Week 1: Fun with Food Coloring

Welcome to the first week of

Click here to learn more about 30 minute Thursdays.

This week me and my boys had fun with food coloring! ; )  It's been cold outside, so this was a great activity to help switch it up after being inside all winter. 

If you can't tell my 3 year old, just loved watching the food coloring in a jar.  This was super easy to do and the kids will have fun helping every step of the way.

Food Coloring Fun #1
You will need:
Oil (vegetable or olive)
Water
Food Coloring
Clear Jar
Small mixing bowl
Fork or spoon

Fill the jar about 3/4 the way full with warm water. Set a side.

In the small mixing bowl, pour in about 1/4 cup of oil.  Add 3-4 drops of each color food coloring.  Gently stir. (My son loved adding and counting the food coloring drops)

Carefully pour the oil mixture into the jar and watch the droplets fall to the bottom.

*We did this about 5 times and it still wasn't enough!  They LOVED it.

When we were done with this, I remembered another food coloring experiment that I did way back when I was a kid.  We did this one a few times too!  It's just as easy! ; )


Food Coloring Fun #2
You will need:
A dinner plate
Whole or 2% milk (the higher the fat the better)
Food Coloring
A Q-tip
Dish Soap (I used dawn)

Pour the mike on the dinner plate.  You want to cover the bottom of the plate with milk but not so much that it's overflowing. ; )

Place a few drops of food coloring in the milk (that's been poured on the plate).

Cover the Q-tip with dish soap.

Take turns dipping the q-tip into the milk. (The droplets of food coloring will move around forming fun patterns).

If You Give a Little Love...

I thought this video was BEAUTIFUL and wanted to share it with you.  You never know how much a simple gesture can mean to somebody else. 

Letter Z (Zebra)

Books
How the Zebra Got It's Stripes by Ron  & Justine Fontes

Craft/Art
Paper Plate Zebra Craft here

Fun Facts

Every Zebra has a unique pattern of stripes.

Zebra's stand up while sleeping.

The ears of  a Zebra show it's mood.

Game/Activity

Printables

Snacks

Anything black and white (yogurt covered raisins and normal raisins)

Songs

Tips to Teaching Letter Z

Letter Y (Yak)

Books

Craft/Art

Fun Facts

Game/Activity

Printables

Snacks

Songs

Tips to Teaching Letter Y

Letter X (X-ray Fish)

Books

Craft/Art

Aquarium here

Fun Facts

The X-ray fish is translucent so it's insides are visible.

An X-ray fish is about 1" long.

Game/Activity

Do a translucent activity and talk about what translucent means.

Printables

Snacks

Goldfish crackers

Fish Gummies/Fruit Snacks

Songs

Tips to Teaching Letter X

Letter W (Walrus)

Books
Wally Walrus by Barbara Deruburtis

Craft/Art
Paper Plate Walrus Here

"W" Walrus Here

Rock Walrus Here

Fun Facts

Walrus's can't see very well so they rely on their sense of smell.  

Walrus's make noise above and below the water.

Game/Activity

Printables

Snacks

Songs

Tips to Teaching Letter W

30 Minute Thursdays

What is 30 minute Thursdays?

30 Minute Thursdays is my way of spending quality time with my two sweet boys!  Sometimes as a mother I find it hard to spend quality time WITH my children!  As mother's each of us have so many responsibilities.  At times it can be difficult to focus completely on our children without thinking about the laundry, bills, cooking, hobbies, house, work, etc.  30 Minute Thursdays is my way of spending quality time WITH my two favorite boys without any other distractions.  Not only will blogging keep me accountable, it will help me to share these precious moments with others and hopefully get a few ideas from others! ; )

Each Thursday I will post the activity that I did with my children and include a picture or two.  The pictures will not be perfect.  I want my focus to be on being with my child rather than capturing the perfect photo of my children.  Some of the activities will be very unique and well planned out and others will be spontaneous and ordinary.  Feel free to follow a long and share your ideas with me! ; )  Check back each Thursday to see how I have spent quality time with my boys and get some ideas on how to spend quality time with your own children!

Week 1: Fun with Food Coloring!
Week 2: Glow Stick Fun for the Kids!
Week 3: Play in the Snow
Week 4: Finger Paint
Week 5: Blanket or Laundry Basket Rides
Week 6: Check out a New Store
Week 7: Coin Spin and Learn

Basket of Sunshine

Send a Basket of Sunshine to brighten someone's day! 

Find anything yellow and add it to a basket, box or yellow pail and attach the free printable.

Printables

List of Yellow Things

Treats

Lemon Heads

Yellow Starbursts

Sunkist Lemon Gummies

Swedish Fish 

Butterfinger

Juicy Fruit Gum 

M&M's 

Skittles

Sugar Babies/Sugar Daddy

Jelly Beans

Wheat Thins

Shortbread Cookies

Drinks

Snapple Drink

Lemon Lime Gatorade

Lemonade

Little Gifts (All Yellow)

 Nail Polish

Flip Flops

Lotion

Soap

Burts Bee's Products

Lip gloss/Chap-stick

Notepad/Post-it Notes

Candle

Rubber Duck

Pencil

Subway Gift Card

Jamba Juice Gift Card

Make your FLOWERS last longer!

I found this awesome link on helping your flowers to last longer!!  Check it out here!

The Five Love Languages

  Have you ever read The 5 Love Languages written by Gary Chapman? I just read it for the third time and wanted to share a few things from it.

This book focuses on five different ways we can express heartfelt commitment to our mate. It talks about the importance of keeping our love tanks full and how different people feel love in different ways.  It focuses on five different ways we express and feel love. 

The Five Love Languages

Words of Affirmation- verbal compliments or words of appreciation.

Quality Time- undivided attention and spending time together.

Receiving Gifts- visual symbols of love.

Acts of Service- doing things for spouse.

Physical Touch- holding hands, kissing, embracing.

This book also briefly touches on how the five love languages apply to our children and how we can show our love and appreciation for them.

Most of us tend to express love in the way we feel love but not everybody has the same love language. This book encourages us to identify how our loved ones feel love and then to focus on expressing our love for them in their love language.

Just FYI, there is another book by the same author called, "The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage."  The e-book is free today so check it out HERE!  I just downloaded it and am excited to start reading!  ENJOY!

Cheese Cake Bites

These are perfect for Valentine's Day and so yummy!  

Ingredients:

1 8 oz container of cool whip
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
8-12 mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts (depending on how full you want each pie)
1 can of cherry or raspberry pie filling

Directions:
Mix the cool whip, cream cheese, and powdered sugar until smooth or slightly lumpy.  Spoon mixture into mini pie crusts.  Top with a spoon full of pie filling.

*to add some color to the raspberry pies I added 1/2 the can of raspberry pie filling to the mixture and topped each pie with a raspberry!

These are so easy and delicious, and I think they are perfect for Valentine's Day!  What goodies do you make for Valentine's Day?

Oh, and don't forget to enter for a chance to win a free nights stay at the anniversary inn ($249 value).  Click here for more details!

Anniversary Inn Giveaway ***CLOSED

Happy Valentines Day and thanks to everyone who participated in the giveaway. Congrats to our lucky winner Amy Beth. Please contact us within the next 24 hours to claim your prize.

Didn't win this time, you can still get a great deal on one of Anniversary Inn's theme rooms by signing up for deals by joining their mailing list or by texting
the word LOGAN, SLCROOM or IDAHO to 53535.

My husband and I have visited the Anniversary Inn many times, we love the fun theme suites they offer.  We recently celebrate our 5 year Anniversary with a fabulous stay in the theme suite Joanie's Diner. This room was such a fun room set back in the 50's with a jukebox, red and black checkered floor, and antique furnishings.   It provided a perfect evening retreat away from the kids along with some fun extras including a huge flat screen TV, a jetted tub for two, a king size My Comfort Intelli-Gel Bed and complimentary popcorn, bottled soda, sparkling apple cider, cheesecake and a delectable breakfast. 

The Anniversary Inn is famous for their fun theme rooms, they have a variety of themes for all occasions. If you are looking for something romantic I would suggest Juliet's Balcony or Sleeping Beauty's Castle. If you are looking for something fun I would suggest Rich's Drive In, Biker Roadhouse, African Safari, and Hawaiian Paradise. You can view all of the different themed rooms here.

Anniversary Inn has 4 great locations, 3 in Utah (1 in Logan and 2 in Salt Lake City) and 1 in Boise Idaho. 

With Valentines Day right around the corner we are excited to announce a giveaway for one of our lucky readers.  You can enter for a chance to win a free nights stay at the Anniversary Inn by following the steps below.

How to Enter:

1-Leave a comment in the comment section letting us know what room/suite you would pick to stay in.

2- Like Anniversary Inn on Facebook.

3- Like We Love Being Moms on Facebook.

4- Follow We Love Being Moms on Pintrest (or in another preferred way, options below)

Each person can enter up to 4 times. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry and to leave a way for us to contact you. Good Luck!

Update: It has come to our attention that many of you are having a difficult time leaving a comment on our blog.  We think we have got the issue resolved, please let us know if you continue to have issues by leaving a  comment on our Facebook page in the comment section. Sorry for any frustration this may have caused.

We would love for you to Follow us via:

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The giveaway is good for a free nights stay at The Anniversary Inn on any weekday and in any room of your choice. (Valued at $249)

The giveaway will end at midnight next Wed. Feb 13th MST.  We will contact and announce the winner on Valentines Day (Thursday February 14th.) 

Strawberry and Chocolate Cake Cookie Stack

Strawberry Cake Cookie Stack

Cookies:

1 box yellow cake mix 

2 eggs

1/2 cup veg oil

1 tsp. baking soda

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min.

Directions:

Sandwich vanilla ice cream between cookies. Top with whip cream and strawberries and drizzle with strawberry syrup.

Chocolate Cake Cookie Stack

Cookies:

1 box chocolate cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup veg oil

1 tsp. baking soda

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 min.

Directions:

Sandwich vanilla ice cream between cookies. Top with whip cream and chocolate chips and drizzle with chocolate and caramel syrup.

DIY Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Back when we were in college, Heather and I worked at Kara's chocolate shop in the mall.  It gave us an opportunity to learn and practice making delicious treats.  One of the things that was most popular around Valentine's Day was the chocolate covered strawberries.  I was always shocked at how much they cost!  If I remember right it was just under $20 a pound.  You can make a lot on your own for less then $20.  Here's how:

You will need:

Strawberries

Milk Chocolate

White Chocolate

Olive Oil

As you can see from the picture below, you can use chocolate chips or almond bark.  Both will work.

Directions:

Wash off the strawberries and set on a clean towel to dry.  

Pour chocolate into small/medium glass mixing bowl.  

Microwave until nice and smooth checking and stirring every 30 seconds.  

The secret is to make sure it doesn't burn. ; )  

If the chocolate looks super thick try adding a small amount of oil and stirring to help thin it. 

Once you have nice smooth chocolate grab the dry strawberry by the stem and start dipping.

  Rotate until entire berry is covered.  

Shake softly to avoid excess chocolate.  

Set dipped berry into a cold glass plate.  Let cool.  

Once the chocolate has set, melt the opposite color chocolate and use a fork to drizzle the chocolate across the berry.  I have found that the drizzling usually works best with a small amount of chocolate on the fork and fast back and forth motions.  

Good Luck! I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! ; )