Tickled! Tickle Tap iPhone Apps

BigGirl likes to play on my phone. the iPhone touchscreen is just too much fun! i have a handful of kid-friendly applications that i downloaded just for her, and i let her play when i need her to be still and quiet, like in the pediatrician's waiting room, while i'm vacuuming, or if Mama and Daddy need to have an adult conversation with no interruptions. hey, whatever works, right?!

so you can see why i was really excited to be selected to try out and review Tickle Tap Apps. Tickle Tap Apps are age-appropriate educational and interactive games for the iPhone or iPod Touch. the games are simple, colorful, and are designed to teach or reinforce sounds, numbers, colors, patterns, and shapes.

i gave Tickle Tap Apps bonus points for being developed by a leading preschool games consultant and tested by kids ages 3, 4, and 5 years old. perfect.

i downloaded two of the Tickle Tap Apps, Count Caddy and Sound Shaker. at first glance, these apps seemed too simple for BigGirl (age 4). but then i realized, iPhone apps are not really for the challenge but for the fun. so let's give it a whirl.

Sound Shaker is hilarious. i mean, we were all laughing so hard- literally tickled- by this silly game.

the child chooses which sound she wants to play with: the chime, whistle, drum, barnyard animals or mystery sounds. and then, by tapping and tilting the phone, the selected sound, depicted by a colored circle on the screen, changes audibly and visually. it's noisy, and it gets noisier the more the child taps and tilts the phone. but it's hilarious. the longer you tap in one spot on the screen, the bigger the circle gets until eventually SUPRISE! a little chick hatches and tweets across the screen. that part cracks BigGirl up every time!

Bubba thought the animal noises were fun, but mostly he wanted to grab my phone and do it himself. uh...no sir.

Count Caddy is cute, too. it focuses on counting by ones, by twos, by threes. BigGirl wasn't too crazy about this one, she didn't get past counting by ones. but Bubba loved it. he watched the screen in anticipation as the kitty cat counted her balls of yarn. he held up his fingers, counting. making me one very proud Mama.

the games teach sounds and counting, but i noticed it also helps with the child's development of coordination, concentration, spactial concepts, and small motor skills, just like the Tickle Tap App website promises.
Tickle Tap App developers zinc Roe design does all the research and testing to create the best apps for preschoolers. i thought they did a great job by making these apps simple, cute, fun, and funny, without being obnoxiously colorful or noisy, or over the top in the design sceme.
 
my kids are so tickled by the games, i'm keeping Tickle Tap Apps on my phone for sure.
 
check out Tickle Tap Apps at http://www.tickletapapps.com/ and watch video clips to see the games in motion. they're available for download online and at the iPhone App Store. download Tickle Tap Apps for your little ones to enjoy, too!
 
 
{full disclosure: i was given two promo codes to download Tickle Tap Apps for free, and asked to review them.}

i need your prayers this Thanksgiving

i'm going to get a little personal here. because i need your prayers, please.

this Thanksgiving is different. difficult.

i don't cook the turkey or ham. i'm not stressed out about recipes or side dishes. i didn't set a fancy table or even clean my house. i didn't make place cards. i didn't bake a pie.

this is the first Thanksgiving without Larry. my sweet Father-in-Law went to heaven in March, and nothing here on earth will ever be the same.

there will be tears. there will be silence.

there will be an empty seat at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

i'm staying strong. i'm going thru the motions. i'm holding up so that i can be the shoulder for my husband or my Mother-in-Law to cry on. i'm staying distracted by the children, wearing a smile for their sake, changing the subject. but it hurts on the inside. i miss him so much.

i am most thankful that God is my Father and He gives me supernatural strength to get thru times like these. i'm thankful that i can fully lean on Him to pull me, us, thru this holiday season. i'm thankful that i can call on my God to step in and fill the emptiness, and i know He will.

won't you please lift us up in your prayers this Thanksgiving?

this day is good: Sundance Square

my {beautiful} children were asked to model for a photography class at a photoshoot in Downtown Cowtown. it wasn't easy- taking pictures of children hardly ever is. the challenges we overcame included vomit, a busted lip, location violation, expired parking meters, and bitter cold wind. but they were troopers- both the kids and the photographers.

it was messy. it was lovely. it was unexpected.

i love my photographer Carleen Sparkman {yes, i claim ownership of her but you can borrow her if you want}, and the photography students in her class are oh-so-nice and great with my kids. 

and see that precious tutu my BigGirl is wearing? it's from My Little Cutie Pie, a sweet lil' Etsy boutique. i love the bold, fluffy, sparkly tulle, especially paired with dark denim and cowgirl boots. so urban chic, right? {PS: stay tuned for a My Little Cutie Pie giveaway!}

i cherish every moment with my children, especially the behind-the-scenes moments.

this day is good.

teaching Thanksgiving {free printable placemat}

beyond a day dedicated to giving thanks, what is Thanksgiving?

i wanted a date and a definition, a clear and concise origin. what i got was a can of worms. apparently the first Thanksgiving is questionable and oft debated. 

but i wanted to teach Thanksgiving this week, so i took the time and sorted through the worms to try to get to the bottom of the can.

i found some really great resources with simple explainations of what could be considered a complicated holiday.

the story of Thanksgiving, as told by Just4KidsMagazine:

The first Thanksgiving celebration in America is basically the story of the Pilgrims and their thankful community feast at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth England on a crowded ship called the Mayflower on September 6, 1620. After over 66 days of travel across the Atlantic Ocean they landed on the rocky shores of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims first winter in the new land was very hard. They lived in dirt-covered homes, there was a shortage of food, and almost half of them died.

In the Spring the Pilgrims tried to plant the wheat that they brought with them, but it would not grow in the rocky soil. They did not know how to survive in this New Land – They needed help!

The Pilgrims were dedicated Christians. They believed in praying to God, especially in times of desperate need. I am sure that it was God who sent the two friendly, English speaking Wampanoag (Wam pa NO ag) Indians named “Squanto” (SKWAN toe), and Samoset. They were hunting along the beach of Plymouth when they discovered the new settlers. They became friends, and Squanto and Samoset stayed with the Pilgrims for a few months teaching them how to survive in the new land. They taught them how to hunt, how to cultivate corn and other new vegetables, how to sap maple trees, dig and cook clams, and many other skills.

By the fall of 1621 the Pilgrims were doing much better. They were in better health, the corn had grown well, and there was enough food to last through the winter. It was their religious custom to celebrate a Feast of the Ingathering of the Harvest in November. So they decided to celebrate a Thanksgiving Feast to Thank God for their good fortune.

what the Bible says about giving thanks:

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. -1 Chronicles 16:8

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. -Psalm 105:1

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:18

"The Colors of Salvation" Indian corn craft from ChristianPreschoolPrintables.com- print this .PDF color page of Indian corn and teach the colors of salvation. you could also get real dried Indian corn (i've seen it at Target in produce) to drive home this concept.

Thanksgiving Lapbook from MyTeacherPages.com is 13 pages for a Thanksgiving themed lapbook includes a word search, multiplication problems, and vocabulary.

Memory Verses from ChristianPreschoolPrintables.com is four short Bible verses for little ones to memorize.

and i love, love, LOVE the idea of teaching table manners and table-setting etiquette this time of year. SheKnows.com has ideas for teaching and reinforcing age-appropriate manners just in time for Thanksgiving. teach children the proper way to set the table so they can be big helpers at Thanksgiving dinner. Emily Post, of course, has printable diagrams and descriptions of table settings.

i made a printable version that your child can use as a placemat or to practice setting the table. here is the free .PDF: Printable Table Setting Practice Placemat. < new link to FREE printable, no log-in required

how do you teach Thanksgiving? what resources do you use? i'd love to know!

Happy Thanksgiving!

menu planning monday: road trip snacks

my original plan was to not eat all week so that i can stuff my face guilt-free on Thursday. but there are three other people in this family that aren't on board with that idea. i guess they are hungry and need to eat every day. geesh.

with our crazy holiday travel schedule, though, turns out i only have to do dinner two nights this week. whooo-hoo! i was careful to not make anything that is remotely similar to the Thanksgiving feast. i'm thoughtful like that.

monday: mile-high tostadas, rice
tuesday: speghetti bake, steamed veggies

i did, however, have to plan for road-trip snacks and kid food to take to Grandma's house. my kids like to snack, like, 24-7. i like to be prepared so here's what i got:

-Goldfish crackers
-TLC soft cereal bars
-bananas
-Cutie oranges
-seedless grapes
-string cheese
-applesauce
-YoBaby yogurt
-graham crackers
-Saltine crackers
-HappyBaby PUFFS
-animal crackers
-soy nuts

i think we're set.

what's your pre-Thanksgiving week menu like? link up at OrgJunkie.com's Menu Planning Monday. see ya there!

sweet 'lil shoeboxes

i mentioned earlier that we would be participating again in Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child. it has become a beloved tradition as well as a lesson in giving to others, and counting our blessings.

BigGirl went on a Dollar Tree shopping spree, picking out things for a little boy and a little girl. every once in a while she'd ask if she could get something for herself, and i had to remind her that we were shopping for children who have nothing. she wavered between understanding and confusion, her attitude shifted back and forth from giving to wanting.

she packed up the boxes by herself. she wrote a sweet little note for each child, and drew them pictures of hearts, crosses, sunshines and rainbows, and folded it up just so. i saw compassion and joy overcome her.

Sarah at Real Life hosted Operation Christmas Child Carnival where bloggers shared their OCC experiences. i hope you'll consider making Operation Christmas Child part of your Christmastime tradition, too. there is more information about Operation Christmas Child on the website http://www.samaritanspurse.org/.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

-Luke 6:38

"...we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said:

'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

-Acts 20:35

autumn leaf exchange

autumn has finally settled in here in North Texas. the leaves have started falling off of the trees, covering the yard like a crunchy brown blanket. it's fun to witness the seasons change. to see leaves falling one by one. one night you go to bed with a couple of yellowish leaves on the tree, the next day you wake up and everything is orange and yellow and crispy and brown. 

the leaves are everywhere. and there are so many opportunities to learn with (& from) them. comparing and contrasting size, shape, color, and texture. leaf rubbings. leaf wreaths. leaf crafts. leaf collages. leaf prints.

one of the neatest things we did with leaves this fall was a Leaf Exchange.

i begged asked fellow homeschooling mama Kris from Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers if she would help us out and she so graciously sent us a handful of leaves that had fallen from her trees in Georgia. BigGirl thought it was the craziest and coolest thing that we got leaves in the mail!

she studied them, traced them, and compared them.

it was a really neat nature and geography lesson disguised as a pen-pal-ish exchange. thanks again, Kris!

it's Thirsty Thursday at FiveJs.com - check it out for more ideas to quench your child's thirst for knowledge.

{Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and FiveJs are both nominated for Best Eclectic Homeschooling Blogs in the 2009 Homeschool Blogs Awards. They both get my vote :) Please visit them and see why they're so wonderful, then go and cast your vote.}

i'd want them to know

i don't know her personally. we haven't met, we've never even chatted on email. i wasn't following her on Twitter, i'm not her friend on Facebook, and honestly today is the first time i've ever visited her personal blog.

but for the past 48 hours i've been talking to God about Anissa Mayhew. i've been praying for her healing and physical strength. i'm thanking God for giving her husband and children peace right now.

Anissa is an Atlanta mommy who blogs at Free Anissa.com and also writes at AimingLow.com. however. i'm getting the feeling that she is also a really special friend to many, many, MANY people in the blogging community and in the world.

she had a stroke on Tuesday and remains in the hospital. updates are being posted online by her husband, and tweeted and re-tweeted by Anissa's thousands of followers and friends. i'm following.

and i'm praying.

and i think about Anissa and her to-do list, and her three children who are wondering where she is, and her husband who has to stay so strong. and i think if it were me [God forbid], lying in a hospital bed with neurosurgens and cardiologists doing their best for me, there's some stuff that i'd want my husband and children to know. [mostly how much i love them.]

so i'm writing it down on paper, tucking it into a taped-shut envelope, and i'm putting it in my husband's dresser.

i'm praying that soon i'll get on Twitter and see an awesome praise report that Anissa is home and well. and all of her thousands of friends and followers will rejoice in the miracles of our Father God, telling everyone how He answered our prayers for many years to come.

i'm thanking God for my life and my family and my every breath. i'm thankful for His grace, protection, presence, and love. and i'm thankful for His Word that says me, my children and their children after them "may fear the LORD God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life." (Deut 6:2), and through Him my days will be many, and years will be added to my life (Prov 9:11) and "do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity." (Prov 3:1-2)

for Anissa, i will rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer, according to Romans 12:12.

[photo by Lesser Photography]

works for me: unsubscribe

not too long ago, i had to get a new email address. i'd had my other one, old familiar, for 5 years. everyone knew that one- it was easy to remember and i used it for everything.

and that became a huge problem.

i'm talking hundreds of emails a day.

[for a little nobody like me that is a lot.]

i dreaded opening my inbox. sorting the junk from the good stuff was like finding needles in haystacks. every day. deleting emails from the same senders got really old. i had subscribed to too many newsletters, groups, company or product updates, news alerts, and e-couponing services. how many daily e-devotionals does one girl need?

overwhelmed and aggitated, i opened junk email and scrolled all the way down to the unsubscribe button.

i unsubscribed to about 20 e-mail services that once upon a time i felt the need to sign up for. and it felt good. now, when i open my inbox i see emails that i want to read! overwhelmed? unsubscribe. it works for me.

it's Wednesday. you know what that means. more Works For Me at We Are THAT Family.

{photo by sosjones}

this day is good

a branch plucked from a dried up tree.

pebbles scooped up from our playground.

a clay pot leftover from Spring flowers.

construction paper leaves.

finding something to be grateful every day.

a visual reminder of the blessings in our life.

a season of thanks.

our Thankful Tree.

Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting At The Sky

Leg Huggers {winner}

Congratulations to the winner of my Leg Huggers giveaway: Lisa, from one of my favorite blogs, Moore Minutes!

I'm sure I really gave Random.org a run for it's money when I asked it to generate a number between 1 and 2. Seriously, the odds of winning a pair of CUTE AS CAN BE Leg Huggers were as good as flipping a coin and landing on heads. Or tails. 

I love giving stuff away. Congrats Lisa!

menu planning monday: winging it

it's Menu Planning Monday and i've got nothing.
zilch.
nada.

i'm winging it this week. flying by the seat of my pants. and every day this week i'll have that 4 o'clock frustration of WHAT'S FOR DINNER!?!

followed by panic as these thoughts race thru my mind: is the meat thawed? do we have tomatoes? have we had Italian this week already? do i have any Cream of Anything?

on Sunday afternoon, when i typically do my menu planning and grocery shopping, i was still reeling from our mini-holiday getaway at the Great Wolf Lodge.

and to tell you the truth, i still am. 

so, if it's recipes and menus you're looking for, let OrgJunkie.com be your next stop. see you next week!

Keepsake Fall Craft

so far this fall, this is my favorite piece of kid art. it was so easy, and yet it kept BigGirl busy for a good 30 minutes. it's beautiful- i love that her tiny hand is the tree trunk and her fingerprints are the leaves. that's what makes it a keepsake!

we used construction paper for both the trunk (brown) and the tree (green). we glued the brown tree trunk hand cut-out onto the green circle, then used orange, green, brown, and yellow tempra paint and to fingerpaint "leaves" on the tree.

do you have any fall crafts for kids to share? there's still a week left 'til Thanksgiving...get crafty! it's Thirsty Thursday at FiveJs, where we're sharing ideas to satisfy our kids' thirst for knowledge.

I {heart} Leg Huggers GIVEAWAY

last month, i was asked by Agoo to test and review a new Leg Huggers design. i was giddy when i saw them in my mailbox the day they came. giddy!

we got the "Raining Tulips" design. so cool since tulips are my favorite flower! these things are so stinkin cute, and even though Leg Huggers are typically worn by babies and toddlers, i couldn't wait to put them on BigGirl.

i had just the occassion in mind: the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure that we were going to in Austin, Texas. everyone would be dressed in pink and these were perfect.

but BigGirl couldn't wait either!

so even though i didn't want her new Leg Huggers to get dirty, i didn't say no when she wanted to wear them to soccer practice. it was a breezy fall night and the mosquitos were out in full force.

the Leg Huggers provided 1-warmth, 2-protection from bug bites, 3-extra cuteness.

they helped her hop higher, too.

i didn't want to wash them. i've washed leggings and tights before only to find them shrunken and unravelled when they come out of the dryer. but i had to wash them...they smelled like soccer practice.

thankfully, the Leg Huggers, made of 100% sustainable Bamboo, washed beautifully. the pretty little flower design didn't fade, the shape didn't change, nothing unravelled, and they were as good as new. and smelled fresh again.

she wore them at the Race for the Cure under her pink tu-tu. everyone told her she was adorable, and i think the Leg Huggers contributed to that factor. it was way better than tights or leggings because she could dress and undress herself and didn't need any extra help going potty. which i was especially thankful for because there was no way i was going into the Port-A-Potty with her.

i loved my {our} Leg Huggers experience and i certainly think they're well worth the $10. Leg Huggers are environmentally friendly, high quality, practical, adorable, easy, affordable, and it makes this Mama happy to see they even have designs for boys.

Agoo Apparel Inc is offering my readers the chance to win a pair of Leg Huggers!

to enter to win, become a fan on Leg Hugger's Facebook Page here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leg-Huggers/53757382076 
leave a comment here telling me that you are a fan of Leg Huggers by Friday 11/12. and i will announce the winner on Saturday 11/13.

works for me: Stay-in-Place Pencil

old-fashioned school desks are really cool. i was super excited to get my hands on one a couple of years ago from my Father-in-Law, who found them at an old, abandoned elementary school.

we use it every day; it's where BigGirl sits to do practically all of her school work.

the only thing is...the desk top is slanted, causing her pencils and crayons to roll all over the place. we had a pencil falling problem. it was funny at first. whoops! there goes the pencil again!
but when it was interrupting her school work because the pencil was constantly rolling off onto the floor, i had to do something.

yarn + Scotch tape + pencil = Stay-in-Place Pencil!

the tape and yarn help keep the pencil from rolling but if it does roll off or get knocked off the desk, all she has to do is reel it up. and it works for me.

if you like helpful household hints, you'll love Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

this day is good

earlier this year, DaddyHall started something new at the dinner table. before we say "amen" after praying over our meal and thanking God for our blessings, we each say something that we are especially thankful for that day.

"safe travels"
"a good job"
"good friends and good neighbors"
"health insurance"
"Polly Pockets"

it's been heart-warming and it's become my favorite part of the day.

about the same time that we added an extra ounce of graditude to our dinnertime prayer, i heard about a Blessings Box. the object of a Blessings Box, to my understanding, is to recognize and give thanks for blessings in our lives. this little red box seemed perfect for the job. i encouraged my family to jot down a blessing they're thankful for and tuck it in the box.

two weeks later, BigGirl had taken complete ownership of the little red box and hid it in a very special place for her own blessings. (it's been missing.)

i found it this morning. and what i found inside about made me cry.

two little scraps of notebook paper, precicely cut into the same size squares, with BigGirl's distinct handwriting filling up the white space.

written phonetically, just like this, on one square:

"I lik wen miy bruther fols usleep in miy arms."

and on the other:

"I lik too help stop Josh frum crying."

these are the blessings my 4-year-old put in the Blessings Box.
her little brother, even at his sleepiest and fussiest, is a blessing to her.

{and she can spell pretty good!}

my children are a blessing. i'm thankful for the Blessings Box, and grateful that i found it this morning. i'm thankful that my children can express graditude whole heartedly.

and this day is good.

Chatting at the Sky hosts Tuesdays Unwrapped, where every week we celebrate the small things. Visit Tuesdays Unwrapped to learn more and join in with an attitude of graditude.

Coincidentally, you can read about a Thankful Box at (In)Courage today. The Thankful Box is also a heart-warming way to foster grateful hearts in your family. 'Tis the season to be thankful! 

Ten on Tuesday: Hall Family Holiday Traditions

starting in just a few weeks, our holidays officially begin. i love having {and forming} traditions, and i rely on them to keep me focused in this busy season. when there's so much to do and see and places to go, i know our family's traditions are tried and true. recalling our traditions and digging up photos just remind me of how blessed we are, how thankful i am, and how much i love this time of year.

10 Hall Family Holiday Traditions

1. we take our Christmas card picture on Thanksgiving Day.
2. Christmas decorations go up the week of Thanksgiving, no sooner.

3. we have a neighborhood Thanksgiving dinner.
4. we bake or decorate Christmas cookies with our friends.

5. we fill shoeboxes for children for Operation Christmas Child.
6. we make a Jesse Tree.

7. we walk around Midwestern State U's Fantasy of Lights.

8. my children get handwritten letters from Santa.

9. we eat my mom's homemade spaghetti and garlic bread on Christmas Eve.

10. we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

that's the stuff that makes me look forward to this time of year. what traditions are you looking forward to?

thanks to OhAmanda for hosting Ten on Tuesday!

Christmas Extravaganza: Wreaths

i love front door decor. it all started when we bought our first home, this home. our sweet realtor gave us a wooden "welcome" sign, painted purple and with a big yellow flower. there was already a nail in the entryway bricks just at the right height to hang our new sign, welcoming everyone to our new home.

i have loved door signs ever since, and my collection has grown with different signs for different holidays and seasons, and anything that can hang on that nail and make people smile as they approach my front door.

last year i invested a big pretty Christmas wreath for our front door. it makes me smile, yall, and i can't wait to get it out of the attic, where it's stored safely in it's own plastic wreath storage container.

wreaths have a history, and they weren't born at a craft fair. evergreen wreaths symbolize strength, because evergreens are strong enough plants to endure harsh winters. wreaths made with pine or holly symbolize immortality, and cedar symbolizes healing. they are circular and hung on the front door as a symbol for the never-ending love of Christ. how about that?

this year i'm thinking of hanging a wreath on both sides of the door. i especially like the ones pictured here from Etsy seller AKeepersHouse

what about you? how do you adorn your front door? your entry way? Homemaking Cottage is featuring wreaths at the Christmas Extravaganza this week. check it out and be inspired!

menu plan monday: it's wild!

when i was making my grocery list yesterday, i checked the freezer to see what meats we had and needed for our weekly menu. i was looking for ground turkey, the extra lean kind that i buy every week at Target. there was none. but i saw something else, and i tried to avoid it. i tried ignoring it. but it's been there for a week and i know i have to do something with it.

there are four butcher-paper wrapped packages of ground elk in my freezer.

our neighbor, bless his heart, is a hunter and a good one, apparently. he came home from his most recent hunting excursion bearing this lovely gift for us.

and i, the vegetarian at heart and meat-phobe, have to do something with it. four pounds of it! [hold me.]

if you have any suggestions for cooking or serving ground elk meat please let me know. this is all new to me and i'm a little bit scared. i planned my menu as if everything is just normal because hubby promised me "elk tastes like everything else." and it's wild!

monday: Baked Ziti & steamed veggies

tuesday: Enchiladas & rice

wednesday: Cheeseburger Potato Pie

thursday: family night, dining out

friday: Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Baked Ziti recipe from RealMomKitchen.com
1lb ground beef (elk)

1 cup onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1 (32 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon oregano
1 (16 oz) package ziti pasta (cooked and drained)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet add ground beef, onions and garlic. Cook over medium high heat stirring frequently until the beef is browned. Stir in spaghetti sauce, chicken broth and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in 1 cup of sauce into the cooked ziti noodles. Spoon ½ of the ziti mixture into a 13×9” baking dish. Sprinkle 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese and ½ cup parmesan cheese over the top of the ziti mixture. Top with 2 cups of the sauce, then add remaining ziti mixture and top that with the remaining sauce.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Return to over and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted

Cheeseburger Potato Pie hold the bacon recipe from What's For Dinner at The Matzats
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef (or elk, in my case)

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 slices bacon
1 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
3/4 cup milk
2 cups mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided in half
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 green onions, sliced if desired (not)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, onion, ketchup, mustard and salt and mix well.
3. Press hamburger mixture in bottom and up sides of an ungreased 9 inch pie pan to cover completely. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
4. While meat mixture is baking, cook bacon until crisp.
5. Drain on paper towel, cool, and crumble.
6. Discard bacon drippings or save for another recipe.
7. In a medium sauce pan, combine water, margarine and garlic salt. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add milk. With a fork, stir in potatos.
8. Then stir in 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese.
9. Remove partially baked beef crust from oven; pour off any fat.
10. Spoon potato mixture into crust evenly.
11. Return to oven for another 10-15 minutes or until meat is thoroughly cooked, and potatoes are heated through.
12. Remove pie from oven. Top with tomato, remaining cheese and crumbled bacon.
13. Return to oven, and bake for 5 minutes longer, until cheese is melted.
14. Remove from oven, top with green onions. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

it's Menu Planning Monday @ OrgJunkie.com. check it out for more recipes and menus.

learning to lose with help from Panda

it just doesn't seem right that the first time my child plays a game that she just learned, she loses. she's a child. i want to let her win. i want her to taste it so that she'll know what she's playing for. i want her to go for it.

i'm not and never have been naturally competitive. but when it comes to my child, i want her to succeed more than i've ever wanted success for myself.

all of this emotion and realization bubbled over last weekend when my mom entered my children in a Halloween Costume Contest at a carnival.

in downtown Austin, Texas.

yall. come on. my kids, cute as they are, couldn't win a costume contest in Austin on a NORMAL day let alone Halloween. have you seen the way Austinites dress?

you should have seen them on Halloween. bizarre. outrageous. bold. colorful. beyond imagination. organic. adults and children alike were costumed to the nines. it was like a Cirque de Soile- Woodstock- Mardi Gras mashup.

my kids were characters from a Disney movie.

as cute as that is, it is not award-winning in an Autin Halloween Costume Contest. sorry, babies.

Granny was so excited about the contest, paid the entry fee, and entered my poor sweet innocent Jasmine and Abu. i knew they wouldn't win so i protected my child. i didn't tell her that she was in a contest. i didn't want her to know that she would be participating in something and she didn't even stand a chance.

through talking and waiting, and when we made them go up to the stage, BigGirl realized what was going on. she wasn't born yesterday. she was excited to prance around in front of the crowd. i was her biggest fan, oooh'ing and aaah'ing and clapping for her until my hands hurt. i eyed the judges, Austinites themselves. they smiled at the princess and the monkey, took notes, and puffed their clove cigarettes.

i distracted myself when the Costume Contest winner was being announced over the loud speaker. i went to the coffee shop to buy my babies the biggest, gooiest, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches i could find. comfort food.

BigGirl was bummed that she didn't win. i could see it in her face. she slumped over and wanted to leave. the prize wasn't even all that great, i told her. you did great and there were some really cute costumes, i said. but it just didn't seem right.

before we left the carnival i tracked down the Costume Contest emcee, Panda. he wasn't hard to find with his tinfoil panda head and sequin-covered blouse.

now, i know losing is part of life. i know that i need to teach her how to lose just as i need to teach her how to win. both lessons are important. but today she lost at a game she wasn't even prepared to play. and she looked so stinkin pretty doing so.

"Panda, don't you think Princess Jasmine is beautiful?" i asked him. fishing, maybe, but he knew what i wanted.

"Yes, of course! Where is she?" and he pranced through the crowd to find her, knealt down in front of my child's sweet face and told her that he thought she was a beautiful princess.

distraction or confirmation, compliment or embarrassment, whatever it was that he gave her, she wasn't sad about losing the contest anymore. she held her head high and smiled from ear to ear.

she learned that even though she did her best, she will sometimes lose. and i learned to let her.

Christmas Extravaganza: Snowman Craft

I'm going all out and participating in Homemaking Cottage's Christmas Extravaganza Carnival! I realize posts were linked up on Monday and I am tardy to the carnival's grand opening. So...probably not the best first impression. But I really want to do to this to challenge myself [and for your enjoyment]...

Snowmen are so cute. You know you smile when you see a snowman in someone's snowy front yard. Because you know a child made it with freezing cold hands, and tied his dad's scarf around his new snow friend, and broke limbs off the neighbor's shrubs for its arms. Am I right? Totally cute.

But here in Texas, we don't get a lot of snow, yall. Not nearly enough to make a snowman or even a snowball. And I am not complaining. Thank you, Lord, for perfect Texas winters.

So we get our snowmen jollies indoors. With glue and scissors and felt.

(image from Oriental Trading Co)

Make your own indoor-friendly snowman! This craft is a good one if you have a big chunk of time, a stash of misc. craft supplies, and an itch to be creative.

-You will need good clue to make this project "stick" - I recommend Aleene's Tacky Glue found at Hobby Lobby, Target, or even Walmart.

-While you're there, pick up some heavy duty self-adhesive magnets. This little snowman would look really cute on your fridge. Or on Grandma's.

-For snowman's body, you can use paper plates in different sizes, or you can also use round plastic reusable container lids. Like a butter tub or yogurt lid. Glue a little plate/lid on top of the bigger one.

-Cut shapes of boots, hat, scarf and mittens from felt or scrap fabric. Also cut an orange triangle for snowman's carrot nose. The more imperfect the better. Glue the hat to the top of the snowman and the boots to the bottom. Tie the scarf around his neck. Do snowmen have necks?

-On snowman's body, use real buttons if you have them, or colored pom-poms, or anything little and round in your craft stash. BigGirl wanted glittery buttons for her snowgirl so we cut out little circles and covered them with glitter. Lifesavers (the candy) would also make cute buttons.

-Use googly-eyes if you have them, or draw on eyes. Remember, Frosty had "two eyes made out of coal." Anything is going to be better than coal.

-Find some little twigs in the yard for snowman's arms. Glue your felt or fabric mittens onto the twigs. So cute!

-Add any finishing touches to the snowman that you [your children] desire. Stick a magnet or two on the back and enjoy your indoor snowman all winter long.

Join me & the Homemaking Cottage next Monday for Wreath & Christmas Home Decor ideas.