Letters to my Valentine

I heart snail mail. Always have, always will! Sadly, it is a dying art form. For the day of love: Valentines Day, which also happens to be one of my favorite holidays (maybe having something to do with my birthday being the following day) I make lots of pretty things for the specials in my life.

When my daughter was born I began a series of letters to her, that I mail to our address and then stuff into a box unopened when they arrive, so one day she will have a "journal" of unopened letters all postmarked. For my son, I haven't been as diligent, but write to him in an actual journal, letters whenever I remember to (The second baby always gets jilted).

Valentine Craft

So for Valentines Day I made them each a "sustainable" felt envelope to stuff with treats, and maybe afterwards if I am feeling up to it, will add to the collection, so that they can play mailman with velcro stamps and the works.

Here's how:

For the top flap, use a new piece of felt halved, then fold in half again and cut in a jagged diagonal, rounding the top.

Cut out a triangular piece from the top piece of felt on the envelope body.

Stitch the sides and bottom first. I used a contrasting red color thread for effect.

Then add top panel and stitch straight across.

All done! Easy right?

Now to decorate...

I cut out felt names because I want to use them as place cards for the Valentine table too.

I made a quick stamp and some permanent marker lines on the front.

 

I love love love them! Hope my kiddies do too!

Love and letters,

Kerry, the Momster

scratch and sniff

I got this wonderfully easy idea from kiwicrate.com's 2 ingredient tuesdays. Non-toxic, sweet smelling(and tasting) koolaid paint. Just mix koolaid with a high concentration and paint away. But make sure you are watching the whole time or you end up soaking up berry blood-like pools off the floor like me.

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Summer Fun

My kiddies are a handful to entertain in the summer but this recipe for sidewalk paint was so easy, cheap and had them entertained for ages! Right after I plonked them in the bath and they were delighted by how the water turned colors too!

Recipe: 1 cup corstarch to 1 cup water, mixed with food colorings of your choice. Seperate into muffin tins.

Love and color,
Kerry
The momster

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Toddlers and Teaching

A little matching game I made for my lil guy today.

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Passion Pendants

This Valentine pendant decoration that I saw somewhere (but don't recall where) was really fun to make with the kids. It's pretty simple and versatile, make it as basic or complex as you like. Add more pendants,decorations or photos to it for personalization.

You need: Paper, scraps and embellishments, string and glue.

Start with A4 size paper ( or scrapbook paper made cut smaller). You can also use fabric or felt instead.

Fold in half and cut to create the point.

Decorate... these are Asher's handprints

Kaylee made hers with everything "Valentines"

Ahhh..I can't stop! More more!

Watch out for the bugaboo. He likes to grab things off the table.

Here I added a slip at the top to thread the fishing wire through.

Add caption

String it up and done!

"Love, like a river, will cut a new path
whenever it meets an obstacle."
Crystal Middlemas -

Love and hugs,
Kerry the Momster

Little kick in the butt.

Here is a fantastic workout to kick start any weight loss program, or to get you back on the exercise wagon.
Fitness Magazine's Metabolism Boosting Workout: Quick and AWEsome!

I do weights while watching TV as it's the best way to make repetitions go easily and to avoid late night noshing.
Just because you ARE a mom, doesn't mean you need to have mom butt!!


Here's the Workout

Love and little thighs,
Kerry the Momster

A Reindeers got to munch!

We made this awfully fun, terribly delicious (as in I couldn't stop eating it!) little treat called Reindeer Munch. Even though it looks like a gooey, dirty mess- well, it is- it is music to your mouth!
I used this recipe from We Got to Eat.

Reindeer Munch

 Active Cooking Time: 20 min. Total Time: 50 min.

INGREDIENTS

2 c. bite-size square-shaped rice cereal, such as Chex

2 c. thin pretzel sticks

1 c. salted cocktail peanuts (or use soy nuts)

1 c. dried cranberries

1 c. candy-coated milk-chocolate pieces, such as M&M's

12 oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating or white candy melts

 

DIRECTIONS

1. In a very large bowl combine the cereal, pretzels, peanuts, cranberries and candy pieces; set aside.

2. Chop candy coating; in a medium microwave-safe bowl melt it according to package directions. Pour over cereal mixture; toss to coat.

3. Spread mixture on a large piece of foil. Let stand until set (about 30 minutes). Break into bite-size pieces. Makes 12 cups (24 1/2-cup servings).

Dry Ingredients 

Pouring in M&Ms

Myfavorite Part:melted candy!

Messy Goodness, The candy drying.. 

Paper cone lined with wax paper.

Finished cone, sealed with a sticker 

Reindeer Munch Paper Bags, ready for the kids on Christmas Eve.

Kaylee and I then made little signs and two different packaging types. Make sure to line whatever packaging you prefer (the paper cones, or paper bags) with wax paper, as this can get messy and leave wet marks on the paper. Or if you prefer to eat most of it, whilst watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, you may join my couch potato club and do just that.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Love and little snacks,

Kerry the Momster.

If at first you don't succeed.... (Detox part 2)

By my absence you may have realized that I did not make it very far into my detox. One day! That's all !! And then to add insult to injury I receeded even more because I went on a disgustingly indulgent cruise where I ate my weight in delicious food. (More to come later on that) If you are interested in doing the detox anyway, then follow the day one plan and then....

Day 2-3:
10-12 gl water daily with lemon
no milk or dairy
fresh fruit and vegetables
no wheat, alcohol, processed sugars and caffeine

Day 4-6 
Continue with the same plan but add in some brown rice
Also continue with the supplements from Day 1.

I will be trying my hand at this again in the New Year, after the gorging of the holidays are over.

 Love and lightness,
Kerry the Momster

Please note I am not a doctor and do not attain to any safety/claims conveyed here. Please check with a doctor before starting any health regimes.

Little Liver on the Rise

I've been beating my poor little liver up with meds, and antibiotics and lots of fatty foods and partying. Think it needs a little revamp. I'm heading out on a cruise next week though so I need a quick one! So I've been delving into Liver Detox diets and kind of put a few together and made my own. It's not as nuts as Master Cleanse or anything, but I think it'll kickstart some healthy enzymes.

According to the "liver doctor" one should consume mostly raw veggies and fruit, healthy oils (fish, olive, walnut) but no fats and of course nothing processed. Then from other sites there seems to be a debate as to whether one should eat eggs and good dairy, so I have decided I will eat eggs cooked in olive oil, and only plain greek yogurt.


Here's the plan:

Day 1:(which starts tomorrow)
Lots of water with fresh lemon juice squeezed into it (10-12 glasses)
Liver supplements ( Milk thistle and Bupleurum liver cleanse)


And this in the morning:
* 8 oz all natural cranberry juice
* 56 oz pure water
* ½ tsp cinnamon
* ¼ tsp ginger and nutmeg
* ¾ cup fresh orange juice
* ¼ cup fresh lemmon juice
* SteviaPlus natural sweetener
* Ground flax seed (store in freezer)

Bring the mixture of water and cranberry juice to a soft boil. Combine cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg into a tea ball and steep it in the mixture for 15 minutes. Let it cool, then add orange and lemon juice to the mix. Add SteviaPlus for taste.

At 2 pm I will start the heavier detox, which is recommended only if you intend to stay home and rest the following day.Go  here (Method Three) for the full "how to".

You will need:

• Epsom Salts: 4 tablespoons
• Olive Oil: 1/2 cup (4 ounces) Note: Light olive oil can be used but, organic Walnut oil works just as good and has a minimal taste.
• Fresh Pink Grapefruit: 1 large or 2 small, enough to make 2/3 to 3/4 cup of juice - buy an extra one just in case.
• 1-2 large plastic straws to drink the combination with.
• A glass jar that can hold at least a pint.
• Ornithine: 4-8, to help you sleep. A liver cleanse will affect your sleep. Many people find that they do not need this.

Remember this is the hardest day and tomorrow we get to eat real food. yaaay!
So I started to ease into it today, by eating only veggies for dinner and drinking "green" juices (Naked makes yummy ones).

 Then sleeeeeep. Nice early bed time!  


Love and liver health,
Kerry the momster


PS. Will try let you know the deets from tomorrow if I'm not too dead.

hearts for pappap

A little craft we turned into a card for our beloved PapPaps birthday. Made from one of those pixos heart shapes and then glued onto cardstock. The rest is pretty self explanatory ;-). But we like how it turned out. Hope everyone is havinga wonderfully relaxing long weekend!

Love and craftiness,
Kerry the Momster

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