Crafty Cups

You know I love wine.

You know I love Diet Coke.

Did you know I love medicine cups???

Neither did I, but when I was emptying the dishwasher I found theses in my cupboard:

Who knew I had such a collection? The more I thought about it the more I realized how much I used these little things and just how handy they are to have around!

Here are a few of my favorite uses:

• For dipping sauces. It lets me monitor how much the girls get AND because it's a small cup they think since it is full they are getting a lot! The are great for ranch dip for our veggies, ketchup for french fries, BBQ sauce for nuggets...the possibilities are endless

•  Great for the girls painting projects. It's small so we don't waste a lot and if it spills there isn't much to clean up. Plus they are much easier for little hands to manipulate.
•  Great for holding small beads, buttons, pins and sequins for art projects.
•  A fun way to get little sick kids to drink. I used them a lot after my daughter's tonsillectomy. She had to drink a lot of water so we turned it into a game. We set a timer and every 15 minutes she had to drink one cupful. (Yes, I know, it totally sounds like a drinking game, but hey it worked!...I'll worry about paying for therapy later on...)
• We use them to hold glue for our painting projects.
• The girls like to pour their own syrup on their waffles and pancakes. I fill up the cups and then they can do it themselves. Again, b/c it's a full cup they think they are getting a lot!
• Great for "special treats" like M&Ms or Skittles or fill up a few with ice cream toppings and create your own build-your-own-bar sundae bar.
•  Great for holding "treasures" and "collections"...my girls are always filling up little cups w/ money, things they find in nature and little tiny Polly Pocket accessories.
• Water cups for our paint-with-water books...again, no big deal if it spills!

"Dress You Up"

A few days ago my daughter was playing dress-up and come out looking like this:

Okay she really looked like this:

But the first picture is what came to my mind first and I had a series of flash-forwards into our future ...I'm so not ready for her to grow-up...please excuse me while I go restart my heart...

"Easy" Bakin'

For a brief moment yesterday I lost my mind.

I actually suggested that we use the Easy Bake Oven.

Any mom will agree that the EB Oven was obviously invented by someone without children.

Remember when they used to look like this:

They've come along way in color and design, but they still cook ridiculously small foods with a light-bulb. Really, what small child wouldn't want to wait patiently for a cookie the size of a quarter...

Despite it taking us about an hour to make 6 "cookies", 3 pretzels and play 500 rounds of "is it done YET?!?!?" We had a lot of fun!


Lo decided to make pretzels with nacho cheese dip and NoJo wanted cookies.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE cooking with my girls. It great for teaching them so many things. They learn to follow directions, measurements and when using the EB oven, the art of waiting patiently for your food! The nice thing about the EB Oven is that everything is made for little ones and they can do most, if not all, of the work themselves.

We had a few issues with the cookies. They were really sticky and hard to form.

No worries! NoJo was able to solve her own problem.

The pretzels were much easier and Lo was proud of how they came out.

Nothing tastes better than food you have made all by yourself!

De-Lish (and super easy) Tortellini Soup

We had this soup last night.

It was soooooooooooooooo good!

Lo gave it 10 thumbs up!

My husband loved it because it was fabulous and there was only one pot to wash.

(He always rates meals on a wash:taste ratio. A meal can be the best ever, but if it requires him to wash too many dishes then its rating goes down significantly.)

Thank you The Well-Fed Newlyweds!

Here is what you need:

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• ½ whole Small Onion, Minced (about 1/4 Cup)
• ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
• 1 quart Low-sodium Chicken Broth (or Vegetable Broth)
• 15 ounces, weight Canned Whole Tomatoes (I used a 20 oz can and did not drain it)
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 9 ounces, weight Package Tortellini, Any Variety, Fresh Or Frozen
• 3 cups Fresh Spinach, Chopped And Loosely Packed
• Parmesan Cheese, To Serve

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is softened and the garlic has turned light gold, about 5 minutes.

Add the oregano, broth, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. (You can break up the tomatoes with your fingers as you add them to the pot, or break them up with a spoon once you’ve added them to the soup.)

Bring the soup to a boil and add the tortellini. Cook according to the package directions.

One minute before the tortellini are done, add the spinach. Stir to combine.

When the tortellini are cooked, remove the pot from the heat immediately so they do not overcook. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Serve the soup immediately, topped with grated Parmesan cheese.

**The only thing I didn't like was the lack of left-overs...we ate it all! Next time I will double the recipe so I can enjoy the yumminess the next day!

The Crafty Carriage

It's been ridiculously cold here...

Not just cold...

VERY cold...

Negative degree cold...

Which means we stay inside and keep warm...

Today the natives were restless...

So we were crafty!

This was a gift from our most wonderful friend and caretaker Miss A. We heart her very much! She takes such good care of the girls and our family. I seriously don't know how we'd survive without her!!!

This is what she gave the girls for Christmas:

It's a cardboard playhouse that is in the shape of a princess carriage AND you get to color it!!!

The girls LOVE it!!!

We've had it put together for quite awhile.

Today they got to color it!

Each girl was assigned their own two sides. It was fun to see how their minds worked.

Lo took the "coloring" approach:

NoJo was more into decorating her sides:

It was a great cold day activity!!!

***So later that afternoon I was shopping at Cost Plus World Market and came across this:

It's on sale for $10. Click here for the info. It's only available in stores but it's a great deal!!! And for my Indy friends...they had quite a few at the Keystone/116th Store.

This Is Not Your Father's Stain

Flipping through my latest copy of Martha Stewart Living yesterday I gained about 30 years on my crafty life when I saw this:

MINWAX Express Color Stain IN A TUBE!!!

O-M-G how cool is that!?!?! Stain in a toothpaste tube!

The crafty possibilities are endless.

No more dripping stain.

It dries in an hour.

Each tube covers 30-35 square feet!

It cleans up with soap and water...no harsh chemicals needed!

You literally squeeze the stain onto a cloth and then apply it to the wood.

I think I'm in love!

It currently comes in 8 colors...there are your basic stain colors but it also comes in fun colors too like Emerald and Indigo!

...K I've gotta go...heading to Goodwill to find fun things to stain!!!

Crafty for the Self-Proclaimed Non-Crafty

I hear from a lot of people..."but I'm not crafty like you..."

NO EXCUSES PEOPLE!!! I know I go overboard on the crafty but that doesn't mean you have to too! There are so many low-key crafty ideas.

Today was a crazy day with dentist appointments, errands and a dirty messy house. Like all moms I'm a HUGE fan of bribery and I love that I can use art projects as a bribe!

Today's bribe was a painting project in exchange for Mommy's sanity.

I try to keep art supplies on hand. You can usually find the basics wherever you do your marketing.

I picked up these at Wal-mart.

My girls love any project that involves the possibility of getting messy!

My oldest loves the paint your own pottery stores, but they can get pricey and this project cost about $5 per child. (An added bonus is that you get to stay at home in your jammies while your kids paint...I sure do love my jammies!!!)

I love her focus and concentration!

I didn't hear her say one word for almost 20 minutes (that NEVER happens!).

My monkey tried to see how much paint she could layer on one piece. She wasn't as quiet but she stayed in one place for 20 minutes and that NEVER happens!!! (It was a crafty miracle!)

We are hoping all her paint will be dry in two weeks!

They were so proud of their finished projects and can't wait to put them in their rooms!