Creative Casserole

This has been one of my favorite meals since I was a child. My mom used to make this tater tot casserole all the time when I was little and it was always a fight over the last bit in our house. Now I make it for my family and my husband and son cant get enough.

The ingredients are: A bag of Tater Tots, a can of Whole Kernel Corn (I also like to use a can of peas or green beans but my family likes corn the best), a can of Cream Of Mushroom Soup, 3/4 cup milk, ground beef and 2 cups shredded cheese.

Brown the hamburger, drain then season with salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning. Spread the hamburger in the bottom of a casserole dish. Pour the drained can of corn over the hamburger. Pour the soup into a bowl and thin with the milk then pour the soup mixture over the corn. Sprinkle the cheese over the soup mixture then arrange the tater tots on top of the cheese, make sure they are close together. Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour.

Light Box

I am throwing my best friend a baby shower next month and I have been hand making all the decorations and since I need multiple decorations that look the same I have been tracing a lot of things. But I ran into a problem the other night. I was making Drink Me tags to hang off liter soda bottles, the shower is Alice In Wonderland themed, and the paper I was using was to thick to see through when I tried to trace my design. So I made myself a light box using a beer box that was about to be recycled, glass from a 8x10 frame, Duct Tape and a flash light. It worked so well and made making the tags a breeze! Here is what I did:

I cut off the flaps on the top of the box then I put Duct Tape over the handles in the side of the box. I then traced around the glass on the bottom of the box and used a box cutter to cut a square smaller then the square I traced. I cut slits for the corners of the glass to stick into so the glass wouldn't slide when I was drawing on top of it.

I then put my flash light under the box and turned it on. It was amazing and now I have an easy way to trace things in the future!

A Bright Bath Time Idea

I have been seeing posts of people putting glow sticks in their bath tubs for their kids all over the internet and I thought it was a bright idea (haha). My son has been having a blast with them and loves bath time now, he runs to the bathroom and starts the water whenever I ask him if he wants to go play with the glow sticks. It has also become an educational tool for us, it has been a great way to teach my son colors. His baths have become calmer since he is pretty much taking a bath in the dark, he is pretty relaxed when he gets out which is a great change for the both of us. After I drain the water I gather up all the sticks and put them on his dresser, they make an amazing night light! Who knew there were so many ways to use glow sticks!

I buy our glow sticks from the Dollar Tree where they sell a 15 pack for...you guessed it...$1

Morning Motivational Mug

I have been seeing these D.I.Y. mugs all over Pinterest and I think that they are a really cool idea, I love anything that I can personalize myself. Since I have been trying to really get in shape and eat healthy I wanted to put a motivational quote on mine. I figured by reading the quote while I drink a cup of coffee first thing in the morning I would get inspired and start my day out right.

I used a mug from the Dollar Tree, a thin black Sharpie marker and a thick black Sharpie marker.

I outlined the quote on the mug first with the thin Sharpie marker.

Then I went over the quote with the thick Sharpie marker and colored in the block letters. I then placed the mug on a cookie sheet and baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I hand wash mine.

Enjoying my coffee and getting motivated at the same time....genius!

My Sick Baby Solutions

Flu season has hit in my house already! My son just caught a cold so I have been pampering him like crazy and doing what I can to give him some relief and move the cold along as fast as I can and so far everything has been working well. Here is what I have been using:

I love my Vicks Behind Ear Thermometer! Its kind of pricy but its the best way to take a squirmy toddlers temperature. I just place it behind my sons ear and hold down the button for a second and that's all it takes. His temp shows up on the screen which will be lit up with a green light if he doesn't have a temp or a yellow light if he has a slight temp or a red light if you has a high fever....its amazing! I also use Vicks Gentle Vapors Night Light, I put the Gentle Vapors Pad in the night light, plug it in and his whole room fills with the soothing vapors. I put Vicks Baby Rub on his chest and back to help with his congestion. I use Little Colds Honey Elixir to sooth his cough and sore throat during the day along with regular Ibuprofen to help control his aches and fever. But I like to use Nighttime Cold 'n Cough at night. I put a couple drops of Lavender and Eucalyptus oil in his warm bath water at night to help calm him. My son gets super congested when he gets sick so I like to plug in our Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier next to his bed at night to help him breath a little better. I make sure to give him lots of liquids, like Minute Maid's Tropical Punch and of course lots of water. And last but not least I make sure he takes his multivitamin every day.

If my son is really complaining of a sore throat then I make him some ginger tea, which I buy from Target, and add about 1/2 a tablespoon of honey a slice of an orange. I let it steep for about 5 minutes then take out the tea bag and orange slice then pour the tea concoction in his sippy cup...he loves it and it really seems to help him. 

"If you treat a sick child like an adult and a sick adult like a child, everything usually works out pretty well." -Ruth Carlisle