Daniel Tiger Birthday Ideas

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My bouncy toddler just turned three and celebrated his birthday with a Daniel Tiger themed birthday. For his first birthday, we did an Ocean Themed Birthday and for his second birthday, we did Mickey Mouse. 

My oldest child and I browsed on Pinterest for cake inspiration. We found some cute cakes made in fondant and we even found a video of a cake decorated as a tiger. Super cute, but cake decorating is not really my skill, hopefully some day. For now, I can get by with my buttercream frosting for cupcakes. 

Decoration Ideas:

* red and yellow balloons
* red tablecloth and red plates with yellow napkins 
* cake - a road in red and yellow or a tiger 
* topper - use the trolley if you already have it
Well, in the end, the birthday boy and I went to the grocery store to pick out a cake. Did you know there isn't a themed cake in that large booklet?  I knew I wanted to include the trolley from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and the little figurine of Daniel we had at home so we just needed a somewhat plain cake where we could use what we had as toppers.  Besides, using a real toy for a topper is practical when already owning the toy or when already planning on getting it anyway. 

About the cake: 


Fortunately, the lady at the store was so helpful and kind and willing to work with me, that when we saw the Curious George cake we realized it could work really well for my theme.  I'm trying to keep it simple, here. The Curious George cake comes with trees, the sun, and a railroad track. I needed a track, or more like a road for my trolley.  She said she could make a road instead where we could fit the trolley.  Oooo that was just perfect!!!!

Food Ideas: 
* Striped Candy Pretzel Rods 
* Veggie Trolleys 
* Striped Yogurt Parfaits 


Gift Ideas: 

As far as gifts, we finally got him a Daniel Tiger mini plush he can keep in his room and it's just the perfect size for him, only 7 inches and it washes well. Yep, in less than 7 days of having it, it already made it to the wash. :-) There's also a larger size available here. 

For the big gift, we got him Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood 3-in-1 Transformation Treehouse . All three kids have enjoyed playing and imagining different stories with it. The best part is that it comes with all the characters (figurine set) from the show and it plays a song from the show. 

He really enjoyed his birthday party and so did I! He enjoyed his cake, gifts, and balloons in red and yellow. He was so content looking around while talking about his special Daniel Tiger cake.  It was so especial to see him play with his trolley while saying he loves Daniel Tiger. 

What theme are you doing or have you done to celebrate a 3rd birthday? Let me know in the comments, I can't wait to read your responses. 

Happy party planning! 

Fabi

February Goals - February Reading

My goal for February is to read 3 books. Here's the first one I read. Now to get busy to read a few more! 

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The Chance: A Novel - Best friends Nolan Cook and Ellie Tucker were separated when they were only 15 years old across the country. They didn't know anything about the other and the only thing that kept them going was a promise they made while teenagers.  They keep wondering if the other one remembers the promise. Meanwhile, so much other stuff goes on and different family matters keep them apart.  Seriously, if you want a story on forgiveness and how God can heal broken up families, this is it.

As for me, I would really like a second book to continue this story. 

Have you read this one? What other Karen Kingsbury books have you read? 


Happy Reading! 

~ Fabi 

Give the Gift of Learning

Little Passports is a monthly subscription for children ages 3 - 12, where they send a box with items for children to explore. They can learn about the US or the World, hands-on.  If you are planning on traveling this summer, Little Passports would be a fun way to get started with the trip. 

Scroll down for coupon code. 




This suitcase comes packed with everything needed to learn about a destination for a month. They also offer kits for science or coral reef kit. Both of them have really good reviews and look lots of fun. You could also learn everything there is to learn about coins from around the world. 


There's a coupon available for a 12-month subscription. The coupon code is WINTER15. 

Have fun!

~Fabi 

Valentine's Day Picks - Viva el Amor

Valentine's Day is almost here!!!


Bring on the red and pink and hearts, lots and lots of love!

Craft Idea:

As part of a school activity, make a hearts banner and here's a list of other 10 things you can do for Valentine's Day. 


My favorite dress for this season is from Gymboree's Red Heart Print Dress.

Pair with a cute red sweater and Heart Sunglasses also from Gymboree.  

I also fell in love with this chevron outfit, a 3 piece outfit that includes the shirt with chevron print, the RUFFLE pants, and a little headband.  There are more  Valentine's Day Outfits available there. 

***Free Shipping, 2-Day Delivery*** oh yeah, oh yeah. 

For the boys, I like this classic plaid shirt. 

Another cute t-shirt for boys has this tie with a heart. I love it! It's available in several colors, for some reason it only wants to show the grey one here. Go ahead and see the other colors. Which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments. 

Viva el Amor! 

~ Fabi

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Crochet: Heart Cookies - Free Pattern

When it comes to Valentine's Day, my mind goes off thinking of romantic music like Michael Buble, Gary Barlow, and other Latin artists like Alberto Plaza. Good lyrics and a good voice along with a plate of full chocolate cookies.  

Cuando se trata del día de San Valentín, tiendo a pensar en aquellos días de verano en Chile mientras escuchaba la música romantica en alguna radio local. Por estos días, me conformo con escuchar a Michael Buble, Gary Barlow, y Alberto Plaza. Toda esta linda música, con bellas letras acompañadas con un plato de galletas. 

As I have mentioned in other posts, my kids love, love, LOVE, to play restaurant and pretend to cook all kinds of foods like soups, rice, and baked goods. I have made them Empanadas and Buttery Toast for their play food.  This time, I made them a seasonal item for their restaurant, crochet HEART shaped cookies. Yum, yum!  I'm a huge chocolate fan so I made them chocolate cookies filled with raspberries, mint, and vanilla.  This way they can have some more variety to offer to their clients. Different flavors for their clients!

A mis hijos les encanta jugar a la cocina, pasan cada día inventando una receta nueva para su restaurant o sino me piden ver alguna receta de Rachael Ray en YouTube. Después hablan de la receta todo el día y juegan a que la preparan de verdad. Otras veces juegan a que preparan sopas, platos con arroz, y postres. Anteriormente les preparé Empanadas y Tostadas con Mantequilla tejidas a crochet para que pudieran usar en su cocina.  Bueno, finalmente como ya estamos en la fecha del mes del amor, les tejí unas galletas con forma de corazón para que puedan ofrecer a sus clientes.  Ahora tienen galletas rellenas con frambuesa, menta, y vainilla.  Un sabor para cada gusto!

Materials:

Cotton - Lily n Cream 
Hooks: H to make the hearts
             G to join the hearts
Tapestry Needle

Materiales:

Lana de Algodón
Ganchillo: H para tejer los corazones
                  G para unir los corazones
Aguja para guardar los hilos


Steps:

Pasos:

Basically, I made two hearts using an H size hook for each cookie using a basic circle with an increase and then worked up the shape using tall and short stitches.  Twinkie Chan did a fantastic job in creating this pattern.

Comencé tejiendo dos corazones usando un ganchillo tamaño H para tejer cada galleta. Las instrucciones fueron muy simples y la verdad es que me encantó porque comienza usando un círculo con un aumento. Te dejo aquí el link del tutorial escrito por Twinkie Chan para que puedas tu también tejer este corazón. 



Using the G hook, I held two layers of hearts, making sure to match the stitches and began working a slip stitch, chain 1, and 1 single crochet in each stitch all around.  

Usa el ganchillo y toma dos de los corazones asegurándote que todos los puntos estén parejos en la misma ubicación. Comienza donde te muestro en la foto, hace un punto razo, 1 cadeneta, y después continua todo alrededor con un punto bajo. 

Cuál es tu sabor favorito? 

To see more Free Patterns, 'Like' Fabi Makes on Facebook.
Para ver más Patrones Gratis, da "Me Gusta" a Fabi Makes en Facebook. 


Fabi

Husband Cooks: S'more Brownies Recipe

                         

I'm so thankful for my Hubs and the yummy food he makes for me. The other day he made awesome s'more brownies. The name says it all: chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallow ? Yes. Please! 

Ingredients:

brownie mix

graham cracker

marshmallows

Procedure: 

Mix and bake brownie mixture according to directions. Once it's almost baked, take out and put marshmallows on top with broken up pieces of crackers.  Bake for another two minutes until the marshmallow begins to melt.  Take out, let cool, and enjoy it. 

Ready for some brownies! The mixture even had some walnuts in it. It was good! 

Enjoy, 

~ Fabi 

Recipe: Egg Mini Pie for Breakfast

   


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Breakfast pies are such a fun way to make and serve breakfast. Everyone gets to have a small pan, cover it with dough for the crust, fill it with their favorite ingredients, some cheese, and an egg. The baked pie will smell oh-so good and it will be so cute to sit at the table with your very own breakfast. I seriously felt like I was at Panera having my breakfast or at some fancy hotel. Yet, I was at my own home in my pjs with my kids having mini pies. 

So how is it that we got into making mini pies? 

For Christmas, my daughter had requested a Lalaloopsy Baking Oven to bake mini foods just like the ones she's seen on the YouTube channel. Have you seen the Lalaloopsy girls youtube channel? It's very entertaining. The channel teaches you step-by-step how to make recipes like chocolate chip cookies, strawberry cakes, and so much more!  Everything is made using this tiny appliance and tiny baking pans. 

The truth is that the oven looks really cute and it really does bake. I just don't have the extra space for it, so we decided to get her mini pie pans instead where we can make tiny food. :-) okay, maybe not as small as Lalaloopsy's foods, but it's small enough that can make individual servings. Win-win for everyone. 

Baking and serving dishes made in individual pans has created a lot interest in the children to want to bake and to come up with their own inventions. Sometimes they copy each other, other times they pick what they like from the other and add a different ingredient to make it their own. 

To start off, we got the pans covered with store bought pastry dough. The kids cut around it using a butter knife and put it on the pan, then press it with their fingers. I was like "yay! they are working on their fine motor skills here!" (everything is a teaching moment!) 

                               

Ingredients: 

store bought Pastry Dough or make your own
eggs (1 per mini pie)
veggies of choice - optional  (sauteed spinach, tomato, onion, etc)
meat (optional)
shredded cheese
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven at 400 degrees.
Roll out the dough, cut about 1/2 inch larger than the size of the mini pie pan.
Set the dough in the pan, then begin to fill it with ingredients of choice.
Top it off with shredded cheese and crack an egg over it and salt and pepper.
Bake it for about 18 minutes.

Baking time really depends on the oven, though. I would recommend watching it closely after the 12 minute mark to calculate exactly how long it needs baking.

Oh and you might need to make two pies for yourself. I won't tell anyone. Promise.

:-) 


Enjoy!

~ Fabi


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