Muffin Tin Monday 4-18

Another breakfast Muffin Tin Meal.
My kids aren't big breakfast eaters so I made this one for them to share.


PB toast strips, Yogurt, Banana
Oranges, More yogurt, Strawberries

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Weekend Waffles 4-17

Cinnamon Belgian Waffles
These have got to be the best yet! Here's the recipe. It seems that the recipes that call for separated eggs are the fluffiest waffles. I guess whisking the egg whites is worth it!

What you'll need:

• Eggs (separated)
• Vanilla extract
• Buttermilk
• Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Sugar
• Salt
• Ground cinnamon

Check out the fluffy egg whites.



I can't seem to get full waffles without the batter over flowing. But that's just looks.


This one definitely calls for whipped cream!

School Days: Ecosystems

This week was really the first week of a 2 week Earth Day theme. I introduced them to ecosystems. What better way than to make them! Well, little versions anyways. We made 3 terrariums.

So here's what we did:

Desert
Deserts can either be hot or cold but for the sake of simplicity, we only talked about hot ones. Deserts are hot, dry, have sand, cactus, camels, lizards and other plants and animals that like hot and dry climates.


The terrarium
First step is the rocks.


I got a little upset when the flower fell of the cactus when I was planting it.
Then I noticed the huge glob of hot glue.






Wetlands
Wetlands consist of swamps, marshes and bogs. The ground there is wet. There you can find cattails, Venus Fly Traps, Cypress, Spanish moss, beavers, ducks, dragonflies and more.


The terrarium




You can't have a Venus Fly Trap and not feed it!





The bug ended up getting out.
He's still in the terrarium so maybe he'll eventually get eaten.

Forrest
There are several kinds of forests but we narrowed it down to just temperate forests. Forests have lots of trees, grasses, moss, birds, squirrels, raccoons, deer and more. Forests have layers: canoy layer, understory layer, shrub layer, herb layer and soil layer.


The terrarium
This was actually the first one we did but it was my favorite. So, I saved the best for last!

Adding the rocks


Learning about the plants


The finished product:
In one of the books, Sean saw a bridge. He said our forest HAD to have one.


Books
For my research:
The Bonsai Specialist - David Squire
The New Terrarium - Tovah Martin

For the kids:
Temperate Forest - Elizabeth Kaplan
Our Living Forests - Allan Fowler
America's Wetlands - Marianne D. Wallace
Explore the Desert - Kay Jackson
Hot Deserts - Wendy Pfeffer

Kids' picks (2 trips to the library):
Bath Time! - Naomi Kleinberg
Madeline Loves Animals - Jogn Bemelmans Marciano
Sunshine Makes the Seasons - Franklyn M. Branley
Moo, Baa, LA LA LA! - Sandra Boynton
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom - Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault
Bugs! - David T. Greenberg
The Secret of Blackbeard's Treasure - Mary Maden
Two's Company - Shirley Greenway
A Lighthouse Adventure - Mary Maden
The Going to Bed Book - Sandra Boynton
Lemons and Lemonade - Nancy Loewen
Curious George Neighborhood Friends

Project 52: Week 15

Spring = lots of outdoor play!


Sean's doing the little dance thing from story time with the chalk.
"Walk in a circle. Stop. Listen. Go the other way."






"I smell it!"


Maddy says it's easier to just tear the flowers apart!

Doctor Appointments

Last week Sean had his endo followup and today Maddy had her 2 year check up.

Stats:
Sean - 3 years 5 months - 34in - 25lbs
Maddy - 2 year - 34in - 25lbs
No wonder people always assume they are twins!

I'll start with Sean's endo followup. While Sean is on the small side, he's now growing with the curve. The doc wants to still redo the bone age scan in November just to double check since it'll be more reliable than it was when it was done last time. I just have to say how happy I am with Dr Gyuricsko. He really does an awesome job explaining everything to me. He also works on gaining Sean's trust before he examines him.

Now to Maddy's check up. She's so funny. She lets the doctor examine her without a fight but she refuses to speak and gives him the death glare the whole time. I went in with a couple of things that I wanted to talk to the doctor about.

First was her poop issues. Back around Christmas she decided she didn't want to poop. She'd poop after a week because she couldn't hold it in anymore. I added more fiber and apple juice to her diet and gave her laxatives if she went more than a couple of days without pooping. It took awhile but it seemed to fix the problem. Then we worked on potty training. She could be potty trained if she wanted too. BUT she decided she would only stay dry in a diaper and just a couple weeks ago she started holding in poop again. Needless to say, she'll be potty trained when she decides to. I brought this up today. She's now going to be on Miralax or Milk of Magnesia daily to keep her regular. The doctor says it can take up to a month or so for her to realize that it's not suppose to hurt to poop and get her going on her own.

Second was her feet. I've noticed that when she walks her feet roll in and lose the arch. The doctor confirmed this but isn't concerned. It's not too uncommon at this age and could possibly fix itself. If it doesn't and her feet begin to bother her when she gets a little older, we'll have to get arch supports for her shoes.

And that is all. I take them both back in Oct/Nov for 2 1/2 year and 4 year check ups.



Not what I put them in this morning but hey, they're happy. ;)

Muffin Tin Monday 4-11

No theme this week, just a yummy lunch!


PB sandwich slices, Drink, Broccoli,
Cucumber slices, Ranch dip, Carrot sticks

More Muffin Tin Monday ideas: