Brand Me: Lora Langston aka Adubahwha?

Sunday Food for Thought: BRANDING YOU and me

Hey, if you came here from a search, can you tell me what got you here? This is an old post. I'm not sure what is driving traffic. Brand me. Brand you. Branding for Bloggers? Sunday Food for Thought? I used to write those every Sunday and then I decided they were too personal for what the blog has become. So, leave a comment and let me know. Enjoy!

Sunday Food for Thought: 

BRANDING YOU and me.

I've been reading up on professional blogging through posts sent to my inbox by Problogger. For the most part, I am doing everything wrong. I'm a disaster. For example, did you miss me? I was MIA for about two months. Apparently, I'm not supposed to ask, as it is a sure sign of an unprofessional.

And then, there are the theories on 'to post or not to post', to whichever theory you subscribe (posting every day or every other day or once a week) you should maintain a schedule. 

That is, you shouldn't post sporadically- every day one week, once the next week, none the next, and then a few times a day the next, just because you have something to say, like I do.

I can say, based on my absence and the noticeable drop in stats, okay the DRAMATIC drop in stats, posting at least once a week is important. 

Someone pointed out that posting everyday might annoy my subscribers. Ahem... I would have to have subscribers to annoy them.

Another common mistake the naive, unprofessional blogger makes is not focusing on a particular subject matter. Specialization is best, know your readership, find your niche. 

My niche? 

Mommy Bloggers? Nope. Aspiring authors? Nope. Nutty people? Noooo. People interested in Dramatic Arts? No. Crafters? No. Freelance writers? Humor? Overweight Moms? Nope, nope, and more nope. Maybe a Blogger's Club for Midwestern Mommy Creative Types? Uh that's a big, fat, no. (10 followers) My very own .com just for my rambling mind? Apparently not. (20 followers)

Update: I have found my niche. Education Bloggers. Afterschool, Summer Camp, Teachers, Homeschoolers, and Daycare Workers. Things are going quite nicely now.

Don't use slang, vernacular, incorrect grammar. Don't get excited and post with spelling errors, your reader's will lose respekt for you. (See what I did there?) 

Puffalump! Cheese and rice! Bleep, I ain't got no chance of becoming a professional, branded blogger. Or do I?

Update: I didn't even realize I was making mistakes back then. I still make mistakes today. Probably for the same reasons.

Content is Key and the Perfect Title is Golden.

Update: Okay, I used to write cute titles all the time. Now, before I even think of content to write I do an SEO search for the BEST keywords to put in my title. Downside, it won't attract my Facebook family and friends to read my blog. Upside, it is evergreen. The gift that keeps on giving. Titles and keywords used this way can take awhile to stick. Sometimes, posts don't get SEO juice for up to two years!! Then, they just take off. That is why, I want to know... what brought you here?

You see, I have found my niche. It's Kid Bloggers, who are mostly moms like me or Early Childhood Teachers looking for new twists on old ideas. I work for them, but I like to mingle with aspiring or published authors too. I love reading posts that flow, engage, and make me laugh or cry. 

I don't want to scare off my niche group with posts about my fatness, laziness, or craziness. Or my my core Christian readers with my liberal take on Christianity. Or my Non-Christian readers with my Jesus talk. Or worse yet, bore everyone with my obsession with ancestry and historical fiction.

So... I tried to split my personality with my various blogs and Facebook pages. Know what I found out? People seem to like me despite my ramblings, outspoken political views, or overall reckless blog behavior. 

Hey, fellow writers: I just learned how to spell reckless. Are you kidding me? All of these years, I thought it was Wreckless. I guess that is my Indiana upbringing... he is such a wreckless driver. Then again, that was dumb. If he was a wreckless driver rather than a reckless driver, he'd probably be a good driver minus the wrecks.

Ramblings. 

That's what I, Lora Langston, do best and you don't have to hop over to loralangston.blogspot.com STOP THE PRESSES THIS LEADS ME TO A THOUGHT WITHIN A THOUGHT (loralangston.com was a nice thing to own until I didn't and then they raised the little renewal price of ten dollars to sixty, meanies) or Midwestbloggersassociation.com or theplayconnection.com or on  Facebook or Lora Langston on Examiner.com even Kids Creative Chaos on Facebook. 

Nope, because when I wasn't paying attention or even trying I discovered Lora Langston is my brand even if you have to work through my split-personality to find me on Facebook (Lora Langston) or Twitter (@playconnection) or Pinterest/kidschaos:   (we do the scavenger hunt).

I'm gonna continue to ramble, write in my Indiana vernacular, post when I feel like it, and go off topic sometimes 'cuz that is what my subscribers seem to enjoy about me, my unpredictability. I'm a train wreck or is it reck?

My dry sense of humor lends to a few things: Some find me stupid and annoying but can't resist reading... and others aren't quite sure if they should laugh or run. The rest, well, they get me.

Whichever category you fall into, I hope you'll stick around! There are many more ramblings to come and lots of creative, crafty fun for kids.

Subscribe to Lora Langston on Facebook, and Check me out on Twitter and Pinterest- This is where my branding is best with over 180,000 followers.

Okay, I won't be mad if you like me here too because this is the brand that didn't go but inspired this post. Kids Creative Chaos on FB (hoping for 500 Likes, for now).

Update: I have over 11,000 Facebook likes as of 12/2015.

Cheers to a happy 'You' Brand too.

Update: I'll pop back in and update this post as things continue to improve. 

Adubahwha? That's what people used to say to me in college, when they had no idea what I just said...

Recommended:

Welcome and About Me

Branding for Bloggers*









ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Summer Fun In The Creek: With Indiana Crawfish

Looking for Things to do in Brownsburg, Indiana?

Summer break with the kiddos? Bored already? Looking for a fund summer activity? Visit an Indiana creek. Go hunt some mini Indiana lobsters. One sunny day, we met some friends at a local park in Brownsburg, Indiana. The kids love playing in the creek at Arbuckle Park. On this trip, the girls were out numbered, but Chick a Bitty, showed them a girl could catch crawfish or crawdads (depending on what you called them as you grew up, we were corrected more than once that  they weren't "crawdad's" but crawfish.) She surprised everyone with the biggest catch of the day. Scroll down to catch a glimpse!

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. 

If you click through and make a purchase, we get a small commission.

Brownsburg, Indiana is a quaint, quickly growing town in Hendrick's County on the west side of Indianapolis near Lucas Oil Raceway. It's a great place to raise a family with lots of countryside, good schools, and just a short drive to downtown Indianapolis.

A bucket of Indiana crawfish.

Let your kids document all your fun trips and traveling adventures with a travel journal.

Chick a Bitty's crawfish, crayfish, crawdad, or "lobster" as we called it. 

Recommended Things to do in Brownsburg, Indiana:

• Follow our ADVENTURES on Instagram
• The Park at Trader's Point Christian Church, yes you can go. It's open to the public!
• Sunshine Bowling Center, quaint bowling alley near Brownsburg with Youth Activities.
• Kid Friendly Riding in Brownsburg, Indiana, Hendrick's County Trail Rides.
• Brownsburg Field Trip Idea
• Top Recommended Things to do in Brownsburg by Trip Advisor.
• Indoor Amusement Park with Trampolines, Kids Planet, Brownsburg.

Do you have a Brownsburg activity for kids that you'd like for us to add to the list? Mention it in the comments or send an email to info@theplayconnection.com and learn about our promo and media relations opportunities. In the meantime, get this travel journal for kids on Amazon to document your own adventures.

Pin it ~ Online Scavenger Hunt ~ Pinterest July 16, 2012

It's a scavenger hunt for preschool, elementary, and camp curriculum on the Web. Get the kids involved, Pin posts from your blog or class on Pinterest and have a blast~

Weekly winner is chosen by you.

The pin with the most re-pins is showcased here each week and the ORIGINAL pinner wins a small prize package from vendor donations to the blog or my own collection of goodies :-)

Pin~it Online Scavenger Hunt 7/1/2012

Hunt for preschool, elementary, and camp curriculum on the Web and Pin~it on Pinterest.

Weekly winner is chosen by you.

The pin with the most re-pins is showcased here each week and the ORIGINAL pinner wins a small prize package from vendor donations to the blog or my own collection of goodies :-)

Homemade Rainbow Slushy Recipe How to Make with Ice Pops

Homemade Rainbow Slushy Recipe to Make at Home

Guest Post by Tracey Thomas:  My kids and I decided to try out a cool “recipe” how to we discovered on Pinterest: Rainbow Slushies!  While it looks very cool, and it is something I never would have thought of on my own, it only cost us a whopping $3 to make! Which is great, since I am ALWAYS on the lookout for fun, inexpensive things we can do together. This is also a fun activity for all ages; my 4 year old was very involved, and it kept the interest of my older kids, as well. Target age: Preschooler to Fourth Grade

Rainbow Slushy How to... It's an Ice Cone in a party dish.

The steps are very simple; buy ‘ice pop’ style POPSICLES, freeze, and sort them by color (ours did not have the same amount of each color, but we made it work!).

Choose a glass dish (we used a 2 qt casserole dish) and pop it into the freezer to get it nice and cold.

After sorting the popsicles, place all of them back into the freezer to keep them from thawing out and only take out one color at a time as you are using it.

Prepping for Snow Cone.

• We started with grape at the bottom; open each grape popsicle and dump into a smaller bowl and crush them up. Be careful not to mush it up to the point that they are melting! (We eventually found it easier to crush them with a glass while still unopened and then dump them into the bowl and mix together.)

• Dump the smashed up bits into the glass dish that has been waiting in the freezer, and smooth it out with a fork or spoon.

Layering Popsicle Shaved Ice for a Rainbow Effect.

• Repeat with each color! Be sure to place glass dish back into the freezer between each color to prevent colors from running together.

Time to Party and Eat a yummy homemade slushy.

This would be great for birthday parties or pitch-ins, but we made it just because!

Rainbow Ice in a giant slushy. No cone needed.

Recommended Reading:


People's Pops: 55 Recipes for Ice Pops, Shave Ice, and Boozy Pops from Brooklyn's Coolest Pop Shop*

Rainbow Graham Cracker Sandwiches

What Makes a Rainbow*

Children's Party Activities: Toss the Marshmallows Game for Kids

 

Marshmallow Toss Game: Easy, Budget-friendly Birthday Party Game for Kids

BIRTHDAY ON A BUDGET

Get back to the basics with Marshmallows, always fun for kids and perfect for children's party activities!  We have lots of marshmallow activities for kids. Enjoy!

How to Play Marshmallow Toss Game

Things to do with Marshmallows

What you Need:  Bucket or Large Bowl and a bag of Large Marshmallows 

How to Play:  Divide the party-goers into pairs. The first team up chooses a catcher and a thrower. The catcher stands on one end of the room and holds the bucket or bowl on top of their head and the thrower stands on the other end of the room with the bag of marshmallows. The thrower tries to toss the marshmallows into the bucket. The catcher can move and duck to try to catch them, as long as they do not move their feet and they must remain standing. Each team takes a turn to see which team can catch the most!

Recommended Reading:

Owen's Marshmallow Chick

Sensory Marshmallow Game

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps Recipe like P.F. Chang's

P.F. Chang Cloned Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps Recipe

Angie's Recipes: Lettuce Wraps Recipe a great way for diabetics to save on carbs. These vegetarian lettuce wraps are made with tofu. Enjoy!

P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wrap Clone Recipe.

Okay, first I will let you know I found this "Clone" Recipe on-line after craving these for over a week. To give credit where credit is due, I found this on the website Food.com. I did change a few things after reading the reviews and looking at the ingredient list to find Oyster Sauce ( I chose to omit to make it actually a vegetarian dish). This was an easy dish to make and pass off to the family.

The family fell in love with the chicken version of the lettuce wraps when I introduced them to the restaurant and after making several dishes with tofu; the family fell in love with that too. So no one in my house was going to complain about this dish! Score one for mom. :-)

P.F. CHANG'S VEGETARIAN LETTUCE WRAPS 

(copycat recipe)

(4 servings; you can double recipe for 8)

Tip: When buying bamboo shoots, get the strips. This cuts down on prep time, all you have to do is dice them.

I've also included a sauce for adding to the individual wraps after cooking (just like in the restaurant!) I like my sauce spicy so you may want to experiment with the ingredients for a milder version.

FOR THE COOKING SAUCE:
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dry sherry
2 tablespoon. water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon cornstarch

FOR THE MARINADE:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoon dry sherry
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon water

FOR THE TOFU MIXTURE:
1 cup baked tofu with 1 T Chinese Five Spice added before baking, diced
2 tablespoon peanut oil plus 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, mixed
1 teaspoon fresh minced garlic
1 Tbsp. Chinese chili sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, minced
1/2 small or 1/4 large red onion, minced
1/2 can bamboo shoots, diced
1/2 can water chestnuts, diced
TO SERVE:
Cellophane noodles, prepared according to package directions
Iceberg or green leaf lettuce
Spicy Sauce (optional, recipe follows)

TO MAKE THE COOKING SAUCE:
Mix the cooking sauce in a bowl and set aside.

TO MAKE THE MARINADE:
In medium bowl, combine sherry, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch, and water. Mix well.

TO PREPARE THE TOFU:
Stir tofu into the marinade. Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.
Heat wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mixed oil and stir fry tofu for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
Add the ginger, garlic and onion; stir-fry for about a minute.
Add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts; stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
Return tofu to wok/skillet. Add cooking sauce and cook until thickened (about 2 minutes).
Combine  mint, cilantro and lemon juice to taste at the end to tofu mixture

TO SERVE:
Place prepared cellophane noodles onto a platter. Pour tofu mixture over them and serve with lettuce and Spicy Sauce.

SPICY SAUCE
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard (e.g., Coleman's)
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon Chinese chili sauce
In small dish, mix the dry mustard and water until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Recommended Reading:


Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes*

Kids Creative Chaos Recipes



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Pin-it Online Preschool Scavenger Hunt 5/21/2012

Pinterest Preschool Scavenger Hunt Life Hack Ideas for Kids

Wanna join our Preschool Ideas Scavenger Hunt? Leave a comment on Pinterest to be added to the board as a collaborative pinner (under the purple tack). This time we feature a crafty life hack that lets you allow kids to color in the car. Enjoy!

My Fav Pin from this scavenger was pinned by Carole M.. It comes from the blog, Want to get Crafty-  A solution for coloring in the car. 

Yep, I have lots of melted crayons on my seats. Love this idea!

Life hack: Don't lose crayons in your car seats!

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Counting Blessings on Mother's Day

Angie's Corner

A Wonderful Mother's Day

I managed to have a very blessed Mother's Day this year and I am very grateful.  Don't get me wrong, I have cherished all of the Mother's Days past but this one was special, by the end of the week I received good news on top of good news.

First call was for a potential job that I had initially interviewed for but didn't get but by a strange turn of events the position was open again. I find out more info at the end of this week. My second good news event was my husband, we will call B, won a drawing to get $5 off a frozen yogurt from  Orange Leaf (a new frozen yogurt business in our town) which can be a bit pricey for a family of four. Then came the flowers from my very special Mother-in-law and my daughter Chick-a-Bitty, a wonderful breakfast, and my two guys B and Bugs grilling dinner.

Wonderful flowers that were delivered

6 Travel Tips for traveling with Kids

Looking for Tips for Traveling with the Kids?

Road Trip! Tracey shares 6 travel tips for traveling with 6 kids in a van for 16 hours (and making it out with your sanity). Aside from these tips, make sure you have lots of family, car games ready to roll out!

Kids Travel Tips: Entertainment is essential!

First of all, you may already be insane for attempting such a feat, but with careful planning, and a LOT of patience (and potty stops), you can make it happen!

#1 – If one person pees, we all pee!

 Don’t miss out on the chance to empty all the bladders at once! With any luck, you can get everyone on the same schedule and won’t have to make 6 stops everyone hour for all the kids to pee. There’s also the added incentive that “we will get there quicker if we make less stops!”. This helped a lot on the way home when we were getting down to the final hours of the return trip.

#2 – Distractions are the key!

Long car rides are the worst when you’re short on patience. Let each kid pack a small ‘carry on’ (grocery sack) with their own activities – crayons/coloring book, video game, books, cars, dolls, you get the picture. You can always fall back on the classic car rides games – ABC signs, license plate states, etc.

#3 – Pain in the neck!

Naps are inevitable when you are on a road trip, and I don’t know about you, but I cringe every time I peer back and see my kids asleep and contorted into painful looking positions. We bought inexpensive neck pillows for each of the kids (so there was no fighting!) and there were no complaints! If they were tired, they just threw on their Neck Pillow, settled in, and were out like a light. Some of the kids even wore their neck pillows for the majority of the trip, just for the fun of it. We also brought a small blanket for each of the kids to keep cozy with.

Everything is a pillow...zzzzz.

#4 – Pass the trash!

Typically, when we reach our destination, the kids pile out of the vehicle and leave a field of destruction inside the car. From snacks and drinks to lunch stops and miscellaneous rubble that appears from who-knows-where, the floor is littered with a layer of trash. To counter this, we made it a little more fun to keep things clean by having the kids pass their trash up, each time they had any, and each person in the passing line yells “trash!” as they hand it on down the line. They got quite a kick out of this and would look around for things they could send up to the front. For the most part, all that made it to the floor were toys from the ‘carry on’ bags, which is another battle all on its own.

#5 – Limit fluids!

There are always snack stops when you are on the road and it’s tempting to grab something when you make a pit stop, but the more the kids are drinking and eating, the more they are going to have to use the restroom, and the more stops you are going to have to make. Give the kids each a beverage, but have designated times they can have a drink instead of letting them drink freely. This greatly reduced our stops on the journey home!

Awww look, they're not fighting!

#6 – Be patient!

Remember, you are traveling with kids. They are going to act like kids. Kids fight, bicker, get tired, whine, get hungry, and have to pee…a lot! So try to remain calm and level headed and if needed, make an unscheduled pit stop so the kids can stretch their legs and reset their attitudes (if you are lucky!). While you are handling all there is to handle, you might want to consider that a nearby destination would be just as great for the next family road trip!  

Recommended Reading:

The Everything Kids' Travel Activity Book: Games to Play, Songs to Sing, Fun Stuff to Do - Guaranteed to Keep You Busy the Whole Ride!*

Girl Scout Travel Tips

Our 50 States*

How to Decorate Kid's Room with Rubber Stamps

Whimsical Kids' Room Decor with Rubber Stamp as the Tool

How to decorate kid's room with rubber stamps: Purchase some cute rubber stamps, your favorite color of ink, and stamp a border around your kid's room. Color it in with crayons for a whimsical flare or use permanent markers. If you want the crayons to last, you can cover with a strip of clear contact paper or spray with a clear sealant. We're sharing our kids bathroom decor idea. Enjoy!

This post contains affiliate links.

The Rubber Stamps make an artsy outline to color with crayons or paint to decorate as a border for a whimsical kid's room.

Velcro is attached to the wall and to the back of the book, glue ribbon to flaps and tie closed for wall art, and then you can pull the book off the wall to read.

A lone valance in my favorite color periwinkle was the inspiration. Hang a curtain rod over the toilet and add a fun kids curtain for a splash of color. We have high ceilings, so we hung fabric flowers from the ceiling and let them dangle at 7 feet.  

What's your whimsy? Tell us you two cents and share your ideas in the comments.



Recommended Reading:

Under the Sea Bathroom Theme for Kids

The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh

Whimsical Room Decor

Universal Design for Kids Room

Book Review: My Big Bottom Blessing by Teasi Cannon

Angie's Corner                                               Book Review: Teasi (pronounced Tee See) Cannon has a master's degree in pastoral counseling from Liberty Theological Seminary and is a sought-after speaker who loves to help women remember who they are in Christ. "My Big Bottom Blessing" is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble in paperback or for your Kindle or Nook.

Book Review: My Big Bottom Blessing

My Big Bottom Blessing

How Hating My Body Led to Loving My Life

Published by Worthy Publishing~2012

I reviewed this book for Handlebar Marketing. Once I saw the title and what it was about I couldn't wait to read it. This was a very easy and thought provoking read. Ms. Cannon talks about her struggle with the self defeating thoughts she had dealing with her body image and weight while trying to live a Christian life.  It contaminated her everyday life because she chose to believe those thoughts. Then one day, while away at a Christian seminar with her husband, she was able to realize her actual true self worth and started fighting back at the self defeating thoughts, slowly diminishing them from her thought process.

While not everyone has to deal with weight issues, I feel a lot people have those same self defeating thoughts in their life about something; I know I do. This book asks the hard questions. At the end of each section is a questionnaire that gives you a process so you can start thinking more positively about yourself and start quieting those thoughts that can hold you back and contaminate your life. This will be a book I keep on hand for my daughter as she is reaching the age when she will start to compare herself to other girls and I want her to be able to accept what she looks like and how she is with a positive outlook instead of a negative one.

Pin-it Online Scavenger Hunt 5/14/2012: Patriotic Snacks for the July 4th

Join the fun and find great classroom curriculum on Pinterest: Patriotic Fruit Kabobs and More.

Have you checked out our Pin it Online Scavenger Hunt on Pinterest yet? It is full of fun ideas for preschool activities or ways to celebrate holidays and special events. The Patriotic Fruit Kabobs for Independence Day and Salt and Flour Paint were a big hit!

Winner is always chosen by you: The pin with the most re-pins is showcased here each week and the ORIGINAL pinner wins! 

And the Winner is (5/07)... Carole M. and Jennifer O. tied for the most pins at 25. Remember to allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Please send address info to the hollyjollyone@yahoo.com.  

Wanna join? Leave a comment on Pinterest to be added to the board as a collaborative pinner (under the purple tack). Or here ~Below this post is a divider bar, on the left side you will see the words, "Tell us your two cents" click here to comment and get your invite to join the game! Any comment on any post will do, just let us know you'd like to join the hunt :-)

Most pinned (25 repins) pinned by Jennifer O. on the blog, TinkerLab (Creative Experiments for Kids), Salt and Flour Paint.

How to make paint with salt, flour, and food coloring from TinkerLab.

Most Pins, pinned by Carole M. (25 repins) from the blog, Giggles Galore, Patriotic Fruit Kabobs.

Patriotic Fruit Kabobs for the Fourth of July from Pinterest.

Recommended Reading:


Firework Safety for Independence Day

Festive Fruit and Frozen Yogurt Kabobs

4th of July Recipes*

History for Kids: The Fourth of July for Kids - The Incredible Story of Independence Day - Including an Interactive Fourth of July QUIZ! (History for Children)*

Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe in Mini-Muffin Pan

How to Make Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe

This recipe makes Strawberry Cupcakes in a Mini-Muffin Pan. It yields enough cupcakes for a large group. Get creative with your mix-ins and infuse cupcakes with your favorite jam. Enjoy! 

How to make strawberry cupcakes in a mini-muffin pan.

We had to come up with an item to take for a Teacher Appreciation Week pitch-in luncheon at Chick-a-Bitty and Bug's school. I knew I needed to bring in something that would feed over forty teachers and wouldn't require major refrigerator space. I thought if I could make this in my Mini Muffin Pan ( it makes twenty-four muffins at a time) and with one cake mix, I could make a little over forty-eight muffins!

Make Strawberry Cupcakes in a Mini- Muffin Pan to feed the whole gang.

Ingredients:

• 1 strawberry cake mix 

If you can't find strawberry cake mix, Pillsbury and Betty Crocker make a white one- just add about one drop of red food coloring. 

• Add 1 tsp. of strawberry extract

IMO, Strawberry cake mix is prettier, because it makes a pink cake with red speckles, plus you're putting in the white chips = very pretty! 

You can also as fresh strawberries to the white cake mix for a similar effect.

• 1 tsp. strawberry extract 
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• 1 (3 oz. box) cheesecake pudding mix
• 16 oz. sour cream
• ½ cup oil
• 3 eggs 
• Garnish: whipped topping and fresh strawberries. 
• Preheat oven to 325 Degrees
• Spray your pan lightly 
• Whisk eggs and pudding mix together.
• Add remaining ingredients, blend well.

White cake mix with fresh strawberries.

• Using a medium or large ice cream scoop, (depends on how big you want your mini cakes) put in pan. 

Infuse cupcakes with a jam filled icing tube.

• Bake for 10-12 min. Let cool on cooling rack and remove from pan. Repeat until all the batter is used.
• Once cupcakes are baked, use a frosting tube filled with jam to infuse. It is easy, just insert and squirt! Now, you are a gourmet baker!

Tip:  If there is extra batter for a third round but not enough to fill all cups, fill empty cups with a bit of water so it will not ruin and over bake the empty cups.

After everything is cool, use whipped topping to decorate top of mini-cakes. Add a sliced strawberry to put on top.

You can also frost with cream cheese frosting and drizzle with chocolate syrup as seen below.

Strawberry infused cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and chocolate drizzle.

Recommended:

More Recipes  from Kids Creative Chaos

Two Quart Batter Bowl*

Buy Frosting Tubes for Infusion*

Sensory Saturday: Kid's Outdoor Games for PE or Summer Camp

Outdoor Games for Homeschool PE or Summer Camp

Monsters, Wizards, and Elves Summer Outdoor Game for Kids.

Monsters

Wizards

This is a fun game we learned at VBS a few years ago and it is loads of fun to play! It’s like a live action game of ‘Paper, Rock, Scissors’. These games are great for Summer Camp or Family Reunions.

What you Need: 
A Large Yard or Field, 3 Ropes (or Other Items) to be used as Place Markers

How to Play Game: 

Character Descriptions and Actions:

Monsters: Beat Elves. Action: Show that you are a monster by raising your arms high over your head and ‘roaring’ at the opposing team.

Wizards: Beat Monsters. Action: Show that you are wizard by pretending to shoot magic from your finger tips at the opposing team, while making a loud ‘zapping’ sound.

Elves: Beat Wizards. Action: Show that you are an elf by sticking out your tongue and wiggling your fingers by your ears (as if mocking the other team) and make a silly sound at your opponents.

Split the players into two even teams and designate one additional person as the referee. Choose a place to play and mark a center line and a boundary line at the end of each side. 

(Creating a long playing area – from left to right it will be (far left) boundary line, center line, (far right) boundary line.) 

Each team huddles together at their own boundary line and decides which character they will be (as a team) at the beginning of each round. 

(Character descriptions and actions listed above.) Once the teams have decided, the ref calls them to the center line and calls out “1, 2, 3, Go!”. 

Then the teams will do the action for the character they chose. If their character beats the opposing teams character, they will chase them back to their boundary line, tagging as many players as they can and bringing those players to their team. 

Play continues until one team captures all of the players from the other team.



Recommended Reading:

175 Best Camp Games*

PE Games for Kids








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