Another type of countdown...

Here's another great "Countdown to Halloween" idea I found while visiting 

one of my favorite blogs: 

 ~ Brown Paper Packages ~

It's a Book Countdown! I LOVE this idea for a couple of reasons but most importantly 

it wont have to cost you anything! 

Take the list that she suggests and call down to the library and see which books they have! You are able to check the books out for 2 weeks at a time so you can go once today (since tomorrow's the 1st YIKES) and then in two weeks to get your next set. I think this is a WONDERFUL countdown that commits you to reading with your kiddos every night and they will also start to get excited aboutHalloween.

Take a look below to read about her idea, and then go visit her blog for some more great ideas:

(photos all from Brown Paper Packages)

One of my great loves in life is reading, along with books of all kinds. I also love Halloween--not the scary, ghoulish, gory kind, but the fun costumes, trick or treating, sugar cookies, and pumpkins on the porch kind.

To celebrate both of these, I created a Halloween Book Countdown---a really fun way to count down the 31 days to Halloween--starting with October 1st. I put together a list of some favorite Halloween books, along with some others I wanted to try, then headed to the library. (I'm working on collecting our own, but until then, the library is the perfect resource, and had all the titles I was looking for.) I found a black tub at Target in the holiday section, added some ribbon and vinyl, and our book countdown was ready!

Whether you label the books and go in order like an advent calendar, pull numbers out of a hat, or just let kids choose randomly, this can be a super fun way to enjoy the holiday together.

Here is my list of 31 books: (most of these books are targeted for ages 3-8)

 1. Too Many Pumpkins, Linda White
2. Pumpkin Soup, Helen Cooper
3. The Biggest Pumpkin Ever, Steven Kroll
4. Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden, George Levenson
5. How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?, Margaret McNamara
6. Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Jeanne Titherington
7. In the Haunted House, Eve Bunting
8. Room on the Broom, Julie Donaldson
9. The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything, Linda Williams
10. The Night Before Halloween, Natasha Wing
11. The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat, Stan & Jan Berenstain
12. The Big Pumpkin, Erica Silverman
13. The Vanishing Pumpkin, Tomie dePaola
14. Humbug Witch, Lorna Balian
15. Bug That Go Bump in the Night, David A. Carter
16. Five Little Pumpkins, Iris Van Rynbach
17. Scary, Scary, Halloween, Eve Bunting
18. Peek-A-Booooo!, Marie Torres Cimarusti
19. Mrs. McMurphy’s Pumpkin, Rick Walton
20. It’s Halloween!, Jack Prelutsky
21. Thirteen Nights of Halloween, Rebecca Dickinson
22. Miss Fiona’s Stupendous Pumpkin Pies, Mark Kimball Moulton
23. Ten Timid Ghosts, Jennifer O’ Connell
24. The Bumpy Little Pumpkin, Margery Cuyler
25. Halloween Night, Arden Druce
26. Haunted Castle on Hallows’ Eve, Mary Pope Osborne
27. All Hallow’s Eve – The Story of the Halloween Fairy, Lisa S. Johnson
28. Pumpkin Hill, Elizabeth Spurr
29. Skeleton Hiccups, Margery Cuyler
30. The Ugly Pumpkin, Dave Horowitz
31. Trick or Treat Countdown, Patricia Hubbard

Have a favorite story that's not listed here? Please share!

I'm looking forward to cozy nights, snuggled up with my kids, a good book, and
just maybe a cup of hot chocolate.

Countdown to Halloween

So I am BIG on Family Traditions! I think it's so important to create family traditions. Even if you never had them  really growing up as a kid this is your chance now to make them with your own family. I was very fortunate, being an only child to have many family traditions that I cherish. But as a mom now I want to keep the ones I grew up with and make our own as well! The holidays are seriously right around the corner! Make this time SPECIAL not HECTIC! So start planning now! We all have the same 24 hours in a day, it's what we choose do with that time which makes the difference.

Halloween is first on the list. And those of you who really know me... I absolutely LLLLOOOOVVVEE Halloween! Not the scary Halloween, I'm talking about the FUN and CUTE Halloween~ Decorating, playing all the Fun Halloween songs like "Monster Mash", "Ghost Buster's" theme song etc... ""BOO-ing" your neighbors. This is what "holidays" are all about. So this month I will be posting ALL sorts of FUN activities to do with your Family. 

If you have any Fun Halloween traditions, activities or events going on please let me know and you can email them to me at:

Bradshaw4@sbcglobal.net

So First on our list:

Halloween Activity Countdown Calendar for kids from My Delicious Ambiguity. She has a great blog that you will have to check out!

(All photos by My Delicious Ambiguity)

 

Why give your kids candy every day leading up to Halloween when you can do a Halloween inspired activity instead? I've recently made a Halloween Countdown Calendar perfect for kids of all ages which features an activity a day leading up to Halloween. These activities include crafts, games and learning activities for toddlers to elementary school aged children. All activities require little to no prep work and can be done with things you already have around the house or can acquire easily and on a budget.

To make your own you will need the following materials:
-16 regular sized envelopes (3 5/8 x 6 ½ inch)

-31 small pieces of ribbon

-4 pieces of cardstock paper

-Scissors

-Glue

-6-8 pieces of scrapbook paper

-Hole punch

Directions:

1.    Lick shut your envelopes and then cut into halves.

2.    Cut scrapbook paper to fit the front of each envelope half.

3.    Glue to the front of the envelope making sure the open end of the envelope is facing up.

4.    Print out the number template onto cardstock paper. Cut out the 31 numbers and glue a number to each envelope.

5.    Cut out the activity cards. Punch a small hole into the top of each card and tie a ribbon. Place 1 card into each envelope.

Voila! You are finished! Hang on display and let the countdown begin!

The best part of this is that you can make it once and reuse it year after year. You can also count down as many days as you want. For younger children I would probably use 10-14 days and for older children the full 31 would be fine.

If you love this idea but don't have time to come up with a calendar of this sort on your own, I'm currently selling my digital pdf file in my Etsy shopfor an introductory price of $5.00. Plus if you tweet, like on facebook, post about this product in your blog or heart my Etsy shop I will give you an extra %15 off. What a steal!


Let the Halloween countdown begin!

Owl Smores

Ok this is just so cute and soooooo easy! 

Over at Living Locurto she made these adorable and easy Owl Smores. Take a look and then check out her blog for more fun ideas!

Here is a sneak peak of an easy treat I came up with that would be super fun for Halloween, a Fall party or after school treat.

You’ll need:

• graham crackers
• marshmallows
• chocolate chips
• yellow candy melts
• candy corn

Directions:

1. Place two marshmallows on a large graham cracker (2 stuck together).
2. Put a candy melt on top of the marshmallows.
3. Heat in the microwave for about 2-5 seconds, just enough to make the marshmallows puff up, but not get too hot.
4. Take out of microwave and add a chocolate chip on the yellow candy melt and the candy corn beak while the marshmallows and candy are still warm. Everything should stick together nicely.
5. Let cool and serve! You can make these the night before a party and everything is still very tasty.

What a cute idea!

So I came across this blog: On the V Side and saw her post about making these "chic" bookmarks!

I love this cute little idea for a couple of reasons...

1.  I'm always folding corners on magazines/cookbooks for articles or pictures that I love for inspiration or in books for quotes etc.. this would be a great way to flag those.
2. You can decorate them with your favorite fabric! How fun is that?!
3. The best part it looks SUPER easy to make! This would make a great little "Thank you" gift for a friend or for your child's teacher!! Just think for a teacher you could find some cute "School" like fabric with apples or letters. How fun! I know I get excited over the little things. =)

Take a look below for her tutorial and then head on over to her blog for some more fun ideas!

(

(Pictures from "On the V side")

Looking for a great stocking stuffer for a student or your favorite bookworm? Don’t want to spend a bundle?

Have a seat. I have a DIY solution that a monkey could make. And by monkey, I mean me.

They’re chic bookmarks! Made from covered buttons. They tuck right in between your pages without being bulky, and you don’t have to worry about losing your page if you drop your book, or if a certain Redhead reaches up and grabs whatever her chubby little fingers can reach on whatever tabletop/shelf/right out of your hands and runs away with it.

I’ve also found they’re the perfect solution for marking favorite recipes in cookbooks.

My sister gave me a few of these one year, and I thought – “they’re so cute! And I can so totally make this!” So I did. :)


What you’ll need:

- hot glue gun
- covered-button kit
- fabric scraps
- paper clips

You’ll start by making covered buttons with your fabric of choice – just follow the instructions on the package. I bought mine for $2.99 at Hobby Lobby, but you can find these at pretty much any fabric store.

Trust me – WAY EASY.

Once you have your buttons, get your glue gun nice and hot. While that’s heating up, thread the paper clip through the hole in the back of the button. Play with the size to see what proportion you like the most, but I found that with the large buttons that come in your kit, a larger paper clip works best.

Lay the button flat, and fill the back of the button with hot glue. Make sure to hold the paper clip straight until the glue dries, which won’t take long.

THAT’S IT! YOU’RE DONE!

(I totally said this was going to be easy)

Peanut Butter-Cup Cookies

Peanut Butter-Cup Cookies...YUM! 

Who wants to be so kind to make some of these yummy cookies and save me one...or two...? Don't they look Yummy? I found this recipe over at  

Real Simple. 

Here's the recipe.

Enjoy!

Makes 48 cookies| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 12-ounce package small peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.
3. Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Tomorrow is the Day! The 1st Day of MOPS!

 The room is all ready, the MOPPET workers are resting up and many prayers have been prayed for each of you! Tomorrow is out 1st meeting of the MOPS year. Steering along with our Discussion Group Leaders have done much preparation for this year. We are very excited to start this new year and this new journey with each of you! Tomorrow (Tues Sept. 14th) childcare will be open at 8:45 for you to drop off your child. At 9:00 we will begin. Feed your children and come hungry and ready to meet some other incredible Moms. This year we have such a diverse group, which is VERY exciting for me! Within our Moms there are 7 different churches that join our Olive Knolls MOPS group. We have Moms of ALL ages! We have Moms that work Full-time, Part-time and then moms who work at home. The reason that this is so exciting for me is that Olive Knolls MOPS is the prime example of God's love. No matter where you come from or what you have gone through God's love will be there...Olive Knolls MOPS is a place where you will be welcomed, loved and prayed over. You will develop some incredible Friendships. I guarantee you will laugh alot and sometimes cry along this journey. But God has Big things planned with you in this ministry!

If you ever need ANYTHING please talk with one of us on steering or your Discussion Group Leader. We are here for you! Can't wait to see you all tomorrow!

Next Tuesday!!!

 

Hi MOPS Friends!

One week from today will be our first MOPS meeting! Childcare drop-off will be available at 8:45. I recommend that you try and get to the church at 8:45 considering this is a new place for alot of your little ones and might take some getting used to. MOPS will start at 9:00 upstairs. 

If you have a child in the Nursery or 1s class it will be easier for you to park in the Large parking lot. If you have 2s,3s,4s, or 5s then I would recommend parking in the smaller parking lot. Their classes will be in the Children's Chapel. 

There will also be MOPS Moms there to help you get your children to the class that they need to be in along with helping you get to the right place!    

Olive Knolls Church is located at
6201 Fruitvale Ave
Bakersfield, CA 93308
 

Remember to Feed your children but you yourself come hungry! We will have breakfast ready for you at 9:00. We look forward to starting off our MOPS year with each of you! If any of you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at:

Bradshaw4@sbcglobal.net

 

Olive Knolls MOPS- making a difference in our community and around the world. Join us this year!

Olive Knolls MOPS is not only about making a difference in our lives and the lives of our families but also making an impact on our community and the world! I'm very excited that our MOPS group will be joining Operation Christmas Child again to fill shoe boxes with gifts for children in need. It's an amazing ministry.

So start collecting those Happy Meal toys and small items that you see at the store! We will give you more information when it gets closer but I wanted to give you a heads up now so you can get CREATIVE! Start talking to your family members, friends and small groups! 

National Collection Week is November 15-22, 2010

We will have someone coming in and talking briefly with our MOPS group about the need and impact this program has! This is a GREAT way to get others involved and teach our little ones about giving. 

We (Olive Knolls MOPS ) would also like to give back within our community! So really start spreading the word. Go put a box in your garage designated specifically for toys/books to giveaway to others! Here are a few ideas on how you and your family can get involved:

• Happy Meal Toys- Every time you have those left over happy meal toys put them in that box! 
• Go through your children's gently used toys/books and add those items to your boxes! 
• School Supplies: Right now you can purchase school supplies extremely cheap! Pick up a few boxes of Crayons for less than $1. 
• Host a "charity night" with your friends and family at your home. Have everyone bring a toy or two to be donated!

One MOPS mom discovers the joy of sharing Christ's love through a simple shoebox gift. See the video below.

One more...in times of war...when families have lost it all.

If you know of a business that would like to join us in this incredible program, please contact me below.

(Photo credit above: Operation Christmas Child)