mommyapolis

I’ve challenged myself to help my boys make homemade Valentines this year for their friends and classmates.  I also suggested it to my Kindergarten class.  Last year I had a student who made Valentines for our entire class instead of purchasing them.  It was so sweet, cute, creative and I think even a bit cheaper.  I promise you that the Kindergarten students were SO SO SO excited to see what their “homemade” card looked like.  I think it is a great way to teach your children about caring for each other and the importance of giving homemade gifts.  I am not going to do anything fancy… Just some pink, red, white & purple construction paper, markers, glue, and maybe a tiny bit of sparkles or stickers!  I might even break out the water paints, we’ll see! I will post some pictures as we get them done… Tomorrow is DAY 1 of Project Valentine…  I challenge you to do the same, I promise it will be rewarding!

I want to make a special beverage for the kiddos at tomorrows big Vikings game… I’ve found a couple different recipes, not sure which one I’ll make yet…  Here is what I found!  GO VIKES!

Purple Punch #1

2 liter bottle grape soda

1/2 gallon pineapple sorbet

Purple Punch #2

2 cups grape juice

1 quart orange juice

2 quarts gingerale

Purple Punch #3

2 cans frozen grape juice

1 can frozen lemonade

1 bottle gingerale

2 cups water

So we’ve been trying to be creative with ways to get our wiggles out….  This is our latest and most popular game around our house.  We call it “Goin’ on a Bear Hunt” and here is how it works….

1.  Make sure each person playing has a working flashlight

2.  It is best to play at night when it’s dark, so in the winter that’s any time after 4:30 🙂

3.  Find a stuffed bear or any stuffed animal…

OK… So we turn all the lights off in our house (well on our main level) and the boys each have a flash light.  This alone can entertain them for a while…  Once the flashlights have been tried and tested, tell them you need them to help you find a bear… I then send them to the bathroom while I hide the bear.  I say “OK” lets hunt and they run around searching with their flash lights for our hidden bear…  The first couple times I had to hide it in a pretty obvious location, but now we are old pro’s so I can be a little more tricky with my hiding skills.  They absolutely love it and it entertains them for such a long time…  Who would have thought something so simple could be so fun!

Supplies:

Darker colored construction paper

White paint

Sponges

ribbon or fabric for scarf

orange construction paper for nose

black construction paper for eyes and mouth

construction paper for hat

sticks for arms

buttons or paper for frills

Glue

Directions:

I cut out several different shaped circles for my kids in hopes to teach them about “small, medium, large”.  I wanted them to choose one of each size circle and then glue them together to make the “perfect” snowman… Of course they both choose “large” for all three circles and I just couldn’t argue with them…  Needless to say their snowmen are a little off balance, but the more I thought about it the more realistic this seemed to me…  I also let them choose the shape and color of the hats, nose, eyes etc… and they both chose the same (of course) but yours might choose differently.  After they have glued their three circles together, let them sponge paint the snowman with white paint.  I like using a darker colored paper with the white paint for two reasons.  One they can really see where they are painting and two it really shows them the texture!  Once your snowman is dry, you can add all the snowman frills you’d like…  Older children can do most of this themselves!  Enjoy and happy MLK…

Monkey bread is a classic treat that is very easy to make.  Usually you see it served in a Bundt or round shape, but I decided to make individual monkey breads for my boys this morning…  I used 5.75×3 inch loaf pans to make these mini wonders… It was quick, easy and the boys LOVED helping!  Here is the recipe I used… I altered it a bit to accommodate the pans…

Mini Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

mini loaf pans (I used 5.75×3 inch pans)

gallon size plastic bag with zipper

1 can refrigerator biscuits (I used GRANDS)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Lightly grease 3 mini loaf pans.  Open the biscuits and cut each biscuit into 4 smaller pieces.  In a gallon size bag mix sugar and cinnamon together.  Put the cut biscuits in the bag and toss to coat (this was fun for my little guys).  Place the cut biscuits into the three greased pans.  I just divided them up evenly in two layers.  In a separate bowl melt the butter in the microwave.  Add the brown sugar to the butter and stir until mixed.  Pour the brown sugar mixtures over the three pans of sugared biscuits.  Place the pans in a 350′ oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Flip the pans over onto a plate for serving…  A quote from my oldest, “monkeys are lucky mommy…”  I agree 🙂 make your little monkeys lucky too….

Last year the boys and I made these “sun catchers” for Valentine’s Day.  We made them for our teachers, grandparents, aunts, friends, etc..  Not only are they easy, they really help with fine motor skills.  The older the child the more independently they can do this craft…

Supplies:

Clear contact paper

Colorful tissue paper cut into small squares, triangles, circles, etc..  Older children can do the cutting themselves

Decorative ribbon

Scissors

Directions:

Cut 2 identical large squares out of the contact paper.  Peel off the backing on ONE square and place it sticky side up in front of your child.  Keep the other square for later use.  Give them a stack of cut up tissue (I precut the tissue, but like I said depending on the age of your child he/she may be able to do this alone).  Tell them to put the tissue ONE PIECE at a time all over the sticky stuff.  Encourage them to fill up the entire sticky square.  When they are finished, take the square away and place the other piece of contact paper on top of it so that the sticky sides are touching.  You can then cut the contact paper in what ever shape you would like.  I obviously chose hearts, but we have made all different shapes for all different holidays.  Cut or punch a hole in the top of your heart and attach a ribbon…  Show your child how to catch some sun in their favorite window!

Ok so are any cookies healthy?  Well not too many, but this recipe at least has some healthier ingredients, KINDA… You can add what you want to make them more or less healthy… My youngest has been begging for M&M cookies all week so this was the only way I could justify them, I added a few healthier ingredients just to make myself feel better about them! HA…

Flax Seed & 5 Chip Cookies

1 cup butter or margarine

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup FLAX seed (optional, but you can’t taste it and it’s great for you)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup each of 5 of the following fruits, nuts, chips, etc…  So basically choose 5 things you like in your cookies and and 2/3 cup of each of them… Here are some options:

Dried Berries (cherries or blueberries are awesome)

Chopped Nuts

White Chocolate Chips

Peanut Butter Chips

Dark Chocolate Chips

Milk Chocolate Chips

Butterscotch Chips

M & M’s

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, peanut butter and sugars.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla, combine flour, oats, flax, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture.  Stir in chips, nuts, fruits etc…  Drop by rounded tablespoon 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake at 350′ for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.  cool for 1 minute before removing to wire rack.

Can you guess what 5 I chose???

The past couple of days in Minnesota we have reached a high of about -8, brrr…  My boys really could use a little outside play, but it is just too chilly for them!  This morning we received a little more snow so I decided since we can’t go out in it, we’ll bring it in!  I figured the safest snow was on our deck where no one had been (especially not our dog) so I scooped some snow into two large bowls and the boys have been having a ball, a snowball that is!  Super easy, super fun and to top it off they are learning about how snow melts into water!  When I see that they are getting a little “tired” of playing in the snow I think I’ll put a few drops of food coloring in each of their bowls and let them play with colorful snow.

What is your go to meal?  Leave your recipe in the comments section below and we’ll all have a great list of easy meals!  Here is mine:

INGREDIENTS

1/4  cup flour

1/2  teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 Tablespoons margarine or butter

1/2-1 bottle marsala cooking wine (available near the olive oil)

DIRECTIONS

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a ziplock bag.  Add chicken to the bag and coat it in the flour mixture.  In a skillet, heat the oil and butter until hot and foamy.  Saute chicken over medium heat until golden brown on both sides.  Stir in wine.  Simmer, covered  until chicken is no longer pink when cut in the thickest part (about 10 minutes).  Remove chicken to platter and keep warm.  Boil the remaining liquid in the skillet, scraping skillet to loosen until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 of a cup.  Pour over the chicken and serve immediately.

We eat our with rice, couscous or noodles.. YUMM-E

This is a “mediterranean” spin on an old favorite of mine “layered taco dip”.  If you like hummus, you will not be disappointed!

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cups hummus

3/4 cup peeled cucumbers

3/4 cup shredded lettuce

3/4 cup diced red onions

3/4 cup diced kalamata olives

1 cup feta

Pita Chips

DIRECTIONS:

Spread hummus evenly on a flat plate, quiche dish with low sides, or serving platter.  Layer with cucumbers, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, olives and feta.  Serve with Pita Chips!