Food Fun Friday: Muddy Buddy Recipe

Today's fun kids snack is easy to prepare. How easy? Prep time is 15 minutes and then cooling time is another 15 minutes. The best part about this Muddy Buddy recipe is that kids can help with many of the steps. So get those kids in the kitchen and lets make some Muddy Buddies!

Handwriting Practice with a Dry Erase Board

Last week I was at Toys R Us and noticed they sold dry erase crayons. I didn't even know they made such a thing. I have wanted to do dry erase activities with my kids, but most markers I have found had a strong odor. The best part was there was a sale and they were buy 1 get 2 free which is perfect when you have three kids. The cashier said they have sales like every year before school starts so you might want to check you local Toys R Us to see if the sale is still going on. It was good for all kinds of crayons, markers and other Crayola items. 

When I was at the Dollar Store the other day I discovered that they sold dry erase boards. They come with a  marker that you can just remove. For $3 I now have dry erase boards for all the kids. How did we use our new items? Read on to find out...

Back to School - Healthy School Lunch Ideas

It's back to school time, perhaps the most exciting time of the year for parents. Kids are excited too as they get ready to meet new teachers and friends. But along with excitement, back to school time comes with lots of preparation. By now you've probably been shopping for school supplies. I have always loved the new supplies associated with the start of a school year. Empty notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, and unused crayons all full of possibilities for the year ahead. If you're sending your kid back to school with new clothes and supplies, don't send them back with the same old lunches. Here are some healthy school lunch ideas that will start the year off right.

Is There Something Wrong With My Child?

I think every mom at some point has asked herself "is there something wrong with my child?" It may be as an infant when the child is crying and you cannot console them - "Is there something wrong with her? Why won't she stop crying?" It may be when you noticed that your friend's similar aged baby started walking, but your shows no signs of being ready - "Is there something wrong with him? Should he be walking already?" It can be in school, when the majority of the class is reading but your child is not - "Is there something wrong with her? Why is this giving her trouble?"

Review and Giveaway: Hide and Seek Devotional book

My kids recently received a copy of Hide and Seek Devotional which was created by Stephen Elkins and published by Tommy Nelson.  This book is just full of surprises. First there is the 3D lenticular cover. When you look at it straight on the cover art shows Noah and some animals on the ark. But tilt the book a little and Noah releases a dove and the animals rejoice. My kids got such a kick out of this. They just kept tilting the book to see it happen again. Read on to see how to enter to win your own copy...

Food Fun Friday: Making Butter With Kids

I am always trying to find food that my kids will eat consistently. They are very hit or miss with things. One day they will clean something off their plates and the next day they won't touch it. Lately, I have a had a hard time getting to eat bread whether in a sandwich or as a piece of toast with breakfast. When I was grocery shopping the other day I noticed the cream in the dairy section and had the idea to get some and try my hand at making butter with kids. I have made butter in the past when I was teaching. My students always enjoyed the process and the results. I was hoping my kids would too.

Review and Giveaway: Really Woolly Bedtime Bible Promises book

Like many kids, my girls enjoy a hearing a story before bed. I am always careful in choosing these stories because I don't want something that will be frightening to the kids or leave them with a scary image in their heads. I was so pleased to receive the Really Woolly Bedtime Bible Promises book since it seemed like a perfect book to read at the end of the day.  Learn more about how you can win a copy.

Surviving a Road trip with Young Children

We just got back from a road trip to San Diego where my kids were flower girls in their uncle's wedding. San Diego is about an 8 1/2 hour drive (without traffic) from where we live. We would have flown, but airfare for the 5 of us was too pricey. So we decided to drive. This was not an easy choice for us. Our kids do not do well on long car trips. If you have ever been passed by a minivan with three screaming kids (and possibly parents) then that was probably us. 

Handwriting Practice by Tracing With Yarn

My kids have started to get interested in writing. They are still working at it and I try to find opportunities for them to engage in handwriting practice. Here is an easy and inexpensive way to do that without using a pencil or paper.

Food fun Friday: Helping Picky Eaters - Review and Giveaway of Copy-Kids DVD

If you have been reading Mess For Less for any period of time, then you know that my three kids are notoriously picky eaters. Not just your run of the mill picky either. They will even turn up their noses at  foods most kids like. In the past, I have made them their own meal while my husband and I ate our dinner. My kids are on the thin side and I was worried that they would lose more weight if presented with food they did not like. 

LeapFrog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar

My kids love to make music. So much so that we have an entire bin in our playroom dedicated to their instruments. They were very excited to add a new instrument to their collection when they received the LeapFrog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar (retails for $24.99).

We have had other toy guitars in the past, but the kids quickly grew tired of them since most have just a few buttons the kids could press to play some songs. The LeapFrog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar is unique in many aspects. First, it contains the intuitive touch technology that can recognize every touch, tap and swipe your child makes. In addition to encouraging your budding musician, the LeapFrog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar helps to develop important preschool skills such as motor skills, social play and role play. 
The LeapFrog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar made my littlest one feel like a true rock star. Using the guitar she can create over 100 musical combinations. This helps to explain why she plays with the guitar again and again. Every time is a like a new experience as she experiments playing solo or with a band. She also has the option of playing acoustic or electric guitar. When all her hard work is done there is even an applause sound to show her some love. I think she is just about ready for the big time, what do you think?

The guitar contains 10 songs, many of which are already familiar to children. My younger daughter's favorites were If You're Happy and You Know It and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Children can add in their own sounds and music using the other buttons on the guitar. This truly makes every song unique. My older daughter had such fun playing the guitar faster and faster. The faster you strum the "touch strings" the fast the tune will play. As a mom I love any to that can encourage my children to play together. This guitar is one such toy. I have found it really brings my kids together. One will play the music while the others dance and clap. It truly makes playtime a group effort as you can see below.
Why should my kids be the only ones having fun? To join in on the good times, enter the LeapFrog Touch Magic Rockin' Guitar Contest. It is so easy to enter! Just submit a video here of your child rocking out and learning with the Touch Magic or their own play guitar that you made at home. Then promote your video using Facebook and other social outlets so your friends and family can watch it and vote. Five videos that have the highest number of votes and panel selections will have a chance to win $500! The contest runs through November 30th. So what are you waiting for? Enter today! Vote daily for your favorites and you are eligable to win the weekly drawing for Touch Magic toys valued at $100. For more infomation and official rules, click here. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and was given free product by LeapFrog.  The content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

DIY Rainbow Party Ideas

So, you are thinking about throwing a rainbow birthday party for your child. Don't do it! OK, I am kidding. It can be a lot of work to put together but you don't have to use all the rainbow party ideas presented here. You can just pick one or two that seem more doable. Or you could do everything. Whether you stay simple or go elaborate, one thing is for sure: the bright colors will automatically bring a smile to your child's face. And that's really what it's all about isn't it? Here are some of the different things we did for our rainbow party.  If there is a link then it means I also have a blog post that explains the how-to aspect. Decor: Tissue Paper Pom Poms

Streamer Curtain

I attached streamers of various colors to some packing tape and hung it up using thumbtacks.

Food: We had a sweets table at our party and I made sure to have plenty of candy on hand. I tried to buy candy that was colorful and then sort it by color to make more of an impact. I found some glass jars (the type pretzel sticks might come in) a few months ago at a yard sale and used those to display the goodies. For the day of the party I added some scoops I found in the kitchen section at Target. Click here for free rainbow party printables like the ones we used. Candy Balls

Sprinkle Marshmallows

These were super easy to make and a big favorite with the kids. Get some lollipop sticks and place a marshmallow on top. Dip the top part of the marshmallow in water and roll in sprinkles. Display in some stryofoam. That's it, you're done!

Rainbow Swirl Lollipops:

I got these at Oriental Trading and tried to dress them up by placing them in styrofoam and covering the stryrofoam with some rainbow party streamers.

Rainbow Jello

Rainbow Oreos

Rainbow Cupcakes

Rainbow Cake

Add caption

Goodie Bags
I ordered some rainbow colored plastic bags from Oriental Trading and they worked out perfectly especially after we added our stickers. To print out these stickers for yourself click here. 

For the inside I ordered some rainbow Twizzlers online and got some rainbow pads and crayons from Oriental Trading.

I hope this helps you in your rainbow party planning! Let me know if you use any of these ideas. I am sure your party will turn out great.

Linking up to some of these great parties.

Food Fun Friday: Easy Rainbow Cake

I will start off by saying this cake is not as complicated as it looks. I was a little intimidated to make it since it seemed like a lot of work. But as you'll see, this easy rainbow cake is something even a novice baker can make and it is sure to be a hit at your party. Rainbow Cake Recipe: You will need:

• White cake mix (2 boxes)or your favorite recipe for white cake
• 8 or 9 inch cake pan
• Food coloring 
• Vanilla frosting
• Rainbow Sprinkles
• Cake stand

I made my rainbow cake seven colors. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. If you are using a box mix then each box will make four thin cakes. I made eight cakes and used seven for the rainbow cake. We got the eat the extra one ourselves! 

Divide the batter from one cake mix into four bowls and make each bowl a different color using food coloring. I used gel food coloring since a little goes a long way. Grease your cake pan and pour the colored batter from one of your four bowls into the pan. 

I had two pans so I was able to bake two cakes at a time. I recommend getting more than one cake pan for baking. Borrow from friends or just buy an extra. This will make the whole process go much quicker. 

These cakes cook pretty quickly because they are thin. Using the temperature suggested on the box, I baked each cake 8-10 minutes. Take them out of the oven and when they are cool, wrap them in saran wrap and pop them in the freezer. I left mine in the freezer overnight so they would be easier to work with and frost. This did not affect the taste at all.

My daughter approves of how the cake is shaping up.

When you are ready to frost the cake, take your layers out of the freezer to thaw for a little bit. Place your bottom layer on the cake stand and spread enough frosting to cover it. Then add your next layer and repeat the process until you have all your cakes stacked up. Please remember to start with the color you want on the bottom. My husband kept teasing me while I was making the cake that I got the colors in the wrong order. 

When you have all your layers on the cake, you will do a crumb coat which is basically a thin layer of frosting all around the cake that will keep the crumbs in place so they don't show up in the final layer of frosting. The top of my cake had a dome shape to it. If you don't like this or want a flat cake then slice a sliver off the top layer of the cake to make it more even.

If you are covering the top with sprinkles like I did, then you don't need to worry about having a neat final layer of frosting. If you just want the cake to be white on the outside, there are lots of great tutorials online on frosting a cake. If you will be covering the cake in sprinkles then this is good enough.

Now comes the hardest part of the cake - the sprinkles. I bought these large rainbow sprinkle balls and thought I would just shake them on and they would stick to the frosting. Boy was I wrong. When I did that, the balls all slid off the cake and went rolling everywhere. It was quite comical actually. The only thing that worked was to pour some sprinkles in my hand and literally slap my hand against the frosted cake. This was time consuming but I really like the colorful effect.

So here is where I went into full mom mode and broke out of blogger mode. I was so into the moment when we sang to my kids and cut the cake that I did not get that one spectacular photo I was hoping for. Everything just moved too fast. But here are some photos I got of the inside of the cake.

Pretty impressive, right? The party guests were really blown away by the cake and the kids loved seeing the surprise rainbow inside.

"A" could not decide between rainbow cake and a rainbow cupcake, so she had both. Hey, you only turn four once!

I was so happy that the cake tasted as good as it looked. I love frosting, and this cake had plenty of it. If you are looking to wow a crowd but are not an expert baker, try this easy rainbow cake. You will be surprised how easy this rainbow cake recipe is to make.

I was inspired by the following amazing bakers: 

One Charming Party

Smart Bottom Enterprises

Review and Giveaway: VeggieTales The Penniless Princess

My kids are big fans of VeggieTales. They love the funny characters, the catchy music and the great stories. I feel good knowing that my kids are being exposed to God's word and meaningful lessons that they can carry with them. The newest VeggieTales DVD, The Penniless Princess - God's Little Girl, is a DVD you will want to add to your collection, particularly if you have a little princess at home. The Penniless Princess will be released in Christian retailers on August 11th and to all other stores that carry DVDs on August 14th. You can also purchase the DVD on the VeggieTales website here for $14.99. From the back cover: Sweet Sara Crewe has everything a little girl could want - a loving family, lots of friends and a closet full of frilly dresses! But when life takes a turn and Sara goes from riches to rags, will she realize that her true worth lies not in what she has, but what's in her heart? Find out in this inspiring new story from VeggieTales based on the beloved classic novel "A Little Princess," that reminds kids who they are in God's eyes.
Here is a sneak peek:

There are some wonderful lessons in The Penniless Princess, as Sara learns that her worth is not dependent on circumstances. She is worthy because she is God's princess and that doesn't change like her social status. I like how the DVD managed to teach about the story of Joseph as our kids were recently learning about his life at church.

In addition to the engaging story, The Penniless Princess is packed with extras such as Singalong Songs, a tour of London and a discussion guide. There is also a new Silly Song, Best Friends Forever which you will be singing along to in no time.

The lovable VeggieTales characters really hold a child's attention. 

Even my two year old who is too young to get most of the messages, still enjoys watching and hearing the fun songs.

Thanks to our friends at VeggieTales, you can win your very own copy of The Penniless Princess to share with your little ones. Rules and entry are below. Good luck!  Open only to US residents.

Disclosure:  I was sent this product for review.  All opinions expressed are my own. I received no monetary compensation for this review.

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One Year of Messes

A year ago today (give or take a day) I started Mess For Less. You can read that first post here. I had no idea that it would still be going (and actually thriving) a year later. I started this blog on a whim with no great planning other than sharing ideas of fun things to do with your kids. It has certainly evolved since then and will continue to evolve in the future as my kids grow and our interests change.  I wanted to share with you some of my favorite posts from the past year. If you want to know the readers' favorites, you can check them out in the right sidebar. I will choose some different ones from a little further back in the archives since our readership has grown quite a bit since we began and new readers may have missed these. Shaving Cream Greeting Cards and Wrapping Paper Besides the fun sensory experience, you can make some pretty neat patterns using shaving cream, food coloring and paper. Color Drop Game Easy-to-make game using recycled objects. Kids learn color matching while practicing fine motor skills. Food Fun Friday - Fall Scene I have met some wonderful bloggers this past year and never cease to be amazed at the generosity and   creativity of the blogging community. Thanks to everyone who offered advice, answered questions and simply provided inspiration with your outstanding work. Finally, Mess For Less would be nowhere without you, the reader. Thank you for your wonderful support this past year. Thank you for trying some of my ideas and sharing your feedback. I appreciate your honesty and the time you take to write comments. I do read each one and aim to be better about responding to them on the blog. I hope to keep bringing you content that will make your lives a little easier in some way.  Here's to many more years of messy fun!