Make Your Own Ice Crystal Ornaments

I found this cute kid project at HappyHooligans.ca I really enjoyed reading their post about making this with their kids, so please go check it out.  However, when I go to do things with my own kids I don't want to be scrolling through a pretty blog post full of giant, lovely pictures.  I want the instructions, short and sweet so I can just craft.  I condensed their post for convenience, but this is not my idea or my picture.  Even most of the words are theirs.  You should definitely check them out because this is only one of hundreds of cute ideas they've shared.  I'm sure you'll find more to love there.

Click here to see the Happy Hooligans post.

Develop Confidence! 3 Tips from TED-Ed

This video was in my Facebook feed yesterday.  I like it so much I want to always know where to find it, so I'm sharing it here.  It was created in partnership with the #LikeAGirl campaign, but it's great advice for everyone.  We can always use more confidence.

3 tips to boost your confidence
Happy #InternationalDayoftheGirl! To celebrate the occasion, check out this lesson on confidence we made in partnership with the Always #LikeAGirl campaign:
Posted by TED-Ed on Sunday, October 11, 2015

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Cooking with Kids: To Die For Blueberry Muffins

My girls asked me to make blueberry muffins when they had friends spend the night.  Of course I wanted extra good ones to impress their friends so I looked for a really good recipe.  I found one called To Die For Blueberry Muffins that truly did look like they might be to die for.  I whipped them up. and sure enough they almost were to die for.  My girls (ages 11 and 8) asked to make them on their own today.  The recipe is simple so I just turned them loose. (We have cooked together enough that they know how to measure correctly, spoon flour into a cup instead of scooping it, etc.)  They did need a bit of help from me, but mostly they did it all on their own.  Our crumble doesn't turn out like the one in the picture, but it does taste delicious.  In the end, that's what matters most, right?

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

Click Here for Original Recipe

Makes 8 - 12 muffins depending on the size of your muffin tins.  Our standard Wilton pan makes 12.

Ingredients:

     Batter

• 1 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 3/4  C granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 C milk
• 1 C fresh blueberries (we used frozen and it worked fine)

     Crumb Topping:

• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1/3 C all purpose flour (we plan to add a bit more next time - our topping was more crusty than crumbly)
• 1/4 C butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions: 

(My 11 year old mixed the batter all alone.  My 8 year old mixed the topping with just a little help from me.)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 C flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place 1/3 C vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups almost to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.  
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.  This is a great job for younger helpers.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

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The Radiator Springs 500 1/2 - Cars Toons: Tales from Radiator Springs

My little boy wasn't even alive when the first Cars movie hit theaters and now he's six but it's still a very popular movie, especially at our house.  It seems he can't get enough of the funny characters, especially Mater, who has only gotten sillier in the Cars Toons series of shorts.  This summer The Radiator Springs 500 1/2 was released and we've watched it at least 1,000 times.  If you have a Cars fan but haven't seen this fun short yet, you can watch it below.

Thanks Disney!

Fun with Fractured Fairy Tales

Buy Dog Tales Here

A fractured fairy tale is a classic fairy tale, told with a twist.  My kids love reading them.  One of our favorite books is Dog Tales, a collection of fairy tales featuring dogs instead of people, who have names like Rapawnzul and Little Red Riding Hound.  Cats are always the villains, dogs wear dresses and every story has a funny quirk.

These books are fabulous ways to engage with kids as you read together.  Especially with younger kids who may not be familiar enough with the original stories to really find the humor in the fractured tales, I like to start by reading the un-fractured version.  Then I introduce the silly one and tell the kids I want them to see if they spot any differences between the two.  They love pointing out how the books differ, but also how they are the same.  This is a really great way to truly engage in story time.

Many kids also love writing their own fractured tales.  When they first begin, their stories will probably mirror the ones you've read.  That's okay. They're still building those story teller muscles.  As kids get older and become more experienced writers, their stories will be more original and even more fun to read.  To ratchet the fun level even higher, involve the whole family in writing a new story.  Assign your fastest writer as scribe and start throwing ideas out there.      After the story is written, everyone can have a ball illustrating it.  When you're finished, you'll have a terrific family heirloom.

There are many wonderful fractured fairy tales out there.  Choose one had have fun!

Cabbage Steaks

Here's another recipe I found on Facebook.  I want to pin it, so I'm reposting it here.  If this is your recipe, please contact me.  I want to give you credit and link to your page!

This is a simple side dish worthy of a dinner party and couldn’t be easier to make. Four ingredients, a couple of minutes to prepare and toss in the oven for an hour.

Ingredients
1 (approx 2lb) head of organic green cabbage, cut into 1″ thick slices
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
spray olive oil OR non-stick cooking spray

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400F and spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Pull outer leaf off cabbage (it’s usually dirty and nasty looking), cut cabbage from top to bottom (bottom being root) into 1″ thick slices.

2. Rub both sides of cabbage with smashed garlic.

3. Use a pastry brush to evenly spread the olive oil over both sides of the cabbage slices.

4. Finally, sprinkle each side with a bit of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

5. Roast on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the cabbage steaks and roast for an additional 30 minutes until edges are brown and crispy. 

Serve hot and Enjoy!

Alton Brown's Christmas Eve Soup

That darned Pinterest...  It's such an easy and pretty way to organize everything I like on line.  I've become so dependent on it that I'm at a loss when I find something I like without an image.  If I can't Pin It, how in the world will I remember it?  Then I had a thought.  When I find something I really like for my kids, I blog about it and I can come right back to it in a snap.  That led to the bright idea to blog about these imageless finds, add my own image, and voila!  It's on my blog AND I can pin it!  I love it.  :)


This recipe if for Alton Brown's Christmas Eve Soup.  I found it on his Facebook page, but of course you can't pin from Facebook...  So here's the image:

And here's the recipe:

Alton Brown

We have this soup for dinner every Christmas Eve.
Christmas Soup - serve 6-8
14 ounces kielbasa, sliced into 1/4 inch thick disks on the bias
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, as needed
8 cloves garlic minced
1 pound red kidney beans, soaked at least 4 hours or overnight
2 quarts chicken broth
1 pound red potatoes cut into .5 inch cubes
6 ounces fresh kale washed, rinsed and torn into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Brown the kielbasa in a 7-quart Dutch oven and set over medium low heat until it has rendered most of its fat, approximately 15 minutes. Remove the kielbasa from the pan and set aside. If you do not have at least 2 teaspoons of fat, add enough vegetable oil to make 2 teaspoons of fat.

Cook the garlic in the fat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. Add the beans and the chicken broth and cook, covered, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, stir in the potatoes, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Toss the kale into the pot, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or just until it is tender, but not mushy.

Sprinkle with the red wine vinegar, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Return the kielbasa to the pot and cook just until heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Barbara Park, Junie B. Jones and My Reluctant Reader

My seven year old is a bit of a reluctant reader. She's a great reader, but she'd much rather draw or redecorate her room, and she rarely reads with out being told to - except when it comes to Junie B. Jones books. She simply loves Junie B. and when I hear her randomly laughing in her room I know she's reading something like Junie B. Jones: Toothless Wonder or Junie B. Jones First Grader at Last. 

Oh sure, the teacher in me hates that Junie B. uses incorrect grammar.  The parent in me cringes a little every time Junie B.'s parents or teachers roll their eyes at her.  However, the teacher in me loves that the teachers also explain consequences to Junie B. and obviously care about her.  The parent in me loves that even though they are simple books and far below my daughter's ability they lure her in and encourage her to read and laugh.  I love that they give her a positive mirror - Junie B. reflects my daughter's enthusiasm and exuberance almost perfectly.

We were sad to learn this weekend of the passing of Junie's author, Barbara Park. We did smile as we read, in People Magazine's tribute to her, that when asked how she so accurately portrayed a six year old she said "I don't have a problem being six years old in my head," Park once explained during an interview with barnesandnoble.com. "It's almost embarrassing; if I'm talking to librarians or teachers who know my books and they say, 'How do you do this?' It's not a stretch." She was obviously a woman with a great sense of humor and not afraid to stay in touch with her younger self. Rest in Peace Ms. Park. Thank you for encouraging my daughter to read and laugh.

(Read the People tribute here.)

FREE Printable Santa Letter Stationary part 2

Just a quick post to share a fun find.  Christmas is coming (less than two months away as I type) and this is a fun way to spice up letters to Santa.  Pixel Me Designs has created nine fun printables your kids are sure to love!  Visit their site to choose your design and download.

    
Enjoy!

Sedimentary Rock Cookies

My 2nd grader is studying rocks right now.  They made these fun cookies in class this week, and her teacher shared the recipe on the class blog.  I wanted to pin it, but didn't want to direct strangers to their class so I'm reblogging here.  :)

Recipe for the sedimentary rocks we made in class.  

1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1 can sweetened cond. milk
1/2 pkg. choc. chips
1/2 pkg. butterscotch chips


Use a 13 x 9 baking pan.

1.  Melt the butter in the baking pan.
2.  Sprinkle crumbs over the butter.
3.  Pour condensed milk evenly over the crumbs.
4.  Layer the remaining ingredients evenly over the top.
5.  Press down gently.  Bake at 350 degrees.  25 - 30 mins. or until lightly brown.
6.  Let cool.  Cut into bars.   

There are lots of fun rock activities all over the web if you'd like to do some with your own kids, and this is as sweet way to extend the learning!

Easy Chicken and Rice Dinner

That darned Pinterest...  It's such an easy and pretty way to organize everything I like on line.  I've become so dependent on it that I'm at a loss when I find something I like without an image.  If I can't Pin It, how in the world will I remember it?  Then I had a thought.  When I find something I really like for my kids, I blog about it and I can come right back to it in a snap.  That led to the bright idea to blog about these imageless finds, add my own image, and voila!  It's on my blog AND I can pin it!  I love it.  :)

Without further adieu...  I found this recipe for Easy Chicken and Rice Dinner tonight at Cooks.com - no images there, even though their recipes are great.  First things first - here's an image.

Link to recipe at Cooks.com

Now the recipe.

EASY SUNDAY CHICKEN DINNER

Printed from COOKS.COM

---

1 can mushroom soup
1 can celery soup
1 c. water
1 1/3 c. uncooked rice
1 env. Lipton onion soup mix
5 whole boneless chicken breasts, divide in half making 10
1 tsp. Hungarian paprika

Combine and place in 8 1/2 x 11 inch baking dish, the water, soups and rice. Place chicken breasts on top. Sprinkle the envelope of onion soup mix over chicken. Seal dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours. Serves 6-8.

Color Fireman Sam!

My little boy has ZERO interest in coloring or writing or pretty much anything his sisters excelled at when they were four.  Even getting him to hold a crayon is a triumph some days.  He wants to drive his trucks and line up trains.  I've been working hard to get him to at least scribble a little before he heads off to kindergarten.  I often ask if he wants to draw or color and he usually says no.  This morning he asked to watch Fireman Sam and I got the bright idea to ask if he wanted to color a picture of Sam while he watched.  Today he said YES!  I immediately looked printables on line.  I found two sites full of great coloring pages.  I'll share them here for other Fireman Sam fans, and so I can quickly find them again for my own little guy!

Site 1

Site 2

Happy Coloring!

Printable Letter to Santa Template (Stationary)

Click here for best print quality.

I found this fun template/stationary for writing a letter to Santa.  Of course I printed it for my kids, but I know I'll want to use it again and for some reason I couldn't pin it directly from the site.  So, I'm linking to it here, where I know I'll be able to pin it.    Click the link under the picture to go to the original site for the best print quality.

2012 Xmas Cards

Letter Me Merry Christmas Card

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Cinnamon Bear Popcorn

*Chirp* *Chirp*  Yep, I've been MIA around here for a long time.  I'm just popping in today to share my cousin Dahlene's yummy recipe (primarily so I can pin it to my own page).  I haven't made this dessert yet, but it's high on my To Do list!  Thanks for sharing Dahl!

Cinnamon Bear Popcorn

by  on Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 1:02pm ·

1 C. unpopped popcorn

2 C. cinnamon bears

1 C  butter

1/2 C corn syrup

1 1/2 C sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

4 C mini marshmallows

red food coloring

Pop the popcorn in an air popper.  Cut cinnamon bears into 3 pieces with kitchen shears or scissors and sprinkle half over popcorn in a large pan.  Put butter, corn syrup, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil and turn to low to simmer for 5 minutes stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and marshmallows.  Stir until melted.  Add food coloring until you have a beautiful pink candy.  Pour candy over bear and popcorn mixture.  Stir a minute and then add the rest of the cinnamon bears.  Stir thoroughly until popcorn is well coated.  Pour out on to waxed paper to cool.  Serve with a smile!

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Bright Snowflake Frame Christmas

Create personalized Christmas card designs at Shutterfly.com.

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Rainbow Greetings Christmas Card

Click here to browse our Christmas card designs.

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Leaving Less to the Imagination

First things first.  I've updated the Week at a Glance page with meal plans and more!  Go check it out!

Now, on to my thoughts for today,..

It's been almost a year since I decided to get serious about doing more with my time.  I started with a basic framework based on a teacher's plan book and using routines suggested  by The Fly Lady. As I've worked within this framework, I've started every week with an understanding of the bare bones schedule.  However, that left some details that sometimes hung me up when it came to fleshing out the plan.  (I spend more time planning/blogging on Monday than any other day of the week.  Not good when I have so many other things to do just to get the week started.

I decided I needed to shore up this early framework with some additional structure.  I started by designating types of meals for each night.  The girls have dance lessons on Tuesday and Thursday, which means we'll be home a bit later those days.  So, Tuesdays and Thursdays are great Slow Cooker nights.  Mondays are usually pretty predictable so that's my night to try a new dish that might take extra time to prepare.  Next, the hubby asked for more "regular food"a few weeks ago.  He's not a big food adventurer so I've been trying to make meals that aren't too fancy and that I already know he likes.  With that in mind I filled in Wednesday and Friday as "Regular Food" nights.  Finally, Saturday and Sunday will be a grab bag of whatever strikes our fancy.  Sometimes we make elaborate meals, but more often we either go out on the weekends or fix whatever is on hand. 

Next I took a look at my mornings.  I had a general idea that I wanted to spend time with Mr. A doing activities I know will help get him up to speed for the preschool program I've chosen.  Since the girls went back to school, I've just been spending time with him, usually doing whatever he wants but occasionally making suggestions.  We've spent a lot of time admiring his massive Hot Wheels collection the last few weeks, but now I want to move in a more directed direction.  Mondays are now set aside for doing puzzles and playing structured games - like Candyland or Alphabet Bingo.  Tuesday will be his day to lead.  If he wants to look at all his cars again, fine.  Mr. A leads the play.  Wednesday is a good day for a craft.  The girls come home from school early, but still at different times, so if I plan it right, I can make something appropriate for my three year old then my five year old and then my eight year old all before it's time to clean up for dinner.  Thursday is the day I'll make plans to play outside.  Mr. A loves playing in the yard, but he's often playing alone while I do yard work.  I realized some time ago that Mr. A wasn't really swinging in a big kid swing the way he ought to be this summer and immediately felt bad.  He just lights up when I actually play with him in the sand box or take him down a walking trail.  I can see it's something he wants more of.  He hasn't had enough mommy time on the playground so whether we visit a park or just hang in our own yard I'm vowing right now to spend at least one morning a week outside playing with him.  Finally, Friday will be our day to push the academics.  I'm not a mom who wants push my child way beyond their peers, but I want to make school easy for them.  I want them to know I value the things they learn at school.  The best way to do that is to spend time doing similar things at home.  The girls have their homework so I'm automatically doing academic activities with them.  I want to do the same with Mr. A.  Of course right now that means simply encouraging him to pick up a crayon - which he has almost no interest in right now - and finding fun ways to learn Nursery Rhymes or the alphabet.  This isn't the age for drills, but there are many ways to bring in school skills through fun. 

Using these new guidelines did make planning my week easier.  Instead of having so much up in the air, I knew right where to start.  I love it already! 

Tender Hearts and Dog Books

Miss E has a tender little heart.  She's always been very sensitive.  She hates getting in trouble, she's pretty good at putting herself in another's shoes and oh, fights with friends just absolutely kill her.  I got a sweet reminder of what a softie she is last night and and that I am as well.  She was looking for book for me to read for her bedtime story.  I have boxes of books left over from my teacher days, so I periodically put new ones in the kids' bookcase.  Miss E loves finding something new, and she's so my child that finding a book she hasn't read yet can completely make her day.

She smiled when she found Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.  It's one of my favorite children's books about a little boy mourning the loss of his dog and learning to communicate through and love poetry.  I think it's a truly beautiful book, but my heart dropped a little when I saw she had chosen it for me to read to her.  I tried to read it with a class of fourth grade students once and bawled all the way through.  I'm afraid I ruined it for them because I'm just a big ol' softie myself, especially when it comes to dogs.  And sad kids.  I still feel kinda bad - those kids surely thought I was nuts.  I obviously decided Miss E was old enough to read the book when I put it in her shelf.  In fact, I remember hoping she'd pick it up, thinking it would challenge her.  I wanted her to read something beautiful because at the time she was loving some drivel based on a tween Disney show.  I didn't count on her choosing it as a read aloud though.  Gosh, I'm not ready for that.  Watching her mother weep openly over a small book of poetry probably isn't the way to show my tender hearted eight year old how wonderful books can be.

So, I warned her.  I told her the book was beautiful but very sad.  She asked why it was sad - it looks so cheerful on the outside...  I asked her what she thought could make a book about a boy and his dog sad.  She immediately knew the dog died, and she frowned.  I reassured her that it was one of my favorite books, that I thought she was grown up enough to read it.  Then I told her "but you should know, I'm going to cry when I read".  She asked why I loved it when it made me cry.  We had a little conversation about how one of the best things about books are the way they stir our emotions and it's not  bad to feel sad.  I told her I loved this book because it's simply written, but really well done.  I loved it because it can show kids ways to open up about their own sad feelings.  Most of all I loved it because I've felt that way about pets myself so the story really appealed to me.  She decided she wanted me to read something less emotional for her bed time story, but she took Love That Dog to bed with her.  I hope she reads it.  When she does, she's going to cry, but I think she'll love it.

ARGH!!! The Flu!

Yes, I mysteriously disappeared from the blog again.  I have been trying really, really hard to get our back to school routines in place but I have been stymied again and again by The Flu! Miss E brought it home from school, then Mr. A picked it up, then I took my turn and now Miss M has it.  Fortunately it's not a nasty, truly disgusting version but still, it's keeping us from our normal lives.  That's incredibly frustrating this time of year when there's already so much changing.  Oh well, what'cha gonna do but live through it.

Today's original plan was to hit the grocery store with Mr. A and then head to the park for a little bit before we met Miss M at her bus stop.  That's obviously out the window.  Instead I'm going to try to tackle the never ending list of easily overlooked household jobs.  I noticed the other day that the ceiling fan is particularly dusty/furry these days, so I'll start there and move on to cleaning all the vents and sweeping down cobwebs and dust bunnies.  If I manage to finish that along with all my regular stuff I'll feel really good about myself and spend the rest of the day playing.  Miss M so far doesn't seem to be suffering too much, so I'll bet she'd like it if we spent some time with the puzzles and blocks today.  In fact, I've been trying to spend more time doing things like that with Mr. A.  I've been thinking of it as his preschool time because while he's old enough for preschool now, he's not quite ready for it.  (The school I like requires kids to be fully potty trained and basically follows a kindergarten outline.  He's neither completely potty trained nor really ready for that much structure.)  I'll write more about preschool time another day though.  Today I'm going to go pamper my little sickie, clean my house and see just how tall I really can build a block tower.

Oh, and if you're interested, this week's meal plan is basically last week's carried over with a couple of new additions.  With all the sickness we didn't really have regular meals last week.  So, since I already have all the supplies on hand, I'm keeping the same plan. Of course you can see the meal plan on the Week at a Glance page.