Life is Good...

Sweet surprises abound on Friday when we hosted our first ever Gingerbread House Creating & Decorating Party! It was so much fun for all 15 kids we had in the house and I think the 10 adults had a great time as well! It was something we billed as a family event so that time was spent together and it worked out wonderfully! We went through 8 boxes of graham crackers, countless bags of candy, 5 tubs of frosting, 1 pack of food coloring and 4 bags of marshmallows!!

After letting them sleep the sugar high from the Gingerbread Party off, we met friends for brunch Saturday afternoon and had so much fun. Even though they were adult friends with plenty of chatter and hours of sitting, the kids still managed to enjoy themselves too! A few crayons on the backside of the placemat is all it takes to keep them entertained...that and a fully stocked dessert bar!

Saturday evening had us from 4-9pm with different friends at the Zoo to see their Christmas Light show and events and activities. 5 boys and 1 girl make for an amusing trip full of energy and wild antics!

Sunday morning we headed to mass early and then off to Wisconsin to get some shopping done (Cheese and brats are a must!!) along with a visit to their events arena to buy some tickets for a few shows we want to see next year! They will be delivered via the North Pole express! We enjoyed dinner at our favorite Milwaukee location (Buck Bradley's).

Right from dinner we headed to Starbucks at Arrow Park and then to watch the skaters! We wanted to get on the ice, but we had plans to meet up with friends and it was time to get going!!

Yay our friends had joined us! It was time to watch the Holiday Train from Canadian Pacific pull in and then the concert and SANTA!!! Gabriel even got a high five from Santa!! He believes he may have been injected with magic as that was the REAL Santa you know!! It was truly an amazing sight and I don't know who was more excited; the kids or I?!

Charlie the Elf was up to his usual antics this weekend, including climbing into a lamp and dropping down a scarf for Hot Coffee to come up again! (Please note, this are florescent bulbs, DO NOT try with any other bulbs and on a smarter note, leave the light off!! I just turned it on to take the photo as it was too dark already).

This morning we were up early for mommy to meet her group of friends as we walked the mall and the kids sat down and did their work for the day! Some of those older people can certainly power walk, I have to join up with them!! I think the mommy's just like getting together to chat! Hahaha!

First we had school at the mall and now what?! Crafting for school?! Yup, did you now that writing letters to penpals is the perfect school activitiy? It includes handwriting, spelling and art! Don't forget letter writing, envelope addressing and so much more! Get a penpal and watch your children LEARN & have fun!!

Who would have thought that all it took was becoming a teacher to pull my shy boy out of his shell! This Chess Class kit is just another tool in his belt of confidence. He started teaching chess to beginners and hosting a free play chess at the library and he is just getting more animated and excited as I watch. Find something your child loves and start small! Have them teach a smaller, younger child and then watch it grow!

Menu Plan Monday will be brief with just dinners today as my son is in the middle of a chess lesson and I have to keep an eye on the time!

Monday - Loaded Baked Potato Soup in the Slow Cooker! (Smells so good!) with Tomato & Cucumber slices

Tuesday - Grilled Chicken Salad Bar with DIY Veggie toppings to build it all yourself
Wednesday - Pinto Bean Soup served with Cucumber Slices sprinkled with lime, salt and chile with blue corn tortilla chips & Avocado slices
Thursday - Zootles (Zucchini noodles) with homemade tomato sauce and heirloom tomato salad.
Friday - Birthday Party!
Saturday - Dinner Date with husband as kids go to Parents Night Out!
Sunday - Out of Town to go to a LEGO show!
Enjoy Every Minute My Friends!

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A Guide To Boys Reading Ages 5-7

Yikes, readers I 100% apologize! How on earth did this week start up and I am already behind!? Field trips, meet ups, movies and friends have had us in a whirl-wind. This should have been on Monday's blog. Oh well I will play catch up now and you will just have to deal with my ramblings! The weekend was so jam packed, I truly feel as though we were on a 1 week long vacation where we truly had to SEE IT ALL!! WOW! Okay anyway...on with the post. My boys were struggling readers, they learned to read quickly, can do their work with ease and the like, but as far as free reading goes? It takes too much to get them into ANYTHING...Try as I might, I was failing with everything I picked up. What did I decide to do then? Take them to Barnes & Noble, head to the reading level appropriate shelves and we grabbed books. FIRST NOTE that I would only grab books that were part of a series. This was done intentionally so that they could continue reading books without have to look for more every week or so! We took the first books of many sets and had a seat in the corner of the children's section. I read the back of the book and if it got a thumbs up, we read the first chapter together. If it worked it went into the YES pile and if not, we put it back to be restocked. After narrowing it down, we wrote down the title and author of each YES book  and then I let them pick out which series to begin with. Today's thread is all about my 7 year old and the book series' that he has fell in love with since he was 5!

1. Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne, this series is something he fell in love with at 4 when I would read to him and when he started reading. By 5 he was on his own and in love with the stories.

2. A-Z Mysteries by Ron Roy, this is perfect for that wannabe crime solver, easy to read but tackles fun subjects that the kids learn as they go.

3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney, Add in typical boy humor, comic book like pictures and hilarity ensues. This is a series that he has gone back to multiple times

4. Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, once again that boy humor comes in to play. He loves to read portions of these books aloud and then laugh and laugh.

5. Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, these adventures make for an easy read that can be finished in no time, by even a slower reader. 

6. Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton, more comic type photos in these books along with all the adventures Geronimo finds himself on make this series a must read for any age, there is a girl version by Thea Stilton but girls would love these just as much and boys would love the others as well!

7. LEGO Ninajago Graphic Novels, I know that these are not full on books, with more pictures taking over but they are excellent in my book if my kids sit down with them!

8. Goosebumps by R.L. Stine, these not-so-scary but a bit odd books seem to keep boys wanting more as they delve deeper into the series!

9.  Capital Mysteries by Ron Roy, he has hit our list twice but these books are spectacular for the problem solving mind!

10. Imagination Station by Marianne Hering, these books had my son from the first line. These are Christian books that are similar to the Magic Treehouse series. 

Hope these are enough to get your started! Enjoy every minute my friends!!

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Tuesday's Tools

I've been a busy Mama getting the tools out of a bin and onto a tool wall for the kids! Let me tell you, their face was like Christmas morning when they first saw it all. Pegboard and some framing scrap wood was all I needed for this simple project and came out to less than $5.00 as we had the hooks at home already. 

Mounting measuring tapes becomes an easy job when you add a thin metal strip behind 2 small blocks of wood and then you just use the clip on the measuring tape to hang it on.

We've been doing some work around the house and the little guy absolutely loves to help out! He gets his hat, clips his measuring tape to his pants and pencil, so he's ready to go.

Do you know how easy it is to make a plinko game? Pegboard, wood dowels and some scrap wood is all you need! The kids absolutely love this game and it's perfect to use indoors or out!

Enjoy every minute my friends!

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