Thanksgiving Turkey - A Kid Craft

If there is anything I've learned in my four short years of being a parent it's that if you want to keep your kids out of trouble, and by trouble I mean not tearing apart your house, you've got to find ways to occupy their little minds.  Sometimes life gets in the way and you can't always be super Mom but some days the planets align and you get to wear your cape!  I'd been seeing some cute Thanksgiving crafts on Pinterest so I decided we'd try one.  Here was my inspiration:

Originally found at Preschool Crafts for Kids

I of course did not plan ahead to do this so as I started gathering my materials together, as both of my kids were screaming, and realized I had no paper plates.  Not a problem, I improvised and grabbed an empty diaper box.  Instead of having to color the plate we got to skip a step cause the box was already brown.  

Starting supplies for our Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

For those of you that don't know, I have a 4 year old and a 1 year old.  They are both VERY busy bees so I had to move quick!  I traced their hands on different colored construction paper and let my 4 year old cut them out (he's big on using scissors these days because he's learning about cutting on the line at school).  In the mean time I cut a circle out of the turkey and made a part that would be his body.  

Giovani cutting away!

Next I had my 4 year old start gluing which he also loves to do.  We added googlely eyes, a gobbler and a hat (as per Gio's request) and here's the finished product.

This was easy and cheap.  Best of all it took us two mornings before pre-k to finish so it kept him busy for a bit.  PIN!

I've got a lot of projects in the works so I'm not sure what will be up next, so just stay tuned for more!  

 

A Week of Pinterest Recipe Reviews

Although I typically review project type pins, I do rely on Pinterest regularly for recipes and meal ideas.  This past week I did quite a few recipes and I wanted to share the outcome with you.  My disclaimer...eating healthy was not at the forefront of my focus this week and all my recipes selections reflect that LOL.  

My first inspiration...a whole chicken in the crockpot!

Originally found at Queen Bee Coupons

I love cooking a whole chicken because I can usually get two meals out of one.  I usually take the left overs and make chicken fried rice.  Add some store bought egg rolls and you have a meal!  Anyway I followed the original pinners instructions exactly adding a little olive oil as she did, etc.  My chicken cooked A LOT faster than hers.  It was done in about 4 hours.  The meat itself was good but one thing I couldn't get past was the soggy skin.  When you roast a whole chicken in the oven the skin gets nice and crispy.  Even though I personally don't eat the skin, its more aesthetically appealing to me and the chicken isn't dripping with juice, it's just right.  While the chicken came out as she said it would, this pin gets a PASS from me.  For me, there is no substitute for oven roasting.

Next up...crack potatoes.  This is one of those recipes I've pinned multiple times and it took me months to finally make it.  Here's the pin:

Originally found at Plain Chicken

I followed the instructions exactly.  I divided it up into two larger pans instead of three smaller.  Overall it came out good but if I make this again, I'm going to try adding a little less ranch seasoning.  If that doesn't fix it, I'm going to cut back on the sour cream.  There was an over powering punch from one of them that I need to scale back but couldn't put my finger on which it was.  PIN.

It was a busy week of cooking.  I don't know why I crammed so many of these into one week...anyway.  Next up,  loaded baked potato casserole.  

Originally found at Red Star Recipe

Again, the outcome was good.  If I make this again, I'll use less potatoes and add more bacon and cheese.  PIN

Last one...the Italian Wonder Pot.  This one is simple.  PIN!

Originally found at Budget Bytes

That was our week.  We had leftovers from each of these that made nice lunches the following day.  Next up, a Thanksgiving craft to do with the kiddies and a basket idea for a holiday basket raffle.  Stay tuned!

      

DIY Halloween Costume - Miss Piggy

I always do projects that I find on Pinterest and re-create well today's post is different!  Today's post is my first original project that I did not find on Pinterest.  I wore this costume for the first time several years ago, long before Pinterest was around.  I'll admit, I did see someone else do a version of it while Googling for costume ideas, but I took it to the next level LOL.

So, I wanted to be Miss Piggy.  I've always been a fan of her.  She's funny, loud and always looks glamorous despite the fact that she's a pig LOL!  Here was my inspiration:

Originally found at Land Lord Rock NYC

I went to a costume store and bought a standard blond curly wig and some pig ears.  I also bought some fake eyelashes from Wal-Mart.  I searched high and low for the right snout (because the nose you choose will make or break the costume).  If you look at Miss Piggy's nose it's pretty big.  If you do a quick Google you see some others that have attempted to pull off Miss Piggy but they didn't nail the nose.

Originally found at Coolest Homemade Costumes - perfect example of not nailing the nose. 

So I went online and found the perfect nose.  I added a lot of makeup and some clothes I already had.  Then I course topped it off with a hot pink feather boa that I also already had.  Here was the final result:

I was really happy with the way it came out.  The day was a little hectic because my kids were excited and I forgot to get a shot of my full outfit, but this was the most important part anyway.  This was a great DIY costume and I may even wear it again next year!

Up next, I'm making a few things for my house and up-cycling some jewelry so stay tuned!

P.S. - In case you are wondering, that cute little hippo with me is my daughter.  She was the "Huggable Hippo" this year!