Meet the Teacher

I am sure this post is a little too late for most of you. 

We have 'Meet the Teacher' tomorrow morning!

I wanted to make Mrs. Tracee a little something. Not over the top, but didn't want to show up empty handed in the morning. 

Gifts are totally not necessary, but as a former teacher, just getting a card or a flower on that first meeting let me know the kids were just as excited about our school year as I was.

Like I said, this is short, and sweet. And I threw in a Starbucks gift card because I know she will need it after a morning with my twins!

I printed a picture of them off picnik on white card stock, and I used a cricut to cut out the shapes. Saved a hole for the gift card, and ta da... easy, painless, thoughtful Meet the Teacher gift!

I hope everyone is having a great school year so far!!! I am anxious/excited to see how my babies do at preschool! I know they will LOVE it!!

Suzie

Craving Pickles?

The Experienced Pickler Version of Me: Craving pickles? Then make a BATCH yourself! Mmmmmm.....All the pickles you can eat!

Me 2 Weeks Ago: That sounds too hard.

Pickler Me: Trust me when I say this: The most difficult part is waiting 10 days to try them.

Me 2 Weeks Ago: I don't know how to jar, nor do I care enough to learn.

Pickler Pro: No need! Here is the low down..

I made these! I really made these!!!

Here is the recipe I used, Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles. It was rated 4.5 stars by almost 10,000 people! Had to be good right?

The truth is, there ARE tons of easy ones to use. The key for searching if you're a non-jarer like me is search the term: Refrigerator Dill Pickles. You might be overwhelmed with options.

Yes, you put the cucumbers into jars but you don't have to pressure seal the lid, just screw them on. Nice and simple!

Are you a pickler? Let us know how you do it!!

~Sarah

Paint the Fence

"Painting the Fence" was one of my favorite games as a child.

The great thing is, it has to be the most SIMPLE form of MESSY fun!

All you will need is:

1. water
2. painting tools

(water bucket, paint brushes, rollers, etc.)

That is it! Really the game is much more clean than it sounds!

This game is perfect for a hot, sunny day! As your child "paints" with water, it will temporarily change the color of some surfaces. Then the heat will "erase" it minutes later!

If your child is anything like mine, he will paint everything. Who can blame him? Even a tee and basketball goal need a fresh coat of paint every now and then!

I can remember "painting" pictures and my name...so I know I was older than Carter!

But he enjoyed himself none the less!

Teacher Tip:

• Create shapes and quiz each other on the shapes!
• Try spelling out your child's name and chant the letters!!
• Experiment with different surfaces: The patio floor, the patio furniture, the fence...and see which surfaces will become darker when adding water!

~Sarah

& Carter (19 months)

Look what I Bought!

Have you seen the craziness that is Target, Walmart or our local Drug Store lately?

If you are like me, you see the 'Back to School' section swarmed with bodies crawling all over each other and slowly back away. Yesterday, I (along with my cart and baby) inched my way into the mosh pit. We safely made it out 5 minutes later. And...it was worth it!

Go! Get in there!

There are fabulous supplies that all child-homes can use for DIRT cheap.

We grabbed:

At $1.00 Canadian Dollar a piece!! Wowzer!!!

Okay, and this is the fancy stuff too! Walmart's off-brand was actually more!

AND

Lunch totes!!!

**This will help keep the cut up fruit and milk from leaking all over my purse! Yesss!

Have you found any great deals lately? Share please!!

~Sarah

Trying Teacher Tom's Play Dough

Since none of our stuff has arrived from China, we have been living out of suite cases for over 2 months. That is 9 weeks of the same clothes, a pack-n-play bed for Carter and the same toys/books. Yes, we've been keeping busy and having a blast, but today was slow morning and we needed some At-Home-Fun!! We resorted to our "go-to," which is Play Dough!!

If you have any basic baking ingredients in your pantry, then you have what it takes to make play dough. There are so many recipes out there. A quick google search will have you up to your eyeballs in options.

With these things in our pantry:

1-cup flour

1/2-cup salt

2-teaspoons cream of tarter

1-cup water

1-Tablespoon cooking oil

food coloring (optional)

scent (optional, but recommended)

&

Wax paper (to set)

I decided to try Teacher Tom's recipe? Have you checked out his blog yet? I know I've mentioned him before...he's a pretty cool teacher! Well, this is the recipe he learned from his mom and uses in his classroom.

I have to admit....this is by far the best play dough recipe I've tried!

It's so easy and fast!! I whipped up 3 batches in the 10 minutes I heard Carter stirring on the monitor. Fresh play dough to start the day! Here is how you do it:

1. Dump the above ingredients into a pot.

Nice picture. Right?

2. Stir on Medium heat for approximately 1-2 minutes!

3. Plop onto your wax paper and cool for about 5 minutes. Done!

Okay, lets observe these three blobs. The Green was my sacrificial first batch. I only used 7 drops of food coloring...not good. Blue was about 30 and Yellow I squeezed about half of the bottle.

Lesson learned? Use that food coloring!!! :)

Here is Carter working his play dough, first thing in the morning.

~Sarah

&

Carter (19 months)

Back to School Breakfast Ideas

I cook a hot breakfast Every.Single.Day.

I started it, and now it is just our morning routine.

It makes me feel like we had a great start to our day when the twins eat a big meal right from the start.

But, some mornings, we sleep in, lounge around, and before you know it, I am running late. This is the story of my life.

So, I am thinking I should cook some stuff and just freeze it for the mornings we are running late.

Exhibit A:

Eggs baked in muffin tins, then I could just defrost a few and warm them up!

Source: snackinginthekitchen.com via Susan on Pinterest

Example 2:

Now this looks so easy! You must click on the link and see how she makes the eggs!

And you can freeze these too!

Source: macheesmo.com via Susan on Pinterest

And Numbero 3:

OATMEAL! Duh. Seriously, why did I not think of this. I make oatmeal on the stove, the real way for the boys, but it takes FOREVER to cool down, and by then they are screaming at me because they love their oatmeal and don't understand why I am being so mean and not handing it over.

Source: thekitchn.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Do you guys have any tips for this novice mom and cook!!? I want to hear your back to school breakfast routine!

Suzie

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

We are in the process of an Extreme Makeover!!

Big thanks to Penny Lane Designs for all of your hard work.

What do you think so far?

We'll let you know when we are back up and running!!

~Sarah