Zucchini Summer

2013-05-03T10:34:00.001-04:00

Have you ever been a little under the weather and rushed to WebMD to figure out what was wrong...only to walk away convinced you have some crazy rare disease and 14.9 minutes left to live?

Yeah.

So this popped up on pinterest this week and I laughed my head off.

Happy Friday!

Friday Funnies

2013-04-26T14:19:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday!!

Maxine always has a...uh..."positive" outlook on things.

They say careers in the health care field are secure:

And lastly, this gave me a big laugh:

-images from my pinterest board

Hurry! Armadillo Dreams' giveaway ends today!

2013-04-25T09:21:00.002-04:00

I just love this toy maker! The wooden toys are hand crafted right here in the United States. My little guy has the deer family and has had lots of fun with them!

Armadillo Dreams is hosting a giveaway to celebrate their new website. Hurry and go enter! You could win a 3 Month Toy Subscription (a toy sent to your child each month for three months).

Plus you can take advantage of their 25% off sale! These make great gifts for the children in your life!

What I'm Reading ("When Helping Hurts")

2013-04-01T10:21:00.000-04:00

Ahhhhh a good book. I remember devouring the Babysitter's Club series when I was a kid. Fiction was what the genre of choice for me then.

source

Now as an adult, I still love fiction but non-fiction is attractive as well.
And, it is what I'm reading right now.

The description from amazon says in part "Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves. Don't let this happen to you, your ministry or ministries you help fund!"

I'm halfway through the book right now and it is quite good. I'm thinking differently about how I can help people most effectively without hurting or insulting them.

I bought my copy from a local Christian bookstore, you can see if your store carries it and if not, there is always amazon!

Friday Funny

2013-03-22T08:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Friday!

This made me giggle.

source

Easter Basket Edibles (that aren't candy!)

2013-03-11T07:30:00.000-04:00

Looking for something edible besides candy to put in your child's Easter basket this year?

Originally posted last year, here are 13 ideas for you!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-candy. I'm not a super crunchy mom who is only putting organic oats and fair trade yarn in her childrens' Easter baskets.

I love candy.
Our kids love candy.
I do not love being in my house after the kids have consumed an entire Easter Basket/Halloween Bucket/Christmas Stocking full of candy.

So while they get a little bit, I try to limit it. If, like me, you don't want to spend Easter weekend scraping young children off the walls, here are some ideas of treats you can put in their baskets! Choose one or choose several for their baskets. Whatever floats your boat. :-)

1. Juice boxes
2. Granola bars (doesn't have to be the whole box! Buy one box and stick a couple in each kid's basket)
3. Bag of microwave popcorn
4. Little cartons or baggies of Goldfish crackers
5. Mini boxes of cereal
6. Graham cracker sticks
7. Animal crackers
8. Pretzel sticks
9. Puffs (for the toddler age group)
10. Fruit cups
11. Jello cups
12. Baggy of Cheez-It crackers
13. Teddy Grahams

Shared at Serenity Now and Tutus and Tea Parties

Homemade Play Doh and the SECRET Clean Up Tip

2013-03-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

This great playdoh recipe came from somewhere on the web. Of course now I can't find the original blog I saw it on, but you can find the same thing with more pics over here.

One day I made it with my toddler and two of his friends. They each got to pick what color to make it (food coloring), and I stood at the stove and cooked it up.

It looks like colored dog poo here but in real life it looks and feels
just like real play doh!

Afterwards the pan seemed tough to clean...thick, semi-hard dough stuck to the sides and bottom.

Here's the secret: put a couple tablespoons of OIL in the pan with some water and let it soak. The oil softens the dough and when you go back to clean it, it will come right off!

Kroger Deal Alert- Operation Christmas Child stockup time

2013-02-26T15:34:00.001-05:00

My Kroger grocery store currently has the pink erasers marked to 12 cents each OR a two pack of the pink erasers and about 6 of the pencil toppers packaged together for a quarter.

I grabbed enough for our Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes for 2013! You might go check it out if you are also a shoebox-er.

Other things I have picked up already for this year's boxes include:

.50 cent dictionaries from Staples
screwdrivers from Staples (of all places!)
.75 cent 4-pack of mini skateboard fingerboards (Target Valentine Clearance)

Cutesy House Rules vs. REAL rules

2013-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Things like this are cluttering up my pinterest feed:

source

Aww now isn't that sweet? I should make one for our house! Oh wait. I live in the real world with a bunch of boys and a sweet but mischievous dog.

Here's what I'd have to cut out of vinyl letters with a Cricut and plaster onto some wood for our house:

In this house...

We do not stand right by someone's face and fart.

We do not flap our pants right by someone's face after farting.

We will be in trouble if Mom finds we pooped and didn't flush.

We do not stand and poop on the carpet (DOG!)

We do not write our phone number on our arm with sharpie.

We do not try to ride the dog, no matter how much she enjoys our attempts.

We do not blow the airhorn to wake someone up.

Tell me I'm not the only one with REAL rules in the house..things you never thought you'd have to turn into a rule. What are some of your zany ones?

--sharing the realness at Serenity Now

What's Cookin Wednesday?

2013-01-30T03:00:00.000-05:00

What does your menu look like this week? I'm always looking for new recipes and ideas...I get bored easily.

Tonight I made a dip that a friend had seen on pinterest. Super easy and good with pretzels!

Bacon Cheddar Ranch Dip
1 container sour cream
1 pkg bbacon bits (in the bag. 3oz)
1 packet ranch mix
2 cups shredded cheese
- Mix all together and chill before serving.

Told you it was easy! I didn't promise healthy, just easy.

4 ingredient D-I-Y Laundry Detergent (no boiling or grating!)

2013-01-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

Seems like everyone and their brother is making their own laundry detergent these days. Always one to look for ways to save money, I'd been scouring the internet looking for a recipe to try. I didn't want to grate soap, boil anything, end up with six gallons on the first batch (what if we don't like it?), and didn't want a lot of ingredients.

Enter this recipe. 3 ingredients, 4 if you count the water.

if you like it, pin it. :)

Here's what you need:

washing soda

borax

dawn dish soap

···get your empty gallon jug.
···put in 3 T. washing soda, 3T. borax, and 2 T Dawn.

···pour on 4C hot water, let the mixture cool then top off with cold water. bubbles will overflow out the top. don't panic, it's supposed to do that. once the bubbling settles down, put the cap on your freshly made laundry detergent and admire yourself.

Cost:
borax and washing soda under $7 total
dawn soap I had but you could get for $3
gallon jug was .88 You probably have one already but I didn't. This can be reused for each batch of detergent, so I will not count it in the total.
===$10

I figure I can get at least 10 more gallons of homemade laundry detergent from these supplies, so eleven gallons for ten bucks. 11 jugs of Tide would be around $100!
This was a fast DIY laundry detergent to make and for a $90 savings, $I'll take it!

If you typically use cheaper brands your savings won't be $90 but still should be significant...plus with this method of making your own laundry soap, you know exactly what you are putting on your clothes, and therefore your body!

sharing the frugal with these fine folks:
Serenity Now
Shabby Nest
Chic on a Shoestring
A Little Knick Knack

Sunday: Faith

2013-01-20T02:30:00.000-05:00

The number one book teachers need to read

2013-01-11T09:19:00.000-05:00

Guess how much I'm getting paid to write this post? Nothing. Zilch.
The author doesn't have a clue who I am and no one gave me the book for free. I bought the book (full price) on my own. If you go buy the book I get nothing. This is purely my excitement and my shouting from the rooftops.

Teachers, aides, future teachers, preschool directors, principals, superintendents, librarians, school librarians and home-school parents....you all need to read this book. If we want to bring forth a generation of kids who can and do read, here's where to start.

He had me laughing out loud, imagining him getting on a plane reading a copy of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

And then he got me fired up. Most kids in our country can read, the problem is that they do not LIKE to.

I've got 3 takeaways from this that I'll share with you, and then you have to go get the book for yourself.

Book Chats
First Read Club
Reading Lounge

Book Chats
Ever read something you just couldn't wait to tell someone about? Bring that enthusiasm to the classroom/library/home. Get up and talk about how fantastic you thought "Because of Winn Dixie" was and what surprised you and what made you laugh. Suddenly they'll all want to go check out "Because of Winn Dixie." Layne gives greater detail and a formula in the book for how to do a Book Chat most effectively.

great display from another Steven Layne fan!

First Read Club

Oh man, if my teacher had done a club like this in school, I would have been even more in love with reading! He suggests that the librarian or teacher allow children to join a "First Read" club. When you get in a few new books, offer them up to individuals in the club to read. If they choose to read it, they get to sign a label for the inside cover that says "This book was First Read by___"
I'm telling you, even the most reluctant readers will eat this up!

Reading Lounge
Steven Layne gets crazy here. Imagine going to your administration and saying you need an entire room. After they get done laughing at you, they'll tell you no. Keep asking.

love this lounge in a school...found at this link

Layne was able to implement a Reading Lounge in one school...where kids could take their books and relax in COMFORTABLE chairs to do their reading or be read to. It gives them a space to enjoy being with books. Teachers can sign up for times to take in their whole class for reading instruction or a read-a-loud. A lounge is a long shot for most of us, but the idea is worth entertaining and trying to get a group together to advocate for. You never know, with a little PTO money and some luck, it just may work out!

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

Those were my three favorite ideas in the book, but you've got to go get it for yourself and read it. The way he talks about reading at the grade level you teach and being able to recommend books to them, doing reading logs, the book chats, it is all GENIUS and needs to be implemented in our schools ASAP.

New year, New goals, New Stuff!

2013-01-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

In case you didn't know, we're in a new year now. All the good bloggers made sure to tell you that ON New Year's Day. Not me. I kinda figured you already knew.

THEN our computer went "cough. sputter. I want to die."* and I was offline for an entire day. No blogs, no facebook, no pinterest. I know, you are filled with compassion for me now.

The good news is that we are up and running full steam ahead into 2013! New DIY coming up, an adoption series, more on creative giving, and on and on!

In the meantime, I hope you all made quality resolutions like I did:

*The computer did not actually say that, I translated for you.

shared at Serenity Now

A-Z (in which I make a confession about Totino's pizza)

2012-12-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

This was over at Where We Can Live Like Jack and Sally and it seemed like a fun thing to do. If you join in, leave a link in the comments so I can go see and visit!

A. Age: Never ask a lady her age. Also, never ask me.

B. Bed size: Queen

C. Chore you hate: Dishes

D. Dogs: Oh you've seen our garden thief

E. Essential start to your day: Coffee. With a lot of vanilla creamer.

F. Favorite color: All of them

G. Gold or Silver: Usually silver

H. Height: average

I. Instruments you play: Air guitar

J. Job Title: "Mooooommmmmyyyyyy"

K. Kids: One in heaven, two at home

L. Live: What does this even mean?

M. Married: Yes

N. Nicknames: Probably some I don't know about. ;)

O. Overnight hospital stays: With the birth of each of my 3 children

P. Pet peeve: If my socks are crooked in my tennis shoes.

Q. Quote: I'm a quote junkie. I have a bunch on pinterest.
Like this gem:

R. Righty or Lefty: I am right handed

S. Siblings: One by birth, many by marriage

T. Time you wake up: Depends on the day

U. University attended: One right now, transferring in the fall.

V. Vegetables you dislike: Collard Greens. I tried to like them but it isn't happening.

W. What makes you run late: Poopy diapers right before walking out the door.

X. X-rays you've had: Chest (yay for pneumonia!), shoulder, ultrasounds, etc.

Y. Yummy food: Yesterday I confessed to my husband that I really like Totino's Party Pizzas.

Z. Zoo animal favorite: Elephants. Although monkey's flinging poop would be fun to see.

My gift to you (Top Ten Grumpy Cats)

2012-12-25T09:46:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmahanukwanza.

I'm not giving you a bunch of pictures of my kids opening presents or a recipe for the eggs I made today. No sir.

I give to you...Grumpy Cat!

The funniest new internet meme around. Sure to bring a laugh.

Enjoy, and Happy WhateverYouCelebrate.

"Welcome December" Family Night

2012-12-12T09:34:00.003-05:00

December 1st I treated the kids (and the husband) to a "Welcome December" Family Night. I think we'll keep this tradition on December 1st in the years to come! I made up a batch of these pretzel/hershey's/m&m treats.

This was before they went in the oven to melt down a bit, then they got topped with an m&m.

We made popcorn too, along with having some store bought Christmas cookies while watching the movie Elf together.

And, I treated everyone to hot chocolate...not the microwave kind...they home-made-real-cocoa-and-milk on the stovetop kind! You can see it was a big hit!

shared at Serenity Now and Weekly Kids Co-op

They sell teacher stuff?!

2012-12-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Dork? Maybe. But today when I went into JoAnn's for the first time in several months, and discovered they had several aisles of teacher stuff? Mega excitement.

If I were Snoopy, I'd have done the Snoopy Happy Dance.

Did you already know they sell teacher supplies now? Maybe I just don't get out enough. It isn't a fully stocked teacher store by any means, but they had a good selection of:

bulletin board borders
award certificates (Snoopy, Suzi's Zoo, Cat in the Hat)
bookmarks
incentive charts
stickers
pre cut letters (limited variety)

The prices were not fantastic, but JoAnn's frequently prints coupons so if you could use a 40% off coupon, it would make a big difference.

Believe it or not, I resisted all the teacher goodies and instead grabbed up some other supplies for making busy bags and DIY Montessori activities for my youngest son. Stay tuned!

P.S. ^^See that new blog header up there? Pretty proud of that thing...I did it using a photo I took while in New York (the bright, fun, beach chairs) and picmonkey! I know it isn't polite to brag....and I'm like the last blogger ever to figure out how to make a big header....but still. I'm proud. :)

13 Stocking Stuffers for 8-10 yr old BOYS!

2012-11-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Stumped on stocking stuffers for older boys? Here are 13 things you could include for a boy in the 8-10 yr old age group!

1. Socks (told you it was going in everyone's stocking this year!)

2. Tech Deck (mini finger skateboards...under $2 at Target)

3. Yo Yo

4. Paperback book ("Magic Treehouse" would fit nicely in a stocking, "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" is popular with this age group as well)
5. Hex Bugs
6. Lego Minifigure or small set
7. New Wallet (I got our son a Shawn White wallet for 75% off at Target and have it set back for his stocking. Shhh!)
8. Suduko or Word Search book
9. Can of silly string*
10. Mini boxes of cereal
11. Earbuds
12. Boxer shorts
13. Small notepads

*only if you are really, really brave

sharing my stocking stuffers list at these linky parties: Serenity Now, Tutus and Teaparties.

11 Stocking Stuffers for 2-4 yr old Boys

2012-11-28T04:00:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the series on stocking stuffers for BOYS. Here are 11 ideas for boys in the 2-4 age group:

2-4 yrs old:

Socks (yes, this is on every list!)

Crayons

Homemade playdoh

Baggie of Kix cereal

Sippy Cups

Underwear!! :)

Small book

Bubbles

Musical toys (maracas, triangle, etc)

Homemade I-Spy bottle*

Character Toothbrush (for us it is Thomas the Train this year)

*For the I Spy Bottle, here is one I have pinned that is very similar to one my MOPS group made. I love it! Great for quiet time, playing in the car, waiting at restaurants or offices, etc!

10 Stocking Stuffers for Boys (ages 2 and under)

2012-11-26T11:01:00.000-05:00

Do you realize we have less than a month until Christmas?!

We are <this close> to being done with our shopping. Over the weekend I bought gives, wrapped, and started on the stockings. This week I'll be doing a series on stocking stuffer ideas for BOYS.

I made these lists to give you some ideas of non-candy stocking stuffers for boys (we moms of boys can't get by with throwing hair clips in a stocking!).

Everyone seems to vary on how much they spend at Christmas and how full they actually "stuff " a stocking. If you are like us, you may choose just a couple things off each list to include in a stocking. If you feel like splurging, try to get ALL of it in there! It really is up to you.

Today we look at the 2 and under crowd:

Under 2 yrs old:

Socks

bath soap

cute washcloth

Gerber Graduates Puffs

baggie of cheerios

small board book

rubber ducky

comb/brush

jar of baby food

baby/toddler spoons

Yes I am putting socks in the stockings this year! We seem to always need them this time of year and I think they will help "fill" up the stockings. There is no candy on the list above...we do put in a little bit but I try not to do too much. Kids + Candy = Crazy House.

Stay tuned for more age groups coming Wednesday and Friday.

--shared at Tutus and Tea Parties link party!

For my American readers-Happy Thanksgiving

2012-11-22T03:00:00.000-05:00

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. Enjoy your feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie!

You know what holiday is coming up next.... :)

Donation: Complete!

2012-11-21T09:13:00.001-05:00

Blogger has been giving me FITS! This is at least the fourth time I've tried to post this. Looks like it will finally go through so hooray for that!

Remember the poll we had? Where you all voted where I should send the money I earned blogging? Samaritan's Purse was the option that won and I completed the donation to partially stock a fish pond for a community in need.

As it turns out, when I went to make the donation, this was listed as an "urgent need" category.

Thank you all for your votes and for your support, you made this happen!

Joy in a Shoebox-- Operation Christmas Child (Boy Edition)

2012-10-30T08:56:00.002-04:00

You saw the Operation Christmas Child boxes we packed for girls. Now you can see what we put in our boxes for the boys!

We did 3 boxes for boys, one for each age group: 2-4yrs old, 5-9yrs old, and 10-14yrs old.

Here is the box for the 2-4 yr old:

The jump rope was a last minute addition...found for 9cents at a CVS clearance!

Box for the boy in the 5-9 age group:

Box for the boy in the oldest, 10-14yrs old, age group:

Just like with our girl boxes, I tried to make sure each child's box has something soft and cuddly in it along with school supplies and soap (double bagged) and toys. The older boy got a toy skateboard, same kind my own son likes to play with, and the skateboard pencils...same kind we bought our older son for school this year. I also packed a baggie of Legos for him.

I can't wait to track our boxes this year with Operation Christmas Child and find out what countries they go to!

Do you have any creative things that you put in your boxes for the boys? Tell me about it in the comments, we want to do more BOY boxes next year!

Packing Joy (in a Shoebox)--Girl's Edition

2012-10-15T00:39:00.000-04:00

Christmas is coming.

We don't spend a lot on gifts for our kids (see this post for how we did 4 gifts last year). But they get gifts. Grandparents get them gifts, they get birthday gifts.

Imagine a child not having ever been given a gift. Nothing. Nada. That's the sad reality for millions in our world.

From OCC's Pinterest page

Samaritan's Purse runs a super cool program aimed at giving kids a gift. Operation Christmas Child asks you to pack a shoe box with items for a boy or girl. Then they deliver these all around the world. Shoe boxes aren't just about toys, they include school supplies, often making the difference for a child being able to go to school or not. Did you know that in Uganda, a box of crayon costs the equivalent of a week's salary!? No wonder kids don't have the supplies they need for school.

This year we've done 6 boxes in our family.
They are on a storage shelf in our room and I can add to them as I purchase stuff. I find that the easiest way to keep organized and keep an eye on what is still needed.

I spelled "hygiene" incorrectly in this picture. Oops. Don't send hate mail.

Today, I will show you what our girl boxes contain. There are lots of photos of each of the 3 boxes so you can get a detailed look at what's inside!

Our Dial soap is double bagged so the scent doesn't permeate every item in the boxes.

First, the box for the youngest age category of girls: 2-4 yr olds

Here's a list of everything stuffed into the box! I've never sent silverware before but this year all my boxes include forks. They were a great deal at my grocery store during back-to-school season and I thought many of the children getting boxes may not have enough forks for each member of the house, so this would help them.

Girl box ages 5-9

List of everything in our box for the girl in the 5-9 yr old age group. For some reason the headbands really excite me about this box. I hope the girl who gets it was HOPING for headbands! She also will get two stuffed animals. Everyone needs something cuddly!

The box for the oldest girl age group:

I was lucky to find some water bottles on clearance at a craft store after the summer. You'll see some again when I get to the boys' boxes! To make everything fit in the box, that is another washcloth stuffed into the bottle.

Do you pack boxes? You can join the OCC Virtual Packing Party! I just love seeing what creative ideas people have for putting things in the boxes!

Stay tuned to see what's in my boxes for the BOYS!