They Made Me Breakfast!

Sometimes when I am feeling under appreciated, my kids do great things! Today, they were in the kitchen whispering to each other when I walked in. Aaron gave me the "Mom don't come in here" look. I left the room and a few minutes later was greeted with this. I LOVE THEM!

Friday Book Projects

Hi there! We are feeling a bit under the weather here at the Adam's house. I really wanted to post our book project, but we have not done one this week. Today, we will be spending the day lounging around and reading a bit. If you have a book inspired project that you would like to share, please sign the Mr. Linky below! Happy reading:0)

These Two Need Your Help!

Being a mother is the most amazing thing that has happened in my life! I cannot imagine how different my life would be without my kids. I have always wanted to have a house full of children and now I do. For some people the journey to become a parent is not as easy as it was for me. This is truly heart breaking to me. It should not be so hard, but unfortunately it is for some. That brings me to my point. A few months ago, I had the privilege of "meeting" Yaya. Not in person, but through our blogs. She is an amazing and inspiring women who is longing to become a mother. I am amazed everyday by her strength. She and her hubby are going through the process of foster to adopt. It takes a very special kind of person to do what they are doing to become parents and I bow down to them. We all know how expensive it is to have children. It's also expensive to adopt a child. Yaya and her hubby are hosting a raffle to help fund their adoption process. Please click on their picture to check it out! Every little bit helps, so try to do what you can. These two are going to make fabulous parents! I can feel it:0)

In the Kitchen-Banana Berry Smoothies

My girls love creating in the kitchen just as much as I do! Today, we had a smoothie making day. Smoothies are the perfect snack to make with your kids. They are easy and nutritious.

To make our smoothies we used:

2 cups frozen mixed berries

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1 banana

1 cup milk

Blend all the ingredients until smooth!

Cooking Class Questions Answered

I have received a few questions regarding our cooking class and I thought I would try to answer them all here. Our "Cooking with Kids" class started when our church started small life groups. These groups are started by someone who has an idea of something that they would like to get together and share with others, like going to the movies, cooking, playing cards, crafting, etc. My Aunt and Uncle brought up the idea of cooking with kids and I was right on board with it. My kids love cooking and I thought it was a great idea. We just had our second "class" and it is growing. Everyone is having so much fun!

Where did I find those adorable aprons? Felicia's apron with the chef hat was from Target. My mom bought it for her, but when she tried to get one for Mady, they were sold out. So she bought an apron at a craft store and helped Madelyn decorate it with fabric paint and foam stamps. It turned out very cute and they are both so proud of them!

You may have noticed the cardboard on the floor from my last cooking with kids post. That was there in preparation for Donut Day so the floor did not get to slippery from the oil. Although, we may get a little messy, we don't usually have to cover the floor with anything! LOL!

Of course, I have had a few requests for some of the recipes that we made, so I have posted the recipe for the Skillet Spaghetti below. It was delicious and super easy:0)



Skillet Spaghetti

1 lb. ground beef
3 cups water
2 cans (11 1/2 oz. each) tomato juice
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
2 T. dried minced onions
1-2 T. chili powder
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic salt
1 package (7oz.) spaghetti
grated Parmesan cheese, optional

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the water, tomato juice, tomato paste, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add uncooked spaghetti. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the spaghetti is tender, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Wordless Wednesday-The Messy Chef

For more Wordless Wednesday visit MomDot!

Mardi Gras Masks

Today in honor of Mardi Gras, we made some masks. They were very easy and colorful and the girls had fun wearing them while they played.

1. I cut a paper plate in half.

2. I then cut out holes for the eyes and cut the plate in more of a mask shape.

3. I cut tissue paper into little squares.

4. Cover the mask with glue.

5. Glue the tissue paper all over the mask.

6. Tape a short dowel or a Popsicle stick to one side of the mask for the handle.

7. Your mask is finished! The girls loved hiding behind their mask to surprise everyone:0)

Muffin Tin Monday-Foods You Can Eat With A Straw!

Today's Muffin Tin Monday Theme is Foods You Can Eat With A Straw! How fun is that?! Of course we had a great time making and eating our tin today. Here it is:

We made snow cones! Yum-O! For more Muffin Tin Monday please visit:

Chef Felicia and Chef Madelyn

Yesterday was cooking class for the girls again! They loved it! Once again they made some really yummy food. Brownies with chocolate chips on top , skillet spaghetti, and garlic bread. Yum-o!

One Of My Favorites

Jeannie of Jeannie's Happy World is having a Blogiversary Giveaway. To play along today, you are to post your favorite picture. I have a ton of pictures and I really like a lot of them. This just happens to be one of many that makes me smile. This is a picture that I took this past fall of Aaron and Madelyn. Aaron was having a great "big brother moment" and was holding Madelyn's hand while he walked her along the wall beside the water. It was so sweet, that I almost forgot that I had my camera in my hand. As soon as I finally did take the picture, Madelyn pulled her hand away and Aaron started to yell at her that she would fall in the water and the cute moment was over:0(

If you would like to play along, head over to Jeannie's blog! You just might win something:0)

Ff-Fish

We are already at the letter Ff in our letter review. The girls are really having fun with this!

1. Paste a letter F on a piece of construction paper.

2. Dip your child's finger in paint and stamp it on the paper.

3. Make several of them all over the paper.

4. Add fins, tails, eyes, lips, and bubbles. Very simple!

Small Talk Six-Mardi Gras Style!

This week I have decided to participate in Small Talk Six! It's a fun meme that takes place on Saturdays and is hosted by MomDot! Go check it out for the details!

Today’s topic is the “6 things you would be willing to flash someone for.” You can answer this with a list of 6 words, 6 phrases, 6 sentences, 6 paragraphs, 6 photos, 6 videos, etc .

My answer:

An all expense paid vacation....ALONE!

I really need a break.
No cooking.
No cleaning.
I would like to use the bathroom alone.
I want control of the remote control.
I want to play MY music. Loud.
The list could go on, but it could also take days and I'm not sure you would want to hang around here for that long. You get the idea, right?

Handprint Penguins

I think that penguins are just about the cutest creatures on Earth. Except of course my kids;0) Here is a fun penguin to make using your child's hand tracing for wings.

1. Cut out an egg shape for the penguins body, a smaller egg shape for the belly, a beak, and feet.

2. Trace your child's hand.

3. Glue the belly to the center of the body.

4. Add the beak and feet.

5. Glue on some eyes. You can use wiggly eyes or paper reinforcement stickers like I did.

6. Last, you glue the hand tracings on the side of your penguin for the wings.

7. Here is Madelyn's finished penguin. (please excuse the bedhead:0)

Friday Book Project-Franklin

When my boys were younger, they loved Franklin. They had a lot of the Franklin books and we read them every day. They have now passed these books down to their sisters and they are now a favorite for the girls. Today I found a printable coloring page here. Franklin books always have a great lesson to be learned, so read them with your children. I am sure they will enjoy them.

If you have a book inspired activity that you would like to share, please add it to Mr. Linky below:0)

Happy Birthday Brandon!

I can't believe you are 14 years old! Only 4 more years and you're outta here;0) jk

I Got My Hair Cut!

The picture is not the greatest because I was trying to take it myself. What do you think?

Ee-Elephants

It is now time to review the letter Ee. We made some pretty silly looking elephants with our hands.

1. Paint your child's hand with gray paint.

2. Print the hand on a piece of construction paper.

3. Add a tail, eye, ear and mouth.

4. Cut a letter E from construction paper and attach it to the paper. Don't forget, we will be combining all of these letters from our review to make a letter review book:0)

What's in My Bag?

Have you ever felt like you are so busy that your head is spinning, yet at the same time you are not really getting anything done? Well, over the past few days, this has been my life. Today, I really need to catch my breath. I need to get my house in order, take care of some bills, and for sure, catch up on some blogging.

Lets see, now where did I fall off the blogging radar....Oh yes, Valentines Day. Mike and I are really in the save money mode. We are looking forward to the remodel of our house to start soon and are hoping for a vacation this year. So with that in mind, we agreed no presents. Roses although they are beautiful, fade away too quickly and I would rather the money be spent on something more permanent like my new kitchen, bedrooms, etc. So, we had a nice evening at home with the kids. Pizza for dinner and some movies and then the kids played playstation with Mike (who had another night off!). It was perfect!

That brings us to Sunday. We were up early Sunday for Sunday school and worship. After church services, we went to my parents house where my Dad and my boys made lunch for us. Meat loaf, macaroni and cheese, stewed tomatoes, and peas. Everything was delicious! The only problem is, when my dad cooks, he cooks big! He came from a family of 14 and he still cooks to feed all of his brothers and sisters. My parents will be having leftovers all week. LOL!

Yesterday, being President's Day, was a day off for Michael and Aaron. Poor Brandon had a snow make up day so he had to go to school. Boo! We did nothing. I did not even get dressed until noon. So now after my weekend of doing nothing, I have a ton of laundry to do!

So that was my weekend. Now that I am back, April from Straight From the Heart, tagged me to do a purse tag. This is a fun one and man am I glad I cleaned out my purse last week! Geesh, it was scary!

Here are the rules:

1. Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today or the last time you left the house. No cheating!
2. I want to know how much it costs =). And this is not to judge. It is for entertainment purposes only. So, spill it. And, if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I'd love to hear it.
3. Tag some chicks. And link back to this post so people know what the heck you're showing everyone your bag.

So here it is, my bag! I have tried to carry something smaller, but it just does not work for me. I got this tote bag on clearance from Old Navy for $19. I like the extra pockets on the outside for my phone and sunglasses or anything else that I need to access easily.

This is what I see when I look inside.

Here is all the stuff that I have in there. It's actually a lot less than usual because I just cleaned it out last week.

my wallet

make up bag

church bulletins

Felicia and Madelyn's extra gloves

cell phone

several lip sticks and lip gloss

mascara

keys

a tampon

a bottle of water

sunglasses

pens

a hairbrush for the girls

some of Felicia's hair bows

Madelyn's bracelet

my camera

So, what's in your bag? I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to play along let me know!

Muffin Tin Monday

It's Muffin Tin Monday! I missed last week so the girls were excited to get back into the Muffin Tin Monday groove! If you have not heard of Muffin Tin Monday yet, head on over to Her Cup Overfloweth to learn more about it. It's a lot of fun:0)

Here is our tin for today:

Top row: banana bread, raisins, more banana bread

Bottom row: yogurt, care bear fruit snacks, grapes

As always it was a big hit!

Don't forget to visit:

Showin' Some Linky Love For Valentines Day

Happy Valentine's day my friends! I thought today I would share some links to a few Valentine's Day activities that I have found.

You can find some printable coloring pages here!

Jennifer at The Ramblings of a Crazy Women has some great Valentine's ideas here. She also is the host of We Made It! Saturday Showcase. You can add your own link to a craft that you have done with your children. Talk about some crafty Mamas! Go check it out:0)

Allie at No Time For Flashcards also has some fabulous Valentine's ideas for your kiddos! Fun stuff:0)


You kind make some sweet treats for your sweeties from Gourmet Mom on the Go!

Don't forget that Valentine's Day is all about LOVE! Give you kids an extra hug and kiss today and Just Have Fun!

XXXOOO

Friday Book Project-It's For The Birds!

Did you know that February is National Wild Bird Feeding Month? It sure is and with the recent warm weather we have really noticed the birds chirping lately. So today, we read the book Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastmen. To go along with the bird theme, we made some bird feeders for our fine, feathered friends.

We spread some peanut butter on a few pine cones.

Then we rolled them in bird seed.

Be careful, it can get a little messy;0)

We then strung some Cheerios on a piece of yarn. Don't forget to tie a knot in the end. I also put a piece of tape around the end so that it would not fray.

After we finished the bird feeders, we hung them on the trees outside. Of course today was a bit colder and flurrying. I'm sure the birds will enjoy their treats:0)

If you have a book inspired project that you would like to share, sign the Mr. Linky below!