I Just Wanted to Say...

I have a Million Things to do and I'm on the Computer!

Like it says above, I've got tons of stuff to do. I've got to finish making treat bags for the kids to take to school tomorrow, help Hannah finish writing out her valentine cards, bake cupcakes for Hannah's class because she has snack day tomorrow, bake cookies for Alexander's class because I volunteered to make cookies for his valentine's day party before I knew that I was going to have to make 25 cupcakes for Hannah, decorate said cupcakes and cookies (and heaven forbid they don't have frosting AND sprinkles!), attempt to finish the laundry, straighten up the house (which is a never ending chore!) and figure out how to thaw a half thawed pot roast in time to put it in the oven at 3:00pm. I'm sure that there are lots of things that I'm supposed to be doing that I'm forgetting about too! And yet despite everything I have to do I am sitting at the computer wasting time.

Sometimes my mad time management skills just amaze me!

Our First Trip to the Field Museum

Bill took the day off of work this past Monday to nurse his Superbowl hangover but he didn't overdo it and felt fine enough for us to take the kids to the Field Museum instead. We had a great time and had the museum practically to ourselves - there were times that we were the only ones in the exhibits!

Hannah had a hard time understanding that the things that we were seeing were once alive but now dead so she was a little scared a few times while we were wandering around. She did NOT want to go into the pyramid because she thought that the mummies were going to come alive and chase her (like on t.v.). After we convinced her that mummies really don't come back to life after they're dead she was fine - at least until we went to the underground adventure. UA is a temporary exhibit that gives you a view of life under the soil if you were the size of a bug. It was cool in a creepy sort of way, but again Hannah was scared. The exhibit pretends to shrink you using mirrors and cameras and she hated the idea. She wanted out of there in the worst way until we explained that it was just pretend and that we were just imagining that we had shrunk. She eventually found a touch screen computer and she was good to go. The girl LOVES computers. After the computer she was more agreeable and was even willing to touch a few things.

Our next stop was the Evolving Planet Exhibit which both kids loved. it was full of Dinosaur facts and fossil and loads and loads of dino skeletons. Hannah knew most of the dinosaurs' names, which I was surprised at and Alexander just liked looking at the pictures and pushing the buttons to hear the dinosaurs' latin names. I swear he must have hit the Triceratops button about a dozen times!

The kids sitting on a dinosaur bone

Alexander in a dinosaur footprint

Hannah in the same footprint

After lunch we headed over to the Crown Family Playlab. We had been there earlier in the afternoon and Hannah had made a painting of a frog in the art room that she wanted to pick up before we left. I think that this was their favorite place in the whole museum. They got to run around and play in the different areas and mom and dad got to sit and rest! Hannah dressed up as different animals and jumped around the pretend forest and Alexander found some buttons to push - again! Then we headed into the music room and they banged on the drums like there was no tomorrow. There were buttons to push on the walls to hear samples of different types of music from different countries and they really enjoyed those. I think their favorite one was from Chile. Finally the kids moved over to play in the pueblo where they got to harvest corn and "make" pottery.

Hannah the turtle

My corn pickin' boy


Jammin' on the drum


Drum solo

We were a little bummed because the Scientists' lab was closed but we had such a good time we figured that the kids could see it the next time we visit.

Free Fun and Learning!!

Hey Everyone! I just found out that Chicago's Field Museum is offering FREE general admission for the entire month of February!! Normally general admission is $12 for adults and $7 for kids (ages 4-11) so I think that this is a great deal. Of course, this doesn't include parking or admission to the temporary exhibits (those are still extra) but it does give you access to the new Crown Family Playlab which sounds like lots of fun. I hope that you all take advantage of this - I know that we will!

I'm Looking for some Suggestions

No, this is not my son!!

Alexander has been fully potty trained for about 8 months now but every time he goes pee pee either Bill or I go with him and help him out. I was telling Bill the other night that we have to start teaching Xander to aim because pretty soon he'll be in school and I don't think the teachers will help him! Well, we have absolutely no idea how the heck we're supposed to do this so I am asking you! Does anyone out there have any suggestions for us on how to teach a not quite 3 year old how to aim? I have no experience with boys and I'm feeling a little out of my element here!

Frugal Recipe Swap

Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge is doing a low cost recipe swap today so I started thinking about what low cost meals I make and here's what I came up with:

Sheperd's Pie
*This recipe is great for using up leftover mashed potatoes and is a fantastic winter dish*

4 large potatoes peeled and cubed
1 tbsp. butter - for making mashed potatoes but you can make however you like
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion chopped
1 lb. ground beef
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. ketchup OR 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce (we prefer with worcestershire sauce)
3/4 beef broth
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and add potatoes. cook however you like for mashed potatoes. Drain, mash, season with salt and pepper if you like and set aside.

Heat oil in large frying pan. add onion and cook until clear. Add ground beed and cook until well browned. pour off excess fat, then stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Mix in ketchup/worcestershire sauce, garlic and beef broth and bring to a boil. Add frozen mixed vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes.

Spread ground beef mixture in an even layer in a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese if you'd like.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes or until potato crust is golden brown. Serve with warm crusty bread or garlic bread.

Oh how we LOVE our Superheroes!

Lately the kids have been crazy about Superheroes. It doesn't matter who it is, as long as it's a superhero they are good to go. Alexander got a set of Superheroes for Christmas and that made it all the better. They run around the house pretending to be Batman and Supergirl or Spiderman and the Phoenix and they have a blast. They have Superman capes that they use to fly arond the house in too. This morning before school they were Spiderman and The Hulk and they were saving each other from falling off of a building - which happened to be my headboard.

Hannah and Xander also like Superhero catchphrases. So far they like "Hulk Smash" and Up, up and away" and they are anxious to learn more. Normally they go to daddy for this type of information because mommy's pretty clueless in this area, but I do know a few! After Alexander and I dropped Hannah off at school this morning Xander was playing with some of his "guys" as he likes to call them, and he was giving them catchphrases which was really cute! I noticed that one of the "guys" was The Thing from the Fantastic 4 and I happen to know that The Thing always says "It's Clobberin' Time" so I tried to tell him this. He thought that it was the most hillarious thing he'd ever heard and didn't believe me. He was convinced that The Thing says "Puppy Power" like Scrappy Doo. BTW, my kids also like Scooby.

The Thing

After about twenty minutes of trying to convince him I gave up. Of course after I walked away I heard him saying "It's Clobberin' Time" but I guess he just didn't want to give mom the satisfaction of knowing that I wasn't as uncool about Superheroes as I thought. Either way I think that I'll let Bill teach them about Superheroes in the future!