Thursday, February 21, 2013

Homemade Valentines

A couple weeks ago I participated in a homemade valentine card exchange. First I couldn't figure out what I was going to do, then one name came to mind: MARTHA. A quick search and I found the perfect cards.

I decided on the airplane and the locket ones.

Supplies:
Scissors
Paper
Marker
Tape
Glue
String or yarn
Exacto Knife

I rooted through some scrapbook paper until I found the perfect colours then started cutting using these templates: airplane and locket. You need to cut two pieces of each part, except for the top piece of the locket.

I took some thin yarn, cut pieces and taped it to one side of the little cloud hearts and the plane. I did the same thing with the locket and the key.

I then put lots and lots of glue and sandwiched the pieces together very carefully. I used the exacto knife to trim any parts that were over hanging, as well as to cut the hole in the locket.

I wrote cute little sayings like: "Love is in the air", "You're just plane cool" and "You have the key to my heart" for the locket.

It turned out to be a fairly easy project and I loved it for the fact that it cost me nothing!


Wordless Wednesday






Sunday, February 17, 2013

He Walks!

Yep, my baby is a toddler. No getting around it anymore. He is now walking. He doesn't get far, but he does it, and he's soooo proud of himself too. (Heck, so are we!) 


He started taking steps on his own one week ago, but really progressed this weekend. On Saturday, he went from taking 2-3 steps, to getting up and walking across the kitchen. 

Here's the photographic evidence:







Weekly Menu

Last week was good. We deviated slightly though, Monday ended up being leftovers. Tuesday we tried a new recipe with the crockpot drumsticks and they were pretty good.

I did crockpot pork chops on Wednesday, which involved dumping bbq sauce on the pork and turning it on low. I was mighty impressed with my crockpot skills this week!

I can't seem to remember what we had on Thursday and Friday, so it probably wasn't spectacular.


Now, this week's menu is brought to you by Jason.

Saturday: Tacos! Corn tortillas, Mango Avocado Salsa, Southwest Chicken and Beef, with lettuce and sour cream.

Sunday: Pizza

Monday and Tuesday: Kaleb and I are out of town so my hubby is going to have to fend for himself

Wednesday: Crockpot Pork Tenderloin

Thursday: Salmon with Oven Cauliflower

Friday: We are headed home for the weekend, so who knows what we'll have.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

This week's menu

Last week was just ok. We barely followed our menu and paid for it (in more ways then one).

Hopefully this week will be better:

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Shepherd's Pie

Monday: Drumsticks (probably in the crockpot) with I have no idea for sides.

Tuesday: Pork Chops with rice

Wednesday: Crock pot meal of some sort

Thursday: to be determined, but probably leftovers

Friday: Pizza

As you can see this week will be pretty low key, I'm still feeling a little under the weather and really don't feel like going all out.

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Learning to Walk

My baby is growing up. He's learning how to walk. WALK.

It's scary stuff. Well for mommy it is, he on the other hand loves it.

He hasn't taken any steps unassisted, but he's getting better and better with his Lego walker.

I will now bombard you with pictures.








Monday, February 04, 2013

Coloured Rice Tutorial

One of the thousands of things I've learned from my mom's group is Montessori style learning. What is that you ask? 

According to Wikipedia: "Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society."

Basically, it's a different way to learn. It engages children in different activities (hands on at Kaleb's age) to help them learn and discover. I haven't done a ton of research on it yet, but I've read a few blogs and find it extremely interesting. 

One of the activities for Kaleb's age is sensory play, our choice: Coloured Rice. 

It is suuuuper easy and Kaleb loves playing with his rice. 

Step One:  Buy Rice. I made 8 cups worth this bag and had a little leftover. 

Step Two: Assemble necessary supplies. For one cup of rice you use 2 tablespoons of vinegar and about 5 drops of food colouring


Step 3: Mix. I mixed the vinegar and food colouring in the small bowl first then dumped in the rice (I did two cups at a time). I ended up putting more food colouring, especially for the red to avoid having pink rice. It only half worked. 

Step 4: Dry. I baked in a 250*F oven for about 15 minutes. You can also just leave it over night to air dry. Notice the parchment paper? Easy clean up. 



Step 5: Play! We swept the floor first, then laid down a sheet to contain most of the mess. Kaleb loves to play with his rice. First time around he played for a solid hour before starting to eat it. Second time was about 45 minutes. He'll hide toys in it. He throws it on the floor. He throws it in the air. He puts it on mommy. We also gave him an ice cream scoop and a plastic container, to scoop from one to the other. It's all fun. And he's learning.




This is for supervised play. Never leave a child unattended while playing with small objects. 
And do your own research. Don't just do stuff cause I do it. 

This week's menu x2

Here's this week's:

Sunday: We ate at my aunts house but brought Ribs

Saturday: Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Veggies

Monday: KFC (oops!)

TuesdayBroccoli Fettuccine Alfredo

Wednesday: Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole (this isn't quite the recipe I use, but very similar)

Thursday: Pork Chops (I haven't found the recipe I want yet)

Friday: Homemade Pizza (I changed up the way I make my dough and was quite yummy)


Last week was successful, especially Saturday. It was AMAZING.

Saturday: Oven Fried Rice, Vegetable Stir Fry, Mongolian Beef and Sweet & Sour Chicken

Sunday: Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Veggies

Monday: Hot Turkey with Fries and Baked Cauliflower

Tuesday: Tortellini with homemade Rosée sauce

Wednesday: Pulled Turkey with Macaroni Salad and Veggies

Thursday: Grilled Filet Mignon with rice

Friday: Homemade Pizza