Kids in the Kitchen

Since I don't really have anything "cute" to write about tonight, I thought I would talk about kids in the kitchen. My kids seem to like to help out in the kitchen. Some good reasons for letting your kids help you out in the kitchen are:

• They get a sense of accomplishment
• Learning to cook is a very valuable skill...after all, everyone needs to eat
• Picky eaters (like my 9 year old) are more likely to eat something they help make

There is usually always something you can find for your kid(s) to help out with, no matter what their age is.

My 3 year old helps out with mixing things. He also helps pour things in after they are measured out.

My 4 year old also helps mix things. She also helps measure things out, which is a good head start in math. She also does thing like putting the toast in the toaster or the microwave.

Along with mixing, my 9 year old helps out with cutting things that can be cut with a butter knife. He is also just starting to be allowed to help stir things that are on the stove.

All 3 kids help out with washing fruits/vegetables, along with putting butter/jelly/peanut butter on bread/toast. When we make homemade pizza, all 3 kids LOVE to help put the pizzas together.

Yes, having the kids help out in the kitchen does get messy. But it is a good bonding experience, a good learning experience, and can be just plain fun. So try letting your kid(s) help out in the kitchen. You don't have to do it every day, but try it once a week, or a couple times a month. The meal/snack may only last a few minutes, but the memories you make will last a lifetime______________________________________________________________

And for today's Tip of the Day:

Have a stain in your sink, tub, counter, etc? Instead of grabbing the harsh scouring cleaner or bleach, grab your box of baking soda instead! Baking soda scours just like Comet (etc), but isn't as harsh, and leaves no chemical residue behind. For really stubborn stains, spritz some plain vinegar on top of the baking soda and let sit for a couple minutes

Too Cute

I was sitting in the yard this evening, watching B go around and around the circular drive in his Power Wheel Jeep. That's when he saw Pawpaw heading back to the shop to get out the tractor to mow. That boy was almost to the shop before I even got 1/4 of the way, lol. Then he stopped his Jeep right outside the big door and sat there waiting. As soon as the door had raised about halfway up, he floored his Jeep right into the shop and yelled, "Hi Pawpaw!"

Then after bedtime, R kept getting out of bed. The last time I told him he was in trouble if he got out of bed again. His reply was, "But what if there's a snake up here in the room?" Gotta love what kids come up with.

C, on the other hand, decided to try a different kind of "pajamas" for bed tonight. She had to go to bed wearing a purple princess dress, a tiara with purple stones, and white high heels.

I have no clue how I would stay entertained if it wasn't for my children

Just Great

My place got broken into. They took my computer monitor and my flat screen TV (that I just got in Feb). They even took the remote and user manual (which was on top the entertainment center) for the TV. But they did leave my surround sound, DVD player, and computer. They also didn't touch the 2 older TV's (then again, who would take a big box TV when they can take a flat screen), or the older computer.

Recipes

I have a couple new recipes up over on Crystal's 3 C's.

Tip of the Day #1

Since I don't really have much to blog about, I thought I would give some tips every now and then. So here is today's tip:

If you send your 4 year old to the Wednesday evening church service with her Pawpaw, then there is a good chance that 4 year old will talk said Pawpaw into taking her on a "date" to Dairy Queen. The results could be them coming home with ice cream for you!

So far my results with using this tip has gotten me a Mocha Moolatte last week and a hot fudge sundae this week!

Stitches are out

B got his stitches out on Friday morning. Everything looked worse after he got his stitches out than it did with the stitches in, and that's counting the same day he got the stitches! Here are a couple pictures of what he looked like on Friday, after the stitches came out.

Here is his head. It actually looks worse in the picture here than it did in person, but it still looked bad in person.

And here is his face. It just looks worse than it did with the stitches. Those are steri-strips on his face for those wondering. And for some reason the doc put Betadine on OVER the steri-strips.

B is doing good though. I have a couple pictures that I took yesterday of his face and head that look so much better than he did on Friday. I just need to get those pictures onto the computer. I have been just washing the area with soap and water, and putting PURE aloe (none of that wanna be aloe that you get at Walmart or Walgreens) on his wounds, and they are doing great.

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day. We did here. We went to my grandpa's grave. We also had people over for a cookout, and spent a nice day outside.

R spent a lot of time over the weekend out at the pond with his Pawpaw. Last night Pawpaw stayed up until midnight cutting up fish. And tonight he was cutting up fish until 10 pm.

C did a little fishing over the weekend also. She only caught 3 or 4 fish though. But she claims the ones she caught were about 2 foot long, lol.

Minus 1 Stitch

B is minus one stitch now. He scratched off a small part of his scab, and pulled a stitch out. It looks good though...as good as it can considering it's a dog bite. His doctor's appointment to get the stitches all out is at 9:15 tomorrow morning! I am ready for the stitches to come out so I can stop worrying about him pulling them out. Of course I will still have to worry about him picking at the scabs until they heal. Then again, a mother never stops worrying about her children. I will try to get some pictures up tomorrow night of the wounds after the stitches are out.

The other dogs have been great with B since he got bit. One usually tries to stay away from the kids unless they are eating, and in that case she sits and begs for their food. But she has been going up to B all week and kissing on him. She normally doesn't kiss on anyone. Another has been going in his room all week at bedtime and checking his room out, then laying outside his bedroom door. The other 3 kiss on him and cuddle up to him. B is showing no fear of them, thankfully.

R got a 100 on his spelling test today! He tries to act like it isn't a big deal when he does that, but I always make it a point to tell him how proud I am of him and hang them on the fridge. I think it kind of embarasses him, lol.

C has been having fun telling everyone she runs across all about how B got his boo-boos. Everyone she has seen at the store for the past week, she tells them hi, her name, B's name, how old both of them are, and then tells them, "Tank bit my baby brother, that's why he has stitches."

It's A Cheeseburger

This evening, I found a turtle under my truck. I brought the little bugger in to show B since he had never seen one in person before. Mr. Turtle was even poking his head out for us and everything. So I show B, and ask him if he knew what he was. He replied, "It's a cheeseburger!" I had to explain to him that it was a turtle, just like Franklin (a show on Noggin for those of you without kids).

C wanted a Reese cup yesterday, so she told me she needed to borrow my driver's license to drive down to the gas station to get one. Yeah, because I'm going to just hand my license and truck keys over to my 4 year old. She wasn't happy when I would just hand everything over and let her go. She still hasn't figured out that she isn't tall enough to see over the steering wheel, let alone reach the pedals.

B had to go for another blood draw for them to check his lead levels today. Poor baby. I was very proud of him though. There was a 5 year old little girl that went ahead of him and was getting the finger prick lead test and she was screaming so loud the whole time she was back there and then still crying for a good 5 minutes after she came out. B cried for less than a minute. Of course, I guess if you just had stitches put in your face and head less than a week ago, a little poke in the arm is nothing even at the ripe old age of 3.

Speaking of B's stitches, he is getting them out on Friday morning. He hasn't pulled any out so far, although he did scratch off a small part of scab in between a couple stitches.

Happy Birthday, R!

My oldest baby is 9 today! Time just flew by. It seems like he should still be a baby, not half grown.

Today

B just had to spend most of the day with Pawpaw today. First he kept saying he wanted to ride on the tractor, and Pawpaw needed to mow anyway, so B got his ride. The tractor ride put him to sleep, lol. He woke up grumpy as can be though. A little bit later he saw Pawpaw leave on the 4-wheeler and threw a fit. I ended up having to hunt Pawpaw down and take B to him. He wore Pawpaw out today, lol

B is still doing okay as far as his stitches, and has been taking his meds like a big boy.

R was a holy terror today. He kept picking on C. He was not listening at all.

R & C were fighting over the computer today, so now both are off the computer for now.

C got in trouble today for peeing in her pants. Her excuse was she was too busy giving her Barbie a bath to use the potty! She was giving the Barbie a bath in the bathroom sink! She was only 2 steps away from the potty! She wasn't very happy with having to clean the mess up herself, but maybe now she will learn.

Tank

This is Tank, the one that attacked B.

B update & some pics

B has been doing fine. He had fun playing outside, and watching Pawpaw change oil in the car. He didn't put up too much of a fight when it came time to take his meds, he is usually a fighter when it comes to taking meds. He has been doing pretty good about not trying to mess with the stitches on his face, and hasn't tried to touch the ones on his head at all. When he goes to touch his stitches, he stops as soon as I tell him not to, and then goes a couple hours with leaving them alone before he starts trying to touch them again.

A couple people have been talking about how bad his scar is going to be on his face. My thoughts on him scarring is that I don't care if he has a big scar or a little scar. I'm just glad that he is okay. I know it could have been worse, and I am thankful that it wasn't worse (this was bad enough). The most important thing is that he is okay.

Here are some pictures of all of his "boo-boos." Some were taken at the hospital right after they got the stitches in (with my cell), and some were taken at home right after we got home. WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT look at these pictures if you can't deal with the sight of blood.

This is the least of B's injuries. He has some scraps and a bruise on his back

Here are the stitches in his head. I can't get a very good picture of them because of his hair. But there are 9 stitches in there (well, the doctor said 9, but I when I counted today, I counted 10).

Here is the side of his face. There are 8 stitches there.

This was at the hospital, with my cell. My poor baby

This one was at the hospital also, after the stitches.

My Poor B

B and I were outside today. I was sitting on the porch and he was playing in the yard. One of the dogs decided to just run up and bite B. He got him good and ripped him. B has a big gash across his face and big tear on his head. He also had little places near his ear and on his nose. He ended up with 8 stitches on his face and 9 on his head, and the little places were glued. He also has some scratches on his face and back.

Poor little guy was loaded up with Tylenol with Codeine and an antibiotic at the hospital, and also send home with prescriptions for both.

I couldn't help but laugh while he was getting all stitched up. He was, of course, crying and couldn't move and kept asking me to help him up. I was rubbing one of his cheeks and talking to him to let him know I wasn't leaving him. What made me laugh was when he started telling me, "I want an ice cream cone," and "I want a popscicle." The poor little man is laying there getting his head and face stitched up and telling me that he wants ice cream and popscicles. On the the nice nurses gave him a popcicle onces they were all done with his stitches. And we stopped on the way home to get him an ice cream cone. He even fell asleep for a little but while the doctor was stitching him up.

B is doing okay now. He took a nap after we got home from the ER. He ate his dinner and even played outside for a little bit. The other dogs all loved up on him, and he seemed to like that. When we went out to play after he ate dinner, he only wanted me to hold him. He didn't want put down at all until I showed him that the dog that bit him wasn't here anymore and reassured him that dog would not come back here. He is enjoying all the extra lovings that he is getting from me and the rest of the family, and from the other dogs.

As for the dog that bit him, he is being put down! Tank, what we called him, was picked up by animal control while we were still at the ER. There was a Deputy at the ER getting ready to leave when we got there, and when he heard dog bite, he called in animal control. I was glad to not have to worry about dealing with that once I got home with B.

Sick Day

So R woke up around 2 am and told me he puked on his bed and in the floor. I got him laid down on the couch with a bucket, then went to clean it up and found out he got the wall too. Lovely...NOT! So I kept him home from school. After all, I don't want him to pass his sickness germs onto the other kids. He was feeling better by noon!

Usually when he is too sick to go to school, I just have to tell the school "He's sick" when I call in. Not today. I told them he was sick, so they say, "Well, we have to ask a few questions then because of the swine flu." They asked a couple things. I told them, "He's puking and has no other symptoms." They asked if he had a fever. I told them, "No, he is just puking with NO other symptoms." Duh, how many times do I have to say that.

And now I am wondering why I provide beds for my children. It seems they would rather sleep on the hard floor. Yeah, cause you know a hardwood floor is more comfy than a nice comfy bed. You don't think so? Me neither. Even the dogs don't think so. But the dogs don't mind because it gives them more room on the kids' beds to stretch out if the kids decide to sleep on the floor, lol .

Other Blog

BTW, for anyone interested, I have some pictures up on my other blog, Crystal's 3 C's. A few of one crochet project I have done in the past (going to put more up soon). And some of a few cakes I have made, that aren't very good, but I did them myself.

B was still running a fever today, but seems to be doing better now. He actually took a nap on his own today!

R threw a fit from the time he got home from school until bedtime tonight.

C decided to go to church with Pawpaw tonight. She kept saying she was going on a "date" with Pawpaw. I told her that Pawpaw was only going to church and no where else, so she told me, "I'll just talk to him about that!" Apparently, she did talk to him about that because he called not too long after church to ask if I wanted anything from Dairy Queen, lol. My little girl has her Pawpaw wrapped around her little finger, and she knows it!

It's A Shame

I have some family members that I don't really know. I know who they are, and recognize them if I run into them, but they have no idea who I am, and it's sad really. I live near many of my family members. All within a mile and a half area are me with my kids and hubby, my parents, my brother, an uncle (dad's brother), 2 cousins, and an aunt (dad's sister). Another uncle (dad's brother0 has like a weekend place in the same area. Not that much farther away, I have another uncle (dad's brother), aunt, and 2 cousins, these family members that I don't really know. The last time I really saw them was at my grandfather's funeral in October 1997.

Then a couple weeks ago, I ran into one of these cousins at Walmart. He was the cashier checking me out. I knew as soon as I saw him who he was. I just stood there while he was rining up all my things, and then while I was paying I asked, "You don't know who I am, do you?" He just kind of gave me that "Should I" look. So I told him, "I'm your cousin." He still just kind of looked at me, so I told him, "I'm your Uncle (my dad's name) daughter." His reply was, "Oh, I'm sorry, there are just so many of us (family last name) cousin's running around." The truth is, there really aren't that many of us in this area. Counting myself, there are 8 of my grandmother's grandkids in this area.

Not even a week later, I was back at Walmart, and again went through this cousin's line. Again, he didn't know who I was. It's really sad when you don't even know who your own family is. What happened to the days when a person knew their extended family? I have other family members that I don't see to all that often, or even talk to on a regular basis, but if we run into each other, we know who the other is. And in the area where I live, I believe that it is more than important for a person to know who they are related to. I am related in one way or another to just about half the small town I live in. So of course I want to know who I am related to, and I want my children to know. I don't want my kids to grow up and get married, then discover they have married a cousin of some sort!

B & C

B was so cute today. He kept singing, "You Are My Sunshine." Or at least trying to. It was more like, "You sunshine, sunshine, happy, skies gray." But it was still cute just the same. But I knew something was up when he told me about 45 minutes before bedtime that he wanted to go to bed. He seemed to be doing okay though. He had a cough, but no fever or anything. Then about an hour and a half later he started calling for me and ASKING for medicine. He HATES medicine. Poor baby was running a fever and coughing. Getting him take anything other than his vitamins is usually a pain in the butt. Not tonight though. Tonight he grabbed the little medicine cup as soon as I got it measured out and downed it. Then he went back to bed.

C told me tonight that if I didn't waste money on stupid things then I would have money to buy her everything she wants. I asked her what stupid things I waste money on. Her reply was, "Groceries." So in case none of you knew, going to the grocery store once a week and buying food to eat is now a waste of money. And if we all just quit buying food then we would have enough money to buy our 4 year olds everything they want. You know, because every 4 year old just needs a Touch-n-Brush, or Smooth Away, or whatever else they see on commercials.

OUCH

I was mowing again today with the push mower. I finally get done and about an hour later I am working on dinner. I looked down and noticed I had a blister from mowing! And of course, since I saw it, now it hurts. I'm sure I'll live.

B is the only one of the kids that hasn't given me a hard time about going to bed tonight. R and C keep trying to get out of bed, saying they have to use the bathroom....yep, gotta use the bathroom every 5 minutes.

Mother's Day

The kids were so proud to give me the things they got for my for Mother's Day today (or rather what Mawmaw got for them to give to me, lol). All 3 kids gave me a card. R gave me a pair of sandals (which I did have to take make to exchange for the right size, but shhh, don't tell him that since I told him they fit perfect). C gave me a shirt, and B gave me a pair of shorts.

My dad made burgers and hot dogs on the grill, and the kids played outside almost all day. It was a pretty good day.

Fun Filled Day

The kids had a fun filled day today. We started out by going to a children's festival that was held in town. The kids got to ride horses, pet goats, a sheep, a pig, and a rabbit, got to see Sponge bob, Patrick, Elmo, and Shrek. They also go to play in bounce houses. B LOVED it that the Lion's Club had a train there and he got to ride it.

After that we came home for a little bit that ran down the road to a church that was having a block party. There the kids got to play in yet another bounce house. They got to eat hot dogs, chips, popcorn. They got to play games to win candy. C did the cake walk a few times and won 2 cupcakes, then gave one to her little brother (who she claims she hates, but her actions tell otherwise). R did throw a fit that he didn't get a cupcake, but was reminded that he could have had a chance to win one had he did the cake walk that he refused to do.

After getting home, Pawpaw was going to get the tractor out to mow. Being that he is a HUGE Pawpaw's boy, B grabbed his jacket to go out with him. He wouldn't let me help him put it on though, he made Pawpaw put it on him. Not too much longer, Pawpaw comes carrying him into the house. Tired little man fell asleep riding on the tractor with Pawpaw, lol.

Being that we were going to be in the sun all day, I did remember to put sunscreen on the kids. However, I neglected to put any on myself, and K didn't put any on either. So I got a bit of a burn on my face. K got burned on his face, neck and head (since he shaved his hair off).

Other Blogs

BTW, I wanted to let others know that I have a couple other blogs.

Crystal's 3 C's is about some things I like to do....cakes, crochet, and cooking. I will be posting pictures of cakes and crocheted things I make, along with some of my favorite recipes.

Just Mineral Makeup is all about Affordable Mineral Makeup™. It gives info on the company, the products and any sales/specials going on.

So make sure to check out my other blogs.

Mommy, I love you

I just love when out of no where one of the kids comes up and says, "Mommy, I love you," and is telling me just to tell me instead of telling because they want something.

Today we were on our back back home from a trip into town, and B was quiet the whole way. Just as we were turning onto our road, he goes, "Mommy, I love you." Then didn't say another word

Pretty Milk

At the store last night, C informed me she wanted "Pretty Milk." I thought I misheard her, so I asked what she said, and she repeated, "I want pretty milk." I asked what pretty milk was, and she pointed and told me it was the pink milk. So, folks, pink milk is NOT strawberry milk, it is called Pretty Milk. And according to C, if you mix some Nesquick into the Pretty Milk, it tastes just like chocolate strawberries.

Gotta love kids!

Mowing

For some reason, K couldn't mow the yard before leaving for the week. So I get to do the job now. What sucks though is that my dad's trailer is loaded down with things, so I can't borrow his riding mower cause I can't get it over there. So I get to mow my whole yard with a push mower!!! I didn't even get a quarter of the yard done today but I am sooooooo sore from what I did get done! Have to do more tomorrow.

C was so cute while I was mowing though. First she had to tell me how to start the mower (and she was right). Then when my brother showed up with his mower too, C said, "Now we have 2 mowers mommy and I can help you." I am sure she would push around the mower if I let her too.

C spent this evening helping Pawpaw put plant food on the some new trees he planted around the pond. B was walking with them and slipped into the pond! It freaked Pawpaw out, but he said Brian just stood up and walked out of the pond and refused to come in until his Pawpaw did.

Carnival

K & I took the kids to the carnival yesterday. The kids had a blast, and didn't want to leave.

C didn't want us to take her though. She only wanted Pawpaw (my dad) to take her, so he said he would meet us there. C told me as soon as her Pawpaw got there, I could leave, lol. She was happy that she got to ride the ferris wheel with Pawpaw, and that he threw some darts to win her a stuffed animal. She also beat me in the water gun thing, so won her own prize.

R threw a fit when it was time to leave. I told him we were out of tickets for the rides and out of money for the games. He kept telling me that I could just go to the ATM. Then he did his best to try to tear up all the prizes that he won. You would think it would be one of the younger ones acting up as bad as he was.

B loved going on the little rides that he could go on. He did the pick the duck game and got a big blow up baseball bat. He also did this fishing thing where he had to catch a toy shark on his pole. He won a horn doing that...fun ride home with that thing, lol.

Today we finally got the basketball goal put up, so K and I spent some time playing basketball with R. Then B wanted to play too, so K was holding him up so he could throw the ball.

K has to get back on the road in the morning, so it will be just me with the kids until he comes home again.

A Whiney Day

C has been whiney since the minute she woke up this morning. I tried to get her to take a nap, thinking maybe she didn't have enough sleep, but she wouldn't go to sleep.

R has been throwing a fit about EVERYTHING since he got home from school. First it was because I didn't have a pen in my purse, then it was because we are out of yogurt, then because of what I cooked for dinner (lasgana), etc. He has spent so much time in his room because I don't want to hear it.

B has only thrown a fit today when one of the other kids has taken something away from him.

K is home for the weekend. He is driving me crazy also!