We love doing art projects. Now that Millie isn’t going to Mother’s Day Out since quarantine I’ve been trying to do art most days even if it is watercolors on a coloring book. With Cinco de Mayo in a few days I thought this was a fun project! It is so simple but turns out so cute!
We did mommy and me handprints. You can do just their handprint, just kids, just yours, whatever you want! I thought doing a family one would be fun too!
All you need is paper- card stock is better but not necessary – green paint, a color for the flowers paint, and a Sharpie! That is it!
Start by putting some paint on a paper plate – easy clean up. Press your hand into the paint and place it gently on the paper. If you have a smaller child they will need a lot of help with this!
Next use fingers to make the extra green marks on the cactus. Then pick a flower color and use your fingerprints to make flowers using 3 dots.
You will need to let it dry. Once it is dry use your sharpie and make some cactus needles! Simple as that!
Supplies:
Paper
Green Paint
Purple, Pink, Yellow, or blue paint
Black Sharpie
SuppliesPut paint on paper plate and press your hand into it Make sure you spread the paint all overFull disclosure- we had to do this twice because the first time she smacked her hand down over and over on the paper! Use fingers to add the green knobs and the flowers on the cactus— then let dry Once it is dry add the needles with black sharpie and you’re done!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of HERSHEY® for SheSpeaks. All opinions are 100% mine.
Easter is one of my favorite holidays and every year I usually make a kids dessert. This year I have decided to do something “Egg-stra”. I am making a two-in-one dessert: decorated REESE’S Peanut Butter Eggs and rice cereal nests. Both are super simple and adorable.
Decorating the eggs is so much fun for everyone. Think of decorating Christmas cookies, but on delicious REESE’S Eggs! For this, all you need is REESE’S Eggs and icing. I bought everything I needed at Walmart and you can even use Walmart Grocery Pickup.
The kids really liked to decorate and wound up eating a lot more of the icing than I anticipated! Lol! Having a variety of colors is fun too! You could even add sprinkles or something else to make it even more Sp-egg-tacular!
For the rice cereal nests you need:
3 cups Rice Cereal
2 ½ cups mini marshmallows
2 TBSP Butter
Melt the butter in a pot on medium-low heat.
Once melted, add the marshmallows. Stir, stir, stir. Once the marshmallows have melted in, remove from heat and add your rice cereal. Stir it in. Let it cool off for about 3-4 minutes.
Get a muffin tin and spray with cooking spray so they won’t get stuck. Fill the tins and press down in the middle- making a nest shape. Let them cool to set up completely.
After they are fully cooled, use a small spatula to pop them out. Place on a decorative plate and add the decorated REESE’S Eggs to the middle!! Super cute and fun. The kids loved these. They were a big hit!
You could even put Cadbury Eggs inside the nests or use green food coloring to make the nest green! There are some fun ideas to make it different ways!
We are a family who LOVES peanut butter, so using our favorite REESE’S Peanut Butter Eggs was a no-brainer.
This recipe is easy and fun to get the kids involved too! They all love to decorate the eggs,then lick off all the icing and eat the eggs!
The past weekend the wonderful people at AC Hotels Frisco and Visit Frisco had us for a staycation. The original plan was Trevor and I were going to have a night away before this baby comes! We were going to have a nice evening- just the two of us- enjoying what Frisco has to offer. Plans changed and Millie came along too. As a very pregnant mom of a two year old I can say I wasn’t overly thrilled, but I was excited at the fact I didn’t have to leave her for 18 hrs.
We drove up to Frisco from Dallas- this is like a 35+ min drive. In the DFW area I think you kind of stay in your bubble. We live in Dallas, so we don’t travel out of our Dallas bubble often. I was thrilled when Visit Frisco and AC Hotel Frisco offered us the opportunity to do a staycation and see what Frisco has to offer!
We checked into the new AC Hotel Frisco- wow- it is new, modern, clean, and sleek. We were super impressed. As a family who likes to travel- we stay in a lot of hotels and we know what we like. We liked this hotel. Millie ran into the room and immediately took her shoes off and got comfortable. After getting settled we headed down to their lounge for a cocktail (water for me) and some tapas. The food, drinks, and service did not disappoint. The lounge is swanky and felt comfortable. After we were done we headed over to the Star Frisco.
If you don’t know what The Star is- it is the Dallas Cowboys practice center. It has bars, restaurants, shops, and office spaces. They call it Jerry World here. (Jerry Jones is the owner of the Cowboys- hence Jerry World) It was decorated for the holidays we bright blue lights on the trees (Dallas Cowboys colors). We headed to Tupelo Honey for dinner.
Tupelo Honey is a southern restaurant. It’s famous for their chicken and we can see why. I got the fried chicken biscuit and my husband got their Chimichurri chicken. We both loved our meals. Millie got mac-n-cheese and roasted carrots which she seemed to love too!
After dinner we headed back to the hotel because it was WAY past bedtime- for Millie and me! We got cozy in our beds and called it a night.
In the morning we snuggled in bed, watched the iPad, and ate our leftover cookies from the night before. There is nothing I love more than just being present with my little family. I am so happy Millie came with us. We had a wonderful time as a family of three- something that is going to change in less than 5 weeks. I want to soak up as much time as I can with having one kid. I cannot wait for our second, but I know for a while it is going to be a huge adjustment for all of us.
I cannot thank Visit Frisco and AC Hotel Frisco enough for the wonderful stay, food, drinks, goodies, and experience we had. All the hotel employees were so friendly and helpful. The hotel is one we would chose again and again. The three of us enjoyed our time and it is a memory we will have forever. I am so glad plans changed and it wasn’t a night away, but a night together.
If you come to the DFW area check out AC Hotels and Visit Frisco!
I know, I know…I’m a week late. Things have been insane at our house the past week, so this got way delayed. I still wanted to share fun ideas for the Christmas holiday. These are fun, easy, and can bring so much joy to your family.
When you were a kid you loved getting presents from Santa, but over all the years do you really remember what you got each Christmas- besides those insane gifts- Barbie Doll house for me. I don’t remember what I got most years, but I do remember baking in the kitchen, going to a fancy dinner each Christmas, seeing a holiday play each year with my best friend and our moms, I remember the experiences…not the gifts.
I try my hardest to do this with Millie. I want to give her memories and experiences- not all the material things. As we grow up we see that it’s what we remember and that is what brings a smile to my face. I am sure I got amazing gifts I was so excited about, but year and years and years later I do not remember what the gifts were.
Here is a fun list of things to do this season. I call it the 25 Days of Christmas list. Some are so simple, some take more effort or some money, but overall it is about making memories and having fun with your family at this chaotic time of year. Let me know what you decided to do off the list!!
Fall is a wonderful time of year. It gets cooler, you can snuggle up, and it seems like we spend a lot more time with friends and family. Every week is some fun event, birthdays, friendsgivings, family dinners- it is awesome. One of my favorite things, as many of you know, is entertaining. I absolutely love to cook. My father was a chef and I have always grown up in the kitchen. I truly believe that food brings people together. That is why I am so excited about Walmart’s mission this season with #WalmartCommunityTable. They are focusing on real food, organic fruits and vegetables and organic and sustainably sourced meats to help you make the best meals this season. Walmart has a wide selection of organic foods for you and yours. It makes me feel good knowing that I can purchase healthy, organic, responsibly sourced food for my family at our neighborhood Walmart.
Living in Texas we are BIG Mexican food fans. I wanted to share a recipe that I have tweaked over the years to make special for our family and friends. It is always a hit when we have people over and it is so easy to make too. I call it Pulled Verde Chicken. We usually have it on tacos, but it would be good for salads or over rice as well. It is made in the crock pot, like I said, so simple!
I have purchased all my ingredients from Walmart– organic tomatoes, onion, limes, avocado, pork tenderloin, and so on. Once I have everything gathered, I start with the meat.
I generously use salt, pepper, and cumin over the pork tenderloin. I add a small scoop of minced garlic to the crockpot. I place the pork in the pot as much in the center as possible. I cut the onion into large chunks and place it around the pork. I am not a huge onion fan, but it really does help with the flavoring on the meat. After you place the meat and onions pour the bottle of Salsa Verde over everything. Close the lid and cook on high for 1.5-2 hrs. My crockpot is very hot so sometimes I will cook if for less.
After the meat has cooked take it out and place it on a cutting board. Here you need to shred it. I use two large forks and some muscle! Once you get it all shredded you place it back into the crockpot on simmer or low for 45-60 mins. After that it is finished! So simple, right?
We usually put our meat over soft tortilla shells with
cheese, tomatoes, and avocado. You are
welcome to add anything you like too! Maybe some diced jalapenos or sour
cream! It is up to you.
This meal is simple and brings people together. The pork is tender and juicy and tastes wonderful. It is an easy meal for week nights or weekends to easily take to someone’s house or have people to your house to enjoy. Tell me do you have any cozy-go-to recipes that really bring people together? Share them below with #WalmartCommunityTable!
Recipe:
1.5 Pork Tenderloin
1 Jar- Salsa Verde
½- white onion
Minced Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
For toppings-
Tomatoes
Avocado
Monterey Jack Cheese
Sour Cream
Jalapeños
Generously salt, pepper, and cumin the pork. Add tsp of minced garlic to the crockpot. Place the pork into the crockpot close to center as possible. Slice the onions and spread around the pork. Add the whole jar of Salsa Verde. Place on high for 1/5-2 hrs. (My crockpot runs hot so I do it for about 1.5 hours) After that time take the pork out and shred it. Place the shredded pork back into the crockpot on low for 45-60mins. Serve on tortillas, over rice, or on a salad!
