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Archives for October 2013

Mix of the Month- Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

Here is what you will need to make your own mix of fantastic Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal: 1 Cup oatmeal (quick oats)- grind until finely ground 1 Cup oatmeal (quick oats)- leave whole 2 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1 T maple flavoring (not syrup-flavoring) 1 Cup brown sugar packed Mix all ingredients in a large container  (feel free to double this or even triple it). Store in an air-tight jar. When you are ready to prepare simply scoop 1/2 cup out and add 3/4 cup water and microwave for 30-45 seconds. Delish!     … [Read more...]

VTech InnoTab 3S Wi-Fi Learning App Tablet #spon

A while ago we did a review on the VTech InnoTab 2S.  Well, now VTech has come up with the upgraded 3S tablet and I (or I should say my kids) had the chance to review this one too!  While we were given the tablet for review purposes, the opinions about it are my own or my children's. Here's the differences we noticed between the two tablets: The first and most obvious difference is that the S3 is smaller than the S2.  My kids liked it for the portability as it is lighter too but they prefer the larger S2 screen. The second obvious difference is the added direction buttons.  The kids found some games easier to play with these buttons. The last major difference is the orientation.  My kids were a bit confused that they hold this tablet sideways vs up and down! The camera has been upgraded from 1.3 to 2 mp.  My kids did not notice much of a difference in quality but I could see it.  They did, however, like some of the added photo features. I like the rechargeable battery … [Read more...]

Gross Touch Guessing Game for Halloween

Having a Halloween party this year?  You'll need some fun things to do and we've got a great game to play!  It's a gross touch guessing game. Here's what you'll need: Grapes as eyeballs--Pealed grapes make the perfect eyeballs.  Pull/break (not cut) few apart so that they can feel the inside of the eyeball too.  Add a little bit of corn syrup to the bowl to make it even more slimy/gross. Spaghetti as intestines--Cooked, room temp (thick) spaghetti noodles feel like intestines when you put your hands into them. Corn syrup as blood--A bowl full of warm corn syrup makes the perfect pool of blood. Tomatoes as hearts--Peel a tomato and it will feel like a heart in your hand. Cauliflower as a brain--Cooked cauliflower with a little corn syrup or oil over it feels like a brain. Un-popped popcorn as teeth--Nothing like putting your hand into a bowl full of "teeth." Dried apricots as ears--Add just a tiny bit of oil to slime up dried apricots and they'll feel like … [Read more...]

50 Ideas for Road Trip Bags

Tis the time to start thinking about Holiday traveling.  After all, Thankgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and I'm sure many of you travel. Twice a year we make the journey up north to Papa Tractors house....it is a six-hour drive each way. Over the years I have fine tuned our trip to include things to pass the time. This year I put all those things together into one bag! Each kiddo got their own, personalized, basket for the road trip. Here are a list of 50 things you could pack into a road trip bag to keep the kids entertained. Crayons Sheets to color on (I found 100 foot rolls of coloring paper in the dollar section!) Traffic BINGO (didn't we all play this as a kid?) Library books (This was a huge hit because they were something new, not books they've seen before) One snack for each hour (this helps our kids know the answer to the dreaded question "how much longer?") Water bottle (gotta stay hydrated) Batteries (for any electronic device) InnoTab … [Read more...]

Pasta Skeleton Craft – Pinned it, Did it!

When I saw this skeleton idea on Pinterest I just knew I had to do it with my girls.  What a fun way to teach them about the bones of the body and celebrate Halloween! I did some Googling and figured out you could be as crazy detailed as you want, or as simple as you want.  We chose to be fairly simple but Nutty wanted a little more detail than Tottie did. To make your own pasta skeleton you'll need: Different kinds of pasta Paper Glue That's it!  I'd tell you the exact kinds of pasta you need but that is really dependent on how detailed you want to get.  We used Penne, small elbow, medium shells, and thin spaghetti. Both girls had fun making these skeletons and Nutty had fun "adding more bones" than Tottie had.  She learned about the tibia, fibula, ulna, and radius that Tottie did not put in her skeleton. All-in-all I'd say that this Pinned it, Did it! was a success as it got my girls interested in learning more about our bones. What have you made with … [Read more...]

Crock Pot Applesauce

I'm going to warn you...if you do not like the smell of apple pie, fall, or cinnamon then this is not the recipe for you! My favorite thing to do is to get this applesauce cooking while we are going to be out during the day so that when we come home we are welcomed by the AMAZING smell! It's really easy to make and you do not have to know how to can things in order to save it. We like to can applesauce during the fall when the apples are perfect and crisp. When we do it this way we have enough applesauce to last us until next fall. If you do not want to (or don't know how to) can the applesauce then you can freeze it in plastic bags and thaw it out in the fridge the night before you want to eat it. Slice, core, and peel enough apples to fill your crock pot (we like to use Harlson apples because they are crisp, a little tart, and are firm) 1/3 cup water 2T fresh lemon juice 1T cinnamon 1/4 cup sugar Add all your ingredients to the crock pot and set it to low. Let it … [Read more...]