Snowmen Mini Donuts
The girls were so excited to make and eat these cute snowmen. After you finish making your snowmen, grab a cup of hot chocolate, your family, and curl up on the couch next to the Christmas tree or fireplace and enjoy.
Snowmen Mini Donuts
- 1 bag Mini Powdered Donuts
- Candy Corn
- 1 box Cake Mate Writing Icing
Our Blue Eyed and Green Mouth Snowman
The girls love these little powdered donut snowmen!
Our pretty girlie snowman
Travel & Vacation: Road Trip Entertainment
I am so thankful that our girls travel really well. Since they were little babies we have been doing road trips and they have been real troopers every time. The longest road trip we took with them was 40 hours (round trip). They have a blast hanging out together reading books, doing work books, playing games, talking, listening to audiobooks, and when we go on a long trip (5 hours or more) they get to watch a couple movies. Here are some of the ways we stay entertained on road trips:
Karlie lounging and talking on the phone as we were driving through Charleston. They usually keep themselves busy reading, doing workbooks, playing games or resting.
I hear giggling coming from the backseat….when I look back this is what I see….Brina practicing her flexibility. Hey at least they are happy on road trips! Goofy girl!
Karlie smiling as she works on a workbook in the car!
Brina multi-tasking….snacking and reading a book at the same time while in the back seat of the car. Thankfully she doesn’t get carsick as often anymore!
On this trip we stuck the basket of books, workbooks, games, etc….in between the girls. This was great because it provided accessible entertainment for both girls at the same time and kept them a little separated so they weren’t poking or messing with each other. They didn’t get to watch a movie on this road trip because it was only 3 hours long, but they still had a lot of fun!
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of December 12 – 18, 2012
The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. It is a great time to stock up on some Save A Lot deals. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meat and Seafood
Hickory Springs Bacon (12 oz) – $1.99
Beef Round Roast – $2.49 lb
Hillshire Farms Sausage (16 oz) -2$1.99
Pork Sirloin Chops – $1.99 lb
Chicken Drums or Thighs – $0.99 lb
Ground Beef – $1.99 lb
Pork Sirloin Roast – $1.69 lb
*Pick 5 for $19.99 promotion on going! Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts or types of meats, vegetables and more.
Fridge and Freezer
Coburn Farms Cream Cheese (8 oz) – $0.99
Ginger Evans Crescent Rolls – $1.49
Toni’s Pizza Rolls – $2.79
Blue Bonnet Spread (45 oz) – $2.49
Reddi Whip (6.5 oz) – $1.99
Banquet Family Size Dinners (26 – 28 oz) – $1.99
Coburn Farms Cream Cheese Spread (8 oz) – $1.89
Home Churned Butter Quarters (16 oz) – $1.99
Banquet Frozen Dinners – $0.99
Coburn Farms Natural Cheese Slices (8 oz) – $2.29
Produce
Apples, Assorted Varieties – $0.99 lb
Carrots – $0.39 lb
Green Cabbage – $0.25 lb
Sweet Potatoes – $0.25 lb
Russet Potatoes (8 pounds) – $1.99
Celery – $0.59 each
Grocery
Cap’n Crunch Cereal, Assorted Varieties (12 – 14 oz) – $1.88
Zesta Saltine Crackers (16 oz) – $1.89
Maxwell House Wake Up Roast Coffee (30 oz) – $5.99
Ragu Pasta Sauce, Assorted Varieties – $1.49
A1 Steak Sauce (10 oz) – $2.99
Little Debbie Holiday Cakes, Assorted Varieties – $1.50
Little Debbie Big Packs, Assorted Varieties – $3.00
J. Higgs Potato Chips (10 oz) – $1.49
Sunbeam King Sandwich Bread – $1.50
Coke (2 liter) – $1.00
Ginger Evans Granulated Sugar (4 pounds) – $1.99
Ginger Evans Flour (5 pounds) – $1.69
Wesson Oil (48 oz) – $2.49
Kaskey’s Condensed Cream Soups – $0.50
Colburn Farms Evaporated Milk (12 oz) – $0.69
Colburn Farms Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz) – $1.19
Ginger Evans Sweet Chocolate Chips (11.5 oz) – $1.79
Ginger Evans Light Brown Sugar (32 oz) – $1.49
Ginger Evans Powdered Sugar (32 oz) – $1.49
Grissom’s Brown & Serve Dinner Rolls (12 oz) – $0.99
Sunny Delight (48 oz) – $0.99
McDaniel Enhanced Coffee Creamer (16 oz) – $1.99
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends. For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list. Please make sure to check with your local Save A Lot store, the ads do vary per region.
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
The girls loved having these marshmallows in their hot chocolate!
Yes, I know you can make fabulous homemade marshmallows, but if you are limited on time and resources this is a quick, easy, and fun food craft you can do with your kids. You only need 2 items to do these cute snowflake marshmallows (and you probably have these items in your kitchen already). The kids will LOVE these marshmallows in their next cup of hot chocolate!
Easy Snowflake Marshmallows
- 1 bag Large White Marshmallows
- 1 pair clean Kitchen Scissors
- Optional – Small Cookie Cutters
Take one large marshmallow and flatten it with a rolling pin (it doesn’t need to be completely flat just enough so you can cut it easily). Use your scissors to cut snowflake or other shape for your marshmallow. If you have small cookie cutters you can use those to cut out the shapes. You can do as many or few marshmallows as you like. Place the marshmallows on a serving platter and enjoy with your next cup of hot chocolate.
I did a mix of scissor and cookie cutter snowflakes. You can do snowflakes, stars, trees, or whatever shapes you want. The girls wanted to help, they did more of the cookie cutter ones but enjoyed experimenting with cutting the snowflakes with scissors. These are cute for a fun evening with the family or a get together with a larger group.
One of the super easy cookie cutter marshmallow treats the girls made! They ended up eating some of the snowflake outlines and the rest they used in their hot chocolates.
Snowflake melting in a mug of hot chocolate
Another cool “experiment” the kids can do with their snowflakes…..have them check out how much the snowflakes grow (expand) while in the hot chocolate! Take a tooth pick and carefully pull the marshmallow out of the hot chocolate after it has been in only 30 seconds or so (depending on temperature of your hot chocolate) and see how plump your snowflake looks now. The kids will LOVE it! 🙂
Travel & Vacation: Life Around the Kabini River, India
Sign near the Kabini River. Guess it probably won’t be a great idea to swim in the river….not a fan of swimming with crocodiles! Hmmm…let me think about it….No, thank you I would rather not swim with the crocodile! 🙂
I absolutely LOVED going to India. It was an amazing experience. The people were awesome and I learned a lot about myself during the trip. I have many things to be grateful for in my life yet so often I complain. I don’t have to pump drinking water or live in a tarp yet how often I grumble with the inconveniences of my life. I really do need to have a more thankful and giving heart because there a many people in this world that are content with far less. May I never forget this trip or the many things India revealed to me.
Filling her water jugs up to take back to her home. Watching her pump the water makes me appreciate the running water we have in our home. Sometimes I don’t realize how “convenient” life really is in the United States. I don’t ever remember pumping and carrying my drinking water.
Road full of goats!
Family in a small village near the Kabini River! The little boy is so cute.
Colorful houses near Kabini River
Look out stand in the tree. They use these look out to spot dangerous predators.
People will set up tents near the fields that are ready to be harvested. When the field is done they move to the next location and set up their tents. Makes me feel so very blessed to have a nice home. Even though its not perfect I don’t have to set up tarp tents near a jungle with lions and leopards in it. I have so much to be grateful for in my life.
Traveling through India was an eye opening experience for me. I enjoyed meeting a lot of wonderful people. Jake and I spent time exploring the area with Jake’s cousin Matt and his family. Thankful for an opportunity to spend some time with their family. We had a blast and hope we will be able to go back again some day.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Kids in the Kitchen: Colorful Gingerbread Cookies
Tray full of Gingerbread cookies to share!
The girls love helping out in the kitchen. At some point over the Christmas Holidays we try to make cookies. The girls really enjoy decorating the cookies. We have done a variety of different cookies from sugar to gingerbread and more.
We typically turn on some Christmas music, whip up a batch of cookies, and play a game or read a book while the first batch is cooking. Once the first batch has cooled enough and others are baking in the oven we start decorating. As you can see from the pictures we used a couple varieties of frosting and decorations. The girls decorate them however they want and as many as they want (they stick to the decorating until the very last cookie is done).
It has been really neat seeing their skills improve over the past few years. You can actually tell what the shapes of most cookies are after they are done decorating nowadays. Plus, they have learned not to “lick” the frosting or their fingers during the whole process, ha! 🙂
Starting to fill the tray with colorful Gingerbread cookies. I especially like the Betty Crocker writable frosting because their easy to use for kids, only a little bit comes out, and you can stack the cookies together once they have dried.
Just looking at these make me smile! Some as you can see from the tops of the Christmas trees broke in the decorating process. Love seeing the girls creative juices get flowing.
Another rack of delicious gingerbread cookies, decorated with love! 🙂 Thankful for those quiet afternoons that we can spend relaxing and decorating cookies together.
Next time I need to do better about taking pictures of the kids too. I only have a couple of pictures of the girls just starting to make the cookies that didn’t really turn out. Once we got into the cooking and decorating I got swept away with the fun that I didn’t pull the camera back out until all the cookies were done. Hopefully, next time I will have more kid pictures to share. Does your family like to decorate cookies, if so what kind is your favorite?
This is Christmas by Kutless
Do you find it hard to sleep til’ night,
Resting by the Christmas lights?
Could there be something you forgot?
Beyond the bows, and mistletoes,
The tree with presents wrapped below,
There’s more to this than you had ever thought?
Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?What is Christmas?
If there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger.
What is Christmas without Christ?Remember how the story goes,
God’s gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Beneath the star, one great and holy night.
The shepherds heard the angels sing,
The wise man brought an offering,
Peace on Earth began in Bethlehem
Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?What’s for Dinner: Our Weekly Menu Plan
Last week our menu schedule was a little off at the beginning of the week with the family being sick. Really hoping all of us are done with being sick for a long time so we can stay on track. Thankful for a husband who pitches in to help when everyone is feeling under the weather. Since we have a lot of extra activities we are keeping the menu very simple this week. Here is our menu plan for the upcoming week:
Our Weekly Menu Plan
- Monday (Beef or Seafood Entree): Tuna Fish Sandwiches, Fresh Fruit
- Tuesday (Kid’s Night to Cook): Kids in the Kitchen – Leftover Buffet (leftover night is one of the girls favorite nights because they get to chose whatever they want to eat, like at a restaurant)
- Wednesday (Chicken or Vegetarian Entree): Grilled Cheese, Fresh Vegetables
- Thursday (Pasta or Pork Entree): Poor Man’s Pasta, Steamed Vegetables (was going to have this last week, but had to alter the menu)
- Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Leftovers, Family Preference, and Hosting
I have a general pattern I try to follow for my weekly Menu Plan (for example Monday we have a beef or seafood entree and so forth). It is my goal, at least in the beginning, to have at least the main dish and one side planned. I will put together the remaining side dishes (veggies / fruits) based on the food items that need to be used up first and compliment the main entree.
Setting a weekly menu plan helps me utilize my time better, thus freeing up extra time to spend with my family. On the days that I am working longer hours I can prep the meal in advance so it will be easier to pull together once I am home. As I go through the menu planning process I will try to share some of our favorite family recipes. If there is a specific recipe you would like please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate (some recipes are a toss together meal and I do not use any set measurements).
As a family of four our life can get busy. What’s for Dinner is our weekly menu planning series and one of the ways to help keep us organized, on schedule, and within budget. Our family typically eats 6 to 7 dinner meals at home a week. We do try to go out to eat at least once a month as a special treat. Breakfasts are eaten at home before work and school, lunches are eaten at work, school, or home, so dinner is our main meal together as a family. Dinner is our time to reconnect, share, and enjoy being together after a busy day. Our weekly menu plan covers Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only because the weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) is our time to spend with family and friends. The weekends tend to be more spontaneous and my husband (who is the better cook) likes pitching in therefore we keep the menu open for variety. We use up the leftovers throughout the week for our lunches and on the nights that we are busy or can’t cook.
Photo by Liz
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Oh, I am so not a fan of being sick. The whole family went to the doctor last week because we were all not feeling well and had temps from 101 to 104. Somehow we had managed to get strep throat and a couple ear infections. Thankfully we all seem to be on the mend. I am hoping that this is our last round of sickness for a long time. Maybe this week I can get caught up on some items!
Last week’s goals
Family Goals
- Read to the girls and have them read to me daily – we didn’t read for a couple days when everyone was really sick
Lunch Boxes & Book Bags packed the night beforeDaily School Activities & Homework CompletedAttend After School ActivitiesPlan one special Activity with the FamilyFinish Decorating & Putting up Christmas BinsWork on Christmas List– working on it, still have more to do- Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings – we finished week 1 and it was a neat experience for everyone!
Date Night with my Man
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week – with being sick I didn’t get this done
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 going through the days, love being able to listen it on my phoneMake my first fresh Wreath at a Wreath Party with Friends
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – it took me 2 days to get it done this week
Weekly Dinner Menu planned out for the week- Tackle Fall Cleaning & Organization Projects – was put on hold with being sick this week
Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
Work on ideas for upcoming blog postsKeep up with the day to day items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch- Write and Send Out Community Group Email – missed Community Group so didn’t get the email out
Community Group Christmas Social at our House
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – between Jake and I going to pick up things I didn’t have all the receipts by the end of the week
- Payoff the Van – working on it
- 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.) – moving forward
- Stay within Christmas Budget – staying up-to-date
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
- Finish Decorating & Putting up Christmas Bins
- Work on Christmas List
- Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings
Personal Goals
- Exercise at least 5 days this week
- Drink 8 glasses of water each day
- Reading / listening through my Bible – doing the 90 day plan through YouVersion
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
- Pay all upcoming bills
Business Goals
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Keep up with the day to day items that need my attention
Ministry Goals
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Write and Send Out Community Group Email
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.)
- Stay within Christmas Budget
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.
Those Who Seek…..
