2013 Goals!

In the past few years I've decided that I don't believe in New Year's resolutions.  I believe in continually trying improve yourself, and setting goals to try to help you improve yourself/life style.  I've been trying to set these goals for myself at the beginning of each year and try to live up to them throughout the year.  Now that I'm using my blog a lot more than I was a year ago, I'm hoping to remember to reflect on these throughout the year, and make sure I'm following through.

Here are the goals I've set for myself for 2013:

1) Make more time for myself.  Even if it's just to run an errand alone, or take a bubble bath in peace and quiet while reading a book, I want to make sure I make more "me" time next year.  It helps recharge me, and I feel like I'm a better parent when I focus on myself too.

2) Read one book a month.  I tried this in 2012, and about half way through the year I started lagging and only ended up reading 9.5 books the whole year.  That's just insane to me.  I know so many people who read one book a week!  I need to step it up some because I DO love to read. 

3) Do 4 crafts a month with the kids.  One craft per week is not too much to ask.  They both enjoy doing them, and so do I, so I need to make more of an effort to come up with cute things for us to make.  That's where Pinterest comes in, of course!

4) Only use my computer during nap time or after the kids are in bed.  I notice they are more unruly when I'm online too much, so I'm really going to make myself stick to this one.  I can still hop on Facebook or other websites quickly on my phone if the website has a mobile app, so I might still do that from time to time, but I will not be pulling my laptop out unless it's nap/quiet time or after bed time.

5) Get more organized!  I'm already really OCD about the house and my organization, but I just feel like I could do more.  I came across this awesome website with an Organized Home Challenge that I plan to start on Tuesday of this week, January 1st. It's a 52 week challenge to help you get your home organized and KEEP it organized.  I'm pretty excited to get started on this one.

6) Take more photos/get more into my photography hobby.  I love taking pictures and the art that IS photography, so I'm really going to make an effort to take more photos, and more artistic ones at that.

And, finally 7) Make more of an effort with my friends and family.  If there is one thing 2012 has taught me, it's that life is short.  You never know what tomorrow brings, so make sure the people you love know it.

I hope everyone else has a fun and safe New Year's Eve tomorrow, and an amazing 2013.  Cheers!

2012: A Year in Review

I had such high hopes for 2012.  I specifically remember on New Year's Eve last year kissing John and saying "this is our year, babe!" and it was to some extent, but it was also a year I'd love to just wipe right off the calendar.  Just a few hours after I made that statement, and about one hour in to the new year, I fell down the stairs at my in-laws house and sprained both my ankles.  :(  I was supposed to have lunch the next day with my sister, brother-in-law and my parents, but I couldn't even move off the couch without a LOT of help.  So, John had to take the kids by himself.  It was definitely not how I had planned to spend the first few days of the new year.  It took about three weeks for me to be able to get around properly and then a few more months before I was able to wear any shoe other than slip-on flats.

In May I was finally able to quit my full-time job and stay home with the kids.  That was a long time coming, but I've been so happy to finally be able to fulfill that dream.  It's definitely a hard job, but I wouldn't trade it for a normal 9-5 job, ever.

In August, we were finally able to move in to a bigger house.  I've loved decorating our new place and getting everything all set up.  I'm not done by any means, but what I have done looks so good!

October was both a good month and the worst month of my life.  Henry turned 2 on the 14th, and the day before we had his second birthday party at our new house.  That's been a dream of mine ever since we had kids, so to be able to actually have one of the boys' birthday parties at our house was just awesome.

Then, one week after Henry's birthday party, a tragedy struck our family.  My younger, and only, sister passed away at the young age of just 29.  It's been a rough time adjusting to life without her and trying to accept the fact that she's gone and never coming back.  We're just sort of taking things one day at a time.  One of my main goals for 2013 is to try to move past this constant grief I feel and start living my life again.

For Thanksgiving this year none of us felt like doing much, so we went out to eat.  Lame, huh??  For Christmas, we made more of an effort and I think we all had a pretty decent holiday despite that nagging thought in the back of all of our minds.  Our plans for NYE this year are to have some close friends over and my parents, eat some yummy food and drink some yummy drinks!

As for my 2012 goals, they are listed below ... I didn't complete even one of them, but I did get about 75% done with a few of them:

1) Wish every Facebook friend a Happy Birthday this year. (It sounds silly, but I feel bad when I miss one.)

Didn't do every single person, I'm sure, but I probably wished 75% of the people on my FB friends list a "Happy Birthday" this year. :)

2) Start eating more heatlhy and get in shape.

I've been slipping lately at this, but for the first 3/4 of the year I did really good, and I've lost 15 lbs since the beginning of the year, AND managed to keep it off despite the fact that I haven't been to the gym since May.

3) I'd like to attend church at least 50% of the year.

Big, fat FAIL. :(  Better luck next year?

4) Read one book a month.

Read 9 of 12 books this year. Not too shabby considering I used to only read maybe 2-3 books a year.

5) Swear a LOT less.

Was doing better about this, but not so much lately. :(
6) Control my temper a lot more.

Same.  Was doing okay, but not so much anymore.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I made this for the first time tonight and we really liked it.  One of the ingredients, though, is rice, which I'm not a huge fan of, so I might think on it and try to come up with another base to the casserole.  Anyway, here is where the original recipe came from.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, boiled and cubed
2 C white rice, cooked
6 slices of swiss cheese
10 slices of ham (I used 13 just to use up the last of it, so it didn't go to waste)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sour cream
10 saltine crackers (I didn't have saltines, so I used Club crackers instead)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp parsley

Directions:

1) Spread rice in the bottom of a baking dish.

 

 2) Arrange cubed chicken pieces over rice.

 

3) Layer swiss cheese on top of chicken.

 

4) Layer ham on top of swiss cheese.

 

5) Mix cream of chicken soup, milk and sour cream together and then spread over top of the ham.

 

6) Crush crackers and then mix in the paprika, garlic salt and parsley. Sprinkle over the soup mixture.

 

7) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

 ENJOY!!

P.S. This was another Pinterest find, so if you are a follower of my Pinterest boards, just go to my "casseroles" board and you can repin it from there.  If you are NOT a follower, you should be.  lol  J/K  But, in all seriousness, if you WANT to follow my Pinterest boards (all 102 of them, I have a serious Pinterest addiction), you can do so by clicking on the link on the top left hand side of this page just under my "About" section.  :)

Merry Christmas!

I'll be completely honest and tell you right now that I was NOT looking forward to yesterday.  I've been having numerous breakdowns for weeks about this one day.  My first Christmas without my little sister.  We never actually got to see each other ON Christmas (in our adult life, that is), but we at least got to talk to each other and exchange gifts at a later time (usually around New Year's).  So, needless to say, I have just been dreading the day.  Thankfully, yesterday was not that bad.  I got a little sad here and there, but overall I felt pretty good and definitely was able to keep it together in front of everyone else.  There was one point when my step-dad was giving my mom her last gift, an angel charm in honor/memory of Ashlee for her Pandora bracelet, that all three of us got teary-eyed.  But, we did so good, so for that I'm super-duper proud of us! (Of course now that I'm typing this out, tears are coming to my eyes.)

Anyway, Christmas Eve is actually my favorite day of the whole holiday.  There is just something so special and magical about the night before Christmas.  So, on Christmas Eve every year, my parents come over to our house, we cook up a bunch of appetizers, eat together and then open some gifts - usually ornaments for me and the kids from my parents, and new matching Christmas pajamas to the kids from John and I.  This year we let the kids open a few extra gifts from us because from past experience it always tends to take them a pretty long time to open their gifts from Santa the next day.  I didn't want to add more packages to what they were already going to be opening.  All the gifts we give the kids every year are just clothes.  Boring ole clothes.  Santa brings all the fun gifts!

   

 I tried to get some cute pictures of the boys in their matching PJs in front of the tree, but Henry seemed scared of it, so I didn't push the issue. Jacob cooperated with me for a few pictures, though ...

 

 

 And, I was able to get a cute one of both the boys with my mom ...

 

After they were done eating and opening gifts, Pap read them "The Night Before Christmas" like he does every year. It's been a tradition in our family since I was little, so it's important to me that we carry it on with our kids.

   

 Then we left out some cookies and milk for Santa, and apples for his reindeer (I totally forgot to buy them carrots, so I'm assuming they eat apples, lol)

 

Then, we got the kids in bed and waited for Santa. Here are some pictures from after Santa came to our house!

 

 

 At around 3 AM Jacob woke up crying (he's been fighting a cold/flu thing for a few days), so I got him resettled in bed, and then I went back to sleep myself. So, because of that wake up in the middle of the night, he slept in until 9ish. Once both the kids were up and awake, we headed down to check out what Santa brought! Jacob tore open most of his stuff pretty fast this year, but Henry took some time. It was still so cute and heart-warming to watch them opening presents, and to see the joy on their little faces. It makes me so incredibly thankful that we're able to provide that for them.

   

 The Joker Fun House he's been wanting that goes with his Batcave he got last year for Christmas. He was pretty excited about this one!

 

As usual the kids were incredibly spoiled. We got them a really nice wooden kitchen by Kidkraft. That was their big gift. Then they got an assortment of puzzles, books, Little People and Melissa and Doug toys. My parents came later in the day and brought a HUGE truckload of stuff. We were thoroughly spoiled!! John got me the Uggs I've been wanting for a few years now, plus another pair of boots. My Uggs are brown, but the other pair is black and by Timberland. So, I can wear those out in the snow with the kids, and the Uggs are for more dressy wear. He also got me some stuff from The Body Shop and this beautiful wind-up snow globe from the boys (it's engraved with "momma" too). I got John a Burberry cologe gift set he'd been wanting, but would never buy for himself, and his new tattoo he got earlier in the month was the other part of his gift. My parents got us both new coats. We both needed new ones badly and they're are SO warm. I don't think I've ever owned a winter coat that was THIS warm. Ever. And, I got some new pieces to add to my village and this really cool, really big Santa to add to my collection. He's almost as tall as Jacob.

  

 We spent the rest of the day playing with their new toys and having a really yummy dinner. I even used my fine china I've never been able to use before! Despite the grief our family is going through right now, we had a really great day, and for that I'm incredibly thankful! From our family to yours, we hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Gift Idea!

I got this gift idea from a friend of mine months ago, and I decided to put my own spin on it to fit the likes of the recipients - my parents!  Anyway, I called it a "Night at the Movies" basket. :)

My parents are HUGE diet coke drinkers.  That's pretty much all they ever drink, so I was sure to throw in a bunch of those.  I bought the 8-packs of the mini cans.  So cute!  If I could have found the glass bottles, I'd have bought those instead, but every where I looked only had coke in the glass bottles.  And, what kind of a movie night would it be without microwaveable popcorn?? So, of course, I threw in a bunch of those.  THEN, then had to have something to put the diet coke IN, right??  Well, my new (not so new, I've loved them for awhile I just haven't "collected" them until the past year or so) love is Tervis Tumblers.  So, I got them each one with their initials on it.  Trying to choose just one for them was super hard!  They had so many awesome ones my parents would have loved, even a "his" and "hers" one.  So cool .. but, in the end I ended up going with the one I originally wanted.  I also got them the lids and straws to go with them.  And, then, because I wasn't sure what movies they already had or if they actually ever sit at home long enough to watch a movie, I got them a gift certificate to one of the local movie theaters.  So, now they can have a little date night and go see whatever movie strikes their fancy.  I thought this was such a cute idea and they did too!! :)

Oh, and the one thing I didn't do that I had wanted to with this thing was I was going to use a popcorn bucket as the basket, but all this stuff wouldn't have fit in one of those things!

Shrimp Chowder

A good friend gave me this recipe and I absolutely love it!  I've only had the recipe since the beginning of October and we've already made it twice.  The ingredients are kind of pricey, but you can get quite a few meals out of one batch, so in my opinion it's still worth the initial price.  I manage to get about 4 meals from one batch, and you can freeze it.  That was one of my questions, with it being seafood, "can it be frozen?", and I'm here to say, that, YES .. it can be frozen.  All you have to do to thaw it out is take it out either the night before or the morning you want to serve it and leave it sit on the counter to thaw. If you're taking it out the night before, I'd put it in the fridge to thaw out just to be on the safe side.  Then when reheating, put it in a pot and slowly reheat on the lowest setting possible, stirring constantly.

Shrimp Chowder

5 (10 oz) cans of condensed potato soup 
50 oz of whole milk (or, 2% - in other words, 5 potato soup cans full)
1 (16 oz) can of corn
1 bunch of green onions (I omit this ingredient because hubby doesn't like onions)
1-2 cloves of minced garlic (I put in a little extra cause we love garlic!)
5 tbsp of butter
1 (10-20 oz) bag of frozen shrimp (My friend gets the smaller shrimp, but I've yet to find them at our store, so I just buy whatever is on sale and then chop them up into smaller pieces)
2 tsp of red pepper, or to taste
3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese

Directions:

Melt butter in a large stock pot. 

Saute garlic & green onion until light brown.

Add red pepper. 

Add all 5 cans of potato soup (and save 1 empty can for the milk). Turn the heat down to a simmer. 

Add 1/2 of the milk. 

In a large bowl, combine the other 1/2 of the milk and the cream cheese & soften this mixture in the microwave until milk is warm and the cream cheese begins to melt. 

Meanwhile, rinse the frozen shrimp under cold water to thaw, cleaning any dark spots, veins & drain. 

Break up the now softened cream cheese into small bits & add to soup pot. 

Add whole can of UNDRAINED corn to pot. 

Add shrimp.

 

Do not boil. Soup is best when heated slowly and gently.  This would be a good crockpot meal, I'm just home all day, so I've never done it that way, plus my crockpot isn't big enough to fit all of this.  I use a stockpot.

Tips:

You can use an electric mixer to help break up the cream cheese, but don't let it get frothy.  And, make sure you break it up.  It doesn't not just fall apart with the heat.

Add an extra can of corn if you like.

Add other seafood!  I made this last week and added crab meat.  It was so yummy!!  It would probably be good with scallops too, but I don't like them, so we'll never have those.  lol

And, finally ... serve with whatever yummy dinner rolls you have on hand to help cut down on some of the heat of the soup (it will have a kick from the red pepper).

 

Enjoy!!

Walgreens Balance Rewards

This is a fairly new program to Walgreens, but it's sort of like CVS's Extracare Bucks  you can earn except you earn points at Walgreens and every so many points is equal to $1 you can redeem in the store.  They keep track of it on your BR card, so there are no coupons to remember to bring with you, and you can still use them in conjuction with RR or manufacturer coupons.  I had a pretty fun trip this morning!  I was in need of diapers for Henry.  I normally buy a box of Target brand diapers for about $20.  Well, I saw this deal on Southern Savers yesterday, so I decided to try it out.

Transaction #1:

2 Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes (normally $6.49/each) - they were on sale for B1G1 50% off and SS had a $1.50 printable coupon, so I printed off two of them.  THEN for each package you bought, you got 3,000 BR!  That's 6,000 BR = $6 off.

1 Clear Hair Care Product (normally $7.49) - this was on sale for $5.99 and SS had a printable coupon for $2, so I printed one of those as well.

Subtotal before savings: $20.47
BR Savings: $4.75
Coupon Savings: $5.00
Total Spent: $11.21 (this includes tax)

BR Earned: 6,000

Transaction #2:

The diapers I needed!

2 packages of Walgreens brand diapers (normally $9.99/each) were on sale for B1G1 at $8.99.

On this transaction I was able to redeem 5,000 points, which is equal to $5 off. (You can only redeem in increments of 5,000 points.)

Subtotal for savings: $19.98 
BR Savings $10.99
BR Redeemed: $5.00
Total Spent: $4.44 (this includes tax)

So, overall I got all of this ...

For less than what one box of Target brand diapers would have cost me!

Total before savings, coupons, BR redemption: $40.45

Total savings (coupons, sales, BR redemption): 25.74

Total spent: $14.71 (with tax it was actually $15.65)

Christmas Town and Grand Illumination

Last weekend the boys and I went away with my parents to Williamsburg, VA.  My parents have a time share there, so anytime we go we just stay with them for free.  It's so nice that we have that luxury!  So, on Saturday morning the boys and I packed up, and along with my parents we headed down 95 to Williamsburg.  When we got down there, we checked in to the time share, dropped our bags and headed to Busch Gardens for the afternoon/evening.  I have NEVER been to Busch at Christmas time, and last weekend I finally saw what I had been missing out on.  If you've never been, I highly recommend you go!  They turn the entire park in to Christmas Town. Everything is Christmas-ey, it's impossible not to get in to the Christmas spirit!

Almost immediately after we got into the park, Jacob wanted to ride the sky coaster (the little cart that goes from one end of the park to another).  During the holiday season, though, it's called the Flight of Lights (how cute is that?!).  So, we got in line and took that to move us deeper into the park.  Then we walked around some, drank some amazing peppermint fudge hot chocolate, played games and took some pictures.  Probably the most awesome part of the whole park (for me, anyway) was The North Pole where Santa's Workshop is located.  It's just magical.  There is no other word to describe it, but pure and simple ... magic. I truly felt like a kid again.  Saturday night after we had had our fun at Busch Gardens, we had dinner at our favorite place ever ... Captain George's Seafood Buffet.  Yum!

On Sunday morning after we had breakfast we decided to do a little shopping, so our first stop was The Christmas Mouse.  I love that store!  It's Christmas all year long!  Next we hit up both outlet malls where I got some good deals ... my favorite was Carter's (love that store!).  I spent $68 and got the boys their matching Christmas PJs, plus two more pairs of jammies for Jacob, 6 long sleeve t-shirts and 1 short sleeved t-shirt.  And, because I spent over $50, I got $10 to spend at a later date.  :)

After we were done shopping we had to hussle back to the resort to catch the bus that was taking us to downtown Colonial Williamsburg for the  Grand Illumination.  One thing I should mention here is that the weather was so amazing all weekend.  It was in the 60s and 70s during the day and 50s at night.  Anyway, we got downtown and milled about with all the rest of the people ... there were so many people!  We did some more shopping and just sort of hung out until it was time for the fireworks.  Henry was TERRIFIED of them for some reason.  Poor baby.  He clung to me and wouldn't look up out of my shoulder for anything.  It was sad, but cute at the same time.  After the fireworks we rode the bus back to the resort and then went out for a late dinner.

 

On Monday morning we packed up to go home.  I wasn't super excited about going home because I knew John was gone, but at the same time it was nice to be back in my own bed Monday night.  Before we left Williamsburg, though, we had one more stop to make ... Yankee Candle.  Now, I don't know if this is "the biggest Yankee Candle store in the country" or whatever, but it's pretty freaking big.  And, I had never been inside before this trip.  I'll be making it a planned stop from here on out, though.  I love that place!  I got a few more pieces to add to my village and then a few stocking stuffers and air freshners for my car.

 

We had a fantastic time and are so fortunate we were able to go.  Thanks to my mom and dad for all they do for us!!

30 Days of Thankfulness: 19th - 24th

November 19, 2012

Today I'm thankful for chocolate.  Cause sometimes a girl just needs a piece of chocolate.  :)

November 20, 2012

Today I'm thankful for Jacob's preschool and his wonderful teachers.  He seems to really like it there and seems to be doing really well in all his lessons.  His teachers speak very highly of him, and he of them, so we're very happy with our decision to send him there.

November 21, 2012

Today I'm thankful for my good doctors and my good health.  I know that's a two-parter, but I can't narrow it down to just one today.  I have an excellent team of doctors.  My OB was amazing when I had both my kids and I'm super thankful to them.  And, my primary care doctor is equally as amazing.  She's super thorough and very friendly.  She seems to genuinely care about my well-being.

And, I was very concerned about my health after this whole thing with my sister (even though she had had a pre-existing condition her whole life), so I'm thankful after two trips to the doctor in the past month to be checked over, it has been determined that I'm in good health, for the most part.

November 22, 2012

Today I'm thankful to not have to cook a big meal for Thanksgiving.  I know that sounds horrible, but my heart really isn't in it this year.  I'm thankful my family was all okay with going out to eat as an alternative.  :)  It doesn't matter what we eat anyway, just so long as we're all together.

November 23, 2012

Today I'm thankful to my husband for going out to Kohls at midnight for me to get a few things that were on sale.  He knew I didn't want to go out, but I felt like I had to.  And, he knows I don't like coming home when it's so dark outside, plus he didn't want me out on the roads, so he offered to go for me.  He's too good to me. :)

November 24, 2012

Today I'm thankful for a husband who not only CAN cook, but one who ENJOYS it.  John made dinner tonight and it was so yummy!!

30 Days of Thankfulness: 16th - 18th

Day 16

Today I'm thankful for my wonderful parents. They are such a huge help to us each and every day that I don't know where I'd be without them.  They watch the kids for us whenever we need them without so much as a second thought.  They're loving, caring and supportive in all of our decisions.  We love you, Gee and Pap! :)

Day 17

Today I'm thankful for my wonderful in-law family.  I know so many people who cannot stand their in-laws, so I feel so blessed to know that I love and get along so well with my mine.  :)

Day 18

Today I'm thankful for modern technology.  There is no way I could survive without it!  If I didn't have the internet, a computer and/or my cell phone, I would truly me lost!!

30 Days of Thankfulness: 14th & 15th

Day 14

Today I'm thankful for the ability to cook, and to cook well.  I love cooking, so the fact that I'm pretty good at it and able to cook my family good, wholesome meals most nights (not every night, we do like eating out too :)), is so wonderful to me, and I know they appreciate it too!  I love pinterest, as you all know by now.  I try a lot of new recipes from there and some things we just make up on our own, but they all turn out really good!!

Day 15

Today I'm thankful that I'm able to work from home.  I love that I can stay at home with my kids when they're small and still contribute financially to our household.  I wouldn't be able to stay at home if not for my part-time income.  It might not be a lot, but it's enough to make the difference between me having to work full-time and me being able to stay at home with my little monkeys and fulfill my lifelong dream of being a SAHM (or rather I should stay a WAHM).  :) 

30 Days of Thankfulness: 11th - 13th

Playing catch-up today ...

Day 11

Today I'm thankful for the men and women who have served, currently serve or will serve in the United States military.  Specifically, today's thankfulness will be dedicated to my friends, Matt (U.S. Army) and his wife, Jackie.  They are two of the strongest people I know.  Married for almost 7 years, they are on deployment number five!  That's insanity!  I hate being away from my husband for a night or two, I couldn't imagine months on end, and FIVE times in SEVEN years.

So, today I want to thank all of the U.S. military and their families, plus I want to say a very special thank you to Matt and Jackie (and all of their family members) who sacrifice their time and life together so that we can live in this wonderful, free country.  They pay the ultimate sacrifice every day and are not thanked enough for it!  Love you guys! xoxo

Day 12

Today I'm thankful for Monday night television!!!  Seriously, I'm convinced that network Presidents have decided to make Monday night television so awesome because Mondays, in general, just suck so much.  haha  My Monday this week was pretty decent, though, but a lot of the times they just aren't.  I actually have so many shows I like to watch on Monday nights that I can't DVR them all!  I have to watch Dancing with the Stars on-demand now because John watches How I Met Your Mother and I record The Voice.  Then later, at 10 PM, I also record The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and now Teen Mom 2 is back on!  (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE reality TV??? lol) .. so anyway, Mondays may suck, but Monday nights ROCK!! :)

Day 13

Today I'm thankful for all the time we've had over the past few weeks together as a family.  I know not everyone is as fortunate as I am to have a wonderful family and have them at home the way I do, so I'm super thankful for that.  John's been off for four weeks because of his back surgery with the first week being spent in the hospital (so I was between home and the hospital a LOT!).  I thought after the first week at home with him I'd be ready for him to go back, and maybe under different circumstances I would have been, but not this time!  It was a blessing to have him at home because of all that has gone on with my sister passing away the way she did.  For a little while there I wasn't sure he'd be able to make the ride to Pittsburgh for the funeral, but thankfully he was able to accompany me.  He's kept me company, been supportive and helped keep my mind occupied.  Yesterday he went back to working in the office full-time, and while getting the kids and I back on a routine was nice, I still missed him like crazy.

Footprint Turkeys Anyone??

I'm FINALLY getting to do some art projects with the kids.  This has been what I've been waiting for ever since I became a SAHM.  Specifically, I was waiting for the holidays to roll around, so we could do some pretty awesome crafts.  Now that I'm home all day, we actually have the time to do them.

I found this little gem on Pinterest, and since we actually had all the supplies on hand, we did this one on Monday morning.

Here are all the supplies you'll need, although I will say that I learned a little lesson with this project ... use glue sticks instead of glue. Regardless of whether it's white or clear, it's going to bleed through the paper, especially when your four year old cakes on big, huge globs of it. :)

 

 We painted the bottom of their feet with the brown paint and then they made footprints on white construction paper. Once the paint dried we glued on googly eyes, and feathers, beaks and gobbler-thingys (what are they called??) that were just cut from colored construction paper (by Jacob). It was pretty simple and a lot of fun! Here is our "art wall" which is just our coat closet door located right inside the front door, so all our visitors will see them as soon as they enter the house. :)

   

 And, a close up of each ... Jacob's (he even wrote his name on his himself!)  :)

  

See how the glue bled through the paper ... booo! Must.buy.glue.sticks. 

 And, here's Henry's (I had to improvise on the toes, he scooted his foot around on the paper and it smeared)  :)