Finding Dory Party

Finding Dory Party Spread:

We went to see Finding Dory for my son's 4th Birthday, and decided to use it as a theme for his birthday dinner with our family. Since all the fuss was about him and his birthday, I tried to include him as much as possible in the preparations. He absolutely loved being included! I had to remind myself along the way that the main goal wasn't to have perfect decorations, but to make sure he had fun, and that he felt special. He loved having a sense of authority, and he did an awesome job helping me out! I found many wonderful ideas on Pinterest. Checkout my Pinterest board here, and follow me on Pinterest for other fun ideas. We used these pins as inspiration for our Finding Dory Party.  Here is how it all turned out!

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

Since I have an 11 month old that likes to eat everything in sight, I decided to place my coral reef streamer up and out of her reach. Also I used yellow because that was the color we had on hand, but I was really happy with how it turned out. I traced a fish cookie cutter on blue card stock to get these cute fish shapes.

Free Coloring Pages:

My son was super interested while I was searching Pinterest and making plans for the party, and when he saw these coloring pages, he really wanted to paint them! So I printed them out, set him up with paint, and got back to the Pinterest search. We loved how they turned out so we hung them up as part of the party decor. He was so proud to display them for everyone.

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for these free coloring pages here.

Execution:

He used scotch tape and hung them on the wall all by himself!

Welcome Sign:

Snag the free printable download of  my Finding Dory welcome sign below.

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

Finding Dory Party Sign Free Printable Download

Free Printable Download of Dory Party Sign

Food Ideas:

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

I had planned to use the above idea to make fish shaped watermelon pieces for the party. I showed the picture to my son to let him know what we were going to be doing, and he got stuck on the star shape idea. We went with it and made both fish and starfish. He loved making these with me, and he did a really great job! It ended up being really nice to have a smaller star shape to use up the smaller scraps of watermelon. I was surprised at how much scrap we still had even after using the small stars.

We gathered all the scraps in a separate bowl to be enjoyed after the party. One large watermelon made one large tray of cute sea creatures and one large bowl of scraps.

As we were using the cookie cutters to make the shapes in the watermelon, he said, "Everybody is going to love it!" He was so proud of the great job he was doing. Here he is enjoying his Fishy watermelon at the party!

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

This kid is such a character, he can't take a picture without making a silly face.

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

 

 Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

We made purple Seaweed because my son picked purple grapes, and it was his Birthday after all. Again, the most important thing was that he was having fun, not that the fruit was the perfect color. He loved having he authority to choose the color of grapes. People ought to feel like kings and queens on their birthdays, and I think he did!

Pinterest Inspiration:

 Click here to get the printable of these fins and tails from asthebunnyhops.com.

Execution:

I really loved this idea, but I decided to create dory's eyes myself instead of using googly eyes. I printed them out on a word document and used a larger 1 1/2 hole punch to save time cutting. The fins and tails were quite time consuming to cut out. They were also very skinny making them hard to attach to the cup with the glue dots. In the end they were a big hit at the party so I was glad we did it. I also decided to just draw the mouths on with a permanent marker. This was mostly because I couldn't find any black paper, but we made several different expressions, and they turned out pretty cute!

Here is a link to the Free Printable Download of these Dory Eyes

Pinterest Inspiration:

Find the link for this inspiration here.

Execution:

I ended up forgetting about this one until after the hot dogs were cooked so I cut some up afterwards real quick. The tentacles didn't curl up as well since I didn't cut them before they cooked, but they were still pretty cute.

 

Original Ideas:

Blank Food Labels:

At first I was going to design these with words already on them. I never got around to doing it, and in the end I was actually glad that they were blank. Once I had the food in front of me, it was nice to have blank ones so I could write in what I needed to.

 

Free Downloads for Finding Dory Food Labels

Custom Drawn Napkin Holders:

We got my son some Finding Dory Stickers from the Dollar Store for his birthday, and I thought this would be a fun way to use them. He colored paper orange to be wrapped and taped around the napkins and utensils. Then he thoughtfully placed one sticker on each one. This project kept him busy for a while, and he was very proud to share these with his guests.

Bubbles... Bubbles... My Bubbles! (From Finding Nemo)

Fish & Chips:

Fish Out of Water Popcorn Balls:

My son helped me make these popcorn balls. He had so much fun, and was so proud!

I think he had a pretty great birthday over all. I am glad he was so willing to help out! I still cant believe my little guy is four! Happy Birthday Big Guy!

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My Life is a Gift- Free Nursery Printable

We love Primary Music, so I decided to make these wall hangings with lines from some of our favorite primary songs for my daughter's Nursery.

"My Life is a Gift" line from the primary song I Will Follow God's Plan For Me.

I Am a Child of God 

We have these hanging above her changing table with one of my favorite newborn pictures of her from the hospital.

I think she likes them!

You can right click the images below and select "Save image as...", and then send them to your favorite store for photo printing.

Or you can click below to print these directly from your personal printer.

Nursery- My Life is a Gift & I am a Child of God Printable Version

I hope you enjoy these, and that they remind you to sing great songs with your little one!

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Freezer Friendly Meals

It is always nice to have freezer meals available at home. Whether you are stocking up your freezer to prepare for the upcoming busy school year, or you are getting ready to have a baby, meals in your freezer give you a sense of security. There are a couple different types of freezer meals that I use, ones that are frozen before they are baked, and ones that are cooked and then frozen in individual serving sizes. I personally prefer the latter, but use both.

Precooked Individual Serving Size Freezer Meals:

The meals that can be cooked first are nice because they can be frozen in individual serving sizes. This makes it convenient to pull out the desired amount and quickly warm in the microwave at a moments notice. I especially love doing this with soups and enchiladas. Click the links below to find recipes that I enjoy freezing in individual serving sizes.

Taco Soup

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce (Coming Soon)

Spaghetti

Tatter Tot Casserole (Coming Soon)

Asian Pulled Pork (Coming Soon)

How to Freeze Soup:

My mom taught me this nifty trick for freezing soup without tying up your dishes in the freezer. Check it out.

Recipes That are Frozen Before They are Baked:

These recipes serve their purpose too. Since they are not cooked yet, they take up a larger family sized dish. These are great if you know you will have company, and don't want to miss out by spending all your time in the kitchen. However, they typically require advanced notice as they can take several hours to thaw/cook. These meals don't work so well on those nights when 5:00 sneaks up on you and you haven't prepared anything for dinner yet. You kinda have to plan in advance to use these type of freezer meals, which is why I don't like them as much as the precooked individual serving size ones. I do however like to use these on Sundays. I let them thaw while we are gone to church, and then come home and bake them for an hour or so. Sometimes it is nice to have a break from all the meal prep and still have a home cooked meal. Some of my  favorite recipes to freeze before they are baked are listed below. Click the links to get my recipes.

Mama's Lasagna

White Vegetarian Lasagna with Artichokes and Mushrooms (Coming Soon)

I hope you enjoy these freezer meals. Check back often for new freezer friendly recipes, or Subscribe to receive emails about new posts on the blog.

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Originally posted on August 18, 2017

Spaghetti

This Spaghetti Recipe is great because you can change it up depending on what you have in your fridge. If you are like me, you almost always have the backbones like spaghetti noodles, and spaghetti sauce in your pantry. Just throw in some extra ingredients and spices and you have yourself an exceptional Spaghetti. I like to serve this with salad  or steamed Vegetables and garlic Parmesan toast to make it a meal. To make the toast just butter bread and sprinkle some garlic salt and powdered Parmesan cheese. For extra flare sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Bake in a toaster oven or in an oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until lightly toasted.

Spaghetti Vegetarian Style with onions, bell peppers, carrots and celery.

Enjoy!

If you have any leftovers, they can easily be frozen and served at a later time. To read more about freezing leftovers go here.

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Originally posted on August 18, 2016

Taco Soup

This Taco Soup is one of my favorites because not only is it a crowd pleaser, it is easy on the budget, and easy to make. It doesn't get much easier than dumping all  the ingredients in a crock pot and returning a few hours later! This recipe is also super versatile. I like to alternate between using canned chicken and browned ground beef, and I have even made it vegetarian by adding extra beans and omitting the meat all together. I like to switch up what type of beans I use as well including, kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans. No matter how I alter this recipe, it seems to turn out great! It is a very forgiving recipe, so if you have an idea, run with it. I like to double the batch, eat some for dinner, and freeze the rest. Find out How to Freeze Soup here.

Gather all ingredients, I only had one can of corn and the recipe calls for two, but it turned out fine with only one.

Open all cans (except the chicken) and dump them in juices and all!

Add in the taco seasoning.

Drain the canned chicken before adding it to the crock pot.

Give the soup a good stir.

Let cook in crock pot for 2-3 hours on high.

Serve hot.

This soup can also be garnished with tortilla chips, sour cream (or plain yogurt), and shredded cheddar cheese.

Mix it all up, and YUM! This is my favorite way to eat it. Enjoy!

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Originally posted on August 18, 2016