Sunday, March 24, 2013

Kool-Aid Easter eggs?

If you know anything about this Mommy, you know that I like Pinterest.  I had run across a pin awhile ago about dyeing eggs with Kool-Aid.  As we have a ton of it that has been in the cabinet for a LONG time, I thought this would be a good way to use it up (as throwing away would be the simple, yet not thrifty option). Thing is, we had a lot of red and pink flavors, so when we got eggs, Brant picked up a few more.  But we did the cardinal mistake...the fruit punch is in a blue packet!!  We got another red flavor!  Anyway, realizing we had the fruit punch in Flavor-Aide and Kool-Aid, we decided to try both, and see which worked best. 

So, add the whole packet of drink mix to 2/3 cup of water and stir.  Drop your egg in and there you go!  Apparently, the drink mixes have citric acid, so you don't need vinegar. Smells so much better than the vinegar, and the smell does fade, so you don't have to worry about a fruit punch flavored hard boiled egg! 

It really didn't take long to dye them, and they would have been really bright if we had left them in longer. 

L to R: fruit punch (kool-aid), watermelon (flavorade),
 fruit punch (flavorade), lemon lime, orange (both Kool-aid)


After just a minute or so!
"Look Mom!"

Oh yes, lots of fun!  A dozen eggs (minus the one he ate before dyeing!) went too fast.  

Aren't they pretty?


The final verdict was Kool-Aid works a lot better!  But I'm not sure I like that we ingest all that!  Still didn't stop us from making a pitcher of it to drink!  This was a fun evening! 

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Scramblin' for Easter Eggs 2013

Brrrr.  It was chilly this morning when we headed over to the park for the Annual Easter Egg Scramble (not to be confused with the Halloween one that is quite fun too!).  Bundled up, and running a tad late, we scrambled indeed.  But we made it in time, and enjoyed visiting with friends we hadn't seen in a while.  

Waiting for brother to get to go


With some other silly scouts! 

Go!


We opted for a bucket this year, as his Easter basket's sides were too low.  Last year he dumped a lot of them when he was running!

A quick stop with the Easter Bunny, who showed up for a visit!

Checking out the loot.  No gift certificate this year!

Henry watched all that was going on.


"Here bother, here's another egg for you!"

Sunday, March 17, 2013

The Pinewood Derby 2013-Tiger Year

Daddy and Brantley have been working on their derby cars for weeks, and last Friday night, after the set-up, they were able to see how well they ran.  Of course, Daddy didn't get to race, but he enjoyed the fun of working on the cars with Brantley. 

Daddy's on the left, Brant's on the right.  He named it "The Flame"
 While the track was getting set up, some of the moms and I got busy making the fellowship hall look a little more race-carish!

The boys had a blast watching the cars run on the test track.  

Julie and Daddy getting them all ready for the run.

Don't they look great?
 The next morning, bright and early, we had to be at the church for check-in.  Mommy was in charge of the checking in, Daddy was keeping the stats and Grandma came along to watch and help with little H.

Brant and some scout friends

Daddy and Mr. Jim, "race officials!"

Brant's cheering section

Smiling...perhaps Brant's car finished well in this heat?

Getting ready for another heat (one of the scout dads did all the loading)
Brant's car is in lane 2.

Third place this time.  

Henry was getting some pointers for his first derby
 At the break, we all had pizza, and then the scouts got to make a race car snack/craft.  They used Nutter Butters, mini-oreos and jelly beans to make racecars!


Aren't the cute. This was the split second before Brant scarfed them!

And Henry finally fell asleep
 After just a few more heats, the race was over.

Daddy and Mr. Jeff tallied the results.
 Meanwhile, each of the scouts received a special award.
Brant won "best flames!"

Proud boy, it was a fun, fun day!


While he didn't place in the top three, he was happy that three of his Tiger pals did!  
We had a long discussion before the derby.  You see, each scout is positive that they are going to win.  How could they not with all the work that goes into it.  So we talked about the important part of the derby.  And you know what, Brant is growing up.  There was no disappointment, just like he said, "The important part is to have fun!"  Thanks Scouts, for helping my son to learn life lessons, and providing a fun way to do it!

Sunday, March 10, 2013

St. Patrick's Day Stampin'

While Henry was napping today, Brant and I tried out something I saw on Pinterest.  I had bought a pepper last weekend, anticipating this craft, and didn't realize that I got one shaped as it was. 

On Pinterest, the pepper created a three-leafed clover!  We got lucky, ours was four!  Slice the bottom off of the pepper, dip it in some tempra paint and there you go!  A fun, simple art project for the O'Day's St. Paddy's day decorations!



Henry got in on the fun after his nap, but created something different.  Finished projects come later!

Brant introduces Henry to Pla-Doh

Oh the joys of childhood!  I still can't open a container of pla-doh without smelling it!  And wanting to squeeze it, letting it squish through my fingers.  Nothing better.  

We've had a bit of spring fever around here.  While things are moving towards spring, with Henry's birthday, and St. Patrick's Day, spring break still feels like an eternity away!  One day last weekend, Daddy and Mommy were in a cleaning frenzy.  Mommy, cleaning out the laundry room, found a hidden tub of the acursed Moon Dough.  I don't know who said that it's better than Pla-Doh, but they had to have been crazy.  That stuff makes the hugest mess, and has always been an outside activity for us, after the first time we did it inside.  Yeah.  And then, I hid the tub.  Bad Mommy. 

Anyway, said Moon Dough, now two or three years old, hit the trash. But it jogged Brant's memory of other beloved activities that had been replaced by Legos, Skylanders and other big kid toys.  Yes.  Pla-Doh.  Mommy got all of it out of the attic (aka the place where things that don't fit anywhere else go!) and the boys got busy! 

Henry enjoyed all the accessories, especially the ice cream truck and rolling pin. 

For Brant, he was re-discovering lost toys!  He had so much fun, and I love an evening with no tv!

Doodle was happy as a clam!

Brant made a delicious meal of purple french fries and a burger.  But, note to all those parents out there...something happens to homemade play dough over time.  We figured it out after it had gotten squished through the squishing thing. 

And of course, Doodle had to taste it!  He was looking at Grandma, who was just slow enough that he got a nice big lick.  And I got a photo! lol!

Trains make for a fun day!

If you haven't picked up from the blog that our family likes trains, well, go back and read some.  Thomas, Polar Express, Pop Pop's, Cass, Smokey Mountain Railroad, Strasburg...you name it, we visit and ride it!  Not to mention,  the fun of model trains! 

Pop Pop is a member of a train club that hosts an open house each year, corresponding with our Thanksgiving trip.  We always try to go, it's just really neat! So when I read in the paper that Mebane now has a train club, and they were having a show, you know it went on our calendar. 

Unfortunately, Daddy had to work, so Grandma came along to see too!  It's always great to have Grandma along, for the fun, and for the extra set of hands! 

While the layout was not as extensive as Pop Pop's, and it was a work in progress (as all are!) we enjoyed watching the O scale trains run.  Most were historic Lionel trains, left to the train club by a local man.  Brant fell in love with the Santa Fe engine.  He watched that train the whole time!  That and the hot air balloons that went up and down, landing near the carnival.


These guys had chairs set up for the kids to stand in!  My back and arms said thank you!

Henry wore his engineer overalls...all the "pop pops" in the building loved it!


"Dat!" "Dat!"  

Looking down the layout, not as large as some, but still well done!

The O'Day boys were a hit in their engineer gear!!  Lots of comments from the other Railfans there!
 The show was located in the old Mebane high school, which had been turned into a rec center of sorts.  It also houses the Mebane Historical Museum.  Outside there was a nice playground, spotted by Brant through an open door by the layout.  Being as the weather has finally started to become springlike, we headed out for a romp before we had to head home.



"All aboard!"  It was time to head home.  No one complained, Henry was ready for a nap, and Brant was looking forward to Daddy coming home.  If you find yourself in the vicinity of Mebane, it's worth a stop to see.  You will meet some really nice people, and see some cool trains!