Little Red Hen House Craft from Tissue Boxes

Once in a while I like to take old tissue boxes and make some sort of craft with the kids.  If you've been following my blog for a while, you've seen us create rocket ships, fairy houses, and castles from old tissue boxes.  This year, to get ready for Easter, we made a little red hen house.

You will need:  3 (or more) square shaped tissue boxes, additional cardboard (we used a Pepsi box), scissors, red duct tape, and craft glue.

 

Trim the top of the tissue boxes to make the openings larger.  Line up the tissue boxes and then tape them together using red duct tape (we found ours at Walmart, for just under $4).

After you get the boxes all taped together, cut a piece of cardboard for the roof.  The Pepsi box worked well, because it already had a natural bend in the cardboard.  Trim it to size, then cover with the red duct tape.

Using craft glue, secure the roof to the body of the hen house.  Let sit for several hours to adhere well.

Fill with Easter grass (or hay, as we did) and Easter eggs.  Have fun!

Readers, do you have any Easter egg hunts in your near future?

The Over Under Gene

I don't get into those online debates about whether the toilet paper should be over or under.  But I do have a strong preference.  Imagine my surprise when someone kept turning the toilet paper the other way in the bathroom.  Each time, I would turn it around.  I would come in later, and it would be the other way.  Someone was definitely messing with me!

I knew it wouldn't be Paul.  He's not the sort of person who takes any notice of things like the direction of toilet paper.  Which left one of the boys.

Eventually, Reid 'fessed up.  I was so surprised it was him!  He told me that I kept putting the toilet paper on wrong.  ME!?  I tried to tell him that no, the toilet paper was supposed to go the other way.  He argued.  He continued to turn the toilet paper around on me.

Do you think there is an over/under gene?  He's only five.  Yet he seems to have been born with a toilet paper preference.  A strong preference for the roll being over.  If only his preference, and my preference, matched up!

 

 

Alright readers, do tell.  Did you get the over or the under gene?

Veggie and Spinach Enchiladas Recipe

I cook a lot of Mexican style foods.  Paul and I lived in Texas for six years, and grew to love Tex-Mex while there.  Enchiladas are a family favorite.  I make them all different ways, and often just toss together ingredients and roll them up.  This version turned out particularly well, and it makes two family-sized servings, so you have dinner for the night, and can freeze the second batch for a future dinner.

Ingredients:
1 12 oz. bag frozen corn, thawed
1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
4 oz. fresh spinach
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 4 oz. can chopped green chilis
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
12 8 inch flour tortillas
1 cup green enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 400*.  Spray two baking pans with cooking spray.  In a bowl, mix corn, beans, tomato, zucchini, chilis, spinach, 1 cup cheddar, and 1/2 cup Jack. 

 

 

Divide filling among tortillas, roll up and arrange seam side down in baking dishes (I tend to use a 3 quart pyrex for one batch, and an aluminum casserole dish that I can wrap in foil and a big ziploc for my freezer batch.

 

Top each with enchilada sauce.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. 

 

Readers, do you have a favorite Mexican food?

Mable's

Way down the backroads, near absolutely nothing, is this place called Mable's.  Or Gary's.  It has two signs.  We've always called it Mable's though.  I suspect Gary is the current owner.

It's been there for years.  Longer than Paul and I have been in the region.  A huge old building, resembling a barn, the miles of junk stretches throughout.

You never know what treasure you might unearth.  It can be difficult shopping there, as many things seem to be buried.  I apologize for the glare in the pictures - I took these with my cell phone.

I have fond memories of visiting many such places with my parents as a kid.  The junkier the place, the more possibilities!

On this day, we didn't find anything that we had to have.  I saw a few tea cups with saucers that I loved, but I thought them a little overpriced.

Readers, do you like to go treasure hunting?

The Bobsled Run, Part 2

I took so many pictures of the kids sledding on the bobsled run that Paul built in our front yard in the February snowstorm, that I decided to put them in collages.

 This is from the first day, before it got so incredibly fast we started making the boys wear helmets. 

 Even on the first day, there were some interesting crashes.  Paul and I crashed a few times too.  Luckily, the snow was quite soft.

 The picture at the bottom corner shows the run before Paul built up the sides really high.  In the next collage, you can see the banked sides later on.

It sure made for some great free fun.  I don't remember ever enjoying the snow quite so much! 

Homemade Easter Soap Giveaway, 2 Win

I'm giving away another set of my homemade soaps.  This is a really sweet glycerin soap bunny with an Easter basket.  It will be scented in either lavender or lemon verbena. 

To enter, all you need to do is click on the Rafflecopter below.  I will ship anywhere!  Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm a Lacrosse Mom?

The flyer came home in January in the boys' folders.  Lacrosse.  I knew nothing about lacrosse.  Paul knew nothing about lacrosse.  The boys knew nothing about lacrosse.  But Reid said he wanted to play.  So began the process of finding a bunch of second hand gear - there is padding for every part of the body.  Plus a helmet.  And cleats.  And a mouthguard and protective cup.  I asked a guy in Play it Again Sports how the game is played.  He said, "Basically you put on a bunch of padding and beat on each other."  I thought, "Hmmm.  Reid isn't going to like that".  We are very much a family that emphasizes personal space.  My boys don't wrestle.  They don't play rough. They have never seen a football game on television.  And if you've been reading my blog for a very long time, you might remember the big soccer flop we had several summers ago. 

Lacrosse kids are brutes!  Even when they are just supposed to be listening to the coach, they are constantly pounding on each other with their sticks and elbows and hips.  It's a different world, but they all seem to be having so much fun.  They don't want to quit playing - they beg for more, and they yell in enthusiasm over every game. Even though Reid is the smallest on the team, he endures these pokes and prods from older teammates without complaint.  The practices are long - two hours - and although Reid seems exhausted towards the end, he keeps going out there and trying.

Reid is not at the point of shoving back in all this hardcore playfulness.  But at his first practice he did manage to knock another kid's ball out when playing sharks and minnows.  The other kid laid down and cried.  Reid looked at me in horror.  I gave him a thumbs up, and he looked so surprised.  I'm sure he was expecting me to tell him to go tell the kid he was sorry and give him his ball back.  But this is lacrosse.  No apologies for stolen balls!

It's very different for me.  I never did team sports.  I rode horses.  I did cross country one year in high school, but that's still a solo sort of performance.  I have to say, though, lacrosse seems more interesting to watch than soccer or basketball.  And I know how to say "Great job" or "I'm so proud of you!"  In the long run I think that's all I really need to be a good lacrosse mom.  After all, it seems to be working when I'm dance mom for Cort (because I know nothing about dance either, although I am learning a bit as I go). 

 

 

In the end, all they really need is to know they have your support, right?

 

Readers, do you have any lacrosse tips for me?  I still don't know how a game is played.