Arm Warmers Made From Socks

My kids love Arm Warmers! They are probably the easiest and fastest thing I have ever made. I love that they allow my kids to wear their favorite short sleeve shirts all year long. They are also wonderful for these fall days when it is chilly in the morning, but warms up in the afternoon. My kids can leave for school with their arms covered and it is easy to strip off their Arm Warmers as the temperature goes up.

To make Arm Warmers you will need just a few supplies:
Needle
Thread
Scissors
A pair of Socks (To make warmers for children you will need a pair of adult size knee high socks. To make warmers for an adult you will need a pair of adult size thigh high socks)

 

Step One- Cut foot part of socks off, just above heel.

Step Two- Fold cut edge of sock tube over about 3/8 of an inch and whip stitch all the way around opening.

And they are ready to go!

Arm Warmers make a very thoughtful, handmade Christmas gift (hmmm, maybe a stocking stuffer idea?). The last few times I have been to Big Lots they have had 4 packs of Knee Highs for $5. That makes each pair of Arm Warmers $1.25 and they only take 15-20 minutes to whip up.

Read more...

100 Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes

I always gain weight in the summer. Am I the only one this happens to? The lack of schedule and abundance of fun summery activities cause me to lose all track of what I am putting in my mouth. Uggghhh, it's horrible! Now that summer is over, I am on a mission to lose my summer weight plus some.

On a recent episode of The Biggest Loser, they featured cupcakes made by Curtis Stone that were only 100 calories. A very exciting prospect! I had to have them. I Googled it to find the recipe. Disappointment is what followed. The recipe was not simple and ALL of the reviews were terrible. The internet consensus was that these cupcakes were disgusting. I was undetoured and I Googled on... I'm so glad I did.

I found this awesome recipe on Medicinenet.com and it is fantastic. These cupcakes ring in at a super-duper 98 calories, and 1.8 g of fat. My kids ate them today for their after-school snack and had absolutely no idea that they were anything but typical cupcakes. When I informed them that the cupcakes were not bad for them they asked to have them EVERYDAY!

If you are going to try one recipe, this is the one. I'm going to be making these often!

100 Calorie Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

• 18.25-ounce box Devil's Food Cake Mix
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream
• 5 large egg whites (or 3/4 cup egg substitute)
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients (except powdered sugar) in a large mixing bowl. Blend with hand mixer for 2 minutes. Divide batter between 24 greased or paper lined cupcake tins. Bake for 17 minutes.  Once cooled dust with powdered sugar.

Read more...

Ooey- Gooey Cake Mix Recipe

Do yourself a favor... make this recipe! ( didn't say it would be a favor to your waistband, but oh my goodness, the deliciousness)

A few months ago, cake mixes were on a major sale. I felt compelled to stock up, adding these to my food storage supply... then they went on sale even cheaper! I ended up with over 20 boxes of cake mix in my pantry. After buying all of the mixes it occurred to me that at most I make 5-6 birthday cakes a year, and I'm not really too fond of cake, so I started to think creatively. This is what was created:

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter/margarine, melted
• 1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
• 1.5-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (additional)
  
• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter and cake mix in large bowl. Mix with fork until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over bottom of 15x10" cookie sheet pan and press. Sprinkle with 1.5-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips and almonds. In microwave melt milk chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in 20 second intervals until melted. Pour milk mixture evenly over pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-25 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely and cut into bars.

Read more...

Hair Detangler Spray

This is so easy and works so well, even my six year old was impressed. Recently, we ran out of store-bought hair detangler spray and I decided to make my own. I made my homemade version right in my empty bottle, however this could also be done in a dollar store spray bottle just as well. To mix Detangler Spray in this 10 oz bottle I combined 2 oz. of regular, super cheapo conditioner with tap water and shook it up. (Told you it was easy!)

It works perfect in my daughters hair and does not cause any greasiness. It works every bit as well as the store-bought stuff and the snarls come right out. No need to have morning drama over getting the tangles out, this takes care of the problem and makes hair smooth, soft and shiny to boot.

Read more...

Cheesy Pigs In a Blanket Recipe

This is a super easy recipe that you can have on the table in less than 30 minutes. I like that, especially when I really want to make something for my family, but I have procrastinated it all day.


Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket Recipe
2 cups flour
1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS butter cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
8 hot dogs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in large mixing bowl. Cut butter into mixture. Mix in cheese and buttermilk and knead to achieve smooth dough consistency. Roll dough out on floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into approximately 6"x4" squares. Wrap each square of dough around a hot dog and place on well greased baking sheet with seam down. Bake 12 minutes or until golden brown.


This is a real kid pleaser. And really, who doesn't love pigs in a blanket? This is a great, cheap way to make them without needing the overpriced and unhealthy canned biscuits.

Enjoy!

Read more...

The 5 Minute Solution

Our home has changed! We have changed five minutes at a time. This is the greatest parenting discovery since 'Head to Toe Baby Wash.'

I got so frustrated with harping on my kids to clean their room. I nagged and bugged and usually ended up going in and doing the cleaning myself. My kids are all tidy children who enjoy an organized living environment, the problem was that by simply telling them to go clean their room they were extremely over-whelmed. They didn't have a clue about where to begin, they were also depressed about the prospect of spending a large chunk of time on the chore.

The Solution: Every morning and every evening I set a digital kitchen timer for 5 minutes. I tell the kids they have 5 minutes to clean their room. I loudly announce "On your marks, get set... GO!" and start the timer. They rush into their rooms and clean until they hear the timer go off. It is a small amount of time, over before they have a chance to get bored. I tell them that they must find something to clean. If their room is already tidy then they can straighten books on the shelves, clean out their sock drawer or organize their toys.

We have been setting the timer now for over a month. Their room looks fantastic ALL THE TIME! I am never worried when they ask if their friends can come in to play. When I go in, to clean their room, once a week, I need to do little more than dust and a quick vacuum. They have also not complained about cleaning time, ever! Can you believe that? Not one complaint in over a month! I love this system!

I also think that cleaning for 5 minutes, twice a day is establishing a great routine and habit for the rest of their lives.

If you are frustrated by kid clutter, try 5 minute cleaning intervals. It might take a few days to get the room as clean as you'd like, but it will happen. And best of all, it will stay clean!

Read more...

Cool Like That...

Almost every one of my most favorite Bloggers has made one. I decided I needed to jump on the bandwagon and become a part of the cool club.

With a trip to the thrift store to get a candle stick, a wooden appetizer tray and a cake stand dome I was on my way.

I especially love that my tray is complete with a cool trivet so I can set my hot pots on it at dinner time.

Yeah, now I'm feeling cool!

Read more...