I was looking for some handwriting practice for my son and cursive practice for my daughter and came across a neat site called HandwritingWorksheets.com.  I gave it a whirl and now have bookmarked this site.  I can type in their name or whatever I want them to practice writing and it automatically generates a worksheet.  Super cool!  You can choose between Print, D’Nealian, or Cursive writing styles.  Thought I’d share this neat time saver website with ya’ll.  Go check it out!

For Tasty Tuesday this week, I’m bringing back an oldie but a goodie that I posted this fall since I’m making these today!  In the spring/summer months, it gets really hectic around here with so much to do and so much sunshine to enjoy.  I take a day and make enough biscuits to put away for a while in the freezer. It helps prevent waste and overeating as well by just pulling out the number I need.  Here’s how to make your own freezer biscuits:

First, gather the following ingredients:

• 5 cups self rising flour
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup butter or shortening
• 1 3/4 cup buttermilk or milk

Add everything into the bowl and stir well until the dough has formed.  If it seems too sticky, add in a little extra flour as needed.

Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch and use a cup or a cookie cutter to form the biscuits.

Place the biscuits on a pan.  It’s okay to have them super close together since they will not be rising.  If you have more than one layer, be sure and place wax paper in between the layers so they do not stick together.

Immediately put the biscuits into the freezer, making sure that they stay flat.

After a few hours when they are frozen, remove them from the pan and place in a freezer safe bag and return the bag of biscuits to the freezer.

Pull biscuits from bag as needed and bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Yum!  Give it a try and see what you think!

Every summer, it’s a battle around here to fight off those pesky fruit flies since we keep lots of fresh fruits and veggies on hand.  They always seem to come around no matter how clean I keep the kitchen!  A friend told me a trick a few years ago on how to get rid of them and I’m going to show you today!  It’s very simple and inexpensive.

Simply fill a cup or bowl with an inch or two of apple cider vinegar.  Add in 4 drops of your liquid dish detergent such as Dawn or Palmolive, and stir.  Set it out where the flies are congregating and wait.  Within a few hours, you’ll notice several flies in the bottom of the cup, dead.

Simple and painless!  Sure beats swatting!  Do you have any tricks to keep bugs out of your house?

Mmmm… My favorite season is upon us…. Strawberry Pickin’ Season!  Words can’t describe a fresh picked strawberry!  I took my crew out picking strawberries on Saturday.  We had a blast!  I’m not sure what we are going to do with all of the strawberries yet.  I’m sure we will make some strawberry jam in the bread machine, possibly a strawberry shortcake, and most definitely we’ll eat them like crazy!  If you live in my area, here’s a list of the local strawberry patches that I am aware of.  Let me know if you know any others not listed or if you have any feedback on these patches.  Normally we go to the one at Moon Farms since it’s closer.

Washington Farms: It’s always best to call or check their website before you head out to Washington Farms.  Sometimes they get slammed with visitors and will be picked out for the day.  Washington Farms is open from 8am-8pm Mon-Saturday as long as they have ripe berries.  They are closed Sunday.   Prices are $10 for a gallon of pick your own berries or $12 for pre-picked.

Moon Farms: Moon Farms is open Monday-Saturday from 9-6 and Sundays from 2-6.  One thing that I particularly love about Moon Farms is that they have fresh homemade strawberry ice cream available to buy!  You haven’t lived until you’ve tried fresh strawberry ice cream!  It’s rather dangerous on my wallet that Moon Farms is located so close by!  Pick your own berries in a gallon bucket for $10 or pre-picked for $12.

Rocky Ridge Farm: Rocky Ride farms is open Monday- Friday 1-6 and Saturday from 10-6.  Clsoed on Sunday. Pick your own berries in a gallon bucket for $10 or pre-picked for $12.  Located in Lexington.  I haven’t been to this location, so would love to hear from those that have!

A friend of mine recently made this nifty project from something she saw on Pinterest from Just Make Stuff.  I fell in love with it and of course had to make it as well.  What a super simple concept!  You can get an 8×10 frame for really cheap at a garage sale or even at Walmart.  Print the PDF found HERE or make your own to frame and use a dry erase marker to leave a sweet note.  These are great for spouses, kids, or anyone that you want to feel special.  Since you’re using dry erase on the glass over the paper, you can write something new every day!

Thanks to Nora of Just Make Stuff for letting me share this awesome idea as well as her PDF and to my friend Angel for sharing it with me.

The recent warm weather has had many residents playing in the dirt this spring. With the predicted frost for areas east of Atlanta tonight, homeowners should protect their plants from the frost and colder weather. The experts at Pike Nurseries take the guesswork out of gardening and advise gardeners to adhere to the following guidelines to help keep their plants healthy throughout the weekend’s changing temperatures:

TIPS FROM PIKE NURSERIES:

• Cover plants and flowers with frost cloth or a sheet. (Garden frost cloths can be found at Pike Nurseries locations).
• Remove the frost cloth first in the morning; otherwise, the sun will trap in heat and cause more damage.
• Water, water, water! Water the garden and containers before a hard freeze and again after the freeze. The added moisture will allow the plants to tolerate the cold and bounce back to life.
• Don’t worry if plants are droopy the day after a deep freeze. Give them time and they’ll usually spring back.
• Adding a layer of mulch to gardens helps regulate the temperature and keep plants moist. Cover gardens with a 1-2 inch layer of mulch.
• Plants in containers can be grouped closely together on a porch or patio, or moved to a protected area.

For one of my daughter’s homeschool projects, she’s had to learn about plants and how they grow.  Target made this super easy by having these cute little pots with soil and seeds for just $1 in the Dollar section.  They had a variety of flowers and even herbs and strawberries.  The kids each got one in their Easter baskets since I thought they were so neat.  My in-laws must have thought they were neat too since they gave my kids one for Easter as well.

They were so super easy to do – just add water!  Next time you’re in Target, be sure to check these out for just $1!

This week and next, I’ve decided to discuss Stranger Danger with my kids.  My oldest is easily frightened so I’ve tried to come up with a way to discuss it without making her afraid.

After talking with several friends, I decided to purchase The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers from Amazon.  I read it with my older 2 this morning and they liked it.  It had a great example of an odd looking apple being great inside and a beautiful apple being filled with worms inside.  This was definitely what they needed to hear since earlier I asked the kids what a bad person looks like and my son said a bad person has a grumpy face.  Most definitely not true.

There is also a video that I just ordered called The Safe Side: Stranger Safety.  It is put out by America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh and Baby Einstein creator Julie Clark.  Can’t wait to get it to go along with this topic.  There is a printable home study guide available on their website to use as well.

Here are some links to printables I’ve found along this topic:

• Keep Your Child Safe Coloring Pages
• Fingerprint America – Safety Rules
• DLTK-Kids Safety
• McGruff The Crime Dog 

Do you have any book or reference suggestions?  How did you teach your kids about strangers?

A year or so ago, couponing was in full swing.  Everywhere you looked in the stores, you saw many people trying to coupon, or even extreme coupon.  Lately I’m noticing that couponing seems to be wearing off.  Sale items aren’t disappearing from the shelves as quickly and couponers aren’t so prevalent in the stores.

Is it because people are realizing that what is shown on Extreme Couponining isn’t real?  Is it because the Extreme Couponing show is now turning into extreme coupon fraud?  The Coupon Information Center has even issued a Retailer Alert alerting retailers to the violations on the show. If you are couponing so you can be like the people on the show, you’ve probably become very discouraged.  Couponing like that isn’t real.  Numerous counterfeit coupons were used on several episodes in order to get the discounts.

Is it because the coupon policies at the stores have gotten stricter?  This unfortunately is a side effect of coupon abuse.

Is it because the coupons aren’t as great lately or due to stores such as Aldi popping up offering lower prices but no coupon acceptance?  I have no clue.

For me, I haven’t stopped couponing.  Honestly, my stockpile is established and so I’m able to shop infrequently to just replenish my stockpile.  Also since finding out about my son’s soy allergy last fall, I haven’t been able to buy as many processed foods, which really is great for our family.  I often say his soy allergy was the best thing to happen to our family.

Do you think couponing has changed in your area?  Have you changed the way you coupon?  Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts.

I know I told my facebook fans the other day that we’re back, but wanted to make it official We had a great time in Disney and made lots of great memories.  It was much too short and now I’m suffering from the post-Disney blues and headache of tons of laundry, tired kids, emails, etc, but slowly things are finally getting caught back up.  We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and managed to do a couple character breakfasts which were a ton of fun.  My kids loved meeting the characters.  The look on my 2 year old’s face when she saw Minnie Mouse made the entire trip worth it.

We even had a little surprise at the Magic Kingdom.  We were walking to go toward the teacups and suddenly found ourselves surrounded by cast members!  They told us that Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs were just in the icecream shop playing around and told them to give us this big bowl of icecream goodness!  It had a brownie, strawberry shortcake, ice cream cone, and a cookie along with tons of ice cream, whipped cream, and fruit.  What a surprise!  The kids loved it and it made the day super special!   (By the way, my daughter is wearing a sock on her hand to remind her not to suck her fingers.  It’s hard trying to break this habit!)

The crowds actually weren’t too bad and we were able to ride almost everything we wanted to at the Magic Kingdom.  We also went to Hollywood Studios and that was super packed.  We caught a few shows, did the Toy Story Mania, Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playset and my older kids did the Jedi Knight Training.  That was pretty neat!

We also spent a little time at Downtown Disney window shopping and visiting with friends and relatives in the area.  All in all, a successful trip!  And a huge thanks to my assistant Edith for keeping things running while I was gone!