Yummy Easter Bread!!!

Easter Bread

2-3/4 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp salt
1 pkg dry yeast
2/3 C milk
2 Tbls margarine
2 eggs, beaten
4 colored raw eggs
(optional: 1/4 C chopped blanched almonds)


Combine flour, sugar, salt and yeast in large bowl. Heat milk and margarine over low heat until warm (120-130F). Add to dry ingredients. Add beaten eggs into dry mixture with milk. Beat 2 minutes.

Stir in enough additional flour to make soft dough. Knead 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, flip to grease top. Cover and let rise until double (1 hour). Punch down. If adding almonds, knead them now. Divide in half and roll each half into 24" rope.

Twist ropes together loosely, like a candy cane. Form into ring on greased sheet, tucking loose ends under to form ring. Brush with melted butter, and place eggs into spaces of twist. Cover and let rise until double (about 45 minutes). Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Baby Shower Ideas!

BABY SHOWER'S happen to be a favorite of mine! What could be any more fun than getting together with family & friends, eating yummy food, playing fun games, & looking at all the CUTE baby gifts the mommy-to-be recieves?!?! Yesterday I was able to help throw a Baby Shower for my Sister-in-Law & we had SO much fun!! I was the one in charge of planning the games & had such a great time doing it! I would like to share with you a few Baby Shower Games. I'm always learning & seeing new games as I go to more & more showers....Here are a few of my favorites!!! :o)

Purse Scavenger Hunt

You have to make sure all the guests have their purse with them for this game! You have a list prepared ahead of time with items that people may have in their purse then you put points with each item (the harder the item, the more points it is worth). See the example below:

Red Lipstick - 5 points

Sewing Kit - 8 points

Check Book - 3 points

Credit Card - 2 points

Tissues - 2 points

Book - 7 points

Planner - 5 points

Blush/Eye Shadow - 4 points

Gum/Mints - 3 points

Picture of a family member - 10 points

Coupon - 5 points

$10 Bill - 5 points

Hand Sanitizer - 3 points

*There are so many more items you could add to this list, it's such a fun game & it's also FUN to see how much people get into it!

The point to this game is to see who has the item & who can find it in their purse the fastest & show it to you. Who ever shows you first, get's the points & who ever has the most points at the end of the game WINS! :o)

Don't say "Baby" Game

As each guest shows up, give them a clothes pin to wear on their shirt. How this game works is you can't say the word "baby" during the Baby Shower. If someone hears you say that word "baby" then they can take your clothes pin. This is a game that goes on through out the whole Shower & then the person at the end of the Baby Shower that has the most clothes pins WINS!

The Tray Game

Everyone is handed a piece of paper and a pen. The object of the game is to see who can remember the most items on the tray. A tray full of baby items is brought out with a towel over it covering the contents of the tray. The tray is uncovered and placed in the center of the room preferably on a table.

*What I like to do is bring the tray out & walk around to each person with the tray & let them look over the items for a certain amount of time then after everyone has seen them, I leave the room & give them 2 minutes to write down what they remembered.

Come back into the room & go through everything that was on the tray. The person who remembers the most WINS! To be successful you should have a lot of things on the tray.

Examples of tray contents- pacifier, baby spoon, bib, diaper, Q-tips, thermometer, diaper rash tube, baby powder, baby socks, invitation, baby comb, regular or plastic keys, jar of baby food, barrette (if girl), extra large safety pin, rattle, baby lotion, baby oil, nail clippers... etc

Measure Mommy Game

Take string, yarn or toilet paper and ask each guest to take off the amount that will fit around the Mommy’s Belly. *Have the Mommy-to-be stand in the middle of the room so the guests can look at her belly to help them guess the size.

Once everyone has selected their amount, you then measure the mommy-to-be's belly. Once you have the measurement, measure against guests string, yarn or toilet paper lengths and the person closest to the real measurement WINS!

Draw the Baby Game

First, the guests will put their initials (or name) on one side of the plate.

Then they flip it over to begin. The guests are instructed to draw a picture of a baby on the paper plate. The key is, the paper plate is on the top of their heads while they are drawing. They cannot stop and look at their drawing during this and have 2 minutes to complete.

At the end of the 2 minutes, someone collects the paper plates (NOT the mom-to-be) and the mom-to-be is the judge and picks the one she likes the best. :o)

Build the Baby's Bank Game

Give everyone a name tag to wear when they arrive. On the name tag you put names of different baby items like: bib, baby bottle, crib, stroller, formula, etc... or spice it up and give names like Paci, Stroller Girl, Bibby, Bottles...

During the shower everyone must call everyone by their new name rather than their real name. Whoever calls the person by her or his real name intead of the baby item name has to put money in the bank. At the end of the shower the money is given to the mom to start the babies first savings account and if this is a big shower it can add up to be a great start.

*Here are a few ideas to help you out! Enjoy!

February TREATS!!!

Here are a few really cute treat ideas for the month of February! These would be GREAT for School Valentine's Day Parties!

Valentines Day Cupcake Cones

Ingredients

1 box (18.25 oz.) yellow cake mix

3 cups prepared vanilla frosting

24 ice cream sugar cones

1 cup M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies

Red food coloring

Sprinkles

24 paper cupcake liners

2 12-cup standard size muffin tins

Instructions

1. Prepare yellow cake mix according to the package directions. Transfer the batter to cupcake paper-lined muffin tins. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cool completely.
2. Tint the frosting pink with a few drops of food coloring, set aside
3. Remove the paper liners from the cupcakes. Top the cones with the cupcakes, and cover with pink frosting. Decorate with M&M’S® Brand Chocolate Candies and sprinkles.
Tip: You can use flat bottom wafer cones in place of sugar cones.

Conversation Heart Fudge

Ingredients
DARK CHOCOLATE LAYER:
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt

WHITE CHOCOLATE LAYER:
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
Dash of salt

OTHER INGREDIENTS AND MATERIALS:
Aluminum foil
64 conversation hearts
64 red foil bonbon cups or mini muffin cups
Clear or red cellophane wrap, cut into 64 5- by 6-inch rectangles
Sparkly pipe cleaners in red, pink, or silver

Instructions
1. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl, combine the dark chocolate layer ingredients. Microwave the mixture on high at 30-second intervals until the chocolate is melted (about a minute), stirring at each interval. When the mixture's smooth, use a spatula to spread it evenly into the prepared pan.

3. In another medium-size microwave-safe bowl, combine the white chocolate layer ingredients. Repeat the melting process as described in step 2, but stir at 20-second intervals, as white chocolate tends to scorch easily. Spread the white chocolate evenly over the dark chocolate layer.

4. While the fudge is still warm, use a knife to gently score it into 1-inch squares, then put a candy heart on top of each square.

5. Chill the fudge uncovered in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or until firm. Lift the foil to remove the fudge from the pan and place the whole hunk of fudge on a cutting board. Use a large knife (a parent's job) to cut apart the squares, then peel off the foil from the bottom.

6. Place each fudge square into a foil bonbon cup or mini muffin cup. Center the cup on a cellophane square and wrap it as shown on page 53, using 1-inch pieces of pipe cleaner to secure the ends. Makes 64 bite-size pieces. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for added firmness.

Need a treat for a school party? This is such a CUTE idea!

I Choo-Choose You Cupcakes

Ingredients
Prebaked cupcakes
Frosting (enough to ice the cupcakes with a little left over for building the engines)
Tootsie Rolls (the short kind, not the long kind)
Toothpicks
Red licorice
Serrated knife
Small peanut butter cups
Cinnamon Red Hots
Red gel icing
Scissors ,white paper, markers, and tape

Instructions
1. Frost the cupcakes, reserving a little icing to build the train engines. For each one, unwrap a Tootsie Roll and slice off one third of its length (the Tootsie Roll is actually scored into three sections). Firmly press this slice atop the back end of the remaining piece so that it sticks in place to create the train engine's body.

2. Use a toothpick to anchor a 1/2-inch piece of licorice to the top of the engine for a smokestack. With a serrated knife, gently saw a peanut butter cup in half (a parent's job). Then attach one half, turned upside down, to the front of the engine to form a cowcatcher. Use frosting to stick three cinnamon Red Hots for wheels along the bottom of each side.

3. Set the engine on top of the cupcake and press it slightly into the frosting. Then use red gel icing to draw a train track in front and in back of the engine. Finally, cut out a paper steam puff. Print on the message "I choo-choose you!" and tape it to the toothpick .

A Little About Myself...

I'm a wife to an Amazing man who supports me in all that I do & we are blessed to have 2 beautiful children. Our daughter's name is Rylee & she is a 5 year old energetic little sweetheart! Our son's name is Wyatt & he joined our family on November 5, 2010...he is such a sweet spirit & happy little boy! I am blessed to be a stay at home mom & over the years I have grown to have a passion for planning parties & get togethers. I come from a family of 7 & over the years we have all started our own lives; whether it be getting married & having children or getting a nice job & having to move away from home. So I have always strived to plan get together for our family so we are still able to see each other & have FUN while doing it. Now that I have a family of my own, I have started that tradition with our family. I think it is Wonderful when we can take the time away from our busy lives & get together with family/friends. That is the driving force behind me wanting to start this blog. I myself have been to many events & have so many great ideas that I would love to share with you & hope that I can be of some help if you too are looking for ways to make your get togethers more FUN!!!