Instead of boring you all that are on newsletter updates with a bunch of Wii-related posts on a regular basis for those that don’t care, I decided to start a brand new section on Idea Queen for all the game reviews. This new section is under the Crafts & Activities area of the site and titled “Family Games for Wii“. I’ve set up a unique scoring based on several areas which I feel a family game full of activities should have. Since the purpose of a Wii is to get kids up and moving, this is also part of our scoring which may make even some really good games a little “off” to other reviews. You’ll also find links to Amazon above every review in case you’d like to purchase the game or read what others have to say, since we’ve found some of the best deals can be found on that site (just...
We tried out a fun new recipe the other night, and I just knew it was going to be a hit. My picky son still wouldn’t eat much of it, but I never know what he will or will not eat (his tastes seem to change by the hour, so don’t let that stop you from trying this!). What you’ll need: Boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips 1 cup (8oz) sour cream Garlic salt Onion salt Paprika (optional) Potato chips, crushed Take your sour cream and mix with spices in one bowl. Put your potato chips in another bowl. (For those familiar with making any kind of breading, the sour cream is the liquid part, and the potato chips are the coating). Warning – you WILL get messy. The original recipe says to “dip”, but you just can’t without getting your hands down in it. My suggestion is to drop in as much...
Yes, after many grumbles about hearing how everyone else got a Wii, we finally got one ourselves. With a slightly overweight 6-yr-old and me trying to lose weight as well, I finally justified the cost as something this couch potato family really did need. Now one thing I will tell you – we did NOT buy it from eBay or anywhere else online. I still am just floored how much those are selling for. I’ve yet to see one sell for under $300 on ebay and just about as much at other stores when you add in shipping, which is just nuts to me. The auctions that include a bunch of extras, well, I can understand that. But the ones with just the basic Wii – a set of controllers (remote and nunchuk), the console, and Wii Sports – I can’t understand why those are selling so high. I paid $250 plus tax on one from our local Game...
With my best friend’s baby shower coming up soon, I’ve been on the lookout for some interesting handmade baby toys to make. But while looking at patterns in Joanne’s today, I decided that a teddy bear might be fun to make. I really didn’t want to spend something like $8 on a pattern I probably wouldn’t use more than once, so came home to look. After carefully scanning loads of patterns, I found the absolute perfect one. This one is four pieces – all body and no little “parts”. This to me is huge, since I have a hard time assembling things like arms and ears. But THIS pattern is so simple I think just about anyone can do it. (Warning – the above link is a .PDF file, so may take a few extra seconds to load). One small tip though – it took me a few minutes to realize when you are sewing...
Let’s face it – the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to decorate a kids room is with posters. Not just any posters though, but rather ones features their own personal interests. For Christmas I had found a book of Hanna Montana posters that included probably 10 or more sheet-of-paper-sized posters. Since I have a Hanna Montana fan, this made an excellent gift. It also dressed up her room a lot, and she loved it. Full size posters are also great, and both my kids have those on their walls as well. We got them pretty cheap, spending no more than $5 on each of them. But what else can you use for fun kids room decor? Well, how about some personalized art? Just about every place that sells crafts also sells poster boards for a little bit of nothing. You know, the giant sheets of paper the same size as a full size poster, usually...
Since I have a son who is crazy about books, I’m always looking for ways to include his love for reading in family activities. Recently he picked up a Goosebumps book, and has since fallen in love with the series. Now I’m especially glad that Goosebumps is so popular that everyone in his class knows it. Peer pressure can sometimes work in their advantage, that’s for sure. Not only do they all know the books, but the series as well. I managed to find a few DVDs for Christmas, and he absolutely loves them. With there being both books and a TV show, we’ve come up with an excellent activity to do together. First he reads the book and talks about it. Next we locate the show that goes with it (I have Netflix, and have put a few of those on my list), and then talk about the differences. At school in years to come he’ll...
Since we live in a small town that lacks a true class system in the schools (at least for now), my kids are more or less friends with everyone in their classes. After school, though, they have some specific friends they play with quite often, mostly because they are in the neighborhood (although in a small town like this, no one is more than a mile away unless they live in the country). I know my son’s little after school “group” quite well. There’s the boy across the street who he’s known since preschool (they are in 2nd grade now), the two boys on either sides of town who seem to wander over in this direction often, and the little girl up the street. Five of them in all who run together on a regular basis, and are all in the same class this year. My son has always been an excellent reader and fantastic at spelling...
My daughter loves to watch Food Network. Actually, she just loves food in general. At six, she’s informed me she wants to be a chef when she grows up, that is, if her pop star career doesn’t take off. He he. I’ve been mulling this idea over for awhile, thinking I’d love to give her a head start on this career. It worries me a bit, since living in the middle of nowhere it’s not like we have a whole lot of opportunities for gourmet cooking. The closest we have to a fancy restaurant is Applebees and Red Lobster. Still, I think she might go far if given some encouragement. I was poking around the other day, and came across a website called Spatulatta.com, which focuses on cooking with kids. They have videos and recipes, as well as fun things to make that encourages healthy eating. This is pretty important to us,...
Now I know, it may be one of the oldest resolutions out there (and the easiest one to fail on), but that’s what I made this year. Mostly because I’ve already been at it for over two months now with huge success. My goal? Another 15 pounds, making me less than I have been in nearly ten years. It started somewhere in October. I weight a whopping 170 pounds, and I just felt fat. Who’s really comfortable being overweight? Not me, that’s for sure. Especially when my own mother is a good 50 pounds under me. Yes, she’s a toothpick, and I remind her of it daily. I no longer go clothes shopping with her, and if she tries, I tell her perhaps my kids have clothes she can wear. Back to my own weight issues……. Being a tad on the short side, I really should be around 130 lbs or less. That was my BC weight (you...
For Christmas I got a brand new kitchen toy – and I LOVE toys for the kitchen. An omelet maker! My kids were quite happy to see this, as previous attempts at making omelets were a bit sad. Out of all the things I can make in the kitchen, omelets just aren’t one of them. But this little toy is just FANTASTIC. We tried it out for the first time last night, scrambling up four eggs and adding a few tasty ingredients (cheese, garlic salt, and cilantro……sounds a bit odd, but it was actually very good). I was just amazed how fast it cooked and how easy it was to slip them right out of the wells. Now I like omelets alright, but in order to get full use out of this, I’m on the hunt for other ideas. I’m a bit nervous as this is meant for eggs, but I”m sure there are other things we could cook in it. I’m...
