Fun With Food – Let’s Make Cookie Monster!

Wow, summer seems to be flying past in a big hurry! Are you super busy in the summer? We sure seem to be! Sorry it’s been so long since I posted, but here’s another fun idea to do with the kids! And it’s edible! 🙂 And it’s Cookie Monster! Everybody loves Cookie Monster, right?!

This is what you’ll need: a light colored plate (I used a white Styrofoam one), fresh blueberries, white yogurt (or cottage cheese, fruit dip, whip cream), 2 small cups or dishes, a piece of bread and some small cookies.

Cut a Cookie Monster shaped mouth out of the bread and lay it on the plate. I used raisin bread.

Fill 2 little cups with yogurt. Any kind of fruit dip, cottage cheese or whipped cream will also work. It just needs to be white.

Place 1 large blueberry in each cup of yogurt to make the eyes. Fill the rest of the plate with blueberries. And you have your Cookie Monster! 🙂

To make it a bit more fun, add a few small cookies close to the mouth.

Super simple, but a fun way to have breakfast or a healthy snack! 🙂 I hope you will enjoy making…and eating…yours too!

Amazing Lego Set That’s Educational too!

Hello, everyone! If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you have probably realized that I am a great fan of Lego! (I should maybe say fanatic!) I put a set together the other day and I absolutely loved it, so I just have to tell you about it! 🙂 The set I’m talking about is the Lego Tiny Plants set #10329.

What is so cool about this set? Ooo, I was hoping you’d ask! 😉 You can make 9 tiny plants out of this set, but it’s much more than that. This set TEACHES you about the plants in a fun way that your kids won’t notice that they are learning while building Lego! For example, the plants you make are fashioned after real plants. Let’s look at the first building booklet that’s included:

This set of 3 plants are found in tropical rainforests. Lego has included a few interesting facts about rain forests.

Then you’ll see pictures of what the real plants look like with their botanical names and their every day names. They have included just enough facts to be interesting, but not boring or overwhelming. It adds to the fun of building each Lego plant when the kids will be able to tell others what the plant’s name is.

For instance, let’s look at the first plant you’ll build, the False Shamrock or Oxalis Triangularis. Some kids will love being able to spout off the “fancy” botanical name. 😉

Building each plant is also fun! Look at these cute little pots the plants go in! Yep, you put the pot together too.

Here’s your False Shamrock! Isn’t that pretty?

Wait, did you notice something familiar about the purple flowers on the False Shamrock?? Here’s a closer look at those pieces…what do you see?

Yes, those are butterflies!! 🙂 Good eye! Some of the pieces Lego selected to use for these plants are pieces that have been used in other previous sets. 🙂 Look at what the booklet says about these butterflies…

It adds to the fun of building the tiny plants when you are on the lookout for other pieces that you will recognize as having been also used in other sets! I won’t spoil the fun by telling you about the others, but keep your eyes open as you are building! 😉 The 3 plants made from the tropical rain forest plants look like this…

They are quite realistic, aren’t they? Another fun thing you could add to building these tiny plants is a visit to your local greenhouse and see if you can purchase any of these as a live plant to grow in your home. While I doubt you can find all of them, you might find a Jade plant or a Venus Fly Trap plant. (Venus Fly Trap plants are very cool, by the way!)

This has to be one of the most fun Lego sets I’ve built and I can see where it could be a wonderful project to work through with your kids. 🙂 Oh, you can build the tiny plants in any order that you like. They do not build on each other, but are separate.

I hope you’ll try building this set! What a great rainy day project! Or if it’s as hot where you live as it is here, its a great staying-inside-where-its-cool project. 😉 Have fun!

Simple Patriotic Flag Snack

Here’s a simple but cute idea to whip up a patriotic flag snack in just a few minutes. We’re less than a month away from the 4th of July, so this might be an idea to save for next month too. You will need some blue fruit – like blueberries, some red fruit – like strawberries or raspberries and some white cheese – like white cheddar or baby swiss. Wash and prepare the fruit. I used a white plate so the colors show up well against the background. Begin by lining up some blueberries in the upper left hand corner. I did 4 rows of 4 berries in each row.

Add a row of your red fruit beside the blueberries on the right hand side.

I think this would look the best with small chunks of cheese, but all I have on hand is sliced cheese. If using sliced cheese, cut the cheese into thin strips.

Alternate rows of red fruit with rows of white cheese.

That’s all there is to it! You can vary how many rows you have in your flag according to how much your kids can eat at one time. This would be a great project for the kids to each make their own flag and practice their small motor skills. Then they get to eat a healthy snack too! 😉

The Latest Lego Minifigures Series

Hi there! Hope things are going well at your house! Things have been rather crazy here but I’m hoping for a few slower days now so I can get back to some projects for my blog. But for today, let’s talk about LEGO! (Yes, one of my favorite subjects!) Have you see the latest Lego Minifigures series 26? It’s all about space figures and some of them are kinda funky! Lol Here’s what the package looks like… There is 1 minifigure per package.

These are the 12 minifigures that are available in this series.

Now for a little closer in on details. First, you have M-tron Powerlifter, Orion, Blacktron Mutant and Alien Beetlzoid.

This picture shows Spacewalking Astronaut, Alien Tourist, Ice Planet Explorer and Retro Space Heroine.

Last but not least there are the Flying Saucer Costume Fan, Imposter, Nurse Android and Robot Butler.

These are the first 2 I found!

So far I have seen them in stores at Walmart and Barnes & Noble and they are also available online at the Lego website. Happy hunting! 🙂

Time Out for Laughing

Hello again! How is your week going? I hope it’s been good so far, but just in case its been less than stellar, let’s take a couple of minutes out to laugh. 🙂 As the old saying goes, “Laughter is the best medicine!” So here is your dose of medicine for today! 😉

#1.) What is the difference between a beluga and a guppy?

Answer: There’s a whale of a difference!

#2.) Why don’t bears wear hats?

Answer: They like being bear-headed!

#3.) Where does a rabbit catch a plane?

Answer: At the hare-port!

#4.) Why did the dog get into fights?

Answer: Because he was a Boxer!

#5.) Who does a frog go to when he needs an eye examination?

Answer: A hop-tometrist!

#6.) Why does nobody want to play games with the big cat?

Answer: Because they know he’s a cheetah!

#7.) What time is it when the clock strikes 13?

Answer: Time to get a new clock!

#8.) What type of dog makes the best artist?

Answer: A labra-doodler!

#9.) Who likes to eat hamburgers, fries and ants?

Answer: Ronald McAardvark!

#10.) What state has the most cats & dogs?

Answer: Pets-ylvania!

I hope these jokes cheered you up and made you smile! Now go share them with someone else and brighten their day too! 🙂

An Adorable Update for You

Hello, again! Just wanted to share a very adorable update with you that I think you might enjoy seeing! Earlier this week for Earth Day I posted some pictures from our nature walk. One of those pictures was this Robin’s nest with 4 eggs in it.

I checked on the nest yesterday and guess what?! Yes, the eggs have hatched! 🙂

Look at those tiny baby birds! Awww, it makes my heart soft and mushy just looking at their cuteness! 🙂 Just wanted to share them with you to brighten your day!

Happy Earth Day 2024!

Yes, it’s Earth Day once again! That means it’s time for our annual walk to look for signs of Spring and see what flowers and other nature items we can find. Pop your shoes on and let’s go! 🙂 Here are some things we found:

Our Creeping Phlox flowers are blooming and they are so beautiful! Here we have light purple…

Also white…

And possibly my favorite colors, pink and white.

Next we found a bush with red and pink flowers. (Sorry, I don’t know what kind of bush it is.)

I bet you know the name of these bright yellow flowers! If you said dandelions, you are right!

Oh, look who is hanging out and gathering pollen on this dandelion!

These tiny little wild violets are growing in our yard. Yes, all by themselves. We didn’t plant them.

Here is another pinkish-purple flower that grows all on its own too. It even grows up through stones!

Speaking of stones…look what we found in our driveway, of all places! Two Killdeer eggs! From what we read, it seems Killdeer often lay their eggs in not very safe places.

While we are talking about birds and their eggs, look what else we found on our walk.

Care to guess what’s hiding inside this nest? This is a Robin’s nest and look what a beautiful color their eggs are!

Here’s another batch of pretty white flowers.

We’re almost done with our Earth Day walk today, but keep an eye out for trees that have blossoms right now too!

I hope you’ve enjoyed going on this walk with us, but I hope you can take time outside to go on your own walk and that you will find all kinds of beautiful things in nature that will amaze you! 🙂

Another Batch of Lego Clearance!

Yes, I found more awesome clearance prices on Lego sets at Walmart! Whoohoo! 🙂 Of course, this is just from our local Walmart store so there is no guarantee that the same set is available near you, but it’s worth a look! Without further ado, here we go!

#1.) Lego Star Wars Tenoo Jedi Temple #75358. Sale price $19.00, regular price $39.97.

#2.) Lego Creator Super Robot #31124. Sale price $5.00, regular price $9.97.

#3.) Lego Disney Peter Pan & Wendy’s Storybook Adventure #43220. Sale price $7.00, regular price $19.97.

#4.) Lego Friends Igloo Holiday Adventure #41760. Sale price $19.00, regular price $49.97. (Yep, this one went home with me!)

#5.) Lego Friends Beach Buggy Fun #41725. Sale price $4.00, regular price $10.97.

#6.) Lego Friends Sea Rescue Boat #41734. Sale price $32.00, regular price $80.00.

#7.) Lego Disney Twirling Rapunzel #43214. Sale price $3.00, regular price $9.97.

#8.) Lego Harry Potter Quidditch Trunk #76416. Sale price $27.00, regular price $68.00.

#9.) Lego Super Mario Dixie Kong’s Jungle Jam Expansion Set #71421. Sale price $16.00, regular price $26.97.

#10.) Lego Ninjago Cole’s Earth Dragon EVO #71782. Sale price $13.00, regular price $34.97.

#11.) Lego Ninjago Nya and Arin’s Baby Dragon Battle #71798. Sale price $17.00, regular price $34.97.

#12.) Lego Jurassic Park Velociraptor Escape #76957. Sale price $17.00, regular price $39.97.

#13.) Lego Marvel Endgame Final Battle #76266. Sale price $50.00, regular price $100.00.

#14.) Lego Botanical Collection Orchid #10311. Sale price $39.98, regular price $49.97.

#15.) Lego Jurassic Park Triceratops Research #76959. Sale price $24.00, regular price $49.97.

Those are some amazing prices, right?! I hope you can find some of these great deals at a Walmart store near you! 🙂

Make a Picture With Dandelions

Spring seems to have arrived in Ohio and along with it comes the dandelions! Every year we have hundreds of dandelions and even though they are considered a weed, their bright yellow color sure perks things up. 🙂

Today I wanted to share a fun way to make a picture using dandelions. All you need is a piece of cardboard, some markers and dandelions. Oh, and an adult to poke some holes in the cardboard.

I show some dandelions in that picture, but it’s better to wait to pick your flowers until you are ready to use them. They wilt rather quickly. Let’s start by drawing a vase on the cardboard. It doesn’t need to be perfect. (As you can see mine is crooked. LOL)

Have an adult poke several holes in the cardboard above the vase. Your dandelions are going to go here so make the holes big enough for the stems of the dandelions to fit through.

I drew stems from each hole down to the top of the vase, but I used enough dandelions that the stems were covered up. So it’s up to you if you want to draw stems or not. 😉

You can color your vase to add some more color to your project.

Now you are ready to head outside and pick some dandelions! Pick one flower for each hole you have. Slide the stem of the dandelion in from the front to the back. And voila! 🙂 You have a vase of flowers!

I hope you are having some sunshine and warm temperatures wherever you are! 🙂 Till next time…

Happy National Pet Day!

Yep, it is National Pet Day! 🙂 Do you have a pet? While dogs and cats are probably the most popular pet to have, there are so many more types of pets available. Maybe you have a rabbit or a turtle or an iguana or a hamster or a…(gulp!) snake? How about a bird or a guinea pig or some fish? The list goes on and on and we could do this all day! Haha! Somehow whatever pet we have, we always seem to love ours the most. 😉 So for National Pet Day, I thought I would share some photos of our special buddy. He is a fox red Labrador Retriever and he is super smart and very friendly. (Except to chipmunks…)

Rusty thinks he needs to be wherever we are. Here he was trying to tell his daddy that he forgot to take him outside with him.

Sometimes you can tell what he’s thinking by the look on his face…

This is the feeding time stare…”Mom, it is my supper time. Did you forget?”

“Peek-a-boo! Do you want to chase me?”

“Hello, there! I need pats…right now! You aren’t busy, are you?”

“If I say “cheese”, will you give me some?”

“Happy-Birthday-Pinto-can-I-take-my-hat-off-now?”

“Did someone say treat??”

“It’s time to do a breathalyzer test…were you snacking without me?”

One of my favorite pictures of Rusty…”Me? Begging? No, I’m just sitting here making sure your peanut butter and jelly doesn’t get away from you.”

I hope you enjoyed sharing a little silliness with Rusty today. And I hope you and your pet have a wonderful National Pet Day! If you don’t have a pet, I’m sure there is someone who would be glad to share their pet with you! 🙂