[Help! I need an easy Spanish food to share!]

If you bring a crock pot and plug it in you can have a nice warm snack to share:

 

spanish rice

taquitos - you can buy frozen

cheese dip - I think it is called quesso, (Velveeta cheese, canned Rotel tomatoes and ground beef or sausage)

[What's for dinner tonight?]

I am still using e-mealz.com for meal planning, so tonight we are having their Picante Chicken, (chicken covered with store bought Picante sauce) over brown rice + a side veggie.

 

How about turkey burgers with oven fries? Just add honey Dijon mustard or terriaki sauce to ground turkey meat mix and make patties.

 

Allrecipes.com has some good meatloaf recipes.

 

Yesterday there was a thread on this board with some great soup recipes.

[The Impromptu Hostess]

I love hummus and usually have some on hand. I serve that with crackers or cut up sandwich thins. I usually cut up some fruit to go with that.

 

For children I keep frozen bagels on hand and serve those cut up in fourths, (bite size) with cream cheese. I serve that with cut up fruit, too. Bagels and popcorn are my kids staples.

[Here is a good video on how to handle a kitchen fire.]

My kids have just started cooking on the stove top. I thought his was a great video on how to handle pan fire:

 

 

[Does anyone Eat Clean?]

Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman

[If you had to rely on an online weather prediction...]

Melissa,

 

How is the weather today?? Are you going??

 

If you are - have fun!

[Anyone have an easy, foolproof fudge recipe they'd share?]

Here is the fudge that my neighbor makes every year:

 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Aunt-Teens-Creamy-Chocolate-Fudge/Detail.aspx

[Cookies: Andes Mint, PNut Butter Kiss, Choc/PB Pinwheel Recipes, please?]

While you are making holiday treats you might want to try some saltine toffee cookies. This recipes was posted on these boards are few years ago to rave reviews. I tried it last year and was amazed at how good they were:

 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Saltine-Toffee-Cookies/Detail.aspx

[Cookies: Andes Mint, PNut Butter Kiss, Choc/PB Pinwheel Recipes, please?]

Anyone have any easy one for the chocolate peanut butter pinwheels?

 

Thanks!

Kim

 

Here you go, but I think they are a lot of work. Read the reviews about how to chill and roll out the dough before you start.

 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pinwheel-Cookies-II/Detail.aspx

[If you had to rely on an online weather prediction...]

You can buy light weight ponchos in the camping section of Target and bring them with you in case.

 

We did Disneyland in the rain and still had a lot of fun. We also went to Legoland in the rain on hs day. I will never forget eating lunch outside under the umbrella while it rained. So fun! Just bring a change of clothes for the car ride home.

 

It never really gets that cold in So. Cal. so go and have fun.

[Decorating/Flooring question....]

I have also heard it is okay to mix woods.

 

We used a cherry wood color floor from Costco - I think Harmonies was the name. The installation, (DIY) and floor were great, but the color was not. There was something about the red tone that they used that made the color hard to match. The carpet on the stairs, beige, and the paint on the wall, pale yellow, all clashed with the floor. I remember thinking if I put a Pergo floor in again I would go with a brownish color, rather than redish.

 

Do you have a friend or neighbor that can give you their opinion? If not sometimes the stores will send a color person out for an extra $50.

 

Congrats on your new floor!

[Gifts ideas in large amounts.]

I would love getting that. If you are short on money then I think just the chocolates would be great. You could put them in a cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon, and attach a note.

[If you own a trailer, rv, or camper type vehicle- I have a question for you]

Things my parents use on every trip:

Leaf blower to blow dirt and rocks off the astro turf - it is almost impossible to sweep it all off. They also use it to clean the site before unpacking.

 

A large piece of astro turf the length of the trailer that can be rolled up and put in the lower storage departments. It keeps the camper cleaner than just a small welcome mat.

 

Vinyl table cloths for the picnic tables

 

Lights to hang on the awning at night to make their trailer easier to find. We finally went with a funny design rather than plain Christmas lights because everyone else had plain Christmas lights.

 

clothesline and pins for when stuff gets wet unexpectedly

 

A bike rack for the camper

 

Books on tape/cd to listen to when relaxing in the camper

 

Folding comfortable chairs and recliner chairs. Usually my parents travel with about 6 or 8 so they have have guests over and stay outside.

 

Rope and twine in assorted sizes/lengths. My dad is always using rope for something, even to help his temporary neighbors.

 

small hotel sized bars of soaps so they can throw away after one use if necessary if they chose to use campground showers/bathrooms. Small lotions and shampoos are nice as well.

 

Those blue portable water tanks so they can refill water tanks if needed without moving the trailer. You can find them at WalMart here. A lot of people also have these tanks they can pull behind the car/truck that holds sewage so they can dump sewage without moving the trailer if they are staying somewhere a longer time.

 

I want to be your parents. Whaaa!

 

What a great time they must have on their camping trips.

[Christmas Tree Decorating]

Our tree is a hodge podge of ornaments - handmade, children crafts, gifts and store bought. I love it that way.

 

For the rest of the home I try to buy holiday decorations that I love using a color scheme - burgandy for the color, gold for the metalic and velvet for the texture. It kind of keeps the rest of the house tied together.

[Teens and time with friends....]

I have an almost 13 year old ds that loves to play with his friends. His time is somewhat limited in that he needs to have his school work and chores done before he goes to play. Also we require him to be home for dinner at least 5 nights a week, so that puts a limit on how long he can hang out. Sunday is reserved as a family day, too. We also limit sleepovers to one per month.

 

He always asks before he plays so sometimes I set boundaries, especially when he is short on sibling time.

[How can I make school more fun? (without junk food)...]

Here are some more ideas:

 

- treasure hunt for school supplies at the beginning of the year

- put a ticket for an outing in their workbook and let them find it when they start school.

- theme days, (PJ day, bring stuffed animal to school day, backwards day)

- do read alouds outside or in front of a fire on a blanket

- same with lunch - pack a picnic and let them eat outside, or indoors under a blanket fort

- celebrate the 100th day of school, (since we use workbooks we celebrate the 100th lesson by letting them pick a prize out of the dollar store)

- take lots of nature walks

- play classical music while they do their handwriting/copywork

- make a fun book log to track the books they read for free reading. A catepilar book log is fun. Write the name of each book read by the child on a colored circle and watch the catepilar grow as your child reads. We tape ours to the wall and my dd's is half way accross the wall right now.

- give them lots of hugs!

 

ETA - When my kids were young there were a few days that I experienced extreme burnout. On thoses mornings, (maybe 4 times a year) I packed a bag and took my kids on an outing to the zoo or museum. Today those outings are some of my fondest memories and I have never once regretting missing that extra day of "school".

[When is it rude and when is it curiousity?]

That's a bit unfair, don't you think? It would have been lovely if the man was open enough and patient enough to answer, or at least politely deflect, the question. But we don't even know why he ignored him.

 

Perhaps he's deaf. Perhaps the backstory is so horrific that he can't speak of it. Perhaps he simply did feel offended, and felt that silence was a better response than fussing at the child. Perhaps he wasn't offended, but embarrassed and taken by surprise, and didn't feel equal to responding.

 

I don't think we should expect other people to constantly be ready to turn their life history into "teachable moments" for our kids :D.

 

Or maybe he is just sick and tired of being asked that question, and just wants to go to a sporting event without fielding questions.

 

To answer OP's original question, I think it is rude if the question is about a person's physical characteristic, (how tall are you, how old are you, missing body parts, blindness or disabilities). Do you really need to know the answer to the question?? Probably not and you end up putting that person on the spot by asking.

[Cookies: Andes Mint, PNut Butter Kiss, Choc/PB Pinwheel Recipes, please?]

Here is the Andes mint cookie recipe:

 

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Mint-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx

[which Keurig?]

It doesn't make jello, per se, but dispenses hot, almost boiling water. I use a cup of the hot water, dissolve the jello, then add a cup of cold water. I can make jello this way in under two minutes, and either freeze it into pops or cool it in the fridge as normal. I also use it to make hot water to mix with vinegar as a cleaner. Lots of uses for it around here, but coffee is still my personal choice!!

 

Got it! Thanks for the explaination. I was trying to imagine little Jello pods. LOL!

 

I make Jello cups for my ds school lunch. Sounds much easier than heating the water in the microwave.

 

Thanks!!

[which Keurig?]

Yes, we went with the Sam's package. It seemed the best deal I could find. We love ours, the B66 model. I also got the My K-cup and the spinning rack. I'm a coffee drinker, dh is a hot tea drinker, ds #1 is a coffee drinker, ds #2 is a hot chocolate drinker, ds #3 is a jello eater, and ds #4 just loves to watch the machine work (he squeals and does a little stomping dance when the lights come on). One machine meets all our needs! ;)

 

Sounds perfect for your family. Just curious what the Keurig has to do with Jello. Do you mean it makes Jello, too?

[Activities in SOTW]

uh oh... we were just planning to do the mosaic... maybe we should go for paper instead...

 

My children did the mosaic at our hs co-op. The teacher had them glue broken pieces of tile to a whole white tile. They came out great!

[what are grits and can I substitute something up north?]

They are in the cereal section next to the oatmeal, (at least they are in TX). Do you want me to mail you a box?

 

My kids eat them for breakfast with butter and salt. Yum!! Or you can fry up an egg, put the egg on the grits and let the yolk run on the grits. Double Yum!!

[Anyone sponsor a child? Looking for reputable company.]

We sponser several children through World Vision. We're very happy with them.

 

Ditto. We have sponsored a child with them for 15 years and have pics of our sponsored child growing up. Cool!

[A new Christmas tradition: Numbered presents!]

We do almost the same thing. We assign two of Santa's reindeer names, (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer...) for each child and use those names on their gifts. We keep the names a secret until Christmas morning. They have so much fun guessing which reindeer they are the week before Christmas.

[Anyone up for some housecleaning?? Join me!]

I'm in but I need to finish hs first.

 

Will be back later to see what y'all have done and post my goals.

 

Go girls!!