McDonald's Valentine's Coupon Books!

McDonald's Valentine's Coupon Books

These are a great Valentine for your kids to give away in class, especially since many schools have done away with allowing any kind of treats brought in to the class. I know my kids enjoy giving their classmates Valentine's, but they always like to choose the ones that have pixi-stix or starburst with card to give out to all their classmates. Usually I have to end up buying 2-3 boxes per classroom because there are 10-12 in a box, but 22-25 kids in the class. At $3/box with 2 kids, it gets pretty pricey - almost $15-20 for Valentine's!

These McDonald's coupons are cheap ($1/12), so now I'll only end up spending $4-5 total, my kids can still give out their Valentine's to their classmates, and their classmates can still get a treat. It may not be instant gratification, but they can get a treat (apple dippers, hamburger, ice cream cone, or apple juice) just by going to McDonald's. In my book, this is a win-win-win.

Another great way to use these coupons, I would think, would be to use them as rewards - rewards for potty training, payment for doing chores, special treat for doing well on a test,   etc.  Of course, I, personally, see nothing wrong with using an "incentive" method.  If you do not raise your child that way, then feel free to modify this to fit whatever method you choose.

Headache Relief

Last week I had the worst headache of my life.  I am not exaggerating.  I would have rather been going through childbirth - and I've had 3 kids, so I know what it's like.  The headache finally went away after about a day and a half.  At least with childbirth, all the pain is worth it when you see that precious little baby in your arms.  The headache, nothing, nada, zero.  The happy ending was not having the headache anymore, which was good enough for me.

While I had the headache, some friends offered advice on how to get rid of it, plus I was searching the internet for help.  These are the remedies I was told or found:

1.  Rub your temples gently.
2.  Massage/press the skin between your index finger and thumb.
3.  Place a cool washcloth on your neck.
4.  Place a cool washcloth on your forehead.
5.  Go outside for fresh air.
6.  Drink lots of water, in case you're dehydrated.
7.  Massage your earlobes.
8.  Rest in a dark room with no noise.
9.  Eat almonds.
10.  Cut a lime in half and rub it against your forehead.

I tried all the things on this list except the last two, only because I did not have any almonds or any limes, otherwise I would have tried them also.  Honestly, I think my headache went away because of a combination of a few of these - massaging the area between my thumb and index finger, going outside into the cool air, drinking water, and placing a cool washcloth on my head/neck.

I am thankful my headache went away, thankful for my friends who offered suggestions on ways to clear up my headache, and thankful that my son didn't mind me not playing with him as much that day.

Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These are so good, they taste just like ones ordered in a restaurant.  :)  


Ingredients (serves 4-5):
6-8 russet potatoes (depending on size)
1 whole garlic bulb
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 C. sour cream
2 Tbsp. butter
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
fresh chives

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375*.  Peel potatoes and cut into even-size pieces.  Place in a large pot of lightly salted water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, separate garlic cloves, but do not peel them.  Place in a bowl, add olive oil adn toss to coat.  Place on baking sheet and roast in oven until softened, about 10 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly.

Drain potatoes and return to pot.  Mash slightly.  Add sour cream and butter.  Quickly squeeze pulp from garlic cloves into pot.  Add salt and black pepper.

Mash potatoes until combined and smooth.  Transfer to a serving bowl.  Cut chives into small pieces.  Sprinkle over mashed potatoes in bowl.  Serve.

(This recipe is taken from Great American Recipes.)

Cream Cheese - Strawberry Pie

So, Valentine's Day is coming up.  Are you doing anything special?  I've decided to make a special dessert for my family, and thought maybe someone else might be looking for a fairly easy and delicious recipe, too.  So, here ya go...

Ingredients:
1 prebaked 9" pastry shell
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 box fresh strawberries
1/4 Cup water
2/3 Cup granulated sugar
4 tsp. cornstarch
Whipped cream

1.  Use a store-bought pastry shell (easiest) or prepare and bake your own according to your own recipe.  Cool.

2.  Blend cream cheese and powdered sugar.  Spread in bottom of pastry shell.

3.  Rinse berries, hull and sort, reserving the largest and best berries.  Crush enough remaining berries to make 1 cup.

4.  In small saucepan, mix water, granulated sugar and cornstarch.  Add crushed berries.  Bring to a boil.  Cook for 2 minutes or until thick and clear.  Cool.

5.  Press whole berries, tips up, into cream cheese.  Spoon cooled strawberry mixture evenly over berries.

6.  Chill for 3-4 hours.

7.  When ready to serve, top pie with whipped cream.

Snow, Beautiful Snow

I am not a cold-weather kind of person.  I'd much prefer a warm sunny day to a cold one, yet I loved this weekend's snow...shoveling the driveway, helping my kids in and out of their snow boots, building a snowman, watching my kids go sledding, watching my husband push the kids to get them to go fast while sledding...it all made for a fantastic weekend.

I think we all need a weekend like this once in awhile, where the running around halts, activities are cancelled, and we are all "stuck" hanging out together.  Now, our family spends time together on a fairly regular basis.  We have movie nights and game nights.  We read together and take daytrips.  But there are other times when I feel that even though we all live in the same house, we aren't ever together for more than a few minutes.

So, while I may complain about the cold weather and look forward to the sunshiny days of summer, I'm thankful for the do-nothing weekend we just had, and all the family-time that came with it.

"An aged Christian, with the snow of time upon his head, may remind us that those points of earth are whitest which are nearest to heaven." ~ Edwin Hubbel Chapin

Homemade Puffy Paint

I found the recipe for this online.  It's cheap, easy to make, and B loved it!!  To make it, you'll need an empty squeeze bottle (I used one from dishwashing liquid).  Mix equal parts of salt and self-rising flour.  Then add enough water to make the consistency of pancake batter.  Try to mix enough to get out most of the lumps so they don't clog the top of the squeeze bottle.  Then, let the creativity flow (no pun intended!).

I cut out hearts and snowflakes from construction paper and let B drip the pain on to the cut-outs.  Older children could make designs with the paint on a card.  My suggestion is to use paper a little thicker, like cardstock.  The construction paper is a little thin to hold the weight of the paint.

The best part of this is that is drys SO quickly!!  After your little artists are finished with their creations, pop the artwork in the microwave for 30 seconds.  It puffs up when it "cooks" and comes out dry.  Be careful though, as it is a little hot taking it out of the microwave, but it cools very quickly.  B loved to feel the puffiness of his creation when it was all done.

The List Queen

I am The List Queen.  That's a self-appointed title.  I make lists for everything from the common, to the uncommon.  Some of the lists I make are:

Grocery list - this is an ongoing, hardly ever empty, list that hangs on the refrigerator.  My family knows that when they use the last of something, they are supposed to write it on this list.  The key word is "supposed".  We had an incident last week where someone forgot to write ketchup on the list.  I thought we had one more bottle, so when I went to get it, I was surprised to find none.  Well, if you know my husband and sons, you know that ketchup qualifies as it's own food group, so not having it was very unpleasant.

To-do list - I have to make myself a list each day if I really want to be productive.  I love the sense of accomplishment I get from crossing off those items.  Bathrooms, Dusting, Wash the Kitchen Floor...I just love seeing those things get crossed off!  I also love to see how much I really can accomplish in a day, if I don't procrastinate.

Packing list - for vacations, I have lists of EVERYTHING we need to pack.  The only stuff not included on the list is my husband's stuff.  I list everything and pack everything for 4 people, and he is old enough to know what he needs.  (However, things like bathing suit, flip-flops, sunglasses and cell phone charger I do tend to check to make sure he remembered.)

Food list - for holidays or get-togethers.  On top of that, I learned a trick from my mom:  write each item you're serving on a slip of paper and put it on/in the dish you will be using for it.  It saves time when you're putting out the food, because you already know what is going on what platter.  Plus, with a list and the platters already labeled, it's almost impossible to forget something you were planning on serving.

Book list - this is actually 2 separate lists.  I have one list of the books I have read, so I don't duplicate when I go to the library.  I also have a list of the books I want to read.  Both lists stay in my purse, so I have them if I am at the library, run in to a bookstore, or whatever.

Things I want to do - I don't want to call it a "Bucket List" because, even though I know I will die someday,  really don't think I need to focus on it.  So, my list is just things I would like to do at some point in nmy life.  I am continuously adding and updating this list.  One thing on my list is to visit all 50 states, so I actually have a sub-list for that, so I can mark off the states I have visited.

I know there are other lists I have, too, but at the moment, I can't think of what they are.  I really need a better way of keeping my lists in one spot though.  I should probably get a notebook that is only used for my lists.

I love notebooks, too, but that is a post for another day.  :)

Have a great day....I'm off to conquer my to-do list.