We can all use a few more hands
It’s time folks! Time to show our local officers that they are appreciated! That #bluelivesmatter and #weseeyou – AND we thank you! Head on over to check out this post from a couple weeks ago showing many of the great ideas you can do for National Police Week.
National Police Week is sneaking back up on us again! This year, it is May 10-16, 2015. I’ve been working on putting together some new ideas in addition to our law enforcement appreciations bags from last year. In the past year, so much negativity has been brought out towards our officers. Being married to one, all the hatred really hurts. There are fantastic guys and gals that go out every day to keep us all safe. It’s great to take a few days to just say thank you and offer a little token of our appreciation. Even a simple “Thank You” says a lot!
If you are looking for some great store-bought gifts for your local officers, Family Christian has a couple to consider. I recommend both the Courageous DVD and the Grace Card DVD. We have both of these and they are fantastic. I honestly don’t think I could pick a favorite between the two. Both are encouraging for not only officers, but fathers as well. Another item that I’m considering grabbing for our guys are these Beatitudes Bookmarks. People often forget the “Blessed are the peacemakers” part.
If you prefer something homemade, I’ve put together some goodies that don’t cost as much as the bags I put together last year, but I know they will still appreciate it! I’ve made some fun printables to go along with these so you can print and make as well. All you need is a printer, some small bags of chips, and some kit-kats!
To download the free printable, simply click on their name below to view and print the PDF:
Here’s a photo of the Kit-Kat one. It’s really basic but cheap enough that you could make a bunch easily.
And of course a reminder of our bags from last year:
And the printables:
Do you have any other ideas? I’d love to hear them! How are you saying “Thank You” this year?
I’m so excited to be part of the Mother of All Baby Showers, a premier new/expectant mom expo being held in 5 cities, with a virtual shower on MomTV on April 14th.
Details:
Date: Tuesday, April 14th
Time: 8:00pm EST
Location: Tune in at the MomTV Facebook Page
MomTV will be giving away awesome prize packs from brands such as BRITAX, Pediped, HALO, Premama, and more. One lucky attendee will even win the new BRITAX B-Safe 35 Infant Car Seat! How awesome is that!
If you’ve never been part of a MomTV live event, it’s a fun and easy way to chat with other moms. Simply tune in on the MomTV Facebook page and log in as a guest or with your Twitter or Facebook account to chat. Watch the live video feed and interact with Maria and guests in the chat for a chance to win exciting prizes.
I was able to participate and in the video below, you can see me opening my gift!
Make sure you’re following MOABS on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date and find out if The Mother of All Baby Showers is coming to a city near you!
Since we had such a lovely time visiting Crown Reef Resort last fall, we were eager to return to Myrtle Beach when we were invited by another resort, Captain’s Quarters! We are spending 3 nights here and then moving on to visit Fayetteville, NC for a night! Can’t wait to tell you all about our adventures in the coming days!
So I’ve been keeping a big secret from y’all! We are expecting another blessing, baby #5! I’m 11 weeks now, so come September, we should have a new family addition! We are super excited!
This means I’ll be upping my baby posts! I kinda dropped off posting them since my “baby” is 4.
Any of my readers expecting? When are you due?
Super Bowl is almost here! Here are some of my recipes that you may want to check out for your party food. For more ideas, visit the Super Bowl Food pinterest board that I created. I’d love more pinners for it as well, so if interested in adding to it, email me at mommyoctopus at gmail.com.
Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese. Perfect to fix it and forget it 🙂
Tie Dyed Marshmallows – make in your team’s favorite colors!
Homemade Sandwich Rolls – perfect for making little sliders.
Simple Radish Dip – this is a favorite among my kids! I love it, too!
3 Ingredient Guacamole – It doesn’t get easier than this! Take 5 minutes and have some fresh guac!
Avocado Eggrolls with sweet and tangy dipping sauce – another favorite around here! This one was my husband’s creation. So good!
Fresh Corn, Avocado, Tomato Medley – so simple and fresh!
Easy English Muffin Pizzas – Another family favorite that can be made in just moments.
Gluten Free Sausage Balls – The perfect addition for the friend that can’t eat gluten. Plus they are delicious!
This morning my hubby was checking out the weather app on his phone and came across this! I’d highly recommend all my local readers staying inside tonight 😉 Hope you enjoy the smile!
How adorable are these Homemade Snowman Marshmallow Straws! My friend Meghan over at JaMonkey made these and includes the recipe and directions! We have a Christmas party coming up soon and I think I may make these! I’ve never tried making marshmallows from scratch. They look fun!
We’ve made a tradition of making Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls with our family for years. We’ve even added to the fun by also making these for every birthday that a member of our family has to celebrate. The kids love knowing that they will wake up to a wonderful smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. I love knowing how easy it is to make these and I can even use my bread machine!
First up, put the following ingredients in your bread machine. Select the dough cycle and let the bread machine do it’s magic!
Dough Ingredients:
Other ingredients needed on the side:
Once done, roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface to create a large rectangle. Be sure to flour your rolling put as well so the dough doesn’t stick to it. I try to make it fairly thin.
Next, spread 3-4 tablespoons of softened butter over the entire surface of the dough. Make sure to be generous and get to all of the edges. I like to use my hands just to make sure it gets everywhere.
After it is well coated in butter, sprinkle 3/4 cup brown sugar over the entire surface. On top of the brown sugar, sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon, making sure to get it on each area of the dough. Either using your hands or a spatula, rub all the cinnamon/sugar mixture all over to coat the dough well.
Now it’s time to roll! You’ll want to start on the longest side and bit by bit, start rolling up the cinnamon rolls. Keep rolling all the way up until it’s a really long cinnamon roll. Once it’s all rolled up, you can start cutting! The thicker the slices, the taller the roll. I typically make them about 1.5-2 inches. Be sure to cut very very gently so you don’t mush the rolls.
Place in a greased pan and allow to rise in a warm place about 2 hours or until the rolls are doubled in size. It’s okay to put them close together or barely touching. I typically make my rolls at night and let them sit in the fridge covered overnight. In the morning, I pull them out around 6am and let them rise. Then into the oven around 8.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool about 5-10 minutes before frosting.
Buttercream Frosting:
Apply generously on top of still warm cinnamon rolls to allow the icing to melt and drop between the rolls. Eat and enjoy!
Excuse my giddiness, but I actually met Paula Deen! Like hugged her, talked with her, took a selfie with her, and she even met my hubby and kiddos! We had a fun media event yesterday and there was about 25 bloggers/media and Paula! It was great!
Paula was in town visiting the Guy Gunter Showroom in Atlanta and telling us about Springer Mountain Farms chicken. We were even given a goodie bag of chicken when the event was over.
When I got home last night, I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner and figured we would go ahead and throw some of the chicken on the grill. Oh my goodness, y’all! The chicken was fantabulous!
The meal Paula made was her Jambalaya. SO delicious!
It was so cute watching Paula and her hubby goof off and cook together! Aren’t they adorable!
Don’t forget about the Paula Deen Live! show that will be happening this Sunday in Atlanta! Still time to grab tickets. Find information about that here.
