Fall Leaves - 3rd Grade Art

I loved getting to do this Fall Leaves - 3rd Grade Art project with my son's class. And now that I already had two class projects under my belt I felt like this one would go pretty quick. So last week I packed up my materials, my Fall Leaves example (after finding it on Pinterest!) and headed to Tyler's class to teach the kids what we were making.

Like the previous months, Witches Feet, I took my completed painting, a paper with just the lines drawn out and a blank paper to draw it step by step with the kids. This really seems to be what works for us!

Thanks to DecoArt for supplying this paint at the beginning of the school year so I had everything I needed for them to make this fun picture. We used a white sheet of art paper and the paint from the picture below. I used a couple of different browns since no tree is just one color. I love the dimension it can give.

For the leaves, we used toilet paper rolls that I cut into threes. Each kid had two pieces, one for yellow and one for orange.

We started with drawing the tree with a pencil. After they were done drawing they used paint brushes to fill in the tree trunk and branches. And once they were done with the brown we used the toilet paper rolls to "stamp" on the leaves. Some of the kids loved that if they did it just right their toilet paper roll bubbled and filled in the leaves with paint.

I love that every one of these paintings are different, because no two trees, or people are exactly the same. It is easy for some of them to do their own work but sometimes kids want to make it look exactly like mine.  I try to remind them it is okay for theirs to be different. Last, we used our paintbrushes to just add a few small green leaves onto the tree.

Where we live, right now trees are at all stages. Some still have lots of leaves, some have none. And you'll see all sorts of colors on the tree or the ground below.

I am super proud of the kids and I think they did a great job!

In December we have a short month due to Christmas!  I am still helping and looking forward to a fun themed project coming up soon!

Favorite Things {SIC Cup Edition}

This post has been compensated by IHelpMoms.com and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

I love coming across awesome products. And these SIC cups from SIC - Seriously Ice Cold - are amazing. I have had my SIC cups for just a couple of weeks and I am obsessed. Zach asked if he could have one of them and I haven't let him yet because I can't decide which one I am willing to part with.



Anyone else out there like me with a cup obsession? If you do, try these SIC cups, you will not regret it and you'll immediately have a new favorite cup. One of my favorite things about them is how long they keep things warm or cold. The last few weeks of soccer have been pretty brutal with how cold it was during practice and games. I loved that I poured hot tea into them before I leave the house and long after I get home my tea is still hot!



Since I most always have a cup of ice water near me I love that my 30 oz tumbler will keep ice for 24 hours! Luckily I haven't had a reason to need ice in a cup for 24 hours yet, but I am thinking ahead to summer days at the lake with my ice cold cup of water while I am playing in the hot sun. (Yes, I know it is only November and I am dreaming of the hot sun... It is the only thing that will get me through the cold winter that is ahead of me! Guys, it is 18 degrees outside as I type this, so let a girl dream!)

These are the three that I have:



A 27 oz SIC Bottle, a 12 oz wine/coffee/cocktail cup and the 30 oz tumbler. Any guesses which is my favorite?

Check out my Instagram page where I will be sharing which cup is my favorite!



And how fun are these colors? Salmon, Seafoam blue and white. I love everything about them and I'm drooling over all the other fun colors!



Feel free to check them out the SIC cups in the Ihelpmoms Holiday Gift Guide as well ---> HERE



A few of my favorite things about the SIC cups:

• They stay super hot or super cold for ridiculous amount of hours! (24 hours ice cold is awesome!)


• There are a ton of fun colors like salmon, orange, lemon and sea foam blue.


• They fit in your cup holders - even the bigger cups!


• Lifetime warranty - Do I even need to say more?


• These cups don't sweat!

Something else that I thought was cool is that these cups are powder coated, not painted. Which makes them less likely to scratch or chip. And the surface is perfect for putting a decal on.... I'm already trying to decide what I want to put on it!



Right now you can get a 15% discount on your own SIC cups by using code: ihelpmoms

So now that you have the code, which cup do you want to get? Leave me a comment below! 

 

Dinosaur Birthday Party

My little guy isn't so little any more. Yesterday Tyler turned 7 years old. I know that he really is still "little" but such a big kid too!
He is loving first grade and I love to watch him grow. His reading and writing is so great and I love having him read stories to me. And he asked for notes cards and envelopes for his birthday so he can write notes. He is so my child.

For his birthday he asked for a Dinosaur birthday party and as soon as Summer's Mermaid Party was over I got to work on a few things.



I really wanted to keep food more simpler than I have before. We did food for Carivores: Chicken nuggets and pigs in a blanket. Herbivores: veggies and ranch. And Sweetivores: Dino footprint cookies.

We also had Dino eggs which were grapes. Dino bones that were pretzels and Dino teeth that were Bugles. We also had green Din-o-mite punch!



These plates I use are awesome and I use them for every party I have! I just get a can of spray paint and give them a fresh color for whatever our theme is! check out how I made them in this post from Summer's Tea Party.



We had several games that we played. The first was just "Pin the head on the skeleton" and I picked that up from Party City for just a couple of dol1ars. It came with 12 skeleton head stickers, a blindfold and the sheet to put up on that wall. The kids could see out of the bottom of the blindfold if you weren't paying attention. The we had a couple of non cheaters! (Ha!)



We also played another game where we tied a string to a balloon and tied the other end around the kids waist. Then once they were all ready we let them loose and they had to stomp the other kids balloons to pop them without getting their own popped. The last balloon standing wins. I think we only had three kids that cried..... The others seemed to enjoy it!



The last game we played was called Feed the dinosaur. Zachary drew this Dino for me and cut out the mouth then we just put a bucket behind it. We had a bag of plastic golf balls from a game we played over the summer that worked perfectly and the kids seemed to love it. They each took multiple turns!



Then it was time for presents and cupcakes. Tyler got tons of legos, which he loves so he was super excited and couldn't wait to get building!



And next was chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and I used candy corn to make spikes on the back of our Dino!



To make the leaves I just cut them out with my cricut. Such a time saver!



I also made shirts for my family. Getting a 15 year old boy to wear a shirt that says "brothersaurus" isn't easy, but he wanted to stay the night at his friend's so I told him only if he wore the shirt for the party. #noshameinmygame So here we are: mamasaurus, daddysaurus, brothersaurus, sistersaurus and Tylersaurus.



Tyler had such a fun party and I think all the kids had a fun time too! You can see the "binoculars" we made using toilet paper rolls, tape and string. Makes for a pretty inexpensive party and the kids enjoyed the time!

Pork Lemongrass Baguette and Dreaming Tree Wine

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older. #ShareWineandBites #CollectiveBias

I love to make different foods that we wouldn't normally eat. And this Pork Lemongrass Baguette is right up our alley! We don't eat a lot of pork and I have been trying to incorporate it a bit more into our meals. But you guys, this recipe calls for fish sauce and if you have ever smelled fish sauce you might be doubting my recipe planning. But I promise you, you won't be disappointed! Don't let the fish sauce deter you. I didn't even say anything about it until after dinner and after I heard all about how delicious it was and then I told my husband to smell it! hahaha!



I also found the most perfect wine to go with our Pork Lemongrass Baguette. The Dreaming Tree Crush is a story of artistry and a wine from none other than Dave Matthews. It was inspired by the desire to make high quality California wines that are accessible to wine lovers everywhere.

The Dreaming Tree makes high quality, delicious wines that are affordable so that anyone can enjoy them. My favorite is the Chardonnay.

I started with using boneless pork chops. I know that might not be the typical meat cut choice, but I wanted something small and thin for a lighter meal rather than large chunks of filling meat. I also took each of those pork chops and cut them in half to make smaller pieces. Then I made my marinade and let them sit overnight in the refrigerator before having my husband bbq them.



While the pork was grilling I sliced some carrots, red onion and cilantro for topping and then put the sandwich all together.



Look at this Pork Lemongrass Baguette.... Are you drooling? Because I am. This was delicious!



The Dreaming Tree has an amazing commitment to sustainable wine making practices and is celebrating donating over $1M to environmental programs that protect tree and forestry programs across the country.

I bought my Dreaming Tree at a local wine store but I have also found it at my local grocery store and supercenter stores. To find where you can buy it- visit their website and type in your zip code... It is that easy!



Another great snack to pair with these wines would be something as simple as cheese and bread or even a popcorn like BoomchickaPop!  It really goes great with anything.





Needing more info about The Dreaming Tree? Find them on Facebook and Instagram



Ingredients:

2 lbs boneless pork chops
carrots
cilantro
(4) 6 inch baguettes
Marinade for pork (recipe below)

Lemongrass Pork Marinade:

1/2 C. chopped lemongrass
1/2 C. sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Mix ingredients for marinade together, add pork and let marinade overnight.
2. Next, you want to grill until the pork is completely cooked on BBQ
3. Slice Baguettes in half the long way, adding grill pork, sliced carrots and chopped cilantro
4. Enjoy!



Now you know some of my favorite pairings with The Dreaming Tree Crush, what would you pair with it?

Delicious Crock pot Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

It is a rainy day here in the Pacific NorthWest and sometimes I might complain about that but not today. Today I am grateful for this rain and watching is wash away some of this insane snow we have had that doesn't want to go away!

That is why today I wanted to share this Crock pot Chicken Tater Tot Casserole with you.

It is so easy to make and it is a perfect warm meal to have on a cooler rainy day.



The ingredients are few, which I love, and with in just a few hours you'll have a yummy dinner.



I started with spraying the inside of the crockpot with non stick cooking spray and cover the bottom with tater tots.



Add half of the bacon bits



Then a layer of cheese.



Now add in your diced chicken



Next you'll add another layer of cheese and then tater tots



Add the rest of the bacon bits



And top with cheese.



Turn on the crockpot and let it cook!



Then enjoy every last bite!

• 1 32 oz. bag frozen tater tots


• 1 3 oz. bag bacon pieces


• 1lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced


• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


• 3/4 cup milk


• salt & pepper

1. Spray your crockpot with cooking spray


2. Cover the bottom of the crockpot with tater tots


3. Sprinkle with half of the bacon bits


4. Top with a layer of the shredded cheese


5. Add diced chicken on top


6. Layer of shredded cheese


7. Top with the rest of the tater tots


8. Add the last of the bacon bits and shredded cheese


9. Pour milk over the top.


10. Cover and cook on low about 4 hours.

We are tater tot casserole lovers but this was really a fun change from how I normally make it with hamburger!

Have you ever had this? Did your family love it as much as mine?

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies

While everyone is sharing all their Christmas desserts, I am over here still sharing pumpkin everything! But that is because I made so many delicious pumpkin treats this fall that I can't keep them all to myself! And these Pumpkin Sugar Cookies are no exception!



I am always browsing Pinterest for recipes to try and if you have ever looked at my pinterest, you already know, I have waay too many recipes pinned. But what you don't see are my secret boards full of more recipes that I think I need to try right away!!

Lately I have shared the Pumpkin Puree I made and an amazing Pumpkin Poke Cake, so today I want to share some delicious Pumpkin Sugar Cookies. This recipe made a great amount of cookies and I froze abut half of them. It is always nice to pull out a package of cookies in a couple of weeks and eat them again!



There are not too many ingredients, so this is pretty fast cooking! But after you make your dough you do need to let the dough sit in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to chill. I should have let them sit longer because my dough wasn't interested in rolling. It was still pretty sticky! I ended up just scooping out my and sprinkling with the sugar.



Home made pumpkin puree is just amazing. You really know where your food is coming from and the ingredients in it: Pumpkin!











These pumpkin sugar cookies really are delicious and they have the perfect amount of pumpkin in them too!



Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Recipe adapted from Wine and Glue

• 1 1/2 c sugar


• 2 1/2 c all purpose flour


• 1/2 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1/2 tsp cinnamon


• 14 Tbsp butter (1 3/4 stick) room temperature


• 2 tsp vanilla extract


• 1 egg yolk


• 1/2 c pumpkin puree

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350®


2. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside.


3. Using a mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.


4. Add in the egg yolk, vanilla, and the pumpkin until well combined.


5. On low, mix in the flour mixture until well combined.


6. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 20 minutes.


7. Roll the dough into one inch sized balls. Roll in sugar and ut onto a lined baking mat.


8. Bake for 10 minutes


9. Let cool on the pan for a couple of minutes before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely.

What are your favorite cookies?