Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh baked fall goodies?

While it is fun to make (and eat) yummy treats, sometimes we just want to enjoy the smell in our homes all day without the work.

For a simple, natural and inexpensive way to do this, you just need an apple, the peel of an orange, 5 or 6 cinnamon sticks and some spices such as nutmeg and cloves.

Put the ingredients plus about 8 cups of water in a crock pot and turn it on high for an hour. You will start to smell the delicious aroma. Then just turn the heat to low and leave on all day. I love using the crock pot because it is much safer than stovetop and uses less energy.

Happy fall!!!!

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When your kid decides that a particular book is his all-time favorite, you can expect it to get destroyed pretty quickly.

Kids aren’t exactly gentle with their books and when it’s one that they read over and over and over, you can bet it’s going to get beat up.

After reading a book 2,000 times, we start to get a little sentimental towards it knowing that it will most likely become a childhood memory for our kids.

So when those books get too beat up to even read anymore, rather than throw them away, use the pages to decorate, keeping the book alive!

For this project, you will need:

Your book

An X-Acto knife or scissors

Nails or 3M removable hooks

Ribbon

Buttons or other flat embellishment

For cardboard books, simply cut out the pages you want to use with an X-acto knife. Once you determine where you will hang them, then cut your ribbon. You will be folding the ribbon in half, so keep that in mind when you cut.

Then just tape or hot glue your ribbon to the back of your page starting at one side and folding ribbon over so you can tape or glue the other end to the other side of your page.

Then hang from your nail or 3M hooks. You can decorate the hook by gluing a button to the front of it.

Now you and your kids can keep enjoying their favorite book!

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If you are looking for a dish to bring to a cookout this Memorial Day or just a fresh, healthy (and low calorie) treat, this mango spring salsa is amazing!

I actually found the recipe in a mailing from Kroger. It looked so good, I had to try it.

And since it was so good, I had to share it.

What you will need:

1/2 cup mango, diced

1/2 cup (each) green and yellow peppers, diced

1/2 cup tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup corn (canned or fresh)

1/2 up canned black beans, drained and rinsed

4 tsp. jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

2 Tbsp. red onion, chopped

Juice of 1 fresh lime

1 1/2 tsp, sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

This salsa is great with chips or over chicken or fish.

Enjoy!

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I’ve been seeing these beautiful birthday cake martinis around and thought they looked so festive.

While I think a martini would do wonders for my kids (and me) at bedtime, I figured I would try to make something a little more kid-friendly.

This version is basically a vanilla milkshake with sprinkles.

To make, you will need:

-1 cup milk

-1 cup vanilla ice cream

-A couple ice cubes

-Colorful nonpareils or whatever sprinkles you have on hand

-1 Frozen banana (not necessary but i put it in to thicken it up and add a few nutrients)

-Plastic wine, champagne or other fun glasses

Ingredients amount will vary depending on the consistency you prefer.

Place items in a blender and blend until it is how you like it.

Meanwhile, pour some sprinkles in a shallow bowl. Coat the rim of your glass with a little bit of ice cream or honey and dip into the bowl of sprinkles until the rim is covered.

Pour your milkshake into the glass and you are ready to serve.

Cheers!

The post Sprinkle Milkshake appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

Winter is almost over! But until we can get outside again, there is a never-ending need for indoor Entertainment.

For about $1.00, you can provide fun, physical entertainment for your kids. Just blow up a bunch of balloons and sit back. The kids will do the rest.

Added bonus: they just might wear themselves out!

The post Cheap, Easy Entertainment appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

One nice thing about Valentine’s Day is that it really can be celebrated for weeks. Growing up, my mom always called February the love month and we celebrated all month long.

So, keeping the tradition alive, I thought it would be fun to decorate with love.

All you need is a photo frame, pretty paper (I used a silver sparkly piece), Eucalyptus and hot glue. You can buy a bouquet of Eucalyptus at any craft or floral store.If you’ve ever twisted a petal off of Eucalyptus, you’ll find it looks just like a heart, making it a great Valentine’s craft material. Plus, it smells wonderful!

Simply twist off the Eucalyptus leaves and set aside.

On a pretty piece of paper that fits inside your frame, trace a heart with a pencil.

Using hot glue, layer your leaves around and inside the heart. To get a full effect, layer the leaves on top of each other.

Place the finished piece back inside the frame. Leave the glass out so the artwork is three dimensional and you can enjoy the smell of the Eucalyptus.

Happy Love Month!

The post Easy Love Decor Using Eucalyptus appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

As a kid it was always fun to get to use the You Are Special Today plate on our birthday and special occasions. With kids of my own, I knew this was a tradition I wanted to carry on. I decided to experiement and make my own so I could make exactly what I wanted. It was actually pretty easy and very inexpensive.

If you (or your kids) want to make their own plates, all you need is:

1) A cheap porcelain plate ( I got mine at the dollar store).

2) Colored Sharpie markers or porcelain paint markers.

3) An oven.

On a clean, dry plate, color your design with your markers and let it dry completely. Place your plate in the oven and THEN turn it on to 350 degrees. Let it bake for 35-45 minutes and turn oven off. Let piece cool completely in the oven as it will be very hot.

Once cool, remove and hand wash with soap and water.

Enjoy!

For best results, do not put the finished item in the dishwasher or wash with an abrasive sponge. Hand wash with soft sponge.

The post DIY You Are Special Today Plate appeared first on Dayton Parent Magazine.

We all know how great kids are at spilling food all over themselves. Their clothes really take a beating.

If we can get the clothes in the wash right away, we are usually okay. But every now and then, we get that stubborn stain that won’t come out.

If that happens to you, you might just be able to save the shirt (or whatever item) with this little trick.

Simply cut designs out of fabric (I chose hearts) and pin them over the areas where the stains have set. You can get really creative here! Then pin the pieces down and sew to the shirt using a zig-zag stick along the edges.

That is all it takes. Not only will you save a shirt from the trash but you will have made a whole new shirt for your little food artist. You can do all kinds of designs and themes with this idea.

Have fun!

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