New Years Eve Fun

Click here for some fantastic fun for families to celebrate New Year's Eve. It has some great ideas and can be enjoyed by kids and parents! Many of us like to stick close to home on this holiday and the countdown box sounds like so much fun! You could adapt it for earlier hours in the evening if you don't plan on keeping the kiddos up late.

Family Fun is also full of good ideas for games, crafts, and recipes for NYE and NY day. Click here to check that out.

Did you know that Black-Eyed Peas are A Southern Tradition for Luck and Prosperity in the New Year? Click here for some interesting facts and ways to serve them.

Want to get out and enjoy some fun? Here are a few ideas of things going on in the Metro:

Holiday Lights Festival Fireworks Display

Omaha Children's Museum: First Night of Play We did this last year and had a blast!

The Durham Museum Noon Year's Eve Celebration

Henry Doorly Zoo Noon Year's Eve

First Night Council Bluffs

Tuesday Tunes

Mommy & Me Monday: Gingerbread Playdough

Hello, everyone! (Or "Hello, to the two or three people who might actually be reading this!"----Just kidding!) Hope you all had a blessed holiday with your family. Today's idea is still a bit Christmasy, but would be a great way to keep your kiddos entertained. As a literary tie-in to this project, consider reading some "gingerbread" books with your child. One of my favorites is Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.

I love to make scented and special playdough for my Montessori classroom. During the last week of school before break, I put out gingerbread playdough which was very popular. I posted about homemade playdough in September, but here is the basic recipe again.

Homemade playdough:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 T. vegetable oil
1 T. granulated alum OR cream of tartar
Food coloring and add-ins as desired

Stir all ingredients together in a saucepan. Once combined, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. You will continue to stir until the mixture gets really thick and dries out somewhat. If there are still "wet spots", keep stirring until those are mostly gone. Turn playdough out of pan and allow it to cool slightly. When it is cool enough to handle, knead the dough until it becomes smooth. If it is too sticky you can add in some more flour at this point. Once completely cooled, playdough can be stored in an airtight container and kept for several weeks.

To make the gingerbread playdough I made the basic recipe and added in quite a bit of ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and allspice. I don't measure, I just dump a bunch in and stir it up until I feel it is fragrant enough. For those of you who like things more specific, try adding a teaspoon of each to begin.

Below you can see how I set this up in my clasroom. I added a rolling pin, gingerbread cookie cutter, placemat and a little bowl of pony beads to use as decorations.

Here is a photo of a gingerbread man made by one of my students. This dough smells SO good, your children won't want to stop playing with it. You will probably be compelled to join in the fun as well!

Mommy & Me Monday: Christmas Morning Coffee Cake Mix

This week's idea would be a great last-minute gift idea as well as something fun to mix up and eat with your own family on Christmas morning. If you are anything like me, I am always so busy with last minute details the week before Christmas that I usually forget to plan something special for us to eat on Christmas morning. Last year right after Christmas I came across this recipe in a Country Woman magazine. I immediately thought it would be a wonderful teacher gift idea. I like to give functional or practical gifts and figured many people might enjoy having something quick, but special to whip up on Christmas morning. So.......this week my littlest boy and I made up four batches to give as gifts. (NOTE: Four batches of this recipe yielded 8 gifts to give as each batch makes two batches.) He liked helping me measure the ingredients, but he was VERY happy to help smash up the graham crackers for the topping mix. He also loved using our nut chopper to chop up the pecans. I remember chopping up nuts for my mom as a little girl. It made me feel very important to have that special job. OK.......enough rhetoric.............here's the recipe. (HERE is a link to it online.)



Christmas Morning Coffee Cake Mix



Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

2/3 cup quick-cooking oats

1/3 cup buttermilk blend powder (my husband found this at Wal-Mart)

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup shortening



Topping Mix:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon



Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Cut in shortening until mix is crumbly. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Store both mixes in separate airtight containers in a cool dry place for up to 6 months. Yield: 2 batches



To prepare:

In a large bowl combine 2 eggs, 1 cup water, and 4 1/2 cups cake mix (or half of the big batch if you've divided it up). Stir until just blended. Transfer to a greased 9-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup topping mix (or half the original batch). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.







After making my batches, I went ahead and divided each batch into two, spooning the mixes into Ziploc baggies. I labeled the baggies as you can see below.






To package these gifts, I stitched up some little fabric bags (since I love to sew and had some Christmas fabric on hand) and placed a baggie of cake mix and topping mix into each fabric bag along with a card with preparation instructions. Then I tied the top closed with ribbon. You can see some of our finished bags in the photo below. I will be sure to tell the recipients to open before Christmas. I'm also planning to make this up to eat with my family on Christmas morning. I wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember the reason for the season!!

"Catch" Santa in your home!

Moms~ an friend of mine has a great idea for some fun Santa photos...please see her ad below! What a great idea!

‎'Catch' Santa in your home and amaze your kids! I'll continue to take orders through Thursday the 23rd of December. Price is $7 by paypal. Please email with any questions! All I need is a photo of the room you want him in and I'll get the pic back to you within 24 hours! Contact Jenny at: jennystrohbehn@gmail.com

Check out her blog here as well!

Tuesday Tunes

Christmas Website Fun

Santa Claus is really excited you've come to visit, and he has the North Pole Village full of fun things to do for both kids and parents, including lots of new things this year. Check your Naughty or Nice rating. Choose your very own Elf Buddy. Play games in Elf School. Print your Honorary Elf Diploma. Sing along with new original Christmas songs. Try funny holiday recipes. Visit the amazing Toy Workshop. Send E-mail to Santa Claus. Follow Santa Claus in his sleigh on Christmas Eve. See how many cookies Santa Claus eats on his trip. Wonderful illustrations and a creative family experience. CLAUS.COM is one of the top-rated Santa Claus websites and is known around the world.

Check it out here!

Mommy & Me Monday: Handprint Santa cards

I'm pulling this project out of my archives from two years ago. CLICK HERE to read the original post with all the details and photos.

Two years ago my sons and I made these to give out to the guests who came to our house for Christmas dinner. These would also be so cute in a frame to pull out each year as a keepsake. Or they could be done on a canvas and given as a gift or saved as a keepsake.

Items Wanted- Looking for

Please email Amber if you would like to add to this list!

Janet is looking for a small computer table or desk.
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Deena is looking for a used treadmill, elliptical, and/or stationary bicycle

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Melissa is looking for legos, anything Thomas the Train, Toy Story items, G reated movies - VHS or DVDs

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Amber
is looking for any Lego or star wars toys
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Mindy is looking for a newer doorway jumper.

Also looking for some smaller Dinosaurs, little dollhouse furniture, and tractors/ fences/ farm play stuff

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For Sale

Please email Amber to add to this list.
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Leeann has a gently used bassinet to sell for $40. It's tan colored with Winnie the Pooh on it; storage underneath, has lights, music, vibrates, and a rotating mobile overhead.

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Laura has a Melissa & Doug train table, plus track and trains for sale for $75

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Hot Wheels 3 Lane Super Speedway $25- Motorized! Amber



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I have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playset that my boys don't play
with anymore that I would love to sell. It has several characters and
accessories. I am asking $25 for it; I think we paid about $60 or $70
for it new. It is in great condition. Contact Laura for more info

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Handy Manny Repair Kit plus several additional kits $50
contact Amber for info or more pics

Additional pieces besides the bench/ blueprints are :
pat and rusty
stretch and dusty (talking)
race car kit
speed boat kit
flicker (talking)
Manny's motorcycle (talking)
turner
felipe
pat- talking
rusty
felipe

Item Description-
Let's get to work. Welcome to Handy Manny's repair shop. There are tons of great projects you can do to build and fix things just like Manny does on the show. Grab your blueprints, choose a project and slide that blueprint into the diagnostic center. Next, Manny will walk you through the steps and show you how to do the project. There is a power saw and a power drill that you can use to do the projects and you can fix them when they break down. Features: -Tons of great projects you can do in Manny's Repair Shop. -Pick the blueprint you want to work on and Manny will guide you through it. -Includes over 40 parts to do the projects. -Features a fix - it power saw and a fix - it power drill to do projects. -Over 20 projects to complete. -Age: 36 months - 6 years.
•Build and fix exciting projects like Handy Manny
•Pick the blueprint you want to work on and Manny will guide you through it
•Includes over 40 parts to do the projects and 20 projects to complete
•Features a fix-it power saw and a fix-it power drill to do projects with

Tuesday Tunes

Mommy & Me Monday: CUTE Neighbor Gifts

OK...........I was SO excited to find this super-cute gift idea on the Beehive Cottage blog. In case you are wondering, I started subscribing to the Beehive Cottage blog because Maryjane, the blogger, has the most adorable restored vintage travel trailer. If you click through to her blog, check out the photos of her trailer on the sidebar. I totally want one in my backyard. It could be my own little MomCave. Anyway, I digress. I loved this idea so much that I headed to Family Dollar this week and bought all the Junior Mints they had as well as four 2-packs of stretchy magic gloves for $2 each. You can make this super-cute gifts for less than $2 each. I am going to have the boys help me make them up so they can give them to their school principals and specials teachers.


To make these, click on the link above. That will take you to the blog where you can print out the snowman face. I printed mine on regular printer paper. Depending upon what treat you want to wrap, you will need to trim the snowman printable down to fit. I chose Junior Mints because #1: I love them (having a hard time not ripping into one of the boxes, actually) and #2: They seem very minty-fresh, and, therefore, true to the Christmas season. These would also be awesome wrapped around huge chocolate bars (I actually considered this, but the mints at Family Dollar were about 25 cents cheaper) or (like Maryjane did) wrapped around packages of microwave popcorn. I just taped my wrapper on the back using Scotch tape. I will add a sticker tag with our family name.

NOTE: You could also just trim printer paper and have your child draw a snowman face and buttons. That would make this gift even more personalized.

After putting the wrapper on, pull a glove over the top like a stocking cap and tie the fingers together with a ribbon as shown. This would be a great gift with a pair of gloves. However, I am doing mine on the cheap and just using one glove per gift. That way I can make 16 gifts from only four 2-packs of gloves. (NOTE: Pamida has 2-packs of magic gloves one sale for $1.98 right now.)

Free Admission to Lauritzen Gardens

This December, Lauritzen Gardens has a special gift for you. Due to the incredible generosity of a spirited donor, the garden is offering free admission every Sunday in December!

Visitors to the garden on Sundays, December 5, 12, 19 and 26 will receive free admission to stroll the magnificent holiday show which boasts thousands of unique poinsettias including 700 situated in a 20 foot tall poinsettia tree. Adding charm and nostalgia to the exhibit are four large model trains from the garden's model railroad garden. For the first time, this year's display will include a model train line whirring overhead near the center of the display and through the poinsettia tree. The track for this train includes three bridges from the model railroad garden and a larger suspension bridge created using natural materials like twigs and branches

Community Events

Soup & Song will be held December 5th from 5-7 PM at Holy Rosary Church. Tickets are $10 each or $30 for a family. All donations from the evening will be used for utility assistance in our community. Local musicians will include the Bells of Grace (with our own Monica M.)

Humane Society Spaghetti Dinner will be held December 11th from 4-7 PM at GUMC. For more info contact the Opinion Tribune or Holly at 527 0753

GUMC Christmas Program

The Christmas Program at Grace will be December 19th at 6:30 PM. Following the program, all are welcome to gather in the fellowship hall for refreshments and a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

The title of the program is "The Christmas Program" and is the story of Jesus' birth told through poetic scripture, nativity, and song.

Advent Festival

The Grace United Methodist Church Advent Festival is Wednesday, December 8th from 4-7 p.m.

Any children ages 2 years through 6th grade are welcome to participate.

There will be several different crafts to make, cookies to decorate and eat, and shopping for Christmas presents in the Christmas Shoppe. While children are shopping for family members and friends, a tea room is available for adults to enjoy a cup of hot cider and goodies. Otherwise parents are encouraged to accompany their children during the festival. Most importantly, there will be a Nativity to visit and hear the story of baby Jesus. This is a very special time to talk to Joseph and Mary and to remember the importance of Christ’s birth. Children may bring a new gift to present Jesus which will be donated to The Love Tree.

Healthy Living with Monica Green-Connell

My name is Monica Green-Connell and Monica Mayberry has asked me to share some fitness ideas to the blog so I thought I could contribute something 1-2x/month.

My background: I have been a Physical Therapist for over 13 yrs with a focus on otpt orthopaedics, manual therapy and fitness. I am currently working on my Doctorate in Physcial Therapy. Physical Therapists are experts in musculoskeletal disorders and we are in a perfect position to promote wellness and fitness at its highest level. Our knowledge base and education outweighs any personal trainer you may have seen in the past. I am also a Strength and Conditioning Specialist certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association(NSCA), the most reputable association in the world. I was a competitive marathon runner, competing in 7 marathons with my PR of 2:59:23 in Austin TX in 2001. I am trying to get back into running competitively but it is hard to find time between work, two young boys(6yrs and 3 yrs). I was also a Division I collegiate VB player and continue to love VB and nearly all sports. We moved to Glenwood in July from Connecticut. My husband is also a Physical Therapist at the Glenwood Alegent Health Clinic in town.

I will turn to some ideas/facts that you might find helpful, and most importantly inspiring for you to incorporate fitness into your lives! FYI: I am always looking for someone to workout with …(we have an upright bike, treadmill, and weight rack with high/low pulleys in our house). I only work 2 days/wk and have a 3yr old at home that would love to play with your kids while we work out. I hope to start a running club in the Spring and maybe if there is enough interest we can start a walking club in the Spring.

The holiday season is here and that means lots of good food, drink, parties, rushing to get shopping done, etc…. Remember moderation is KEY!!!! Indulge in goodies but set a limit! Then don’t forget to exercise or at least raise your heart rate by dancing with your toddler, parking at the end of the lot, taking stairs, having a snowball fight, building snowmen with your kids…..just MOVE!!!

Most patients I see do not exercise regularly due to long hours at work, commuting, no babysitter, etc…. but ALWAYS remember if being fit is important to you, you will make it more of a priority in your schedule!

Benefits of exercise at the holiday season:
1) Exercise will help vent stressors
2) Exercise will help you sleep better and your kids too!
3) If you experience the holiday blues exercise will help you feel better mentally.
4) Exercise will help you burn off some of the extra calories ingested.
5) Bond with children through exercise on weekends or during break—your children will likely be more fit if you set a good example!!

FACTS
 65% of adolescents in US are overweight
 Nearly 97 million adults(one third of all adults) in US are overweight or obese
 Calculate BMI(body mass index) for preferred body composition assessment. To calculate: weight(lbs)/height(in)2 x703 Overweight is defined as BMI of 25 to 29.9 and obese is > 30kg/m2
 3,500 calories = one pound. So if you burned or had negative input of 3500 calories in one week you would lose one pound. Keep in mind water weight, however.
 Calories for sedentary individuals set at a minimum of 1200 for women and 1500 for men.
 Obesity could contribute to many diseases such as heart disease, peripheral artery disease, diabetes to list a few. There is even speculation of obesity being a contributing factor of breast cancer.
 Reference: Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning 2nd ed. Baechle, T & Earle, R.

NO DIET WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The most important goal for weight loss is to achieve a negative calorie balance. Portion size is most important and a focus on calorie intake. Ex. Try to eat nutrient rich foods---eat a potato instead of chips or fries. Try to eat dense foods----eat fruit, soup, lettuce---which has a high water content which will fill you up faster.

REMEMBER in your busy busy lives to take care of yourself!! You have to be healthy and happy first to take care of your kids and your family!!! 
Your beautiful body is your temple God has given you----take care of it and make healthy food and lifestyle choices!

LIVE WELL

Remember eat to live NOT live to eat!

Monica Green-Connell MSPT CSCS