Last zoo visit of 2011

 Next Saturday is the last day the zoo is open for 2011 so we went one last time this morning with Kaiya and Jayden.  We've already used our pass a ton this season and it doesn't expire until July.  They boys still like to go even though we've gone a bunch of times and its fun to be able to bring friends. 

Bears were pretty frisky today.  The grizzly was pounding at the door.  Hope he didn't want to get out!

Kids in front of the bears.  We made them stay and watch them for a bit.

Happy boy ! zoo

This guy was pretty funny.  He kept sticking his tongue out at us.  We called him Gramps.

This spider monkey looks to be heavily encumbered with child.

Playground to ourselves, yahoo!

I think they're all actually looking at the camera.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

This could quite easily be the most delicious dessert I've ever made (and I've made quite a few).  And as far as decadent desserts go, this one doesn't break the bank.  Its not something you'd want to make every week, but is quite affordable for that special occasion.

Source: themodernapron.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Do read the comments underneath if you make this dessert.  I usually do this with recipes I find on the web and they can be quite helpful.  I used regular salt, not kosher and I just cut the measurements to about 1/3 of the kosher salt measurements.  Also, my caramel topping did not turn out.  It was tasty, but I didn't cook it long enough so it was liquid, not sticky like the topping in the picture.  Oh, and a very helpful tip from my friend Vonnie, you can find dulce de leche in the Hispanic section at Meijer.  

Chris's Black Friday Deal

Chris thought it was silly for me to go to Kohl's this morning, but he was pretty happy that I brought this home:

It was $18.99 at Kohl's, but I saw one on sale for $14.99 at Meijer today.

Meijer deals~Thanksgiving week

I went grocery shopping after choir last night at around 10 PM and it was wonderful!  No crowded aisles, no waiting in line.  
Here are the best deals:
Mueller's whole grain pasta~ 24 cents with coupon (I have tons of pasta.  Currently about 10 boxes of spaghetti and 10 boxes of assorted pasta shapes.)
Stouffer's stuffing-buy 4 boxes, get 1 free and get $1.50 OYNO
Uncle Ben's rice- On sale for 3/$5 and I had $1/2 coupons so about $1.16 each.
Pillsbury cookie dough and pie crusts- Buy 4 (any combo), get 1 gal of Meijer milk free ($2.99 value).  I had a couple of coupons and an mperks for $1/3 so I ended up paying about $1.15 each plus got a free gal of milk.
Arrowhead puffed rice cereal- 67 cents after coupon and the Saving Addiction ladies have a granola recipe on their blog that I'm going to try with it.
Meijer eggs- 99 cents/dozen
Rhodes frozen rolls- $2.50 for 3 dozen with coupon
Blue Bonnet spread and quarters- The spread was 99 cents and the quarters were 79 cents and I had coupons for $1/3 so I picked up 2 spreads and 4 quarters.  
Check out Saving Addiction for all the coupon links and sources.


AND, thanks to my friend Vonnie, I found dulce de leche in the Hispanic section of the ethnic foods aisle so now I can make the salted caramel cheesecake I've been eyeing on Pinterest!

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spaghetti, broccoli, salad, bread sticks
Tues~Cracker Barrel chicken and rice (I had this at CB on Sat. night and it was so yummy!), corn
Wed~Leftovers/sandwiches
Thurs~Chocolate PB Torte and a veggie for Thanksgiving dinner
Fri~TBD
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken Noodle soup, bread

Spelling Test

100 percent!

My Little Indians

Thanksgiving Week Activities

I don't do much crafty/project stuff with the boys because 1) I don't want the mess and 2) It takes more planning and I'm not usually that ahead of the game.  :-)  But I found a bunch of neat things around the web so here is what we plan to do next week:


~Watch "Plimoth Plantation."

Source: scholastic.com via Heather on Pinterest

~Make these mini-bird feeders to hand out to family on Thanksgiving

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

~Read the story of the Pilgrims and do this craft

Source: frymanfour.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

~Finish coloring these cards


~I'm also thinking of making a larger turkey and having each of the boys write something they are thankful for on it each day.

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

(Please excuse the blank "What's Cookin' " post that's been up for 3 days.  I started it and then quit, but I exercised yesterday and now I have more energy today!)

Source: jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

So here's what we hope to have for dinner tonight.  We have lots of chicken!


And here's a quote from the recipe author's blog 'cause I think its hilarious (and so true!):

Speaking of my children...the other day we were watching a cooking show on The Food Network

and one of my kids said...

"Hey Mom, you like to cook. 

Why don't you be the cooker on that show?"

My response?

"I'm pretty sure The Food Network frowns upon cookers who use cream of chicken soup. I think I'm out."

Sacrifice

Thankful for our veterans.

More Free cards from MyPublisher

5 more free cards!


Check out Money Saving Mom's post here.


I got my 10 free cards in the mail yesterday and I love them!  Very high quality.  And it was so easy to order 5 more since I had already made the card.

Andrew and the blue whales

Andrew watched a National Geographic on blue whales and then I found him drawing this. 

Can you tell what it is?  He drew a map of the world and then he drew a bunch of blue whales and the paths they swim.  He says the dots are the sounds they hear.

The crazies

What daddy calls them.

First Snow

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?”
~J.B. Priestley

 Found on my friend Misty's facebook page.

Andrew and Mya

I think Andrew misses having a baby around...:-)

Grocery Deals

Here's my haul from Meijer tonight.  The best deals were the cranberry juice and the Idahoan potatoes.  They were free.  The panko crumbs were 79 cents each and I got 75 cents off my next order.  The Rotel were 73 cents each after coupons and the Jack's pizza were $1.45 each after coupons.  The GoGurt would have been about $1/box but for some reason my Mperks coupon for $2/6 didn't come off and I didn't notice until I got home.  Eggs are also 99 cents/dozen so I got 6 dozen eggs.  


Also, at Aldi this week, their artisan salad lettuce is 99 cents.  I've bought this a few times before and we really like it.  It's a box with 4 different kinds of lettuce in it, enough for about 4 large dinner salads.  Also, butter is $1.99 and cream cheese is 89 cents this week.

Christmas concert sneak peak

My  most favorite of the songs we are singing this year:

The Savior of the World
I cannot tell how he whom angels worship
should stoop to love the peoples of the earth,
or why as shepherd he should seek the wanderer
with his mysterious promise of new birth.
But this I know, that he was born of Mary,
when Bethlehem's manger was his only home,
and that he lived at Nazareth and labored,
and so the Savior, Savior of the world, is come.

I cannot tell how silently he suffered,
as with his peace he graced this place of tears,
or how his heart upon the cross was broken,
the crown of pain to three and thirty years.
But this I know, he heals the broken-hearted,
and stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
and lifts the burden from the heavy laden,
for yet the Savior, Savior of the world, is here.

I cannot tell how he will win the nations,
how he will claim his earthly heritage,
how satisfy the needs and aspirations
of east and west, of sinner and of sage.
But this I know, all flesh shall see his glory,
and he shall reap the harvest he has sown,
and some glad day his sun shall shine in splendor
when he the Savior, Savior of the world, is known.

I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
when, at his bidding, every storm is stilled,
or who can say how great the jubilation
when every heart with perfect love is filled.
But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture,
and myriad, myriad human voices sing,
and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer:
'At last the Savior, Savior of the world, is King!'


Words by William Young Fullerton (1857-1932)

What's Cookin'

Mon~Spaghetti, broccoli, salad
Tues~Tea Party tailgater
Wed~Church potluck-Not sure what I have to bring but if it's a main dish, I'm bringing this:

Source: joelens.blogspot.com via Heather on Pinterest

Thurs~Steak, mashed redskins, carrots, cauliflower
Fri~Pizza (I finally made pizza that my husband said was REALLY good!  I'll share my recipe/technique next week.)
Sat~Hamburgers, cold veggies
Sun~Crockpot chicken and dumplings, applesauce muffins

Zoo trip (last of the year?)

Andrew had Cady overnight so we headed to the zoo.  We tried go on Tues, but starting in November, the zoo is closed on weekdays.  Looks like its closed for the winter starting in Dec.

Penguins.  They were pretty active.  Aaron liked them.

Andrew and Cady

Aaron enthralled with the wavepool.

Checking out some frogs, and warming up!  It was a bit chilly.

The boys love playing around this mini-cabin.

Frog

Cady Beth

The otter was dragging leaves into this hollow log.  Must be trying to make a soft bed.

This pic is blurry, but the monkeys were watching us leave.  We watched them for quite awhile because they were so active and close to the window.  When we looked back at them when we left, they were watching us leave!  So we went back to watch them again and they seemed to be showing off by swinging on their ropes and wrestling.

Traditional last pic at the zoo :-)

Fun morning at the zoo! It was like we had the place to ourselves. One of the benefits of having a membership I guess, you can go whenever.

10 FREE photo cards

Check out Saving Addiction's post on how to get 10 FREE photo cards!  I just did it and it worked great (site was a little slow, but the code worked perfectly).  These cards look very high quality and I liked how there was room to add a verse with our names.  You also have the option of adding text to the back of the card so if you wanted to type up a family Christmas letter, you could do that there.  The cards come with high-quality designer envelopes and a pre-printed return address on the back flap.  What a deal!


Also, if you need more than 10 (and who doesn't?), here's another post that shows how to get 20 for $1.49.  You can do multiple orders using the same code if you need more.  I've ordered from SeeHere in the past and I like how customizable the cards are, but they don't have near the selection of designs and the quality isn't as good as other printing services.  But if you need a lot of cards, its a good deal.   I just made 20 and I may make 20 more tomorrow.

Pinterest Cleaning tip

I love my Swiffer Wetjet. When I first bought it, I thought I would be able to reuse the bottles and was quite disappointed when I realized that you couldn't screw off the top to refill it with your own cleaning solution. So I was pleased to find this little tip on Pinterest this morning.

Source: lifehacker.com via Heather on Pinterest

Dip the tip of an empty Swiffer 

Wetjet solution bottle into boiling water 

for about 10 seconds and the lid twists off (use a towel). Refill with your preferred cleaning solution 

at appropriate dilution and re-cap.

Goldfish Math (graphing)

I found this idea on Pinterest too, but I had to search for the printable.  Here's the link.

 This was really too easy for Andrew, but he had fun doing it and got to practice making a picture graph.

 Noah LOVED this activity, since fish crackers are his favorite snack!  He did a great job matching the fish to the right column too.

Joel did excellent too!  He doesn't really know the names of the colors but he can match them up right.

PS  If anyone wants an invite to Pinterest, let me know.  But be warned, it can be addicting!

Octopus Math

I saw the idea for this lesson on Pinterest.  Part of Andrew's math lesson was learning how to write the words for numbers and this was so easy to adapt for the other two boys.  I found a printable for a blank octopus and wrote the names of numbers on the arms for Andrew and the numeric numbers on the arms for Noah and Joel.  

Andrew had to read the word and then glue the correct number of cheerios, or suction cups, on each arm.

  

Andrew's finished octopus.

Noah needed a little help staying on task but he's getting really good at one for one counting.

Andrew helped Joel with his octopus.  He was just happy to get in on the big kid stuff!