Baby Bear Hat

What you need is fleece fabric, fabric glue and brown thread. It took me about 15min. I actually calculated the size of his head wrong so the picture of the hat shown is different from the one he is wearing. I ended up making 2. The difference is I added thread to the brim of the hat.  Trace a baby hat and add about an inch to the tracing if your fleece doesn't stretch.  Glue the 2 pieces together. then use a simple quick stitch w/ brown thread around the edges so it looks like you sewed it together. For the ears use a small cup for a circle. Trace it and then cut it in half.  Sew it on the outside.

interactive behavior charts

I came up with a fun idea to motivate my kids with their behavior charts.  Right now they are both having problems wetting the bed at night so it was time for mommy to get creative.  I had them paint some styrofoam balls brown and I printed out the head you could even draw it on construction paper and add eyes and beak.  The feet are toothpicks. Everytime they wake up dry they get to pick a feather of their choice and add it to their turkey.  Right now my youngest has 12 feathers after every 3 feathers they get a small reward cookies or candy and with 12 he will get a bigger reward coloring book/book to choose from.  They get so excited in the morning to pick their feather.  Last month, I did a pumpkin patch and cut out lots of pumpkins and had them glue a pumpkin onto a pumpkin patch.  Unfortunately, we will need to continue the chart for my oldest so we put cotton balls on santas beard everytime he wakes up dry.   

Cupcake craze

I LOVE these cupcake trinket boxes.  They are easy to make but take time, is there a project that exist where I can say they are easy to  make and are super easy. 

I will also be selling these at the craft fair. Wish me luck!

Wooden Bowl Art

Inspired by fabric, stationery & paper.  I really enjoy wooden bowl art! Persuaded by many friends to sell them I am going to try to make a couple more pieces and sell it at a craft fair coming up.  They are all purpose bowls and I use them all the time in my house: bread, fruit, candles, salad, candy, at parties to put napkins/forks on them etc.... I have already gifted the first one above which was one of my favorites b/c I love red and b/c of the added Tagua beads on the ends of it.

experimenting with painting my own pottery at home

Christmas time brings out the desire for me to experiment and start new projects. Its probably not the best time of the year to do this since life is already busy with the holidays all on its own and then I add my projects to it.  But busyness hasn't stopped me yet so this time I ordered some pens and paints for ceramic baking.  I must admit I was a bit nervous when it came to baking it.  I was afraid the ceramic plates wouldn't hold up and they would bust.  So far no breaking!

The paint I used was Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Ceramic paint and markers.  Since this is my first time experimenting I don't know if there is cheaper or better quality paint for ceramics but this worked fine for me.

all dressed up! baby boy onesie tie

This is one of my favorite gifts to give to friends having boys.  They are so easy to make and so fun!
Need:
a onesie
ribbon
needle and thread

Depending on the size of the onesie you cut the ribbon accordingly. You will need to pieces of cut ribbon one for the top knot and another one for the bottom.  I sewed both pieces together and b/c its ribbon I didn't need to sew any edges.  Voila you have an adorable little man onesie~

It's a Girl! Oh, wait it's a BOY!

 

Our 3rd child will soon be joining us, Lord willing, in a couple of weeks.  This past summer we went in for an ultrasound and we were told we were having a girl.  Our first 2 are boys. Alas, I was going to be able to purchase clothes with ruffles, lace and tutus.  I started to prepare her room for her arrival. I made the bedding you see above and I was so excited with the fun girly, girl bright colors I was able to choose from.  I am picky about my baby bedding print so I have always made our babies bedding.  Not to mention its very expensive to buy.  It is work but its always worth it! I really loved the flowered print that was my inspiration. 
Two months later I went in for another ultrasound and I was told it was a boy.  So I went again and was told it was a boy.  I had to have another ultrasound this past week because I switched Drs. and once again I was told it was a boy.  So a BOY it is!  We told our children of the change and my 6yr old says "Mommy why did God change his mind?" 
I finally made myself remove the baby girl bedding I worked so hard on and pack it away.  My husband asked "what was I going to do with the bedding?" I told him I wasn't ready for someone else to have it.  He encouraged me to sell it. Maybe eventually I will but after all that work I am not ready to get rid of it.

A Mother's Battle: Juggling little ones, life and your hearts passion

For years I'd been waking up in the middle of the night wondering why the Lord had given me so much vision, so much conviction for the lost but so little time, resources and energy. I'd wake up restless because my mind would not let the ideas go. This all left me feeling frustrated, confused wondering why the Lord would do this. Why would He give me this when He knew I couldn't do anything with it?
I felt like our world revolved around us, our family, our friends and our church. These are all great things but I felt like something was missing. At that time I was pregnant so I knew very well and He knew even better that there was no way I would have the time or energy to add anything else to my day. When I would share these frustrations with girlfriends they came to my rescue and explained that this was my ministry-my family and this is just how it is and when they get older it would be different.  The thought of waiting til they got older made me feel like I was going to wither away.  I didn't agree with "this is just a phase and when they get older then I can pursue these ideas" but I did agree wholeheartedly with my family being my ministry and I wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world.   Still the Lord continued to prod and gently prod as He so often does.
Well this past summer He spoke and answered my questions. The Lord opened the eyes of my heart to see all these frustrations, convictions, passion and ministry in a new way through this statement I read in my devotions "God's glory discovers us where we are." God can use me right where I am at and He doesn't need to change my circumstances.  Just my heart and how I view life. So I began to meditate on this statement on how God used Moses right where he was at in the field as a shepherd. He showed me that I needed to yield, to surrender my ideas, my passion and my conviction to Him. And only until then would I be able to cherish each moment with my children, my family and also seize the day for His glory! He said "Mari, yes I have given you a heart to serve, a heart for the lost, a mind full of ideas but you were looking at all of this through your lenses not mine, that's why you end up frustrated and confused."
"I gave you Ben and made you a wife. I gave you Ethan and Aiden and made you a mother. I gave you Jesus and made you my child. I gave you a heart for the poor, the lost. I have given  you a creative mind and the vision. Rejoice my child in all of this and use it to glorify me each day! You don't need to start a homeless shelter to help the poor all you need is to open your eyes and your heart when your out shopping. You don't need to go to Mexico to reach the lost just open your eyes when your out at the zoo or the park with your children. You don't need to be involved in everything at church so your children can see Jesus. Just treat the homeless man on the street like a person and offer him food. Mari, I want you to cherish each moment in your childrens lives and I also want you to know that you can seize the day to be Jesus, to help them see Jesus, and to allow Jesus to work through THEM." Your creativity can be used for my glory.  Just remember its going to look different and that is okay.
It's so easy to become complacent, to get use to our routine, our litte life in our little world and that is exactly what we had done.  God's glory discovers us where we are! God can use me right where I am at and He doesn't need to change my circumstances.  Just my heart and how I view life.

Wow! Tears rolled, snot flowed and my hearts burden was free when I heard these words. I realized that my children are my disciples. True discipleship is only effective if I am in the Word, fellowshipping with believers, serving others, reaching out to the lost but they go hand in hand. If I isolate one of them than my children only see a part of Jesus, the don't see all of Jesus. The hard fact is that this doesn't just happen in ones family, it doesn't just fall into place, you have to be intentional about it.

From these frustrations, confusion and God's grace was born: Mommy and Me Missions. http://www.mommyandmemissions.com/
 
This was written back in 2007 and three years later I can say I am a changed woman because He whispered those words of grace to me and showed me this truth.  And since then I continue to share with other moms that we can do so much for Him with our children if we start with thinking in small acts of random kindness. And I purposely put in their "random" because sometimes we can't stick to a routine because life gets overwhelming when we have little ones and life to juggle.  Whatever you do don't say to yourself "I just can't do this right now but maybe when my kids get a little bit older". Find small ways to incorporate your hearts passion into your life even if it means that a project that normally would of taken you 2 days is now taking you months.  Find ways to incorporate your children into that passion it may take longer, it may not turn out perfectly but they get to see what gives mommy life outside of their smiling faces.  When my first born arrived into this world my devotional time started to look differently. It took me all day. It literally was layed out on my kitchen counter all day and when I had a couple of minutes I would read another couple of sentences.  Sometimes I would read the scripture part of it out loud at breakfast and as they got older I would tell them "hold on buddy I have a couple of more verses to go and then I can help you."  Was this my ideal way of doing my "quiet" time? Absolutely not, but I learned early on that LIFE WAS GOING TO LOOK DIFFERENT WITH CHILDREN and this was the only way I could incorporate those things that were important in my life and made me come alive.  Press on my sister, press on! ~Dream big but do it small and little by little~

My new fall color scheme!

My new fall color scheme!
Our fall decor this year is a large pumpkin that says "Count your Blessings" written with a sharpie and a small pumpkin next to it that we use at dinner time to write what were thankful for each day (see pic. above), on the table we have a table runner w/ fall colors and 3 candle holders and instead of candles I placed Eucalyptus balls on them. I made them last year with spanish moss and eucalyptus buds.

Flowers: I put in a large vase sunflowers and some filler flower that had small orange buds on them. That is actually at the entrance of our home but the pic. above is from our pumpkin party.

Pumpkin Party

We don't live any where near a pumpkin patch nor do we have the season "fall" in this country. So as foreigners one of the things we try to do is still keep our traditions and fun parties to make home more homey.  Above are pictures of our Pumpkin Patch Party that we have hosted for the 2nd year and its a big hit for our other missionary friends and our new ecuadorian friends.

Set out hay and pumpkins in a corner of the room.  The food table has a banner I made that says "Peek-a-Boo".  I throw out faux fall leaves all over the room.  black and orange streamer hanging from the door.
Games to play:
-Donut bobbing- we hung powdered donuts to some string on a stick and blindfolded the kids. It was hilarious to watch them try to bite the donut..
-Hot pumpkin- pass the pumpkin around and when the music stops the one holding the pumpkin goes out.
- mummy wrap- have two teams. one person is the mummy and the other is the wrapper. See who wraps up the person first like a mummy.
-photo booth- we had lots of props out and hung a frame from the ceiling for the kids to take silly pictures.  made mustache props, lips and set out wigs, scarves, hats etc.....

Easy Craft- Spider candle craft
small pumpkin
googly eyes,
black pipe cleaners
tea candle
craft glue
We prepped them prior to guest arriving by gutting them and poking holes on the side for the legs. Glue eyes, cut pipe cleaners evenly for legs and poke them in and stick candle on top. Voila easy craft!

Food (pictures above):
rotten teeth- from apple wedges, caramel and chopped marshmallows
worm juice- pineapple juice w/ blue food coloring and gummy worms in it
mummy hotdogs- wrapped dinner roll dough around the hotdog and baked it and topped it with eyes using a edible pen.
pumpkin juice- used oj juices and drew pumpkin face on the outside
pumpkin lolipops- covered lolipops in orange tissue paper and w/ a sharpie drew a pumpkin face on them
pumpkin caramel tarts- not pictured. used a mini cupcake pan and put pie crust at the bottom and pumpkin pie filling in it and once it was cooled I drizzled caramel over it.

Favor bag:
orange clusters of marshmallow treats in a pumpkin treat bag. Made my own template that said "Peek-a-Boo"

Sometimes I just need to put myself in time out

I will start off by saying I am pregnant so you will realize that life for me quickly gets overwhelming at this stage in life.
It all started at 1:30p.m today when my husband put the boys down to bed and closed the door behind him as he left to get some work done.  I was also laying down for a nap.  The boys immediately started crying "I want daddy."  Once they calmed down I thought okay maybe a very much needed Sunday afternoon nap will happen today.  I closed my eyes for 20min when my youngest says to me I need to tee-tee.  So he gets up and runs to the potty and......doesn't make it.  At that moment I knew the napping thing was over but I still attempted another try. So after the clean up I go lay down and was followed into my bed by my two boys who said so sweetly "I want to sleep next to mommy."  Well they proceeded to jump up and down on the bed and play.  Can't say it was rocking me to sleep so reality set in and I got up from the bed and tried to be productive.  From this point on my afternoon was spent listening to constant whining (b/c they didnt' get a nap) and bickering.  Not a good combination for an exhausted mom who missed a nap.

I forgot to mention we had dinner company coming over at 5:30p.m.  It was now 3:45 and I had no idea what I was going to make, my kitchen and dining room were a mess from yesterdays meals and the boys were on a roll with their bickering.  In between looking at recipes and refereeing their fights I came up with a menu, it was now 4:30p.m.  I took a peek in the living room because I finally heard laughing and giggling and quickly discovered that it was due to mischief. My floor, carpet and couches were covered in dirt.  I almost lost it and started crying but my anger took over and I began to yell. I promise I don't do this often but today I just couldn't keep my cool.  They took the dirt from the potted plant and they thought it would be fun to fling it around the room. 

At this point it is now 5p.m.  I called my husband and asked him when he was planning on coming home he said "soon, I am almost done."  It was not the answer I was looking for.  5:15 rolled around and I was MOMZILLA with a scowl on my face and WIFEZILLA with no good thoughts about my husband.  I looked in the mirror and saw what was staring back at me and was embarrassed at the sight of the permanent scowl tattooed on my forehead.  My immediate thought I need to retreat but clearly that wasn't possible. But I kept thinking I just need a time out.  Can someone put me in time out?  I can't be a good hostess like this, and I am definitely not being a good mom or wife.  Well, I turned off my common sense voice and I decided to go take a hot shower, pray and calm myself down.  Let me tell you this was a very hard task for me. I am the kind of person who likes to have a clean and calm home before guest come over.  At this point dinner was not started, the house was a mess, my husband was still not home and not to mention my children were still on a roll with their bickering.  I threw caution to the wind and did it anyways: for my sanity, the sake of my family and our future guest.  Just as I get in the shower our guest called to change the time to 6p.m., thank God. So now I had14min and 22 seconds in time out a lot more than what I was counting on earlier. 

As I shower I am imagining the mess I am going to find when I get out. How I am going to find one of them tied up and buried in dirt on my couch.  In the midst of all those thoughts I manage to calm down to pray and quiet myself.  In those quick 14 min and 22 sec. my children randomly stick their heads in to tattle tell on each other.  I am able to quickly go back to my quiet place.  I am done with my 14min and 22 sec. shower and I am truly a new person.  I love my children, and I love hosting and I love my husband all I needed was a quick break to breathe and escape into His presence through prayer. I must admit I have never take a time out right before we are having company. My task oriented personality doesn't allow for it. But I sure am glad I did because it was so worth it.  My husband was home by then so he pitched in to clean up.  6:20 p.m rolled around and Lettuce chicken wraps in peanut sauce were served on the table and I was a much nicer person.  Yes, dinner was late, my house wasn't spotless, my children weren't well groomed and I didn't have dessert but I think we all managed without and so did my pride.

Lesson learned: Sometimes you just need to put yourself in time out even if its for 5min in a locked bathroom with calming music in order to function.  If 5 minutes will make dinner late or a your house is not perfectly tidy so be it.  It is so worth it rather than sitting down to eat a meal with guest when your upset, frustrated and exhausted.  Some can fake it for a couple of hours but your kids know what has happened they just observed your yelling, frustration and impatience.  It is so worth the 5, 10, 15min you took to gather yourself and to pray for for peace in the midst of choas.
Happy Hosting!!!:)

DIY Interactive Bilingual World Map for Kids

Make believe is a great way for kids to learn!  This bilingual map is interactive and because it's laminiated we are constantly writing on it showing our kids where family and friends live. Since we travel a lot our boys are really into playing make believe "travel". 

Supplies:

Laminiated map or Bilingual Place Mat Map (I bought this at Walmart)

felt

adhesive velcro dots

foam sheets

I made the airplanes, car, ship, Diva travel bag from felt.  I couldn't help myself using leopard felt for the travel bag, I am sure my boys are going to love that girly suitcase.  

All of these are attached with velcro so that they can move around the world as they please. Place velcro pieces on the back of the felt objects and on the map.  When they are done playing, it goes back on the velcro so the pieces aren't lost.

The Diva travel bag opens up and is loaded with labels made from foam of the 7 continents that are also velcroed so they can label the continents as they please. 

Here is a close up of the felt car and airplane.

Now for the MAP.  I bought this map at Walmart before we moved to South America.  It is a placemat.  I love it because I can also write on it with a marker to show our children specifically where we have been in the US or where our missionary friends live.  I also love this map because it is bilingual in Spanish and English.  You can also print a world map from the internet or buy a world map and laminate it. 

The things they learn from maps: when my son was 3 he discovered Dijbouti in Africa it quickly became his favorite country because he pronounced it as 'De-booty'. 

DIY Wall Art

Painting is one of my joys and everytime someone comes over they say "oh I could never do that".  Well, I made this piece of wall art that I really think you can make.

Material needed:

-blank canvas whatever you size you wish

-different sizes of flat styrofoam circles

-acyrclic paint (you can get the small tubes at Michaels) 

-paint brush

-craft glue

1. I painted the canvas beige. I mix my own colors so a beige from the store may not look like mine.

2. After it was semi dry I randomly smeared across the top with a paint brush some off white over the beige to give it a two tone look.

3. Then I began choosing my colors for my styrofoam circles.  I used colors to coordinate with my room.  You can use less circles, more circles or all the same size cirlces have fun and play with it.  The styrofoam circles are really inexpensive so you can either buy new ones or turn them over if you are not happy with first color combinations. 

4. Once the circles are dry than begin placing them which ever way you wish but don't glue them until you figure out where your permanently placing them.  I put 4 on the bottom and 2 on the top. 

5.  I used clear craft glue to adhere the styrofoam circles to the canvas.

6. Once it was all dry I decided I wanted a little design on 2 of the circles so I painted them on with cream colored paint.

Your done! It took me about 45min with drying and testing colors and placement and it cost under $8. Let me know if you try it!

Gift packages from toilet paper rolls

I love boxes! Everytime we get something that comes in a small box I usually keep it because I think of the countless things I can use it for in the future.  Most of the time I don't use them :(.  Well, these cute little boxes will surely be put to use because they are easy, practical and use things you already have in your home.

Material:

-toilet paper roll w/o the paper on it:)
-scrapbooking paper, gift wrap or tissue paper
-ribbon
-glue
-scissors

Instead of tossing your TP rolls now you can put them to use or you can use kitchen towel rolls for larger boxes: 
1. flatten the roll out.  Press both sides firmly to flatten
2. trace the roll on your scrapbooking paper.
3. cut it out and glue on roll
4. press the open ends down to create your top and bottom closure
5. put some ribbon on it to keep the top and bottom closed

You can use it to put a cute little note in it, stuff it with small acts of kindness gifts: tea, chocolates, gum, mints, etc... Great for party favors and cover it with the theme your going with!

Creative but Simple Fourth of July: Flowers, Fruit and Cupcakes

Having fun with different shades of red and blue for our fourth!  This year I decided to go with the less traditional colors and instead used turquoise and deep fuschia.  I was suprised how well the colors combined. The flower arrangement has various shades of red and fuschia to bring it all together.  The Star Fruit Bowl above, I got the idea from my weekly recipes that Betty Crocker sends. You can subscribe for free on their website to get their dinner ideas once a week at http://www.bettycrocker.com/ . I just happen to find my star cupcake molds this week and decided to put them to use and whipped up some Star Spangled Cupcakes.  I used a vanilla cake mix and followed the directions on the box. Then I drizzled some yummy Cream Cheese Yogurt sauce over it and topped it with blue berries and strawberries. I drizzled strawberry syrup to a white plate to make an artsy edible creation. The Creamy Yogurt sauce is 1.5cps of vanilla yogurt and 1/2 cp of softened cream cheese, 3tbspns of sugar mixed all together.

Tea Bar Bridal Shower

I had the joy of working on a friends bridal shower.  She is a low key kind of person so we needed to find a theme that worked for her.  So we decided to go with Natural colors: blue, green and brown with a runner that added a pop of color.  She loves tea but we didn't want to go with a tea party theme so we went with something much more modern a Tea Bar.  For decorations we used tree limbs, ivy, faux leaves and love birds made from scrapbooking paper.  We filled large vases with tall, sanded tree limbs and the base had rocks and spanish moss and ivy coming out of it.  The fun part was the Tea Bar. 
The Tea Bar was a hit!

We filled 4 "pitchers" with different flavored cold teas and made fun labels for each flavor.  The Teas were Pomegranate Lemon, Lemon Verbena, Rasberry Lemon and Lemon Mint.  

Our party favor was tea bags in fun Match packaging with twisted crepe paper bows.  For the labels we used the same graphics that were on the tables and the Teas. 

It was simple, modern, beautiful and most importantly inexpensive!

Quick and Easy Creamy Tomato Penne Pasta

My cravings are far and few in between since my nausea keeps me from wanting to eat for pleasure.  But the other day I was flipping through a magazine and saw some advertisements for pasta and I thought I want some creamy tomato sauce over some penne and fresh baked garlic bread to go with it.

Quick and Easy Creamy Tomato Penne Pasta
1 can of Diced Garlic Herb Tomato
1cp of heavy cream
2tbspns of diced garlic
Penne Pasta
olive oil
parmesan cheese

serves 4-5
Sautee garlic in olive oil until slightly brown. 
Add Diced tomatoes with liquid.  Let it simmer for 5min.
Add heavy cream and stir.  Simmer for about 5min.
Pour over your cooked Penne and sprinkle with parmesan.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Told you it is quick and easy.  You can use plain diced tomotoes and season them yourself with Italian seasoning if you don't have Garlic herb ones in your cupboard.

cranberry broccoli salad

Cranberry Broccoli Salad
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cp of dried cranberries
1/4 cp of chopped red onion
1/4cp of chopped walnuts
4-6 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
Your favorite salad dressing. Rasberry viniagrette, Ranch, Italian
sprinkle top with shredded cheddar cheese

If you want even more fruity you can dice 1/2 an apple and add to the mix. 

Can't keep this to myself: Potato salad w/ country ranch dressing

Picture and recipe came from Better Home and Gardens.  http://www.bhg.com/recipe/salads/potato-salad-with-country-ranch-dressing/  My pregnant self could not handle the hard boiled eggs so I made mine with out.  I also didn't have cider vinegar so I used red wine vinegar and it turned out just fine.  Please note that it serves 12. I didn't realize that before making it.

An Award for me

Shout out to Kathy who gave me my first blogger award! The cyberworld can be lonely since you only hope that you have some mysterious cyberspace blog readers out there who prefer to keep themselves anonymous, right don't we all have those. 

So for all those mysterious readers I am now supposed to share 7 things about myself:
1. I am 3 months pregnant and were hoping God blesses us with a little girl the third time around.
2. I am a counselor at a missionary school in Ecuador.
3. Though I am officially a "missionary" I love home decor, fashion and art. 
4.  I love my sweet Savior and Heavenly Father dearly. 
5.  My husband and 2 boys are a huge support and joy in my life.
6.  I want to climb Macchu Picchu in Peru when I am 6 mos pregnant (most likely won't happen).
7.  I would love to start a christian version of "family fun" magazine. 

A Womans Purse

Before kids- Cute little patent leather purse


After kids- Big red leather duffel bag(it's not really a duffel bag)
If you were to see me in a crowd, you may think that I don't look like I have kids- if they weren't hanging all over me. My clothes is put together okay (or at least I think so), you know my clothes is not yelling "Mommy alert".  My purse on the other hand is!  Today as I looked through my purse in the middle of a bible study class I had to chuckle because of the contents I had to rummage through to find my phone.

My purses have definitely taken a new look now that I'm a mommy. Before they were cute and small, always small. Now they are big and lumpy. According to my son "I need it" everywhere I go. He won't let me walk out the door with out it. You will see why as you read. If you were to randomly open my purse you would find: cell phone, keys, coins, gum, at this point your thinking okay that sounds normal. Well it get's worse: candy wrappers, baby star finger foods that have fallen out of it's container, some kind of fruit in a baggie(today it was a whole grapefruit, Bob the builder undies (got to be prepared for those potty accidents), hot wheel cars, kid tattoos, gloves and scarf (you never know when a blizzard is going to hit in TX), coupons for Sonic, Chic-fil-a, McDonald's (all those wonderful healthy places to take your children to eat), baby wipes, first aid kit (just in case someone bleeds to death) and mosquito wipes.  Depending on the time of the month you will find other necessities which Ethan tends to dig out at very inopportune times.

Wow! I guess you could get stranded on an island for a day or two with my purse. Can't wait til he's into bugs and rocks. For some reason I think I will be sure to find them in my purse.

What treasures does your purse hold?

I found this blog post in my old website and had to chuckle because 4 yrs later my purse hasn't changed much.

Van Gogh Creations Class

I had the joy of teaching these wonderful 2nd graders cooking, arts and crafts and baking!  First class, they made aprons to go with their chef hats. Second class they made swirly pops (recipe http://chiccookiekits.blogspot.com/2010/03/finallyhomemade-marshmallow-fondant-and.html.) Third class they made Pizza balls with dough they made from scratch(recipe http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/06/stuffed-pizza-rolls.html).  They loved watching the dough rise.  And they also got to make some lovely cupcake keepsakes and fill them with Cookie Balls (recipe http://amomnotapro.blogspot.com/2010/03/so-i-am-obsessed-with-lil-chickies-this.html ). Fourth day, they made some pillows/backpacks for Mothers Day! We had a blast!! Parents if you have any questions concerning the recipes feel free to add your comments below.