GratiTuesday - Havin' a Heat Wave

We're having a heat wave ... a tropical heat wave ... when the temperature's risin', it isn't surprisin', we certainly can, can, can ...


That's a line from White Christmas, oddly enough, and it's stuck in my head today.  No, not because I'm thinking about Christmas - but because it's HOT.  Really, awfully, want-to-become-a-fish hot.

Today is also Field Day at my daughter's school.  AND I volunteered My Little Man and I to help.

We bravely headed out to this morning, prepared to start right at 10, when the sun's rays would be most damaging- er, I mean when it was supposed to start - and was surprised to find that Field Day began in the art room with face painting.  We could do that.

After painting a few trucks and rainbows, we headed out ... no, off to the library for the kindergarten version of Minute to Win It.  Then we had an aerobics class in the gym (I was really starting to wonder about the naming of this event) when we headed outside for free play time with jump ropes, hula hoops, and mini golf.

After a lunch break in the air-conditioned cafeteria, we ventured out to the there's-no-shade-here playground.  The kids had a great time running around, though, and My Little Man finally joined in.

Next came the sack races, the only event in which I was actually a competitor as a kid.  I loved the sack races!  My Big Girl did a really good job on this one today.

Next came the tug-o-war.  This group of mostly-girls actually pulled the other team of mostly-boys to their knees - in spite of the water break happening in the middle of the rope.

After a short popsicle break, Mrs. Burton decided to toss the schedule and head for the water events, which for some reason were empty.  Yay, Mrs. Burton!

Since the kids didn't quite get the hang of the sponge races, turning the hose on them seemed more fitting - and much more fun.  Bring on the water!

As the kids headed off to play with basketballs and sidewalk chalk, My Little Man and I called it quits.  With more than an hour to go, I'm not sure if we could've survived that cement slab, and as usual, Mrs. Burton had things well in hand. But when we got in the car ...

 this is what we saw.

After heading home, we read a story and Luke unwillingly took himself to bed for a nap.

Apparently he didn't make it all the way to the bed, because this is where I found him a bit later - standing on the stool, asleep before he made it all the way in.

I don't like heat waves.  I'm not a born-and-bred Southern girl, and these crazy temps still seem foreign to me.  But I"m finding lots today to be thankful for.

I'm grateful for the teacher who knew her students well and listened to their needs, both physical and emotional.  She worked hard to make the plans that someone else made work for her kids, in spite of the heat.  I'm thankful for the parents who donated all those popsicles and for the teacher who left the water hose turned on.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a part of my child's field day, and grateful that we weren't really needed and could leave when the heat became too much.  I'm grateful for a husband who would take himself outside after a long day at work to find and clean the kiddie pool we'll play in tomorrow.  Mostly, though, I'm grateful for the abundance of water that we have.  So many people the world over don't have clean water to drink, and especially not to play in just for fun, but we are blessed with water in abundance.

So if you stop by our house tomorrow - where it's to be 96 degrees with a heat index of over 100 again - you'll find us in the shady backyard, playing with the neighbors, the kids in the pool, and me with my feet in a bucket of water.

Havin' a heat wave?  That's okay.  We've got water.  :-)

Join us for more GratiTuesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Field Work Fridays: A Scavenger Hunt

This week we ventured to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, part of Duke University.  I planned several scavenger hunt sheets so that our children, who usually range in age from 1 to 8, could all participate in some way.

Because the temperature was supposed to get into the mid-90s, we met at 9 AM.  After arranging our meeting places and picking up maps, we headed out into the 50+ acre garden.

While I was excited about searching out different items with My Little Man and then discussing them with the group as a whole over a picnic lunch, I was very excited to introduce my friend Noelle to our group.

Noelle has been honing her photography skills for years and agreed to take pictures of our children while we hunted throughout the garden.  Because this particular garden is so diverse and has so many fountains and special features, it makes the perfect place for special pictures.

(If you would live in our neck of the woods and would like fabulous pictures of  your children or next event, you can check out Noelle's blog.  Contact her for more information!)

We'll have Noelle's pictures back soon, but you can see some of the topics for the various scavenger hunts.  We didn't do all of these, but we found pieces of them all ....

For those of us doing the number hunt, we found a plant with ONE main base.

For those people doing the color search, we found an animal with RED wings.

We found a rock that could be used like a chair, just as Jessie did in The Boxcar Children, for those people doing the literature hunt.

We found SPHERICAL flowers, a shape needed on the shape hunt.

Of course, all that hunting made us very hot and thirsty ..

It was tempting to just step right off those stones ...

but we stuck to our water bottles, instead.

If you would like copies of our scavenger hunts, email me and I'll be happy to send them to you.

Have you done an old-fashioned scavenger hunt lately?  What interesting things can you find in your backyard or local park?

Breakfast Burritos

I love eating a good breakfast, one that is nutritious and fast and won't leave me feeling hungry 20 minutes later, so I've been playing with breakfast foods over the past few months.  While I've found lots of things that I enjoy eating and are healthy, I haven't found many that are both fast and really filling - until this one.

It's super easy to make a batch of these burritos, and they freeze well, so breakfast can then be served in just around a minute.  What could be faster?

Here's what I did:

Breakfast Burritos
Ingredients:
1/4 lb. cooked bulk low-fat sausage
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
5 large handfuls of fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 t. olive oil
1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
5-6 eggs
splash of milk
salt/pepper to taste
whole wheat tortillas
paper towels or cloth napkins

Saute onion, peppers, and spinach in pan over medium heat with olive oil until spinach is wilted and other veggies are cooked through.  Add cooked meat and stir.

I keep a bit of sausage cooked and prepped in my freezer, so I can add it to soups or pancake muffins or these burritos quickly.  If you don't have any handy, you could also use diced ham, cooked bacon, or even sliced black olives.

Prepare eggs with milk as if you were making scrambled eggs.  Add to veggie mixture and cook, scrambling as you go.  Add any seasonings that you like.

When eggs are almost cooked completely, add cheese and stir to combine.

Heat 8 -  10 tortillas.  I do this in the microwave for about 10 seconds.  Warming them just a bit makes them more pliable.

Add a spoonful of the egg mixture to the center of each one.  Fold in opposing sides, then roll in one direction.  Wrap again in a paper towel or cloth napkin.  Put into a freezer bag and freeze.

To prepare to eat, thaw in the microwave for about 1 minute or until heated through.

What do you like in your burritos?


**This recipe could easily be doubled, but this mixture filled my largest frying pan.  To double it, I would have to prepare it in batches!

Healthy(er) Chocolate Waffle Cookies

I have a new favorite dessert.

I recently came across this chocolate waffle cookie recipe during a Gooseberry Recipe Round-up, and it sounded great.  Who wouldn't love homemade cookies without having to wash numerous cookie sheets and heating up the oven - and therefore the whole house - during the hot summertime?

Since today topped out at 96 degrees here, I decided it was the perfect day to try these cookies.  But, since I'm trying to avoid as much white flour and sugar as possible, I played a bit with the ingredients.  This is what I came up with.

Healthy(er) Chocolate Waffle Cookies
Ingredients:
4 T butter, softened
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. kosher salt
4 T. cocoa powder - I use Hershey's
1 c. whole wheat flour

Combine butter, honey, and brown sugar.  Add eggs and vanilla and stir well.  Stir in the dry ingredients slowly.  Cook on a very hot waffle iron for at least 3 minutes or until well after the steaming has stopped.  For the waffles to come out of the iron in one piece, they must begin to crisp just around the edges.

**While the cookies are good by themselves - I didn't ice them - I decided to try them with ice cream.  While scrounging, I also found some hot fudge and fresh strawberries. YUM!

A Bucket of Water

Summer temperatures have officially arrived here in North Carolina, and heat records held for decades were expected to be broken today.  After we picked up Andi from school, we decided to break out a summer project.  We enjoyed this one last year, and it seemed like a good way to cool off when we only had a short amount of time.  Here's what you do:

Fill up a bucket of water.  Place in the middle of the driveway.  The end.

Difficult, huh?

For a few minutes, they followed me around saying, "What should we do?"

Finally, they got it.  The next time I looked over, the single bucket had turned into this:

They were pouring and creating and playing, until ...

My Little Man accidently spilled the biggest bucket while pouring it.

They quickly decided that this was a good thing, however, as they now had a mini-waterfall happening in the driveway.

The kids began to rake away the rocks to make puddles.

Eventually, they went back to creating a 'birthday cake' out of mud, rocks, and picked clover for me.  When the water was about to run out, we emptied out our buckets and put them all away for another day.

All told, the kids played for 45 minutes with just one bucket-full of water and the assorted outside toys they added.  They weren't ready to stop and would've happily played much longer if I had let them, and neither child was the slightest bit wet when they came in - although I wouldn't have minded if they had been.

The kids were creative, they worked together, and they had fun on a summer-like day.  Who needs fancy electronic gadgets??

GratiTuesday - Blossoms

Spring has come and almost gone here in North Carolina, and we're seeing more and more evidence of the new life that this particular season has brought.  My Pennsylvania blood, however, hasn't reconciled with this new gardening plan, and I keep finding myself caught off guard with the new life that's popping up around every corner.

The clematis near the front door is in full bloom ...

and after a recent rainstorm, we found this hiding under the dianthus!

Okay, so these turtles aren't blooming, exactly, but I don't see turtles out sunning themselves in the winter, either - even here.  Makes me think "summer."

The funny faces are due to the abundance of bees flitting around the kids, who were sitting right in front of a huge bed of purple flowers of all kinds.  Blossoms and flowers and honey, oh, my!

My Little Man found lots of strawberries at the farm on Friday, despite the abundance of rain we've had ...

and The Big Girl was eager to show her's off, too.

We even have berries growing in a little pot on our deck - this is the first year they've really grown anything!

Although we planted our garden a few weeks ago, it suddenly struck me that the cucumbers were in need of a trellis - and could climb it ....

and the peppers are even beginning to show buds.

And can you see all the yellow in this picture?  Six of the first five tomato plants have blooms on them.  I realize that we'll still be waiting awhile to get the fruit, but it's coming!  Getting these staked up today.

The blackberries are again covered in blossoms, so thanks to Papa sharing Pappy's bush with us, it looks like we'll have lots of blackberry jelly again.

I love springtime.  It's one of my very favorite seasons.  There's just something special about seeing all of the new life that God has created bursting forth in bloom, waving proudly in the breeze.

So, today, I'm grateful for blossoms - blossoms of all kinds - and for the fresh food that they'll put on our table.  I'm grateful for the space to plant and the hands that are strong enough to do so.  I'm grateful for the rain that God has sent and for the sunshine that balances it out.  I'm grateful for the husband that indulges my 'farming' itch and gives me time to play in the dirt.  I'm grateful, too, for the kids who are watching, who like to help with my 'dirt-playing' and are storing up knowledge and memories for when they have their own gardens and tables to care for.

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice!

Let the sea and everything in it shout His praise!

Let the field and their crops burst out with joy!

~ Psalm 96 : 11 - 12a

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Menu Plan Monday - May 23, 2011

We're heading into a holiday weekend, and I'm very excited!  It will be great to have some extra time to spend with family without homework and office deadlines hanging over our heads - and even better because my husband has next week off.  We're actually going to be traveling to visit relatives for the weekend, so I'm hoping to play around with a few things to put in the freezer for later.

Breakfasts:
Breakfast cake and watermelon X2
Breakfast burritos and strawberries
Blueberry pancakes and cantaloupe X2
Cereal and bananas
Scrambled eggs, toast, and watermelon

Supper:
Monday - Grab it and Growl
Tuesday - Whole wheat pasta tossed with steamed veggies, grilled chicken, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese
Wednesday - Due to some great coupons and sales, I've ended up with a surplus of Philly Creme.  I'm planning to make this Chicken Tortilla Soup to eat and this Tex-Mex Casserole to freeze.
Thursday - Hamburgers on homemade buns, the Ore-Ida sweet potato fries that came in the mail today FREE, fresh green beans, and watermelon
Friday - Heading out to visit family!  We'll eat the rest of our meals with them.

I do try to take a few things along when we travel, though.  I'm hoping to take these things along this time:
Vanilla muffins - we all absolutely love these!
Kitchen Sink Cookies
Chocolate waffle cookies - We might have to make these today; they look delicious! (Might play with the recipe just a bit to make it healthier ....)

For more Menu Plan Mondays, visit OrgJunkie!

Monkey See, Monkey Do ... Making Jelly

Strawberries are in season here - actually, they're almost over! - and so it's time to make jelly.  I've been making jelly for as long as I can remember - first with my mom, and now for years on my own - and it's exciting to have the kids help me now.

My Little Man and I packed up our buckets and headed out with some friends ...

and we picked several buckets' worth of berries.  Because so much of jelly making involves sharp knives and hot equipment, there's not much else he can be involved with.

This big girl, however, is old enough to be much more involved, and she likes it that way.  She's a GREAT helper!  She was a wonderful water-swirler to get all the dirt off the berries after I'd capped them.

She transferred the berries out of one sink of water to the second and swirled them again to give them one last rinse.

After washing them, she scooped them out of the water and put them into the blender to be measured.

When things slowed down a bit, she tried her hands at capping her first berries.  She got several severed from their stems but will definitely need a bit more practice with the paring knife before I turn her loose on any more fruit!  This task made her seem so big, though - she's definitely growing up.

Do you make any jelly at your house?  Are there any short people involved??

Field Work Fridays: Dance

Today we visited a Christi's Dance Center to learn what dance is all about.

We started out by learning about the different types of dance that Christi teaches and the kinds of shoes worn for each one.

Christi, the studio owner, taught our class.  She had everyone begin basic stretches ...

 of many different kinds.

The kids loved these!

After getting really warmed up, Christi taught the children about the basic positions of classical ballet.  The children enjoyed trying to copy Christi's feet and arms!

Christi also showed the children a variety of ways to move across the floor based on different styles of dance.

My son had never been exposed to formal dance or exercise before.  He loved trying to follow the moves and did well until the need to run won out.  We'll definitely be doing more specific exercises around here, though, and if you've never checked out a dance studio ... find one near you and check it out!

Do your kids take dance??