Marshmallow Snowmen

We attempted an igloo, but it didn't work out so well. The boys had fun dying their water blue and turning that water into ice cubes anyway!! (and a lesson in "things don't always go as planned" is never a bad thing)

P is for pasta

- by Justus :)

P is for Popcorn and Penguins

Tonight, we've decided to pop some popcorn and watch "Happy Feet." I think the big boys watched this once when it first came out, but of course they did won't mind watching it again!

Don't worry, we read about real penguins this morning and talked about the fact that they don't really sing and dance in real life!! :)

...and just in case you're starting to think there is no real learning going on around here...

We discussed these questions from this website:

• What kind of animals are penguins? birds
• Do penguins fly? no, they can "hop," slide, swim, and waddle
  
• Are penguins found south or north of the equator? (or more simply for the boys, where do they live?) There are cold-weather penguins and warm-weather penguins, but they always live near a lot of water.
• How long can a penguin hold its breath under water? about 3 minutes (Justus loved this fact, because he always likes to time himself holding his breath under water at swim lessons and in the bath tub.)
  
• What do penguins eat? fish
  

We did a very simple science experiment also from the same site
(freeze flat sheet of ice...Bring in various objects from around the house. Will it slide? Use cotton ball, beans, etc.)

We also made rubber eggs (directions here)
(J made a chart for us so we would know when the eggs were "done.")

I didn't feel like taking pics of everything today, since I took so many of the pizza-making yesterday. Hopefully, we can take pictures of our rubber egg experiment when it is complete!

Finally, we watched some YouTube videos showing how penguins get around, how they protect their babies, and how the babies get their food. It was all VERY interesting, and penguins continue to fascinate me. I am itching to watch "March of the Penguins" again :) Maybe next week...

Saluting the Honeybees for the Letter Ii

We made Peanut Butter Honey Balls this week, in honor of one of our favorite insects...the honeybee!!

The recipe:
1 c peanut butter
1 c dry milk powder
1/2 cup honey

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Roll together into marble-golfball-sized balls.
Roll balls in sprinkles, powdered sugar, coating of your choice.
Refrigerate overnight.
Enjoy!

The pictures:





The verdict:
E and I enjoyed them greatly. He ate 4 golfball-sized helpings. I prefered the ones covered in powdered sugar. He liked the ones with sprinkles. J and T, however, were not fond of them.

dyeing eggs

...beets, ground turmeric, canned blueberries,
spinach leaves, vinegar, salt, and water

i guess they're beautiful in their own way...

a day in the kitchen

...it's not very often we make jello around here! needless to say, the boys were excited. of course, t would not even touch the stuff, since it looked "different." j loved it, and i thought it was pretty tasty, as well. we had planned on using our cookie cutters to cut out some christmas shaped jello, but it was a little too messy. j said, "that's okay, mom! i can just eat it like that! i don't care!!"

on the menu for our red and green lunch was (green) steamed broccoli, (red) apple slices, (green) grapes, (green) lime jello, (green) kiwi, and (red) raspberries. i had planned on adding (green) pickles to the meal, but i forgot until later. talk about a SUPER lunch ;) (i shudder to think about changing diapers later!!)

e inhaled his broccoli...and j's broccoli, and t's broccoli....AND then my broccoli once he joined me on my lap. he also ate his green grapes and his raspberries...along with some kiwi and shredded mozzarella cheese. (i don't know where this child came from b/c he is certainly not like my other two.)

(my plate...excuse the bite out of my apple...they were honeycrisp, and i couldn't resist!)

while our broccoli was steaming, j helped me prepare some chocolate chocolate chip cookies for a cookie exchange i am going to tonight. he loves "those little brown things," so he was allowed to eat four after we got our batter all mixed up.

what a fun morning. i must say, i am tempted to do a "color schemed" lunch/snack more often after the fun we had preparing and eating our lunch today.

corn, rice, and a ladybug

...little fingers could not wait to touch the mini indian corn...

...making taco soup, chicken, and salad...

...today was a difficult day. j and t went to mother's day out, and i was left to a quiet house. what was supposed to be a refreshing day left me with uneasy knots in my stomach about sending my sweet boys to school. j cried this morning (again) when i left him, and t was crying on his nap mat when i picked him up. no decisions have been made yet, but i am attempting to distinguish between what might be mother's intuition with what might be a struggle to work through.

it all made for a difficult afternoon. mood swings for everyone, tired boys, and a confused mommy do not bring about much fun. thankfully, getting outside offered fresh air and a chance to create things with rice and indian corn kernels. a little ladybug even insisted on joining us and did not want to leave. the tiny thing was even trying its hardest to climb into j's shirt...