Home By the Creekside

I saw this on the internet from some teachers so I thought I would add it to my wall in my classroom for a challenge activity. I even purchased a boggle game to help put the letters in order that would create words. Then I dug through my scrapbook supplies and found a whole bunch of cut out letters that I used to arrange my boggle word activities on paper. Then I laminated. I love my laminator!! And presto! I have a boggle activity for the week. So far, I have 4 activity cards that will last me for a week.

I found this chocolate zucchini bread recipe from this "site" . The kids and the rest of us enjoyed it the chocolately goodness. The downside was that it took too long to prepare but we were able to get two loaves from it. One to eat and one for later. We still have about 10-15 zucchinis on the vine. BBQ chicken with grilled zucchini here we come.

Notice Brayden's six shooter! It's official..he is a cowboy. My sunflowers are finally blooming. Some did not even come up. I was so bummed. Next year, I am going to plant way more and closer together. The kids love how they look. Although, I caught Lyndee plucking the petals off of the big one. Hopefully, she was not saying he loves me, he loves me not.

Right before his big day! Outside his classroom at the new school. It is huge! This is where he sits for now. My oldest, Brayden, had his first full day of kindergarten yesterday. He was so excited. He picked out his outfit. I wished he wore a t-shirt because it was 95 that day and recess would be HOT. His teacher is Mrs. England and is the best. I should know because I have worked with her for the last two years. Clay and I both walked him to his class. He found his seat right away. Then he had to find his clothespin with his name on it and put whether he brought a lunch from home or not. As we were leaving, I broke down and cried. Don't know why. But I guess that is just a mommy thing, right? Brayden had a wonderful day. He said that he painted, sang the ABC song, read books about rats and skunks, and he also got a blue feather for being a good boy. He told me that he loves school! I really hope he continues with that attitude. I am sure he will! Don't tell anyone but I w...

Lyndee got her hair chopped off. She has less snarles and she looks fab! I was sick of having to put it up. She was sick of screaming, "Ouch!" So..on Wednesday, her stylist cut off about 4 about inches. It is now shoulder length. Isn't she adorable? She is now ready to start dance!

I am a very sensitive person and sometimes I don't really show it as I would look like a massive glob of emotional goo.. But...I really want to vent about someone and something that happened to me today so I can validate my feelings but I really can't. Don't you just hate that! Yet it really tears you up inside and you don't have an outlet because you might offend someone. Well, that's how I feel right now. So I am just going to put those feelings aside and try to get some sleep. Darn it!

Tomorrow I head back to work. My kids go to day care. I can't say that I am too sad about that as my patience was threadbare as of yesterday... Back to paying money for daycare and having to budget that back into our budget...((Big Sigh!!)) Tomorrrow, we have to sit at an in-service all morning while I think about the boxes in my classroom that need to be unpacked. The copies that I need to make and the lessons to plan. The first day of school is Thursday. I decided to do a teaching moment blog to blog about my day and what things I do in my classroom. So tomorrow here I come without too much caffeine.

This past Sunday, we went up Kelly Canyon and picked to our hearts' content (well just a couple of hours). I was so amazed how close to the road they were. This was our first adventure in the woods here in Idaho. We were able to find unpicked over patches of these awesome berries. We were able to pick about 6 cups for free. The kids were able to help us and they had a cool time exploring the woods near us. Here are my battle wounds. Purple fingers. I search the whole forest over for the ripest hucks! We put my visiting mother to work! She did fab and kept Lyndee working. Clayton enjoyed being out in the forest. It was like medicine! Nice and refreshing. The kids were so excited to have free reign. They were able to see all types of plants. I think we might go again this weekend after church...No ditching for us here.

The other day when I was washing what I could not fit into the dishwasher I had someone say, "I want to help!" Brayden informed me that this was his job from now. I thought it was a great way to bond.

I am so sick of purchasing Tide. Even though I have only two kids, I get alot of clothes and bedding since they still occasionally not make it all night dry. That equals alot of wash. I surfed the internet for this stuff. I came across and really easy recipe that can be done with several items only. Since I live in Idaho, I was able to get my Borax at Walmart. It was inexpensive..I don't remember how much it was. The Arm and Hammer washing soda I purchased at Broulim's in Rexburg for $3.19. The soap I used from my cupboard was Lever 2000. Then I went to Cal Ranch and got a bucket for around $5.50. I used this laundry soap for the past couple of weeks. It does not sud so I can use it in my high efficiency machine. It made my blankets, towels, and sheets softer. We did not break out at all and we are doing fine....I got the recipe from this " blog ". I do not know this person but came across it when I was searching for recipes. I used my standing cheese grater to grate...

Next week is Brayden's last soccer game. Yay! We are so proud of him. He has scored a goal almost every game and has really really improved and has learned to enjoy the game. Me...I am just happy that my time will be freed up in the evenings. Now onto Lyndee's dance or gymnastics whatever I decide. Brayden decided he liked soccer better than baseball. Next year, we will forget baseball and head on the soccer and then maybe alittle football.

My Cherry Lemonade Concentrate!!!! Yummy... I am new to this canning thing. I know that this is something that I want to do so I can have some sense of ease when we may be low on cash or too lazy to go to store in the winter months. My best friend's sister is a master canner and she gave me some recipes and know how. She gave me this idea from her blog. This recipe is actually for strawberry lemonade but I had mucho cherries in my freezer from my latest purchase. I was tempted to use my precious raspberries but made raspberry freezer jam instead. I think I might do this again with lime juice instead. Here is the recipe: 6 cups hulled strawberries (I used 8 cups of cherries and then I used my colander to strain it but...there is still pulp and it is not too bad) 4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (used a 32oz bottle of lemon juice) 6 cups granulated sugar 1. Wash & dry canner, jars, lids, and kitchen tools. 2. In two batches, puree strawberries in blender until smooth. (I used...