Happy Mardi Gras

Well, we had our own little Mardi Gras celebration today. We didn't get into the history or meaning of the day but just had some fun.

For the masks, use what you have, right? Well, we had some felt, crepe paper, pom pom balls, and party favor wands.

The felt became feathers; and snips of crepe paper and pom poms were just to glue on, because everyone loves to glue!

Party favor wands were fashioned to be mask handles. Jazzier than Popsicle sticks, I do believe.

How about that King Cake?

The kids colored sugars and decorated the top. They each had a baggie of sugar and I added food coloring. Then they smooshed it all around until all the sugar was colorful.

Those were some very proud bakers!

I don't have a recipe for King Cake. I cheated and just used our muffin recipe and baked it in a cake pan.

Cheater King Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

Goodies: fruit or chocolate chips

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and then stir in the wet ingredients. 

Fold in the goodies. I added some chocolate chips and a bit more milk (to make up for lack of moisture since I didn't do fruit this time).

Pour batter into one buttered and floured cake pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.

A light glaze of powdered sugar and water mixture will help colorful sugars stay put.

Hope you are having a lovely day!

Personalized memory game

Hey, this was a fun activity!

You know the classic game, Memory?

Well in that spirit, I took photos of the little neighbors as well as our pets, Kitty Baby, Little Weirdo, and Mr. Cool.

Two of each photo were printed and then snipped into game cards. 

I turned all the cards face down and then told the kids I had a fun game. They were skeptical at first. But once the cards were flipped over... 

They loved it!

The older ones enjoyed the play of the game while the younger ones just wanted to carry around photos of themselves. 

Awwww. Can you blame them? 

Remember to have a lovely day!

Good intentions

This year I'm really gonna do it. I'm going to make more gifts. 

Commercialism deluge and spending overload are the main impetuses for this declaration. Throw in a desire to live greener, too.

I'm looking to make IT, the real gift. The biggie. And it needs to be non-lame. 

Some people think I can't handle it--and for good reason.

The Pistachio-Cranberry Wreath Ornament Disaster of 2012 is still fresh in the minds of many.

So, what to make? 

Knitted or crocheted blankets come to mind. Everyone uses blankets.

Arm knitting? This project seems my speed.

A lesson in how to use tools from our garage is necessary for this one; but what an impression this huge set of dice would make!

I know one thing for certain: pistachio shells are not the answer!

Are you also dedicated to making gifts this year?

'Twas the week after Christmas

'Twas the week after Christmas
and aaaaah through the house.

A little down time is very much welcome after so much hoopla last week.

Salad is welcome, too. I've been craving it after all the rich and sugary indulgences.

Clean laundry has made a come back. The last month has been a free-for-all.

Time to ring in a fresh, new year! 

Ding dong.

Merry Christmas

Humbugging

Poor Kitty Baby. 

There is too much excitement for him this time of year. Instead of enjoying his routine of sleeping, eating, and giving the dogs trouble; he has to get dressed up, take long car rides at unexpected times of day, and miss a lot of naps. 

Kitty Baby becomes such a grouch when he deviates from his schedule yet everyone insists he be extra-extra nice and kiss strange people and eat weird food.

I get it, Kitty Baby. Sometimes the festivities are too much of a good thing. Even grown up humans need to nap, especially when there is so much to do. Let's go cuddle right this minute. 

And just like that, our frazzled day turns peaceful.

Purr.

One, two, three, four, five

Here's a fun little activity:

Do you know the rhyme, "One, Two, Three, Four, Five. Once I Caught a Fish Alive?"

Well, it goes like this:

One, two, three, four, five.
Once I caught a fish alive.
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Then I let it go again.
Why did I let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on the right.

I cut some fish shapes out of felt so we could count them while we sing this. Not only does this teach counting but also which is the right side.

In addition, our felt fish have enjoyed elaborate stroller trips throughout the house!

Where did I get my fish pattern? I just thought of a toilet seat and went from there. Do you see it? They look like toilet seats. I'm no artist.

Once I caught a toilet seat alive. Not as catchy.

Have a lovely day!