will March come in like a lion or a lamb?

Pin It I am so ready for Spring. I remember the saying if March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I certainly do hope that March goes out like a lamb. I don't know how much more snow and cold weather I can handle. I decided to make some handprint crafts with the kids to go along with this saying. We made handprint lions and lambs. We all know how I love me some handprint crafts. Here's how we made them:

Kirsten's and Cam's handprint lions





What you'll need:

For the lion:

orange/yellow mixed paint
paint brush
paper
googly eyes
glue
scissors
craft foam - orange, yellow, brown, cut into strips
sharpie

Directions:

For the lion:

1. mix up some yellow and orange paint until you get a nice dark yellow colour.
2. paint your child's palm and have them stamp it on a piece of paper.
3. glue on two googly eyes.
4. using your craft foam strips, glue on a lion's mane and tail.
5. draw a face on your lion with the sharpie

Kirsten's and Cam's handprint lambs:





What you'll need:

For the lamb:

black paint
paint brush
paper
googly eyes
glue
cotton balls
sharpie

Directions:

For the lamb:

1. paint your child's palm with the black paint and have them stamp it on a piece of paper.
2. glue on two googly eyes.
3. glue some cotton balls on the lamb's body.
4. draw a face, some ears, and a tail on your lamb with the sharpie

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classic pea soup with ham

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I made this soup a long time ago and figured I better post it before winter is over. I love homemade pea soup with ham. For some reason, every time I make pea soup it turns out so thick you can stand a spoon up in it. This recipe was no exception. When I noticed that was happening again I added more water to get the soup to the consistency that I like. This was a good soup, but I think I'm still on the lookout for the perfect pea soup recipe. If you have one, please do share. Here's this recipe:

Ingredients:

1 smoked ham hock (about 1 lb/500 g)
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable_oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 each carrots and stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
4 cups (1 L) sodium-reduced chicken stock
2 cups (500 mL) dry green or yellow split peas
3 green onions, thinly sliced

Preparation:

Using paring knife, peel off and discard skin from ham hock. Trim off and discard fat. Set aside.

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-low heat; fry onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper and ham hock, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add stock, peas and 2 cups (500 mL) water; bring to boil over medium-high heat, skimming off any foam. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until peas break down and meat is tender enough to fall off hock, about 1-3/4 hours.

I checked my soup often and noticed it was getting way too thick. I added water until it was the consistency I liked.

Remove ham hock; pull off and shred meat. Set meat aside. Discard ham bone and bay leaves. In blender, puree half of the soup; return to pot along with meat. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes. Transfer to container and refrigerate, uncovered, until cold. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat to serve.) Ladle into bowls; garnish with green onions.

Recipe from Canadian Living

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I'm the Creative Guest on Ucreate with Kids today!

Pin It I am so thrilled to be the creative guest on Ucreate with Kids. today. Come check out my post here . I'm sharing a great craft today called plastic bottle bowling. I won't be sharing this over here for quite some time, so if you want the details you'll have to check out my post here. While you're there check out all the other awesome crafts they have. They have a great collection of children's crafts. Thanks again Ucreate with Kids.

Here's the craft I'm sharing:



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fun food friday: swimming fishies

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Kirsten has been asking us for a pet. Her best friend at daycare has a fish, so Kirsten thinks she would like one too. I'm not so sure. Cleaning fish bowls is just not something I want to add to my daily activities right now. I decided to make her a lunch with "fish" instead. The kids really loved it and ate up every bite. Here's how I made it:

Fish - chicken sandwiches cut with a fish cookie cutter - cheese stripes and icing eyes.

Celery grass in the water, bluberry bubbles and red raspberry rocks.

Adorable and easy!

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miniature memory game

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When I came across this adorable miniature memory game on Dandee, I knew I wanted to make one for my kiddos. It was just too cute not to. I ordered some wooden disks from supplies on Etsy. They were really cheap and they work great. I had the metal containers left over from wedding favours (I've kept them for over 5 years!!), so I was excited to use them again. Otherwise you can pick them up at any craft store. Kirsten loves this little game. It's a great quiet game for her to play while Cam is napping, and I can also throw it in my purse if I need to amuse her somewhere when we're out. I still really haven't let Cam play with it much because he still loves putting everything in his mouth. Maybe, just maybe, he'll grow out of this at some point. Here's how to make this adorable little game:

What you'll need:

mod podge
foam brush
12 - one inch wood discs
7 different coloured sheets of card stock (you can use solid colours, or patterned paper, it's up to you - I used a single solid colour for the top and patterns for the bottom.
3/4" circle paper punch
small round tin
"miniature memory" printable - I printed this on sticker/label paper - get your printable at Dandee

Instructions:

To begin, punch two circles from six of your card stock pieces. You will punch 12 circles from the remaining piece of paper (this will be the backside of the game pieces).

Next using your Mod Podge and foam brush, begin adhering the paper circles to the wood discs. Once the paper is applied to each side of the wood discs you can start using the Mod Podge to seal over both sides of the game pieces.

Tip: you will get better results if you apply thin, even coats. I applied two coats to each side.

Next use scissors or a paper punch to cut out the "miniature memory" label. Attach the label to your tin.

Have a fun game of memory with your kiddos!











Be sure to visit Dandee so you can make one of these yourself!

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winter fun

Pin It Yesterday was family day in Canada, which meant a day off work to spend time with the kiddos. James and I were actually both off together (which never happens!) so we wanted to bring the kids toboganning. I'll be completely honest with you, I'm not really the winter type. I know, I know, I live in Canada so I must be used to it. This winter has been incredibly cold too. Most mornings when I go to work it's at least -20 celcius (which is about -4 fahrenheit for you Americans). COLD. Too cold for the kids to play much outside. Yesterday was beautiful. By the afternoon it was about -8 C (17 F). It made for perfect tobogganing weather. Sorry for the picture overload, but it was my first time taking pics of the kids outside this winter and I went a little overboard! I'm a little sad that I'm not in any of the pictures, but I guess somebody has to take them. Maybe next time.































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shepherd's pie

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This is a yummy winter comfort meal. It's relatively easy to make and not only do the kids love it, but James and I love it too. Here's the recipe:

What you'll need:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 small onion chopped
1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
1 package clubhouse shepherd's pie seasoning mix
mashed potatoes (several large potatoes, milk and butter)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1) Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender.

2) While the potatoes are cooking, brown your ground beef. Drain fat.

3) Add your veggies (onion, corn, peas, carrots, whatever) to your beef and cook until tender.

4) Add seasoning mix and water and bring to a boil. Cook according to package directions.

5) When potatoes are tender, drain water and mash them with milk and butter.

6) pour your meat mixture into the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.

7) bake at 400F for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

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old tights = new snake

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I had a pair of adorable tights that no longer fit Kirsten and I just couldn't part with them. I decided to turn them into a stuffed snake for her. Now my sewing skills are so bad it's almost embarrassing, so if I can make this, anyone can. She loves her little snake - or 'worman' as she calls it - and has been taking it to bed with her every night. Here's how I made it:

What you'll need:

an old pair of tights
scissors
2 buttons
felt
needle and thread
stuffing

Here's how you make it:

Find an old, cute pair of tights:





Using your scissors, cut one of the legs off. Find 2 buttons (mine don't even match!) and sew them on the snake.



Cut a tongue out of your piece of felt and sew onto the snake. I pinched the end of the tights and sewed the tongue into the pinched part.



Here's what the tongue looks like - see how it's in the 'pinched' part:



Stuff your snake and tie the end shut. If you have sewing skills that are better than mine, you could even sew the end shut and make it look a little more professional. I don't care and neither does Kirsten, so I tied the end which was quick and easy.



Isn't she cute??







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fun food friday: initials and other stuff

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I made these ones a long time ago and I'm just getting around to posting them now. I tend to do that. I always post ones I really like first and then the ones I don't love, I get to them eventually. The kids (Kirsten especially) love everything with their initials on them. Kirsten is obsessed with the letter K. These were really simple to put together and the kids loved them. Here's how I made these lunches:

Peanut butter toast sandwich cut into initial. Cup of yogurt with chocolate chip initials. Cheerios and tiny hippos cut out of peaches for garnish.

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