My Princess Cake

I made this Princess cake for my daughters 6th b-day. See how I made my Princess Cake. This was one of my first post on this blog. This cake inspired me to want to share the simple creative Mommy moments with others. I hope we all as mothers savor these moments-we all know they grow up too quick. What cakes have you made out of love for your kids? I would love to see them on your blogs.

First B-day traditions-

Smith's Grocery store in Utah (for Fresh Value Card holders) offer a voucher for a free 8" 1st year b-day cake (as of a year ago). I recommend calling the Fresh Value Card member number on the back of you card a month or two in advance to see if they are still offering this promotion. Then they can mail you the voucher for your child's big day.

We have a tradition on the first b-day (like our Latino friends). We push our 1 year olds face into the cake. It's fun not mean. Plus, her cake was free!

My pool birthday cake

I made this for my daughter when she turned 2 years old. She liked Barney, Baby Bop, and swimming. So wah-la- A Barney swimming pool cake (and gummy bears).

I used:

Vanilla sugar wafers-The decking

Fruit tape for chairs held up with toothpicks

Gummy bears

Blue M & M's for the water perimeter

A candy bracelet for the pool rope

blue frosting for water

New topic--PARTIES!

Hello blog pals!

I hope you all are doing well. I have been highlighting Family Reunions this past week and now I am moving on to new topics. I hope you were inspired to plan a reunion sometime.

Since it's summer, I am not completing many personal home improvement projects. I am hosting parties, cooking, canning, gardening, and hanging out with the family. I will get back to some Home improvement/decor projects soon. Instead I am using my creative mommy brain in others ways- PARTIES & COOKING! Stay tuned for some new posts. Feel free to give me some feedback. Aloha!

Family Reunion ideas Part 4-

Reunion Idea #4- Camping and river rafting!

My husband's extended family hits the white rapids of the Snake River in Wyoming every August. This pictures shows a slow float for the young kids. As a family they reserve campsites together (preferably by the river), rent rafts & life jackets from a local university, rent a kayak or two, and enjoy nightly campfire activities together. I like this relaxed and adventurous family reunion-It's appeals to a family in varying age groups. We are unable to attend this year-BOO HOO!

Happy 4th of July.

Have a great day celebrating freedom in the U.S.A. I love parades and floats.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Take care, Staci

Reunion ideas Part 3-

Idea # 3- Have a casual backyard BBQ and perform family lip syncs.

My family is a riot sometimes. We all love to laugh and have fun. On the last night of our 3 day reunion we all did family lip syncs. Here's my mom getting ready to do Chantilly Lace with her fake pony tail hanging down in the back. HA HA My brother came out in his red Elvis costume and my sister did the song Holiday by Madonna. It was hilarious!! Great memories.

Here I am in a terribly dark photo wearing a Mexican hat doing the YMCA. Our family did a medley of songs-YMCA, the conga, and walk like an Egyptian. We made memories to last a lifetime....and caught it all on tape too. Have fun with your family this summer.

Family Reunion ideas Part 2-

We visited Stone Mountain in GA.

Idea #2- Go to a historic site or amusement park wearing matching Reunion T-shirts (shown above). Here's how we did ours in a silly mini pedigree chart:

1. My parents first names on the top

2. Next my siblings last names (oldest to youngest) in columns from L to R

3. Then each families children's names in birth order

**We mixed it up a bit and listed all the family nicknames instead** My parents were Blossom and Smokey. It was fun twist.

Feel free to leave a comment on your summer reunion ideas here. I am always looking for more ideas for 2010!

Here is a close up of the confederate carving on the mountain of three Southern heroes of the Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. Happy 4th of July!

Family Reunion ideas Part 1!

Oh ladies I needed a vacation. As you know, I am stay at home mom by choice and I get the itch to GET OUT OF dodge often. Lots of times I do free family fun around my town but I was ready to leave Utah and see family. I love my "job" as a stay at home mom but I do get bogged down with the daily grind tasks of cooking, cleaning, and messes. This 2 1/2 week trip rejuvenated me as a person and brought some creativity back in my mommy brain. I can't wait to share some creative ideas with you soon.

Stay tuned but first here's some highlights from the trip that you might be interested in knowing for your upcoming family reunions.Family Reunion idea #1- Go to a LAKE! We visited Lake Lanier in GA for some water fun. We had 26 people ranging from 2 years-69 years. We rented a Houseboat with a slide off the balcony (see photo), kitchen with bar stools (in the shade), and a bathroom. We rented a wave runner and a speed boat for tubing. This was a highlight event for our family. I highly recommend this type of activity for family reunions! I am dreaming of doing this on Lake Powell in 2010!

Favorite past time-Visiting model homes and dreaming for free!

This is my realistic dream home in Utah. It was a model home when I first met it a few years back.

I love this home! The inside is amazing. I wish I could share it with you but I video-taped it instead. YES, I did ask the model home salesperson. I sometimes have "interior design block" (you know like writing block). I occasionally need some interior design inspiration, so I go visit model homes (or home shows) and get inspired to create (for less $ money of course)! So if you need inspiration-Take the kids, it's hot, and go to a model home dream-It's FREE (the projects are big $$ but dreaming is free!

I just got back from a 2 1/2 week vacation with lots of new stuff to share with you. Stay tuned and tell your friends about my blog.

When coupons inserts expire...simple fun for kids.

We cut up the coupon inserts and I create a teaching moment on healthy eating.

We cut and paste to create a "healthy food" page and a "sometimes foods" page. Their favorite part is making a card for Dad and the pictures of pets. I like the lazy days of summer when you just make your own fun at the kitchen table.

Weddings--I love wedding decor and food!

I look at weddings decor as a brides (or brides mother's) expression of love and creativity. Here's are two ideas I saw at my husband's cousin's wedding that struck me. I went to this wedding in May and this decoration lead us up the pathway to the backyard reception. They were all in a row lined up a stone walkway. It's elegant, simple, interesting, and classy. Way to go bride. **A great idea for a party or baby shower too**

I love yummy food, using levels for displaying food, and chocolate. They used beautiful granite slabs for their layers. WOW!

Organizing my wrapping stuff!

I have been organizing and purging this month. Oh it feels good! Here's my Huggies long rectangular box reused for storing gift bags. I organized by size...Large to small by occasion (Baby, wedding, birthday, and universal gift bags). I keep the Christmas gift bags with the seasonal tubs.

I used a computer paper box for ribbons and bows.

• I used a smaller box placed inside (see photo) for ribbon, string, and an occasional party item, and pink Easter grass that can be used as a gift bag filler.
• I put the gift bows on the remaining part of the computer paper box.

Creative hair-do's for girls!

I enjoy the creative license within motherhood...which includes hair. Plus my kids are easy to please and I bond with them by doing their hair. I help my girls express themselves through hair. "Is it a baby bun day, a high ponytail, a side swiped ponytail, braids, headband, or criss cross hair day honey?"

When we are getting ready for the day we get to talk, plan out our day, or I make an effort to compliment them on something they did or said recently. We usually are alone in the bathroom just mom and daughter- (screaming might be in the background but we are alone). I am savoring this stage before the tween and teen hair do days.

Here's a great resource for hair do's for girls called Hair Today. She no longer posts new do's but it's a great resource for hair ideas. Have fun with your daughters.

Organizing girl hair accessories Part 2

A cross stitch storage box helps me keep the small hair accessories organized. Michael's and/or JoAnn's Fabric sells the boxes. I got this one at a garage sale. SCORE!

I have been using this box for a few years now and I love how my small hair ties, clips, bobby pins, bracelets, necklaces and rubber bands are neat and tidy.

Organizing girl hair accessories Part 1.

I have girls...and LOTS of hair accessories. I thought I would share something that has worked for me and my many hair bows.

I purchased this hook from Home Depot in a two pack. I used one here and one hook for robes in my master bath. The bows are clipped to a long piece of ribbon. I tied each end to the hook. Now I can see what I have instead of rummaging through a drawer. How do you organize your hair bows in your bathroom?

Rock landscaping & a frugal mulch tip

THEN- Here is our front yard rock landscaping in early spring. We got all these rocks for free from our family cabin property up in the mountains a couple summers ago. They remind us of our mountain adventures too. The mulch is sun bleached and the plants are small and coming out of dormancy.

NOW- A frugal tip- We "roughed-up" our existing mulch with a ho and it looks fresh and new. Be careful not to pierce the weed barrier underneath. The flowering annuals are blooming, the green ornamental grasses are growing tall, and the summer heat is here.

**We got all of our yard mulch for free from our city compost & mulch area** Check and see if your local city offers this perk to its residents. The city workers grind up branches for you, you load it in your truck, and can go back for more. It's a greener life tip too.

Use the lemons up.

A Monday money saving tip- Don't throw away the old hard lemons that you forgot about under the bananas. Cut 'em up and grind 'em in the kitchen sink disposal. It smells great and “lemon-y”! Have a wonderful day!

A beautiful soaking tub surround!

I want to soak in this tub-today!! OK well, I am dreaming of being in this tub filled with rose petals and feeling peaceful and relaxed (with no kids fighting). No wait I can recreate this-I have roses growing in my garden. I will pick them and make my own spa experience tonight after the kids are in bed and paint my toenails too. Why not? GO FOR IT make today special.

Hello to my blog followers!

I want to give a shout out to my loyal 8 blog followers (and to my shy blog followers):0). I was interested to see the results of my blog poll. My personal projects & free/frugal tips for families were the top leaders. I will being doing more of those posts for you.

Thanks for following my simple blog. I hope you enjoy reading it because I enjoy this little blogging hobby. It has motivated me to get more projects done and help others take advantage of the free stuff out there. Don’t be shy let me know you are there and tell your friends about my blog too. Have a great day everyone. Staci

Free book download-Future Christian Homemaker's Handbook

This is a wonderful freebie for mothers and their children. I also think it can be adapted to mothers and sons. It has great cooking and cleaning tips for tweens. Right now you can download the entire Future Christian Homemaker's Handbook for free. I put it on an external removable drive-It's a bit time consuming to save each section but it is in Adobe so that's a plus. I used this list and it went faster: Index of FCH Lessons. Have fun this summer.

**This book retails for $29.95 and is full of many homemaking ideas, step-by-step instructions, recipes, pictures, Bible devotions, and more.**

Thanks for the post Money Saving Mom!

Is your marriage Fireproof?

To know me is to know, I rarely watch movies. I over analyze the plot & acting, I am too hyper to sit still that long, and have other things I'd rather do....BUT I liked this movie Fireproof. My husband heard about it on KLOVE (the national Christian radio station) in February and gave me this movie for Valentine's Day. I knew nothing about it then.

Well, Kirk Cameron is the main actor in it. Remember him-He was on the TV show Growing Pains back in the 80's.? I had a crush on him then. Anyway, well the acting isn't great but the message is good. I cried, we laughed, and we talked about how our marriage is going afterwards. That is my kind of movie watching! My husband liked it too. It's was very thought provoking for us and it had a good Christian message on forgiveness. I hope you rent it this summer. Take care everyone.

Have you seen it and what did you think?

Staci's Deal of a Meal-Chili Verde!

My manager special chili verde Mexican meal1. 1 Pkg of Mangers Special Tres Marias Chili Verde meat (I heat to directions on pkg.)

See photo- I only paid $2.99 for a lb. of seasoned meat-Watch for Manager's specials at Smith's!

2. Tortillas- I like the Don Panchos (See photo) I purchase them at an Associated Food store or Walmart in Utah. They are high fiber, low carb and low fat! Yum!

3. A little cheddar cheese sprinkle

4. Can of no fat refried beans (only a dap will do on my burrito and on the side)

5. Organic girl spinach- I buy this at Walmart for $3.XX a package.

6. Brown rice (enough to feed your family for a side dish or on the burrito)

7. A dollop of fat free sour cream on top

8. 1 avocado sliced and topped on each burrito

9. 1-2 tomato cut up and topped on each burrito

10. A dollop of homemade salsa on top.

Wah-la! Dinner time- Quick and easy meal on a summer evening!

What accessories do you put on your decorative dressers?

Are you looking for accessories ideas for a bedroom dresser, night stand, or a bureau in the hallway? You are not alone. Many of my clients ask for help in this area.

I like this arrangement. It wouldn't last in my house because the throw would be pulled and everything knocked down in an instant. But I guess I could try it. The designer worked in mini groupings of 3, varying heights, different textures, and the colors are in the same autumn tones. Very nice. Here's a mini accessorized version for a nightstand.

Be inspired help our U.S. economy and shop at Tai Pan Trading Co., Bombay, or Target this summer for items like these! :0) Have fun.

$.10 seed packets at Dollar Tree (regular price $.59)

Run don't walk to your phone book and call your local Dollar Tree and see if they are selling $.10 seed packets. Here's the varieties we got last week. They are packaged for 2009 at a 90%-100% germination. I will save some most of them for next year but we will plant the cold weather crops in late summer for a fall harvest. Ex. Carrots, lettuce, & spinach. Next summer the seeds will be at a 80%-90% germination-Big whoop. We loaded up on these varieties and plan on starting our seeds inside again. They aren't heirloom but I couldn't pass up $.10 seed packets.

Do you want to see our indoor growing set up then go to my gardening label on the right hand side under gardening.

We got some $.10 flower seeds packets. I am excited to grow them in the spring. We just bought petunia flats this past weekend for $13.XX at a local nursery. Now I have $.10 seed packets to grow indoors for Spring 2010!!