Kid Songs all the time.....

When I was younger and childless my friends and I would break into song when certain phrases were said.  It was often Hip Hop or songs from my childhood (Hair Bands).   The other day however I was teasing my sister in law and began singing a song.  She thought maybe it was a boy band...  I let her know it was actually from Doc McStuffins because I pretty much have every single one of the songs from the show memorized....  She told me to get a life...  Lol.   Disney JR. is my life now.  I still listen to grown people music but my head is generally in toddler land.

One of the songs that I enjoy listening to is by Lisa Loeb called Fais dodo.  A cute little french lullaby. 

Check it out Here

Fais dodo, Colas mon p'tit frère

Fais dodo, t'auras du lolo

Maman est en haut

Qui fait des gâteaux

Papa est en bas

Qui fait du chocolat

Fait dodo Colas mon p'tit frère

Fait dodo, t'auras du lolo.

Go to sleep, Colas my little brother
Go to sleep, you will have your milk
Mommy is upstairs
Making some cakes
Daddy is downstairs
Making hot cocoa
Go to sleep, Colas my little brother
Go to sleep, you will have your milk.

Here is a printable for a nursery with the last line.  

Fait Dodo, t'auras du lolo.

PRINT HERE

New Adventures in New and Old Places

I am constantly shocked when I have lived in a city for years and just learn about the history of the town or I drive down a street and see historical sites or businesses I never knew existed.  I'm also surprised in the same way when we visit other cities on a regular basis and I've obviously had my head in a paper bag driving through. (or i was napping....  Apparently I'm still a baby because cars put me to sleep)

We enjoy weekend road trips.  We are blessed to live in Northern California and have so many great destinations within 2 or 3 hours from us.  There are several places that we visit frequently such as; Napa/Sonoma, Lake Tahoe and San Jose/Santa Cruz.  We also visit my hometown in the Bay Area to see family. 

On one trip to my hometown we began discussing a street name and then realized how many parks, streets, schools and buildings named after a particular person: Anthony Chabot.  I had lived from birth until age 16 there and never once had I studied, discussed or really heard about this person other than his namesakes..  but there he was everywhere around me.  We began discussing this and finally decided on using our smartphones for something actually smart.. Sorry Social Media ...

So we started with Wikipedia.  I know that Wikipedia is not always the most accurate but we started there and investigated further historical websites and encyclopedias. 

What did we find?  

That all of these places I went to as a kid were named after a man that set up major water infrastructures, damned creeks to make reservoirs, donated to shelters, create veterans housing, created large businesses and even cultivated cranberries.  He did so much and we NEVER learned about him in school. 

So now as we travel we try to learn about cities and sites along the way. 

Here are some of the things we look up:

Which Native Groups lived here?

Who settled this area for the state?  Who originally owned it and how did they gain the land?  What/Who are the surrounding cites or county named for? What are those people known for?

What sites can be visited?  What missions are nearby? 

How has the town changed over the years?  Where is the original downtown?  What were the older buildings originally used for?

There is so much more you can look into.

So here is a cheat sheet to start with your family. It gives them some questions to work through and ideas for places to explore when they are done.  It can be used on road trips to entertain the kids or to check out your town and keep them entertained for free.  

 

CLICK HERE TO PRINT

I believe in Constantly Learning and most importantly learning from our history.  I hope you enjoy.

All of this learning can be exhausting... : P

Mommy Printables

As all of you beautiful mommies are sending your little ones to school ..  Here is a reminder that their real learning comes from YOU! You are doing God's work everyday.

Here is a printable for you.   Formatted for an 8 x 10 print

A great quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley

August 22, 2013

Doggie Birthday Bash

My Son turned 1 a few months ago and while trying to decide a theme for the party we thought we should listen to him...  Since he called everything a GOGGIE!!!  we figured a puppy party would be the most fun.

My SIL was awesome and helped make some of the great treats and decorations

Hey..  It's a puppy party : ) no cats!

Saw this idea on pinterest.  Just cut out ears from scrapbooking paper and drew the face with a Sharpie.

My SIL made this out of 2 thick poster boards.  How adorable is this!!

Our party favors.   Puppy Chow and Dog Biscuits.  My SIL made bone shaped sugar cookies as dog biscuits.  I mixed cocoa puffs with Scooby Doo bone cereal as puppy chow. Some guests thought we were really eating dog food.

I made Dirt and grass cupcakes and a doggie cake..   We could not find the cake topper that we wanted so we did some closet crashing and found and old McDonald's toy.  lol

And we served chips and salsa from dog bowls.

Happy Birthday Happy Kid!!

Bridal Showers and Love Banners

A While back I had the oppourtunity to plan an office bridal shower for a co worker.  

My theme for the party was purple and burlap.

This was my attempt to cover the ceiling fan : )

 I got some super cute Mickey mouse sugar cookies from the bakery that made the cake and put them in organza bags for the party favors along with bath bombs made by a co workers daughter.

We had quite the spread.  Artichoke Parmesan tartlets, finger sandwiches, spinach salad, fresh fruit, procuttio wrapped goat cheese stuffed dates, asparagus bread sticks and delicious sweet pasta salads in jars.  Super quick flower arrangement using silk flowers, square vase, glass beads and floral foam.

Wasn't this a cute Cake?

So I wanted something to match the theme and colors so I made my own banner.  It is a quick project but I think it brought the whole look together.

I bought my supplies at my local hobby lobby.  just glitter, mod podge and pre cut burlap pennents.  I mixed 2 colors of glitter to get the shade I wanted.

I then painted the letter on the burlap with the mod podge 

cover with glitter and then shake around to cover.

I glued each piece to some ribbon and strung it up.  

Like I said   Super quick!

Jesus loves you ... and peanut butter balls.

I had a friend when I was little that invited me to Vacation Bible School.  I had only really ever gone to my own church activities so this was fun to visit another church.  I don't remember a ton..  Just tracing my body to make a lifesize cutout..  It had something to do with Jesus..   and then singing about Jesus... and some other things about Jesus.    Which is similar to my church...  but then we made these delicious Honey Peanut Butter balls..  which also somehow related to Jesus..  don't remember how...... but for years I remembered these treats but had lost the reciepe.

Thankfully with the invention of recipe sites I as an adult was able to look it up and make them at my house : )

Here is a link to the recipe:

• 2 cups dry powdered milk (adjust based on the amount of honey
• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 1/2-1 cup Honey

---

• Mix all ingredients well until stiff enough to shape.
• Form in balls about the size of a walnut.
• Chill well for 2 - 4 hours.

They are super simple..  Delicious.. and now I think about Jesus everytime I eat them..  Well played VBC.. Well played...

Ducked Out House Party

I've shared our previous experience with HOUSEPARTY.COM     HERE.  If you haven't had the chance to check it out you should. It gives you the opportunity to host a group of your friends in your home and share a product with them.  You share info about your party on their website as well as your social media. In return you get a party pack of items to host your party and try out.

The party that we had the opportunity to host last week was for one of our favorite shows Duck Dynasty.  If you haven't checked it out it is on A&E Wednesday nights.

Invites were sent out through the house party website.  We sent our guests invites with the instructions to BYOB (bring your own beard) and favorite redneck snack.

Our guests really got into it. Some of them had never seen the show but quickly got into it and how funny it is!

We decorated a little on the outside..  and to keep it really legit.. we didn't mow our lawn for a long while. LOL.

Our Duck Blind

Like I said.  Our guests really got into it and Camo'd and Bearded themselves appropriately. 

Jason was the only one to have a real beard.

 Sadly we didn't get any family shots!  But Here are a few separates.

 Me with my camo

 My Sister in Law

 The Hubs (He looks more like Sergio Romo than a redneck.. but HEY)

 The baby even joined in and wore camo!  He enjoyed the cut out of Jase.


Our party pack included Trivia Cards, Recipes, Cut out masks of the main characters, a bandana, t shirt, cups and coasters.  We gave out candy for correctly answering the trivia questions and the t shirt for guessing how many times the family said HEY in one episode.  (you have to watch to understand)
We also gave away a "duck call"  I think she liked it!

Our food spread was Tator Tot Casserole, Pigs in a blanket, pizza, jalapeno poppers, lil smokie/potato skewer, clam dip, hand pies and donuts.  We were all very very very stuffed after the ridiculous amount we ate!

Go to House Party and sign up if you haven't.  It is loads of fun : )   And watch Duck Dynasty on A&E.

Chocolate Cherry Junk Mix Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge

 Sheryl at Lady Behind the Curtain has started a fun monthly challenge for fellow bloggers. She gives us 2 ingredients for the month and we have to create a dessert using both.   This month was Chocolate and Cherries.   For some reason while I was plotting out my recipe my mind kept going back to the leftover potato chips at my house and how my mom used to make chocolate covered Pringles for Christmas. 

Since I love sweet and salty I thought of a yummy snack that can be enjoyed after dinner.. preferably during a movie... :-)

I call it the Chocolate Cherry Junk Mix

So the recipe is simple..  there really isn't one.  Change this to your desired ingredients and amounts.

2 handfuls of crunched up ridged potato chips
1/3 cup pistachios
1/3 cup dried cherries or cran-cherries
1/4 bag semi sweet chocolate chips melted

Add dry ingredients to a bowl & drizzle chocolate over. Mix together until all ingredients have a light coating of chocolate on them.

Have fun with this and use whatever is in your pantry :-)

Oh yeah..  check out the other awesome recipes in the link.

Non extreme couponing

I met a sweet lady (I kick myself for not getting her name) at the grocery store last week. She saw my couponing binder and commented on how organized I was.  I told her not really...  but she told me all of hers were in a drawer and expired.. so I guess I had her beat.  I haven't been very good about couponing since pregnancy and baby. But I still love the idea and sharing the info that I have gathered to help others save money.  I Love saving people money.. It gets me all excited...  I get in trouble at Michael's for handing out coupons...

 People have asked me when I talk about coupons. "So you're like those people on extreme couponing"   no ... not even close..

1. I do not have 30-60 hours a week to dedicate to clipping, sorting, scouting and shopping.  I've got a   J O B and a  family and a million other things to do.
2. I only buy ONE newspaper and use coupons that come in the mail and print a few.  No dumpster diving here or purchasing stacks of paper or buying coupons.
3. I do not have a giant stockpile.  I gather items as I can.  I have a closet that is organized for a few toiletry stockpile items. I don't buy more than my family or my friends can use. I also don't buy items I don't need.
4. Some weeks I coupon some weeks I don't.  I buy things with no coupons too.  I am not going to force my family to use things they hate just because they were cheap.
5. I DON'T do more than 3 transactions..  I'm sorry.. they don't feel like ringing up 24 transactions and the people behind you don't feel like waiting... seriously..

Now this is not to say these other couponers are necessarily wrong .. this is what I do and what works for me. 

So the following is a quick.. non planned trip to CVS the other day.  Now I know I could have gotten more stuff maybe even spent less money but honestly.. I got things I wanted or needed for less than I would have paid elsewhere.  I didn't need some of these products right that second but I will. So now I have them ready and I won't have to run out and pay full price to get them.  Are they exactly the brand I would normally gravitate to? Not necessarily but they are good enough.  

So now.. I am going to share my items, how i use coupons and sales together to get them.

The biggest thing is to get circulars from the store.. Compare them to the coupons that you have and purchase when you can get things at a very reduced or even free amount.

I shopped at CVS this day.  It is my favorite drug store to get my toiletries at.  Everyone has their fav.  just find yours.   Because I shop there. I get a weekly coupon and I incur quarterly $ back.

The way that their program works for immediate rebates is called Extra Care Bucks.  If you buy an amount of product they have advertized they will give you x amount of dollars back. This comes in the form of a pull off at the end of your receipt.  You get that dollar amount off on the next transaction you wish to use it on...

So here is how my trip started.   I immediately walked in and scanned my extra care card at the machine..  TWICE.  You can almost always get extra coupons if you scan twice..  so do it...

I got $2.50 from my quarterly rewards.  I also got a coupon for $1 if you purchased 4 Gatorade or Sobe Life Water, $3 off $12 cosmetic purchase, $2.50 off a razor purchase of $15, $2 off 2 Pantene products, $3 off 2 Tresemme products.

I then paired these CVS only coupons with My Manufacturers coupons (the ones from the newspaper)  this is called stacking.  Meaning you use different types of coupons on the same product.

Transaction #1

3 Sobe Life Waters & 1 Gatorade. 

Regular Price $1.77

Sale Price 4 for $ 5 ( $1.25 each)

Used CVS coupon $1 off of 4

Making each $1. 

Total $ 4

1 Gillette Power Pro Fusion Razor $12.99

1 Gillette Power Pro Fusion 4 pack of Cartridges $19.29

Used Buy one Cartridge pack and get $10 off a razor manufacturer coupon (Bringing razor price to $2.99)

Used $2.50 CVS rewards money

Used $2.50 of Razor Purchase CVS coupon

Total 32.28  (after coupons $17.28)

After Tax and CRV my total was $23.94.   BUT, I got $5 Extra Care Bucks for my razor purchase. See transaction #2

Transaction #2

1 Pantene Shampoo  $3.50    2/$7 (Regular Price $4.99)

1 Pantene Conditioner  $3.50

Used $3.00 off Manufactuer Coupon

Used $2.00 off 2 Pantene products CVS coupon

Total $2 

1 Tresemme Shampoo $3.50   2/$7  (Regular Price $5.49)

1 Treseme Conditioner $3.50

Used $3.00 off Manufacture Coupon

Used $3.00 off CVS Coupon

Total $1

1 Blade Howl Body Spray  $1.19clearance price (regularly $4.79)

1 Covergirl Foundation $9.29

1 Covergirl Mascara $4.49  (Regular price $8.99)  Sale was Buy one Covergirl Product get one 50% off

Used $6.00 off 2 covergirl products

Total $7.78

Total $11.97 + tax $2.32

Used $5 Extra Care Bucks rewards

Grand Total $9.29

Once again.  Could I have gotten better deals?  More stuff for free?  Probably..  But I felt satisfied with what I got and I saved a bunch of money.  And I just wanted something to drink... Shopping makes you thirsty.

Feel free to share your non extreme couponing tips!

 

Decorating a Tree Like a Pro

My personal Christmas Tree is a mishmosh of handed down, Bought for novelty, trip finds, and clearanced ornaments.  It is not the most glamorous tree but it is definitely full of beautiful memories.  But as much as I love itI have always secretly wanted another tree that looked like the ones in the catalog or department stores..

I work in a lovely office that we enjoy decorating for most of the holidays through out the year.  I cannot take credit for the purchases of decorations.  But, for the last few years I have been the one to organize and decorate for the holidays.  

Here are a few tips for creating a tree like a pro!

1) PICK A COLOR SCHEME.  

 This does not mean you have to buy all ornaments that are the same color, shape or size.  Our scheme is cream and green.  There are various shades, sizes and textures within that. I even threw in a little gold.. Close enough..

2)USE FILLERS

 This is especially helpful with artificial trees that have a lot of open spots..  Here I used silk hydrangeas  it fits in with the color scheme and makes the tree look more plush and full.

3) PICK AN ACCENT COLOR

 Here I added a few bulbs of a deep eggplant purple. It gives a few pops throughout the tree.

4) PUSH YOUR ORNAMENTS AS FAR BACK AS POSSIBLE.

  This makes it appear that they are part of the tree and not just hanging on it.  You may have to hang them on 2 branches to make this work.

5) REPEAT TYPES OF ORNAMENTS

Try to have 3 to 5 of the same ornaments scattered in different areas throughout the tree for cohesion.  Don't put them all together... Then you just look unorganized : )

6)ADD A SURPRISE ELEMENT. 

 Here is a crazy little elf.. He gives the tree some life. and some grinchiness for that matter : )

7)  STEP BACK

make sure you step back and take a peak at your tree from multiple angles.  Add in more where you need to or adjust some that are already on.   Things can look great up close but the whole picture is a different story.  Make sure the tree looks good everywhere and make sure ALL areas look good.  You don't want to walk in from  a different room and see weirdness.

8) know when to hold them, know when to fold them, KNOW WHEN TO WALK AWAY

Overdecorating is one of the worst things you can do.  If someone can't even tell its a tree...  Too much.  If it looks like Santa himself threw up decorations on your tree..  Too much...   If you used 12 Rubbermaid tubs on a 4' tree... Too much...   Edit where you need to..   You should see some green people..  it is a tree... Good grief!

Most of all enjoy yourself and your creation..

Merry almost December all!

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