Unplug your kids..... Books
This weeks project at unplug your kids was books. Well it was a great theme in this house. Sam is all over books. He is crazy about them. It is very hard to get his nose out of them. So I decided this week to let them each pick out a book from enchantedlearning.com, this way they could make there own books.

Sam's book is first. He instantly wanted the US coins book. He loves using books as his way of learning.
For some reason the pictures of Gabe's kept coming out blurry. The top one is the project he made for today. He happily sat down and did his version of coloring, scribble. Since he loved the theme so much. It was called make a silly sandwich. He thought that was so funny. The bottom one is a bonus that he made last week for school work to teach him animal sounds and colors.
Make sure to check in with the other projects over at Unplug your kids. Also check back next week when the theme will be food. Since we are still studying Australia maybe I will put in an Australian recipe. Who knows, you will have to check back and see.

Book List Part 3.....

With this list I will be completly caught up so hopefully I can start doing it regularly again. This list will put me just over 600 books. I was originally trying to reach our goal by the time Sam had his yearly evaluation. That would mean that I would have to get 400 books in 2 months if I wanted to reach the goal of 1000. Not impossible but highly unlikely. I decided that I will extended the goal to be 1 year long. That will put us ending at the end of August. A much easier goal. Now before they run off and get more books from the library here is this weeks list.

581.) Croco'nile by Roy Gerrard (Thanks Kate they loved it)
582.) Magic Hoofbeats by Josepha Sherman
583.) OTTO goes to school by Todd Parr
584.) Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
585.) George's Store at the Shore by Francine Bassede
586.) George Paints his House by Francine Bassede
587.) Trouble With Trolls by Jan Brett
588.) Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee
589.) The Royal Nap by Charles C. Black
590.) Then I Think of God by Martha Whitmore Hickman
591.) Riddle Me This by Hugh Lupton
592.) The Book of Beast by E. Nesbit
593.) Steam Locomotives by Karl Zimmerman
594.) Cleo the Cat by Caroline Mockford
595.) Benjamin Franklin: The Man Who Could do Just about Anything by Sneed B. Collard III
596.) Go to Bed Monster! by Natasha Wing
597.) Ben Franklin's Almanac by Candace Fleming
598.) Pigs Rock! by Melanie Davis Jones
599.) Chingis Khan by Demi
600.) The Secret of the First one up by Iris Hiskey Arno
601.) George Did It by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain

That is it.... We are all caught up now. I have been talking about our library being closed for a few months and some have asked questions about it. The questions have had to do with how long we can keep the books and how many of them we can keep. Well we are allowed to keep all that we took out from our branch until they reopen again in November. If we want to return any of them earlier than that we can return them to any branch. At any given time we can have 50 books per card. With our family we are usually at that limit each week. We have three cards. so that makes 150 each week. The boys each have there own. Sam gets about 30 each week. Gabe will get about 15 to 20. Then all books for classes gets put on ours. I am just about at the limit on that right now. Now that I have babbled on about our books for awhile I hope that I have not confused people. Go read a great book and enjoy the rest of your day. Oh and incase any one is wondering yes we do get alot of strange looks and comments when people see us with that many books.

Book list Part 2---
Ok I have Last weeks list for you now. Oh so far behind But I am going to catch up. I really am, I promise. So lets get started on the list....

560.) Zodiac by Jacqueline Mitton
561.) The Iguana Brothers by Tony Johnston
562.) Oliver, Who would not sleep by Mara Bergman
563.) Monster Mama by Liz Rosenberg
564.) Ready or not, Dawdle Duckling by Toni Buzzeo
565.) Otto Goes to the Beach by Todd Parr
566.) The Grandpa Book by Todd Parr
567.) Reading Makes you Feel Good by Todd Parr
568.) Rembrandt's Hat by Susan Blackaby
569.) This little Piggy's Book of Manners by Katherine Madeline Allen
570.) Accidental Alphabet by Dianna Bonder
571.) What People Do All Day by Richard Scarry
572.) Cowboy & Octopus by Jon Scieszka
573.) Cars by Lisa Ann Marsoli
574.) Smudge by Julie Sykes
575.) The Tomb of the Boy King by John Frank
576.) Totally Wonderful Miss Plumberry by Michael Rosen
577.) Kallaloo! A Caribbean Tale by David Phillis Gershator
578.) You are Special, Little One by Nancy Tafuri
579.) The Three Silly Billies by Margie Palatini
580.) Carnival of Animals by John Lithgow

I will Try to be back tomorrow with this weeks list. Then of course we are going to check out the new library on sunday so I will have another list real soon. Oh well happy reading.

Ok So I am back with the book list. I have still been keeping track of all the books we have been reading. I just have not had the chance to post them. We have been going to the library alot lately because our branch is now closed for the next six months. It is a nice thing for the most part because we get to keep all of our books until November. That good. We will get to check out a new library now to, because there are alot of others in the system. We also got some art supplies for free when they closed our branch. The librarian in the kids section knows us pretty well now so she gave them to use while she was packing up everything. That is a huge bonus. So since I have a few list made I will start off with one List at a time and try to get them all on within the week. So here it goes.....

530.) Fire Fighter Piggy Wiggy by Christyan and Diane Fox
531.) Animal Antics A to Z by Anita Lobel
532.) Circus by Lois Ehlert
533.) Big Top Circus by Neil Johnson
534.) George Vs. George by Rosalyn Schanzer
535.) The Ring of Truth by Teresa Bateman
536.) Shakespeare by Peter Chrisp
537.) American Revolution by Mary Pope Osbourne
538.) St. Patricks Day by Gail Gibbons
539.) The Truth about Poop by Susan E Goodman
540.) Almost Late to school and more school poems by Carol Diggory Shields
541.) Lilo and Stitch by Cathy Hapka
542.) Russia by Kathleen Berton Murrell
543.) Who Swallowed Harold? by Susan Pearson
544.) Hot Potato - Mealtime Rhymes by Neil Philip
545.) You Read to me, I'll Read to you (fairy tales) by Mary Ann Hoberman
546.) You Read to me, I'll Read to you (Scary Tales) by Mary Ann Hoberman
547.) Trains by Ann Rockwell
548.) And to name but just a few: red, yellow, green, and blue by Laurie Rosenwald
549.) Hottest Motorcycles by Bob Woods
550.) Stock Cars by Peter Sessler
551.) Drag Cars by Peter Sessler
552.) Jeff Gordon by Kristal Leebrick
553.) Stock Cars by Jeff Savage
554.) Demolition Derby by Jeff Savage
555.) Demolition Derby- Action Events by Jeff Savage
556.) Down The Back of the Chair by Margaret Mahy
557.) Tutankhamen's Gift by Robert Sabuda
558.) Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
559.) But Excuse me that is my book by Lauren Child

So that is the list from 2 weeks ago. I will try to come back tomorrow and post last weeks list. Then of course the next day for this weeks list. I hope that you will keep joining us for our library adventures.

Oh Goodness have we been busy. These children of mine keep me running so much. DH is so busy with Tax season finishing up. It will be nice when that is over and we have him home a little more. I did get a nice shot of him working on some school work with Gabe during his lunch break the other day. They are both so happy to be together.

Well while I was in the shower this morning, Sam taught art class. As you can see it was painting. Which Gabe decided that it would be fun to paint his face. Good thing he likes to take baths. They do grow out of painting themselves right?
I just had to share this one of Sam. He was drinking a smoothie and got the biggest moustache from it. So funny and a good sport to let me take the picture.

I also have been trying to do more baking or some sort of cooking with them each week. This week we made NO BAKE ENERGY BARS! They were so yummy. When ever I opened the fridge it smelt like the No-Bake Chocolate cookies. I included the recipe below the picture of them if you want to try and make them to. Enjoy!

NO-BAKE ENERGY BARS

Ingredients-

butter or oil for greasing the pan, 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats, 2 cups crisp rice cereal, 1/2 cup flaked coconut, 1/2 cup sesame seeds, 1 cup sunflower seeds, 3/4 cup peanut butter, 3/4 brown sugar, 3/4 cup maple syrup.

Some variations offered:

Add in a 1/2 cup of wheat germ for extra nutrition. Substitute chopped peanuts or almonds for the sunflower seeds. Use raisins instead of the coconut. Try butterscotch chips instead of the chocolate chips.

1.) Grease bottom and sides of a 9 x 13 pan.

2.) Mix together Chocolate chips, rolled oats, crisp rice cereal, coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds.

3.) Over medium heat combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, and syrup until the brown sugar has dissolved.

4.) Combine in the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well.

5.) Pour it all into the pan and pat it out flat. Then chill for 3 hours.

I found the recipe in the Cook Book called Cool Sweets.

Well I hope to be back in the next few days to share some other pictures that I have and some of the wonderful books that we have been reading, both of which I am behind on. Shocking that I am behind. LOL. Well have a good evening I am off to do the dishes.

Unplug your kids......ROCKS

This weeks unplug your kids project was rocks. I thought about what we could do, then I found this. It seemed like a really neat idea. Take hot rocks and color them. I wanted to do something with the rocks after they were all done so the boys made a Birthday gift for their Papa. See the last picture to see what they made. Very cute.
Concentrating hard on coloring!
The fingers are cooling down some now!
Pretty Rocks!
The end product, a beautiful picture frame for their Papa. Make sure to check out the other unlpug your kids project over here. Join us again for next weeks theme....Books.

Cookie Time.....

Today my little helper helped me make some cookies. They are called Anzac Biscuits (Australian Cookies). They came out so yummy. Of course that is because Gabe did all of the mixing according to him. Such a Silly Boy. LOL. I am including the Directions if any one wants to try and make them.

ANZAC BISCUITS

INGREDIENTS--

1 cup of coconut, 1 cup of rolled oats, 1 cup of All Purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup butter, 2 tablespoons of Molasses, 2 tablespoons of water.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a cookie sheet.

2. Mix the coconut, oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

3. Melt the butter. Add the molasses and water.

4. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until well blended.

5. Drop the cookies by teaspoon. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the cookies turn tan. Cool on Wire rack.

recipe was found in this book.

Now I am off to enjoy this yummy cookie. Have a good night.

My Private Concert.....
While I was working on dishes today Gabe decided to give me a concert. What beautiful music he makes. :) LOL. He is such a little monkey. You can see in some of the pictures that he tried to play some instruments with his toes.





I hope you all enjoyed my little concert asmuch as I did. :) Have a great day and go enjoy some beautiful music.

What we have been up to.....
I really have been trying to keep up on the blog, but these boys of mine keep me running. I thought that I would share some of the photos from the past week so you can see just how much. The first one happened while I was doing dishes the other day. While Sam was sitting at his desk doing school work his little brother thought it would be fun to tie Sam to the chair. Well at least he was working on life skills...how to tie. :)
Another time Gabe wanted to play with his pop up bus. Well I had to rescue him from the set up because it tried to eat him.
He did not want to clean his room so he hid behind the shelves. Of course he got stuck.
This one I just feel like he is planning on what trouble to get into next. Just wait you will see what he does.
This weekend we finally got the Washer and dryer fixed. The Boys were very excited because they love to help with what they feel is grown up chores. (Hate cleaning there room tho) So this is what Sam looks like when I tell him he can do laundry. Very Silly Boy.

Here are a couple of pictures of them enjoying the sounds of the washer. I think they are loosing it. Silly. :) They are so cute though.
This next one is for my SIL. When we talked on the phone the other night she mentioned that most of the pictures she sees of Gabe is on his head or hanging off something. So here you go, Gabe being true to form.

O.k. Now for what Gabe planned. It took a few days but Gabe discovered how to make a sling shot on his own. I am not to worried yet because thankfully he has not learned how to properly launch it. When he get ready to let go he does move his hand out of the way. Everthing just goes straight into the floor. So We are safe for now. ;)
When I went to get dressed the other day this is what I found, Such a pretty little monster. He decided it would be fun to hang out in there.

Elastics have become one of his favorite things to play with lately. I do not know if you see it well enough but he attached the book to rocket with one because he wanted to make a float for the little einsteins. He is always thinking.

So those are just some of the reasons why I have not been so quick on the posting. They keep me really busy. I guess after reading this I should say Gabe keeps me really busy. Although Sam does not always mean I have time for rest. Hope everyone enjoys their day.

Unplug your kids project.....
This weeks theme for the project was....eggs. So we came up with a couple of different projects to do for this. First we got in some science and did the Rubber Egg trick. Then we made a paper mache egg. The boys had alot of fun with these projects. Here are photos from each project.

This was the boys getting started on the project. If you would like directions for this project see here, there is even a video.

Day one. This is what it looked like when they started.

Day two. The Action was really starting to happen.

Day Three. You can actually see the yolk in the egg now.

The Final day. Sam actually played with his to much that it popped. Gabe stayed together though. Really neat feeling.

Yesterday the boys started on the second project with daddy.

They both were making sure to rip up the paper really good.


Need to place the pieces on just right to make that masterpiece! :)


We have not popped the balloons inside as of yet, because they are still a little wet. Sam's is the one on the top and Gabe's is the project on the bottom. Both are wonderful masterpieces.

Make sure to check out all of the other projects at Unplug your kids. Join back for next weeks project.....rocks.

Somethings we have been up to.....
We have been doing alot of different things around here lately. For some reason though I have not been taking alot of pictures. Well here are some that I did get plus a few of our recent art projects. I hope you enjoy.
To practice on Gabe's reading and spelling we played scrabble junior. He loved it so much, mostly because he won. As you can see in the picture I had all of the tiles flipped over. You had to pick a tile and place it on the matching spot on the board. It could be placed in any word. The first one to complete two words won. He had a lot of fun doing it.
Sam for his English did some Mad libs books to practice the parts of the speech. I love the mad libs books, it makes the learning parts of speech fun for the kids. They even get to practice their creativity. I found a great card game at Target the other day. It is a mad lib card game. So much fun.
We are studying Australia now, so I am trying to get some different crafts that we can make up an Australia wall. Here are some that we made so far. These first set of pictures are of the cave paintings, like the aboriginals use to do. You take crayons and draw on sand paper. Easy to do and pretty fun. The picture above is the one that Gabe did. They came out much better than the pictures look.
This wonderful creation (LOL) was mine. I joined in with the boys to make one and it was kind of fun.
These two are made by Sam. The first one is of an apple tree. The second is a nice day. DH has not made one because he was at work, but he will probably make one later. I will try to post a picture when he does.
These are pictures of the Boomerangs that the boys made. Gabe's is the top picture he has two because after the first one (Brown one) he said he wanted to make one as nice as Sam's. So sweet I gave him the one I was supposed to paint. Sam's is in the bottom picture. I was really proud of him. Normally when he does a project like this he paints U.S. landmarks on it. That is not a bad thing, it was really nice to see him do something different though. Dh and I still plan on making one we have just been really busy. When they are done I will try to post pictures of them.
Now for the boys will be boys section...
When I ask Gabe to make his bed. It never fails the blanket always attacks him. Silly boy.

This morning they decided to have wrestling match on my bed . Looks like Sam won.
He looks like the King of the mountain. He never stops climbing. He tells every one that he is a monkey.
Smile pretty for the Camera.
Gabe feel and hurt himself this morning (He is fine). The sure way to make him smile again is to blow on his belly. I mean look at the Smile. Then of course he wants to do it to every one else, So Sam voluntered for this round. They have really good times together.
I hope that every one is having fun with all of their learning. Have a great day!