MeloMomma To Host Mr.Linky on Friday's

Image courtesy of oilclothaddict.blogspot.com

I love all my blogging friends and they have so much good stuff to share! Every Friday I am going to host a Mr. Linky. You can showcase family friendly recipes, kid's crafts, DIY projects, pretty much anything goes as long as it is "family/kid" related!

All I require is that you post only ONE project! I know you all have lots to share, but you will have a chance again next week! Please post the link to your project and not to your home page. Please leave me a comment after you post. I will be sure to check out all of your blogs!!

Thanks for participating! I look forward to doing this weekly! Let's generate a little traffic for one another!

Shamrock Rice Crispy Treat

Photo courtesy of tulsafood.com

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Smart Butter or butter
1 package of marshmallows
6 cups of rice crispy
1 table spoon green food coloring
Icing and sprinkles optional

Directions:
In a saucepan melt the butter.
Add the marshmallows and melt on a low heat stirring frequently.
Remove from heat.
Add food coloring and stir well.
Add rice crispy.
Stir well.
Coat baking dish lightly with butter.
Add the mixture.
Wet your hand and smooth the top of the mixture.
Using a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out three hearts.
Arrange in a shamrock shape.
Cut out a line to make the shamrock stem.

Nickelodeon Power Ranger Mask; Step by Step Instructions To Make Your Own Power Ranger Mask

Nickelodeon has really been promoting the new Power Ranger show. My little one has really taken a liking to this show. He LOVES to dress up, so you can imagine what he asked for. Since costumes online can be kind of spendy, I decided to get crafty and make him a mask. He loves it and has requested I make myself a pink mask so I too can fight the bad guys.

What you will need:
Paper plate
Tape
Pipe cleaner
Red and Black crayon
Scissors
Glitter glue (optional)

Directions:
Cut out the eyes and a mouth.

Draw the black design.
Color the remainder of the plate red.
Add the glitter glue if desired.
Tie 2 pipe cleaners together. Bend the end and twist. This assures the pipe cleaner will not poke your child's head while wearing the mask.

Use tape to secure the pipe cleaner.

*Elastic would work better than a pipe cleaner, but I did not have any and MeloMomma is all abut crafting with things on hand!

Recipe Thursday: Black Bean and Mango Tostada; A Meal In Under 20 Minutes



Image courtesy of http://www.laurensveganjournal.org/cooking/


Ingredients:
1 can of low sodium black beans (I like Bushs)
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
flour tortillas
grated Monterrey Jack cheese
1 ripe mango cubed
1/4 small red onion chopped (optional)
1 cubed avocado (optional)
Lime juice (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Combine the beans, olive oil, chili powder, and cumin into a bowl.
Place the tortillas onto a lightly greased baking sheet.
Spoon in bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake for 10 minutes.
After baking add the mango, avocado, and onion.
Sprinkle with lime juice if desired.

I love the fact that this recipe takes under 20 minutes to make and the mango adds the right amount of sweetness. The mango is a sure way to get your kids to eat this one! Of course, I added the avocado to mine, but held off on the kiddos.

Pot Of Gold; St. Patricks Day Craft For You and Your Little Leprechauns

What you will need:
Gold foiled candy
Pot (or bucket) Paint
Pipe cleaners
Glue

Directions:
Paint the pot or bucket your choice of color.
Allow to dry and fill it with gold foiled candy. (Winco carries gold money in the bulk section)
Using pipe cleaners, curve them to make a handle.
Using ceramic glue, glue them to the inside. I am willing to bet super glue would work too if you have this on hand.

Thanks for the tip, Tip Junkie

The Mommy, The Wife, The Housecleaner, The Cook, The Blogger,THE BITTY ; How To Get A Handle On The Stress

Image courtesy of sheknows.com

I am a mommy, a wife, a house cleaner, a nurse, a seamstress, a cook, a counselor, a coach, a teacher, a bather, a laundress, a personal assistant, a singer, a playmate, a cheerleader, a repair woman, a chauffeur, and a blogger. By the end of the day, I can be quite the bitty!

As my husband sat having lunch a few days ago, the topic came up about what a struggle it is to balance my many roles. There are many days where "the house cleaner" is too busy to come out and play. Therefore, the following day, "the house cleaner" has to work overtime while "the cook" serves cereal for lunch. While "the cook" serves cereal, "the mommy" feels bad. Sound familiar?

Now, don't get me wrong. I love staying home and I do it by choice. That being said, I needed to figure out how to balance all of the different responsibilities. I was feeling entirely way to overwhelmed and my stress was not allowing me to be the best mommy I could be.

Let's start with the mommy and wife role. This is not part of the job you can let slide for a day. So, moving right along to the house cleaner. It is pretty important to me to keep a clean house. I was doing a thorough cleaning daily, but since our conversation, have knocked it back to just the basics on a day to day basis. Ah, now there is more time for the cook. I realize my kids are just as happy to eat grilled cheese as they are steak. OK, who am I kidding? They are probably even happier. I have figured out that I can significantly cut the cooks hours by providing simple soup and sandwich type meals three times a week. I felt bad at first, but grilled cheese, carrot sticks, and yogurt is still nutritious and much easier. The remaining four nights I make a large three to four course meal but make enough for leftovers so I only cook twice! I will be trying my hand at freezer meals soon. Of course, I will blog it!

Now, that is some of the major roles a mom plays, but what about the laundress. Yes, I have given myself a title for doing laundry. I figured I do enough of it, I have earned it. I was really struggling to get the laundry folded. I sat back and assessed my situation. If I changed the location I folded laundry, this might help. I have started folding the laundry on the couch. The kids can play in the playroom or watch television while I get this dirty little chore completed. Sometimes I get lucky enough to get them to help fold dish towels or mate socks. It adds a little more work because I have to tote the laundry upstairs, but at least it is getting done.

While the other roles such as: nurse, cheerleader, chauffeur, and personal assistant are not duties you must preform daily, but when your little child cries in despair or pain, you must jump into action. There is not time to switch from the role as "the house cleaner" to the role of "the nurse". That is why us mommies are so special. We can do it all!

So, I wrote this post to encourage other moms who struggle to stay on top of the demands of everyday life. I did not change much, but these few little changes have really eliminated some stress. I am sure you all could use the stress break, right?

I would love to hear from all you out there! What sorts of things do you do in your home to save time, energy,  and unneeded stress?

St. Patrick's Day Kid's Craft; Leprechaun Photograph Frame

What You Will Need:
Construction paper
Photo
Glue stick
Scissors

Directions:
Cut out all the shapes as seen below.

Cut out a small hole in the yellow construction paper.
Glue paper ontop of the photo.

Glue orange hair onto paper.
Glue hat ontop of orange hair.

Add the black stripe to the hat and glue on the shamrock.

I saw this in a Disney magazine, created it MeloMomma style, and shared it with you.