Author: MurphyMama

Ogres Are Like Onions – Ogres Have Layers

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The girls decided we needed to have theme days, even after the world went back to normal. We were busy a good part of the summer with Moana, but we managed to get a couple in before we headed back to school.

Because we’ve been enjoying our Universal Studios passes, the girls decided they wanted theme days around things we see and do at the parks. We started with Shrek and it was an entire day affair! I definitely got more elaborate this go around. On our agenda was:

  • Drink swamp juice
  • Make Shrek ear wax slime
  • Build the best tower for Fiona
  • Make your own Gingy
  • Bake a swamp log cake
  • Design your own freak flag (based on the musical)

First up was designing the best tower for Fiona. The girls were given toothpicks, wooden skewers, and marshmallows. They definitely each put their own spin on it.

Then we made swamp juice, which was essentially a limeade float with green food coloring added to make it look extra swampy. We bought pre-made limeade, added green food coloring, and then topped it off with a scoop of lime sherbet.

The girls wanted to skip the first movie and watch the musical instead. We LOVE musical theater in our house, and the girls have seen Shrek the Musical a dozen times (thanks, Netflix!). So, in theme with the musical, they designed their own freak flags. We love that song, and the girls had fun making their own flags celebrating their differences.

Make your own Gingies were also a huge hit. The girls love baking and decorating, so they had a great time. And the cookies were delicious!

The girls love slime. I think it is weird and gross, and daddy is totally opposed to it. But, Shrek ear wax slime fit our theme, so out to the driveway we went. We used Elmer’s Butter Slime Kit and it turned out pretty much just as we had hoped it would.

Our final project of the day was baking a swamp log cake. I found an Oreo cake mix that worked great. We poured the batter onto our baking pan and spread it out so that it would be a thin layer of cake. Once it cooled, we used Oreo vanilla frosting to cover the surface of the cake. Then we carefully rolled it up, and added some finishing touches.

7 am the Usual Morning Wake-Up

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I loved the movie Tangled when it came out. We listened to the soundtrack non-stop. Regina was a bit obsessed with Flynn Rider and used to carry a stuffed Flynn doll everywhere. So they were excited for a Tangled day.

This one was the most involved of the ones we had done so far. First, we did some melted crayon art:

Next up was bread baking. We made braided breadsticks to look like Rapunzel’s hair and they were delicious! The recipe is quick and easy, and we make these breadsticks a couple times a month now.

Recipe:

  • 1 T active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 C warm water
  • 2 T sugar
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 3 1/4 c flour

Preheat oven to 375. Then, combine the yeast and sugar with the water. Let this mixture sit for several minutes until foamy. Add the flour and salt to the water mixture and mix until well blended. If the dough mixture is too wet, add more flour a bit at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Sometimes, I have to add as much as another additional cup of flour. Knead until smooth and elastic.

You can then shape the dough however you want. The girls like to braid the breadsticks. Brush with butter. Sometimes we also add garlic salt and parmesan cheese to the breadsticks before baking. Let the breadsticks rise for a bit. Then, bake for about 20 minutes. And voila – delicious breadsticks!

For our Rapunzel day, we wanted the breadsticks to look like Rapunzel’s hair after the little girls braid it. So the girls cut out flowers from the dough and added them to the braided breadsticks.

We also made dresses as we thought about all the activities Rapunzel sings about.

Regina used hot glue to embellish a dress she made fo a Barbie.

How Far Will We Go?

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The girls all love Moana, so when it was time for another theme day, that was top of the list. I love Moana because she’s not the typical Disney princess. We love that she’s strong and confident and brave. (And the girls all got to be in our community theatre’s production of Moana)

The girls loved making their own flower crowns. I bought headbands and fake flowers from the Dollar Tree, and let them go to town. With a little hot glue magic they turned out super cute!

Next up they made their own boats to sail across the ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti.

Again, I found these boat kits at the Dollar Tree. They decorated the sails and then assembled. I wasn’t sure how sturdy they would be, but it’s more than a year later and the girls still have their boats!

I Just Can’t Wait To Be King!

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The girls were all in our community theatre’s production of The Lion King, so when it came time to choose our next theme day, that was their choice. Regina has loved The Lion King since she was little and was even Simba for Halloween one year.

Movie watching was of course on the docket, but so were a couple of fun activities.

First up, we made Simba’s sunrise punch. We used orange juice, grenadine and sparkling water. They garnished it with gummy worms and orange slices, and of course used adorable flamingo straws (Maddy was a flamingo in our theatre’s production, so it was a fun touch!). Honestly, we didn’t use a recipe – I just got out the ingredients and let them mix until it tasted right to them.

My girls love art, so our activity was painting their own Simba. I drew a lion head and then they painted how they wanted. I loved Molly’s so much that it is hanging in our dining room!

It Does Not Do Well to Dwell on Dreams and Forget to Live

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To keep us sane as the days in quarantine dragged by, I decided to implement theme days. I chose movies the girls liked and planned activities around them. The girls loved the days so much that we did a few more this summer before school started, so this will be the start of a series on the theme days we’ve done from last summer through this summer.

Our first one was Harry Potter. We love Harry Potter in our house (well, at least the girls and I do…daddy has seen a couple of the movies, but isn’t as into it as we are). The girls chose which movies they wanted to watch, and we of course had to have butterbeer to go along with it.

At this point we had not yet visited the Wizarding World at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, so they had no idea how butterbeer was supposed to taste. Now they are ruined forever!

We used a super simple recipe to make butterbeer milkshakes – vanilla ice cream, butterscotch syrup, and cream soda. Then we topped with whipped cream and drizzled some butterscotch. The girls loved it, but now that they are Wizarding World pros, they say it doesn’t taste like the real thing.

For our activity, we made Harry Potter character bookmarks. I think their corner bookmarks turned out pretty cute! We used this tutorial.

Quarantine, schmuarantine – Let’s make some art!

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I should have started this blog when we were actually in quarantine since there wasn’t a whole lot else to do. But, hindsight is 20/20, right?

In the beginning of our days at home, as long as the girls finished their assigned work, we didn’t put too many other parameters on them – we figured it was hard enough trying to work from home and not see friends, so we took away our usual rules on technology use.

But after a while, it became necessary to reign everyone back in a bit. We’ve realized that our kids get grumpier and meaner when they have unfettered access to technology, so we tend to put limits on how long they can be on devices each day. Since school wasn’t taking as long during quarantine, they had a LOT of free time (especially Molly, the youngest, who would churn out her kindergarten work in no time at all). That meant mama had to get creative.

I stocked up on some fun art and science kits, and we attempted to add some fun into our days. First up was some fun art.

Our house backs up to a car dealership, so there is a concrete wall running across our backyard (and all of our neighbors’ yards, as well). We have a lot of vegetation in the backyard – the previous owners went a little nuts. But amidst the orange tree, overgrown bougainvillea, avocado trees, plumerias, and some random pineapple plants, there is some of the concrete wall visible.

My girls love to create art, so we figured we’d let them decorate part of the wall. They each got a section of plywood that I taped off in various shapes. Then, we let them go for it.

They had fun making our boring wall look a bit more interesting! And it’s all still there, a year and a half later.

Welcome to life with the Murphy girls!

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I’ve told myself countless times that I was going to start a blog. And I have, a few times. Somewhere out in the world are at least two iterations. But, I write blogs for other people for a living, so maintaining a personal blog always gets lost in the background. This time hopefully will be different, but we’ll see…

I’m a wife and mother living in central Florida. I never thought I’d find myself in a smallish Southern town, relishing my days as a mostly stay-at-home mom, but here we are. My girls are 11, 9, and 7, and being their mama is my very favorite thing in the world (after being a wife to their dad, that is.)

I love being a mom – but that doesn’t mean I’m always good at it. I yell too much, I get frustrated, and I lose my patience. I also work hard to celebrate each day, to make my girls feel seen and heard, and to add little moments to each day that they hopefully look back on and remember fondly.

Here will be my ramblings about daily life – fun things we’ve done or are doing, recipes my family loves, trips, etc., but also probably some frustrations and venting. Being a mama to three girls isn’t always a smooth ride…but it’s one I’m always happy to be on.