An Easter Tradition…You’ve Been Egged!

While I’m very hit or miss when it comes to my blog, I enjoy seeing some of the traditions that we’ve been consistent with. This is one we’ve done the last 2 years now, and this year will be our third! In our new house! We hit our first house today (scroll down for pics), and will do two more tomorrow (weather permitting).

Anywho, here are the FREE printables we use for our secret endeavors…and scroll down to see the excitement we had the previous two years. =)

Here’s what the print out says (it’s a bit tricky to read it as is):

Look at that, you’ve just been EGGed!

But do not be alarmed!

We came, we dropped, we ran away!

Your house, it was not harmed.

 

“Why the egg?” you ask right now.

Why this Easter surprise?

To spread the news that Christ is risen,

Some eggs lay in disguise.

 

Some secret friends have dropped them by

To share some Easter cheer.

So now you’re it! It’s now your turn!

To “EGG” a house that’s near.

 

Christ has risen from the dead!

Jump, dance, shout and sing!

Celebrate along with us,

Let His praises ring!

Have fun finding the ____ eggs hidden in your yard!

 

Here’s your challenge:

1. Keep your sign on your door so those around know you’ve

been “egged”!

2. Then, fill some plastic eggs with candy, toys, or small notes

of encouragement.

3. Pick a friend or neighbor and scatter the eggs in their

yard when they are not at home, or under the safety of

darkness (If they don’t have a yard fill a basket and put

it on their doorstep.)

4. Tape an “You’ve Been Egged” sign to their front door, and

leave this note on their doorstep.

5. Enjoy the joy that comes with the spirit of Easter!

To print online go to:

http://rookietorockstar.blogspot.com/2014/03/an-easter-traditionyouve-been-egged.html

And look how fun…my kiddos from the past two years, then this year!

2012

2013

2014

Trick of the Trade Tuesday–Baby Names

First off…no, I don’t have an announcement.

Baby names…they’re so tricky, aren’t they?

They can’t remind you of that awful bully from school…

or that clinically insane patient of yours…

and it can’t be a complete failure in the name song (so long Tucker)

BOTH parents have to approve…

it has to be a name you won’t mind repeating over and over and over and over and over…

it has to “jive” with your last name (so long Nicholas)

it SHOULD fit with your previous kids’ names (Hmm…Cooper, Allison and Beauford?? Maybe )

maybe you consider it’s meaning (So long Calvin – Meaning: Bald (Latin). I don’t know, perhaps it might be fitting?? Love you hun!)

watch those initials lest they be taunted down the road (sorry Patrick Michael Sanders…at least you brought a chuckle to our small group, if it’s any consolation, mine isn’t far off: Becky J Nicholas, hehe)

some family names are just out…wouldn’t it be awkward if you named your kid after your sibling’s kid? (Shane, like ya, but no longer an option for our family)

See? Super tricky, right?? Well let me clue you in on a little secret that contributed to both our kiddos names.

*************MOVIE CREDITS************

Yes, as in…

See Allison up near the top there?

It’s no secret that my husband and I love to watch movies together. You could say it’s one of our favorite past times.

Our son’s name, we totally agreed on after seeing it in movie credits. We obviously chatted over many others, but kept coming back to Cooper. Don’t ask me which movie. I have no idea at this point, don’t even think it was from a Bradley Cooper movie (although I do know that it was Cooper as a last name, not a first, but I still love it!).

But knowing how crucial picking the right name is, if I’ve got the time, I’ll scan credits as I watch them in hopes of catching the right name. I may or may not even have a running list of names I like in my phone. I know, potentially laughable if we don’t have anymore kids. hehe

But hey, you could even do it for dog names!

So…there’s a reason for you to watch the credits…plenty of VERY “unique” names, if that’s what you’re looking for. Tolga, Ferdi and Mach just 3 from the credit page up above.

Good luck with your own baby name ideas!

Menu Plannin’ Monday

********DINNER MENU***********

Monday: Buffalo Pasta (carryover from last week…#hadnachosonsunday #momoftheyearaward #somuchforeatinghealthyin2014)

Tuesday: Good Greens Winter Soup (I always add store bought meatballs…and it’s better than it looks, I promise!)

Wednesday: Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad (I cheat and buy candied walnuts instead of making them)

Thursday: Middle Eastern Burgers (sorry, no pic…and if you read the recipe, I use pomegranate jelly. Sounds weird, but it tastes delish!)

Friday: Chicken Kabobs (an easy go-to in our household)

Saturday: Chicken & Gravy

Sunday: Fiesta Chicken Bake (couldn’t find it, so here it is below)

Fiesta Chicken Bake

6 chicken legs (thigh-drumstick pieces) (3-3 ½ lbs. total)

½ c. chopped onion (1 medium)

1 T cooking oil

1 14 ½-oz. can tomatoes, cut up

1 8 ¾-oz. can whole kernel corn, drained

1 4-oz. can diced green chili peppers, drained

1 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. pepper

Several dashes hot pepper sauce

½ c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 T sliced pitted ripe olives

Rice (optional)

Directions:

Skin chicken. Rinse; pat dry. Arrange chicken in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake in a 375◦ oven for 30 minutes. Drain fat.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a saucepan, cook onion in hot cooking oil until onion is tender but not brown. Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained corn, chili peppers, chili powder, paprika, cumin, pepper and hot sauce.

Pour sauce over chicken. Bake in 375◦ oven for 20-30 minutes more, basting occasionally with sauce. Sprinkle chicken with cheese and olives.

********BREAKFAST MENU***********

Monday: Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins (Also, a prime example of me on the path to becoming a “rock star”. Previously, I would’ve gone to make these and FREAKED OUT because I didn’t have enough yogurt and no flax seed. When I made them yesterday, I improvised and added some cream to equal the amount of yogurt and omitted the flax seeds. These are DELICIOUS and even my picky eater daughter GOBBLED them up!)

Tuesday: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (made this for the first time…could take it or leave it. Son liked it, daughter nearly puked, I tolerated it)

Wednesday: Pumpkin Waffles (and I actually have apple cider from a recipe last week, so I may even make the apple cider syrup – YUM!)

Thursday: Bagel & Mango

Friday: Cereal

Saturday: Cream Cheese Sweet Bread

Sunday: Scrambled Eggs & Bacon (if I can get the hubs to make it…otherwise, cereal )

Menu Plannin’ Monday–First of 2014

Alright, if you follow my blog and have been missing it, you have a good friend of mine to thank. She’s been missing it…so here’s to you, you know who you are. Here’s my menu plan for the week…

I did breakfasts, too, but didn’t have time to post yet. MAYBE…no guarantees. Enjoy these for now! YUM!

Monday:  Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing 

Tuesday: Cheddar Chicken

Wednesday: French Dip Sandwiches

Thursday: Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Friday: Buffalo Pasta (Sorry, can’t remember where I got the recipe…and no pic to accompany)

Saturday: YOYO (leftovers or Papa Murphy’s)

Sunday: Asian Turkey Meatballs w/ Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

Happy Halloween!

I’ll post more sometime about our super fun costumes this year, but for now, Happy belated Halloween! =)

Trick of the Trade Tuesday–Put a Twist on Gifting Gift Cards

For those of you who know me, it doesn’t come as a shocker that I’m not the best when it comes to gifts (or thank you cards). I’m not sure why, I think I dwell on getting the PERFECT gift, and then just end up scrambling.

So when I recently attended a double baby shower, I again, waited too long to go pick out something super cute. Plus, it was the third and fourth for these two cute mommy friends. So really, while it’s nice to get new things, they NEED very little at this point.

So I thought what I might enjoy.

STARBUCK’S!!! What new mom wouldn’t, right?

But, how boring to just gift a gift card. So I came up with a clever little card to accompany said Starbuck’s card…

Here’s the front:

Really? You HAVEN’T gone through the Starbuck’s drive through to get your older child milk because you ran out and didn’t want to have to get out at the store?! Well, kudos to you for having it all together. hehe

And the inside:

Much more fun than just getting a gift card, right? Well, maybe a little. So, below is the free printable! If you just print it out on a normal sheet of paper, then fold like a card in fourths, you’re good to go. Hope somebody out there can use this in a pinch, too!