Countdown to Disney {FFMN--Toy Story}

We actually went to eat with friends on Friday night, so I guess I should call this Saturday Family Movie Night.  One of B's (and let's be honest EVERYONE'S) favorites movie series is the Toy Story trilogy.  They are touchingly emotional and completely hilarious for all ages.  So I clearly could not leave it out of the countdown.  I did let B pick which of the three movies he wanted to watch, and he chose Toy Story 2.  While we do not own it, we easily rented it through our TiVo using Amazon Instant Video.  Super Easy and only $1.99!  So anyway, here is the menu:

(For the record, I have no idea why the last few pics are coming out so odd looking.)

I saved this menu for a time that I knew would be busy because it is pretty much just frozen foods heated in the oven.  And since C's birthday party is scheduled for Sunday, this was the perfect night for the easy menu.  So I pulled out more of the frozen cupcakes and made these seriously adorable (if I do say so myself) green alien cupcakes.

The kids (and the hubs) really enjoyed the food--which can be seen clearly in the pics below.

Only one more movie night to go!!

Countdown to Disney {FFMN--The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh}

I will admit that while Pooh is a classic, it is not one of my favorite Disney movies.  Is it endearing?  Absolutely, but I don't love it.  B, however, does.  And it is the basis of one of the most popular rides at the Magic Kingdom, so I really couldn't pass it up.  So here's the menu:

And here is the spread:

And the close up:

When we had Tangled night and I made the Rapunzel cupcake towers, I baked an entire box of Devil Food Cake mix as cupcakes.  Some I baked in the ice cream cones, and the rest were baked in regular, old cupcake liners and frozen for future use.  So I pulled four of them out of the freezer and set them out on the counter to thaw.  A little lavender icing and "HUNNY" printed on them and voila, hunny pot cupcakes.  And in spite of being frozen, they were moist and delicious.

Now, I have tried numerous times to get B to eat carrots with not much luck.  Call them Rabbit's Carrot Sticks and Roo Ranch, and ta-da, they are delicious and one of his favorite items from the night.

And, of course you can tell what C's favorite food of the night was.

I have been posting these little movie nights on Facebook and had more people than I can remember ask me where my movie nights have been for the last two weeks.  It has been more than flattering that people have actually looked forward to Friday night to see what we are having.  It is very sweet, and we have truly had a blast!

A Look Back at our First Year of Homeschooling

Our first year of homeschooling B has come to an end.  And it has been a good year.  B absolutely LOVED school.  He would ask almost every day if we were going to do school.  Let's take a look back at the school year.

Here is my sweet boy when we first began back in August.  He was so excited about starting the year.  I ordered an AMAZING program called Ready Made Preschool and I loved it.  It could not have been easier to do this curriculum.  Everything came in the mail in a box--the paint, the glue, the pre-cut materials--all ready to use and sorted by week.

We started with a unit on Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and talked about the alphabet.  Then we spent one week on each letter, discussing the uppercase and lowercase and the sounds.  Each weekly unit also had some other theme such as pumpkins, pirates, apples, leaves, flowers, grass, etc.

(pride after putting all of the alphabet cards in ABC order)

(a nature scavenger hunt)

(sorting items by size--little or large)

(feeling quite proud of himself after sorting all his work)

I created this really easy and cute hanger to display B's work.  I bought all of the materials from Hobby Lobby for less than $15--most of it was half off that day!  It hangs from a plastic Command hook on the door that goes from the kitchen to the laundry room.  Every couple of weeks I would snap a picture of all his work and then toss it.  This way I can kind of have my cake and eat it too--I can keep all of his work without actually keeping it.

And here he is today on his last day of school.  He is such a smart boy.  I can't wait to start Junior Kindergarten (Pre-K) in September--but I sure am enjoying my summer of no school!



Tee Ball Trophy Night

After a fun first season of tee ball playing, it was time for B to get his first trophy.  So, the team met up at the local pizza place to enjoy some good eats and receive their awards.  The hubs had football practice, so I went with C, my parents, and the in-laws.  It was a family affair--except hubs who had to work.

Each player received a ball with all the members of the team's name on it.  They also got a trophy.  B was pretty proud.

B with head Coach D

B with assistant Coach J

It was a fun year, and I think B is looking forward to playing again.

GHEA Homeschool Conference Weekend

After finishing almost a full year of homeschooling, I was really looking forward to the Georgia Home Educators Association's annual conference.  I went last year and learned so much!  The decision to homeschool was very unexpected for me and was very, VERY prayerfully made.  But after going to this conference last year, I really felt like I could do it.  So when I saw that it was coming up this year, I knew I had to be on board.

My bestie from high school lives in Tennessee, so we don't get to see each other as often as we would like.  And even though she does not have any kids of her own yet, when I mentioned it to her in January, she wanted to join me.  I was super excited!

(me and my bff enjoying a break at the conference)

The conference was a blast, and I came home not-so-patiently waiting for boxes to arrive at my doorstep!  I was able to order the Junior Kindergarten curriculum and Bible curriculum for B to start in September and some special items to keep C busy while B and I are doing school ALL with no shipping fee!  Ah, the perks of the conference.  And just as good, I got two fun nights of long talks, snacking and high school-esque giggling with my best friend of 20 years.  It just doesn't get much better!

Happy Birthday, Hubs!!

Hubs turned the big 3-4 today!  And while his birthday usually involves him working until late hours, this year he was actually home in time for dinner!  And I have always wanted to make his favorite cake (German chocolate) for him for his birthday, but never have because either he wasn't going to be home or he told me not to because he was watching his weight.  Well, he told me not to do it this year, but I did it anyway!  So the kids and I went to the store and got him some balloons (garnet and gold, of course, Go Seminoles!) and I got started on his cake.  My mom had given me some FSU paper products that she found while on a trip, so I pulled out the napkins for dinner and the paper plates for the cake.

The hubby's favorite homecooked meal is enchiladas, so that was the obvious choice for his birthday dinner.  I added in a Mexican salad for some veggies and to have something to offer besides just the enchiladas.  It was a hit!

After dinner, my parents came over (Hubby's parents had a meeting to attend), had cake with us, and gave Hubs their gift.  He wanted money for his birthday so he could get a cover for his new boat, but they had to throw in one more item . . . a real Duck Dynasty duck call!!!  He was pretty excited.



Overall, I think Hubs had a great bday, and I had a blast getting it together for him.  Happy Birthday, Hubs!!



We {heart} Duck Dynasty

At our house, the show Duck Dynasty is very popular.  The hubs and I usually stay up on Wednesday nights and watch the show on A&E when it comes on at 10:00.  So when my parents were out of town recently, they asked if Duck Dynasty t-shirts would be popular with the family.  Of course, I assured them they would be.  When they got back, they had shirts for all of us.  The kids were thrilled with theirs, and when they went to Pop and JuJu's today, they were wearing their new shirts.  I assure you, they were much happier than they look in the picture.

So here's to hoping you have a "Happy Happy Happy" weekend!

Countdown to Disney {Countdown Chain}

To add to the excitement of the trip and to fend off the many "when are we leaving" questions, I made a countdown chain.  We take a numbered link off of the chain each morning, and we will take the last link off the morning we leave.  I used the classic Disney colors--black, white, red, and yellow--and used my circle cutter to add the mouse ears to the black links.  I used double sided tape to attach the links because it would be the easiest to pull apart for link removal.

B wakes up every morning jumping at the chance to take off a link of the chain.  I can't wait to take off link one!!!!

Countdown to Disney {FFMN--Peter Pan}

As classic as the movie Peter Pan is, the ride Peter Pan's Flight at the Magic Kingdom is just as classic.  And I definitely wanted the kids to understand the ride and its connection to the movie.  It was pretty easy to add this movie into the list and come up with a menu to fit.  So, here is the menu.

Oddly enough, tilapia (which was my substitution for 'cod fish' because I had a bag of frozen fillets in the freezer) is a fairly accepted meal at my house, so it was served up with mushroom rice and green beans.  Fruit is WILDLY popular with my kids, and since we had just been to the strawberry farm, it was easy to create these adorable fruit swords.  Here are the fruit swords and 'Pixie Dusted Donuts' with a few Peter Pan (or more accurately Jake and the Neverland Pirates) related toys as the centerpiece.



The tilapia, rice, and beans went over pretty well.  But the real hit was the donuts.  I mean, look at those faces!!

With teeball games and the upcoming Homeschool Conference (which I am SUPER excited about), we will be skipping the next couple of FFMNs.  But they will return in two weeks!



Strawberry Patch

Our play group had a fun time visiting the local strawberry farm this morning.  There is a lot of fun stuff to do, and it is super affordable.  Because we had a group, we got to do all of the fun activities for only $6 a child!  The first thing we did was pick strawberries.  Each child got a pint-sized container to fill with berries.

Most of C's strawberries ended up with thumbprints in them from her grip as she plucked them from the plant.

B, however, was quite professional with his picking and focused on the largest and best berries.  I love this kid!!

After berry picking, the kids (and mommies) hopped on the trailer for a hay ride through the pecan and peach tree orchard.

After the hay ride, the kids got to feed the cows and goats.  B was pretty brave this year and fed the goats from his hand.

C pretty much just dumped her handfuls of food on the animals' heads. 

Finally, they each got a small cup of homemade strawberry ice cream.  While I did not get a picture, I assure you it was delicious and the kids ate every last bite!  Shockingly enough, I actually managed to get a really great picture of the two of them before the activities started.



Happy Spring!!!!!