Glow stick bath fun

Kids LOVED this! It's been awhile since we did it. I might need to make a trip to the store for some glow sticks!

When my kids went through the inevitable scared of the dark phase I used glow sticks as night lights. We had tons of them all the time. I would have never thought of using them for bath time!

The pin I found this from doesn't link back to anywhere. But glad I found it!

Bangin good shrimp

Another favorite! www.skinnytaste.com is probably my favorite cooking blog. I think I have said that before. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/bangin-good-shrimp.html There's a link straight to the original recipe.
Here's what I did....
For the Shrimp:

• 1 lb large shrimp, shelled and deveined (weight after peeled)
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
• 4 tbsp scallions, chopped

*I would use smaller shrimp next time. Easier to bite and cook.
*I used a premixed coleslaw bag instead of lettuce and cabbage.

• 5 tbsp light mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 tsp Sriracha (to taste)

*I just mixed together random amounts until it tasted the way I wanted. :)

 Directions:


In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce and Sriracha. Set aside.
Combine lettuce and cabbage and divide between four plates. Set aside.

Coat shrimp with cornstarch, mixing well with your hands.
Heat a large skillet or wok on high heat, when hot add oil. When oil is hot add the shrimp to hot pan and cook tossing a few times until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and combine with the sauce coating well.
Place shrimp on lettuce and top with scallions.

*I made them as tacos so I put everything in a tortilla.

Yummo!!!

The Christmas Express

Christmas Eve's newest tradition!!! This is probably one of my favorite Christmas pins! On Christmas Eve we opened our pajama present and I instructed everyone to put them on with slippers. We printed out our Christmas Express tickets and got in the car.

Daddy punched our tickets and off we went! Momma was craving Outback. We had a wonderful dinner.
Here's where I printed the tickets from. I printed them on photo paper. http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2011/12/mini-van-express-tickets.html

In our pj's! The kids thought it was great, the hubs was a little embarrassed. I think it's a new tradition, even if it annoys him!
Then we drove around and looked at Christmas lights listening to Christmas music. We got home and tracked Santa on www.norad.org until he hit Miami. Bitty girl decided he was getting way too close for comfort so the kids went to bed.
By far my favorite Christmas Eve ever.

Blind fold present buying

I didn't find this on Pinterest. I did this all on my own! But you could pin it if you wanted.... :)
I had NO time before Christmas. Like barely even got the kids gifts bought. So I definitely didn't have time to take them individually to buy for each other. This was the first year that they were both so excited to get presents for other people. So I came up with a game plan and to Target we went.
I took a Nuggest headband for a blind fold and Avery's jacket to hide the presents. They took turns wearing the blind fold while the other picked out a present. Brody went first, Avery got him Star Wars slinkies. Now it's Avery's turn, Brody picked out a LaLaLoopsy little sister. I hid them under the cart under Avery's jacket.
At the check out I told the checker that we had surprises under the cart. He played along great! The kids turned around and closed their eyes, he checked them out quick and put them in a red sack so you couldn't see them.
It was so cute how the kids played along. They didn't complain about the blind fold at all. They were so excited about what they got each other. I think this was the only trip I have ever made to Target where they didn't ask for ANYTHING for themselves!

Teacher Gifts For their Mistletoes!

I thought this was the cutest little gift! Super easy and inexpensive! What more can you ask for?
http://supremecourtney.blogspot.com/ This is the blog the idea is pinned off of. She is way more creative with way more time than me! But I am sure I will see what else she has in store! Anyway, here are mine! I gave them to friends, the boss, and the kids teachers. Everyone seemed to think they were super cute. I wrote a little note on the back too.

I just picked a color and font I like and typed it up in word and printed it on card stock. Cut it out, tied on ribbons, and picked out cute nail colors! Voila!

Boo Boo Bunnies

I didn't find these on pinterest. But I searched them and they are on there! Here is the about.com link to make boo boo bunnies!


http://familycrafts.about.com/od/easterbunnies/ss/booboobunny.htm

These were my spur of the moment no prep time bunnies. Wrestling accidents happen. I just used a rubber band and drew on them with a sharpie. Googly eye ones are cuter, but they all work!

Marble art

http://www.playcreateexplore.com/2011/03/marble-painting.html


This is one of my favorite art activities the kids and I have found from pinterest. We did it as an outside art day 2 summers ago! Wow, it's been a long time!!!! So even at 3 and 5 the kids could basically do this on their own. We just did it in a cake pan. The kids got a little heavy with the paint but it still turned out cool! So less paint = more stripey, more paint = more color. Can't find a picture.

EDIT!!! I found pictures!

Sandpaper Color shirts

I did these sandpaper color shirts. http://alphamom.com/family-fun/crafts/sandpaper-printed-t-shirt/
It didn't really work.
It came out super light.
I used fairly coarse sandpaper and good quality crayons.
Kids wouldn't let me go over their designs again so maybe that was it.
But they colored them pretty dark.
Kids still wear them, but they just look like a faint blob instead of a picture.
Oh well. Not everything works.

Simple yummy goodness!

Okay these are a new favorite! Absolutely on my Christmas treat list from now on. These were SO incredibly easy. They made the house smell YUMMY. They taste divine. As one of the people who commented on the original blog post says, these are "pimped out pretzels"!

Bag of pretzels (I used sticks)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsps cinnamon ( I used a little more and could have even had more! So probably 3-4 tsps)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl
Lay out on cookie sheet
Bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees Stirring at 10 and 20 minutes


My plan, if they make it that long, is to get some tins tomorrow and give little batches away. Neighbors or teachers. If I get called in to work tonight I won't be up for tin shopping, so I am thinking maybe baggies with ribbon. I might eat them all before they can go out the door though! I will update if I do anything else with them.

Here's the original link I pinned it from.....
http://lifestooshorttoskipdessert.blogspot.com/2010/12/yummy-cinnamon-sugar-pretzels.html

And here's mine!

Garlic Garlic OMGarlic!!!

http://erecipecards.blogspot.com/2012/10/garlic-garlic-chicken-and-dumplings.html

Probably my favorite pinterest find so far!!!! I love using a rotisserie chicken to cook with. I am a full time nurse, full time mom, full time laundromat, and maid. I just don't always have time to be as homemade as I want.

And I get to cook with my bitty!

Using a rotisserie chicken saves me time. My littles also LOVE it. They won't eat most of the things I make with it, but while I am carving it up they eat as much meat as they can snag! They also proceed to discuss how it used to be a live chicken and someone killed it and they are eating it and how awesome is that????

I actually followed this recipe pretty closely. I used 6 cips of chicken stock and I didn't measure the veggies, but that's about it. My hubby swears he has never liked chicken n dumplins, he didn't grow up in the south, but he LOVED this! Yay!

This will be a staple in our cool weather recipe box for probably forever!

Farmhouse table

This was one of my honey do's this year. I am NOT a carpenter. Luckily I have a pretty hot one on hand to do all my crazy tasks! This table is gorgeous!
We did use better wood and stain because we are using it as an outdoor dining table.
I of course changed it too.
I made the hubby put a gutter wine basket in the middle too. I don't really know how. He just did it!

Definitely didn't cost $65. More like $250, I think.

Anyways, here's the original post link.

 http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2012/06/fancy-x-farmhouse-table.html

And here's our beauty!!

Avocado Trees don't grow in Colorado

Didn't work. I love growing avocado seeds as a kid. Apparently it doesn't work in Colorado.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seed/2002114535011263.html

Cheat

So this one is a little bit of a cheat. I found this recipe before I even knew about Pinterest. I have now pinned it, so everyone else can find it that way. I can sing praises for www.skinnytaste.com all day long! I tell everyone who asks about recipes to go to her blog. I haven't made anything bad off of there. I made all the food for my sisters shower from there, 50% of my meals probably come from there, I haven't tried any desserts though.

So here goes.

Only things I change about this are what's in the salad. I use whatever I have on hand.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/coconut-chicken-salad-with-warm-honey.html#more

Coconut chicken salad and honey mustard dressing. YES PLEASE! This is actually super easy, has a ton of flavor, and is healthy. What more can you ask for? This is dinner in my house tonight. And I have been looking forward to it ALL week!

Picture Update!

Cookie exchange SUCCESS!

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cookies/white-chocolate-cherry-shortbread/
Took these little beauties to my first ever cookie exchange party.
They were AWESOME!

Of course I didn't follow directions, so here are my substitutions.

I used white chocolate chips instead of white chocolate baking squares.
I used vanilla melting candy instead of shortening and white chocolate baking squares.

Everyone complimented these. I only got 1 bite of 1 cookie because they were gone. And my kids ate the rest.

I was probably a little heavy handed on the food coloring. You don't even need it, but I thought the darker color looked fun.

Reindeer Feet

Did these last year with my two littles. They were 3 and 5 at the time.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

Here is link to original post I found on pinterest.
http://www.lifeinmotionphotography.com/photoblog/?p=1230

And here are mine!

Of course I added glitter. I like glitter.

Woo hoo first review!

http://rhodesbread.com/blog/blog/braided-spaghetti-bread

Last night for dinner I made this spaghetti bread. Kind of.
One thing I should probably get out of the way is an admission.
I don't really follow recipes. I mean sometimes I try. But I almost never succeed.

So here are my substitutions.

I used a can of Pillsbury pizza crust and I didn't "braid" it. Just folded it over.
I used shredded mozzarella.
I used a can vodka spaghetti sauce. 
I sprinkled the outside with ranch dressing mix.
I used browned ground turkey meat. 
And most importantly, I didn't even add noodles!

Easy peasy lemon squezey!

Brown meat. Add spaghetti sauce. Spoon into flattened pizza crust. Add cheese.  Fold crust over. Wipe with egg wash. Sprinkle with parsley and ranch seasoning. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

This was YUMMY! Got 2 thumbs up from the meat and potatoes picky hubby. And it gave me so many ideas for future ones. I mean pizza stuffing, greek stuffing, mexican stuffing! The possibilities are endless! Serve with a salad and it's not too bad!

I will be making it again, probably not even the same way. I never remember the random recipe changes I make, so things most often turn out a little different every time! Oops.

Just starting

So very quick rundown here.
My name is Kristin.
I am mom.
I am wife.
I am full time Labor and Delivery Nurse.
I am OBSESSED with Pinterest, working out, eating, my kindle, my kids, the beach, travel, and sleeping.
I am going to use this page to review all things pinterest that I do. So here goes.