More bangs

Sammie’s hair grows really fast so we decided to go a different route with bangs so they actually do their job keeping the sun off her scar.  She looks so different! 

Christmas in July

Yesterday was July 25th or in other words Christmas in July around here.  I dug out this wrinkled snowman table cloth for the day and I am doing this idea from sew many ways to make a gift on the 25th every month until Christmas.  That way you have time to help kids make fun teacher gifts, friend gifts, and others without stressing out the month of December.

I can’t tell you what I made because someone who reads this blog might get something, but I had fun!  This table cloth is coming out every 25th until Christmas Day.  Maybe I’ll make Christmas cookies next month to eat while we craft. 

 

Poor guys

Yesterday I heard Tyler playing “wrestler/power rangers” by himself and wondered who he was playing with with so much excitement.  It was these poor guys.  I thought it was funny how they were positioned.  Worn out and trying to nap I’d say. 

These giant animals are actually Spencer’s and he quickly confiscated them back for his room where they belong.  I never liked my brother playing/abusing my animals either.

Captain Tyler

Sammie is such a great sister.  Tyler has gotten in to Captain America lately and wanted a shield just like the Captain so Sammie made him this out of cardboard.  How fun is this?

Do you know the muffin man?

This morning I got the baking bug.  It’s cooler- relatively speaking- still in the 90’s, but I cranked down the AC a bit and got to making muffins. 

It’s my go to snack in the winter when I’m trying to stretch a grocery trip for breakfasts and lunches, but I typically avoid baking in July.  The house smells wonderful though so it was worth a little heat while they were baking.

I figured I’d freeze a bunch of these for later in the summer as well.  I did that recently with pancakes and it worked really well.

I made like 90 muffins.  It’s super easy though and they only take 15 minutes to bake the big ones and about 8 to bake the little ones so it goes pretty fast.  I was done in just over an hour.

 

These are the varieties and my reviews:

Apricot Jam- Wonderful!  My new favorite!

Peach with Grapenuts- OK, not a big peach fan, but the Grapenuts make this one tolerable for me.  I had a can of peaches I wanted to use and the kids seem to like them.  I bet they’d be a ton better with fresh peaches and if I ground them in the blender first. 

Cinnamon Grapenuts- Wonderful and good for you too!

Oatmeal- My old favorite- still pretty up there. 

Raspberry- I think I’ve tried raspberry in muffins before and was disappointed and I am again.  I need to remember that they just don’t set up that well and are a little too sweet with the applesauce egg supplement.

Samurai Tyler

Tyler got a sword from the dollar tree.  It makes a really annoying sound that has made him loose sword privileges in the car at the moment.  If you’ve ever played Speed Slice on the Wii- those are the swords it sounds like.  Imagine that over and over and over…

He looks cute trying to look scary anyway:

Not sure what this last move is supposed to be.  Cutest ninja I’ve ever seen. 

Project Shower Curtain

The shower curtain in the kids/public bathroom in our house decided to shred when I ran it through the wash. I had just washed another one and thought it would work a second time. Boy was I wrong! Not all shower curtains are created equal I guess.

Rather than go out and buy another shower curtain that I really didn’t like that well I had this idea.

Here it is mid project:

Polka Dots! It’s just a vinyl shower curtain I had already- painted with craft paint by my kids. The hardest part was deciding on the theme. The color palate was not difficult either- it’s what we had on hand. Even the neighbor girl helped out- that’s her hand on the right.

Spencer did 3 or 4 dots too!

I'll be sure not to throw this one in the washer!

Here’s the finished product hanging up:

I love it so much! Thanks kids for designing my shower curtain! The print on the wall is an art piece Sammie did in 2nd grade. I love how both items brighten up this little bathroom and go so well with the dark red wall I love.

Captain Crunch Berry Marshmallow Balls

One of my students in my Sunday school class is moving soon and we do special treats for birthdays.  Since his b-day is in October and he will be moved by then I thought I’d do his birthday treat tomorrow. 

I had the kids tell me what their favorite treats were and all this young man said was “Anything with LOTS of sugar!” 

Well, these little guys don’t have any added sugar, but they are SUPER SWEET!  I almost couldn’t eat one (I managed though) and Thomas said No thanks.  The kids loved them though so I think they’ll be a big hit with my 12-13 year olds tomorrow!

They sure look cute.  The recipe is just the rice krispie treat recipe with captain crunch berry cereal instead.  It looked too thin in the pan so I shaped them into balls. 

Tyler was excited to try them:

Spencer actually helped me make them, but shock of shocks wouldn’t pose for a picture.  Tyler was happy to fill in.

Fail

The kids wanted to make silly putty.  Yeah.  Total fail.  They had fun playing with the waste of glue and liquid starch that is in these bowls though.  The recipe said to just combine the two ingredients.  I didn’t have liquid starch so I searched a recipe for homemade starch and made that so maybe that was my problem.  All well.  They had fun with the goo.

Spencer wouldn’t touch the stuff and I can’t say I blame him. 

Grandma’s Birthday Lunch

We met my parents and aunt in Jerseyville Illinois yesterday to celebrate my mom’s birthday.  It was so nice to see her perky and upbeat and healthy! 

No one shows as much enthusiasm as my mom opening a gift.  The kids were so excited to give it to her!

Grandpa and Tyler posing!

We made her a photo book of the kids and their summer activities at Walgreens online.  She loved it.  I think I see a birthday tradition in the works!

Here is 2 of my 3 children cooperating with a picture.  OK, so Spencer is on the way to run and probably just blocked Tyler, but is it too much to ask to get all 3 in one picture?? 

Oh, and this is the play house outside of Wal-Mart in Jerseyville. 

Spencer telling Sammie to come in.  Isn’t it cute?  They want Dad to make them one.

To each his own

Tyler came up with this treat and claimed it was wonderful.  I’ll never know because I refused the spoonful he offered me.  He was so proud of his creative genius that I had to snap a picture. 

 

Yes- that’s sour cream and onion potato chips, cool whip and chocolate syrup.  To each his own I guess. 

(FYI- someday soon I’m going to get sick of seeing the crayon colored wall behind the table and actually paint it… we’ll have to do before and after pics of that since it’s been on the agenda for 3 years!)

Sprinkler Park!

I took the kids to Creve Coeur park for the sprinklers for the first time this summer. We couldn’t believe it was already mid July and we hadn’t gone! It’s usually a once a week event, but with the heat this summer we have been little turtles as my friend Ashley likes to say.

Tyler ready to get dunked by the bucket.

Spencer couldn’t find his swim suit (which of course I found when we got back, but we were in a hurry so I just told him to wear his shorts not counting on the fact that his OCD would kick in and he wouldn’t get wet without the swim suit.) Long story short- he’ll have to go back another time to get the full effect of the park.

Tyler loved it.

One funny thing that happened was about a half hour into our park day we saw 2 school busses of kids coming so I snagged Spencer’s respite helper and told him he better grab Spencer and go to Target instead of staying because the noise level was going to go through the roof. Well, I was partly right.

It was noisy, but it was an autism day camp from Giant Steps here in St. Louis and so if anyone would have understood the meltdown that might have come it was them! Talk about making some noise though! Whew.

Sammie was in heaven trying to help all of the kids get use to the water and be courageous enough to go under the bucket. She has a special love for all kids with autism and just loved hanging out with them.

Summer of Service Update

We’ve been focusing on service this summer. 

Here’s what we have done:

- The trip to the assisted living facility for Father’s Day to deliver center pieces.

- Yard work!- Sammie learned how to mow the lawn and she even in this heat she did half of the back yard the other day!  Tyler was her assistant stick picker upper.

- The kids are doing so much better with their chores and helping each other with them.

We are planning on doing:

- We are having a yard sale and donating part of the proceeds to charity- we are in the process now of sorting through everything!

- The kids want to do a family food drive to donate food items to the food pantry near us.  Summer is especially difficult for families who rely on the free/discounted breakfast and lunch at school to feed their children during the day. 

The kids will each earn money to buy food from the store to bring to the pantry and we will get a few extra things over the next few weeks to give as well.

- We are going to walk around the neighborhood and pick up trash and also walk to Dairy Queen for a treat and pick up trash on the way.  (I keep putting this one off because of the weather… it probably will be hot anytime we do it, but we are not doing it this week for sure!)

- I also hope we can go to the assisted living home again to have Sammie play the piano for them and visit or play games, but if that doesn’t happen this summer we will do it in the fall. 

 

The goal here is that as we work together on a project and that the kids learn how important it is to see the needs of others. 

What a beautiful day

Today was like a breath of fresh air- literally.  We went to the park and enjoyed this view while the kids were playing on the playground in 80 something degree weather with their friends. 

It’s so nice to live so close to so many great parks. Creve Coeur lake is one of the best perks of St. Louis County in my opinion.

I have been trying to organize play dates this week because next week Spencer is out of summer school and will be home more and it’s difficult sometimes for him to handle having kids over a lot.

When Tyler heard that we had a play date almost every day this week he said:

“Mom that is so nice of you! You should have a mommy play date soon- you know, when you just sit around and talk?”

What can we do while we wait?

There’s an old blues clues episode about waiting that my kids loved when they were younger.  I loved it too because it taught them this game. 

Steve and Blue are waiting in many different place- grocery store line, dr. appointment, traffic etc. and the sing this song “Wait, Wait, Wait… What can we do while we wait?”

This is what we did when we were waiting for the van to be dropped off at the car shop. 

 

Did you see the movie “Penelope”?  This reminded me of her. 

Spencer thought we were all weirdos.  I did it too, but was clever enough to evade photo documentation. 

Then we saw this guy on our way out!

TOW MATER! Teeth and all!

This just made Tyler’s day!  It’s just sitting there at the entrance to the shop!  For those in STL who have Cars fans like we do it’s West County Auto Body on Lindbergh Blvd between Olive and Page on the east side of the street.  

Harry Potter

 

I am a huge fan of Harry Potter.  I re read them twice a year, love the books, the movies, the websites and now I’m tickled pink that my talented brother in law is doing HP sketches on his art blog.  He is making a great career out of his passion for comic books and comic book art and his art is amazing. 

http://www.robertatkinsart.blogspot.com/

I can’t wait until next Tuesday to see the movie.  I went on the opening Friday night last movie and was disappointed because I actually want to hear dialog so I’m giving it a few days this time.

There’s something about a man in a suit.

They stand taller.

They are more confident.

They check themselves out.

They know they look good.

We celebrated buying a new suit by getting a drink at BK and playing a while. (The suit was only $10 at Kohl’s! I love $10 off coupons that come like magic in the mail!)

Spencer was with his new respite provider getting a slushy at Sonic during our shopping trip and had a great time with him! They went to the park, watched some TV, colored and bonded.

Laura’s Crock Pot Chicken

 

I have a new recipe from my sister in law Laura- thanks again Laura!- a FABO chicken crock pot recipe that is so tasty and good I’ll probably make it every Sunday for the rest of my life. Well, at least the rest of the summer.

It is the perfect chicken for making a ton of on Sunday and using for your other chicken recipes throughout the week.  I’ll probably us it to make that chicken salad and chicken and feta bruschetta in my last post.

Another reason I love it is it has 3 ingredients.

1.  a few pounds of frozen chicken breast tenderloins- I use almost a whole bag from Aldi. Really, whatever I can cram in the crockpot.

2.  one jar whole pepperoncini peppers and a little extra water (I had to call Laura while I was at the grocery store and ask a clerk to figure out where these little beauties actually were, but they are worth the hunt)

3.  one packet of dried Italian seasoning- I get the fat free one

I usually just throw everything in the pot and that works, but I think it’d work better if you got out a bowl and mixed the seasoning mix, water and peppers and then added the chicken. I always forget.

Laura served this on buns for a shredded sandwich. I’ve also served it with pasta and in a wrap and I’m going to put it in my white chicken chili recipe when the weather is milder.

* Be sure to pick out your peppers when the chicken is done or you might have a little too much kick. Thomas likes them though.  I kept them for the pasta and just picked them out for the kids.

Recipe Hunt

I’ve been in a cooking mode lately. Some weeks it seems we eat frozen pizza and mac and cheese all week long and other weeks I’m really motivated in the kitchen. Part of my enjoyment in the kitchen comes from going on a recipe hunt for new and interesting things to make. One of my favorite things to do online is to look at food blogs and recipe websites.

I have a few recipes I’ve found over web world lately that I am looking forward to giving a try.

Chicken and Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta

Although, I always want try things with sun dried tomatoes and I’m almost always disappointed in the flavor of sun dried tomatoes. Maybe I’ll supplement regular grape tomatoes instead.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I’ll substitute the one ranch dressing on the planet that doesn’t have eggs in it for the mayo, but I think this one looks like an interesting twist on regular old chicken salad.

7 Layer Greek Dip I make a 7 layer Mexican dip now that is a family favorite. Can’t wait to try this one. I love Greek food!

I also want to try some different marinades for the grill. Here’s the top of the list. Can’t go wrong with Ina!

Chicken Marinade

One more- had to throw in something sweet! Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie!

I love this quote from that blog post from Sara on Our Best Bites

“Wait Sara, I hate nuts! My kids are allergic to nuts! I am morally opposed to nuts!” Good for you. Leave them out. We’re talking about gooey cookie dough-ish deliciousness here. Good with or without nuts people.

I have to be so careful with Sammie because of her food allergies, but I have found that I can adapt almost any recipe to be Sammie friendly. We’ll use our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and leave out the nuts. Not that I’m morally opposed to them or anything. I support the right for others to eat nuts. Just not Sammie.

Bangs

Sammie decided she wanted bangs to cover up part of her scar so she could protect it from the direct sunlight.  Her scar goes up into her hairline and that part has healed completely so this is our new plan. 

I think she looks so beautiful and even more grown up which I just can’t stand. 

“Pretend that um…”

As I sit at the computer today I have the happy sounds of children playing behind me.  It’s their favorite game that I lovingly call  “Pretend that um…”

They play with figurines and say “Pretend that Um” all afternoon. 

Here’s some of what I heard:

“Pretend that Um…

he could still move around though

that he was locked in a cage

that we are over here eating a marshmallow

that his engine was very loud so it was hard to hear

he’s laying on a marshmallow like a pillow

that he says “don’t eat my pillow!”

that this is a magic ball

Pretend that um… that didn’t happen.

that he’s sitting here and then pops up

that he moves so fast she can’t see him

that she went towards her

that he caught her

then he took a shower

then a rock came by

then he screamed because he was naked and didn’t want the rock to see him. 

Then they burst into giggles…

They literally play this for hours on end.  Sometimes they even video tape it on Sammie’s camera.   They include Spencer in their game by giving him figures to hang upside down and walk around with.  I love it that they are buddies.

First Cooking Lesson

Sammie wants to learn some cooking this summer.  We had our first “book” lesson last night when I taught her how to read a recipe. 

First on her list was the Texas Sheet Cake recipe we used for her birthday cake this year.

She did a great job.  She used the stove and the oven without hurting herself.  I call that a great first lesson!

 

We also made this in honor of 3 birthday’s today.  My dad, Thomas’ brother Robert and Thomas’ sister Sarah. (Not twins, just have the same b-day)  Happy Birthday everyone!  We can’t be with you to celebrate, but we made you a cake anyway.

4th of July 2011

We left Monday morning to go up to Jacksonville for the holiday and stayed the night with Thomas’ parents Monday night and came home Tuesday evening.

The best stuff came way before the trip home.  Starting with this beauty made by Thomas’ mom:

Yes, it’s a giant flag pie!  So clever.  So yummy.  So addicting!  The stars are from Aldi marshmallows and stars cereal.

Sammie’s 4th of July outfit.  She’s showing off her blue nails in this picture.  That shirt was a dress of mine when I was about her age.  My mom saved it because it was one of my favorites.  I think it’s funny it’s a shirt on Sammie, but it was a dress on me.   The 80’s are back!

Sammie and Grandma sporting the same color for their toes!

 

Tyler wearing his USA shirt in honor of the day.

Spencer’s shirt says “Home of the Brave”… not sure if that’s a USA shirt or a baseball themed shirt, but it was blue and white so it worked.

This is just about the cutest picture I’ve ever seen.  They love their Gma!

Thomas and me in our red, white and blue.  Gosh, you really notice the height difference when we stand together like that. 

Grandma and Grandpa’s dog Tanner.

The proud uncle of the twinners- Rebekah and Camille. 

Our fireworks group.

Spencer sure loves his gpa!

I think Spencer had just tried to put his glow stick up my dad’s nose above. 

Good one of Spencer, but caught dad in a mid smile.  All well, sorry dad!  We grab any good photo of Spencer and show the world! 

The Sander’s Women.

Tyler’s glow stick mustache. 

The elephant.

It’s really difficult to take pictures of fireworks.  We got some fun ones though. 

We thought this one looked like birds.

It was a beautiful day spent with family to celebrate our wonderful country.