Rainy day stuff :)

We are going to have a week of rolling thunder where we are! And while the stinkeepants site and Netflix get their share of time, we have been playing more board games, card games, rummikub (cuz I am not sure where to categorize that), and face painting than usual . But NOTHING has been more worth the time than our concentrated building time with this old favorite. After we had a building spree I realized we need way more blocks. This was just a great reminder of how it doesn't take much to spend time with the kiddos and really make it enjoyable. Have a great week...no matter what the weather ;)

Party favors!!!

While we've been away there has been quite a few parties going on. In our home birthday party row happens from February to April...and that doesn't include the friends! Here are a few party favors we threw together for a tea party we attended. Super fun and super cheap :))))) a few YouTube hits to get the perfect tissue paper flower, and the rest wizzed by! What we used: paper cups, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, and leftover Valentines day candies :)

First make your flowers, I would give a tutorial on that but there are some great ones already on YouTube as I mentioned, when you find one you like have at it ;). Instead of ribbon we used pipe cleaners, you will see why in a bit...

Second, poke holes in the bottom of your cups, I used one of our paintbrushes.

Third, turn the cup over and put the pipe cleaners stem through the hole in the bottom, it may be too long, bend the end so that it hooks onto the bottom. At this point I would tape them to the cup and clip the leftover length.

Before you secure your flower in place, place your candy inside the cup. I used leftover cinnamon hard candies we had from valentines. You can use whatever, just keep in mind your event. If its outdoors you may want to avoid the chocolates, or gumdrops, but anything with a little weight to it, so your cups won't fly away.

We even tried using an upside down cup,still cute!

Important things...

It has been a while since we here at Stinkeepants have posted anything. We are both stay at home moms with wee children to care for, and life in general gets busy to say the least. However this past weekend with everything that has taken place in our country, has caused me to stop for a minute and just take an account of the important things. Our hearts go out to the parents and loved ones of all that were effected by the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Words can not express the wave of grieving that went out across this nation. You all (the parents) may not know us or anyone else that expresses our sincere condolence, but please know that you are indeed in our thoughts and prayers. I found it important to explain to my children what happened, in terms they could understand. I find myself tearing up at different moments. We are so thankful , not only for our own group of "Stinkeepants" , but for all children. Children contribute to our society in inexplicable ways, and whether we knew them or not, we miss them. I am not sure if this post will ever reach the eyes of those effected, but either way this is a heart felt hug sent out. We will continue to keep you in our thoughts...with Love, Stinkeepants.com.

What to do when...

So we had a free morning the other day, and around here that translates into busy hands. So in order to occupy said hands I ran to the kitchen to pull out anything they could get there hands into. Only problem, I didn't quite have time to plan the entire activity, so we kind of went into it not knowing what we were going to accomplish. Either way we had fun. I guess not every craft has to have a purpose, or at least a product—the purpose here was fun!

Basically put, I took my kids on a small tie dying adventure. We gathered old baby rags (anyone with babies, let alone multiples, will understand how they collect over the years), got a dish, mixed our colors and ... Voila! We will have to update later what these may be used for, for now just look at the fun we had ;)

Homemade Fruit and Veggie Popsicles

I don't know where you are, but here, it's hot and muggy. So what better way to cool off than with a frozen treat.

I've been experimenting this week with a variety of homemade frozen treats. So far they've all been a hit. But I decided to amp up the healthiness factor. So I made homemade fruit and veggie popsicles. They were super easy too.

Here's what you'll need:
• your favorite summer fruit. I used three mangos.
• fruit and vegetable blend juice. Again, I used V8 Fusion (peach-mango flavor)
• three-ounce paper cups
• popsicle sticks

Directions:
Cut up your fruit and purée. Add enough juice to sweeten but not water down the fruit. (You don't want it too soupy. I added a quarter cup at a time and ended up using a half cup.) Put it in the paper cups and freeze. After an hour, put in your sticks. Let them freeze overnight. And there you go, a healthy frozen treat that your kids will love!

How was your Fourth?

It seems that raising children makes you really understand and respect Independence Day. The more they grow the more they do on their own, the more you see what they are capable of. This year's celebration brought the feat of going under water in the pool—momentous and applauded :).

Here are four momentous things you can teach your child to get them celebrating years of Independence:

1) cartwheel
2) shoe tying (never too early) ;)
3) hula hooping
4) bike riding

As always have tons of fun, all the best to you and yours!

Homemade Toaster Waffles

Everybody loves waffles. And there's nothing like homemade. But who has time anymore. Well here's a trick that combines the goodness of homemade waffles with the ease and convenience of store-bought toaster waffles.

I usually set aside some time on the weekend or in the evening for this project.

Start with your favorite waffle recipe. Here's mine from allrecipes.com:
Whole Grain Waffles

Ingredients
2 Eggs (beaten)
1 3/4 cups Milk
1/4 cup Canola Oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat in whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until batter is smooth.
2. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron in batches, and cook until crisp and golden brown.

As the waffles come off the iron, I place them, in a single layer, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. After all the waffles are made, I stick the whole cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they're frozen, I put them in a freezer bag. To reheat, simply pop them in the toaster. And there you have it--homemade toaster waffles. Enjoy!