Juicy News You can Use

Chicken Little got his first drink of juice today. I'm not sure if he enjoyed the apple juice more or chewing on the sippy cup. He did a lot of talking, but no one here speaks Chicken so we aren't sure what he was saying. Here's the closing comments of his speech as he was winding down. He was full of information a little while earlier.


We have two too many snot nosed kids around here so today we launched what I'm calling "The B family Fights the Flu Campaign."
It was Chicken Little's cruddy nose that prompted me to give him some juice.
I'm pretty sure he was an eligable juice candidate several months ago, but I'm just now getting around to putting a sippy cup in his little hand.
best. mom. ever.


I work in a hospital and have been getting lots of information lately on the H1N1 or Swine flu virus. One email in particular stuck with me because it contained tips on fighting the flu this year.
Did you know most of the germs that you bring in your house are from your shoes? I didn't realize that so we are removing our shoes this flu season and immediately washing our hands upon entering the house. I am keeping alcohol foam by the door for immediate availability. We can't have Chicken Little scooping up H1N1. I've always been a germ-o-phobe, but it's on a new level now. I was asking one of our pediatricians about getting the flu vaccine this early since it's usually not recommended until later in the fall. He recommended it now as they are already seeing the flu this year. The concern is that the different flu viruses will mutate and become resistant to treatment. UGH! Try to stay healthy this flu season.

Drinking from my Saucer

I've never made a fortune
and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow.

And as I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

I haven't got a lot of riches,
and sometimes the going's tough.
But I've got loved ones around me,
and that makes me rich enough.

I thank God for his blessings,
and the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
and the sun peeped through again.

So God, help me not to gripe about
the tough rows that I've hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage,
when the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy,
to help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
'Cause my cup has overflowed.

Author unknown

A is for Apple

The preschooler has learned all about the Letter A and apples this week.
He has talked about them all week and tomorrow is the BIG day. They get to TASTE the apples and he is excited. One would think he has been apple deprived his whole life.
We provided red apples for Thursday's tasting event.
It's too bad I didn't think to make caramel apples before now.
I wish I had a bite of one right now.
I found this recipe from the

Kraft food

website.
You will need:
5 Washed apples
1 package (14oz) Caramels
2 TBSP water

Insert wooden pop sticks (from bag of caramels) into stem end of each apple. Cover large plate with wax paper; grease paper with butter. Set aside.
Place caramels in large saucepan. Add water; cook on medium-low heat until caramels are completely melted, stirring constantly.
Dip apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Scrape bottoms of apples, then place on prepared plate. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature 15 min. before serving. Store leftover dipped apples in refrigerator.
Rolling caramel apples in 1/2 cup PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts will add 90 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 1 gram of saturated fat per serving to the nutrition information.
Yield: 5 servings

Halloween Bucket

Thanks to Avery's mom! She will be trick or treating with style this year. I even got to use the Commander's drill (with some help) for attaching the name tag. :)
This project was loaded with treats. :)

brotherly love

This child is full of love, full of life, and full of energy.
I hope he never loses his zest for life.


This child is happy go lucky and strong beyond belief.
His babysitter says if all babies were like him then she would keep more. He's just so easy going.

The older kid looks out for the younger one better than anyone. He also hazes him. The little guy can't even mind his own business in his crib without getting poked in the stomach between the crib rails. If he's got a pacifier, then it will be confiscated and hidden when the older one sees it. One day he was crawling along when the older one decided to play wheel barrow with his feet. The little guy took a chin dive, got up, and kept on going. He's mighty!

Alligator caught in Chicago River

I got this article from the Chicago Tribune. I wonder what people thought if they spotted it on Chicago's tour by boat.

CHICAGO - Authorities say a young alligator captured in the unlikely waters of the Chicago River is now safe in the hands of animal experts.

The 3-foot alligator was spotted Thursday in the North Branch of the river, near Damen and Fullerton avenues. Attempts to capture it then failed, but the Chicago Animal Care and Control Department and a reptile expert from the Chicago Herpetological Society caught it early Friday morning.

The society says the alligator was probably a discarded pet.

It was not the first time an alligator has been captured in or near the Chicago River. A larger one -- weighing about 45 pounds, was caught in June 2008 in Bubbly Creek near the site of the old Union Stockyards. The creek is a tributary of the river's South Branch.

Show us your life-Baby Showers

I don't normally play along in these, but this one is just fun.
Kelly is having a baby shower linky party. Feel free to play along.
This was Solar's baby shower who only has a few days/weeks left. She had a green/pink baby shower with appetizers. TW fixed the best spinach dip ever. I wish I had some of it right now.
That was such a fun day seeing so many friends/family.
I absolutely can not wait to meet Little Miss LKM.

Show and Tell

Tomorrow is Show and Tell at Preschool.
I explained the concept to the preschooler and told him that he could take any small toy to class. In my mind, I was wondering what truck would he pick so I was very surprised when he said he wanted to take his piggy bank. This piggy bank is pretty funny. It says "feed me, feed me". When it gets a coin then it will tell the name and amount ("This is a penny. A penny is one cent")
I don't know why he chose it, but he does like to search for coins now. Would that be wrong to put a post it on the piggy with the following rates? :)

For $0.01 you can look at Piggy.
For $0.05 you can touch the Piggy.
For $0.25 you can feed the Piggy.

I'm just saying...It's a bad economy and sometimes a preschooler has to make money any way he can. HA!
The only problem with the piggy...the balance is more like $5.

1st Day of Preschool

Riley quotes on the first day of preschool:
*Sorry Caden, I can't play today. I have to go to preschool.
*Come on mom. We have to be late to preschool.
*Upon entering his class, he moved his name to the "in" spot, found his seat at the table, then went to the center mat to sit down like he was told. As I was leaving he yelled from across the room "bye mom, are you coming back?"
*There were NO tears shed.

After preschool...
*He asked the teacher for more snack when he was leaving. She told him that snack time was over. He responded with "well, I want more snack". I guess that will be his first reality to preschool...no more snacks to go.
*"You have to line up at the wall to go outside".
*"You sit at a big table at lunch time and wait for a little while".
*"I slept on a cot."
*"I moved my star from one rectangle to the other rectangle"

Even Caden has been wearing an extra large smile today. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what to do with his brother not here confiscating toys or hiding his pacifier.
I, on the other hand, feel a little lost and confused. I wasn't sure what time to take him or when I could pick him up so I watched the clock all day and accomplished NOTHING. He came home with a schedule so now I'll know.
I hope we can still take cupcakes!!
He wants to go back tomorrow.

CONGRATULATIONS NANNY!

The entries were placed in an excel spreadsheet with the winner selected using random.org. How easy was that!? Congratulations Nanny. I'll contact you regarding the apron.
I hope it comes in handy when cooking for the new grand baby.


True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 14
Result:
11
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Don't forget about the giveaway

Tommorrow is the last day for the giveaway.
Leave a comment here if you haven't already.

Summer Job

Riley woke up this morning ready to leave for Nana Susie's because today was his "go away" party. He said they were having "go away cake" and "go away presents". He couldn't walk when we started going to Nana's and now a new chapter begins on Monday with the start of preschool. WOW!
At least he has his first job behind him.
He and W, the neighbor, set up a lemonade stand last weekend. Our neighborhood had a neighborhood garage sale so the potential customers were there.
The problem was not with the customers, but the customer service. I headed up the lemonade stand and my employees drank the profits then walked out on the job.
They didn't leave when it was slow either! They waited for rush hour.
I'm pretty sure there will be a coaching for improvement for the next job. :)


Maybe they didn't like their current working conditions (signs attached with blue tape to an old entertainment center). HA!

Physician's Formula Make up

I have tried about four different make up brands in the last few months ranging from high end to low end and I'm really impressed with Physician's Formula.
Has anyone else tried this? I have a few different products and so far they have not disappointed. You can try it free here.

DADDADADADAD, slurp, slurp, slurp.....I like it.

I realize this may forfeit my nomination for mother of the year.
If it's any consolation, they are sugar free Flavor Ice and they are GOOD!

Look what I found 5 min later after downloading this video.
He jumped himself into a nap...literally.
(yes, he was being supervised by the Commander)

Outlaws

Do you have an outlaw, love an outlaw, or know anyone who generally supports outlaws?

How about displaying their smiling mug shot here?

Available at www.allyoopdesigns1.com

A boy's world.

There are many times when I'm watching the four year old play with a truck and I catch myself thinking "I just don't get it."


When I was growing up girls dominated both sides of my family. My maternal grandmother had three girls and one boy. Her grand kids are all girls with one boy and the great-grand kids are all boys with one girl. I believe there are 12 boys with one girl to be exact! My dad has a sister, Nanny, who also has two daughters similar in age to my sister and me.

There were lots of dolls everywhere I went and now there are big trucks, small trucks, trash trucks, fire trucks, dump trucks, trucks for outside, trucks for inside, Tonka trucks, construction trucks, old trucks, and new trucks. How many trucks can boys possibly play with before they find them the same? or dare I say...boring.


The commander, his dad, and I took the 4 year old to see monster trucks this summer while Nana kept Caden. This is where I had the epiphony that I just don't get it.
There I watched three generations mesmerized with monster trucks, tough trucks, and four wheelers. (pictures below for the girly-girls)

The funny and great thing I've learned about boys is they are just so easy and care free. It doesn't matter what clothes they are wearing or if they are even wearing clothes at all. The four year old dressed himself today and I was just so proud that it wasn't until he was at the babysitter's that I realized he wasn't wearing underwear. He didn't mind at all. HA!

Introducing....AllyOopDesigns1

I would like to announce the grand opening of AllyOopDesigns1 on Etsy.

http://www.allyoopdesigns1.etsy.com/

I have to give credit to my mom for helping me pull this together. She went above and beyond with the aprons and no detail went unnoticed. I'm so proud of the quality that went into creating these unique, one of a kind aprons. Thanks mom! I enjoyed hearing your stories about your different sewing experiences through the years. She also gave me a copy of the poem below explaining the history of aprons which was passed along from her sister.

In honor of my grand opening, I'm giving away one of these aprons.
Here's how you can win:
1 entry : leave a comment and become a follower.

1 entry: Announce the grand opening of http://www.allyoopdesigns1.etsy.com/ on your blog

1 entry: Add Allyoopdesigns1.etsy.com to your Etsy favorites. (Be sure to leave a comment to let me know)

The contest ends August 15 and the winner will be selected using random.org on August 16.

Thanks for entering and spreading the word.

The History of Aprons.

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes.
Send this to those who would know, and love, the story about Grandma’s aprons.

Or it can be a good history lesson for those that have no idea how the apron played a part in our lives.