Just a few Christmas crafts!

I feel like I have been on craft overload lately! I am reading all of your blogs but neglecting my own pretty bad these days. I wanted to show just a few of the projects that I have been working on the past week.

First is the ornament wreath that has taken over blog land!! My version seems to look like a Hanukkah one but it matches my walls so I went with it!!

Next are some hemp cone shaped trees?? Did that make any sense? Well I got the idea here and they were very easy to make. I am giving this set as a gift so I hope she likes them.

I haven't finished making the round balls but I thought I would throw the few that I have done in there! I need to make a few more for after Christmas decorations! Sorry about the dark picture. Our camera broke and it takes about 10 shots to get one decent picture. We are looking for a new one but can't decide what to get. Any suggestions out there?? I would love a recomendation on one. As much as I would love an SLR we just can't afford it right now so I have been looking for a point and shoot with a larger zoom on it. Thanks!!

Swine flu and first lost tooth!

I know that is a weird title but that is what is happening in our house lately. I have to say that this flu really kicked our butts around here. I am soooooo not one for jumping at a vaccine but I have to say that this time I wish I could have gotten it. It's hard enough to take care of your kids when they get sick but then when the care giver gets it, forget it!! I was hit so hard by this and I am slowly trying to crawl my way back to health. I just can't get over how much energy it took from me. I am praying for a MUCH better week and looking forward to spending some time with family. Despite feeling so crappy and weak we have a lot to be thankful for and I have to keep that in mind!

Onto a happier note, Evan lost his first tooth. He was so brave and let me pull it right out. Then he asked where he was going to put it? Now to back up a few years, when Trevor lost his first tooth I was on bedrest. I wanted to make him a pillow to put it in because that was what my mom had done for me but I couldn't get to my sewing machine. I am sure I probably could have thrown something together but it wouldn't have looked very good! My step-mother surprised him with one that she made for him. I thought that was very sweet of her and much appreciated. So now for Evan I felt I had to make him his own. I found this cute tooth design somewhere a long time ago and had it in my head. This is what mine came out looking like.

He was very happy to see that the toothfairy had come over night and brought him his own gold coin. Oh and on a sappy mother's note, when I was holding Evan's tiny little tooth in my hand I turned around to see the picture from his 1st birthday party. There he was covered in cake with the biggest smile on his face and there was that little tooth that I was so proud of. Sniff sniff, it goes by WAY too fast!

Sickness in the house :(

So it's been a rough week in our house. The kids have all been sick and cranky. Evan has had the swine flu and I think passed it on to the other two now. I hope they are passed the worst of it but now it's the awful coughing that is sooooooo bad. Poor Trevor was up about 20 times last night coughing, drinking water, roaming the house, crying...... It wasn't a pretty sight. Then to make matters worse poor Karl got stuck at work until 2:00 in the morning. I am a tired momma this morning and really hoping that I don't get a call from the school to come and pick up her sick kid! He was so mad that I kept him home yesterday but I really wanted one more day to get his immune system back up a little before he went back to that gross germy place. The coughing going on in schools is unreal right now.
Well on a lighter note, I have been trying to organize a MUCH needed girls craft night. The sickness with all the families has really put a major dent in those plans but I must keep trying. I am starting to loose my mind being stuck in this house and it's only Novemeber people. This is NOT good!!
I have couple of crafts that I am itching to make and I will post some pictures as soon as I get going on them.
Hope all is well out there in blog land!

Halloween 2009

Well we managed to get the trick or treating in despite the WIND and damp weather! Trevor decided to be an Evil Sorcerer this year

Evan wanted to be a Knight and he looked so cute in his costume! I made his shield out of cardboard, then paper mached it(is that word)? so that it got really hard. Then I was worried that he was so dark so I drilled lights all the way around it. It came out pretty cool and hopefully it will last for awhile so that they can play with it.

Aiden was the cutest little lion this year. I love the plush costumes on little guys! I didn't think that he would want to go out and walk this year but he LOVED it!! He kept running to all the houses and some he tried to go right inside! He was the only one to remember every time to say thank you too! I think cute costumes always get more candy too!

Now I have piles of candy everywhere! Aiden keeps sneaking lollipops when we aren't looking and I have eaten way too much chocolate. I have major issues with sweets so if you want some candy, come over and get this out of my house!!!!

Spaghetti & hotdogs = weird looking food for kids!

Have you ever tried this weird looking food??? No, what is wrong with you? Just kidding, I think it's kind of gross but my kids LOVE it! It's very easy and takes only a few minutes to make and the best part is they can do it all by themselves!! Take some spaghetti and shove it through some cut up hot dogs. Boil some water and throw them in! You can top it with a little melted butter and Parmesan cheese if you want.

Delicious flatbread taco's!!!

I don't know if any of you get the magazine Taste of Home but it usually has a few really good recipes in there that become family favorites for us. Well last night I tried a new one and all it took was one bite to seal the deal for all of us. It's called flatbread tacos with ranch sour cream and it was sent in by Jennifer Eggebraaten.

This is her recipe:

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp. ranch salad dressing mix

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce

1 tube(16.3 oz.) large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Optional toppings: shredded cheese, lettuce, sliced olives

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, dressing mix and lemon juice; chill until serving.

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning and pepper sauce; heat through.

Meanwhile, roll out biscuits into a 6 inch circle. In a small non-stick skillet over medium heat, cook each for 30-60 seconds on each side or until golden brown; keep warm.

To serve, spread each flatbread with ranch sour cream; top each with meat mixture and sprinkle on toppings.

The only thing that I changed was I didn't add the beans or hot sauce because the first time I try recipes I try and make them pretty bland for little kids! They are very filling and the biscuits are soooooooo yummy. I had a hard time rolling them out without sticking to stuff so I just flattened them with my hands and fingers. Very easy and oh so very good!!

She suggested that you make the stuff ahead of time and keep the meat warm in a crock pot, put the sauce in a squirt bottle and have the toppings already chopped up for a party. I think I will try this next party!

Fun nature scene craft for kids

I saw something like this in a magazine recently and thought it would be a great craft to make with my son. He has a HUGE container of animals that we are always trying to find interesting places to play with them. Sometimes it's blocks in the shape of cages that quickly get broken up by the little brother, UGH! So when I saw this I thought it would be perfect. It took less than a haf hour to make and we had lot's of fun doing it together. The only part that I wouldn't let him do was the hot glue because one set of burned fingers in the house is enough!
All you need is cardboard, pinecones, glue and paint/moss if you want to add that in there too.

So what do you think????