Category Archives: Holiday

Thanksgiving {Free Printable}

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We’re counting down to Thanksgiving around here. Last night at dinner, we each shared one thing for which we have to be thankful. We have a book we write them in, but I created a free printable that I think would be great to use daily or at Thanksgiving dinner. I put mine in a frame and put out a wet erase marker. I was surprised and delighted to see that almost everyone who visits our home has written something on it, and I didn’t even have to ask them to do it.

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It’s my hope that this Thanksgiving season will truly be filled with more gratitude and thanksgiving for all the blessings we’ve been given!

Grateful

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In 23 days we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. The actual day of Thanksgiving is usually a very hectic one for my family. We usually go to both sides of the family for lunch then dinner. I always have high hopes that we can truly think of the many, many things for which we have to be thankful, but on the actual day it seems too busy to have time for reflection.

I am hopeful that I can make the days leading up to Thanksgiving a more reflective time. We have a book that I keep at the table during November that we each write something that we are grateful for.

image.jpeg I also would love to think of a way to make some little gifts for people we are grateful to have in our lives. I just got a Cricut. I haven’t had a single moment to play with it, but watch out when I do! Hopefully, I’ll make some cute things to give to our friends and family.

Spooky Shindig Scavenger Hunt

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We are hosting our annual Halloween party tonight.

I love Halloween and I love games! This little scavenger hunt would make a great ice-breaker or just a fun game in general. The mission is to run around and find the people who fit the description.  When the description is met, the person writes his/her initials by the number. You should make a rule, based on how many people are at your party, about how many times a person can be used. I hope if you are having a Halloween party or Spooky Shindig soon that you have a marvelous time!

SPOOKY SHINDIG SCAVENGER HUNT

  1. SOMEONE WHO WATCHED ALL OR ALMOST ALL OF THE “NIGHTMARE OF ELM STREET MOVIES”
  2. SOMEONE WHO IS AFRAID OF CLOWNS
  3. SOMEONE WHO HAS DRESSED UP AS DRACULA OR A VAMPIRE BEFORE
  4. SOMEONE WHO HAS FACE PAINT MAKEUP ON NOW
  5. A PERSON WHO IS DRESSED UP LIKE A DISNEY CHARACTER
  6. A PERSON WHO LOVES CANDY CORN
  7. A PERSON WHO DOES NOT LIKE TOOTSIE ROLLS
  8. A PERSON WHO HAS ALREADY CARVED A PUMPKIN THIS SEASON
  9. SOMEONE WHO HAS DRESSED UP LIKE A TV CHARACTER BEFORE
  10. SOMEONE WHO THINKS NOTHING IS SCARIER THAN THE UPCOMING ELECTION
  11. SOMEONE DRESSED LIKE A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER
  12. SOMEONE WHO MADE THEIR COSTUME
  13. THE PERSON WHOSE COSTUME YOU LIKE BEST
  14. A PERSON WHOSE FAVORITE HOLIDAY IS HALLOWEEN
  15. A PERSON WHO JUST DECIDED ON A COSTUME TODAY
  16. A PERSON WHO HAS DRESSED UP AS A HISTORICAL CHARACTER BEFORE
  17. A PERSON WHO IS AFRAID OF SPIDERS
  18. A PERSON WHO BELIEVES IN GHOSTS
  19. A PERSON WHO LOVES TO BE SCARED
  20. A PERSON WHO LOOKS UNDER HIS/HER BED OR IN THE CLOSET BEFORE GETTING IN BED
  21. A PERSON WHO HAS HAD A PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE THIS SEASON
  22. SOMEONE WHO LOVES GRAVEYARDS
  23. A PERSON WHO CAN SHOW YOU ONE MOVE FROM “THRILLER”
  24. A PERSON WHO CAN TELL YOU WHAT COLOR MICHEAL JACKSON’S EYES TURN AT THE END OF “THRILLER”

 

Happy Independence Day

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Over the past year, I have learned about so many of my ancestors who lived here in the United States before what is now celebrated as Independence day. I can only imagine how elated many of them were when news finally spread to them that the Declaration of Independence had been adopted and that the land where they dwelled was now declared a new nation. This day brought them a new kind of hope and it changed their lives forever! I know that for most of us we just think of this day as a day for fireworks and grilling; but we should never forget that this date was the official beginning of our great nation. This nation was built by imperfect people, but they had great passion, perseverance, bravery and dedication to a cause that ultimately would change the world.

May the 4th be with you Breakfast Dinner

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My girls really enjoy Star Wars. After I had the baby boy, they went over to my niece’s house and they watched all of the episodes over the course of a couple of weeks. I think they genuinely enjoyed the movies; but they also have that special feeling of being cared for to go with them. Since The Force Awakens came out, I think they have become even bigger fans.  May the 4th was just naturally a day I wanted to do something fun. I looked over Pinterest for ideas. I wished I had gotten an earlier start because I saw lots of cute ideas that needed cookie cutters and other equipment that I just didn’t have on hand.

We ended up with breakfast for dinner. This is not unusual. We usually do this once a week on our more hectic nights.

The eggs were the Twin Suns.

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Cinnamon rolls were naturally Leia’s Buns.

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We had bacon and hashbrowns, which were a pretty terrible looking  “Chewbaccon”. At least we got a good laugh out of it!

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The sausage links were Light Sabers.

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I made Yoda Soda which was basically just a lime sherbet float.

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I made Chewy cookies from Little Debbie Star Crunch cookies and added candy eyes and a frosting mouth and nose. I got that idea from Pinterest.

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I purchased Star Wars plates and napkins. I also got some Star Wars fruit snacks for little treats. The children all thought everything turned out really cute and I think they love a themed dinner as much as I do.

I made all the signs and the framed “May the Fourth Be With You” sign using DaFont’s Star Jedi font.

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Next, Cinco de Mayo!!

Celebrating Earth Day

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The kiddos woke up to an Earth Day breakfast. I thought that Earth pancakes sounded so cute. image

They were not the hit I’d hoped they would be. Only one of my children would even try them. Good thing I knew that was going to be the most probable outcome and made the rest of the batch normal.

Later, we read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and the two little girls did a couple of worksheets pertaining to the book.

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After some school work, we made seed paper out of old catalogs. We tore paper into about 2 to 3 inch pieces and put them into a blender filled about halfway with water. After blending, we took the pulp outside and used an old screen to press out the excess water and mold them into shapes. Then we added marigold and hollyhock seeds. We plan on giving these away once they dry.

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We even had a Lorax themed dinner and an “earthy” dessert.

I got the coloring sheet printable from Dawn Nicole Designs. Olivia loves to color and after we read The Lorax, she was so excited to color and frame her work.

I made bow tie pasta (the Lorax’s mustache) with broccoli (truffala trees) with homemade low carb Alfredo sauce with Keto fried chicken. For dessert, the kids used chocolate pudding, smashed Oreos, and gummy worms to make their “earthy” dessert.

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I hope you had a nice Earth day too.

April Fool’s Day Dinner

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My kiddos love a good prank. April Fool’s Day has been one of their favorite days as long as I can remember. We usually try to do at least one thing to make the day memorable. Last year I fooled them into thinking they were eating an undercooked lasagna, when it was actually a yummy dessert. This year, I pulled off a Crazy April Fool’s Day Dinner which was actually breakfast for dinner. It definitely takes some advance preparation and quite a bit of work (at least with as many people as we have in our family) to pull it off, but it is so fun! I’ve done a dinner menu like this before and I feel like breakfast items are a lot easier. I used the basic idea and the menu course printables from Dixie Delights. I made some changes, but the general idea came from her site.

To do this, I gave my family a menu of 16 items with funny names. They also had 4 different menu course sheets. On each sheet they had to put four items that they wanted for that course. Each item has to be picked once so that all items are ultimately chosen. They had to pick for all of their courses before I even started cooking; because I didn’t want to give them any hints with the smells in the kitchen.

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I had one more trick up my sleeve. Number 9 was the CAFD Special. It looked like an egg, but was really just whipped cream and an apricot.

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I pulled out a few Christmas plates to serve this. I also found some “Welcome to 2000” napkins that had never been opened in my party stash. We used those as the Mini Magic Carpet.

Overall, we had lots of laughs. April Fool’s Day is just another good excuse to have a little fun together.

I printed out my menu using Waltograph font from DaFont 

Crazy April Fool’s Day Disney Dinner

1. Mickey Mouse                                         9. CAFD Special
2. Gaston’s Tavern Treat                          10. Pluto’s Dinner
3. Dinoco Motor Oil                                    11. Merida’s Hair
4. Sugar Rush Icing component             12. Elsa’s Bad Day
5. White Rabbit’s Tale                                13. Rafiki’s Staff
6. Three Little Pigs                                       14. Cruella’s Hair
7. Capt. Hook’s Plank                                 15. Dinglehopper
8. Mike Wazowski                                      16. Mini Magic Carpet

 

Here’s the real deal menu:

  1. Mickey Mouse waffle
  2. Cinnamon Roll
  3. Syrup
  4. Powdered Sugar
  5. Whipped Cream
  6. Sausage
  7. Bacon
  8. Egg
  9. Apricot in whipped cream
  10. cereal
  11. orange juice
  12. ice
  13. straw
  14. salt and pepper
  15. fork
  16. napkin

Easter 2016

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Easter was filled with activities and fun. We made our traditional Resurrection rolls. We dyed eggs. We went to Easter service. We had two egg hunts. We had two Easter feasts.

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Resurrection Rolls:

They will be empty (like the tomb) once they are baked. Take Grands flaky biscuits and half. Put a marshmallow in the center and pinch dough around it. Dip the biscuits in butter and roll in cinnamon and sugar. Bake until lightly browned.

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Saturday

Dying Eggs: We just take packets of regular Kool Aid, add a little water and dip the eggs. No vinegar or anything. It is so quick and easy!!

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We ordered the Easter meal from The Fresh Market and we were so pleased with it!

It included ham, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, broccoli slaw, and yeast rolls. All we had to make ourselves was the deviled eggs, baked beans, and dessert.

We had a lovely day!

Thursday

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Today, would be the day that Jesus had His last supper with His friends. Think about it. He knew all that was going to transpire and wanted one last opportunity to have communion with them. Don’t we all think of last moments we spent with people when they die? You almost treasure every look, every breath more as you look back and remember. This is what Jesus gave His disciples. Friday would be the worst and best day. Jesus would face more pain and more torment than we can ever imagine. He would pay the penalty for all sins forever. He would defeat death. But on Thursday, He fulfilled prophesy after prophesy. On Thursday He made it clear as He prayed that He was fully willing to die for us. On Thursday, His humanity was so evident. He knew what the next day would bring, and His spirit was in such agony that He sweated blood. On Thursday, He was betrayed by one of His friends. Thursday first appears so simple. It’s not Good Friday and it’s not Easter. But I bet Thursday was the day the disciples replayed over and over in their minds until they saw their risen Lord on Sunday. Even then the things Jesus said at that Last Supper on Thursday probably made more sense after Sunday.

Thank you, Jesus, for Thursday. The decisions you made on that day. When you
could have chosen differently and you didn’t. I don’t deserve what you did for me, but thank you so much for it! I love you!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

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I took this picture in March 2012.

I have always loved looking for four leaf clovers. I used to spend a good deal of my recess time searching out these little treasures. I still look on my way to and from the mailbox.

Today, we will go out and collect some clovers for decoration and wear our green clothes to celebrate. I made a St. Patrick themed breakfast with green eggs and green decorations. I have a green themed dinner planned. I looked for an Irish recipe; but since my husband and I don’t really eat potatoes or bread, I found it too difficult to find something Irish we all would eat.  I am making green enchiladas for dinner instead. I’m also making rainbow cookies out of Funfetti cake mix.

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I got that St. Patrick’s day  printable free from alexandcoprintables.com

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To make Super Duper Easy Funfetti cookies:

One box of Funfetti cake mix

One egg

2 sticks of butter

Soften the butter, add egg and cake mix. If you want the cookies a little more festive, add more colorful sprinkles. Stir until well combined. Place small balls of the cookie dough on a parchment covered cookie sheet.Bake at 325 degrees until the edges just begin to brown.

I found some free printable St. Patrick Day trivia cards on Pinterest. Oh, how I love trivia. These little gems are getting placed on the table at dinnertime.

I hope that this day is full of happiness and joy!!