We can all use a few more hands
Today is Cinco De Mayo. What better way to celebrate than with a Cinco De Mayo Feista! Here are some fun ways to make this an awesome day:
First up, you have to have FOOD! I’m talking homemade salsa and chips, chicken enchiladas, Sopapillas for dessert, and whatever else you want to come up with.
You can make your own piñata and stuff full of goodies or make your own maracas for some musical fun. There are a number of coloring pages to print as well.
Are you doing anything special today?
It’s getting hot out there, time to make a cool snack. This ice cream recipe is fun and easy. Get the kids to help and you can all be eating a tasty homemade treat in just about 5 minutes!
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:
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?
I told ya’ll a couple weeks ago that we were studying strangers in our homeschool lessons. It’s been a great study for our family. My older 2 have asked a ton of great questions and it’s been great learning together on what to do IF something were to happen.
I think the most influential thing I used in this study was THIS VIDEO from YouTube where someone attempted to kidnap a child here in Georgia. It was all caught on tape. My children watched with wide eyes and we talked about how the girl kicked, screamed, and once she was free, she ran for help. This video makes my heart stop whenever I see it. Yes it’s completely debatable on how the girl was left in the toy section by herself, but really ANYTHING could happen in a second.
The second most influential item I used was The Safe Side: Stranger Safety dvd. It’s put out by John Walsh (America’s Most Wanted) so I knew it would be great. It had a great impact on the kids. What’s neat is that it categorizes people into Safe Side, Don’t Knows, and Kinda Knows. Most libraries should have this available to borrow – I know ours did! You can find worksheets and questions to go along with the movie HERE.
On the topic that’s always hard to discuss, we decided to use the book I Said No! A kid-to-kid guide to keeping your private parts private. It was really good. It showed what red flag signs were and to say NO!
And of course the The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers was excellent. I love the comparison of a good apple with worms inside and an ugly apple that is great inside.
So we’ve finished up this study. Next up, Space! My son is looking forward to this topic. If you have any book recommendations or project ideas, I’d love to hear them!
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.
Last week, we visited Stone Mountain Park’s new Geyser Towers attraction. It was a blast! The kids enjoyed climbing through the ropes and nets and then every now and again the geyser would go off, soaking everyone in the geyser zone.
The first water-infused climbing attraction of its kind opened during Spring FUN Break at Stone Mountain Park. The more than two-story tall climbing attraction is all about getting families out of the house, moving and if they choose, getting soaked. With a mixture of geysers, mister and sprayers, kids climb through multiple levels of suspended rope bridges and net tunnels and can either play in the spray or stay high and dry
My 2 year old is tall for her age and she was able to climb up in the top as well with my husband. They had a little area on the bottom for some of the littlest kids to play. It was a huge hit with our family and we can’t wait to go back.
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:
