About Me
My name is Tami and I live in central Illinois with my husband, Larry and three children, Caleb (6), Camden (4) and Emma Grace (2). I hope you'll enjoy reading about my life as a wife/mother and about our family's adventures.
Blog-O-Lantern
Theresa over at Bullfrogs & Butterflies is hosting Blog-O-Lantern. Here is our families attempt at carving pumpkins this year. We usually just do the standard face, but decided to use a carving kit this year.
Go check out the other great pumpkin designs.
Tags: 
Halloween, 
carving pumpkins
Trick or Treating Safety Tips
Since Halloween is tomorrow and the children will be trick-or-treating, here are some safety tips to remember.
- have a grown-up inspect your treats before eating
- choose a safe costume – if your child’s costume is dark, decorate it and her trick-or-treat bag with reflective tape, keep costumes short to avoid tripping accidents
- don’t use masks – they can block your child’s vision, especially at night, so it’s best to apply nontoxic makeup instead
- arm your trick-or-treater with a flashlight – instead of a wand or toy sword, it will help him see and be seen by drivers after dark, if your child does carry a prop, it should be made of cardboard or flexible plastic to prevent injuries
- look out for cars backing out of driveways – your child could get hit even if he’s on the sidewalk
- be street smart – always walk on sidewalks and look both ways before crossing the street, never cross the street between parked cars
from Parents October 2006
Tags: 
Halloween safety
Haunted Glasses
Here is something fun to do with your kids on Halloween. You could also change the message for another holiday or special occasion.
Here is what you need to get started:
- drinking glass
- water
- dishwashing liquid
Add a couple of drops of dish detergent to a small bowl of water. Dip your finger in the water and write a spooky greeting on the outside of the glass, then put it in the freezer for at least 10 minutes. Remove the glass from the freezer and look for the ghostly letters.
from Family Fun October 2006
Tags: Halloween, 
haunted glasses
Fun at the Pumpkin Patch
Caleb’s preschool class went to the pumpkin patch for a field trip this week. They had story time, craft time and had a great time in the pumpkin patch.
Tags: 
preschool, 
field trip, field trip
Works For Me Wednesday – Special Plate
This is an idea that came from a friend and is something we are starting to do in our house.
The idea is for a “Special Plate”. At dinner, one person gets to use the special plate during the meal. The plate is different from the ones used by the other family members. It could be a different color or a plate made specifically for this purpose. There are a couple of ways the plate can be used:
- the plate is rotated from family member to family member each night and everyone else has to say something nice/positive about the person with the special plate
- the plate is given to a person who has had a “success” that day, such as a good grade, potty training, doing something nice for a sibling, etc. (the possibilities are endless)
This is a great way to encourage conversation at the dinner table and to remind others what they appreciate about the “special” person.
Go over to Rocks In My Dryer for other Works For Me Wednesday tips.
Tags: 
family time, 
conversation, 
special plate
Making Memories
Caleb enjoying our family movie night.
Tags: 
family movie night
Cheesy Chicken Chowder
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups diced potatoes
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups cooked diced chicken
In a 4 quart saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat and add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper; simmer covered 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, melt butter; add flour, mix well. Gradually stir in milk; cook over low heat until slightly thickened. Stir in cheese and cook until melted. Add cheese mixture and chicken to vegetable mixture. Cook, stirring over low heat until all ingredients all heated through.
Tags: 
recipes, 
cheesy chicken chowder
How Common Is Your Name?
I got this from Christine over at Fruit in Season.
| HowManyOfMe.com | ||
|
There is another women in my city who has the same name. We go to the same doctor, the same vet and were actually pregnant at the same time. My family lives in a large city of over 100,000. What are the odds?
Tags: 
what’s in a name
Family Movie Night – Over the Hedge
Tonight we are going to start “Family Movie Night” with our oldest son. We are going to put Camden to bed and Caleb will get to stay up past his bedtime. We will be making one of Caleb’s favorite snacks, popcorn. For our first family movie night we are going to watch Over the Hedge.Some tips from Kaboose for planning your own family movie night:
- make it official – set a movie start time and stick to it
- finish those chores
- have fun with it – ask kids to make tickets and sell them at a “box office”
- set the scene – a darkened room and plenty of comfy seats
- make it snack-i-licious – candy and popcorn or check out these snack ideas
- tune in to Betty Boop – watch vintage cartoons before the movie starts
- schedule an intermission – take a potty break or get more snacks
- consider a theme – enlist your kids to come up with creative snack ideas based on the movie
Here are some great sites to visit for creating your own family movie night, Kaboose and PTO Today. PTO Today also has information on creating a family reading night and a family science night.
Tags: family movie night, 
Over the Hedge
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