Crazy bubbles . . .

Have you seen these??  These are no ordinary bubbles. You know the kind you can make with dish soap and water. 

Mackenzie’s violin teacher likes to reward for practicing and other challenges.  She has a chart to color in, looks like a winding road (snake), and at each 20 days she earns a prize.  Then when she reaches 100 days the prize is even bigger and better.  Once she completes 500 days of practicing then she gets a homemade quilt – another hobby of her violin teacher.  I don’t know how she does it – she teaches, plays in the symphony, and makes these beautiful quilts. 

Anyway, Mackenzie had reached another 20 day increment on her chart so she got to pick a prize.  Now, typically the prizes are wrapped and in a tote (a girl one and a boy one) and then Mackenzie reaches in and picks a surPRIZE.  Well, last week her teacher had two prizes to pick from and they weren’t wrapped so she could see her choices.

A furry puppy book mark or a small wand of these touchable bubbles.  Intrigued by the bubbles package she decided to take the bubbles.  YES, you can catch them and they won’t pop, you can pick them up and they won’t pop, you can stack them and they won’t pop – CRAZY!!

Mackenzie decided to blow them in the house and this one rested on our screen door . . .

for hours!!! 

Later that night while we were watching TV, I noticed one on the wall and Jay noticed a couple on a few knick knack shelves.  They DON’T pop forever!! 

I’m not sure what is in them to make them so stable because the package got thrown away before I thought to look/read.  Now when you catch them on your hand or with your fingers and you pull them or pop them they appear to be slimy, but they are NOT slimy.  I don’t know how to explain it. 

They are just crazy cool and weird all at the same time. 

Healthier vs. Affordable

Jay went to Sam’s Club the other day for a few things on our shopping list, and he told me if I thought of anything else to give him a call.  Well, after showering I decided to weigh myself – no way!! I saw a number on the scale larger than any other number I have ever witnessed (when weighing myself).  WHY?? WHY??

For over a month I have been trying to watch what I eat – no not everything that goes into my mouth.  Seriously, I have increased my water intake (still not what it was 4 years ago when I lost 35#), trying not to snack on bad things, portioning my meals, and even started doing about 30 minutes a day of exercise - Wii Fit or walking. 

Here have been my setbacks – injury and food!  I hurt my lower back, which halted any exercising attempts & now I have been going to the chiropractor for over two weeks.  I have come to the conclusion the food we consume isn’t the healthiest regardless of my portion control. 

Okay, so what does all this have to do with Jay’s trip to Sam’s club . . . well, being a little distraught about the weight gain over the last four weeks, I called him and told him we needed to stock the house with more fresh fruits and vegetables.  So he brought home watermelon, clementines, cherries, blueberries, pineapple, peppers, and onions. 

Can I just say the stuff that is good for you – lean red meats, fish, fresh fruits, and vegetables are EXPENSIVE!!  No wonder why America has the most obese population because what we can afford to eat is horrifically bad for us!! 

For example, we don’t eat sausage all the time, but when a pound of sausage cost $3.86 or $1.98 of course my bank account is only big enough for the $1.98 sausage.  BUT the other day I looked at the labels – you know that wonderful thing the government requires food to have so people can see what they are consuming -

Let’s compare sausages:

sausage      $ 3.86               $ 1.98

Calories:        180                   250

Total Fat:        16                     23

Cholesterol:     40                     60

So those of us that are on a tight budget are destined to be fat because the food we can afford is hampering our well being.  Plus, we can’t afford expensive exercise equipment or fancy gym memberships – the Y is even pretty expensive for a family membership!!

I guess my gripe here is why are the good things too expensive?  Maybe if they made the good things more affordable then more people could eat better and take advantage of healthier choices. 

Comfortable???

The other day while we were doing some school I happened to glance over and see Chloe trying to rest in her corner.  REALLY???  How comfortable or uncomfortable can she be??

Fun with cupcakes

Cassie and I found this really cool cupcake book - Hello Cupcake!  I have made some spaghetti and meatballs cupcakes . . .

and today I made the corn on the cob cupcakes . . .

Still need a little practice with placing the jelly beans.

foto friday

today’s foto friday features a before and after.

 

before his much dreaded haircut . . .

when he arrived home he hid his new do,

after his haircut. 

isn’t he handsome!!!

thankful thursday

today has been one of those days – a good one and one that reminds me about the joys of being a parent and how thankful i am to have been picked to raise the ones entrusted to me.  it is hard to believe our youngest isn’t so young anymore and our oldest is almost driving age – they grow up so fast.  i am thankful that i get to be a part of and witness their youth, their innocence, their curiosity, their ups, their downs, their successes, and their failures.  i look forward to what it will be like to parent them into their teens and let go when they are ready (i might not be, but when the time is right for them) . . . i am thankful i get to be their mom.

Tasty Tuesday

One of our favorite sweets is this so delicious banana bread, but it is not just any ordinary banana bread.  It reminds me of a banana split with its multitude of flavors.  I found the recipe in one of my mom’s cookbooks years ago, and I jotted it down on a piece of scrap paper.

It is a simple recipe and one of the best ways to use up those over ripe bananas . . . in a big mixing bowl with potato masher mash 3-4 bananas, add 3/4 c. soft butter and mash together, 1 1/2 c. sugar, 3 eggs mash together then add 3 c. flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1-10 oz jar of cherries drained and using 1/4 c. of the cherry juice, and then 6 oz chocolate chips.  Stir it all together so it is mixed well.  Then divide between two greased bread pans and bake for 45-60 min. in a 350 degree oven. 

  

An Unexpected Visitor

We have had finch feeders that attract these beautiful gold finches, but the wind has destroyed our feeders – finch and wild bird.  So, we got one of those pre-filled sock looking things, but the wind was still able to whip it around and knock a lot of the seed out.  Well, we haven’t replaced any of our finch feeders because we figure why bother with this wind.

Well, the other day I noticed this beautiful fellow at our platform feeder, which really surprised me.

He keeps coming back for more,

even eating off the deck, and it is not thistle seed –

we watched him crack open this sunflower seed and eat the seed.

Making a blanket

Mackenzie has been inspired by her sister.  Cassie is crocheting a new blanket so Mackenzie thought it was a good time to work on some of her projects. 

ND Heritage Center

While Aunt Janet was here for her short visit, we had one day to do something.  That one day was full of things – first we started off at Sertoga Park for Mackenzie’s tennis lesson, back to the house for homemade pizzas, and then we headed over to the  . . .

We’ve been wanting to visit the heritage center and figured what better time to take a tour ourselves.  The center is part of the North Dakota Historical Society, and best of all – it was free admission.  

Zack and Mackenzie with the statue of – we know her as Sacajawea, but around here she is called Sakakawea. 

We entered the main gallery which was 20,000 square feet of millions of years of history from as early as the late Cretaceous period and up to and about the settlement of the state.  We saw fossils, even ones found here in North Dakota. 

The kids had fun cranking the start of the car’s engine.

 

Saw this little memento from home in the drug store/soda shop.

 

Okay, kid you not, to the right of these magnificent animals (you can see the edge of it) there is this little cabinet/storage display with a a cover that slides to expose a hole and from the hole one could experience first hand the aroma of buffalo chips.

There was so much information and so many different things to look at.  I’m thinking a couple more visits to spend more specific time in areas to learn a little more.  We only spent a couple of hours there because we had to head home so Jay & I could prepare our Asian cuisine for dinner.