Shamrock Shakes

This picture came from http://backtoherroots.com/2011/03/17/thirsty-thursday-shamrock-shake/

It is tradition in my home to make (or buy) :) Shamrock Shakes for St. Patrick's Day. The above is not my picture as I haven't made them yet (since it's not St. Patty's Day yet) this year, and I never took pictures in past years. They are so easy to make and SOOOOO yummy. All you need is:

Vanilla Ice Cream
Milk
Mint Flavoring
Green Food Coloring

That's it! I don't measure out my ingredients. I just put enough ice cream in for our whole family and add enough milk to make it the consistency I like for shakes. Then put a TINY bit of mint flavoring. And I mean a TINY unless you want to clear your sinuses cause it is STRONG. Put 3 or 4 drops of green food coloring and you're done. They are so worth the very little effort it takes to make. And of course they're fun for St. Patricks Day. Oh yes, and you can add a dollop of whip cream on top like the girl from Back to Her Roots did in her picture. I think that will be added to our yearly tradition this year. Yum!

Clean Your Microwave in 90 Seconds

Okay, I just happened to discover a SUPER easy way to clean my microwave, by accident. So here's what you do. Get a microwave-safe dish/bowl and fill it with about an inch of water. Stick it in the microwave, close the door, and turn the microwave on high for about 3-5 minutes (or more if you added more water).

(Taken with my phone for quick upload & this picture was taken AFTER I cleaned it... clearly)

When it's done, CAREFULLY take out the hot dish with water and wipe down the walls, floor, and ceiling of the microwave with a damp cloth. The combination of the steam and heat soften the splatters and make for EASY removal of all the "junk".  The now dreaded task of cleaning my microwave is not so dreaded anymore. No more scrubbing or using chemicals to remove all the food spots. It took me about 90 seconds to wipe down my microwave sparkling clean after microwaving the water. I happened to discover this after I microwaved something with a high water content. After noticing that my microwave had steam all over it I decided to wipe it down to dry it. When I did, the food splatters just wiped off like it was a commercial or something. So there's your survival tip of the day. A super easy, and time-saver way to clean that microwave!

I'm Baaaaaack! :)

After a long needed break I am back to blogging. Just too much going on over the holidays. Now I'm ready to start blogging again. So here we go, bring it on 2012! :)

Break time

Sorry to those who check the blog. I have to take a break from posting for the holiday season. Too crazy and obviously I'm not doing too well keeping this updated with all the busy-ness. So I am going to take a break until January. See you back then!

Pretty & Practical tablecloth

Are you "surviving" the holidays still? They have only begun! A few years ago I asked for a nice tablecloth for Christmas. My husband bought me a tablecloth that I ABSOLUTELY love and I think those of you who have kids who like to spill things but you don't like to scrub out stains will appreciate this tablecloth too. You can get them at 'Bed Bath and Beyond' and I think a few different brands sell them, just look for the stain proof logo where it says liquids bead up. My kids can spill PUNCH and not only does it not stain it, it doesn't even soak into the tablecloth and get it wet. You would think that a tablecloth that doesn't soak up liquid would have to be vinyl and stiff, but these are soft and flowy and made of nice material. I will post a movie below of what happens when I pour water on it. It's awesome (it can be pretty entertaining too!). Notice how easily the tablecloth moves and how I can just soak up the water with a napkin. I could just wipe it up but I wanted you to see the napkin actually pull up the water off the tablecloth. When I'm done the tablecloth is still completely dry. Just another help to "surviving" the holidays. :)

Also, you can wash the tablecloth in the washing machine if you should get food on it. I don't know if you can get these anywhere else, but at least at Bed Bath and Beyond you can use a 20% off coupon and save yourself some money!

What To Do With All That Halloween Candy?

My kids are pretty young so we usually let them trick-or-treat up and down two streets and then we are done. This year we let them do four streets. You wouldn't think that would add up to much, but my goodness they got a lot of candy!! Their buckets were full. I am sneaking as much as I can to save their teeth from all that sugar (aren't I a loving mother?). But what else can you do with the candy? Here are some good ideas:

1. The Switch Witch. We have some friends that tell their kids they can either keep their candy or pick out 10 pieces and then leave the rest in a bag on the porch on Halloween night. During the night the Switch Witch takes the bag of candy, and in exchange she leaves a special gift such as a board game or an action figure set that they've always wanted. For a fun and elaborate story to excite them, see the story at the bottom of this list. You can change it as needed to fit how you play the Switch Witch, of course. Then you (ahem, the witch) can take that candy to do #2:

2. Sell your candy back to a dentists office. Yup. Some dentists will buy back Halloween candy by the pound. Visit the Halloween Candy Buy Back program to find a participating dentist near you. The candy is then sent to the US Military deployed in harms way. Some dentists will pay you cash (~$1 a pound), some will pay with coupons (partnered with other businesses) or free services. Check it out.

3. I have heard of people using the candy to make gifts or decorations for Christmas
                  -make wreaths
                  -gingerbread houses
                  -ornaments
                  -stockings

4. You can put it in a plastic baggie or food saver bag and put it in the freezer to save it for other holidays like Valentines day or Easter.

5. Save it for your kids school parties or birthday parties
                     -Gift bags
                     -Pinatas
                     -Prizes

6. Make a Thanksgiving or Christmas advent calendar with it.

7. Donate it to a nursing home or children's home or other place in need of a little Halloween cheer.

8. Bake with it.

The Switch Witch Story
The Switch Witch lives in Hallow Heights which is a little island in the sky by the moon. The Switch Witch loves candy.  All witches love candy, but the Switch Witch loves candy the most and she has the biggest candy stash of all the witches.  Do you know how the Switch Witch gets her gigantic candy stash?  The Switch Witch gathers most of her candy for herself and all the witches and cats on Halloween night. (Did you know that witches’ cats love candy too? They only eat milk chocolate though as it has delicious milk in it! –this is true only for witches’ cats though!).  So, here is how the Switch Witch gets her candy: late Halloween night, when all the children are sleeping, she visits the houses of children who choose to switch their candy for a toy. How does she know which ones are switching their candy in? A child puts a piece of candy on the door (of their room or house) to let her know that they want to switch.  The Switch Witch flies from building to building on her broom, with her black cat Corn (as in Candy Corn) on the back. They come in through a window. They fly in through the window with magic- the window does not need to be open.  She takes all the candy the child puts out and puts it into a sac that Corn holds open for her in his mouth.  Then she ties the candy bag to the end of the broom.  She takes out a shiny black bag that is full of toys. She leaves one toy for the child to thank them for the candy.  Then she leaves just as quickly as she came: on her broom, out to visit other children and perform more switches. By early morning, she and Corn return home to Hallow Heights where she sorts all the candy into large glass jars. That night, all the other witches come to visit and the Switch Witch doles out the candy they want.  They eat their candy with her, share stories of Halloween, hear about what toys she brought to the children and come back night after night for a treat.  You know how most pictures of witches are flying near the moon?  That’s because they are on their way to Hallow Heights to visit the Switch Witch and share in her gigantic candy stash.  By next Halloween, the Switch Witch has run out of candy and goes back out to do her switches.
(Seen on A Child Grows in Brooklyn: http://www.achildgrows.com/2009/10/21/the-switch-witch-what-to-do-with-halloween-candy/)

Happy Halloween!