Late Night Science with Remy

I had a fun evening with my little bit one night after his bath. He is so darn cute!

We learned why we have the ridges in our fingers. I put tape on his fingers and asked him to pick up a dime. It proved to be very hard but he did it. Daddy couldn't pick it up with tape on his fingers.

I then took the tape off of his fingers so he could compare how easy it was to pick up the dime afterwards. He wanted nothing to do with taking tape off of his fingers and you can tell it in the photo. Sour puss!

Then we wanted to see if we could finger print him with a pencil. This is really funny because I saw this on CSI:Miami last night! HA HA! He colored an index card really fast with a pencil and then he rubbed his finger on the pencil marks.

We then lifted his print and put it on a card. He decided AGAIN that he had a loop print. We did prints a while back this year...if you remember. But he had to do it again.

We talked about the extra skin on his elbows, fingers, and knees, and how that extra skin allows him to bend easier. He used a bendy drinking straw to show how extra skin or plastic makes the job easier.

To be able to see the folds of skin in action even better I drew a little caterpillar on his finger and he opened and closed it to SEE the skin work.

He was so sad that his little finger folding bug washed off. :(

I have to say that I enjoy my Remmit!

Lemon-Rosemary Butter Cookies

I love these cookies! They remind me of a better version of the butter cookies with the crystal sugar topping that came in the tin of butter cookies at Christmas time. The corn flour gives them a nice crumble texture in your mouth as well as a sweet flavor. This is another winner from www.vegetariantimes.com

Lemon-Rosemary Butter Cookies

4 oz. butter, soften on counter for a few hours before use

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. finely chopped rosemary (Thanks to Nicole for the herb!)

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

2 egg yolks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour (all-purpose)

1/3 cup corn flour (not meal)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup turbinado sugar of decorating

1. Beat butter, sugar, rosemary, and lemon zest with mixer for 3 minutes, until creamy. Beat in egg yolks, and vanilla.

2. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. Add to butter mixture, and beat until JUST combined. Shape into 2 1-inch-wide logs. Wrap in wax or plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours.

3. Preheat to 325. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Unwrap the logs of cookie dough and slice each log into 20 1/3-inch-thick rounds, making 40 cookies out of it all. Put turbinado sugar on plate and press one side of cookie round into the sugar. Place the cookies on your prepared pan, sugar side up. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are golden.

per cookie

cal 48

prot 1

total fat 2.5
sat fat 1.5

carb 6

chol 16

sod 63

fiber 1

sugar 3

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

Oh how I love anything with CURRY! It makes my tastebuds dance!

This soup was also in my new October edition of VT. It was so YUMMY!

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Lemon

2 cups red lentils

1 qt. veggie broth

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 large carrots, finely chopped (food processors are our FRIENDS)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I just chop and add it to mine, MATT hates it.)

1 tbs. curry powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

2TBS. lemon juice

1. Bring the lentils, broth, and 4 cups of water to a simmer in a large pot. Skim away the foam on the top as it forms. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Add the cilantro, curry, and cumin, and cook another 20 minutes, or until the lentil are soft. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and stir in lemon juice.

I am a soup girl and this one ROCKED! The kids ATE IT UP!

Tasty Tofu Patties

This is now Elijahs FAVORITE meal! He ate it even though it had mushrooms. :)

I found this recipe in my new October edition of Vegetarian Times.

Tasty Tofu Patties

1/4 cup vegan mayo

1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I food process them to death so Remy can't find them)

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 tsp. dried tarragon

1 tsp. dijon mustard

14 ounces of firm tofu, drained

4 ounce can of sliced mushrooms chopped (Again I process them until they are TINY)

1/3 cup grated carrots

4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained, finely chopped

1 cup breadcrumbs

tomato sauce for dipping

1. Whisk together the mayo, onion, parsley, tarragon, and mustard in a bowl. Mash the tofu into the mixture with a fork, I used a pastry blender. Stir in the mushrooms, carrots, and sun-dried tomatoes. Fold in the breadcrumbs.

2. Heat a large skillet coated with cooking spray, I used olive oil because I didn't have spray, over medium heat. Scoop the mixture with a 1/4 cup measure cup and form into patties with your hands. Place the patties in the hot skillet and cook for around 5-7 minutes on the first side. Flip the patties and cook for another 5 minutes. Repeat until all the patties are made up and cooked.

To serve place two patties on a plate with 1/4 - 1/2 cup tomato sauce to dip.

cal 391

prot 15

total fat 19

sat fat 3

carb 39

chol 0

sod 852

fiber 6

sugar 12

Elijah ate 4 patties and I had to hold him off of his fathers that I had waiting in the toaster!

My New Plant Baby!

My new sister/friend Nicole gave me something that I am totally in love with!

Those long stalks in the middle of the photo are MY NEW ginger plants!!!!! I love them! They are so pretty and they have the best smelling flowers. Hopefully the grocery will no longer make any ginger money from me. ;)

Bird study

We have really enjoyed learning about birds again this year. I found the sweetest book at the library.

Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds

It show how to feed the birds and how to create a bird yard.

We learned how LIFT helps birds to fly and we learned how lift works.

We borrowed some of our Dakota Bird's feathers that he had discarded and we looked at them under the microscope and we found all of the parts. We also unzipped and zipped back the feathers the way the birds do.

We also learned that there are different feathers and they each serve a purpose to the bird. The little down feather is under the long feathers and they help to keep the air under the bird and they help warm the air close to the birds body.

We are going to create our own bird yard for the fall. Now to find a CHEAP way of doing it!

My Reader

I picked up a Heidi book at a yard sale because she had come up in conversation some how a few weeks before and I just had to have it at ten cents. :)

Remy started reading it that day and says it is very good. I also thought he was super cute reading it.

Rainy Day Math

It has rained in Northern Louisiana for about two weeks now. But is has forced us inside to snuggle and it has given us lots of time to study and learn. :)

Remy and his math time in a little blanket tent. ;)

Can I go back in time and have my mother homeschool me? She said she would if she had it to do over again! *sigh*

How Heat Travels

Elijah has been learning about birds in science. The topic of what kind of materials to use for bird houses and baths was talked about. To show that heat travels from something hot to something cooler I had this experiment set out for him to try. He loved using the lighter and candles. Boys, rolly eyes.

He lit the big candle so he could light the little candles when he was ready to use the flame.

Next he dripped wax from the small birthday candle onto the long screw, which of course was metal, something that conducts heat very easily.

It is hard to see in a photo but he held the screw tip into the flame and you could SEE the heat move along from the hottest point to the coolest point very quickly. The wax dots melted one by one. He concluded that he should stay away from metal for any buildings for his wild birds.

This was one of his FAVORITE experiments ever. Fire. Need I say more? And he was allowed to play with it!

Remy's Bird Feeder

In science Remy made a bird feeder.

He mixed the seeds and peanut butter up and put them into a cup with holes.

We added a string.

He decided to hang it on this tree...do you see it above him to the right? He was very proud.

Elijah has a big bird study going on and he thinks he may feed some for the fall and winter...now for him to make his lists of needs for this project.

Remy's very bad Boo-boo day. :(

Remy had the WORST fall of his little life about two weeks ago. It was bad. It hurt so bad that he was shaking and he couldn't even cry because it was so bad. I remember hurting myself like that when I was a little girl.

I will spare you the sights of the horrible boo-boos. But I had to show what a sweet daddy he has. That man brought him home the biggest ice pop you have ever seen! :)

Thank God for daddies that can show love to their sons. My children are blessed.

First Day of Co-op

My boys sure did enjoy the first day of co-op. A few days before the big day I asked Remy to draw me a picture of co-op. He said, "What would I draw?" I just told him to draw something he remembered.

This is Remy in his health class. They made a melon fruit basket.

He LOVED ballet. He has been an even bigger dancing fool after that first class.

Here is Eli in beginner guitar. He is learning to tune it and to now the strings names. If I find he likes it I will get him the guitar at Target he has been eyeing!

Elijah liked the board game class because he was able to play with a little baby not pictured. :) I think we need to give him a new baby. ;)

We missed the second week due to some sickies...the kids have whinned about it all week. Poor things. They really love it there and the moms make it such a magical time for my children. I really like all of the mothers. :)

Homeschooling is like making pankcakes?

To better understand this comment please go and read Jolanthe's really great bloggy post on this thought. :) Enjoy!

She is also a great singer. ;) Look for her preschool songs of the week.

Rainbow, Turtle, and Windmill Art

Elijah worked on this groovy work of art one day. He was using a color wheel and primary colors.

Delicious Remy, really he is very cute, made this turtle. He really liked it. :)

He really liked his windmill because he was able to use a brad and a ruler in order to make it spin and have bricks. :)

Plants With Remy

Remy had to do the celery experiment...again...

Yes, it is fun.

And he likes to do it.

And since we were on plants and it suggested this little gem of a homeschool experiment, we did it, again. *snicker*

We are just beginning to see the red in the leaves...seems that plants still bring water up through little tubes within them and deposit the it throughout the leaves so they can make food...since the last time we did it. HA HA!

Now we can really see it!

Next he wanted to see if he could make a root grow...

And then we HAD to make this little silly plant hair-do guy. I had managed to talk Elijah out of it. You don't talk Remy out of ANYTHING!

All the experiments have been thrown out now besides the celery, and he grows redder everyday.