Where ,Oh Where, is the Mummy Family???

Where did it all go wrong? How did we go from a family of mummies to Pippy Longstocking, a ghostly ghoul, and Abby Cadabby? Peanut was the first to bail on the idea- she just had to be Abby Cadabby once her eyes saw the turquoise, pink, and purple fluff! I admit, I was next- I started to get lazy and decided to just borrow a Pippy headband from the girls. So my oldest-Sunshine, was sticking to her guns, even though we deserted her- she was going to be the lone Mummy! Who would of thought that it would be difficult to find a white sweatsuit or thermal underwear for your child? Okay, I confess- I actually waited until the day before Halloween to make her mummy creation! Didn't work out as planned, so she settled for a ghost- the mummy's cousin!! Can we spell- P-R-O-C-R-A-S-I-N-A-T-O-R!!! And Dad- he didn't even dress up this year. We told him that he shouldn't get any candy then! So there!
So, So sorry that I can't show you an adorable Mummy family like I had inspired! Check out some fun pics from today, though. We still had a great night- How can you not- you get to play make-believe, get a little spooked out, and eat candy!! Fun Fun Fun! Happy Halloween!


Having Fun at big sister's school parade!


Oh, I wish Mom would give in and let me have a doggy like this!


Oooool! There she is!! Have to run to get photo and almost trip over someone!!


Carving pumpkins after school- what an awesome day!


Here she is- introducing all the way from Sesame Street: ABBY CADABBY!!


Okay- Here we are- Pippy Longstocking, Abby Cadabby, and my little spookly!!


Time to Trick or Treat with our Cousin, Dracula!

Have a great night- EAT CANDY!!!

Jen

Wordless Wednesday: Big Ben?

I found this in my dining room the other evening. My husband told me that the girls said that they were building Big Ben! I was pretty impressed with my little architects!


Wow! They even added a living area at the bottom of the clock tower!

Take Care!!
Jen

Usborne Kid Kit Winner!!

I'm happy to announce that Jennifer over at YES, I AM BLESSED is the winner of my Usborne Kid Kit Contest!

She chose the Princess Kid Kit! Congratulations, Jennifer!!


Have a great night!!

Jen

Fairies or Elves, Maybe??

Help!! I've been cleaning for days and it doesn't seem like much is getting done. Why can't I enjoy housework more? Trying to stay positive! I have people coming into my home tomorrow, so I'm trying to get the place at least presentable. If you've read any of my past posts, you know that this creative spirit is not organized, not a good housekeeper, and the queen of all clutter. So my request for today is for you to send me a bunch of fairies or little elves to help me out. Yes, I am overwhelmed and I just want it cleaned now! This way I can get back to blogging a creative post for my loyal readers out there. Okay, all for today. Sorry it wasn't a post about great ideas with fairies or elves. I'll save that one for Christmas!! Thanks for reading and keep my in your thoughts as I slave over the house. Back to my messy house! Have a great day with your kids!!!

Jen

Cooking with Kids!

I have a confession to make- cooking with my kids hasn't always been one of my most favorite things to do as a parent. This time in the kitchen has been my "mommy alone" time. I enjoy cooking while my husband spends a little bit of time with the kids. But the teacher in me whispers in my ears- "You know that they are missing out on so many learning experiences right now." (learning to cook, measuring, science of food, and building relationships-just to name a few.) So last night, the selfish side of me almost ran into the kitchen to be alone, when I thought why don't I include my older daughter this evening. Her face was lit up as I taught her how to make lasagna. It wasn't overwhelming just having one child in the kitchen, because there wasn't the fighting over who was going to do what or spilling my ingredients all over my kitchen floor. Over dinner, Sunshine proudly shared with her sister and Daddy how she helped to make the lasagna. Peanut was actually cool with the fact that she didn't get a chance to help this time. I reassured her that she would be able to help with the next recipe. I'll still make some cooking times for me, but I'm going to include my girls more in the future! Seeing my daughter smile as she cooked was so well worth it! I even put one of my cooking aprons on her and she told me that I was just "the best Mom ever!"

For more cooking fun, check out the following websites and cookbooks:

Nick Jr. Cooking with Kids
Family Fun- kid's recipes
Kids Aprons, Kids Chef Hats, Cooking Party Kits & Kids Cooking Supplies
Children's Recipes
Kid's Health- (good article on cooking with kids!)
Usborne Books at Home: Cooking

I actually have over a dozen different cookbooks for kids over at my Usborne book store, but I haven't had a chance to review all of the them yet. I can recommend the following- being I just purchased it for my daughter:

Christmas Fairy Cooking by Leonie Pratt and Catherine Atkinson I'm giving this to my youngest for Christmas- she adores fairies!! She is just going to love it and I can't wait to try a few of the recipes with her. Christmas Fairy Cooking is eye-appealing and kid friendly(step-by-step instructions with illustrations). See, I'm starting to like cooking with my kids already!! Here's a sneak peak of some of the recipes in this book:

Chritmas Castle Cake
Iced fairy crowns
Fairy fruit crispies
Snowball truffles
I was totally trying to hide this cookbook and the little stinker just found it. She is so excited and is now telling me everything that we are going to be cooking! She's too funny! Looks like I'm going to be in the kitchen with her sooner than expected. Oh well, so much for that being a Christmas present!

Have fun cooking with your kids! Be sure to share a favorite recipe that you enjoy making with your children.

Jen

Cool Thinking Game!!

I was hanging out with my little sis the other day when she pulled out this really cool thinking game. She pulled out a little card that had a category and then pulled out a letter card.



For example:
Category: Instrument
Letter:T
The object of the game is to think of something in that category that begins with the letter chosen. Answers: trombone, tuba, etc.

Another example: She pulled out the category body part and then the letter P. The first thing that came to my mind??? Yes, you guessed it!! I was waiting in suspense to see what my 6 year old nephew would say- his response: pupil. When my daughter came in the room, I asked her. Her little face turned red and she giggled. The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree! (I did teach my girls the anatomically correct words!) Just curious, what was the first thing that came to mind for you?? Boy, I'm so mature! LOL Anyways, I shouldn't be surprised by the answers my nephew came up with being he came out of the womb of a highly gifted woman. I've always been amazed by my little sister's intellectual ability and her son has been gifted with her amazing brainy genes. A little background on my sis- when she was 7 she played scrabble with adults- she actually came up with the word vug. When an adult challenged her, she told them that it was a crevice in the side of a rock. Here is the definition from Wikipedia: Vugs are small to medium-sized cavities inside rock that may be formed through a variety of processes. Most commonly cracks and fissures opened by tectonic activity (folding and faulting) are partially filled by quartz, calcite, and other secondary minerals. What 7 year old knows this??? When I was in college, I would have my little sis edit my papers and so on... Back to the game. Well, we had fun playing this for a little while when I said- "Hey, where did you buy this anyways? I'd love to have this for home!" My sister's response- "You're creative,just make your own." Oh yeah, I could do that and save $$. So this will be my next project. To make category cards!! She even suggested using scrabble tiles for the letters. Intellectual and creative!! Boy, she has all of the luck!!
Here are a few of my ideas that I just thought of for categories: fruits, veges, boy's names, girl's names, jungle animals, something you'd find at the beach, colors, furniture, sports, flowers
If you have a good category, send it my way!!

Also, if you don't have or want to put the time into making your own cards, the game that we played came from Discovery Toys! The name of the game is Whiz Kidz. I just googled it and came up with this site!! Just click on the link above if interested in learning more about this game.

Enjoy your Wednesday!!

Jen

Hooray- It's Give-Away Day!!

What a great way to share my awesome Usborne books?? Give one away today!! Yes, this is my very first blogger contest!! Enter to win a Usborne Kid Kit!! So, what do you need to do, you ask??

1. Go check out my site, enter the bookstore and click on Kid Kits. Jen's Usborne Books at Home
2. Choose your favorite Kid Kit and comment about it back here on Creative and Curious Kids!!

If you'd like an extra entry, visit my Literature Links site and leave a comment there!! Let me know what you think about the new blog!

I've actually won a couple of blogger contests and have loved my prizes, so I'm so excited to share the love!! Hurry on over to my website-Contest ends: October 27th- so you have a week to get your entry in!!


Good Luck and have a Wonderful Monday!!

Jen

Tag: I'm it!!

Oh no, you mean that I need to share my secrets!!! I've been tagged by ParentingPink to share 7 random or weird facts about little ole' me. Okay, here goes!!



1. I had my first kiss at the age of 14 and guess who it was??? Brad Pitt- just kidding- my wonderful husband. So yes, I've known him for over 20 years!! Wow!
(I like to keep good company!! I also have the same girlfriends from Elem. School!)

2. My pets are named Ginny and John and they are pretty gross if you ask me- big water frogs. My girls just adore them!!

3. I had the awesome opportunity to travel to a couple of countries to model- Yes, I'm a secret supermodel. Of course I am kidding- too short to go anywhere serious with it then- but such a great experience to travel to Barcelona, Spain and Tokyo, Japan. (wasn't my passion, but feel fortunate to have the experiences!!)

4. Actually filmed a commercial on the island of Guam. My role was a mythological angel. I had huge wings and a bow and arrow. The producers had me on this big wooden platform thingy and there were six island men carrying me on the wooden platform out of the water. Too funny!!

5. I'm a vegetarian who eats seafood! Okay, not pure vegan- but this is the only meat I eat. To each his own, right?? Octo-lavo maybe- is it called?? My husband is the hunter in the family- so funny how opposites attract. I will not eat his Bambi- no way!! I think that I am going to have one vegetarian daughter and one hunting daughter!! My eldest wants a bow for her birthday to practice targets with Daddy!

6. I absolutely love tiramasu!! If you've never had this, it is an Italian dessert- so good! My friend from Italy made it for me homemade and this cream filled coffee tasting dessert stole my heart!!

7. One more thing-hmmm! I'm getting better at this, but I honestly can't count the number of times that I've locked my keys inside my car. Oh the horrible feeling of shutting the door and looking in and seeing my keys right on the front seat!! So embarrassing!!

Oh, how much fun! Now I get to tag someone else and learn more about them. I'm such a kid at heart so this is right up my alley. I actually still play tag in the neighborhood with all of the kids!!! Thirty-six going on seven! Ha, Ha!! Okay- Tag Your it!! Here are the momma bloggers that I would like to learn more about!!

Way up High in the Monkey Bread Tree
Keeper of the Cheerios
Pink and Green Mama
Art by Amy Short

Have a great Sunday!!!

Jen

Yeah- What a way to start the day!!

I am honored to receive this "fabulous" (as my girls would say) award today!!



Presented to Creative and Curious Kids! by Pink and Green Mama







Now, here are the six things that make me happy!
1. Being social- family fun and time with friends!
2. Husband's smile.
3. Being creative!
4. God's creation- nature and my beautiful children.
5. Chocolate and more chocolate!!
6. Coffee!!

Now, I present the award to the following awesome blogs:
1. Mom's Marbles
2. Dawn's Cakes
3. Small World at Home
4. Keeper of the Cheerios

Congrats!! Share your happiness and feel free to be generous and pass this award to your favorite creative blogs!

Jen

Ghostly Fun!!

I've never met a ghost and I never want too, but I can't resist a cute little ghost like Casper or Halloween ghosts that are smiling instead of looking freakishly scary. So if you are looking for scary ghost ideas, sorry! My ghostly ideas are for little ones who don't enjoy nightmares, but still like a little bit of Halloween fun!

Pop Up Ghost Puppet
Materials
Paper cup
Popsicle stick
White construction paper or white foam board
Black marker
Scissors
Optional: googly eyes and glue

Directions
Cut out a small ghost from white paper or foam board.
Draw or glue eyes on the ghost.
Glue to the top of the Popsicle stick.
Cut a small slit in the bottom of a cup.
Insert the bottom of the stick through the cup.
Now you can hide your little ghost in the cup and have him play peek-a-boo!!

Tootsie Pop Ghost
Materials
Tootsie Pop or other favorite lolly!
White Tissue
Black marker
Yarn or ribbon

Directions
Put lollipop in middle of tissue(s). Tie the tissue around the lollipop. Put a ghostly face on with marker.

Visit Preschool Playbook to see her student's ghostly treats!! (Back to School Night Post)

Visit the following links for more ghostly fun!

Ghostly Garland
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/halloween/string/
This looks like an easy and fun way to decorate. I'm going to try to make some garland this week for my mantle!!

Ghost Necklaces
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/Glueghost.html
Will definitely have to do this with my girls! My 6 year old LOVES glue! The more the better!!

Bootiful Treat Bags
Visit my Halloween Article at ParentingPink.com(article of the week) for this fun ghost craft!!

For more Halloween activities, check out this book from Usborne Books!










Have a "Boo"tiful Day! (o.k. I know it is corny, but I couldn't resist!!)

Jen

Fall Folliage and Family Photos!!

Last weekend, I loved taking photos of the beautiful scenery! One day, I came back to the camp all excited about all of the pretty photos that I captured. I told my husband- wait until you see all of the great photos that I shot! He said "What did you get?" I said, "leaves." He laughed because he thought that I was joking. He thought maybe I got some great photos of animal life, etc. I had fun being creative with my shots and it really helped me to slow down and appreciate God at work!

So here they are- my masterpieces- Ha, Ha!!!






And a few of my favorite family photos from this trip!!






Here's hoping you have a wonderful autumn day!!!

Jen

Glitter Spider Webs!

(artist- age 6)
(artist- age 4)
(artist- mommy)

Secret Formula to be the best mom ever!!

Halloween Craft + Colorful Glitter = 2 happy little girls! This craft went over with flying colors and I was the momma of the evening! I actually had a lot of fun making this one, too!! Here are the top secret ingredients for making this project:

Materials
Colored glitter (Halloween colors: 4 pack at JoAnne Fabrics for just a $!)
Black construction paper
Purple Construction paper
Googly eyes
Elmer's white glue

Directions
For Glitter Web- Using white glue, we pretended to be spiders and designed our own webs onto black construction paper. Next, we used green, orange, purple, and black glitter to bring our webs to life. (just sprinkle right onto the glue!) A plastic table cloth comes in handy to catch any extra glitter- can get just a little messy!

For Spider- Using purple construction paper, we cut out a circular body for the spider and 4 strips of paper about 6 inches long. (cut in half to make 8 legs) Next, we folded each leg accordion style and glued them onto the body of the spider. Finally, we glued on googly eyes and a glitter mouth.

Find a great place in the Halloween web for your new spider friend to crawl!

Away I go.....

Creative ideas must come to a halt for a few days! I'm sure my brain will still keep running as I try to relax in the mountains this weekend! Can't wait to see the leaves,Elk, etc.

Here's a sneek peek for what's to come next week:

Glitter Spider Webs: What do you get when you combine a Halloween craft with lots of colorful glitter? Two very happy little girls!! Stay tuned for photos next week!

Ghostly fun: some cute ideas for ghost crafts

Fall Folliage: Photos from our trip away!!

And more!!! Have a wonderful weekend!

Question of the Night???

If you were a grownup what would you drive??





Peanut (age 4): I would drive a pink minivan that has flowers on it and fireworks.

Sunshine Girl (age 6) : a purple convertible limosine that has lightening streaks across it.

All I can say is: Wow! I guess that means it would be a-ok with my kids if I actually drove the Mystery Machine! (Gotta love Scooby!)
Hmmmm! I wonder how much it would cost??? Oh, I would be the coolest, I mean grooviest mama on the block!

What will your children be driving???? I just have to know!! Be sure to post your kid's creative responses!

Blog Award! For Me??

Over the past couple of months, it has been fun observing some of my new blogging friends receiving different awards, such as the I love your blog! award. Yes, I secretly was hoping that I could someday join the ranks of some of the finest bloggers and someday receive one of these really cool awards. Well, my day of fame has arrived!! My blogger buddy over at ParentingPink awarded me with this amazing international award.

Translation of the award:“This blog invests and believes, the proximity”(meaning, that blogging makes us ‘close’ -being close through proxy) I have taken this to mean a feeling of community.”

She recently received this award and I'm honored to be a part of her community. Okay, my speech is over. Well, not yet- I need to thank my husband, my kids, my family, my best friends, my teaching colleagues, my neighbors, my pet frogs, my past students......Ha, Ha!! Now, I'm going to spread the LOVE!! Here are my recipients of this prestigious Portuguese "community" award:

Preschool Playbook
Way Up High in the Monkey Bread Tree
Razor Family Farms
Artwork by Amy Short
Stay at Home Mom Sisters

Congratulations, ladies!!! Feel free to pass this along, just be sure to include the translation with the award. Have a great day!!

My Little "Mummies"

It is official! The girls have chosen their Halloween costumes- two little Mummies!! They are going to look so cute being wrapped up. I actually did this to my baby sister (who is 27 now!!) when she was 3 years old. It was so funny!! I'll have to search through the old photos to show my kiddos. So if the girls are being mummies,this means that there might be a Mamma and Pappa mummy, too. Yes, I love dressing up with the girls.(I haven't really grown up myself yet! LOL Only when I really have to- being responsible with bills, work, etc.)I force my husband into it, too. I think he pretends he doesn't like it, because he loves seeing the girls faces light up when they see their Daddy dressed up for trick-or-treat night! When the girls were only 3 and 1 we dressed as royalty. They were little fairy princesses, I was the Queen, and my husband was the King. He wore this tall red velvet King hat. I felt bad because many of the dad's trick-or-treating were teasing him calling him the "Midas" guy from the commercial. I think he will like the Mummy idea, especially being he can hide behind all of his wrappings!!
Maybe you'll be having a little mummy running around this Halloween, too. If so, check out these websites for homemade mummy costume ideas!!


HERSHEY's Trick or Treats

365 Halloween

About.com:Family Crafts





Have more fun with mummies!!

Craft ideas
Toilet Paper role mummy

Yummy Mummies

Moveable Mummies

Well, looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me! Need to create 4 mummy costumes!!

Take Care!

Jen

Gifts in a Jar

Oh, how much fun it would be to make homemade gifts in the jar with the kids for the holidays! The Household Helper offers a great e-book for an affordable price. It includes recipes such as Apple Cake in a Jar and Instant Cappuccino Mix.
Click below on Great Gifts in a Jar for more details!

I've made these as gifts before and they were very easy to make. Also, it is great idea for a craft for a mother's group or as I mentioned above to do with the kids! Creating something together while teaching the gift of giving!

Now I'm hungry after writing this post and it's almost midnight- not the best time for snacking!!LOL

Goodnight,