Said Momma Saturday

It was just me and the Ladybug today.  So these are the things that we did: 

We did some jelly bean sorting.  She really liked this and kept asking for more beans.  When I told her were going to do a project with jelly beans, she asked "Beans made out of jelly?"  We eat a lot of kidney, black, and garbanzo beans around here.  I found this and other ideas for small motor and cognitive development activities from Hands On: As We Grow.

 

We also tried to make a bracelet out of jelly beans.  (I found an old package from the spring in the pantry).  I had difficulty getting the needle through the beans.  So I had Ladybug hand me beans and tell me the name of the colors.  I found this idea over here at A Thrify Mom.

 

We also made these bird treats.  Loki had made them a few weeks ago so Ladybug and I thought we should give it a try.  Was a very easy project.  It involved a lot of spooning the seed mixture into the cookie cutter, which is a good 2 yro activity.  I think we might make these as Christmas gifts.  I am going to put one out to see if the birds fancy it.  I found this activity over at eighteen 25.

 

We also took a walk to the playground.  Ladybug seemed to enjoy the swings which she has not wanted to really try in the past.  It was a great, busy day.  Picking up the Loki from Bubbe's house today.  May catch a movie with the girls. 

 

Finally, here is Selkie!

 

 

HAPPY ELECTION DAY!!!

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy election day! My little family worked hard on the campaign but not nearly as much as others. I am especially proud of my mom who works hard on every campaign.  It was a really good experience for us to learn about the process but also meet different types of people that live in our neighborhood. I feel really positive that now we can move forward with hard work to make change for ourselves and our community.

So we had to do a little something for today.

So we had some election outfits:

 

 

 

We also had some election treats.  Anna decorated some pumpkin muffins.

Anna followed along with the poll results on this map:

And here is a Selkie picture.  Not sure what her thoughts are about the campaign.  I hope to have a meaningful conversation with her on Sunday.  I am also sending out a prayer for K and N to come home safely.

 

Best Halloween Ever

Right now the key phrase in our house is "best ever."  That is the Ladybug's favorite expression.  Yesterday she told me I was not the best ever when she was sent to time out.  So today was the BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!

Of course, I tried a new recipe!  As part of our post trick-or-treating Halloween feast, we had chocolate fondue.  I was intimidated.  So I found the easiest recipe on the web here.  We used marshmallows and balls of frozen chocolate cookie dough for dippers.  Crazy good. 

We watched Vampire Dog.  I recommend this movie highly because both my girls were totally into it. 

Katniss from Hunger Games

 

A princess

And of course, Selkie!

Catch you later!

Jenny

Homemade Chicken Soup For Slackers

Yup.  Homemade chicken soup for slackers.  Because I needed a quick-n-dirty recipe for soup.  I truly believe that chicken soup can cure the world.  I have threatened to make my kids eat chicken soup weekly to stave off illness.  After recovering from a terrible cold that hit me and the Ladybug, I think I will consider making good on that threat this year.

So here it is:

Ingredients:
-  1 can chicken broth
-  2 frozen/fresh chicken breasts
-  noodles, cooked
-  frozen peas or any other randome frozen veggies

What You Do:
-  Put the chicken broth and 2 cans of water in large pot.
-  Put checken breast in broth/water and heat on medium heat until bubbling.
-  Turn down heat to med low, like 3. 
-  Let cook for approximately 20 minutes.  Chicken is done when cooked through and tender. 
-  Add noodles and peas.
-  Cook another 5 minutes.

-  Done.  Return to the couch to watch cartoons.

This Weekend

Our goal numero uno was getting everyone back on their feet.  Ladybug was sick with asthma.  But she mended and we were finally able to go on an outing to the library and the playground on Sunday.

So what did we do, stuck at home as we were?

We tried a pin for slime/flubber.  We started dissolving an egg in vinegar and read some interesting info on that chemical reaction as well as osmosis and such.  We made treats for the birds too.  Finally we finished Sunday with a big bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, the slacker version.  All full descriptions and pics to come later on this week.


We also made play dough from strawberry jello.  This was totally brillant.  The color is pretty.  The smell is wonderful, not that weird salt or chemical smell.  It was very soft and pliable.  I even mixed in some glitter because what else goes with pink?  You can find it here:

Ok, and here is today's Selkie pic.  She was feeling a bit arty today.  A little film noir, if you will. 

Jenny

Fire & Ice

I am actually going to start with the ice part.  My sister is actually iced in at Palmer Station, Antartica.  She was supposed to be home at the end of October but the boat that came to get got stuck.  Wow, right?  She will have to be there an extra 30 days!  So, I am not sure if she will be able to read my blog a lot because she has limited internet time but I am going to try to post almost everyday to give her a glimpse of what we are doing back here in Iowa. 

Okay, for the fire part.  I made "Girl on Fire" nails for Loki to go with her Katniss costume.  She is still obsessed with all things Hunger Games.  When Ladybug saw the nails she said, "Oh.  Pretty nails.  Let me see.  Let is shine!" 

I have always looked at those super fancy nails on Pinterest and thought no flippin' way.  But these were super easy! 

-  I painted 3/4ths of the nail black
-  Then I added orange to the top 1/4th
-  I then painted yellow flames over the tops
(I let each color dry between coats).

There you go - GIRL ON FIRE NAILS!  LET IT SHINE!

 

This is my sister's dog.  We miss you, K! 

Till Next Time - See You On the Flip Side! 

Jenny

Bagel Sandwiches - Super Yum!

I saw some different types of breakfast sandwiches on the web.  I decided to give it a try.  Any way to make a hot breakfast easy in the morning.  We are generally not good in the morning.  So this seemed ideal. 

I started here:   http://www.macheesmo.com/2010/03/breakfast-sandwiches/ 

(I really liked his tutorial!  Pictures are great and he is funny.)

But I used bagels instead of English muffins.  It worked well for us.  I also used sliced cheese instead of shredded.  We did not add anything to the eggs this time but would next time.  This is the final product:

This was a total success! 

Till later,

Jenny