Akeelah's Bee

Akeelah's Bee is a great underdog story about a girl working her way up to the Scripp's National Spelling Bee. Since we had just watched the actual Scripp's Spelling Bee a couple weeks ago, this was of great interest to all of us. We were glued to the movie, many (sentimental) tears were shed, and (hopefully) we learned the benefit of perseverance!

Just as a warning, there are a couple of spots with foul language that I wish they would have omitted.

Thunder Shirt

Sophie has never liked loud noises. But for some reason this year the fireworks were driving her crazy! Pacing and yelping and trembling. And this was the weekend before the Fourth! This was just from some little neighborhood fire crackers. So we invested in a Thunder Shirt. We figured if it doesn't work we would just take advantage of the money back guarantee.

So the next night before the fireworks could get started we got Sophie dressed in her Thunder Shirt. She immediately laid down and went to sleep! Of course there weren't fireworks that night! The next night the fireworks started, Sophie began trembling and pacing, we put on the Thunder Shirt, and she relaxed. She still kind of looked around like, "I wonder what this is" but she really didn't care. Since then, we have dressed her with the Thunder Shirt for more fireworks and for a thunderstorm. I LOVE this Thunder Shirt and so does Sophie!

Cheesy Gift

Instead of a cream cheese ball, a cream cheese gift - how fun! I found this in a FAMILY FUN magazine as well, I believe but when I tore it out of the magazine, the identifying features were gone.

So, just like you are making a cheese ball, mix the ingredients together and then reform into the rectangle shape - just reuse the cream cheese box lined with plastic wrap. Use diced red pepper as the decorative wrapping paper and a scallion for the bow.
Here are the seasonings used in the above recipe:
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon salt

Summer Games

As promised, here are some fun summer game ideas! I found these in the FAMILY FUN magazine from June 2008. I'm pretty I'll plan these to be used at my husband's staff picnic in a couple weeks, assuming it will be hot outside!
(#1) Frozen T-Shirt Contest

Gather up as many t-shirts as you will have contestants, soak with water, wring out, fold, and stack on a cookie sheet with waxed paper separating them, and place in the freezer. Hand out the shirts for a race to see who can get the frozen shirt on first!

(#2) Fill It Up

Have teams of two ready to fill up a cup holding a ping pong ball. Have the team members stand six feet apart and, using spray bottles, spray water into their team members cup until the ping pong ball floats out. Be sure to have buckets of water handy for refills!

Christmas Ideas

As promised, here are some fun ideas for Christmas - all taken from the December 2007 / January 2008 FAMILY FUN Magazine:
(#1) Terra-Cotta Nativity 

Every time I see this I think that I am going to do this with my kids for the next Christmas. Every year Christmas goes by without me even thinking about it! This was published in the December 2007/January 2008 edition  of FAMILY FUN Magazine.
Here are the abbreviated directions:
Paint 2 small terra-cotta pots and a small saucer. Use wooden knobs as the heads, drawing the faces on with a fine-point marker. Glue the heads to the pots/cloth.

(#2) Pieces on Earth

This is from the same page in the December 2007/January 2008 FAMILY FUN as the Terra-Cotta Nativity. Use some old puzzle pieces to paint as elves, gingerbread men, or reindeer and glue the accessories on. How cute!

(#3) Pop Down to Christmas

I love bubble wrap - what a simple and fun way to countdown to Christmas! Just cut out the bubble wrap in the shape of a Christmas tree. Glue cut out and decorated paper circles to the 24 circles for a pop for each day!

Wow!

I have really ignored this blog for a while.

I am very excited about Pinterest and have been trying out some new ideas - from decorating to cleaning to landscaping. I realized I had been keeping my own version of a Pinterest book for several years. I have ideas in there I tore out from magazines: family games, party ideas, crafts, home ideas, etc. So, in an effort to consolidate my Pinterest board online with my dated notebook that has been ignored for far too long, I have scanned some of the pages from my book to post here and then pin on Pinterest. I hope you enjoy the following posts about summer games, Christmas ideas, and more!

Sonicare

We LOVE our Sonicare toothbrushes! I have always heard great reviews of the Sonicare toothbrush. I have even had dentists, orthodontists, and periodontists recommend it to me (and my kids). I wanted one but just wasn't willing to spend that much money on a toothbrush! But when Target had a sale AND I had a coupon AND there was a rebate I took advantage of it! Now all four of us have our own Sonicare toothbrushes! We love them! They have been worth every penny and more! We just went for our six month dental cleaning after only using them for one month and received rave reviews on our dental care! (My son told the dentist he has a "secret tool"!) There is a timer (once you turn it on, it goes for two minutes and then automatically turns off) to be sure you actually brush long enough - big plus! But the biggest plus:
There was a visible difference in my son's teeth after one day!
There was a visible difference in my husband's teeth after two days!
There was a visible difference in my teeth and my daughter's teeth after just one week!
(Yes, that is a lot of exclamation marks - but, WOW! We LOVE our toothbrushes!)

Now let me warn you, as the instructions did: The first time you use it, it really tickles and is uncomfortable - your gums and lips get all tingly. You want to stop before the two minute timer is done. That is okay. The next time you use it, it is much better - you at least know what to expect. By the second full day of using the Sonicare, you notice the "tinglies" but it is not an issue. After that, it is all just routine and completely comfortable.

Oh, another warning: make sure you keep your lips closed unless you want beautiful splatters all over your bathroom! :)