Candy Cane Craft Suitable For All Ages

What you will need:
Pipe cleaner
Assorted beads

Directions:
Knot up one end of the pipecleaner.
String the beads making sure to alternate colors to give the candy cane look.
Knot the other end of the pipe cleaner and bend into the candy cane shape.

Christmas Necklace

I am all about sitting the kids down for simple crafts while I get a little house work done! This one bought me about ten minutes of good quality cleaning time!

What you will need:
Beads
Bells
Some type or string or ribbon

Directions:
Tie a knot at one end of the string.
String the beads and bells (or your choice of necklace decore).
Tie it together and wear your creation.

Homemade Glitter Christmas Ornament- Kid Friendly Craft

What you will need:
Scissors
Fabric glue
Felt
Ribbon
Glitter

Directions:
Cut out a felt circle.
Decorate with glue.
Sprinkle with glitter.
Allow to dry.
Glue a ribbon to the back.
Allow to dry.
Hang on the tree.

Recipe Thursday: Taco Biscut Bake

Taco Biscuit Bake

1 lb. Extra lean ground beef

2/3 cup water

1 envelope taco seasoning (I like Lawrys or Old El Paso)

2 tubes refrigerated buttermilk seasoning (I like Pillsbury)

1 can chili

1 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

Tortilla chips

Salsa, guacamole, sour cream (optional)

Brown beef until no longer pink and drain. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat.

Quarter the biscuits and place into a lightly greased baking dish. Layer with beef mixture, chili, and cheese. Crush tortilla chips and cover the top of the Taco Biscuit Bake. Bake uncovered, at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and biscuits are medium golden brown.

I love salsa, guacamole, and sour cream, so I must add these ingredients but this is optional!

We had this at my house last night and it is delicious and takes under thirty minutes to make!

The Seventh Level Of Grocery Shopping Hell

Image courtesy of topnews.in

Well folks, today was a day! I went to the grocery store with my two boys and I bet you can guess how this went?!?

Let me give you a hint. I had to give two time outs inside the store and one outside, and I am now having a glass of wine!

Things started off so well and I really thought I was in for a treat. My oldest was helping me grab and bag fresh fruit and my toddler was actually sitting in the cart. Yes, I will repeat that... I said he was SITTING IN THE CART! I could hardly believe it myself.

We made it through the fruit and veggies and even through the snack cracker aisle before things got bad. It was right around the potatoes that Gabriel started to pick at Hayden and push his hands off the cart. Hayden was still being good and sitting there fairly quiet.

I was very upset with Gabe because he is the older brother and he knew good and well what he was doing was making Hayden mad, for no reason, and it was about to erupt into something bigger! I gave him a warning and went on to get my onions.

There he goes again! "That is it!", I firmly told him. I am determined to have at least one successful grocery store trip before I die. I promptly put him in time out next to the onion bin as I continued to put my onions in a plastic sack and ignore his muttering of words.

Off we go to quickly finish the rest of the shopping. We were OK through the baking aisle and even the cereal. Now, onto the bulk food section. Here we go again. Now they are both at it. They want to help bag up the bulk granola. It is a fine thing to help mom, except this is not really something I can have help with. Gabe was somewhat understanding, but Hayden not so much! I knew it was only a matter of time and he would reach his breaking point and I would be carrying him with $200 worth of food in the cart to push one handed.

About ten minutes pass and now we are onto the frozen pizza aisle. I thought I would treat them to pizza for lunch (mind you, they both fed the pizza to the dogs). Gabe started to jump around on the cart and was speaking extremely loud. I was calm and asked him to stop. He flipped out when he seen toaster strudels and put three in the cart. I asked him to put two back. He refused and called me a "pee head". Time out in the frozen foods section! He whined he was cold, but I said tough. It was only for a few minutes.

We finally made it out of the store and what do you know... Gabe pinched Hayden right before we reached the car. Time out on the curb! All I could think about at this point is what all the other people were thinking and why my kids are doing this to me. They can be sooo good or sooo bad!

Finally, we get all loaded and are off to home! Whewwww... That was an experience!

Candy Cane Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted softened butter (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Light)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg white
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it lightly.
Mix together egg, butter, vanilla, and sugar. Add in flour and salt. Mix until well combined.
Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for one hour.
Pinch off 1/4 inch piece and roll out in a worm shape. Doug may be slightly sticky. Then form into a candy cane.
Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Do not allow these cookies to brown. They should be very light and flaky.

To Decorate:
Put some vanilla frosting into a a Ziploc baggie. Cut the tip (making a very small hole). Create the lines on the candy cane and sprinkle with sugar while still wet. Shake off excess sugar and enjoy!

Disney Family Fun Magazine FREE

I just snagged a sweet deal thanks to The Coupon Project!

She just shared a new site called Mamapedia. Like LocalTwist and Groupon Mamapedia offers one new hot deal daily. It is a first come first serve deal and when they run out, that is it.

Todays deal is a One Year Subscription to Disney Family Fun Magazine. They are offering this magazine for $5.

If you are a new to Mamapedia you will get a $5 credit when you sign up. This makes the magazine free!

If you are a returning customer enter the code HOLIDAY3 and you will get $3 off. That makes it a hot deal at $2.

I just snagged mine! It takes less than 3 minutes to sign up and to complete the order!

The $3 off code is good today only!

Toilet Paper Roll Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

What you will need:
Red pom pom (or use red glitter glue to turn one red)
Googly eyes
Brown pipecleaners
Black marker
Scissors
Glue

Directions:
Cut out two sections about an inch long on the bottom of the toilet paper roll to create the reindeer's feet.

Glue on the googly eyes and pom pom for the nose.
Cut the pipe cleaners (as seen below). Cut one pipe cleaner in half and one in quarters. Twist the small pieces around the large pieces to create antlers.

Tape the antlers to the inside of the toilet paper roll.
Use a black marker to mark a rectangle shape on the bottom of the toilet paper roll to make the reindeer's feet.

Now, enjoy this super easy and kid friendly toilet paper roll Rudolph the Reindeer! Happy Holidays!

Reader Input

Image courtesy of theautismnews.com

I want to make a special post tonight to thank my readers! I love what I have started and want to grow it even more! I would like to take this opportunity to ask my readers what they like/ dislike and what they want to see more of?
Thank you MeloMomma readers!

Snowman Pop- Homemade Christmas Present Topper

What you will need:
orange marker or paint
black marker or paint

white cloth
sucker
rubber band
material (for scarf)

Directions:
Cut a circle out of white fabric.

Draw the eyes, nose, an mouth in the center of the circle.
Place the fabric over the sucker making sure to align the face in the center.

Put a rubber band around at the base of the sucker.

Add the scarf.

** I met a sweet lady at a craft fair and got this idea from her. She chose not to provide her name but did OK me to share this with my readers. She added a few extra touches to make this even cuter. She placed a little foam in the center of the white circle before placing it on the sucker. It added a little puff to the top. She also added fake snow (could be created with white acrylic paint) to the top of the snowman and gave it a dash of glitter before it dried. Lastly, she made a cute little note on him saying "Snow pop".
Thanks to the sweet little lady who shared this tip with me!

Kid Friendly Christmas Candles- Perfect Homemade Present

What you will need:
Candle
Mod Podge
Epsom Salt
Bowl
Plate

Directions:
Pour Epsom salt into a bowl large enough to roll the candle around.
Cover the candle in Mod Podge.

Roll in Epsom Salt.
Sit on a plate or flat surface and allow to dry.

This is a very easy and kid friendly craft. It is elegant enough to give as a gift or decorate your own home. We used little votive candles, but this looks beautiful on large candles too!

*** Elmer's glue works as well. A little salt does fall off but it works. I have mine burning right now!

Day4: "The Toddler Bed"

Well... I think is safe to say that it is a very bad idea to put your toddler in his own bed during the cold season! Last night was a rough one all night! I listened to coughing all night from both boys.
So, you can guess that we were not successful in staying in the toddler bed all night. We started out strong but the coughing kept us awake even in my bed.
I do not think I will continue to update daily on this subject because we all know that this cold is not going away tomorrow. However, I will keep at it and update as I see the success! I hope to see success by the end of the month?
Thanks for following in another one of MeloMomma's Mom Challenges!