Clam Chowder

Is this cooler weather putting you in the mood for warm soup?

(okay. technically this photo is of potato chowder, because I made it for a party I hosted for 2 and 3 year olds... but I used this recipe, just omitting the clams and let me tell you, it is delicious either way.)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans clams, minced
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 2 cups diced potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided in half
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 quart half and half
• dash of pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. Combine onions, potatoes and half the salt in a large pot. Drain juice from clams, and pour over vegetables. Fill the pot with water until everything is just barely covered. Simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a 3 quart saucepan. Add flour; blend and cook 1 minute. Add the half and half and stir until smooth and thick.

3. Pour white sauce over vegetables.  Add clams, the remaining salt, pepper, and sugar. heat thoroughly. It is especially good if you let it sit a few hours on warm heat.

Serves 6-8

Personalized Lightswitches

Do you need one last craft to keep your kids busy before school starts? Here's an easy one.

Every kid needs to be able to "define" their space. But my brother and sister-in-law don't let their girls paint their rooms. Sure, they have cute bed spreads, curtains, and fun decor, so I decided to expand on another little part of their room that is customizable.

Their light switch covers.

I ran over to our local hardware store and picked up a couple of covers (they are really inexpensive) and let them choose exactly how they wanted their cover to look. They chose the colors, the design, and they did all the work. The best part? They LOVE how the covers turned out!

Homemade Play-Doh

This afternoon, Harvey and I made Play-Doh.

My mom gave me a recipe a while back that I have been meaning to try, and to be honest... I wasn't a fan. The batch turned out way too moist. Sticky almost. So I did some research.

I mixed and matched things from a few different recipes and I made another batch. And, well, it turned out pretty much perfect. The consistency is just wonderful!

Here's the final recipe I used:
(Makes about 3 cups)

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup salt
• 1 tablespoon alum (or you could use cream of tartar, both found in the spice section)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• food coloring

1. In a medium saucepan, mix flour, salt and alum.

2. Add in the water and oil. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until the dough pulls away from the sides and sticks together. (About 5 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and add in vanilla. This is optional, but it smells much better than the regular recipe.

4. Divide the batch into balls, and knead in food coloring of your desired colors. Use the Wilton Gel food colors for vibrant colors. I divided my batch into 3, and the amount fit perfectly into the 1 cup-sized freezer jars made by Ball (you can find the purple-lidded jars in the canning section of the grocery store). Or a ziplock bag would work great as well...

We decided to make ours patriotic for Harvey and his cousins to play with at our annual 4th of July barbeque. Can't wait!

Indoor Sandbox

I am so ready for it to warm up for good. Around here it has been 50 degrees one day, and almost 80 the next! I'm done with the teasing...

Today Harvey and I woke up to rain. And he was sad that he couldn't go outside to play in his sandbox. So, I got out the trusty "indoor" version. (We've been playing with it on and off all winter.)

All you need to make one of your own is:
- rice or wheat (I used both, because I had some rice in food storage that was WAY bad - like 6 years old - and one of our muscle relaxing bags made from wheat had ripped open.)

- a tub to put it in (I don't store the wheat/rice in this. I pour it back into a big ziplock bag when we're done, and replace the extra bags & purses that go in this bigger tote.)

- toys: bowls, cups, trucks, spoons, buckets, shovels, etc.

- sheet to lay underneath to catch any spills*. I fold the sheet in half and dump all of the spills back into the tub at the end. It doesn't catch everything, but wheat or rice vacuums up nicely so I don't sweat it.

**Harvey has learned not to throw the rice/wheat (or sand outside), so it doesn't get that messy. It took a couple of times of putting the fun away immediately after throwing it for him to understand, and the vacuum quickly cleaned up his mess.

What do you do with your kids inside while it's cold or rainy? Do tell!!

Festive Food

Intentions. I've got a whole list full, and sadly, only one or two checked off.

I even prepared these two adorable ideas early in order to post them for all of you - and yet, you still get them on St. Patrick's Day. Oh well. Save them for next year.

First up: Rainbow Waffles

I really love the idea of incorporating ideas and colors other than the traditional green. So when my friend posted these super cute Rainbow Pancakes on her blog, I fell in love. But I really don't like making pancakes. In fact, I only recently have been able to handle the flipping of those darn things. Inevitably, I always botch one or two. The second reason I'm not a fan of pancakes - is that I can't ever eat with the family. They must be made in batches, and the first batch is always gobbled up before I can even finish making the second. So I knew my version of a beautiful rainbow pancake photo wouldn't ever happen. I mean... there are NEVER 6 pancakes on the table at the same time.
(For you picky folk. I am aware that there are actually 7 colors in a rainbow. But Wilton has yet to release an Indigo colored Icing Gel.)

So... when I saw these adorable Rainbow Waffles, I knew it was a perfect compromise. I love my waffle maker. And 2 "squares" is just about right for a kid, which means I get to eat the second batch - with the family.

Although I thought I had whipped cream in the fridge and actually did not, and I have a square waffle maker instead of a circular one... they were WELL received. (Make sure you check out the original to see how adorable the whipped cream clouds are.)

Next up... Pot O' Gold

Super simple. Just whip up a batch of lemon JELL-O Jigglers, cut 'em up and stick them in a black bowl. I even spotted tiny little "witches cauldrons" at the party store but didn't buy any. Or stick them in cleaned out lime-halves like Family Fun (the geniuses behind the idea...)

Also well received.

Why I'm a Binging Blogger...

For real. I blog everyday for 2 weeks, then I don't write a single thing for another two weeks. Good thing my blog doesn't have feelings, or I'd be in trouble. And hopefully all of you forgive me.

But... I do have a good excuse. I was making this little appliqued t-shirt (and dealing with the side effects of all the craft implies):

We decided to use this shirt to spill the beans to our families. And it seemed like FOREVER before there was a party where all of us would be together.

First, we headed to a Sunday dinner with my side of the family. It is a pretty small group, so once we were all sitting around the table, we took off Harvey's jacket to show them the shirt. It was pretty fun to see the reactions...

After dinner, we headed to a party with Justin's side of the family. We were one of the first families there and we thought about driving around a bit so we would be the last to arrive, but decided it would be fun to see how long it took each family to notice Harvey's shirt. We headed in, took off his jacket and waited... and waited... for 2 and a half hours. It was hilarious. Harvey even ran to his Grandma with arms wide open to give her a hug. But no one noticed the message.

In retrospect, I think the fabric design I picked out was a little hard to read. I'm sure everyone would have noticed much sooner if had just cut the letters out in plain ol' white.

Finally, toward the end of the night, Justin asked his mom if she had seen Harvey's shirt.

"No. What does it say?"
"Just look at Harvey's shirt..."

After she figured it out, she came into the kitchen and told everyone else to check it out. And that's how we told the family our good news.

We sure are excited about it around here...

And for all you friends from Primary that thought I couldn't keep a secret for more than 3 days... I'm 9 weeks along! (I even surprised myself that I made it that long.)

Love Juice

Do you have your kids Valentine's all purchased and ready to go to school?? If not, here's one that will only take an afternoon to put together with your kids - and I'm sure it will be a big hit!

I saw this cute idea featured on tatertots and jello recently, and I had to make my own version. It was super easy, and turned out simply adorable!

I made my labels in Photoshop with some digital scrapbooking supplies, but the original just used Valentine-related wrapping paper. Both are cute.

Print out instructions on an Avery label, and stick it to a Kool Aid Singles packet - preferably red!

Then I punched a hole in the top corner of the packet, and tied it on with a matching ribbon.

Simple, sweet, and yummy!

Playing Catch (up)

So.. I landed something nasty. I've been so exhausted - going to bed at 10pm is at least 3 hours early for me. I've had an awful sore throat, and an annoying cough. Bleh.

I had some great ideas to show you... but I decided to go to bed instead of blog.

But here I am now. Showing you the cute cookies I made for the Superbowl, which we were going to host at our house, but ended up not hosting. (Although I was disappointed, it was better for everyone.)

 Regardless... this is a Fabulous From-Scratch Sugar Cookie recipe - a must try:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.


And the Royal Icing:
4 egg whites
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond (or lemon) extract

1. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar an extract. Beat at high speed until thickened. NOTE: When dry, Royal Icing is very hard and resistant to damage that can occur during shipping/handling.

Simply delicious.

Snowman Party

For my third annual Snowman Party, I decided to change things up a bit. Instead of just doing it with my nieces and their friends, I made up some invites and hosted the party here with Harvey's friends (and their moms - my friends).

Anyway, funny story: I strapped Harvey in his car seat and headed out to deliver the invites. I drove up to the first house, left the car running, and ran up to the door. As I came back to the car and started backing up... Harvey started freaking out. He realized that we were at his little friend's house and wanted to stay and play. Imagine his horror when we had several other similar stops!

For decorations, I wanted to keep everything clean and simple. I mean, snow is beautiful in its own right, so why shy away from that? Plus the cheezy snowmen I've collected throughout the years were already on display.

I made up a cute (easy) little garland out of thread and cotton balls...

I stuck with blue and orange as my colors, and I think it made for a really classy color scheme!

We had Snowman Smiles (orange slices), Snowman Noses (mini carrots), Eyes and Buttons (chocolate chips), Snow (popcorn), Liquid Snow (milk), and Snow Dusted Branches (pretzels dipped in white chocolate):

I used Braided Twists and they turned out SO yummy!

I also made up a few snowmen...

I used mini powdered donuts, molded half of a circus peanut into a nose and carefully fitted it in the center, and added the eyes and mouth with black decorating gel. Aren't they adorable?

And to drink... what else? More snowmen!

I removed the labels from milk chugs and drew on some buttons with permanant marker. Then I poked through some powdered donut holes with orange straws. A bit of the donut got stuck in the bottom of the straw, so I just cut the end off. After removing the lids of the chugs, I tied on a crochetted orange scarf (one row of chain, then every other double crochet on the way back) and set the donut/straw head on top. The kids could even sip their milk right "through" the donut!

**Just a tip. Buy the chugs with the shrink-wrapped labels instead of sticky ones. I bought mine on sale, and tried to remove the sticky labels... and after driving to 3 different stores in search of Goo Gone my hubby told me just to stick white paper around them. It would have been so much easier just to cut the shrink-wrapped labels off!**

I didn't have time to draw faces on these guys before this party, but I did get faces on the snowmen for my niece's party... I think both are darling:

We also had our traditional Melted Snowman Soup (potato chowder):

And for the entertainment...

Throw the Snowballs in the Bucket:

For my party.. it was totally unstructured. I mean, they are two year-olds.

But for my nieces' party, I set out three small buckets and the girls could earn 1, 2 or 3 points depending on the bucket. I thought it might be too simple for them, but they loved it just as much!

I made the snowballs out of white nylons with polyfill inside. I just tied a couple of tight knots on either end. I can invision many indoor "snowball fights" with these babies in the future.

Pin the Nose on the Snowman:

and Whipped Cream Snowmen:

I had the hats and noses pre-cut. All the little ones had to do was spread their whipped cream around into a snowman figure and stick the hat and nose where they wanted. Harvey got ahold of the noses and "sprinkled" them on his snowman. I was too busy "helping" to get a photo...


Seriously.. this party was a blast. I had lots of fun preparing everything, and more fun mingling with my friends on the day of the party. Thanks gals for coming!

12 Days of Valentines

My friend, Anna, is doing this for her hubby this year, and I've decided that I really want to do something special for my two boys as well.

First up.. I made this advent calendar (just like my Halloween one). I LOVE that I can use the cupcake tin for things other than baking, and that all the pieces don't take up any room in my storage boxes throughout the year.

(credits & comments)

I added some fun "lovey-dovey" candy and a little activity on a slip of paper for each day:

Here's what Harvey and I are going to do:

- Watch a "love story" movie. (We'll probably watch Lady and the Tramp, but other options are The Princess Bride, The Love Bug, or any Disney Princess movie.)
- Color a Valentine Picture.
- Eat an ice cream sundae - decorated with hot fudge and pink sprinkles!
- Drink hot chocolate with a heart shaped marshmallow.
- Decorate the house with hearts/streamers
- Pink pancakes for breakfast
- Create homemade valentine cards
- Make a heart shaped treat
- Make a Valentine hat
- Make Crayon Hearts
- Eat dinner by candlelight
- Eat a heart shaped sandwich for lunch


For those of you with older kids.. here are a few more ideas I can't wait to incorporate when Harvey is older:

- Bake some sweet treats and give them to a neighbor
- Sow seeds of love... start seedlings on our windowsill for Spring.
- Make a bouquet of paper flowers
- Play love song charades
- Play Valentine bingo
- Play steal my heart


Now.. onto my number one, Justin. I printed the same circles that I made for the advent calender at half-size, and laminated them to use as tags. I can write the sentiment on the back with permanent marker, and use them year after year (by erasing the marker with rubbing alcohol.)

Day 12: 12 love songs on a CD.
Day 11: 1 "one night from heaven". Umm. That was probably too much information. ;)
Day 10: 10 "sweet treats" (of whatever Harvey and I make for his advent... hehe)
Day 9: 9 sticks of gum (did you know most come with that many in a pack?)
Day 8: 8 chocolate kisses
Day 7: 7 chocolate covered strawberries
Day 6: 6-pack of his favorite soda
Day 5: 5 ways to say I Love You. I think I'll call, e-mail, text, facebook, and write him a note on this day.
Day 4: 4 of his favorite candy bars
Day 3: Make him breakfast in bed. 3 heart shaped pancakes...? Or this cute version of eggs/toast.
Day 2: 2 tickets to a movie.. of his choice
Day 1: 1 little book...

... made out of a deck of cards.

I got the idea, and the free downloadable template from Miss Mint at peppermintcreative.

What are you doing to make the special people in your life feel special this holiday??

Daily Docket - Printable!

Okay. I made up a general version of my Daily Docket.

Here's a preview:

Here is an alternate link to download the file: Daily Docket

Daily Docket

About a year ago, I stumbled across the amazing concept of a daily docket on SimpleMom.net. At first, I started implementing her system, but it has evolved over time. (If you want to see the actual printouts SimpleMom uses, check out her Downloads section.)

First off, I didn't like having to print an entire page out every day. I felt that it was a little wasteful. I wanted something smaller that I could reuse over and over. Plus, I really liked her weekly checklist, but realistically, there was no way I could get all of that done in just one week.  Here's how I solved those problems:

I divided it up. I made up a monthly checklist:

Of everything that needs to "get done" around here at least once per month. I laminated it, and taped it to the outside of one of my kitchen cabinets.

I also made a weekly checklist with the things that need to be done more often:

And a daily one, with a very flexible "schedule" (with only 5 spots, because I really don't have more than that each day), and with lots of to-do spaces. I like to add things as I think of them, but don't really expect myself to accomplish all 15 in one day:

I put those two back-to-back and laminated them as well.

I started out using a dry erase marker, but a dry erase marker doesn't like filling in the bubbles. It starts to erase itself when you go over the same spot twice. Plus I would accidentally bump it and it would erase something important.

So then I moved on to a wet erase marker. And it proved to be much more "temporarily" permanent. But if I had it in the kitchen and it got wet, or Harvey drooled on it, or I didn't dry my hands all the way after washing.... it would smear all over the place. And when I would spray it down and wipe it off at the end of the day, inevitably it would get on my hands and take a few washes before it would come off.

Then my sister-in-law told me I could use a permanent marker, and it would come off with Expo Dry Erase Cleaner. It is the perfect solution. I use a fine tip Sharpie, and all my information stays put. Plus, I tried plain 'ol rubbing alcohol to remove it , and it works great too.

My lists are kind of specific to me, but if there's enough interest in a more generalized version I could make one up for download. Leave a comment! What do you do to stay organized day-to-day?

**EDIT: I've now made up a .pdf with the more specific-to-me-items omitted.**


To download, click on the little arrow in the bottom right hand corner, or click on the little printer to print without saving. Enjoy!

"Notes" Plate

Every year at our Christmas Eve party with the Keetch side of the family, we do a little gift exchange. The kids all draw names, and the adults buy (or make - in my case) a simple little gift, identical for each family.

One year I made magnet boards. The next year I gave photo blocks with each family's children on each side. Last year I made up perpetual calendars with everyone's birthdays and anniversaries already added in. This year.. I was stumped.

I mean, I love giving things that are useful or personal. And I just couldn't think of anything good. Then my good friend, Kim, got an early Christmas gift: a Silhouette craft cutter. I think I was just as excited as she was for that UPS guy to deliver her package!

We got together, figured out how to use that thing, and I whipped up these adorable plates (inspired by this plate):

Pin It

The black is just vinyl that we cut out using the Silhouette. I got the plates at Tai Pan, and I forgot to get self adhesive velcro, so I hot glued it on to the plate and the marker (literally like 20 minutes before the Christmas Eve Party...).

I love how they turned out!! (Kim - thanks for your help!)

Mini Watering Can

Use an old soy sauce bottle as a watering can. It it perfect for delicate plants like herbs or small houseplants. I used it when watering my wheat grass. Try it!

Just Another Christmas Activity...

Harvey and I made a red and green bracelet. It was super easy, and I think Harvey really enjoyed picking out the red and green cheerios.

We added a little jingle bell for fun and tied it on...

Caramels

A few years ago, I told my friend's mom I wanted to learn how to make candy. And although my friend had since moved out of state.. her mom planned a day for me to come over and help her make a LOT of candy. Seriously - we cooked and baked all. day. long.

I loved the experience, and I took away some amazing recipes. One of my all-time favorites is the recipe for caramels. It's super easy, but it takes a lot of patience to keep stirring while you're waiting for that thermometer to get to the "soft ball" stage.

What's that? You want to make some? Okay. Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups light corn syrup
• 1 cup milk
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 14 ounces sweetened, condensed milk
• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1. Butter a 9x13 pan. Actually, I use one of those jelly-roll pans that is a little larger, but either will work.

2. In a 6 quart pan, combine syrup, condensed milk, milk, cream, butter and sugar. Heat on medium and stir occasionally and bring to a boil. (It will take a while. Just be patent and don't turn the heat up.)

3. Put your candy thermomitor in (make sure the bottom is not touching the bottom of the pan), and stir constantly until the temperature reaches 240 degrees (soft ball stage). Invite a friend over to take turns stirring, and trust me... it will get there with the heat on medium.

4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into buttered pan without scraping. You'll end up with some funky film on the top of your caramels if you scrape out the pan.

5. Set up for 24 hours and use a heavy sharp knife to cut. I wrap mine in wax paper so all the little pieces don't stick together.

Let me know if you try it!!

"Mrs. Field's" Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the best cookies I've tasted. Ever. 

And I made them for a cookie exchange party I'm going to tomorrow. Yum.

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 twelve-ounce bags semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips.
6. With your fingers, place golf ball-sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 9-10 minutes or just until edges are light brown.

Makes 30 cookies.

Done it lately? (December To Do)

 (image via here)

The get-it-done list for December... straight out of the "gentle reminders" section of my 5 years of Martha Stewart Living magazines. Started late? Check out the other months here.

• Wrap gifts as you bring them home. If you have the space, create a wrapping station stocked with paper, ribbons, tags, tape, and other supplies, and leave it in place throughout the shopping season.
• Stock your stain-fighting kit. This time of year is particularly perilous for tablecloths and other household fabrics; saving them from spilled hot chocolate, wine, gravy, and candle wax, to name a few, is a matter of having the right solvent, detergent, or other product on hand. For a printable chart of common stains and what you need to remove them, visit marthastewart.com/gentlereminders.
• Write cards early in the month, and mail them before the last-minute rush.
• Revamp your vacuum. This cleaning workhorse needs regular maintenance. If the rollers are tightly wound with threads or hair, unplug the machine, and use a seam ripper to cut through the threads. When suction power diminishes, you may need to replace the motor belt. Once every year or two, take your vacuum to a reliable shop for a professional cleaning and any necessary repairs.
• Get tips for tipping. Confused about the appropriate gift of amount of money to give to your mail carrier, hairstylist, babysitter, or pet groomer? Consult her guide at http://marthastewart.com/holiday-tipping.
• Organize paperwork. Store instructions for toys and appliances, warranty cards, and receipts in one place. Ask for gift receipts at the register, and tape them inside each package you give. (It's also a nice touch to include batteries with any electronic gift.)
• Avoid drafts. Plug air leaks with caulk or weather stripping to limit heat loss in your home. Hold a lit candle or incense stick near vents, mail slots, and window frames; if the smoke changes direction, there's a leak.
• Feel the heat. Save energy and keep your furnace running efficiently by cleaning or replacing the filters about once a month. Humidifiers can also reduce heating costs, because moist air feels warmer than dry air, even when the thermostat is set at a lower temperature.

Apple Stamped Placecards

I found this idea, and although my mom is hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at her house, I had to make these placecards!

I sliced an apple, carved out the rounded lines to simulate the lines of a pumpkin, dipped it in orange paint, and stamped away!

Some tips:

• I used a pen to "carve" the rounded lines. It was easier to manipulate than a knife.
• Stick a toothpick in the back of your "apple stamp" at an angle to use as a handle. 
• Test your stamp on a scratch piece of paper. I did this to get extra paint off the stamp as well. 
• I put my paper on a mouse pad (you could also use craft foam sheets) before stamping. This ensures that you will get an even stamped image.
• Any paper would work, but I used vellum.

Let your stamped images dry, then use a paint brush to add the leaf and stem. After everything is dry, cut out your images, and use a marker to write the names on top.

I bought SPALT napkin rings from Ikea. They have this perfect little slit in the top for placecards! I can see myself using them for all sorts of fun place settings in the future.

If you like the idea of stamping with apples... but you don't have a need for pumpkin placecards, create other fun designs with your children! We used melon ballers to carve out the circles in these:

Have fun!