Thanksgiving: Keep the Kiddos Entertained Bags

I really enjoy Thanksgiving. I love getting to spend it with Family or Friends or Soldiers. It's such a great time to reflect on what we've been thankful for the past year and to just enjoy everyone's company. However, sometimes for the kiddos it gets a little boring! I don't know about your kids but Man-Child used to get a little bored just sitting around while all the adults were talking. Even if other kids were around they seem to be good for awhile and then need a little shall we say guidance as to what to do. Squirrelly is how my Grandma would've described them!

So when I saw these little bags at Target I thought they would be perfect for a goodie bag of sorts for the kiddos. I wanted to fill them with things that would keep them busy, but wouldn't make a huge mess, or be too noisy. 

I made these "Turkey" coloring books. I simply traced the turkey from the bag and reduced the size a little then I cut the shape out of several sheets of paper. 

I added strips of leather with slits cut into them and I added a few felt feathers that they can attach to pipe cleaners, to each bag, so they could all make an Indian head dress. 

It's just a few things to help the kids pass the time on Thanksgiving. Most of the kids in our family are old enough to do these projects on their own but a few are little still and will need some help! Notice how nothing requires them to cut or glue anything? Yeah that's totally on purpose! 

Enjoy

Engineer Castles

Have you. Ever volunteered to do something that you think is going to be a walk in the park and it turns out to be WAY more involved than you had originally planned? Well that's where we're at right now. My husband and I volunteered to make 50 castle center pieces for our up coming Welcome Home Ball. He is an engineer after all and red castles are a part of that tradition. And the Hubster is super handy with tools so we both thought this is going to be a piece of cake! Well it's not that this is a hard project it's just WAY more time consuming than either of us thought it would be!

He has spent the better part of this last four day weekend in front of one saw or another! Poor guy! But he Soldiered on and got them all done! I love them and maybe it's an Engineer thing but I fully intend to use one as a center piece on my table! 

I was thinking though that they could be cute for a little girls room too. Or even a little boy who's into knights! Just change up the paint colors and maybe add a little more details! 

Enjoy!

Veterans Day

I want to take just a moment to honor our Veterans both past and present. It really is such an amazing thing to enlist in any of the branches of the Military. I know different people join for different reasons, some because it's a family tradition, others to pay for college, or maybe because you didn't know what you wanted to do just yet. It doesn't really matter the reason, it matters that they did! Whether they realized it at the time or not these brave men and women did something so honorable I can't even wrap my head around it at times. To be that brave, that courageous. To give selflessly of themselves to our country, to you and me. It just boggles my mind!

You don't get through 13 years of war without loosing some wonderful people along the way. People who joined the service for whatever reason, but paid the Ultimate price for our freedoms. You don't come away from 13 years of War without knowing someone who has TBI or PTSD. You don't come away from 13 years of War without knowing people who have lost limbs or have scars or who just aren't the same anymore. 

But Veterans Day isn't just about the wounded. It's about the Service Men and Women who also came before. The ones who served in Desert Storm, and Vietnam, the Korean War, World War I and World War II. The ones who paved the way who have secured our freedoms all along. It's about those that served in peace times and built our Military into the strong force that it is today! 

I hope you'll take a minute today and say a prayer for those that have served this Amazing Country of ours. If you know a Veteran tell them Thank You, give them a hug or a handshake and let them know they made a difference! I personally want to thank my Dad & his Wife, and my Husband. I also want to thank all of our Family that has served and all of the Friends that are like family that we've served with along the way. To the families who have paid the Ultimate Sacrifice I honor you.  And to the Service Men and Women currently in harms way GODSPEED!

Pumpkin Bread with a Caramel Drizzle

When I think of Fall there is always one thing I HAVE to bake, and that's Pumpkin Bread! I know I know another pumpkin recipe? BUT this is just too good to not pass along! I've been making this recipe for probably at least 14 years! Which means that I'm old and well that's ok! It's that moment when you can say things like 14 years ago or *gulp* 20 years ago and it's actually a time that you remember, with clarity!? Yeah that's just awesome right?! No it doesn't make you feel incredibly old not at all! Ok back tot he task at hand baking Pumpkin Bread! I decided that it was finally time to bake the Pumpkin Bread, but I wanted to do something a little different this year usually we have it plain or with a cream cheese frosting, which is AMAZING! But I just wanted something maybe a little more special or at least not something I always make. Then I saw a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with a caramel filling, and I thought hmmm I bet caramel on pumpkin bead would be really good. So this idea was born. I also decided to make the caramel in the crockpot using sweetened condensed milk, I mean I've seen the recipe all over Pinterest and have been wanting to try it forever, so this gave that chance!

Here's what you'll need:

3 cups Sugar

1 cup vegetable Oil

4 eggs

3 1/3 cups Flour

2tsp Baking Soda

1 1/12 tsp Salt

 1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

2/3 cup water 

1 can Pumpkin Purée

Caramel Drizzle:

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Here's how you make it:

Place the unopened can of Milk in your crock pot, cover with water and heat on low for about 8 hours. Remove nd let cool before you open it. When it's cool open and enjoy your caramel!

For the Bread: combine the Eggs, Sugar and Oil in a large mixing bowl, beat until combined. In another bowl add in the Dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture alternating between the flour and water. Combine between each addition of flour and water. Finally add in the Pumpkin stir until mixed completely. Grease 2 loaf pans and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a tootick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from loaf pans and let cool on a wire rack. 

Before slicing the bread,drizzle the caramel sauce over the top. 

Enjoy 

Christmas Cards for Service Members

I hate to even say this but it's a reality we just can't escape, Christmas is coming and it's coming fast! I'm not even close to being ready for it, I have just about everyone left to buy for and none of my homemade gifts are done yet, actually they aren't even started yet! Yikes! So as we get ready to do Christmas this year, I was thinking about ways that my family's can give back! We are so blessed this year, the Hubster came home from another deployment safe and sound, as a military wife it's really all we ask for! I know it's a little early for some of you,I know you're sitting there thinking but it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but as you are preparing yourself for the holidays, making your lists and checking them twice! think about making a Soldiers holiday a little more special! You can send cards to Soldiers through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program that the Red Cross has.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Here are the guidelines the Red Cross has put out to insure that your cards get to the service members.

Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working around the country.

Please observe the following guidelines to ensure a quick reviewing process:

Ensure that all cards are signed.
Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
Only cards are being accepted. Do not send or include letters.
Do not include email or home addresses on the cards: the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos: these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
Please refrain from choosing cards with glitter or using loose glitter as it can aggravate health issues of ill and injured warriors.
If you are mailing a large quantity of cards, please bundle them and place them in large mailing envelopes or flat rate postal shipping boxes. Each card does not need its own envelope, as envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.
All holiday greetings should be addressed and sent to:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

The deadline for having cards to the P.O. Box is December 6th.
Holiday cards received after this date cannot be guaranteed delivery.

You can make homemade cards or if you aren't exactly the crafty card making type then simply send a store bought card. Either way they are appreciated by the Service members who receive them! 

Let our Service Men and Women know that we love them and appreciate the sacrifices they are making for us every day! 

Enjoy!

Parmesan Garlic Roasted Baby Squash

We went to Costco this weekend and I couldn't resist this incredibly cute package of baby's squash! It was just so cute! I wasn't sure what I was going to make with it and usually I don't buy things that I don't know what I'm going to use them for especially not produce that could go bad before I decide to use it, but I couldn't resist!

I kind of just threw this together for dinner tonight! Man- Child and I really enjoyed them, the Hubster, not so much, but really where vegetables are concerned he isn't that fond of them, he was a good sport though and tried all of the different squash! The Parmesan and Garlic form a nice crust on the bottom of the squash that is a crunchy and salty bit of garlicky goodness!

Here's what you'll need:

Baby Squash

2 TBSP Olive Oil

1TBSP Minced Garlic

1-2 TBSP Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Here's how you make it:

Simply cut the tops and bottoms off of each Sqash. Mix up the Olive Oil, Garlic and Parmesan. Then place the squash into a bowl and pour the oil mixture over them. Then place them onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle Salt and Pepper over the top. Roast them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until fork tender. 

Enjoy

Pie Dough Scraps

I made an apple pie for Fisher House the other day. And I had some leftover pie crust. It happens all the time for me, and I love to use them to make little goodies! Now I had doubled the recipe for this pie and then didn't need as much as I thought so I had a lot leftover! I got to make a few more treats that way! There are lots of different ways you can make these really the fillings are up to you and your imagination. I chose to do apricot jam, chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar, not all in the same one though I just read that sentence and was like umm that sounds like I put them all together! gross! So yeah 3 different treats! They are so easy to make!

Roll out the dough

Add a spoonful of jam or whatever you are filling the dough with to the center of the dough, Fold it over

Crimp it with the tines of a fork

Brush with a little milk

Bake @350 for about 25min, or until golden brown!

Let cool and ENJOY!