Tooth Fairy Help

Well, the time has come all too soon and my little man has lost his first tooth. I did frantically complete a tooth fairy pillow but am now faced with what does the tooth fairy leave for little kids teeth these days and what does the tooth fairy do with these teeth? Any ideas?

Children, Pray Today: Day 31

Creative God, nurture our imagination so that we may discover new and exciting ways to share your good news. In the name of your son, Jesus, amen!

Children, Pray Today: Day 30

God of wonders we are excited about learning new things. Continue showering us with knowledge so that we can succeed at everything we do. In the name of your cherished son, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 29

God who loves us more than we could ever imagine, help us know our worth. Help us to feel your love in every inch of our bodies. Help us identify compassion in those that love us so that we might never doubt the need for us to be in your world. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 28

Strong, protective God that shelters us help us to feel safe so that we let ourselves try new things, dance as if no one is watching, and sing as loud as possible. In Jesus' name, amen.

Wine and Palette Fun!

A few weeks ago I receive a panicked phone call from my bestie saying, "hurry you have to sign up for this painting thing at Mama Roja's. There are only a couple of spots left so go sign up now."

"Ummm, yeah, okay I'm doing it now." I rushed to my computer, went to reserve my spot in this highly time sensitive endeavor. I got signed up with only two remaining spots, sat back, took a deep breath. Ahhhhhhh what had I done. I just signed up to take a painting class. Painting, not chalk or charcoals that can be messy and smudged...painting with all of its blending and layering and ahhhhh.

And so the day came when I painted. I embraced the letting my spirit flow through my brush and I was very pleased with the outcome. I strongly encourage everyone to find something like wine and palette, grab some friends and have a blast!

Children, Pray Today: Day 27

Dear God, help us remember that we are created perfect in your image and that you are with us always so we can be sure that we will do great things!

Recipe Wednesday: Cream Corn Homestyle

Every good southern food lover has a special place in their heart for cream corn. After going to a new "southern diner" in town I was inspired to figure out a good ol' fashioned cream corn recipe...here it is, momma style.

2 cans sweet corn
1 pck cream cheese
1tsp sugar (more or less depending on your sweet tooth)
3 tsp milk or whipping cream
1/2 stick of butter
Salt and pepper to your liking

Throw all this in a pot and cook over medium until everything is melted, combined and hot. If you like your corn thinner, add some water.

Children, Pray Today: Day 26

Caring God, help us to remember that we are not the only creatures in your world. Help us remember that the world you created is delicate and needs our help and knowledge to protect it. Guide is to be protectors of your Earth. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 25

God of infinite talents, help us discover the talents you have blessed us with and help us strengthen those talents so that we may use those talents to make your world better. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 24

Precious God, help us realize the value of friends. Helps us treat our friends with kindness and thoughtfulness so that our friends know your love. In Jesus' name, amen!

Children, Pray Today: Day 23

Friendly God, help us to see your face in the people we see, help us hear your voice in the sounds of Earth so that we might know you better. In Jesus' name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 22

I apologize for having a lapse in prayers...sick kids, principal observations, and an art class got the better of me but, life is back on track!

Patient God, forgive us when we don't pay as much attention to you as we should. Your forgiveness helps show us how much you love us which helps us forgive and love others. In Jesus' name, amen.

Peanut Butter Melts

I'm late in my recipe this week and i apologize. We've had the nasty virus running around our house. Better late than never though and I've had lots of requests for this one.

I took this recipe from a series of books I'm reading by Joanne Flunke who writes about a woman who owns a cookie store. The protagonist is always finding dead bodies which intrigues me but the cookie recipes are even better!

Preheat the oven to 375.


2 sticks of melted butter
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp molasses
1 & 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup peanut butter
2 beaten eggs
2 & 1/2 cups flour

Add sugar, vanilla, and molasses to melted butter. Stir in baking soda, powder, and salt. Mix in peanut butter, eggs, then add flour and mix well.

Form into balls and bake 12 to a sheet for 8-10 minutes. Cool on the sheet for two minutes then completely on a wire rack.

Children, Pray Today: Day 21

God who dreams and plans, help us persevere when we want to give up so that we can learn the value of working hard. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 20

Peaceful God, grant me stillness so that I might hear your voice in the birds that sing, the crickets that chirp, and the chipmunks that chatter. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 19

God who sees everything, help us to be patient (wait calmly) and help others be patient with us so that we can build long lasting friendships. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 18

Loving God who cares for all of us, help us use our words to describe our emotions so that others can learn about who we are. In Jesus' name, amen.

4 Year Old With Loose Teeth

Okay friends, I'm in a panic state and what better to do than blog about it. My husband just informed me that our 4 year old Little Man has two loose teeth. Did I mention he's FOUR and not the normal age of six? I'm a school teacher, elementary certified, they taught me how to deal with loose teeth in school...for first graders. Little Man's in pre-k.

My husband is all nonchalant about the whole thing, "well I thought it was a little early."

" Early? Yes it's early, maybe even abnormal," I think in my head because I'm trying not to share my overly negative or sarcastic comments too frequently.

My husband also states that he checked online and it was okay. Well of course online information could be wrong, so I call my mother...and look online myself...and call the dentist.

Conversation with mom goes something like this:
Me: "Noah has two loose teeth. Is that normal?"

"kind of early. I mean, I've never seen that." (my interpretation: abnormal)

This is the point at which I call the dentist trying to mask my panic.
Me: "I have a question (insert background info here). Me being the overbearing mother that I am needs to make sure I don't need to worry so could you have the Dr. call me back?"

Receptionist: "hold just a moment."

"Dr. said every child is different and he is just fine. It might take awhile for the new permanent teeth to come in or he may lose them all really quickly. She wanted me to stress not to worry."

Whew! Me back to my mom: "dentist said its okay. I still have a problem though. I'm not even done tracking Little Miss' milestones for year one and now I've got Little Man's elementary milestones to start."

Mom:"now you know why the second kid has half the pictures and a third one is out of the question"

All too true for my OCD self! I have to scrapbook! Goodbye!

Children, Pray Today: Day 17

Dear creator of the warmth and cold help us remember that all of your seasons have a purpose so that we may rejoice in your perfect creation. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 16

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Dear loving God, help us remember to love all people so that our love can change the world. Help us identify our dreams and realize that hard work and determination are the keys to helping those dreams come true. In Jesus' name, amen!

Children, Pray Today: Day 15

Little Man wrote this one (momma's just a bit proud...my heart may be swelling out of my chest as you read this)..it has been slightly edited only to meet a variety of families instead of just our own.

Dear God, thank you for all of the people and pets in my family. Thanks for all the blessings you give to us. Thank you for being in my heart so that I can do good things in your world. In your name I pray, amen.

Play Doh Fun

My daughter received a Play-Doh fun factory for Christmas and to be honest I was apprehensive.

See my Little Miss spent numerous days trying to and succeeding at eating play Doh for many, many, many months. However, she hadn't eaten any in a long time and she loves ripping things apart so it seemed the perfect gift to request for her. Today was the first day of squishing fun and I had...I mean she had a blast!

I remembered as we were playing with the fun factory that I had something similar as a child. It's the machine that squishes the play Doh out in long strings of different shapes. I remember my personal favorite being the setting with the little tiny strings and I would turn it into spaghetti or hair. It amazed me to watch my children playing with this toy that I remembered playing with as a child. My children had what seemed like the same conversations my brother and I had about what the play Doh was and to stop mixing the colors. It was a fabulous hour. Yeah for Play Doh!

Children, Pray Today: Day 14

Dear gracious God, help us to be thankful for the things that we have so that we remember what is truly important in life which is helping others. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 13

Genesis 11

All-loving God, shower us with your love and kindness so that we may understand how we should act towards all people. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 12

Miraculous God who loves all, help us be patient when we don't get what we want so that we can learn to enjoy what we have. In Jesus' name, amen.

Recipe Wednesday: Easy Turkey Pot Pie

Every year someone else makes the Thanksgiving turkey and my family just mooches off of someone else's hard work. This year was no different.

My husband and I have however had a desire to learn to roast a turkey. First attempt last year...half cooked, half frozen...no good! Second attempt sensational success, but then we were left with tons of leftovers so of course we pot pied it. We tried something new to us though and included the stuffing in the pie mix. For someone who LOVES bread/pie crusts/biscuits etc. I must say mmmmmm.

2 cups chunked turkey meat (sage and rosemary seasoned)
1 cup prepared stuffing
2 cans veg-all
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of milk
1 refrigerated pie crust

Mix the first 5 ingredients together in a round casserole dish. Top with pie crust. Poke lots of holes in the pie crust to vent steam. Cover. Bake at 350 for twenty minutes. Uncover and bake at 425 for ten minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Children, Pray Today: Day 11

Healing God, help us to be strong and courageous when those we love are sick so that we are able to care for them and help them feel better. In your son's name we pray, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 10

Healing God, help us to feel your comfort so that we may relax and heal when we are sick. In Jesus' name, amen.

Explanation of the Children, Pray Today Series

As most people have done the past couple of weeks I've been cleaning house...aka...out with the old and in with the new. In this process I came across a book of daily prayers for children. As I was reading through the prayers, I was astonished at the overly graphic language, negative images, and absence of tolerance and love in these prayers for children. I really didn't want to pray about Cain or Abel murdering his brother with my young ones...yikes!

So, I have set out on the mission of providing faith based, kid friendly prayers for families to use with their kiddoes. I'm trying to post one day ahead so they are available for the entire day. I hope that you are able to use these if nothing else as a springboard for your own prayers with your children. And if you have any other prayers you'd like to share that are kid focused, share away!

Children, Pray Today: Day 9

God who is patient, help us to be still and calm so that we may understand the awesomeness and beauty in the world that you created. In Jesus's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 8

Luke 2

Loving God, who gives us ways to learn, thank you for helping us learn about you, the same way Jesus learned about you so that we may go out and teach others about your love. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 7

Genesis 4

Heavenly God, help us remember to remain faithful so that we might be able to spread hope throughout your world. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 6

Genesis 4

Loving God, I pray that you help us learn to talk about our disagreements so that we can encourage others to work through arguments peaceably. In your son's name, amen.

Children, Pray Today: 5

Loving God who cares for us no matter what, help us to have kind hearts so that we show kindness to and be happy for our friends and family. In Jesus name, amen.

Recipe Wednesday: Molasses Crackles

In addition to my daily prayers for parents to say with their children, I've decided to TRY to do a blogpost named Recipe Wednesday where I will post a different recipe each Wednesday.  We'll see how far this goes before I run out of recipes.  Today's recipe is Molasses Crackles and Mr. Man put it best when he looked over my shoulder as I typed this out and said, "mmmmm Molasses Crackles," in that deep throaty voice that says yum.  These cookies not only taste good, they keep fresh forever (upwards of 2-3 weeks) and you can freeze them for up to 3 months (good luck keeping them around for that long).


*Dough must chill at least 2 hours though overnight works also*
3 sticks of melted butter (yes that is what makes these so delicious)
2 cups of white sugar
1/2 cup Brer Rabbit Molasses (yes the brand makes a difference)
2 fork whipped eggs
4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
4 cups of flour

Place melted butter, sugar, and molasses in a Large bowl and mix.  Let the mixture cool slightly while beating the eggs.  Add eggs, STIR, baking soda, STIR, salt, STIR, cinnamon, STIR, and nutmeg, STIR.  Add 1 cup of flour, STIR, 1 more cup of flour, STIR, 1 more cup of flour, STIR, and 1 more cup of flour, STIR.  The dough will be very stiff so hunker down and put some elbow grease in that stirring.

Cover and Refrigerate

Preheat oven to 350.  Roll dough into balls and coat with sugar, then place on a GREASED cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool a couple of minutes on the sheet and then completely cool on a wire rack.

Again, I warn you, these cookies are amazingly delicious and highly addictive.

Children, Pray Today: Day 4

Genesis 3

Loving God, open my ears to hear your knowing voice so that I may listen, hear, and act upon those things that you need me to complete whether it is caring for the Earth or caring for each other.  In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 3

Genesis 3

God who created Adam and Eve, guide us in the direction of making good choices so that we may make your world a better place. In the name of the prince of peace, amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 2

Genesis 1-2

God who created our earth, open my eyes to your plants, animals, land, and sky so that I can continue to keep your creation beautiful. In Jesus name, Amen.

Children, Pray Today: Day 1

Creator God, show us your world in all that we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch, so that we might better understand how to care for your creations. Amen.