GO APE

I am thinking my 10 years of playing Go Fish might have come to an end. We are a game playing family and they all have loved Go Fish(it is one of those do you want to play a game and you ask really already knowing the answer). I have played I am sure 100's of games of Go Fish and they love to play it over and over but sometimes even the best of moms need to do something different. I think I have it with game:



It is the same concept of matching(taking turns) as Go Fish but instead of asking for a color of card you "ape" what is on the card to ask for it!!! HILARIOUS!!! We giggle the whole game!

Would you like some silicon with that?

Yes Yes Pam has silicon in it along with other cooking sprays..no wonder nothing sticks!!!!!


The alternative I have used for several years is this lovely invention:

You add your own oil to it and you pump it and it works just as great as a spray can minus the silicon!!!!

SPRING BREAK 2010

Not one picture....I am usually the picture taking queen but I decided this Spring Break not to take any pictures and instead just enjoy the moments with my children instead of being the one trying to capture the moments of my children on film.

We indeed had fun starting on Monday with we are doing nothing today and that is just what we did nothing..we didn't dress, cook, clean. We hung out and just existed amongst each other and it was fabulous!

Tuesday was our spring cleaning day and if all helped in this they were rewarded with a movie they love to watch and its sequel(which had not been seen before) and with wonderful attitudes spring cleaning of their rooms was completed quickly!!!

Wednesday was shopping and Chuckie Cheese day and that is all that needs to be said except WE HAD A BLAST!!!

Thursday was visiting the butterflies with Granny(and Christian worked at Grandma's) lunch out, followed by dentist appts( a quick note *never schedule appts without your planner thus the dentisit visits over Spring Break)and for Dinner Macaroni Madness-Yes it is Thursday no cooking for me!!!!

Friday we were off to Tawas to spend the day with my sister and her family and all had such a good time-and I got to hold a baby all day!!! We then left there and went to Turtle Cove for pizza, boating, and other lakeside fun!

I am grateful for the week with my children and sad to see it come to an end, but we are closer to summer vacation than ever and am so glad it is right around the corner!!!

TWINS DAY 2010

It is funny I think they could be twins!!!!!!

WACKY HAIR DAY 2010

I will say there were a few tears at the new do but by the time it was going to school time he realized it would be fun and it was only for the day! He is definately a clean cut boy and this is not him at all but I think he is going to have a fun day with is "wacky" hair!

Water Table Fun

The water table(you can also use dishpans) has been my most favorite purchase since deciding to do preschool at home. It has so many uses and I use it all year. Here are a couple of the ideas so far this year:

SNOW

I found this fake snow and added some polar animals and a bucket and scoop for some snow fun!


What is at the end of rainbow?

I found these 2 buckets at Michaels last year(75% off) and the 2 different colored coins as well. My preschoolers find the coins in the rainbow colored rice and sort them between the 2 buckets using tongs. They can also count the coins too! I reuse the rice throughout spring time so I will share more ideas later!

To make the rice you take 2 cups rice, 1 tsp rubbing alcohol(this makes it dry fast and not sticky), and 5 drops food coloring. Mix it together and let it dry on newspaper. Repeat for as many colors as you like. HINT: Once dry the colors don't rub off on anything

For more of my preschool ideas you can go to my preschool blog at jewelspreschool.blogspot.com

St. Patrick's Day

For $8.00 I bought the following items: 3 bags green gems(different shapes), a 4 pack of candles, 3 glass vases, a 9 square shelf. I also used some scrap wood from another project.


TIC TAC TOE


I removed the hangers off of the shelf, my daughter and I painted it white and added 2 different color gems. Let the games begin, once dry of course!

St. Patricks Day Centerpiece


I painted the board white(2 coats) and once dry I hot glued on the gems to look like clovers on the edges(I first intended it to be a sign of some sort but I like it like this and at a later date it could become a sign). With the remaining gems Julianna distributed them evenly between the vases and then added candles. Put the finished vases in the center and tada all ready for the table!

Movie Night

Most of our Friday nights are Pizza and Movie nights. When each child's room is clean they will receive one of these:



Now how many of these tickets in their bag is determined by behavior all week:



There are free options:



but really this is what they look forward to the most(using their admission bag to put their treats in):


(popcorn containers Michaels for $1.00)

Kids Say:

Jensen you are too cute...his response, "No I am just a little too cute"


We went out to build a burger night at the club and when we were ordering we were helping all the kids order the burgers doneness and they were ordering them medium well....as we are eating one of the kids said, "I should have ordered a small instead of a medium!" (the burgers were as big as their little faces)

I was picking up the kids from school after the 1st really warm day and apperently the sewer couldn't take all the melting snow(the smell was horrific). As Julianna exited the classroom to the wonderful outdoors she says, "Mom you smell like a farm!" Oh how fun to explain it wasn't myself but the playground that smelled like a farm!

Just Say No to Drugs and Yes to This Book!

If you want to open the door to you children about a tough topic(drugs) do I have a book for you. What makes it even more amazing is the author is 17.

A New Favorite

This new product from Crayola is a gem!!! No more worrying about spilt water or mucky paint trays!!!

Reduce, Reuse, Inspire!!!

I washed and saved container lids....


......went through old Friend magazines and found pictures of Jesus....


......cut out the pictures in shapes of circles(I found a circle shape object that fit in the inside circle of the lids and used that as a template) and glued them in the lid. I then took a hole punch and went around the edges.....

Great Sunday lacing fun for your little ones!!!

Super Snugglers

These 2 from the minute they were born were my little snugglers. I am so glad they have each other and that I have the opportunity to be their mom, I love my snuggle bugs!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!

First let's start off with Wacky Wednesday...were all the kids dressed well wacky!!!!
Here he is all wacky...the pants had a hole in the knee and they were perfect for cutting off, then I cut the sleeve off his shirt, he even wore one short sock and one long one(not pictured), and I parted his hair on the opposite side I normally do to give on side a shorter look and the other longer(I tried to convince him to let me shave it but that was a no go).


Due to fever David missed the rest of Dr. Seuss week including tomorrow but I decided I would still bring in these for his classmates:



Needed:
Oreo
Marshmallows
White frosting
Cherry Twizzler Pull and Peel

Frost the top of the oreo
Pull a strand of the Twizzler off and set one end on top
Place a marshmallow on the top
Put frosting on top of it and add another marshmallow
Wrap the twizzler around the hat and adhere with frosting

Tada Cat in the Hat hats!!!!!

WIRES-need I say more

This is the amount of wires coming down from the top of my desk (this doesn't include my printer or computer wires and the wires are already taped together). I would have loved to show you the craziness on the floor under my desk before but I didn't think about posting it until after it was done and to redo this was not going to happen!


I had been looking for a basket to put all of my wires in and was not finding what I was looking for. I had 2 requirments- a lid and handle openings on the sides. I happend to going into our local Salvation Army just browsing around and found this box which met both of my requirments. It was a little beat up but it was going to hold wires under a desk and for under $2 I was not going to argue and it was the perfect size and structurally sound.


You fed the wires through the hole and hide all the unsightly wires and other electronic stuff inthe box.


No more getting my foot or chair leg tangled in wires and as an added bonus my priner fits perfectly onthe top!