The Littlest Funk blog: 2020

Holiday Gift Guide for Girls | ages 1-6

Sunday, December 6, 2020

This post is sponsored by Babbleboxx. As always, opinions are 100% honest and my own.

Who else thinks this year went by incredibly fast?! Just me? I guess four kids will do that to ya ;) I am so excited for Christmas this year and to make some fun memories with my girls. My twins are at such a fun age and I can't wait to watch them wake up Christmas morning and open presents under the tree with their big sisters.

If you are still on the hunt for the perfect gift and some amazing stocking stuffers, I've got you covered! I'm sharing some great ideas for girls and some pretty awesome discount codes.

Will You Be My Friend book by Sam McBratney

One of my girls' favorite things to do is read and we love to get a new book! Will You Be My Friend is the sequel to Guess How Much I Love You (which we received when my oldest was born) and the perfect addition under our tree this year. My twins couldn't wait to get their hands on it! They are after all, the best of friends! This would make a great bedtime book and is such a sweet, playful and warm book full of adventure!

Silly Skaters Unicorn Inflatable Ride-On Toy by Kid Trax

This inflatable unicorn is ah-mazing and incredibly easy to blow up as it comes with an air pump! It is sturdy and so much fun, which are two really important things you when you have twin toddlers. This ride-on toy is perfect for ages 1-3 (and even for my five year old who still meets the weight requirements...haha!). The wheels even light up! Does it get any better than this? It is very reasonably priced and would make a great gift for any toddler.

Enjoy $5 off using code Babble5 until December 14th.

Let’s Talk Conversation Starters and Grab-n-Go Conversation Cards/ Let’s Jokes! / Let’s Think!/ Let’s Talk!

My older girls, ages 5 and 6 love to tell jokes! These are going to be such a fun find for them when they open their stockings for Christmas. We also love finding things that allow us to find ways to talk to our daughters and these grab-and-go conversation cards are going to wonderful to use year round. I love that both of these stocking stuffers can be taken on road trips too! These are going to be hours of fun for us. Not to mention, 100% money back guarantee if you are not satisfied! I promise you though, your kids will thank you!

Use code MERRY for a free unicorn plush with orders over $40.

Assorted Soaps from Beloved Bath

I love a company that gives back and Beloved Bath is just that. This company was founded by moms who have children with autism. They give meaningful employment to those with Autism and even give a portion of their profits from every sale goes to autism education- specifically for vocational training!

These bath soaps smell absolutely amazing and the designs are perfect for kids. I also love that they are vegan, phthlate free and there is no animal testing. They also make candles that would make a great gift for anyone!

Enter the code BABBLEBOXX at checkout and save 15% off your entire order now
through December 20, 2020. Limit one per customer.

Baby Alive Tinycorns

This sweet doll is the perfect little doll for my girls! My twins are very into feeding, changing diapers and more when it comes to baby dolls. This one has it all!

Tinycorns baby doll comes with an adorable unicorn dress and her cup is sparkly! I don't know a little girl who wouldn't love that! After your Tinycorn baby doll drinks from her sparkly cup, she really "pees" like a baby and you get to change her diaper! I love that this allows my girls to feel big and it really gets their imagination going when playing!

You can get yours here.

Play On! from Bay Area Children’s Theatre

Play On! is a screen-free, audio-musical adventure with a storytelling kit that I really wish I had heard about sooner! I know that this is something my two older girls are going to have a blast with when they open it! Play On! has individual kit options or you can get a subscription, which I highly recommend doing!

They have options for ages 3-5 (Discover), 5-10 (Adventure) and even for the entire family (Holiday)! Each ones allows your child to choose their own adventure without screen-time.

Use code ADVENTURE10 to get 10% off all Play On! orders.

What would you add to this list?

bread · cinnamon raisin · food · no-knead · sunmaid

Celebrate National Bread Month with No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Thursday, November 19, 2020

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This post is sponsored by Sun-Maid, but all opinions are my own.

I can't believe that we have already made it to holiday baking season and one of our favorite times of the year! This year has flown by for us, even considering we have been in our house for most of it. For many of us, this holiday season looks a little different from others. We are still going to make the most of it and continue many of our holiday baking traditions.

Did you know that November is National Raisin Bread month?! We love a good raisin bread (especially using our favorite Sun-Maid Raisins) and this simple No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread is a favorite of mine to bake up in the kitchen with my girls. It's simple, rustic and delicious. We've baked this up a lot and it never disappoints. It's a great recipe to make for any time of the day and although we won't be enjoying this bread with our extended family and friends, we will be wrapping it up and giving to our neighbors as gifts this season.

I love including my girls when being in the kitchen, whether it be cooking or baking. It's a great way to not only make some fun and messy memories with them, but it's also a great math lesson, a lesson on sharing and taking turns and a little responsibility when cleaning up. Thankfully this recipe doesn't require a lot of clean up, but it does require some patience when proofing, which is also great for them to learn!

I always love to save a little dough for them to play with while waiting too! Besides eating the bread, this is probably their favorite part. I bring out some small rolling pins, cookie cutters and we snack on leftover Sun-Maid Raisins that didn't make it into the bread ;) They will play with this for hours (no kidding!) and I enjoy watching how creative they get when playing with the leftover dough.

I love how incredibly versatile Sun-Maid Raisins are- from baking to snacking to using for counting...as moms, we have to get creative as well! It also doesn't hurt that they are whole fruit with 0g added sugars and are naturally sweet. Naturally made with nothing but grapes and California sunshine, Sun-Maid Raisins’ timeless and trusted goodness has been a healthy snack for kids and grown-up kids alike since 1912. You can't go wrong with that!

This bread is seriously delicious as is, smothered in apple butter or even as French Toast the next morning! I encourage you all to get in the kitchen this holiday season and bake with your little ones. I promise you, despite the messes you make, the memories you are going to have are worth it!

For more holiday inspiration, tips and advice be sure to follow Sun-Maid on social via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can purchase Sun-Maid California Raisins from Walmart here .

No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 9 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Additional Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours 55 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup Sun-Maid Raisins
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

Instructions:

Place the flour, salt, yeast, brown sugar, and raisins in a large mixing bowl.

Combine water and milk and heat briefly until luke warm. You can either do this in a small sauce pan over low heat or in a heatproof glass measuring cup in the microwave for a few seconds. It should be lukewarm to the touch but not hot.

Add luke warm mik mixture to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until it forms a shaggy dough. The dough will be very rough, not at all smooth. --> My girls love this part!

Sprinkle dough with 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and use a spatula to roughly "cut" the cinnamon through the dough. You want it distributed but not completely mixed in.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise on the counter for 8 hours. Make sure you place the bowl in a warm place, away from any drafty windows or direct sun. The dough should double in size and become bubbly after 8 hours. I like to put mine in the oven where I know it will rise undisturbed. My girls take this time to play with leftover dough!

Once the dough has proofed, turn it out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Quickly turn the dough over a few times, shaping it into a round loaf. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour more.

PRE-HEAT OVEN! 30 minutes before the dough is finished proofing, preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a Dutch Oven (with lid) inside to heat on the center rack.

Using the parchment paper to lift, carefully transfer the dough (still on the paper) to the preheated Dutch oven. If desired, score the top of the dough with a sharp knife so that the bread can expand while baking. This isn't necessary but it makes a loaf pretty!

Use oven mitts to cover and bake for 30 minutes. Careful, the lid is very hot!
Remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes more to brown and crisp up the crust. If the loaf is looking too brown you can keep it covered for part of this time.

Carefully remove the bread to a cooking rack and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes but up to 30 minutes before slicing.

Tips for Proofing No-Knead Bread
Plan Ahead – calculate the entire time it will take you to proof and when you want to bake and eat this bread before you begin! It will take an entire 9 hours to proof (total) plus an additional 45 minutes to bake. It seems like a lot, but this truly is the easiest bread to make...I promise, it's worth the wait.
Warm Spot – find a warm spot to proof your dough. You don’t want a cold drafty area or direct sun!
Cover tightly – When proofing you want to cover your bowl tightly with plastic wrap so that no air can get in and dry out your dough. For the second proof, you will want to cover completely with a light weight dish towel. Don’t use anything that will deposit fuzz however. I like cotton or linen for this.

ENJOY!

#ad · backtoschool · lifestyle · lunchbox · sunmaid

Lunchbox Love with Sun-Maid Raisins

Thursday, August 20, 2020

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This post is sponsored by Sun-Maid, but all opinions are my own.

I still can't believe that we are already heading back to school! It feels like it was yesterday that we were finishing out the last school year virtually, and now here we are planning our back to school outfits, lunches and more!

Back to school looks a little different for us this year as we have opted for virtual learning, but I really wanted to stick with as much of a routine as possible, including getting up early, getting dressed and packing a special lunch (like this ladybug peanut butter sandwich) for my girls. They have loved still being able to grab their lunch boxes and head outside for lunch or have a pretend picnic in the living room.

One of my favorite things to do last school year was write little lunch notes to my daughter to show her that I was thinking about her. Sometimes it would be a funny joke or sometimes it would just be a simple "I love you". No matter what, the days I wrote notes to her she always came home and told me how much she loved it!

Now, I don't know about you, but my girls are obsessed with Sun-Maid Raisins. We go through a ridiculous amount and they aren't even sorry about it ;) I love the boxes that they come in because they are the perfect size for lunch boxes, fit perfectly inside Bento boxes and also the perfect size for attaching my little lunch love notes on.

Naturally made with nothing but grapes and California sunshine, Sun-Maid Raisins timeless and trusted goodness have been a healthy snack for kids and grown-up kids alike since 1912. Sun-Maid Raisins are whole fruit, 0g added sugars and are naturally sweet. They are incredibly versatile and easy to add into recipes or eat as a stand-alone snack.

It takes no effort on my part to grab a box of Sun-Maid Raisins, a mini sticky note (they come in the cutest shapes) and write a little something on it before throwing it in my daughter's lunch box. Trust me, we too have those mornings where we are in a rush, so these are great for on the go!

When we aren't in a rush, I like to find ways to make their lunches just a little more fun, yet still keep it simple. I'm still a mom of four and if I'm being honest, not a food artist! Ha! This ladybug peanut butter sandwich was a hit with my girls, super easy to make and would make any back to school lunch ladybug-erific!

What you'll need for Lady Bug Sandwiches:

2 slices of bread
Your choice of nut butter
Apple slices
Grapes
Sun-Maid Raisins
String Cheese

I made a peanut butter sandwich ( we typically leave out the jelly, but you're welcome to make it however you like. You could even use turkey and cheese if your kid has nut allergies. Then cut the sandwich into a circle using a biscuit cutter, sandwich cutter or in my case a wine glass ;)

After that, add the apple slices for wings decorated with Sun-Maid Raisins for the polka dots, half the grape for the head decorated with string cheese for the antennas and eyes. As my oldest daughter would say, easy peasy lemon squeezey!

If you have cookie cutters, the options are endless and Sun-Maid Raisins are perfect for adding decorations to different shapes.

Here are some of our favorite jokes to write on our notes...enjoy!

What do you call a bear with no teeth?

-A gummy bear!

Why did the grape stop in the middle of the road?

-He ran out of juice!

You are my sunshine

I can't wait to hear about your day!

What are some of your favorite ways to show your kiddos your thinking of them while they are at school?

food · travel · vacation

The Ridge Hotel at Lake Geneva, WI

Saturday, March 28, 2020

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If you caught my previous post about the Ice Castles in Lake Geneva, then you know what a great time we had and how beautiful it was there. When planning our trip, we knew we wanted to make the most of it and stay somewhere nearby. The Ridge Hotel was just the place and we can't wait to go back.

Even though it's off the beaten tourist track, it's still a quick drive to downtown (which is beautiful too). I loved that we were far enough away to get that vacation feel, but close enough to grab breakfast and support a local spot nearby the next morning.

The Ridge Hotel offers numerous accommodations, so you don't have to leave during your stay at all if you don't want to.

We had unlimited hot chocolate and coffee at the Bean and Vine Coffee Bar located there in the hotel lobby and they serve lunch. Their soups and sandwiches were so good and perfect for enjoying before heading out to the Ice Castles. There were no complaints from any of us and we even got to take our souvenir travel mugs with us for hot chocolate at the Ice Castles too!

The Ridge Hotel is also home to Crafted Americana were we had a beautiful view of lights during dinner and they had the perfect spot for warming up, lounging and making smore's, which they offer nightly. Dinner did not disappoint either, even our girls devoured their food and a delicious cocktail was a great way to warm up for the night after being inside a big mound of ice for the last few hours. Crafted American is also right next to the Biergarten, which is open for late night snacks and good beer.

The Ridge Hotel even offers a really cool Igloo Experience outdoors! My husband and I would love to go back and do this when we have a kid-free weekend. Of course, it is only offered during the winter months, but this is something you need on your travel list! Who wouldn't want to have yummy apps, drinks and warm blankets to cuddle with an incredible view of the lake?

My girls also enjoyed a visit to The Ridge Hotel's indoor swimming pool before all passing out from an incredible day and visit to Lake Geneva, WI. You can click here to learn more about The Ridge Hotel, what it offers and Summer activities for your next trip.

ice castles · lake geneva · lifestyle · travel · wisconsin

A Trip to the Ice Castles | Lake Geneva, WI

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

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I feel like I can say that 2020 will be the year of adventure for our family. Last year was definitely the year of survival and with newborn twins we didn't do much. Now, it's only February and we have checked off a lot on our things to do and places to see list so far!

Including the Ice Castles in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin which we had the opportunity to check out last weekend.

I heard about the Ice Castles last winter but the seasoned was closed. I knew we had to make time to check them out this year and I'm so glad we did. We took the four hour trip up to Wisconsin and it was worth it. The Ice Castles are incredibly beautiful and it is such a neat place to explore, especially for kids.

The experience is built using hundreds of thousands of icicles hand-placed by professional ice artists. It was hard to believe the amount of work and how long it takes the artists to create all of the fun hidden gems within the Ice Castles, including breathtaking LED-lit sculptures, frozen thrones, ice-carved tunnels, slides, fountains and much more.

My girls favorite were definitely all the slides. They could have spent the entire time just going down them. There was even this tiny little tunnel/cave they went it and they thought it was so cool!

Even the twins had a good time! FYI, you can't bring strollers in, but you can bring a sled. We opted for a baby carriet and kept everyone warm in their snow suits and we didn't have any complaints. When purchasing tickets, you choose a time slot in order to keep the Ice Castles from getting overcrowded and to maximize your time spent there. I suggest going just before sunset. There is still enough light to really get a good look at all the amazing-ness and you get to see a beautiful sunset, which makes the ice really sparkle.

We didn't make it to dark, but we still got to see some of the LED lights start shining and it was colorful! They even had a little campfire going and benches around it to warm up and have a seat. You can't forget hot chocolate either and other yummy drinks to keep you warm! Did I mention my favorite part?! The ice throne was fun, but a heads up...it's super icy! I nearly slid off of it trying to get this photo!

If you haven't had the chance to check out an Ice Castles location, you must put it on your travel list. They are incredibly beautiful and I want to check them all out now. They have six locations, including Colorado, Alberta, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Utah.

Thank you Ice Castles, Lake Geneva for having us!

birthday · birthday celebration · diy · lifestyle · paint party · party

Charlotte’s 4th Birthday Art Party

Sunday, February 23, 2020

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This post contains affiliate links.

Each year it’s hard to believe that any of my girls are a year older. The older they get, the faster it goes by and even though I prepare myself, it doesn’t get easier watching them grow up but it is fun.

Charlotte is officially four years old and we celebrated with an Art themed birthday party! This was her choice and perfectly matched her messy and fun personality. She loves to draw, color and create. It amazes me with how good she is. It’s definitely something she might have a future in if she keeps it up.

The last two years have felt like she’s getting the short end of the stick with her birthday, but nonetheless, she had a great time and the party turned out much better than I thought. Why do I say that? Well, she turned three just a month and a half after having the twins last year and I just threw a quick and easy pj’s and donuts birthday party together with very little planning and decorating and this year was very last minute as well. Not to mention, it always falls during Thanksgiving so life is busy as it is. So thankful for grace and love from that little girl who could care less about it all. I even messed the cake up this year and she was so forgiving and still managed to give me a huge hug and tell me how good the cake still smelled (she picked out a caterpillar cake from Costco and I put the wrong pick up date).

Anyhow, back to how I planned her art party and how easy you could throw one too!

I was able to get most of her party supplies through Amazon. Thank goodness for two day shipping and Amazon pretty much always coming in clutch. And of course, Pinterest always comes in handy too!

Like the idea to have "paint chips" and "paint brushes" was such a fun idea and the kids loved it! The best part for me, is that it took little effort, which is always a plus when planning a kid's party. The paint brushes were pre-made marshmallow treats that I dipped in colored chocolate and then stuck with a Popsicle stick.

What makes this Art Party themed birthday so easy was that you can use all the colors and not go wrong. The more the better and mixing and matching different things was a piece of cake. Get it? ;) Plates, napkins, utentils...nothing has to match!