Toxin-free playtime!

My kids love play-do. Love, love, love it! As for me, I could pass-it gets smooshed into everything and I'm always picking up little bits of playdo within a 10 foot radius of where they used it. But since they do love it so much, I keep several containers in the house. At least a couple times a week we pull it out for some messy playtime. My 2 yo not only thinks playdo is a fun toy, but also makes a great mid-afternoon snack. The minute I pull it out, he doesn't start building, but starts eating. He's very mannerly, though, dividing it up into small little pieces before chowing down. A little weird? Maybe. Fortunately, we live in a day and age where everything is non-toxic. Crayons, play-do, bubbles...you name it-it may taste yucky, but at least you can avoid a trip to the emergency room. How on earth did so many people make it to adulthood before all these safety measures? I've seen my babies sip on bubbles like they're chocolate milk and snack on crayons like they're candy. I certainly don't encourage it, but at least I can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the worst thing that will happen is that they may have an upset tummy or some funny colored teeth. Here's to both some fun...and safe...playtime!

(My little snacker)

Bake sale!

My 10 yo daughter is saving up for something very special...an American Girl doll. If you've ever seen these dolls, they are beautiful, but also very, very expensive! $114 expensive (actually $128 with shipping) , to be exact. Given that she doesn't have that kind of money laying around, and Mom and Dad weren't going to pony up that kind of cash, she decided to get creative and earn it herself! Her idea was to hold a bake sale in front of our house, selling yummy homemade goodies. Well, Saturday was the day! After baking tons during the week, here was the spread. Fudge brownies (our biggest seller!), rice krispie treats, Reese's peanut butter cup cookies....


Confetti cookies, M and M cookies, and chocolate chip (whew!). All wrapped in packages of 3 and ready to sell!

She set out plates with free samples for potential customers (though I think most of the neighbor kids ended up eating them-oops!)

Here she is in charge of the table! She was very successful in her sale, due to very generous neighbors and friends that apparently love sweet things! :-)

Overall, she earned about half what was needed for her doll-I'm so proud-all her hard work paid off! She even decided to donate 10% of her earnings to church for the missionaries-an even better cause than the American Girl doll. The only problem now? ALL my kids want to do a bake sale after seeing how well this one went. I told them to talk to me in another 6 months!

A long absence

Yes, it's been awhile..weeks in fact, since I've been updating this blog at all. So why the absence? Many of you know, it's been for a very, very good reason..........

That is my 15 yo son, recovering after being hit by a car while riding his bike 2 weeks ago. It's an event I hope no other parent has to go through. There are so many emotions we've dealt with through all of this, from fear to thankfulness, but I can truly say that his sitting on the couch in this picture is nothing short of a miracle. The doctors may not be able to explain it, but I know God can! He has a long road to recovery, but is taking it one day at a time. Thankfully, he has improved tremendously over these past 2 weeks, and I expect that he will continue on that course for the duration. Life is precious-I always knew that-but wow, something like this sure makes that a reality.

Scout awards

Last nite was the Court of honor for my 12 yo son's Boy scout troop. It is held several times a year and is when they hand out all the awards the boys have earned. I was so proud of him for earning 2 merit badges in fishing and rifle shooting and also an award for attending summer camp. He had such a fun time and really worked hard-his badges were well earned! Here is a picture of him and some of the boys in his troop. He is the one in the front in the ballcap. The lighting was very bad, so it was hard to get a good picture!

Spelling bee

My 9 yo saw an ad in the paper for a spelling bee at Macy's here in Houston. I guess they hold one every year and send the winners to New York to compete with other winners. Convinced she was going to come out on top, we packed up and drove over an hour to the store-having it at the one that was nearby us would have been too convenient! After getting lost for about 15 minutes, we made it just in time. Signed her in and got a number...


Here are all the kids lining up, getting ready to spell!


Here she is in the competition, up on the stage in front of everyone!

Though she didn't win, I was so proud of her for trying. It's not easy to get up in front of a crowd of people. She did receive some nice participation prizes, including a horse book and a backpack-she was happy. Actually, I think we left just in time. As we were packing up, they brought up the teen dancers doing a dance routine to a Justin Beiber song. Sorry....just not a fan!

Little Gunslinger

My 6 yo had the rare opportunity last nite to spend a Walmart gift card he received for his birthday last month. Trolling the toy aisles, he came across the amall cowboy section and his eyes just lit up. Amazingly, the belt and revolver set he wanted were just the amount that he had-perfect! When we got home, he wasted no time in putting them on. Unfortunately, the cheap belt that came with it broke in about 2 minutes, so Dad had the great idea to use a regular and much more durable belt for the holsters. While putting them on, Dad heard him whisper, "Now I'm a weel cowboy!" Yep, a true gunslinger. Today was full of "Put your hands up!" and "I shot you-you're dead!" We've got one happy little cowboy......who can put a price on that?

Birds

The younger ones have been learning about birds in science. Besides reading tons about how they fly and the many different kinds, we had a few fun hands-on activities to do, too. They made a bird feeder, using a soda bottle. It now graces our tree in the front yard and we're sure it will attract many visitors soon, once they realize it is there!


We also made a fun snack-birds' nests. It's made from Chinese noodles (those crunchy ones), melted chocolate and peanut butter, and coconut. Just mix together and plop down in the shape of a bird nest. We added some mini marshmallows to look like eggs. They don't look all that great in the picture, but they tasted pretty yummy!



Though it's not a bird, we discovered this pretty butterfly in our yard. I'm not quite sure what it was doing, but it kept hanging out right by us. I was able to pick it up when it had its wings closed so the kids could all take a closer look at it. Pretty cool!

God made some amazing creatures and we've enjoyed learning about them!