V-Day Scavenger Hunt

I am not a Valentine's Day person, I know that may seem unbelievable in a women but I actually have no desire to celebrate this particular holiday. I know it had to be different when I was of a dating age as I remember being excited when my then boyfriend/now hubby bought me a gift but it just hasn't translated into married life for me. BUT, I realized about 4 years ago that my kids were really my valentines & I wanted to do something for them, without breaking the bank that would be tons of fun, SO, here the idea for a scavenger hunt was born.
I picked up several things that I knew my kids loved but I don't always provide on a regular basis & I made homemade cards from me to my kiddos. I cut hearts out of construction paper & wrote clues that would send them to each room of the house. For example, this year I hid the gifts in my son's room & he has Yoda sitting on his bedside table so the last clue said "Very Close You Are To Your Reward My Padawan Learner" & they knew exactly where to go. They have so much fun with this each year & I watched my older 2 go from bored acceptance to giddy exitement after the 1st clue (they like to think they're too old for some things). I have them stand still while they read the clue so they don't leave little sis out & then give her a chance to figure it out.

This year J got a 6 pack of IBC (his fave & I don't buy sodas so this is a standard stocking stuffer, V-Day, Easter treat for him) & a giant box of Nutty Bars, he was in heaven! A recieved a Lego storage box (which I found half off @ WM in the clearance section & a giant bag of dark chocolate. L found a Fancy Nancy book & puzzle & a special diamond ring pop. All in all I spent less than $25 & they had a BLAST!

Snow Day Craftiness

These last couple of crazy snow weeks have actually been such a blessing to me as they have given me tons of time to spend at home with my kiddos which we never get to do during the school year & they have provided me with lots of time to invest in my sewing. I love being stuck at home like this with nowhere to go & no way to get there w/ my 3 favorite people (yep, my babies!). It's amazing how the creativity can hit & just keep on coming, I'm so excited to be whipping out so many items & it will be great to have some new inventory in the store. It amazes me to hear so many parents complaining about having to be home with thier kids & how they are going crazy, seems more than a little sad. I can't help but see these random days during out week that we get to just be a family together with no obligations as a gift from God, like the unexpected rose sticking out the snow, unexpected but beautiful! So, I hope everyone here is relishing thier time being snowed in like I am!

Ice Day Baking Adventures With My Girls

I don't know about you but I absolutely LOVE weather days with my kiddos! We don't exactly sleep late but we don't have to get up & rush out the door either which is one of my favorite parts. This is the kids 2nd day in a row and we decided it was about time to bake something. My girls love to bake but there's not too much room or counter space in my kitchen so we don't do it too often but today I found a recipe that was so simple that the girls could do it all on their own which they were SO excited about. For those of you who don't know me, I can't follow a recipe to save my life & even this recipe with only 4 ingredients was no different. I made an amazing turkey loaf this week & I told my husband at the dinner table that I had followed a new recipe & he stopped eating & cocked his head to the side with a very scepticle look, so of course I had to confess that I had added a few extra ingredients to spice it up which is when he burst into laughter & said "of course you did, you wouldn't be you if you didn't!" See why we're still married!
     So the girls set out to make something called A Wasp Nest Cake, which elicited very strange looks from all 3 of my kiddos but once I read the ingredients they were game.

WASP'S NEST CAKE

1 (3oz) box cook & serve vanilla pudding (we used Instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding Mix, worked fine)
2 c milk ( we used original Silk Coconut Milk)
1 yellow cake mix (HA, we used this!!)
12oz butterscotch morsels (AND it didn't last, we used dark chocolate!)

On the stovetop mix pudding with milk & bring to a boil. Dump in box of cake mix. Stir & pour into a greased 9*13 inch pan. Sprinkle on morsels. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 min. Let cool & serve.

Of course we didn't let it cool but cut pieces to taste while the chocolate was still hot enough to scald our tongues but it was a home run! I love recipes like this that are so versatile, you can change the flavor by just changing which cake mix or pudding you use, I think this one will be a keeper! The girls had so much fun & were so excited to do it on their own, maybe it's  a lesson to mom to move over in the kitchen & let the next generation of foodies learn somthing. Hurray for weather days!