RSVP
Those four little letters that appear on most invitations.
RSVP short for the French: Répondez, s'il vous plaît.
In other words, "Are you coming to the event or not? Let us know."
Responding to invitations has been around a long time. I won't go into all the background on why we use RSVP, how it started, etc. Let's just say that responding to an invitations is not a new thing. Someone invites you over for dinner, you respond: "Yes, I will be there." or "No. I'm sorry, I won't be able to make it on Friday."
I have sent invitations out for various occasions over the years. Some people respond promptly. Some wait until the day before the event. And, then there are those that don't respond at all.
When you are planning a party, you need to know how many people will be attending. If you are going out and buying food and drinks, you want to make sure that you have enough for everyone. And, such is the case here, when you are planning goody bags for children at a birthday party, you want to make sure that every guest receives one. No one wants to send one child home without a goody bag while all of the others are leaving with one in their hands.
If you receive an invitation, you should reply. I also have read that you should reply promptly. As in, as soon as you get the invitation. Look over your schedule right away and find out if you can attend the event then call the host or hostess. This person was so kind to invite you to their event. They are trying to make plans to make it extra special for everyone. Pick up the phone and call them.
I guess you can call this my public service announcement for the day.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
My Halloween Post
Hi! Happy Halloween!
I'm posting this a little early.
Here are some fun Halloween highlights.
Our church does a 500lb pumpkin drop every year. If Alex heard me he would say, "Actually it was 466 lbs." They do this in the church parking lot. It was done for fun the first year and by popular demand has been brought back every year.
I'm posting this a little early.
Here are some fun Halloween highlights.
Our church does a 500lb pumpkin drop every year. If Alex heard me he would say, "Actually it was 466 lbs." They do this in the church parking lot. It was done for fun the first year and by popular demand has been brought back every year.
they had to use a crane to raise the pumpkin high enough
The pumpkin is dropped into a small kiddie pool filled with water
and makes a HUGE MESS SPLASH *
Pumpkin chunks and seeds fly everywhere
The kids then rush in to grab a piece of the pumpkin to take home
Thankfully Bella just grabbed one of the rubber pumpkins in the kiddie pool
not sure what we would have done with a huge chunk of pumpkin
*it makes a huge mess, too..glad I don't have to clean it up!
Pumpkin drop
That's the action shot
If I ever get RT's video, I'll post it. It's pretty cool
There was some Trick or Treating, too
my little witch
Ron's Garbage Co.
thought this one was cute
Then some pumpkins got carved
hoping they don't fall off the top of our deck
intense pumpkin carving...
Happy Halloween!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Pumpkin paper mask
I thought I would share a halloween craft that we did with our brownie troop. This is a quick, easy craft that proved to be quite fun with the girls.
Like I said, this craft is very easy.
Draw a pumpkin on your piece of orange construction paper. It doesn't have to be perfect. Not all pumpkins are the perfect pumpkin. :)
Cut your pumpkin out. Draw a face on your pumpkin and cut the eyes (nose?) and mouth out.punch a hole on either side of the face. Take a piece of yarn and attach to one side (tie in a knot). Place the mask over your face, yarn going around the back of your head, and attach to the other side of the mask.
Supplies needed:
Orange construction paper
Pencil
Scissors
Hole punch
Yarn
Like I said, this craft is very easy.
Draw a pumpkin on your piece of orange construction paper. It doesn't have to be perfect. Not all pumpkins are the perfect pumpkin. :)
Cut your pumpkin out. Draw a face on your pumpkin and cut the eyes (nose?) and mouth out.punch a hole on either side of the face. Take a piece of yarn and attach to one side (tie in a knot). Place the mask over your face, yarn going around the back of your head, and attach to the other side of the mask.
Then you can go and scare your dog.
BOO!
Fundraisers
The kid's schools are always doing fundraisers.
Order your school supplies and the school makes some money (yea, don't get me started on this one. I wrote a little about this subject here). Benefit nights: order food from a specified restaurant and the school gets a percentage of the total dollar amount. Overpriced wrapping paper. Market Day. Book sales. Ice cream social (one of the biggest fundraisers our school does). Yearbook. Oh, yea. They make money on the year book. Can you believe that?
I could go on and on. Everything the school does is to make money. It's not like they need all of this money. We do pay an arm and a leg through taxes to send our children to these schools (our public schools are decent, I have no reason to complain about the education they are providing my children). There are a number of people who live in the area that (pay the taxes) and then send their children to private schools (almost like paying double for your child's education). And then there are the empty nesters who pay taxes and don't have kids in school (we are surrounded by them). So, there should be a little extra cash floating around for the schools to use.
Today I just received a flyer for yet another fundraiser. This one has a tiny copy of Bella's artwork. It's so small, you can barely see it. The idea is that I can order items and have this artwork imprinted onto them. My problem? Besides the overpricing of the items? It doesn't look like any of the artwork that Bella has ever done! Bella told me that the teacher had them draw a picture of an alien. (An alien?) I guess I can see some people good at drawing an alien, but, Bella? Drawing an alien? Yea. I hate to say it but it looked awful. Bella agreed. She said it was the first time she drew an alien. She didn't want to draw one, but that was the assignment.
The sad thing is the teachers keep bringing up that the kids have to get their orders in. I don't like that the teachers are giving the kids this big push just so they can make money for the school.
I'm thinking this whole fundraising is getting a little out of hand. I think I would prefer to be asked if I can just donate some money when needed. Or how about giving us a break and limit it to a couple fundraisers a year?
What do your schools do for fundraising?
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Bella's wish list
It's a good thing Bella put the little "TM" (trademark) after those wish list items. We don't want to be sued.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Scary Journey's Black Pom Pom Spider Craft
Back again with another easy Halloween craft. This time we are making a black spider.
I found this craft on Enchantedlearning.com. Click here to view the tutorial. They have some great craft ideas. Check out the rest of their website!
Let's get started:
Supplies Needed:
Black yarn
cardboard
scissors
4 pipe cleaners
google eyes
glue
These directions are taken right from Enchanted Learning's website. I did edit them a little with some changes that I made when making my spider.
Cut a piece of yarn about 2 feet long; put it aside for later. Cut a piece of scrap cardboard about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide.
Wrap about a yard or two of yarn around the rectangular piece of cardboard (don't wrap the yarn too tightly or it will be hard to take it off the cardboard). *
*I would go 3 yards or more on this one if you want the spider head to be really puffy.
Lay your 2 foot long string down and place your 4 pipe cleaners on top.
Carefully remove the yarn loops from the cardboard (make sure the loops retain their shape) and place on top of pipe cleaners.
Tightly tie the 2-foot-long piece of yarn around the middle of the loops plus pipecleaners. Cut the yarn loops at their edges. Trim the pompom so that it makes a nice circle. Bend the spider's legs and glue on googly eyes.
Again, this is another great kids craft. Also makes a great girl scout Halloween craft.
I found this craft on Enchantedlearning.com. Click here to view the tutorial. They have some great craft ideas. Check out the rest of their website!
Let's get started:
Supplies Needed:
Black yarn
cardboard
scissors
4 pipe cleaners
google eyes
glue
These directions are taken right from Enchanted Learning's website. I did edit them a little with some changes that I made when making my spider.
Cut a piece of yarn about 2 feet long; put it aside for later. Cut a piece of scrap cardboard about 3 inches long and 2 inches wide.
Wrap about a yard or two of yarn around the rectangular piece of cardboard (don't wrap the yarn too tightly or it will be hard to take it off the cardboard). *
*I would go 3 yards or more on this one if you want the spider head to be really puffy.
Lay your 2 foot long string down and place your 4 pipe cleaners on top.
Carefully remove the yarn loops from the cardboard (make sure the loops retain their shape) and place on top of pipe cleaners.
Tightly tie the 2-foot-long piece of yarn around the middle of the loops plus pipecleaners. Cut the yarn loops at their edges. Trim the pompom so that it makes a nice circle. Bend the spider's legs and glue on googly eyes.
Again, this is another great kids craft. Also makes a great girl scout Halloween craft.
Scary!
Pumpkin and Ghost using Popsicle Sticks
Thought I should add to Scary Journey's Halloween crafts for the year before it's too late! Halloween is creeping up on us.....fast!
I have an enormous amount of Popsicle sticks (unused) that were given to me. I promised that I would do something fun with them. Why not use them to make something for Halloween? A pumpkin? Or a ghost? Perfect! I saw these two ideas all over the Internet. I'm not sure who to give the credit to for the project. If you want more images on what you can do, just google "Halloween craft using Popsicle sticks" and click on images. There are a lot of cool ideas out there!
Well, here is my take on the project.
Supplies needed:
Popsicle sticks
orange paint
white paint
paint brush
hot glue
black foam
pipe cleaner (green if making a stem for your pumpkin, black or tiger striped to make pumpkin look like a trick or treat bag)
For the pumpkin:
Paint your Popsicle sticks orange. Use a Popsicle stick (or two) on the back and start hot gluing the sticks to them. Cut out your pumpkin's face out of the black foam and glue to the sticks. Adjust your pipe cleaners (into a stem if using green) (into a half circle if making a treat bag) and glue to back.
For the ghost:
Paint your Popsicle sticks white and glue to two small sticks (I cut pieces from one of the Popsicle sticks). Make a scary face by cutting it out of the black foam and glue to the sticks.
Easy project for kids! This would make a great Halloween craft for girl scouts, too!
I have an enormous amount of Popsicle sticks (unused) that were given to me. I promised that I would do something fun with them. Why not use them to make something for Halloween? A pumpkin? Or a ghost? Perfect! I saw these two ideas all over the Internet. I'm not sure who to give the credit to for the project. If you want more images on what you can do, just google "Halloween craft using Popsicle sticks" and click on images. There are a lot of cool ideas out there!
Well, here is my take on the project.
Supplies needed:
Popsicle sticks
orange paint
white paint
paint brush
hot glue
black foam
pipe cleaner (green if making a stem for your pumpkin, black or tiger striped to make pumpkin look like a trick or treat bag)
For the pumpkin:
Paint your Popsicle sticks orange. Use a Popsicle stick (or two) on the back and start hot gluing the sticks to them. Cut out your pumpkin's face out of the black foam and glue to the sticks. Adjust your pipe cleaners (into a stem if using green) (into a half circle if making a treat bag) and glue to back.
For the ghost:
Paint your Popsicle sticks white and glue to two small sticks (I cut pieces from one of the Popsicle sticks). Make a scary face by cutting it out of the black foam and glue to the sticks.
Easy project for kids! This would make a great Halloween craft for girl scouts, too!
BOO!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Vegetarian Diaries - Vegetarian Chili
Ooh! Can you feel it? That chill in the air! It means only one thing. It's that time of year. Time to make a big pot of (vegetarian) chili and cozy up!
I have been making this recipe for years.Forcing my family to eat a healthy bowl of cooked vegetables Enjoying the taste of yummy vegetables. It's so good (and good for you!).
Feel free to substitute other vegetables. I have been known to throw in zucchini, green pepper or celery.
By the way, I do make chili with meat for the rest of my family. It's hard when you can't try it to see if it tastes good. So far, I have had raving reviews. Not sure what I'm doing right. Maybe it's just years of cooking experience?
Well, here's the recipe:
4 tsp sunflower seed oil
1 medium size butternut squash, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cans black beans, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
In a large pot, heat 2 tsp of the oil. Add butternut squash and cook, stirring until golden. Remove and place in a separate bowl.
In same pot, heat 2 tsp of the oil and cook carrots and onion until well browned. Stir in chili powder. cook about a minute, stirring.
Add tomatoes, chiles, vegetable broth. Heat until boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in black beans and squash. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender and chili thickens. Stir in cilantro.
Serve.
I use fresh peppers instead of the can of chiles. Throw in a jalapeno to give it a little kick!
Sometimes I add kidney beans (so one can black beans, one can of kidney beans).
I toss a little cumin in there, too.
You can definitely make a small batch of this by reducing ingredients. I make a small batch if I know I will be the only one eating it. I would think you could freeze a portion of this, too.
Again, if you try it, let me know how it turns out. I would love to hear from you!
I have been making this recipe for years.
Feel free to substitute other vegetables. I have been known to throw in zucchini, green pepper or celery.
By the way, I do make chili with meat for the rest of my family. It's hard when you can't try it to see if it tastes good. So far, I have had raving reviews. Not sure what I'm doing right. Maybe it's just years of cooking experience?
Well, here's the recipe:
Vegetarian Chili
4 tsp sunflower seed oil
1 medium size butternut squash, peeled, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
2 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 4oz can chopped green chiles
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cans black beans, rinsed, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
In a large pot, heat 2 tsp of the oil. Add butternut squash and cook, stirring until golden. Remove and place in a separate bowl.
In same pot, heat 2 tsp of the oil and cook carrots and onion until well browned. Stir in chili powder. cook about a minute, stirring.
Add tomatoes, chiles, vegetable broth. Heat until boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in black beans and squash. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until squash is tender and chili thickens. Stir in cilantro.
Serve.
I use fresh peppers instead of the can of chiles. Throw in a jalapeno to give it a little kick!
Sometimes I add kidney beans (so one can black beans, one can of kidney beans).
I toss a little cumin in there, too.
You can definitely make a small batch of this by reducing ingredients. I make a small batch if I know I will be the only one eating it. I would think you could freeze a portion of this, too.
Again, if you try it, let me know how it turns out. I would love to hear from you!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Cleaning up after the dogs
Well, I guess I could title this post, "Cleaning up dog poop." That would be more like it.
When we adopted/rescued our dogs I was told (by my children) that they would do everything for the dog. OK, when we adopted Newton, the boys were 2 and 5. I didn't expect a whole lot. They did quite a bit of feeding and their share of cleaning up dog poop.
About a year ago, I was told the same thing. Alex and Bella wanted another puppy and said that I "wouldn't have to do anything." Well, except let the dog out during the day while they were at school. So, we rescued Pippen. A year later and guess who is taking care of both dogs?
I do try to get the kids to help. It's not always that easy.
If I don't feed the dogs they don't eat. If I don't check their water bowls, they will probably remain empty. If I don't complain long enough (or do it myself) the dogs won't get brushed. Which then leads to if I don't vacuum then our house will fill up with dog hair. And, if I don't clean up the dog poop, the piles will be taller than our house in no time.
Having a dog is a lot of work and responsibility. Throw in a second dog and things double. Especially the dog poop!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I clean up a lot of dog poop. It seems that with the addition of Pippen to our family, there has been a HUGE increase.
I do like to hang outdoors, so, that's an added plus to having to do the clean up.
It's a lot easier to find me now. Now the answer to, "Where's Mom?" is, "She's out cleaning up dog poop!"
When we adopted/rescued our dogs I was told (by my children) that they would do everything for the dog. OK, when we adopted Newton, the boys were 2 and 5. I didn't expect a whole lot. They did quite a bit of feeding and their share of cleaning up dog poop.
About a year ago, I was told the same thing. Alex and Bella wanted another puppy and said that I "wouldn't have to do anything." Well, except let the dog out during the day while they were at school. So, we rescued Pippen. A year later and guess who is taking care of both dogs?
I do try to get the kids to help. It's not always that easy.
If I don't feed the dogs they don't eat. If I don't check their water bowls, they will probably remain empty. If I don't complain long enough (or do it myself) the dogs won't get brushed. Which then leads to if I don't vacuum then our house will fill up with dog hair. And, if I don't clean up the dog poop, the piles will be taller than our house in no time.
Having a dog is a lot of work and responsibility. Throw in a second dog and things double. Especially the dog poop!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I clean up a lot of dog poop. It seems that with the addition of Pippen to our family, there has been a HUGE increase.
I do like to hang outdoors, so, that's an added plus to having to do the clean up.
It's a lot easier to find me now. Now the answer to, "Where's Mom?" is, "She's out cleaning up dog poop!"
Who's paying the electric bill?
I really think my kids secretly work for ComEd. They like to turn on all of the lights and leave them on.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
They do get along!
Today Bella asked to be taken to Learning Express to get more rubber bands for her rainbow loom. Yes. She has more than enough bands. I told her to wait for her birthday. RT said to ask Nick to drive her there.
I was quite surprised when Nick asked me how to get to the store. I didn't think he would take her. I gave him directions and the car seat. I made sure Bella had money (she was using her own money). I also made sure to tell Nick to keep an eye on her money.
And they were off.
Sweet, huh?
Well, until I got a phone call from Nick saying that Bella was trying to buy more than she can afford. Good thing she doesn't have a credit card. I said tell her to get one or two bags and add the rest to her birthday wish list.
The best part?
Bella came home with one bag (she is adding the rest to her birthday wish list). I said I was proud of how she spent her money. She said "Nick bought them for me."
The tears are welling up in my eyes again even as I type this post.
With all of the fighting that goes on between brothers and sisters. It makes you wonder. The doors slamming. The yelling. The making fun of each other. The irritating (of each other). The "GET OUT OF MY ROOM"'s.
I guess they do love each other.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
A taste of the future teenager
Bella is in need of a winter coat. Since the weather has been warm, cold, warm, cold... I thought I would try to be prepared and find a coat for her now, just in case it turns cold quickly.
I picked up a real cute pink coat that looked toasty warm and was pretty stylish.
I showed Bella the coat when she got home and, she gave me a look and then said, "I hope you saved the receipt."
Ouch!
I returned the coat and am awaiting a time to take the fashion queen out to look for a winter coat.
Wish me luck.
I picked up a real cute pink coat that looked toasty warm and was pretty stylish.
I showed Bella the coat when she got home and, she gave me a look and then said, "I hope you saved the receipt."
Ouch!
I returned the coat and am awaiting a time to take the fashion queen out to look for a winter coat.
Wish me luck.
Canadian Penny
I haven't been to Canada recently and am wondering how I have two Canadian pennies in my wallet? It started out as one Canadian penny and when I looked today there was a second one. I think they are multiplying.
The funny thing is, stores (well, at least stores here in the Midwest) will not accept Canadian pennies when you use them to pay for purchases.
Now, how did I get these in the first place? I'm sure they were given to me when I bought something at a store.
So, it's okay if the store hands the Canadian pennies out to their customers but, they can not accept them as payment for merchandise from their store?
In the meantime, they are sitting in my wallet.
Multiplying.
I might have to plan a trip to Canada just to spend some money.
The funny thing is, stores (well, at least stores here in the Midwest) will not accept Canadian pennies when you use them to pay for purchases.
Now, how did I get these in the first place? I'm sure they were given to me when I bought something at a store.
So, it's okay if the store hands the Canadian pennies out to their customers but, they can not accept them as payment for merchandise from their store?
In the meantime, they are sitting in my wallet.
Multiplying.
I might have to plan a trip to Canada just to spend some money.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Garden
Found these in the garden today and had to share pictures with you.
Red poblano and red jalapeño
Trying to show size
Comparing to a normal size poblano
Normal size jalapeño
Time to make some salsa!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Found this recipe the other day and thought I would try it. Tis the season for pumpkin. Lots and lots of pumpkin. What a great way to start October off. Pumpkin. And chocolate! Yum!
Found the recipe right here on Simply Scratch. She has a wonderful blog, great recipes and beautiful pictures. Check it out. She also has the step by step process of making these cookies and pictures, too.
I had all of the ingredients on hand for these cookies and thought I would give it a try. (who doesn't like cookies?) They turned out amazing! Give them a try!
Ingredients:
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Golden Flax Seed Meal
1 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 cup Quick Oats
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 cup {2 sticks} Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Pumpkin
1 whole Egg
3/4 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
1 {11 oz.} bag of Milk Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a couple baking sheets with parchment or a baking mat.
In a medium bowl stir together the flour, golden flax meal, oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In a larger bowl combine the butter and both sugars. Blend until light and fluffy. Add in the cup of pumpkin, the egg and vanilla and blend until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined and then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients.
Add in the bag of chocolate chips and mix in by hand.
Form into rounded tablespoons of cookie dough and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the edges of the cookie are slightly golden.
Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5-8 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
*I used half the amount of sugar and they were delicious!
Found the recipe right here on Simply Scratch. She has a wonderful blog, great recipes and beautiful pictures. Check it out. She also has the step by step process of making these cookies and pictures, too.
I had all of the ingredients on hand for these cookies and thought I would give it a try. (who doesn't like cookies?) They turned out amazing! Give them a try!
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from Simply Scratch
Ingredients:
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Golden Flax Seed Meal
1 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/2 cup Quick Oats
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 cup {2 sticks} Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 cup Pumpkin
1 whole Egg
3/4 teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract
1 {11 oz.} bag of Milk Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a couple baking sheets with parchment or a baking mat.
In a medium bowl stir together the flour, golden flax meal, oats, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
In a larger bowl combine the butter and both sugars. Blend until light and fluffy. Add in the cup of pumpkin, the egg and vanilla and blend until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined and then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients.
Add in the bag of chocolate chips and mix in by hand.
Form into rounded tablespoons of cookie dough and place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the edges of the cookie are slightly golden.
Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5-8 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
*I used half the amount of sugar and they were delicious!
Enjoy!
Brownies Making Friends badge
Our meetings last one hour with no snack time. We try to keep our girls busy throughout the meeting.
When the girls first arrive, we have them pick a popsicle stick (each stick has a girls name on it from our troop). They were then given a piece of paper and wrote the girl's name (from top to bottom) and had to come up with something nice to say with each letter. (an acrostic)
example:
B eautiful
E nthusiastic
L oving
L ikable
A dorable
We moved onto attendance, pledge, promise and Girl Scout Law (we are going to have the girls learn it but for now it is printed out on small sheets that we collect).
We did a little role playing. First, we had the girls get into groups of 3 and had them introduce themselves to the other two. Then we had each one introduce the other two in their group to each other. < If they are on the playground playing and another friend walks up to them, they can then take the time and introduce their friends to each other.
Next we gave the girls scenarios (we called them disagreements). Example: You are at a friends house and you want to play outside, but your friend wants to play Barbies. The girls then had to act out the scenario and work it out nicely. Another "disagreement" : You are playing at recess and you want to go on the swings but your friend wants to play kick ball. We have a couple of girls who really are good at acting.
Our final fun part that the girls waited SO patiently for...make rainbow loom bracelets for each other. (this satisfies the do a friends' favorite thing, share something with your friend and do an activity that is new to you). We asked the parents to make sure looms, boxes and hooks were labeled with their child's name. Not all of the girls have a rainbow loom, so some girls shared. This was a perfect way to have a girl show another girl how to make a rainbow loom bracelet. The girl who did not have one was then able to make one. The girls then shared their bracelets they made with each other.
We ended our meeting with our friendship squeeze.
When the girls first arrive, we have them pick a popsicle stick (each stick has a girls name on it from our troop). They were then given a piece of paper and wrote the girl's name (from top to bottom) and had to come up with something nice to say with each letter. (an acrostic)
example:
B eautiful
E nthusiastic
L oving
L ikable
A dorable
We moved onto attendance, pledge, promise and Girl Scout Law (we are going to have the girls learn it but for now it is printed out on small sheets that we collect).
We did a little role playing. First, we had the girls get into groups of 3 and had them introduce themselves to the other two. Then we had each one introduce the other two in their group to each other. < If they are on the playground playing and another friend walks up to them, they can then take the time and introduce their friends to each other.
Next we gave the girls scenarios (we called them disagreements). Example: You are at a friends house and you want to play outside, but your friend wants to play Barbies. The girls then had to act out the scenario and work it out nicely. Another "disagreement" : You are playing at recess and you want to go on the swings but your friend wants to play kick ball. We have a couple of girls who really are good at acting.
Our final fun part that the girls waited SO patiently for...make rainbow loom bracelets for each other. (this satisfies the do a friends' favorite thing, share something with your friend and do an activity that is new to you). We asked the parents to make sure looms, boxes and hooks were labeled with their child's name. Not all of the girls have a rainbow loom, so some girls shared. This was a perfect way to have a girl show another girl how to make a rainbow loom bracelet. The girl who did not have one was then able to make one. The girls then shared their bracelets they made with each other.
We ended our meeting with our friendship squeeze.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Government Shutdown
If you are looking for a serious post about the government shutdown, This isn't it. I'm not a person who spouts off about politics, but, I found this conversation funny and thought I would share.
The boys have each expressed concern (separately) about the government shutdown.
Nick wondered about it, thinking it would be a terrible thing to happen. I explained that this isn't the first time that the government has shut down (and I'm sure it won't be the last time). Thanks to the media, this shut down is being made out to be similar to the end of the world.
Alex was asking about the shut down and our tax dollars. I said it probably isn't a bad thing. At least the government won't be spending our money. They might just save us some money just by shutting down. I then went on to say that Obama needs to learn a little about saving some money and watching his spending. This then lead Alex to say that I should be president. He can see me in the middle of meetings when they start talking about how much something is going to cost. "There's my mom, whipping out a 20% off coupon." Or worse yet, googling to find a coupon. And then Alex said the Oval Office would be filled with little sock owls.*
*I have been making little sock owls for Bella's birthday that I will share in a later post. Alex is afraid that he will one day come home open his bedroom door and his room will be filled with sock owls.
The boys have each expressed concern (separately) about the government shutdown.
Nick wondered about it, thinking it would be a terrible thing to happen. I explained that this isn't the first time that the government has shut down (and I'm sure it won't be the last time). Thanks to the media, this shut down is being made out to be similar to the end of the world.
Alex was asking about the shut down and our tax dollars. I said it probably isn't a bad thing. At least the government won't be spending our money. They might just save us some money just by shutting down. I then went on to say that Obama needs to learn a little about saving some money and watching his spending. This then lead Alex to say that I should be president. He can see me in the middle of meetings when they start talking about how much something is going to cost. "There's my mom, whipping out a 20% off coupon." Or worse yet, googling to find a coupon. And then Alex said the Oval Office would be filled with little sock owls.*
*I have been making little sock owls for Bella's birthday that I will share in a later post. Alex is afraid that he will one day come home open his bedroom door and his room will be filled with sock owls.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Random Act of Kindness
When you do something kind for someone else. Something that is not expected.
I was happy to witness a random act of kindness today. Believe it or not it was between a couple of my children. Yea, I was having a hard time believing it at first, too.
Bella has been making Rainbow Loom bracelets for just about every person within a 20 mile radius of our house. If you are lucky, she will whip up a bracelet just to match the outfit that you are wearing.
Bella made a bracelet for Alex. He wore it for the next cross country meet and told her that it made him run a lot faster.
Bella was looking to make one for someone and realized that there is one person in the house that does not have any Rainbow Loom bracelets. So, she decided to make one for this person.
Bella wrote a nice note and included the bracelet (she said to cheer him up) and placed it on Nick's bed.
She told me when Nick got home. She was waiting for Nick to yell at her for going into his room. Instead, she got a nice thank you.
Hard to believe at times, but, I guess the kids do love one another.
I was happy to witness a random act of kindness today. Believe it or not it was between a couple of my children. Yea, I was having a hard time believing it at first, too.
Bella has been making Rainbow Loom bracelets for just about every person within a 20 mile radius of our house. If you are lucky, she will whip up a bracelet just to match the outfit that you are wearing.
Bella made a bracelet for Alex. He wore it for the next cross country meet and told her that it made him run a lot faster.
Bella was looking to make one for someone and realized that there is one person in the house that does not have any Rainbow Loom bracelets. So, she decided to make one for this person.
Bella wrote a nice note and included the bracelet (she said to cheer him up) and placed it on Nick's bed.
She told me when Nick got home. She was waiting for Nick to yell at her for going into his room. Instead, she got a nice thank you.
Hard to believe at times, but, I guess the kids do love one another.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Scary Journey's Halloween Crafts
Halloween is right around the corner!
Looking for some quick, easy Halloween crafts? Below is a list of crafts that have been done on the blog in the past for Halloween. Click on the link and it will bring you to that post. It's that easy!
These crafts are great for kids and use supplies that you may already have on hand.
construction paper
empty toilet paper roll
pipe cleaners
empty egg cartons
foam
Here are the crafts and the links:
HalloweenBat Pencil Cup
Extra Crafts - using construction paper, owls, witch, ghost, foam monsters
Mosaic Pumpkin - using paint chips
Mosaic Pumpkin - using construction paper
Owl - using construction paper
Pumpkin Magnet - using foam
Spider - using pipe cleaners
SPIDER
Spider (under $1 craft)
Witche's Hat
I'm sure I will add more as the month goes on.
Enjoy!
Looking for some quick, easy Halloween crafts? Below is a list of crafts that have been done on the blog in the past for Halloween. Click on the link and it will bring you to that post. It's that easy!
These crafts are great for kids and use supplies that you may already have on hand.
construction paper
empty toilet paper roll
pipe cleaners
empty egg cartons
foam
Here are the crafts and the links:
HalloweenBat Pencil Cup
Extra Crafts - using construction paper, owls, witch, ghost, foam monsters
Mosaic Pumpkin - using paint chips
Mosaic Pumpkin - using construction paper
Owl - using construction paper
Pumpkin Magnet - using foam
Spider - using pipe cleaners
SPIDER
Spider (under $1 craft)
Witche's Hat
I'm sure I will add more as the month goes on.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)