100th day of school

Today is our 100th day of school and we are doing all kinds of fun things.
Here is a poem
100 days of learning,
100 days of fun,
100 day to work and play,
Aren't I the lucky one!


To start things off we did the following
100 exercises

named 10 things that would fit in a cup, 10 things in a grocery bag, 10 number sentences with 100 as the answer, 10 things you can do in 100 seconds and 10 things that add up to $100, 10 things that fit in a pencil box, roll the dice 10 times and show the results, 10 favorite toys, 10 kinds words we can say to others, 10 favorite snacks

We also used 100 cheerios in a project and told what we would do if someone gave us $100 bill. Kylan said he would give it to the church and Makenzie said she would give it to someone in need of food. I was proud of both of them!

We also had more 100 day activities and for more ideas click here!

Flashback Friday

Kylan helping with the snowman

The kids were trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues!Makenzie making a snow angel!

This was the first snow Jan. 2005. Last week I posted a really cute pic and then realized that Melinda has a theme going on with her Flashback Fridays so I changed the photo to go with the theme. Check out Bloggin it from the Burbs by clicking on the button below.

I ♥ Faces

Through a friends blog I found I heart faces and since I love to take photos I decided to start posting every week. This is one of my all time favorite photos of Makenzie. I took it the day before I left for South Korea to go pick up her little brother Kylan and I was experimenting with black and white film at that time.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Today we are learning about MLK Jr. and we are also talking about the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. For lots of info and fun ideas about Obama click here and for MLK Jr. ideas click here and here.

Crafty Crow

One of my favorite craft blogs is the Crafty Crow because she has SO many fabulous ideas and on Mondays she does a giveaway so check her out and start crafting!

Scrubbing bubbles automatic shower cleaner- ANSWERS

I had some comments that were actually questions so hopefully I can answer them for you.

Do you let it spray the cleaner all over your shower stuff...like scrubbie-spongies and washcloths and hair products? i've always wondered that...

I do let it spray over my shampoo, conditioner, etc. but I make sure they are all closed and nothing can get inside them, I also use body wash but my husband uses a bar of soap and I put it up above the sprayer so it can't get the cleaner on it and that's were I keep my scrubbies and sponges too.

I want to know the answer to A's question too? What about the soap scum on the acrylic (fake glas) door? What about the mildew/mold?

I have not had any problems with soap scum on the glass door it has been sparkling clean and I LOVE that because I had been scrubbing and scrubbing that thing. Yes, I do still have to use a mildew product but not as often as I did before.

If you have any more questions please let me know!

Dyson DC 41 Animal

Info from the Dyson website.

Dyson DC41 Animal is engineered for outstanding cleaning performance and ease of use. It has the strongest suction at the cleaner head, which automatically self-adjusts for different carpet heights and hard floors.

DC41 Animal has Dyson’s latest Radial Root Cyclone™ technology, with remodeled airflows to maximize suction power. Ball™ technology provides smoother steering and easier access to difficult places. There’s also a Mini turbine head for pet hair.

I have found the ULTIMATE vacuum! My husband is such a great guy, he's been listening to me talk about this Dyson vacuum for months and months and months. So, one day during December he comes home and tells me that he has found THE VACUUM on sale and that we are going to buy it that afternoon! I was so excited but decided to wait and try it out for a month before I review it on my blog. Well, I give it 5 out of 5 stars! I love everything about it. We chose the DC 41 Animal since we happen to have a dog that sheds. After I finish vacuuming it's like a small dog lives in the canister because it pulls that much dog hair out of our carpet...it's so amazing!  I also love the ease of just pushing a button and all of the waste is dumped into the trash can, no messy bags or reaching into pull out my canister.  It's pretty awesome!

It has a lifetime washable HEPA filter so I don't have to buy filters anymore that's a big plus!

It has the ball technology so it swivels and turns and is so easy to maneuver. If you have any questions leave me a comment and I will get back to you. We did get this one on sale and would recommend searching for a sale because they are on the pricey side but well worth the money spent! I believe the suggested retail value is between $500-599.

Scrubbing bubbles automatic shower cleaner

Several months ago I purchased the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower cleaner and have tested it out and decided that I LOVE it. It really does save me a ton of time cleaning our shower. For some reason my kids use our shower even though they have one upstairs they still continue to use ours and so it gets dirty really quickly and I was scrubbing it out every other day so that it would stay clean. This was too much work since we are such a super busy family so I saw the TV commercial for the Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaner and decided to go ahead and give it a try and see how it worked and if it saved me time then it would be totally worth it! Well, it does save me time and works like a dream. All I did was scrub the shower out then hung it on the shower head and after I take a shower everyday I push 1 little button and it sprays out the cleaning solution and the next day when I take a shower it's STILL clean and has been for the past 3 months with NO scrubbing! If you've used this product leave a comment and let me know how you like it and if you've found something that helps around the house and is an amazing product then please let me know!

Flashback Fridays

I have been wanting to try and remember to post a Flashback Friday but I always forget beause Fridays have been very busy for us last semester but we cut back on some activities and this semester we will have some free time of Fridays. With the help of Melinda from Bloggin' It From the Burbs I will hopefully remember to post! She has Mr Linky set up so you can see other Flashback Fridays too!

These were taken Dec 10th 2003. Makenzie was 3 and Kylan was 2! They were so tiny back then and it was Kylan's first time to play in the snow at least in the USA (not sure about Korea).

Ooblek and glurch

Notice the really nice fall tablecloth that we are playing on! LOL!! It's plastic so it's easy cleanup for this type of stuff! This is the glurch. We use balls, rolling pins, butter knives, cookie cutters and cups to play with it!

Ooblek in the liquid form

Today the kids and I had fun with science. We made ooblek and glurch and it was messy, crazy fun! They had so much fun and it's super simple to make and to clean up.

The ooblek is from Dr Suess so we went to the library and we got some Dr Suess books but especially Bartholomew and the Ooblek. Then, we discussed matter and the way it can change click here for a unit lesson but in this lesson they call ooblek gooyuck.

With the ooblek we watched it go through a funnel, a strainer and become so hard that it was like a ball and then it starts to liquify in seconds and drip through your hands. Kylan said it was like "magic".

The glurch is kind of like a cross between silly putty and play dough and my kids just LOVE it...plus it's much easier to clean up then play dough.

Here are the recipes for both of them

Ooblek recipe:

2 cups water
2 boxes cornstarch
food coloring

Pour the water into a bowl. Add food coloring to the water, if you like. Add cornstarch to the water and mix until it becomes very thick. You will know when you have gooyuck! This ratio is about 2:1.

Glurch recipe

Solution 1

Water
White Glue
Food coloring

Mix the water and white glue together in equal proportions. For a big batch, use two cups of each. Add food coloring if you like.

Solution 2

Water
Sodium Borate (Borax)

Use the same amount of liquid that you used for Solution 1. If you used 2 cups of water and 2 cups of glue, use 4 cups of water for this solution. Pour in the Borax until you have a saturated solution.

Mix the solutions together and a mass will form. Remove it from the solution and knead it until it is of uniform consistency.

Harlem Globetrotters

Kevin's parents got Makenzie and Kylan tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters and Kevin and I got Gigi a ticket as a Christmas gift. So, last Sat. night we went to the game. It was so much fun! No one in our family had been before and we really enjoyed it, Kevin's parents and Gigi had been before and knew what to expect but they still had a great time! Kevin took the kids down right before the game was over and bought them each a basketball and then he took them and got them signed by 3 players and the coach. What a great momento of the game and it was a night that we won't forget for a very long time!

Ice skating fun!

Makenzie and Kylan went ice skating with some homeschool friends. This was their very first time to ice skate and I was so proud of both of them. Kylan only made it one time around the rink BUT he conquered his fear of skating which was a great start for 2009!

Dislocated shoulder

Just wanted to let everyone know the reason I haven't been posting is because I dislocated my shoulder and now I'm in a sling. Let me tell you this hurt so bad and when he finally put it back in place I thought I was going to pass out but it's slowly getting better everyday. I am so thankful to the ladies in my small group for bringing meals over and helping me out! Thanks ladies I appreciate you!!!

This wasn't quite the way I wanted to start out the new year but I'm praying that it will get better from here!

New Years Eve game night

We have a tradition of holding a game night for family and friends on New Years Eve and also several times throughout the year. This year due to many kiddos being ill we didn't have a large turnout but that's OK we still had a great time. We formed a band and played Rock Band for the Wii for a while. My friend Cathy brought the game Fill or Bust and it was so much FUN! Everyone that was here has now bought the game and we have played it almost every day since the party. What did you do for New Years Eve? Kevin started it off with a big BANG he shot of a 250 shot missile and it was VERY loud. I kept thinking our poor neighbors until I realized that a bunch of them were letting off fireworks also!

Sausage souffle recipe

I wish I had a better photo because it does taste MUCH better then it looks!

I posted a picture of the breakfast sausage souffle that is our traditional Christmas morning breakfast and I've had a couple of requests for the recipe. For me it's super simple because I make it the day before and it just sits in the fridge until I am ready to pop it in the oven on Christmas morning. You can make some simple adjustments to the recipe and it still tastes great! My mom can't have any type of pork so I used turkey sausage this year and it still was so yummy, if you don't like mushrooms you can just take that out of the recipe and if you don't like swiss you can exchange it for another type of cheese...they all taste great! Let me know if you try it and how your family likes it!



While everyone is unwrapping their gifts the smell coming from the kitchen is tantalizing.



1¼ hours 15 min prep

SERVES 8

1 lb sausage, cooked and drained
6-8 slices white bread, cubed and no crust
1 cup swiss cheese, shredded
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
5 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 (3 ounce) can chopped mushrooms, drained
salt and pepper
Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
Arrange bread cubes in pan, put sausage over bread.
Mix remaining ingredients and pour over sausage.
Cover and refrigerate over night.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour or until golden brown and the center is no longer wiggly.

Nifty little decorators

We love to decorate cookies, cupcakes, etc. but it's been really hard for the kids to decorate because their tiny, little hands can't manipulate the decorating bags or the easy accent decorator but I found these cute little decorator bottles from Pampered Chef and they were so easy for the kids to use! Here is Makenzie working her magic on the cookies ; )

Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!