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Leap Day Celebration Ideas

Posted by on 6:51 am

Leap Day is coming up this week!  I’ve never celebrated it with my kiddos before, but now the older two are old enough that I think we can have some fun and learn a little bit about WHY we have Leap Day and Leap Year.

So…next Wednesday, I am going to DIG DEEP, put on my “fun mom” costume (because yo, it is a COSTUME), and do some fun activities with the kids!  Here are some I’m thinking of:

  • “Leap” games inolving jumping – like a race where we have to do different kinds of jumps – long leaps, bunny hops, jumping on one leg, etc.  Since we’ve been having a mild winter, I am hoping it will be warm enough to do outside and do this.
  • Leap play date so we can play a musical-chairs type game where we leap from lily pad to lily pad!  Each child cuts out & decorates their lily pads and then we will stick them to the floor, turn on some music, and get leaping.
  • Since jumping and lily pads might factor into things, you may have guessed that I am thinking of a FROG theme for our Leap Day fun.  Thanks once again to Pinterest, I may attempt these frog cupcakes:

Hmm, but now I’m thinking frog COOKIES might be easier…

One more thing I’m going to do on Leap Day is leap into a NEW RECIPE! I’ve been in a total recipe RUT recently. This one has nothing to do with frogs (thankfully, ’cause I am NOT eating frog legs!), just something I’ve been wanting to try, and Leap Day is as good a time as any! Since I am a Vicks Blogger, I’ve been following Curtis Stone’s Nature’s Kitchen series sponsored by Vicks Nature Fusion.  There’s a recipe he calls a “One-Pot Wonder” – and I’m a one-pot cook!  I’ve not tried one of Curtis’ recipes yet, even though I love watching his videos. But I am going to make this one  - a potato-corn chowder, for our Leap Day meal.

 

(You can check out the rest of Curtis’ videos for the Vicks Nature Fusion Nature’s Kitchen here.)

Are you planning on celebrating Leap Day this year?  If so, give me some more activity ideas!

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I am being compensated for this post as part of the Vicks Blogger program.

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Filed Under Craftiness, culinary fun 1 Comment

Warming up Winter

Posted by on 5:45 am
Cold

photo by RachelEllen on flickr

Winter is my least favorite season.  I know I am a total buzzkill, but I hate snow.  Sure, it looks nice, but what it does is keep me and the kids cooped up in the house and make it dangerous to drive anywhere! I hate cold even more.  I really, really, really, hate being cold.

So, every winter, every dang nervewrackingly-cold day, I try to warm things up for myself.   From the practical to the comfortable, I am always trying to keep things above freezing in my life!  Here are a few ways I try to get my warm on:

  • Pre-heat the car.  I cannot stand to put kids or myself in a freezing cold car.  In the winter, I make a mad dash out in the cold ten to fifteen minutes before we have to leave so the van will be nice and toasty and frost-free before we leave!
  • Cloak myself in fleece.  I likes to wear the warm snugglies in winter, and I like my kids to have them on too! I wear fleece-lined clogs in the house, fleece PJ pants, a nice fleece pullover, you get my drift!  The baby lives in fleece PJs all day long, he can get away with it!
  • Cook up some WARM comfort food.  In my house, winter is the season of slow cooked soups and stews.  I have several beloved recipes that I never get sick of and make again and again.  But, they are all really simple.

When I want a warm comfort food that’s more than simple, I turn to the frozen foods department at my grocery store.  I don’t cook lasagna, meatloaf, or pot pies, so I gotta go to the experts!  When I want a creamy, flaky, delicious pot pie, I go with Marie Callender’s.

Now I’ve had Marie Callender’s pot pies dozens of times, but I reviewed one for this post, just to *ahem* remind myself how awesome they are.  It was just as good as ever!  Filled with yummy meat, veggies, and with lots of choices of flavors, they are a great time-saving solution for that busy time of year when it just happens to also be f-f-f-freeezing cold outside.  I especially love the Creamy Parmesan and Cheesy Chicken pot pies.  Mmmmm…they are delish!  Food like that keeps me very warm on the coldest of days.

So, those are some ways that I warm up winter.  I will definitely be employing them again as the cold and snow rush in.  How do YOU warm things up for your friends and family?

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I was compensated for my review of this product by Marie Callender’s and the Motherhood.  All opinions about the product are my own.

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Slightly Obsessed

Posted by on 9:19 am

With sweet potatoes. I am obsessed with sweet potatoes – this is a new low.

But they’re not just any sweet potatoes, they are the Pioneer Woman’s Soul Sweet ‘Taters and they are quite possibly the best things I’ve ever made.

Photo from the Pioneer Woman on Flickr

A delicious concoction of sweet potatoes, milk, eggs, vanilla, brown sugar, sugar, pecans, butter, flour, and salt.

Amazing.

Make them for Christmas, you will not regret it. I know, I know, you don’t like sweet potatoes. Well, friends, these are not your grandma’s syrupy, marshmallow-laden canned yams. They are heaven on a plate.

Make them. And then invite me over.

And while you’re at it, whip up some of these pumpkin pie cupcakes:

Photo from Une-deux senses

White cupcakes with a graham cracker crust, iced with pumpkin pie. Yum. My I-don’t-like-sweet-stuff diabetic husband ate four.

It’s no wonder I gained 40 pounds this weekend.

Did you discover any amazing recipes this Thanksgiving? If so, share them in the comments!

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