Last Day of School Play Time!

One of the problems with homeschool is "When is the last day of school?" At least in our house! We actually school year-round since we take so many play days off to trip and tour...so we don't have an "official" last day...BUT...I decided today would make a great "last day" *grin* (Either that, or mom was just in a sluffing mood--which MAY have been the case!) Whatever the reason, today was a beautiful day outside and a "mom mis-adventure" was just calling our names!

We have been doing a family service project the past few months. Teaching budgeting and how to save money with coupons, we helped the kids collect several bags of pet food for our local shelter. Since I was tired of not having my spare room accessible, it seemed like a good idea to deliver it *smile* We were able to collect 100 items for the SPCA in Annapolis!

I haven't written about our new family obsession--I keep meaning to...but that would take away time from going out and DOING it! *grin* We have caught the geocaching bug! BOY HAVE WE CAUGHT THE GEOCACHING BUG!! It's basically a hide-and-seek game. Someone hides a "cache" (which can be smaller than a penny to as big as an ammo can--or larger) Using GPS, you find this cache, sign the log, swap out "swag" (stuff we all get) and then brag about it on the website! (Well, that's the basic idea anyways...check out geocaching.com for more)

I took the kids on a few hunts today. A couple of them were our typical finds...a pill bottle under a light pole skirt, a magnetic nano under a park bench, a plastic box under a stump in the woods...till the crab pot hunt!

First we had to wait for the "muggles" in the parking lot to leave. "Muggles" are non-geocaching people who might try to take or destroy the cache. My nickname is "muggle mom" since I wasn't into geocaching like the kids (except I take the photos) but I am quickly becoming addicted too! To not look too obvious...I decided it was a good time to take some photos of the kids. I thought this one was gorgeous of my sweet Missy! I cannot believe she turns 12 next week! *sigh*

After the muggles finally pulled out of the parking lot, we got to go "crabbing" (That is what the cache was called) After looking in trees, light pole skirts and other places, Kimmy starts laughing and pulls the cache up out of the storm drain--it has been attached by wire and is hanging down the drain! Clever people these cachers! We signed the log and then hit a few more caches before lunch.

I love Chuck E. Cheese...well, let me rephrase that...I love Chuck E. Cheese IF all other kids are in school! Otherwise it is a madhouse and miserable! Today all we had to fight off the games were toddlers and their parents *grin* Geesh...those vicious 2-year-olds can leave bruises! LOL! The kids were thrilled! We haven't been to Chuck E. Cheese since Texas! You know your kids are getting old when they no longer stamp your hands at the door...guess they figure if they walk out with not-their-parents, they know better!

Kimmy was a scoring demon...she may be short, but she can slam dunk (okay...well on the kiddie game anyways!)

Missy however was ADDICTED to skee-ball! Everytime I looked over she was playing it AGAIN!! Like mother, like daughter I guess!

Stevie had his own favorite game..."Deal or No Deal"! He was a big winner on it though a couple times...maybe I need to get him on the real one *grin* Oh well, I was happy with all the tickets!

And the best part about playing all those games? Using the ticket muncher machine to munch all the tickets! We won almost 1000 tickets! Enough to buy a couple giant suckers for Stevie and Missy and a playground ball! I think the worker was seriously wondering about the teenagers who were thrilled over the prizes though *smile* We're all kids at heart!

After lunch, it was time to deliver all our pet food to the shelter! They seemed very thrilled with all the food. They had to take pictures of the family, so we decided we should take pictures of our own too *smile*

A few more geocaches on the way home...this was the "Don Quixote Cache" I even did it without the GPS! The kids were still getting out of the car when I jumped out, grabbed the cache and brought it back to them! Bragging rights for mom! After a quick fill-up (since I realized I was running on fumes) we decided to call it a day. A "mom mis-adventure" wouldn't be complete though...without the mis-adventure. LOL!! The car started a shimmy on the way home--and we found out our rear tire decided to have a "hernia" and start to bulge (I don't quite understand it all myself--but Steven is grateful I didn't have a blow-out)...so now I get to have new tires on my car for all the summer fun travels and geocaching we will do this summer! Oh well, it's only money right?

Yum-o Dinner!

This is proof that there WAS dinner in the pan before Stevie SNARFED it all! I think I found a recipe that he loved! I have decided to try a few new recipes and see if I can get out of my doldrums...something new...mix it up LOL! Tonight I decided we would try "Chicken Spaghetti"...I mean...we like chicken and we like spaghetti...sounded like a winner to me! Plus it had gobs of cheese and who can go wrong with that?

Hungry yet? Here's the recipe:

Chicken Spaghetti

12 oz. uncooked spaghetti, broken in half
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup (8 oz.) sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I actually forgot this step--so ours was a little thicker OOPS)
1/4 cup butter, melted, divided
2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp garlic pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 to 3 celery ribs, chopped
1 can (4 oz.) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
5 cups cubed cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups crushed cornflakes
Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the soups, sour cream, milk, 2 tbsp butter and seasonings. Add the cheeses, celery, onion and mushrooms. Stir in the chicken and spaghetti. Transfer to a greased 3-quart baking dish (dish will be full). Combine cornflakes and remaining butter. Sprinkle over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. Makes 12-14 servings.

Okay...few changes I would make. I used real mushrooms. I sauteed them with the chicken, but would also add the celery and onion so they were not crisp as much in the casserole. Because my kids adore spices, I also added some smoked Paprika, Italian seasoning, and some crushed red pepper flakes. I also doubled the cornflakes on top--since that is their favorite part of casseroles. I think it would make a pretty good casserole with ziti or penne pasta too--just depends on what your family likes!

Owie...Ouch...Oh My!

Owie!!! My poor kiddos! Call it attack of the slacker mom who is just struggling to keep her head above water the past couple years I guess! (Gee...nothing else on my plate...move from Miami to Idaho, hubby deployed to Korea, a move to Texas, hubby deployed to Iraq, surgery and ICU for me, a move to Maryland...I know, excuses...excuses) *sigh*

Anyways...the kids are getting ready to go to YW camp (I CANNOT believe my BABY goes into YW in less than a month) and Scout camp, and they needed their physicals and immunizations checked. Good grief...what a miserable experience for them! Missy needed SIX shots! Look at her poor arms:


Three on one side and three on the other! She about wiped out their Bugs Bunny supply of Band-aids. (Which is actually kind of funny I just realized--a few weeks ago I made her watch "Looney Tunes" when she informed me at Six Flags she had never watched Bugs Bunny and Daffy--Poor underpriveleged child--we had to have an improptu YouTube remedy!) She was still smiling though when she got home. She said she didn't cry--just said "OUCH" a lot!

Battle wounds! Maybe they didn't dare complain since they know I have to shoot insulin twice a day LOL! Kimmy had sat and told them how HUGE the needle was and HOW MUCH is was going to hurt (gotta love big sisters) so maybe it paled in comparison to her stories?

Stevie just looks Hoo-ah with his--he only got 3 bandaids--outdone by his little sister! We babied them appropriately...lots of hugs and kisses and even took them to the movies tonight to see "Clash of the Titans" It will give them something different than their owies to complain about since it didn't follow the Greek Mythology very much. As the kids said, "It has Perseus and Zeus...well, that's about it!"

My Mother's Day Field Trip!

I LOVE to take drives and look at all the beautiful areas where we live! For Mother's Day, Steven took me on a drive to Frederick...beautiful farmland, trees, flowers and a then a fun town to look at and explore! One of my favorite parts of the town was the AWESOME bridge mural. An old concrete bridge was completely painted to look like a stone bridge. It was amazing! Be sure to read about it at http://bridge.skyline.net/history/ I KNOW we will have to go back and explore some more! (Plus Kimmy says there are geocaches--so gotta do it!) Anyways, here are a few pictures from my FUN day!

My Compliments to the Chef!

If you hear: "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun" what does that mean?? BIG MAC!! My kids love Big Mac's (and I gotta admit...their mom is pretty crazy about them too) I know...they are totally unhealthy and all that...but there is something about that Big Mac sauce that is just YUM! The kids always laugh at me because I tend to tie Big Mac into a lot of our homeschool lessons--mostly as a joke anymore though. It started during a boring lesson a few years ago...they were starting to get restless and I came out with some big story about "early explorers looking dilegently for...Big Macs" and the rest is homeschool history! It seems like one lesson or another ties into Big Macs quite often anymore! It has become the family joke *grin* Stevie has a speech coming up and decided he would do it on "Big Macs". I can't see a problem with it (his dad did a speech on "History of Pizza" and Kimmy did one on "Chocolate" in college) He's going to tell about the time his dad and I won free Big Macs at the store when Steven was able to recite the Big Mac jingle last year and then he decided to talk about trying to create his own Big Mac...so tonight was the "Quest for Big Macs!"

Shhhh...the secret sauce (according to "Top Secret Recipes") is Kraft Thousand Island Salad Dressing! It tasted pretty close to it *smile*

The finished product! Ours were a little taller--I think they use squishier buns--but we just squished them down after the picture!


The chef...in his "Guy Fieri Burger Eating Pose" Elbows out, mouth ready for that first BIG bite!

I'm Lovin It!

Wow...I am behind...YET AGAIN!! I am not sure how a whole month got away from me *grin* I always have the BEST of intentions and take loads of "blog-fodder" pictures, but lately it seems I am drowning in work! It's been a busy month at the zoo crew...hopefully I can catch up a little and share some fun times! We've celebrated Stevie's birthday, got the geo-caching bug, been sightseeing like crazy and had family here to visit! Life is always nuts! In the midst of it all, I have struggled with allergies and a killer cold, so I'm not functioning on all brain cells LOL! So...here's to a new month...hopefully this one can have LOTS of blog entries!