Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups- Simply Healthy

It's easier than you think.....

 If you have ever made applesauce before you are half of the way there.
Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups:
Step 1: Core, skin apples, and dice apples.
Step 2: Place in a pot with 1/4 cup water, add sugar if you wish and spices.
Step 3: Simmer for about 20 minutes and smash apples to make applesauce.
Step 4: Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap and spread the applesauce onto the tray.
Step 5: Bake in oven at lowest temperature, I used 160 degrees, for about 5 hours, until dry.
Step 6: Cut into strips, roll-up, and store in refrigerator until you get hungry for a snack.

Now you have a Simply Healthy snack with out all the additives, enjoy!

Recycled Bats

Take a toilet paper roll and wrap black construction paper around it, glue on the bat wings, googly eyes, and add a nose and mouth. We strung our bats from the stair railing and they look super cute. Plus, it's always nice when you can recycle those cardboard rolls, enjoy!

Grocery Store Bingo

If you want to save a lot of money in the grocery store print out this Bingo game. Your kiddos will stay busy while you look for the good coupon deals...I saved $63 thanks to the game and a little coupon savvy. You can print Grocery Store Bingo over at Let's Explore.

We played this a few times during our shopping trip, for example.
1. Cross off all the items you see.
2. Find "the color" and then cross it off.
3. First to cross off four in a row.
4. Count the number of grocery carts you see.
5. Cross off something that begins with the "the letter".
I laminated each Bingo card and gave the girls washable markers to use. This worked fine until one rolled away and became lost in the cereal section. Note to self: next time, connect the marker to the game with a piece of string.

My girls are pretty helpful during our shopping trips, but this Bingo game will always remain in my purse!

Word Puzzles

Olive really enjoys these word puzzles. They were easy to make by cutting up picture cards with words. This activity helps her identify the spelling of the word with the picture. You can click here, here, and here to find three letter words and their pictures. You can play a memory match-up, or cut them to make a word puzzle.
 

Jem enjoyed using chop sticks to move the pom-poms.

Bring On The Tooth Fairy

 Olive is a happy girl today...she lost her first tooth.

 It came out sooner than expected so I didn't have a tooth pillow made, instead she decorated an envelope.  It reads, "tooth fairy, this is your tooth."

I should mention that her tooth came out while she was eating an apple. She was so upset, she cried, and cried.  Her sister was more excited than she was at first. Olive has one more loose tooth on the bottom too. After the initial shock, she started talking about what the tooth fairy would bring her....hmmm.

She wants her tooth to be given to a little baby and $1. The tooth fairy will give her $2 and a sprinkle of fairy dust on her pillow.

Homemade Sugar Scrub- Simply Healthy

                                           Simply Healthy

                   This is the sugar scrub that I made last night and it smells heavenly.

I love this stuff....this homemade sugar scrub makes my skin feels so smooth.  Jen, over at  Paint Cut Paste, shared this wonderful recipe with me and allowed me to share it with you! Her site is full of crafty kid goodness so be sure to check it out.

 Homemade Sugar Scrub:
Gather:

1/2 cup raw sugar (the brown kind)
joboba or sweet almond oil- I used olive because I so badly wanted to make this with out running to the store.
essential oil- I used lavender

How to make:
Just cover the sugar with the carrier oil in a jar, but don't fill it beyond that, then add about 20 drops of essential oil. Close the jar, shake, and enjoy!

Pumpkins + Parts and Easy Costume Ideas

We had such a fun time decorating our miniature pumpkins with Mrs. Potato Head parts.  I started the holes on Jem's pumpkin so she could easily push her favorite parts in.  It was a lovely day to just sit on a picnic blanket and bring life back into an old toy!

Here are some fun costumes that the girls "decided to wear" over the years.

 Little Indians: I purchased the head piece and made the dress with brown felted cotton and sewed on the fringe. It was super easy to make and slipped over their heads. This was my favorite 20 minute costume to sew.

 Tinker Bells: They wore their pink leotards from dance class and green capri leggings. I purchased the wings at the $1 store and the green fairy skirt.

 Japanese Girls:  Olive loves Mulan and wore her Disney costume and Jem wore these cute Japanese pajamas. I pulled their hair back into a bun and stuck chop-sticks through it.

Angelina Ballerina: Last year Jem had a change of heart the day of Halloween and wanted to be Angelina Ballerina. She wore a pink ballet leotard with a tutu, white leg warmers, ballet slippers, and I taped paper mouse ears onto a headband.

October Sensory Tub

What fun we had with October's sensory tub! We added leaves, acorns, pom-poms, nut pumpkins, pinecones, and Jem added rocks. She started by threading the leaves onto pipe cleaners that I made into a little tree, but we picked up twigs later in the day to make a "real" tree. Happy Fall!

CSN Winner

Drum Roll Please...  The winner was chosen by "names pulled out of a hat".  I really appreciate you all taking part in CSN's giveaway. There will be more giveaways in the near future! Enjoy this lovely weekend.

Lindsay from Bytes of Memory said...
oo that apple peeler looks like so much fun!!

Now maybe you can order an apple peeler from the CSN Store, congratulations!

Apple Pie Perfection

Is your mouth watering......I love to bake, but I have never been a great pie baker, until now! I was digging around in my recipes box, or should I say pile of unorganized paper, when I found this wonderful recipe.  My favorite farmer at the farmer's market blessed us with this crate of apples. He just gave them to us because he loves hearing all the yummy things we make with his harvest, how amazing is that!

Ingredients for Grandma's Perfect Apple Pie

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 8  apples - peeled, cored and sliced Directions

Directions:  

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. 

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off. 

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft. 
Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!