Valentine party

A goal of mine was to plan and host a gathering at our house. 

Today we hosted a Valentine party for nine of E&O's little friends.  This has been my project since the new year began!  Although party planning can be quite time consuming, it is SO much fun...maybe even a dream job of mine!  I follow numerous creative mama blogs and only wish that the finished party layout was as easy as they make it look.  Over the past several weeks I have made more stops at Hobby Lobby than I wish to share!  I love to celebrate the most special days in life.  I love to have friends and family over for a great time.  Today I was able to do both and it was a joy!

There were two food tables.  The menu included marshmallows on a stick, cupcakes, rice krispy bars, strawberry trifle, chocolate covered strawberries, passion pops, a cheese ball (heart) with crackers, heart shped sandwiches, mini pizzas with pepperonis cut into hearts, chips and "pink" dip, veggies, fruit kabobs (with heart shaped watermelon) and love potion (Caprisuns & bottled water).

 These hanging pom poms are relatively easy to create and add lots of color to any party theme.  I made ten total.  I also made this fun banner with my amazing Cricut machine:

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I finally assembled my own cupcake tower!  This will definitely come in handy for future celebrations of all knds.  Many thanks to my amazing husband for his help with this.  I am a huge cupcake fan.  Not only are they super yummy, but they are easy to serve and fun to decorate.

What a sweet bunch of friends! 

For storytime we read "Happy Valentine's Day, Little Critter" by Mercer Mayer:

Next, we decorated Valentine mailboxes for our exchange:

The kiddos enjoyed playing hot potato before lunch:

XOXO

OWEN - my funny Valentine

EMMA - sweet as sugar

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." ~1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

It's tutu cute!!

Tonight I tackled another goal on my list.  It's amazing what one can get done when it's too cold to go outside :)  This fun tutu is perfect for little ballerinas of all sizes! 

Materials:

Colorful tulle

No roll elastic

Scissors

Directions:

Measure ballerina's waist

Cut elastic accordingly & tie ends together

Cut tulle in 22" strips

Fold strip in half then loop around elastic
(Youtube video may make more sense!)

Push loop knots together very closely until full

Homemade applesauce

Our kiddos LOVE applesauce.  It ranks right up there with goldfish and fruit snacks!  I decided to flex my domestic muscle and try to make it myself.  It was super easy in the crock pot.  Not only was it yummy, but it made the house smell great too.  Owen especially loved it.  If you make it, I would recommend doubling the recipe.  Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

• 6 medium apples
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp. – 1 tbsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions:

• Peel and core apples.
• Chop up into chunky pieces.
• Place apples in crockpot.
• In separate bowl, combine water, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla.
• Pour mixture over apples in crockpot, and stir around, so apples are evenly coated.
• Cover crockpot, and cook on low for 4 hours, or until soft.

Homemade lasagna

I've always wanted to try homemade lasagna.  It is a family favorite but we usually heat a frozen one.  I forgot to take a photo of the finished product, so here is what you get.....

 

 

Ingredients:

1 lb. Lean or extra-lean ground turkey

3 Garlic cloves, sliced, separated

2 cans Diced tomatoes

2 (6 oz) cans Tomato paste

2 T Basil

3 T Parsley

1 t Salt

3 cups Fat-free cottage cheese

1/2 cup Egg substitute (egg beaters- equivalent of 2 beaten eggs)

1/2 t Pepper

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

3-4 cups Grated mozzarella cheese

Whole wheat lasagna noodles (I always use oven-ready to save time.)

Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly brown the meat with 2 cloves of the sliced garlic. Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, 1 T parsley, 1/2 t salt and last clove of garlic. If too thick, add a few tablespoons of water. Let simmer 15-20 minutes.
3. In a medium size bowl mix cottage cheese, eggs, pepper, 1/2 t salt, 2 T parsley and Parmesan cheese.
4. Prepare 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of pan with one layer of cooked noodles (or oven-ready). Place 1/2 of the cottage cheese mixture on top of the noddles, followed by 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Place 1/2 of meat sauce on top of the cheese. Repeat, starting again with noodles and ending on top with the remaining meat sauce.
5. Bake for 30 minutes on middle rack.
6. Let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving to allow it to set.

Serves 12 (THANKS to my friend Stephanie C. for this tasty recipe!)

 

1 goal down, 29 to go.......

Sew I did it....

Last week I attended my very first private sewing lesson!!  I learned the basics and became more familiar with my new machine.  In the photo below you can see that I learned how to sew a blind hem (top fabric), a button hole (middle fabric) and to switch up different designs and deminsions (bottom fabric)! 

Honestly, just threading the machine is a little intimidating to me right now, but I know that with a lot of practice (and several more private lessons) I will learn to love it!  And just think, in just over eight months I will have a beautiful set of Christmas stockings ready for Santa :)

30 by 30

As we all prepare to ring in the new year, I have chosen not to make a resolution.  Instead, I have created a list of things for myself to accomplish by Oct 7th, 2011.  On this day I will mourn my twenties and will unwillingly turn thirty years old.  How can this be?!  As much as I dread the age itself, I look forward to what the next decade holds :)  The following list contains both small and big goals.  It encourages me to learn and do some things I have wanted to for quite awhile.  Hopefully this will put a happy spin on my next birthday.  I will use this blog to update my progress over the next nine months.  Ready, set, go!!!

1.       Make a wreath

2.       Establish a quiet time with the Lord daily

3.       Make homemade dinner rolls using my grandmother’s famous recipe

4.       Go to First Monday in Canton, TX

5.       Keep a daily prayer journal

6.       Learn how to make hair bows

7.       Enjoy an overnight trip alone with Jarrod

8.       Organize family photos

9.       Make home made lasagna

10.     Read one of our shelved books cover to cover

11.     Take each of the kids out for fun alone (just mommy & child)

12.     Hand make a necklace

13.     Hand make a tutu

14.      Schedule a concealed handgun class (set for Nov 19th)

15.     Plan and host a fun get together at our house (birthday parties don’t count!).

16.     Plant a vegetable garden

17.     Take time to learn more about my Canon Powershot SX100 Nikon D3100

18.     Make home made applesauce

19.     Enjoy a family night each week

20.     Perform a random act of kindness

21.     Completely pay off the little debt that we have

22.     Sew a set of Christmas stockings

23.     Learn how to change my own oil

24.     Write a letter to myself

25.     Memorize state nicknames for all fifty states

26.     Learn tons more about football

27.     Contact and go to lunch with a childhood friend

28.     Do something different with my hair

29.     Snazz up the yard

30.     Decoupage something



"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." - Lucile Ball