Fall Bucket List {Printable}

Fall has started and it is time for another bucket list!  I started making this a long time ago and I guess I really knew what I wanted to do this year because we have already done several things on the list and fall has only been here for a few weeks!

 

Fall is my favorite season of the year.  I love fall for its cool, but still sunny weather and most of all for the pumpkin recipes and fall decor that is already starting to show up on Facebook and Pinterest!

 

I cant wait to take Miss Priss to our annual family gathering at the Robbers Cave State Park Fall Festival next week and get a nice vacation from work to enjoy the season that I love so much.  If you don't already have fall plans for your family check out my bucket list for some great ideas and feel free to print off a copy for yourself.

 

Have a great fall y'all!

Fall Bucket List

 

The link above will take you to a printable version of my Fall Bucket List. 

I used the Persnickety Prints Birds of a Feather free scrapbooking kit download to design my bucket list.  You can download this kit for free personal use here:

Birds of a Feather Free Downloads

 

You can also check out my Summer Bucket List here and my Spring Bucket List here.

Chicken Noodles {Crockpot Recipe}

Who is ready for fall?  I know that I am!  I would like to have a few more weeks to hang in the swimming pool, but I am ready for some fall weather and fall treats too.

 

I am going to start of the month of September by reminding myself of a crockpot recipe that I made for the first time last year and am ready to get back in the crockpot this year.  Chicken noodles have always been one of my favorite fall meals, but until recently I never really tried to make them on my own and with a little one running around and another on the way, I need easy meals so that we don't end up eating spaghetti O's and grilled cheeses every night!

 

this is also a great meal to make for company with some sweet cornbread on the side...yummy!  Now you are ready for a fall with a delish crockpot meal that is filling and good for the whole family.  And as always, since is it a full crockpot meal, there was plenty for my family of two and a baby for several days.  Enjoy your fall cooking!

Chicken Noodles

in the Crockpot

You will need:

• 4 carrot sticks, rinsed and chopped
• 4 celery sticks, rinsed and chopped
• 32 oz carton of chicken broth (I used leftovers from the fridge that was more then half full)
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• couple shakes of salt and pepper
• 1-1/2 tbsp of onion flake
• 1 tbsp dry basil
• 4 or 5 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
• 1/2 to 1 bag of egg noodles  

Pour the broth, cream of chicken soup, water, milk and seasonings into the crockpot and mix thoroughly.  I just eyeballed the seasoning.

 

Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.  About an hour before you are ready to eat, shred the chicken with a fork and add in all of your veggies.  Also add how ever much of the bag of noodles you prefer.  I used a little more than half the bag.

I am not a person who particularly likes celery.  I don't mind having it in potato soup, chicken noodle soup and such for flavor...it does add a great flavor to soups...but I don't like to eat it by itself and I really don't like to know that it is there by getting crunchy pieces of celery in my soup and so I prefer to add my celery at the beginning with the rest of the "wet" ingredients, but still saving my carrots for the end. 

I also like to use frozen peas and carrots sometimes rather than carrots by themselves.  Adds some green veggies and is easier and faster than cutting up fresh carrots when you are in a crunch for time...no pun intended! :)

 

Click here for a printable version. 

 

 

Crescent Roll Pizzas

I eat a lot of pizza and I mean a lot!  Besides Mexican or pasta that is about all I eat.  This is fine until I remember that Miss Priss cant have dairy and what is one of the main ingredients in pizza?  Cheese, of course!

 

I usually make her something different and then let her eat some crust because she wants to join in, but this time I decided to make her some pizza of her own.  Pizza can be good without cheese...well, at least to a toddler who doesn't know any better.  I have seen a variety of pizzas made in different ways and so I put them all together and came up with this...

 

I even snuck some diced carrots into a few of them just to see if she would notice and guess what??  She didn't even know they were there and ate them just as fast as she ate the ones without carrots.  SO not only does this mean that Miss Priss finally gets to join in on the pizza dinners, but she avoiding dairy and getting in some veggies at the same time.  You cant beat that!  I know, I know...tomato sauce is technically considered a vegetable serving, but a little extra veggies never hurt anyone.

Crescent Roll Pizzas

Servings:  8 rolls

You will need:

• 1 can reduced fat crescent rolls
• small jar of pizza sauce, you wont use it all
• mini pepperonis

Optional:

• shredded cheese
• hamburger meat or other toppings
• diced carrots 

First of all, I like to line my baking sheet with foil so that I don't have to worry about sticking when I take my pizzas out of the oven, but this is up to you.

 

Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into 8 pieces. 

Top each roll with pizza sauce and toppings.  I did two at a time and then rolled those up and started on the next two.  It really doesn't take hardly any sauce at all because as soon as you start to roll them up, sauce will start to ooze out the sides and you will loose most of it anyway.  You also want to make sure not to overdo it on the toppings for the same reason!

 

You can even use leftover pizza sauce from the family pizza or pasta since there really is very little sauce in these rolls.

 

I didn't use cheese on mine because Miss Priss cant have dairy, but by all means...add some cheese if you want to.

On these two, I added some diced carrots that were leftovers from the previous night so that they didn't go to waste and Miss Priss got in some veggies with her pizza.

Once you have them filled with toppings, roll them up just like you would a crescent roll with nothing in it and lay them out on your baking sheet.

Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.

They will be hot so make sure to let them cool before giving them to your little one.  The inside of them may be much hotter than you realize.

 

That is it...pizza for everyone...even those with little hands and diet restrictions!

 

Click here for a printable version. 

DIY Sandbox

I am always looking for the next neat thing for Miss Priss to play with and a few months ago I wanted to get her a sandbox.  I thought she would really enjoy it and it was something that would keep her occupied while we were outside doing yard work and I had been looking for some fun sensory play activities for her too.

Now, I know that they sell the turtle sandboxes with lids that are super cute, but they were about $40 the last time I checked and that is just too much for me to spend on something that is only used a portion of the year and so the best part of my sandbox is that I was able to do this for less than $20!  Are you kidding me???  Nope, less than $20 and my little one had a sandbox all to herself.  I went to Wal-Mart, where I go for everything, and bought a $10 swimming pool, 5 bags of sand and a few sandbox toys for her to play with. 

I was super excited when I brought it home and so was Miss Priss, though up until just a few weeks ago though, she didn't want to get into the sandbox!  She loved playing with the sand, but she always stood around the edge of the sandbox and just played from there rather than sitting directly in it.  She apparently doesn't like the feel of the sand on her feet...or her bottom!  (This was also the case when we took a family vacation to the beach last Thanksgiving and she screamed at the top of her lungs each time I tried to put her in the sand or even lay her on a towel in the sand!  This made for quite a nice vacation inside the condo. LOL) 

But, a few weeks ago when the neighbors came over for a cookout, the little boy down the street started playing in the sandbox and wouldn't you know...Miss Priss wanted to play in it too!  Go figure...I should have invited them over long before then.  She immediately wanted to get in as well and since then, she has been happy to get into the sandbox and get dirty.  She ends up with sand everywhere you can think of, including her face, and she loves it!

A few things to note for next time are that even though the pool in small, that sand weighs a LOT and you better put it where you want to keep it because it isn't easy to move back and forth across the patio.  This "sandbox" doesn't come with a lid and so if you are concerned about water getting into it during a heavy rain then you had better get a big piece of plastic or wood to cover the top and keep the water out.  We did this during the spring months when it was raining a lot at one time, but this summer we have left it open and just give it a few days to dry out.  It is on the covered patio and so doesn't get completely soaked, but there are days that the sand gets very wet and we try to occupy Miss Priss with something else until the sand dries out.

 DIY Sandbox

You will need:

• plastic swimming pool or tub
• bags of sand (or whatever you want to use as filler)
• sandbox toys

Optional:

• plastic or piece of wood for covering

You can do what I did and use a plastic swimming pool or you could use any other kind of plastic tub that you think your baby can get in and out of without getting hurt.  I thought the plastic pool was the easiest, but there are many things that would work for a small space and a small budget!

There isn't much to it really, just pick a spot for your sandbox and fill 'er up!  This is great for babies (that are not putting everything in their mouths) and for toddlers so can be used for several years. 

I have also heard of people using rice or beans rather than sand and so here are a few thoughts about those.  If you are putting together a box indoors, rice or beans might make it less messy and easier to cleanup than sand.  Yes, rice and beans can go everywhere too, but lets face it...have you eve tried to clean up sand (or salt)...it is NOT fun!  But if you are planning to keep your box outdoors there is a high possibility of the rice or beans getting wet and we all know what happens when water touches rice or beans...yup, they expand and they get mushy!  that would be a mess!  Keep these tips in mind when trying to decide what you would like your child to play in.

They even make colored sand, but I decided that we would probably "lose" some to the surrounding patio, the water table, and whatever else Miss Priss thinks that it needs to go into and so I didn't want to pay the additional money for the coloring.  I think that the toys are colorful enough for her.

I have seen some ideas for a covered sandbox which also can be used as seating or a play deck for the kids.  Some of them even have a roof covering to keep the sun out so that you don't have to take up space on your patio and can move it away from the house some.  Since they appear to be so versatile, I want to build Miss Priss one of these eventually, but for now our pink swimming pool will work just fine!

 

DIY Wooden Firecrackers

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays...I like summer and popping firecrackers of course.  During my long and much needed vacation from work I did a little craftiness that turned out to be better that I had anticipated!

 

my mom sent me a picture for an idea to make firecrackers from wood and we decided to start on it immediately...since it was July 2nd.  She had some wooden fence posts left over from a new fence that she had jut gotten put up and that made this project super cheap and easy.

 

We wanted to make more, but didn't have enough time before the holiday so I guess I will have to go ahead and start making them for next year!

DIY Wooden Firecrackers

You will need:

• wooden post or dowel rods (I used fence posts)
• spray paint or other paint and brush
• scrap piece of rope
• wood glue
• tape for taping off edges
• miter saw or other saw for cutting posts

Optional:

• glitter or other embellishments
• wooden stars and wire
• Cricut or other die cut machine
• paper for letters
• Modpodge and brush

Okay, so lets get started!  First of all, you will need to cut your wooden posts, dowel rods or whatever you decided to use for your firecrackers.  I used a miter saw, but whatever you had that will cut your wood will be fine.

Cut the posts into three different sizes to make a set.  We picked 12", 18" and 24" and also made a smaller miniature set with the leftover posts after cutting the others.



Then, just because they were a little rough on the edges and had been sitting outside for several weeks, we sanded all around the edges to make sure that we wouldn't get any splinters! Ouch!



Miss Priss didn't want to go to bed so she stayed up and helped us too! :)

After cutting the posts, use a drill to put a hole in the top of each one for the 'fuse'.  Make sure that you use a drill bit that is comparable to the size of rope you will be putting in that hole to make your 'fuse' and that you make the hole deep enough that you can put the fuse into it and secure it well so that it wont fall out.

 

Now start taping your firecrackers for whatever design you are going to make. 

There are several different designs that you could pick and you can see a few of ours above, but the ones that I am showing you here are for the blue on top and then red and white stripe below.

After taping, and painting and then taping and painting some more, we finally have our blocks ready to go for sanding.  As you can see, the tape doesn't always work exactly like I want it to, but that is okay because for this set we made it look 'antique' like and it worked out perfectly.

We sanded the edges of the colors where they meet as well as along the colors themselves to blend in the stripes and the bleeding paint.  the one on the left has been sanded down and the one on the right was the original paint job before sanding. 

 

See the difference?  The colors are not as bright, but the lines blend together better.

Cut three pieces of rope and fray the edges a little bit...you only have to do this on one side, but when I cut the rope, it frayed itself a little anyway so both sides look frayed.  Also make sure that you leave enough room for it to be pushed into the top of the post and still have enough of a 'fuse' hanging out the top.

Using wood glue, or whatever glue you prefer...put some glue into the holes that you have drilled on top and place the rope into the hold.  I pushed down and held the rope in place for a bit to make sure that it was getting all the way into the glue at the bottom of the hole.

You can then use a lighter to burn the tops of your rope to make it look like it has been lit already and to keep them from fraying any more.  The kind of rope that we used didn't really look much like it has been lit, but it did keep it from fraying so we decided to go ahead and do that to each one.

Design them however you would like.  We used some Modpodge and glitter on a few of ours.  My mom painted the letters on this one below, but I don't have as pretty of handwriting and so I would rather cut them out on my Cricut and Modpodge them on that way...either way would look great!

I have also seen some with wooden stars painted and attached with wire to the firecracker...I love those!

 

There you go!  I bet you never thought you would make homemade firecrackers...and that it would be so much fun! 

Summer Bucket List {Printable}

Summer time is officially here.  Well ok, not officially until June 21st, but it feels like it and I go by the weather, not the actual date.  We don't have to get all technical and stuff now do we?

 

After all of the rain, chilly weather, tornadoes and severe weather that we have been having, we have finally warmed up for more that one day at a time and so I say summer is here!  I enjoy being outside and so does my baby girl and so I want to plan some fun things for us to do this summer.

 

Even though, I have not been able to do a lot of the things on my Spring Bucket List yet, I think it is time to go ahead and pull out my Summer Bucket List.  I really want to try and accomplish everything on this list with Miss Priss and take pictures so that I can put it into a scrapbook.

 

You might notice that I put 'take family pictures' on my Spring Bucket List as well...this is because I do love pictures and I really want to be able to take lots of family pictures.  I have kept saying this, but have yet to have any actual family pictures made yet!  (If anyone knows how to get a 16 month old to cooperate with pictures please let me know.)  I WILL attempt to get some family pictures made this summer!

 

Summer Bucket List #1

Summer Bucket List #2 

The links above will take you to a printable PDF version of my Summer Bucket List.

I used the Sweet Shoppe Designs Bring On The Sunshine free scrapbooking kit download to design my bucket list.  You can download this kit for free personal use here:

 

Sweet Shoppe Designs Freebies

You can also check out my Spring Bucket List printable here. 



Grocery List {Printable}

I live by lists!  I have already created and posted a few of the ones that I have made to keep myself organized, but none of them have been used as much as this one!  I can't go to the grocery store without a list...otherwise, I end up getting things that I don't need and not getting the things that I do need.  I am sure you know what I am talking about, as I think that most people find themselves in this same situation.

 

Each Sunday, I go to the grocery store and get the things that I need for dinner and lunch for the following week and anything other household items that I might need to restock.  I typically buy the same things over and over again and so my list ends up looking the same week after week.  I decided that it was silly for me to create the same list each week and wanted to make a checklist printable so that I can just check what items I need for the week and as I run out of things or if I think of something throughout the week I can just add it to my list. 

 

I have used this week after week since I created it and it has become a staple in my weekly routine.  I printed off a small version of this and put it in my planner so that it is with me always.

 

My list has things on it that I buy frequently so that I don't have to add the same things each week, but I wanted to make it useful for others as well and I realize that not everyone wants to buy what I like to get at the store and so I created a blank grocery list form that is editable in Abode so that you can create your own customizable grocery list.  You can save your list to print off again and again and can change your list as your eating habits change or as you get more familiar with the things that you buy most often.

 

The links below will allow you to download PDF files for printing and the blank forms can be edited to create your own personal lists and allow you to change, update and reprint your list in just a few minutes!
 

 Grocery List #1

Grocery List #2

Grocery List Blank Form #1

Grocery List Blank Form #2

 

I used the Sahlin Studio This Carefree Day scrapbooking kit and Sweet Shoppe Designs A Spoonful of Sugar to design my grocery list printables. You can download these kits for free personal use here:

Sahlin Studio Freebies

Sweet Shoppe Designs

 

Here are the links to some of the other planning printables that I have created:

Party Planning Printables

Party Planning Printables #2

Activity Planning Printables