Uncategorized Archives - Page 18 of 59

On Ancient Greeks in the Living Room!

Jan 16, 2011 | Motherhood, Uncategorized

My kids have been hiding out in the living room for the past few days. Emily had a lock-in at a prospective high school on Friday night (YIKES!) so the boys and I had a sleepover of our own.
Pizza, movies, sleeping bags…
The dog and I even had our own pallet on the floor.
Last night they wanted to recreate the experience but this time with sister included.
(I didn’t make it through the night I must admit and retired to the quiet of my room. Of course it was my fault for letting them make cookies and have coke. )
All day long they are re-making their “forts” and jumping on my furniture.
This is what I overheard:
J- “I don’t know how much longer I can do this!”
M-“You have to. You are being punished.”
J- “Ya, I know, but the sky sure is really heavy and my muscles hurt.”
Me- “Who are you supposed to be J?”
J- “You know, that dude that holds up the heavens? Um Atlan?”
Me- “Atlas?”
J- “Ya, him.”

Picture from Bullfinches’ Mythology Online

Wow. Thank you, Rick Riordan!

*If you don’t know about Rick Riordan books you should check them out. We’ve read almost all of his books out loud together, and E and I have read ALL his books. Anxiously waiting on his next one!

On Monster Tea Parties

Jan 12, 2011 | Motherhood, Uncategorized

So, I was a really good/bad mom today
(on this second snow day of the week)…

For breakfast the kids had s’mores.

For lunch they had a tea party.
Not just any old tea party, mind you. A “Super Zombie-Monster Tea Party.”
Or that is what I was told.

Finger sandwiches, hibiscus tea/blood punch, and cheese were on the menu.
Bit of the conversation I overheard:
“Why weren’t you at the tea party last week, J/Mr. Skeleton?”
In a scary voice “My rib was missing.”
“Oh, we thought it was because you didn’t have the guts!”
“Why, is this O+ blood? It is delicious?”

I’m so blessed to have kids that have imaginations. Makes my heart happy (even if I do have to watch my neck!)

Tonight we took a walk in the sub-zero temps (what was I thinking?) and watched what today’s sun had done to the local snowmen.

Melty, Our Friendly Neighborhood Snowman

Ours was gone. Maybe he heard about the scary tea party.

On Snowy Fun

Jan 10, 2011 | Uncategorized

We had somewhere around 5-8″ of snow last night. I’m guessing close to 6″, by the looks of things.
The kids insisted we make snow ice cream for dessert. I finally got it perfected I think. This is what we did…

Vanilla Snow Ice Cream

Put a large mixing bowl outside when it starts to snow. (This way you know the snow is clean!) Keep it outside until you finish the next steps to prevent melting.
Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar in water. I use about 2 cups of sugar to 3 or 4 cups of water. Boil this until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils for a few minutes. You can either remove from heat then, or simmer a little longer for a thicker syrup. *I use cane sugar instead of refined white sugar in everything. I actually get mine at the Mexican grocery store because it’s A LOT cheaper (think half!)
When you are ready and syrup is room temperature or cooler, pour milk and vanilla into syrup. I put about 2-3 cups of milk, but just use what you think will work. I used about 2 Tablespoons of white vanilla. (You can substitute for other flavors here- chocolate syrup, lemon juice…)
Bring snow inside and pour your mixture into the snow and stir!
Enjoy! (It melts fast!)

Resolutions

Jan 9, 2011 | Uncategorized

I have made a resolution to myself to be mindful of eating out and plan meals better. We ate out WAY too much last year because of poor planning and a busy schedule. This year we have only eaten out ONE TIME so far! I’m very excited!

We put a dry erase board calendar up in the kitchen and I put a tentative menu on it. If anyone has suggestions or disagrees we can change them before I hit the grocery store. I make the plan and go through my coupons before shopping. I don’t plan my menu to the coupons unless I have some REALLY good ones (not usually.)

Does anyone have any meal planning tips or ideas to share?

Let It Snow!

Jan 9, 2011 | Uncategorized

We get snow for a day or two at the most here in central AR so everyone goes crazy when it happens.

The news had promises of snow for this morning and nothing happened. (Well, except for rush for milk and bread at the grocery stores!) Snow was actually all around us on the radar. The kids were pretty disappointed and decided they should do a “snow dance” to help the clouds move this way.

So, about two hours ago…