Happy Day

Happy Day…That is what I used to call the big celebration my mom would have for the June birthdays in our household.  Emily (my sister) and I both have June birthdays which were always lumped together.  My aunt has a birthday on the 1st and mix it all together with Father’s Day and a few graduation parties and voila—you have “Happy Day”.

I was thrilled when Caleb arrived on May 31st.  He clearly wanted no part of “Happy Day”. 

Good boy.

Who can resist this face?  Seriously.

For his first birthday I was keeping it simple.  A little cookout at the house for family and a few friends.  My goal was to have the place clean and quasi presentable for guests.  Oh-- and food and drink in bellies-cause don’tcha just hate when you attend a function and they don’t feed you properly?

The party was on Sunday over the long  Memorial Day weekend. Jake had taken Friday off (thank goodness).  We managed to pull it all together between house, yard and shopping for the event.

Well, while I was at Costco (told ya—I was really just trying to keep it easy).  I picked up the burgers and dogs and I saw beautiful red, white and blue desserts.  Some were cheesecakes with berries others were white sheet cakes with berries but I thought… nahhhhh.  I really want to make the cake myself.

We have serious foreshadowing people.  I should have known I was doomed.

Over a year ago I found this website after a search  for red, white and blue desserts. 

I could pull this off.  Everyone would be so surprised when we sliced his first birthday cake and a flag was inside.

Well 4 cake mixes--yeah I know… why I thought I could make this cake when from the get go when I have to use a mix…okay, but really I can make good cookies!  I swear.  ha ha ha.

Well 4 cake mixes later and I am left with a 3 layer round cake that at best is maybe 1 inch high.

   I honestly think I should have just frosted this and called it a night.   Jake had to make me two G and Ts to calm my nerves and it was already midnight.  Awesome.  On a side note the red came out nicely.

Oh. Dear. God.  I am having a Bridgette Jones moment and my soup is blue.  Except is it red, white and blue and this sh** (sorry peeps normally I keep this G but I have to paint the picture…) is everywhere.  Except on my pretty cake stand with cover from Williams Sonoma. 

Let me go on record—I will never make another (round) birthday cake again.  Although my brother-in-law was sweet and said I did have other chances to try again with this cake.  4th of July, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day… 

As it turned out the next day I made cupcakes.  They were equally as bad but my little you know who could have cared less.  xoxo

del.icio.us Tags: 4th of July,1st birthday,cake mix,cake disasters,Memorial Day,Magillie,Happy Day

Preschool Graduation

The idea of a preschool graduation would have made me laugh a few years back.  But during Lil’s ceremony, I had to fight back the tears.

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It is Free Day Friday!

It is Free Day Friday!  My friends and I used to call Fridays—Freedays.  Free from work, school—whatever!  Finally, time to get ready for the weekend.  Hoorah!  What better a way to end the work week  by piddling away on a non-work related website and signing up for a giveaway?!  Yes!

Why haven’t I done this sooner?  I am gonna giveaway some bling! 

The Rules (why do there always have to be rules??—I know-eep)

• Like my FB page = 1 entry
• Follow my Blog = 1 entry
• Tweet this = 1 entry
• Post this giveaway on your FB page  = 1 entry

Then all you have to do is comment on the blog and tell me how many entries you “earned”.

Example as me:  Hi!  My name is Jackie.  I tweeted and liked your FB page so I have 2 entries.

Example as my husband: 3

ha ha ha.  He is a man of few words.

Okay.  On to the giveaway.  I have selected 3 of my most popular pairs of earrings to put up for grabs!

 

Sweet Dreams

Frida

Vintage Chic

You see something you like?  Go ahead and enter for a chance to win.  It is like playing the lotto.  Well.  Sorta.  After one week (I will close the contest on Sunday evening of the 19th) I will select a winner from the hat.  I know… old fashioned.  Don’t worry I will have my little one do the selections.

Take a chance and if only 3 people enter you are all set.  Ha ha ha.

xoxo

Jackie

Many thanks for playing along.

A Gift For The Perfect Teacher

What do you give the perfect teacher? 

Okay—this is my first year at home.  Prior to the glorious (and don’t forget glamorous) stay at home gig ,I was an art teacher at the local middle school.  I received my share of gifts(thank you parents and students! *hugs*) some of which were great and others…

Ha ha ha!  Just kiddin’.

But-- I find that this is a conundrum a lot of parents/kids face---What do I get my teacher? 

Well,you really don’t have to get us anything.  We do, what we do, cause we really love it.  Honestly.  Buuuuuuuuuuuut if I had to pick out my favorite teacher gifts (cause who doesn’t like a present?) —I have narrowed it down to two things.

1. The Starbucks gift card.  So simple and so easy.  $5 on a card and you have purchased a drink for your favorite teacher and honestly probably made his/her morning.  With a classroom full of 8th graders… before 8am—coffee is a must.
2. The gift of time.  When a parent can come in and be an extra pair of hands-wow!  What a treat.  Even parents who feel shy about helping in the room would still do great things by helping with  a spreadsheet on the computer or cutting out laminate.  All wonderful, cause the gift of time really is priceless.

Lillie’s preschool teacher is just so amazing and I feel blessed that Lil got to have her as part of her school experience.  So I thought what could I do that would be “a good” teacher gift. 

How ‘bout another Pink and Green Mama idea?  Yes.  That is what I will do.

Lil and her classmates start every morning with centers.  The centers change and rotate throughout the year and I thought—why not make a new center to add to the mix? 

The Goose and I got busy making a sensory box—we did a little each night and I am really proud of our first time results.

First we made some rainbow rice.  I highly recommend that you get your rice at Costco as this will probably be the most pricy part of your box.

A little food coloring and a little rubbing alcohol and shake up in a zip lock—voila some amazing results.

Miss MaryLea said she once used hand sanitizer in a pinch—wouldn’t it be great to use some vanilla or lavender scented sanitizer?  The alcohol smell took some time to evaporate but we just let the rice dry outside on cookie sheets and it was humid…

      Glass Globs for our Glass Glob Lake

 Fairies –another ideas from P and G Mama.  I have also made these for a playdate and it was well received by all the little ones.

12 little polymer clay ladybugs to represent the kids in the class and 3 to represent the teachers.

   

    A unicorn (okay really it is just a horse spray painted from the dollar store) and a Styrofoam dot pathway.

    The dinosaurs were guarding the evil rat king—rocks,beans and dinosaurs all from the $ store. 

The kids will have playing with this—rice will get mixed up and they will have fun making the box their own.  And Lil’s teacher was tickled pink with her new center for next school year.  xoxo

del.icio.us Tags: teacher gifts,sensory box,Pink and Green Mama,Magillie,Dollar Store,tactile,texture,feel,touch,preschool

How to make the Perfect Chocolate Muffin

Okay, so we can call it a muffin but we all really know what it is—a  cupcake in wolf’s clothing.  I know what you are… *muffin* trying to disguise yourself as health food!—and yet I fall for you every time!

So go ahead and alter the recipe.  Add in some flaxseed and some wheat germ.  Substitute applesauce for sugar but I would stick to this recipe I found online.  (I would include link—I always like to site my source  but I can’t find the link anymore-eep.) 

On a random side note—the actual site was laden with ads from Jillian Michaels.  I found that very amusing.

Ingredients you need…

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract                                                                                 

2/3 cup  milk
2/3 cup  butter
4 oz semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Grease 6 extra large muffin tins or cups (I use cupcake liners) or 12-15 medium cups.
• Beat the eggs with sugar, mix with flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla and milk.
• Fold in the melted butter.
• Add chocolate chips; coat them with flour( I use unsweetened cocoa powder) before mixing into the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees until a until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes for XL muffins, about 20 minutes for medium size muffins.

I would alternate  folding in the wet and dry ingredients—and remember not to over stir.  You want your muffins fluffy.

This face says – Are you really letting me eat this *before* dinner?

Hoorah!  Yes I get to eat this before dinner and I will get every last crumb.

Pictures of the muffin—taken outdoors for better light—I know I know.  No comments necessary on that factoid.  
 





A few pictures of my little man—working in the kitchen.  He wants to help.  A little blurry but such a cutie pie.

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I SEE A DOUBLE RAINBOW

Lately Lil seems to be zooming through her clothing.  She looks too tall for about every pair of pants in her drawer.  I keep trying to stretch the wardrobe till summertime.  She could be looking like this entry…

Oh well.

Pants aside -- Lil has been wanting to wear her dress shoes with all outfit selections and everyday to school.  I know her sneakers offer more room—so what gives?

Oh… the shoes look dirty.  Not like a princess.  Now I understand.  Well, cheap me does not want to buy some new sneakers right before summertime.  She will be barefoot or in flip-flops soon enough and if I can hold off till fall—that would be wonderful.

My little light bulb goes off… I remember this blog entry from the wonderful Pink and Green Mama.  This will do the trick.

I grab my sharpies and get to work right away.  I can crank this  out before preschool right?  It took a bit longer and I didn’t go in with a plan but my little princess was pleased with the end result. These rainbow kicks are her version of glass slippers!

 

 

 

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It’s B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Lillie saw this video tonight.  At the end of the routine she said… “I need a banana.”  I about died.  Enjoy the clip.