Ninja Turtle Cake

Last weekend was Minion #5's birthday. He turned 5 years old. I can't believe how fast he grew! He told me he wanted a cake that looked like the blue Ninja Turtle, I think his name is Leonardo, correct me if I'm wrong! 

So, being the blue turtle and all, I went with Duncan Hines Blue Velvet cake mix. I baked 2 9 inch cakes and cut the rounded tops off.

I also made homemade frosting and used Wilton's green gel color to get a deep green color. 

I then started icing the cakes. And once I got a smooth finish, it was time to give it a face. An easy way to ensure you don't  mess up drawing on your cake, is to use a toothpick and draw an outline to follow with your icing.

(My pics aren't in the right order below, but you get the idea!! ;)).

Then I just used Ziploc freezer bags filled with my different colored icing to make the rest of his face. The red mouth is a bit goofey looking because I was out of red coloring, so I had to settle for a tube of red decorator gel.

Overall, Minion #5 loved his cake and the celebration! We took him to Chuckie Cheese for game time and then came home and had pizza and cake and presents. We finished the evening off by letting the kids run through a GIANT rain puddle leftover from some excessive flooding we had!

It was a great day!

Praise God for another year of life for my little guy!:)

-Tiffany

Snowball Cookies (Easy and Simple, and Perfect for Mother's Day!!)

 One of my daughters friends requested this recipe post and it has been awhile since she made her request, sorry G.R.!! But I will tell ya, I have never had a snowball cookie before!! I always see them on the cookie trays at Christmas time, but I usually look for the most chocolatey goodie I can find! So when I got this request, I told my oldest that it was her job to make them!!

A Mothers Role

The other day, I mentioned that I was going to post on how to make Resurrection Rolls, well little did I know, or plan, but things went way different this week than I expected. It started Tuesday night, at 2am. My second oldest child came running downstairs. And by the look on her face, it wasn't good.

She had severe stomach pain, headache, fever (103.3°) and was very faint and dizzy. My first thought was appendicitis. So we rushed to the ER. She had some tests done and everything came back normal accept for a urine culture saying her white cell count was up. The doctor said it suggests a uti. So, to make this long story, short; she is resting and still running high fevers. And now my oldest has joined quarantine with her, as she is also running fevers. Hers are low grade fevers. But I still will be keeping them quarantined away! ;).  (Oh, and yes, the ER doctor was wrong because our pediatrician called and got the results and said it wasn't a uti :/ ).
So anyway, the Easter posts that I had planned, well it just ain't gonna happen folks! Sorry, thats life though, right?

And instead of beating myself up and stressing it, I know the Lord is in control and allowed this to come my way.

So I will stop all of my other spring cleaning plans and Easter posts, and tend to my sick ones with love and grace :).
I will put aside all other duties and put first my role as a mom/doctor!
I will do my best to keep them comfortable, as they are completely miserable and achey.
I will have patience as I get called upstairs every 10 minutes to check a temperature, fix a blanket, refill a water glass or fluff a pillow.

Moms, this is our job! To show love, patience and grace. To be there when we are needed. To make the boo-boo feel better, even if its just with a kiss! To comfort the uncomfortable. To reassure them that its gonna be okay.
We have a wonderful job as moms.
Be thankful everyday that God has given you that job. He picked you to fit the position and He gives you what He wants for you.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. Remember, Christ died and rose for us to save us from our sins. And if we accept what He did, we can join Him in heaven one day. Let us remember that this holiday as we gather with loved ones!

Well I'm off to the quarantine unit!! ;)

HAPPY EASTER!
Tiffany

Merry Christmas

May you all have a WONDERFUL Christmas.

....And remember, Christ was born this day, HE alone is the reason we celebrate!

Merry Christmas!

-Tiffany

P.S. you might not hear from me until next week. Gotta soak up some good quality family time and enjoy our winter break!! Feel free to browse around and read some of my older posts, you might find something interesting!

Homemade Gingerbread House Kits

Need an easy, fun gift idea for little one or family friends?

Put together a 'Make Your Own Gingerbread House' kit!

Its so easy to put together and takes very little time and effort! 

Check it out!.....

Clean You House Before Christmas Challenge Day 3 Update

Well, by the third day of this challenge, I was feeling pretty ambitious! I planned on scrubbing the main bathroom and kitchen!.... What was I thinking?! I had a wonderful plan. I even wrote it down! For the most part I followed most of it, but didn't accomplish everything!

Here's how my day went:

Clean Your House By Christmas Challenge Day 2 Update!

Ok, ok, so I'm a little behind on posting this... sigh... but hey, that's life, right?

Anyway, I had a super busy day yesterday. I cleaned the living room. it only took a few minutes. It doesn't get too messy since the kids no longer play in there, but occasionally a few toys migrate their way down the stairs and into the living room. And of course, there is baby stuff in there! So after a few minutes it went from this:

To this:

Ah, much better!

I also worked on several loads of laundry, and still working on it today!

Today's goals are to scrub the main bathroom and give the kitchen a good scrubbing!!

Let me know how you are doing!

Check out Crystal Paine's challenge  here.

Keep Cleaning!

-Tiffany

Clean Your House Before Christmas Challenge (update!)

Most of you may have read last night, that I will be following moneysavingmoms cleaning challenge. Read that post here.

So, I didn't get any before and after pics last night, but I cleaned my boys bedroom, put away their laundry, cleaned the toy room, removed broken toys and put everything back in it place, and I scrubbed the kid's bathroom. I used my homemade cleaner and it smells so fresh in there!

I hope you are following along in this challenge as well. It will be nice to have a clean house for when we start our holiday baking! I will post later on today what challenge I will be working on tonite! (Maybe I'll even get some pics!!).
Check out Crystal Paine's update here.

Let's Get Cleaning!
-Tiffany

Clean Your House For Christmas Challenge (Day 1)

I just read this challenge on moneysavingmom.com and thought it would be the perfect addition to my Christmas  Countdown! Crystal Paine is challenging her readers to decluttering and cleaning in 5 days to get our homes ready for Christmas! I am ready for the challenge and hope you are too! 

I have been a follower of money saving mom for years and have done several of Crystal's challenges. I always feel 'challenged', and I love the reward at the end of it! So I challenge you to join her this week! I know I will!!

If you want to join in the challenge go here.

What rooms will you be tackling? Let me know!
I will be working on the kids bedrooms!

-Tiffany

Christmas Countdown~ Frozen Party!

As part of our Christmas Countdown, I planned a simple and fun Frozen Party!

Christmas Countdown ~Holiday Spiced Potpourri

This potpourri makes a great all natural air freshener AND it makes a great homemade gift.

Keeping Your Sanity

I'm sure you all are thinking about Christmas shopping, planning menus for holiday get togethers, decluttering and cleaning every corner of the house for when company arrives, trying to figure out what to buy everyone, or maybe you are just trying to keep your sanity as a busy mom! Well, I know I'm working on all of the above! And boy does it get a little hectic in my head.... Just gets hard to keep it all sorted. On top of all that, I've got a monster living in my laundry room, dirty dishes keep appearing in the sink and my kitchen floors seem as if Hansel and Gretel got lost in there!! ;).

I know I'm not the only one with this problem (don't leave me hangin' here ladies!).

Christmas Countdown ~ Cranberry Orange Spinach Smoothie

Cranberries, oranges, bananas and spinach have so many wonderful health benefits, so I came up with a smoothie with all four of em in it! It is refreshing, energizing and satisfying, so I thought it would be perfect to share during this busy holiday season. It makes a great breakfast drink or a mid-day snack when you just need a little 'pick me up'!

Christmas Countdown!

It's here folks! December 1st!!! That means its time to start our Countdown to Christmas!! 

As you know, I will be doing a Christmas Countdown with my kids each day until Christmas. If you haven't read it you can find my post on a simple Christmas Countdown here. I will also be posting each day (Lord willing, of course!). I will share with you all recipes, crafts, homemade gifts, and much more, all related to getting ready for Christmas. I will share with you my holiday menu filled with wonderful recipes that I always get requests for!

Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

We had an early Thanksgiving with some close friends of ours on Saturday, so I have already prepared a list of thanksgiving dishes. If you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this week, then you know all about the time and preparation that goes into getting ready. I will share some recipes on basic Thanksgiving dishes. These can all be made the day before and put in the oven when ready to bake.