Muffin Tin Monday

This week at Muffin Tin Monday there was no theme. We went with whatever we had in the fridge :)

Back row: Pizza from last night

Front row: Ranch Dressing, Carrot Sticks, Applesauce.

Mmm, everything was gone and then she wanted more!

~S

Menu Plan Monday - May 31st

Hey, I think I pretty much stuck to the menu this week :) Getting a late start on the weekly plan because of the holiday today.

Here's the plan for the week:

Monday ~ BBQ Hot Dogs with Peach Cobbler

Tuesday ~ Tacos

Wednesday ~ Chicken Shepherd's Pie (from my new cookbook)

Thursday ~ Linguine with Garlic Sauce (also from my new cookbook)

Friday ~ Leftover Buffet

Saturday ~ Taco Soup

Sunday ~ Cheater Chicken Pot Pie

Remember to stop by tomorrow for the Tasty Tuesday linky party. Come visit me then!

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

~S

Tot School - Gardens and Flowers Week 1

Kahlen is 41 months old

We are following the Hubbard's Cupboard curriculum for 2's called Joyful Learning. This week was about Gardens and Flowers.

We got our basement rearranged again, this time to make a space for us to do school down there. She has her very own desk and everything!

Day 1:

As usual, we did our stART project first. I forgot to mention in my stART post that I was able to get the video and the book from the library, so we watched the video on the day we did the activity, but have been reading the book ever since :)
After that, I convinced her to do the sunflower seed tray next. Basically it was just a paper with four circles on it. I put numbers in the circles (6-9) and she had to count that many seeds onto the circles.

Of course, then glue had to be involved, so we glued all the seeds down.

 I broke out our letter stamps that we haven't used in awhile. First I had her find the G for Garden and the F for Flower. Then she stamped those letters all over a paper.

We sang our verse Ephesians 4:2,then she still wanted to play with her stamps more, so I dumped them all out. She spelled her name!

Then she stamped on her easel. First she didn't get the letters quite right...

...but she realized it almost immediately and corrected it!

I was so proud of her!! :)

Day 2:

We started by reading The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Then she sequenced pictures of a plant from seed to flower

After that, we "played" a game involving sunflower seeds, an ice cube tray, and a die. I had to use one of our trays to roll the die onto after she accidentally rolled the first one off the desk and behind the bookcase, oops!

It went something like this: roll the die, count out that many seeds, put them in a pocket of the tray.

She loved it and wanted to leave the tray out for "awhile" (it's still down there, I think :) )
I found these find a letter worksheet with help from Confessions of a Homeschooler. You can find them at Beginning Reading.

She didn't want to do it at first, but once she warmed up, it was a great activity. I liked this one because it had upper and lower case and she's still working on recognizing lower case.

Last, we did a do-a-dot mini marker page from Making Learning Fun

She just wanted to keep using her dot marker, so I let her just do whatever. She made me these framed pictures, how sweet :)

Here's a few other activities we did this week too:

Since we're learning about gardens and flowers, we did the classic dying carnations with colored water. We did blue and red. I forgot to take a picture when we started, oops.
Day 1:

Day 3:

Day 7:

Worked like a charm :) I didn't measure the food coloring, I just used enough to darkly color the water. You also have to make sure you trim the flower just before putting it in the water so that it has a fresh cut to suck up the colored water.

She got this game for her birthday back in December, but I thought it was played slightly differently so I didn't know she was ready for it.

 It's a letter matching game. I thought the letters used make the matches were all lowercase and then you matched them to either upper or lowercase, but actually  they're uppercase, so we could have been playing for months! Ah, well, it's still fun :)

I do have to put a limit on her only using the fishing poles while she's playing the game, but she's doing pretty well with that (surprisingly).

Well, that's our week (ok, last week) in review :)

~S

stART - Planting a Rainbow

 

Each Thursday A Mommy's Adventures does a great blog carnival. Read a story to your child; then accompany it by art.

This week, we're doing a unit on Gardens and Flowers from Hubbard's Cupboard.

Darn it, I wanted to get this up much sooner, oh well :(

Last week, our stART project was from the book Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

I didn't get any action shots because she needed a little guidance AND because she did this activity really fast :)

We made a colorful garden full of tasty fruits and veggies. It was her job to glue them all on, but I needed to trim them all a bit so they would fit (they were all cut into rectangles at first).

Watch for what we did the rest of the week very soon :)

~S

Wordless Wednesday - What I think of tomatoes

Find more of this week's Wordless Wednesday (or Wordful) posts at 5 Minutes for Mom
~S

Tasty Tuesday - Taco Puffs & Refried Bean Soup

Welcome to another week of Tasty Tuesday here at The Young'ns!

Please link up your recipe at the bottom of the page. You can post a link to a recipe on your blog or anywhere else. In the title of your link, please leave your name too (especially if it's not a blog post) so I know who it came from :)

Also, feel free to grab my Tasty Tuesday button, it's on the left side, near my other button.

My girlfriends and I do a "secret momma" gift exchange every year for Mother's Day. This year, my good friend Robin got me the Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious Cookbook.

Naturally, I had to try something new this week :) I made two of the recipes for dinner, not too bad. I will be making them again, but I'll probably modify them to suit us better.

Taco Puffs

{Ingredients}

• 1 pound ground meat I used ground turkey
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• taco seasoning
• 2 cans Flaky Refridgerator Biscuits This is the part I'll probably make next time instead of purchase
• 8 ounces sliced cheddar cheese or 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

{Directions}

• In a large skillet, cook meat nad onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. drain. Add the taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Cool slightly.
• Flatten half the biscuits into 4-in circles; place in greased 15-in x 10-in baking pans. spoon 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each; top with two cheese slices or 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Flatten remaining biscuits; place on top and pinch edges to seal tightly. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown

Refried Bean Soup

{Ingredients}

• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (or about 2 fresh tomatoes, diced)
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic (or at least twice that)
• 1 can (31 ounce) refried beans oops, I only used a small can, that's why it wasn't bean-y enough :)
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounce) chicken broth
• 1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
• 5 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch strips, optional didn't use these this time

{Directions}

• In a large saucepan, bring the tomatoes, onion and garlic to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in the refried beans, broth and cilantro; simmer for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, if tortilla strips are desired, place strips on a baking sheet. bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until crisp. Garnish soup with tortilla strips.

So, what are you cooking today?
~S

Great Giveaways #9

Kahlen and I have been enjoying our Piggy Paint from the giveaway I won :)


Here are my finds for the week:
Boon Bath Toys at Home Grown Families (Ends 6/1)

Guidecraft Pirate Table at Home Grown Families (Ends 6/5)
Step 2 Gather & Grille Outdoor Playhouse at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves (Ends 6/28)
Bummis Swim Diaper at Minnesota Mama's Must Haves (Ends 5/26)
HairFree Round Brush at Mommy Living the Life of Riley (Ends 6/8)

~S

Muffin Tin Monday - Seeds, Plants, & Flowers

This week at Muffin Tin Monday the theme was Seeds, Plants, and Flowers.
I borrowed several ideas from Michelle at Muffin Tin Mom since I was drawing a blank :)

Back row: Crushed Graham Crackers (Dirt), Chocolate Chip (Seeds), Water

Front row: Waffle cut into a flower, Cheddar Cheese cut into flowers, Green Beans (Grass)

Kahlen ate everything except one of the green beans.

Nate liked it too, he got to eat the extra bits from the waffle and cheese. He does *not* like green beans, made some interesting faces when he accidentally ate those instead of the cheese ;)

~S

Menu Plan Monday - May 24th

We rearranged the menu last week, but still ate pretty much everything I planned. My hubby helped his brother both Saturday and Sunday with landscaping his new house, so I didn't really make dinner either night.

Here's the plan for the week:

Monday ~ Chicken Parmigiana

Tuesday ~ Taco Puffs & Refried Bean Soup (both new recipes from a cookbook I got last week, will be posting the recipes tomorrow)

Wednesday ~ Party with our discipleship team. I'll be bringing something, but I don't know what my "assignment" is.

Thursday ~ Date Night - going out to Chipotle for dinner and Culvers for dessert

Friday ~ Pizza (Also bringing some to a friend who just had a baby)

Saturday ~Bacon & Egg sandwiches on Bagel Bread

Sunday ~ BBQ for Memorial Day

Remember to stop by tomorrow for the Tasty Tuesday linky party. Come visit me then!

So, what are you having for dinner this week?
Link up at Menu Plan Monday over at I'm an Organizing Junkie or leave me a comment!

~S

Fitness Friday

Here we are again, Friday!

There's only 91 days to go until the Warrior Dash!

Here's what I did this week:
Saturday ~  Ran 1 mile on the treadmill. Total mileage: 3.72
Sunday ~ Went to brother-in-law's house all day so hubby could help him put in a sidewalk. Ran 1/2 mile to the newspaper box. Still managed to have a total mileage of 3.39
Monday ~ Took the day easy after a busy weekend. Total mileage for the day: 2.05 miles
Tuesday ~ Went to the gym because there was a thunderstorm so we couldn't go for a hike. Ran just under a mile after having bad calf cramps. Total mileage for the day: 3ish miles (pedometer doesn't like running)
Wednesday ~ Went to group power class at gym (group led weight lifting with techno music :) ) Then went for a walk in the rain with mom and kiddos. Total mileage for the day: 4.15 miles
Thursday ~ Went for a walk with a friend in afternoon. Total mileage for the day: 3.59
Friday ~ Went to group power class again. I had to use lighter weights because I was still sore from Wednesday :) Total mileage for the day: 1.90 miles.

Doing much better, still need to be running more. Also, my pants are fitting better but I haven't really lost any weight, maybe I'm actually gaining muscle, eh? :)

~S

Book Review & Giveaway - The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews

From the publisher:
A unique blend of historical fact and engaging fiction showing the power of forgiveness.
In 1942, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel. While taking a late-night walk, Helen Mason—widowed by war—discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann's uniform, Helen is prepared to leave him to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind.
In The Heart Mender, a small town must prepare itself for the worst the world has to offer, and Josef and Helen must reconcile their pasts to create a future.

I read this book as part of the Book Sneeze program through Thomas Nelson Publishing. It was a lovely piece of fiction. Very easy to read and easy to get sucked into the story.

The blend of fiction and true story was unique and engaging. The story kept me engaged through its 240 pages (which to me is a short book :) ). I felt that there was room for more development on the concept of forgiveness, which is the book's main message, but overall the story was a good one. The character development was good. The story moved at a good pace and provided a decent level of detail. I enjoyed this book and would definitely read it again.

Now for the giveaway! Thomas Nelson Publishing graciously sent me two copies of this book so that I could share one with you!

Mandatory: Follow my blog and leave me a comment letting me know a book you've read recently that you enjoyed (always looking for something new to read)

Optional Entries (meaning write a new and separate comment for each):

• Follow me on Twitter
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This giveaway will close on Monday, May 24th, at midnight MST and I'll announce the winner no later than Tuesday evening. Good luck!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Linked up to:

Wordless Wednesday - A boy and his daddy

Find more of this week's Wordless Wednesday (or Wordful) posts at 5 Minutes for Mom

Tot School - Babies Week 2

Kahlen is (almost) 41 months old

We are following the Hubbard's Cupboard curriculum for 2's called Joyful Learning. For two weeks, we learned about babies, both animal and human.This was week two, which was last week :)
You can find my planning sheets for this unit here.

Day 1:

We started out with Is Your Mama a Llama video that's part of a big set of Scholastic videos her grampa got her for Christmas two years ago.
Next, we matched mommies and babies (using the same pictures from last week's dice game)

Ha! Managed to get a picture before she scattered them.

Of course, she wanted to do the painting one next.

I (*ahem*, my husband) made animal cutout sponges of a duck, a bunny, and a horse. The only one that's really recognizable is the duck, but that's fine, she didn't notice :)

Then we did a sequencing activity. She still has a hard time with AB patterning, although it's hard for me to tell if she knows how and just doesn't like it, or if she really doesn't understand what I'm asking her to do, or what the trouble is. Regardless, it's something we're still working on.

We also spoke our verse again and did this great Customized Handwriting Pages with her name, although she was pretty done by this point, so she only had to do it twice instead of all five times that were on the worksheet. She's such a lefty, she always wants to start on the right side of a word instead of the left and the bottom instead of the top. I'm grateful that my sister is a lefty and I know that it's perfectly normal and with some help, she will get the hang of it :)

Day 2:

We did our stART project first with the book Maybe, My Baby.

The yellow tray was a YouTube video with stills of baby animals, so we watched that next

Painting was next. She had to put the cotton balls on the clothes pins and then paint with them.

We also spoke our verse again, and talked about it. She wanted me to come up with lots of examples of rebelling, since that's one of the words in the verse.
The last activity was "This is the way the Animals Move" to the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (see words here), which she wanted to keep doing over and over :)

We went to City Park for a party on Saturday. She rode the train over and over and over...we had it rented out for an hour :) Here's my favorite from the party:

~S