Geo Challenge

Geo Challenge is one of those games on Facebook intended to waste time but it does some amazing things for my boys.  James, who never plays games like this, decided to give it a try.  He, of course, excelled and has a very high score.  But the boys watch us play and fell in love with the maps, countries, cities and landmarks.  They now pore over books about those things and love geography!  Today they made up their own countries including pictures, physical features, wild life, capitals and flags!  It was awesome!  I just have to say that I love homeschooling these boys and have so much fun doing it.  I also learn tons and fortunately, they retain more than I do.  :)

The tortoise and the hare

This is how I feel about math right now.  Michael is my steady consistent tortoise who does a couple pages most days.  Then, there is Joshua who does 10 - 20 pages in one day and then goes weeks or months without doing a page.  Seeing as he isn't even old enough to be in Kindergarten I don't worry about it.  But yesterday he got new books in the mail.  My tortoise was approaching the end of his book, so I ordered new ones and grabbed new ones for Joshua while I was at it--save on shipping.  But when they arrived he wanted to start them immediately.  He was very distraught that I would not allow him to start his new book until he had finished his old ones.  He thus proclaimed that he would finish today, so he could start his new books.  What he did not realize was that he had 48 pages to go.  Now to his credit I really think he would have done it had it not been a beautiful day which he spent most of outside playing, but in the end he did do 15 of those pages and neatly I might add--I was very impressed!  But in the end as we all know, the tortoise will always win the race!  He isn't quite there yet, but I don't think he is catchable.  

Proof yet again that all children have their own personalities! 

How many moms. . . ?

How many moms does it take to jump start a car?  Well, probably only one unless one of those people is me!  My friend, Laurie, was planning to come over the other day to play when her car wouldn't start.  Someone left their door open . . . imagine such a thing.  :)  Well, I have jumper cables and a car, so the boys jumped in and over we went.  Now there are great advantages to having a newer car but let me tell you, my battery is not visible from the top of the car.  Who knew that was ok?  We found a red cover with a + on it and guessed that must be the positive terminal and then we found a silver thing with a - GND- on it.  Now I didn't really trust myself, so I drove to another mom's house who is smart when it comes to cars and she guessed we were right.  So, I went back and we tried and tried but we couldn't get it to start.  So, I went back to the car savvy mom's house  (thanks Camarie) stayed and watched her kids while she went and fixed the problem.  It was absolutely hilarious to me that I couldn't jump someone's car.  If nothing else I have now asked lots of questions and am better prepared for next time!  

Valentine's with the Boys

Liz had a conference this weekend—the only face to face interaction of her entire job, so it was a Valentine extravaganza for Dad and the Boys.  This, of course, meant lots of delicious food in the shape of a heart.  For dinner last night we enjoyed heart pizzas, each fashioned after its creators most heart-felt yearnings (white sauce with cheese for Joshua, red sauce, Pepperoni and cheese for the others.)

After dinner we ran to a movie with hundreds of dogs in it (happy boys!) and ate Peanut Butter cup ice cream at home.  Well, they had ice cream, I did not.  We continue this morning with home made valentines for my guys, and heart shaped pancakes I wisely made last night while finishing up laundry.  They were all gone by the end of breakfast.

Easy fix?  Pour the pancake batter into a 11 x 14 sheet and bake it 425º for 18 minutes or so.  Let it cool and cut them out with cookie cutter (metal ones work best!)  This morning we're finishing our shopping while Liz attends the last of her meetings and gets her hairs cut.  She needs it, just ask her.  Happy Valentine's Day to all!

World Nutella Day

We're normally pretty saintly when it comes to the food we eat and the treats with which we reward ourselves.  Well, normally when we don't have people over (cookie bar anyone?)  But in honor of World Nutella Day, we made some of these:

Nutella No Bakes

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup Nutella

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups rolled oats

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, milk, sugar, and coca.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat and continue to boil for 3 minutes, still stirring.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Add Nutella and mix well.  Add oats and mix well.  Drop quickly onto parchment or foil and allow cookies to set.

Try these when you get a chance.  You won't regret it.  Ever.