Play Dough Recipe

We got a great play dough recipe from Cody's teacher.  In the last week or so, we have mad a double batch of blue for his class, a batch of pink for home, and a batch of purple and a batch of orange for Emilee's class.
I encourage you to give this one a try...easy and fun!

Recipe:
Combine 1 cup salt, 2 cups flour, 2TB cream of tartar, 2 TB vegetable oil, 2 cups water, and food coloring
Mix until smooth, then cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until a ball forms and sticks to the spoon.
Cool, knead, store in a Ziploc bag.

My tips:
Mix this in the pot you are going to cook it in.  I used a nonstick pot and think it helped.  I sifted the flour to help make the smoothing process go better.  Use a whisk before you heat it and then switch to a very sturdy wooden spoon/spatula once you put it on the heat.  If you are going to make a double batch, make sure someone really strong is home or prepare for a workout.  Once that ball forms it is hard to keep stirring a double batch :-)

My New Schedule...learning to love it

So the first 2 weeks of school and adjusting to our new busy schedule have been a little more tiring than I expected!  I put all this hope in all the extra time I would have once both kids started school, and I guess I forgot how busy we would be.  So I am learning this new busy life and loving it.

Monday is my Girl Time day.  Cody goes to school, so Emilee and I have some time to do "only girly things" as she told me today.  We painted her fingers and toes.  We made play doh.  We did a craft that consisted of a lot of glue, some construction paper, some index cards, and did I mention all the glue?  I am not sure what it is, but it was fun!  Then while she played without the interruption of her big brother I caught up the laundry and straightened up the house and the we headed to lunch.  It was a really nice morning!

Tuesday, both kids are in school.  I have a Bible study at church right after drop off.  Then I have a little time to be productive in my tasks before I pick up the kids.  We try to make sure we come home and chill after school. Cody heads back to the school for soccer practice at 6:00.  Sometimes Bret meets us there and sometimes it is me trying to conjure up the soccer me from days of old.  After that it is dinner, Wii time, and the bedtime routine.

Wednesdays, both kids back to school and I try to exercise and run some errands with my time.  Then we head to the allergist after school for Cody's weekly pokes, which he loves by the way (hope you heard the sarcasm there).  Then if I am lucky and Bret is in town, we get a quick dinner out while Bret's parents spend some time with the kids.

Thursdays are our insane days!  After school Emilee has ballet and then after a few hour rest, Cody has soccer.  These are the days I dreamed of since I was a little kid though.  To take a son to soccer and a daughter to dance, this is what I have always wanted to do with my life and I am doing it.  I feel so blessed!

Once we have reached Friday we are all pooped.  It is a nice end to the week.  I am so glad the kids love school and feel so safe and loved there.  And we all love Friday because we know that once Daddy comes home, he stays home until Monday and they love that and I do too!  We usually have breakfast for dinner and enjoy the time together.

Food Allergy Proud Moment

Sometimes you have those moments that make you proud in so many ways.  Well I had one yesterday.
When I picked Cody up from school, he was so proud of himself for staying on green (behavior system in his classroom) all week, so he got to choose a prize from the treasure box.
It was a funny scene outside his classroom to watch the kids come out one at a time and tell their parents about their week.  I got there early enough to see several kids leave with their treasures and their faces beaming with pride, and I also saw one who did not stay on green all week.  I was so impressed with how his teacher handled each situation, she rocks!
Anyway back to the point of this story...Cody chose a little football from the treasure box that he was quite proud of and so was I.  The next thing he told me made me want to burst into tears right then and there..."Mommy there were also watches with candy in the treasure box, but I was not sure if the candy was safe for me so I chose this football."  If you have a child with food allergies, you will get the joy I feel here.  He is aware of his allergies, but not hindered by them.  He knows unsafe things exist, so he looks for things that are safe.  This is what we have been working on since we found out about his allergies.  He gets it!!

I love Cody and I am so thankful for the grace I have been given to deal with this whole situation :-)

Friday of Week One

This week has been crazier than I thought.  I guess it just points out to me how laid back we are in the summer.  I liked the last 3 months of sleeping in, hanging out at the house and getting things done, getting dressed sometime after noon, and venturing out if we felt up to it.  But all good things must come to an end and this week they did.
Another good thing started, school.  And along with school this year comes after school activities, specifically soccer, ballet, and allergy shots.  I was so excited for the time I would have when the kids were at school this week, I think my expectations were a bit unrealistic.  I thought I would have lots of kid free fun and get everything on my to do list done, and that did not happen.
I did have fun, freedom breakfast on Tuesday, Bible study on Wednesday, Yellow Daisy Festival with my Mom on her birthday on Thursday.  Then it hit me last night that in all my fun, I did not get anything done.  I had a little meltdown and cried overly dramatically (pretty sure that is not a phrase but you know what I mean) about a stubbed toe.  Then I hugged and kissed my kids good night and prayed for some perspective.  The best place for me to gain this if often in the shower.  So I was washing my hair and I realized that I did get stuff done this week, not everything I had ever hoped to get done, but really who does get everything done?
So instead of rushing around the house like a maniac until the wee hours of the morning.  I made myself some tea and sat on the couch and watched the football game with Bret while he hung curtains for me.  I decided to stay home today and take it easy, and I am feeling much better.  I definitely have some things to work out about this new schedule, but I don't have to figure it all out today.  I just have to get through one day at a time, loving the Lord and my family, and doing the best I can.

First Day Smilebox

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Twas the Night Before...

The First Day of School 2010

Twas the night before School, when all around
The kids are still stirring, but for bed they are bound.
The new lunchboxes are hung by the door with care,
In hopes that they will eat the lunch I will put in there.

The children are playing the last games of the night,
I am trying to keep the girl inside, because mosquitoes do bite.
And Bret with his Mario, and I with dessert
Are trying to make this new early schedule not hurt.

But finally in the bathroom there arose such a clatter,
What the kids think of bathtime is that nothing is badder.
But Daddy washed them each in a flash,
While around the house cleaning, I do dash.

The kids are both clean and their faces they shine
Next is snack time, so all is fine.
Each kid gets a cup of milk and some food.
Tonight it is circle cookies, so I don’t get booed.

Time to brush teeth, so lively and quick,
To this new bedtime, we must stick.
Into their beds and out with the lights,
Oh wait a minute I need to put cream on Emilee’s bites.

Now we are really ready for bed
Visions of their school day dance through their heads
So we say our prayers and read a story
Now all I want to hear is a snorey

They would both love to lay awake and talk
So out of their bedrooms we must walk
Off to finish the chores of the night
Now I will start the dishwasher and turn off the light.

Then into each bedroom I sneak a peek
I say a prayer and give them each a kiss on the cheek
I still can’t believe how much they have grown
And I am overwhelmed with joy that they are my own.

In the morning I will dress them and send them away
And yet again I will begin to pray
That everyone will love them as much as I do
And that they will be kind and make friends that are new.

Because I hold them so very dear
Letting them go does cause a little fear
Because of God’s love I can deal with my fright
"Happy Labor Day to all, and to all a good-night!"

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Raising a well-adjusted child who happens to have food allergies

Raising a well-adjusted child who happens to have food allergies

Please click on the above link.  This is a GREAT article!

Too funny not to share

As you all know, Cody is the most picky eater that ever walked the planet.  This past weekend, on an overcast lazy Sunday I decided to rest and relax in stead of get a hundred things done (including grocery shopping.)  So pickins were slim for supper.  I made eggs and biscuits, which Cody declared was not supper and refused to even enter the kitchen when we ate.  I am pretty close to done fighting with him about food, so I told him that was fine.  If he wanted to choose to be hungry, that was nice and to please not complain and ruin dinner for the rest of us.  Emilee, sensing my frustration, sat down and said, "Mommy this is the best supper ever!" and took a big happy bite of her biscuit.
So after dinner I did run to the store, so we would have some suitable food.  While I was gone Bret was working on a project on the porch.  It had been a little more involved than he expected so he and the kids had spent most of the day out there.  While I was gone Bret heard the porch door slam and looked up to see that Cody was gone.  He went all through the house looking for him.  He searched outside with a flashlight, certain he must be in the yard since he was not inside.  He did not find him anywhere and was starting to get a little worried.  He came back inside to do another sweep of the house to find Cody sitting quietly under the kitchen table, hiding, and eating lollipops.  He said that was the only food he could reach in the closet and he was getting hungry.  Bret was so relieved to find him I think he was pretty kind to a kid that stole and began to eat lollipops for his dinner.