Fall Date Ideas

Owen will be joining us in about 5 weeks. Andrew and I came up with a list of things we want to do before then. Now we'll have to see how many of them we actually do.

Last years apple picking

1. Go to a Utah football game. GO UTES!
2. Make and eat pumpkin pie
3. Make caramel apples
4. Go on a walk and look at the changing leaves
5. Pick apples and make an apple dessert

Fall is Here

Its been in the 60's for the last week. I have to accept the fact that summer is over and fall is here. I decided to decorate the entertainment center to match the weather outside. I even used my new blocks!

Wooden Letter Blocks

3x3 wooden blocks were on sale at the craft store so my mom and I got some. I didn't know what exactly I was going to do with them until I found this on Pinterest and liked the idea. I did make a few changes but just so I could write a few more words.

 

First I painted each block a different color. They were all pretty neutral so they went good together no matter what order they were in. 

Then I used a Silhouette Cameo to cut out all of the letters on gold vinyl. I picked this color because it stood out on all of the blocks and it wasn't boring old black. 

After I cut out all of the letters I placed them on the blocks.

Block 1 - H, Y, E, D

Block 2 - A, C, R, S

Block 3 - R, P, E, T, J, K

Block 4 - V, N, L, O, C, R

Block 5 - E, O, M, D

Block 6 - S, M, I, K, L

Block 7 - T, F, B, W, U

Here is the letter count:

A - 1

B - 1

C - 2

D - 2

E - 3

F - 1

H - 1

I - 1

J - 1

K - 2

L - 2

M - 2

N - 1

0 - 2

P - 1

R - 3

S - 2

T - 2

U - 1

V - 1

W - 1

Y - 1

Here are some words that you can spell. I'm sure there are more that I didn't find, think of or add.

3 Letter Words

Joy

USA

4 Letter Words

Fall

Love

Noel

Hope

Home

Snow

5 Letter Words

Dream

Faith

Peace

Lucky

Trick

Treat

6 Letter Words

Family

Spooky

Winter

Mother

Father

Easter

Christ

Summer

Tricky

7 Letter Words

Blessed

Harvest

Freedom

Welcome

Friends

Monster

Have Fun!

Potatoes

Most children know about potatoes, so why not help them explore them more. In Idaho, potatoes are especially relevant to the children because some live on potato farms, or their dads work on the farms. All of them have at least eaten them and know what they look like. Let children have as many first hand, hands on experiences. This is were they learn and can explore.

What we taught about potatoes:

1. Potatoes grow under ground
2. There are lots of different kinds of potatoes and they come in different colors and sizes
1. Russet
2. Yukon gold
3. Red
4. Sweet
5. Fingerling
3. You can cook potatoes in different ways
1. Boil
2. Fry
3. Bake
4. There are lots of foods made with potatoes
1. French fries
2. Potato chips
3. Hash browns
4. Mashed 
5. Gnocchi
6. Pirogi
7. Latkes
8. Croquette
5. How to make mashed potatoes
1. Wash the potatoes
2. Peel the potatoes
3. Cut the potatoes
4. Boil the potatoes
5. Mash the potatoes
6. Season the potatoes

Activities that have to do with potatoes:

Art
Mr. Potato Head
Materials
     Potato shaped brown paper
     Crayons
     Markers
     Colored pencils
     Pom poms
     Buttons
     Feathers
     Pipe Cleaners
     Glue
Description
     Children will decorate the paper. They can add a face with all of the materials or what ever they wish. Let them be creative and make it theirs.

Math
Potato Sorting
Materials
     Different kind of potatoes
     Pictures of the different potatoes
Description
     Children will sort the potatoes according to size, kind or color.

Weighing Potatoes
Materials
     Potatoes
     Scale
Description
     Children will weigh the potatoes. They can also try to balance the scale.
Language
Letter Making
Materials
     Gallon sized Ziploc Bags
     Mashed Potatoes
     Letters
Description
     Fill the Ziploc bags with mashed potatoes. Children will look at the letters and copy them with their finger into the mashed potatoes.

Sensory
Washing Potatoes
Materials
     Buckets
     Potatoes
     Scrubbers
     Towels
Description
     Place towels on the table to soak up the spilled water. Fill buckets with water. Children will wash the dirt off of the potatoes.

Mashing Potatoes
Materials
     Potatoes
     Potato Mashers
     Bowls
Descriptions
     Children will mash the potatoes in the bowls.

Manipulatives
Mr. Potato Head
Materials
     Mr. Potato Head pieces
     Potatoes
Description
     Children will put the Mr. Potato Head pieces into the real potatoes.

photo from http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110913201304/pixar/images/a/a8/Mr._potato_head_toy.jpg

Peeling Potatoes
Materials
     Potatoes
     Potato Peeler
     2 Buckets
Description
     Children will peel the potatoes into a bucket and then place the peeled potatoes in the other bucket. MAKE SURE THERE IS ADULT SUPERVISION TO AVOID INJURY! Remind children to peel away from themselves.

Science
Potato Food Testing
Materials
     Different foods that are made with potatoes
     Chart/graph
     Markers
Description
     Children will use their senses (smell, taste, touch and sight) to say if they like they different foods. Have them then put a happy face or check mark if they like it and a sad face or X if they don't.

Dramatic Play
Gardening
Materials
     Vegetables
     Potatoes
     Seeds
     Shovels
     Gardening gloves
     Rakes
     Hoes
Description
     Children will pretend to garden inside and they can really garden outside.

Gross Motor
Digging for Potatoes
Materials
     Child Sized Shovels
     Potatoes
     Dirt or Garden
Description

     Children will dig for potatoes in the garden.

15 Minute One Pot Tuna Casserole

I like quick and easy recipes especially when I don't feel like making dinner. Last night I made tuna casserole without having to warm the house with the oven. So maybe it isn't really a casserole but it tasted pretty much the same. It really did take only 15 minutes and there weren't very many dishes which was another plus.

Bring water to boil in a medium pot.
Add 8 oz of noodles - I used little shells so they cooked really fast.

Drain the water from the pasta and add:

1 can of cream of chicken

1 can of tuna (drained)

8 oz of frozen peas

1/4 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup of shredded cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix it all together until warm and cheese is melted. Top with a little more shredded cheese.

Enjoy!

Sweet Tooth - Chocolate Cake

I wanted something sweet and something easy so what do I do? Get on Pinterest to see what I can find and I found this. I especially liked 2 things about this cake.

1. It didn't have eggs and that means I could lick the spoon (well in this case the fork)
2. The only dished I had to do was the fork, which I just put in the dishwasher.

I adapted the original recipe just a tad and this is what I came up with. It was nice and moist and hit the spot of that something sweet that I was wanting.

Heat oven to  350

Add the dry ingredients in a pan
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

 Mix together with a fork.

Add liquid ingredients

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix with a fork

Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips - I added white chocolate to give it a polka dot feel

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes

It doesn't look as pretty as I thought it would but it still tasted really good.

Enjoy!

Apples

Fall is quickly coming! Apples are great for the children to explore with because it is an object that their are familiar with but have so much more to learn about. We taught 2 whole weeks on apples so you can pick a few ideas or drag it out as long as you'd like. We also went on a field trip to an orchard and the children got to pick their own apples.

What we taught about apples:

1. Apples grow on trees.
2. We can pick apples in an orchard or someones yard.
3. Apples have  different part; core, stem, skin, flesh and seeds.
4. Apples come in many different colors; red, green, yellow, and pink.
5. We can cook with apples.
6. We can prepare an apple many different ways; slice, smash, cube, and skin.
7. Apples can taste sweet or tart.
8. Apples can be crunchy or soft.

Activities that have to do with apples:

Art

Tissue Paper Apples

Materials

     Red, green, yellow and pink tissue paper - you can cut into to about 1 in pieces or let the children tear it 

     Apple shaped paper

     Glue sticks

Description

     Children will paste the tissue paper to the paper

Painting with Apples

Materials

     Paint

     Parts of apples - skin, seeds, core, flesh and/or stem

     Card Stock

Description

     Children will dip the parts of the apple into the paint and use it as a the paint brush.

Apple Collage 

Materials

     Parts of apples - skin, seeds, core, flesh and/or stem

     Contact paper

     Construction paper - I prefer black

Description

     Children will stick the apple parts to the contact paper. When they are finished place the construction paper on top so that the sticky part of the contact paper is covered.

Apple Stamps

Materials

     Apples cut vertically

     Apples cut horizontally - star will be in the center

     Paint

     Card Stock

Description

     Children will dip the apple into the paint and use it as a stamp. 

Apple Shakers

Materials

     Paper plates/bowls/cups

     Apple seeds

     Beans

     Pasta

     Markers

     Tape

Description

     Children will pick 2 plates, bowls or cups and fill it with apple seeds and/or beans and/or pasta. The teacher will help them tape the two together. The children can then decorate it with the markers. Let the shaking begin.

Hand Apple Tree

Materials

     Paint - brown or green

     Markers

     Apple and leaf stickers

     Card Stock

Description

    Children will dip their hand and a little bit of their arm in paint and then place it on the paper. It should look like a tree, they can then add apples and leaves with the markers or stickers.

* remind children to keep their fingers apart and it will look more like a tree.

Math

Sorting Apples

Materials

     Different color apples

     Buckets

     Picture of the apples

Description

     Teacher will place the pictures on to the buckets.

     Children will pick an apple and place it into the bucket with the correct picture. (sorting by color).

     Children can then count how many apples are in each bucket.

Weighing Apples

Materials

     Apples both real and fake

     Scale

Description

     Children will explore using the scale to see which apples weigh about the same, which apple is the heaviest, which apple is the lightest, the difference between real apples and fake ones.

Science

Sink or Float

Materials

     Apples

     Apple parts

     3 Buckets

     Sink and Float Sign

Description

     Teachers will put sink on one bucket and float on the other bucket. They will fill the 3rd buck with water.

Children will explore with the apples and parts of apples to see what floats and what sinks after they figure it out they may put it in the corresponding bucket or just leave it in the water bucket.

*clear buckets work the best so the children can also look through the side.

Dramatic Play

We had all sorts of fun with this.

1. Farmers that planted seeds.

   We had seeds and shovels for the children and they planted the seeds in the garden. Some children dressed up and put on flannel shirts and overalls. others put on hats and gloves.

2. Picking the apples

   We taped fake apples and pictures of apples to out fake tree inside and the children could pick apples.

3. Selling apples

   We set up a little market for the children to sell apples to other students. We had baskets to put them in, a cash register and some money (it was fake of course).

4. Cooking apples

   We set up a kitchen and let the children loose. They had real apples, an apple corer, an apple slicer (supervision was a must), bowls, plates, spoons etc.

Alphabet Wall

At my baby shower, my mom had everyone paint a letter for the nursery. She used the colors that matched the nursery and then people could do whatever they wanted. Some got more creative than others but I love how it turned out and put all the letters right above the crib to make an alphabet wall. I think it is cute but maybe that's just the teacher in me, creating a print and letter rich environment. 

Thank you to everyone that added their personal touch!

Growing Baby and Slowly Growing Belly

On Tuesday, we had another appointment with the baby doctor. When she measured me she said I was measuring 2 weeks smaller and she wanted to make sure that Owen was growing at the right rate and had us schedule an ultrasound to check the fetal weight and size. The ultrasound technician was booked for the day so we had to wait until the next day.
Once everything was finished on Wednesday, the tech said that I was in the 55th percentile and that even though I measure small Owen is doing well. His head was ahead of schedule and the rest of his body is also doing good and growing on schedule. She said that by how big he is that he averages 2 days bigger than predicted. So even though I'm small he isn't. She estimated that he weighs a little more than 4 pounds. She then told me that some people hide their babies better and that I'm really lucky. I was relieved to hear that everything was good and that Owen is still healthy and is quickly running out of room. I still think that I'm big but I guess I could be bigger.

Chicken Lasagna Roll Ups

I have made these before and Andrew liked them but they were too creamy for me and I didn't like the texture. Andrew wanted them for dinner so I got on Pinterest to see if I could find a different recipe and found these. I decided to combine both recipes and still make my own changes. It was really good and I'm glad there are left overs for lunch today.

I started with making an alfredo sauce:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 oz of cream cheese (I used light)
• 2 cups of milk (I used 1%)
• 2 tsp of garlic powder
• 2 tsp of italian seasoning
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup of parmesan cheese

In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt butter and cream cheese and add the spices and flour. Whisk together until the chunks of flour are gone. Add milk and whisk until smooth. Let thicken for about 5-7 minutes. Add cheese and reduce to a simmer for about 5 more minutes.

While the sauce is thickening start a pot of boiling water to cook 9 lasagna noodles.

Heat oven to 375.

Pour a thin layer of the alfredo sauce (I didn't measure this I just poured it right in, maybe a little less than 1/2 a cup) to evenly coat the bottom of a pan. 

For the lasagna filling:

• 5 oz of cream cheese
• 2 cups of shredded chicken
• 1 cup of alfredo sauce
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (I used colby jack)
• 2 tsp of dried basil
• 2 tsp of dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp of onion powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper

Add everything into a a medium sized mixing bowl and beat or stir together.  

Once the lasagna noodles are cooked, drain and place on a cookie sheet or a clean counter. Then evenly spread the filling onto each noodle.

Roll and place into the pan.

If you have any left over filling mix with the rest of the alfredo sauce. Then pour over the lasagna rolls and add some cheese. (I grated it right on to the top of the lasagna rolls, so once again I didn't measure it, maybe 1/2 a cup)

Bake 15-20 minute or until cheese is melted and the rolls are warmed all the way through.

Enjoy!

ABC Box

My mom found this ABC box. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet but it sure is cute!

Before

After

And Then There Were 3

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, we found out that 

We are so excited for baby Owen to arrive in October! 

When Andrew found out it was going to be a boy I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. I was excited because we hadn't picked out a girl name so it was one less thing to worry about. 

How Andrew and Kennedy got to be the B's

The story of how you and me became we!

Andrew and I met in the fall of 2012. At first I ignored him, not on purpose, I was just busy and wasn't looking for a relationship. He just kept coming over with his friends. One day he asked me to come to his basketball game and I told him I would come. He was really good! After the game, we went back to his apartment and his friend made up some silly game that made us be on a team. I still didn't know he was interested. We stayed out until midnight and he made fun of me because I told him it was way past my bedtime. I normally went to bed between 10 and 10:30 because I had 7:45 class every morning. After that we started hanging out more and I started getting less sleep. Then one day we went on a date. It wasn't anything special. We got hot chocolate from Maverik (yes, the gas station) and picked up a coloring page. We went back to his apartment and colored on his kitchen table and talked. It was a lot of fun even though it was simple. He nicely walked me home and we talked until 1 or so in the morning. We continued to date and enjoyed the rest of the semester together. He came home with me for Christmas break and met my family. It was fun to drive 9 hours in the car. You learn so much about someone on road trips and I didn't see any red flags so things were going good. He took my family to the airport and we went to Belize for Christmas and he continued on to California by himself. While we were apart I realized how much I liked him and didn't like not being able to see him and talk to him. Luckily we had wifi so I could message him, which was better than nothing. After I got back I flew to his house and spent New Years with him and his family. Then we headed back to school, 16 more hours in the car. We had a lot of time to talk and decided we liked each other enough that we didn't ever want to be apart. We were engaged by the end of January.

Andrew and I got married in April of 2013. It was a beautiful day even though it was a little windy. We were so blessed to have so much family and friends there to support us on our big day.