Hi friends! I just wanted to post a quick note to let you know that I have set up a Google + page and a Facebook page for the blog so there are more ways you can keep track of what's going on here at chicken babies. Right now I don't have any followers on Google+, so you'll probably be my best friend forever if you follow me there. Probably.
March 26, 2013
March 25, 2013
That Bunny
I had the following conversation with Nathan (3 1/2) this morning, as we were discussing the week's events:
Me: We'll have an Easter egg hunt on Saturday with grandma, and then Sunday is Easter!
N: And the Easter bunny will come?
Me: No, there is no Easter bunny. That's just pretend. Do you know why we have Easter? (we have talked about this many times)
N: Because the Easter bunny comes!
Me: No, because Jesus was resurrected. He was dead, and then he came back to life.
N: Just like the Easter bunny!
Sigh. He'll get it as he gets older.
We don't do the Easter bunny at our house. Santa Claus we pretend, and the kids know it's pretend, but I have completely ditched the bunny. I really want the kids to focus on the real meaning of Easter on Sunday, rather than the candy and baskets usually associated with the morning, so we do most of the traditional things on Saturday.
On the Saturday morning before Easter Sunday we will give the kids their spring baskets. They will include a chocolate bunny, a little bit of candy, a book or two, a couple of dollars worth of coins, and maybe a small toy, like a lego minifigure or playmobil person. Sometimes we also include coupons for special privileges they can use anytime, like for extra Wii playing time or a movie night, but we don't give the kids a lot of stuff. Saturday afternoon we will have our Easter egg hunt with Grandma and Grandpa and cousins, and the kids will make themselves sick eating candy.
But Sunday is all about the miracle of the Resurrection and what it means to us. We'll talk about how because of Jesus' sacrifice we can be reborn and made perfect through repentance, and how after we die we too will be resurrected just as Jesus was on Easter morning.
Easter to me is the most important holiday of the year, and I just don't think our Savior should have to share it with an imaginary bunny.
March 10, 2013
Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes (and more evidence of my coolness)
I couldn't decide if the title should say my nerdiness, dorkiness, or goofiness. Then I just decided I was really cool and those other people who don't put together themed parties for premieres of tv shows clearly aren't.
Have you ever watched the show "Psych"? Well I've been a fan since season 1. It's a perfect mix of goofiness and ridiculousness. It just makes me laugh. We don't have the tv on a lot around here, but this is one show Jason and I love to watch. In fact, a couple of Valentine's Days ago, he bought me a "Psych" cover for my iphone. That guy sure loves me. I had that cover on my phone for 8 months before anyone said anything about it, and that's how we discovered some friends who also love Psych. (as a side note, the second person who said anything about it was a 4th grader in my daughter's class. So, ya know, fans of all ages and such.)
One quirky fact you might not know about the show is that there is a hidden pineapple in each episode. It may be a reference to a pineapple food, pineapple decorations somewhere on the set, or an actual pineapple. So when my husband invited our Psych friends over for a season 7 premiere party, I knew we needed some pineapple food.
In season 2 episode 3 (and yes, I looked that up) Shawn makes a pineapple upside down cake in an easy bake oven. Jason and I thought those would be the perfect thing for our tv watching, but I used a real oven so it wasn't quite authentic.
This is how I made my pineapple upside down cupcakes:
1. Heat oven to 350. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray
2. Mix 4 Tbls. of melted butter with 2/3 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle a bit in the bottom of the muffin tin.
3. Add a small bit of pineapple on top of the brown sugar mixture. I used fresh pineapple, but canned would work also.
4. Choose your favorite yellow cake mix (or make one from scratch if you're fancy like that) but substitute an equal amount pineapple juice for the water called for.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool 10 minutes in the pan, then flip out onto cooling rack.
Easy peasy. My kids only liked them after they picked off the pineapple. Crazy kids.
Other food at our Psych party included pineapple Jelly Bellys, dried pineapple, pineapple soda, Synder's pretzels, and my friend made fries quatro queso dos fritos, which was totally awesome of her, since Jason really wanted to try and make them and I didn't want to go near that mess.
And yes, I did add lettering to my green vase when I noticed it was almost Psych color green. And you can stop laughing at me now. And let me know if you want in on next year's season premiere party!!
Have you ever watched the show "Psych"? Well I've been a fan since season 1. It's a perfect mix of goofiness and ridiculousness. It just makes me laugh. We don't have the tv on a lot around here, but this is one show Jason and I love to watch. In fact, a couple of Valentine's Days ago, he bought me a "Psych" cover for my iphone. That guy sure loves me. I had that cover on my phone for 8 months before anyone said anything about it, and that's how we discovered some friends who also love Psych. (as a side note, the second person who said anything about it was a 4th grader in my daughter's class. So, ya know, fans of all ages and such.)
One quirky fact you might not know about the show is that there is a hidden pineapple in each episode. It may be a reference to a pineapple food, pineapple decorations somewhere on the set, or an actual pineapple. So when my husband invited our Psych friends over for a season 7 premiere party, I knew we needed some pineapple food.
In season 2 episode 3 (and yes, I looked that up) Shawn makes a pineapple upside down cake in an easy bake oven. Jason and I thought those would be the perfect thing for our tv watching, but I used a real oven so it wasn't quite authentic.
 |
| "Are you a fan of delicious flavor?" |
This is how I made my pineapple upside down cupcakes:
1. Heat oven to 350. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray
2. Mix 4 Tbls. of melted butter with 2/3 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle a bit in the bottom of the muffin tin.
3. Add a small bit of pineapple on top of the brown sugar mixture. I used fresh pineapple, but canned would work also.
4. Choose your favorite yellow cake mix (or make one from scratch if you're fancy like that) but substitute an equal amount pineapple juice for the water called for.
5. Pour batter into muffin tins.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. cool 10 minutes in the pan, then flip out onto cooling rack.
Easy peasy. My kids only liked them after they picked off the pineapple. Crazy kids.
Other food at our Psych party included pineapple Jelly Bellys, dried pineapple, pineapple soda, Synder's pretzels, and my friend made fries quatro queso dos fritos, which was totally awesome of her, since Jason really wanted to try and make them and I didn't want to go near that mess.
And yes, I did add lettering to my green vase when I noticed it was almost Psych color green. And you can stop laughing at me now. And let me know if you want in on next year's season premiere party!!
March 8, 2013
St. Patrick's Day
Hello all. We don't really do much to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but the kids like to do something special, because special things are fun, right? Here are a couple of posts from the past you might like:
rainbows in a cup
leprechaun hats
leprechaun hatsMarch 7, 2013
Snatch it! Math game
hmm. Not sure if I like the title. Let me know if you think of a better name for this game.
After a while, Joshua was not enjoying playing our Math Ninja rescue game anymore, so I had to think of a different game to help him improve his speed when recalling multiplication facts.
This was around Valentine's Day, so I had some pink, heart-shaped marshmallows in the cupboard. I brought some to the table where we were sitting and laid one in front of him. I told him I was going to set the timer, and if he was able to say all of the flashcards before the timer went off, he could snatch the marshmallow and eat it. If the timer went off, then I got to grab the marshmallow and eat it. The fun happened when he would say the last flashcard right as the timer went off and then we would both race to grab the marshmallow. Ah, good times. Each time he successfully snatched a treat, I would lower the seconds on the timer and we would try again.
One tricky part about this game is that I wasn't always able to flip the flashcards fast enough and we would have to try again because it certainly wouldn't be fair if I was the cause of him not saying them all in time. Then I figured out how to stack the cards so that they were easier to flip when he said one. Phew. Problem solved.
Joshua really likes this game and it has also helped his recall speed.
After a while, Joshua was not enjoying playing our Math Ninja rescue game anymore, so I had to think of a different game to help him improve his speed when recalling multiplication facts.
This was around Valentine's Day, so I had some pink, heart-shaped marshmallows in the cupboard. I brought some to the table where we were sitting and laid one in front of him. I told him I was going to set the timer, and if he was able to say all of the flashcards before the timer went off, he could snatch the marshmallow and eat it. If the timer went off, then I got to grab the marshmallow and eat it. The fun happened when he would say the last flashcard right as the timer went off and then we would both race to grab the marshmallow. Ah, good times. Each time he successfully snatched a treat, I would lower the seconds on the timer and we would try again.
One tricky part about this game is that I wasn't always able to flip the flashcards fast enough and we would have to try again because it certainly wouldn't be fair if I was the cause of him not saying them all in time. Then I figured out how to stack the cards so that they were easier to flip when he said one. Phew. Problem solved.
Joshua really likes this game and it has also helped his recall speed.
 |
| Of course I had to give my little sidekick a marshmallow too, because he's just so cute and asks so politely. And he's spoiled rotten. |
Math Ninja Rescue
Joshua has been working on his multiplication facts. He knew them, sort of, but hated drilling them and especially hated trying to do timed tests to get faster at them. To help him improve his speed (and his attitude) we played this game we call "Math Ninja Rescue."
This is a variation of the magic sight word fortress I had done earlier with Christopher. As in that game, we built a fortress out of magna tiles and laid out the flash cards leading up to the prison where some toys were being held captive. But unlike Christopher's version, I used a timer. Joshua had a little lego ninja whom he was using to make his way through the fortress to rescue the prisoners. If Joshua was not able to reach the toys in the prison before the timer went off, I smashed the tower down and the toys all died. The poor Ninja just couldn't reach them in time.
Before we started, I had him read through the flashcards running a stopwatch to see how long it took him. It took 27 seconds. I told him I would set the timer for 25 to see if he could get a couple of seconds faster. The first time we played, he did not get any faster, and when the timer went off I roared and knocked down the tower very dramatically. He screamed. I think I surprised him. But then he laughed, so it was all good.
We kept playing. When he would reach one goal, I would lower the time more and he would try again. After playing during schooltime for a few of days he was able to say the flashcards in 9 seconds. It was a great way to improve his speed with his multiplication tables.
Some days he couldn't handle the anxiety of me smashing his tower, and so we came up with another game to help improve his speed which I called "Snatch it!." (click to see that game.) Actually, I didn't really call it anything, but I had to call it something to put it on the blog, and that seems like an appropriate title. You, of course, can call it whatever you want.
This is a variation of the magic sight word fortress I had done earlier with Christopher. As in that game, we built a fortress out of magna tiles and laid out the flash cards leading up to the prison where some toys were being held captive. But unlike Christopher's version, I used a timer. Joshua had a little lego ninja whom he was using to make his way through the fortress to rescue the prisoners. If Joshua was not able to reach the toys in the prison before the timer went off, I smashed the tower down and the toys all died. The poor Ninja just couldn't reach them in time.
 |
| setting up the bad guys on top of the prison |
Before we started, I had him read through the flashcards running a stopwatch to see how long it took him. It took 27 seconds. I told him I would set the timer for 25 to see if he could get a couple of seconds faster. The first time we played, he did not get any faster, and when the timer went off I roared and knocked down the tower very dramatically. He screamed. I think I surprised him. But then he laughed, so it was all good.
 |
| racing through the fortress of flash cards |
We kept playing. When he would reach one goal, I would lower the time more and he would try again. After playing during schooltime for a few of days he was able to say the flashcards in 9 seconds. It was a great way to improve his speed with his multiplication tables.
 |
| Nathan sometimes wanted to help me smash the tower. Here he's pretending to be a lion in a cave and he comes out to smash the tower when the timer goes off. |
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