Recipe Monday: Cheesy Chicken Lasagna

I've pinned SO MANY recipes on pinterest that I thought it was time to try a new one. We tried the Cheesy Chicken Lasagna.

It took a while  to prepare. This was not an easy recipe to just throw together. So make sure you have a good 2 hours before you want to eat to make sure you have enough time to prepare it and bake it. I enjoyed it, Pastor, did not. For those of you who know Pastor, he is an extremely picky eater. He doesn't like ranch, and there is a packet of ranch in this, so I knew it was going to be a shot in the dark. It was very rich. Its going to take a while to eat it all up, so we'll probably freeze half and eat half.

Either way, not a flop of a recipe, but probably not one I'm going to add to our monthly menus.

What new recipe did you try this week?

Five Minute Friday: Song

Friday. Five Minutes. I love this.

Today's prompt is Song. 

Go. 
 #2 absolutely LOVES music. I think she gets that from BOTH sides of our families. Pastor and his dad and brother had a traveling family band. He even grew up with a recording studio in his house. How cool is that!? I know that Pastor longs to have one at our house, but right now there just simply enough space.

Anyone, song. We listen to KLOVE and Air1 a lot. It's always on in the van, if #1 doesn't ask for music, #2 does. We listen to Christian music (and kid music too) on Pandora when we are upstairs (we can stream it live from our TV, pretty cool feature, if you ask me). We listen to KLOVE when we are in the school/play room downstairs. Songs and music are always flowing and playing in our house.

I've realized it so much so, because #2 will burst out, out of no where, songs from the radio! Kids DO listen to the music you listen to. Any parent who argues otherwise, they are wrong. I used to, in my former life, before kids, listen to the pop and rock station...the ones that talk about who they slept with, what drugs they did, all that junk. Well I never really listened to the words, just liked the beat....but now that my little 2 year old repeats the songs, pretty well I might add, I have had a switch in "songs" that we listen to.

Plus those pop songs really didn't fill my cup. I want to listen to something that is going to feed my soul!

This currently is one song that is really speaking to me. Take some time and really listen to the words.

Stop. 

 

Traveling with Preschoolers - Part 2 - DIY Games

I want to start out by saying that most of these activities came from Testy Yet Trying. To find all the ways I made these, go to her site. She has excellent directions. The mazes came from this site.

I have our GAMES Bin ready to go for our big trip coming up in June!

Here's my plan of "attack" for the drive.

• Leave around 4-5am (depending on when my mom wants to get up) and hopefully the kids will SLEEP the first two hours of the trip. {However last year #1 stayed awake until LUNCH, so we'll see how this goes}
• Give the kids at busy bag - let them play for 15 - 20 minutes 
• Have the kids switch bags (if able)
• Small Snack
• Sing 4-5 songs
• Watch 30 minutes of a movie
• Repeat the whole process about 14-15 times!

Here's what I've packed in it.

 Here's what the busy bag game box looks like.

I'll be keeping this box up front with me and throughout the trip. My mom or I will hand back the busy bag rather than letting the kids go wild with the box of fun! 

 This is a paper towel roll with stickers on it, for letter (and number) recognition. I also made some smaller toilet paper rolls with the letters from their names on it!

This is a neat little button activity. I cut 2x2 pieces of felt and cut a slit in them, the kids will then button on the felt. This was geared more for #2, but I knew that if #1 didn't have one, he'd have something to say about it.

Melissa and Doug lacing cards. Always a good road trip tool!

So I recently read a review on this TWISTABLE crayons. On Amazon one lady said that her 3 year old who breaks crayons ALL. THE. TIME. was unable to break these. We'll see how they withstand the trip. I hope they live up to their review. I'll let you know when we get to our destination!

Bolts, washers, and nuts. For some fun tactile work.

I won this DVD on a blog a while back. I have been saving it for the kids, and this will be one of the NEW movies in their box. We will also be bringing Cars, Frog Prince, MANY Veggie Tale movies, Monster's Inc, Toy Story, and a few others.

Left over Valentine Stickers....because who doesn't love stickers.

 I also made 3 felt boards. One is a silly face board. It has three faces, this one is the Alien Face (don't mind my fast cutting and not being picky about the way everything looks).

 This is the rainbow board.

 The house board.

 The paint chip coloring bag.

Here's one of the I Spy Sticker books.

 The kids have to find the sticker that correlates with that page, basically sticker matching.
#2 LOVES stickers! I know this one will be well liked.

 Silly Putty Bag, debating on NOT bringing this one...because silly putty can be dangerously messy.

 Foam letter stickers with a foam pad. Each have letters for their name.

 Button sorting and stringing.

 We made Star Crayons (new post about them soon) to go with this "secret message" bag! Each kid has 4 cardboard pieces with special messages on them...I used Hot Glue to make the messages, then tapes a piece of white paper over the hot glue. The kids will do a crayon rubbing on it to see the message!

 Bead sorting

Key Matching. The kids LOVED that they will get their own "keys". I asked at Lowes if they had any extra keys they didn't want, and got these all for FREE. 

Look and Find books!
 

 I like to surprise my kids with something NEW and special every LONG trip (over 5 hours) and so this time I found some ($6 a piece, which isn't bad I thought) reusable sticker books. #1 is a HUGE Thomas fan, #2, well she's a fan of whatever #1 is, but I'm slowly introducing her to princesses and pink and all sorts of girly. The smaller books I bought thinking they'd be fun, they were only $1.35, but I thought they'd be a bit bigger. I was a little disappointed in them.

I also have some "sewing" projects I haven't completed, because I've been cleaning up PUKE the last 3 days, so pictures on those are on hold, since they are sitting at my sewing machine. I have a Popsicle color sort game, some marble mazes, and felt rings finished.

Lastly, I'm contemplating doing THIS as well. I know #1 would be able to do this, but #2 I'm not so sure...and she is a MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO child. Would you do it?

Come back next week for songs and rhymes that we'll sing to keep ourselves busy! If you missed part 1, you can find it here.

Linking up to:

Wordless Wednesday: Bestie's Birthday

Cute Art

Look at this SUPER CUTE "New Creation in Christ" craft. #1 & #2 did this in MOPPETS (the kids section of MOPS) this past week. They used band-aids and gauze and drew on the gauze to make butterflies. I don't know the whole lesson, because I'm in charge of crafts, not Moppets, but isn't this super cute. What a great way to get the point across, and who doesn't like putting band-aids on paper! I know both my kids LOVE band aids.

Happy Mother's Day

Five Minute Friday: Comfort

I'm linking up with Lisa Jo Baker today for Five Minute Friday! I will

Stop.
 Drop.
 Write for five minutes.

Comfort. 

Go. 
Everyone is comforted in a different way. Having three little people at home I see this.

#1 is comforted by tags on a blanket. He rubs the silk tag of his blanket on his chin. When he is hurt, he runs for his blanket. When he is tired, he grabs his blanket. When he wakes up (which just so happens to be right now,) he has his blanket. That is his "comfort".

#2 is comforted by her thumb. She found it at an early age, well not early enough for me. She was really fussy the first 4 months of life. She wouldn't take a pacifier (like #1 did) I pleadedwith her some nights just to take it, because it would help her sleep. Never. She NEVER liked the paci. Then she found her thumb, and still to this day at almost 3, she still finds comfort sucking her thumb.

 #3 I don't know if she's defined a comfort item yet, being only 6 months old, but if I'd have to guess, it'd be her paci. From day 5 of life (the day they found her broke leg) she's held onto that thing like it's her most precious gem.
 

 

For me, I find comfort being with my family. Whether it's Pastor, my kids, my mom, my siblings. I find comfort in knowing their love is strong for me, and no matter what they are always there. 

Yes, God is a great comforter too! 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

-Psalm 23  

Linking up with

 

Traveling with Preschoolers, Part 1 - The PLANNING.

Have I mentioned the CRAZY amount of driving the kids and I will be doing this summer? I know I've mentioned that I won't be blogging as regularly this summer. I'll try and keep up with 3 days a week...but we'll be gone for over 7 weeks this summer, so bare with me!

In the month of June ALONE we will travel  over 3700 miles. In July we'll travel we'll travel 2400 miles. We're doing this all by car van. I'm praying I don't dislike my children after these trips.

Pastor will only be traveling with us in July. We're doing the June trip solo with the help of my mom, who had the awesome idea to use her plane ticket (that she had already purchased for #3s birth, but had to change it due to her birth being scheduled later) to fly here, drive to North Dakota, Minnesota, and there around - and back, and then fly back to North Dakota, where she currently lives. Don't I have an awesome momma!?


Well, I figured since we're doing SO MUCH DRIVING that I better find ways to keep my little people entertained in the car (because watching DVDs for 14 hours, isn't the best parenting tactic, in my mind).

Now I've flown with children before...I've dug deep into how to prepare kids for a flying adventure.

I've also learned a lot about traveling with preschoolers. Like how many juice boxes NOT to give a toddler.

This trip to ND and back isn't foreign. I've done it before by myself, and have had THIS plan of attack before (not saying it didn't work, but #1 and #2 are so used to it, I need to shake it up a bit), but I'm venturing out and finding NEW things, once again!

My check list is as follows:

• Get the van inspected by Pastor - oil change, some other fluid change he told me but I can't remember what
• Buy new tires for the van - this is OVER DUE, and what better than to break new tires in on a road trip
• Make some DIY games things to keep #1 & #2 busy (coming next week!)
•  Find some songs, rhymes, and finger plays to sing with the kids (coming May 23rd)
• Plan easy snacks & meals for the car - I want to be as FRUGAL as possible while driving, so we're going to MAP out our stops with rest areas and eat there (hoping it doesn't rain).  (coming May 30th) 
• What we need to pack - both for the drive and for our stay 
• How to entertain #3 (she'll be 6 months for the trip)
•  A few sewing projects to help keep #1 & #2 from making the van look like a complete DISASTER  (coming June 6th) gotta have my momma here to help me sew. She's the pro.
• Other - you always need an other, right?

So join me in a 4 part series (The remaining Thursday's in May) as we get ready for our summer of traveling. Next week you'll see some easy DIY games that will keep your toddler and preschooler busy while you cruise down the road!

Wordless Wednesday: Scooter Fun

Mother's Day Card Idea

I have this neat little idea to make a simple Mother's Day Card. This is what 50 kids at our church will be making their moms during Children's Ministry this coming Sunday! Simple, Easy, and Great!

If you'd like my template, you can find it here.

The card is simple. I copied it on PINK card stock, and I cut them out, just because it can get a bit confusing. What you need to do, is fold it and then cut around the letters, making sure NOT to cut through the fold under the word "MOM".

 The card can read, WOW, Mom, WOW.... OR Mom, Wow, Mom!

The kids will be decorating them with markers, glitter glue, stickers, and all sorts of fun things! Simple and easy!