4 tips when hard-boiling Easter eggs!

I am off with the kids so this is a pre-posted information.
Happy Easter Egg dying this weekend. More fun egg dying tips are found HERE

1. Problem: When you carry your pot of eggs to the sink to fill with water, the eggs usually bump into each other as they roll around. This can cause cracking. Solution: Place the eggs in the pot on the stove and use a pitcher to fill the pot with water.
2. Problem: If you wait for the water to boil first, and then drop in your eggs, most often, the eggs will crack when they forcefully hit the bottom of the pot.
   Solution: Use kitchen tongs to gently place the eggs into the boiling water.
3. Problem: The large end of eggs contains air bubbles. This can cause the shell to crack during cooking.
   Solution: Use a tiny pin to poke a hole in the large end of each egg. The hole allows air to escape while it cooks.
4. Problem: A drastic change in temperature can cause eggshells to crack.
   Solution: Allow eggs to come up to room temperature before boiling them. This keeps cracking to a minimum.

Keeping 'em busy during spring break!

Ya'll know I am a planner so I have been brainstorming on how to keep the kids happy, stimulated, and busy during spring break. I thought I would share with you a few of my frugal but fun ideas.

1. Get crafty and make a caterpillar egg carton craft. You'll have left overs with Easter eggs.
2. Cook together in the kitchen. We will be making food for family gatherings so I plan on including them in the process.

3. Have lunch play date picnic on a picnic table (inside or outside in case it rains) I want to get out the dusty picnic basket from the basement and make it special with a tablecloth and fun paper plates.

4. Become a local tourist. I plan on visiting a local museum with the kids on Monday.

5. Go on a neighborhood walk/bike ride and look for spring flowers popping up.

6. Stay home and take a nap while they girls have a Daddy/ Daughter date to the free Michael's craft on Saturday after the Easter Egg hunt. I posted about it HERE .

7. Get two of my daughter's belated b-day pictures taken at JC Penny. I don't buy icky school pictures. I like to use a $7.99 portrait package coupon for JC Penny or Target and capture their personality in one cute pose each!

7. Attend the city Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning. The Easter bunny comes on Saturday morning at our house-Sunday is Jesus' day in our house!

8. Make, hide, and read the Resurrection Easter eggs found HERE on Saturday night as a family to prepare for Easter Sunday.

9. Attend church and family Easter festivities- A brunch at church and a family Easter dinner & Easter egg hunt at Great Grandma's on Sunday.

Whew-That's a lot. I am glad to have fun options but who knows the plan might change. At least I have some ideas!
Have a wonderful Spring Break and a Blessed Easter.
I'll be back next week!

Fabric covered small baby wipe containers-Tutorial using only a glue gun!

I went to a baby shower this weekend and there were some creative home made gifts. It made me want to get crafty for my baby and my mommy friends who are pregnant too! Here's one that I want to make only using a glue gun and scissors!

Fabric covered baby wipe containers
Photo from Studio 5

Materials Needed:

Small wipe container (I used Huggies brand that I purchased at the grocery store.)
7" of material
1½ yard decorative trim (that corresponds with your material) cut into two equal pieces
Batting (I suggest 6- or 4-oz.)
Other ribbon or embellishments (optional)
Glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors
Pen & permanent marker

Go to Studio 5's website for a complete tutorial on how to make them with only a GLUE GUN! I am going to use my Michael's or JoAnn's fabric 40% off a regular priced item coupons this week.

Basement Remodel-My girls room paint-Part 1

The first pink wall in our house!!
TIP: USE the new frog tape for freshly painted wall or primed walls! It leaves crisp tape lines compared to the blue painters tape.

Here is a connecting white wall being sized up for 2 wall stripes.

I cut construction paper to an approximate size to see how wide I wanted the stripes to be. I wanted to visualize the width and height from the floor next to the existing window. I used the gummy stuff to adhere them from the wall-don't use tape!

The opposing lime green wall where the white bunk beds will go.
I'll be back soon with how to's on the wall stripes!

Easter Resurrection Eggs

Easter Resurrection Eggs

Activity copied directly from www.mops.org

NOTE: This activity is intended for older preschoolers due to choking hazard of some items

Gather six plastic Easter eggs and number them 1-6 with a permanent marker. Fill each one with the appropriate item(s) needed to tell the story:

1. a piece of bread
2. three silver coins (dimes)
3. thorns
4. cross (cut from cardboard)
5. rock
6. leave this one empty

Play Time: Hide the eggs in a designated area. (Hint: Use extra empty eggs labeled with #6, so that each child participating can find the same number of eggs.)

Story Time: Once the Resurrection Eggs have all been found, gather the children together so they can help you tell the story of Easter to the family.

Use the following simple wording as a guide while children open eggs one at a time. First ask the child who has the egg marked number one to open it and tell what’s inside. Then move on to the next number until all the eggs have been opened and the whole story has been told.

Jesus was eating dinner with his special friends one night. He loved them all, but he knew that one of them was going to do something bad that night.

Some bad men gave money to one of Jesus’ helpers to help them find Jesus so they could hurt him.

The bad men made fun of Jesus. They made a crown out of thorns that scratched his head. It hurt him; and they laughed at him.

Then they put Jesus on a cross where he died. His friends were very sad.

They put Jesus’ body in a cave called a tomb. Some soldiers put a huge rock in front of the cave.

The last egg is the most special. It’s empty because three days after Jesus died and his body was put in the tomb, the tomb was empty! Jesus came back to life because of God’s power.

An angel moved the rock and Jesus came out of the tomb. He saw his friends again before he went back to heaven to be with God.

Bible Time: Some older preschoolers might be interested in hearing the words from the Bible about each of the items in the eggs. These verses will help you share the scripture references:

• Bread — Matthew 26:26a: “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples ….”
• Coins — Matthew 26: 14-15: “Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.”
• Thorns — Matthew 27:28-29: “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said.”
• Cross — John 19: 17-18a: “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him ….”
• Rock — Matthew 27:59-60: “Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.”
• Empty — Matthew 28:6: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

Here's a good explanation of what Easter is and why we celebrate it.

Baby stork gift set for a baby shower

This Stork gift set for a girl is selling for $28.00 from Anna at 801-310-9050

It includes:

1 receiving blanket

1 thermal blanket
1 4 0z bottle
14 size 1 Luvs diapers
1 pink and white bunny
tied with a polka-dot ribbon

Isn't this unique and cute gift?

I was featured TWICE on Tip Junkie Today!!

Welcome Tip Junkie blog hoppers!

Thanks for hoppin' over to my blog! I am glad you liked the Jelly Bean poem craft #2 above!& my Easter Dinner #5 shown above!

Feel free to browse around my blog and become a follower. I have a side bar on the right with a wide variety of categories, check it out (keep scrolling down for more).
Happy Easter everyone!
Staci

Easter Crafts

The Jelly Bean Prayer

Author: Unknown

Red is for the blood he gave,

Green is for the grass he made.

Yellow is for the sun so bright,

Orange is for the edge of the night.

Black is for the sins we made,

White is for the grace he gave.

Purple is for his hour of sorrow,

Pink is for our new tomorrow.

An egg full of jelly beans, colorful and sweet, is a prayer, is a promise, is a special treat.

May the joy of Christ's Resurrection fill your heart and bless your life.

(Note: On the card the words red, blue, green, etc. were printed in appropriate ink color.)

Materials needed: A sheet of white painting paper, a piece of construction paper with a thick cross cut out, finger paints, and little fingers. First, finger paint the white piece of paper and let dry. Tape the finger painted paper to the underside of the cut out cross construction paper.

Happy Easter everyone.

8 ways to be a happier Mommy

I wish I had this about a month ago. I was sure grumpy and snippy then! Check out this link to 8 ideas in full detail on how to be a happier Mommy! Here's a sneak preview!

1. Admit when you are stressed

2. Get enough sleep!

3. (Re)Consider your priorities

4. Go with the flow

5. Savor the moment

6. Take the long view

7. Reconnect with your spouse

8. Say Thanks!

Go to the link above for the full but short article. It was a good reminder for me especially (re)consider your priorities.

I also would add (knowing I am far from the perfect happy Mommy but working on my attitude and outlook- Believe it or not I am medium pessimist):

• Have a "mommy friend" to shoot the breeze, be happy for her, celebrate the good times, serve her, and not just a friend to unload your mommy problems or stresses on (once in awhile but not constantly that is a drag!)
  
• Connect with God and have a relationship with HIM (church, personal study, prayer, or devotional Bible reading)
  
• Exercise, get outside for fresh air, some Vitamin D & SUN!
  
• Enjoy a hobby for yourself and make it realistic and achieve something by doing it.
  

What makes you a happy mommy? Please share, I'd love to hear from ya.

I made a new friend-My mail carrier!

Do you need or want more coupons that come in the mail? In Utah, we do not get Red Plum inserts in our Sunday paper. BOO huh?! So, I talked to my mail carrier and she is hookin' me up with 15 inserts each week. I left her a McDonald's 100% free chicken snack wrap coupon taped in the mailbox last week as a thank you. I am excited to get more coupons! If you don't ask you never know. GO FOR IT ASK!

Sharing the free coupon and sample deals!

You know I am coupon gal and love it! I coupon also to able to give generously to others in need. I am blessed by great deals and I want to buy a few extra to give away to various causes. This week the Lord presented me with a simple opportunity to give. A young man in my neighborhood is working on his Eagle project for an Orphanage in Haiti. They needed supplies! Oh it was so convenient to just go downstairs to my pantry and collect some items quickly to give to this cause. I am not trying to toot my own horn here because I believe the Lord prepared me for this opportunity. I just want to show you the other side of couponing, helping the less fortunate on a budget. I got ALL these items for free (paid tax only on most and some where samples from the mail). I hope you are inspired to buy a few extra good deals and give what you can to others in need near and far. It feels great to be prepared to give!

Our St. Patrick's Day fun 2010

,pWe finally made the St. Patrick's Day crafts I posted about

HERE

Then Lenny the Leprechaun brought gold candies on the 18th. Yes, a day late but oh well. I also didn't make it to the store for gold coins so I just used some of my candy stash from the basement-A.K.A my after the holiday (Valentine's Day) gold wrapped Reeses Peanut butter cups. I always buy candy on clearance for the next holiday. We had fun using what we had on hand to create these 100% free fun St. Patty's day crafts!

Then I decorated the table for our corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potato meal from

HERE

I had all of the utensils (.25 from a super bowl clearance cart at the grocery store), confetti (from ?), and napkins (from after Christmas sales) in my St. Patrick's Day box in the basement. I used green construction paper for the place mat. I also used my clearance Valentine's Day green with envy peanut M & M's for a fun green treat next to the plates.Here's the M & M's I bought at Target on Feb. 15th for St. Patty's Day!