Since our Daughter is five now and really likes the Neighbor boy, I figured it was time we did something. She wanted to make a little present for him and we came up with this Valentine’s Day card that’s also a game. It turned out really cute. I ended up making a few more for my nieces. I hope everyone will enjoy receiving it as much as we had fun making it.

How about you? Do you have any special plans for Valentine’s Day? Do you have a cute craft you make with your kids every year? Share your favorite ideas and stories as a comment below.

Here’s the recipe for the apple cinnamon dough … it makes a slightly sticky dough out of apple sauce, cinnamon and white glue that dries into hardened ornaments that look as beautiful as they smell yummy. They make great ornaments or even gifts for family members. You could also cut them out in smaller shapes, skip the whole and ribbon and just lay them out on a plate or in a small bowl instead of potpourri.

I hope you and your kids enjoy it as much as we have.

And that’s just what we did tonight. I layed out three tortillas and spread them with pizza sauce. After that it was up to each of us to top our individual pizza with our favorite toppings including salami, ham, pineapple, olives, tomato slices, onion, green pepper, or roasted peppers from a jar. Just about anything in our fridge and pantry is fair game and of course they are topped with cheese.

Ok, almost everything in the pantry… when my four-year old started to drag the chocolate chips and marshmallows out and wanted to sprinkle them on top of the tomato sauce I stopped her

Hmmm come to think of it… with a little peanut butter as a base, that might make a pretty good dessert pizza. We might try that in a few minutes here.

Overall the “make your own pizza” idea was a big hit and using tortillas made it super easy. I almost always have those in the house, but usually don’t keep pizza crusts on hand. With a side salad, it made a pretty filling meal that was also pretty healthy with all those veggie toppings we added. Give it a try and let me know how your family likes it.

Take a look at these kid-friendly pizza recipes for more ideas.

I also love all the crafting and baking we get to do this time of the year. Over the coming weeks, I’ll share some of our favorite Christmas crafts and some yummy holiday recipes with you.  Let’s get started …

How would you like to make Christmas decorations with your kids? Here’s are some ideas on doing just that:

http://www.kinderinfo.com/articles/how-to-make-christmas-decorations-with-kids.htm

And here is a great cinnamon cookie recipe for you. Loved by kids and Santa alike

http://www.kinderinfo.com/recipes/cookie-recipes/cinnamon-sugar-cookie-recipe.htm 

Keep an eye out for an email with some great Christmas craft ideas for you and the kids early next week.

Of course all the sugar in the creamer in addition to all that caffeine help get me going in the morning. But taking a moment to savor a new delicious flavor in my coffee is a nice way to start my day. Instead of rushing into things like checking email or doing the dishes from last night, I sit down, pet my cat and watch the squirrels in front of my window hard at work preparing for the winter days. What a way to start the day!

Do you stop to appreciate some of the simple enjoyments in life? Give it a try. You won’t believe how much smoother the rest of your day will go.

Susanne

http://snacksfortoddlers.com/blog/?p=41

All you have to do is enter a simple question and you’ll be entered to win a 3-month subscription to Dine Without Whine.

If you haven’t been to DineWithoutWhine.com in the past few days, go take a look. Christine has done a great job completely redoing the design of the site and I absolutely love it. Plus there’s a new blog with some great menu planning info.

And don’t forget to take some time to browse though the resources as SnacksforToddlers.com - you might just come across your child’s next favorite snack.

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Last time I went to the store with our daughter, she picked out a bottle of Elmo Watermelon Bubble bath and we tried it out for the first time tonight. I put a cap full of it in her bath and it made a big ol’ bubble bath. Britana was of course excited (since she loves to play in the bubbles) and of course loved the watermelon smell of the bathwater.

In fact, she loved it so much, that while I wasn’t watching, she grabbed the bottle and rubbed the stuff all over hear body and in her hair. You would not believe how soapy and bubbly this stuff is. (Ok, a big part of it is probably because she used about half a bottle of the stuff). It took 3 showers to get all the soap out of her hair and the entire house now smells like watermelon and I’m sure my daughter’s hair will smell like it for a week.

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Britana and I went to the Humaine Society last Tuesday to pick out little Maggie. She’s settling in nicely and loves to curl up in my lap while I work. Here’s a picture of her…

We’re enjoying having her around and she’s quickly becoming an important part of our family. It’s fun to watch her play and pounce around. She seems happy and comfortable, except for those moments when Britana tries to play dress up with her or gives her too many hugs.

Overall she’s pretty good with the kitten though and is quickly learning how to take care of her. A pet is such a great way to not only have a playbuddy in the house for your child, but to also teach her about responsibility.