Fall In Love With Stained Glass

For an easy "stained glass" craft, you will need contact paper (2 pieces per stained glass), scissors, and pieces of colorful tissue paper.

Directions:
1. Before removing the contact paper backing, cut out a leaf shape. You will need two shapes (for the front and back).
2. Remove the backing from one piece of contact paper.
3. Lay down thin pieces of tissue paper.

4. Remove backing from second piece of contact paper and lay on top, sealing the tissue paper in.

Optional: Cut out the same shape in construction paper. Cut out the middle portion. This will be the border that gives shape to the stained glass. Remove backing from one piece of contact paper. Lay down construction paper and fill in with pieces of tissue paper. Cover with second sheet of contact paper. This is a great option for preschoolers or younger kids who can't keep the paper off of the edges of the contact paper.

Easy Oven Fries

These fries are super easy and delicious! They take about 50 minutes.
You will need:

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Course Salt (like Sea Salt)
• 2 large baking Potatoes
• Cookie sheet

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. When the oven is heated, place cookie sheet in the oven for at least 5 minutes.
    (This is the trick that helps the fries come out great!)
3. Cut potatoes into lengthwise wedges.
4. Place in a bowl and coat with oil.

5. Take sheet out of oven and pour potatoes on the cookie sheet in a single layer.
    Sprinkle with salt. (Make sure to use an oven mitt or towel when taking the sheet out of the oven!)
6. Bake about 40 minutes. Flip fries about halfway through.

OPTIONAL: You can also toss the fries with Parmesan Cheese and parsley.

Give Me A Hand With This Wreath!

For this craft you will need:

• Willing hands
• Foam sheets or construction paper
• Craft glue

Directions:

1. Trace your child's hand and cut out the shape. Repeat.

2. Glue the cut outs together to form a wreath shape.

3. If desired, add on acorns, pom-poms, leaf shapes.

Optional: Glue a magnet to the back of the wreath to place on the fridge. Hang with a piece of ribbon, string, or clear fishing line.

Identify This: Part 30

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! ANSWERS BELOW!

UNREAL Candy Review

I was recently given a coupon for a free piece of UNREAL candy. (I am a BzzAgent; I get a free sample or a coupon for a product, along with coupons to share. For more info on BzzAgent, check out my Freebies For Adults post!) I had seen the colorfully wrapped candies at some of the local stores, but hadn't tried them before. I also didn't know too much about them, so I went on their website and did some reading. The UNREAL brand is made with less sugar and the colors come from natural plants (purple and red from beets, orange from achiote tree seed, yellow from turmeric root, blue from cabbage, green from cabbage and turmeric root). It also has no preservatives, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, GMO's (genetically modified organism), artificial colors or flavors.

I chose the UNREAL8 ($1.19 at Michael's), the equivalent to a Snickers. I also bought a Snickers bar to do a side by side comparison (purely for research purposes only, of course). The Snickers bar was slightly bigger and definitely had a sweeter taste. The UNREAL8 bar had more of a subtle sweetness. You could taste more of the flavors instead of just a super sweet taste like the Snickers. I cut the bars up and gave a piece of each to the boys. They loved both of the candy bars; they didn't even notice a difference between them! I will definitely buy the UNREAL candy again and can't wait to try the other varieties!

Here's a chart of the nutritional information:

Here is an adjusted chart of nutritional info. I adjusted the info to make the UNREAL8 bar the same size as the Snickers.

LINKS:
http://getunreal.com/unreal-candy/unreal-54/

*These are just my opinions. I receive free samples from BuzzAgent, but am in no way compensated otherwise.

Johnny Appleseed Day

Today we made apple crafts and ate apples for dinner and dessert! It's Johnny Appleseed Day (it's celebrated on 3/11 and 9/26).

Johnny Appleseed Day is celebrated on March 11 (possibly 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 below for dinner. For dessert, make baked apples!

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.

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!)

Gotta Eat It Meatloaf

I have two versions for the meatloaf, both of which are loved at our house.

This is my mom's recipe and it's delicious! Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
You will need:

• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
• 1 cup oats
• 3 eggs slightly beaten (or 1 egg and 2 egg whites)
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
• Ketchup

Directions:
1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except ketchup. Use your hands to mix it together well.
2. Put mixture into a greased loaf pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Drain any grease. Spread ketchup on top and bake for 30 minutes more.


Option 2 is my Stuffed Meatloaf. I make this for my husband in individual loaf pans and he loves it! Total Time: 50-60 minutes.

You will need:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• Shredded cheddar cheese, or slices of cheese

Directions:
1.   Grease loaf pans.
2.   Combine ground beef and onions.
3.   Place a thin layer of ground beef mix on the bottom and sides of the pans. Leave
      an indent in the middle of the bottom meat layer.
4.   Place cheese in the middle.
5.   Add remaining ground beef on top and lightly squish/smooth ground beef together
      to seal cheese in.

6.   Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. About halfway through, drain any
      grease.
7.   Sprinkle some shredded cheese on top and let melt before serving.

Growth Charts

When my children were born, they both received a growth chart as a gift. Every month, I would place them/stand them in front of the chart and take a picture. If they had a doctor's appointment, I would mark their height and weight on the chart with the date. Now I only remember to do it every few months (sometimes only once a year when they have their doctor's appointments), but I have a photo time line of how fast they grew and how much they changed.

I found that if I didn't hang the growth chart in their room, I would forget to pull it out and update it. I ended up hanging it on the bedroom wall. Luckily, there are so many different options available that it can blend right into the decoration scheme of the room. Amazon carries a lot of different varities (butterfly, zoo, cars and trucks, woodland animals, baseball, flowers). Many local libraries and banks offer free paper growth charts as well. There are a few online options for free growth charts as well (CDC often has some available).

I'm not sure what I'm going to do when they get older. I've started taking a picture on the first day of school, complete with their backpacks, standing on the front porch. I also still keep track of their height and weight in their health/memory books, so I may make a memory book page with their pictures and vitals.

Do you use a growth chart? What's your favorite way to keep track of your kids' growth?

Fall Scavenger Hunt Card

Fall: A Word Find

STOP! ANSWERS BELOW!

Paper Bag Scarecrow

You will need:

• Brown paper bag (lunch bag sized)
• Construction paper (yellow, white, brown, pink or red, orange)
• Glue stick or craft glue
• Googly eyes
• Newspaper, old magazines, or scrap paper to scrunch up for filling
• Raffia, twine, or other ribbon
• Dowel rod or paint stir stick (you can often get for free at paint departments)

Directions:

1. Cut out pieces.
    *Yellow hair: Cut a piece of paper the width of the bag. Cut strips in the paper and trim to desired hair length.
    *Hat: Cut a hat shape from white construction paper with triangle tips to resemble a straw.
     hat. Draw tic tac board shapes around the hat.
    *Hat establishments: Cut out flower or leaf shapes.
    *Hat top: Cut rounded half circle from brown construction paper.
    *Nose: Cut a triangle from the orange paper.
    *Cheeks: Cut circles from red or pink paper.

2. Glue pieces on the paper bag to create the scarecrow.
3. Glue on eyes. Let dry.

4. Scrunch up newspaper paper and stuff bag.
5. Insert stick.
6. Tie bottom with ribbon or twine to hold the stuffing in.
7. Place scarecrow in a potted plant, other craft display, or use in a puppet show.

Have Your Cider And Eat The Cup Too!

These are a super cute way to serve juice and a snack in the same container!

You will need:

• Apple Cider
• Cranberry Juice
• Seltzer Water
• Apple (1 per drink)
• Cinnamon Stick (1 per drink)
• Melon Baller
• Lemon juice, optional

Directions:

1. Cut the top off of the apple and brush the top with lemon juice to keep from
    browning.

2. Use the melon baller and scoop out the insides. Leave a wall about an 1/8" thick.
    Set the apple balls aside to serve as a snack. To keep them from browning, set
    in a bowl of lemon juice water.

3. Mix equal parts apple cider, cranberry juice, seltzer water and place in the apple
    cup.

4. Stick in a cinnamon stick. Serve and enjoy!

ALTERNATIVES:

• You can use apple juice instead of apple cider.
• I didn't want to waste money on seltzer water when we wouldn't use it again, so I used a sparkling cranberry juice.
• For younger kids, use a straw!

Go Apple Picking!

Growing up, my parents took us apple picking. We got to pick our own apples off the trees and drink apple cider. As I get older and farther away from childhood, I don't remember as much from being a kid (much to my mother's dismay). Of course, I remember when I skinned my knee (still have the scar), slammed my hand in the car door, the broken toe, and the twisted ankle while bike riding. I also remember baking with my mom, pizza night at our house, going apple picking, singing in the car with my dad, and some fun vacations. I know the kids won't remember everything we do when they get older, but I hope they remember some of the fun times we have!

I wanted to share some of my childhood fun with my kids and when they saw a PBS show on apple picking, it seemed like the perfect opportunity! We have lots of farms within an hour or so drive of where we live. However, because of the rain/no rain combination this year, it had been a bad apple season for the local farms. Only one of them offered Pick Your Own apples this year. The kids loved it though, and we got to support the local economy.

It's a great opportunity to have fun with your kids, along with teaching them that their food doesn't magically come from the grocery store! To find a Pick Your Own farm near you, try this site (www.pickyourown.org) (or Google "pick your own" and your zip code).

Arg, Maties! A Pirate Word Find.

In honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day, here is a Pirate Themed Word Find!

STOP! ANSWERS BELOW!

Arg, Maties!

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

We went on a treasure hunt to find Buried Treasure Cups using treasure maps that I had made earlier (see below on how to make the maps). We wore pirate bandannas, colored some pirate themed coloring pages (see below for a Pirate Ship Coloring Page), read our favorite pirate book, made pirate boats out of pumpkins (see below for directions), and of course talked like pirates! Arg!

On the treasure hunt!

Pumpkin pirate boat.

Here are some other ideas on celebrating International Talk Like A Pirate: have a pirate speaking contest, serve chocolate gold coins at lunch, have pirate themed coloring pages, have a treasure hunt/map ending at the refrigerator and have Buried Treasure Cups in the fridge. If your floors need cleaning, you could always have a swab the deck contest! ;)  Check out the links section for books, games, and food ideas.

How To Make Aged Paper
You will need white printer paper, water, a bowl, and ground coffee.

1. Crumble up the paper.
2. Smooth the paper out and dip in a bowl of warm water.
3. Lay paper over a cooling rack.
4. Sprinkle with ground coffee. (I first used coffee grounds from the
    morning coffee. It worked ok. I next tried sprinkling on dry ground coffee,
    which seemed to work better.)

5. Let sit for several minutes.
6. Dip in bowl of water again.
7. Turn over and lay flat on cooling rack.
8. Sprinkle with ground coffee and let dry.
9. Once the paper is dry, you can brush off the coffee grounds.

Other tips:

• If you want a more ragged edge to the paper, pull off/tear off some of the edges while the paper is still wet.
• To get darker lines in the paper, wait until the paper is dry. Lightly wet only a few spots on the paper, but don't get the whole paper wet. Let dry.
• The coffee colored paper will be somewhat delicate, so be careful if using colored pencils to make your map.

ALTERNATIVE:

If you don't have time to make pirate paper, cut a piece from a brown paper bag, crumple up, smooth out, and create your map! Don't forget to tear around the edges!

PIRATE SHIP COLORING PAGE



PUMPKIN PIRATE BOAT
For these fun boats, you will need a small pumpkin (I used minis), dowel rod, black foam craft sheet or construction paper, twine. I used a nail and hammer to poke a hole through the pumpkin to tie the sail on.
Directions:
1. Cut top off of the pumpkin and clean out. If it is a thick pumpkin, you may want to scrape out the inside to make sure it is not too heavy to float. Make sure you don't puncture the skin!
2. Cut sail shape out of foam/paper. Cut two slits in the middle for the mast to go through.

  3. Cut dowel rod to make mast. I was able to use a 12" dowel rod to make two masts. Slide sail onto mast.
4. Poke a hole on either side of the pumpkin, towards the top. Insert twine.
5. Tie twine to pumpkin. Wrap twine around the mast, and tie to other side of pumpkin.










6. Optional:
                *Make pirates. I made pirates out of peanuts (in the shell). We found acorn tops while on a walk and glued those to the top of the peanut shell for a hat. I drew on a happy face with a permanent marker.
                *Fill with chocolate gold coins.
                *Sail in the bathtub!

LINKS:
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

BOOK LINKS:
How I Became A Pirate
Pirates Don't Change Diapers
Shiver Me Letters: A Pirates ABC
The Pirate Cruncher

TOY & GAME LINKS:
Melissa & Doug Pirate Puzzle
Pirate Ship Toy
Pirate Tattoos
Wii Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
Tomy Pop-Up Pirate Game
Alex Toys Pirates of the Tub
Pirates Only Room Sign
Jake's Never Land Pirate School, free app for the iPhone or iPad

MOVIE LINKS:
Scooby Doo! Pirates Ahoy!
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Pirates

FOOD LINKS:
Chocolate gold coins
Pirate's Booty, White Cheddar Popcorn
Bubblegum gold coins
Chocolate silver coins
Chocolate penny coins

Buried Treasure Cups

I made these for my son when he wanted a pirate birthday party. He had these for a snack before the party began.  He had lots of fun "digging" up the buried treasure (aka, chocolate gold coin). Buried Treasure Cups are easy to make and with candy and fruit how can you go wrong?

You will need:

• Clear cups (plastic cups work best with younger kids)
• Chocolate gold coins (1 per cup)
• Fruit: strawberry slices, clementines, grapes, banana slices, blueberries, raspberries, melon balls, whatever you enjoy
• Whipped cream
• M&M', other small candies, or sprinkles

Directions:

1. Place the chocolate gold coin in the bottom of a clear cup. 

2. Next, layer strawberries, clementines, grapes, and banana slices. 

3. Top it with whipped cream and a sprinkle of M&M's.

4. Enjoy!

HINT: Tomorrow (9/19/12) is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! These would be a great snack to serve. Come back for more pirate activities tomorrow!

Identify This: Part 29

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! ANSWERS BELOW!

What Kind Of Cereal Do You Eat?

Growing up, I remember eating "healthy"cereal. I remember being excited when my Dad did the grocery shopping because we would sometimes get Cinnamon Toast Crunch!

The hubby, boys, and I were all at the grocery store over the weekend doing the shopping for the week. The kids are always asking for the 'sugary' cereal, especially since a lot of the boxes have fun looking cartoon characters on them. Hubby is convinced all cereal is junk so I started reading the labels. It surprised me. Ignore the name of the cereal and look at the nutrition labels. Most of the cereals had different serving sizes (3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups), which makes it super confusing when trying to compare the labels. I adjusted the serving sizes and nutritional information so that they are all for 1 cup of cereal. I don't measure out 3/4 cup of cereal in the morning. I generally fill my bowl to the same level no matter what the cereal is and that usually amounts to 1 cup.

Click on the table to make it larger.

Who knew that Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms had fewer calories and less sugar than Raisin Bran? I guess the best cereal answer for me is Kix.

Just to make it more interesting, I did a comparison on some candy, yogurt, and Bernardo's favorite soup (tomato).

Click on the chart to make it larger.

Line-up of candy and cereals based on calories and fat content. 

*Bottom left starts with a Fruit Roll-Up at 50 calories and goes to Combos 

at 140 calories. Top row starts with Lucky Charms at 146.7 calories and 

ends with Peanut M&M's at 250 calories.

*Left to right. Bottom row: Fruit Roll-up, Chocolate Marshmallows, Cherrios, 

Dark Chocolate Caramels, Pretzel rods, Jelly Beans, Combos. 

*Top row: Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cherrios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch,

dry Quaker Oats oatmeal, Kit Kat's, plain M&M's, Peanut M&M's.

Did you know that if you simply compare the calories and the fat content of some cereals and candy, the candy is the same or better than the cereal? A serving of Quaker Oat Squares has 210 calories and 2.5g fat; a serving of Kit Kat's has 210 calories and 11g fat. A serving of Kraft Chocolate Marshmallows has 100 calories and 0g fat; a serving of plain Cherrios has 100 calories and 2g of fat. Personally, I think I'll take the Dark Chocolate Caramels (100 calories, 7g fat) over a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (173.3 calories, 4g fat)! I'll throw in a multi-vitamin for good measure.

I'm not advocating feeding children candy for breakfast. My kids already have enough crazy energy in the morning, they certainly don't need candy. However, based on the nutritional information, cereal probably isn't the way to go for me either. Higgins loves eggs, so I'll make him eggs or egg whites with a side of fresh fruit. Bernardo loves yogurt, so he'll probably get that with fresh fruit. They'll both get milk. I try to get them to eat healthy and help them make healthier choices. I believe the less processed the food, the better. When you see Kashi, which is supposed to be a healthy cereal, with virtually no vitamins or minerals listed it is because they do not "fortify" their cereals. What does fortify mean? After the grains used to make the cereal are processed, they often loose a lot of their original minerals and vitamins. The manufacturer then adds vitamins and minerals back into the cereal, which means more processing of the food.

I also try to feed them as many organic foods as I can (especially dairy and meats). There have been so many new studies out about the negative side effects of transfats, pesticides, preservatives, growth hormones, and genetically modified foods (GMO's) that I think that the less processed the food, the better for my kids. Right now I can't afford have an all organic and non-processed lifestyle, but I do focus on the top ones (eggs, milk, etc.). I also just switched the kids to Greek yogurt since it has less sugar than regular yogurt. When we do eat cereal or bread products, I will go for whole grains and ones without high fructose corn syrup.

Advertising is confusing. The serving sizes are not similar and that makes it really hard to compare the nutritional information. I often look at the nutritional values without looking at the serving size first, because I assume (incorrectly) that they're all the same for similar items. That can (and probably has) lead to bad decisions. Make sure you look at the nutritional labels and not just the "whole grains" and other gimmicks the manufacturers use.

What do you eat for breakfast?

LINKS:
Yahoo: Food Ads vs The Real Thing
NPR, Is Organic Better For You