Tuesday, July 20, 2010

My Diva Performing and Great Deals


I've had Katie's dress-up boxes down from her closet for the past couple of days. She's had a ball, dressing up and modeling in front of her dad and I. Last night, she discovered her microphones, so she wanted to do a concert for Colton and myself this morning. What got me tickled was how Colton was playing with his microphone. I didn't get it on tape, but he was dancing with his mouth on top of the mic. You should have seen his eyes (shocked) when he accidentally pressed the button on the Little Mermaid mic. Too cute!

Quick Colton Story
I was so proud of him this morning. During our playtime, I handed him a small stuffed cow. He took it from my hand and put it in his F-P barn. I was shocked, but it's encouraging that he is paying attention to our playtime. He knew where that cow belonged. Also, he picked up one of his balls and put it in his ball pit. He is beginning to enjoy books more now. I'll catch him getting out one of his books and just look at the pictures. In the mornings, he'll sit and watch Sesame Street while eating his breakfast.

Diva's Ready For School
Doug and I have knocked out Diva's school supply list, except for the nap mat. The school has the soft cloth mats with pillows available to purchase for $25. The secretary said they haven't come in yet, but they are very nice with velcro closure. I don't have to purchase theirs, but I don't see why not especially for that price. I ordered her backpack from Mountain Sports the other day.  I think Katie will like her new mesh backpack, I just hope it won't swallow her up too much.  HAHA! I know little "C" had a backpack similar to this one, she could handle it somewhat and she was a first grader this past school year.   Hey, at least we know she'll grow into it.  Here's a picture of the backpack, we should get it sometime today.

We have our school Open House on Friday, August 6th.  Lord willing, we'll get our letter so we will know who Katie's teacher will be by that time.  HAHA!  The school secretary assured me that we should receive the letter with all the information by the last week of July.  Talk about waiting until the last minute because the first day of school is August 10th.  Oh well, I just like having my ducks in a row. 

I plan to take Katie school clothes shopping next week.  I guess, I shouldn't say "school clothes", but school shoes and anything she needs right now shopping.  LOL!  Her Summer clothes and sandals are still in good condition, so I don't think I'll be getting any new.  If I find a really good deal on Fall/Winter outfits, I might get them in the next size up.  I say this because I went overboard at the beginning of school last year and she ended up going up a size before she got to wear her Fall/Winter clothes.  Last school year, she jumped two sizes before the year was over.  Ugh!  So, I've learned my lesson and plan to either go up one size or wait until she has out grown her other outfits.

The Children's Place has a great deal right now on jeans and t-shirts.  Their jeans/pants are regular $16.50, but they are on sale for $10.  You can't get them that cheap at Walmart and they hold up very well.  The great thing about their jeans is they have the inside adjustable button sides, which is great for little waists, but long legs.  Long legs, but small waists has been our problem in the past and I love getting the adjustable inside buttoned pants. You've got to check it out.

If The Shoe Fits, Etc. is currently having a 50% off sale on all clearance shoes and sandals.  There are some really good deals.  It would be great, if you knew what size your little one would be next Spring and Summer. 

Lilly's Kids from Lillian Vernon has all of their Back to School items out ready to get your child personalized.  I love Lillian Vernon!  Being a pretty good customer, they have good quality stuff. 

Lenox is having a 12 Days of Christmas in July sale, going on right now.  In fact, today is day 2 out of the 12 days, so don't wait around too long.  There are some really pretty things in this sale that are very inexpensive.  Take advantage while you can. 

School Bus Cookies
Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 12- 15 min.
Decoration Time: 30 min.
Difficulty: Easy
Yield: Makes 24 bus cookies.
Recipe Courtesy of Bright Ideas

Ingredients
1 roll (18 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2/3 cup flour
3 cups prepared vanilla frosting
 ¼ cup prepared chocolate frosting
1 cup M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies
¼ cup M&M’S® Brand MINIS® Chocolate Candies
Yellow and green food coloring
Baking sheet
Spatula
2 resealable plastic bags
Microwave-safe bowl

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Knead the sugar cookie dough and flour until smooth. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a scant 1/4-inch thickness. Cut out the shapes, re-rolling the scraps if necessary. Then, use the spatula to transfer the shapes to the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
  4. Tint 1/2 cup of the vanilla frosting green, place it into a resealable plastic bag, snip off a small corner, and set aside. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting yellow, and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for about 10-20 seconds, stirring every 5 seconds until the consistency of slightly whipped cream.
  5. Spoon the heated frosting over the cookies one at a time—completely covering each one. You may have to scrape up excess frosting and reheat it to cover all the cookies. Let the frosting dry for about 30 minutes, then carefully remove the cookies from the rack and scrape any excess frosting from the edges.
  6. Spoon the chocolate frosting into one of the resealable plastic bags. Snip a small hole from the corner and pipe frosting for decoration. Then, using the photo as a guide, add M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies. Finish by snipping a small hole from a corner of the plastic bag with the green frosting and piping on the names.
Tip:
  •  To eliminate frosting from the recipe, just add 3 or 4 drops of yellow food coloring to the dough while kneading in the flour. Then, once the cookies have cooled, adhere the M&M’S® Milk Chocolate Candies to the cookies using dots of decorating frosting. Kids love to be involved. Many steps in this recipe are perfect for kids of all ages:
  • Children as young as two can help with measuring and mixing ingredients. Filling measuring cups with the ingredients and kneading the dough can remind them of activities they already do on a day-to-day basis.
  • Children who are older will love rolling out the dough. Of course, when it comes time to cut the cookies everyone can lend a hand.
  • Remember, decorating is a personal expression. Everyone will love sharing their creations with family and friends.
Prayer Request
A high school friend and his wife have had trouble, like Doug and I, starting a family.  After trying and stressing, God heard their many prayers and blessed them with a little girl about 3 years ago.  Well, J told me how he and his wife would like to have one more child before they called it quits.  They were very happy to finally get pregnant again.  Unfortunately, J emailed everyone stating that their little boy "Grant Elijah" was born to heaven on July 10th.  I can't begin to imagine what they must be going through right now.  His facebook is flooded with regrets and supportive messages from his family and friends.  Please ask God to lift him and his family up in your prayers.  If he didn't live so far away, I'd give him a big ol' hug.  J is a man of God and his faith has kept him going, but he is still a man with pain in his heart. 

A family member is having a hard time dealing with their ailment.  The meds her doctor put her on is making her hallucinate, which is one of the many side-effects.  We just hope that he will change them because she said she can't take it anymore. 

Mirya

1 comment:

Laura said...

Alise and I were crackin' up over the video!! Alise kept wanting to watch it over and over again. She liked that Colton was trying to eat the microphone!