Preschool: Halloween Flashcards

Yeah, I guess you'd have to say 

that I am a big fan of the "cutesy" Halloween. 

Love the colors...so much fun. 

I put some Halloween themed flashcards 

and worksheet together for the preschooler. 

She is eager to read and loves the holiday themes. 

I thought I'd share them with you.

 Halloween Flashcards

 Word Match

~~ ~Christie

Featured: Headbands

Two of my projects 
were recently featured over at 
Fabric Bows and More. 

Sew delighted to see it! 

 Fabric Flower Headbands and my Summer Headbands.

 

Fall Runner

I love the colors of fall...especially the orange. So bright and thought provoking. Gets the creative ideas going while looking for new ways to artistically create. I thought I'd put together a simple table runner to accompany the daily life of October and November. I love it because the dinner plates don't rest on it and so unless someones spills their milk...everything is A ok. I find it challenging to keep a fresh table top. Dress it with a freshly washed and ironed tablecloth and for sure it will be be in that washer machine by the end of the day. Use those vinyl table cloths and watch that cotton backing  stick to the top of your table. It tends to be a no win situation for me. And so I am really liking this fall table runner.

~Christie

Sweet and Savory Garlic Bread

So, with a family of six, 

homemade spaghetti is a basic staple on our menu. 

To change it up a bit, I like to play around with the sides. 

This is how I make my garlic bread...sweet and savory. 

The family must like it because there are never left overs. 

 Sweet and Savory Garlic Bread

4 T. Softened Butter

1 T. Garlic Powder

1 T. Parsley

1/2 T. Olive Oil

2 T. Honey

French Bread or Dutch Crunch Bread

*Mix the first five ingredients together. Slice bread in half. 

Spread the garlic butter on the bread and bake at 400`F 

until butter melts and bread is crisp.

 ~Christie

Homemade Koolaid Play Dough

 We use play dough for a variety of reasons. 

Counting, patterning, sorting, and of course artistic play.

This is a play dough recipe I like to use because

of all the bright colors you can come up with. 

It is quite simple to make up and 

can be refrigerated in an airtight container for weeks. 

Recipe 

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 c salt

1 T. canola oil

1 pkg. Koolaid (Choose your color) and 3/4 c. water.

*Whisk the flour, salt, cream of tartar and Koolaid together in a glass or stainless steel bowl. Boil the 1 cup of water and gradually pour over dry mixture and mix until combined. 
When cool, knead the dough thoroughly. 
If mixture is sticky add more flour and knead in well. 
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  

**This recipe makes one ball of play dough. 

Make up different colors by using different Koolaids in every batch.

Featured:The Creative Paige

    I linked up to the Creative Genius Party over at 

The Creative Paige this past week. 

So many fun and creative ideas were linked up. 

She featured my Halloween Printables:)

Check out her awesome blog!

~Christie

My Lasagne

Every family has their own take on lasagne. 

It's funny, I always thought lasagne was lasagne until I started having babies and wonderfully nice friends were bringing my family and I dinner. Can you guess what they all brought? 

Yep, lasagne. 

Each one was different and each so yummy. 

It was a really good thing that my family loves lasagne and so I'd like to share with you my take on our family favorite.

My Lasagne

1 small onion , chopped

1 1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked with onions and drained

15 oz. ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1 29 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 14.5 oz. can diced petite tomatoes

4 c. shredded mozzarella

1 1/2 T. Italian seasoning

1 T garlic powder or 4 cloves of pressed garlic

1T. onion powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 T. cinnamon

2 heaping T. of brown sugar

 * Preheat oven 350`F. 
After cooking the ground beef and onions together in a skillet, drain and add garlic, pepper, salt, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, cinnamon and brown sugar. Heat through. While the sauce is heating, boil and cook lasagne noodles according to package directions. 
In a separate bowl mix together ricotta cheese and the eggs. 
Take sauce off of the heat and drain noodles when done cooking. 
Grease a 9x13" baking dish. 
Layer noodles, cheese mixture, sauce 
and grate mozzarella until pan is full. 
Top with remaining sauce and mozzarella. 
Cover baking pan with foil. 

Bake in a preheated oven at 350`F for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and continue to bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes. Slice and serve.

Yum. Enjoying it with a side of corn, garlic bread and 

mango passion orange juice.

Muffins

    Yesterday, I had a super bad headache. When school was finished and the afternoon brought chores to complete around the house, it got worse. While making dinner, I suddenly realized that I was supposed to prepare something for my sons early morning seminary class breakfast. It was our turn, we would be the only ones assigned to bring anything. Too tired to go to the store, I found some simple muffin recipes on the web that I will share with you today.  

Pumpkin chocolate chip and 
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins. 
 I think I favor the pumpkin...the flavor reminds me of fall.

~Christie

Halloween Printable

Believe it or not, 

Halloween is just around the corner. 

I really like this time of year. 

Although, it is difficult to celebrate fall in Hawaii, 

I do have fond memories of spending fall in 

various places in the United States.

And my birthday falls in the season 

as well as many of my family members. 

So, the thought of beautiful colored fall leaves, 

crisp clean air, pumpkin pies, 

and trick or treat leaves a smile upon my heart. 

In the spirit of it all I thought that I would try my hand at some Halloween Subway Art. 

Click on the link below to print out for yourself. 

Hopefully it will come out great. 

Technology can be tricky sometimes.

Halloween Subway Art

 Trick or Treat

~Christie

Black Bean Chili

    Here is a great recipe for a family fall dinner. It is easy to put together and cooks all by itself in the crock pot. 

Gotta love a hearty crock pot meal.

If you don't want to use a crock pot then you definitely could cook it over the stove top.

Black Bean Chili

1 1/2 1b. ground beef 

2 15 oz. cans of black beans

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce

1 cup of frozen corn

1 15 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic, pressed

Chili powder

      *Brown ground been in a skillet, add onions and garlic. When cooked through, drain the meat and add it to your crock pot. Then add in drained black beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, corn, and 1 T. of chili powder (If you like it more seasoned add more chili powder). Add a dash of salt and pepper. Cook in crock pot for 4-5 hours on low. If cooking over stove top, then cook till thoroughly heated through and flavors come together. Serves 6-8. Pour it over rice and top with cheese.

~Christie

Chore Pennants

     So, I thought it would be nice to put those extra chores out there for the kids to choose to do on their own time. This would allow them to earn extra points, allowance, etc. These are extra chores set apart from their daily chores. Things that often need to be done around the house and I am always looking for helpers! 

    I made up some fall colored Chore Pennants and put them together in a pitcher for selection. They turned out cute and instantly attracted some attention. I figure once they select and complete a Chore Pennant then they can place that pennant in there personal ticket jar. Below there are five pages to choose from. Print them out on card stock. I left the pennants blank for your own write ins. Cut the pennants out and fold back the smaller triangles for the tabs to be glued over and around the dowels to the back of the pennant. Embellish.

 ~Christie

Chore Pennants

It's September! Time for Apple Pie.

   I had to make an apple pie today. I just had to smell it's warm apple cinnamony goodness baking away in the oven. An apple pie made with fresh ingredients is divine to say the least. I had lots of help. Little girls who wanted to spin the apple corer, loved the apple juices spraying in the air and strands of apple peels falling onto the floor. Flour and sugar everywhere. We made a huge mess, but in the end it was soooo worth it! 

 ***Don't forget to scroll down to the end of the post for a free September calendar printable!***

Sept. Calendar