My brilliant boy is now 16! He loves music, science, computers, games, outside, Lord of the Rings, family and friends!
Chocolate Freezer Pie
Ingredients:
8 oz. Hershey’s bar
8 oz. Cream Cheese
16 oz. Cool Whip
2 Prepared 8 inch Graham Crust
1/4 cup milk
Directions:
Heat the chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the milk in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted.
Beat the cream cheese and add the remaining milk. Add chocolate mix and beat until smooth.
In a bowl, fold the chocolate mix into the cool whip and blend until smooth.
Spoon the mix into the crusts. I decorated the pies with some extra cool whip and shaved chocolate bar for my son’s birthday.
Freeze for 4 hours.
Sweetwater Music Store
I took him to the largest music store in the U.S. Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, IN. He was like a kid in a candy store. He played all of the instruments and then choose his birthday gift.
I got him an effects pedal for his electric guitar for his 16th birthday! He picked it out at Sweetwater.
His little brother got him a Lord of the Rings map.
This year it was unanimous that we wanted to dress as the X-men for Storm! I found most of the costumes at used clothing stores and made most of the other props.
X-Men Sign
Materials:
Cardboard
Scissors
Brown Spray Paint
Gold Sharpie
Cricut to cut letters
Directions:
Cut a large oval and small circle from the cardboard.
Paint both brown.
Cut out letters with the Cricut and attach to the sign.
Use the Sharpie to make a gold ring around the oval and circle. Make a gold X in the circle.
Mutant Pumpkins
I took the kids to the pumpkin patch to find pumpkins. They choose “mutant pumpkins” which were perfect for our Trunk-or-Treat theme of X-Men.
X-Men Trunk
I decorated the trunk to look like the gate/wall outside of Professor X’s school. Stone wall, vines, sign with address for the school, and some “mutant pumpkins”. We dressed as the characters in the 80’s Animated X-Men Series.
X-Men Costumes
Storm
I made Storm’s costume from an old white onesie and some yellow ribbon. I also made the red circular “X” badges out of some buttons. She is the reason that we chose to dress as the X-men this year!
Professor X
My 15 year old son dressed as Professor Xavier. We barrowed my mother-in-law’s wheel chair and I found a green suit and blue tie at Goodwill. It was a perfect find!
Jubilee
My son’s girlfriend dressed as Jubilee. We found all of her pieces to her outfit at Goodwill as well. The gloves are just yellow, rubber dish gloves. I made her glasses with paint pens and an old pair of sunglasses that I found. I made the earring from the red buttons that I used from Storm’s costume. People who watched the cartoon as kids knew exactly who she was!
Gambit
My younger son wanted to be Gambit, so I found a Gambit T-Shirt on Amazon. Then he used a large brown and a ski mask. The wig was from Goodwill sold brand new!
Phoenix
My step daughter wanted to be Phoenix, so I found a Phoenix T-Shirt on Amazon. Then she used a green tights and boots with yellow dish gloves. The wig was from Goodwill sold brand new!
Rogue
I dressed as Rogue and found Rogue T Shirt on Amazon. I wore green tights, an olive colored jacket, black headband, gold boots, and yellow dish gloves. I made the X’Men coms with red foam and a black sharpie, then we pinned the to our outfits!
Wolverine
My husband dressed as Wolverine. I found his Wolverine shirt on Amazon too. The boys also had some claws in their play stuff, but we lost one, so he just had 1 claw in this photo!
We love Family Movie Night and we love Disney as well. Tonight for our Lion King movie night, we made a Lion King themed dinner to eat first. The kids voted to watch the live action version this time. This was so much fun; with much of the family helping to plan, prepare, and enjoy the meal. I hope you have as much family fun as we did.
Appetizer: Lion King Snack Mix
Ingredients:
Cheetos Paws
Reese’s Peanut Butter Dipped Pretzels
Crunch N Munch with Peanuts
Reese’s Pieces
Entrée: Hakuna Frittata
Ingredients:
8 eggs
1 tub Chive & Onion cream cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
3/4 cup fresh spinach finely chopped
1/2 cup green peppers finely chopped
1 cup diced ham
Shredded Cheddar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a muffin pan (non stick or silicone).
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, cream cheese, salt and pepper until smooth.
Stir in peppers, spinach and onion and fill muffins cups (about ¾ full).
Bake for 20-25 minutes until centers are completely set.
Sprinkle with cheddar and melt in the oven for a couple of minutes.
Serve immediately or cool to room temperature to store.
Vegi: Simba Vegi Tray
Ingredients:
Carrots
Red and Yellow Peppers
Celery
Cucumber
Leafy Greens
Olives
Ranch Packet
Sour Cream
Large Round Wheat Crackers
Ranch Dip Instructions:
Mix a tub of Sour Cream with a packet of Ranch.
Place it in a small round bowl.
Save the bottom of a pepper with 3 humps for the lions snout.
Cut olives to place on the snout and eyes.
Use the end of a red pepper stick for the nose.
Add round wheat crackers for the ears.
Platter Instructions:
Cut the vegies into long strips.
Place the green vegie around the outside of a round tray.
Place the round dip in the middle of the tray.
Place the colored vegies around the dip for the lions mane.
Fruit: Rafiki’s Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
4 cups 1/2 inch cubed fresh pineapple or 4 cups canned pineapple
2 oranges, peeled and divided into sections
2 mangos, peeled and diced
1 bananas cut in 1/2 inch slices
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
2 tablespoons Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup shredded coconut
Directions:
Combine fruits in a bowl.
Combine lime juice and brown sugar and add to fruits; toss to coat.
Cover and chill at least 1 hour.
Sprinkle with coconut.
Drink: Circle of Life Sunset Drink
Ingredients:
Sprite
Pineapple Juice
Grenadine Syrup
Ice for glasses
Directions:
Fill glasses with ice.
Take glass and fill 1/2 full with Sprite.
Top the remaining half off with Pineapple Juice.
Add a splash of Grenadine Syrup.
Serve to friends and family with a straw.
Dessert: Timon & Pumbaa Bug Grub Brownies
Ingredients:
Brownie Mix
Chocolate Frosting
Crushed Oreos
Gummy Worms
Directions:
Bake brownies according to the directions on the box.
Cool and cut 9 wholes the size of nickels.
Cover with chocolate frosting.
Stick the gummy worms into the wholes.
Crush the Oreos and sprinkle them on the top.
This meal was “Oh So Yummy!!! Thanks to my kids for having so much fun with me!
She just loves watermelon, so we did a “One in a Melon” party. She just loved the balloons and swimming pool.
Watermelon Tie Dye Shirts
I made tie dye shirts for the kids!
Watermelon Shoes
I found a pair of read shoes and added a green stripe with a Sharpie around the base, then I added black seeds!
Watermelon Decorations
Baby girl loves the balloons and points to them everyday for a week after the party!
I made a watermelon banner of monthly photos of Baby!
“One in a Melon”
Watermelon Food
We had lots of watermelon themed foods and candies!
Fruit Pizza
Ingredients:
1 Sugar Cookie Dough
1 Marshmallow Cream
1 Cream Cheese
strawberries
kiwi
mini chocolate chips
Directions:
First grease a pizza sheet and place roll out the sugar cookie dough about 1/4 inch thick.
Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Let it completely cool.
Mix together the marshmallow cream and the cream cheese and cover the cookie.
Cut the fruit to small pieces and decorate to look like a watermelon.
Watermelon Cake
I cut off the sides of the watermelon and made stacked the chunks together. Then I added berries with toothpicks.
Watermelon Punch
INGREDIENTS:
14 lb. seedless watermelon
1 and 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 and 1/2 cups sparkling water
DIRECTIONS:
Cut about one third off the top of your watermelon, then scoop out all the insides from both sides, and save the larger half for your “watermelon bowl”.
Blend the pieces of watermelon in a blender for several minutes to be sure there are no chunks.
Add pineapple juice and sparkling water to the “watermelon bowl” and pour in your strained watermelon juice.
Mix together and chill the punch and bowl in the fridge for about an hour or until ready to serve.
Watermelon Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 ½ cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Red and Green food coloring
Mini Chocolate Chips
Directions:
In a bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.
In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir till soft dough forms.
Divide dough into 2 parts and color one part red and one part green with food coloring.
Shape the dough like a watermelon and add mini chocolate chips as the seeds.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Bake cookies for 8 minutes or until lightly browned and let cool.
Add buttercream icing (see buttercream recipe below) and mini chocolate chips.
Watermelon Cake
I followed the directions on the white cake box, but use the Minute Maid Watermelon juice instead of water and added pink food color. After I mixed up the cake I add the sprinkles to act like the seeds!
Buttercream Icing
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup Crisco
4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (if thick)
Directions:
Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.
Watermelon Smash Cake
I made a smaller version of the cake for her smash cake, which she wasn’t too into.
Water Play
I found a watermelon sprinkler blow up pool and added water balloons too. This was a BIG hit with the bigger kids!
Baby Girl is really starting to enjoy her books. We try to read the same books a few days in a row and leave them out on the table so she can look at them throughout the day too.
Sing Song Rhyming Books
Hokey Pokey Elmo by Abigail Tabby
Mr. Brown can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss
Rainbow Colors Peekaboo! by DK Publishing (Touch and Feel Book)
Five Little Monkeys jumping on the bed by Eileen Christelow
Farm Animal Books
Noisy Farm
My first book of Animals
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Bedtime Books
Why I Love my Mommy by Daniel Howarth
Your Baby’s First Word will be DADA by Jimmy Fallon
Time For Bed by Mem Fox
Good Night Mermaids by Adam Gramble
Adding books to our bedtime routine has helped Baby create a love for books and reading.
