Make Your Own Produce Wash

I used to buy bottle after bottle of Produce Wash from the store, but it can be pretty pricey!  So I did some research and found a recipe that I think works just as well, if not better than the store bought stuff! 

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
20 drops of grapefruit seed extract

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a deep pitcher.
After reaction has stopped, pour the mixture into a spray bottle (I use the one from my store bought produce wash)
Spray on produce and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing. 

Now you can keep your veggies clean, and save money!  You can also mix a batch of this up in your sink to wash things like lettuce and grapes.  :0)  Enjoy!

Two Week Old Chickens

I am amazed at how fast our girls are growing!!  When we brought them home two weeks ago, they were all cute and fluffy...and now they sport a half fuzzy half feathered look that only a momma can truly love.  Jay swears he can see them growing, and calls me in to watch them grow at least once a day.  :0)  We have all had lots of fun watching their big girl feathers come in! 

Here is Miss Cleo: 

 Here is Miss Red:

Here is Miss Blackie:

Red and Blackie have been duking it out to see who will get to be Queen of the Coop.  Ha ha my bet is on Blackie, but we'll have to see!

And here are Flopsy and Mopsy, we call them the twins:

These two are too funny!  I have never seen two chickens so attached to each other.  If you try to pick up one without the other they'll both practically blow your eardrums out with their cries!  They even sleep next to each other.  It's pretty cute!  

Hopefully we'll get the coop built here in the next few weeks, because these girls are getting big in a hurry!! :0)  Ha ha and just think in 14 weeks or so, we'll have our very own fresh eggs to eat! 

Journal Jar Tuesday #10

Welcome to the 10th Journal Jar Tuesday!  Ha ha I am excited that I have actually written 10 journal entries...I think it's the farthest I have ever gotten in journaling!  :0) 

Tell about a person in school who was mean or snobby.

Hmmm high school is one of those things that I think you should get some sort of badge just for surviving.  It is such a time of self discovery for you and everyone around you, which makes it pretty scary!  That said, my school experience was pretty great!  I had a lot of wonderful friends that were a blast to hang out with...and we all made mistakes and learned from them together. 
The only person that was ever really mean to me directly was someone that was kind of mean to everyone.  She had a little group of girls that she got along with...but I think they were just too scared to tell her how awful she really was. 
For the first few years of high school, we didn't cross paths too much, so she was easy to ignore.  But the summer before my junior year she and I both met the boy that is now "The Hubbs" for the first time.  She had a thing for him and flirted relentlessly with him, even after he and I were dating.  When she figured out that The Hubbs and I were dating, she took her anger out on me e.v.e.r.y. chance she got.  She made snide comments, and tried her very best to embarrass me, and I did my best to ignore her.  Ignoring her worked until she became my captain in an extracurricular activity...then it didn't work so well!  Ha ha she did her best to make my life sheer heck, and honestly, she was kind of successful.  I ran more laps that year for stupid things than I care to admit.  When we were practicing, she always picked me out to harp on and nit picked everything I did.  She is one of the biggest reasons that I decided not to do that particular activity my senior year!  I knew that The Hubbs and I were not going to stop dating anytime soon, and I just didn't want to have to deal with her drama!  
In all honesty, I didn't really even know her that well.  She seemed normal enough, relatively smart, and was actually a pretty girl.  I certainly don't have any hard feelings towards her, and I hope that life has treated her well.  She wasn't a bad person, she was just trying to figure out life...just like the rest of us!  Looking back, I am proud of the way I chose to deal with her.  It was a difficult decision for me at the time, because I was so tempted to be mean back or to do something the get even with her.  I always thought of the meanest things to say, but never said them.  Even then, I knew I wasn't that kind of person.  And If I had been mean to her, I know I would have regretted it!

Ha ha well....the secret is out!  The Hubbs and I have been dating since I was 15.  :0)  I was just as crazy about him then as I am now!  Maybe I'll tell you about how we met sometime!  If you have missed a previous journal entry, or would like to know what this whole Journal Jar Tuesday thing is all about, click on the Journal Jar Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.  So what about you?  What sort of scandalously mean people tormented you in school!?               

Our Cheep Cheeps are 1 week old!

Our little chickens are already a week old!  I am very thankful that we have made it a whole week, and we still have all 5 girls.  Ha ha because with a 3 year old, and a bird dog constantly hounding them I was a little worried, but they have done great!  They have grown so much this first week too!  They have changed from little balls of fluff to bigger balls of fluff with wings and a few tail feathers. 

Here is a picture of Jay with Cleo on his shoulder.  He was SO excited when she hopped up there!

Here are all 5 girls pecking at something (who knows what)

We have already had to put up some chicken wire around their pool to keep them from hopping out and running all over the place:

Can you see their little wing feathers!?

This is Red with her wings sort of flapped out:

Here is Red all nestled down in The Hubbs' hand:

Miss Cleo, is pretty curious, and is always on the lookout:

Flospy and Mopsy, we call them the twins.  They are SO hard to tell apart!  They are also almost inseparable.  And by that I mean that if we get one of them out without the other one..a lot of loud cheeping follows.  And the second we put them back together, all is well again.  Ha ha it is kind of cute! 

Blackie was one of the first to hop out of their kiddie pool and go exploring.  One morning I woke up to find her running all over the place.  She and Red always seem to get into trouble together!

   We have really been having a lot of fun with our Cheep Cheeps so far!  Jay loves to hold them and play with them, and honestly, so do The Hubbs and I.  The sweet little cheeping and chirping sounds are also a nice addition!  I wonder how much they'll grow this week!?

Yummy Cornbread

I love this cornbread with a good bowl of chili or stew, but it also works well for Dressing at Thanksgiving.  Use bacon drippings if you can, because they add such an amazing flavor to the cornbread!  And the buttermilk gives the cornbread a very moist and rich texture.  I used to use the boxed cornbread mixes, but after making this, I will never use mixes again!!   

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons shortening or drippings
1 1/2 cup cornmeal (I have used white and yellow cornmeal and both work just fine)
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1 egg

Directions:
set your oven to 450
Put the shortening or drippings in an oven safe dish, I use an 8x8 square glass dish, and put the dish into the oven while it is heating up.
In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking soda.
Add the buttermilk and egg to the dry mixture and stir until well combined.
Make sure that all of the shortening or drippings have melted in your baking dish. 
Tilt the baking dish to make sure that the entire bottom of it is coated. 
Pour the cornbread mixture into the hot baking dish.
Bake for 22 to 25 minutes.

I have always used bacon drippings to make this, so if you use shortening instead, you might want to add some extra seasoning.  You could also try using 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of shortening.  Anyhow, next time you need cornbread, you should definitely give this recipe a try!  It is easy, and SO yummy!

Cheep Cheep Cheep

One of the things on my wish list when we were house hunting (a year ago) was the ability to have a small flock of chickens. And the salmonella scare with store bought eggs a few months back, only strengthened that desire! So I did a little, ok a lot, of research and last week Jay and I went to pick up our day old chicks. They are so cute!!  Jay picked out each and every chick all by himself, and he is SO proud of them!     

Here is Dutchess Dog investigating them for the first time.  What you can't see from the picture is that she was literally quivering with excitement...we are going to have our work cut out for us teaching her that these chickens are our "babies" and not a snack for her!  

Jay named this one Red, despite my many attempts for Scarlet or Rose.  She is a Rhode Island Red.  Ha ha and she is definitely going to be our trouble maker.  Red seems to have no fear, and is curious about everything.  She walked right up to my camera when I took this picture...and pecked it.  :0) 

This is our Easter Egger, and Jay named her Cleo after the fish in Pinocchio.  She is a little bit timid, but once we pick her up, she does great.  When she gets bigger, she will pay pretty colored eggs!

We got two Buff Orpingtons, and Jay has named them Flopsy and Mopsy after Peter Rabbit's sisters.  Ha ha they are pretty hard to tell apart right now, but Flopsy is a little bit smaller than Mopsy.  I think we might put a band on one of their legs when they get older so we can tell them apart.  They are both really docile and sweet, which is why we got two of them! 

This is Blackie, our Barred Rock.  She is also very timid, and runs when we try to pick her up.  So we are spending lots of extra time with her! 

Here is a picture of all five of the girls, ha ha most of them are alseep! 

We are having so much fun with them!  I'll do my best to put up pictures as they grow.  Now we just have to get their coop finished sometime in the next few weeks!  :0) 

Journal Jar Tuesday #9

Welcome to the 9th Journal Jar Tuesday!  If you are new to this, and want to find out what Journal Jar Tuesdays are all about, you can click on the Journal Jar Tuesday tab at the top of my blog.  :0)  This week, I am going to do two prompts, because one of them is really short.  

Tell Your Favorite Joke.

Ha ha my favorite joke is one I read on a Laffy Taffy wrapper about 10 years ago.  It's innocent and sweet, and always makes me chuckle!

Why is it a bad idea to play poker in the jungle??

Because there are too many Cheetahs!

List a few of the simple things in life that make you smile, and tell why.   

Hmmmm I could probably name several dozen simple things that make me smile!!  Ha ha but I'll do my best to keep this short!

The smell of rain.  It's so earthy and pure, and I just love it!

Butterflies.  They are so graceful and beautiful, kind of like a tiny treasure floating through the air.

Growing Flowers.  Especially the first ones of Spring!  They are little bursts of color, but like most of life's beautiful moments, they are gone before you know it.

Christmas Lights.  I l.o.v.e. them!  They make me happy!  They're kind of like an outward expression of the desire we all have for peace.  They twinkle and shine, and fill my heart with joy!

Fall Leaves.  They are bold and beautiful.  They crunch beneath your feet, dance in the wind, add the last bits of color to an otherwise dying landscape.

Snow.  I'm a Texan, and I love snow...for a day or two every year.  If we had it more often, it wouldn't be a special or as fun. 

Seashells.  Especially ones found on the beach!  They seem so delicate, but they're really strong, and each shell is beautiful in its own unique way.  

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Once they're baked, the cookies are still OK, but the dough is what gets me!  It's such a perfect combination of textures and flavors.  I have to limit myself each and every time I bake cookies, or none of them would ever be baked.   

When I have been working in the yard or house, sitting down with an ice cold glass of water.  I love the cooling sensation that it brings to my whole body.  I can feel it rush down to my stomach and then I slowly start to cool down.  It is such a refreshing feeling, and nothing beats it! 

Porch swings.  They remind me of my Great Grandmother, and I just love them!  They have this uncanny way of reminding my to sit down and take in the world for a few minutes. 

Letters or cards that come in the mail.  With facebook, and e-mails, I rarely ever get any actual mail that's not a bill or something headed right to the recycle bin.  So when I get a card or letter just for me, it completely makes my day! 

Stickers.  I am really just a big kid at heart, and I still love stickers!  Ha ha Jay just gives me an excuse to use them again! 

I could seriously go on and on and on, but I'll stop myself at 12 little things that make me smile!  So, what makes you smile?   

'Z' is For Zebra

Can you believe we have made it all the way to Letter 'Z' !?!?  I am so excited!  I am going to put all of Jay's coloring pages into three folders with brads to make an alphabet book, a shape book, and a number book.  And be sure to keep using your alphabet memory cards!  After this week, you'll have a complete set of them!  :0) 

This week we will cover:
The letter 'Z'
'Z' is for Zebra
The number 0
Crosses
The color Green
Completing Patterns

Monday: The Letter 'Z'
-color a Letter 'Z' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'Z' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'Z' memory cards (one with a Letter 'Z' on it, and the other with a picture of a Zebra on it)
-go through the Letter 'Z' section of Starfall
-make some Zucchini bread
-Zigzag Art (The letter 'Z' is a zigzag shape, so practice making zigzag shapes in all different colors on a piece of paper.  Make some of them big, some of them small etc.  you can also glue straws, toothpicks, pretzel sticks, etc, in the shape of the letter 'Z' on your picture)

Tuesday: 'Z' is for Zebra
-color a Zebra coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall
-do this cute online Zebra Puzzle
-check out the pictures and video of Zebras on the National Geographic website
-make a cute Zebra paper bag puppet

Wednesday:  Zoo Day!
-today Jay and I are going to head over to spend some time watching Zebras!  You could go on a picnic and read some letter Z books after you eat, or watch a movie with Zebras in it.  Whatever you do, just have fun! 
-do this fun Pattern Worksheet

Thursday: The Number 0
-color a Number 0 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 0 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall
-talk about the number Zero

Friday:  The Color Green
-watch this and this
-go on a Green Walk (walk around your house or yard and point out all of the Green things you see)
-Make Green Play Dough (mix together blue and yellow play dough to make Green, or make your own green Play Dough using blue and yellow food coloring)
-play Red Light Green Light
-do this Pattern Worksheet
-play the I Spy Something Green Game (take turns spying and guessing all of the green things you can see)
-make some green Jello, you can even make some Jello Jigglers and use a Letter 'Z' cookie cutter to cut them out!

Thank you for learning the Alphabet with us!  I hope you had as much fun as Jay and I did!  If you have missed a previous lesson plan, you can find it under the ABC Lesson Plans tab at the top of my blog.  I haven't decided exactly which direction Jay and I are headed next, but be sure to check back, for lots of other fun ideas!

The Best Warm Compress

Jay is fighting his second round of ear infections, poor kiddo!  Heat helps his ears stop hurting, but I just can not bring myself to let him sleep with an electric heating pad.  There are just way too many things that can go wrong!!  We were heating up a wet wash cloth and putting it into a Ziploc bag for him to lay on, but it didn't seem to stay warm very long.  So I got my google on, and found a much better solution:  Rice. 

Just take some regular rice, not minute rice, and put it into an old, but clean, sock.  Tie the end of the sock into a knot to keep the rice in.  Then heat it for 30 seconds to a minute in the microwave.  It works amazingly well!  I have even made one for myself to help my sore muscles, and even sinus pressure.  And if you kiddo manages to get some sort of liquid (milk, juice, urine, vomit etc) on the sock, you can just untie the knot, toss the rice, wash the sock, fill it with clean rice, and you're good to go all over again!

This has been such a life saver for us over the last few days!!  I also read that you can put your rice sock into a plastic Ziploc bag and stick it in the freezer for a cold compress too, but I haven't it yet.  Who knew something so easy could work so well!?  Next time your little one is suffering from an ear infection, give this a try.  You'll be glad you did! 
    

Caramel Glazed Flan

Have you ever had Flan?  It is a sweet custard like dessert that my uncle's mom, who I affectionately called Abuela, made all the time for my family when I was growing up.  Ha ha and while I have fond memories of it...I have never actually liked the taste of Flan.  But everyone else in my family LOVES it, so I have learned to make it over the years.  :0)  It takes a little bit of work, but from what I hear, the end result is greatness. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 3/4 cups water
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a skillet over medium-low heat, cook and stir the sugar until it is melted and light brown.
Pour the melted sugar into a 9 inch round baking dish.
Tilt the dish to coat the bottom completely with the melted sugar.
In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and whites, then stir in the water, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and salt.
Stir until smooth.
Pour into the round baking dish.
Line a roasting pan with a damp towel and place the round baking dish on top of the towel.  Place raosting dish on oven rack and then full the roasting pan with boiling water until the water is about half way up your round baking dish.
Bake 1 hour or until the center is set, but still a bit jiggly.
Remove dish to a wire rack and cool for one hour.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
To unmold, run a knife around the edge of the baking dish and then invert it onto a rimmed serving platter.

Enjoy!

Journal Jar Tuesday #8

Welcome to my 8th Journal Jar Tuesday!  Ha ha I have missed several weeks here lately, but I am ready to get back on track!  We passed a nasty virus around our house for a few weeks, and then the weather turned pretty...and I caught a case of Spring fever!  I conquered the Wisteria vines that had taken over one corner of our house, and got my garden area all ready to plant.  I love Spring!!  :0)  Anywho, today's prompt is:

Tell about a time you feel God answered your prayer.

God has answered many of my prayers, though I often don't realize it at the time.  My latest journey with God involves our current house, and the house we sold to get here.  

I loved our last house!  I knew the second I walked through the front door, that it would be my home.  The Hubbs and I used to go walking in the park that ran through the middle of the neighborhood where the house was, and I always loved it.  It was the first house my husband and I lived in together.  We planned our wedding there and brought Jay home to that house.  I have SO many wonderful memories in that house.  It will always have a special place in my heart. 

I can't explain it, but one morning I woke up, and I just knew that we were supposed to sell our house because it wasn't the house for us anymore.  I resisted the thought for several months.  But all of these "signs" just kept popping up.  The final nudge happened one day while we were working in our tiny front yard.  A couple down the street told us they had sold their house...for a chunk more than what we had originally paid for ours.  Even though the housing market was tanking in a bad way, our neighborhood was still sought after, and houses were still selling.  When Jay came along, we had gone from two incomes down to one.  At times it got pretty tight, so the idea of having more house for a smaller payment was pretty darn appealing!  So one day, I casually mentioned to The Hubbs that I thought we might want to look into selling our house.  I was absolutely shocked when he said he had been considering the same thing, but never thought I would go for the idea! 

We called our Realtor, PJ, who is absolutely amazing.  We told her we wanted to know if she thought we could sell our current home, and find a bigger home with a bigger yard for less money.  I half expected her to laugh or tell us we were nuts...but she didn't.  She thought we could do it!  

To be perfectly honest, when PJ said we could do it, my heart kind of sunk.  I loved our house, and even though I just knew we were supposed to sell it, I had really been hoping that we wouldn't have to.  But after a lot of thinking and more than a few tears, we came up with a plan.  We wanted to buy a house that we could renovate! 

Things went pretty smoothly, and before we knew it, we had accepted an offer on our house.  It was good news, and also scary news.  We had essentially sold our house...but we hadn't been able to find a new one yet!  This is when the real spiritual journey really began for me.  I had gone from knowing we were supposed to sell our old house, to staring down the prospect of selling our house...without having a new home to move into.  The housing market was in the dumps, and home loans were getting harder and harder to get.  What if we sold our house and then couldn't get another one!?  Or what if we couldn't find one that worked for us!?  I was literally freaking out.  I knew that God had been pushing me towards this, but I wasn't quite sure I was ready to trust Him to get me throughout his.  It may sound silly, but for me, this was a real journey!  I would feel great about things one day, and spend half the next day in tears.  I spent way more time than I should have scouring the entire area for houses.  We looked everywhere in our area!  I ccompulsively scoured through hundreds of real estate listings, and drove by anything that even looked like a remote possibility.  We looked into HUD homes, and HUD 203k homes.  It was a mess, and so was I.  

One day, I had absolutely had it.  So I prayed, but instead of asking God to help me through this or to help me trust in Him...and just begged Him to carry me for a little while.  I told Him I was tired of worrying, and that I just needed a break from it all.  That I just couldn't do it by myself anymore.  I felt defeated and ashamed that I wasn't strong enough to trust Him on my own.     

Well, that Sunday after church The Hubbs and I saw a new Realty sign out in front of a house in the neighborhood right across the street from our church.  (The very neighborhood that I had originally said I wanted to move to when we had first started looking for houses.  It is full of cute houses built in the 1950's with huge yards and loaded with charm.  But it's a hard neighborhood to get into because the houses retain their value really well.)  We got out of our car and looked around the outside of the house for a few minutes, and decided that we would definitely call PJ to schedule an appointment to see the inside of the house.  Just as we were getting back into our car to leave, the owner of the house pulled up in her car!  She asked us if we would like to see the inside of the house.  Ha ha it was green, and needed a substantial amount of cosmetic work, but I knew it was the house for us!  :0)  

It is amazing, how when you let go, and relinquish your "control" over things...they all fall into place.  God answered all of my prayers, in his way, which is much better than anything I could have imagined.  And most importantly, He taught me a very valuable lesson.  Sometimes I just have to trust Him, to let go of my fears, and stop trying to control the situation.  I am SO thankful for the things this spiritual journey has taught me, andeven more thankful for the closer relationship I now have with God. 

As I type this, I am actually sitting here one of the many pairs of paint clothes I now own, because when I am finished typing, I am heading out to our sun room to finish texturing the ceiling!  I love our new house!!  When I look back, even though this whole process was one of the hardest things I have ever done, I am SO grateful that I am here today.  This house has given us so much more than just a new home!  We watched our family really come together to help us turn this house into our home.  Parents, grandparents, and even aunts and uncles, all came and worked themselves silly teaching us, and helping us work to bring our vision for this house to life.  It is one thing to know that you love your family, but for me, this whole experience has made me grateful for all of them in a whole new way!  We are also much closer to our church now, which allows us to be more active church members.  Before our church was a place we went on Sundays, but now it feels more like a home.  We have gotten to know the people much better, and feel more spiritually connected than we ever have before.  Even our neighbors here are amazing!  I actually like seeing them, and have spent more time talking to them than I intended to on more than one occasion!  They are amazing people, and people I feel good about Jay growing up around.  We are so blessed and so thankful to have our new home, and surprisingly not just for the reason we originally wanted.   

So what about you, has God answered any of your prayers?  If you have missed a previous Journal Jar Tuesday, or just what to know what they are all about, you can click on the Journal jar Tuesday tab at the top of my blog, and I hope you'll join me next week for Journal Jar Tuesday #9!

'Y' is For Yo yo

Wow, can you believe we only have two letters to go before we have made it all the way through the alphabet!?  I am so excited to have made it so far, and I know that Jay has learned a lot from these lessons.  I have had so much fun coming up with ideas, using wonderful ideas from other people, and then trying them all out with Jay!  And I hope you and your kiddos have had fun too!!  

This week we cover:
The letter 'Y'
'Y' is for Yo yo
The number 25
Crosses
The color Green
Completing Patterns

Monday: The Letter 'Y'
-color a Letter 'Y' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'Y' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'Y' memory cards (one with a Letter 'Y' on it, and the other with a picture of a Yo yo on it)
-go through the Letter 'Y' section of Starfall
-work this fun online puzzle
-make a Yummy Yucky collage (look through newspapers and magazines for things that your kiddo thinks are yummy and for things that they think are yucky.  Draw a line down the middle of a piece of construction paper.  Write Yummy at the top of one half, and Yucky at the top of the other half.  Glue the pictures onto the appropriate side of your paper to make a collage)
-go on a 'Y' branch hunt (look in your yard, or a park for branches that are in the shape of the letter 'Y'.  Try to find a branch that has already fallen off of a tree that you can take home.  (You can decorate the branch with paint, or by wrapping yarn around it!)  
-make Yogurt pops  Here is an easy recipe to try:
2 cups yogurt

1 ½ cups orange juice
1 tsp. Vanilla
Mix and freeze.


Tuesday: 'Y' is for Yo yo
-color a Yo yo coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall
-grab a Yo yo from your local dollar store for your kiddo to play with
-play Hide The Yo yo (begin by hiding a toy Yo yo in a particular room or area.  Have your kiddo find it, and then let them hide it for you to find.  You can take turns, and play this several times.  Or as an alternative, you can print out pictures of Yoyo's and hide them for your kiddo to find)
-make cute (and Yummy) cookie Yoyo's

Wednesday:  Fun Day!
-I am so glad that Spring is here!  Today Jay and I are going to go get some Yellow flowers to plant in our yard--probably marigolds.
-something that Jay regularly does, and will definitely do this week, is to go "hunting" for yellow dandy lions in our yard and our neighbor's yard.  Ha ha it's a win win for us, Jay gets to pick flowers, and we get rid of some weeds! 
-Whatever you do today, just make it fun!

Thursday: The Number 25
-color a Number 25 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 25 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall
-25 'Y's  (cut out 25 letter 'Y's from newspapers or magazines--or you can even print them.  Help your kiddo glue them to a piece of paper, or you can staple them to a piece of ribbon or yarn.  Be sure to count them as you go!)
-talk about the number 25 (it is half of 50, a quarter of 100 etc.  Your kiddo may not understand these terms yet, but hearing them will help solidify the idea in their mind later.)
-Count out 25 pennies and show your kiddo that 25 pennies is equal to one quarter.  Stack the pennies in groups of five.  etc. 

Friday:  Crosses
-color a Cross coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this
-have your kiddo trace the Cross shape on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Green construction paper and hang it on the wall

-make a wooden cross to decorate (glue two Popsicle sticks together, or find two sticks in your yard to glue together.  Decorate your Cross shape with finger paint or stickers.  If you use Popsicle sticks, you can also drill a small hole in the top of the Cross and put a string through it to make a necklace.  Your kiddo can put beads on the string too!)
-help your kiddo craw several Crosses on a piece of paper.  Talk about the Cross shape, and about how it looks like a little 'T'.   You can make cross shapes out of a lot of things, your fingers, pencils, toothpicks, etc. 
Thank you for learning the letter 'Y' with us!  Be sure to check back next week for the last lesson in my ABC Lesson series, 'Z' is for Zebra.  If you have missed a previous week, you can find it by clicking on the ABC Lesson Plans tab at the top of my blog.  

Pork Chops Milanese

In all honesty, I am generally not a huge fan of pork, unless it is is the form of bacon or the occasional slice of ham.  But I LOVE these pork chops!  I serve them with some pasta and a lemon garlic sauce, but a red sauce also works well with them.  And if you cook up a big batch of them, they freeze and reheat really well.  I just stick them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 until they are thoroughly heated up, usually about 10 to 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
6 boneless pork chops--pounded to about 1/3 inch thick
1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Directions:
Combine breadcrumbs and cheese. 
In a separate bowl, beat eggs.
Salt and pepper the pork chops.
Dip the pork chops one at a time into the egg and then into the breadcrumbs. 
Heat oil (about a 1/4 cup or so) in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. 
Cook each side of the pork chops to a nice golden brown--about 3 minutes a side.
Serve with sauce and pasta.     

Just toss a salad and toast some garlic bread, and you've got a great meal!  I usually make a home made pasta sauce with lemon, garlic, and some white wine to go with this.  Ha ha and if The Hubbs would eat capers, I would throw in some of those too.  Yummy!!  I hope your family loves this as much as we do!
     

'X' is For Xylaphone

Whew, I think we are all finally over the flu now--thank goodness!  Poor Jay took it the hardest, and was literally sick for over two weeks.  Ugh!  So we are more than ready to get back to our normal routine!!  So let's get out our Xylophones and get ready to learn the letter 'X'! 

This week we will cover:
The letter 'X'
'X' is for Xylophone
The number 24
Ovals
The color Purple
On and Off

Monday: The Letter 'X'
-color a Letter 'X' coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, this, this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Letter 'X' on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Purple construction paper and hang it on the wall
-make a set of Letter 'X' memory cards (one with a Letter 'X' on it, and the other with a picture of a Xylophone on it)
-go through the Letter 'X' section of Starfall
-work this fun online X-Ray puzzle
-Painted 'X' (put painter's tape onto a piece of white paper in the shape of an 'X' and then let your kiddo paint the paper.  When the paint is dry, take the painter's take off and reveal the white letter 'X' left on the paper)
-'X' marks the spot (draw a very simple map for your kiddo of a place they are familiar with, like your yard or living room.  Hide a prize somewhere in the area you mapped out, and draw a Purple 'X' in the corresponding spot on the map.  Then have your kiddo go on a treasure hunt to find their prize!  The prize can be a piece of candy, a new book, or anything you feel like using.)
-play a good old fashioned game of Tic Tac Toe

Tuesday: 'X' is for Xylophone
-color a Xylophone coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this and this
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Purple construction paper and hang it on the wall
-print and put together a Xylophone (Print Page 1, Page 2, and Page 3)
-play Xylophone Musical Chairs (play musical chairs, but use a Xylophone for the music)

Wednesday:  Music Fun Day
 -find a fun museum or local restaurant where you and your kiddo can go to enjoy some live music together.  -or take your iPod to the park and listen to music while you have a picnic. 
Whatever you do today, just have fun!!

Thursday: The Number 24
-color a Number 24 coloring page
-while you are coloring, watch this, and this
-have your kiddo trace the Number 24 on their coloring page with their finger
-glue your coloring page to a piece of Purple construction paper and hang it on the wall
-24 footsteps (draw a line with sidewalk chalk on your driveway or sidewalk. Start on the line and take 24 steps. Draw another line where you ended. You can even use different colors for different people to see who takes the biggest or smallest steps!)

-make a bunch of grapes (cut out 24 different sized circles from purple construction paper. Use glue to turn them into a grape bunch!)
Friday:  The Color Purple
-watch this
-put some red paint and some blue paint into a clear Ziploc bag.  Then have your kiddo squish all the paint around to mix the colors.  Paint a pretty picture using your new purple paint. 
-eat a purple snack (use things like grape juice, grapes, grape jelly, olives, purple potatoes, eggplant, yogurt etc)
-make Kool-Aid art (sprinkle some grape Kool-Aid powder onto a piece of white paper.  Use a spray bottle to lightly spray the powder.  When it dries you will have some pretty interesting artwork--and it will smell yummy too!)
-Use food coloring to make red and blue ice cubes.  Add them to a glass of water to see what color the ater turns!  (you need to use quite a bit of food coloring in the ice cubes for the water to turn a bright Purple)


Thank you for learning the letter 'X' with us!!  If you have missed a previous week, you can find it by clicking on the ABC Lesson Plans tab at the top of my blog.  And I hope you will join us next week for 'Y' is for YoYo!

Easy Peasy Pizza Bagels

We love pizza, but delivery isn't always in our budget. This is a fun way to have pizza, and the best part is, that everyone can customize their own!

Ingredients:
6 bagels halved--or however many you need for your family
2 cups prepared spaghetti or pizza sauce
12 slices or provolone cheese--or one for each bagel half
Shredded mozzarella cheese--to taste
Toppings like sliced pepperoni, mushrooms, sliced olives, hamburger meat, onions, bell peppers, etc

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Place bagel halves cut side up on cookie sheets
Place a thin layer of sauce on each bagel half
Put one slice of provolone cheese on top of the sauce--If you are using pepperoni, I like to cover the hole of the bagel with a slice of pepperoni and then put my slice of provolone cheese on
Add toppings of your choice
Top with some shredded mozzarella cheese
Bake until cheese is melted and bagels are heated through--about 8 minutes
Let them cool a few minutes, and enjoy!

I like to make these for a fast and easy lunch!  I have also made them with English muffin halves or some of my English muffin bread, and they are still good.  You can even keep the leftover toppings in a bag in the freezer and then just pull them out when you need them. :0)  Jay loves to help me make them, and is always excited to make his own pizza!  These would even be a great lunch for a play date!  The kiddos, and mommies, can all make their own pizza for lunch.  Yummy!