Pack Books for the Long Bus Ride Home

The 1st few days of school my kindergarten son complained about his long bus ride home......then I thought since coloring books & crayons are not allowed on the bus- to put books in his back pack for the long bus ride home

After those 1st few days of school, I have been putting 3 different books in his back pack every couple days - I make it a surprise as to what books I put in......but since then he has not mentioned the long bus ride home anymore.....he is passing his time on the bus by checking out his books...and being that he doesn't "really" read yet, it amazes me that 3 books keep him entertained for the 45 minute bus ride home
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Yummy Cake Cookies- Very Easy!!

• 1 Box Cake Mix (any flavor)
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Oil

-Add nuts, chocolate chips, etc...

-Drop Cookies on Cookie Sheet

-Bake 350 for 8-10 minutes

"Thank you to my best buddy, Lisa, for this recipe- these were the fastest cookies I've ever made.....and so very yummy!!!"

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Find Great Deals on Lower Shelves at Grocery Stores

Always Check Out the Lower Shelves at Grocery Stores for Lower Priced Items or more Quantity for the Price.
Great Deals are on lower shelves!!!!
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Fun Reading Website for PreK-1st Grade

A friend of mine who is an elementary teacher recommended my 5 year old son & I check out-
StarFall - to practice reading skills.....it is a very cute website for little ones learning to read & my son LOVES it!!!

http://www.starfall.com/ - "Teachers around the world use Starfall.com and Starfall high-quality educational products as an inexpensive way to make the classroom more fun and inspire a love of reading and writing. Parents use Starfall to prepare their children for school, and to support them once they are there. Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.
Primarily designed for first grade, Starfall is also useful for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and second grade. Starfall is perfect for home schooling"

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US Military Birthday Cake

My son's 5th Birthday....he wanted a Military themed cake...he is very into camouflage - as military - "fighting to protect our country from bad guys"..... I decided to icing the entire cake as our US flag and place the military vehicles on the cake.

• I made a Chocolate Box Cake Mix and a Strawberry Box Cake Mix
• At the same time I poured- from opposite ends- both cake mixes into the cake pan- the cake mixes meet in the middle- works great!!
• I made homemade icing & added food coloring in individual bowls of icing to get the red & blue icing
• I indented the outline for the blue section- no icing yet
• I used a ruler & a toothpick to indent the stripes on the cake
• I put on the red & white icing 1st - for the 13 stripes
• I then put on the blue icing
• I let the blue icing set a moment
• I used a toothpick -dipping in white icing- to dot on the 50 stars
• I placed Military Vehicles & Figures on the cake

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Ohio State Law for Child Restraints- effective 10/7/09

Ohio state law requires that children under four years old and under 40 pounds must ride in a car seat or booster that is appropriate for the child's age and weight. Ohio state law also states that the car seat must be used according to manufacturer's instructions.

Beginning October 7, 2009, Ohio also requires that children ages four through seven who are less than 4'9" tall must ride in a federally approved booster seat.

Children through age 15 must wear a seat belt or be secured in an appropriate child restraint system.

Click Here for Ohio State Law for Child Restraints-- scroll down the site to see the newly revised law effective October 7, 2009
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Yummy Kroger Peanut Butter

I have discovered a good value and yummy Peanut Butter

• Kroger Creamy Roasted Peanut and Honey Peanut Butter

Very Yummy......and for Honey Peanut Butter it spreads smoothly, not like other brands of honey peanut butter I have tried

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Save $$ Shopping Salvation Army

I bought 38 Shirts for $21.00....I know that is extreme...but my boys were fast growing out of shirts-- some are too big, but the quality and price was too good to pass by....and being I have 2 boys- they'll get wear out of these shirts....yeah!!

Our area consignment store- Salvation Army- has great offers!!

• each day they offer one or two color price tags marked 1/2 price for that day
• a $5.00 off coupon for purchases of $10.00 or more- located on back on my Kroger receipt each time

I got a huge stack of shirts for 1/2 price and spent $10.00 on regular priced shirts to get $5.00 off.......I was very impressed at quality and prices...most shirts were already $.99 or less...some were only $.29 and I got some of those 1/2 price.......I was very impressed with quality and prices of the shirts I found for my boys at Salvation Army....

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Display Fresh Flowers in Glass Milk Jar

I have a Glass Milk Jar on my kitchen window sill -- I use it to display fresh cut flowers- it is the perfect vase!!

-Iris' have the best fragrance- to me that is :) I grow them outside -love the color and the smell........mmmmmm......I only have purple, but love them!!!!

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Getting Sunflower Seeds Ready to Plant

• Place folded Paper Towel on a Plate


• Place Sunflower Seeds on the folded Paper Towel


• Place another folded Paper Towel over the Sunflower Seeds


• Fill a Spray Bottle with Water


• Spray the Paper Towel/Seed Plate until damp- several times a day


• Seeds will begin to sprout in a few days- then ready to plant

"my papertowel had prints- looks silly in the picture"
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Displaying My Child's Artwork

I have been taping new pieces of artwork to the hallway wall that my son brings home from school- I keep them up for awhile and rotate as new artwork is brought home...he loves that I hang it up and it adds color to our bare hallway walls!!!

-I put all of my son's artwork in a folder to save until the end of the school year- to go through and decide what to keep or where to store the folder :)

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Use Plastic Knives for Garden/Flower Markers

• Easy to write on with Permanent Marker
• Will not rot in the ground
• Use colors to easily find markers

-I always have left over plastic knives from birthday parties- knives are the one plastic utensil that never get used- I used Yellow plastic knives- very easy to see!!

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Yummy Banana Oatmeal Nut Muffins

1 Cup + Tbsp Oats - Instant
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Butter- softened
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Cup Ripe Bananas
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt or Milk

Preheat Oven to 350 - Place paper liners in muffin pans

Grind 1 cup oats in food processor. In large bowl, combine ground oats, flour, 1 Tbsp oats, chopped walnuts, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt.

In a separate bowl, combine butter and sugar- beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs- smash in bananas- add vanilla. Stir in yogurt or milk. Add oats/flour mixture- stir to combine. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans. (use ice cream scoop to spoon batter)

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

"My children and I LOVE these!!!! so yummy!!!"

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Plant A Garden With Your Child

We plant a garden every year and my 4 yr old is very much into picking out the plants and seeds to plant in the garden....he helps take care of the garden and learns how everything looks going in and when ready to be picked.....he then will usually pick raw vegetables right from the garden and eat them--yeah!!! He is always excited at meals when we are eating vegetables from the garden-- makes him excited about eat the vegetables!!! yeah!!!
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Hints to Brushing Toddler's Teeth

While Brushing Teeth- if children fight about it or even if not

• Sing ABCs- usually length of time of brushing teeth or slow up the song
• Count to 10 over and over for little ones
• Count to 50+ for older ones
• Ask Questions - "Did you have ____ for dinner?"
• Tell them what food/drink is getting brushed off their teeth

*anything to distract my children- as they have always kicked and screamed- literally- while getting their teeth brushed

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My Son Now Loves Celery!!

I never knew he liked celery....everytime I gave it to him he would snub at it.........the other day I tried cutting it into little small pieces along with carrots cut the same- put them in a bowl and he ate them all and even asked for more celery!!! wow!!!

He now says he LOVES celery- it just took him trying little pieces of it to realize it was good!!!

I can now put peanut butter in a bowl for him to dip his celery in and he loves that!!!

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Getting My Children to Eat Vegetables

I have always put vegetables on my children's plates and slowly they start to eat them....

If it is a vegetable they think they do not like or will not try- I make them take one bite and see if they still do not like it- but they have to try it to tell me they do not like it.....and most often after they try the vegetable they decide that they do in fact like it...yeah!!

For my 4 year old- he helps pick out produce at the grocery- which helps him take pride in the selection and he tends to eat the vegetables he picks out

We also plant a garden every year and my 4 yr old is very much into picking out the plants and seeds to plant in the garden....he helps take care of the garden and learns how everything looks going in and when ready to be picked.....he then will usually pick raw vegetables right from the garden and eat them--yeah!!! He is always excited at meals when we are eating vegetables form the garden-- makes him excited about eat the vegetables!!! yeah!!!
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Kroger Value Fabric Softener- $1.99 Everyday!!

I have tried to find the lowest priced fabric softener at the grocery....try to buy what is on sale and use coupons... but could not compare to $1.99 for Kroger Value Fabric Softener

When I 1st discovered Kroger Value Fabric Softener- I watched a lady walk down the fabric softener aisle and reach down on the BOTTOM shelf and grab this fabric softener- without a beat----she just seemed so confident about it......so, I followed her lead and grabbed the same bottle and that was that....... I have been buying Kroger Value Fabric Softener for months now......I cannot find another brand any lower in price and to me they all seem to have the same quality- it is fabric softener- why do I need a name brand.......

So for $1.99 - I will continue to buy Kroger Value Fabric Softener.....Excellent Buy!!!!!
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Try Bob Evan's Breakfast for Dessert

A friend and I went to Bob Evan's specifically for dessert. Only pie was offered on the dessert menu....which did not sound appetizing to either of us....so we looked at the breakfast menu and decided to go with the Cinnamon Roll and BlueBerry Bread.....with coffee of course....wow!! excellent choice.....Both were very good!!!!

We got 2 Cinnamon Rolls & an order of BlueBerry Bread (2 slices) and 2 coffees for $8.00

-we almost left Bob Evan's to go somewhere else for dessert, but had already ordered cofffee and thought we'd stick it out and see what we could find--- we were pleasantly surprised :)
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Fabric Shack in Waynesville, Ohio- Amazing Fabric!!

Fabric Shack in Waynesville, Ohio- amazing place to find any pattern of fabric- heavy duty fabric for upholstery...they also have different sizes of foam & padding......

It's a great place for friends and I to visit for fabric needs to take a nice leasure stroll through 2 Floors of Fabric....

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