Our Jesus Tree

I have had this idea for a few years now and never got it up and running until this year. My kids loved it so much, I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner. I have always thought that having a Jesus themed Christmas tree would be cool. A way to help us really focus on the true meaning of Christmas. So this year we put it all together and it has been such a wonderful way to teach my children about the Savior and to have the spirit in our home. 

 I bought a 4 ft tree and semi decorated it with white lights and some ribbon. I am hoping that if we ever get a bigger house, this will be a more elegant tree. But for now, it works great. I couldn't find a star that I liked for the top of the tree, so this year it just got a big bow. 

I got ornaments that have the different names for Jesus Christ and then bought correlating pictures to go with each name. For the last couple of weeks, my kids have taken turns picking a name ornament and a picture and they got to hang them on the tree. We would discuss the name and why it was important and why Jesus has that name. 

 My kids have said multiple times this month how much they have loved doing this and that it is their new favorite tradition. It really has been a wonderful addition to our Christmas season.

Summer Traditions

This poor little blog of mine needs some TLC. Sorry for the long gaps between posts. I am hoping to get back into the swing of things. 

Today I wanted to share some of our favorite summer traditions. I often get many questions regarding all of our summertime fun. It may look like we do a lot and have a lot going on, but we really don't. I like to keep things fairly simple. My biggest tip of any mom is to just plan. Activities with your kids do not need to last hours. Some days 15 minutes is plenty. You have to plan and be organized to have a fun and easy summer. Here are some things that we do to help us with our summer planning.

We make a poster of things we want to do during the summer and hang it up where we will see it everyday. My kids love to check things off and it's nice to look back at the end of summer and see everything that we were able to do together. 

I like to have a summer schedule because while we want to be having a lot of fun, laundry still has to get done. Typically, I plan our activities around my cleaning and laundry schedule (which I typically do on Monday's). Then we are free to leave the house without me having that hanging over my head. Here is what works for our family schedule:

Make Something Monday

Take a Trip Tuesday

Wet and Wild Wednesday

Thinking Thursday

Fabulous Fun Friday

We try to plan our week and activities around this and it seems to work well for us.

I make a Welcome Summer banner for my kids to run through on the last day of school. We love this tradition and it takes minimal effort on my part!

Some years, the kids get surprised with some summertime treats. This year we aren't doing this because the Easter Bunny brought them tons of candy and some outside toys a month ago. Typically I get some new sidewalk chalk, bubbles, water guns, etc. Things that we will be using outside a lot. 

You may have seen this idea floating around the web the last couple of years. I cannot remember where I got this idea, but I love it. I have these 3 jars full of different things for the kids to do during the summer. What I put inside the jars changes every year as things with our family change. This year we are having a baby the beginning of August, so I had to adjust our day trips and activities for a very pregnant body. I use ideas I get off the web, ideas from my files, or things I come up with out of my own little head. I have the kids draw our activities for the upcoming week on Sunday evenings. Then they know what to look forward to and I know if I need to get supplies for a certain craft or how to plan for whatever little adventure we will be embarking on. This is probably our favorite summer tradition. 

 I got this idea from Studio 5 last summer and we had a blast doing it! I am lucky to have good readers, but we had so much fun hanging up this bookshelf and filling it with all the books my kids read last summer. It's a great motivation tool for summer reading programs. We also always pick a book or two or three to read together during the summer. Last year I read The Wizard of Oz to my kids and this year we are going to read The Little House on the Prairie Series. We have devotional every morning with scripture study and prayer, and so it is easy to throw in a chapter or two from an additional book during our devotional time. 

Those are some of the things that we do to keep our summers interesting and organized! I feel like summer is a special time to just play with my kids and I want them to grow up with fond memories of our summers together. Hopefully this gets your brain spinning from some new summer traditions in your house.

Easter Countdown

I love holiday countdowns and have been doing them for years with my kids. We usually do the 2 weeks before the holiday and each day we do a different craft or make a fun treat or do some kind of activity for whatever holiday is upon us. With Easter quickly approaching, I have been preparing our countdown for this year. This first picture with the eggs on the door is our "Fun" countdown. These activities have nothing to do with anything religious. Lots of Easter egg and Easter Bunny fun. I'll share those ideas another time. 

 Now that my kids are getting older, I was feeling like we needed to not just focus on the fun this year, but really spend time focusing on the Savior and the real meaning behind Easter. I came up with this idea less than a week ago and thankfully was able to pull it together quickly. I still have things I will improve on throughout the year to really get it how I want it in the future, but for now, this will have to do.

 I made this countdown with supplies I had on hand (mostly). I had to go get some paper and the picture of Christ, but everything else I had. I used a 16x20 frame and put the paper and picture of Christ behind the glass. Then I reassembled the frame and glued magnets onto the glass and the eggs (that way the eggs can come off to open.) I used sticker numbers on the eggs. Easy peasy! It took me like 30 minutes to make. 

Inside of each egg will be a different story or event from the life of Christ, leading up to His Resurrection on Easter Sunday. This is what I need to work on compiling in a more presentable fashion before I can share it with all of you, but if you want to steal my idea, there are a million resources to use. 

Each day we will learn about a different event or story from the Saviors life, sing a song to go along with that topic, include pictures from each event, and watch one of the Bible Videos from lds.org. (Those are amazing learning and teaching tools. If you haven't checked those out, I would strongly encourage you to do so.)

For example: Day 13 is Jesus As a Child

                                             Read: Story from The Friend (the article shares a few stories of when Jesus was a child)

Song: Jesus Once Was a Little Child

Bible Video: Christ is presented at the Temple

                      Young Jesus teaches at the temple

Some stories that we will be reading I just summarized myself so the kids would understand them a little bit better. But I also found many from The Friend magazine. I just searched "Stories of Jesus" and found several that I was able to print out. I printed and gathered everything for each day (stories, pictures, songs and what videos to watch on what days ) and made an Easter binder. That way it's all in one place and organized. 

To give you an idea of what I did, here is what is inside each egg-

Day 14: Jesus Christ is born

Day 13: Jesus as a child

Day 12: Jesus Chooses His Disciples

Day 11: Jesus is baptized

 Day 10: Jesus Works Miracles

Day 9: Jesus heals the sick

Day 8: Palm Sunday-Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem

Day 7: Cleansing the Temple

Day 6: Parables and Teachings-Sermon on the Mount

Day 5: Rest in Bethany

Day 4: The Last Supper, Prayer in Gethsemane, Betrayal and Trial

Day 3: Crucifixion and Burial

Day 2: Jewish Sabbath

Day 1: Easter Sunday and Resurrection of Christ

 I am so excited to start next week! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I tried typing this with a two year old crawling all over me, so I'm sure something doesn't make sense. 

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

My baby turned 2 last weekend and we celebrated Mickey Mouse style! Everything turned out really cute and we had a lot of fun with the Mickey Mouse theme. If you would like ideas or instructions on any of my party ideas, leave a comment and I will be happy to help you.

Thanksgiving Traditions

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I wanted to share a few of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions. As with almost every other holiday, we do a Thanksgiving Countdown, full of crafts, activities, and treat making. I will be posting about this soon, so stayed tuned!

One of our most favorite traditions is our Tom the Turkey. Every Monday in November as part of our Family Home Evening activity, we each get to add feathers to Tom with some of the things we are thankful for. By the end of the month, our wall is full of colorful turkey feathers. To make Tom, I used construction paper and just traced my husbands shoes and eyeballed the rest. Laminate the turkey body and it will be ready to use each year. 

 Another tradition we have is our Thankful Jar. It is full of different act of kindness or reminders of things that we need to remember to show thanks for with an activity for each one. Example: I am thankful for my family-play a game together inside or outside. 

To make this happy little jar, just grab whatever old jar you have hanging around your house and tie a ribbon around it. The label and all of the card ideas you can get Here. I let each of my kids pick one card every night before bed and then we can plan on doing what the card says the next day. That gives me time to prepare if necessary. I also cut out each card and mounted it on a piece of cardstock to make them a little more durable. Laminating these would be a good idea too!

Last, but not least, is our Thankful Journal. This sits out all month long and I think it is my favorite tradition we have this time of year. I started it about 7 years ago, the year my son was born. I will admit, I am the one that writes in it most often, but now that my kids are getting older (and they bug their dad) it is so fun to open it and see their handwriting in it. I love to see the random things my kids and husband are thankful for (like my daughter adding that she is thankful for healthy food-something she has never put in her mouth!).
I just used a composition notebook and printed off a label that I glued on the front. I love looking back through the years and seeing what we have been through and the blessing that have been poured upon our family!

So there are a few ideas to get your thankful juices flowing. I would love to hear about some of your traditions! Please share you ideas in a comment. I will be getting some countdown activities up soon!

Mummy Munch

It has been one of those weeks and I feel like my brain has been turned off for most of it. I would like to think it's the lack of chocolate and sugar in my life. Don't ask me what I was thinking, but 3 weeks ago I signed up to do a weight loss challenge with some of my neighbors. I feel like every pumpkin dessert is constantly calling my name. 

Yesterday, I made one of our favorite Halloween snack/treats. We like to call it Mummy Munch. I realized when I was practically finished bagging it, that I hadn't snapped any pictures. Not the most artistic shots here, but you get the idea. This is an easy treat to make and the kids love helping out with this one!

Mummy Munch

4 cups honey chex cereal

1 cup autumn mix (candy corn and little pumpkins

1 cup dry roasted or honey roasted peanuts

2 cups mini pretzels

12 oz package vanilla candy melts

In a large bowl, combine cereal, autumn mix, peanuts and pretzels. Mix to combine. Melt vanilla candy melts in a microwave safe bowl at 30 second intervals, stirring after each 30 seconds until completely melted. Pour over cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated. Pour Mummy Munch onto wax paper to dry. Once dried, break up into pieces and store in ziplock bags or an airtight container. I like to divide it into snack bags for lunch boxes or we divide it up between cute Halloween goodie bags and deliver it to neighbors. 

Makes about 8 cups

Adapted from Picky Palate

BYU Football Tablecloth

Last week I made this fun tablecloth for our football party. We bleed blue around here and love when it is football season and we get to cheer our Cougars on!

I came up with this idea when I was trying to think of a cheaper alternative to AstroTurf. I love how it turned out and it was so easy and fast to make!

Most of the supplies I already had on hand for this, so it really only ended costing me about $3 to make. Can't beat that! I bought green felt (on sale). Get enough to fit your table, so measure your table before going to the fabric store. 

Then I used 1 1/2 inch ribbon for the goal lines and 3/8 inch ribbon for the yard lines. You may want to use a ruler or tape measure to space all of your ribbon, but I just eyeballed it and it turned out fine. Once you have your ribbon in place, just use double sided tape to tape it down to the felt. Super easy!

For the Y-I totally cheated and just traced it off of a poster in my sons room on to some cardstock and cut it out. You could easily print a Y off the computer onto some cardstock and cut that out. I also just used double sided tape to attach the Y. 

For the numbers, I used a number stencil that I had, traced all the numbers onto cardstock and cut them out. This was the most time consuming part of the project. Just throw on a good movie while you do this and it will go quickly! I hot glued all the numbers on to the felt so they didn't get knocked off with people leaning over the table for food-mainly my little kids. 

There you have it! Simple and fun! My son was so excited to have this out for our party. If you wanted to protect if from spills and stains, you could also go to the fabric store or Walmart and have a piece of vinyl cut to fit over it. Make one for your favorite team and throw an awesome football party!
Go Cougars!!

Johnny Appleseed Activities

For the last 3 1/2 years, I have been doing what we call, "Mommy School" here at our house. Once my oldest hit preschool age, I started Mommy School and have continued on with it with each of my preschool age kids. I have many reasons for keeping my kids home for preschool, but the main reason is, I am selfish and want them home with me as long as possible.

When I plan my Mommy School schedule, I try to incorporate our monthly and weekly themes and activities to go along with that specific time of year or season. Usually around this time of year, we usually do a unit on Johnny Appleseed. Since I don't have any kids in preschool at the moment, we are taking some of our favorite activities we would usually do with Mommy School and continuing to make memories and build traditions. 

So, this last week was Johnny Appleseed week. We planned 3 different activities for 3 different days. I am often asked how I plan so many activities for my kids to do. It's all about getting organized and realizing that most activities with kids only last 20-30 minutes. If you have a plan and are prepared, these things take a small amount of your time, but the kids remember them for years to come.

 On Wednesday, we read some of our favorite Johnny Appleseed books and made some apple art. I just free handed a tree that the kids colored, and then they used pencil erasers to make apples on their trees.

 One thing we love about Johnny Appleseed is his awesome hat. My kids love to put my pots on their heads while we read about Johnny Appleseed. But this year, we made some hats of our own. I just took a piece of black poster board, cut it into 3 long pieces and measured those pieces around each head. Staple it together after you figure out how big you want your circle and then cut a pot handle out of your leftover pieces of poster board. Staple those on the inside of your circle. Easy as that! We were done in 5 minutes and I didn't have to wash any pots:)

 You can't have a Johnny Appleseed week without making something with apples. We made one of our favorite apple desserts to enjoy Friday evening. (Recipe below)

Apple Spice Cake

3 cups flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3-4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar and eggs. Mix on high speed until it becomes a lemon color. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients until just incorporated. Add apples and nuts to batter. Mix to combine. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until toothpick comes out clean, 75-90 minutes. Remove from oven  and cool slightly on a wire rack. Invert cake onto wire rack and cool completely. Serve drizzled with caramel sauce.
For the sauce:
In a saucepan, combine all the caramel sauce ingredients, stirring until thickened to desired consistency.
Serves 10-12

Source: Martha Stewart

General Conference Ideas

Before I post anything, I have to give a huge shout out to my sister, Katy! She spent hours getting this blog updated and designed for me so I could get started quickly. I wish I had her confidence when it comes to trying or learning something new. She jumps in without hesitation. I could not have done this without her. Thanks Katy! You are awesome!!

This weekend is one of our most favorite times of the year. It is General Conference for our Church. Twice a year we get to hear from our Prophet and other leaders who teach us about drawing closer to and becoming more like the Savior. I love Conference weekend and always have. It lifts my spirits and enriches my soul. As a mother, it makes me want to work that much harder at teaching my children the Gospel of Jesus Christ and make our family unit a stronger one. 

 Until we moved to Utah way back in 1997, my family did Conference the old fashion way...going to church. I have fond memories of going to our Stake Center to watch General Conference most of my young life. My parents always tried to make it a special weekend for our family and that tradition has now carried over into my family. I have to give a shout out to my parents! I have no idea how they got anything out of Conference all those years while they wrestled with young children. I feel very blessed to be able to watch Conference in the comfort of my own home and plan activities for the kids to help them understand why we have General Conference. My kids love Conference weekend and have already been asking for a few weeks if it was time for our Conference fun.

General Conference always means amazing food! We plan some fun menus to enjoy during Conference weekend, so stay tuned for some yummy recipes this weekend. 

I want my kids to get as much out of General Conference as they can. Below are some activities that we do almost every General Conference-the tried and true activities that my kids request each time. 

 If you search the web, you will find tons of activity packets for kids to color and such. I usually print off one or two for my kids to keep them entertained while we listen to the talks. This "Draw the Speaker" page is a favorite with my older kids. They love going crazy with faces and hair color. You can find this template over at ayearoffhe.blogspot.com

 Several years ago I made this matching game with all the Apostles pictures. I printed out 2 of each of them, cut and laminated them, and that's it. A good quiet game for Conference or any Sunday afternoon. 

 You see this idea all over Pinterest, but we have been doing this for years. We have little buckets with different key words on them. I fill the buckets with different treats or goodies and then when the kids hear those words, they get a treat. This is a must at our house!

 For Family Home Evening, the week before Conference, I like to do a little lesson and activity on who our Prophet and Apostles are. I found these wonderful cards over at beehivemessages.blogspot.com. We do a matching game and the kids have to guess which Apostle goes with each card. Then when they speak, my kids can identify something special about each one of them. 

I found this idea over at intheleafytreetopsthebirdssing.blogspot.com a couple of years ago.  When each Apostle speaks, the kids get to tape them up on their chair. This helps the kids pay attention to what is going on during Conference. 

Another activity we love to do is build Temples or Conference Centers out of marshmallows. Sometimes the kids just glue them together, but sometimes they will use toothpicks and come up with crazy creations. It's fun to watch them have fun with this activity.
There are a few ideas of what will be going on at our house this weekend. I hope you saw something you can use or that gave you an idea for starting a new tradition with your family. I would love to hear any ideas that have worked for your family to help create a memorable General Conference weekend!
Happy Conference Watching!

Reindeer Cookies

My kids and I had fun making these reindeer cookies this morning. So cute and so easy! Let me know if you want instructions and I will post them.

Merry Christmas!!

Cinco de Mayo

Thanks to all of you who have requested these recipes. Sorry they are so late. At our house Cinco de Mayo means a happy hubby! We had so much food! Here are the recipes from our Fiesta. Sorry about the pictures-I had hungry people who didn't want to wait for me to play photographer. Let me know what you think!

Eric with all of our food!

Sombrero Sugar Cookies

Make you favorite batch of sugar cookies, cutting out cookies into circles. Once cooled, frost edges of cookies and roll in sprinkles. Put a dollop of frosting in the middle of the cookie and place a gumdrop in the center. Sprinkle a few more sprinkles around the gumdrops. I usually bake the cookies and let the kids decorate them. My little guy loves making these!
Cornbread Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

rachael ray

1 box cornbread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

5 green onions, finely chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

15 jalapenos

Prepare jalapenos-cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds and ribs. Preheat oven to 400*. In a med bowl, prepare cornbread mix according to pkg directions. Mix in scallions and 3/4 cup cheese. Set the peppers on a baking sheet, cut side up. Fill each pepper with mix and top with additional cheese. Bake until cooked through and golden, about 15 minutes.

I serve these with raspberry jam. These freeze great as well!!Chicken Taquitos

my kitchen cafe

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup green salsa

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 green onion, finely sliced

2 cups shredded chicken

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

small yellow corn tortillas

kosher salt

cooking spray

Heat oven to 425* Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Add all ingredients to tortillas in a bowl and mix to combine. Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 3-4 between 2 damp paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds or until soft and pliable. Place 2-3 tbsp of chicken mixture on lower third of tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it as tight as you can. Place filled taquitos, seam side down on baking sheet, making sure they don't touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some kosher salt on top. Place pan in oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until crisp and ends start to get golden. Serve immediately. Can be dipped in salsa, sour cream, guacamole or ranch dressing.

Chili Relleno Squares

3 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

2 cans (4oz each) chopped green chilies, drained

4 eggs

4 tbsp milk

2 tbsp flour

Place half the cheeses in a greased 8 inch square baking dish. Sprinkle with chilies and remaining cheeses. In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and flour; pour over cheese. Bake at 375* for 30 minutes or until set. Cut into small squares and serve warm.Chicken Nachos

real mom kitchen

1 small bag frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained

2 lg chicken breasts

1 (16oz) jar salsa

1 8oz pkg cream cheese

Pour frozen corn into crock pot. Place chicken on top of corn. Top chicken with beans and salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks and mix in cream cheese until melted and creamy.

Serve with chips and toppings if desired-tomatoes, olives, etc.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked white rice

1 tsp butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice

15oz chicken broth

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro

In a med saucepan, combine rice, butter, garlic, chicken broth and 1 tsp lime juice. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce temp to low. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine 1 tbsp lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Mix into cooked rice as you fluff it.

YUM!
Refried Beans

rachael ray

2 cans pinto beans, drained

1 (4oz) can diced green chilies

Heat 1 can pinto beans in a saucepan over medium heat. Mash with a fork or potato masher. Add additional can of beans and can of chilies. Stir to combine and heat through.
Black Bean Quesidillas

blog chef

2 tsp Olive oil

3 tbsp onion, finely chopped

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10oz) can corn, drained

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup salsa

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp butter, divided

8 (8inch) flour tortillas

1 1/2 cups monterey jack cheese

Heat oil in a skillet. Add onion and cook until soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn. Heat through. Mix in sugar, salsa and red pepper. Cook until heated through.

Melt butter in another skillet-place tortilla in skillet and add cheese over top. Place some bean mixture over the cheese. Add another tortilla over the bean mixture. Cook until brown and flip. Brown on the other side. Repeat until tortillas are gone.
Chimichangas

1 lb ground beef

1 med onion, chopped

3/4 cup red enchilada sauce

1 cup refried beans

6 flour tortillas

1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook meat in a skillet with onions. Stir in sauce and refried beans. Gently simmer for 10 minutes. Spoon about 1/2 cup filling into center of each tortilla. Place 1/3 cup of cheese on top. Fold sides in, then roll ends up. Fry in vegetable oil, seam side down in 3/4 inch oil, over med heat, turning when golden brown. 1-2 minutes per side.

Lift from pan with slotted spoon. Place on thick layer of paper towels; keep warm in oven until ready to serve.

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, cheese and olives.

These freeze great too!

Serves 6
Mock Fried Ice Cream

3 cups rice krispies

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

1 1/2 cubes butter

1 1/1 cups coconut

2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

Melt butter and brown sugar together on stove top. Add additional ingredients (except ice cream), mix well. Layer 1/2 ;mixture on bottom of round cake pan, layer ice cream over that and sprinkle the rest of mixture on top of the ice cream. Press firmly. Freeze. Serve with chocolate, caramel or raspberry pie filling.