Monday, December 21, 2009

Gingerbread Houses




These are last years pictures because I forgot to take some this year.

I know, I know. You guys probably already think of me as the "crazy craft lady", so I am going to give you more reason to think that.

This is the 3rd year I have had my 2 nephews and my daughter make gingerbread houses. They enjoy coming up with new designs every year. We do the same basic house each year, but change decorations/candy. (Actually we mostly use the stale stuff that we find in our cabinets.)

First you start with a sturdy base. It can be a board, cutting board or even sturdy cardboard (tape 2-3 pieces together to make it sturdier.)

We use this recipe for "glue". It is edible; however, since we use stale crackers and candy we don't eat much of it.

Layout all of your crackers and candy. I forgot. We just use graham crackers for the house. We haven't ventured out to actually make them out of gingerbread. Every year we talk about buying those kits, but haven't done that either.

I find it easier to build the house for my daughter. My one nephew likes to try building his own and he always uses too much glue. It ends up falling apart because the glue can't dry. Besides, I think the kids like decorating it the most. After I build the house, I glue it to the base.

Now it is time to glue the candy/decorations to the house and the "yard". When all the decorating is done, we put marshmallow creme on the yard to make it look like snow.

That's it! I know it sounds like a lot, but the kids love it. And seriously, I think I LOVE IT MORE THAN THEY DO!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Radio Flyer "Big Wheel" for $30!


EDIT - it appears that the price online has gone up to $39 today (glad I did this last night), but when I called the store, they are selling it for $30 - some people have reported it ringing up at $21. So, I would call the store to see if it is in stock, and what the price is!

When I was a little girl, I remember going to my cousins' house and watching them have fun on their big wheel and also taking a turn on it. I remember having so much fun - and my male cousins would do things like a spin out or something like that. Well, for over a year, I have been thinking about buying my son(s) a big wheel. I did some research on the original big wheel, and I have to say that I was not impressed with the reviews...and that made me sad! I could picture my sons having a great time on them! However, things changed today!!!!

Mercedes over at Common Sense with Money posted about a great deal on Walmart.com for the Radio Flyer Big Flyer. They are selling it for $30! I have seen this being sold at other stores for almost $80!!! The reviews seemed good, overall. So, if you were thinking of buying one of these for your little kiddo - this might be the time for you to get it! Oh, and don't mention it to my boys, because it is going to be a Christmas present!

Mercedes also mentioned that if you use Bing Cashback you can get 15% cash back. You can read her post about it here.

Ebates offers 3% cashback on Cyber Monday, and if you click on this link, you will get an additional $5 sign up bonus from using my referral link.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Free Christmas Photo Cards*

Do you have your photo(s) picked out already, and are you waiting to make up your Christmas photocards? Well, if you are ready to go, there is a way to order a total of 100 cards and only pay for the shipping! You will have to complete TWO separate orders, since each code is only good for 50 cards, but if you want the same card for all 100 of them, just save your project, and go back and make another order - shipping is only $3.19 per order! I just completed mine, and I am VERY EXCITED that I only paid $6.38 for 100 cards!

***THIS EXPIRES ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30th!*** (as far as I know)


So, here is the information that is found on Money Saving Mom's blog:

Here's how to get 100 custom photo cards with envelopes for free:

::Just go here to set up an account with SeeHere (or login if you already have an account) and then upload and create your photo card. Mine took me about 30 minutes to put together--but that's because I had to wade through photos and figure out which ones to use!

::After you've set up your photo card, be sure to save it. Then put 50 photo cards in your cart and go to the checkout and use coupon code newbaby and you'll get all 50 for the price of shipping, which is $3.19.

::Log back in and click on your saved items and order another 50 photo cards this time using the coupon code from Freebies4Mom here, which is freebies4mom-1109. Again, you should get 50 for the price of shipping, which is $3.19.

A HUGE thanks goes out to SeeHere for providing this great offer for us and to Freebies4Mom, and Money Saving Mom for telling us about it!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Flashlight Fun - Friday Fun

This Friday Fun is actually brought to you on Wednesday this week. I'm going to busy with family and SHOPPING on Friday. I also thought this is something you may want to do with your family on Thursday if you run out of other fun things. Any how here goes.

Take advantage of the early darkness. The kids and I turned off all of the lights in the house to play with flashlights. I made the rule at the beginning that you don't shine the flashlights in other peoples eyes. They started just looking around the house, but then we played 2 games.

The first game: I picked an object from their toys, i.e. a chair from one of their toy sets. We turned all of the lights off. They felt it and guessed what it was.

The second game: My little girl came up with this game. She took her baby doll into another room and hid it. Then I took the flashlight and went searching for it. We took turns with hiding and searching.

Let your kids come up with more ideas.

Simple, but hours of fun.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Another Great, Yummy Thanksgiving Recipe - Munday Munchies

This is one of my favorite recipes.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

2-3 cups cooked and smashed yams (2 large cans of Bruce's drained)
1 cup granulated sugar (can be reduced to 1/2 or 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup melted butter (can also be reduced)
3 eggs
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk

Mix yams, butter and sugar. Add eggs (slightly beaten), spices and milk. Bake 350 degrees for 30 min.

Topping:
3/4 cup crushed cornflakes
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together. Spread on top of yam mixture. Bake another 15 min.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Fettuccine with Shrimp and Zucchini

Fettuccine with Shrimp and Zucchini - from an Olive Garden cookbook
Cook time: 20 minutes 4 servings

1 lb. dry fettuccine
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
2 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
1 medium zucchini
1 lb. large shrimp
1 c. dry white wine
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. butter
6 lemon wedges
dash parsley, chopped

Cut zucchini into 2" x 1/4" sticks. Peel and devein shrimp. Cook fettuccine according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and parsley. Cook for 1 minute. Add zucchini. Cook additional minute. Add shrimp, wine, salt, pepper and butter. Stir well and cook shrimp for 5 minutes or until they are no longer opaque. Add drained pasta to the mixture. Toss all ingredients to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Use tongs to pull pasta onto serving platter. Top with shrimp, zucchini, and seasonings. Squeeze two lemon wedges over dish; garnish with remaining wedges and parsley.

The last time I made this, I cheated. I bought 1 pound of frozen peeled and deveined shrimp. All I had to do is open the bag and dump. No tedious peeling.

This is an awesome recipe!

Friday, November 06, 2009

Fall Fun

The kids and I took advantage of this nice fall weather and had some fun this week.

First we played in the leaves. We don't have many leaves in our yard, so we asked the neighbor if we could play in her leaves.

Then we went to a local lake, fed the ducks and had a picnic lunch.


Take advantage of this fall and play outside with your kids.