Sunday Snippets 8.31.14

On Sundays, I like to share snippets from our life here in small town Iowa.  

As we get into the school year, our lives get busier. 

It seems there is always something going on.  

I'd love to hear snippets from your life as well.

Find joy in the snippets of your daily life!

We have had an office in our home since 2008. My husband used it on days he wanted to work from home. It was a huge help when his office in downtown Cedar Rapids was flooded during the flood of 2008. But, now that his office is in our small town, he was hardly ever using it. So, I decided it would be helpful if I actually had an office. We cleaned it out and I got it all set up for me. I am so excited. I have been more productive and love being able to sit at a desk rather than on the couch with my computer. 

On Sunday we participated in a Bags (Corn Hole) Tournament. 

Pat and I were partners and Patrick and Bennett were partners.  

The boys were pretty thrilled that they placed better than we did, 

receiving 3rd place. We got 4th. 

Reagan has been BEGGING to make cupcakes and finally,

 Sunday afternoon we made them. 

Strawberry cake with pink and purple icing. YUM!

Cross Country season kicked off on Tuesday.  

Patrick's (in the blue) 1st high school meet and he rocked it, 

finishing with his fastest time ever. 

His official time was 21.29 for a 5K. 

The race was ran with all the high school boys together 

rather than a Varsity race and a JV race. I think he did awesome!

Have you heard of a Lemon Drop Melon?

I hadn't either but saw them at Hy-Vee this week. 

I love trying new fruit and thought the kids might like it.

It was sweet with a bit of tart.

Bennett said it reminded him of a Granny Smith apple.

I thought it was like a Honeydew Melon with tart.

It is smaller than a cantalope and was $2.50.

Also this week I treated myself to a pedicure and lunch at Panera. 

A friend of mine is in school to be a nail technician, 

so I "sacrificed" to be one of her customers.

Then I headed to Panera with my book and had a delicious lunch.

Their new flatbread sandwiches are quite tasty. 

I had their southwestern flat bread with summer corn chowder. 

I'm anxious to try out their other flatbreads.

I live in a small town of 700, so we have to drive nearly thirty minutes - hour to get to a fancy cupcake shop. The popular one in Eastern Iowa is Scratch Cupcakery. They have locations in Cedar Falls, Waterloo, West Des Moines and Coralville. The cool thing is they also have a Cupcake Truck that travels to small towns for a scheduled 2 hour visit. 

They offer 10 different cupcakes for $2 each or $22/dozen.

I stood in line for just 15 minutes to get 6 cupcakes. Totally worth it! They sold out of all of the 500 cupcakes they brought in 56 minutes! I hope they come back soon!

From top to bottom, left to right:

O Happy Day, Wedding Day, Raspberry Love, 

Chocolicious, Cookies and Cream, and Molten Caramel

Saturday was the neighboring towns Sauerkraut Days. 

It kicked off with a 5K at 7:30 AM. Patrick ran and I ran/walked with my friend, Therese. 

Patrick had another best time, finishing at 20:59, 

cutting off 30 seconds from his previous best time on Tuesday. 

Let's just say, Therese and I were a tad....bit behind him. 

Then it was time to get ready for the parade. Gotta love small town parades!

Patrick marching with the band, above.

It isn't a small town Iowa parade without tractors.  

My Sister-in-Law, Kelly and her son Matt

My husband's brother, Steve driving his Oliver in the parade.

After the parade we had all the free hot dogs and sauerkraut we wanted,

plus some delicious peach pie. 

In the afternoon, Patrick was in his final Sheltered Reality performance.

This has been an amazing group to be a part of the last three years, but

due to a busy high school activity schedule, we had to let it go.

But, we will never forget our time with Sheltered Reality and how you can

"Take a Chance"

"Never Give Up"

and do

"Whatever It Takes"

in any situation.

If you are in the Midwest, you may have a Sheltered Reality group near you. 

Check out their website and schedule, HERE and find a show near you. 

In fact, they are at the Minnesota State Fair today!

They are amazing! 

Patrick with Steve the founder of Sheltered Reality

Ok, this was kind of a full week, but these were truly just snippets from our life.

There is always something going on, and next week will be just as busy.

Tune in next Sunday for more snippets from our life.

You never know what you might see.

Remember to find the joy in your daily snippets!

Children's Book Review: The Icky, Sticky Tea Party By Anne M. Jenks

THE ICKY, STICKY TEA PARTY

By: Anne M. Jenks

Illustrated By: Gaston Hauviller

Published: May 23, 2014

Publisher: Laredo Publishing



Anne Jenks is back with another children's book on a helpful topic.  I previously reviewed BITSY BEAR that dealt with the topic of stranger danger. To see my review of BITSY BEAR, click HERE.

In THE ICKY, STICKY TEA PARTY, Jenny and Cindy are stuck inside with a babysitter. The babysitter is too busy texting and Cindy is too busy playing video games to have a tea party with her younger sister, Jenny.  Jenny decides to have a tea party with her dolls and their dog, Moose.  Jenny ends up using her icky medicine for the tea and the babysitter and Cindy soon find out what a problem that will cause.  The whole family learns a valuable lesson on medication safety.

The story includes a real-life situation with well-created illustrations to share a fun and important message on safety. Even the youngest child will appreciate the pictures and understand that someone in the story ends up very sick.  The information is shared in a concise and appropriate level for younger children along with a helpful guide at the end of the book for parents. The guide includes safety tips on medications as well as other creams, lotions, and household products that can also be harmful to your child.

This story is a great way to have this discussion with your child without it being just a lecture.  They will remember the story of Cindy, Jenny and their dog, Moose and the importance of medication safety.

As a side note, Anne is a high school classmate of mine (there was only 30 of us) and I am honored to tell all of you about her books. I purchased this book on my own and hope that you will do the same!

Anne M. Jenks 

Anne M Jenks grew up in a loving family in NE Iowa and was the oldest of four children. Being a big sister makes you aware of the safety of your younger siblings. Whether it's because you care so deeply about your brothers and sisters or because you just don't want to get in trouble from Mom and Dad, this awareness of younger children's safety becomes a part of you.

After graduating from University of Iowa with a doctorate of pharmacy, Jenks started working as a retail pharmacist. Implementing the three E's in her books is a key focus. Jenks's purpose in writing is to engage, entertain, and educate her audience.

To purchase a copy of THE ICKY, STICKY TEA PARTY, click the photo below:

I will be linking up with other bloggers on Saturday as part of Booking Mama's Kid Konnection. Be sure to click over to see other great children's book reviews. 

Vacation Snack Idea

Are you looking for an easy snack to make up for your next road trip or summer vacation?  These are simple to make up and get you about 20 bags of snacks to take along.  They are perfect for hiking, long car rides, a day at the pool, play dates, summer camps, and sporting events. I recently made these for a summer camp snack for 40 kids.  This snack was much quicker to assemble than making 40 cookies or bars. Depending on coupons and your local prices, you can make up about 20 bags for about $13 which figures out to about $.65/bag.

Vacation Snack
1 Box Golden Grahams Cereal
1 Large Bag of M&Ms
1 Bag of Mini Marshmellows
20 Sandwich Size Baggies

Empty 1 cup of Golden Grahams Cereal into a baggie.  Then empty 1/4 cup of M&Ms into the baggie. Finally add a 1/2 cup of mini marshmellows to the baggie.  Gently mix up the items and seal the bag.

Summer Reading and Writing Opportunity for Kids from Wigu Books

"The more you read,

the more things you will know, 

the more you learn,

the more places you will go."

Dr. Seuss

Wigu Publishing is the publisher of those great children's books, WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE..... that I keep raving about here on the blog.  They have introduced a Summer Reading and Writing incentive for children that you will definitely want to be a part of.

For the summer reading:

All you need to do is go to www.WhenIGrowUpBooks.com/SummerSuperstars. Once there you can enter your child's minutes of reading for each week.  Winners will be chosen each week from the children who read 100 or more minutes.  

TO ENTER WEEKLY DRAWINGS (or enter your child’s submission):

• Read 20 minutes a day (a minimum of 100 minutes per week)
• In the form below, submit the number of minutes you’ve read (daily or weekly – we will track your total minutes).
• To qualify for weekly drawing, you must read a minimum of 100 minutes per week.
• Follow @WiguBooks on Twitter and/or Facebook and check our weekly drawing for $20 Amazon gift card and Wigu Book – simply type in #WiguWednesdays for the latest winners
• Two Grand Prize winners of $100 Amazon gift cards!
• Kids, you may enter every week as long as you keep reading and tracking your minutes.

*First weekly prize to be given away Wednesday, June 4^th followed by each consecutive Wednesday, through August 27^th.

**Grand prize winners will be selected based on top number of minutes read through the summer in 2 age divisions: 8 and under and 9 and up.  Grand Prizes will be announced Friday, August 29^th.

If your child is more of a writer than a reader:

Click on the same website as above. Once you are there, you can enter your child's original essay on their dream career.

TO ENTER (or enter your child’s submission):

• Share your career dreams with us via the form below
• 10 finalists will each receive a $100 Amazon gift card and Wigu Book
• Grand prize winner to receive an additional $250 Amazon gift card and a $1,000 donation to his or her school or library of choice.
• Winners will be notified via email and social media. Make sure to follow us @WiguBooks on Twitter and @WhenIGrowUpBooksbyWigu on FB

*Submission accepted through August 30^th

**10 finalists to be announced on Friday, September 5^th

***Grand prize winner to be announced Friday September 12^th

Even if you are a little late getting started in your summer reading, don't delay any longer. Get your child reading and enter those minutes.  You just might be a winner! 

I'm linking up today with other bloggers at Booking Mama's Kid Konnection.  Find other great children's book reviews and book-related posts as well as those for middle-grade and young adults every Saturday morning.

Children's Book Review: Bitsy Bear By Anne M Jenks

BITSY BEAR
A Great Children's Story and Essential Parenting Tool

By: Anne M Jenks

Illustrated By: Laura Liberatore

Published: April 28, 2014

If there is only one book you read with your child, this one would be it.  The dangers of the world can creep into even the most protected communities and families.  The best way to protect our children is with information and communication.  BITSY BEAR gives us the opportunity to teach our children about personal safety through a children's story.

In BITSY BEAR we are introduced to a monkey family.  The siblings Mitsy, Itsy, and Bitsy love to play together in the jungle and are always under the watchful eyes of their parents.  Until one day, the parents' focus is taken off of Bitsy and some circus bears decide she would be the perfect addition to their circus act.  What happens next will give you the perfect scenario to talk with your child about stranger danger.

We live in a small community and have the perception of our children being safe. But the last few abductions in our state have been in small towns just like the one we live in.  This book gave me another chance to have this conversation with our 9-year-old daughter. She read the book first and then we were able to have a great discussion about what happened to Bitsy.

I read this as an eBook, but the illustrations were still just as vibrant as a regular book. They told the story through pictures and gave some humor to the story while allowing the younger readers to become interested in the story.

I can't stress enough what an important book this is for you to read and discuss with your child.  Jenks's story is presented in such a way that makes the situation real, yet not too scary for your child.

The exciting part of this book for me is that it is written by one of my high school classmates.  I am thrilled to be able to share this book with all of you and hope that by sharing this book with your child, none of you will have to go through this. After the story, the book includes tips for parents in keeping your children safe and tips for children about what to do in an emergency.

Anne M. Jenks

Anne M Jenks grew up in a loving family in NE Iowa and was the oldest of four children. Being a big sister makes you aware of the safety of your younger siblings. Whether it's because you care so deeply about your brothers and sisters or because you just don't want to get in trouble from Mom and Dad, this awareness of younger children's safety becomes a part of you.

After graduating from University of Iowa with a doctorate of pharmacy, Jenks started working as a retail pharmacist. Seeing children shopping with their families was often entertaining but sometimes troublesome. Children can so easily become separated from their parents. Whether intentional or not, this possibly dangerous situation always bothered her.

Implementing the three E's in her books is a key focus. Jenks's purpose in writing is to engage, entertain, and educate her audience.  Be on the look out for her next book, THE ICKY STICKY TEA PARTY. It tells the story of two sisters who get themselves into a bit of trouble when they try to use cough syrup as a "pretend tea" for the tea party. While this story also has a happy ending, it does convey a critical message about the importance of medication safety.

To purchase a copy of BITSY BEAR, click the photo below:

I will be linking up with other bloggers in Booking Mama's Kid Konnection on Saturday.  There you will find other great children's book reviews.

How to Survive Summer With Your Kids

If you have been reading my blog, you know that every summer I try to plan fun activities for our kids.  It doesn't always work, but it is nice to have some ideas layed out.  This summer we have 87 Days of Fun to fill.  So I better get busy!

The first thing I do is gather ideas - big or small- from the kids to see what they want to do this summer.  Their ideas include small ideas like having friends over, going camping, going to Coldstone for ice cream, and big ideas like going to Disney World (not happening) and going to Adventureland (a theme park).  Then I look at our scheduled activities like baseball, Tball, basketball camp, speech camp, vacation, and come up with some sort of plan.

Other years I have given each day of the week a theme, but this year I decided not to do that.  Each day there will be chores.  Chores are written on popsicle sticks for the kids to draw from.  The kids will be expected to read and keep a Reading Log.  Treats will be given along the way for meeting reading goals.  Then there is the fun!

One place I get ideas for summer fun is from THE CONFIDENT MOM.  Susan  of THE CONFIDENT MOM makes up this awesome calendar for June, July and August with an idea/day.  Some days include recipes, crafts, or outings. 

The calendar can be printed off or used online with the accessible links in the calendar.  She has done all the research for you and for just $7, you can access all of it!  It is well worth the money if you have kids preschool-elementary age.  You can access the calendar by going to her BLOG and clicking on the summer calendar picture.  Within minutes you can be planning your summer fun!  Thanks Susan for all your hard work!

Some of my other ideas:

-Get our your cookbooks, have the kids pick new recipes and plan the whole meal and then go to the store and get your ingredients.  Include budgeting skills in the activity by giving the kids a budget. 
-Empty out your craft bins and create some wacky crafts!
-Have a movie marathon (great for a rainy day) with popcorn.  Each kid gets to pick a movie.
-Have a board game marathon and each kid gets to pick a board game or pick an outdoor game.
-Create a scavenger hunt around your community.  Have the kids take pictures of wacky items that they need to find and you provide the transportation.  Like a Red S, a flat rock, a black dog, etc...

I also try to work in some school related activities to keep their minds working.  I found some great workbooks at LEARNING TRAIN.  They have great activity books like Learning to Draw Pets as well as subject/grade related workbooks.  My order arrived in just a few days!

Be creative.  The whole point is making summer fun and making sure the kids aren't sitting in front of the TV or attached to the Wii all summer.  Parenting is all about making memories and I am excited to get our summer started!  What neat things do you do with your kids? 

A Favorite Tradition

One of my absolute favorite traditions in our family involves Valentine's Day. It is something I started when our boys were 1 and 2 and we have continued it every year since. I give the kids a little present every year for Valentine's day just like I give my husband something. But the extra special part, is that I make the gift giving into a scavenger hunt all around the house. Each clue taking them to some other spot until finally arriving at the end with a present waiting just for them. Over the years my clues have been in a poem form, in question form and have involved memories from the previous year. One year I even had a scavenger hunt for my husband. Just the other day my heart swelled when our middle child asked if I was still planning to do the Scavenger Hunt this year. Of course I was! Except this year I had to do it a little early....last night in fact! So yesterday, I planned it out, placed the clues all around the house and right after supper, we let the kids get started. This year I also incorporated silly tricks that they had to perform before they got to the final prize at the end. The gift bag included movies and a Leapster game for them to take along for a weekend getaway. We are traveling to an indoor waterpark that is about 2 hours away. This winter has been cold, long, and snowy and we really felt like we needed a weekend get-away. So, as soon as the kids get home from school we are heading out to our balmy indoor waterpark where we hope to forget, for a few days anyway, that it is winter outside! What do you do for Valentine's Day?

Labor Day Weekend

As many other families, we closed out our summer (even though the kids have been in school since August 20th) with a great weekend. God certainly blessed us with perfect weather this weekend and allowed us to recharge our batteries and get ready for a busy schedule ahead. This was our last free weekend for a long time as soccer starts Saturday and football starts Sunday. Free weekends are a thing of the past for awhile.

Friday night we spent the evening at a local winery with Pat's sister Julie and husband Bill and our friends Mike and Tina. We laughed A LOT, had great wine and enjoyed the music of the Silver Wings playing the oldies. It was a great evening! The kids had fun too, playing with their cousins that night!

Then Saturday we attended the neighboring towns annual "Sauerkraut Days". It starts with a parade and then all the free hotdogs and sauerkraut you can eat, carnival rides for the kids, a car show, and various other food items for sale. Our nephews were in the parade, driving their tractors. We enjoyed our dogs and kraut. I even gave in and had a funnel cake. The kids had fun riding the carvial rides. By the time we got home we were all exhausted and had naps!

Saturday night we had a bonfire in our backyard and Pat and the kids slept in a tent in our backyard. Dad didn't get much sleep, but the memories made were worth it!

Sunday we enjoyed a day at home, picking up, cleaning and organizing rooms, playing catch outside, and playing games inside. Today we slept in. Then we had a picnic, played at the park, fed the geese and ducks, went to Chuck E Cheese to play the games, went out for ice cream.

This was such a great family weekend for us. It was just what we needed. Our family has been blessed and we had such a beautiful weekend to enjoy and be thankful for. The memories we made this weekend will carry us through our next several busy weekends.

Rockin Tuesday

This summer has just flown by and I can't believe it is the middle of July. The kids go back to school in 5 short weeks! I have been so busy with other commitments this summer that the kids and I haven't really had a day of fun together. So, today, I cancelled something else I was supposed to do and we spent the day at home...sleeping in, playing games, talking a walk, and doing a craft. I got these great guitar cut-outs from Oriental Trading. So, the kids each decorated their own guitar and then, of course, ROCKED OUT!

Mondays Matter: Week 25

Taken from the book Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make A Difference by Matthew Emerzian and Kelly Bozza

Plant A Tree

-1 acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people every day.

-Planting trees remains one of the most cost-effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

-3 trees planted strategically around a house can reduce energy use by up to 50%.

-Trees add beauty, increase property values, and reduce stress.

-1 tree planted by every family would reduce 1 billion pounds of CO2 annually from our atmosphere.

ACTION STEPS

1. Call your local nursery to get a list of trees that grow best in your area; then determine the type of tree you would like to plant.

2. To plant the tree:

-Identify the proper location.

-Dig a hole at least twice the size of the root ball of the tree.

-Place several inches of good soil mix at the bottom of the hole before inserting the tree.

-Place the tree in the hole. If your tree comes in a plastic pot, burlap, or wire basket, remove it from the container without disturbing the root system.

-Fill the hole with good soil and pack firmly.

-Anchor your tree using a tree stake. Use wire and a length of old hose to secure tree to the stake - the hose will keep the wire from cutting through the trunk. Remove the anchor after two years.

-Water thoroughly and fertilize as directed.

3. Give a tree to someone as a gift.

Our first spring in our new house, we planted a tree in our front yard. I had always wanted a flowering crab apple tree and so that is what we chose. Every spring we take the kids picture in front of it to show the trees growth as well as theirs. The previous home owners had planted 2 huge Red Maple trees that now provide us with homes for Robin's nests, shade on the hottest days, and beautiful fall color with leaf piles to jump in in the fall.

Trees improve our air quality, save energy, reduce pollutants, provide homes for wildlife, and add brilliant colors to landscapes. So, go get your shovel and plant one today!

A Weekend Recap!

We had such a full weekend with many proud moments, that I just needed to share it with you.

Friday morning, our son, Patrick was 1 of 20 to make the 3rd/4th grade spelling bee. When I realized that Patrick was in the top 4 kids who were left, I thought to myself, Wow, he made the top 4. Then before I knew it he was 1 of 2 kids left. The other boy, a 4th grader, misspelled the word "vertical" and Patrick spelled it correctly. He then correctly spelled "glorious" and WON THE SPELLING BEE! We were in shock! Of course, we know he is a smart cookie and a great speller, but didn't think he would win! There were a few tears flowing from the eyes of this proud mama!

Friday evening was the annual elementary school progam. This program includes the K-2nd grade kids. Every year has a theme and this year it was Disney Magic. Our son Bennett did a great job singing and dancing to some of our Disney favorites.

Saturday was our town-wide garage sales which I organize and also have one myself. So, getting all the maps and listings done by Friday morning to get copied and then get my own garage organzied and items marked and put out was my task most of the day Friday, after the spelling bee, of course. Saturday morning was a beautiful day with the sun shining. Many people came to town and found numerous bargains at 29 garages in town! My friend Emily and I hosted one in my garage and we were quite happy with our sales and the smaller amount of items to take back home! Of course I also had to shop at a few garage sales myself and the good thing is that I still came out ahead!

Saturday evening we attended my husband's sister's church. She had been asked to give the message and we wanted to be there. It was a very uplifting message about doing our share to help others. God expects that of us and you can find His thoughts on this in MATTHEW 25. I appreciate Julie reminding us of Jesus' expectations of us and the great needs of the sick and hungry in our communities!

Today we attended our own church and since it was "Camp Sunday" where we talk about the different camp opportunites available to the kids, we also had a meal afterwards. The men at church grilled burgers and hot dogs and the men also cleaned up! We enjoyed some great fellowship with friends over a delicious meal. Our family spent the afternoon playing outside and doing some small tasks around the house and yard. I even went for an hour walk with my friend, Mary. Tonight I made a favorite dessert, Rhubarb Crisp. The neighbor's rhubarb patch is ready for picking and I couldn't wait to find a way to use it. If you would like the recipe you can go here...I posted it almost a year ago http://sincerelystacie.blogspot.com/2008/05/rhubarb-crisp.html

So, as you can see, I had a fabulous weekend. I am such a proud mom and I LOVE Spring. I am looking forward to the upcoming Mother's Day Weekend and hoping for great weather. It doesn't get much better than this!

This is not the best video. The first couple words are hard to hear, but you can get the last two words that he spells and his reaction to it. It is priceless!

9 Years Already!

Nine years ago today, I became a mom! I gave birth to our son Patrick and will never forget that feeling when the nurse put him in my arms for the first time. Patrick is such a funny, bright, and unique kid. I love how he has his dad's sense of humor, and my musical talent. He is skinny like his dad was as a kid and a reader like I was. Time has flown and I can't imagine in 9 more years we will be getting ready for his high school graduation! This 9 went too fast and I know the next 9 will go even faster! I guess I better hold on and enjoy the ride!

I want you to learn a little more about Patrick and who knows, I might even learn something!

PATRICK: 9 YEARS OLD

What is your favorite TV show? Sponge Bob and Sports like college football

What is your favorite movie? This is hard, I've seen a lot of movies. Bedtime Stories, High School Musical 3, and The Final Season

What is your favorite book? Again a tough one, Magic Treehouse Series

Who is your best friend? Brody

If you could take a trip, where would you like to visit? Florida because it is hot there.

What are you really good at? Basketball, being a friend, Math

What is your favorite thing about school? Recess

If you could do whatever you wanted for a whole day, what would that day look like? Play outside, play basketball, have a big breakfast, watch movies, and play video games

What do you want to be when you grow up? A basketball player, The President of the USA, or a teacher.