MineCraft Birthday

This year, my son turned TEN and wanted a Minecraft theme for his party. We always do our own party favors and make the cake. I must admit, this was the easiest cake I have ever made and he absolutely loved it!

 

 

 

We had to have one with the #10 on it, so we used square Starbursts
and a little hand made Minecraft sword.

And every party has to have some special little favors! The place that we had the party already supplied the thank you gift bags, but we made little chocolate Creepers to add to them!  We simply wrapped little Hershey bars with green construction paper, taped them, and drew on the faces...easy peasy!

 

 

 

HAPPY MINING!!!!

Photo reminders for Santa



Over the weeks, leading up to Christmas, my kids will see something in the store that they "just love" and think they have to have...we snap a pic to save or forward to Santa as a reminder, it satifies them, they put it back on the shelf and know that we can revisit it later to see if they really want it on their Santa list.  This ALSO help ME to find the correct item! lol!

 

"oh Mommy!!  I really hopes Santa brings me this exact
purple piggy" and thanks to this pic....he just may!

Loving the Challenge!!!

I am ready to start my second 90 day Challenge with Body by Vi and am so excited!!  I'm a bit slow posting, but that's because I've been so busy!  As of today, I have lost 29lbs and almost 3 pants sizes! I do have a couple of complaints about the Body By Vi Program...#1.  Wearing baggy clothes is miserable, maybe more so than tight ones! I hate pulling up my pants and I don't want to buy new ones, b/c they will be too big soon too!!!  #2. Even my wedding ring is too loose?!?!?  Ugh, those ring adjuster things pinch my finger, I don't think Billy will understand if I tell him that Visalus caused me to NOT wear my ring anymore! lol!  It literally fell off my finger in Walmart, so I'll have to have it resized.  #3. I am missing my tv shows...I have way too much energy to sit down and watch a show!  My dvr is full with things I want to see, but end up making use of my extra energy by doing things that are a bit more constructive! 

I am gonna rock this second challenge because I now have a system that is working for "me".  I absolutely love my vi shakes, they are a real "treat" for me to get to have.  I wake up each morning and have my cup of coffee (with honey & half and half), sometimes I have two cups.  Then, I make my morning shake...it usually consists of 8oz skim milk, 2 scoops vi mix, handful of spinach, 1/2 cup frozen bluberries, and 2 Tbs ground flax.  This is so yummy!  I sip that as I run around getting kids and husband off to work, or as I drive to gym.  I immediately start on my water.  I flavor them with raspberry neuros for the gym or an occassional Crystal Light packet, I am using a 32oz rubbermaid container (helps me measure my intake).  I usually have one container down before I even think about a snack, I eat big snacks that are around 200-300 calories, you can see some of them HERE!!!   I refill my water, and usually eat something when the kids have their lunch. My lunch is usually a salad with leftovers, grilled veggies, or turkey/cheese rollups. Sometimes I have breakfast food, cuz I love eggs! I have another shake around 2pm.  This shake is usually just the cake mix flavored regular one, i still just love it plain, it gets me through the afterschool routine and energy to cook dinner for everyone, I am usually not even hungry for dinner, but at least it makes me cook healthier, no big cravings to change my menu plans! lol!  Anyways, somedays I don't get my afternoon shake because we have dinner early or lunch late, whatever, then I just have my 2nd shake as a dessert with dark cocoa powder and mix ins from Kassi's Recipe FB Page!  I try to get 3-32oz containers of water down...it's getting easier and I feel full all the time too!

So, you see...I do not miss a meal, I am just happy that my mind is on something other than FOOD!!  I am busy being healthy, getting stuff done, and being involved with the best company ever!  It feels so good to hear how great a friend or family member is feeling, their health is so important!  If I stopped losing weight on Visalus, I would continue my shakes just for the healhty way it makes me feel, the weight loss is just a mega bonus for me!!  I'm getting ready to start this next challenge, so come one and join it with me!  Contact me for a free sample...100% money back guarantee, what do you have to lose, but inches!

Snacks under 200 calories!!!!

Since I started a 90 day "get healthy" challenge with Body by Vi, I have my shake for breakfast and lunch, but healthy snacks are needed and super important!  I found these yummy snacks on the Dr.Oz show and am so excited to share them! While they may not save you money, they will certainly save you some calories...that's important too!  are all 200 calories or less!  They are also put together with their health benefits in mind!  These snacks keep me from feeling deprived or hungry....so yummy!

Antipasto Power Plate
This easy-to-assemble snack packs a protein punch with the proscuitto, and there's plenty of fiber in the chickpeas and zucchini.

Ingredients
1 thin slice prosciutto or thin sliced ham
One 2% mozzarella string cheese
2 olives
1 cup grilled zucchini/squash
1/4 cup chickpeas (feel free to season with herbs..yum!)

Directions
Wrap the prosciutto around the string cheese. Enjoy with the olives and veggies on the side.

Mini Pizza Pocket
The vegetables bulk this snack up, without adding any extra fat. The lycopene in the tomato sauce is fat soluble, so the cheese helps with the absorption of this nutrient.

Ingredients
1 mini 100% whole wheat pita pocket or wheat sandwich thin
1 oz of 2% reduced fat mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp pasta sauce
1 cup spinach
2 onion slices plus any additional veggies
Directions
Assemble and place in toaster oven until cheese is melted.

Skinny Dip & Chips
The black pepper and hot sauce kick your metabolism up a notch. The Greek yogurt and walnuts are full of protein that'll help you stay fuller for longer.

Ingredients
For the dip:
1/2 cup of 2% Greek yogurt
1 tsp walnuts
Garlic
Black pepper
1 tsp hot sauce

What to dip:
1/2 oz blue potato chips (8 chips)
1 cup cherry tomatoes or favorite vegetable

Directions
Mix all dip components. Enjoy the dip with 8 blue potato chips and the cherry tomatoes

Cheesy Apple Sandwich
The apples are full of water and keep you feeling full, while the lemon juice regulates your metabolism and regulates your body's sugar absorption.

Ingredients
4 apple slices (these act as the "bread")
3 tbsp low-fat ricotta cheese (sometimes I use almond butter)
10 almonds
Lemon juice

Directions
Core apple and slice in thick pieces. Spread cheese and almonds on top of the apple slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Peanut Butter & Banana Quesadilla

Ingredients
whole wheat tortilla
1 Tbs peanut butter
banana
cinnamon
Directions:  Spread pb on tortilla, top with sliced banana, sprinkle with cinnamon...you can even grill if you want it warm...so satisfying and delicious!! 

No Bake Truffles

Ingredients
5 dry dates
11 dry apricots
1/3 cup cacoa powder
1/2 Tbs. vanilla
1 Tbs. vanilla
1 Tbs. agave or honey
pinch salt
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Directions:  place in food processor, pulse, form into small 1 inch balls, then roll in chopped nuts or additional cocoa powder...you have a yummy chocolate snack!

Pizza Popcorn
This will make 8 cups of popcorn for only 200 calories.

3 Tbsp of un-popped kernels
1 Tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of salt
1tsp of chives

Directions:  place in small brown paper lunch sack, fold opening over twice to close, microwave for 2-3 minutes on high, listen for the popping to slow down!  YUM, cheap, easy!!!!

My FAVES were the antipasto plate, apples with ricotta, and the pb banana quesadilla!!!!

Healthcare Coverages YOU may not know about!

I am blogging about this again, because I feel like many people may not realize that under the "Affordable Care Act" there are preventative services that your health insurance company HAS to pay at 100%!!  No copay or deductible required! 

Some of these services include:  immunizations, weight loss counseling, well-woman screenings, tobacco sesation, children's eye exams, and sooo many others!

Check out the link to see all benefits, then make your appointments, no longer put them off because of the out-of-pocket expenses!

Preventative Services Covered under the Affordable Care Act

Snowflake decor

After Christmas, my house looks bare...no tree, no garland, no colorful decorations...empty feeling.  I immediately decorate with snowflakes for the rest of winter.  I tape paper snowflakes that the kids have made on my front windows.  I love to see their creative works!  We cut snowflakes out of coffee filters, cupcake wrappers, and paper doilies.  They were all beautiful!  Ours are decorated with blue and silver glitter!  Some of the doilies were so pretty that we just left them uncut.

In my FamilyFun Magazine, I saw a wonderful idea for my fireplace mantle...plastic bottle snowmen, paper trees, and shiny silver garland...I am crafting this...

Reading for Life- It takes time

This is a story for "inspiration" that I got at our school's literacy meeting....why we need to build on language EVERYDAY!!! -Mrs. Kelly Smith

Reading for Life

"Reading is the greatest single effort that the human mind undertakes, and one must do it as a child."

 -John Steinbeck

So, THIS MAN decides to plant a special type of bamboo.  He goes to his yard and measures an area 20 ft by 20 ft.  Over several days, he digs down two feet to break up the clay earth, sifts the dirt, adds manure to fertilize the soil, carefully plants the bamboo, covers it, and marks off the boundaries.  Every morning, before breakfast, he carries water from the stream to his plot.  He weeds and waters and waits. Every day.

After a year, no shoots have appeared. A neighbor who has observed the man's daily efforts stops as the man worked away and asks, "Why are you working so hard for nothing?"

"It takes time," the man replies.

The next year, the man does exactly the same thing.  Every day, he walks to the stream at dawn, carries the water, carefully soaks and weeks his plot. At the end of that year, still nothing has broken the surface. The same neighbor walks by, "Why are you wasting your time?" he asks.  "I have some good seeds I'd give you."

"It takes time,"the man replies.

The third year, the man builds a small fence around the plot to keep out animals.  Each morning he walks to the stream and carries water to his plot. He continues to tend it with care. At the end  of the third year, when still no shoots have appeared, his neighbor asks, "Are you crazy? Why do you keep doing that?"

"It takes time," the man replies.

Three weeks later, the first small, green shoots push through the soil.  They grow. And grow, And grow! Six weeks later, the man's bamboo towers over 60 feet high.

It takes time.  This phrase has little credence in our fast-forward, sound-bite world, where a moment's silence on TV is referred to as "dead air" and multitasking is a way of life.  But during those years when it seemed the bamboo was doing nothing, critically important things were happening:  The roots of the bamboo were spreading, branching, thickening, developing the strength and vigor to support the bamboo's future phenomenal growth and size.  Only with watering and careful nurturing could the plant develop the root structure to support the towering stalks of bamboo.  Every bit of the man's effort, every ounce of water, was needed.

For your child to become a great reader, his/her mind needs similar watering.  You water your child with words-talking and reading.  It doesn't take a lot of time, but you must never forget to water, a little bit every day, day after day, week after week, year after year.

-taken from 1st pages of the book:  7 Keys to Comprehend by Susan Zimmermann

Less is More for Valentine's Day!!!

I was reading the most recent issue of All You mag and realized that we save money around Valentine's Day too, and really get to enjoy it at the same time...

Instead of Going out to Dinner....plan a special dinner at home with or without the kiddos.  Heart-shaped grilled cheese with tomato soup, picnic style by the fire, s'mores over the fire, etc...be creative!

Instead of giving Boxed Candy...make your own together with your love or invite the kids to help and make it a fun and creative family occasion.  Cut an assortment of fresh yummy fruit and dip in melted dark chocolate or white chocolate, add pink/red sprinkles to make it special.  Dip pretzels, popcorn, crackers, or fingers!!!! YUM!!

Instead of spending a small fortune at the Florist...consider this:  Personally, I am not a "flower loving" type of gal...seems like a waste of money because they die...I prefer a live plant...I have dropped the hint that I'd love some small herbs for my kitchen window, something that can be used for a long time.  Flowers or decorations can be added to a live plant to make it seasonal and pretty! 

Instead of spending money on a card....write your own...it's soooo much more special and you don't have to dig through the card section, reading tons of cards, trying to find "the one" that says what you feel...nothing is better than your own words!  OR, better yet, we have the same two cards that we gave to eachother 10 years ago, we dig them out and write a special addition to it each year, it's fun to read the previous year's comments to see how we have changed and what has stayed the same....our love!  lol!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Visalus Body by Vi !!!!!

So..this is a post from my Family Blog...I held off posting on this blog because I try to keep it dedicated to SAVING MONEY...now this product fits the bill!!  I am saving money and adding years to my life..i think it's time to blog about that!!  I am blogging about VISALUS or Body By Vi !!!


"My sister and I have been going to the gym for 13 months, pretty regularly, like 2-5 times per week.  We even hired a trainer to kick our butts.  We altered our diet to reduce fast food, increase veggies, and even started juicing!  We journaled what we ate, tried to cut carbs out after 4pm and definitely felt better, more healthy, though a bit deprived of evening snacks!  Anyways, I am so glad that we started this journey, but to be honest...I lost some weight, gained some back and kinda did the roller coaster thing...at the end of an entire year of being conscious and exercising, I have lost 13lbs. 

I went to the doctor for a check-up, maybe there is something else going on that is making weight loss so difficult, but nope, thyroid, blood pressure, cholesterol...all great!  I'm glad, but was kinda hoping that there was a "reason" that all my effort wasn't enough. 

Around that same time, my sister kept telling my about one of her friends on Facebook...claiming she was losing weight, getting her health back and really changing her life with a product called Visalus.  I didn't have much interest...I doubted it would help "us", plus I didn't know this friend of hers...my sister was so amazed at the transformation of her friend that she bought us some shake mix to share.  We loved the taste, especially since we were trying out different protein powders in our smoothies...yuck!  This stuff tasted delicious, I figured I could at least try it.  We loved the energy we felt, the way it kicked my carb/sweets cravings, and we started to see the scale inch it's way DOWN!!!  Really?!?!  I thought it might be "in my head"...still trying to doubt this product!  We refused to tell anyone about it until we had proof!  We started our official 90 Day Challenge on November 30th....and the numbers are in!!

I have lost 11 lbs and 5.5inches, I keep thinking that I could have done better, but let's face it....it was over the holidays and the numbers moved in the right direction!!  I should be thankful that I didn't gain, I doubt there has EVER been a holiday season that I didn't gain!!  I feel great and can't wait to get back into the routine of working out and continuing my Visalus Challenge!  First month down and 2 more to go!!!" 


I will blog more about this because we have decided to become promoters and are already getting checks in the mail!  YES, we are actually getting paid to help people get healthy...this is like a dream come true for me!!!

Some HALLOWEEN Decor

I love to decorate for fall and especially Halloween...most of these items that I decorate with were my Mom's.  My decor isn't very scary, just cute and harvesty, if that's even a word..lol!

My Mom used to display this antique Casper, I
found a little one to go with it!  I also love to use
candy corn to fill my vase & add corn stalk

I am showing off the kid's Halloween craft of creating
Jar Jack-0-Lanterns

These were my Mom's too...ghost chair back and a centerpiece bowl!

Even dog treats are in a pumpkin bowl with corn stalks

My scary garage-sale find!!  They are candle holders

A wooden ghost sits outside our window

Candle holders hold pumpkins or funky squash

Our pumpkins

Hand made art projects are perfect for my window!

These candle holders are perfect for EVERY occasion...
I just change up the goodies inside!

My white naked tree...i love it!

spray painted pumpkins decorated with jewels
lifted up with candle holders

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

This was the first time we had ever roasted pumpkin seeds...I thought I didn't like them, so we always threw them away, turns out....they're YUMMY!!!!

Remove your seeds, rinse them and remove what stringy flesh you can, boil them in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain and lay out on cookie sheet in single layer.  I let them sit out overnight.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees, place seeds in bowl with 3 Tbs. olive oil or melted butter, mix well to cover them all.  Add your favorite seasonings like, salt alone, or I added garlic powder, cayenne, sea salt, and Cajun to mine!  (you could add brown sugar and cinnamon to create a sweet snack)  Roast for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cook them until they are the desired crispiness!   I like mine crunchy and almost burnt...but however you do it is fine!!!  They are nutty, salty, and absolutely worth "not wasting" !!!

Even he liked them!!! yay!

Fall Classroom party ideas

For my son's 2nd grade fall party we played "Pin the leaf on the Tree"  It started as their "craft" project...we let them decorate some pre-cut leaves with stickers and stick-on craft jewels.  They wrote their name on the back, so that when we were done playing the game, they could keep their specially decorated leaf!  We drew a bare tree on poster board, taped it to the wall, tied a handkerchief around their eyes, spun them around as we made the class sing songs, let them pin their leaf on the tree!  They loved it AND so did the teacher...she is going to use it as Fall Decor before letting them have their leaf back!!

  We served black & orange nacho chips (from Walmart) and individual cheese dips as their party snack!  We also set up a "creation station" for their drinks...we bought a drink color kit from Micheal's Craft Store, and brought in clear cups, and served 7 UP...they got to add the green "slime", the red "blood", or the blue "poison" to their potion!!  They loved it and some added them all to make a special "black" deadly drink!  lol!

We also played "Roll the Squash"  the kids did a relay race rolling a squash to each other.  Sometimes we play "Pumpkin Bowling"  where you set up 3 squash as the pins and let them roll a small round pumpkin to go bowling!!

We put together little goodie bags to give away at the very end, that way they put it in their backpacks instead of digging it out and losing parts.  Sometimes we let them decorate their bags as the craft, then relay race to collect all the goodies to put in it!!  That's fun too! 

We cannot have a Halloween party, we have Fall parties, but if we could, I would give the kids orange paper lunch sacks and let them cut out a Jack-0-lantern face to take home... on Halloween night, they can put a small candle or light inside to light the way of the trick-or-treaters!  We do this as a craft project at home!

I would love to hear your party ideas!!!

Jar Jack-O-Lanterns

These Jar Jack-O-Lanterns were super easy to make!

Here's what you need:
Any clear plastic or glass containe (we even used peanut butter container, a glass salsa jar, etc)
Painters Tape
Orange acrylic paint
Some of those batter-operated tea lights (three in a pack for $1 @ Dollar Tree)

Cut out shapes for eyes, nose, and mouth using the painter's tape, stick it on the clear container, paint it orange, remove the tape, insert your little light, and let it twinkle away!!  I did end up taping yellow tissue paper inside behind the face to give a yellow appearance...loved them!  Even my 3 year old did this project with ease :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!! 

Reuse Birthday Cards

Make all those adorable Birthday Cards into special bookmarks. FamilyFun Magazine  had a great way to repurpose them. Cut our a long strip of the card, leave the fold so that you can apply self-adhesive magnetic tape to fold it over and save the exact place you are!  What a great way to preserve those momentos!

pump out the soap & save

My son is in second grade and takes a shower all on his own each morning.  I wonder how much shampoo or bodywash he uses...to make sure he uses the correct amount, I switched his shampoo/bodywash to pump-style bottles.  He knows now that he gets ONE pump of each and that it IS enough! 

Suave makes one with a pump for kids OR you can just reuse one of your empty soap dispensers, I used a dish soap pump bottle, filled it with shampoo, and then let him decorate it! 

Customize your school supplies

We bought generic plain old supplies and I let him decorate them with
his favorite stickers...LEGO !!!  He decorated the binder by sliding
a drawing down inside the clear cover..we can remove/replace
it later!

MY school binder

While at a friends house, I noticed that she had a binder for her son's school stuff...I HAD to have one!  I could not live without "MY school binder"  It actually has more than just school stuff inside, but it is centered around my son's school activities.  This binder keeps my head straight...ALL school papers have a place inside.

Of course, it's decorated with the MAIN subject!!

Inside pocket has items that need attention...(I still need to order an 8x10
from Blake's last year's pics!)   A zipper pocket keeps a pen,
bookmarks for Blake, and appointment cards, note paper to write
to the teacher when needed.

I print off FREE calendars to add in and help keep track of special events

This is the SCHOOL section, including school phone numbers, teacher's
directory, letter from his teacher about supplies, etc.

The HOMEWORK section still has Ziplocs filled with learning games from
last years class!  At least we still know where they are...lol!!

Other sections are for activities like, soccer, dance, church, and medical