Being in charge is NO fun!

Tonight, I was exhausted!  And done by 5:30pm.  So, I took a nap.  I woke up and went downstairs to find I didn't feel well and was shivering.  Big Sister confirmed they could make themselves PB & J sandwiches.  When I woke up again an hour later, I called the kids to come upstairs to get dressed for bed and brush teeth.

"I do NOT like being in charge!" Big Sister informed.

There was no real reason given or explained when we inquired.  Rather a repeat of, "I don't like being in charge."

Daddy-O informed her, "1-hour seems like an amount of time you should be OK being in charge."  (Little did she know, she was in charge for the whole hour preceding too.)  Thanks for the backup and perspective, Daddy-O

I scream, You scream, We all scream for ICE CREAM

Last month, we tried out a scientific experiment using rock salt and milk.  Turns out you can make ice cream in ziplock bags without any fancy machinery, http://scienceofeverydaylife.discoveryeducation.com/families/pdfs/activities/Kitchen-Chemistry.pdf.  We even came up with an idea to ease this rudimentary work load: roll the bags in an oatmeal canister to help churn.

Now the "little people" are eager to make more ice cream.  What a coincidence that we found a hand crank ice cream maker (requiring no rock salt, to my dismay) at the yard sale yesterday, for only $2.  Our only problem is we are not really vanilla people.  All the basic ice cream recipes with simple ingredients are for vanilla.  I had no idea that most ice creams contain eggs too.  That was never an ingredient in the ice cream I made as a kid at camp.

So, what to do?  I googled this conundrum without any success.  Then it occurred to me that if you can melt chocolate and add it to the cooked ice cream recipes, why not use chocolate milk?  (Duh?!)  Honestly, I had to google how to make chocolate milk since I only know how to make it with Hershey's syrup, http://fullthymestudent.com/homemade-chocolate-milk/.  Using a pre-manufactured bottle sort of defeats the purpose of making ice cream from simple ingredients.  

Now we will have to report back on (see below):

1. How the hand crank ice cream maker compares to the rudimentary system of ziplock bags and rock salt

2. How the chocolate milk ice cream turned out

3. When we will be holding our first ice cream stand

Follow up:

1. The "little people" preferred the rudimentary ice cream to the fancy ice cream.

2. The vanilla was preferred by all the "little people", but I still prefer chocolate to vanilla (even if I know the taste needs some work).

3. The first ice cream stand will probably be in "June".

Have I mentioned that I HATE winter

It's not enough that I passed on my chance to go to Hawaii with Daddy-O.  But now, MORE WINTER in March???



Seriously such a tease Mother Nature

And then tomorrow

I have HAD ENOUGH!!!

Are the gifts for the giver on the receiver?

Gift giving is a double edged sword.  Everyone likes to give a gift from their heart that will be cherished.  But does gift giving on a large scale for a mandated reason seem like it carries the same love and meaning?  Not usually.

Do you get your feelings hurt when you go to someone's house and don't see the item you spent so much time and thought picking out or making?  My guess is yes. Do you often see the gifts you were sure would be so cherished cast aside or forgotten?  Maybe.  

But should you stop sharing your love and joy with others?  Maybe yes or maybe no.  But, you probably need to start listening to that person more carefully, if you don't want to have bitterness overwhelm you.  Gift giving is almost always trial and error.

Indiana has so much to do

Minor league baseball, tie-dye, s'mores, painting ceramics, playground, tea party, dogs, trampoline, sidewalk chalk, swimming, camping and a whole lot more:-). Thanks for the fun at Cousin Camp:-)

Cousin Camp has returned

Last year, Cousin Camp didn't happen due to too many conflicts of schedule.  However, Cousin P's home schooling allows for a more flexible summer schedule.

I'm sure we'll miss each other, but I know we'll all enjoy our time apart.

Get out and enjoy this beautiful weather TOGETHER

With only enough tickets to have each child each ride one ride, decided to try a family night of Miniature Golf.  We went the option that was opened the latest.  None of us will ever be able to make a living at this.  Little Brother's swung his club and slid his ball over the turf as if it were an ice hockey stick; he held it like it was a crocket mallet.

Big Sister swung her club with force, but as if we're an iron or wood club.  She decided to name her own number of strokes like we had be playing "Name That Tune".

The only rule of the game: don't swing until everyone is all clear.

Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with ice cream.