Muffin Tin Monday: Birthday Breakfast

We celebrated Boo's birthday with a breakfast muffin tin today.

He opened one of his gifts beforehand: an apron and chef's hat I made for him. He wore them while he helped me make orange marmalade muffins (yum!). We had bacon and maple yogurt with it. And for an extra special treat, chocolate milk!
It was a happy birthday breakfast tin for sure. For more Muffin Tin Monday ideas, check our Michelle's blog.

Kid-crafted Wrapping Paper

I have a confession to make. I'm a gift wrap hoarder. I keep every gift bag, cute tissue paper, bow and ribbon that comes our way. I have a stash stored in tupperware bins under our guest bed. Why be such a bow and bag pack-rat? Gift wrap these days is adorable and it seems such a waste to throw away perfectly good things that have been barely used. But the biggest reason is that the stuff is expensive. I mean, you end up spending an extra $5 just to decorate the gift you buy someone. Honestly, I'd rather spend that money on the gift itself. So my big pile of bags, bows and papers is where I go when I need to wrap a gift. The other day, however, when I went to wrap a birthday gift for a kid's party, my stash failed me. No bag was the right size and I didn't have any birthday wrapping paper. Newspaper comics was my first thought. And then, Boo asked to go paint on his easel.
Perfect! I could use his paintings as wrapping paper.
I usually have him reuse the painted papers by painting on the back side the next time. But these would serve another purpose. He had fun painting, knowing that his paintings were to decorate his buddy's gift. I just taped the dried papers together and wrapped the gift as usual.

I also made a little yarn and ribbon pom-pom to tie on top. I used scraps I had on hand so it didn't turn out to be a stellar gift topper. But I don't think the three year old recipient cared anyways.

It's birthday week at our house and we're ramping up for Boo's party. Look for the birthday party posts coming up next week with a homemade pinata tutorial, paper banners, and other fun builder/construction themed party ideas.

Muffin Tin Monday: Movie Snacks

This week's theme was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We haven't read the book or seen the movie, so we did just a generic movie snack theme instead. And even that theme was a stretch.

But Boo loved his bag of popcorn, candy and {shelled} sunflower seeds. I reserved a copy of the book at the library so hopefully we'll get a chance to read it soon.

Check out the other tins this week over at Her Cup Overfloweth.

Jesse Tree: Ruth & Boaz Ornament

Another one done.
I found some dried grain stalks at JoAnn's on clearance the other day and made this "sheaf of wheat". We'll use it as the ornament for our Jesse Tree devotional on Ruth and Boaz. It symbolizes God's provision: Ruth gleaned barley from Boaz's fields to provide for herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. God also provided for them both when Boaz married Ruth and they had a son.
I'm so excited about our Jesse Tree this year and the cooler wheather is reminding me that I need to finish up with these ornaments. Christmas will be here before we know it!

Muffin Tin Monday: Apple

This week's Muffin Tin Monday theme was apples. We recently checked out a cute book at the library called The Apple Pie That Papa Baked.

It's a book that follows the rhythm and style of the nursery rhyme The House That Jack Built. Here's a snippet:

This is the sun, fiery and bright,
that lit the sky, wide and fair,
that carried the clouds, heaped and round,
that dropped the rain, cool and fresh,
that watered the roots, deep and fine,
that fed the tree, crooked and strong,
that grew the apples, juicy and red,
that went in the pie, warm and sweet,
that Papa baked.

Our muffin tin follows the story, with each cup representing a different element.

1. the pie, warm and sweet: mini homemade apple pie
2. the apple, juicy and red: well, not red but an apple nonetheless
3. the tree, crooked and strong: broccoli tree with red hot apples
4. the roots, deep and fine: shredded wheat, which he mixed with his yogurt
5. the rain, cool and fresh: cup of water
6. the clouds, heaped and round: marshmallows
7. the sky, wide and fair: yogurt with blue food coloring
AND the sun, fiery and bright: sliced peach

Boo loved reading the book and pointing out the different parts of his lunch that represented each part of the poem. Most of all I think he loved the apple pie.
Maybe that's his favorite part of Muffin Tin Monday - it's such a treat to have dessert.

Library Note: The Most Perfect Spot

This book is a fitting follow-up to my recent picnic blanket tutorial.


The Most Perfect Spot by Diane Goode. Jack and his mama go looking for the perfect spot to have their picnic. Though they're constantly thwarted, they end up in the perfect spot with a special treat at the end. This is the perfect book to pair with a day outside having a picnic.

And if the weather where you are is looking dreary, why not have a picnic inside instead? We set up a 10-man cabin tent in our living room this weekend when the weather ruined our camping plans. We ate our picnic inside and later roasted s'mores in the fireplace. Your "perfect spot" just may be inside too!