Missing Puzzles

I don't know about you but it is a pain trying to keep track of my kid's puzzle pieces. I've come up with a solution that seems to be working. I took a small manilla envelope and taped it on the back of their board puzzles to keep the pieces in. I also took a small piece of velcro and stuck it on the flap for easy closure. No more searching for that lost puzzle piece!

Easy Easter Baskets

I wanted to do something for my preschool class for Easter that was inexpensive, easy, and not full of candy. So I made them Easter baskets.
I used a plastic cup, punched holes in the side, then added a colorful ribbon!
I put fake grass inside along with a piece of candy and an egg with a toy in it. And there's my Easter gift!

Picture Frames and Toothpaste

One of the most frustrating things is when you are trying to hang a picture that requires two nails and you end up making 10 holes in the wall to get it even. My trick is to use TOOTHPASTE. here's what you do...

gather your supplies:

picture frame

hammer

nails

pencil

level

toothpast

papertowel Hold your picture frame against the wall where you want it.

As you are holding it in the place you want set your level on the top of the frame to make sure it's actually level.

Once it's even and where you want it take your pencil (while still holding the frame) and draw a line along the top or bottom of the frame, using the frame as a guide.

Take your frame down and add a tiny bit of toothpaste to each hook in the back, right where you want the nail.

Hold the picture frame up to the wall again using your drawn line as a guide then press the frame against the wall so the toothpaste will leave a mark where you want your holes.

Take the frame down and there should be two toothpaste marks on the wall where you want your nails.

Hammer your nails right in the center of each toothpast blob.

Wipe off any extra toothpaste, and maybe erase your pencil mark, then hang your frame!

Easy Pizza

Here is a super easy way to make pizza that the kids can totally help with.

English muffins (Glutino makes an excellent Gluten Free English muffin! I buy mine at Sprouts)
pizza sauce (I make mine with tomato sauce and Italian spices)
mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
any other toppings you want

Preheat oven to 350. Open English muffins on a cookie sheet. Add sauce, cheese and toppings, bake for about 20 minutes!


You can also make BREAKFAST PIZZA - no baking necessary!

English muffins
fruit
jam or jelly

My kids like their English muffins toasted with butter and jelly then I let them add whatever fruit they want. (cut up apples, bananas, strawberries, etc)

Aggression Cookies

These are so easy and totally fun for kids!

3 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Dump it in a bowl and mix it with your hands. The more you mix and pound the better the cookies.
bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes

Super Goop

I tried this easy Goop recipe with my kids. They really enjoyed making it. I let them each choose a food color and we mixed the colors. It was great to talk about what happens when water gets hot, the texture of the corn starch, and mixing colors. They got a little bored playing with it in the ziplock baggies so I will give it to them again and let them play with it in the bathtub before I turn on the water. Then they can paint their bodies and the tub and it will make for easy clean up!
*This can also be fun for older kids. They can probably make it themselves and what kid doesn't like goop?

SUPER GOOP
2 cups water
1/2 cup corn starch
food coloring

Bring water to a boil.
Add cornstarch and stir until smooth.
Add food coloring and stir.
Let cool.
Squish on table top or put in ziplock bag to mush and play with. (to minimize

Your in the doghouse!

My kids and their friend were pretending like they were dogs. I got tired of them running through the house and being loud so I pulled out some boxes and let them play in their "doghouse". Who needs to spend money on toys, just give them the boxes!

Twice Baked Potatoes

This is an easy recipe and one my whole family enjoys. My kids call them "mashed potatoes in a bowl".

Bake your potatoes (I like to bake my potatoes right on the oven rack without wrapping them in foil. It makes the skins a little crispier and makes it easier to scoop out the inside.)

Cut the potatoes in half
Scoop out the insides and put in seperate bowl
Add butter, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste
Use mixer to make potatoes creamy
Scoop back into potato peels and cover with cheese
Bake until cheese melts, about 15-20 min

Clean Car

After letting my car get totally trashed I realized I needed to make some changes. I put a big cup in my cup holder and call it my trash can. I had a talk with my boys and told them we need to keep the car clean and it's not ok to throw garbage in the car. Just by adding a garbage cup to my car has kept it so much cleaner. When I'm getting gas or when I get home from a busy day I throw the garbage away and put the cup back. One simple thing has made a huge difference.

Holy Cow

Holy Cow is my favorite cleaning product. http://www.holycowproducts.com/
It is safe to use around kids and pets and can be used on anything. I have used it to get blood out of carpet and to clean my granite counters. In fact, I use it everywhere. Not that my house is super clean but at least I have a great cleaning product!
You can purchase Holy Cow at Walgreens, Walmart, Sam's Club, Albertson's, Fry's and Basha's

(Thanks for introducing it to me Tonya.)

Colorful Cakes

I made a big batch of pancakes and added foodcoloring to make them more fun. When my kids had their fill of pink and blue pancakes I froze the rest. Now we can have a fast, fun breakfast just by popping the colored pancakes in the toaster!

(Thanks for the idea Ashley.)

Making Flours

I needed an activity for my kids to do while I made dinner. They went to town, had a learning opportunity, and had a great bath after!

Materials:
cookie sheets
flour
water
corn meal
food coloring
any other ingrediet you like

What I did:
I put flour on the cookie sheets and let them play.
When they started to get a little bored or distracted I added a new ingredient (water, corn meal)
As they played I cooked dinner and talked to them about textures, colors, and anything else.

It made a mess but it was easy to clean while they were in the tub.