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My sweet, giant Valentine!

I am always looking for fun craft ideas, and Disney FamilyFun Magazine is one of my favorite sources of ideas!  Their latest issue had a slew of creative Valentines that certainly go a step beyond the ordinary ones in the seasonal aisle at the grocery store.

After much deliberation, my 4 year old son and I chose the "Ginormous Lollipop" Valentine for him to take to share with his preschool class.  After a quick trip to the hardware store for a PVC pipe and an impromptu photo shoot in front of a zebra blanket, I worked a little computer magic, added a sucker, and voila: adorable Valentine! 

Of course he also wanted "Cars 2" Valentines, so those are tied on (not pictured) to the finished product... it seems that not every battle can be won (or is even worth fighting) between a mom and her preschooler!  Also, the photo shows a Valentine without his name, but for the ones we're sending to school, I scanned in a good "signature" and printed it on each Valentine.  He signed all of his "Cars 2" Valentines individually by hand, but this saved a lot of time and headaches for us!

I'm so excited to send these to school with him on Valentine's Day, and I hope his friends enjoy their "great BIG" surprise!  Get directions from FamilyFun's awesome website here.

Stationery Card

Pattern Party Blue Thank You Card

Design your thank you cards with Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Easy Banana Muffins

Most days begin in my house begin with this questions, "Mom, what's for breakfast?"  It is easy to get stuck in a cereal - frozen waffle - toast - granola bar rotation, so I love new, easy recipes to get us out of our breakfast funk.  The only issue is that breakfast seems to get left off of the shopping list, so I end up scrounging around for ingredients.  This recipe is the result of such "scrounging", with some help from my favorite easy recipe site, Kraft foods.

On this particular morning, I didn't have enough bananas (I had just one banana left over from the bunch) to make the bread in the recipe online, so I adapted and made some muffins with my single, over-ripe banana and some common pantry ingredients.  The result?  Yummy!  (Even my picky preschooler ate one- success!)

Easy Banana Muffins (based on one banana- can easily multiply)
This recipe yield about 6-8 muffins per banana used.

Ingredients

1/3 egg (I know, but lightly beat one and separate)

1/4 cup Miracle Whip Dressing

1 mashed fully ripe banana

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 tsp.baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

brown sugar (for topping-optional)

Directions

Heat oven to 350ºF.
Beat egg, dressing and banana(s) in large bowl with whisk until well blended. Mix remaining ingredients (except brown sugar) in separate bowl. Add to banana mixture; stir just until moistened.
Spoon nto muffin pan (greased or with liners), sprinkle with brown sugar.    
Bake 25-30 mins or until top is brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min.; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely.

Enjoy!

This easy recipe was adapted from this original recipe from Kraftrecipes.com: Easy Banana Bread

How to Make Personalized Easter Baskets

With Easter just over a week away, "Easter Bunnies" (in the daytime, they're called "Moms") everywhere are readying themselves in preparation for the big day.  The candy is purchased, toys are stowed away, and the plastic eggs are ready to stuff.  But alas- last year's plastic Easter bucket has bitten the dust.  What's a good "bunny" to do?  Personalize a new one, of course!

I have long adored the beautiful Easter baskets in kids' catalogs, but never seemed to find "the one" that was right for our boys.  I wanted something Spring-y, cute, "boy" appropriate, and personalized, but I didn't really want to spend more on the basket than I did on the stuffings.  Thankfully, a store-bought Easter basket with liner (on sale!) and a few simple items solved my dilemma.  Here's the simple how-to:

Materials needed:

• Store-bought Easter basket with fabric liner (I got mine at JoAnn Fabrics)
• Iron-on adhesive (I used Heat N' Bond Lite)
• Fabric (lightweight woven cotton works best)
• Computer with word processing program, and printer
• pencil
• *Optional* Embroidery thread and needle

Instructions:

1. Measure the height of the space on your basket liner where you will put the name/letters
2. Choose the fabric that you want to use for the letters, and iron on the Iron-on Adhesive according to the package directions.  Let this cool to the touch but do not remove the paper backing.
3. Meanwhile, use a word processing program to type out the names in the font of your choice
4. Print out the names in reverse/mirror image
5. Use the pencil to color the BACK of the printed paper (non-printed side) where the words are located.  This will be used to transfer your image onto the paper backing on your fabric.
6. Trace the name/letters onto the paper backing on your fabric.
7. Cut out the letters, and remove the paper backing.
8. Arrange the letters on the right side of your basket liner, and iron on according to the Adhesive directions.
9. *Optional* Secure the letters to your basket liner permanently using a running stitch with your embroidery thread.  This step isn't necessary, but I loved the extra dimension it gave the names.

Now your basket is ready to fill with your collected goodies, and will be enjoyed for years to come!  So as we fill our baskets and nibble the ears off of our (kids') chocolate bunnies, let us remember the true reason that we celebrate this holiday- Christ is Risen!  Happy Easter!

Time-Saver: T-shirt dusting

Dust.  It's the enemies of Moms everywhere (well, that and tantrums).  In my house, it seems that as soon as I clean it, it mysteriously reappears.  What are we to do? 

I recently came across a helpful solution for daily dusting- the answer?  Dirty laundry!  A simple way to clean the surfaces in and around the bedrooms of your home is to dust with your dirty laundry.  There are plenty of soft fabrics (t-shirts, etc.) that are going in the washer anyway, so what's a little more dirt among friends? 



AAAH!  Dust!  I did let this go for a little bit to get a good picture...



This has been a really easy way for me to add dusting into my daily routine by simply wiping a few surfaces as I pick up clothes to carry to the laundry room.  And although it's been said that you shouldn't air your dirty laundry, I am risking it to save my fellow Moms a few minutes in their cleaning routines!   

So let's leave the dust "in the dust" and take some more time for "me"!

Mom-Minute Devotional: Seek and Find

As parents, we spend most of our days "doing" for others. Cooking meals, doing laundry, fixing little hurts and helping our kids learn right from wrong, all while fitting in work or other responsibilities. At the end of the day, this constant “giving” can leave anyone exhausted! Even still, there are others in our midst that ask for our help, either directly or indirectly, and it can be easy to say no because we’re just “too busy”.

In Luke 11:5-13, Jesus talks about a friend who is just “too busy” to help out another friend- his door is already locked, and his kids are in bed, and getting up to share some bread with his friend would just be too much trouble! (It was his "me" time, after all!)  But Jesus teaches that God is not like this. All we need to do is seek God, and He is there… if we simply ask Him into our hearts, He will never be “too busy” to come in, and what a gift that is!

As we go through our everyday activities with our children and with others, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unable to help, even when we want to.  But may this story of the "too busy" friend be a reminder for us to take a moment and give of ourselves to others. 

To help you share this devotional message with your kids, take a few moments from your busy day and do the "Seek and Find Scavenger Hunt" below... the best gift you can ever give your child is YOU! 

Seek and Find Scavenger Hunt:

1. Find a _____________ (color, size, etc.) stuffed animal
2. Find something with numbers on it
3. Find something that we use to eat
4. Find something that starts with the letter "B"
5. Find something that has wheels
6. Find your favorite page in your favorite book
7. Look up a Bible verse and read it together
8. Find something that is purple
9. Find the room with the most lights
10. Find a "sign" of Spring