 |
| First Snow |
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| Angry Bird-Wylie; Kitty-Evelyn; Bat-Wyatt |
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| Knight, LadyBug, & Guess who??? |
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| Apple Cider Time! |
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| 1st Tooth! |
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| More Sprinkles Please! |
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| Donut Shop Field Trip |
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| Vroom! Vroom!! |
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| Wylie's "Turkey" |
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| Gobble Gobble |
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| ~MERRY CHRISTMAS~ |
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Picture Blast
Monday, December 3, 2012
7 Homemade Stocking Stuffer-Treats
This year we had so much Halloween candy that the kids still haven't finished it. But then again we still have some Easter candy....
A friend recently told just to let them pig out for a day or two and then they won't want anymore. I sure don't know what to think about that philosophy! Anybody else tried it?
Now it's time to think about stockings and every year I buy special candy to go inside. And every year we still have Christmas candy come Spring. Well not this year!
This year I am not buying ANY Christmas candy!!! I know what you're thinking; those poor mistreated kiddos. HA! Not a chance!
I am making all homemade treats and a few toys for their stockings this year. And trust me these are simple to put together, because if they weren't, I wouldn't be doing it.
#1 - Turtles
These are the perfect combination of sweet & salty, chewy and crunchy!
Ingredients:
Small pretzels in shape of circle, square or regular
Rolos
Pecans
Place pretzels on cookie sheet- can be lined w/ parchment paper for quick cleanup.
Place a rolo on each pretzel. Melt in over at 350* for about 3 minutes, don't go to long or you'll have a mess!
Remove from oven and quickly press 1 pecan into each slightly melted rolo.
Chill (or in my case, put it out in the garage where it's refrigerator temp already)
Enjoy!!
I will be putting these in some cute holiday bags I got from the dollar store.
These don't last long in my house; I make sure to hide a batch so that they last till Christmas!!
#2 - Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks
My kiddos LOVE marshmallows in their hot chocolate so this is bound to be a hit!
Ingredients:
Mashmallows
Chocolate chips
Candy canes or peppermints, crushed
Coffee straws or craft sticks
Here is a great tutorial on how to make these!
#3 - Popcorn Balls
These are a yearly tradition in my mom's house! She used to make these for all our friends and neighbors at Christmas time. I am hoping to carry on that tradition this year with my little ones!
Ingredients:
Approx. 9 cups Air popped popcorn - this is my popper
1/2 cup Jello (small box) - my favorites are Lime and Cherry
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white Karo syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
In microwave safe bowl (a large one) boil to soft stage, about 7 min. Stir every couple minutes. You may want a lid as this can sometimes bubble up over the edge.
Mix with popcorn. Rub some butter on hands, work popcorn into balls. Be careful, mixture is hot!
Wrap in plastic or sandwich bags to store.
#4 - Chex Mix
I make just the regular ol Chex Mix! It is my family's all-time favorite.
Ingredients:
3 cups each - rice, corn, wheat chex
1 cup nuts, whatever you like. I used dry roasted peanuts
1 cup bite-sized pretzels or sticks
6 T butter
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt (optional) I don't put this in anymore and it's still quite tasty
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Heat oven to 250*; melt butter in large roasting pan. Stir in seasonings and sauce. Add chex, nuts and pretzels. Stir until coated. Heat in oven 45 min- stirring every 15min. Cool on paper towels; store in airtight container.
Variations to this recipe are endless! Put in whatever sounds good to you! There are also recipes for sweet mixes such as Muddy Buddies and Peppermint Puppy Chow.
#5 - Peppermint Pretzels
These could be made with white or dark chocolate - I plan on doing some of both!
Dark Chocolate recipe
White Chocolate recipe
And these will be wrapped up in those decorative treat bags from the dollar store too!
#6 - Candy Cane Reindeer
Just a candy cane and a few crafting supplies and you've got yourself a treat that doubles as a toy! And just think how adorable these little guys will look peeking out of the stockings!
This one is super simple!
Check it out here.
#7 - Clothes Pin Airplane or Butterfly
Now, obviously this one isn't a treat but rather a fun homemade toy that kids could help make or even use as an ornament on the tree.
These may seem a little more time consuming but the look on a kids face when they receive this gift is so worth it! And they really don't take that long to make!
Airplane Tutorial
Butterfly Tutorial
And here's another one - An Ant! So many possibilities!
Another easy idea is to double (or triple!) each recipe of these treats and fix up a little plate for friends and family! Enjoy!
Happy Holidays!
MadCounty Mama
A friend recently told just to let them pig out for a day or two and then they won't want anymore. I sure don't know what to think about that philosophy! Anybody else tried it?
Now it's time to think about stockings and every year I buy special candy to go inside. And every year we still have Christmas candy come Spring. Well not this year!
This year I am not buying ANY Christmas candy!!! I know what you're thinking; those poor mistreated kiddos. HA! Not a chance!
I am making all homemade treats and a few toys for their stockings this year. And trust me these are simple to put together, because if they weren't, I wouldn't be doing it.
#1 - Turtles
These are the perfect combination of sweet & salty, chewy and crunchy!
Ingredients:
Small pretzels in shape of circle, square or regular
Rolos
Pecans
Place pretzels on cookie sheet- can be lined w/ parchment paper for quick cleanup.
Place a rolo on each pretzel. Melt in over at 350* for about 3 minutes, don't go to long or you'll have a mess!
Remove from oven and quickly press 1 pecan into each slightly melted rolo.
Chill (or in my case, put it out in the garage where it's refrigerator temp already)
Enjoy!!
I will be putting these in some cute holiday bags I got from the dollar store.
These don't last long in my house; I make sure to hide a batch so that they last till Christmas!!
#2 - Hot Chocolate Stir Sticks
My kiddos LOVE marshmallows in their hot chocolate so this is bound to be a hit!
Ingredients:
Mashmallows
Chocolate chips
Candy canes or peppermints, crushed
Coffee straws or craft sticks
Here is a great tutorial on how to make these!
#3 - Popcorn Balls
These are a yearly tradition in my mom's house! She used to make these for all our friends and neighbors at Christmas time. I am hoping to carry on that tradition this year with my little ones!
Ingredients:
Approx. 9 cups Air popped popcorn - this is my popper
1/2 cup Jello (small box) - my favorites are Lime and Cherry
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white Karo syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
In microwave safe bowl (a large one) boil to soft stage, about 7 min. Stir every couple minutes. You may want a lid as this can sometimes bubble up over the edge.
Mix with popcorn. Rub some butter on hands, work popcorn into balls. Be careful, mixture is hot!
Wrap in plastic or sandwich bags to store.
#4 - Chex Mix
I make just the regular ol Chex Mix! It is my family's all-time favorite.
Ingredients:
3 cups each - rice, corn, wheat chex
1 cup nuts, whatever you like. I used dry roasted peanuts
1 cup bite-sized pretzels or sticks
6 T butter
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt (optional) I don't put this in anymore and it's still quite tasty
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
Heat oven to 250*; melt butter in large roasting pan. Stir in seasonings and sauce. Add chex, nuts and pretzels. Stir until coated. Heat in oven 45 min- stirring every 15min. Cool on paper towels; store in airtight container.
Variations to this recipe are endless! Put in whatever sounds good to you! There are also recipes for sweet mixes such as Muddy Buddies and Peppermint Puppy Chow.
#5 - Peppermint Pretzels
These could be made with white or dark chocolate - I plan on doing some of both!
Dark Chocolate recipe
White Chocolate recipe
And these will be wrapped up in those decorative treat bags from the dollar store too!
#6 - Candy Cane Reindeer
Just a candy cane and a few crafting supplies and you've got yourself a treat that doubles as a toy! And just think how adorable these little guys will look peeking out of the stockings!
This one is super simple!
Check it out here.
#7 - Clothes Pin Airplane or Butterfly
Now, obviously this one isn't a treat but rather a fun homemade toy that kids could help make or even use as an ornament on the tree.
These may seem a little more time consuming but the look on a kids face when they receive this gift is so worth it! And they really don't take that long to make!
Airplane Tutorial
Butterfly Tutorial
And here's another one - An Ant! So many possibilities!
Another easy idea is to double (or triple!) each recipe of these treats and fix up a little plate for friends and family! Enjoy!
Happy Holidays!
MadCounty Mama
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The BEST Cranberry Sauce!
This is so simple and the finished product is very tasty!
I used this recipe from Gracious Pantry but adjusted a few things to fit what I had in my pantry.
Cranberry Sauce
12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries (approx. 3 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
zest of one large orange
1 cup water
Place cranberries in pan with water. Stir in maple syrup, cinnamon and zest.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer on medium till liquid is reduced. This will take 15-20 minutes or so. Be patient and stir often. The longer it cooks the more it will thicken (the berries will pop, making it fun!)
Let cool completely.
Makes about 1 – 1/4 cups
*I froze mine to use on Thanksgiving and it was a big hit!
*I made two batches one with honey and the 2nd with maple syrup. I prefer the maple version. It just had an added depth and overall better taste.
*This recipe may seem sour to those of you who are used to sweets. I've been off sugar for a while now so this recipe allowed the flavor of the cranberries, cinnamon and orange to burst through without all the overly sweetness of canned cranberry sauce. But you can add more "sweet" if you prefer!
Let me know how it turns out for you!
and
Happy Thanksgiving...a few days late.
MadCounty Mama
I used this recipe from Gracious Pantry but adjusted a few things to fit what I had in my pantry.
Cranberry Sauce
12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries (approx. 3 1/4 cups)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
zest of one large orange
1 cup water
Place cranberries in pan with water. Stir in maple syrup, cinnamon and zest.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Simmer on medium till liquid is reduced. This will take 15-20 minutes or so. Be patient and stir often. The longer it cooks the more it will thicken (the berries will pop, making it fun!)
Let cool completely.
Makes about 1 – 1/4 cups
*I froze mine to use on Thanksgiving and it was a big hit!
*I made two batches one with honey and the 2nd with maple syrup. I prefer the maple version. It just had an added depth and overall better taste.
*This recipe may seem sour to those of you who are used to sweets. I've been off sugar for a while now so this recipe allowed the flavor of the cranberries, cinnamon and orange to burst through without all the overly sweetness of canned cranberry sauce. But you can add more "sweet" if you prefer!
Let me know how it turns out for you!
and
Happy Thanksgiving...a few days late.
MadCounty Mama
Friday, October 12, 2012
This and That
Wow, it's the middle of October!!! And my favorite time of year!
Crisp air Red leaves Nutmeg
Garden harvest Apple picking Canning
Piles of Leaves Orange Cloves
Football
Cinnamon Brown Piles of Leaves Pumpkin
*******************************************************************
Life in the Donaldson home:
Nana and PopPop came for a wonderful visit in September. They accompanied us to the Alpaca farm. The kids got to spend some great quality time with them and we are hopeful that we can make a trip to visit them around the holidays. My parents came down for a day and there lots of "old stories" going around - one of my favorite things about family gatherings is all the reminiscing.
While on a visit to my parents house to make "no-mato sauce" (more on that later!) my Dad showed up with a couple of his buddies and a dirty rusted snowmobile on the trailer. Turns out a few years back some crazy sled-necks were trying to ride their snowmobiles across the lake. Clearly no one told them that sleds should only be rode on frozen water.
A local rancher saw the sled sticking out of the lake and called up my Dad to see if he wanted it. After bringing the sled home several creatures began making an appearance! We caught 5 crawdads and got to see lots of barnacles attached to the sled. It turned into a great science day!
Last week we went on another field trip. And I forgot my camera. Again. Very sad because the kids had a wonderful time!
We visited Summit Aviation at our local airport. All the kids got to sit in a plane and pretend to fly. We learned how fast and how far the small four-seater could go.
Then we got to go visit the airport fire station and sit in the fire trucks! These fire trucks are lime green, not red! And one truck had the steering wheel in the center rather than the side; the reason for that is one fireman can drive the truck and work to put out the fire!
We started homeschool in September. Bug is working at a 1st grade level. I had planned to My Father's World for his curriculum but it is not challenging enough for him. I've come up with a program for him that is working quite well!
Cowboy is at the preschool level. He is learning to write his name and other pre-writing activities. He is also working on the phonetic alphabet and some pre-reading skills.
I plan to post more on school and our schedule.
AWANA is underway and going well. The boys are enjoying time with friends and get so excited to memorize scripture for which they earn patches on their vests.
We helped decorate and then rode on the AWANA float for the local Fall Festival parade.
We will also be participating in Operation Christmas Child - something I used to do with my mother every year. A great family tradition to carry on with my little ones!
What we are gearing up for:
Field trip to Museum of the Rockies - Yay!
Harvest Festival at our church - Fun!
Field Trip to a local Donut Shop - yum!
Packing our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child - more info here
Making Apple Cider - even more delish!
Building a "Thankful tree" for November
Happy Harvest!
MadCounty Mama
Crisp air Red leaves Nutmeg
Steaming drinks in my cup Yellow
Piles of Leaves Orange Cloves
Football
Cinnamon Brown Piles of Leaves Pumpkin
*******************************************************************
Life in the Donaldson home:
Nana and PopPop came for a wonderful visit in September. They accompanied us to the Alpaca farm. The kids got to spend some great quality time with them and we are hopeful that we can make a trip to visit them around the holidays. My parents came down for a day and there lots of "old stories" going around - one of my favorite things about family gatherings is all the reminiscing.
While on a visit to my parents house to make "no-mato sauce" (more on that later!) my Dad showed up with a couple of his buddies and a dirty rusted snowmobile on the trailer. Turns out a few years back some crazy sled-necks were trying to ride their snowmobiles across the lake. Clearly no one told them that sleds should only be rode on frozen water.
A local rancher saw the sled sticking out of the lake and called up my Dad to see if he wanted it. After bringing the sled home several creatures began making an appearance! We caught 5 crawdads and got to see lots of barnacles attached to the sled. It turned into a great science day!
Last week we went on another field trip. And I forgot my camera. Again. Very sad because the kids had a wonderful time!
We visited Summit Aviation at our local airport. All the kids got to sit in a plane and pretend to fly. We learned how fast and how far the small four-seater could go.
Then we got to go visit the airport fire station and sit in the fire trucks! These fire trucks are lime green, not red! And one truck had the steering wheel in the center rather than the side; the reason for that is one fireman can drive the truck and work to put out the fire!
We started homeschool in September. Bug is working at a 1st grade level. I had planned to My Father's World for his curriculum but it is not challenging enough for him. I've come up with a program for him that is working quite well!
Cowboy is at the preschool level. He is learning to write his name and other pre-writing activities. He is also working on the phonetic alphabet and some pre-reading skills.
I plan to post more on school and our schedule.
AWANA is underway and going well. The boys are enjoying time with friends and get so excited to memorize scripture for which they earn patches on their vests.
We helped decorate and then rode on the AWANA float for the local Fall Festival parade.
We will also be participating in Operation Christmas Child - something I used to do with my mother every year. A great family tradition to carry on with my little ones!
What we are gearing up for:
Field trip to Museum of the Rockies - Yay!
Harvest Festival at our church - Fun!
Field Trip to a local Donut Shop - yum!
Packing our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child - more info here
Making Apple Cider - even more delish!
Building a "Thankful tree" for November
Happy Harvest!
MadCounty Mama
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Field Trip!! MT Alpacas
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| Let's pet some alpacas! |
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| Turns out, they like to touch noses... |
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| And eat treats |
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| "Mom, it tickles!" |
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| Cookie, 1 of 2 GIANT guard dogs |
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| Princess not one bit afraid |
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| asking for a kiss |
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| Walking with Pop-pop |
On the farm they have a couple llamas to protect the herd as well as 2 very large guard dogs. These dogs fought off cougars and bears this summer! The llamas are just as impressive as they will take down strange dogs, coyotes or any other perceived threat.
We had a great time learning something new!
Thanks for Alpacas of MT for allowing us to come to their farm and to Little Explorer Tours from the Parks & Rec Dept in Bozeman for setting up these field trips!
Next week we will be going to Summit Aviation to learning all about airplanes and the world of flight.
MadCounty Mama
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Princess 2nd Birthday
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| 3 days old |
A few pics to remember what a sweet blessing she is...
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| 3 months |
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| 4 months |
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| 6 months |
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| 1 year old! |
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| Yay Costco! |
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| Cake w/ daddy |
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| Yum! |
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| It's my party! |
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| Beautiful new vest |
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| She loves cooking! |
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| New baby |
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| The stroller was a hit! |
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| Uncle Cole helping... |
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| Birthday French Toast w/ whipped cream and sprinkles! |
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