Creative Kids
Decorating the Christmas Tree
A picture of our spinning Christmas tree all decorated at night!
The girls LOVE helping us decorate the tree for Christmas and can barely wait for us to get all the stuff out of the attic. Over the years they really have become a huge help when it comes to decorating, not to mention that their excitement is contagious!
When we decorate the Christmas tree we like to turn on the Christmas music and have fun. While our tree will not win any award for the “most professionally decorated” or “color coordinated”, it is packed full of memories. Christmas ornaments I had as a baby, items the girls have made for us, and many other fun family treasures. In all fairness it is the perfect tree for our family because we did it together.
Karlie all smiles as she wears the “tree skirt”!
My little Brina helper! All smiles as she listens to music and helps put up the Christmas decorations.
Taking a break from tree decorating to drink some Eggnog!
Our Christmas tree, decorated by the whole family!
Throughout the Christmas Season you can often find our family reading a book together near the tree, sitting on the couch next to it talking about our days, or even enjoying a cup of hot chocolate while looking into the tinkling lights. I am thankful for my family and the opportunity to celebrate yet another wonderful season together.
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Below is a great Christmas craft you can do with the kids!
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A special thanks to U.S. Family Guide and Colortime for sponsoring this post. Any specific product information was provided by Colortime and U.S. Family Guide, however, the opinions expressed in this post are our own. Blessings Multiplied will be receiving a free craft for this post.
Family Fun: Our Cousins Came for a Visit
Nano bugs play time
Earlier this year Jake’s sister and her family came to visit us. We had a blast spending some extra time with them. The kids played well together and we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. Thankful for time spent with family.
Going for a ride on the go cart or “green monster” as the girls like to call it
It takes a team to change a baby doll diaper! 🙂
Yes, that is a snake in his hands!
Making litter bugs at Roper Mountain Science Center
Trying out a new game
A full hammock
Teacher “Thank You” Gifts
Thank You goodies for the girls teachers!
For Thanksgiving the girls always enjoy bringing in a “thank you” note and a little surprise for their teacher. Here is one where they put M&M’s in a mason jar, added a ribbon on top, and a little note. The note said:
Mrs. __________,
We are a thankful for a Magnificent & Marvelous teacher this year!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Brina & Karlie
If you are looking for a simple and easy thank you gift for a teacher, friend, neighbor, or family member this is a great one to try!
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
The girls have a four day weekend so I am enjoying a little extra time with them. YAY! Jake was on-call all weekend so we stayed close to home but were able to get some items done around the house. Glad we stayed close to home because he had a lot of calls and work items that needed his attention. Hopefully this week I will be able to tackle more items on my list!
Last week’s goals:
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily- we missed Halloween night because we were out celebrating
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesPlan one special Activity with the FamilyCelebrate Halloween with the Family
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – missed a couple of days
Drink 8 glasses of water each day- Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith – working on it
- Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion – faithfully reading through it
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Project (Focus – Office / Garage) – made some headway, both were big projects!
Pay all upcoming billsFinishing cleaning up from Community Group Camp out- Put away all the Halloween Items – have everything picked up just need to put them in the container & into the attic
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming (November) blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention- Schedule November work dates – have a couple days left to put on the calendar
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchWrite and Send Out Community Group Email
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Payoff the Van – was able to put a little extra on it this month
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.) – working on it (with paying off the van this isn’t our first priority but we are moving forward slowly).
My goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily
- Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night before
- Daily School Activities & Homework Completed
- Attend After School Activities
- Plan one special Activity with the Family
- Spend extra time with the Girls since they have a couple days off school
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Finish reading The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith
- Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion
- Vote in the 2012 Election
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week
- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects (Focus – Office / Garage)
- Pay all upcoming bills
- Winterize the Garden
- Put printed pictures in the photo album
- Clean Out Fridge
- Recycle old Magazines & update with November editions
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
- Send out invoices
- Finish scheduling November work dates
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
- Re-organize the Alms & Legs Food Pantry
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Payoff the Van
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses (we are trying to build this back up because we had to take some out for unexpected expenses recently.)
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Halloween Rice Krispie Treats
Green cat with a “K” on it….wonder who that one is for? We also found a purple cat with a “B” on it too! 🙂
While Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa were here visiting we made some delicious rice krispie treats. I made regular rice krispie treats and cut them out with Halloween (pumpkin, ghost, and cat) cookie cutters then the kids and Grandmas decorated them. It was a lot of fun making these tasty treats together.
Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treat
Someone ate a Black Cat…….Karlie!
Brina enjoying one of the rice krispie treats after she finished helping decorate!
Colorful pumpkin!
Spooky green rice krispie ghost!
Decorating rice krispie treats with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. The decorating team was MUCH faster than the cookie cutter, ha! 🙂
A plate full of decorated rice krispie treats!
Another tray full of pumpkins, ghosts, and cats…….
After the girls got a chance to taste test one cookie we sent some of the treats home with the Grandmas, 1 went into each of the girls lunches for the next day, and the rest we brought to Community Group to share with friends. This was a fun and easy Halloween activity for everyone to do.
Family Activities: 3 Big Pumpkins with 6 Different Faces!
One side of the pumpkins had a Mr. Potato Head type face on it! Karlie’s “serious” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “silly” pumpkin, and Brina’s “puppy dog” pumpkin! This side of the pumpkin took a lot less time to do. It was super easy and if you don’t want to mess with carving or cleaning out a pumpkin this is a great alternative. The girls loved picking out the pieces for their pumpkins and designing a face.We were super excited to have Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa come visit us for a few days in October. During their visit we were able to squeeze in a lot of fun activities. One of the activities was carving pumpkins! The girls had a blast hanging out with both Grandmas and have a lot of great memories of their time with us. Thankful that they were able to come visit us. 🙂
The other side of the pumpkins had the carved version on it which was perfect for the evening. Karlie’s “scary” pumpkin, Grandma Penny & Great Grandma Willa’s “cat” pumpkin, and Brina’s “happy” pumpkin sitting on the front porch.
The PROCESS……
Scooping out the pumpkin seeds
Gross……slimy pumpkin hands!
Karlie designed her own “scary” pumpkin face complete with eyelashes! She drew her face on a piece of paper and Jake helped her transfer it to her pumpkin. So proud of her scary pumpkin!
Brina wanted a “happy” pumpkin!
Trying to get Skip-A-Doo to pose with them in front of the pumpkins…..ha! Skipper wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but I have to give them credit for trying to get her to cooperate for the picture!
The girls had a lot of fun doing the pumpkins with Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa. They thought it was neat having a “2 sided” pumpkin with different faces on each side. The jack-o-lantern that they carved was their night pumpkin and the silly faces were their day pumpkins. We used the pumpkins seeds to make 3 Seasoned Pumpkin Seed recipes. Did you carve or decorate pumpkins? I would love to see your pumpkins, feel free to post a link to your pictures in the comment section below!
Recipe: 3 Easy Seasoned Pumpkin Seed Recipes
Every Fall our family likes to pick up a couple pumpkins to carve. One of our favorite parts about carving and enjoying some time together as a family is making toasted pumpkin seeds. This year was even more special because Grandma Penny and Great Grandma Willa were here to join in the festivities with the girls.
We did 3 different seasoned pumpkin seed recipes this year. The two that we did last year were such a huge hit that we did them again plus added one more. To make it easier on you I have all three recipes in this post.
Seasoned Salt Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 c pumpkin seeds
- 2 T butter
- Sprinkle Seasoned Salt (or substitute a 1/2 package ranch package mix)
Rinse the pumpkin seeds. Saute pumpkin seeds in the butter for about 5 minutes (until they start to turn brown). Sprinkle the Seasoned Salt on the seeds. Spread seeds into a shallow baking pan and baked at 250 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy. Stirring every 10 minutes.
Dill Ranch Pumpkin Seeds
- 2 c pumpkin seeds
- 2 T butter
- 1/2 package Hidden Valley Dill Ranch Mix
Rinse the pumpkin seeds. Saute pumpkin seeds in the butter for about 5 minutes (until they start to turn brown). Sprinkle half the pack of Hidden Valley Dill Ranch Mix (or any flavor of Ranch mix) on the seeds. Spread seeds into a shallow baking pan and baked at 250 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy. Stirring every 10 minutes.
Cinnamon Apple Cider Pumpkin Seeds
The cinnamon apple cider pumpkin seed recipe was adapted from the recipe My Retro Kitchen shared on her blog. I removed the nutmeg from the recipe but otherwise it is the same. These seeds came out with a perfect mix of sweetness. The other two recipes were more the salty flavors so adding this sweet one was awesome compliment to the three. I want to make them again because mine came out a little oily (maybe they needed to cook longer or I had too much butter?). These were a hit with family and friends, perfect for the Fall festivities!
- 2 cups pumpkin seeds, cleaned and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter OR olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Pour the apple cider in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add the pumpkin seeds and boil on medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain the seeds and pour them in a large mixing bowl.
Pour the melted butter or olive oil into the bowl, along with the salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well to coat and spread pumpkin seed in a single layer onto jelly roll pan or a baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring them them every 10 minutes, until butter topping has dried and the pumpkin seeds are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool and dry-out the rest of the way on the cookie sheet on top of the stove. Store in an air-tight container.After cleaning out our pumpkins we had a little over 6 cups of pumpkin seeds so we decided it up three ways and made three different recipes. These seeds were a hit with our family and friends. The girls had a blast cleaning and carving their pumpkins!
Travel & Vacation: Little Gifts of Love (part 2)
A package of candy buttons for each girl hanging up on the towel rack
Two Cabbage Patch Kids Books
I left two Cabbage Patch books standing up on our dresser for the kids to find. The note says:
Be good!
Have Fun!
Obey Grandma!
I love you so very much!
Love,
Mom
Writing books for the kids
On the computer desk I left two writing books so the girls could take the time to practice writing their letters neater. The note read:
Brina (or Karlie) – Work on your letters! Love you, Mommy
Two surprise books waiting for the girls in the storage room
In the storage room I left two books for the girls to read:
- I Love You Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
- I Love You All Day Long by Francesca Rusackas
Note reads: Brina and Karlie, These books are to remind you that your Dad & I love you very much. We look forward to seeing you soon. Love, Mom
Heart and flower shaped marshmallows
I left the girls a package of pink and white hearts and flower marshmallows. They loved eating these delicious treats.
A couple new books for the kids
Note reads: Brina Bee! have fun and enjoy your time with Grandma! Look out for Karlie, Skipper, Shipwreck and OverBoard! – Mom (Karlie had one as well but it fell off the book.)
I Wonder Why Books little gifts for the girls
Note reads: Karlie & Brina, I saw these books and thought of you. Hope you learn lots and do well in school! Hugs and Kisses coming your way. – Mom
Left these books for the girls. They love them and enjoy learning about various facts. Books are one of the girls favorite goodies!
Sharing Daily Stories with Daddy
Karlie sharing her daily stories with Daddy while he was away on a business trip.
When Jake was gone earlier this year the girls wrote their daily “stories” on a big poster board. At the end for the day each girl drew a picture or wrote a little phrase on their personal poster board about some activity they participated in during the day that they wanted to share with Daddy. With all the traveling he was doing we were not able to skype every day but this gave the girls a chance to share with him some of the things they were doing from day to day.
Brina sharing her daily stories on the poster board for Daddy.
