I Spy

I saw this activity over at Arts and Crofts and D and I did it right away. D loves stickers and they can keep him busy for a long time. We have collected a lot of stickers over the years at dollar stores to keep the kids busy in the car.

MIA

I feel totally MIA. Ryan was laid off last week, out of the blue and we have really no idea what is going to happen. There is a potential job offer in NY and we hope that he gets it otherwise unemployment here we come.

We both have been frantically running around getting the house ready, so we can put it up for sale. We have so many projects that we started but never got around to finishing. Now, we have given ourselves 1 week to get everything done.

I will keep you posted as we find out more.

Operation Organization

In case you missed it, Melinda over at Coming Clean is hosting an 8 week long Organization Challenge. This is week 4.

I was all ready to post yesterday but, for some reason the computer was not being agreeable and would not let me post.

These 2 areas were pretty easy clean ups. I did get rid of a ton of old hand towels. I am not sure why we accumulated so many.

My scrapbooking area is next. This place is so disorganized. It needs a lot of help.

Picnic Table Talk

This week's Picnic Table Talk from the ladies at ABC and 123 is all about SNACKS!

What easy snacks do you pack for your family?
What nutritious snacks do your children most enjoy?
Do you have any creative tricks for encouraging healthy snacking in your home?
What do you use to pack your snacks in?
Does your child's school have specific requirements for healthy snacks?

I just posted the recipe for our favorite snack, Homemade Granola Bars.

My kids eat a lot of snacks. What kid doesn't? We aren't the most healthiest of eaters and I am trying to remedy that. In our snack drawer right now you can find cookies, chips, crackers, popcorn, pretzels and fruit snacks. I really don't buy a lot of chips. The ones we have are left over from our trip to the lake. However, cookies are a staple. Hubby loves them.

When I make homemade cookies I always use wheat flour and add a little ground flax. I seem to add flax to everything I can. We made banana muffins the other day and of course I added a little flax.

We also always have several varieties of fruit in the house. My daughter loves fruit and will choose it as a snack before anything else. Her favorite is lemons. Go figure.

Since our garden is in full swing right now the kids have been eating a lot of carrots and sliced cucs. And in the Fall when our apples are ready they will eat a few apples a day. They love to just run out and grab one. I also always make applesauce to can, which we eat throughout the year.

I do store all my homemade granola bars in snack size ziplocs. I know I am not being very green but I haven't found a better way to do it.

Angry Eyebrows

We used to have this Veggie Tales movie that was all about angry eyebrows and how when one person has them, they can easily be transferred to another person. Just like a case of the galloping grumps, (that one is from Winnie the Pooh). We discuss angry eyebrows every now and then in our house because it does seem that when one person has them, others are quick to follow. And then we end up with a house full of angry, snippy people.

Well, the other day, and we hadn't discussed the eyebrows in awhile, D came out of his room like this.

It seems that some how he got a hold of a permanent marker and drew himself a pair of angry eyebrows. I asked him why he did this and he said, "I like angry eyebrows," very grumpily.

He was being so funny, I didn't have the heart to tell him that his angry eyebrows are usually found a tad bit higher.

Needless to say, his grumpiness didn't last nearly as long as the marker on his face did.

HELP!

Someone help me get that Cutest blog on the block off my blog. I switched to a plain background and I can't figure out where this is coming from or how to get rid of it. I looked all over in my HTML layout and I can't find it.

It is bugging me sooooooooooo much. UGH UGH UGH.

I have been working on it for over an hour and now that it is 1:25am I am Giving Up.

Help me PLEASE. And THANKS in advance.

Cool Carrots

When D and I were in our garden this morning, pulling up carrots, we found this

little lady.
It is so cool. No one wants to eat it and ruin it. Guess I will have to be the
bad guy once again.

A Staple in Our House

The Best Home-Made Granola Bars

This recipe comes from Amy, one of my awesome Playgroup Mommys.

Mix all of the dry ingredients first. Then make a well.

This is the oil I use for most things.


Add wet ingredients into the well.


I prefer to mix this recipe with my hands. It must come from all of those times I made homemade noodles with my Nanny.



Press into a 9x13 in. pan. Make sure to grease well. I use Pam Olive Oil Spray.



Not sure why I couldn't cut them all the same size today. They are usually a little more uniform. Oh well.

THE BEST HOME-MADE GRANOLA BARS
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups rolled oats (quick cooking oats are fine. That's what I use)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ (or wheat bran)
1 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
3/4 cup choc. chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, or raisins,
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, flour, chips and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well. I use my hands (this is very sticky). Pat and press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20-30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges (you'll want to start checking them after about 20 minutes; in my oven it only takes 25 minutes - you want them to be just turning brown around the edges). Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut. Place on wax paper and cool completely.

NOTES:
* I use chocolate chips instead of raisins, or sometimes a combination of choc. and peanut butter chips.
* You can replace all or some of the oil with melted peanut butter.
* You can add a bit of ground flaxseed if you like.
* After cooling, I put each bar into a snack-size ziplock bag and keep them in a container in the fridge; the kids can just grab one and go.

Operation Organization Week 3

In case you missed it, Melinda over at Coming Clean is hosting an 8 week long Organization Challenge. This is week 3. I was supposed to post this yesterday but I just never got around to it.

My challenge last week was to clean up my laundry room and craft supply area. It was messy,
messy.
The top of my dryer was covered with unfolded socks. I loathe folding socks. So, I sat down and started folding. The 2 little garbage cans on top of the dryer will be used to put socks in. One for kiddos and 1 for hubby and I. My daughter painted the flowers on the one.

This is my basement linen closet, where I keep all of our sheets and blankets. Another thing I loathe is folding fitted sheets. I just can't make them neat like my grandmother used to. UGH
These are the cabinets that are above my washer and dryer. They were a mess. Now I actually have room to put other stuff in there. I will probably put some of the stuff that is under my kitchen sink in here.

Under my kitchen sink. MESSY. I obviously can't keep anything clean and organized. This is my challenge for next week.

Along with the upstairs linen closet.

Fun with Green

Ok, This time before I stuck the tape on the paper I touched it a bunch. Last time, with our
Blue creation it kept ripping the paper.
Again, we made different shades, of green this time. D sure seems to love painting with both hands.

Really, both hands.

The tape pulled off great.

Again, I cut out pictures from mags that were green for D to glue on.

The final product.

This week's Picnic Table Talk from the ladies at ABC and 123 is all about WRITING!

• How do you practice writing with your children?
• What inspires you to write?
• Do you enjoy writing? About What? Why?
• What is the difference between teaching writing and teaching printing?
  What are your favorite writing utensils?
  

Me:

-I do have to say that before I started blogging, I didn't write a lot. I don't even have texting. Not that that counts as writing, but, it does bring up an interesting question. Do kids these days know how to write? I know my friend who teaches 7th grade English struggles with this. The kids tend to want to write abbreviations for words and often want to write incomplete sentences.

-Now that I have been blogging, I find that I really enjoy writing. Granted it isn't using a pen and paper but, for me it is better than nothing, like I was doing. It is going to sound funny, but I actually love the feeling of a real pencil on paper. Mechanical pencils just don't feel the same.

Kiddos:

I have been looking for a little kids table for my Mr. Manny (3). We had one for my other 2 (17 & 11) but that is long gone. I wanted something that was his size so he could feel in control. Lucky me started thinking out of the box and found a Lane side table with a drawer at our local Thrift Store. $10. I could have found something cheaper, if I would have looked longer but, I was eager and Lane is a good brand. And, when he is all done with it, we can use it for an actual side table. Reuse people, that's what it is all about.

I moved his alphabet and stuff that was already hanging on our wall over by his table. We are planning on using these letter templates from Preschool Express. http://www.preschoolexpress.com/alphabet-station08/letter-patterns.shtml I want to cover them with contact paper so we can reuse them and then we can use them as playdough mats too. D can roll out playdough worms and fill in the letters. I also like these letters because they are so fat. Dotted letters would be hard for him to trace and we will get to those later.

My Other Award

Ok, so, I have no idea why I couldn't access Courtney's blog earlier but, now it's all good.

Courtney, I am honored to be given this "Honest Scrap" award from you. A BIG Thanks.

Along with this award I need to list 10 Honest Facts about myself and then pass this award on to 10 other bloggers.

Here we go:

1. I am such a wanna be crafter. I see so many cool things out there and then when I try to replicate them, let's just say I could post a lot on the Craft Fail blog.

2. I am a paper hoarder. I buy cute paper for scrapbooking and never use it because it's too cute.

3. I LOVE to sleep. If I could take a nap everyday I would. And when I get to, I sleep for 2 hours at least.

4. I am really good at starting projects, but not always so good at finishing them.

5. I sleep better when my 3 year old sleeps with me.

6. I love to watch Mamma Mia. I could literally watch it a few times a day if I could. The music is so awesome.

7. I check out at least 1 thrift store a week. Ya just never know what you are going to find.

8. My favorite color is pink. It makes me feel girly.

9. I truly despise folding socks. UGH!

10. Last, but not least, my husband still takes my breath away after 17 years of marriage. I Love Him So.

And 10 bloggers, who I love to read and inspire me, besides Courtney are:

1. Angie over at Just Shy of a Y

2. Diana over at Arts and Crofts

3. Denise over at Explorations

4. Jennifer over at My Two Happy Homeschoolers

5. Rana over at Free to Learn an Lovin It

6. The ladies over at Living the Frugal Life

7. Melissa over at My 2 Blessings

8. Keri over at The Home Teacher

9. Gabby over at The Work Of Childhood

10. Chris over at Just a Girl

I Am Loved

When I returned home from my long weekend at the Lake, I received some great news. I was given 2 blog awards from other blogging Mommys.

Both of the ladies that have given me these awards have been so helpful. MacKenzie made my blog header and Courtney is always there to answer my questions. Thanks so much ladies. You both inspire me. So, should I bug you guys now about my still having issues with making a button for my blog. I can't figure it out. I made one but, can't seem to load it. Ugh.

I received one award from Courtney over at Beautiful Mess. But, I can't seem to get her blog up at this time. So you can't see my award. I will add it later. Anyway, Thanks Courtney. You are so awesome and it has been so fun getting to know you. I love reading your posts and how honest you are. You are definitely trying to make this world a better place. I love all of your encouraging words.

I received a Kreative Blogger Award from Mama Kenz over at Mama Kenz Studio. MacKenzie is fabulous and a loving mother. She just recently had a little one and her writing motivates all moms to breastfeed and to use cloth diapers. She understands how much 1 child's disposable diapers affect our landfills. Her award comes with some instructions- I am supposed to list 7 things I love and then award it to 7 more bloggers! So here are my loves in no real order:

1. My Family- Of course

2. My dogs- I have 2 yellow labs

3. Books

4. Gardening- both veggies and flowers

5. Sleeping- Naps are awesome

6. Chocolate

7. Fruit

Now it is my turn to return the thanks and award this award to these wonderful ladies. Check them out.

1. Amy over at World of Mod Podge.

2. Lil' Ms. P. over at A Mommy Talks.

3. Annette over at Live Love Learn.

4. Mommy 4 Life over at Mommy Daily Vent.

5. Nanny Dee over at New England Nanny.

6. Kristi over at Orange Juice.

7. Amy over at Teach Mama.

Life at the Lake

We are truly blessed to live in "The Land of 10,000 Lakes" and that my in-laws have a cabin on one of those lakes. Yay, for us. We left on Friday and didn't get back until late Tues night. We could have stayed longer but we needed to get back to reality. We had such a great time with family. We fished, swam, tubed, had campfires,played cards, went for boat and canoe rides and of course, just hung out.

We made shaving cream pies.

Our dog, Isabelle, is always in the water.


Me

My boys tubing.

Just had to put this picture in. D couldn't wait to get his clothes on. Fishing is too important.

He did catch a fish. Many fish actually. He would fish all day if he could.

All my boys.

Cousins swimming.

Cousins playing dominoes.

Cousins tubing.

Operation Organization- Week 2

In case you missed it, Melinda over at Coming Clean is hosting an 8 week long Organization Challenge. This is week 2.

I am so excited. I was this week's random winner of a $10 Target gift card. Thanks Melinda.

My challenge this week is the Laundry Room. First and foremost I need to organize my craft area. I watch 2 little boys (2 & 4) during the year along with my own 3 yr old and we do lots of crafts. However, I find myself rushed many times throughout the day and I just throw things on the counter. I always tell myself I will put it away later but, I never get to it and sooner or later things pile up. As you can plainly see.

Anyway, hopefully when that task is done I will go on to another part of the laundry room. Like say, the top of my dryer. It is full of socks because I really don't enjoy folding socks. Ish.