March 12, 2016 Smithsonian Museum Day FREE at Participating Museums

March 12, 2016 is Smithsonian Museum Day FREE at Participating Museums. Check out this Link to get your free ticket. You may not even need to print it, because a lot of museums will accept the ticket from your smart phone. Check it out!

Pistachio Delight, Watergate Salad, St. Patrick's Day Dessert

A nice fruity and sweet dessert for St. Patrick's Day! I used to have this growing up, but sometimes instead of fruit cocktail, we used a can of pineapple. I'm sure there are a lot of variations you could make and they would all taste good! Yum!

P.S. Remember, you can always make any recipe vegan by substituting those ingredients. For example, almond milk for regular milk, etc.

Vegan School Lunch Ideas Healthy Kids Learn More!

There are lots of good ideas in this video for your kids to eat for their school lunch!

Natural Remedies for an Ear Infection

This first video only involves pulling down, then up, on the ear as a regular practice to keep the tubes in your ear clear. Seems like a pretty harmless method to try!

This next video is using onion juice to almost immediately calm an ear infection and stop the pain. Apparently it is an old practice used for years in other countries. Why isn't something so easy used in the United States? Why do we run to antibiotics?

Of course if there is more than just pain, like bleeding or anything worse, go to the Doctor or Emergency Room. But at least check out this video and google it too. You can find a lot online about this!! A lot of videos tell about actually putting a drop of onion juice into your ear. If you don't want to try that, then watch this video below!

It's harmless, just don't drop any pieces of onion into your ear, make sure you have the wrap sealed tightly or even take the pieces out before using-there is still the juice there! If you have any doubts, go to the doctor!

Easy Delicious Banana Pancakes

Want to make some really delicious pancakes the whole family will love? These are so easy to make too! Here goes:

One box of Aldi's Aunt Maple's Buttermilk Pancake Mix
Water
One banana

Mix together 2 cups of pancake mix, 1 cup of water, and 1 mashed banana. (Increase or decrease water if it's not the right consistency for you.)

Drop the batter in a buttered skillet. Cook on each side once, until browned and done. Turn only once.

Drizzle real maple syrup over it. Mmm, delicious!

Enjoy!!

(Alternatively, you can add bits of chopped apple, blueberries, raspberries, etc as well, if bananas are not your favorite fruit.)

Free Learning Resources from the Federal Government

This site has a lot of educational resource material for free and they come from a variety of federal agencies. They have a lot of useful links too. It would be great for homeschoolers, as well as children in public and private schools. Or even adults too. I wish I had this when I was young. Just take a look at this index, it is amazing! For teachers, there is a link on how to organize your teaching so students learn better. Dare to Compare invites you to test your knowledge against students nationally and around the world. Pick a grade and subject: civics, economics, geography, history, math, or science. Check it out!

Mennonite Heritage Farm Zwanzigstein Fest

On the first Saturday in July, the Mennonite Heritage Farm in Croghan holds its annual 20 stones Zwanzigstein Fest. We just happened to see the advertisement in the local pennysaver when we were in Canton during our camping trip. Saturday, July 5th, we went to this festival. It was a lot of fun! It was very reasonably priced- $4.00 for adults and my 5 yr old granddaughter was free. It includes all but the food. It even includes horse and carriage rides. They had all kinds of activities going on, and you could go through the house and barns and see all the old things in use. (They are also open at other times too.) The farm is open during July and August, hours vary. Call 315-346-1122, 315-853-6879 or 315-376-8502. It is located at 8778 Erie Canal Rd, Croghan, NY.
My only complaint was that they served 2 different dinners, one a meatloaf dinner and the other a cold plate dinner which contained cold meat and pasta salad. Being vegetarian, I wanted to get the meatloaf dinner without the meat-(it had lots of other good stuff like potatoes and corn)-instead substituting the pasta salad for the meat. The woman serving the dinner said no, you have to have one or the other. I didn't really see what it would hurt to have substituted pasta salad for the meatloaf, but she would not do it. They were both right there to scoop onto the plates. It's not like they were premade or anything. I was willing to pay the higher price for the meat loaf dinner. She was not real pleasant either. They had a lot of meatless food so I just made do with that. But they would have sold another dinner if she had been more accomodating.

Oh well, everyone else there was great and very friendly! I highly recommend going there. In the fall is the Apple Fest, I'm going to try to go to that too!

From an email...

*Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

*Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

*Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

*Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

*Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

*Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

*Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy
us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

*Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

*Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.

*Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.

*Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours,
and miss my favorite TV shows.

*Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.

*I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching
for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are
visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms, and
mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore..

*And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a ittle longer. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day.............

A touching email I received today

F A M I L Y


I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.




He said, 'Please excuse me too;

I wasn't watching for you.'




We were very polite, this stranger and I.

We went on our way and we said goodbye.




But at home a different story is told,

How we treat our loved ones, young and old.




Later that day, cooking the evening meal,

My son stood beside me very still.





When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.

'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.




He walked away, his little heart broken.

I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.




While I lay awake in bed,

God's still small voice came to me and said,




'While dealing with a stranger,

common courtesy you use,

but the family you love, you seem to abuse.


Go and look on the kitchen floor,

You'll find some flowers there by the door.



Those are the flowers he brought for you.

He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.



He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,

you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.



By this time, I felt very small,

And now my tears began to fall.



I quietly went and knelt by his bed;

'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.



'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'

He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.



I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.

I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.



I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;

I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.

He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.

I love you anyway.



I said, 'Son, I love you too,

and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'


FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company

that we are working for could easily replace us in

a matter of days.

But the family we left behind will feel the loss

for the rest of their lives.


And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more

into work than into our own family,

an unwise investment indeed,

don't you think?

Turn off that TV!

This week is turn off your tv week. Are you going to try a week without tv? I will, but it's not really a big deal, as I don't watch tv much ever, anyway. There are too many good books to read, too many other things to do. Now turning off the computer would be much harder for me. But at least the computer is interactive, it's like a giant library to explore, versus tv where you are watching someone else's ideas and imagination. It's hypnotizing, and not very good for kids.





I once met a man in NJ who worked with special needs children and he told me not to let kids play video games or watch tv. He told me that the images make the child's eyes move faster than his brain can process, and it creates the problems with ADD, and things like that. All that energy moves inside the brain but has no physical outlet. I'm not sure if he's right, but there sure is a lot more of that than there used to be before all the video games. A new study from Cornell University shows that television is responsible for the developed world's rising rates of autism in children. This is really scary, go check out the study.


I hope you will consider turning off your tv.

Go to Unplug your kids and check out the other blogs participating in TV-turn off week!

Are your kids being poisoned?

Go to this website and read the results of a study on kids 3-11 who ate non-organic fruits and vegetables and then switched to organic. Their blood levels were tested and it is amazing the difference. Organic diets significantly lower children's dietary exposure to pesticides. And, within 8 to 36 hours of the children switching to organic food, the pesticides were no longer detected in the testing. The actual study in .pdf form is here. Another article on it is here. Also, click on the USDA Organic picture to go to their website.

Works for me Wednesday- kids

My Works for Me Wednesday is to keep a journal of all the things kids say that is cute. Keep it with your phone book or somewhere within easy reach. When you hear something funny, just write it down immediately along with the date. When the child gets older, it'll be a great gift for them. Don't worry about it being all fancy or anything. Don't worry if you didn't start it already, start it now, no matter what age they are. You can also write some things you remember in there too. The important thing is to capture the information before it gets out of your memory! Write anything in there that would make a great tale later in life. When you are no longer here, that book will be there to remind them of how much you cared about them-enough to record all their cuteness.

My entry today: Earlier, my granddaughter (4 yrs. old) had found a misplaced bag of candy from school and their Valentine's day party. It was a small wrapped bag with 3 hershey kisses in it and a small card. All tied in a clear cellophane bag with a ribbon. I said, "Oh, you've got 3 Hershey kisses in there, yummy!" She opened the bag, took out a kiss, handed it to me, and said, "Here Grandma, you want a horsey kiss too?" I didn't think I heard her right, so I said, "a what??" She said, " a HORSEY kiss!" lol

Be sure to click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Home

Honey for nighttime coughing-WFMW

One tip I wanted to share is using honey to help nighttime coughing. I never buy cough syrup. Honey works just as good. It really does work! It's a cheap, natural remedy, and tastes better than cough syrup too. Try it sometime. Every now and then, kids get colds. Note: don't give honey to children under 12 months old!

My grandaughter was coughing and couldn't sleep, so I gave her a teaspoon of honey in a small 4 to 6 oz. glass of warm tap water, stirred it up, and she drank it down and only coughed a couple more times and then she slept cough-free through the night! Her cough always seems to go away within a few days too. It's not just for kids, of coure, adults can use it too with the same results.

I've been using honey instead of cough syrup since she was over a year old, and she is almost five now. I've never bought cough syrup, why give kids chemicals if you don't need to? If I have some lemon, I will add that in too, but usually it's the middle of the night, there is no lemon and she will drink the honey water right down, and sometimes wants more!

I did a search on the internet and found that other people use honey too, and there have even been some studies about it. This Penn State study says they used buckwheat honey, but I just use any old honey that is pure and natural. I keep it in the refrigerator and also, don't worry if it gets all crystalized looking, just use it anyway-it won't hurt it a bit! I just started using honey a few years ago for cough because I figured if it is in cough drops, there might be something to it!

I've heard other great things about honey too. A teaspoon a day is supposed to help with allergies. I would guess being that honey comes from pollen and it would kind of be like immunizing yourself. I have a friend who swears by it, a teaspoon of honey every day. It can't hurt, so why not try it?

Be sure to click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Home

Romper Stompers WFMW

Remember using Romper stompers when you were a kid? You can make your own for your kid or grandchild to use. Recycle those old tupperware containers! Find two alike tupperware containers and drill holes in the side of them. You could also use coffee cans, juice cans, flower pots, whatever your creative heart desires. Make some holes, thread some rope through and knot it on the inside. Make sure the rope is looped on each side so the child can walk standing straight up. If the kids are really young, be sure to only let them play with these while you are closely watching them.

Be sure to click on the Works for me Wednesday to visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and see all the other blogs participating!

Home

Keeping kids safe

Be sure to keep up to date on who is listed in your neighborhood. Within the last year, they have been adding Level 2 offenders, so in some areas the list has grown quite a lot. While it surely does not contain every sex offender, it is useful as a tool to at least be aware of the known ones. You no longer have to enter your name or address information. We can't protect our kids enough from these predators.

http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/search_index.htm

National US Dept. of Justice site:
http://www.nsopr.gov/

http://www.familywatchdog.us/Search.asp

Unfortunately, it looks like Canada has a national registry, but it is only available to police agencies. The information is not available to the public.

There is also an inmate lookup site for anyone who has been in a NYS prison in the last 30 or so years. Not to say they are sex offenders at all, but they could be violent and capable of other offenses on you or your family. Knowledge is power!

http://nysdocslookup.docs.state.ny.us/kinqw00

Great kids links

http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/
http://www.epa.gov/kids/
http://www.scitoys.com/
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/
http://www.billnye.com/
http://www.madsci.org/
http://www.kidsplanet.org/
http://www.nwf.org/kids/
http://www.madsci.org/~lynn/VH/
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/
http://www.oceanicresearch.org/lesson.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?category=leadstory
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/index.shtml
http://www.kids.gov/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/
http://www.usmint.com/kids/flashIndex.cfm
http://www.storylineonline.net/
http://www.seussville.com/
http://scholastic.com/MagicSchoolBus/home.htm
http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/home.asp
http://www.littlehousebooks.com/index.html
http://www.icdlbooks.org/
http://storynory.com/
http://www.kiddierecords.com/
http://pbskids.org/
http://kids.discovery.com/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
http://www.sikids.com/
http://wavelit.com/
http://www.fema.gov/kids/
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html

DIY Free Classes for kids and adults

Home Depot has In-Store Clinics and Online Workshops to sign up for. Do-It-Herself Workshops^sm-Sign up to learn to create an Organized Closet, or try an Online Workshop on Installing Low Voltage Exterior Lighting.

Check out their In-Store Clinics featuring "Selecting and Installing Replacement Windows," "Wireless Networking and Innovative Solutions for Your Home," Tiling Floors and Walls, and "Stylish Solutions for Organizing Your Closet."

Kids Workshops are the first Saturday of every month and for August will be making an "Art Caddy." Designed for kids 5-12, these free workshops teach do-it-yourself skills and tool safety, while instilling a sense of accomplishment. Offered on the first Saturday of each month between 9 a.m. and noon at The Home Depot®.

Lowe's has Build & Grow Clinics for kids and their parents. Currently, they are making a toolbox, calendar, and an herb planter. Navigate their drop-down menu to find more information.

Great Kids Website!

CBC Kids has a great website for kids. My Granddaughter who is almost 4, loves it! It's a Canadian website and it's the absolute best I've found so far for her age. Check it out when you get a chance, click on play and go to the playroom, it has all sorts of neat things, click on everything. Enjoy! :)

Preschool recipes and sign language learning

I recently found some neat sites that allow you to print out educational kid's materials. One good site is Everything Preschool. They have recipes on there for making your own gooey fun stuff, like playdough and goop and slime and finger paints and all kinds of fun stuff.

Another great site is Starfall.com, where they have the alphabet and learning to read programs along with sign language too. It's amazing the great sites you can find for free learning.