Spread it out on wax paper and added the sprinkles.  Do this quick because once the candy sets, the sprinkles will not stick.
4. Once it hardens, break it into pieces.
5. Enjoy! 

Advice cards for the mother-to-be were at each place setting.  They were later collected in a clown hat and randomly drawn for prizes.

We had tons of yummy desserts.

I also made clown and popcorn cake pops.  These are not mine but this is a picture from the book that I got the ideas from.  That popcorn is actually mini marshmallows snipped on the top but my husband thought they were real when I showed him mine!  

We had a lot of fun!  Soon we will use many of the decorations for a carnival party for the little guy.  :)  

~ Nicole  

No Pressure, No Diamonds

I did a little craft project today (thank you Pinterest!).  I'm so visual and I hope that this will really help me. 

I took two candle votives and glued some pretty ribbon around them.  I also added a flower to cover the overlap.   

I had some appetizer forks and little chalkboard clips from JoAnn's that I used to label my votives.  

Then I took the # of pounds I want to lose and added that number of diamonds (wish they were real!) to the "TO LOSE" votive.  I used mostly small ones but put in a few large pink ones in too.  

As I lose a pound I will transfer a single diamond to the "LOST" votive.  Every fifth pound I will transfer a large pink one.

  

Wish me luck!  

~ Nicole

Homemade Spa Experience

I am not one for making New Year's resolutions. 

As a matter of fact, I don't know that I ever have. 

But I decided that this year is different.  We all have things we could be working on, right? 

So I sat the guys down and asked them each to come up with one thing that they would like to stop doing or start doing in 2012.  

After lots of ideas and conversation, we came to a conclusion.  We all needed to work on one area in particular.  

Love. 

Loving each other.  Loving the people in our lives, even the difficult ones.  Loving strangers.  Loving God.  This is our call; to love. 

But what about loving ourselves? 

It is so easy for me, and I believe most women, to get wrapped up in the lives of our families and demands of everyday life that we forget to love and take care of ourselves. 

So that's it.  

I am going to try and make time every day to do at least one loving thing for myself this year. Nothing extravagant, or maybe so.  Who knows what I might come up with.  

Yesterday I created a homemade spa experience using items from my pantry.  I decided on a facial that turned out to be incredibly relaxing and satisfying.  It left my skin amazingly smooth and bright! 

Steps to creating a homemade facial spa experience:

I suggest that you gather all of your supplies before you begin.  You will need:

• Cleanser
• Hot water
• Bowl
• Towel
• Prepared Oatmeal Mask
• Cucumber slices
• Moisturizer
• Relaxing music - Pandora has some great stations

Prepare the oatmeal mask before you begin your spa treatment.  Allowing the oatmeal to sit in the moisture for a longer period of time softens it and makes it easier to smooth on.  You can use a variety of household items to tailor the mask to your skin type.  Check out the Natural Home Remedies website for countless ideas. 

I used 1 cup of oatmeal.

I then added 2 tablespoons of honey and 3/4 cup of warm water.  

Suggestion  - You may want to send the oatmeal through the blender first.  It might be a little easier to apply.  Either way is fine though.  

Now you're ready for the spa treatment! 

First, thoroughly cleanse your face to remove impurities.

Next, create a facial steam bath to open pores.  You can buy a facial steamer or make one yourself.  Simply boil water on the stove top, place the water in a bowl and lean over it.  Place a towel over your head and the bowl to create a steam "room". 

Stay like this 10 minutes or until steam is no longer rising.  

After steaming, smooth the oatmeal mask all over your face, avoiding the eyes and lips.  Lay back with the cucumber slices on your eyes and relax until the oatmeal hardens.  During this process the oatmeal is cleansing and the honey is moisturizing your skin. 

Once the mask has dried and hardened, rinse it off with warm water. You will be washing off any dry and dead skin with the mask. 

Now splash your face with cold water to close your pores.

Finally, you can apply a moisturizer if you feel the need, but I suspect you won't.

My skin was so even, soft and bright when I was done.  What a great treat.  So far this loving myself thing has been a very satisfying part of our resolution!  =D 

What ideas do you have?

Chocolate - Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I wasn't feeling very well on New Years Eve (nasty cold) but wanted to do something special for my guys.  This is what I came up with ~ homemade chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.  Well, kinda homemade.

This is a fun and easy way to make chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and you probably already have all the ingredients you need just sitting in your pantry!    

Ingredients:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's Cake Mix)
• 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Peter Pan Honey Roasted PB)
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

First, prepare your cupcakes according to the package instructions.

While the cupcakes are baking, you can prepare your icing.

1. Mix the peanut butter and the butter together.  I did mine by hand, but if you want your icing fluffier, you can use an electric beater to incorporate some air into the mixture.  You could also add more butter. 
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the icing, a little at a time (easier to mix that way).  
3. Next, add the milk in.  This is not an exact science; you can add as little or as much as you like until you reach the consistency you desire.  For this particular cupcake I wanted my icing very thick.  I also had heavy cream leftover from Christmas and so I used that up first.
4. This step is very important.  Taste it!  Is it sweet enough?  Is it too sweet?  Do you want more of a pb taste?  From here you can tweak the recipe using the ingredients to make it your own.  I listed what I thought was tasty.
5. Once you are happy with your icing's consistency and flavor, scoop it all into a baggie.

Back to our cupcakes now ~~~

Once your cupcakes are cooked and cooled it is time to fill and frost.  This is the fun part!

Using a knife, cut out a little hole in the center of the cupcake.  My guys love peanut butter, so I made a big hole (about 1" in diameter and 1" deep). 

Next, cut a corner off your icing bag and pipe it into the cupcake centers.  After filling, do a little swirl of icing on the top but remember, you don't need much ~ all the flavor is on the inside! 

Next time, once I get the icing the consistency I want for the top, I am going to separate it into two batches.  Two-thirds will be put in a baggy for the cupcake tops.  The other third will be made into a much thinner icing (adding more milk) and put in it's own baggy for filling centers.  

In my opinion, more textures always makes things taste better.  Which is why I also garnished our cupcakes with some chocolate covered peanuts (remaining chocolates from my sweet mom who brought enough chocolate to Christmas dinner for each person to eat like 1 lb each! ~ Yeah, we're Italian and that's how we do it...lol)!  Love you mom.  =D

 Hope you enjoy and have a Happy New Year!

 

Foil Packets 101

Have you tried cooking in foil packets yet?  If not, let me give you 8 good reasons that you should ~

1. Easy and Versatile -  Almost any combination is delicious!  Pick any combo of meat, veggies, seasonings and liquid that sounds good to you, center the ingredients on a piece of heavy-duty foil, wrap up, sealing the ends, bake and enjoy!   
2. Very Little Clean-up - Pan free cooking!  =)  Heck, you don't even have to dirty a plate if you just eat right out of the foil!
3. So Quick - Only 20-30 minutes for beef or chicken and 10-15 for fish, shrimp or scallops at 450 degrees.
4. Perfect On-the-Go Meal - They travel well with all the food and juices neatly packaged in foil.  They will even stay warm for a couple of hours.
5. Easy Reheat - You could make them in advance or extras for later that week.  Just keep the packet intact and reheat at 350 degree for about 5-8 minutes.
6. Portion Control  -  Do you ever end up eating more than you planned or even needed?  Cooking in foil packets ensures each serving is separated.  You can always take another packet if you're still hungry but it will be a conscious decision versus mindless eating.
7. Healthy - The food is essentially steamed by whatever liquid you put into the packet (chicken broth, wine, soy sauce, water, etc...) versus sauteing in butter and oils.  This method of cooking also ensures none of the nutrients are lost during the cooking process. 
8. Moist and Flavorful - Because the meal is steamed, the meat and veggies come out infused with intense flavor and so incredibly moist you won't even need a knife to cut it!

Notes:  Be careful  when you unwrap the foil packets!  Lots of very hot steam will escape and could burn you.  Also, if you don't have heavy duty foil, a double layer of regular foil will do the job. 

This Week's Packets: 

I made these packets for this week's wrestling meet.  One of my guys needed to limit his food intake that day to make sure he made weight.  He ate lunch but wanted to save dinner for after weigh-ins . By the time he could finally eat them (about 2 hours after they left my oven), they were still warm, moist and delicious! 

 

 My packets each included a 1/4 lb chicken breast, sugar snap peas, 

chopped red peppers and a teeny bit of onion. 

I seasoned with salt, pepper and a little Italian seasoning.  

For the liquid I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of chicken broth per packet.  

Sealing the ends so no liquid escapes.  

 And this was our yummy dinner.  

I brought them in the foil to the wrestling meet with a plastic fork.  

No clean-up! Can't beat that.  =)

Now it's your turn!  Be creative.  =)  Remember almost any combo comes out delectable.  Also be sure to share your ideas with me and let me know what you come up with.  

Happy cooking!

Nicole

Little People Christmas Party

This morning, our family hosted our first Christmas party of the season.  Okay, Jaden and I hosted our first Christmas party of the season.  The other three guys were at school and my husband had to go to the office for the first time in over a month.  Hmmm... Well, I guess I don't blame him.

I love party planning.  It's fun to think of all the possibilities and good planning allows you to sit back and enjoy the party without much effort.  In this case, the before-party preparations also served as  some great "mommy and me" time.  From preparing crafts to making party favors, Jaden and I enjoyed every minute of it. All week I have heard him telling his own belly to "QUIT BEING SO BE-CITED!" - which was more than half the fun!!! 

Here are some of ideas for your next little people Christmas party.  We hope it helps you to create great memories with the ones you love!  

Countdown To Christmas - This is a simple activity even the littlest can do. To prep, we cut strips of red and green paper that would be used to make a chain.  We provided a bag of recycled ribbons from last Christmas and made toppers for the chain. My little guy and I worked on simple counting and patterns where Jaden sorted 10 strips, alternating red and green since 10 days till Chrismas.  We paper clipped each set together so they were ready when his guests arrived.

Stained Glass Votives - Packs of votives and candles can be purchased cheaply at your local craft store in the bridal section.  Lucky for me, I just happened to have a couple packs left from my sister's bridal shower.  We cut red and green tissue paper into little squares and had paintbrushes and watered down glue ready (add just enough water to thin it out a bit).  In sections, the kids painted glue on their votives and then covered it with tissue paper.  When the entire votive was covered, they painted glue over all the tissue paper to create a shiny, hard coating.  Be careful though, some brands of tissue papers will leak color, but I think it looks cool either way.  By the time the party was over, their projects were dry and ready to take home.

Pin the Nose on Rudolph - No need to buy this game when you can turn making one into a family project.  If you don't already have a big roll of white paper, get one!  You will find so many uses:  tablecloth under messy crafts, life size self portraits, homemade wrapping paper and of course to draw a big Rudolph on!  And if you're not artistic (which you can see I'm not), check out DragoArt for instructions.  After drawing Rudolph, I tacked it up on the wall and two of my guys enjoyed coloring away.  We made red noses out of card stock (used a glue stick lid as the template to trace around) and used Glue Dots to stick.  A recycled red ribbon for the starting line and bandanna for the blindfold and we had ourselves a game.  This game was definitely the party favorite!   

It's Snowing!  - I had a special request for a game that included marshmallows.  I had to come up with something that matched the skill level of three year olds through kindergartners.  We ended up wrapping two small boxes (left open).  The kids were each given two large marshmallows and divided into two 'equal' teams.  After talking about all the reasons we love snow and all the things we want to do when it snows, and why the heck hasn't it snowed yet, we threw our 'snow' into the buckets.  Whatever team had the most snow in their box won.  Simple, yet they wanted to do it again.

Party Favors -  We love making presents for our friends!  Little People Favors - Jaden made his friends reindeer food to help guide Santa's reindeer to their house on Christmas Eve night - very important!   Jaden measured out 1/2 a cup of old fashioned oatmeal into baggies and added some sprinkles to each bag.  We then stapled labels with the reindeer food poem on it (which I made in Word and printed out on card stock).  He loved walking around with his basket and handing them out as his friends got ready to leave. Big People Favors - My friends received mugs with hot chocolate packets, homemade marshmallows and cookies.  I made an attempt at snowflake coasters, but they didn't turn out very well.  Too much intricate cutting.  I also tried dipping spoons in chocolate to include, but my chocolate jar (in a pot of boiling water) tipped over.  Oh well. 

Food - You know how you cook before a party and by the time your guests arrive, you are exhausted?  This party, I GFS'd it.  Why not?  Yummy food and all I had to do was take the food out of the freezer that morning and put it on some nice serving trays.  I did take 2 minutes to make some turkey and cheese sandwiches but I am a swift sandwich maker (with 5 guys you must be), so no big deal.

Jaden and I also baked some sugar cookies last week and froze them.  We thawed them out this morning and and provided some do-it-yourself decorations for the little people.  Yummy AND fun!

Music - What's a party without rockin' good music? My family loves to sing and dance and we love Pandora.  The "Kids Christmas Favorites" station is perfect for a Little People party with Christmas songs by the Muppets, Kidz Bop Kids and many more favorites. I just hooked my droid up to one of my guy's boom boxes (or whatever it's called these days) and the atmosphere was set! 

Party Time! - All that was left was to get ready for our guests to arrive.  And to tell our bellies to "QUIT BEING SO BE-CITED!"  =0)

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!   

We hope your parties are filled with family and friends, love and laughter!