Packing lunches

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 2 Comments

We do most of our grocery shopping at HEB but yesterday, I realized we had no food in our house so we ran into Albertsons super quick to grab a few things to tie us over. I really had no desire to take 3 kids on a full fledged grocery expedition. I’m not a huge Albertsons fan. They don’t have a very good organic selection, their produce is not great, and they’re more expensive than HEB but they have baskets in the shape of cars so my kids actually go willingly! Moral of the story, it was slim pickings for lunch boxes today!

P asked for turkey roll ups, they’re one of her favorites. I make them with cream cheese on whole wheat tortillas.

I spread cream cheese on the tortilla then add turkey and cheese.

I then roll the tortilla tightly and use cream cheese as a “glue” then I cut the ends off and toss them out (or eat them) and slice the rest.

She’s like her mama and loves veggies dipped in Greek yogurt ranch so I gave her some baby carrots and broccoli and a tiny bit of ranch. I tossed in some bunny fruit snacks for dessert and the apple for afternoon fruit break. She took water to drink.

T on the other hand hates turkey roll ups and broccoli and carrots too! She asked for a peanut butter, banana, and Nutella sandwich butterfly.

It’s ridiculous I know but last year, she was super nervous about going to school so I persuaded her to go those first few weeks with elaborate lunches. She eventually got over being away from mama and I didn’t have to ridiculous lunches all the time but today she asked for a butterfly.

The spots on the wings are m&ms and she got an applesauce, nila wafers, and a juice pouch.

Have you guys tried peanut butter, banana, & Nutella sandwiches?!?!? Oh my gosh! So delicious! Tastes more like dessert! Mmmm… What’s your kids favorite school lunch? Lets share some ideas! Email me or leave a comment 🙂

Studies reveal that mean kids turn into mean adults over time!

September 10, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

When we were kids, we couldn’t wait to grow up! We were going to do whatever we want and not have to ask permission. We would watch whatever we wanted, listen to whatever music we wanted, and eat whatever we wanted and all would be right with the world. As an awkward teenager or a dorky elementary school student we thought to ourselves “someday, when I’m a grown up, people won’t be mean and immature. There won’t be any “popular kids” or cliques and everyone will just be nice to one another. Nobody will ever push me around or make me feel bad about myself. Everything in the world will be rainbows, butterflies, and lollipops”.

Then we grew up, got married, had some kids and realized that growing up wasn’t as much fun as we thought it was going to be. There are bills to pay, mouths to feed, floors to mop, and lots and lots of stress. We do NOT get to do whatever we want whenever we want because finding a babysitter is like finding a pearl in an oyster and it’s awfully expensive too! We don’t get to watch whatever we want either because anything not rated G or PG is just out of the question, and we always have nursery rhymes and Veggie Tales songs stuck in our heads. Nobody told us we couldn’t eat whatever we wanted once we were adults either because it would go straight to our thighs! Life my friends is NOT all rainbows, butterflies, and lollipops as an adult. All of this was disappointing to learn but not nearly as disappointing as learning that adults are STILL mean and immature. The “popular kids” still exist and although they’ve traded in their backpacks for designer handbags and luxury SUV’s, they still know how to make you feel small. Yep, sad truth is adults are NOT always nice to one another! You just have to accept the fact that often grown adults will get jealous, they will talk about you behind your back, they get bossy, and even form cliques that you won’t always be a part of. They will be unkind, inconsiderate, and just blatantly rude from time to time too.

But not you! Nope, you’re nothing like these rude, clique forming adults I speak of right?

WRONG!

We need to remember that all of these not so nice qualities live inside each and every one of us. We’re all guilty of gossiping about one another, we’re all guilty of leaving someone out of our circle of friends, and we’re all incredibly guilty of judging one another like God has appointed us his CEO of the judgment department! Somedays it’s harder to keep our inner demons at bay than others. The important thing to remember is that while there is bad in everyone, there is also good. Just as God forgives us when we are not so nice to him, we should forgive others who are not always so nice to us and should strive to be equally kind to everyone! Everyone is fighting a battle of their own so treat others the way you would like to be treated. Don’t make it a point to leave people out or make them feel like less of a person just because you can! In short, don’t be a bully because there will always be a bigger kid capable of bullying YOU!

These are important things to remember for 3 reasons:

1. Nobody likes to be bullied or made fun of. Nobody likes to be made to feel like their thoughts, opinions, feelings, and self worth are less valuable than anyone else’s.

2. Remember those kids we’re raising? You know, the ones who we strive so hard to shelter from these mean bully kids? These kids are looking to us for examples of the kind of adults they should become. If we are portraying an adult who speaks poorly about other people, who often says things like “no, I’m not going because so and so will be there and I don’t like her”, or shows no concept of compromise or kind regard for the feelings and well being of others, than we are failing these children miserably! They will be destined to become rude, snobby, bossy, boastful, unkind adults!

3. Most importantly, God commands us to be kind to one another time and time again throughout the bible! He commands us to be forgiving and compassionate just as he is with us.

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you”

James 2:8 “If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, you are doing right”

The bottom line here folks is we’re all sinners. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Nobody is asking you to be perfect and we are all a far cry from the people God is calling us to be but nobody young or old should have to deal with the mean kids on the playground. If we all made a conscious effort to do what God is asking and just simply be kind and compassionate to one another, I imagine the mean kids on the playground would cease to exist! Reach out to someone this week and let that beautiful light shine through you! Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zones and often including others in our plans is an inconvenience but if we ALL put others before ourselves, we would always have someone out there putting us first.

Lord, today my prayer is that you make me more like you. Make me more compassionate and tolerant of the “mean kids” who aren’t always the easiest to love. Help me to lay my own hurt aside to be forgiving to those who have never even asked for forgiveness. Work through me to show them the joy and peace that only you can give. I pray Lord that you will penetrate the hearts of my children so they will always let your kindness shine through to their peers all their lives. I pray that you will use my actions and my words to be a living example of your love and mercy to my husband, my children, my friends, family, and everyone I come in contact with. Fill my heart with your peace and love and grant me a spirit of compassion and kindness. Thank you so very much for loving me and forgiving me even though I don’t deserve it. Amen ❤

American Girl Bitty Baby House Party

September 9, 2013September 9, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 7 Comments

If you know me, you know that I love throwing a good party and I tend to go overboard. If you don’t know me, you probably could have figured that out all on your own! I’m not someone who does things the easy way either. Nope, store bought decorations, invitations, and favors have never been my thing. Not that there’s anything wrong with store bought party stuff, just saying, it’s not my thing. I know I have mentioned before that my children (and myself who am I kidding) love American Girl Dolls. We share our house with several of them but one of our favorites is Lizzy, T’s Bitty Baby. She loves to push her in her stroller, sit her in her highchair, and carry that diaper bag everywhere we go. When baby sister got old enough to take an interest in baby dolls, she pretty much kidnapped Lizzy for good. I had officially decided that A would be getting her very own Bitty for her 2nd birthday in December. Now P says she wants one too of course! Got to have 3 of everything in a house full of girls you know! Anyhow, a couple of months ago we got wind that AG was planning to release their revamped line of Bitty Baby at the end of August. T was ridiculous amounts of excited so we had to do a little internet research to see what changes were being made exactly. We discovered that there would now be 11 bittys to choose from, a whole new line of story books geared towards the younger AG lovers, and lots of exciting new accessories. We also stumbled upon the House Party website. How on earth had I never heard of House Party before?!?!?! My love for over the top parties and my love for free products combined into one fabulous website!??!?! If you don’t know about House Party, you NEED to check them out at http://www.houseparty.com and sign yourself up to host your very own! American Girl teamed up with House Party to select 1,000 or so lucky ladies to host a Bitty Baby tea party to introduce new Bitty to the world! Naturally we signed ourselves up to be hosts and patiently waited for what seemed like forever to find out if we had been chosen or not. I have to tell you I had pretty much psyched myself up for disappointment because I never win anything. Seriously. NEVER! Imagine my joyful surprise when I checked my email on host picking day to discover that I had been selected!!! So in about a month we will gather around with some of P & T’s favorite lil’ ladies and have a tea party to welcome our new Bitty home.

This is the new Bitty Baby. Her face mold has been changed as well as her hairline. She now comes with her own full color story book called “Bitty Baby and Me” and a cute little wishing star. Her little sleeper outfit has changed too and is super cute with little ruffles. Can’t wait to see her in person. T is ridiculously excited!

American Girl and House Party are sending us and our guests lots of goodies and naturally I had to start whipping up my own special touches immediately! I don’t normally share my party plans pre-party because I like for my guests to be pleasantly surprised by my personal touches but I figure there are so many other host mamas who could probably benefit from my hours of computer design work too. My husband always says nothing in this world is free but why I ask, WHY!?!?! We mamas have braces, shoes, school, and dolls to pay for by golly. Shouldn’t something be free from time to time? So here you go fellow Bitty Baby House Party Hostesses some FREE downloadable printables for your own party! I know I’ve already emailed several of you the water bottle labels and cupcake toppers but I’ve added a few other goodies for your printing pleasure here! Just click on any of the links at the very end of this post to download whichever party goodies you would like. When printing make sure you select “scale to fit (print entire page)” so that none of the design is chopped off. Some printers may have you select to print at 90% instead of 100%. Hope that make sense.

To create the place cards, simply cut each one out around the solid black lines and fold at the dotted line. I used the computer and a snazzy font for our names but you could easily handwrite them if your handwriting isn’t chicken scratch like mine.

The water bottle labels are pretty self explanatory. Just cut them out and use tape to secure them. If you plan to keep them in an ice bucket you may want to laminate the labels or cover them in clear tape to make them waterproof.

You can cut the cupcake toppers out by hand or use a circle shape maker if you have one. I used to have one purchased at Hobby Lobby but it was M.I.A. so I had to do them the old fashioned way. Once they’re cut out just tape or glue a toothpick to the back. If you’re feeling extra ambitious you can make them 2 sided by sandwiching the toothpick in between 2 circles! I personally think the fact that I created them, cut them, and taped them at all was ambitious enough for me!

To make the Bitty Baby scratch off lotto tickets you’ll need to print 1 copy of the page with the winning ticket and then a couple without. You also need a small paintbrush, some clear packing tape or wide shipping labels, dishwashing liquid, and silver paint. Cut your clear tape or clear shipping label to fit the scratch off area and place it over the print. In a cup or bowl that’s okay to get paint in mix 1/2 dishwashing liquid and 1/2 silver paint (or any color of metallic paint you choose). Paint over the labels or tape until you can’t see what’s underneath anymore. Mix a little bit of black in your silver for a darker better coverage if you don’t want to have to do so many coats. I did and still had to paint on 3 coats! If you’re using the shipping labels it’ll probably be much easier to paint them before you cut them and stick them on. It was tough to stay in the lines with the tape.

Once the paint has completely dried (overnight would probably be best but I was dying to try it so waited an hour), cut out the lotto cards and they’ll be ready for your guests! You can pick anything you want big or small to be your door prize. I will probably do one of the new Bitty books. What a fun project! I will definitely be doing these again!

I also created a party welcome banner to match and invitations too! You’ll obviously have to add your own party information. The invitations are formatted to a 5×7 size.

Check out the new Bitty Baby line for yourself at

http://www.americangirl.com

and don’t forget to check out

http://www.houseparty.com

I love you because…

September 7, 2013September 7, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

Positive reinforcement is such an important key when dealing with our children and spouses. Sometimes just saying “I love you” isn’t enough. Sometimes your significant other and those precious kiddos need to know WHY you love them. Everyone needs an extra pat on the back and a sweet little reminder of the things that make them so special and so very loved! I saw a post on Pinterest once with this idea and although it was just a photo that lead nowhere with no link, it looked simple enough so about a year ago, I designed 1 for each of my children and they got such a kick out of them I got to thinking we might need one in our bedroom too!

Dave may not be very pleased that I used his most recent love doodle for my blog but I don’t get them often so I would like to forever embed it into internet history! haha Sorry honey! I made one for the baby’s room too but she’s not old enough to appreciate it yet so I change it less often than the others and it’s more for my sweet memory. I leave a dry erase marker by each and although I don’t change them daily, I try to change them at least once a week. Every once in a while, I’ll find a sweet something written just for me too! It’s no grand gesture, just a little something that says “Hey! You’re pretty awesome and I love you for it!”

You can make your very own “I love you because…” sign too and remind the people you love what makes them extra special to you. All you need is a picture frame, a dry erase marker, and a printer! I’ve created a few downloadable printable signs for you but you can create your very own to match your child’s personality or decor. These were created in a 5×7 size so all you need to do is select the image you like best and print! There’s a little something for everyone-even the boys with legos and camo hearts! Just click on the link to view, print directly, or save and send to your favorite online print company. They sometimes look a little blurry when you first open the file but they don’t print that way, it didn’t for me anyway. Enjoy! ❤

Baking with the Bigs

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

When 8:00 rolls around and I finally lay the baby down for the night, the big girls get hungry for some attention. I often get hungry for baked goods so baking together seems like a win for everyone! In all sincerity though, I can’t express to you enough how important it is for you to spend quality time with your children and build some memories. As a busy mom, it’s easy to be in a rush all the time and say “I don’t have time to play a game right now I’m doing the dishes!” or “No, you can’t help me make dinner, I’m in a hurry and you’ll just make a huge mess!”. I guarantee those kids won’t remember the dishes in your sink but they will certainly remember all the fun they had getting flour and food coloring all over the kitchen! When I was a little girl, I remember feeling like I never had my mother’s full attention. She always seemed preoccupied with housework. Not that there is anything wrong with that, different moms interact with their children differently and not all children are the same so this may not have had an affect on someone else but it made me personally feel insignificant. I didn’t want to chance my children ever feeling that way so you’ll often find us all in the kitchen together wearing matching aprons cooking or baking together. More often than not, you’ll also find an American Girl Doll or two in an apron “helping” as well! Your chores will always be around,but your kids won’t be kids for long. Your kids should know the whole world doesn’t revolve around doing things with Mom. They should definitely know how to play independently and with each other while you get your chores done but we have to master a healthy balance of “hey kids, wanna help me bake?” and “I can’t fit another dirty dish in the sink, the floor is sticky, and everyone is out of clean undies. Could you play amongst yourselves while I tidy up?” Middle ground people. Middle ground! Lol. I hope someday when my girls have children of their own they will remember the giggles and smiles we shared doing ridiculous things like making tiny doll sized sugar cookies!

I don’t want any angry emails over the dangers of artificial coloring in my food because you won’t ever persuade me to toss the food coloring! I divided the cookie dough into 3 equal-ish blobs and each one of us picked out a color.

I then divided each color into 3’s and we each rolled out our own dough design on a cutting board before using cookie cutters to make shapes.

Almost ready!!!

The girls served their dolls first like good little mommies 😃

Everyone (including Daddy & I) enjoyed our late night snack!

Smash booking

September 5, 2013September 5, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

Before I had kids, heck, when I only had 1 kid, I loved to scrapbook. I had a bazillion shape makers, corner rounders, paper stashes, stickers, and other assorted awesomeness. I would spend hours cutting my pictures into shapes with my Creative Memories custom cutting system and then cut cute little papers for photo mats and decorative flair. P’s scrapbook is amazing with hand cut and drawn layered paper Oreo cookies to commemorate her first ever cookie. Years 1-4 are detailed, colorful, and organized. Then I had T and all my well made scrap booking plans went out the window and my bins upon bins of fabulous scrap booking tools sat and collected dust in the garage. After our 3rd little princess was born, I realized I wouldn’t have a chance to play with my scrap booking stuff again until they were all in grade school and I was all alone for a few hours daily in sweet blissful silence! But there’s still lots of stuff I want to remember in the meantime. Dates with my hubby, craft projects I made with the girls, etc.

Enter K&Company Smash books.

They retail for around $15 but you can get them for less by using a Michael’s or Hobby Lobby coupon, I know I did!😃
What on earth is a smash book you might be asking…
A smash book my friends is sort of a journal, meets a scrapbook, meets a tangible pinterest! It’s a scrapbook for the creatively challenged or for those of us who are now too busy to sit down and let our creative juices freely flow! Each Smash book has a theme and is choked full of built in awesomeness and zany printed pages.
Here’s a peek at some of the many smash books I’m currently working on and some of my smash accessories stash too!
This is my own personally random, mish mash, quirky Smashbook. I doodled like a school girl on the front cover and all over the inside too and added some nifty little clearance chipboard items to the front for character.

One of the features that makes the smash book so neat is the included smash stick which is a great felt tip marker on one end and a glue stick on the other end. This is great for dysfunctional, unorganized, on-the-go crafters like myself!

K and Company offers a whole plethora of cute and unique accessories to give your book an added boost of fabulousness and provide some easy storage for those souvenirs and other assorted keepsakes. There’s pockets, and labels, and baggies oh my!

They also have a vast variety of “smash pads” to choose from. Each smash pad is choked full of themed notes and journal prompts to help you remember every last detail of whatever event or project that you care to smash into your book.

What do you put in a Smashbook? ANYTHING YOU WANT!!! I’ve got magazine clippings, random things I’ve printed from the internet, catalog clipping wish lists, ticket stubs, pictures, and other random tidbits in mine! The back of each book has a built on pocket for extra smash ability.

K & Company sells fancy “smash tape” but I like a little glitter in my life so I bought a ton of Reflections brand tape at Michael’s on sale and cut slits in one of my children’s shoe boxes to make a handy little tape dispensing device. Smash tape (and other similar products) are super easy to use and add a decorative flare to items you may not want to permanently glue down. It does not tear paper and is reposition-able if you decide to move it around. It’s overall pretty darn awesome!!!

I used the “wedding” themed book to create a way to store our wedding and shower invitations and momentos as well as keep a log of our anniversary celebrations over the years, special date nights, etc. I used several pockets to store pamphlets, postcards, hotel keys, and other assorted goodies I’ve collected over the years. I even had random Instagram photos printed to remember dates and venues. I love that on our 30th anniversary some day, I can look back and remember that we spent our second anniversary at the Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and have the handwritten card the manager left in our room to prove it!

This is just a tiny glimpse of the many memories, thoughts, and souvenirs I store in my Smash books. What will you smash into yours?

You can get your smash book in 3 different sizes at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s, Target, or Amazon.com if you’re an online shopper. In fact, if you’re in the market for one this week, I happened to notice that the books and lots of accessories are being featured on the discount site Zulily through Friday so go have a look!

http://www.zulily.com/e/k-and-company-smash-58074.html?pos=74

Happy smashing!

Steak tacos

September 4, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

Steak tacos are a favorite go to meal in the Latch house. The kids love anything involving steak and cheese, and I like anything that doesn’t make a gigantic mess, takes less than 30 mins to make, and is delicious!
Gather ingredients-you’ll need
-Steak- I typically use sirloin but have used filet or ny strip before.
-Colby jack or other favorite cheese
-1 lime
-white corn tortillas
-cilantro
-steak seasoning (optional)
-margarine or butter

Slice steak into thin strips and place in large skillet with about a tablespoon of butter or margarine. Take this time to add whatever seasonings you normally would a steak should you choose to do so. I use this fabulous Weber Chicago Steak seasoning that my hubby does when he grills. I also add a dash of onion powder and garlic powder. I often slice some very thin onion and toss it in with the steak but I was running late for an appointment so I skipped it this time. Cook the steak on medium heat till its at your desired heat.

While your steak is cooking, take a second to grate your cheese if its not already done, slice your lime, pick and wash your cilantro leaves, and begin to hear your tortillas in a small skillet or in a griddle if you’re one of those kind of domestic divas.

Once your tortillas are warm and toasty and your steak is cooked well enough for you get your plates handy and begin to assemble your tacos. Add the steak then squirt with some lime juice and top with cilantro then cheese. Fold in half and serve. We often serve with rice but they’re pretty tasty all on their own too so it’s not needed!

Laundry lessons

September 3, 2013September 3, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 1 Comment

Dear Diary,
It’s amazing how one little load of laundry can make you feel like you’ve really earned your title as the Dysfunctional Domestic Diva! I’ve done so much laundry in the last 9 years you would think I was a pro at it by now. I used to like to think laundry was one of my domestic strong points. I’ve always been great and on top of my game with getting clothing clean and dry. Sorting, hanging, folding, and putting it away not so much but that’s another diary entry for another day. This morning as I sorted my latest load I learned that maybe I’m not quite a domestic diva in the laundry room after all. Now I have come to share this valuable knowledge with other dysfunctional domestics like myself. Carry on good and faithful sorters, but go and ruin clothing no more!

7 lessons I learned from this mornings laundry load

1. Always check your pockets. Husbands and children are notorious for tossing things in the hamper with full pockets. I’ve been known to find nails, screws, nuts, bolts, hair accessories, lip gloss, magnets, toys, electric razor attachments, and even my husbands brand new iPod in the laundry!

2. It’s probably not a good idea to wash athletic shorts with sequins and fancy lace tops together. EVER!

3. You may think you’re only doing laundry for your husband and 3 daughters but apparently, American Girl Dolls don’t do their own laundry either!

4. When washing cute little Etsy creations with drawstrings or ribbon ties, it’s probably a good idea to remove said ribbons and drawstrings or tie them into a snug little bow so that they do not meet other cute little Etsy creations in the spin cycle to create one giant ball of cute fabric ribbon that will undoubtably take hours to untangle

5. When your 4 year old says she wants to help with laundry, let her but don’t take your eyes off of her for 2.5 seconds or she may toss in an object that has no business in the washing machine like oh I don’t know, a white cap with hot pink sequin apple! Hot pink sequin apples have the potential to not only ruin the item they are on but other items as well. Like her sisters brand new stripey shirt for instance.

6 & 7: This one tiny little pink ruffled shirt taught me 2 very important lessons. First of all, no amounts of oxyclean, peroxide, baking soda, or shout will get fudge pop stains from a light pink ruffled cotton top. Second, and probably more importantly, never, I repeat never send a child to grandmas house in a light pink ruffled cotton top. Grandma gives candy, popsicles, and red punch out like it’d going out of style! Black or brown are the only appropriate colors for Grandmas house!

Spinach stuffed chicken cups

September 2, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

I’m not one to follow recipes. That’s a little too well thought out and planned for a dysfunctional domestic diva like myself. But every time I make this dish, someone undoubtably wants the recipe. So here we go, I’m going to attempt to give you the “recipe”. Please know that I don’t use very technical measurement terms when I cook. You will never hear me say “add a cup of this or a tablespoon of that”. More than likely you’ll hear “add a dash of this and a pinch of that” so bear with me. Maybe some day I’ll be more organized and technical.
The fist thing you’ll want to do is gather your ingredients and supplies:
-chicken breast (how much obviously depends on how large they are and how many people you need to feed)
-cherry tomatoes
-frozen spinach
-shredded mozzarella or other Italian cheese
-seasoning of your choice (I keep it fairly simple and use an Italian blend, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper)
-extra virgin olive oil
-lime juice (optional)
-muffin tin
-cutting board
-sharp knife
-a small mixing bowl

You’ll need to preheat your oven to 350 and slice your chicken breast in half vertically. I used 2 chicken breasts and was able to make 6 chicken “cups”.

Chop your cherry tomatoes into 4ths and set them aside. In your small mixing bowl, add the frozen spinach, a dash of all of your seasonings, a drizzle of olive oil, a dash of lime juice, and your shredded cheese and mix well. I used about a cup and half of spinach and 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella but you’ll have to eyeball amounts dependent on how many servings your making.

I used heb organic naturals frozen breasts so they weren’t huge but I cut the larger one in half again to make 4 cups from just 1 breast! The other one was smaller and only made 2. Once they’re cut, use a meat tenderizer or your fist if you have pent up aggression to beat the chicken into thin pieces. You may lightly season the chicken with the same seasoning you use for the spinach if you choose to do so. I do! Next, spray your muffin tin with cooking spray and put the chicken in forming individual hollow “cups”. Fill each cup with spinach/cheese mix and put in the oven.

Obviously your oven and what not will make a difference as well as how thin you were able to beat that chicken but after about 8 mins (exactly 7 mins and 44 seconds in my case) remove the muffin tin and add your tomatoes and I like to sprinkle a little bit more cheese to hold it all together and clog my arteries a little more. Then put back in the oven another 5 mins or so until the chicken is fully cooked and the cheese is nicely melted.

Remove from the oven and serve with your choice of side dish. My kids like it best with angel hair pasta tossed with a dash of rosemary and olive oil but we’ve served it with white rice as well.

Mmmmm… Delicious! My kids will eat anything in the shape of a cupcake but if your littles despise spinach you can fill with anything they like really. We’ve filled them with broccoli and velveeta before and they were pretty darn tasty too!
Hope you enjoy!

ABCmouse.com

September 1, 2013September 3, 2013dysfunctionaldomesticdiva2013 Leave a comment

School started for P last week but T still had 1 more week before her preschool program begins. P attends a classical school where she goes to a traditional classroom two days per week, is homeschooled two days, and has electives on the final day. We love her school and the format really works well for our family. I enjoy getting to share the teaching responsibilities with her school teacher and we love the flexibility we have with the school schedule.

Anyway, on home days, T is always dying to do “homework” too. I’ve stocked up on preschool and kinder workbooks in attempts to give her a jump start at Kindergarten next year and she’s super smart if I do say so myself! This year P’s school has decided to implement some learning through technology and P now has some assignments that she can do in the form of a game online or iPad app. Naturally whatever big Sissy is doing, little Sissy wants to do. We had seen the commercials for abcmouse.com on tv so we decided to give it a go. I’m so glad we did because she loves it and I love knowing the programming is age appropriate and educational.

Each child can select an avatar to represent them and a teacher to guide them. The classroom is bright and easy to navigate and there’s a town map where children can visit a theatre that shows alphabet videos, a pet store, and other shops.

They even have class pets they can feed and care for. A hamster and an aquarium. Children can earn tickets for completing lessons to purchase additional pets and accessories.

They can choose to free play various themed educational games or follow their assigned “learning path”. Each game or lesson in their learning path awards hem with tickets to use for prizes or to purchase clothing and accessories for their avatar and classroom.

The learning path changes environments after you complete all the lessons of one section

I asked T to tell me which game was the one she enjoyed the most so I could give you an example but she said she has 2 favorites so I’ll show you both! Hamster ball bowling- the object of the game is to knock down all the pins by selecting the 2 hamster balls with numbers that will add up to 10

She also loves Sea Horse racing. The object of this game is to select the correct shape as quickly as possible to give the seahorse a boost to win the race

On top of all the fun games and other obvious educational assets, the games also teach alot about general computer usage for beginners.

Try it free for the first month and then it’s only $7.95. That’s a steal in my book for the hours of educational entertainment for a busy body 4 year old!
www.abcmouse.com
My studious little cutie pie

Diary of a Dysfunctional Domestic Diva

Whining, Dining, and Nursery Rhyming