Tidbit

No, I haven't been doing activities lately because well, I've been up to my ears in sewing (that's a story for another day), but I do have another funny tidbit that happened with my five year old today...

Scene: Five year old has been in the bathroom with the door closed for about 8 min.

(insert the sound of a toilet flushing here)

Brandon (yelling from the bathroom): MOM...I just wanted you to know that I'm not done. I just had to flush the toilet so that I could start over!

(insert confused mom here)

What makes me cool

It's chilly this morning here in Orlando, but my friends in Alaska and Colorado, will remind me that in fact they are much colder than I. But with that, I've got my boots on, my jeans that I think are slimming, a kick butt sweater on and I actually brushed my hair...basically, I'm feeling like I look pretty cool. BUT, and that's a big BUT, I'm a mom and no matter how hard I try to look cool and put together, my kids will somehow manage to knock my cool factor down about 8 1/2 notches. I'll have smeared peanut butter on my shoulder by 2pm, I'll have dried crusty yogurt on the ankles of my jeans because the container mysteriously walked to the edge of the table, had a death wish and jumped off and splattered everywhere. I'll also end up with the smell of cheese crackers in my hair and my knees will be wet because I'll have cleaned up the 3rd glass of water that's spilled today.

But before all that happens and I'm still sort of put together, I still can't feel cool...why? Do you really wanna know? Well, because I have a banana and a pink pig sippy cup in my knockoff designer purse. There's nothing cool about that.

Cheers,
D

Halloween Advent

So, there's only 11 days until Halloween. I should've made this a long time ago, but let's not live in the past, k? I made this advent calendar today for Brandon because he's so super excited about Halloween, that this was a great way for him to "see" how many days are left until the sugar overload begins. Please email me at delainamc@gmail.com if you'd like me to email you a copy of it. Enjoy!

Nose News is Bad News

Just wanted to let you all know that my almost 2 year old has discovered today that his index finger fits perfectly into his nostril. It's all downhill from here...

I have a story...

I'm only going to tell you this story, because it's either happened to you or I know it'll make you crack up. But watch how hard you laugh, because karma is a funny thing...just remember that. Okay, so my youngest son is almost 2. We're not potty training yet for a few reasons. I think he's too young and he's my last baby and because I'm so busy, I feel like diaper changes are sort of my one on one time with him. crazy...i know. But sometimes, because he has an older brother, J.P. will go peepee in the potty. It's just for fun and there's no real motivation there - I think he just likes how excited we all gets when he does it. So, this morning, I decided to not interupt his 437th showing of Barney and get him out of his pajamas and diaper with him still standing up. He does this thing where as soon as his pants are off, he takes both hands and rips off his diaper like it's his holster and he's all of a sudden Clint Eastwood. I admit it, it's funny. Well, he does this and as soon as I pick up the diaper, he looks at me and aims...I mean seriously uses his hands and aims at me and starts to pee. It's all over me and I shriek like a little girl - and as he continues to pee on me HE FOLLOWS ME with it. He's cracking up, his brother is in stitches and I'm covered in pee. Nothing' like a Friday morning, eh?

Hope that made you smile.

D

Pumpkin Stencils

I actually found this link in the coupon section of the paper as I was desperately cutting coupons trying my best to save money. Huggies has a section on their website that has free pumpkin stencils and a few of them are Disney characters...very cool. Click on the link and and then you can print which ones you want...or all of them!

http://www.huggieshappybaby.com/tools/games/pumpkinstencils.aspx

D

Hold Tight...

Hi all...bear with me; I'm sewing my big tushy off for the Fall in Love with Handmade show for this Saturday at Infusion Tea. I'll post some more stuff for the kiddos next week! I'll send an email to those of you on my list when I'm back to the groove of things. In the meantime, if you have an idea for an activity, drop me a quick line and I'll be able to post it...thank you all for your patience!

Love always,
D

Children of the 80's...hold tight!

A friend of mine commented that she had found Space Invader pajamas for her son and it made remember that I had bought something for Brandon that I just couldn't get over...Underoos. They're making a comeback! I don't know about you but I had Wonderwoman and R2D2 ones. The ones I bought recently were at Wal-Mart (surprise, surprise, I was at Walmart) and although I didn't look in the girls section (which I'm sure they have some), they had Batman, Spiderman and Superman ones for boys. I hope you run out to buy these, they're so super cute and...may the force be with you.

Picture book...pictures of your mama taken by your papa...

...a long time ago. Anyone else of fan of the Kinks? If not, you haven't hurt my feelings, but I'll get on with the post.

This suggestion comes from my friend Jessica who found this idea on perpetualpreschool.com. I checked out the site and I love it! So, here was her email...take digital pictures of anything in your kids lives (including, of course, them!) and then print out two copies of each shot and laminate them with clear contact paper. You have a personalized game of memory! (This was an idea that a teacher did with each kid's face in her class. Cute!)

I love this idea...thanks Jess!

Letter of the Week

I stole this idea from my son's Pre-K class. They use tape on the tables to put the letter of the week that they're working on. This week just happens to be "M". As you can see, I got out my 'ol trusty painters tape and put this on Brandon's placemat so that he can see it during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Of course, you can take this way further by putting it on the bathroom mirror, the mirror or wall in your child's room, or even on the back of the seat that your child sits behind in your car (yes, I really did that). So, here's to painter's tape yet again!

Cheers!

D

Handwriting 101

Hi All! I've missed you! I apologize on the lack of posts but my computer was in the "shop". So let's get down to business. My friend Diana sent me a link to a website that you can use to have your child practice their handwriting (or your own handwriting if you really think you need it) My handwriting was so bad growing up that I had a teacher suggest that I write in all capital letters for legibility so, I've been doing that ever since. I don't recommend this to anyone. I look back and I'm a little shocked at the suggestion but we didn't have computers to use for school work back then, so she was doing this so the poor woman could read my homework. Bless that woman.

Anyhoo, here's the deal...you click on the link, get out a dry erase marker and then have your child draw on the computer screen and you wipe it right off! I KID, I KID - don't have your child do that, I repeat, don't have your child do that!!!!! But seriously, you'll click on the link, then type in what you want your child to practice, for example their name, and then you click on "make worksheet" and you can print out the worksheet for them to use! How awesome! Thanks Diana!

Update: 9.3.08 My friend Amy wrote me today and had an idea regarding reusing the worksheets you print. You can put them in those clear plastic page protectors that load from the top so you can just use a dry erase marker on them and they wipe away. Brilliant Amy - thank you!

http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/print-k/make-pk-all.htm

New Product

I saw these in a magazine ad and then immediately called my friend Molly to look for them at her Publix. And she found them - and guess what, I found them too! I bought a couple of bags, without a coupon (which is very unlike me) and ran home to show my husband. So he wasn't as super excited as I was...he just said "oh cool" but me, I wanted to start baking them and spelling words out for my kids right away. All in all, yes, I got a little excited for Alphabet tater tots, but I live in a small world so run with me on this one, k?

Sock Hop

My kids LOVE to help me around the house. Whether it's to squirt the windex on the window or use a cleaning cloth with me; they love getting involved. I like to make games of it and here's one that we did. They can use this little project when they're done to help dusting or even giving it a little spritz of cleaner to help clean the table after dinner or help with the countertops. Seriously, they get a HUGE kick out of it. Even if you don't have time to paint or draw one of these sock helpers, just get out old socks and go for it!

Supplies you'll need:

An old sock (no holes would be great) (note to my husband: yes, honey, this is one of your socks, sorry, but you can pick up more when you get me more painters tape, thanks)

Fabric Paint or permanent markers

paint brushes if you're using paint

a napkin

Put a napkin inside the sock so that the paint or marker doesn't go through the other side. Then have your little one have at it. Although I do recommend having your little tike put on an old shirt because fabric paint and permanent marker don't come out. Oh, and lay down some newspaper too. Once the paint or marker dries, your little one can put it on and have their own little cloth to help with. These "cloths" can also go in the washer and dryer. What a great way to save on paper towels!

Btw, if you're extremely bored or have a serious amount of time on your hands, you can even sew little felt ears or a tail on these to make little "dust bunnies", get it...

Lunch Bingo

Lunch bingo, well sort of. My son starts Pre-K tomorrow and he'll be going to school 4 days a week. He used to go 2 times a week and he was cool with me packing the same thing since they weren't consecutive days. But times they are a changin', so I came up with lunch bingo. Everyday he'll get to pick one item from each column and cross it off for that day. This way, he's getting a variety of foods and hopefully he'll feel empowered that he'll have made his own lunch decision that day. These kind of decisions are important you know...it could be a Harvard or Yale kind of decision one day! Kinda like when I used to do the corporate gig, I could decide whether I wanted to eat at the Globe or Tijuana Flats; sweet potato fries or chimichangas - it's those important decisions I made everyday that have made this world a better place. Anyone else getting hungry?

Btw, I made this handy chart in Microsoft Word (surprise surprise) - email me at delainamc@gmail.com if you'd like a copy of it.

Cheers,

D

ABC...easy as 123

Now that I have that song in your head...let's get started. This was a fun little game that didn't take much to do. I printed two sets of the alphabet. With one of them, I got out my 'ol trusty painters tape and taped it on the wall as you see below.

Then, I cut up the individual letters on the second set and put them in a pile with the roll of tape. Then I had my son pick any letter and he had to match it underneath the one already on the wall. While he did that we went over certain things that start with the particular letter.

My son doesn't have much of an attention span so we did about five letters at a time and then went back for more later. Easy, simple and they learn a little something along the way.

Whole Foods

I found a great kids section on the Whole Foods website today and they have some great alternative lunch and snack ideas to keep things fresh and new for the kiddos. With school starting back I thought this would be a great link for you all to check out. Enjoy!

Oh and they also have some awesome recipes for meals under $15 that I'm gonna try asap. The whole website is very informative and I've gotten a lot out of it. Mark it as a favorite 'cause I know you'll go back to it!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/kids/

D

Days of the Week

I've figured out that my 4 year old is a visual learner. Why it took me 4 years to figure that out? Well, I'm also a visual learner and I guess it wasn't put down on paper for me to see. My sister in law and I are both like that. When we get together to sew, it's a visual learning field day! We barely read the pattern - we say "meh, who needs to know what the seam allowance is - not me!" And honestly, for some reason - it all works out. So, in honor of sis and me, I have a visual way to teach my kids the days of the week. Some of you reading this probably have 2 year olds who can do this, but I'm a little slow, bear with me.

So, I opened up my trusty 'ol Microsoft Word (Bless you Bill Gates, you've made my life easy) and created this table. I added a few things that I know are consistent, like church, going to Beef O'Brady's on Tuesday (kids eat free, btw) and basketball on Saturday. The blank boxes to the right are for my little man to check off each day. (If you want this template, {I'll delete the pictures if you want} please email me at delainamc@gmail.com)

You can laminate this and use a dry erase marker or if you're like me, you can just print one out every 4 weeks. You can also make this into a chore chart, a behavior chart or anything else you can think of. Please post any variations, we all want to know!

Cheers!

D

People puppets

My friend Nicole is an art teacher and I've been begging her to give me some ideas for this site and she came through! MUAH to Nicole! So, now that I've kissed her feet, let's have her tell her side of the story.

Supplies you'll need:
Glue stick
Magazines (kids ones work best she says)
construction paper
scissors

I have a nifty little project I just did the last week when babysitting an 8 year old and two 4 year olds. The kids spent 30 minutes working on creating their people puppets. Basically, use construction paper and magazines. Kiddie mags work great. I cut a circle and triangle out of construction paper for the 4 year olds. They of course choose the colors. The circle was the head and the triangle is the body. (We all know that preschool kids will place the arms and legs out of the head if given the chance, this is normal) This activity helps with body recognition and placement. The kids will flip through the magazine to find eyes or noses or hair and place accordingly. Or they can create their own from other construction paper. As you can see the variety is hysterical.....The eight year old really liked combining different images from different people. ***Note if you really want the 4 year olds to stay engaged...give them googly eyes. Kids love googly eyes!



Nicole

Enjoy!

D

I'm an Aunt!

No, I haven't posted in awhile. I'm sorry for that. I'll get back on it asap. But here's my excuse...here me out. I was crazy busy sewing a bunch of baby stuff for my friend Lisa's shower that was today and also, my Sister-in-law, Tasha had her baby on Thursday and she's absolutely perfect. Here she is...admire and adore because I'm in love...she's beautiful!

To my precious niece. I love you - I always will. You're extremely blessed to have wonderful parents who have been waiting patiently for your arrival.

"You're a little piece of heaven

You're a golden ray of light.

And I wish I could protect you

from the worries of this life.

But if there's one thing I could tell you

It's no matter what you do

Hold to Jesus, He's holding onto you"

(Erin O'Donnell)

Love,

Aunt D

Face Painting

When I used to go to Circus World as a kid, I LOVED LOVED LOVED having my face painted. Does anyone remember Circus World? Or am I the only weirdo that loves hanging on to nostalgia? I guess that's a topic for another day. But my 4 year old LOVES to have his face painted too, so while we were doing the Rollback at Wal-Mart last week, he asked for face paint that he saw. I got goose bumps when I saw it and I SO wanted to start jumping up and down and say "okay okay - let's open it RIGHT now and start painting away". But no, I had to play "mom" and say "hmmm, let's see, you did help mommy quite a bit yesterday, so let me think about it and we'll see." OH the torture for a 4 year old to hear the words "we'll see". But I'm proud of him - he maintained his composure and said "okay". Lordy Be I wasn't expecting that - but about 3 minutes later, I gave in and said "okay honey, you can have the face paint if you'd like". I thought the sound barrier would break with his shouts of joy. So with that, another day of being, as my 4 year old put it, the bestest mommy in the whole wide world was complete. If $3.47 of face paint makes me the bestest mommy, I'll buy some everyday!

Here's our adventure on the face painting. It came with 6 little jars about the size of film canisters - does anyone remember what film canisters are? LOL. But I got out some old brushes and a bowl of water and went for it and here's how it came out.

Btw, you can look at all kinds of examples of face painting art on the web. I just used Google images and typed in "face painting". I also downloaded a bunch of clip art that looked simple enough to copy.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out for you!!

D

"I am Batman"

Have you seen the movie yet? No? Me neither. And I probably won't. If it doesn't have Kate Hudson or Debra Messing in it, I probably won't see it. I'm a weirdo about movies. BUT, my friend Molly DID see it and in honor of her and her kids coming over for a playdate, I made these...batman brownies.

The box that I bought had cut outs that you place on the brownies and then sprinkle powdered sugar all over and when you lift the cut out - tada! you have batman brownies. You'll see below that I got a little crazy and used homemade letter templates. Think of all the possiblities! You could use stencils from your $4,000 worth of scrapbooking supplies that you never use or you could make your own. You could even use those magnetic letters off of your fridge. But have fun and enjoy putting powdered sugar on your brownies - I know I did!!

Before

After

I hear bells...

What's that noise? Is it my kids? Is it the oven timer? Nope. It's wedding bells! This has absolutely nothing to do with kids stuff but I'm so excited that I wanted to announce the engagement of my dear friend Danielle. This is such a blessing for her and her daughter to have found such a caring and generous man to fill there lives with more of the amazing love that they already have.

Cheers darling and many blessings on your new journey! I love you Danielle!

Shrinky Dinks!

Remember Shrinky Dinks! I do I do!! I remember making some that were the Smurfs - man I miss the 80's. Well, I found these sheets at Joann Fabrics that you create and bake yourself - how cool! So, we got out the markers and made key chains for our family members.

Here's what you'll need: Shrink Sheets, permanent markers, scissors, a hole punch, medium weight cardboard and parchment paper.

First, preheat your oven to 325 and then have your little one or yourself draw on the sheet. I laid a piece of construction paper underneath with some designs on it so that my little one could trace over it.

After he finished his Jackson Pollock, I drew two lines separating them into 4 equal squares that would make 4 key chains.

After cutting, I then rounded the corners so that when they were completed there weren't any sharp edges. I used scissors, but you could get out your fancy corner rounder that I know you have for scrapbooking. I know I have one, along with $4,000 worth of scrapbooking supplies that I haven't used since I was pregnant with my first one. My husband reminds me of this frivolous expense every time he sees the closet in the extra bedroom and what do I say, "oh, I'll get to it, I promise". Anyways, if you're making key chains, punch your hole in it now. This is a very important step because once it's been baked, it's thick and hardened and you can't punch a hole in it.

Now, lay your cardboard on a cookie sheet and then lay your shrinky dinks down and cover them with a sheet of parchment paper so that they don't stick to themselves when they curl up. Then put them in the oven, set the timer for 3 minutes, turn on the oven light so that you and your kids can watch the magic happen. With the paper over the shrinky dinks it's hard to see what's happening until they start curling up and then everyone can oooh and aaahh.

After you pull them out of the oven, flatten them with a spatula. and then it'll take about 5 minutes to cool completely and that's it! The picture below is our completed ones. After my 4 year old got bored of coloring, I just had to make some myself. I had just as much fun as he did!

Tenn-aloon

My husband came up with this game quite some time ago but it's still as popular today in our house as the day it was first invented. Now, we're not taking the credit on this invention but it's the first we've heard of it - especially of playing it in the house. Man, it's hot in Florida - we stay indoors in July! Anyways, it's Tenn-aloon. It's a game of tennis with a balloon. Here's what you'll need. A balloon of any shape or size blown up. Not with helium, just a few good puffs from your lungs is all you need. And then, depending on how many players you have, each should have a spoon of some sort from your kitchen. I give the kids wooden spoons.

Once you have all your goods, start by having your kids or you or grandma or the kids next door toss the balloon in the air and start using the kitchen utensil to hit it back. The trick is to not let the balloon hit the ground. You could certainly put up some sort of barrier like a tennis court - you could even get out your painter's tape!!!! You know I love a good roll of painters tape! But have fun with this one as it gets a lot of laughs when I try desperately to reach for the balloon without removing my lazy bum off the floor. Yep, you heard that right. I park it right on the floor and have the balloon come to me - I love this mothering gig.

Safety first!

It happened...my friend Danielle's daughter got lost on a school field trip for about 10 minutes. And to us parents, 10 minutes is an ETERNITY! Luckily, her little girl went to someone who worked at the museum they were at and all was good. But ironically, Danielle found this brilliant invention that very same day. They're Child Saftey Tattoos and they're temporary tattoos that are personalized with your cell phone number so that you can be reached immediately. So, if you're traveling this summer or going to theme parks, I suggest you invest in these little puppies. What an awesome idea!

http://www.safetytat.com/

Let us know if you purchase these,

D

Pour some more sugar on me...

I'm back to using my little Domino cinnamon/sugar shaker. My mom came over last night for her birthday dinner and we made these for her. They're cinnamon/sugar chips made from tortillas. It's a great snack and you can even make them from whole wheat tortillas or any other flavor for that matter. I'll have some other variations for you at the end of this post.

Here's what you'll need:

Cinnamon/Sugar combo (make yourself or buy the little shaker pictured below for $0.99 - go ahead, buy it - help the economy, you can use it over again to hold glitter for your kids art projects)

Tortillas (I used 6, but use as many as you'd like)

Water

Pizza Cutter

Pastry Brush

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non stick spray.

3. Use the pizza cutter to cut the tortillas into 1/8ths. Wow, Mrs. Burrell (my 5th grade teacher), did you see that? I ACTUALLY used fractions. You were right, I would need them when I grew up - who would've thought.

4. Lay out your wedges on your baking sheet - it's kinda like doing those tanagram thingies.

5. Use your pastry brush to brush a little water on each wedge. You don't need much, just enough so that the cinnamon/sugar sticks.

6. Sprinkle on your cinnamon/sugar.

7. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Just enough to see the edges brown and get crisp.

Variations: I dipped mine in a chilled chocolate fondue (if you want the recipe, email me), but on any flavor tortillas you could sprinkle taco seasoning and use cheese for dipping. You could sprinkle oregano and parmesan cheese and use marinara for dipping. You could sprinkle some garlic and parmesan cheese and use hummus as a dip. Or you could just brush with melted butter with a little salt and pepper and use any dip you want.

These are great homemade chips without a lot of fuss and the kids LOVE the fact that they helped make them.

Pick a card...any card

Hi folks! I was cleaning out one of the 127 drawers that I need to clean out in my house and I found my old business cards from when I used to do the working mom thing. Yes, I've been on both sides of the fence; working mom and stay at home mom. Anyways, after I got done having a little laugh to myself when seeing those cards, I decided to do a little recycling project with the kids.

Here's what you'll need: old business cards or even index cards or an old deck of playing cards, or even a new deck, I'll be alright with whatever you choose. And you'll also need a pair of scissors.

Cut four even slits on each card, two on one side, two on the other. (Sorry the picture is blurry, I'm still learning about my camera).

After that you can stack as shown below. It's easier than making the card towers that I used to make because this way they won't fall down as easy. Enjoy!

Bean Bags

That picture above my friends are bean bags that I made last night. I was at a school supply store the other day and I saw some for $15 and almost croaked! $15!!! That's just nuts. So, I pulled out some scrap fabric, went to the store with Dawn and while she looked at me crazy while I bought 8 lbs. of pinto beans I explained to her my plans. As the light bulb went off in her head as well, we thought up today's post.

After making the bean bags (by the way, if you want some, email me, or check out my etsy site), Dawn suggested that I pull the 'ol painters tape out and make shapes on the ground to aim into. Thus learning large motor skills as well as shapes. My 4 year old knows them, but the 18 month old was intrigued. You could also draw out a hopscotch grid, but I was running low on tape - btw, Jason, are you reading this honey? Would you mind picking me up a small truck load of painters tape on your way home today? Thanks. Love, your wife. Now, back to the plan. As you can see in my picture below I also laid out paper plates that we had leftover from 4th of July (yes, they're unused, but have been decorated with markers by my son). The plates made it a little more tricky which we liked because they slid once you tried to aim your bean bag at them. Very cool in the eyes of a 4 year old. So, make or buy some bean bags and have at hit!

Oh, other variations are that you could use different color buckets to aim into for a points system or you could also draw numbers or letters on them as well to make it a triple learning experience.

Cheers!

D

Scrabble Jr.

Hi All! I hope that everyone had a fantastic 4th of July - I know we did - we're still recovering! In leu of my creative brain taking a holiday I decided to post a game that my friend Molly loves to play with her kids and she swears it helped her kids with learning to read. I'll be picking up one today at WalMart (they seem to have lower prices on toys, and you know how much I love to "rollback"). It's Scrabble Jr. and I'm so thankful that they decided to make a children's version. I'm not so good at the adult version, so maybe I can kick my husband's rear in the kids version LOL! Anyways, I hope you find this product/toy helpful. Let us know if you have this game and if you like it. Have a great day!

D

Pour some sugar on me...cinnamon sugar to be exact

Ahhhh, the smell of cinnamon & sugar toast. It's one of those smells that'll take you back a few years. My mom wasn't into buying anything processed in our house, so when it came to sweets and treats - you made it yourself...and trust me, it was worth it. So, today for a snack, we made this heavenly toast and both kids ate it up! I wonder why they don't get that excited for meatloaf? But this is a really easy and quick treat that the kids can help with and they look forward to.

Here's what you'll need: Bread; I use whole wheat, but any sandwich sized sliced bread will work. A baking sheet; I covered mine in aluminum foil just because it's easier to clean up. Butter or margarine; as you can see I've purchased the Omega enriched margarine spread. I only bought this because I have a coupon for it, and those of you who know me know that coupons are my second best friend. You'll also need a knife to spread your butter with. Yes, you can use your fingers if you want to make clean up easier, but do you really want to...I didn't think so. Also in the picture is a pink kids knife from IKEA. I know I've bragged about their plates before, but the cutlery is the shizzle to my nizzle for the kids. And here's the best part...you see that little plastic jar next to the bread? That's the magic that'll make your life that much easier. It's by the Domino Sugar company and it's a perfect mixed blend of cinnamon and sugar in a little shaker bottle (I bought it for $0.99). Of course, you can mix the cinnamon and sugar yourself from scratch, but I NEVER get the right consistency. I either get too much cinnamon or too much sugar. My mother always got it right, she still does - and since I'm not able to - this little clever invention is right up my alley. It's perfectly sized for little hands as you'll see in the following picture.
So, first preheat the broiler in your oven or your toaster oven. Then spread a light coat of butter on your bread. I stress the words "light coat"; you really don't want a lot of butter here - it's just to help the cinnamon and sugar stick nicely. Then have your little guys sprinkle on as much or as little of the mixture that you'll let them have. I wouldn't lay it on thick or anything, but if that's what you want, I won't be a dog in that fight - I say enjoy! Anyways, after you've got your mixture on, pop it in the oven and turn on your oven light to watch the magic happen. The kids LOVE this part. It doesn't take long, about 30 seconds to a minute, depending on how charred you like your cinnamon and sugar. I do want to stress the fact that you really need to watch it closely because burnt sugar smells like...well, really nasty and all the Glade candles in the world can't cover it up. Not that I know that for a fact, I'm just assuming that that's what would happen...I mean, I've never burnt anything, I always make my toast perfect and those of you who do burn things, well shame on you (insert sarcasm here).

Here it is! The most perfect, quick, sugary snack for the day. Oh, btw, my 4 year old wanted me to tell you that the best way to wash this down is with a big glass of milk. Yeah...I taught him that (insert proud mom patting herself on the back here). Enjoy and let me know of any variations that you have!

D