Chore List

After the first week of summer vacation for my rising first grader I knew I had to do something to keep order in our house. So I came up with a chore list that is posted on our fridge. Each time one of the tasks are done I put a 1 in the space beside it, and some even get a bundle, 1111 and then a / over it to make five. At the end of the week we count up the amount of 1's he has gotten and he gets and penny for each one as his allowance for doing his chores. The first week he got .35 and each week it increased as he doing more things on the list. Now he is up to $1.20 this past week. I used Microsoft Excel to make the chart and print a new one out each week.

Leg Warmers made from an old jacket

We had a rare snowfall last week. It must have happened because of the star my son had wished upon the night before, because when he awoke to 6 inches of snow and still falling, he was the happiest boy I’d ever seen. Before I bundled him up and sent him out, a quick idea came to mind. I cut the sleeves off his old worn winter coat and sewed elastic around the top ends of the sleeves. And just like that I had leg warmers! They easily went over the pants and then I tucked them inside the boots. They kept his legs warm and dry in the snow for 3 days in a row until the sun melted it all away.

Your kids can eat eggs when they loose their teeth

My first thought when my son's 2 front teeth were loose, were to give him corn on the cob to speed up the process. But that's didn't work, it hurt too much to bite into it, so I ended up cutting the corn off the cob. Next try was an apple, guess I didn't learn the first time. No can do. That hurt too. I wanted to pull his tooth out using a tissue, that worked well for my other kids, but this one wouldn't let me try. So he was on his own. The tooth held on for a few days until it finally came out while chewing on a potato chip. He was excited at first., then he got scared and said it felt bad and cried. After rinsing his mouth and finding a box to put his tooth in to place under his pillow, he quickly changed his tune and said "Hey, I'm going to get money tonight!"
That night I made him scrambled eggs for dinner. I remembered his Dad suggesting it when the other kids were little. Father knows best. He was very happy. Other good foods to give your child days after or even before their teeth fall out is. Rice, tender cooked broccoli, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, soup, yogurt, cottage cheese. After a few days they adapt and bite from the side and can get back to eating their regular meals. He lost another tooth tonight, he's a real pro now.

Long Beach Polar Bear Club 2009

This year my son Freddie was amongst the largest crowd in history to jump in the water the winter. The event raised money for The Make A Wish Foundation. The 2009 record breaker (3,500 people) will be recorded in the Guiness Book of World records. My son who tells me he is freezing walking to the train station each morning or riding his bike in the cold winter wind, actually stripped down to his bathing suit and did some body surfing! Way to go Long Beach NY Polar Bears! read more about this and see a video at their official site http://www.longbeachpolarbears.org/ or at Newsday.com

Opps someone forgot something

1 phone charger, 1 ipod charger, 1 winter jacket, numerous socks and under garments, 2 pants, 3 t-shirts, 2 sweatshirts, 1 slipper and a laptop case. The kids left a few days ago; back to college and back to their homes in NY. And that’s what they left behind. I didn’t mention food. I was barely able to keep the fridge stocked while they were here. Orange juice and milk was the most popular drinks to keep stocked. Bread and cheese were also a favorite. And I’m glad I had plenty of cookies ready to cook in the freezer. After the last kid, Marie got on the train, Johnny sat in the back seat of the car and cried. I said we’ll see Marie again. He said, but I miss all of them. So I’ll gather up their items left behind and make the rounds to return them. A good excuse for another visit. Happy New Year!

Storing cookie dough

And easy way to store cookie dough is to prepare cookie dough then freeze and slice and bake as needed. I used the recipe below and doubled the ingredients. I baked a couple dozen cookies then put the remainder of the dough on wax paper then tightly rolled the dough up. I rolled 3 cookie dough logs and put them in the freezer. On Christmas eve I can bake cookies for Santa and not have any mess to clean.

I know this works, because last week I put my plan in action and was glad that was one thing done and out of the way leaving me with less to do on Christmas eve. I put the logs of cookie dough in the freezer, went to sleep, then woke up to find my teenage daughter had made all the cookies to take to school for her friends the next day. Easy enough for her, no mess to clean. I had to repeat the procedure again and this time I wrote on the logs with a marker, DO NOT BAKE UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE!
Below is a very good chocolate chip cookie recipe.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda (omit if using self rising vlour)
2 teaspoons hot water (omit if using self rising flour)
1/2 teaspoon salt (omiti if using self rising flour)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
3.Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

Thomas Day Out

We took a ride on the B & O Railroad on the "real" Thomas the Tank Engine! This was no doubt the most exciting day for any child who watches Thomas the Tank movies. Thomas activites set up in the Railroad station along with a visit from Mr. Topem Hat. Johnny had his photo taken with Thomas and the conductor and enjoyed the ride. Once on the train there was no difference from any other train, no decorations inside, no special views from the windows, which I think would have helped. The Balitmore line is not a pretty view, passing old rusty junkyards and sheds. Check out Thomas's Day Out for schedules around the country. http://thomasandfriends.info/Latest/Day-out-with-Thomas-2008.html