International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Aaaaaaaargh!!!  Today is Talk Like a Pirate Day!  Ye land lubbers get hunting for treasure & eating pirate grub.

Yesterday, we had a fun pirate party.  We made pirate swords out of newspaper & cardboard. {Thanks Alpha Mom!}  The swords were a HUGE hit!

We had sword fights.

& a treasure hunt which included a walk on "walk the plank" & some nice pirate booty in the treasure chest.

National Cheeseburger Day

There is something about a really good cheeseburger that just makes my mouth water!  Make yourself a yummy cheeseburger or go & let someone else make one for you!  I know what we are having for dinner!

National Play-doh Day

So, I am going to be very honest here...I am not the biggest fan of play-doh.  With that being said...the boys LOVE it & it does keep them entertained for hours.  When I was looking for a picture to post, I just had to go with this one.  This is what play-doh makes me think of.

source

While looking at this picture...I notice a great idea by Spincushion.  I love how she thought outside of the box to create such a cute picture {below}!

I am going to swallow my dislike for play-doh & let me kids go crazy.  I suppose that you could make your own as well, but we have enough canisters that I have no intention of going there!

Collect Rocks Day

I don't know about your kiddos, but mine LOVE to collect rocks.  We even have a special place to put our"special" rocks that we collect when we are camping.  Rock collecting isn't exactly the easiest thing to do in our neighborhood...so we took a jaunt over to a fun little nature park.

Make a Hat Day

Today is Make a Hat Day.  I have a few ideas up my sleeve for today...so just stay posted!

Teddy Bear Picnic Day

I missed Teddy Bear picnic day yesterday. I thought I had the post scheduled, but left it in draft form instead. Sorry. So, a little late, but here it is:

If you haven't had a Teddy Bear Picnic before, you HAVE to! It is so fun. We did Teddy Bear Picnic last year. Invite your Teddy Bear to join in on your picnic.

I am reposting this from August of 2009.

My boys ♥ teddy bears. They both choose teddy bears over any other stuffed animal. I thought that it would be fun to have a Teddy Bear Picnic with them. Plus it would be a GREAT excuse to use one of my NEW TEA SETS. We went to the library & I picked up some bear related stories. For lunch we had:

bear shaped pb&j sandwiches
chips
raisins
bear shaped cookies (I used THIS recipe & pre-cut a bear head out of the sheet of cookie dough...then I put the chocolate chips on for the inside ears, eyes, & nose. I also cut a little smile out. Once they were cooked, I just had to re-cut the bear head shape out.)
apple raspberry juice



The boys had no clue what their "lunch surprise" was. I invited them to grab a very special teddy bear & come outside to the picnic blanket. They were excited to have a picnic & use one of our new tea sets. While they ate their lunch with their "friends", I read them the stories that we got from the library.



Kaden held his teddy bear on his lap the whole time...it was so cute.



Preston named his bear cookie "Mr. Preston Polar Bear".



Tomorrow we are going to do a bear craft...stay tuned!!!

National Sugar Cookie Day

I ♥ sugar cookies. So, in honor of "National Sugar Cookie Day" I will share with you a really cute sugar cookie with my favorite sugar cookie recipe.



I came across a really cute sugar cookie idea last year, but I changed it up a bit. Rather than using frosting...I thought that it would be easier to just color the cookie dough different colors. This is my favorite sugar cookie recipe:

1 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4-5 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

For the Watermelon Cookies you will also need:

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
red food coloring
green food coloring


Mix butter, eggs, sugar, sour cream and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl mix all other dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Divide the dough (I did did one bigger than the other). Color the biggest amount red & the smaller amount green. Chill each color for about 2 hours.

Roll 1/4' thick. You will need to different circle cookie cutters. Cut the red dough with the smaller cookie cutter. Then cut the green with the bigger cookie cutter & the inside with the smaller cookie cutter. Place the green around the red circle & cut the whole thing in half. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Add the mini chocolate chips. Bake 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees.

I usually cook them about 6 minutes and then check them every minute after that.

Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day

Today is Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day. You could head to Cold Stone Creamery or just mix up something on your own. What kind of flavors can you come up with?

Bake Cookies Day

Today is "Bake Cookies Day". Get in the kitchen with your kiddos & bake up some cookies!!!!

What we did...

I was pretty excited about National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. I have a little fondue pot that I have NEVER used. It has sat in it's cute little box & never been touched. I had some milk chocolate melts from another project. So we melted them & used them for our fondue. I didn't want to go to the store, so we used what was in the pantry.

Pretzel Sticks
Animal Crackers
Marshmallows



The boys loved it. Preston used the stick & loved dipping his marshmallows in the chocolate. Kaden started using his pretzel sticks to dip his marshmallows in the chocolate. What a fun holiday!!! {Please ignore the fact that my children look homeless. They have been wearing their beanies today & that doesn't work well with their hair. Haircuts are next on my "To Do" list.}

Santa's List Day

Today is "Santa's List Day" on our silly holiday list. Help your little ones write a letter to Santa. Little Man's preschool is mailing out letters to Santa, but a lot of post offices & other places do too.

Homemade Bread Day

Today's "holiday" is "Homemade Bread Day". We bake all of the time, but I realized that I have never had the boys make bread (or anything with yeast) before. What a magical experience for them.



Here is the recipe that we used:

Traditional White Bread

2 (.25 0z) packages active dry yeast
3 Tbsp white sugar
2 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
3 Tbsp lard, softened (I used butter)
1 tsp salt

1. In large bowl (I used my Kitchenaid w/ dough hook)...dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Allow to proof (get foamy). Mix in lard (or butter), salt, & 2 cups of flour. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time.
2. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place dough in bowl & turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp washcloth & let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
3. Deflate (or punch) the dough & turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in half & form into two loaves. Place into 2 lightly greased loaf pans. Cover with a damp washcloth & let rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes).
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
5. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

It was pretty easy for the kids to do. I explained about yeast (what I know) & then they got to see the yeast proof. Then, we made the bread dough. They added everything & used the mixer. They were excited to see the bread dough double in size. It was like magic to them. Then, they helped form it into loaves & got to watch it rise again. When they got to touch the dough...they were surprised at how "squishy" it was. What a fun learning experience for them! If you haven't made bread with your kids before...DO!!!

The bread itself is pretty basic as baking bread goes. The flavor is very tasty & it is really moist.