There’s an age old question that plagues every household. My family of two has it and I’m sure families of a lot more have it too.
I’m not sure how it starts and I’m sure as heck not sure how to resolve the problem either.
So what’s this great issue? Take a look…
One type of silverware is lacking way more than the others. Our family’s most lost item: spoons.
Somehow Mila and I have been able to lose all but four spoons. I started off with a ton of regular spoons when I first moved in. Then bought the rainbow ones last year.
They’ve all but disappeared for no reason.
When I went on the great spoon hunt, here are some of the places I found them:
In the couch
Under Mila’s bed… that she’s never in
Dollhouses
Bags
Cars
Toy box
Laundry basket
I have no idea how so many spoons have disappeared, but I need a secret set to store away for when this happens.
So, what type of silverware goes missing in your house the most?
If you’re looking for a quick activity to do with your child today, this one goes perfectly when listening to some jazz music.
You probably have most of the supplies at home too. Here’s all you need:
Paint (purple, gold, green)
Canvas
Beads
Since everyone knows we love process art here, using beads is a fun way to create.
I chose traditional Mardi Gras colors for Mila to use and we had some random beads already here. There were two different sized beads she used too!
All you have to do is instruct your child to dip the beads in the paint and drop them on the canvas.
It can get a little messy, so put paper underneath.
I had to help Mila get paint on the beads. It’s a little tricky, but older kids shouldn’t have a problem with it. It’s also nice to make sure to leave one part of the necklace clean so it’s easy to grab.
I absolutely love how this painting turned out. It would be cute to add an outlined fleur-de-lis too!
Mila loved being introduced to jazz music too. She dipped the necklaces along with the beat! Next year I’ll have to find a beignet recipe!
If you decide to do this activity with your child, let me know how it goes in the comments!
For more Mardi Gras activities check out these blog posts:
Valentine’s Day projects don’t always have to be sweet. This spin on a classic science project is just as fun and festive for toddlers.
Most people will have the basic supplies for this already at home too!
Here’s what we used:
Conversation heart candies
Rubber heart tray
Baking soda
Vinegar
Cup
Eye dropper
Before we started, we did a little stacking game to see who could stack the hearts the highest. We also did a color match game too.
These little conversation hearts have so many different and educational uses.
Back to the experiment though.
I had Mila place all the candy hearts into the mini heart molds. Once they were all placed, the fun really happened.
Since it was her experiment, I had her place as much baking soda on the hearts as she wanted.
Then, with an eye dropped, she added vinegar.
Although adults know this reaction and I’ve done this a few times with Mila, she’s always amazing.
She kept saying how cool it was to make bubbles and was perplexed when the bubbles changed colors. It always makes me laugh when we do this too because she ends up pouring everything out.
There’s always a big reaction.
Even after being told that the candies were covered in vinegar, mila wanted to eat them.
Thankfully, she didn’t get any!
This Valentine’s Day science experiment was a fun one for us. It’s simple enough to let them do supervised, but complicated enough to help them learn more through it.
We’ll definitely keep doing this experiment, but this is great you have a science minded kid. It’s fun for them see the hearts and come up with their reasons as to why the hearts have disappeared or gotten smaller.
If you give this experiment a try, let me know in the comments.
I love that it feels like everyday is a holiday. It makes not being able to do things like normal feel a little more special.
Anyways, since Mila is learning to count, I decided to make a fun counting activity and a pizza wrap for the occasion. Of course, her friend, Pizza, had to be involved too.
All I used for this little activity was construction paper, a crayon, scissors, and tape!
I divided the pizza up into eight slices. Then cut out enough square pepperonis for them all the have the correct number on them.
If your child is working on scissor skills, this would be great for them too.
This is a simple activity, but the repetitiveness helps solidify their counting skills. Mila has a hard time with four and five and likes to skip them. By doing this activity, it made her see four and five and do it eight times in a row.
I also love that she’s using her fine motor skills to pick up and place the small pieces on the pizza.
After she went through the activity once, she had time just playing with the little pieces. Pizza and her Barbie dog enjoyed it as well.
Even though this is a simple game to put together, it really does help with counting. It’s always such a good feeling to see them put their knowledge to use. Not just repeating numbers. Plus it gave me time to make food too.
Of course, we had to make something pizza inspired for the day!
Using the same wrap style as I did for the Cheesy Beef Quesadilla, Mila and I had cheesy, pizza wraps.
All you need are these things:
Tortilla
Pizza Sauce
Cheese
Any toppings you’d like!
Make a cut halfway through and down the center. Then add pizza sauce and cheese all over it.
Next fold the tortilla and place it on a hot pan.
Once it’s brown on both sides, you can take it off and serve it. I turned the pan on a lower setting so the cheese could melt more.
We love having handheld food, especially when it tastes so yummy.
We had a blast celebrating National Pizza Day!
One funny thing that did happen was Mila thought it was Pizza the Sloths birthday. So, it was just a day of being happy for all types of pizzas.
I hope you can make or order some pizza in really soon!
If you do the counting activity, let me know how your child likes it.
Also, check out these two AMAZING pizza recipes from my friends Erica and Irma. Erica did an amazing Rainbow Veggie Pizza that I want to immediately make. Irma made a yummy bubble pizza too. Another recipe I’ll try soon too!
I know I say this with almost all my recipes, but this is truly an easy recipe. This Italian chicken dinner recipe comes with potatoes, green beans, and a lot of Italian seasoning.
It’s be perfect to make for a romantic dinner or putting it in your meal rotation.
Either way, you won’t be disappointed.
Here’s all you need:
Chicken breasts (I used four for lunch leftovers)
Green beans (I used frozen)
Russet potatoes (2)
Zesty Italian dressing mix
Salt and pepper
Butter
Preheat your oven to 350.
Then peel your potatoes and cut them and the chicken into bite sized pieces. You can leave the chicken as whole breasts, but it gets more seasoned when cut before.
If you have fresh green beans, you’ll also want to cut them into smaller pieces.
Place the chicken in the middle of a pan with the potatoes and green beans sandwiching it. This way the chicken gets the most flavor.
Next, evenly pour over a packed of zesty Italian seasoning, leave some behind to season the other side. Then top with salt and pepper.
Grab a stick of butter and evenly cut slices of it. Place over top the chicken, green beans, and potatoes.
Put the dish in the oven for forty-five minutes.
Then take out your dish to mix or flip (whatever’s easier for you) each section and add the rest of the seasoning too.
Pop your dish back in the oven for fifteen more minutes.
When it’s all done, it’s ready to serve.
I seriously was pleasantly surprised with how this turned out! If you’ve read my recipe posts before, I’m not super confident with chicken. Yet, this meal gave me the chicken confidence boost I needed.
Mila loved it and I loved being able to have amazing tasting leftovers for work.
One of the toughest things I face as a single mom is wondering if Mila has enough love.
It’s hard being away from her during the days, but I have to be to give her the life she deserves. When we’re together, we play, read stories, and create. I tell her I love her every chance I get and she does the same.
We’re happy in our own little world.
But, it’s the days I have to go away. I question if she forgets about all our fun. There are some times I wonder if the love I instill in her stays. Or if she’s just made at me when I’m gone.
A few nights ago, I realized I shouldn’t put any thought into those fears.
I picked her up one afternoon after school. She sat in the car as my mom told her goodbye. As usual, she asked for a hundred goodbye hugs and kisses. Then kept saying bye. As my mom walked away, then started the goodbye kisses.
She blew them and for awhile they were reciprocated. Mom had to go back inside, but Mila did something that made me smile.
As the door shut and we backed out of the driveway, I saw her continue blowing goodbye kisses.
Between each kiss, she yelled, “goodbye! I love you!.”
She didn’t stop when we backed out. Or when we went down the street. Or even parked in our driveway. Outside our door, she kept saying goodbye and how much she loved her Gigi.
That’s when I realized, Mila has all the love in the world. She knows what love feels like and how to feel it towards others.
All those worries about if I’m doing good enough ease.
The next morning, when it’s hard to go away again. I see her goodbye kisses in action. It made leaving a little easier.
Because, I know those goodbye kisses never end and that love travels where ever we go.
I think every kid takes a few toys in the bath, but the amount my toddler brings… might be a little weird.
Last night during Mila’s bath, I counted: ten ponies, seven Barbies, a Barbie boat, six empty bottles, two bath books, a play broom, countless numbers, countless blocks, and all the bubbles that could fit.
To top it off, she asked me to get in the bath with her. Unless we took half of them out, there was no room for me to fit. She ended up chooses all her toys instead.
The amount she brings in is strange, but at least she has fun… right?
Sometimes you feel like you’re close to the top of the world. Just when you’re right at the top, you come tumbling down.
That was metaphoric, but yesterday that’s sort of what literally happened.
With a day off and a long to do list, I was running all over the place. I worked, planned a lot of things, and wanted to take pictures for my plant page. The latter is what got me.
There was something missing for my picture, but it was on the shelf over my bed. I had just grabbed a few things off of there and didn’t even think twice about doing it again. So, off I went.
When I stepped up, I put my foot between the bed frame and the mattress. Then, I lifted my other foot up…
Obviously my footing wasn’t as good as I thought.
I fell, heard a crack, and then felt pain and numbness all throughout my ankle and foot.
Mila witnessed it all and I felt so awful. I got my phone and told her to call Gigi (my mom) because I I needed help. She did so amazing.
After evaluating it and not being sure if it was broken, I went to the ER.
Four hours and a few X-rays later, I found out there was, thankfully, nothing broken. I did tear some ligaments though.
It hurts so bad to walk. I’m stuck on the couch today with ice and two amazing nurses. They’re not professionally trained, but they know where the snacks are and love to help.
My mom fail this week was literally the fall, but also thinking everything needed done in twenty-four hours. It was a painfully, humble reminder not to overwork myself.
To every mom who feels like she’s failing, you’re doing the best you can.
As you all know, Mila and I love Mexican food. It helps that it’s quick and easy to make too.
One of the things I have issues with in making Mexican is folding the tortillas. I either stuff it too much or mess it up in ways I don’t even know how.
Recently though, I found a new way to fold it!
All it took was one cut and three folds. It’s simple enough for everyone. I knew I had to try it out ASAP.
What you’ll need:
1 pound ground beef
Taco seasoning
Beef broth – 2 tablespoons
Tomato paste – 1 tablespoon
Shredded cheese (I used taco)
Flour tortillas
First, add ground beef and spices into a hot pan. Cook through and then stir in tomato paste and beef broth. Then cook one or two minutes more.
After the ground beef is cooked, drained excess oil and put beef in a bowl.
Next, prep your tortillas. To do this, follow the steps in the pictures below.
Simply, make a cut, spread sour cream, add cheese and meat, then fold. It’s pretty simple. I added extra cheese to the non-meat portions.
After it’s folded, heat up on a pan until the outside is cooked.
This recipe is seriously tasty. I love all the cheese and Mila ate a full quesadilla.
You could add any toppings with this such as guacamole or salsa. Or feel free to add them on the inside too.
Follow this folding technique for optimal, cheesy bites every time!
If you try this recipe or fold technique out, let me know in the comments.
When a quick trip to run some errands turn into making sure all their favorite toys have to go with us. Then then insisting said toys cannot stay in the car by themselves.
Oh, the horror of that possibility.
Once you’re inside of said errand spot, holding the toys becomes quite boring. They start to play on the floor.
As it’s time to leave, they forget one on the ground. But there’s no man left behind here.
You’re five minute trip, easily becomes thirty minutes. They only want to take one toy inside, so you’re arms are fuller than before.
Grey Skies & Rainbow Highs 