Grapevine Wire Pumpkins (she: Jessica)
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Grapevine Wire Pumpkins (she: Jessica)

ByJessica

Browsing around the floral section of the craft store, I came across some rustic grapevine floral wire. I used it to make some cute wire pumpkins for the house. They would look so great in a fall tablescape or mantle! I actually used this same technique to make these pipe cleaner and pony bead pumpkins with my kids. They look especially cute grouped with some burlap pumpkins that I made.

Come check them out… they’re simple, cute, and are perfect for both Halloween and Thanksgiving!

family traditions
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Family Tradition Ideas ~ Halloween, Thanksgiving & Christmas (she: Mel)

ByMariel

Hello! I’m Mel from So Festive! and today I’m going to share with you my favorite holiday traditions for the Fall and Winter.

Traditions are a great way to create wonderful family memories and to break up the monotony of everyday life. Traditions will give you and your families something to look forward to. And you know what? They don’t have to be elaborate, expensive, or complicated.

Here are some of my favorite family tradition ideas:

fun ways to entertain kids in the car
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Fun Games for Entertaining Kids in the Car (she: Kristina)

ByKristina

Hey, it’s Kristina from Mother’s Niche. If you’re anything like me, a ride in the car can either give you a little break, or it can make you want to pull your hair out…and it all depends on the behavior of the little rascals in the backseat. Sometimes there really is nothing better than a long drive when it means all of your children are strapped down and unable to tear the house apart. I especially appreciate long drives immediately after a thorough house cleaning.

However, there’s nothing that ruins a car ride faster than squabbling, whining and poking! Here are some fun family games that you can play in the car. Whip them out in desperate moments when you need to distract your children from hunger, bullying, boredom, or even from picking their nose:

halloween music

A Teacher’s Favorite Music for Halloween (she: Teresa)

ByMariel

As I have been making lesson plans, I thought about all of you! Many are moms, aunts, grandmas, maybe even sister’s to younger siblings. No matter what, most of us have young children somewhere in our lives so I thought I would share some of my musical knowledge with you! I love to try out my songs on my little nieces and nephews to see what they think first!

I love it when my students get excited about the classical music I play for them. I always play something for them when they walk into my class and then when I am finished they tell me how it made them feel or what it made them think of. This is great for kids because sometimes it helps them to express emotion and it also gets their imaginations working! Afterward I tell them a little about the piece.

Creepy Halloween Meal Tradition With Printables! (she: Veronica)

Creepy Halloween Meal Tradition With Printables! (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

One of my favorite holiday traditions is our Creepy Halloween Meal. Most of the time I make it for dinner, but it works great for breakfast as well! Look at that menu! Who wouldn’t want to eat that?! mmmmm…yummy!

My goal has always been to do something fun, but it also needed to be something that my kids would actually eat. Nothing against an eyeball made out of a radish and a sliced olive, but personally, my kids wouldn’t touch it. 🙂 My other goal was to not spend $100 on a million different little items to create a fun meal. I would much rather put the money towards something my kids really need. So, I decided to just use one of their favorite meals and “creepify” it. And that’s how our Creepy Halloween Meal began.

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

Contributor Spotlight and ‘Your Great Idea’ Link Party

ByMariel

Ruthie is a force to be reckoned with in the food blog world. She’s kinda quiet, super-duper-duper nice, thoughtful, generous, and all those good things. When it comes to blogging, improving her skills, and getting the job done, she is on fire. She could already cook like a rock-star to begin with, but THEN she goes and signs herself up for culinary school! I admire that. She knows how to cook a mean dish, but at the same time, she is a mom of many and considers health and family friendliness in her recipes.

Come read more about my lovely contributor, Ruthie (and my favorite recipes from her blog!) and check out this week’s link party (and my top picks!)…

Apple Banana Bread (she: Ruthie)
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Apple Banana Bread (she: Ruthie)

Byruthie

Hi to all my friends at Or so she says… I’m so happy to back again to share another delightful recipe with you.

I love the fall because it’s pretty hard to beat a fresh-off-the-tree apple and of course I find lots of yummy ways to bake them up too!

This recipe has two of my favorite fruits— Apples and Banana’s. I love them both so combining them in a delicious and healthy loaf was a no brainer…

dinner exchange

Tips for Starting a Dinner Exchange (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Hello! It’s Allison from Tips for Family Trips. I’m straying from travel this month to share an idea that has made dinner easier for my busy family.

My family’s dinner will be delivered to our house tonight, and not by Pizza Hut. I participate in a dinner exchange with two other families where each of us cooks the same meal for all three families on one night each week. Wednesday is my night to cook. Friday is my family’s pizza night, and we often spend weekends traveling or with extended family. These days, I only cook on two nights each week.

Here are my tips for starting your own dinner exchange:

My New Favorite App: Remembary

My New Favorite App: Remembary

ByMariel

When I was little I used to write in my journal all the time. I think I filled up like seven of them. Then I got married, had kids, and sadly I stopped journaling. It’s always been one of those thing that bums me out. I really want to do it but just can’t seem to find a quiet moment or the time to squeeze it in. I’ve always believed that keeping a journal is an awesome form of therapy, which I clearly need. But also, I would love for my posterity to have the option of learning about my life, family, and crazy thoughts. I’ve been getting into family history lately, learning about my ancestors, and how neat would it be if I had a journal from each one! Being realistic with myself, I know that at this time of my life, I will probably not find the time to put pen to paper on a regular basis. BUT, I found a favorite app that I super-duper love, that is making journaling easy for me.

Broccoli Cheese Soup www.oneshetwoshe.com
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Broccoli Cheese Soup

ByMariel

So, this recipe has actually been shared on the blog before. I’ve been trying to go through some of my old ones with super crappy pictures and update them, so they actually LOOK good, besides just taste good. I recently updated a great recipe for Chicken Alfredo. Today it’s our favorite Broccoli Cheese Soup. I love making this soup for several reason… 1. I love soup. 2. I love broccoli. 3. I love cheese. 4. It uses REAL cheese. 5. It’s delicious. Five good reasons, I would say. And, now is the perfect time to bust out those soup recipes. Be sure to add this to your collection! (Oh, and 4-ingredient pretzel recipe to come!)

How To Make BINGO Cards With PicMonkey (she: Brooke)
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How To Make BINGO Cards With PicMonkey (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

I’ve mentioned before that my twins and three-year-old have birthdays one day apart. And those two days are this week. I’ve been working on getting some things together for our family’s annual three-in-one birthday party. It’s really nice to get all three birthdays done at once, but a bit crazy.

I’ve been working on some games for our party. I love a good game of Bingo. Don’t you? And I love PicMonkey even more than Bingo. Let me tell you, these two were made for each other. PicMonkey has made it so, so easy to make your own Bingo cards. I had so much fun putting the cards together, and it couldn’t have been easier.

So, without further ado, here’s the world’s longest Bingo tutorial post. Long, not in a bad way, but long because I included screen shots of every step so you can do this on your own. Just look for the orange arrows. Not only will you be able to make a Halloween Bingo game, but PicMonkey has been coming out with brand new material for each season lately. You can make Bingo boards for every holiday and occasion possible!

Halloween Ghost Pancakes (she: Michelle)

Halloween Ghost Pancakes (she: Michelle)

ByMariel

Hi everyone! I’m so honored to be here guest posting on Or so she says!! Thank you to Mariel for inviting me! My name is Michelle and I blog over at Creative Food. My blog is all about presenting food in a fun and creative way for my daughter, Eliana.

Today I’m sharing this fun and easy breakfast I made for Eliana: Halloween Ghost Pancakes!! We love to make fun shaped pancakes in our house. My daughter absolutely loves them and she loves to help mix the batter and watch everything come together! While they might look difficult to make, they are actually not too difficult and whenever I have some extra time I enjoy making her some fun shaped pancakes. We recently made Candy Corn shaped pancakes and I decided why not make some more simple Halloween pancakes for her.