Easter Treats!

Hey y'all! I thought I would show you some ideas for treats I did for this Easter. I wanted to do them early enough so that you could get the ingredients and make them yourself without having a "moment." Us moms are ensured to have those every now and again, so I try to keep them at a minimum. Ha.

In this post I've got some White Chocolate Covered Strawberries, Red Velvet Bon Bons, and Marshmallow Goodies. Mmmmm.

First up, White Chocolate Covered Strawberries

These are pretty simple. I'm sure you've made them yourself once. If not, never fear!
Ingredients needed:

• Vanilla almond bark
• Food coloring
• 1 or 2 sandwich baggies 
• Strawberries
• Baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper

Steps:

1. Rinse strawberries in colander. Lay them out on a kitchen towel to dry.
2. Put 1/2 of the almond bark into a microwave-safe bowl and nuke them at 15 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. 
3. If you are using 2 colors in all then take a heaping spoonful of melted chocolate and put it into the other bowl. If you are using 3 colors in all repeat with another bowl as well.
4. Drop whatever color food coloring in each bowl you want to use into the chocolate. A little goes a long way. Only a drop or two will do. 
5. Dip dry strawberries into the first bowl, hold the green leaves, and twist each strawberry in the chocolate until it is mostly covered. 
6. Put onto baking sheet/ parchment paper. 
7. Continue until all strawberries are covered. If you need more chocolate then use another bowl to microwave it and pour into bowl/s that are running low. 
8. Take the other colors and put each into a sandwich baggy with a spoon. 
9. Cut the sandwich baggy at the tip where the chocolate will come out. The tinier the cut the smaller the string of chocolate. 
10. Once you are done decorating them time to put them in the fridge for about 10 minutes. 

Red Velvet Bon Bons

These take a little more effort, but are worth it all!

Ingredients needed:

• Red velvet cake mix (ingredients to make the box cake as well)
• Tub of cream cheese icing
• Small ice cream scooper or a tablespoon measure
• Chocolate almond bark
• Baking mat/ parchment paper on baking sheet
• Sprinkles

Steps: 

1. Bake the cake according to the directions.

      2. After cooking, put the cake into a big mixing bowl and break up the cake with a fork. Let cool.
      3. Spoon the cream cheese icing into the cake and stir until combined.

      

      4. Use the ice cream scooper or tablespoon measurer scoop out the cake mixture and roll it into a             ball. Put it on the baking sheet. This part was extremely messy. Melt 1/2 of the almond bark in             a microwave-safe bowl at 15 sec. increments until creamy. 

      5. Drop one cake ball in and use a fork to cover it with chocolate.
      6. Scoop up the cake ball with the fork and tap it against the side of the bowl. This will remove               excess chocolate.
      7. Use a toothpick to help guide the Bon Bon off of the fork and onto the baking sheet.
      8. After three are done I sprinkle them with different sprinkles. If you do too many before you                 sprinkle, the chocolate will be hardened. No bueno!
      9. After you have completed all Bon Bons they need to go in the refrigerator for at least 10                       minutes. They taste great then, but the longer they are in the fridge the better they are. Trust                 me! I am an official Bon Bon taster... 

Marshmallow Goodies

These are so stinkin easy! And they are pretty! My kids loved them. 

Ingredients needed:

• Medium sized marshallows
• Pastel colored glitter
• Chocolate almond bark
• Sandwich baggy

Steps:

1. Using a knife, cut the ends of the marshmallow.
2. Dip each end into sugar.
3. Melt 2 blocks of almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl at 15 sec. increments until melted.
4. Put chocolate into baggy and cut a tiny hole at the tip
5. Poke a toothpick into the end of the marshmallow.
6. While holding the toothpick, you can now pipe the chocolate on the the sides of the marshmallow. 
7. Put them into the fridge for just a minute to harden the chocolate.

These are all treats that are fun for the kids to help make. And eat! It is not just a moment that you are making something for a party or a special meal. You are making memories with your kids, and believe me they will remember!

Enjoy!

Dannielle

7 Reasons Why I Love Homeschool

It's been almost a full year since I have started homeschooling. It's been over a year since I wanted to homeschool. Yes, I still have days where I want to pull my hair out. Ha! But more often then not, I have days that are great.

I recently started thinking about how homeschooling was whenI first started with Aiden and now. I remember mine and Aiden's frustration and my lack of patience. Now, my patience has grown (thank the Lord) and Aiden and I have come into an understanding of each other's role when "school" starts.

These are the 7 reasons why I love homeschool:

• I love my kids, no one will do more right by them than me. 
• I can delve further into a subject because one of my children are interested in it more. I take Aiden to a science center just about every week for him to go to a class and learn all things science with other homeschool kids.
• We can do school work in the car, outside, at the park ...ANYWHERE! That freedom is liberating.
• If we need a break, we TAKE it. 
• No more meaningless school days. Everyday we accomplish something or build upon what we have been working on.
• I am closer to my children. I am soaking up this time with them, because I know it won't last forever. 
• Our family as a unit has grown closer. When my husband is home he gets to be with them all of the time, so his time home is better. Our family is better. 

Today, for instance, Aiden wanted to do his school in his room. As long as he was of good attitude and getting his work done, I was all for it. 

This is Aiden catching me taking a picture of him. Haha. I love that boy. 

So, there you have it. These are my top seven reasons why I love homeschooling my children. They might change. Ask me in another year... Hehe.

Have a great one,
D

Planting a Home Garden Pt. 2

Okay, so after you have tested your soil, figured out what seeds you want to sow, and where you are going to sow them the next part is to dig!

There are nice fancy tillers, just your run o' the mill tillers, and a shovel. Because I'm going the low budget route, my choice was a shovel.

I used an extra spray paint can that I had laying around the house to mark where I would start each row. You can make your rows as wide or as thin as you'd like. One to three feet is a good choice. You would have already figured this stuff out with the garden plan that you drew up. Once you loosen the ground with the shovel, get the grass and roots out. If you leave the roots guess what you'll have... more grass. Ugh! You don't want anything to deprive your precious plants from getting what they need. 

After you have turned up your soil, you'll want to mix in compost. The ideal time to mix in compost is in the fall before spring. That way your soil has a chance to give it's best when springtime comes and you are growing your little seedlings. But... better late than never. I used composted cow manure, but there are plenty of compost options to choose from. 

Once the garden is ready to be planted, you'll want to make sure you plant your seeds or seedlings when you are supposed to. 'Round here in Florida, the last hard frost is in March usually. Most plants will be planted after this time. You can go to this site to find out what your last hard frost date it. A few but not the only exceptions to this will be carrots, spinach, onions, and parsley. These are frost hardy not frost proof. 

Items you will need for planting:

• Garden trowel - to dig the bigger holes
• 18" Ruler - you will need this to determine just how far away to plant each seed/seedling
• Pencil - you will use the eraser part to make small holes for the seeds
• Garden gloves - unless you want your fingernails to look horrid 
• Tray - half sheet baking trays work great, this is for all your small supplies to carry at one time

Now get to planting! Good luck and don't forget to water... ;) By watering, I don't mean drowning them like I did the first time I used a soaker hose. Ugh...

Happy gardening,

D