Christmas Card Display Holder

OK...I have to be honest... I'm SUPER proud of this one and LOVE how it turned out.  I had seen on Pinterest how to put ink on wood, and I KNEW I wanted to try that.  *Then* I had this great idea.  To make a Christmas Card Display Holder...

Honestly, I am a little disappointed in my camera here (I mean, it couldn't be that the photographer HAS no idea what she's doing with the fancy camera, could it??  LOL).  But, I HAVE to tell you... I LOVE the way that it turned out!!!

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Egg Brunch Casserole CROCKPOT

So here's another AWESOME pin that I found a while ago.  I am a member of the MOPs group at my church and on this specific Tuesday, my table was responsible for bringing food.  So, I totally took advantage of this recipe.  Set it and forget it, right?!  SO EASY and super yummy!

Here's what you need...

6-8 strips of bacon

1 onion

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 red or green pepper, seeded and chopped

1 (2lb) bag of frozen hash browns

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

12 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 tsp dried dill

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Here's what you do...

Spray Crock Pot with non-stick cooking spray.  

Cook bacon til crisp.  Let it cool, then chop it into 1/2 inch pieces and set it aside.

Saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper for 5 mins.  

Layer 1/3 of the frozen hash browns in the bottom of the Crock Pot with 1/3 bacon, 1/3 onion/garlic/pepper mixture and 1/3 cheese.  

Repeat layers ending with cheese (I LOVE cheese, so I added extra).

In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, dill, salt & pepper. 

Pour over ingredients in the Crock Pot.  

Cover and turn on low.  Cook for 8-10 hours.

When it's done, a thermometer in the center should read 160 degrees F.

I mean, how EASY is that??  Made for a REALLY easy morning.  I just had to load it in the car.  And... as always, it smelled... DELICIOUS!

Visit A Latte with Ott A to print out a recipe card and find more yummy recipes!!!

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I'm not sure if you've ever participated in Box Tops for Education or not... but I can tell you that the program is fantastic.  Last year over $49 million were given to schools.  So, click the picture (where it says sign up now) and go sign up.  Find your school or a school close by.  Even if you don't have kids, this is a GREAT opportunity to give back!

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Handprint Christmas Tree

So, I pinned this SO LONG AGO (here)... I just HAD to try it out with my little ones when I was on my desperate crafting search.  I REALLY love the way that it turned out.  If I were going to do anything different though, I would have gotten a larger canvas.  I think that the one I got was like 16x20 (maybe?!).  Bigger would have been MUCH better, you can always add more rows.  Anyhow, luckily my munchkins still have small hands so it worked out GREAT.  Had I had the larger canvas though, we could have added a row of hands for each adult in the house too.  Lesson learned.

So, I went to the craft store here and the canvases were on sale.  Who doesn't love a sale?!  For a 2 canvas pack, I paid $6.95.  Add in a bottle of green paint (washable of course) for $2.99 and I was set.  If only I had remembered my 50% off any item coupon... it would have been even better.  Oh well.  Another lesson learned.

Well, I'm SO grateful that the canvases came in a 2 pack.  If you look at the second picture, you can see where I tried to put my hands on and then had my little one stamping away... I had NO PLAN!  I visualized it perfectly in my head.  But, when it came down to it, it turned out AWFUL!  So, on to canvas #2.  Lesson Learned.

  

Finished Melted Snowman Ornament

So, they are dry and hanging... check them out... HOW CUTE?!  Can you tell which one my 18mo old did vs the 3 1/2 yr old?  HA!  But, I totally love them BOTH.  I mean, when a snowman melts, it probably looks a little more like the fist one than the second, don't you think?? Click here for the 'how to' on this fun craft.

Melted Snowman Ornament

Ok... so I was having a bit of a dry spell when it came to crafts.  So yesterday I went on an overload...  and had a BLAST!!  I remembered a craft that I used to to with my students every Christmas when i taught first grade.  See, it was a tradition at the school that each class made a different type of ornament and we would all decorate a common tree in the hall.  It always ended up looking SO GREAT!!  Anyhow, my standard class ornament was the melted snowman.  I just always thought that they looked SO CUTE, so of course when my angels made theirs, well... they are just the GREATEST!!!  Sidenote... a friend of mine has also made these as ghosts for Halloween and made them necklaces instead of ornaments... so there are LOTS of fun ideas with this. :-)

So, it's simple... get some glue (glue-all works better than the school glue, not sure why... but it does) and squirt some out onto wax paper.  Remember shape doesn't matter, it's a MELTED snowman.

This is my 18 mo old having fun with the glue :-)

I pre-cut the shapes, (an orange triangle and a black hat), let the kids grab some small twigs from the backyard, and had some google eyes.  (you could TOTALLY let older kids cut the stuff themselves and/or add more, buttons, black circles for a charcoal mouth, yarn piece for a scarf... etc...)  

You just let the kids add the pieces wherever... REMEMBER the snowman is melted, placement doesn't matter.

Add in hooks for hanging.  I used ornament hooks but paper clips would work fine too.

So here are ours drying...

I add glitter because the glue dries pretty clear.  Just helps a little.  I'll add the finished pics later today.  I JUST flipped them so the back would dry.  LOVE this one :-)

(CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FINISHED PRODUCT... SO CUTE)

Out of Ideas... HELP!!!

Ok... I know that I am a confessed Pinterest JUNKY... BUT, I haven't been on in a while (things are really getting busy around here).  I haven't seen/heard any great ideas in a while.  I KNOW that there are some awesome crafts and recipes floating around out there.  So, let's hear 'em.  I'm on my way to search through Pinterest and find some super fun things to do with the family RIGHT NOW.  But, if there's something you've done, snap a picture and send it my way handyhousemom@gmail.com.  I would LOVE to share it with the HH readers.

Happy Hump Day!!

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Kids Books- Click here (Every Thing On It $9.99- REG $19.99)

 

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Ok... so I was going on to check and print my menu out for this week on E-mealz... and low and behold, they too have a cyber Monday deal!!  Use the code CYBER at checkout and get 30% off of your subscription.  You can buy gift certificates to E-mealz too!  So, if you know someone who could really benefit from something like this (not sure who COULDN'T), snatch it up today... before the deal ends!!  Click here and get shopping :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Phew... the holiday season is upon us, and in FULL effect in our house.  I chose to take on a part time retail job for the holidays (for both a little income and some time OUT of the house)... sooooooo, that has kept me busy and I've slacked a little on blogging :-(

And for that, I apologize.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I have chosen to do an anagram with a list of some of the things that I am thankful for... here goes...

Time- I'm thankful for the time that I've been given here on the earth.... for the time with my family, my kids, my husband, my friends... just VERY thankful!
Husband-  He's one of a kind and I'm BEYOND lucky to have found my soul mate.  I thank God for him    daily!!
Adventure-  As a wife/mom (of 2)/part time holiday employee/laundry doer/grocery getter/meal maker/ etc... finding time for adventure doesn't always happen.  BUT, when it does, I am extremely grateful.
Neighbors- (not in the literal sense) Neighbors are those close to me, maybe not in the house next door, but they're close in my heart.  Friendships like that are PRICELESS, I am BEYOND thankful for my dearest friends.
Kin-  I have been blessed with the greatest family.  They are the most supportive people I know.  It's amazing to me, though, that some of my 'family' members are NOT blood.
Service members-  EVERY day there are soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines (and anyone else I may have forgotten) as well as first responders that are working hard in the US and overseas for me, I HAVE to say, THAT makes me lucky- I'm VERY thankful for that!
Grace-  Eph 4:7 "But to each one of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it."  Grace is something that isn't easily given (by me), but I am SO thankful for God's grace (Lord knows I need it).
Income-  I am thankful that in this CRAZY economy, my husband has a job and can provide for his family.
Vehicle-  I am thankful for the 2 vehicles that we own.  That we can get from point A to point B and don't have to share.
Internet-  Technology is a blessing and sometimes a curse, but I do enjoy it's conveniences.
Necessities-  I am thankful for ALL of the basic necessities that I have at my fingertips.  There are so many people around the world that don't have nearly what I do.  I'm not sure that I always realize that.  I am so thankful for the 'basic' things that I have.
God-  John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His ONE AND ONLY SON that whoever believes in Him, will not die, but have ETERNAL LIFE"... YUP, DEFINITELY thankful for that!!

So, HH readers... what is it that YOU are most thankful for this Thanksgiving Day?  I hope that you take a few minutes to count your blessings and enjoy the holiday and time with friends and family.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

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'Tis the season to go SHOPPING!!!!

Holiday Traditions

Well, with only a little more than a week until Thanksgiving, dinner planning is in full swing.  I know that Thanksgiving in my parent's house was always about family, eating, and dessert. :-)  Well, now that I have my own family and we live out of town, going to visit the grandparents for every holiday just isn't feasible.  Loading up the 4 of us and heading in the car for 5 hours to spend 2 1/2 days with family and a LOOOOOOONG car ride to get home, well... it just isn't EASY.  So, we've decided that every other year we are going to stay in Savannah for the holidays.  It wasn't an easy decision but, I really think that my kids need  to experience our family traditions and waking up in their own house.  

So, that leaves me with the tough questions/planning.  How do I make traditions for our family?  I've already thought of some and thanks to Pinterest, added a few more to the list.  Here's what I have so far...

For Thanksgiving:

Gratitude Rolls- As guests arrive, they write something that they are thankful for on a piece of paper.  The paper is rolled into the crescent rolls and cooked.  When everyone eats their rolls, they get to guess who wrote what.

For Christmas:

The Elf on the Shelf- I have seen  this in action.  When I was teaching, kids talked about their elves and what mischief they got into.  The kids REALLY loved it and interacted with it.  We'll DEFINITELY be doing this one!!

Christmas Pajamas- This was a tradition that my mom did and I LOVE it!  We always got to open ONE gift Christmas Eve.  It was ALWAYS Pajamas (matching of course).  It honestly took us like 7 or 8 YEARS before each of us caught on that the gift was ALWAYS going to be pajamas.  But, our pictures Christmas morning were always cute and matching. :-)

So, those are really the only for SURE ideas that I have.  What about you?  What's something fun that you do around your house for the holidays!  Let's Chat....