Oreo Mummies

Jacob had his Halloween party at school last week, and I signed up to take turkey sandwiches. But I also wanted to give them a little treat. So, I don't remember how I found this idea, but it's everywhere! Oreo mummies, or Oreo pops, are popular and easy to do. However, the ones that I found called for the Oreos to be dipped in white chocolate and then drizzled again with more chocolate. Uh, hello! That's a lot of chocolate! Well, not for me, but especially for preschoolers, so I tried to lighten it up. Here's what I did/used:

2 1/2 packages of Halloween themed Oreos (yields 40 mummies)
1 - 24 oz bag of White chocolate chips (make as directed)
80 Button Candies for the eyes (or mini chocolate chips, candy googly eyes, M & Ms, Skittles)
Wax Paper
Cookie Sheet
Sandwich bags

The first thing I did was line a cookie sheet with wax paper. I then placed the Oreos on the sheet leaving about a 1.5 inch distance between each cookie. I then poured myself a small bowl of white chips microwaving them according to the directions on the bag (for me, this meant using Crisco shortening). Once melted, I poured the chocolate into a sandwich bag, and snipped off a tiny corner of the bag. I then pipped chocolate for the eyes, and placed the candy buttons on the cookies. I let them set for a little bit, and got started on making more chocolate, following the directions on the bag. Once the chocolate was heated, I poured it into a new sandwich bag, and started drizzling the chocolate over the cookies. After I was done pipping, I let them set up in the fridge for a bit. After about 15 minutes, I placed them in little cello bags and attached a tag! That was it! Easy, cute, and tasty!

My Current Project

So, for the last couple of years, DIY play kitchens have become quite huge. And my first glimpse of them was through Pinterest. I saw one that was made out of an old entertainment center, and I wanted to jump on Craigslist and buy up the very first one I saw, until my sister woke me up. She made me realize that I'd have no room for an entertainment center in my little house. Ugh. She was right. My dreams were dashed, for a few minutes until I saw that they use nightstands too! Hello! I could totally do a nightstand. That would definitely fit in our house. So, I began my search for the perfect nightstand. I would search Craigslist once a week. My goal was to find a nightstand that was cheap, in good condition, a decent size, and close by. It took a good month for me to find the right one. My area is overpriced ( Hello, OC!) so I looked in neighboring counties. I found one that met all my criteria except one, it wasn't close by. But my brother lived in the area, and on a visit to his house, I snatched it up. It's currently sitting outside waiting for me to get started on it. I need to gather all my supplies first, and a game plan. I've decided on a color scheme already, but we'll see if it changes when I get to painting it. But, I'm super excited to start tackling it. My goal is to finish it before Christmas since this will be the kids' gift. I think 2 months is fair, since this is my first major project. Wish me luck! Maybe I'll post progress reports, or maybe just before and after shots. Ahhh, we'll see!

Canvas4Life {Review}

I recently had the opportunity to receive and review a photo canvas from Canvas4Life! I was sooo excited to give it a try because I've always wanted to try them out, but was hesitant about the actual quality of the print. I thought it would come out blurry, and the frame would be cheap and weak. However, I can assure you, the canvas prints from Canvas4Life are AWESOME! We ordered a 16 x 20 color print, and the colors were so vibrant on the canvas and the quality was amazing. They're very well-made and sturdy. And, I must say, the ordering process was so easy! I did it in less than 10 minutes. It only took 3 easy steps: upload your photo, customize it in real time, and place your order. They walk you through each and every step. Love that! Shipping was super fast too. I had my order within a week's time. Exceptionally fast for canvas printing. All in all, I was very pleased with the whole process and outcome. Jacob loved it too. He says it's his picture! I've gotten a ton of compliments on it, and my sister wants to try it too! I told her go for it! And if you're thinking about getting your photos onto canvas, I say go for it. You won't regret it! They make great gifts too! I'm already contemplating my next order!

And to make gift giving a little easier, or to get one for yourself, Canvas4Life is offering a special 10% off promo code for my readers. Just enter the code "simplelife" at checkout. They're also having an awesome Halloween sale right now, so head on over to Canvas4Life ASAP! Happy shopping!

Disclaimer: In doing this review,  I was provided a canvas free of charge. However, all opinions are my own.

Our 4th Anniversary!

Four years ago today, my hubby and I joined together in holy matrimony. I can't believe it's only been four years, it feels like forever, but a good forever. I should mention that hubby and I have been together a total of 13 years now too. So, maybe it has been a awhile, but there's no one else I'd rather be with. He's a perfect partner, husband, and father. He puts up with a lot of my crazy ideas and shenanigans. He loves me. What can I say I'm a lucky girl! So, here's to many more years of craziness and love to me and the hubs. Wow, 5 years next year!

 

Picking Pumpkins

We recently made our way out to a pumpkin patch. We picked 2 pumpkins, one for each kid. I'm not really big on these make shift PPs, but we would pass by one every time I took Jacob to school and they'd have bounce houses, balloons, and animals. And ever time we would pass by it, in his little voice, Jacob would ask if he could go to the party. Of course, we had to go. But we didn't go to this exact one, instead we went to one near my bro's house. We were going to visit him, and why not stop by the patch. Oh my word, it was such a *HOT* day. But we all made it. The rest of my family came along for the ride too. First thing Jacob had his eye on was the bounce house, so of course we let him go on it. And the sign said 15 minutes per ticket. Well, the PP wasn't very busy so Jacob was allowed to jump to his little heart's content. While he was jumping, and dad was watching him, Bella and I went looking for our pumpkins. It took a little bit, but we found 'em. Perfect for putting a nice little face on each. Jacob was still jumping, and the sun was still blazing. So, it was time to get Jacob out. But we weren't done just yet. We took Jacob to the little petting zoo where they had goats and chickens, or something. I didn't really pay attention, but he did NOT want to touch a thing. Oh, well. Maybe next year? He didn't really care about anything but the bouncers, and Isabella was still oblivious. Yeah, maybe next year.

Lastly, I'm going to be starting a big project! For me anyway. I'll give more info in my next post and a sneak peek into it. I'm so excited!

 

Pinterest {Project}

I was at it again! I made another project I found on Pinterest. There was a dry erase board floating around, and I redid it. The original one was made as a to do list, but I turned into art, kind of. Someone kindly donated a nice frame for my project, so it cost me $0. This is sooo easy! It's ridiculous. So, here's what I did/used...

DIY Dry Erase Board

picture frame
paper/fabric
dry erase markers
spray paint (optional)

My frame was gold, but I needed a black frame, so I whipped out my black spray paint. I gave the frame a nice coat, and let it dry. I Used the leftover fabric that I had and cut it to the shape of the glass. And that was it. I wrote a couple of words on the glass. Dunzo.

Before:

After:

Halloween {Sneak Peek}

The kids' costumes have finally come together. They're now sitting in their closet waiting for Halloween to come around. We even had a small fitting to see how they'd do in their costumes. Jacob LOVES his costume, and he looks so cute in it! Bella is a girly girl, and she's going to love playing dress-up when she's older. She already loves her costume. Quite to my surprise. I thought she would start taking it apart. So, here's a sneak peek at Isabella's costume...Can you guess what she's going to be?

Jacob's Back to School Night & Ouchie!

A few weeks ago, Jacob had his back to School night at preschool. Luckily, I had a lot of my questions answered, and it gave the hubs an opportunity to check out Jacob's school too. There are 30 kids in Jacob's class along with 3 teachers. They seem very nice and very patient. The head teacher told us what they've been learning, and what they'll be learning as the year goes on. It's funny 'cause she mentioned that they've learned some songs and that we've probably heard them at home, but every time I ask Jacob if he sang at school he says no. Jacob also showed us his favorite toy in the classroom. The pirate ships. Every time he goes to class he goes straight for these ships. oh, and apparently, Jacob's a little aggressive. Not physically, but I guess demanding. We've been working on that. I think that's about it. Oh, during this particular session, they've been working on colors, manners, and sharing. Totally new concepts to 3 year olds. But he's still loving it!

And my poor Jacob had a horrible week last week, hence no blogging. But he got a huge ouchie. He not only had a cold, so he was all congested and stuffy, but he hit the corner of our TV stand. He busted the right corner of his bottom lip. I felt horrible because we didn't have it protected. Well we did, with some rubber corner guards, but Jacob would rip them off so I stopped putting them on. Luckily, he really didn't need stitches, but it then started to get infected so he was placed on antibiotics. But, wow! That thing healed up so fast. In less than a week, his lip was completely back to normal. And now the TV stand has a big elastic scrunchy looking thing all around it. So, it was a crazy week, Isabella and I also got sick. But, we're ALL doing much better now!