Halloween Treat Bags and Pumpkin Mandarin Cups

This year I did treat bags for my daughter to take to school and Sparks and pumpkin mandarin cups for my son to give out at preschool for Halloween.

This is what I used for their treats:

-snack size chocolate bars
-welches fruit snacks (not pictured)
-treat bags
-mandarin fruit cups
-Halloween pencils
-black marker (not pictured)
-thin ribbon (not pictured)


Treat Bags

For my daughter's friends I used a treat bag and filled it with 1 pencil, 2 snack size chocolate bars and a pack of fruit snacks.  I used ribbon to close the bag and curled the ends.

Pumpkin Mandarin Cups

My son is only 2 and I know he will already get a ton of candy from his Halloween party so I decided on a healthier treat.  I took mandarin fruit cups and used a black marker to draw a pumpkin face on it.  He thought it was awesome so I hope the other kids will like it.  I saw this idea on Pinterest a while back and thought it was so cute .

Jenn

1st Birthday Party Theme

Last week was my daughters 1st Birthday.  I'm going to share some of the things I did to put her party together.  Hopefully these ideas will help when you plan your little ones party.

DECORATIONS

I went to Party Max and Dollarama to pick up the decorations.
This is what I picked up from each store.

Party Max
-pink plastic plates
-1st Birthday Banner
-invitations
-1st birthday hat
-1st birthday bib
-high chair decorating kit
-1st birthday cake plates
-1st birthday napkins
-I ordered helium balloons to be picked up on day of party
-sign me dog

Dollarama
-pink table cloth
-pink cutlery
-pink napkins
-pink and white streamers
-pink cupcake liners

FOOD/DRINKS

This is the food and drinks I served.

-meatballs
-meat and cheese tray
-buns
-chips
-goldfish
-cabbage rolls
-oreos dipped in icing
-spinach dip
-veggie straws
-watermelon
-grapes
-srtawberries
-cake / cupcakes
-ice cream
-pop
-juice
-water
-punch

 I saw on Pinterest oreos dipped in chocolate.  I hate melting chocolate .  Something always goes wrong no matter how I do it so I thought I'd save myself the hassle and use icing.  I bought a can of icing and used food colouring to tint it.  I put the icing in a bowl and melted it in the microwave . You should stir every 10 seconds until the icing drips off the spoon.  You don't need to melt the whole can of icing at once I did bits at a time .  Once the icing was melted I dipped half the oreo in and placed it on wax paper.  Then put some sprinkles on it before the icing set.  To save on time I made these a few days before and kept them in the freezer. 

 

For the cake I made a 6" fondant white cake .  I had it displayed on cake plates and pillars.  Under the cakes I also made cupcakes.  I served the cupcakes for the party and kept the 6" cake for my daughter to smash the next day which was her actual birthday.

I also picked up a sign me dog for everyone at the party to sign.  I was a bit upset since my other 2 kids had a bear but they only sell the dogs now.  Not that big of a deal lol but I was hoping they would all have the same one.

Jenn

Fruit Loop Neckaces

Sorry I haven't written lately but my husband and I have just moved into our first home .  Moving with 3 young kids has been keeping me very busy.  Now that I'm mostly settled in I should have some more time to get on my blog.  The good thing about moving is there had been lots of  DIY projects I have been working on so I'll be writing about those soon.  To ease back into things I'm going to start back with a kids craft that I have used to keep my kids busy while I've been unpacking.



My 2 oldest love making Fruit Loop necklaces.  Not only is it a neat thing to make but it also gives them a snack to eat.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
-Fruit Loops
-plastic lace (you can find spools of it in the craft store)


For those of you that don't know, this is what plastic lace looks like.

All you do is cut a piece of the plastic lace and tie a loop knot on the end.  Pour some Fruit Loops in a bowl and let the kids thread it on.  Once they are done tie the ends together and let them wear and eat their creations.

Here are some pictures of my little ones making theirs. 

Isabella was a pro at this.

Dean couldn't wait till he was done.

Showing off their hard work.

YUMMY

Hope you all enjoy this with your kids.

Jenn

April Favorites 2013

MARY'S ORGANIC CRACKERS

These crackers have become mine and my husbands favorite .  They are only 140 calories for 13 crackers. They are made with whole grain brown rice, quinoa, flax seeds and sesame seeds.  These crackers are also gluten free.  They can be found at Costco for around $7.  It has 2 bags in the box.
I have also seen them at Fortinos but they are about $5 for 1 small bag.

LIPTON GREEN TEA SUPERFRUIT - WILD CRANBERRY AND POMERGRANATE

I love this tea.  I found a sample of it I got a while back, and after I drank it I knew I had to buy a box.
I probably would never buy this flavour combination if I hadn't had a sample so I'm glad I did. 

3-IN-1 SMART TRIKE

My son got this bike for his 1st birthday.   He absolutely loves it.   I love how this bike is good from 10 months to 36 months.  It has an adjustable handle to push and a 3 point harness for when their young.  When they get older you can take off the bars along the side .  Then when they get old enough to ride a tricycle you can take of the handle and let them ride .  I definitely think it's a great investment.   If you would like to see more on how all the stages work click here.



CONTIGO WATER BOTTLES

A few weeks ago I purchased these water bottles from Costco.   It came with a pack of 3 and was just under $20.  I find these bottles very convenient.  They are leak proof and you just press a button on the back to release the seal to have a drink.  These bottles are 100% BPA free .  There is a clip handle on the bottle which  makes it easy to carry and easy to attach.

Jenn

March Favorites 2013

Here are my favorites for this month.


GO GO SQUEEZE
A friend told me about these apple sauce packs at Costco. They have 16 packs in the box and cost just under $7. There are 2 flavours in the box. Apple and strawberry apple.  The kids love them and they are good for on the go or school lunches. I also love how the ingredients for the regular apple one is just apples and water. Perfect to give to the baby.

BABY TEETHER

Another friend told me about a teether they purchased at Walmart. The end of the teether vibrates when baby bites down on it. I bought it a while ago but I think it was around $8. The baby loves it, and it definitely soothes her sore gums.

LEGO FLASHLIGHT KEY CHAIN
My 2 year old son has become obsessed with Lego and so desperately wanted some Lego people . He doesn't put anything in his mouth but the people are small and I don't think it's a proper toy for him right now. While looking around in Chapter's for books I came across this Lego key chain. It's over double the size of a Lego figurine and it also has a flashlight on the bottom of both feet. You just hold down the tummy to make it work . It cost $11.99 . So now he's the happiest little boy ever to have his Lego people and a little light to take to bed.

DOTTING TOOLS
I love getting designs on my toes when I go for pedicures. But I figured I could probably do some of the work myself at home. I found these dotting tools on ebay.ca for $1.64 with free shipping. You can also get them on amazon.ca. They cost anywhere from $5.99 and up and then you have to pay for the shipping. I didn't mind waiting a few weeks to get them cheaper. Stay tuned for a post about using these tools!

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Jenn

Hotdog Octopus

My kids are very picky eaters, so I decided to make their dinner more fun. I took a hotdog and cut it half way down to the bottom, and made another cut the same way on the other side. I know an octopus has 8 tentacles but I wanted them to be thicker so only made 4, but you can cut more if you'd like. After the cuts I boiled the hotdogs until the "tentacles" started to curl up. They thought this was the best dinner ever, and never complained once about not wanting to eat. I hope your kids will enjoy this as much as mine did.

Jenn

Oatmeal Fruit Smoothie

  I was looking for a smoothie recipe for breakfast that had oats in it. Every one I found used uncooked oats. I do like the taste of the oats uncooked in a smoothie, but the amount used made it high in calories. After some experimenting I figured out a recipe using cooked quick outs that is low in calories and filling.  A 1/4 cup cooked oats makes 1 cup when cooked, making the smoothie thicker. To save time in the mornings, I cooked the oats the night before and put it in the fridge.

Oatmeal Fruit Smoothie

-1 cup cooked oats (1/4 cup uncooked, cooked with a cup of water)
-1/2 tbsp liquid honey
-1/2 banana
-3/4 cup almond milk
-1/2 cup frozen or fresh fruit.

Mix all ingredients in blender and serve.

Makes 1 serving.

188 calories


I hope you enjoy this quick breakfast smoothie. If you have any questions please comment below.
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Jenn

Valentine's Day Gifts

With Valentine's Day in a couple days I wanted to share what gifts I put together for my kids to give to their friends. First I'll start with my oldest Isabella who is 5. I bought valentine's pencils from the dollar store and glued tags onto them.
    
 

 

  
All I did was print off the template cut each one out and used a glue stick to glue it. If you would like the template click here. She also will be giving princess valentine's cards as well.


For her class party I decided to make mini pretzels dipped in chocolate with sprinkles.

She is also in Sparks so I bagged up some of these treats up for her to give as gifts along with valentine's cards.

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Now for my son Dean who is 2. He goes to pre-school. I bought bags, stamps, suckers and chocolate hearts from the dollar store to make his gifts.

Last one! My daughter Gabriella who is 7 months is in a program called Roots Of Empathy. Since she was 4 months she visits a kindergarten class once a month until the end of the school year. I will write more about that program soon.  The kids absolutely adore her so I wrote out valentines with a chocolate heart taped on it for that class.

I hope these ideas will help with future Valentine's Days!


Jenn