Pinterest MUST DO List

So, I know that the Pinterest train is already well on its way. And I'm not late hopping on board -- I've been riding along for quite a while.

HOWEVER, I feel that my "make" to "want to make" ratio is, well, terrible. I think I can count on two hands how many of the recipes/trick/tips I've tried. It's just EFFORT, man! You have to WANT it.

But I'm going to give you guys a few of my MUST DO items -- because I've done them and they've become part of my every day (or every week/every month, etc.) life.

HOW TO GET RID OF MOLD FROM (OR JUST REALLY CLEAN) YOUR BATHROOM GROUT
If you've ever had mold growing along the grout lines of your tub, or if it's just dirty or old or gross or NOT WHITE, do this. So easy. SO VERY EFFECTIVE.

HOW TO GET RID OF REALLY CLOGGED DRAINS (WITHOUT CHEMICALS!)
No picture needed. No chemicals, either.

BEEF AND BARLEY SOUP
OMG. My kids FLIP for this. It's so easy, so inexpensive and so, so delicious (and healthy!). It takes me back to my childhood and makes me feel like I'm cooking one of those meals that my kids will come home for ... something only Momma can make. Aren't those the best kinds?

BANANA BITES -- FROZEN. WITH CHOCOLATE. OMG.
So, this isn't rocket science. This really isn't even cooking. But this IS delicious and the perfect way to quell a chocolate craving. Or a sweets-of-any-kind craving. Sliced bananas. Frozen. Dipped in chocolate. Kept frozen. Oh, yes. She put peanut butter on hers, which is FINE. But I'm a purist. Really, though, you can't go wrong.

BEST CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE RECIPE EVER.
And no, I'm totally not exaggerating. Although, technically, maybe this doesn't count as a Pinterest find because I pinned it from a recipe I first tried in college. I think. Regardless it's just ... it's just so good, guys.

OK, so those are all for now. I recommend all of these over and over and over, cross my heart. A lot of things on Pinterest ... you just don't know. But these, I keep coming back to. Enjoy!

I know ... I'm a liar. Will Cookie Dough Cupcakes help?

I know, I know! I said I'd be posting more and then I'm all like, nevermind. But I'm trying! Life, man.

Anyway! I made these crazy-good cupcakes tonight. Now, to be fair, I only ate the cake part because the frosting? Totally not my thing. So why did I make them and how do I know they're good?

Because I made them for my kiddos. And they ate them happily -- they may have even eaten the frosting from a tube, directly into their mouths.

Because these dark chocolate caramel fudge cupcakes are topped with cookie dough. Oh yeah. I said it. COOKIE DOUGH. Best part? EGGLESS cookie dough. So it's totally safe to eat for anyone who's actually into that sort of thing.

But I mean, come on. I hate cookie dough and all ... but even these look appetizing to me. A little. If I squint.

But they loved them. And really, isn't that what a Valentine's Day gift is for -- making the ones you love happy?

Want to make these yummies? Of course you do. Click-arino.

Hey ... Remember me?

So, it's been almost a year since I last posted ... man, can I tell you how crazy 2012 was for my family?

Without going into too many details, I'll just say it's been quite a learning experience. I wasn't sure that I'd come back to this blog, but I kept it up, just in case.

So for any of you who are still here, thank you. How's the year been?

For anyone new who finds me, hello! So glad you're here :)

I'll be back soon with new things. Fun things.

Or I'll take another year off ... ha. Probably not.

To New Moms ...

Two words:

Don't. Blink.

Happy birthday to you.

Homemade Moon Sand

Oh man, was this a hit. You've seen Moon Sand, right? That wonderful, colorful, messiful (yes) kids' sand that clumps together for easy molding, but is soft and fun to squeeze?

Well, I made some at home, y'all. Much to the delight of my kiddos.

And it took all of 5 minutes.

The recipe is 8:1 flour to vegetable oil (or canola, or even baby oil). I used two cups of flour to 1/4 cup (and some change -- I wanted it a little clumpier) oil. Literally all you do is dump the oil on the flour and mix with a whisk. Period. Done. Game over.

The results?

Hit.

OK, so she wasn't sure of it at first.

SUPER HERO!

Make it happen, Flash.

Don't worry about her. She totally got into it.

Give it a try! I just used a milk carton and a water jug, cut in half, but I'm storing it in tupperware. Great, easy project!

Next Pinterest Idea!

OMG. How cute is this?

I think I might make this a little differently ... large poster board, maybe?

Oh, how I love Pinterest.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dreams

Hello.

Remember me?

I used to have this blog about cupcakes and stuff?

Then my daughter got chickenpox, strep throat and almost pneumonia all in one week? Then I got sick? Then everyone started avoiding me like I had the plague? Then I stopped posting because I was knee-deep in snotty noses and calamine lotion?

Yeah, welcome to my December.

Ugh.

In the midst of all of that gunk, you want to know what my saving grace was? Oh, it was cookies. Yummy, salty, sweet cookies.

And they are STUPID easy to make. Like, you could be hopped up on cold meds and STILL rock out these cookies.

Shall I share? Oh, I think I shall.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Cookies

Listen, first of all, you cannot make enough of these. My husband eats them by the plateful. They're seriously THAT good. That said, here's the recipe for a "smallish" batch. You will eat more than you intend. Keep that in mind.


Ingredients:
36 Ritz crackers
6 tablespoons peanut butter
4-5 squares almond bark (8-10 oz)
Sprinkles, nuts, etc., for topping -- totally optional (also totally cute)

Directions:
Put 1 teaspoon of peanut butter between two crackers. You can spread if you want, but you could also just plop it in the center of a cracker and smush the other one down carefully, so as not to break them. Your call.
Make all cookies and set on a lined baking sheet (aluminum foil works fine -- don't feel like you have to waste your wax or parchment paper on this).
Melt the almond bark according to package directions. DO NOT BURN! Burned almond bark is sad and smelly. Mix to smooth chocolate.
Using two forks, submerge each cookie one at a time into the chocolate and drag bottom of cookie along the edge of bowl to get most of the excess chocolate off. You don't want to sit the cookie on a big blob of chocolate. It will look prettier the more attention you spend on this step.
Before the chocolate sets, top with sprinkles, nuts, etc. Once the cookies cool and harden, EAT. Eat so much you cry with happiness.

Saltine Cracker Toffee

These are super yummy.

I made these to go in a treat box for my son's teachers. Fortunately, there were some leftovers.

There are no leftovers now.

Burp.

There is no final picture. Please go here for that.

Again, burp.

Line a cooking sheet with a single-layer of crackers.

Add caramel sauce to the crackers. Bake for 5 minutes.

Add chocolate chips. Don't add marshmallows. Trust me.

Ingredients:
1 sleeve saltine crackers
1.5 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Place saltines in a single layer on foil lined baking sheet.
Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and bring to low boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
Pour mixture evenly over saltines. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes or until the entire layer is bubbly. Watch this closely.
Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over saltines. When the chips begin to melt, spread the chocolate evenly over saltines making sure to spread all the way to the edges.
Place baking sheet in freezer for about 15 minutes until the entire layer has hardened. Break into pieces and enjoy!

Kitchen Sink Cookies

These are just plain fun cookies. Fun to make, fun to eat.

OK, they're probably a little more fun to eat.

Why are the kitchen sink cookies? Not too hard to understand this pun -- they have everything in them but the kitchen sink.

Some people call them monster cookies. I call them delicious.

I started with this recipe and tweaked it. It's worth it. Quick, easy and YUM.



Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup crunchy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup crushed pretzels (keep them chunky)

1/2 cup M&Ms

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or greased aluminum foil.

On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, pretzels and M&Ms.

Make balls of dough (about 3 tablespoons in size) and drop onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. (*note -- they will still be soft! Don't keep cooking until they're firm). Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Easy Sand Dough Ornaments

I think we've found our new Christmas tradition!

Best shot I have -- the kiddos haven't painted theirs yet!

Sand dough ornaments!

A friend of mine gave me the recipe, and honestly? This was one of the easiest and most well-received crafts I've done with the kiddos. They think they're cookies, but the dough comes together MUCH quicker than any cookie recipe I've ever used. Plus, it was really two crafts in one -- first, making, cutting the dough, then painting/coloring after they've dried.

Ready for the step-by-step? You got it.

1. Mix together 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt and 1 cup warm water until the dough looks like a pie crust.
2. Place the dough on a well-floured surface and roll out to 1/4" thick. If you do it too thin, it may break easier once dry and will also NOT hold up to a handprint.
3. Cut out whatever shapes you have on hand with cookie cutters and place the shapes on a Pammed (I verbed Pam) cookie sheet.
4. Use a straw to poke a hole through each ornament and remove the center. This is where the ribbon will go after you paint to hang on the tree.
5. Bake for 6 hours at 200 degrees. Let cool overnight, then paint, marker, color away!

If you want these to last years, clear coat them with polyurethane.

Fun! 

Wax-Dipped Pine Cones

Remember when I said I had a special idea in mind for these?

Well, I finally got around to finishing the craft. Over the summer, my family and my husband's mom/brother/grandmother/aunts/cousins/foreverandeveramen went to the lake.

It was a bittersweet trip, as it ended up being the last that we'd spend with my husband's Aunt Lori.

Because we knew at the time that things weren't going the way we'd hoped they would for her, I wanted to do something special to remember the trip. While we were there, I spent quite a while scouring the ground for perfectly shaped pine cones. I had an idea for small gifts for the family.

Originally, I thought these would make great additions to Christmas presents, but I decided to make them as "Just Because" presents instead.

My mom died when I was 20. I was a sophomore in college and it blindsided me. We didn't have a fantastic relationship -- we hardly had one at all. But it was still really hard. Unexpectedly hard.

My mom & dad in the late 1970s.

Two months before she died was the last time I saw her. It was Christmas and she gave me two dollar store candles. I remember being mad that she gave me cheap candles -- especially because they weren't scents I liked (Apple Pie and Cinnamon Spice). How horrible of me. Absolutely horrid, childish behavior.

When she died, I kept the candles on my desk. Each time I moved after that -- from a dorm to an apartment, to my next apartment with fewer roommates, to my own apartment in Oklahoma, to this house where I've started my family -- I've kept the candles out.

I burn them whenever the loss is particularly acute. When my kids have a new adventure and I wish I could tell her about it. When I dream of her and wake up lonely.

I wanted to do the same for her family with these tokens from the lake trip. I melted scented tea candles (Apple Pie and Cinnamon Spice) on a double boiler over high heat, then dipped the pine cones in the wax and sprinkled them with sugar.

Whenever the mood strikes, you just throw one of these in the fireplace. The wax will melt and smell wonderful and the sugar will spark around the pine cones until it burns off.

I hope these pine cones are, in a small way, the same comfort for everyone this first Christmas without Lori as the candles have been for me.

Photo Card

Gifted Tag Christmas

Design your Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Santa! I know him!

The kids got their wish today -- we visited Santa in the mall.

They've been talking for weeks about what they were going to ask him for Christmas. A morphin, a doll crib, a light up light saber, a doll chair.

Fancy stuff.

When the moment came, and Santa asked them to tell him ONE thing they wanted, the pressure was on.

My boy asked for a teddy bear. My girl? A ball.

It's like the 1930s  up here.

Merry Christmas!

Harry Potter: Nerd Alert

I decided that my almost 5-year-old son was ready for the magic of Harry Potter. He'd seen parts of the movie before and has asked for it for Christmas. Being a book NERD, I told him we needed to start with the books.

I don't care what you do when you're on your own, but while you're in MY house, you will always start with the BOOKS.

New rule.

It's been a looong time since I've read the first book. So I just sort of assumed he'd be ready. I mean, I knew it might be a little over his head, but doable. Right?

Not so much. I mean, there's just a lot of background, you know? Talking about Mr. Dursley's job at the drill company. How he and his wife loathe "weirdos." Just fluff that's not usually in age-appropriate books for him.

Whenever I read books to him, I have him lie down and close his eyes so he can imagine it. I do this for three reasons -- I want him to use his mind to see what I'm reading, to make sure he really focuses AND to make sure he relaxes and hopefully drifts easily to dreamland.

The first chapter is 17 pages, y'all. At page 10 he started to really droop. Page 11, I suspected and page 12 confirmed that he had fallen fast asleep, tucked in with thoughts of a tabby cat and old Professor Dumbledore.

Here's where the nerd alert comes in -- I started to cry while reading the book. I know, I know.

But I was really invested in those books! And starting over, reading about the day James and Lily died and Harry became an orphan -- and reading about all these people who have no idea what's coming next.

And, yes, I realize it's a book. Fake.

But still.

Apparently there's still a part of me that's sad Dumbledore died. Because when he showed up, bah. It was over for me.

My kiddo might be a little young right now. We might have to put it back on the shelf. But I hope when he's ready, that it impacts him as much as it did (does) me. Good books move you when you're reading them.

Great books move you when you think about them, even 10+ years later.

A Preschooler's Homemade Volcano

The kids and I experimented with science this weekend by making homemade volcanoes!

Here's what you'll need if you decide to fill your room with the delicious aroma of Play-Doh and vinegar. Mmm.

First, we made wells out of the Play-Doh.

Am I doing this right?

Take as may breaks as you need to watch your cat chase birds in the yard.

Get 'em, Jack.

Once your well is formed (and make it taller than wide, please! Don't be me ...), add baking soda and a drop or two of food coloring so the lava looks realistic.

I wish I'd measured how much I used of each, but I didn't. Use more than I did, though. The bubbles didn't poof as much as I wanted them to.

Ask your kids to stop running out of the room because of the vinegar smell when you open the bottle. Bribe them with candy, if necessary.

Pour the vinegar (again, I'm not sure how much I used ... maybe a tablespoon?) into each well and watch it ERUPT!*

The kids had a blast! More science experiments are definitely in our future. Especially since my daughter thinks vampires roar like lions and crawl on the ground. While not TECHNICALLY science, I think it's an important lesson she'll have to learn.

*slightly bubble

Christmas Ornament Wreath

So, we had the crafting day yesterday and it was a lot of fun! I meant to take pictures while I was there, but it didn't happen ... too much chicken salad dip and chickpeas.

My favorite thing we made was this:

A Christmas ornament wreath! I know technically I should have filled in the gaps with smaller ornaments, but I got frustrated with the glue gun and just stopped.

All you do is take a wire hanger and form it into a circle, then string the balls along the hanger until it's full and pretty -- and oh, so festive!

Also, I made a few more makeup bags:

So excited for Christmas!

Zippered Makeup Bag

Zippered makeup bags. Love. I first saw this here.These are so easy, and I'm obsessed with making them. Hello, Christmas presents.

Want to see?

Of course you do.

She made them with the intention of using them as pencil bags. Not being a student, I immediately saw travel makeup bag.

I talk so much about HobLob, you'd think I owned the place. If I did, I'd have a much bigger house.

BUT -- I got everything I needed for these gems at HobLob. I bought a $.25, 9"x12" piece of brown felt, and a 1/4 yard of this fabric (on sale for $1.22), which gave me enough for two of these bags with scraps left over. You could certainly use any scrap you have laying around in that size. Or patched pieces of scraps. Or an old skirt. These are just my ideas ... :)

For $1.99, I bought the zipper, and the charms came in a 2-pk for $1.47. Basically, these are cheap. Less than $5 for each one.

Hello, Tarte powder. I love you. Never leave me, OK?

Really, really easy. Check out her site for the full tutorial. I'm a fan.

Today I'm having a craft night with some of my favorite friends. We've got a whole host of ideas of things to make.

Wait until you see what I do with these beauties I picked up from our summer lake trip to eastern Oklahoma.

Get excited!

Christmas Ornaments!

So I posted this earlier, and promised to have more. Honestly? There isn't much more to tell!

I went to HobLob and bought a 9-pk of pink mini-tree ornaments for $2 (their Christmas decorations are discounted 50% off!). I found the candy cane and candy piece for $2/ea at Target. They have a lot of colors, so you can mix and match. I loved the blue and pink, though, so I went for it.

To the back of each of these ornaments, I hot glued one round (strength level 6) magnet I bought for $1.99 at HobLob. The pack had 8 magnets. I only ended up using 6 of the pink balls, so I'd have enough for the candy pieces.

I love them. They're really cute and strong, so they can actually hold things on the fridge. The kiddos loved helping me, and are both so excited to already have Christmas flair hanging up :)

Fridge Magnet Teaser ...

This is what the kiddos and I have been up to this weekend.

Just a cellphone shot. More to come!

It's Babies All the Way Down

This post brought to you by Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you've watched the Animal Planet at all lately, you've seen the trash-talking commercials for PUPPIES vs. BABIES.

If you have kids like mine, they sit transfixed at the TV, in love with both puppies AND babies.

So what's the deal? Puppies vs. Babies is a pretty cool contest where YOU get to vote on which is cuter -- newborns or zooborns.

My girl's vote is obviously for the babies. She's not a huge fan of dogs, anyway. In her words, "I like little puppies sometimes, but I never like big puppies. They're stinky like feet." My son, however? He's torn. But if push came to shove, I think he's on the puppy's side of the fence. Of course, this is the same kid who spent the second and third years of his life randomly crawling through stores and restaurants giving people and things "puppy kisses." Which, yes, meant he licked a lot of strangers.

As for me? Babies. Are you kidding? OF COURSE babies. Fortunately, you can cast your vote for one puppy and one baby that makes you smile. Check out the Puppies vs. Babies online contest now through November 23 and help some adorable punkin' or pooch win $5k. Wowza!

Have your kiddos check it out and see who they like! My kids voted for baby Jake :)