Fun 4th of July Jell-O treats!

Need something fun to bring to your 4th of July parties this weekend?

How about a Jell-O shot (or Jell-O snack for kiddos)?

There are several versions of this cute little treat, but here is what I came up with...

Watermelon Shooters

1 pckge of Watermelon Jello-O

1 Cup Boiling water

1 Cup Malibu Rum-Island Melon Liquor

Optional: 1 tsp Organic Blue Agave - (I used Strawberry)

Optional: Chia Seeds (I found mine at local Sprouts Farmers Market)

or you could use choc covered sunflower seeds, or basil seeds, even poppy seeds would work.

4-5 Limes -cut in half, pulp removed

Combine Jell-O mix with boiling water until powder is dissolved. 

Add cold Rum (preferably cold). Add Agave nectar.

Align the lime "cups" close together in a shallow pan, so all the limes hold each other up. Slowly spoon the Jello-O mixture into the cups. (If a little goes into pan, it's okay). Freeze for up to two hours or refrigerate for 4+ hours. Once Jello-O is set, cut the lime halves into quarters. I found it best to do this Jello-O side down, using a serrated knife to cut through the lime. Once all Jello-O limes are quartered, then lightly sprinkle black seeds to make the image of watermelon seeds. Enjoy!

If you would like to make virgin shooters....



Jello Shooters- Fun

Follow instructions on Jell-O package, but pour in hollowed out orange or lemon rinds. Cute! 

Happy "Shooting"!



| Your Desert Momma |

Celebrity Baby Nurseries - Adore!

For the love of baby nurseries...celebrity



Dr. Phil's



Mariah Carey's



 



Neil Patrick Harris



Tiffany Thiessen

And a couple more ideas not from celebrities...but so cute!

Love the princess crowns above the beds!

and nothing better than a white nursery, so fresh and innocent.



Serena and Lilly - Zodiac Art



| Your Desert Momma |

Kids Fourth of July Clothing - Red, White and Cute!

We are one week away from the 4th of July! Time to make sure we are dressed for the occasion!
Well, at least our little ones can be! Here are some of the cutest little RED, WHITE, and BLUE outfits to dress your little patriotic one! Happy Shopping!

GIRLS:

Love u Lots



Out in the desert, we tend to find ourselves in the pools or going to the beach for the 4th, so of course cute swimwear is a must.

I found this cute swimsuit at UrbanKidz

Adorable!



Etsy -WhatKidsLike

Kate Mack - My fav!

 



Blue Stripe Love - Etsy



Etsy-Graceisenough





Etsy-SweetSassyBoutique



BOYS:



Etsy -ChicCoutureBoutique





GapSwimwear



KidsWearhouse

And don't forget about your furry kids:



Etsy

| Your Desert Momma |

Yummy Creamed Corn!

I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes of all times...old fashion creamed corn.

The truth is, we don't eat a lot of canned food. Nothing personal, we just prefer to make things fresh, if we can find the time. 

So, we were craving sweet creamed corn, after all, the corn is in season, and on sale in all the markets right now. I have made this several times now, and I think I got it were I want it. This is a great veggie side for the kiddos, too!

Old Fashion Creamed Corn

8-10 fresh corn cobs
3 tb butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
1/4 C yellow Corn Meal
1 cup cream
1/4 C organic sugar

Peal the husks and remove all strings from the cobs of corn. Then with your knife, run down each cob, removing all the kernels. Then take the back side of the knife and run down each cob, to get as much pulp and juice from the remainder of the cob.
Heat butter and diced onions on medium, till the onions start to sweat (not brown). Add corn and pulp to butter mixture and stir occasionally till the corn gets soft and butter is absorbed. About 5-6 min. Add corn meal, and mix in well for about 2 min. Add cream, and stir well, reduce temperature to low. Add sugar and mix well. Optional - salt/pepper to taste.

This recipe is great for kiddos. But for adults, you can add a sprig of rosemary when you add in the corn, then remove the sprig before serving, and you will have a very yummy rosemary creamed corn. YUM.

Hope you enjoy all your summer picnics and BBQ's.

| Your Desert Momma |

Doorbells and iPhones - Must have items if you have a toddler in your house!

"These are a few of our favorite things...."




Would you want to wake this baby up?



Let's visit this all too familiar scenario...

6am -You wake up at the crack of dawn to your lovely child wide eyes, ready to go.

7am-changed 3 more diapers
8am - fed you kiddos breakfast
8:15am- dodged flying cereal across room.
8:45am- cleaned cereal out of your babies hair
9am-11am - lots of playing, lots more diapers
11:30am - Baby FINALLY goes down for nap - whew!
11:45am- "DING, DONG" - yep...the Postal carrier rings the door bell for a delivery.
11:55am-baby is up crying...repeat 7am-11am again.





Doorbell Guard FACEBOOK



Here is your solution. I love this item and it's one of the things I ask myself, "Why didn't I think of this?". Well, at this point, all that matters, is that someone DID invent this, and here is how you can get your own!







Click on their facebook page, with options to buy!
http://www.facebook.com/doorbellguard

Do you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch? AND a toddler?

Here is another favorite thing. Some of you might already read me raving about these on the Desert Child Facebook page, but I thought of them yesterday, and thought I would share again.

Yesterday, I went to the local market with my daughter, and she was insisting on playing with my iPhone. After she accidentally called a couple work colleagues, I pulled out one of my Bubcaps I stashed in the diaper bag, put the cap on the home button, and then phone back to her. ...30 sec later, she gave up on the phone and gave back to me. Yay...it worked! These are a must on my list.

*I purchased mine at Amazon: click here to buy Bubcaps or you could visit the website http://www.bubcap.com/

Hope these fun things make it to your home.

| Your Desert Momma |

 

Daddy, you will always be my king! Happy Father's Day 2011

I love the idea of having the kids wake up early to make breakfast in bed for Daddy on Father's Day.
And you can't go wrong with a BBQ in the backyard!
But this year I was feeling inspired to start something new for Father's Day!

My inspiration, once again, is my daughter and she has a plaque on her wall, it reads,

 That about sums it up for me this holiday weekend!

Daddy and me

One of the things I love most about being a mother, is the new and old traditions we get to embrace in our family. I believe traditions can be the backbone and structure to a family unit, and can stay with a family for years. For this Father's Day, I wanted to make it a special day for my husband and daughter, so I started looking into new traditions to adopt. Here are some traditions that I believe, can create some special memories this Father's Day.

Father's Day Traditions that might inspire you:

Memory Book
How about making a memory photo scrap book, just for Dad? Gather all those great photos of him holding his son/daughter for the first time, or the first time they went into the ocean together, or any other great "daddy and me" pictures. You can make the memory book a "Daddy and Me" book, and keep adding pics every year for Father's Day. This way your Dad can always go to the book and cherish those Dad moments all year long.

Father's Day Annual Photo Shot (this is the one I am starting this year!~ )

Father's Day 2011

I sat down with my daughter, and we colored a Happy Father's Day sign. She had fun putting stickers all over it, and opening all the marker lids and closing them about a dozen times. ha! "Dada" and her climbed up in bed, and held the sign for me, and I took their picture. I bought a little black leather photo book, and the plan is to do this every year and add the pictures to the book. This way we can see how much the kids grow, (and we age) every year. This would be a great gift to give to your child, when they graduate and move to college. sniff, sniff.


King Dad
(just like the quote above) - have the kids make items that represent what a king is to them, and present them to him in the morning so he can wear them all day long. A king sticker/button, a king crown, dress up an old blazer with king-like embellishments...kids will have fun doing the crafts, and you can get good photos, too!

 Dr. Daddy Seuss
"One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" - Dr. Suess
Yep, that's right, what kid doesn't love story time, and what better than having Daddy cuddling up on the floor to read a new book. Have the kids go pick out their very own, brand new book, but they are not allowed to read it, but instead write a quick note inside the book, wrap it up, and give it to him in the morning. Then when Dad opens up his new books with the kids, they all can enjoy some "daddy and me" time all day long.

These are just a few fun Father's Day traditions that might inspire you.
Do you have any traditions you would like to share..love to hear them!

| Your Desert Momma |

Father's Day 2011 - ideas for celebrating

Some ideas for Father's Day...

How about making Daddy some homemade pottery?

 I love the places like As You Wish,

where the little ones can make their own creations.

They can pick out their paint colors... 

 and pick out their own pottery...

and paint their little hearts out

You can never go wrong with a homemade card to Daddy!

and don't forget breakfast in bed...

How about some yummy heart shaped pancakes to make for his Father's Day breakfast?

Or even just cut your bananas in little hearts...how cute is that?

Do you have any great Father's Day ideas you have to share!

Have fun with your Daddy's this weekend!

| Your Desert Momma |

Beat the Heat, and Get Wet in a Splashpad!

How about taking the kids to a splashpad this week?



Scottsdale Quarter

There are so many fun splashpads around the valley, but I am loving
{The Quad} - The new splashpad area in Scottsdale Quarter.

Get a bite to eat at TrueFood

Great Kiddie Menu:

And have fun, get wet! :)

Leapin’ Lagoon at the Phoenix Zoo

The Phoenix Zoo has a "sprayground" (spray pad zero depth water play area) called Leapin' Lagoon. There is also a cave with waterfall, a splash pad area and lots of shade!

Here are some other fun splash parks...plenty to choose from! Have fun!


SCOTTSDALE parks:
Vista del Camino Park is located at 7700 E. Roosevelt, by Indian Bend/Hayden Road.
Paiute Park is located at 3210 N. 66th street, South of Osborn Road.
Scottsdale has "spray poles" on the playgrounds at McCormick Stillman Railroad Park, 7301 E. Indian Bend Road  Agua Linda Park, 8732 E. McDonald (Pima Road and McDonald).
La Mirada Park 8950 E. Pinnacle Peak Road in north Scottsdale.
Chesnutt Park  4565 N. Granite Reef Road.
 Pima Park  8600 E. Thomas Road.
Kierland
PHOENIX Splashpads:

Altadena Park Spray Pad: 3711 E. Altadena Avenue.

36th Street and Cactus Road. 602-262-6696.

Civic Space Park Spray Pad: 424 N. Central Ave in Downtown Phoenix. 602-262-6412. Accessible by

Edison Park Spray Pad: 901 N. 19th Street. 602-262-6412. The nearby major cross streets are 19th Street and Roosevelt.

Francisco Highland Park: 2702 E. South Mountain Avenue. The nearby major cross streets are 28th Street and South Mountain Avenue at the base of South Mountain. 602-262-6111.

Harmon Park Spray Pad: 1239 S. 5th Avenue. The nearby major cross streets are 5th Avenue and Buckeye. 602-262-6412.

Laveen Village Park Spray Pad: 3146 W. Vineyard, Phoenix. The nearby major cross streets are 31st Avenue and Baseline Road. 602-262-6111.

Mountain Vista Park Spray Pad: 13647 S. 50th Street in Ahwatukee Foothills. The nearby major cross streets are 50th Street and Ray Road.

Nuestro Park Spray Pad: Ninth Street and Pima, south of downtown Phoenix. 602-262-6111.

Pecos Park Spray Pad: 48th Street and Pecos Road in the Ahwatukee Foothills area of Phoenix. You enter the park from 48th Street, via Chandler Boulevard. 602-262-6111.

Desert Ridge Marketplace

TEMPE Splashpads:

 Jaycee Park  817 W 5th Street (at Hardy Drive) in Tempe. Call for info 480-350-8625.
 Jaycee Park  817 W 5th Street (at Hardy Drive) in Tempe. Call for info 480-350-8625.
 Hudson Park  Apache Blvd. on Cedar Street between Rural and McClintock. Call for info 480-350-8625. 
Esquer Park  Loop 101 and north of Apache Blvd. Call for info 480-350-8625.

CHANDLER Splashpads:
Chuparosa Park Spray Pad  2400 S. Dobson Rd.,
Desert Breeze Park Spray Animals  660 N. Desert Breeze Blvd., between Rural Rd. and McClintock Dr.
Espee Park Spray Pad  450 E. Knox, between Arizona Avenue and McQueen Road.
 
Other:
Aquatic Playground Splash Pad in Glendale, Arizona is located at 83rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road
Glendale Stadium

If I missed one of your favorite splash parks, please leave a comment so I can add to this list!

| Your Desert Momma |

Kid Swimwear Couture

Splish, Splash fun in water this Summer with some Couture Kid Swim!

DG Swim Trunks - LOVE - Very cute trunks for little couture boys!

 But BEWARE you might break the bank,

but at least be cute while you do so! :)  

Marc Jacobs Swim Trunks - Boys
Childrens Salon

And for those who has a never ending bank account...
how about these adorable swim accessories from D&G?

 Or how about a little leopard couture?

And my ALL TIME (and little less expensive) KATE MACK!

This is what you will see my little one in, love love these suits!

 

How about a mother and me suit from Marc Jacobs?

| Your Desert Momma |