Dollar Crafts - Jewelry Boxes

Ava and Sidney love to watch Max and Ruby on Nick Jr.  It's such a sweet cartoon about a little bunny, Max, and his big sister, Ruby.  Max is always getting into Ruby's things (much like Sidney does to Ava).  On one episode, Max is determined to get a hold of Ruby's jewelry box.  And he does.  The show teaches tolerance and problem solving between siblings, which is something we're always working on in this house.

When I found these wooden jewelry boxes with photo slots at Micheal's (on clearance for $1.50!!!) I knew it would be a fun painting project for the girls.  And hopefully a little reminder of problem solving lessons from Max and Ruby.

We had a very rainy Labor Day weekend - the perfect opportunity for some indoor art projects.

 We were out at Nana and Papa's lake house over Labor Day weekend.  Don't you love the old, retro high chair!

The finished boxes!

 Unfortunately, I haven't printed pictures in a long time so the girls photos for their jewelry boxes are over a year old!

Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips

I am not a big candy bar person, but I have a HUGE weakness for Take 5 bars.  Have you tried one?  They are unbelievable.  They're called Take 5 bars because there are 5 ingredients: milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, peanut butter and pretzels.  Genius.  When I found this recipe for Pretzel Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter I knew I had to try it.  It's like a Take 5 cookie less the caramel.  My in-laws were coming over to celebrate my birthday so it was the perfect excuse to make cookies.  I really loved how they turned out but next time I'm going to figure out a way to add caramel.  Maybe skip the chocolate chips and add Rolos?

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup broken up pretzel pieces
Pretzel Salt or Sea Salt

Instructions:

1.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2.  In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). 

3.  On low speed, slowly add the beaten egg and vanilla extract. Beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4.  Add the flour mixture and beat just until there are no more streaks of flour. 

5.  Stir in the chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and preztels. 

6.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

7.  Preheat the oven to 350F and line baking sheets with parchment paper. 

8.  Scoop out well rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough and place on the parchment paper.  Smash the balls down a bit and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Leave about 2 inches between each ball. 

9.  Bake for 10 minutes. If you prefer crispier cookies increase the baking time by 1-2 minutes. 

10.  Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing.

Yield: 20 cookies

Tips:

The only changes I might make next time is to add caramel somehow and use my own cookie recipe.  This recipe was good, but if you have a favorite cookie recipe feel free to use that instead.

Grandparents Day Crafts

If any of our Nana's or Papa's are reading this - please stop or your surprise will be ruined!

Tim and I lived out of town for 10 years after we graduated from college.  While it was our choice and we loved the experience, our end goal was to get ourselves back home eventually.  When Ava was two and Sidney was a newborn, that dream became a reality.  Ava and Sidney love spending time with their grandparents and cousins.  And the more people that love our kids the better!

When I told Ava that Grandparents Day was coming up (September 9th!), she immediately wanted to do an art project for a gift.  Here's what we came up with:

FRONT:

I printed the poem on regular 8.5x11 printer paper and the girls stamped their hand prints at the bottom.  I cut the paper down and used double stick tape to secure it to a piece of yellow card stock.

BACK:

I printed out a questionnaire on 8.5x11 purple printer paper and interviewed Ava.  Then I cut the paper down and double stick taped it to the back of the yellow card stock.  I took it to FedEx Kinkos to laminate it and now we have a Grandparents Day gift from the girls!

The questions I asked Ava are:

1. What is your favorite thing to do with Grandma and Grandpa?
2. If you could make any wish for Grandma and Grandpa, what would you wish for them?
3. What is Grandma really good at doing?
4. What is Grandpa really good at doing?
5. What do you think Grandma and Grandpa like to do when they were your age?
6. If you could spend a day with Grandma and Grandpa what would you want to do?
7. What do you love most about Grandma and Grandpa?

If you want any of these templates, click here to download the poem and click here to download the questionnaire.

Also, click here to see our 2013 Grandparents Day Card!

Tracy's Healthy Bran Muffins

My sister-in-law, Tracy, made muffins for my dad for Father's Day.  He loved them so much that he asked her to show him how to make the muffins.  I witnessed this event.  It was probably the first time my dad has baked in his entire life.  It was pretty hilarious.  I'd love to see my dad try to bake these muffins again on his own.

I decided to try out the recipe myself.  I will warn you that if you're expecting a yummy, sweet bakery muffin, this is not the muffin for you.  If you want a healthy muffin that you can eat on the go and has a little bit of sweetness, you'll like this muffin.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup multi-grain flour (you can buy this in specific quantities in the bulk bin section at Whole Foods to avoid having to buy pre-packaged)
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
1 cup wheat germ, raw
1 cup whole ground flax seed meal
2 cups wheat bran
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup raw agave nectar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
8 egg whites
1 1/2 cups raisins (or more if desired)
1 cup chopped pecans (or more if desired)

Yield: 26 muffins

Instructions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Spray muffin tin with non-stick baking spray or use muffin cups.
3.  Combine dry ingredients (multi-grain flour, baking soda, baking powder, wheat germ, flax seed meal and wheat bran) in a large bowl.
4.  Add water and milk and mix until combined, being careful not to over-mix.
5.  Add agave nectar and applesauce and mix - don't over-mix.
6.  Add egg white and mix.
7.  Add raisins and pecans and mix.

8.  Fill muffin tin about 3/4 full with ingredients.
9.  Bake for 25 minutes.  

10.  Allow muffins to cool after baking and store in an air tight container.  They will last for 4-5 days.  After 5 days, I peel the muffin cups off and wrap each muffin individually in foil, seal them in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer.  Just reheat them in the microwave for ~45 seconds and they're ready to eat!

I think these muffins will be the perfect, quick and easy breakfast when the new baby arrives.  I always find it so hard to feed myself healthy foods when I have a newborn.

Baby Prep List

I found a great blog post through Pinterest detailing all the things you should do before your newborn baby arrives.  Even though this is my third baby, I thought I'd check it out and see if there was anything I hadn't considered.  The best part of the blog post was the hundreds of comments from other moms about the things most important to them.  As I read through the comments (all 200+), I found myself copying and pasting ideas into a Word document.  Then I thought to myself, "I should share this information with other soon-to-be-moms!"  So here you go.  And if you have more helpful hints to add, please comment!

Baby Prep List

For the Hospital

• Make a list of things to pack in your hospital bag.  Click here for a list of ideas.
• Put together a folder with all your important information to take to the hospital.
• Buy nice card stock.  Bring it to the hospital and ask the nurse for extra copies of the baby’s foot prints for framing in the nursery or a baby book keepsake.

For the Home

• Bring in a cleaning service to do a good deep clean of your home.  Groupon usually has good deals.
• Stock the freezer with meals that you can easily pop in the oven after the baby arrives.  Click here for a list of great freezer meals.
• Buy lots of soap – hand soap, dish washer soap, laundry soap.  There’s tons of washing to do and your guests can wash their hands before holding the baby.
• Put a waterproof crib liner under the sheets on mom’s side of the bed in case your water breaks when you’re sleeping.  Also, you can leave it there after the baby arrives in case breast milk leaks at night.
• Make a “Please Knock” sign for the front door so visitors don’t wake the baby.
• Sterilize bottles, pacifiers and breast pump equipment ahead of time.

For Mom’s Lady Parts

• Load up on giant maxi pads or Depends.  Save your hubby the embarrassment of having to go out and buy them for you after the baby arrives.
• Buy at least 6 pair of granny panties that you won’t mind tossing later. 
• Make a few Padsicles (This was a pure genius Pinterest find)!  Pour witch hazel on some of those monster pads and pop them in the freezer. 
• If you’re nursing or pumping, stock up on breast pads, nipple cream, a comfy nursing bra and breast milk storage bags.
• Stool softener.  Enough said.
• Buy Tucks witch hazel pads and Dermoplast pain relieving spray for stitches.  Sitz bath help too.
• Buy a spouted bottle.  Fill it with 1/3 witch hazel and 2/3 warm water.  If you need stitches, it will help when you go to the bathroom.

General Items

• Prepare a baby announcement email to all the friends and family you want to notify of baby’s arrival.
• If this is not your first child, buy a gift from the baby to the older siblings.  Could be a book or a toy or a big brother/sister t-shirt.
• Make a pre-baby bucket list.  And check everything off!  
• Pay bills in advance.

Did I forget anything???

34 Years Young

Today is my birthday!  Doesn't that cake look amazing!  I'm not a big cake person but I think I'd be tempted to eat a piece of that cake.  Since my birthday falls on a Tuesday this year (boo!) we celebrated over the weekend.  The weather was perfect all weekend - I felt so lucky because it has been so unbearably hot outside lately.  Here are a few highlights from the activities:

St. Louis Zoo
I took the girls to the Zoo on Friday.  We hit the usual spots - train, carousel, Penguins and Puffins, lunch and then the train again.

St. Louis Arch
Tim and I hadn't been up in the Arch for years.  So many years that we didn't remember any part of the experience!  This was the girls first time up in the Arch too.  If you go, be sure to go early in the day and reserve your tickets online ahead of time.  The security check point line can back up after 11am.  

These are the tiny window that you can look out.

 Busch Stadium, or as the girls call it, Cardinal Baseball.

Taking a rest in the park outside the Arch with some juice.

Soulard Farmers Market
I wish this farmers market was closer to our home.  It has everything and the prices are great.

We bought the ingredients for Gazpacho Soup (my favorite) at the Farmers Market.  Sidney helped Tim make the soup (see it on the counter in the giant tupperware container - it will last me all week!).

Katie's 4th Birthday Party
Ava's friend, Katie, celebrated her 4th birthday on Sunday.  It was a fairy princess party - so cute!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend!