Madelyn's Special Day

Being the youngest of five does not exactly give you the opportunity to have a day to yourself. Today was Madelyn's special day! It was the first time she ever got to go to the fair without all of her siblings. She was excited indeed!

She visited the animals!

She checked out some pretty big pumpkins!

She saw a few super cool scarecrows!

She played games!

She picked prizes!


She had a tasty lunch!

But most of all, she had a wonderful time!

No Mess Finger Painting

The truth is, I have never really been afraid to make a mess. In fact, we do it quite often here! This technique is just another fun way to finger paint!

Let's get started!

Lay a piece of wax paper on the table and put a piece of construction paper on top of it. Then add a few colors. Try to keep your paint towards the center so it does not ooze out the side when you start painting!

Add a second sheet of wax paper.

Now the fun begins!

Carefully remove the wax paper.

The colors all blend really well! With no mess!

This is a great way to make:

Muffin Tin Monday

I am ashamed to admit it, but I have been a slacker when it comes to Muffin Tin Monday. My kids absolutely love it! Yesterday, Madelyn asked me what day today was, when I responded Monday, she yelled "Yes! Muffin Tin Monday! WooHoo!" How could I deny that sweet little girl her Muffin Tin Meal? So here you have it!
Madelyn's Muffin Tin Monday Snack!

If you would like to participate in Muffin Tin Monday, please visit:

Cooking With Kids

Today after church, we had another Cooking With Kids afternoon. It's such a fun time for the kids and the adults enjoy themselves too! Today was all about hot dogs!

We made spaghetti dogs!

Hot dogs wrapped with bacon and smothered with brown sugar! These were soooo gooood!

Here is Madelyn, taking a break from unwrapping Hershey kisses for some cookies we made, to slurp up some spaghetti! She said it was delicious!

Chef Felicia is trying her spaghetti dogs too! Yummy!

When Life Gives You Kool-Aid, Make Play Dough!

You know what it's like when you take kids to the grocery store with you! Things are added to the cart and sometimes I just don't even notice until we get home. This week, Mike and I took 3 of the 5 kids with us to the grocery store for "a few" things. We scurried about the store in opposite directions gathering the items we needed in the most efficient way possible. Having three children along for the ride is not exactly ideal and the melt downs could occur at any moment. As we met at the check out line, I gathered the children and headed to the car while Mike unloaded the carts and checked out. Whew, we made it through with no problems! When we got home, I began unloading bags. What's this I found? Three packs of gum, a few bags of potato chips, and.....ten packs of Kool-Aid! We don't even drink Kool-Aid! You would think that Mike would know this by now! Oh well, I guess we'll have to make PLAY DOUGH!

Fruity Play Dough:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 packs of Kool-Aid
4 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup water

Combine the flour, salt, and Kool-Aid in a large bowl. Stir in the oil and water until it becomes the consistency of bread dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until it's firm. Enjoy!

Is It Too Much To Ask...

...that you replace the garbage bag in the can when you take the garbage out?

...that when using the milk, you don't put it away with only a drop remaining?

...that you put the toothpaste cap back on when you are finished brushing your teeth?

...that you put your dirty clothes in the hamper instead of on the floor beside it?

...that you wipe your feet before you enter the house instead of on the carpet right inside the door?

...that you hang your jackets on the hooks and not in a pile on the floor under said hooks?

These are just a few requests from this morning. I am sure after school I will have a whole new list!

Apple Print Trees

Making apple prints is such a fun way to start off fall. Today we turned our traditional apple prints into apple trees.

1. Paint a tree trunk on a piece of construction paper.

2. Cut an apple in half and dip it in green paint. Press it on the paper to make leaves.

3. After you finish the leaves, dip another apple half in some red paint and stamp a few apples on your tree.

4. Here is our finished apple tree!

It Always Confuses Me...

... when I find random body parts on the floor. Strangely, we have no toys that this would attach to. Odd?!

Yummy Pear Cake

It happens every year at this time. I can no longer control the urge to bake something yummy. This weekend my dad gave me a great big bag of super sweet, extra ripe pears. So a pear cake was inevitable! Here's the recipe! Enjoy!



Pear Cake

ingredients:
4 ripe pears
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan.

2. Peel and chop pears. Combine the pears and sugars and set aside.
3. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pear mixture. Stir in the oil, vanilla, and eggs. Pour the batter into your pan.
4. Bake for about 1 hour.

The Visitor

Those of you who had previously read The Adams Family blog may remember Madelyn's imaginary friends. She has had several over the past few months, Pinochio Johnson, Katie, and most recently, Stacie. One or more of them seem to be here every day. I have at times offended them and have been promptly scolded by my darling daughter. One day, Stacie even got in the bath tub with me! The truth is, they have become part of our family. Friends and relatives speak of them as if they are just another cousin. I love that Madelyn has such a vivid imagination and can express herself in this way. Here's where it gets creepy for me. A few days ago we were just hanging out watching some TV, when the dog started barking. Madelyn jumped up and ran to the front door, opened it and yelled, "It's only Stacie!" So I'm wondering...am I the only one who can't see her?

Homemade Fingerpaint

We're feeling a bit under the weather at the Adams house today, so I thought I would share our recipe for fingerpaint instead of a craft. Hopefully everyone will be feeling well again soon so that we can share a few fall projects!

Ingredients:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
cold water
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
food coloring
4 to 6 wide mouth jars

Directions:
1. Stir the gelatin into 1/3 cup cold water; set aside.
2. Measure the cornstarch into a saucepan and stir in 2 1/2 cups cold water until dissolved.
3.Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir until thickened.
4.Remove the pan from the heat and blend in the gelatin mixture and the dishwashing liquid.
5. Allow the mixture to cool and spoon it into jars.
6.Stir in a generous amount of food coloring.
7. Store at room temperature in airtight containers.

It's Just A Cold

Last week, when my dear son Brandon was sure he was infected with Swine Flu, I said "It's just a cold! You'll be fine!"

Well, it's my turn. I feel like an elephant is sitting in my chest. I'm hot. I'm cold. My throat hurts and I'm cranky.

I sure wish I would not have taught my kids to share, because I don't want what they are sharing!

Memorial Wreaths

In remembrance of those who died in the 9/11 attacks, we made memorial wreaths. Although my girls were not born until a few years after that day, I feel that this is a day for us to unite as one and remember those lives lost on that day.

I first traced the girls hands and cut out several from red, white, and blue construction paper.


Then I cut the center from a paper plate to make a base for the wreath.


Next, the girls glued their hands around the outside of the paper plate.


When they were finished, I cut out stars and glued them to the wreath with the words "We Will Never Forget". I then added a piece of ribbon to hang the wreaths.


*This is a re-post from Sept. 11, 2008.

Pp-Pony

After taking a break for most of the summer, we are now getting caught up on our alphabet book. Our next letter is P so today, we made Pp-Pony!

1. Cut out a letter p and glue it to a piece of construction paper.


2. Trace your child's foot with their shoe on.


3. Cut out the traced foot and glue it to the paper along side the P. Be sure to point the toes down toward the bottom of the paper. I also added another small piece of paper in the shape of the pony's neck.


4. Add details to your pony and you are all finished!

Wordless Wednesday-She Just Wanted a Picture of Herself!

Visit Momdot for some more Wordless Wednesday!

Chivalry Is Not Dead!

Last week, the second week of school, we got a phone call from the principal. Ugh! What did Brandon do now? You see my son has inherited the "smart ass gene" from my hubby and myself. Double whammy! Immediately, I defer to Big Daddy! I do not deal well in situations that involve civil conversations with school officials. Don't get me wrong, if my kids do something wrong, they must "pay the piper". However, if they have been wronged...look out! I tend to transform into a Momma lion protecting her young! Sending Mike was the best choice in this case!

Here's how the story goes. My son has a good friend, a girl, whom he has been close to for a few years. Not a boyfriend/girlfriend kind of thing, just friends. She is a very sweet girl, but kids tend to be mean to her because she is slightly overweight. Last year, the kids in school became increasingly cruel to her, so Brandon began walking her to the bus at the end of the day to ward off their nastiness! As school started this year, so did the bullying once again. One boy in particular started his verbal attack on this young girl and my son stepped in! He warned the other boy that if he did not stop, there would be a problem. Indeed there was! The other boy's mother called the school and complained about Brandon threatening her son. I'm afraid that he may have left out a bit of the story, the part where he was being disrespectful and degrading to this young girl. As for my son, I must be doing something right, because I can't help but be proud of him for defending her!

You see, I have always been very passionate about teaching my sons to respect women. Before I met Mike, I dated a man (and I use that term loosely) that had no respect for women. I was a typical rebellious teenager and had no time to listen to people tell me to stay away from him. It all ended one day when things became physically violent and my father found this man crawling out the front door of our home. My parent's didn't raise a fool after all! I could defend myself and I did!

I truly hope that all the kids involved have learned a valuable lesson. For the bully, I hope he learned that he really should be respectful to women. Being threatened by a boy may be scary, but being beaten up by the girl who just can't take it anymore would be really hard to live down. This young girl, I hope will learn to stand up for herself and not let them break her spirit. She is way to good for that. For my son, I hope that you continue to prove that chivalry is not dead!

Happy Birthday Madelyn!

I can't believe that my baby is four! She is such a big girl now!