Snow Dogs

Kate's Snow Fun

 Kate saw everyone else outside shoveling, so of course she wanted to go out too!  I managed to get all of these clothes on her (Reagan helped!), and we ventured outside.

Maybe a minute passed before she removed her mittens.

Less than five minutes passed before she began crying.

She recovered, and played for about fifteen minutes.

Then she decided it was just TOO COLD!

She went inside, removed every article of clothing right down to her diaper, and was happy on the couch under her blanket!

Valentine's Day

For the fourteenth day of love, I originally planned on making banana splits, but Collin has been sick and I haven't left the house in a few days, so I didn't have everything I needed.  That was okay because I opened the cabinet to see what I had on hand and I saw leftover candy canes from Christmas.  I remembered the candy cane hearts from The Artful Parent and decided to go with those.

They are so easy to make.  I just formed two candy canes in a heart shape and poured melted chocolate in the middle.  A few sprinkles on top, and they are pretty and festive!

Tom loves dates, so I made these turtles.

Wow, are they good!  I just sliced open the date without cutting all the way through, removed the pit, placed the date flat to look like a butterfly, added three pecans, and topped them with melted dark chocolate.

The three big kids presented me with some very thoughtful gifts!

I couldn't have been happier!

Now if everyone around here could just get healthy!  This cold started with Tyler and has attacked everyone but me.  I am hoping that it has no interest in me because I just can't be bothered with a cold!

Collin has definitely been hit hardest.  Today is his third day of sickness.  Boo has been taking good care of him.

I'm currently seeking the assistance of Super Goggle Princess Girl to rid our home of all of these germs!

We have school vacation all next week, and we are looking forward to a visit from Auntie Karen, so hopefully everyone will be healthy and we can have some fun!

Valentine's Day Science for Kate

I froze vinegar and a drop of red food coloring in a silicone hearts mold.  After popping the frozen vinegar hearts out onto a tray, I gave Kate baking soda dissolved in water and let her pour it over the vinegar hearts.

 She was impressed and insisted that we repeat the reaction over and over again.  And, now I have to buy more vinegar!

More Rainbow Foam

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had a snow day yesterday.  Reagan had seen pictures of the rainbow foam I made for Kate, and there was no way we were getting through the day without making it again.  She NEEDED it!  So, I made more!

It's funny, Kate played with her first batch for over an hour and the colors never really mixed because of the way she played so delicately.  Reagan isn't really "delicate".  Ha!  No, this girl got right in and mixed it all up.

 She cracks me up!

And there is Kate in the background playing tea party with a little bit of the foam.

Day 13 of 14 Days of Love

We had a snow day today, so I was able to make the kids a special lunch in addition to the day of love treat!

I saw this idea on the Inner Child Fun Instagram page.  I used a cookie cutter to cut out a heart shape on one slice of bread.  After spreading peanut butter and jelly on the uncut slice, I placed the cut slice on top and added sprinkles inside the heart shape.  Easy as pie!

The special treat for day thirteen was changed because I didn't have the supplies on hand for my original idea, and in addition to crummy weather, Collin had a fever, so I wasn't going anywhere.  Instead, I used what I had on hand and went with this:

Days 12 of 14 Days of Love

The boys LOVED the cookie dip so much that they were eating it by the spoonful!  The girls didn't really like it, but they were happy with the apples!  Here is the dip recipe I used:

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup butter, softened

• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup (6 ounces) miniature semisweet chocolate chips

• Directions:

1. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.