We made a volcano today...

We decided to get some books about volcano's while at the library this week and found a fun experiment to try. We covered a glass bottle with clay, filled it with baking soda, and poured red colored vinegar in it!

We all screamed as it started to "erupt"! Addie got scared, I think!

Seth really liked doing this! Finally, something for him!!

They used up my entire box of baking soda and decided to color the vinegar green and keep on going! Ummmm, they really liked this! I shoulda done it a long time ago! :)

Great website....

Just wanted to post and let you know I found a super-dooper website for food storage thanks to my great friend, Amy. It is on my sidebar now! Go check it out!

I went to Walmart today and got the things on her list that I didn't already have on hand so we are ready in case this swine flu thing comes our way.

Can I just say what a blessing it is to have a food storage and that once you get going, and become committed, the Lord will bless you and your stash will grow and grow and grow. Being prepared feels so good.

Casey, is that YOU????

We got Casey groomed yesterday and I told them to PLEASE cut him short since he is getting so dirty playing outside and plus it is getting hot. So, when we went to get him, we all screamed and laughed. He looks soooooo different. (He has his teddy bear, that he has torn to shreads in him mouth.)

Ok, ok, I do love this darn dog after all. **sigh** He looks so dang cute with short hair.

Take this, make that....

I have been saving plastic containers like this for awhile "just in case" I have a use for them! Well, I found a use for these puppies! Will LOVES this stuff and I had a ton of empty ones in the cupboard. We wanted something for the kids to put their money in, so lookie, lookie!

I put scrapbook paper around each one, used my Cricut machine to make the letters, and put a layer of Modge Podge on it to seal it. Yay!

Addie's.

Sasha's

I have a new blog on my blog list that Rocks!! I saw this on there and HAD to try it! I just put a layer of Modge Podge on the back of the scrapbook paper, put it on the clipboard and finished with another layer of Modge Podge. So dang cute. Perfect for sending around a sign-up sheet for the ward party. I better get them back, though....... :)

I am pooped....

Today was great because.....

I went for a walk early in the morning. It was beautiful.

I scored a coffee table, two end tables, a bunch of dress-up for Addie, a scooter for Addie, a big wheel for Seth, and some cute toys for Sasha at ONE garage sale. (Angie, you rock! Thanks for letting us come and clean you out!)

I bought 8 black picture frames at a garage sale for $4.00 total. Did you know I really like garage sales? Just checking.

I dusted.

I swept.

I mopped.

I bathed the dog.....twice.

I listened to Jordyn Sparks' cd over and over and over. Songs 6-9 are really good, btw.

I made chocolate chip cookies. I ate too many.

I organized our book shelf and finally found a home for our Childcraft Encyclopia's I got off of ebay several weeks ago. They were on the floor and that was buggin' me.

I finally ironed all my wrinkly clothes. Now, it will be like I got a bunch of new clothes, it has been so long since I have ironed. Not my favorite job.

We grilled hamburgers for dinner. Yum.

Will fixed my bike tire! Thanks, babe!

I put those felt circle thingys on the bottoms of all our chairs so they won't scratch our hard-wood floors.

I did laundry.

I am ready to teach YW tomorrow! I get to teach more now! I got called as the 2nd Counselor last Sunday. (I was the secretary.)

I let the kids play and play and play, all day long.

**happy sigh**Today was a very productive, beautiful day! :)

Happy Easter!

Ok, I am a bit behind posting these. Our computer went down this week and the fellows with Geek Squad fixed it and we got it back today. Yay for one-year warranties!

Seth has food on his face in this picture. Again. I am obviously not so good at keeping my kids clean and presentable. **sigh**

How do you turn a picture once it is on here? I don't know and I will just leave it since this is the only one that I have of Addie in her cute dress! Just turn your head, kay?! I think I mixed up one of the tiers when I was sewing it, because I had to improvise to get it to go together properly. LOL. I really was a simple pattern. I just have blonde moments sometimes.

This is the best picture I could get of the kids on Easter morning. Sasha always cooperates, but Seth and Addie, not so much. Oh well. They looked cute! :)

I got my ham free today.....

Sweet deal at Albertson's this week. Spend $25 on Unilever products and get $10 off your meat purchase! I some great deals, used coupons, and got my Easter ham paid for. Yippeeeee!

Here's the breakdown (the prices are after coupons and after the $10 was taken of for the ham. Any questions?)

Breyer's ice cream: regular price $6.39. Price after: $1.05
Crystal Light on the go drink mixes: regular price $3.99. Price after: .66
Duncan Hines cake mix: regular price $2.29. Price after: .64
Lipton Onion Soup Mix: regular price $1.99. Price after: .30

They also had a cereal promo where if you buy so many boxes of cereal you get so many gallons of free milk. So, I got a few boxes! LOL! It was a good shopping trip. I also used a coupon that saved me $5 off a purchase of $40. I got some other things, so I could use that one. Sweet!

Mud, mud, mud!!!

Once upon a time, there was a little boy that loved dirt. He played in it all day, one day. His momma watched him from the window and just let him play. Late afternoon came, and the daddy came home and saw the same little boy, now adding water to his dirt. His momma and daddy just let him play. Then this little boy added more and more water and invited his sisters to join. The daddy just let them play and took some pictures. Where was the momma during all this????

**Ok, as a side note, Addie keeps putting her dress-up dresses in her shirt like this! I asked her why and she says she wants to have "boo-boo's" just like me. Oh......ok......!

They had quite a nice time in the mud and we had a nice time cleaning them up. I even had to bathe the dog since he managed to get mud all over himself, too! Then next morning Seth and Addie decided to go outside and start it all over again. I screamed like a crazy lady since we were going to the Dinosaur Park and I really didn't feel like cleaning up all the mud AGAIN!! LOL!!

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

We have been making something from scratch for breakfast lately, (I am about out of cereal, and have not seen a good cereal sale recently), so we have been trying different kinds of muffins. I found this beauty in my Taste of Home Baking Book that Will got me several Christmas' ago. I read the word "doughnut" in the title and that was that. We made them today.

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

1 3\4 cups all-purpost flour (I used mostly whole wheat flour)
1 1\2 t baking powder
1\2 t salt
1\2 t ground nutmeg
1\4 t ground cinnamon
3\4 c sugar
1\3 c oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
3\4 c milk
Jam (I used raspberry, but any kind would do. But maybe not grape. Ewww.)

TOPPING:
1\4 c butter, melted
1\3 c sugar
1 t ground cinnamon.

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Mix together. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix wet ingredients and stir into dry ingredients. Mix just until moistened.
2. Fill greased muffing tins half full; place 1 tsp of jam on top. Cover jam with enough batter to fill cups 3\4's full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
3. Place melted butter in a small bowl; combine the sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Immediately after removing muffins from the oven, dip tops in butter, then in cinnamon-sugar. Serve warm.
**I actually did not dip them in butter at all. I just skipped that part and dipped them right into the cinnamon-sugar. It seemed to work just fine and saved us some fat grams!!

What a deal.....

Here is my latest rockin' deal: Ranch .09 after coupon. There is a coupon out $1.50 off one, and Walmart has then priced for $1.58. So, I got them for 9 cents a piece. Yay!

The crackers were $1.00 after a "buy one, get one free" coupon. But the fine print on the coupon says you can only use one coupon, per transaction. So, yesterday I just split my 4 boxes into 2 transactions.

"Wow, really?"

My kids have been on a "human body" kick for awhile. It is part of what Sasha is learning in the 2nd grade, so I checked out a bunch of books and videos about a month ago, and started quite an obessession. Seth especially is interested in the human body and quotes things he heard from the 20 minute video they all watched over and over and over and over. This is what we have learned:

1. Your poop comes out of your large intestine. Seth likes this one. A lot. He is very serious as he tells us this periodically throughout the day. Poop is a very serious thing, you know.
2. Your brain is inside your "head bone" so it is protected. Seth said so.
3. Your liver is in your bum. Addie said so. I tried not to laugh when she said it to me all day, one day. Then once she knew I understood that, she moved on to tell Will all about it.
4. If you drink water and jump around you can hear it jiggling. Just ask Seth, he discovered this recently and boy, oh boy it is wonderful.

Ok, so we have a few things to clear up. I guess I better go get that video again. I am pretty sure your liver is not in your bum.

It has been so funny to hear Seth and Addie, mainly, ask over and over what the different bones are and what organ is where. Ah, fun times.

I LOVE IT!!

Sasha's Easter skirt got worked on today!!

Oh, I love how it turned out!! The ruffle was kinda tricky since it was the first time that I had done one that size: a lot of pulling of the threads and inching my way through all that fabric. I can't wait to get started on Addie's dress now. Yes, I have procrastinated, which I say I never do. I have had this fabric for a few months, knowing it was going to be for their Easter dresses. Well, Easter is comin' up, so I better get crackin'!! Anyway, I am happy with how this turned out! Hooray!

p.s.

Yes, Seth is wearing his swimming suit today. It snowed this morning.....I dunno. I guess he is ready for summer. Me, too, Bud! Me, too!

Just some of our doings....

Seth loves to lay down and let Casey, lick him, nip at him, and basically they roll all over the floor like this all the time. He is the only one that does this with Casey and it is pretty funny.



Here we are playing store. They all love playing this and kinda fight about who is going to be the cashier. It has been good to play this and has helped Sasha learn money. :)



Finally got out seeds planted! The kids loved it! They have already started to sprout! Yay! I really want a great garden this year....! We are doing the square foot gardening approach. (If I don't post anything ever again about our garden it's because it flopped.)

Will goes jogging on Saturday mornings and this past Saturday, Seth wanted to go with him. He quickly found his hat, gloves and shoes and surprised Will as he was going out the door, with "I'm coming with ya, Dad." Will, being so sweet and patient as usual, said "You bet, Buddy. Let's go down the street and back." So, off they went, jogging down the street. It was the cutest thing ever. Addie and I waited on the steps to take their picture on their way back and she decided to jump into the picture. It was such cute sight. Will is so good at always including the kids in whatever he is doing. I could be like a little more, I think.

Can I ever get one picture of this poor kid when he doesn't look so goofy? Seriously. He really is a handsome kid, I just can't seem to ever get a good picture of him. Half the time his eyes are half-way closed or something equally goofy. Sorry, Bud. I try.