Month: July 2010

Summer Reading Programs…..

My children love to read and there is nothing better than free books.  So all the different summer reading programs are great!

My kids did the Barnes and Noble Reading program, which lets you get a free book after reading 8 books.

Then they did the Borders Reading program, which lets you get a free book after reading 10 books.

Then our local library has a summer reading program.  Each time you have read for 5 hours, you get to spin the wheel and choose a prize.  To participate in the Barnes and Noble and the Borders programs, you have to be in first grade…so River couldn’t participate in those…but she could participate in the local library’s program.  The first time she spun the wheel..she won a great little board book called It’s Useful to Have a Duck.  This week when she spun the wheel she got a rubber ducky…and she was just as excited as when she won the book.  Quinn also spun the wheel and won a hardback book..so he was very happy also.

Then the kids also participated in TD Bank’s summer reading program, which lets you earn 10 dollars for your savings account after reading 10 books.

So, all in all, they are doing pretty well when it comes to summer reading programs!

Children’s Drawings…

Today River drew a picture of one of our cats, Shadow Monster.  She is in that stage where her drawing goes from scribbles..to clear and recognizable forms.  I love watching children draw and seeing their progress through the years.

Going back and looking at past drawings is so fun.  The drawing above is from over a year ago.  It is one of her first drawings.

Some of Tuesday and Quinn’s old drawings I have framed and hung on the wall.  The one above is a drawing Quinn did when he was about six years old.   It makes me smile!

This is one Tuesday did when she was about six also.  The smile and the big heart just crack me up!

They have both done so many great drawings and paintings over the years!  To me, there is nothing like the way a child draws….

Deep Fried Oreos…..

Well, I finally did it…my kids have been wanting to make deep fried oreos for a long time…and we finally made them!  They are one of those things that you know, before you even eat them, that you are going to have a stomach ache when you are done!  I made them with Oreos this time, but next time…I’ll use my favorite Oreo substitute…..Late July Organic Vanilla Bean cookies.  These are one of the best cookies out there!  I think they are better than Oreos and they don’t have all the artificial flavors and  colors or preservatives.  Oreos have so much scary stuff in them..but I caved and used them this time….to see if we had the flavor right….but next time……!!

Anyway, I looked up a bunch of recipes on the internet.  Most of them said to use Bisquick, which I don’t ever use…so I just used my own buttermilk pancake recipe.

The recipe said to freeze the cookies for three hours ahead of time….so we did that.  Then you heated up the oil (I used about a cup of oil in a small sauce pan) and started dipping the battered cookies into the hot oil…..I did this part..since hot oil is always a bit scary!

Nothing like frying up some cookies!  Each one had to cook for about a minute on each side.  They instantly looked delicious and disgusting all at the same time!  My kids were so excited..they wanted to instantly start eating them……but of course, I wouldn’t let them!

After we were done frying them all up, to add even more disgusting-ness..you sprinkled them with powdered sugar!  Needless to say, my kids loved them!  Though we aren’t sure how they are going to taste the next day…I wasn’t sure how to store them..in an air tight container or leave them out…..I’ll keep you posted on how the left overs are….

I cut this recipe in half.  It made about 25 cookies.

Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes

2 ½ cups    Flour

4 Tbsp        Sugar

2 tsp           Baking Powder

1 tsp           Baking Soda

2                 Eggs, beaten

2 2/3 cups  Buttermilk

2 Tbsp        Oil

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and stir well.  Combine bowls together and stir, but do not over-mix.

Another mural finished……

It has been so hot around here..that I have had lots of time to paint..inside.   So, I finally finished the latest mural I had been working on…..from the book Excuse Me…Are You a Witch? by Emily Horn.  It was a fun and quick mural.  I have to put some type of polyurethane coating over it to protect it a bit…it is below windows, so the cats are constantly jumping up and scratching it.  I am not sure what type of protective layer to put on it…I will be figuring that out soon.

Now, I am in the process of redoing the cushions on the window seat.  Our old cushions for the seat have long ago died.  We had an old pillowtop mattress and it became completely uncomfortable….so I cut it off!  And I am using that for the new cushions.  I am in the process of picking out some new material…and then I need to make two slip covers!  Something I haven’t done before!

Chalk Paint…

I have seen a couple of different craft sites that talk about chalk paint…it sounded interesting, so we thought we would give it a try!

It has been extremely hot around here, so I made sure we did the project early in the morning, before it got too hot!

The recipe called for 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 1/4 cup of water and some food coloring.   The recipe warned to make sure you put in the cornstarch first, then the water..so that is what we did!  Then we got started painting……

River had a great time..but I must say, I was a bit disappointed….it didn’t work that well….our sidewalk/driveway is very rough..so maybe that is why it didn’t work.

River painted the driveway, the sidewalk, the fence, the stones, and then she started painting the trashcans!  She wanted to paint the house, but I said no…so she started painting the plants….

I think River’s favorite part was rearranging the paints and moving them all over..trying to find something new to paint.

She had a great time and didn’t complain about the paints one bit….she only complained when I said it was too hot and we had to go back inside!  She did get it all over her dress…and I’m assuming it will come out in the wash….I’ll let you know!