I think most of you can agree that it’s been quite chilly lately. During these cold winter days and nights, nothing beats snuggling up to the warm simple pleasures of delicious comfort food.  Here are my top snacks that will warm your heart.

• Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – Who doesn’t love chicken noodle soup?!

• Crunch Mozzarella Sticks – These are fun, fast, fabulous, and perfect for an after school snack!  Your kids will love the warm, gooey and cheesy goodness!

• Mushroom Pizza Bites – Have your kids assemble their own mini mushroom pizza!  Prepare numerous toppings and lets your kids go have fun with the ingredients!

• Chicken Pot Pie – True comfort food for the soul!

• Baked Potato Eggs – These delicious baked potatoes are crispy on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside… yum! It’s delicious on its own or can be topped off with an egg, or better yet, sour cream!

• Creamy Spinach Dip – Sneak in your kid’s daily veggies in this warm, creamy dip!

• Microwaved Baked Apples – Easier than apple pie, but just as tasty!

  

• Whole Wheat Rosemary Pretzel – Eat your heart out, Wetzel Pretzel! You won’t need to make that trip to the mall to enjoy these homemade pretzels.

• Grilled Cheese and Tomato Bisque – Your child will love dipping their grilled cheese sandwiches into a very delicious complimentary bowl of tomato bisque.

• Cornbread – Quick and easy to make, your kids will love this warm snack!

Enjoy and stay warm!

With the cold winter forecast on Pluto, it should be of great importance to ensure that your kids stay healthy and away from the dreaded Flu! We all have our fair share of experiences with sick children… You know, the crying, fussy behavior, loss of appetite, crankiness, and so on so forth. Knowing what you will have to deal with, let us be sure to do our best to keep our kids healthy this Flu Season. Here are some quick tips to help your children stop the Flu bug from invading Pluto:

• Stay Clean – There just aren’t enough sinks in the world to keep up with an active toddler’s hand-washing needs. Disinfect your childs’ hands (and yours) constantly with your most trusted Hand Sanitizer.

• Stay Hydrated – Make sure your kids are properly hydrated throughout the day. More trips to the bathroom isn’t as bad as a week’s worth of miserable crying children =) If you’re having trouble getting your child to drink water, try making it fun and let them choose their own Nalgene bottle - whether it’s their favorite character or favorite color, it’ll make drinking h2o more enjoyable.

• Stay Warm – Make sure the home is warm and cozy. I remember one of my fondest winter memory as a child was being inside my home, bundled in a blanket, and watching Christmas movies. When outside, layer your children up with clothing. Although the sun may be out, it’s still quite chilly, especially if there is a slight breeze!

• Stay Moisturized – Piggybacking off the tip above about staying warm, if you turn on the heater in the house, this often comes with the side-effect of dry skin. Keep your child’s skin moisturized with the frequent application of body lotion. Take it one step further and use humidifiers as they are great for providing moisture to help soothe nasal congestion, dry cough, sinus irritation, and dry skin.

• Stay rested – Have your kids stick to an early bedtime schedule to get plenty of sleep. Sleep deprivation nearly doubles the risk of catching a cold or the flu.

• Stay nutritious – Meals with plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables will help boost your child’s immune system. Look for foods rich in Vitamins C and D.

Lastly, and most importantly, go as a family and get your flu shots!

Have a great weekend and stay healthy everyone!

Wow, where has the time gone?  I apologize for the recent lack of activity on Pluto!  With the holidays, there were just too many things going on, but no worries, I am back and ready to rock!

 
2012 was AMAZING for me.  Pluto was formed, I discovered how amazing the blogging world is, and I created so many memorable relationships through Pluto! This blog has been my creative escape as I share with you all the simplicities of a child’s imagination. I have been inspired by many great friends on Pluto, and for that, I can’t thank you enough!

 
In 2013, I hope to gain even more friends and memories and to inspire others who venture onto Pluto in one way or another.

Before I forget, this was my family’s Christmas card for 2012.  What do you think?  Very different from last years Christmas card huh?

Happy New Years to you all!

With everything going on around me, I admit that Christmas this time of year came swiftly and I was not at all prepared.  Next thing I knew, I was rushing to get last minute stocking stuffers and Secret Santa gifts, looking up recipes for the family holiday potluck, and ever since I picked up photography, helping my sister and her family take pictures for their Christmas Card.  You would think that the latter would be one of the easier of the tasks mentioned… not so much.

Before even taking Christmas card pictures, you have to have a game-plan.  What is the message you want to send?  How do you want the message to come across?  Outfits?  Location?  Lighting?  Time?  etc. etc. etc…?  All these need to be taken into consideration before even picking up the camera.  Having gone through this already, I have laid out some examples that you may consider when taking pictures for your Christmas card.  Have a look and ENJOY!  So, which Christmas card are you?

Traditional- This is for the professional.  You know… the family that is organized, plans things in advance, and hosts the family get-togethers.   If you’re this type of family, you most likely have already sent your Christmas cards to your loved ones!  =) The family is arranged strategically and with the matching outfits.  Mom, dad, and the kids are seated formally as they cohesively say “CHEESE” to the camera.

Daring- Are you someone who is adventurous and bold?   Do you like to stray from the mainstream and venture into the land less travelled?  If so, you would fall under this category.  These are for the people who are courageous enough to send a Christmas card to grandma and grandpa knowing that they would get an eye raising response!

Enamored - These are the lovebirds who are either dating or married and have no children.   They send out the heart-throbbing, disgustingly cute cards to friends and family to show how much they are in love.  If you fall under this category, well…. Kudos to you!

Wishy-Washy- The family that can’t decide on just one picture so they end up having 5..6..7..or even 9 pictures!

Personal- The family that is confident, inviting others to share their intimate, precious moments.  There really isn’t a background in the picture; you can pretty much have your picture taken anywhere.  With the photographer making use of the zoom feature of the camera, the family is the main focus, and you can pretty much see every last detail.  In the end, it shows the warm and personal relationship between the members on the card.

Spontaneous- “Let’s just go with the flow… see what happens.”  “We’re not really sure, we’ll probably just wing it.”  Do you find yourself saying this often?  If so, you would fall under this family type.  The family that is in the moment, that places more emphasis on the journey, rather than the destination.

The family picture is fun, informal, spur-of-the-moment, and natural.  The photographer will probably instruct your family by saying, “just smile, laugh, interact, and have fun… I’ll just take a lot of pictures and we’ll see which ones come out best!”   This unplanned, unrehearsed family Christmas card is not only easy to capture, but is also effective in sending a message.

Comical- This is for the family that is the life of the party.  Always making jokes, telling stories, and entertaining the guests, this family loves and craves the audience’s attention.  When you go to a family reunion, the first family you would hope to see falls under this category.  “Did so-and-so come yet?”

Simply stated, if the first reaction you want from someone opening your Christmas card is a giggle or laugh, this is definitely the Christmas card for you!

SelfLESS- These are the moms and dads that do not care to be in the picture, but rather want to showcase their children.  The kids are the face of the Christmas card, and you know what?  They wouldn’t have it any other way!

Happy- This Christmas card is for the happy, go-lucky family that always looks on the bright side of things.  If you had a string of bad luck and need some cheering up, you know that they are only one phone call away.  My sister’s family Christmas card represents the “happy family.”  With smiles as wide as the ocean, teeth as white as snow, this family emanates so much joy and love through its Christmas card that you can’t help but smile too!  =)

Simple- As stated.

photo credit to: Tiny Prints

I hope I was able to shed light on the various types of Christmas cards.  Keep in mind there is no wrong choice when it comes to deciding on the type of Christmas card to send to others.  Whichever you choose, I’m sure it will be amazing!

Take a look at my family’s Christmas card from last year!  I can’t wait to show you guys our card for 2012!

Happy Holidays!

love,
auntie k

Can you believe it’s already December? Let the countdown to Christmas begin!

Many of you have already set out in search for the perfect gift for your loved ones, but if you haven’t yet, I’d like to present you this wonderful giveaway.  On Pluto, remote control cars rule the road, but helicopters rule the sky!

This radio-controlled helicopter is fun, safe, and will surely put a smile on the face of that little pilot in your life. Kids are from Pluto and the Xenon Project has teamed up to provide you with this amazing giveaway, just in time for Christmas! And you will have your choice between 4 different styles!

S102G Marine UH-60 Black Hawk RC Helicopter

S107G Mini Gyro RC Helicopter

S108G Marines Force Gyro RC Helicopter

S109G Mini Gyro Remote Control Helicopter

For a chance to win a Xenon Project Radio-Controlled Helicopter, all you have to do is:

• Like Kids are from Pluto and Xenon Project on Facebook
• Follow Kids are from Pluto and Xenon Project on Twitter
  
• And most importantly, comment below with your name and email (this will determine the winner!)
  

GIVEAWAY is open only to US and ends on Friday, December 14th.  Hurry and enter!

Good luck everyone!

XenonProject.com is a toy and hobby company that is dedicated to delivering a wide range of quality remote control products to you – the RC toy enthusiast. Both founders developed a love for high-end toys, specifically Remote Control Toys, which they saw as being extremely fun-to-use for all ages and having great technology. From there, the founders developed a vision to provide the public with enjoyment of these products.

Knock knock! Who’s there? The holidays! The holidays are coming and with that, a lot of new and exciting things lie ahead for Pluto!

Auntie K has teamed up with the incredible Jessie Jane of Lilyshop to create an amazing DIY punch board advent calendar right on time to welcome in the new month of December.

Advent Calendars…fun for adults, but MORE fun for kids! Why?  Kids love surprises so let’s get into the Christmas spirit and make these holidays fun and enjoyable for your little ones.

Sure, you can buy a chocolate advent calendar from the store, but that’s not as enjoyable as making your very own handmade advent calendar and surprising your kids with little gifts that they’ll look forward to everyday! Whether it’s a small toy car, a princess bracelet, play-doh, or candy….your kids will look forward to punching through and reaching for a little treat each day.

What you’ll need:

• 24″ x 36″ posterboard
• circle cutter
• spray paint
• 25 small brown paper bags
• specialty tissue paper

Using a circle cutter or scissors, cut out (25) 4″circles. 5 circles across and 5 rows down. Now, I know most advent calendars only count up to the 24th day because it’s technically the count down to Christmas, but I believe that Christmas should also have it’s very own special treat….so our punch board has 25.

Once you have your circles finished you are going to want to spray the advent board with spray paint. You can always skip this step, but it looks a little more finished when it has some color.

Be patient and let your board dry.

 In this example above we used red tissue paper on the entire board. This is the fastest option. Use your spray glue and spray the back of your board (the non spray painted side) and then quickly stick down your sheets of tissue paper. Just think you could be done right now!

…….or you could be super fancy and spend an extra hour finding specialty tissue papers to make the ultimate DIY ornament advent punch board! This is the back of the board – we did the same as above except we cut different papers and used glue to stick one behind each circle cut out. (TIP: Make sure your papers are thin so you can punch through them)

Ta-Da! And now you can embellish.

We cut out little black tops for all the ornaments (which got glued to the board) and we used glitter numbers (adhered to white paper) as the calendar of days.

Lay your advent surprises in the middle of your tissue circle and cut down 25 small paper lunch bags or plastic bags.

Tape the bag down around the sides of the circle. You must do this for all 25 circles.

And there you have it!  December 1^st is almost here. Don’t miss out!

A big thanks to Jessie and Sheena from Lilyshop and her little angel for modeling our beautiful advent calendar!

I had so much fun doing my Halloween Decor Challenge last month that I wanted to repeat the challenge again for Thanksgiving.  Kids are from Pluto’s Thanksgiving under $50 décor challenge!

With a modern dining room to embellish, I knew I wanted to keep the décor clean with fall colors and include subtle touches of natural ornamentation: leaves, pinecones, fruits, and vegetables.

Your Thanksgiving decorations do not need to break the bank. Be creative and look in your yard for natural elements, in your fridge for un-used vegetables, or even on your kitchen table for fruits.  Then, stack them in tall cylinder vases and set them on the dining table for all your guests to enjoy.

Can you guess what my next challenge is?  I’ll give you a hint…it’s coming up in a couple of weeks!  I can’t wait!

Playdoh, markers, paint, stamps, stickers…ahh, the crafting life with kids. Do you hesitate to grab the art supplies because of the set up, the mess, and then later, the dreadful clean up? Seems minor, but we can all agree that arts and crafts with kids is never easy and clean. In fact, it’s a BIG MESS.

My nephew and niece, Jackson and Riley personally LOVE to play with Play-Doh.  PLAY-DOH, my sister’s worst nightmare.  Kids love Play-Doh for its texture, its flexibility, its mold-ability, its colors, and so much more. Parents love it because it keeps the kids occupied, but hate it because it gets everywhere! In the crevices of your table, all over the floor, Play-Doh can be a huge mess.

I recently had the pleasure to attend the 2012 ABC Kidz Expo and came across a simple and neat product that is the SIMPLE answer to this arts and crafts horror story. MessMatz.

MessMatz is made of silicone rubber and will be your table’s new best friend.  It’s simple, durable, certified food-safe, and non-toxic! No more messes on your table, counter, or floor. No more dried glue. No more glitter in every crack and crevice. No more paint left behind.  Most of all, it’s easy to clean up – just soap and water will do the trick!

MessMatz is great for Jackson and Riley to do their crafts on, even to use during their meals!  They love that there is a place for them to make a mess. If it’s blue, it’s COOL! It makes arts & crafts with kids so much easier!

MessMatz – making clean up easier, one crafts at a time.  Save your table, get one now!

It’s almost time for the big Christmas countdown to begin! That means it’s time to get your family’s advent calendar together.  An advent calendar is a must have thing to have to celebrate the Christmas season all month long. Make your own advent calendar for the family, especially for the little ones. Kids will have so much fun picking out one treat a day until Christmas comes!  Remember, wonderful things come in small packages.

Fill these envelopes with hints to let your kids know where they can find their treat!

image via

image via

A mini muffin tin is just the right size to hold those little treasures.

image via

I love the idea of hanging small presents from clothes pins!

Make a cute Christmas garland with Chinese take out boxes.

image via

How fun is this?  Add a new ornament to your Christmas tree as each day passes by!

image via

Hang mini stockings (your children’s socks) and hide little treats inside!

image via

What little child wouldn’t love to punch through a tissue paper hole to grab their surprise?!

image via

Remember to start early with your advent calendar, you don’t want to miss the first day of December! Just think about the exciting look on your child’s face every morning of December…PRICELESS!

Let the Christmas countdown begin!

Thanksgiving food… got the turkey, ham, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and yams.  With all that on your plate, make sure there’s room for dessert! Yes, dessert, the dish that’s always there and never forgotten. =) There are plenty of ways to include autumn’s signature flavors into desserts that go beyond the usual offerings.  Here are a few Thanksgiving sweets to serve along with the traditional ‘ol pumpkin pie!

Make it fun for everyone, especially the kids who will be coming along to dinner!  Invite your kids into the kitchen to create some of these adorable Thanksgiving desserts for everyone to enjoy!

Grab the kids and some sugar cones!  Transform a village of handsome tepees with this fun Thanksgiving craft decoration that they can eat.

image via

These candy-topped treats are a blast for kids to help decorate for your Thanksgiving feast or a school party.

image via

image via

Ears a sweet fall treat that’s great for anything — marshmallow cobs filled with colorful fruit kernels.

image via

For an extra dose of harvest-season yumminess, make edible sippers, then fill them with our special holiday concoction or your family’s favorite juice.

image via

The pilgrims would be proud to wear these hats.

image via

Everyone will want to gobble this cake up, literally.

image via

Would you like to have your Thanksgiving dinner on a cupcake?

image via

Do you remember the Thanksgiving meal that Charlie Brown served to his friends? Let your kids be like Snoopy and make them in charge of the toast and popcorn.