Mess of the Day: None!

You're not going to believe this one. I could hardly believe it myself.

This display has been on our kitchen table since mid-October and Screech has yet to touch it. I told her not to, and she actually obeyed! Can you believe it? Not a single bite mark on anything!

I never thought I'd see an entire day of obedience, much less a month and a half!

Crisis Averted!

The Sharpie has been found! All is well with our little world. I had actually put it hidden and out of reach to begin with; it just wasn't where I normally put it. WHEW!!!!!!!

Oh no . . .

In our haste to finish a project for Master's Academy this morning we lost a black Sharpie. As in, one of those permanent type markers.

I am afraid. Very, very afraid.

WFMW: Oatmeal Trick

My kids and I love oatmeal, but I used to not fix it often because the little ones would be impatient for it to cool down so they could eat it. I discovered a couple of great tricks to not only cool it down instantly, but also to make it even tastier!

Method #1
Add a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. YUMMY! After you taste this, you will never want oatmeal any other way! To save calories, Edy's or Dreyer's Fat Free Sugar Free Vanilla is wonderful.

Method #2 (Thanks to my dear friend Beth for this idea!)
Add a few small frozen berries (blueberries and raspberries work well). They thaw quickly and add vitamins and minerals and lots of other good stuff!

If you missed it, I posted the worst-ever Mess of the Day on Monday. Click here to see it!

Here are my previous WFMW posts:

Backseat Entertainment
Gifts to Spark Your Child's Imagination
Reading Motivation
Finding a Babysitter
Charging a Cell Phone
Swim/Shower with a Cast
Free Tech Support
Calming Injured Children
Choosing a Phone Number
What NOT to Soak Contacts In
Broken Glass Cleanup
Cheap Rolling Cart for Conventions
Chocolate Recipes
Tooth-Tugging Tip for Terrified Tots
Handy Earache Relief
Uses for Leftover Bread
Leaky Diaper/Pull-up Fix
Snack Mix Recipe (at the end of the post)
Awesome Stain Recipe (at the end of the post)
"Fun"damentals of Family Life
Removing Wite-Out from Everything
When NOT to Save Money
Public Service Announcement

For more WFMW tips, stop by Shannon's blog!

Mess of the Day # 26: Just Guess!

What is Screech into now? (To get a better look, click on the pic to see it full size!)

Three guesses . . .

. . . and the first two don't count . . .

You're right. Wite-Out. Again. Emptied the entire bottle into her hands.

Big sigh. At least I don't have expensive furniture.

By the way, I have decided that Oops! brand remover is the way to go. It was very quick to clean up and didn't have strong fumes.

And my little trick for using baby oil to get Wite-Out off skin? Doesn't work for this amount. (It was crusted on THICKLY.) I used plain old soap and water (Dove unscented to be easier on her skin), and it all with flaked off a little scrubbing.

All clean and back to her sweet self!

Catching Up - Halloween

I have a ton of updating to do, and I'm determined to get it done! Here are some pics from Halloween:

Pete was a Jedi, Screech was a skunk (I have 25 reasons why), and Drama Queen was a pioneer girl. (Not Holly Hobbie, not Laura Ingalls, and definitely not Nellie Oleson, she says.)

Pete is a handsome little Padawan. Anakin Skywalker, eat your heart out!


Screech's costume was just so appropriate (and pretty darn cute, I might add!) I didn't make it (although there are patterns for this exact costume); it's a Tom Arma. Drama Queen wore this many Halloweens ago. Although if I thought SHE was stinker, I had no idea what I was in for one day!


Drama Queen's costume took a lot of time, but I had so much fun making it. There was one slight problem with the main dress: after I finished it I realized that I had made an ADULT size 8! If I'm not just plain dumb, I'm definitely sewing-challenged! I managed to take it in without cutting it, so she can grow into it.


The cute little dragon below is our next-door neighbor.


We went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood with a couple of the other neighborhood children. It was so much fun to do it together. The cute little princess below is our other next-door neighbor.


Although we do participate in Halloween, we don't have anything to do with witches, ghosts, monsters and the like. I had seriously considered not doing Halloween at all due to its pagan overtones (and respect Christians who choose this route), but I figured to be consistent with that we would also have to do away with Christmas trees and other Christmas traditions that have pagan roots. Besides, we are not "celebrating" anything evil in our hearts; we're just dressing up and mooching some candy!

WFMW: Backseat Entertainment!

We have enjoyed "Jungle Jam and Friends the Radio Show" for years. It is absolutely hilarious! It is a Christian program with great messages, but without being the least bit preachy or hokey. If your kids like Veggie Tales, they will love Jungle Jam. It is great for those long trips to Grandma's house!

Most episodes have two stories. One story is set in the jungle with funny characters such as Nozzles the Elephant, Millard the Monkey and Sully the Aardvark. The dialogue is a riot. It reminds me a lot of Rocky and Bullwinkle (without the political overtones).

The other story centers around a boy named Marvy Snuffleson. The story usually begins with Marvy being sent to his room for misbehaving (for instance, refusing to do his math homework). Something always happens (a window left open while raining, etc.) and Marvy's bed washes out of the window and onto the high sea, taking him to Razzleflabben Island. While there, he visits with the Razzleflabbens (large furry creatures) and something happens that is connected to his misbehavior. For instance, the Razzleflabbens need Marvy's help figuring out how many slices of delightful cheese bread need to be prepared so there is enough for everyone. A comedy of errors ensues, and Marvy learns a lesson. Again, the dialogue is hysterical. There's no way to do it justice; you'll just have to hear it for yourself.

The acting and production are superb; the characters are well-developed and very funny. The narrator is great. Fun sound effects and catchy songs are sprinkled throughout. The scripts are well-written with engaging plots and loads of laughs. Like Veggie Tales, there are lots of subtle jokes thrown in just for the adults. I love it as much as the kids do!

Here's where it gets good: you can download a show in MP3 form (with two stories) from their website for only $3.95! There are also single CD's for $9.95, and 4-disc collections for various prices. They are all well worth every penny!

If you would like to try out one of the $3.95 downloads, I highly recommend the one called "The Grandfather". It is absolutely my favorite. It's a story about gossip and is followed by "Katie Sings the Blues," a story about being content. Click here to hear a sample.

The way their website is set up, I can't link directly to each thing I've told you about. Their web address is www.fancymonkey.com. Just mouse over "Jungle Jam," and you'll find all kind of neat things, including a list of radio stations that carry the show.

One more thing - one of my favorite Jungle Jam episodes was also made into a children's Christmas musical. It's called "Three Wise Men and a Baby." When I directed a children's choir at a church we attended in Kentucky, we put this on two separate times. It brought down the house! Out of the many musicals I directed, this was hands-down my favorite (and the most reminisced-about by the parents). It is still available; you can download the entire script for free on the website and purchase a split-track CD for $9.95. Also, the radio version is available in 2 downloads of $3.95 each.

Here are my previous WFMW posts:

Gifts to Spark Your Child's Imagination
Reading Motivation
Finding a Babysitter
Charging a Cell Phone
Swim/Shower with a Cast
Free Tech Support
Calming Injured Children
Choosing a Phone Number
What NOT to Soak Contacts In
Broken Glass Cleanup
Cheap Rolling Cart for Conventions
Chocolate Recipes
Tooth-Tugging Tip for Terrified Tots
Handy Earache Relief
Uses for Leftover Bread
Leaky Diaper/Pull-up Fix
Snack Mix Recipe (at the end of the post)
Awesome Stain Recipe (at the end of the post)
"Fun"damentals of Family Life
Removing Wite-Out from Everything
When NOT to Save Money
Public Service Announcement

For more WFMW tips, stop by Shannon's blog!