Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

5 Joie De Vivre {Simple Joys In Life}

In an earlier post I talked about joie de vivre and the importance of finding the little things throughout your day that make you happy. I'm hoping I can get in the habit of sharing these with you on a weekly basis. Life seems that much sweeter when you're thankful for the small things that are happening all around you.
When you come across things that make you smile -- those "Ahhh life is good moments", write them down. Make a list of the things that you like to savor. It's a fun little project that will remind you about the simple pleasures in life.
 
 
 
{A tree with dark red leaves and pretty pink blossoms that is blooming down the street}
 
{Taking this guy for a stroll. Sometimes we'll walk to the park that overlooks the beach}
 
{A pretty note pad and pen}
 
{Taking my nanny baby out for doughnuts and chatting the afternoon away}
 
{My little pink pig soap that smells like roses. I keep it in this 14k gold plated dish that I found at a thrift store. Good find}
 

Thursday, June 28, 2012

How To Ask Little Kids To Be In Your Wedding

Simple...They LOVE Twix bars.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

DIY: Reindeer Gift Bags

I made these cute little reindeer bags for my nanny girls school Christmas parties. We filled each reindeer with peppermints, chocolates and other fun candies! These were fun to make and less than $1 per bag including all the candy! The girls told me that the gift bags were a big hit with their classmates. I found this cute idea from Family Fun.




Instructions
1.        Use a pencil to mark a brown paper bag as shown, then cut along the solid lines to create a rounded top and 2 separate teardrop ear shapes.
2.       Fold the bag along the dotted line, then hot glue an antler (cut from brown card stock) and an ear inside the fold on each side of the bag.
3.       For the eyes, (I bought googly eyes from Micheal's craft store -- much easier than cutting out your own) glue them to the bag with a hot glue gun.
4.       Glue on a red pom-pom for a nose. Let all of the glue dry before placing a small gift inside.

***If your kids are under 10 yrs. old I'd suggest doing all the gluing yourself. You can have little one help with separating and stuffing the bags with candy.***


Homemade Gingerbread Cookies


I made these gingerbread cookies last week with my nanny kids. I love this recipe, it comes out perfectly every time.
Recipe comes from Annie's Eats.

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup molasses
1 large egg

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices to combine; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the molasses and egg until combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place the cookie shapes onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely. Decorate as desired.



Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Robert Sabuda Pop-Up Books For Your Lovebugs

Being a full time nanny, I read an astronomical amount of Children's books! Robert Sabuda pop-ups are my favorite. His attention to detail is amazing; you can even see furniture inside the pop-up house of Alice in Wonderland! And the Emerald City Castle in The Wizard of Oz, comes with 3D glasses! Each page is a work of art. These books will blow you away!


Paper Engineer Robert Sabuda is a pioneer in the field of Children’s Pop-Up Books. Since 1994, when he published his first title “The Christmas Alphabet,” Sabuda has not only been pushing the envelope and raising the bar in pop-up publishing, but he has virtually created his own genre. Though there are certainly other pop-up books being published, very few can compete with the sophisticated engineering of Sabuda’s work.
-Robert Sabuda Project

The kids LOVE them!










http://www.mikehulsebus.com/album120/11.jpg

 http://image.rakuten.co.jp/merci-p/cabinet/baby-k/0689817517-2.jpg

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Berkeley Dog

Dan and I have been watching the Yule kids for the past week (and next) while their parents are in Europe. We are having so much fun! We took Donovan and Austin to Sky High (a warehouse full of trampolines) earlier this week and yesterday we took Katie, Aiden and Austin to Berkeley Dog. Dan and I have wanted to try this place for awhile now. We discovered it during one of my lunch breaks when I was at UCI.
They have a HUGE selection of tasty dogs and gourmet mustard's, sauerkraut and other yummy things like fries and chicken wings. They also have an AMAZING futuristic Coke machine -- a touch screen with over 100 different flavor combinations. I got a vanilla Sprite! So good!

This place is too much fun!

Here's a few things on their fabulous menu.
Hot Dogs and Sausages
Frankfurter
Bockwurst
Veal
Kielbasa
Calabrese - secret recipe from a 60 year old butcher shop in San Francisco
Kobe Beef
Louisiana Hot Links
Mighty Hot Juicy Habanero Beef and Pork
Pepper Lemon Chicken
Smoked Chicken Apple
German Frankfurter with Garlic
Pastrami Dog
Bacon HashBrown Dog
Toppings
Grilled onions
Grilled bell peppers
All beef chili topping
Shredded cheese
Sides
Fries
Sweet potato fries
Funnel fries
Famed La Indiana Tamales from Los Angeles! Spicy pork, chicken vegetable and the very spicy chili and cheese

and...for the more adventurous



Danny and Aiden


Very cool Coke machine! Over 100 different flavors!


 Cherry, Orange, Vanilla, Strawberry, Raspberry, Grape and Peach Sprite! What!?


Aiden!






Sweet Maui Onion Mustard, Coney Island Mustard, Pineapple Mustard, Louisiana Creole Mustard, Russian, Stone Ground and Classic American Mustard's! Nice!



Monday, August 15, 2011

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

I made some chalk paint for Billy(7) and Boadie(5) today! They loved it! The boys pretended to be battling wizards and splattered this magic (chalk) all over the street with their wands (paint brushes).
Happy kids.

1/4 cup cornstarch + 1/4 cup water + 5 drops food coloring = Sidewalk Chalk Paint
                  


Picture: Shareandremember