DISNEY ADVENTURES

Hidy Ho everybody! How are you doing this early spring morning? I am fantastic. In a lot of pain, but FANtastic! My baby is home! YAY and life can get back to normal. LOL… no really I am so glad she had a blast but she said she was happy to be home LOL. Works for me! She took tons of pictures and she said I could blog them for you to enjoy, so here we go!



This first shot is some of my “kids” posing especially for me. They all roomed together on the trip. Hanna, Danielle, Katie, and Madison all calling me mom each day/night and telling me about their adventures. They are good girls.



Here is the DD with her Mickey Ears LOL. Dad and I were teasing her that it was almost like “required” that if you go to Disney World, ya GOTTA get some Mickey Ears! They’re were tons of kids wearing all kinds of crazy hats when they got off the bus when they got home! LOL… Anyway, don’t even ask what she is eating here, as I don’t think I want to know LOL! I saw alot of the kids getting off the bus with some funky hats! Many with ears and many with character hats. These poor kids looked like they had a blast but were all a little red and definitely exhausted!



OK, DD thought that since I do parties and such, that I would get a kick out of this picture, and she’s right! These are apples coated and decorated in true Disney fashion! I might try this one day and see if I can replicate it LOL. Might be fun for a party idea!



May I present the Dickinson High School Symphonic Band performing in Downtown Disney Market on Buena Vista Drive in Florida! I hear the performance was excellent! No this is not all the kids in the band… just a section of them. The man you see up front in the shirt and tie is Mr. McDonald. He has been the director for many many years and takes good care of the kids!



In this picture, DD is starting her tour of the veggies that she wanted to get pics of just for me LOL. Isn’t she the sweetest thing? All of the plants are hydroponic and specially “bred” if you will for Disney.



Here they are! The infamous Mickey shaped cucumbers! Sadly the pumpkins had not grown and filled the molds yet, but she did get a picture of the empty molds to show me what they looked like too!



This is the tomato tree… yes you heard me right! Is that thing not ginormous!!!! I don’t know what I would do if I could get this to grow in my back yard… I would be one happy woman for sure!



Ever wonder what BLACK pepper looks like growing up before it hits your plate? Well look no more! Ain’t this cool! I’ve never seen pepper (like ground black pepper) growing before!



DD again having fun on the little photo opps… for kids half her size! LOL! It doesn’t matter, she’s my nerd and I love her and I am so glad this picture shows her having fun!

I got tons of other pictures too but that gives you a glimpse, She wanted to share a little of her trip. She also told me to tell everyone thank you for “trying to cheer up mom” while she was gone LOL! I told you she worries too much and is just like me! Oh I have one more to share with you LOL…



This is DD and I wrestling around on her bed last night LOL. I was teasing her that this trip was rough on me and she couldn’t leave me at least for one year (when I had a chance to recuperate) LOL. I told her I was gonna lay on her and lock her here… so that’s about the time DH snapped this picture LOL! She started saying (teasing me) that she had to start looking at colleges and such and I covered her mouth and said "SHUUUUSH! Not tonight!" She just started rolling and laughing so hard!

I laid with her for about 3 hours last night. Yes I cried cause she was home, but I was listening to all her stories and adventures. She was so wound up it wasn’t funny LOL. She looked exhausted and I kept telling her to rest, but she kept saying she wasn’t sleepy LOL. I told her I would stay with her and she could let the body slow down and relax and I bet she would be out! She gets in her “kid-like” moments (which I don’t mind LOL) so she curled up in my arm and I rubbed her forehead and ran my fingers through her hair… not even 2 minutes later… chickie is snoring in my ear! LOL! Anyone want to take bets on how long she sleeps today? LMAO!

Speaking of chickie’s, I thought today’s Easter crafts could be about some Baby Chicks, so here are a few crafts for your Easter Enjoyment!

Craft Ideas of the Day: Easter Chick Crafts



Chick or Duckling Beaded Safety Pin Design

Materials Needed:

14 - 1 1/16 inches Safety Pins
1 - 2 inch Safety Pin
Seed Beads (refer to picture for colors needed)

Instructions:

It is helpful, but not necessary, to have a needle-nose pliers and a small, flat-head screwdriver. Depending on the pattern you choose, you will usually need between 10 and 14 small safety pins. Open a safety pin, and slip the seed beads onto it. Once all beads are in place, close the safety pin. You may want to use the needle-nose pliers to pinch the end of the safety pin so it will not pop open later. Repeat this step until all the safety pins are beaded. Now you are ready to put all the beaded pins onto a larger safety pin. Open the large safety pin (the size you need will be stated in the pattern). Use the flat-head screwdriver to slightly pry apart the coils at the end of the large pin. Slip the loop of the first beaded safety pin onto the large one. Pull it down to the loop at the base of the large pin. Pull it around the loop and up the back-side of the pin. Repeat this for each beaded safety pin. Once all your beaded safety pins are on your larger pin, use the pliers and squeeze the loop to close it. You can now pin your new safety pin jewelry onto your shirt, hat, shoelaces, etc.

Each number column represents a pin; for example, your first pin will have 10 light blue beads on it. Your second pin will have 2 light blue beads, 5 yellow beads, and 3 light blue beads on it. When you thread these beaded pins onto your larger pin, start with pin number 1.



Light Bulb Chick

For this project you will need:

Paint
Wiggle Eyes
Craft Foam or Felt
Toilet Paper Roll
Feathers
Ribbon
Craft Glue or Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Paint Brush
Scissors

First you need to paint your light bulb. Typically, a chick would be yellow, but you can certainly paint yours any color you like. If you want to make your light bulb a little stronger before you paint it, consider covering it with a few layers of paper mache.

Glue the wiggle eyes onto your chick. If you don't have wiggle eyes, you can simply paint on eyes or use buttons or whatever else you have on hand.

To make feet for your chick, which will also double as a stand, cut a ring off the toilet paper roll that is about an inch high. Cut a piece of orange craft foam that is jagged along the botton to look like the chick's feet. Glue it around the toilet paper roll. Glue the toilet paper roll ring to the bottom of the light bulb.

Now you can add the rest of the details to your light bulb chick craft. Glue on feathers where the wings are and cut out a small triangle from craft foam or felt and glue it in place to be the beak. I also added a small feather to the top of the head. Use your imagination and personal your chick however you like.



Pom-Pom Chick Easter Craft

This freshly hatched springtime craft is great for kids or adults to enjoy making this Easter!

You’ll Need:

Large yellow pom-pom
craft feathers
small wiggle eyes
orange felt or craft foam
glue dots or craft glue (see note)
a plastic Easter egg
a large plastic button for place holders (optional)

Note: For this craft I recommend glue dots, thick craft glue or a hot glue gun (adults only). Regular white glue can be frustrating when using it on felt or pom-poms.

Craft Instructions:

This craft is best suited for children over 10, or younger children with adult assistance. Snip a small triangle from the orange craft foam to make the beak. If you are making place holders, glue the pom-pom onto a button and press firmly and then re-shape the pom-pom if needed–this is the stand. If you are not making place holders then you do not need to use the buttons. Select a yellow feather for the tail and attach it to the pom-pom with a glue dot. You may need to trim the feather a bit. Now attach the eyes and beak with glue and place the chick into a plastic egg and you’re done! For an Easter surprise cover the chick with the plastic egg top and include him in an Easter basket or with your egg hunt. or set a fun and festive Easter table with freshly hatched springtime chick place holders.

So there you have some cute chick crafts you can add to your Easter décor if you’d like. Now, lets talk about something I am so hungry for… FOOD! Anything right now would do. I made the gang breakfast for dinner last night cause that is what DD wanted. BIG ol’ omelets with butter croissants and bacon strips! YUMMY! Madison said the breakfasts they had well, pardon the language, kinda sucked and she wanted momma’s good old southern breakfast LOL! So that’s what she got! But for some reason I woke up with the incurable munchies this morning. Tonight it’s a big huge pot of chicken Alfredo pasta for us, but I DO have this little gem I want to share with all of my friends here. With St. Patty’s Day tomorrow, I thought I’d share a “traditional” Irish Dinner whicha… LOL…



Corned Beef and Cabbage

Ingredients

4 1/2 pounds corned beef brisket
5 black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 onion, peeled and left whole
2 bay leaves
1 pinch salt
1 small head cabbage, cored and cut into wedges
6 large potatoes, quartered
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons butter

Directions

In a 6 quart Dutch oven, Place the beef brisket, peppercorns, garlic powder, onion, bay leaves and salt. Fill pan with water to cover everything plus one inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Skim off any residue that floats to the top. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 hours, until meat can be pulled apart with a fork.

Once the meat is done, add the cabbage, potatoes and carrots, pressing them down into the liquid. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Skim off any oil that comes to the surface. Stir in the butter and parsley. Remove the pot from the heat.

Remove meat from the pot and place onto a serving dish and let rest for 15 minutes. Also remove vegetables to a bowl and keep warm. Slice meat on the diagonal against the grain. Serve meat on a platter and spoon juices over meat and vegetables.

Well kids, that’s all for me today. Mother Nature is taking care of watering my plants for me today, so I guess that is one less thing off my to-do list LOL! I think today I am just gonna let everyone sleep in a bit and enjoy the quiet snores of my family humming in the background of the cats running around like an Indie car race LOL! I wish you all well and I will see you back here tomorrow! HUGS!