WFMW - Super easy way to melt chocolate!

My MIL makes the best chocolates every year for the Holidays. She taught me this super easy way to melt chocolate - no double boiler required. Here it is broken down:

1. Turn on oven just until it clicks on. You want it on the lowest degree possible.

2. Chop up chocolate and put in glass baking pan. If I'm doing a small amount or a single batch, I use the Pyrex glass measuring cups.

3. Put pan in oven and check often to make sure the pan is not getting too hot. An easy way to test this is to touch the pan. If the pan is too hot to pick up without hot pads - IT IS TOO HOT. If this happens, take the chocolate out, cool it off, and then return to the oven.

4. Stir the chocolate often as it melts.

Yum . . . I'm ready to go make chocolates right now. I love the Holidays!


ALTERNATIVE METHOD: If you can't get your oven to a low enough temperature (I lived in one house where this was the case) turn the oven on just until it clicks on. Leave on for 5 minutes and then turn off right before you put the chocolate in.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

Fun Cake Decorations

Ella is our resident decorator. She LOVES looking through catalogues and telling me what we need for different rooms in our house. It's funny because I rarely look at catalogues. She is constantly telling me how she wants to redo her room and the other day asked if she could switch rooms with us. She very specifically told me to put all of her stuff in my room and take my stuff out and put it in hers. She said this is a "great idea." When we go to stores she will rearrange shelves to make sure everything is organized and in the right place (I so wish she would apply this skill to the playroom)! She loves to cook and at 4-years-old can whip up a pan of scrambled eggs from start to finish by herself (of course with an adult standing by). She is such a mini Martha Stewart.

So I wasn't too surprised when she came home from the library the other day with Matthew Mead's Cakes for Kids. I love Matthew Mead's site and used a lot of his Halloween ideas and free templates but I didn't know he had a kid's cake book out.

Tonight we looked through this book together for her bedtime story. She was so excited to look at each cake and try to figure out how each one was made. I LOVE having someone in the house who appreciates this stuff. So fun for me! We are going to try our hand at some of these cakes in the upcoming weeks. I'll let you know how they go.

Way to go Spencer!

Spencer's first big project for 5th grade was to write a 5-6 page research paper. The kids could choose any topic they wanted. Some chose sports, others animals, and I think some even chose people. Spencer chose, without hesitation, the atomic structure of the earth. He definitely takes after his father.

The first step of the project was to decide on a topic and turn it in to the teacher. He was excited but when he came home that day he told me his teacher didn't think there would be enough information available for him to write his paper. I tried to help him think of some alternatives (that were way more fascinating to me) but he wouldn't budge. He knew he could do it.

He worked very hard on this paper for quite awhile and was quite nervous when he turned it in. He was so excited when the report came back with an A+. His teacher wrote:

"Spencer - wonderful report full of important information that helped me understand a little better. Great job!"

Good grades and A's come very easily to Spencer but this one was different. He worked very hard on this project and was so proud of his accomplishment. I'm proud of him for sticking to what he wanted to do when his teacher (and mom) tried to talk him out of it. Way to go Spencer!

On my radar

1. Love, love, love this post from Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

2. I stumbled upon a new blog this week that I can't stay away from. MeckMom is a site full of "ideas to make life a little easier." I love that her tips are easy and cheap solutions to ordinary problems. You have to check this out - Must Have Tools for Easier Kid Hair Styling. She is absolutely brilliant!

3. Have you seen theStory of Stuff? I meant to just watch a few minutes the other day but then couldn't tear myself away - it's that interesting.

4. Derfwad Manor had me laughing out loud with her post about liberation from Spanx.

5. 13 Fixes for Tired Moms - Some of these tips look interesting. I am always in the market for ways to have more energy.

6. Finally, one more Nie Nie post. I am amazed at her talent of making the simplest moments extraordinary ones. Her post, Attention all Mothers, definitely captures this. She is constantly in my thoughts and prayers.

Rainbow Bath

Ella was going stir crazy this afternoon so I surprised her with a "rainbow bath." I used one of my older muffin tins and filled each well with shaving cream and then stirred in food coloring. I gathered up paint brushes, sponges, and rollers and let her have at it. She painted pictures on all the tile in surrounding the bathtub and covered herself head to toe in a rainbow. I made sure to tell her that "rainbow baths are very rare and only happen after rain" or else I knew it would be a daily request. It was so neat to see her face when I brought in the tray - she was so excited. It was a cheap fun way to brighten up a rainy day! (I originally saw this idea on WFMW but now can't find the link).

"I Can Make That" - One more easy gift!

Here's another super easy gift idea that I stole from my SIL Michelle. It is just a glass shower block (I think it was $4.00 at Home Depot last year) and vinyl lettering (from The Letter Cafe). Tie a big fat bow on top and you are done! I gave several of these out last year and some of my friends have kept them out year round. Couldn't get any easier.


Just a Girl's I Can Make That Party is still going on. Head to her site to see more easy homemade Christmas gifts. I have had so much fun seeing everyone's.

Free Snapfish photo book!

Did you see Oprah today??? Snapfish is giving away free custom cover photo books for the next 48 hours (regularly $29.99). These are the hardbound books. Can you believe it??? All you have to do is go to
Oprah's site to get the coupon. What a great Christmas present for someone. Remember to act fast!

WFMW - On the Go Meal

You know those days when you are never at home for more than 20 minutes at a time - when you are running nonstop from one thing to the next? We have a couple different meals that I make on those days to try and avoid fast food. This is my family's current favorite for hectic days.

My super talented friend Irene made these one day when she brought her son over to play with Ella. She came to my house and cooked us lunch - how great is that!! I was skeptical that my kids would eat it - they are super picky - but these are basically deluxe pigs in a blanket and the kids can't get enough of them (Neither can my hubby - they are so yummy)!

I know ya'll know how to make these but I don't think I would have ever thought to do it with these ingredients. All you need are two things from Trader Joe's. I apologize in advance if you don't have a Trader Joe's - just look away now.

Ingredients:

One package of Trader Joe's pizza dough (super cheap - less than $1.00!)
One package of Trader Joe's Sun-Dried Tomato chicken sausage (pre-cooked).

Bless Trader Joe's for their convenience foods. I try to keep these on hand for crazy days. I took pictures of the process yesterday while talking on the phone - excuse the quality.

Step one: Break dough into five different pieces.

Step two: Flatten dough and wrap around sausages. Don't worry if they are not even or look ugly - they're meant to. Put on a cookie sheet and cook at 425 degrees for approx 15 minutes or until golden brown.


Here's what they look like done:


I like to wrap them each up individually in foil and take them with us. We almost always make these on baseball days. Probably not the healthiest of foods but it makes me feel better than having them buy a hot dog (although we do that too sometimes). I have also been known to throw these at the kids in the car while hurrying to some activity. It's great that they are self contained in the foil and the kids can eat them fast.

I would LOVE to hear what you make on crazy days, we seem to be having more and more of those lately.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

12 Days of Junkie

Have you checked out Tip Junkie? It is one of my favorite blogs. Laurie compiles the best tips from the internet and moms into one place. I have gotten birthday ideas, fall decorating tips, awesome recipes, etc. all in one place.



This Christmas, Tip Junkie is hosting the Mom-preneur Shopathon. You have to check it out. So many different sites full of awesome stuff to buy. I love the idea of supporting other moms this Holiday season instead of buying gifts from the store. It is one way we can all help each other.

In order to promote the Mom-preneur Shopathon, Tip Junkie is doing a 12 day giveaway! Every day for the next 12 days she will be giving amazing gifts to two lucky winners. I so hope I win! So head on over to her site, you've got to see all these cool stores. While you're there, check out all the Thanksgiving ideas this week. I love some of the centerpieces and placecards.

Happy Shopping!

"I Can Make That" - Teacher Gift

Just a Girl is hosting an "I Can Make That Party" just in time for the Holidays. Everyone is sharing ideas of fun projects to make this year for Christmas. Totally my kind of thing.

I somehow missed that this was happening and just stumbled upon it tonight. So I only have one thing to share that luckily I had pictures of. This is what I did for teachers gifts last year. I completely copied it from my SIL Michelle who always has such awesome ideas. I bought a 2 x 4 ($1.85) and had Home Depot cut it down for me. Out of that one piece of wood I covered the kids teachers, some other Christmas projects, and had some left over. I used paint I had on hand and ordered the vinyl from my SIL (The Letter Cafe). I believe the vinyl was just a couple dollars. I wrapped it up in cellophane with candy and ribbon. I liked that it was something different and not too pricey!



(I also had ribbon tied around the wood - this picture was taken before that step. But I think it looks fine like this also.)

Variations:

- Instead of using the teacher's name you could put "favorite" across so it would read "favorite teacher," or any other saying pertinent to the teacher "music teacher," etc.

- I also made some with only the word "Believe" across, distressed the wood, and gave it with a copy of this book.

- These are great to have on hand to give as last minute gifts. I made a couple extra last year with "Ho Ho Ho" across them. It was nice to have a gift ready to go when needed. I ended up giving them all away.

You can see more fun Christmas projects here here.

the METHOD:



the ANTICIPATION:




the MOMENT:

The kids ganged up on us a couple of weeks ago and begged for a trip to the bowling alley. I'm so glad they did because we had such a good time. The funniest part was watching Ella during the long wait for her ball to make it down to the pins. She had so many dance moves that she treated the whole alley to. She is a born performer. Spencer, Ella, and I were neck to neck for most of the game (Lance sat out with a shoulder strain). Spencer ended up pulling a strike out of nowhere on the last frame and winning the game. We were happy to see that starting next month our bowling alley is offering $1 games on Monday nights. We will be back there again soon.

One last memory. Ella and her pink ball. There were far lighter balls for her to choose from but once she saw pink there was no going back. She fell to the floor right after this picture was taken because of the weight but she perservered and used the ball all night. Once Ella makes up her mind, there is no going back.!

One more hot deal

We just got back from a whirlwind shopping trip. In the past week both my kids have outgrown all their pants. Every. Single. Pair. For Ella this is the usual - she grows like a weed. For Spencer, this is monumental. He has been in the same size for 3 years now!

I was excited to find that Carter's is having a HUGE sale this weekend. 60% off all their fabulously cute jeans and cords, 60% off all their Christmas clothes, 50% off their fall jackets, it goes on and on. We stocked up on clothes for Ella.

Unfortunately, no such deals for Spencer. But at the rate he grows, we sure do get our moneys worth out of all his clothes.

I love finding good deals :)

On my radar

1. Have you seen these Thanks and Giving Trees? Not only is it a fabulous idea from Chocolate on my Cranium, but she also provides the PDF files so you can easily have them too! I printed some up and we are working on filling in our trees. I love how it promotes the service side of gratitude. I think this will be a new tradition in our house every November. She also has a FHE lesson to go along with this and the lessons on her site through the month of November will focus on thanks or giving.

2. Speaking of giving, are you looking for opportunities to help teach your kids about service? I was so excited to find this. This site lists volunteer opportunities by zip code. Couldn't get any easier.

3. I've been eyeing this USA art for Spencer's room from Pottery Barn but don't like the price tag. I then realized how easy it would be to make myself. I have the canvas and supplies and will be working on it this week. I'll post pics when I'm done.

4. BeanPlate is a brand new blog that focuses on "eating well on a tight budget." Sounds like my kind of place. I love the description on the site - "Using accessible whole ingredients and the thrifty tried and true methods our grandmothers, we're cooking through the recession one plate at a time." I'm excited to see more recipes.

5. This article in the Arizona Republic about Stephanie Nielson (Nie Nie Dialogues) and her sisters is beautiful. Read it if you get a chance but be sure to keep kleenex handy.

"Okey Dokey"

Ella: Mama, I need an okey dokey.
Me: What's an okey dokey?
Ella: You know an okey dokey (gesturing with hands).
Me: You mean the hokey pokey?
Ella: Mama you so silly!


Later on . . .

Ella: Spencer you get me okey dokey.
Spencer: What?
Ella: I need an okey dokey.
Spencer: Okey Dokey?
Ella: Yes, an okey dokey!
Spencer: I don't know what that is.


Much later at Trader Joe's . . .

Ella: Mama, we buy an okey dokey?
Me: Sweetie I don't know what that is.
Ella: I really really want one.
Me: Trader Joe's doesn't sell okey dokeys.
Ella: Oh, okay.

After dinner, Spencer sat down and starteed to work on a Sudoku puzzle. Ella jumped up, ran across the room and exclaimed "An Okey Dokey!!! You found one!!!"

Me: Oh! You want to do a sudoku!
Ella (exasperated): Yes, an okey dokey!

We were laughing so hard, I think sudoku has permanently been replaced by "okey dokey." I just love 4-year-olds.

WFMW - Toys Worth Buying (Board Games)

I have been so excited for WFMW this week. The theme is TOYS WORTH BUYING. I can't wait to read everyone's recommendations.

We are a family who loves board games. We have several cabinets full of them and are always on the hunt for more. One of the reasons I love consignment sales is to sell the games we haven't liked and try new games out cheap. Anyway, here are my top recommendations for board games. Because I'm lazy, I put the manufacturer's description with each game with my review following.

FOR YOUNGER KIDS:

Zingo Product Description from Manufacturer: Bingo with a Zing!
A fast-paced, simple variant of Bingo. Players try to fill their image cards with matching tiles from the"Zingo Master"; first player to fill his/her card wins! Rules can be adjusted to favor more or less competition among players, and to vary length of time that each game takes to play. Zingo teaches shape and pattern recognition, as well as observation, and short-term memory.

This game has been very popular at our house. Spencer loved it when he was in preschool and now it is Ella's favorite. I brought it to preschool once for all the kids to play (up to 8 players can play at once) and afterwards every mom bought one for their kids. It is easy enough that the kids can play together without adult supervision and it is one that my kids will sit and play forever. It is a great first game because reading is not required - they can just match the pictures but it is still fun for older kids as well.

4 Way Countdown - Product Description from the Manufacturer:
Take the ultimate math challenge. Kids can practice their skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills by simply using the numbers on the dice. The first to flip over all 10 numbered keys wins the game. Game board includes sliding cover for easy storage. 2-4 players.
We bought this game in the clearance section one year after Christmas for $2. We were so surprised by how much fun it is. Each player has 10 numbered keys that they are trying to flip over. On your turn, you roll the dice and choose a function to make a number 1-10. For example, if you roll a 2 and 1, you could add to make 3, subtract to make 1, multiply to make 2, etc. So the kids are constantly thinking of different math solutions to get the numbers they need. To make it a little harder, if certain number's are rolled you have the option of turning all your opponent's keys back over so they are at the beginning of the game again. I have probably made this game sound a lot more complex than it actually is. We gave this as a class gift to Spencer's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes.

Cranium Conga- Product description from manufacturer: Cranium Conga is the fast-paced "guess what I'm thinking" game that will get your whole family acting, sculpting, guesstimating, and picking hilarious words. Conga celebrates the fun facts and funny memories that only someone close to you would know. This delightful game offers giggles and laughs for everyone -- from 8-year-olds, to teenagers, to mom and dad -- so turn off the TV and share some high-flying fun.
This game focuses on how well you know the people around you. In typical Cranium fashion there is acting, sculpting, etc. We have played this often on family nights. The suggested age is 8+, I would disagree and say 5+ (as soon as they are reading and writing). Ella plays now with us with help from her parents :)

FOR OLDER KIDS (AND ADULTS!):

Ticket to Ride Product description from the manufacturer: October 2, 1900. 28 years to the day that noted London eccentric, Phileas Fogg accepted and then won a L20,000 bet that he could travel "Around the World in 80 Days". Now at the dawn of the century it was time for a new "impossible journey". Some old friends have gathered to celebrate Fogg's impetuous and lucrative gamble--and to propose a new wager of their own. The stakes: $1 Million in a winner-takes-all competition. The objective: to see which of them can travel by rail to the most cities in North America--in just 7 days. The journey begins immediately. Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure where players collect cards of various types of train cars that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. Included in this popular game made by Days of Wonder is a detailed board, game cards, help cards, rules, train miniatures, and more!
Ticket to Ride is one of my all time favorite games. We play this over and over and over and I am still not sick of it. The game involves a lot of strategy but it is easy enough for a kid 8+ to play as well. If you need a GREAT board game - this is it! One more nice thing, it doesn't take all night to play like Monopoly or Risk, typical game is about 45 minutes.

Carcassonne Product description from manufacturer: The southern French city of Carcassonne is famous for its unique Roman and Medieval fortification. In this clever tile-laying game, players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters and in the fields. The skill of the players to develop the area will determine the victor. For 2-5 players.
This is another strategy game. If you liked Settlers of Catan, chances are that you will LOVE this. You take turns laying tiles trying to build roles, cathedrals, monasteries, etc. The game has an element of both skill and luck. It is definitely not your standard board game and a lot of fun!

I would LOVE to hear your favorite games - we are always looking for more!

For more fun toy ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder