Vacuuming Couches

I'm not a big fan of this chore, but with little kids in the house our couches do fill up with things like half eaten cheerios so it must be done on a regular basis. This week I asked the boys to be in charge of getting all the pillows, blankets, and cushions off the couch so I could vacuum. They had a blast!

Michael on TV again

We were contacted a couple of days ago by Good Morning America asking if they could use one of our videos from YouTube. Here is the clip from the show. Unfortunately they got most of their facts incorrect, but we loved having the video featured!
You can check it out here:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/instagram-app-year-kid-cup-stacker-amazes-15143934#.TufWFbSyrgI.facebook

Check out how much he has changed!

Funny things I found around the house recently

Stacking cups?!


Jon has been into sorting recently.


And the other day I heard, "thump, thump, thump, ... " But it was followed by laughter so I didn't worry. Then I heard it again and again and again. When I went investigating this is what I found:

SNOW

It seems that a lot of people around the country and even around Michigan already got snow, and we finally caught up last Friday. We awoke to about 1 or 1 1/2 inches on the ground and the kids were super excited to go out in it and play. I timed it for us and it took 14 minutes to get all 4 of us in snow pants, boots, coats, hats, and mittens. I will be so thrilled when Jon and finally when Becca can do these things mostly on their own, but for now I had to do just about all of it for both of them. Then we stayed outside for 20 minutes before I was overwhelmed with requests to go in and get warm. Then there were 5 minutes to get everything off everyone and laid out to dry. So 20 minutes of play and 19 minutes of getting things off and on. I'd consider that a success - more minutes playing that getting ready to play! :)

Here are some pictures from the 20 minutes. I lined them up at the garage door and then 1, 2, 3 they were off:


Jon wasn't sure at first, but Becca dove right in.


Here is Michael with what he says is his snow angel.


We couldn't really make a snow man with so little snow, but I did start a snow ball fight.


Even Becca tried to make some snowballs.


Becca copying Michael


Look what Jon found!


For the most part the kids had a blast. Becca kept falling down, though, which wasn't a problem, but then she couldn't get back up with all the snow gear on.


So after the 20 minutes, she had had enough.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Tim and I both love potatoes and I've always loved eating scalloped potatoes, but I've only ever made them myself from a box. Recently I went to look for a more homemade version and found this yummy crock pot version. Here is the recipe with (my notes).

Ingredients:
*8 potatoes, thinly sliced. (OK, I always laugh when I see something like 8 potatoes. Depending on the kind and even on the specific bag I buy 8 small potatoes are like half the amount of potatoes as 8 large potatoes. The first time I made this I used 8 potatoes on the larger side and they cooked well and there was plenty of sauce, so I'd say think 6-10 potatoes depending on size.)
*1 onion, chopped
*1 lb fully cooked ham, cubed
*1-oz pkg dry country-style gravy mix (The only "country-style" gravy mix I could find was in a 2.75 oz package. So I used half of it the first time we made this and saved the other half for the second time. I'm always up for a little extra creamy flavor.)
*1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup. I used cream of celery since a certain member of my household if very against mushrooms.
*2 cups water
*2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Yum)

1. Combine potatoes, onion, and ham in lightly greased slow cooker. (It was super yummy with the ham, but this week I made it without and just served the potatoes with chicken. That was good too.)
2. Comvine gravy mix, soup, and water. Whisk until combined. Pour over potatoes.
3. Cover. Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-4. (I've tried both and they both worked out great!
4. Top with cheese during last 30 minutes of cooking. (Yum, Yum)

Shape Sorter Genius

Becca and I had so much fun the other day with the shape sorter. She would purposefully hold the shape over the wrong hole, and then shake her head, saying "noooo." Then when it went in the right hole she'd get so excited. She lasted at it long enough that I even got a video: