Moms N Tots 2012

Every year during the last week of June, my girls and I go to Mom 'N Tots camp at Camp Hebron in Halifax, PA. We had so much fun!

We went creek stomping.

We went boating.

We swam.

We made crafts.

Caura was old enough to ride the horses!

We enjoyed a fiesta theme.

We spent time with lots of friends, including 10 "Haluwasa" Moms and our 27 children.

We bonded.

Aubree funny for the week: "Mommy, I can feed God! He can eat what I eat because He's in me!"

Real Crunchy Step: Freshener

Click here to read today's Real Crunchy Step! Shannon made her own air freshener, and it has made my trash can smell good!

Real Crunchy Step: Homemade Lunchmeat

Today's Crunchy Step is all about how I made my own lunchmeat. Read about it here !

Crunchy Step #1

Click here to read the first post of the Real Crunch Steps!
Crunchy Step#1: Loco Taco Seasoning.

Crunchy Steps

Over the past couple years, I have found myself becoming more "crunchy." Crunchy to me means a healthy and more natural way to do things. The "Crunchy Steps" I have taken have also meant a less expensive way to do things, which was always my number one reason to do them. For instance, I bake my own cookies instead of buy the ones in the package, we have a garden of vegetables and fruit, and this year we bought chickens so we could have fresh eggs (and fun, and a great learning experience for our girls). A few weeks ago I was sick of spending $20 a month on laundry detergent, so I found a recipe and made my own (and it actually works!). I promised my friend, Danielle, that becoming "crunchier" did not mean I was going to start making dresses out of tree bark, but I was very happy with the "crunchy steps" I had already taken, and started deciding what else I could do homemade.

Last week I visited one of my best friends, Shannon, and while we let our seven children play together, we started talking about different "crunchy" things we have been up to. She told me about freezer jam and vegetable stock, I told her about my laundry detergent and plans to make my own raisins. The next morning I had a great idea! Why don't we challenge each other to do at least one "crunchy" thing each week, and make a little extra of whatever we are making, and then swap that extra with each other? That way, we can get through testing methods and recipes more quickly, and also end up spending less money than if we did all the methods and recipes ourselves. Plus, it would be a lot of fun! She was in, and decided we should blog our way through this experience this summer. We decided to just put it on her blog, so I invite you to visit her blog for the first "Real Crunchy Steps" post (click here), then follow her blog so you don't miss any of this experience.

We hope you are inspired to take some of your own "Crunchy Steps."

Only One...Survivor!!!

Danny and I love to watch the tv show Survivor. It is definitely Danny's favorite show, and he has watched it from the very first season. We love everytime Jeff Probst says, "Come on in, Guys!" "Worth playing for?" and of course "The tribe has spoken." We love the endurance challenges, survivor auctions, watching contestant try to catch wild chickens, and contestants getting blindsided. We've enjoyed watching Boston Rob play pretty much a perfect game, Russell Hantz finding immunity Idols, and Ozzie scale trees.

Last year before my fabulous '80's themed 30th birthday party, I decided that for Danny's 30th, we were going to be doing a Survivor theme. Although his party was not a suprise, the Survivor theme was. Thank you to everyone for keeping the theme a secret!!!

Here's a (lengthy) recap:

I made flags and buffs. The Blue Tribe was the UliUli tribe (Blue in Hawaiian) and the Orange Tribe was the Alani Tribe (Orange in Hawaiian)

*I got the logos from www.chicaandjo.com

We divided into the two tribes by randomly picking the buffs. The first challenge was an obstacle course.

1st Obstacle: Go over and under the broomstick, Danny vs. Amy

2nd Obstacle: 10 Jumping Jacks, Dale Vs. Kathy

3rd Obstacle: Dizzy Lizzy, Eric vs. Brandon (brothers!)

4th Obstacle: Eat the Mystery Food, Sean and Sissy vs. Ben and Billy

5th Obstacle: Build a Tower of blocks, Jonathan vs. Michael (brothers, again!)

6th Obstacle: Untie Knots: Beki vs. Lindsay

7th Obstacle: Tile Walk: Danny B vs. Ryan

8th and final Obstacle: Crabwalk, Chris vs. Zack

Second Challenge: Fill a bucket of water using water from another bucket (Sorry, couldn't come up with a better name). Each team got a bucket of water. They had to fill another bucket up with the water from the first bucket. The only things provided to transport the water were sponges, however, the contestants used shoes, shirts, hands, and more.

Here is a picture of Ryan throwing the soaked sponge to Ben to cut out the time running back and forth.

Third Challenge: Three in a Row.
Nine plates were layed out in three rows of three. Contestants had to throw a marble on the plates to get three in a row.

Fourth Challenge: Remember the items.
Each tribe was given a set of five items. I layed out the five items in a different order each round, then covered it with a towel. The contestants had to lay out the items in the same order.

ALANI WON!

Then we did individual challenges.

Individual Challenge 1: Danny Trivia Questions

The trivia challenge determined the three that would go on to the last challenge. Ben, Lindsay, and Michael moved on.

Individual Challenge 2: Endurance
Ben, Lindsay, and Michael had to outlast each other standing on a brick.

Michael was out pretty quickly, followed by Lindsay after we went to one foot.

Ben Wins Survivor Cedar Brook!!!!

Side note: I made "Boston Rob" Cupcakes

The party was a big success and everyone had a great time. It was fun to play Survivor (but without the starvation and getting voted off by people you thought you trusted!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANNY!

The Age Old Debate

Vanilla soft serve ice cream in all its yummy goodness is even better when it’s smothered in rainbow jimmies. Yes, jimmies…they are called jimmies. You might stop reading right there and say I am wrong, they are called sprinkles. If you were here with me now, the following discussion might happen. I’m going to call you Rose (because that was the name that Caura just suggested).

“They are not called jimmies, they are called sprinkles,” said Rose.

“Actually, the rod shaped ones are called jimmies, the round ones are called non-pareils, and the ones you shake on Christmas cookies are called sprinkles,” I said.

“Uh…no, they are all just called sprinkles, because you sprinkle them over your ice cream. Calling them jimmies must be a south jersey thing,” said Rose.

“You’re onto something there, when I lived in Virginia and asked for jimmies on my ice cream, they looked at my like I had three heads. They had never even heard them called that before. It was there and only there that I called them sprinkles…very reluctantly and with a pained face and a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach,” I said.

Rose points out the box behind the ice cream counter and says, “look, right there at the box, it says ‘sprinkles’ on them.”

“That’s because too many people have conformed and strayed away from calling them their real name,” I said.

I pull out my (non-existent) smart phone and google “jimmies.”

I share my findings with Rose. There are references to Jim Crow, and that saying Jimmies is racist (this is shown to be false). The Just Born Candy Company claims they named them jimmies after an employee (this is shown to be very unlikely). It’s an actual word in the dictionary describing “tiny balls or rod shaped bits of candy…” The definition of Sprinkles is pretty much the same thing. One source says the name jimmies originated in Boston. It is said that some people also call them “hundreds and thousands” or even “ants.” I find that the term “sprinkles” is a generalization of all the little candy confections that are “sprinkled’ over cake, icing, and ice cream.

“Well, there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer, but I know in my heart that they are called jimmies. Are you still going to call the rod shaped ones, ‘sprinkles’”? I ask.

“Yup,” Rose responds.

“Alright, let’s eat,” I suggest.


Am I really trying to get you to agree with me that they are called “jimmies”? No, of course not, I really could care less what you call them.
The point was that we all have our own opinion. I can state my opinion, and stand up for what I think is right, but not get mad or call the other person a poopy-head because they have a different opinion. If I change your opinion, great, if not, that’s ok, too. Don’t fight…don’t lose a friend over it. You are allowed to have your own opinion, even if it’s not the popular or “PC” opinion. You can still be loving, tolerant (EEK…I said THAT word!) and respectful of another person and NOT compromise your beliefs and opinions.

Please remember this the next time you have a heated debate about whether to immunize, breast vs. bottle, gay marriage, God, politics, student loans, homeschooling vs. public school vs. private school, and on and on and on.

Now, go eat that ice cream.