Wet and Wild

How are you keeping cool this Summer? Besides a lot of Popsicles, we enjoyed this little ball of fun for the two days we had it before Handy Andy drove the truck over it.

I dream of getting one of these babies. I see them every time I go to Samms Club. They have them inflated and flying like water fairies along the ceiling, just waiting to grant you some water fun. I wonder if they are tough enough for adults to play too?
Handy Andy made the kids this pvc pipe sprinkler. Equipped with valves they turn on and off themselves. We got the idea from Family Fun Magazine.

The flexible tubing is great for soaking each other.

What are you best outdoor water finds this year?

Bargin kid movies

My kids love movies. I can't spend $20 a movie very often. So, I take my chances on some of the generic type movies.

This princess collection was found at Wal Mart for $5. (It is 8.86 on Wal Mart online.) There are 2 discs with a total of 5 movies. Each movie runs for 44-47 minutes. My daughter (age 4) loves them. There not equal to Disney movies, but who cares when your kids like them. The collection was a bargain!

Curious buddies is Nickelodeons answer to the Baby Einstein craze. I might I say "Job well done!". I also found my copies at Wal Mart. I paid $5 dollars each for all but one copy. I paid 9.96 for our first one. They are not always $5 so keep a look out for them. However, I gladly paid full price for the first movie.

What is the best kid movie you have ever bought?

Great Cans

Every week I think I am going to be ready for Trash to Treasure Tuesdays with Kimm @ Reinvented. Yet every Tuesday seems to come a little faster than the last and I am caught of guard. Next week I will have a piece of furniture ready to go. This week is a fun activity for the family using soup cans.

All you will need is:

Empty clean aluminum cans

Hammer

Nail

Water

Fill your cans with water and freeze over night. The ice will give you cans needed strength.

Place cans on their side on top of towels. Punch holes into cans using your nail and hammer. You can plan a design or use a random approach. You would like a lantern look, punch two holes across from one another at the top and add a wire handle.

Place cans upside down outside or inside your kitchen sink. You can run hot water over them is you are in a hurry.

Once they are dry you are good to go. They are great for camping or a beautiful center piece for a great summer meal.

I think we all know by now that I am not photographer and my camera is a bit outdated.

Another great way to use your trash.

Cookie Monster

I am going to say it again. I LOVE THIS RECIPE! If you haven't tried Chef Keem's Macaroon recipe, you must get right to it.

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I made some Macaroons to took take for a raffle at Family Reunion. I wanted to find Pastry boxes with cellophane windows on top, so that the cookies would look like they came from a fancy bakery. I looked and looked. I couldn't find any. I went to the bakery at my local Wal Mart and got my ear chewed off by the gal behind the bakery counter. I was left with only what my imagination could come up with.

I made the tray with some white card stock.
I folded all four edges in about an inch.

I cut the one side of the corner piece.

Then hot glued them to form a nice sharp corner.

I finished it up with cellophane and tulle. I think it looked nice. I made small trays for lemon bars.

My prize

I won a drawing a while back and was super excited to receive my prize last week. Thanks Mimi Lee!!!!!

Thanks again. I love it.

I will be back later today.

My girl loves skirts

Ashely @ Make it and Love it had a tutorial on how to make this skirt out of worn out jeans. Since she has taken the time to type out the instructions I will just let you check out her post here for the details.

Here is my attempt. Luckily you can't see it up close, but for a gal who doesn't know how to sew, I think I did a decent job. Now I need to learn how to make fabric flowers to gussy up the shirt.

Mmmmm... Cookie....

Last week I had walked into a bakery and left with a Macaroon. It was so good I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I did what any other cookie obsessed women would do... I googled a recipe. The one I found was on Chef Keems blog. Click here for the full recipe and instructions. The only changes I made was to add Hershey's Mini Kisses to the batter.

I gave some to friends. That's part of my evil plan. I figure I most likely I will never loose weight because of my deep affection for food. So instead I am going to chubb up all the skinny gals. If you received cookies from me consider yourself chubbed. If you didn't, just know my plan has backfired since I ate most of them.

I am making another batch tomorrow for a family raffle. I am hoping to find cupcake boxes or something to wrap them in. I will get pictures to share with you.

You have been framed

I have a winner. I numbered the entries and drew out a random#. The funny thing is the number I drew was the number of my dear sweet a little too skinny friend.....Chantel! Email me soon.

I have been asked many times where I got the paper. I got it at JoAnns. It is shiny on the printed side. I absolutely love it. It is expensive as far as paper goes. It was $1.99 for one sheet.

As for the winners of the baby wipe and diaper clutch, you still haven't contacted me. Please check here to see if you were one of the winners. You have until Monday to email me with your info. Thank you!!!!!

Brittany and Mimi Lee please contact me in regards to your very late craft I owe you. :)

Come back later today for a delicous recipe.

Restaurant bag

I recently posted about giving ordinary and somewhat tacky canvas bags a face lift. Just after that post more bags began to turn up. Click here for previous post.

This little beauty was transformed into.....

My new restaurant bag. Handy Andy and I rarely go out to eat without the kids. So it has become important to keep entertainment with us. The best toys for a restaurant are small and engaging. Match box cars, paper and pens, Polly pockets, Pet Shops etc. Our favorites are magnadoodles, play dough (there is a large assortment of travel packs), I found a little wooden tic tac toe board at Target, small puzzles and Legos (I love the small pack pictured below!).
Lego Creators make can be used to build more than one thing. Love it!!!!!

This Playdough set even comes with a play mat.

I like to keep our bag in the Van (oh yes, I am that cool, I drive a Minivan.) so we have it anytime we need it. The bag is also great for Doctor appointments.

I have a few more idea's for your bag. Keep a look out for future posts.

Be sure to scroll down to the frame post and sign up for the give-a-way. Today is the last day to get entered!!!!!

A hint of mint

I hope you have tried my recipe for pudding and brownies. I posted it a couple of months ago. (here) Well, it's just too good of a recipe to just let it sit around without trying something new.

This time around I used mint brownies and mint pudding.

I do love the chocolate mint combination. Go ahead and give it a try.

Remember to leave a comment here to get entered for my give-a-way. There is only 9 entries, so the odds are pretty good. Please leave an email address in your comment.

Gleaming white

Has anyone ever fought a long hard battle with that orange scum in/on and around their jetted tubs? I had. I use to take the jets and filter cover off and scrub them. I would also use q-tips to clean inside the jets. It took forever and generally didn't last more than a couple of days. Then one day I filled the tub just barely over the jets with cool water and added 1-2 cups of bleach. I ran the jets for about 10 minutes. I couldn't believe how clean they were and it keeps the orange scum at bay for up to 3 months.

As I was walking with the bleach in hand, over my newish carpet, I shuddered to think that if I tripped my carpet would be in ruins. I can't store the bleach in the bathroom, it would be to easy for my kids to get into. So, here it is Clorox... please make a tablet similar to the ones for the toilet tank, but quick dissolving and highly concentrated. So all we have to do is toss it in. No more mess. Okay, now if they actually hear my plea, I will be a happy cleaner, until the next problem arises.

Here is a little tip for cleaning the tough ring around toilets. Use a pumice stone. The stones pictured below are a lot cuter than mine.
The real tip is to pour a bucket of water into your toilet first. This lowers the level of water and then you can attack the ring with your stone. Be sure to use back and forth motions or you will scratch your porcelain.

Carmel Pecan Rolls

When I find a really good recipe I like to use it in as many ways as I can. As you know from my previous Sweet Roll post, I have found the perfect Cinnamon Roll recipe. So yesterday I used it to make Carmel rolls. Oh man.... yummy yummy yummy... sooooooo gooood.

Click here for the original recipe. After rolling the dough into a rectangle I sprinkled it with Kraft Carmel Bits. I left out the butter, however, next time I will brush the dough with butter first.


I couldn't find the pecans in time. So, I just rolled it up and added the nuts at the end. It worked out well because my kids didn't want nuts on theirs.

To make the frosting I used about 2 1/2 Cups powdered sugar, 1-2 TBL brown sugar and milk (enough to reach desired consistency). This made enough for 6 rolls and I froze the rest without frosting.

I served this with soup last night and I am having a warmed up roll for Breakfast. I how I love the baked goods.

Don't forget to scroll down and leave a comment on the frame post. I will be drawing a name on Thursday.

The Great Outdoors

We just got back from camping yesterday. Could you tell that I was gone? I hope not. I just love scheduling posts. It took me a while to get it right.

Every camping trip we look forward to the animal hunt. My MIL buys 100+ little plastic animals and stretchy frogs and hides them in our campground for the kids.

After finding them the kids play with them, wash them and sometimes hide them again. When we get home I hide them in our yard in the morning and let the kids go out and find them. They also love to play in the tub with them.

Both kinds of animals can be found at most Dollar Tree stores. The stretchy animals can also be found at Walmart in their dollar toy section. Wouldn't they be great in a Pinata!?!

Our last day in camp, my baby SIL, found a tiny container. Inside of it was a paper scroll about 2"x 1.5' long. It hand the signature of every camper that had found it. After you signed your name you re-hid it in the campground. We thought that was so clever.

After thinking about at home, I thought it would be fun to do the same thing inside my house. I am going to use a clear film container and hide it where my kids can find it. Maybe in a toy box or a sock drawer and so on. I hope that in years to come they will be excited to visit my house with their kids and find the container and write their names and date on it. What a fun tradition that will be.

Give-a-way

I never heard from Rene. So, I will be drawing from the names of people who leave a comment on this post for this frame.

A hunting we will go

Here is another quick and easy summer activity. On you of those days where you don't have time to plan, set up and execute a great activity, just get out a piece of paper and write a list of things your kids can find in your yard. Be creative for this scavenger hunt. A few examples are: something red (list many colors), something plastic, a flower, leaf, a bug, a stick (specify length), a circle, triangle, square, something from up high, something edible. You get the picture. Go ahead and make your kids as busy as you want them to be. You could even arrange a photo scavenger hunt with older kids. Consider having your older kids write a list for the little ones.

Camping Cereal Treats

I not sure about you, but I go camping for the great food. Well, the more I think about it, that's why I do most things. Here are a couple of Melissa camping standards.

I am sure you have heard of Muddy Buddies or something similar like: Monkey Munch, Puppy Chow or Snow Man Dropping.

Here is my recipe:

1 Stick Butter

1Cup Peanut Butter

1 Generous Cup Chocolate Chips (I use Semi-Sweet)

12 oz. box Rice or Corn Chex Cereal

1 lb.+ a little more Powdered Sugar.

Melt 1st 3 ingredients in microwave, 1 minute at a time. Mix well. Pour over cereal. At this point you can put the mixture in a large zip lock and add sugar and shake. I like to leave it in the bowl I mixed it in (if it has a lid), add sugar and secure lid. Turn upside down and shake.

Shake it like nobodies business! When all cereal is covered you are down. It's at this point I put it in a Ziploc bag and then store it in the refrigerator. It is so much better cold!

This bowl of yumminess is Gooey Good Stuff.

6 Cups Crispix or Rice Chex

6Cups Special K or Total or Corn Flakes

1/2 Cup mixed nuts (optional)

1 1/2 Cups Coconut

Mix in a large bowl

Then Boil the following for 3 minutes in a med. pan.

1 1/2 Cups White Sugar

1 1/2 Karo Syrup

1 1/2 Sticks Margarine or Butter

Pour over dry ingredients. Let it lay on a cookie sheet for a couple of hours.

Trash to Treasure

It's time to head on over to visit the lovely Kimm @ Reinvented. Every Tuesday she gives us an opportunity to share idea's and get idea's from other bloggers for using what might have other wise been trash.

I found both of my treasures at a local thrift store. This cutie of a planter was $1.50. It had an absolutely hideous yellow ribbon tied around the top of it.
I Painted the pot itself Ivory and the handles black. Now I just need something stunning to put in it.

I loved this pumpkin. It was $1.00. The only problem was I had too many idea's for it. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to use it for holding candy at Halloween and paint it black or paint it brown for fall. I also wanted to paint it silver and use it in my daughters room as Cinderella Coach. Hmmmm....

I went with black for Halloween. I needed something to hold candy for the trick or treaters who never come.