Toddler Tuesday: Sticky Art

This activity is super easy (very few supplies for you busy types with lots on your plate) and a big hit with the little ones!

All you need is a roll of contact paper (make sure it is clear):

And some things to stick on the contact paper...I cut out shapes from some computer paper but you could use any flat thing you have hanging around (candy wrappers, newspaper, shredded paper from the office):

Cut a section of contact paper and peel off the backing. Tape the paper sticky side up onto a table and give your toddler the stuff to stick on it:

Let them go to town and create, create, create:

When they have decided that their masterpiece is complete, you can stick it to a window and admire their work:

Beautiful!!!

Stuffin' Saturday: My Mama's Mama's Mama's Stuffin'

Most families have a few traditions that come along with the holiday season....snapping the wish bone from last year's turkey, telling a bazillion funny stories, Black Friday shopping gameplan strategizing.

One of mine is to look forward to the Thanksgiving meal. It has tasted the same since I can remember ..... amazing! A major link to the chain of thanksgiving meal perfection is my Mom's stuffing. It is a recipe that she learned from her mom, who learned it from her mom, who probably learned it from her mom...you get the idea.

So we thought, why should the world be deprived of such deliciousness. I am passing it along to you to share with your daughter's daughters daughters.

Start with 1.5 bags of Brownberry Stuffing- sage and onion flavor (looks like croutons, the photo below is a double batch):

Next you will need a pot to boil up a broth. Dice up 4 to 5 celery stalks and 1/2 onion and add to the pot. Add 4 cups water, salt and pepper and add the turkey parts from the inside of your turkey (the neck, liver, heart etc....kind of gross, but it gives good flavor. Just do it.)

Bring it to a boil and let cook until the "parts" are tender:

In the meantime, head to the bowl of dry stuffing. Chop up 2 peeled Braeburn apples and 2 handfuls of raisins and mix all together:

Yum! Ok, back to the broth. It should take about 20-30 minutes or so to cook down, when its ready you can remove the "parts" and save the liver and neck for a little later:

Take the turkey liver and grate it right into the dry stuffing mix. I know what you may be thinking,"That sounds NOT yummy, I wish not to do this." But just remember that my mama's mama's mama did it this way and it tastes delicious. You don't want to mess with her multi-generational tried and true recipe, now do you?

Grab the pot of broth/veggies and spoon out the veggies into the stuffing bowl....mix it all together.

Now comes the tricky part....the liquid to dry stuffing ratio. My mom said you don't want it too dry or too soggy. Rock it Goldilocks and the Three Bears style....just right.

Start pouring the broth over the dry stuffing and mix together. Keep going until you feel like all croutons have soaked in some liquid. You shouldn't hear any crunchy croutons along side your bowl as you mix. But don't add so much that it becomes soggy...and you might not need the whole pot of liquid, just use your best spidey-sense instincts. That's what all the mama's of the past did.

Smelling pretty good already, isn't it??
Let's keep going. Beat one egg and add it into the fun...combine thoroughly.

If you feel like you need a bit more liquid, my Mama said you can add a little milk. She always does.

Alright, get the bird ready and start stuffin'....stuff into both open ends of the bird and secure off with rope or wire to keep it in as needed:

Almost done! Remember that neck that we boiled and the set aside? Now's the time to put that bad boy into action! My mama always uses it to secure off the main opening of the birdie....so you should too:

And there you go...it is for sure the BEST stuffing on Planet Earth and I hope you give it a try during your next big turkey feast. Your taste buds and all dinner guests will thank you!

Toddler Tuesday: Flags!

Lately, I have felt the need to add a boost of color to my classroom decor. What better way to jazz it up then to make a banner of flags to hang across the room.

Supplies needed: various colors of felt, a spool of ribbon, scissors and my trusty hot glue gun.

First step was to cut out my flags. Using a ruler as my guide, I ran a line from the bottom middle to each top corner- then cut along the lines. (make sure to save the pieces you cut off for decoration purposes later on in the project...) I did this for 12 pieces of felt to make a finished product of a 12 foot row of flags.

Next, I folded the top end of the flags over about an inch and cut 5 small slits spread evenly across (this will be for the ribbon to weave through a little later in the project).

Ok, great. I then measured out 12 feet of ribbon and got to weaving the ribbon through each flag. Oh, I should mention that I first decided what order the flags would be and piled them up.....all ready for weaving....

At each weaving of a flag, I used my glue gun to secure it into place before adding the next one. I glued under each ribbon piece, then folded the felt over the ribbon and added more glue to the inside of the fold to secure it.

I continued gluing each flag into place, measuring about 3 inches between flags....

Once the glue was dry, I cut off the triangle pieces of excess felt from folding the top over the ribbon.

When all 12 flags were done, I for sure needed to decorate them with some classic dots and stripes. Who doesn't love dots and stripes?? I took the color of the flag to the left and made that color the decoration for the flag next to it...all the way across. And alternating dots and stripes.....having order gives me joy.

Just one final step to hang these bad boys up in the classroom! You could add some fun flags to your toddler's world too....choose some colors that compliment their bedroom scheme or play space and work together to add some fun decorations....hang and enjoy!

Stylin' Saturday: Legally Blonde

I have been a natural blonde since day one....see exhibit A:

Sadly, as the years rolled on, my sun-kissed white/blonde hair became less than sunny. Dishwater blonde I think they call it. I have a few problems with this: First, I hate doing dishes more than anything so why would I want my hair color to remind me of said chore...and second, well, I just want to be blonde. Blonde-blonde.

Thankfully, I have had a few ladies in my life to help me make this dream come true. My dear Jenny who painted my locks for a good 10 years before moving to Cali (miss you) and now sister Tara who took the reigns upon her departure (TT is a Master Stylist at a salon in Maple Grove, if you are looking for an uber-talented hairstylist...).

Anyhoo, TT has a great system for giving me the look I so desire....lots of foils...I think 26 on the top to be exact!

After some experimentation, we found that foiling smaller sections of hair closer together and concentrating on the top would make for a more 'natural' look....maybe even allow me to pretend that this was my original color from the days of old!

I really love the result and it grows out quite nicely...I hate when regrowth comes back with a dishwater stripe down the middle of my head. No thanks!

Re-blonding my hair every 2 months can cause a few problems if not attended to. I have had a little trouble with split ends and breakage and just got a great tip to some hair repair. After washing and towel drying, I add a nickel sized dot of conditioner back into my ends before blow drying. Then a smoothing serum before the flat iron. I think it's really helping protect my color treated hair (thanks Linda G.)!

I also heard that mixing 1 part olive oil to 3 parts natural honey makes for a good hair mask....leave in for 20 minutes and then wash (once a week). I haven't tried this one yet but fully intend to in the very near future!

So if you are thinking of going blonde, go for it! Make sure to keep it natural and protect those ends.....just because we are getting older doesn't mean that we can't achieve the color we had in the summer of 1980 when we were 2 and naturally sun-kissed!

Toddler Tuesday: A Cat Tale

So, I must tell you about the latest CD story craze to hit my classroom! (and just in case you're not sure what a CD story is, it's like the tape stories of our youth...just more technologically savvy)

Ok...It's a story about a cat.
A cat who wears shoes.
A cat who wears shoes and goes for a walk.
A cat who wears shoes and goes for a walk and steps in some stuff.
A cat who wears shoes and goes for a walk and steps in some stuff and sings about it.
And his shoes change colors.
And it's all good.

The kids go nuts for 'Pete the Cat'! As soon as we start it up.....instant attention is had by all and kids are singin' and dancin' all over the place!

It is a must read for folks young and old! Definitely recommended as a great story to add to your kids home library! (The song is the best part so I highly suggest you find the CD to accompany the book)!

I also made a felt board story to go with it....cause who doesn't like felt board stories???

Stylin' Saturday: Movie Madness

So this week, I have has zero time to be creative or stylin' in any capacity. Lots of late nights and work and feeling a little under the weather have taken all my spare time and energy. Do you ever have weeks like that?

When life get busy and stressful, sometimes the only remedy that can get me through to sanity is to veg out and watch a cheesy movie before bed. To be whisked away into a land of make believe where the good guy always wins! Here are my top 5 go-to flicks (in no particular order) that melt all my cares away (at least for a few hours):

Toddler Tuesday: What to Wear!!

Do you ever have a moment where it's time to leave the house and your kiddo is laying on the floor screaming....I DON'T WANNA PUT ON MY JACKET.....I HATE MITTENS....AHHHH!

Or maybe they just sit there not knowing what to put on first because they are an eternal dawdler....

We made a little system in our classroom to help the kids know what their job is when it's time to go outside to play...and I feel like it could also be a help for families trying to get out the door with helping an unwilling little friend to get themselves ready to go!

Ok, so during each season we add whatever item applies for our outdoor playing needs. The kids can take a look at the sign and know what they need to put on to be ready to go. This is also helpful when it comes to battles: 'Oh, it looks like the sign says you need to wear a coat before we head out the door.' It frees you from being the meanie who makes them wear a coat and also gives them some responsibility to take charge of themselves!

You could add any item that fits your situation...shoes, backpack, lunchbox...use it as a 'get ready for school reminder' for your older kids or a fun self help tool for the little ones who are learning to dress themselves for some fun winter snow playtime in the back yard!

Mama Mia

Happy '19th' birthday to my mom today! I am so glad that you are my mama...I love you!

Stylin' Saturday: 5 Things

Here are some more things that bring me a bit of joy....

1. Infinity Scarves- I am a big fan of scarves in the fall and winter. I am the biggest fan of this particular kind of scarf....one big piece of fabric that can be doubled up. No ends, no knots. Delight.

2. Ghirardelli Squares- The perfect sized little snack for winding down after a long day at work! I keep mine in the fridge...dark chocolate and caramel, how could this be any better?

3. Good Earth Original Tea (caffeine free cause that's how I roll) - Another fall favorite. It is such a comfort to toss in a movie and sip this tasty tea...sometimes I even read a magazine at the same time, a perfect Saturday afternoon activity.

4. Chaco Flip Flops- Ok, these are definitely not a fall appropriate item...my toes would be so chilly. But I love them so much that I needed to give them a quick shout out before banishing them to the depths of my closet until the spring buds bloom once again.

5. My Rice Cooker- I got this one on a clearance rack at Target. At the time, I didn't know that having a rice cooker was something that would change my life forever and make it truly magical (it was just really cheap and little and red...cute). It is the best kitchen appliance EVER....perfect rice every time.