chocolate mounds cake

after suffering through a bad bout of flu here, i am back into the land of posting.

with the help of my propitious cake here.

it is like a mounds bar, except crumbly.

whichever way you make it, from scratch or not, it will be sure to please the chocolate lovers palate.

milk chocolate cake, milk chocolate frosting, and then mush a coconut frosting hat upon the top.

saturday

a perfect summer saturday.

early morning baking and barefooted walks to gather flowers.

an easy fruit tart. the ideal way to use the bounty of seasonal fruit you have on hand.

use this easy basic pie crust. slice thinly your fruit of choice. sprinkle with a bit of flour, sugar, and accompanying spice (for the plums i choose nutmeg, for a pear i would use cloves). squeeze a slice of lemon liberally to cover all. dab with bits of butter, and a pinch of salt. i make a jelly and butter glaze to spread over the edges, so they gleam with sweetness. pick jellies that pair well with your fruit. for this one i picked an orange marmalade, the little bits of orange peel dribbled beautifully along the edge. bake about 20 minutes at 400. i also sprinkle a bit of raw sugar once out of the oven to give it extra homeyness.

a cheery welcome to all that enter.
a quick, barefoot trip outside provided me with armfuls of white hydrangea and butterfly bush, which i planted together two summers ago. they are a dazzling couple to see against the house, especially when wind danced with lazy bumble bees and butterflies.

toddler distractor of the month

noodle play

materials: dry tri-color noodles (the bigger the size the better), egg carton, old laundry caps, play utensils.

instruction: show him/her how to pour using the caps, scoop with spoons or other utensils, and dump into carton or additional caps. for slightly older toddler, you can have them sort the different colors into different carton compartments or different caps.

distraction time: 45 minutes

clean up level: medium

and for your extra enjoyment:

watching buddy-muffin (yes, that is the actual name of the frog now) getting ready to devour his morning cricket.

tuesday morning

last day of near perfect weather.

windows, open.

birds singing their summer carols.

math.

we've used Rod and Staff for the past 3 years, but this year will try out BJU.

think the birds will notice if i throw out a few number facts in their general direction?

monday morning

coffee and Seuss.

quick rye bread

a martha stewart find. quick rye bread. it is brilliant. a little sweet and moist as can be. this is NOT the dry tasteless bread of my nightmares.

after i cut these slices, i went to poach an egg, and upon returning discovered all four eaten up by my children. their little taste buds don't tell lies. this is GOOD bread.

here, i enjoyed a toasted slice topped with a poached egg and a bit of crumbled white cheddar, a slice of mango and tomato. a dusting of fresh chopped mint to remind me i'm here on earth. and of course, i had to see how a slice withstood some farmers market jam.

the verdict: resplendently beautiful to the palette

a summer cut

keaton, my middle son, was in serious need of a hair cutting. i think we all loved and adored his glorious waves of golden hair, but a massive heat rash around the base of his hairline was enough to designate today shearing day. so, off to our designated hair cutting porch we did go!

before:

after:

amazing how much older he looks. even his limbs look longer.

i think i might have cried as i cut...just a little....

stolen moments

little moments stolen before bed.

must enjoy these before my wee one becomes the big brother....

breakfast

Dear God,

Please let the peach season extend just a few more months....at least past fall. Thanks, Jami

the little distractor, hard at work, while the older ones finish their devotions.

i L-O-V-E our devotion program. a local company, the Notgrass Company, makes simple and unassuming products. i most love their "draw to learn the bible" selections. if your children love to draw by themselves, using their imagination, as mine do, they will really enjoy this book. currently we are in our second year of the same book, titled: Draw to Learn--The Life of Jesus. it gives a verse for a selection out of the bible that your child can read, and then a brief description at the bottom to help guide them as they draw. i find my children really retain what the message represents if THEY get to draw what inspired them out of it. each page has a very large drawing box, perfect for younger ages, but this could easily be used for ANY age group.



i would not recommend their "learn to draw" program. i found the lessons a little amateur and dull. we only made it through the first 12 lessons before i shelved it.
for a great "learn to draw" program try the Draw Write Now curriculum. my children LOVE it as do i.

little pincushions

these happy little guys i made today.

i am taking on the task of teaching my daughter sewing this upcoming school year. so, i made these two as example pincushions for her first project.

aaaaaaaand, i selfishly needed another pincushion. mine was in said disrepair.

both of these were made from clothing that i absconded into material use.

the ruffle down the middle of the smaller one was removed from the hem of a toddler dress that was also the main source of fabric.

the fatter one is made from a vintage maternity top.

you can whip these out quickly if you machine sew them, as i did. but my daughter will begin by hand sewing.

warm serenade

hot and sultry summer buzzing bugs serenade us through an open window.

warm flavors are our guests.

coconut milk infused rice. pineapple and lime juice, garlic, cumin, and nutmeg simmered down before adding tiny shrimp. a simple tomato and mango chop tossed with lime juice, honey, salt and pepper, served over spinach, with a sprinkling of queso fresco.

i think i can escape for just a few minutes....

imagine myself with little handmade palm frond sandals and hat. permanent open book tan line across my tummy.

muffin

meet the newest family member:

muffin. i think this name will bring much hilarity when he is a five pound blob on a log that does nothing but moan and croak.

likes: moonlit serenading, skinny dipping, and eating other smaller froggy tankmates for dinner.

lucky, our other frog, had to be rescued from the tank last night because dear old muffin tried to ingest him.

good thing his name is lucky. or,was lucky. HE is back in nature now.

mangiare bene -- to eat well

today in school, the kids and i continued our architecture watercolor paintings, traveling to the city of Pisa, Italy. we learned everything about "Torre pendente di Pisa", or The Leaning Tower of Pisa. did you know, that if not for war and upheaval over a few hundred years, that this modern marvel would have collapsed long ago. true story.


i have been craving italian food ever since.
i'm pregnant. craving is an art.



try making these meatballs. it's my favorite recipe and the creator is someone i look up to greatly.

and use your leftovers to make these little sandwiches for dinner.

whole wheat kaiser rolls, some provolone, and fresh parmesan. broil it for a few minutes with the tops off to melt the cheese and give it a gooey caramelized color.

served here with a simple fresh cucumber pickle.

2 small cucumbers

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp pickling spice

1/3 cup vinegar

freshly chopped mint or oregano

pinch of salt

water to cover

combine all and refrigerate. best served the day after, but can be eaten right away.

a perfect summer cooling compliment to the meatball sandwiches.

cheers! eat well!

little fingers, tingly fingers

a bird to carry with me at all times.







felt and fabric on canvas

these things i make.

embroidery floss makes my fingers tingle.

take flight little bird.

a duo of gentle turtles, made from clay and tiny fingers.

a backdrop of rainbowed carpeting is all the imagination needs to let these little guys come to life and roam unnamed lands.

how to turn oranges into lemons

the following is a true and accurate story.


my feet did tread to the store, to purchase some yummy vittles for the fam and myself. my first stop was the fruit, and i had my eye on a bag of navel oranges. tranquil, sweet...delicious.

the first bag i did grab, i took a moment to assess the quality. then, while extending the bag over the floor to place into my cart, the entire bottom split open and consequently showered out the entire contents of the bag onto the floor. those beautiful orange spheres, rolling about in mad drunkenness around my splayed feet, under the cart, and into the aisles.

looking about, with my legs slightly askew, the girth of my belly shadowing about them on the floor, it looked as though i had just birthed these oranges. i stood there betwixt the mangoes and limes, a bewildered looked on my face and a veritable orange grove of thudding and rolling obstacles round about.

i picked them all up, as any good shopper would do. heaved a sigh and grabbed the next bag of oranges.

i inspected these, of course, prolonging their flight from bin to cart (and in hindsight i should have taken heed of what had just happened seconds before--and really, what WERE the chances). then, just as before, as i was about to place them in my cart, the bottom of this bag, too, so gladly spilled its contents onto the floor.

had i not already created a display before, i was sure to have audience now.

i suppose it could have been worse. grapefruits perhaps. those would have produced a much louder thud and drawn more attention.

one bag of oranges remained. i looked at it for a few seconds. dare i tempt the gods again....?

i bought lemons instead.

"them's RIPE tomatoes, son."

fried green tomatoes. those words conjure up thoughts of kathy bates movies, or seedy southern restaurants that serve deep fried, almost blackened and soggy tomato like substances.

the movie, really did nothing for me at all in glamorizing food....it actually made me leery of eating any form of bbq rib meat from a restaurant in fear that i was eating some poor soul who did unsavory things to the chef or one of his friends.

but i suppose it did make my overly active mind want to try fried green tomatoes at SOME point. the first ones i tried at a decent southern establishment, were of course, fried and beautifully tasty. but in an effort to save my hips, i searched for better ways to make them at home, and maybe have them come close to tasting like the ever fattening delights.

my mom served the first oven fried variety to me, and i was instantly hooked.

so, funny story. and of course, off track just a little. feel free to skim to the recipe at any time.

i purchase 4 beautiful green tomatoes from the local farmer's market, along with red tomatoes and other veggies. the green ones were only meant for ONE thing. oven fried green tomatoes. my yearly summer craving (and sometimes winter, fall, and spring craving). i lined them up, all pretty in a green row, along the top of my microwave, where i place all my non-refrigerated goodies.

a few days later, when i went to assess the green tomatoes, they were gone! i only had one solitary green one. i was so astounded and perturbed that i set out to accuse every person i knew of being a tomato thief. i thought perhaps the kids had mistaken them for apples, had taken a bite, and had tossed them into the garbage, thinking they were bad. they swore they did not know where they were. i called my husband, to see if he had done anything with them. he didn't have a clue. i started running through a guest list in my head. the birthday cookout we had for my husband a day or so before. yes! one of those ruffians had stolen the other three green tomatoes.

i called my mother to tell her my quandary. she calmly said, "how many RED tomatoes do you have?"

"huh?", said i.

oh my goodness. yes, that's right. the other three had turned red. slap myself upon my brow!

so the lesson here: best to not accuse your friends of stealing your tomatoes. you will look like a dum dum.

so tonight, we had one oven fried green tomato and three oven fried red tomatoes. and actually, i have found that i almost prefer the red tomatoes better than the green!

Oven Fried Green Red Tomatoes

1. start by marinating your tomato slices in buttermilk and freshly ground pepper for about an hour to 3 hours. you can skip the marinating step, but it does make them that much tastier.

2. make a dredging mix. equal parts white cornmeal, course yellow corn meal, and unbleached white flour (about 1/3 cup each), and add a teaspoon of pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and 1/8-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you want it). mix well.

3. take each tomato slice directly from the buttermilk and lightly cover each one with the mix, being sure to tap off any excess.

4. line each piece up, being careful not to let them touch, on a non-stick cookie sheet. spray olive oil or other non-stick spray on each piece, top and bottom.

5. bake at 375 for about 45 minutes (or until brown and crispy on the outside), turning them after about 30. you can leave them as such, or after the turn you can add a little kick with some pinches of goat cheese. (i have a small love affair with goat cheese and will put it on just about anything to satiate my lustings). my family does NOT share the same sentiment, so i only added the goat cheese to half.

6. top with either a pasta sauce (which is what we had on hand, leftover from a spaghetti night), or make a red pepper sauce: roast some red peppers with olive oil and garlic, then blend it up with a wee bit o' cream to make a wondermous covering. i served mine tonight with a cornbread salad and some grapes.

cornbread salad is usually my summer salad staple. it is more filling than the standard lettuce based variety and i think it lends well to most meat dishes. it can easily be eaten as a light lunch as well.

typically i would add tomatoes to the salad to give some color boost, but left them out tonight for obvious reasons. this salad also looks particularly beautiful in a glass bowl, with all the different color variants visible, or in smaller mason jars for individual picnic fare.

Cornbread Salad

1.start by crumbling some day old cornbread in the bottom of a medium dish. it is best if the cornbread has been left to dry all day or night on the counter. it will absorb the flavors a bit more. but fresh, cooled cornbread can also be used last minute.

2. next, find various sorts of colorful raw veggies to layer. i love the colors of red onions, yellow or red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, some sharp cheddar cheese, yellow squash, corn, or zucchini. using at least one color from each color group looks the best.

3. chop and layer these on top of the cornbread, with the last being the cheese. top with a white style dressing like mayo, or yogurt mixed with herbs, or ranch dressing. don't mix until ready to serve.

i hope you take the time to enjoy some simple summer indulgences this year. and, enjoy some tomatoes a little extra for me!

wanted: motivational booster seat

although we have the first week, post month vacation, under our belts, we (as in NOT me) were still lacking in the motivation department. the kids needed a pick me up. a SERIOUS boot to the bottom kind of thing to get them interested in this "school" business.

i came up with these little motivation/incentive posters for each child. it took a while to actually figure out the dynamics of the whole thing, and i worked on various designs and such in my head. and they may change as the years roll on.

i started by setting them up with their own little notebooks. then, as we would do reviews, each child would get a sticker for remembering a certain question. they also received stickers for doing assignments quickly, or doing assignments without getting any questions/math problems incorrect.

then i took some of last years posters (they had miscellaneous german alphabet and german numbers on them), and turned them over to use the other side (thrifty props for the day!). each child chose a theme. for keaton, he chose dinosaurs, and for ashton, she chose horses. i simply took computer paper and traced over old coloring book pictures that were just the right size. cut them out, and sticky tacked them onto the posterboard. you can make them more permanent if you wanted, but i know i will be re-using these so i wanted to make them as reusable as possible.

next i chose areas of incentive. the three that i chose were "knowledge", "expedience", and "goodness". the small notebooks will contain all their accumulated knowledge stickers, and for every two that they get, one sticker will be placed in the assigned knowledge outline. for every assignment that i require timing for, i am even including chores and other duties here, and if they finish said project in the time allotted, they get a sticker straight to the expedience outline. and for every exceedingly good deed, or for helping mommy without being asked, or for doing their list of chores without being told, they will get a sticker in the goodness outlines. i chose 5 outlines in all. 2 for knowledge, 2 for goodness, and 1 for expedience. i placed these tabs next to the outline of the child's choice, and they are also sticky tacked to the wall so i can easily move them around as they progress throughout the year.

then came the fun chore of deciding prizes and how these will be doted out. i decided that for every outline they fill, they will get to pick, out of a small container, a "prize". i let the kids help me choose some of these incentive prizes, the only kicker is that it required little to no money. a few we came up with were: picnics in the wilderness, 3 days of no chores, a pizza and movie night with one friend, one toy from the dollar store, 30 extra minutes on computer day, or an ice cream date out with mommy or daddy.

my hope is that these keep them motivated to fill all the outlines. and once all the outlines are filled, they get one large prize at the end, something of some worth. ashton chose a new Webkinz doll, and keaton chose a Hot Wheels car carrying semi truck.

i will keep you up on the progress of these charts and let you know if they have "staying" power. so far, they are working SPLENDIDLY. ashton already has done the dishes without being asked, and my son started folding laundry without being asked. they were so excited to pick and place their own sticker!

*gives self satisfied pats on back*

i am currently working on a reading incentive chart for each child. ahhh, my creative juices are flowing!

ok, who am i kidding?! i needed this motivation boost just as much as the kids did!!!

i think you think i think about food a lot. you are right.

i think about food 90% of my day. what the last superb meal was that i ate, what the next meal is i am going to make. food, food, food. and especially since i come ever closer to the last few months of my pregnancy. food!

i crave mostly vinegar based or salty things. dunno why. i am sure there is some medical explanation for that somewhere, but i just really don't care that much to find out.

recently, i crave sauerkraut. i have literally filled a hot dog bun with only kraut and pickles.

i figured i would snazzy up my taste buds a bit tonight and make an old standard kraut dish. reuben sandwiches. of course, i did not have the exact perfect ingredients, but these worked exceptionally.

mine, of course, with EXTRA sauerkraut.

Jami's Reubens:

wheat french loaf
pepper studded thin sliced pastrami (i used hillshire farms)
provolone cheese
thousand island dressing
dijon mustard
sauerkraut

slice the bread, layer ingredients, and grill. we grill on, what i consider the king of ghetto indoor grills, the George Foreman. but, by gum, i use that thing like crazy and it makes excellent grilled sandwiches.

to cap off the meal, i treated myself to a post kid's bedtime snack. coffee and butter topped banana bread. i, no lie, have hidden the last 3 inches of this banana bread loaf under the aforementioned sauerkraut, and have snuck slices whenever i can the past week. thankfully, no one has asked if there is bread left. i don't think i could lie about it......or COULD i?


Banana Bread:

3 overripe bananas
1 cup unbleached white bread flour
1 cup whole wheat bread flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter, room temp

1 cup sugar
1 egg

mash the bananas in a large bowl. add flours, salt, and baking soda. in separate bowl, cream sugar, egg, and butter. add to banana mix. stir until you see no more clumps. pour into oiled/or buttered/or sprayed loaf pan. bake at 350 for one hour. let cool about 20 minutes before turning out. voile!


sweet endings to you!

old things

i like old things. i guess i could say "vintage" as opposed to old, but i always thought that word sounded too sophisticated for me. but, "vintage" does have such a nice beautiful tune to it. i'll use it anyway, just to bemuse myself. that was off subject....

i like old things. most styles of dresses or fabrics, 40's to early 60's era suit me just fine. i like old books. they smell musty and make me sniffle, but quite nice. i like old people. wrinkles and wisdom. i have always wanted to be older. even now, i turn 30 this year, and i anticipate it. i've wanted to be 30 since i was 20. perhaps my sentiment may change when the 4-0 comes, but not right now. i eagerly await gray hair, wrinkles, and the old sage things that i am sure i will be saying. like, "get yer hair cut".

but most specifically i collect something old. vintage aprons. i turn into a squealing little wide eyed school girl when i land upon one. usually i don't have the money to get it, and i have to piously place it back under a pile of applique bed sheets at an antique store. but i have managed to amass a little treasure trove of dainty, food speckled old beauties.

collections are intriguing to me. why do people collect things? it's like we are a bunch of hoarders. my son collects rocks. every place we go, he will pick up the most unassuming rock and place it in his drawer (and he has a special big drawer now, chocked full of them). and, by golly, he remembers each and every place he got the rock. i've quizzed him several times. he is spot on.

but, why? what is it about rocks? i speculate it was because he always did like to hold and carry things around with him in his hands. i guess he feels naked without something in them. he would travel home with a rock in his hand, and then, i suppose he just didn't want to get rid of it. but why do other people collect things? why do i collect the aprons? is it just simply a "like" factor? do we just "like" these things, so now we hoard them in boxes, or on shelves, on walls, or in closets?

i have no idea. i just know that i LOVE my collection.

last night, at my book club meeting, my friend Leia, who is a vintage Etsy seller, gave me a huge box full of vintage aprons (for free, mind you!). i think i about passed out. literally. those you see in the above picture are what she gave me. i was proverbially happy. and still am.

obviously....i just wrote a stinkin' blog about 'em.

you think, perhaps in some other time, i would have collected something else? like, say, if i were me, in the year 2130...what would i collect? still the aprons, still the style? or, perhaps something cooler would have come along to collect. perhaps "vintage" auxiliary cable cords, or those dreamcatchers i saw at an Indian Festival one year made of Mariah Carey CD's.....
now THAT would be cool.

A Summer Hunt: Buying Curriculum

summer. sublimely cool shade trees, a sundry goodies cooking away on the grill, fresh cut watermelon or peaches, freshly mowed grass. those smells. they make my nose hairs quiver with delight. but, not my favorite smell. nope. my favorite smell of summer.....used book fair. more specifically, my nose, buried deep in the crevices of the low low priced, gently used, coffee ringed stained curriculum teacher guide that i have just purchased. now THAT is the stuff summer is made of.

hey, i'm a homeschool mom. i get thrills from little things.....

locally, the used fairs here are gone. the big one that is left is the new book fair. the place to go where you want to see new editions in hand, hear lectures from different facets of knowledge, buy science kits and experiment materials, and get your registration form from your umbrella school of choice...among a million other things. but, before i break out the benjamins on curriculum in this place, i make sure to have covered all my other bases.

some parents have unlimited amounts to spend on homeschooling books, and God bless'em. but not me, nor many other moms of single income families i know.

here is my simple run down of ways to save money, before buying new books straight from publishers.

1. do research: the hardest and most time consuming of all the steps. get this done early.

• ask friends or your local homeschool group for suggestions. find and join local homeschool yahoo groups. most of these will let you post any curriculum question you have and you will be really surprised at the responses you can get.


• request catalogs. i much prefer having a catalog to hold in my hands than view page after page online, plus i can highlight, sticker, or dog ear any page that i want to remember. take advantage of the free ones. Rainbow Resource is still my favorite catalog for doing my bulk research. and the catalog is H-U-G-E and is free. others i have used are CBD and Homeschooling Books (CBD sends out a discounted books homeschool catalog once a year). also, most publishers will have catalogs, but will also obviously make their curriculum out to the best thing ever created. i always prefer a non-biased distributor.


• book review websites. my favorite website to finalize my curriculum choice is Homeschool Reviews. it is free from publisher bias and does not just list links to reviews. it has had almost everything i have ever tried to research. or, just try to Google your book, and add the keyword "review" after. but, scrolling through links is a beast.....


• libraries. you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you can get from your local library. if they don't have what you want, they can sometimes do an inter-library loan from another branch. and even more rare, you can ask them to buy a book to keep in their stock, IF it is new and they think it will generate a lot of check outs. also, try college libraries. most have elementary teacher editions of curriculum for education majors. (become a friend to your librarian....make them cookies or sweet breads and you will be amazed at how quickly they will "have" a book for you faster than anyone else)

2. price it out.

• get the full from publisher price. this gives you the cap. you know that you will not spend any more than that amount (plus shipping).


• distributor prices (like the catalogs listed above). they will have new books, but will cut prices by 5-50% at times.


• find used book sellers online. my ultimate go to place is still and always will be Amazon. i get almost everything from there. more to try are Homeschool Classifieds (thanks Sally and Sarah), and VegSource (thanks karin and kindra). Ebay and half.com (owned by Ebay--thanks Julie and Justin) are also good places to search.

3. the purchasing. IN ORDER....

• check local groups, websites, friends, and newspapers for used curriculum fairs in your area. this is my first stop among purchasing. i make a list of all the ones in the area (usually always held in the summer or late spring) and map them out on my calendar. i try to go to as many as possible. check back later this week for my ultimate guide to curriculum fair shopping. it's an art unto itself.


• used book stores. this will save you shipping and you can usually find some good deals on teachers books, CD roms, books on tape, and paperbacks. locally, i live and breathe at McKays Used Books and CD's.


• purchase from distributor websites or distributor catalogs.


• school supply stores. especially the ones that have winter sales going.


• buy from new curriculum fairs. this is my second to last resort. it will save in shipping...unless you spend a whole tank in gas money to get there.....


• buy straight from the publisher online or through catalog. last resort, but sometimes necessary if it is a hard to find item, a brand new edition, or sold out anywhere else.

if your brow creases as mine does, when you think of all the trails you have to hike to get your books, you are NOT alone. homeschooling is not marketed as easy, and it never should be. i hope this blog can help you to ease some of the time wasted that i did over the past 4 years. happy hunting!!!

and always, comment with your tips to be published in later posts!

marker sniffers and toddler stickers

who knew desperate mothers could be so creative?! oh, wait! i DID know that!

i'm just starting to get through the buckets of tips i have either gotten through facebook, emails, or the ones i received on here.

marj's ideas of stickers worked splendidly today. kept him entertained, and sticker covered for well over 45 minutes! whoop-whoop holler holler!

the happy son after a good school day. (and equally as happy mommy!)

i can feel the continuing theme of toddler pleasers for months and years to come!

another great source was sent to me through email by carrie. it's an e-book version of the Preschool Activities in a Bag II. i was familiar with Preschool Activities in a Bag I, but never really got around to making any of the projects due to my children's ages. although most projects are for preschoolers (lots of shapes, letters, and numbers sorting), there were quite a few that i thought i could tweak to work for my little 2 year old.

these few we are planning on trying next week:

• clothes pins: lists a few projects that have your child clip and place the clothes pins on various objects (including canning lids and paper). and seeing as though i have a blue million clothes pins that i "intend" to some day put on my imaginary clothes line outside....i digress....


• pipe cleaners and straws: snip straws into smaller segments and have the child thread the pipe cleaner through the straws.

click here if you are interested in getting either of the Preschool Activities in a Bag I or II in e-book form. and while you are there, check out their other resources. downloading Science Experiments in a Bag as i type!

in other, but similarly crafty news, my children are marker sniffers.

and they have the colored undernoses to prove just how inviting the scents really are. my favorite is the coffee scented one.

my husband is 30 today, so they kids got their craft on by making mish-mosh cards. i learned that children can be very wasteful if not monitored with construction paper/printer paper and other art supplies, so when i organized our school room, i gave them their very own drawer full of scraps and bits of leftover paper, yarn, felt, and magazines that they can use up to their hearts desire, and they are NOT allowed to just decimate my other things unless it is a supervised craft project. if you have an empty box, drawer, tote, you can designate it as "kid friendly" and know that your other supplies are relatively safe from boredom ensued afternoons.

keep the tips coming!!