As we have been watching the backyard become more and more green, losing the drab brown of winter, we’ve also noticed all the extra activity - the squirrels, chipmunks, and birds are busy, busy, busy! Just last week, there were more Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve recorded a few podcasts and just felt like they weren’t clicking, so we’ve been on “sabbatical” and worked on a new format. We’ve tried lots of different things, and now we finally have something to share with you. We’d love some feedback - take a listen and let us know what you think!
During the family meeting segment, we mention Read the rest of this entry »
I have no problem “falling back” in the fall - though I may not always make good use of that extra hour, I fully appreciate it! I think I’ve mentioned that “springing forward” gives me a bad case of jet lag!
I’m not tired at the “right” time, and I’d really like to sleep until 7 on the weekends. But my 19-month-old has other plans. Despite my thinking that her internal alarm that was waking her at 5-ish would be corrected with the time change, I was wrong. We were up again today at 5.
The older kids are having trouble too - they aren’t sleepy at the “new” bedtime. I’m sure it has nothing to do with their Read the rest of this entry »
This week, Skittles’ Heads or Tails theme is anything green.
So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m listing some craft and activity sites you can check out for all kinds of ideas to help you and your family celebrate this Irish holiday. You might even find some Easter ideas - that’s a pretty green holiday too! Enjoy!
Head over to Skittle’s Place and see what everyone else is finding that’s green this week!
Well, we sprung forward today; I usually drag forward instead - it’s like jet-lag that takes me several days to actually recover from. As I drag through the week, we still gotta eat! So, I’m menu planning tonight - here’s what we had last week:
MONDAY
Lunch - 15 Minutes Red Bean & Rice (see recipe below), smoked beef sausage, cornbread, grapes
Dinner - Eat with Grandaddy at our favorite BBQ joint
TUESDAY
Lunch - leftover buffet
Dinner - Tex-Mex Shells & Cheese, sliced apples, raw carrots/dip, salsa & chips Read the rest of this entry »
Last week, my 8-year-old and I began reading a series that I just recently heard about - Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda (see more about what we’re reading by following the link above to the kids reading list). OH MY GOSH! This is one of the best books I’ve read in quite a while! Mind you, I’ve been reading more children’s picture books than anything else, but I don’t think that has clouded my judgment (too much).
Now John Grisham and Harry Potter books keep me on the edge of my seat, turning page after page with suspense. The two Deltora Quest books we’ve read thus far give these page turners competition! “I don’t care if it IS your bedtime, we’re going to read the next chapter to find out if they get out of the quicksand or not! ” Yes, I actually said that to my child this week. I started to tell him that he could go on to bed if he wanted to, but I was going to keep reading to find out what happens next. Of course, that would break our “pinky promise” of not reading ahead when the other person isn’t around!
The basic storyline is that a kingdom (Deltora) has been taken over by a “Shadow Lord” and two people begin a quest to restore the lost gems to Deltora’s Belt that wields great power for its ruler. That’s all I’m going to tell you because I really don’t want to give anything away.
I lied. I am going to tell you a little more. I checked out the first book, The Forests of Silence, for him several months ago. He snubbed his nose at it saying, “It’s not really instrusting.” (yes, that’s how he says interesting - he’ll probably spell it wrong on his spelling test, too). But when I sat down to read it aloud to him, he didn’t want me to stop (and neither did I). Some of the plot is a little confusing for him at times, even though he is an advanced reader. Of course, we stop and “review” what is happening in the story, and he surprises me by how much he is following it. However, sometimes he misses a little detail that turns out to be important later.
If my 8-year-old were reading this alone, it would scare the bejeebers out of him. There are some really scary, yucky, mean creatures in the story. Some of the descriptions of the creatures would lead ME to have nightmares if I didn’t have half-a-dozen other things on my mind by the time I went to sleep. We don’t watch much T.V., so his exposure to scary creatures is quite limited. As a result, his imagination runs away with this kind of stuff and scares him quite easily. So far, he hasn’t migrated into our bed during the night or complained of nightmares in the morning.
That’s my disclaimer, so don’t come crying to me if your child gets in bed with you every night while you work your way through this series of 8 books - the books are quite scary in places BUT THEY ARE REALLY GOOD!
I can’t wait for the library to get the third book in the series, The City of Rats. Some “rat” ate it 
so we’re just biding our time until the next adventure begins. Happy reading!
We had a few days in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s this week, so some things are actually beginning to bloom around here already. Well, they were until the snow flurries this morning! Crazy weather around - no tellin’ what to expect tomorrow!
The warmer weather put me in cleaning and purging mode (too bad my four children kept interrupting, or I actually might have made some progress!). I worked on cleaning out the minivan some this week since Honda FINALLY got the new seat cover in and installed it. I asked them to provide a complimentary vacuum, wash, and wax to keep me as a satisfied customer (I’m such a stickler 
). I threw away all kinds of trash and unknown items in my 5-year-olds booster seat slide-out drink holder compartments. I even spent a few minutes organizing all the travel toys that keep my kids occupied while we sit in the car line or run errands.
It looks much better, but I still have Read the rest of this entry »
Do you know how many brands of baby wipes there are? Billions! Well, not really; but it sure seems that way when you’re standing in the baby wipe aisle trying to decide which ones to get.
I’m frugal in many ways, and I don’t apologize for using “off brand” diapers.” I did a comparison between name brands and off brands somewhere along the way (using coupons, of course!), and I determined that the off brand was just as good (and sometimes better) as the name brand diapers (obviously, they aren’t paying me to tell you this).
But when it comes to baby wipes - Read the rest of this entry »
Quick! I need an idea for a $50 for my 8-year-old that our cub scout pack can give him as an award for selling the most popcorn in our pack.
Y’all - we walked the streets for days selling this stuff and sold over $1350 worth of popcorn! I was happy just to achieve the $250 goal the pack set, but my son wanted the cool bow-and-arrow prize at a MUCH HIGHER prize level. I’m such an under-achiever .
Anyhoo, we get this email TODAY from the scout master that they’d like to award my son with something special in the $50 price range at the Blue and Gold Awards Banquet THIS Friday night! Any ideas???? Read the rest of this entry »
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