Hello Kitty Eggs

A couple of weeks ago I was able to snag a free Hello Kitty Silicone Ice Tray from BizarkDeal.com. It arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more excited! I am not only impressed with the speedy delivery (from China!) but also the quality. I love it so much I may have to order a couple more of them since they can be used as more then just an ice tray. Because it is made out of silicone, it can withstand temps up to 500F, so I can also use it for baking...whether it be muffins or crayons!

This morning I was already boiling some eggs for egg salad, so I threw in a couple of extra eggs to try them out in our new ice tray! After the eggs were done boiling, I let them cool down just a bit before peeling them. I took 2 of the peeled eggs and promptly put them into the ice try molds while they were still very warm so they would be easier to shape. Since we always buy large eggs, I knew they wouldn't fit all the way into the mold, so I stuffed in what I could and placed a heavy bowl on top of the tray to hold them firmly in place and let them set for about 10-15 minutes.

I was really happy with the way they came out! The detail in the face and bow are pretty good considering this is not an actual egg mold. Next I took just a tiny dab of red food coloring and painted the bow with it using a Q-tip, and then did the same with the yellow food coloring for the nose. As you can see, the kids were pretty excited about their Hello Kitty eggs, so I will definitely be incorporating this in future Bento lunches for them :)

**please note: when you are using any kind of mold for your eggs, make sure the eggs are cooked so that the yolk stays in the middle, otherwise you will get some breakage when you try to fit your eggs into the molds. You can keep the yolks in the center by turning your eggs every few minutes -very carefully- with a spoon while they are cooking. 

Making Memories

For the past couple of months I have had this humungo pickle jar sitting next to my sink, just waiting to be used for something creative. It even served as a vase for my Mother's Day flowers...but I knew that this awesome glass pickle jar had a greater purpose. And then suddenly there it was...on Pinterest of course! I had been looking through my thousands of pins & likes,  i'm a complete pin hoarder, and found a pin I had saved ages ago, the Memory Jar!

This was the perfect activity for us to do this week as we have been hiding inside from the 90+ degree temps with the AC on full blast. I gathered a few magazines I had around the house, a bag of ribbons, glue, & scissors...that's it! I told the kids we would be spelling out MEMORIES, so we needed to find those letters so I could cut them out to use on the jar. It was a fun learning activity as well as a craft activity since it involved recognizing letters in the alphabet. Normally I would let them use their safety scissors to cut things out for the project but the letters were so small that I decided to do it myself while they used their scissors to practice cutting shapes out of old newspapers. After I finished cutting all the letters out, we glued them onto the glass and picked out a pretty ribbon to represent summer, and we were done! The great thing about the ribbon is that we can change it to match whatever season it is. They have already picked out which ribbons to use for each season! You can really decorate this jar in a million different ways...glitter, paint, or mod podge. The ideas are ENDLESS! 

Our goal for our memory jar is to write down things that made us happy throughout the year and on New Year's eve (or day) we will read through each memory so we can remember what a great year we had and appreciate the little things even more. I would like to make this into a tradition that they will carry on with their own kids someday.

When I asked them to write their favorite memory of the year so far to add to the jar, this is what they each wrote:

• Bobo,"going to the beach"
• Peanut, "visiting with Grandpa & Grandma"

I love that they both picked moments from our trip to North Carolina as their favorite memory, mine will also be from this trip as well ♥

Have you made your own Memory Jar??? If so, I'd love to see it...please post a link in the comments section of this post ^^


*here is the original pin where I got my inspiration >> http://pinterest.com/pin/166492517444456063

Today's Project: Recycling Crayons!

I have been wanting to do this project for awhile since seeing it on Pinterest, but after eyeing that tin of broken crayons for the 100th time this morning, I knew today was the day....WE ARE RECYCLING CRAYONS! I really dislike throwing away things they are still very much in use, so I was really happy to stumble upon this idea ^^

I dumped out the big tin of crayons on the the floor and separated the broken ones from the good ones and put them in this pretty little pile.

 At this point the kids were thinking I had gone crazy ...I kept getting that sideways puppy head tilt from them. I didn't tell them right away what our project was cause it's fun to keep them guessing for awhile. I then told them to pick a color and start peeling! They were more then happy to oblige and they spent the next hour or so REALLY super focused while peeling and separating the colors.

While they were peeling and sorting I preheated the oven to 275 degrees. Once they were done, I popped the muffin tin into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes (as several sites suggested). I think it was probably about 15 minutes before they were all melted at this temp though. If you decide to make these, I would still set the timer for 10 but keep checking after that to see if everything is melted since all ovens are different. After I pulled them out I let the crayons set for 10 minutes & then put them in the freezer for 20 minutes. I was a little worried that they wouldn't come out since I had not sprayed or lined the pan, but it ended up being just fine....those crayons popped out like ice cubes! The kids were sooooo excited and wanted to use them right away even though they were still frozen :D 

We had soooooooo much fun with this project and I'm really looking fwd to doing it again in the future, maybe with some fun shaped pans next time! We may never have to buy another new crayon again ^^

DIY Site Word Bingo

Everyday I have scheduled learning activities I do with the twinkies as well as a craft activity. I am always looking for new activities so they don't get bored but we have a couple that we repeat throughout the week so they are able to remember them...one of those is Site Word Bingo! I saw this idea on Pinterest of course but at the time we could not find our printer cord (the movers packed the cords in one box & the printer in another o.O) so I had to make mine by hand. I will probably make a new one with some of the many great printables soon, but for now, the homemade one is working for us!

About Me

My name is Jax and I am a stay at home wife & a mom to 4 yr old b/g twins & a 14 yr old daughter. I never planned on being a housewife, but here I am...5 years later & STILL trying to figure this all out!

I am a Mom to multi-cultural kids, so I try my best to incorporate all of our different traditions, food, & culture into our daily lives. I have always been a lover of all things Asian, so this for me is the fun stuff! My husband was born & raised in Asia and I‘m an American girl from New England…2 very different worlds, but it definitely keeps things interesting!

Two other very important things you should know about me: I am a HUGE fan of coffee & Korean Dramas…together, they = bliss ♥

I am also a bit of a ‘work in progress’ these days between trying to become a more organized person at our rented home & in life as well as trying to eat healthy & get in shape. I feel like sharing my progress will hold me more accountable and keep me on the right track.