Oh, the THINKS you Can Think!

Welcome to day 3 of our Dr. Seuss week!!! Today we are going to be doing some serious thinking!

You can think about purple.
You can think about pink
You can think up a unicorn.
Oh , the THINKS you can think!



This book is wonderful for those little ones who like to pretend.  Or make up those funny stories.  
One of my favorite pages in the book is where it says this...........

What a great book to allow your child's imagination to go WILD!!!  And that is juts what I set out to do!!!

After we read the book I had the boys to THINK.  As quick as they could I made them think up a story.  Before I ever even finished telling them what they would do, Matthew already had his story done....in his mind.  Ryan was not down with this AT ALL! So I typed up Matthew's story and told Ryan he would have to think of something before the day is over. 
Maybe I will share their stories soon.

Next we continued on the thinking part.  I ask them what they would do if Thing One and Thing Two came to their house.

Go here for the printout above.  The link also shows making a Thing 1 and Thing 2 with hand prints and google eyes.....very cute for little ones.  We just decided not to do it. 

This was fun for the boys to imagine what those CrAzY twins would do if they came to their house since they are twins also.  And pretty cRaZy too! 
Matthew said he would ask them to play Wii.  I was not surprised.
Ryan said he would ask them to go to the park. 

After the Thing 1 and Thing 2 writing assignment I had a special treat for the boys.  I have been going nuts to do this since I first found it last week.  Such a FUN way to share Thing 1 and Thing 2.
Check it out!

It called for red velvet cupcakes(store bought...sorry not homemade)in red wrappers.  But I could not find a red velvet mix or red wrappers!!!  So I did strawberry cupcakes.  But since strawberry is more pink then red I wrapped the cupcake with red construction paper.  It worked just fine.  Add white icing(which you can not see)and blue cotton candy on top for the hair.  WARNING: if you are doing this for a party do not add the cotton candy until right before you decide to eat the cupcakes.  The cotton candy after so long turns to pure sugar and falls into a big mess.  Still eatable, but not so cute. Sorry I don't have a picture of it, but just trust me on this one. 
The boys thought these were a HOOT!!!  They are pretty cute!!  I found the idea here .

I loved this FUN day in our Dr. Seuss week.  I love to hear what my boys Think up.  And I love to see their little minds going WILD with fun thoughts.  Grab the book and get your little ones THINKING!!!  If you have never read it I insist you buy it, check it out or borrow from a friend.  It will make for a fun time THINKING!!!!  And add the Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes in for fun with the above sheet.  Just make it FUN!!!!

Hope you have a WACKY Wednesday and make sure to come back tomorrow to see all the amazing FUN we will have with The Lorax!!!  You don't want to miss it!!!!

Green Eggs and Ham

Welcome to day 2 of our Dr. Seuss week!! 

I didn't want to do it.  I really did not.
I did not want to eat green eggs and snot.
(funny? It sure makes me laugh!!!!!)

I have been rhyming like cRaZy!! It's FUN!  I have always loved making up rhymes, but not so much Dr. Seuss style.  I am running out of words. 

Now on to our lesson FUN for today!

I really did not want to do the Green Eggs and Ham book, but really who doesn't love green eggs and ham....the book?  It is just funny to think about eating GREEN eggs and ham.  And the boys like it so that did it. 
Green Eggs and Ham it was!

For our Green Eggs and Ham day I decided to do a few things:
-green eggs and bacon
-green foods we like and dislike
-a Sam-I-am coloring page(you can find it here )
-egg-nose roll

Brant was off, but not the least bit interested in sticking around for green eggs and ham fun!  But the boys were.  I was not sure they would go for it, but I was pleasantly surprised they did!  And really it is against everything I have been teaching them since I became wise to the JUNK that is in food.  For the longest I have been telling them NO we can not have that, it has poison dye in it.  And here I go dying eggs and bacon.  Oh well, it can't be any worse than the Coke they had yesterday.

So I cooked up some GREEN eggs and bacon!

After breakfast we read the book which just kills me.  I will be speaking in rhymes all day long!!!!!
 
And then the egg/nose roll.  They could hardly wait!!!!  And this was SO MUCH FUN for them!!  We played this for a while.  Back and forth across the carpet and back and forth again.  And MOM, you have to do it too, they said!  So I did!  And yes I have a picture to prove it.  Not a good one since my photographer is a bad picture taker, but I have the proof. 

 Children love it when their parents join in on the FUN!  I could not disappoint them.

After the egg roll we sat and discussed GREEN foods.  Their list was about even with likes and dislikes and one maybe that they have not tried.  I had NO dislikes with green food. 

Green Eggs and Ham turned about to be more fun then I thought it would.  There are tons of ideas out there on the web.

I did not do this food craft, but wanted to make sure to pass it on to you.  Found it by googling green eggs and ham.

 You can find the instructions(if you need them)here .  So cute!!!  I may make this just for fun!

Hope you are having FUN with us this week.  I would love to hear from you!!!!  Check back tomorrow for more Dr. Seuss FUN!!!!  Happy Tuesday!!!

The Cat in the Hat

"I know some good games we could play," Said the cat. "I know some new tricks," Said the Cat in the Hat.

And I had plenty of tricks for the boys when they got up this morning and walked in the dining room/school room. 
You can see that post here .

School was a little different today,
We did not do math or reading, but decided to play.
I put on my hat and sat down on the floor,
I read from a book and read some more.

We started out by reading The Cat in the Hat.   After reading we talked about being at home alone. 
Me-What would you do if The Cat in the Hat came over while me and dad were gone?
Matthew-play tennis with him.
Ryan-Punch him in the eyes and nose. 
Their answers fit them well!!!
 
After that I had made up a very simple game for the boys.....a rhyming game.

I simply cut out hats and cats using construction paper.  I then went through the Cat in the Hat book and looked for the rhyming words. 

I printed those out, cut and pasted them to front and back of the cats and hats.  Then we all sat on the floor and matched the rhyming words together.  Hat-cat, fox-box, play-day, etc. It was a HIT!!! Super easy for them, but reading the words was perfect for Ryan.  He needs the extra stuff more then Matthew.

After seeing my faceless cats Matthew decided he needed to add eyes and a mouth.  This was the perfect way to finish the cats. I planned it that way......not really, but you can.

Hope you are having a great Monday!  Come back tomorrow for some Green Eggs and Ham!!!

Happy Dr. Seuss Week!!!!

Welcome to Dr. Seuss week!!!! 

I am so excited to take a break from our regular routine and have a FUN week.  So excited I literally woke up all night with rhyming words and sentences. 

If you missed it we are having a Dr. Seuss week in honor of his birthday this Friday, March 2 and the opening day of The Lorax movie!!!!

So if you are a fan of Dr. Seuss or your children are, check in this week for some crafts, learning with Dr. Seuss or just to see what we are up to.  And for all you regulars you know I could not do a week without something yummy.  So yes, there will be something to eat too! 

Dr. Seuss themed of course!!!

And because I decided to do this all on the spur of the moment I may be later on my daily posts. 
Maybe even posting two a day to stay ahead of the game. 

Funny thing about this is as I started searching for ideas I opened a BIG can of worms.  I had intended on sticking to two books.  Well I am up to four now!  I need to stay off the computer and work on what I have!!!!

So to begin our week this is what the boys will wake up to this morning. 

Scary?  I know!

I will wake them up with the hat on saying this(I thought about it all night...it's the best I could come up with.),
You must, you must get out of bed,
You must, you must you sleepy head.
Get out of bed and start your day,
We have a full day to run and play!

And then the dining room has these things waiting for them. 

These are the four books we will learn from this week.  We will read many more I am sure, but I will focus on these.  The Lorax is brand new so they do not have a clue about this one!

Learning with Dr. Seuss!!!!  Found this set at a teacher store.

And last, but certainly not least The Cat in the Hat!!!  Come back later to see our lesson with the Cat!! 

This week is all about reading!  No Saxon Math, no Reading Eggs, no First Language Lessons and no writing. 

Well actually we will do a little bit of all of that just Dr. Seuss style this week.
See you in a bit!

Dr. Seuss Week

First and foremost I will admit I have never really liked Dr. Seuss books.  And that cat in the hat really gets on my nerves!!!!!

BUT the boys really like the books.  And think the cat is funny.  So........I always do my best to make them happy.

This coming week February 27th-March 2nd will be Dr. Seuss Week.  This is in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday on Friday, March 2.

We will read all the Dr. Seuss books we have, but focus on two in particular, The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax.  By the way The Lorax movie comes out this Friday! 

I decided this at the last minute so I am working frantically to come up with FUN, WACKY and SILLY stuff to do.  School will be a little different this week.  But a much needed break from our normal routine of subjects.  We are set to finish school the second week in April so if this sets us back a little, we still have plenty of time to make up lessons. 

I am not promising the moon, but check back to see what The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax have planned for us. 

I am already ahead of the game because I have a Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Happy Saturday!

Pumpkin or Cucumber???

We have something growing. 

If you look closely(click on picture)you can see the pumpkin seeds!

Cucumbers were planted in this bed along the brick wall last year so it could be that.  BUT we also SMASHED pumpkins last year after Halloween right above where this little plant is growing. 

Take a look.

If you can't understand Matthew, this is what he is saying......"It is very cold today and we are doing this video called Halloween is over". 

Anyway so you can see where seeds fell to the ground and could have possibly been forgotten.  And then over the fall and winter the earth went the work to grow a little plant. 

OH I HOPE SO!!!  I have always wanted to grow pumpkins. 

But only time will tell what plant this might be.  It will be so much FUN for me!  You know how much joy I get out of watching the earth produce life!!!!  And don't worry I will let you know what it ends up being.

Happy Friday y'all.  Now get outside and have some FUN!!!!!!!

Robin Eggs

Spring is on my mind and entering our home.  It is warming up here in Texas and things are blooming in our yard so I just can't wait any longer.

Not only are Robin eggs an amazing shade of blue, that lovely blue happens to be one of my favorite colors.  And it is popping up all over our home!!!!!

I bought these eggs from Michael's a couple of years ago.  Just small plastic spotted eggs.  I decided I would give them a little face lift.

I used a blue craft paint from Walmart.  And absolutely love how they turned out.  I especially love how you can still see the spots on the eggs.

They add life to my hallway chest and that much needed color after this, what seems like, long winter. 

I love the season we are entering into!!!  And it will be here very soon.  I long to see the blooming trees, plants and flowers.  And my feathered friends of course.  I LOVE to bird watch!!! 

I have never seen real Robin eggs before.  So until I find a Robin's nest I will enjoy looking at mine every time I walk down the hall.

The verse on the write plate...........
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Matthew 6:26

HOMEMADE Vanilla Extract

I have wanted to make this for a L O N G time!!!  I finally decided it was too easy not to and in the long run will save me a bunch of money.

I go through a lot of vanilla extract with all the baking I do.  The cost is insane at the grocery store. It is almost $7 for a little four ounce bottle!!! 

It was time to make my own!!!

All you need are vanilla beans, vodka(use a lower end brand...save the good stuff for drinking if you like it), and bottles or jars.  Any container that closes well will do. Fill your containers with vodka, split the vanilla beans, and add to vodka. Close your container tightly and place in a cool, dark location for about two months. Shake occasionally.

That’s it! 

I searched many food blogs looking for the recipe.  All were a little different as far as how many beans to vodka as well as the timing.  The majority went with 2 beans per 12oz vodka or 3 beans per 8oz vodka.  The time it takes to "make" the vanilla extract was anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months.  I am going with 2 months and see what it looks like.

I made mine with a pint of vodka and 4 vanilla beans.  We'll see how it turns out.  The hardest part will be waiting to see and taste my homemade vanilla extract.

Bottle from Ross for $2.49.  Vanilla beans bought at Kroger and World Market.  Save money and order your vanilla beans from Amazon.  I will next time!!!!!  FYI-the color will get darker as the days go by.

This picture was added on March 1-nine days after I made it.

Brothers!

There's not much I need to say about all these pictures.  I do apologize for the ones that are dark and blurry. My camera is not equipped to handle two silly brothers that move constantly.  Regardless they are cute pictures and tell just how silly Ryan and Matthew can be.  Oh and that they like to perform from time to time for the camera.  Enjoy the pictures.

HOMEMADE night out

Who doesn't love a night out? We do every once in a while, but always feel like we wasted SO much money for nothing.

I hope by this post I can show you how to have a restaurant type "meal" AT HOME!   Or at least appetizers.

A homemade night out!

We do not eat out very often.  For several reasons.
1. We can not justify paying for a sitter(around $10 an hour)JUST to go out to dinner.

2. If the four of us go out to eat the cost is CRAZY!  We budget for EVERYTHING!  Down to the penny.  So to use anywhere from $30-60 just to go out to dinner is a big deal to us.

3. Because we rarely eat out my body goes into shock mode. I usually get a bad headache that lasts the rest of the day or evening. From research I am guessing it is probably due to all the MSG most restaurants use. Or all the processed foods they serve. Because we rarely eat out my body can not handle it.
4. The money you spend eating out is absolutely ridiculous for food that taste like CRAP! "Most" all restaurants serve processed foods anyway. What, go out just so I don't have to cook? Why bother? I might as well just go to the grocery store and buy something from the freezer section. That is what you are eating from most restaurants anyway! NO THANKS!!!

So far this new year we have NOT eaten out one time!!!!

I'll be honest, it is FUN for the boys to eat out. They are usually so excited about it they act like back woods country kids gone to town! The restaurant staff I am sure gets a good kick out of them.

And yes it is nice to have someone wait on us. That part is nice I will admit, but still not worth it to me. 

BUT this post is not entirely about ragging on eating out. It is mainly to show you how you can have the same thing at HOME!!! And save money!!!

Saturday we decided to make a dish my SIL had mentioned before. I can't remember what she calls it, but we have decided we are going to call it Loaded Cheese Fries. And man oh man were they good!!!!!

I am going to list what we bought and what I spent in comparison to a local restaurant. For this comparison I am using Chili's Grill and Bar Restaurant. And THE only reason I am using Chili's is because it was the only local restaurant I could find that served what we had. It would NOT be my choice going out for an evening.

At Chili's you can order an appetizer of Texas Cheese Fries. It comes with cheese, bacon, green onions and Ranch dressing on the side.

Photo courtesy of Chili's

Texas Cheese Fries-$7.49 for a full order and $3.99 for a half order. We'll say Brant and I had a full order each and the boys a half order each.
Along with your fries you can drink a 32oz Coke for $2.29(why on earth would anyone need a 32oz drink?!?!). And we are assuming a 12oz draft beer would be $3-4.
Making the price of our meal $45.75, tax(8.25%)$3.75 and a tip $8.00
Total price for a night out $57.20

At Kroger I bought:
-5lb bag of potatoes $2.72
-green onions .62
-sour cream .99
-bacon-$3

World Market: 1 six pack $10. 
Note: I did not have to spend money on cheese or the boys' drink. We had cheese at home(about 3 cups)and rootbeer about 8oz.

Milk Stout-LOVE!

So our HOMEMADE night out came to a total of $17.33
We did not have to wait in line on a Saturday night. We did not have to be witness to loud noises, smoke and dirty tables, etc.

We did have to cook our own food, but did so in the luxury of our own home. The boys were able to run to and fro through their home and not have to sit coloring while they waited for their food. Brant and I enjoyed hanging out in the kitchen together preparing the food and drinking a beer.

And we had plenty of leftovers for anyone who wanted more. Matthew went back for seconds and thirds!!! I suppose at Chili's he would have had his half order and then filled up on the 32oz Coke!

There is nothing wrong with eating out from time to time. I love going out for Mexican food. BUT you can have that same type of food at home.

HOMEMADE is not always easy. It takes time and preparation. But the end result is rewarding. At least to us.

Loaded Cheese Fries:
First we peel and cut potatoes into french fry size.  Next we soak them in sugar water.  The sugar water solution has something to do with the carbohydrates, but by doing this they don't soak up so much grease, so they get crunchy.

For a 5lb bag of tators we dissolved 1 cup of sugar in 5 cups of warm water.  Let those soak for about 15 minutes or while you fry the entire package of bacon.  **Make sure you save that bacon grease for furture recipes.....I'll post about that later!!**

After the potatoes have soaked remove from water and dry thoroughly on paper towels. And then fry them up.  We use peanut oil heated to 375.  Fry until golden brown.  About 5-7 minutes.  Drain on paper towels. Season while hot....season while the potatoes are vulnerable. At least that is what Emeril says to do.

Chop bacon.  Arrange fries on a BIG baking sheet.  Top with EXTRA sharp cheddar cheese and sprinkle bacon on top.  Place in oven with broiler on just until cheese melts.  Plate up with sour cream and green onions.  YUM!!!  

Now sit down with a good beer or Coke and enjoy a HOMEMADE night out!

More Spring Blooms

=Sweet Sunday Smiles

Hyacinth-coming back from last Spring!

Spring is near!!!

Bring it on!!!!

Miniature Narcissus-planted last year



On Wednesday I was out front watching the boys as they rode their bike around our culdesac.  Anytime I am out there I always inspect our flower bed. 
You never know what might be sprouting at this time of year.    


If you are new to my blog you will soon learn my love for the great outdoors. 


As I walked over to the bed I noticed these bright green leaves bursting up from the ground.  When I got closer I saw this sweet little yellow flower.  And then it hit me! 
Last year I had planted miniature Narcissus in this bed and it was now blooming. 

I! WAS! SO! EXCITED!!!!!


It can only mean one thing.......SPRING IS NEAR!


Oh my thoughts started moving ahead to spring days and gardening.  Brighter colors and all the pretty plants and flowers that our yard would display. 


As spring is near all my thoughts change.  Foods I like to eat change.  Lighter foods and yes desserts.  Well at least the colors are lighter.

So this miniature Narcissus got me in the mood to make Homemade Lemon Bars.

These are so wonderful!  And so simple to make. 
I hope you try them and they add a little SPRING to your day!

Lemon Bars

Crust ingredients:                                            

1 cup butter                                                     

2 cups flour                                                     

1/2 cup powered sugar                                    

Filling ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons lemon juice



**FRESH lemon is BEST!!  Don't use that juice that comes in a fake lemon!!!  And a little zest adds a wonderful zing to it!  I totally forgot this time and miss it.**

Preheat oven to 350. Melt 1 cup of butter in a 9x13 pan.  Meanwhile mix together 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup powered sugar. Mix with butter in the pan and pat down with a rubber spatula to form crust.  Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is light brown.


Mix all filling ingredients until smooth and pour onto hot crust. Bake for 25 minutes.  Let cool and sprinkle powered sugar on top. Cut into squares or big cake-like pieces.  Enjoy!!!!!

Before I fell fast asleep last night, I did hear the weather man say we are almost out of the clear for freezing temps in North Texas.  It may not be here today, but SPRING is near!!!


Happy Saturday!!