Digging for Dino's!

After seeing the forecast for the next week, I realized our outside fun was over...for awhile anyways. 90-100 degree temps are here, and that equals some pretty antsy kiddo's! I searched Pinterest for some fun inside activities & I think I found the perfect one as it involves something that will keeping them cool...ice!

This activity involves digging in a big block of ice for Dinosaurs...and of course we have plenty of those on hand.(I also threw in a couple of zoo animals too...why not?!) ^^

Once Bobo found out what our activity was for the day, he got out one of his Dinosaur books that was about digging for dinosaur bones and started studying...I really ♥ my little "Ross" ^^ 

I knew yesterday that we would be working on this project, so I started preparing it last night since it involves layering the dinosaurs in ice. If you put everything in at once, then the dino's would sink all the way to the bottom and what fun is that?! I started off with a big freezer safe food container (Rubbermaid) and added about an inch of water and let that freeze before putting in any of the dino's. Once the first layer was frozen, I added 3 dino's and then another layer of water and let it sit overnight. First thing this morning I added 3 more dino's with another layer of water, and then a couple hours later, one more layer of everything. It's now 3:30 in the afternoon and 103 degrees out, so this is a perfect time for them to start digging! The last layer wasn't 100% frozen but it was close enough, so I set the container into a bowl of cold water so I'd be able to get the big ice cube out easily and then put it into another large container to catch all the water and ice chips...because let's face it, this is going to get messy! So once everything was ready,I put on their craft aprons,  gave them some spoons and let them have at it!

They spent a couple of hours on this project and we still didn't get all the dino's & animals out before dinner, so we put the rest back in the freezer so they can finish it up tomorrow. We will definitely be doing this activity again, the kids both said that this was their most favorite thing in the whole world! That right there makes this a total success ^^

**Some additional suggestions that I have gotten from friends was to add sand so they can't see what they are digging out, and also keeping some salt handy to help loosen the ice. These are both great ideas I will try next time we do this outside! 

I hope you all have a great weekend! Stay cool ♥

High 5 for Friday

1} The Bachelorette was super fantastic on Monday...although I really wish that Emily would just ditch those guys and run away with Chris Harrison already! I did feel a little bad for Doug & that awkward kiss before she sent him on his way...seriously dude, wth was that?! 

img via glamour.com

2} THIS!

Marty, where is MY hover board?! I have been waiting!

3} My Hubs got his 2nd Master's Degree! Congrats babe!

4} Korean Buffet ....so fabulous! This is what my plate looked like with a couple of other things thrown in. I ♥ Japchae

img via maangchi.com

5} TGIF!!!! I am soooo ready for the weekend!

How was your week?! Link up at frommygreydeskblog.com! 

Tech Probs: Commenting

I have had a few problems over the past couple of months with my commenting system. I am not a huge fan of the generic system provided by blogger so I wanted to use something with more options. Usually Disqus is my go-to commenting system but it was crashing my site when people tried to comment on my blog, so I tried out Intense Debate....and once again it was crashing my site although not EVERY time. I am sad that I have lost all of my previous comments on this site but have decided to go back to the generic commenting system until I figure out why I am having so many probs with these other ones. Has anyone else encountered this problem with Intense Debate or Disqus??? If so, i'd love to hear about it and any fixes or alternatives you might know of!

For those of who had left comments before, I promise I didn't delete them on purpose and I appreciate the time you took to write them (I did read them all!). You should no longer encounter any problems leaving comments and I always look forward to reading them...so please, comment away! Even if it's just a "Hello, I was here!" ^^

Hello Kitty Eggs

A couple of weeks ago I was able to snag a free Hello Kitty Silicone Ice Tray from BizarkDeal.com. It arrived yesterday and I couldn't be more excited! I am not only impressed with the speedy delivery (from China!) but also the quality. I love it so much I may have to order a couple more of them since they can be used as more then just an ice tray. Because it is made out of silicone, it can withstand temps up to 500F, so I can also use it for baking...whether it be muffins or crayons!

This morning I was already boiling some eggs for egg salad, so I threw in a couple of extra eggs to try them out in our new ice tray! After the eggs were done boiling, I let them cool down just a bit before peeling them. I took 2 of the peeled eggs and promptly put them into the ice try molds while they were still very warm so they would be easier to shape. Since we always buy large eggs, I knew they wouldn't fit all the way into the mold, so I stuffed in what I could and placed a heavy bowl on top of the tray to hold them firmly in place and let them set for about 10-15 minutes.

I was really happy with the way they came out! The detail in the face and bow are pretty good considering this is not an actual egg mold. Next I took just a tiny dab of red food coloring and painted the bow with it using a Q-tip, and then did the same with the yellow food coloring for the nose. As you can see, the kids were pretty excited about their Hello Kitty eggs, so I will definitely be incorporating this in future Bento lunches for them :)

**please note: when you are using any kind of mold for your eggs, make sure the eggs are cooked so that the yolk stays in the middle, otherwise you will get some breakage when you try to fit your eggs into the molds. You can keep the yolks in the center by turning your eggs every few minutes -very carefully- with a spoon while they are cooking. 

7 Questions {2}

Funny Photo

Bobo used to do this a lot (age 1 1/2)

1. If you could be any princess- which would you be and why?
I have to go with a real one & say Princess Kate! She is so classy & beautiful, and I love that she is not afraid to wear the same dress twice to public events. 

2. Do you have any odd habits? (do things in order, words that you say too often, etc)
I'm sure I do but I am drawing a total blank at the moment...I definitely have odd phobias though. For example, I'm afraid of non domestic animals...especially deer. No, sadly, I am not joking,lol


[EDIT] I just thought of one of my odd habits! I have to watch The King of Queens before I go to sleep every night...for realz @.@

3. What's your "go to" outfit?
these days I'd have to say my Old Navy kimono shirt and blue jeans. it can be casual or dressy depending on shoes and accessories and it's super comfy. 

4. Do you have any siblings? What are their genders, ages, order of age, names, etc?
4 brothers (i know *sigh*) ages 36, 28, 25, 23 ...i think??? I would post their names but they would probably whine about it, so...lol

5. What's your favorite precious stone?
my birthstone, a sapphire 

6. If you had a check in your hand for 1 million dollars, what would you do with it?
the very first thing I would do is go on a honeymoon with my hubs...we have never had one and I could really use a vacation at this point! After that, donate some money to a charitable cause & put some money away for my kids for their future.


7. What do you love most about yourself- physically (eyes, smile, hair, etc. I don't know a good way to word that question...)
 I always hated my eyes (they are blue) and really wanted brown eyes instead. So...I got some brown contacts, and then promptly realized I really loved my own eyes after all!  So my answer would be my eyes ^^

**if you want to link up your 7 questions, visit http://gentrilee.blogspot.com!

Getting There

About 2 weeks ago I reached a milestone in my weight loss venture....I've lost a total of 20lbs!!!! I was actually a bit surprised to reach this already as I was unable to walk for about half of the time since I started this process 2 months ago.

This weight loss is so much more meaningful to me then the few times before when I have lost weight because this is the first time I have not tried out any fad diets, diet pills, diet shakes... I could go on. I have honestly worked hard for every one of these lbs lost by working out & watching what I eat. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE food, so this was the hardest part for me...even more then the working out. BUT, I hope that this will be the time that it stays off since every other time I have put it right back. I am just going to keep doing what I have been doing and hopefully I will reach my goal and be able to stay there by eating healthy and indulging only once in awhile instead of everyday.

I really owe so much to Becky at Organizing Made Fun because her blog post on her weight loss journey is where I got inspired to finally take my own journey & I also heard about the wonderful site i'm using to track my daily food & exercise called Lose It. Thanks so much Becky, you continue to inspire me everyday with your wonderful blog & creative ideas ♥

 It hasn't been easy but it's definitely worth it...especially when you can fit into your old "skinny clothes" again or those things you have bought that you hope to fit into one day (yay'z!).

Now if only I can get the rest of me straightened out!!!! .... baby steps ^^

p.s., this blog post comes to you from my lawn (what a gorgeous day! ♥)