From Sratch

I just heard this song on Pandora's Toddler channel...and I love it. Enjoy.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/justin-roberts/tracks/from-scratch--59270650

Caramel-Filled Stress Relief

Sigh. Another post without a photo...I'll make up for it in awhile...or perhaps the content of this post will make up for it...who knows.

After posting on another blog of a friend that I really wanted these brownies after a hard day of homeschooling, I was asked for the recipe. And just in case the commenter on that blog who says they have NEVER met a well-adjusted, well-educated homeschooled child pops over to get a copy, I invite you to visit our co-op sometime and meet the children. Or the co-op I was in in Indiana. Or my friends in Utah. Perhaps you live in a small bubble...one I will gladly pop for you. Then, afterward, come over and my well-socialized children will serve you some of these brownies, which they probably helped make because they had TIME.
Onto the recipe...

Turtle Brownies

40 Brach's caramels melted in a double-boiler with 1/3 C evaporated milk. (set this mixture aside, but keep over the hot water so it is pourable in just a moment)

Mix together:
1 chocolate cake mix (do NOT follow the directions!)
3/4 C evaporated milk
3/4 C butter (melted)
pecans (hey, we're in the South, live like it! IF you're not (I'm sorry) and you can use walnuts)
of course, all nuts are optional.

Pour 1/2 of the cake mixture into a 13x9 pan. Bake for 10 min. @ 350 degrees F.
After pulling the cake from the oven, spread caramel mixture over the top. Sprinkle with one bag of chocolate chips.

Mix the rest of the can of evaporated milk (should be about 1/2 C) with the rest of the cake batter. Pour over the chocolate chips. Bake again @ 350 for 20 min.

Let cool. This is GREAT warm with vanilla ice cream, or really chewy when cold.

Enjoy!!

Two Things of Note

First, when you make the cells out of Jello plan to eat them right away. Or else... Just imagine m&m's & gummy worms decomposing. Ewwwww.

Second, DON'T pretend that the floss container is a flip phone. How do we know this? Let's just say that a certain 2-year old came running up to me, with hair in hand yelling, "Mommy! My phone cut my hair!" Turns out that if you open the floss container near long hair, the hair will slip into the floss cutting apparatus. And when you then say, "OK, love you, bye, bye!" and snap it shut, your hair will accompany it as you pull it away from your head. The things we learn...

Making Cells out of Jello!

So, this morning started out normal, except that my kids were feeling a bit out of sorts. I thought back over the previous day and realized I had not pushed fluids enough compared to the running around they had been doing (Are your kids like mine, and FORGET to eat/drink when they get busy?) so I loaded them up with juicy fruits and glasses of water. They weren't sick or anything, but I like to prevent illness, you know? Anyhow, this led to a conversation about how our bodies are 60% water. They knew a little about how we are made up of cells and such, just from reading different books (especially the Your Body Battles series...love these!).

Well, we went around the internet looking for a good picture of an animal cell to examine, and I found this fun project! With Halloween candy coming available, I think this is the perfect time of year to make this fun treat, and learn a little along the way. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/animals/cell/jello/

Chocolate Trail Mix

Do your children tend to eat only one part of the trail mix and leave you the rest? Yeah, mine, too. I read this line in Family Fun magazine, and was impressed with their solution. I altered the recipe a little to our tastes (Zac doesn't like cranberries, so we used plain raisins*), and added some oats because--well...I wanted to. Anyhow, try it! I think you'll like the results.

Ingredients

• 3 cups nuts
  
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes

• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or cherries
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Mix together the nuts, sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, raisins, and dried cranberries or cherries. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.

2. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave. Pour the chocolate over the baking sheet in ribbons. Stir to coat everything. Let the chocolate cool, then break the mix into pieces and pack it in individual containers. Makes 12 servings.

*Photo from familyfun.com

Halloween Activity

YAY! Fall is upon us, as is the best holiday of the year. OK, well close.
I mean, you get to play with costumes and make-up and no one thinks you're crazy. Because, trust me, when you wear clown make-up to work when it's NOT October, people wonder. Especially if you work at a law library...oh...yeah. But that was years ago, and I've learned that there are appropriate times to dress up and not to--well, I kind of learned. :)

Anyhow, as an activity, we're participating in a Halloween spelling bee, and if you have kids that want to join in YAY! Of course, the actual competition is here, but virtually, you can still learn the words and do the activities. Oh, and unless you live next door, it's BYOC (buy your own candy).

Today, we're using coloring sheets from http://www.printactivities.com/ColoringPages/Halloween/HalloweenColoring.html and tracing them using words. Fun! OK, well, I was enjoying it, but my kids are thinking it's torture (hmmm, I think that's one of our Halloween words...). To do it, you write each spelling word five times, tiny if you can, on a separate piece of paper, tracing the coloring sheet (so when you are done, instead of lines, you have tiny words making up the picture. It's more fun than writing them five times in a tablet, I think...

Here are the words we are practicing:
*afterlife
*apparition
*autumn
*bizarre
...*bloodcurdling
*bogeyman
*cackle
*cadaver
*casket
*cauldron
*cemetery
*corpse
*costume
*crypt
*disguise
*dreadful
*eerie
*fantasy
*frightening
*ghastly
*ghoulish
*gory
*Halloween
*haunt
*hobgoblin
*jack-o'-lantern ****** make sure your kids know about the punctuation!
*macabre
*masquerade
*mausoleum
*midnight
*moonlight
*moonlit
*morbid
*mysterious
*nightmare
*ogre
*otherworldly
*petrify
*phantasm
*phantom
*pitchfork
*poltergeist
*potion
*pumpkin
*repulsive
*revolting
*scare
*scarecrow
*scary
*shadowy
*shocking
*skeleton
*specter
*spider web *********** two words!
*spooky
*startling
*strange
*superhero
*supernatural
*superstition
*tarantula
*terrible
*terrify
*thrilling
*tiara
*tomb
*tombstone
*trick-or-treat **** again... punctuation!
*tutu
*unearthly
*unnerving
*vampire
*vanish
*warlock
*weird
*werewolf
*wicked
*witch
*witchcraft
*wizard
*wizardry
*wraith

Happy Halloween!

Zachary..Oh..Zachary...where did your baby face go?

See this little guy? He was tiny 7 years ago. 4 lbs. 15 oz. But we loved to snuggle with him.

He grew quickly, not staying small for long! We continued to dote on him.

He kept growing, but it wasn't too noticable due to him being in the 25th percentile for his age...and he kept that cute little baby face...

Until now. His chubby cheeks have gone. His dimples are very defined. His wavy hair more controllable. His baby teeth all but gone, and the large ones that his face needs to grow into have arrived. This isn't the best photo of his smile, but that's because he tends to make goofy faces when I take his photo. From the looks of his father's photo albums, this is common.

Happy 7th Birthday Zac. We LOVE you.