Author: thefamilyo

Spy Party Fun

My middle son Oliver recently turned six. I don’t throw the boys a “friends” party every year but this was one of those years for him. At Christmas time the boys got Spy Gear and loved it; then while looking at party ideas I came across a laser maze idea, I was inspired. I then googled “Spy Party” and came up with plenty of sites of Mom’s who had done it, yay!

I sent the invites out via Evite, not my first choice, but it’s so fast and convenient I caved. Here is what the invite said:

Your mission should you choose to accept it:

You have been selected to attend STA – Spy Training Academy. You will complete the steps necessary to become a Level 007 SuperSpy.
Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and Cake are necessary parts of this training.

Hope you Accept this Mission!

For the spy party we decided to have the kids start off with training at our Spy Training Academy. Training started with distribution of essential spy gear: sunglasses and ID badges with their own pictures on them. On their ID I also assigned everyone a code name using colors and animals (black panther, pink dragonfly, silver cheetah, etc.).

Next we had set up an obstacle course. We set up cones for them to ride a big wheel through, then off to the army crawl mats, laser under the trampoline, through a mystery black curtain, finishing with a crawl under/jump over the bar. Each trainee received a gold medal to wear around their neck.

Spencer cruises through the course.

Adam sports his new ID Badge and Glasses, MR starts the obstacle course in the background.

Then while they were training, someone stole the CAKE! They were to immediately start their mission. We brought them into the living room for a short video we made. After that they received their first clue verbally which lead to the next clue and so on.

We attached one clue to a helium filled balloon in the front yard, then one in the gate, one in a backyard tree, then back gate, finally ended up in the alley to search for a pink box. This was filled with the thief’s stash of money and a clue where the cake was. (click here to download the Clue template and Spy Training sign)

R was thrilled to find the package in the alley!

Another game we played was a huge hit with the kids and parents. We went to google map images and printed up satellite aerial shots of each party guests house. We laid them out on a table and read a clue, as they all were looking at them… they started to realize that these were their neighborhoods and homes. Each guest took home their image. They all really loved that.

We had a pinata, at the boys request, it was jammed packed with candy (thanks Grandma Peanuts).

MR takes a swing.

We served the “Juiciest Hamburgers Ever” a recipe from allrecipes.com, Undercover Hot Dogs from Pinterest, the world’s most delicious Macaroni Salad (thanks Grandma Tootsie), chips and lemonade. I was thinking of making a dynamite cake or a briefcase. I wimped out and bought a chocolate cake from my grocers bakery, it was good, just not “cool”.

Each child took home a file folder stamped TOP SECRET, inside they each received a mustache, an eye patch, a laser pointer that attached to their finger, money and coins from the thief’s stash box, their own ID badge, neon sunglasses, a satellite picture of their house and a Superman ring.

It lasted 2 hours and we had a wonderful time!

May 15, 2012

Homemade Chocolate Sauce

We love to use chocolate sauce in house, whether it is for chocolate milk or ice cream sundaes, we go through it way too quickly. Pinterest is the source of my latest inspiration, of course. The thought of making my own was appealing because there are like 4 ingredients that go into it. No extra “junk”. While looking for a list of ingredients in Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce (they do not list it on their website) I found this very informative post: Ingredients in Hershey’s.

Why buy chocolate syrup when you can easily make your own with just:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (your favorite brand)
1 cup water
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk the sugar, cocoa and salt together, place in a sauce pan with the water and bring it to a boil while stirring consistently. Reduce heat and cook for about 1 minute. When it’s cooled enough to add to your container stir in the vanilla then store in the refrigerator!

Delicious and Healthier than Store Bought

Which would you rather have:

Cocoa Powder
Water
Real Vanilla Extract
Real Sugar
Salt

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup
Potassium Sorbate (preservative)
Imitation Vanilla
Mono-diglycerides
Polysorbate 60
xanthan gum (corn)

It is healthier and more economical to make your own chocolate sauce.

My husband has been making his morning mochas with it and the kids are using in their milk.

It is delicious.

May 5, 2012

Family Photos in the Digital Age

In this day and age more pictures are taken then ever before in history. Which one of us does not have at least a couple of thousand on their hard drives? I seriously love the concept. No more film, no more developing film, no more money wasted on printing bad pictures. Did you ever buy a developed roll only to open the film envelope and see that 5 of out 24 turned out. Love that with digital cameras we get to edit and delete if necessary before we print. Digital quality is unbeatable as well.

The only dilemma to solve? How to store and not loose them.

Since I’ve been a pc tech for well over a decade now I get my fair share of computer questions from family and friends. Two of my latest endeavors involve recovering photos and files from a crashed hard drive both for my Sister in Law and a good friend.

Nobody wants to lose their cherished photo memories especially not like this! No problem. We just need to be a little proactive. It is well worth the thought.

I recently one friend explain how she saves hera photos. Only the memory card in her camera is full, she simply removes it and stores it in a fire safe box. Then she buys a new memory for the next round of pictures. Brilliant.

For being the techie in the family I was a little disappointed I didn’t come up with that myself but that’s because my favorite method is cloud storage. One suggestion I had made is that you can upload your photos and files to Google docs if you have a Gmail account or to other online photo vendors like Shutterfly and Walgreens. Whichever one your used to. They will always be there for you to access.

That way you will at least have an online backup of your digital photos forever, hopefully.

What do I personally do? I receive plenty of emails from printers like Shutterfly, TinyPrints, Picaboo, Snapfish and Walgreens. Every week they send out fantastic sales on Photobooks. I simply throw all my current unprinted pictures into a photo book. I use them like photo albums. These can take a long time to create if you design them, edit, add captions. However, most of them have a Wizard or Genie option. These options fill in the pictures for you, insert the place for text too. This saves a ton of time.

Do not wait until it is too late! Make a plan and stick to it. Which is the best fit for you? Maybe 2 or 3 of these suggestions? Do what works for you and don’t delay. Pictures are priceless.

April 30, 2012
Seriously, Don’t These Sound Amazing?

Ice Cream! It is a favorite in our house. We love it in bowl usually but sometimes on a cone.

We also sometimes mix it with malt and milk for a shake -DE LISH!

The other while I was shopping I came across these from Private Selection. They sounds amazing, I can’t wait to try them all!

New York Style Pumpkin Cheesecak and Italian Cafe Tiramisu

Denali Bear Claw

Honey Maple Nut and Chocolate Granache

April 22, 2012
An Educational Trip to the Flea Market

You might call it a Swap Meet, Rummage Sale, Outdoor Market, those are all other names for Flea Markets. I noticed our Flea Market changed their named to Mile High Marketplace, sounds better but we all still call it “the flea market”. We took a trip 1 early Saturday morning. We woke the kids up, we all got ready and got in the car. We arrived at the Market at 8:30 AM. No line to get in, plenty of great parking!

We left without eating and figured we would play it by ear. What a good idea, there were fresh fruits everywhere. Since we could not wash anything we played it safe with bananas. They were perfectly ripe, fresh and a hit with the kids. Yummy!

This turned out to be an excellent educational opportunity. We talked about bartering and trading. We had learned of this concept when we were studying the pioneers. Now they get to see how that can play out.

More learning fun:

Learning about the hard and hot work that goes into delicious kettle corn. How does it pop? What do they flavor it with?

Hot and Fresh Kettle Corn

Seeing tons of fresh produce, learning names and sampling them

What are these? How are they cooked? What do we use them in?

Did you know there are hundreds of cheeses in the world? This store has a good variety of Mexican and other cheeses.

We talked about how all cheese melts differently, some are hard, some soft and why it’s good to have variety because of all we use cheese for. We took turns naming dishes with cheese.

The best part, in my opinion, was teaching the boys how to spend their money wisely. When we first got there, they ran to every booth, wanted something from each. Once they realized that they each had a budget and there was hundreds of booths, they learned to be conservative and more picky about what they chose.

Preston counts his money at a vendor booth.

Paying the seller

The boys showing off their first finds!

This was a great experience and the kids were thanking us over and over for bringing them. We will be back!

April 12, 2012
The Best Deals Around! Starts Thursday!

This event on happens twice a year.

This week is one of those times.

Featured on Good Morning America, JBF is the best consignment sale around.

Denver’s favorite Children’s consignment sale, JBF Denver, sets up shop this Thursday, April 19th at the National Western Stock Show Complex.

If you volunteer you can get a presale pass to shop early, definitely worth it! This sale has anything kids offering, books, puzzles, toys, games, furniture, play structures, clothing, maternity and everything baby too.

All merchandise must meet a strict standard to be included in the sale, the ensures that you don’t end up with less than desirable items. Be sure to make it, bargains like this only come around twice a year!

April 7, 2012
10000 Reasons and Forever More

I love this song by Matt Redman!

April 5, 2012
An Easter Banner

I have a dear friend who does fun crafts with her Mother. The first really cool thing I saw that they each made for their homes was a Christmas banner. It was made of felt squares that were strung together on a pretty ribbon to make a banner. Each square had a letter on it and it spelled out “Joy to the World”. Each letter was made of crafty items like buttons, ribbon and other appliques. So cute! My friend had told me she wanted to make one for Easter too. A couple of months later she pulled me aside to show me her Easter banner. It was adorable, I was so bummed I didn’t have my camera on me.

I was definitely inspired. I was out and about the other day and wandered into a fabric store. I was set on getting the materials to make my own banner. Unfortunately the store I walked into was strictly a fabric store. No fun stuff, kinda of “stuffy”, I felt intimidated and left.

When I got home I decided to go through my scrapbooking stuff to see what I could find…

I came up with some cute things and decided to scale it down and use paper…

Cutting out a banner piece

my selection of colors

A little too plain…

Much better, I decided to add patterned paper.

Drying, just need to hang it up, probably in the front window.

I used cardstock because I didn’t have ribbon thick enough to hold. If you have ribbon use it, this looks a little stiff.

April 5, 2012
Sunday’s Coming!

the reason for the season…

April 4, 2012
Great Way to Start the Day
One of the excellent benefits of homeschooling is being able to provide my boys with a healthy, homemade breakfast. My oldest did attend a private school for Preschool and Kindergarten and honestly, he never received a warm, homemade breakfast during those years. It would be cereal or most days it was toast and or a banana in the car during the mad rush of the morning.

Now breakfast is a meal that I cherish. I can make my boys a warm, nutritious meal and we can all enjoy eating around the table and talking. It is a fantastic way to start the day!

Being intentional about what our kids eat is very important to my husband and I. We like to get fresh ingredients from summertime farmers markets and our local outdoor market during other seasons.

We like bringing the farm to the table so to speak. Not only are the health benefits of eating fresh, non-modified food endless but it all taste’s so good too!

My son is a Cub Scout this year and they learned about food groups and portion control. We incorporate his learning into family learning. Preston gets to help choose what we will eat and he knows how to weigh food or use the fist method. He is super interested in what nutritional values, who would have guessed? So I have been looking this information up and providing to him. My middle son always wants to know what is the healthiest item on his plate. Love it.

Nowadays breakfast in our humble little home, consists of something from each food group. No artificial anything. Just pure, fresh food and drinks. For protein, most days comes in the form of an egg. My children like them prepared many ways, so they never tire of them. I serve them with spinach, which oddly enough my kids love. I love having fresh bread on hand, I try to make 2 loaves a week, a slice with butter (yes REAL butter) is delicious. As far as fruit goes, they get a double dose. Fresh berries, peaches and or pineapples for us. My kids favorite part, by far, is the Tropicana Orange Juice they get with breakfast. See, my kids drink only water throughout the day and they get milk for dinner. So when it is breakfast time they know it is ORANGE JUICE time!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

That is why I make sure we give the best we can.

Did you know:
- Tropicana Pure Premium is 100% Pure Florida Orange Juice
- The different microclimates and soil types mean that fruit reaches peak maturity at different times, allowing Tropicana to harvest ripe fruit throughout the entire growing season.
- The two major orange types in Tropicana Pure Premium are Valencia and Hamlin. Valencias typically have more intense color and flavor, while Hamlins can be sweeter. They each add unique characteristics to the TPP blend.
Without Tropicana breakfast is not complete, in our house!

A huge bonus – Tropicana is having a Sweepstakes, right now!

Enter the Tropicana sweepstakes for a chance to win 100 Florida prizes, including one-year-supplies of Tropicana and a trip to Florida to visit an orange grove.

Ninety-nine winners will get a one-year supply of orange juice

One winner will get a trip to a Florida orange grove and invite three (3) guests for: Round-trip airfare for four (4) to Florida, three (3) night stay at a Florida hotel.The winner will have an exclusive experience at experience at a Florida orange grove. For official rules and regulations, visit the “sweeps” tab on Tropicana’s Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Tropicana

Visit Tropicana on Facebook!

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“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tropicana blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.” (make sure you link to http://tropicanapurepremium.socialmoms.com)
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April 3, 2012