Frugal Boy and I were walking through the produce department and he noticed a strange looking orange. He asked if we could buy it, and sensing a learning opportunity, I indulged him.
It was labeled as a “Sumo Citrus” PLU 3632.
Here is a worksheet that I made that kids can use to investigate the unusual citrus fruit. (Click image for PDF version).
Happy investigating!
Frugal Girl turned 1 and we have had a couple of little celebrations to mark the occasion. Grandma made an adorable unicorn cake for her. It tasted as good as it looked!
I made this delicious roasted chicken. You can throw the entire carcass into a stock pot, and boil the remaining meat off to make an easy chicken noodle soup. Just add a quart of chicken broth or water and carrots or other veggies.
Shae made some tasty cupcakes. Frugal Girl looked to big brother for some guidance on the candle. He knew what to do.
She didn’t need any help eating the cupcake though!
We opened some presents, including this big one.
She had her 12 month vaccinations and checkup. 29.5″ tall (63 percentile), 20 lbs 2 oz (56 percentile), and a head circumference of 18.5″ (94 percentile).
She isn’t walking yet on her own (probably because of the high center of gravity), but she does enjoy cruising along furniture. She really enjoyed the trip to the zoo. Anything that she could see up close she liked including the primates, turtles, and fish.
All in all, she is a happy healthy girl.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to making the first year as easy as possible for us parents!
Every winter our local zoo puts on a 5K, 3K, and kids fun run. It is a great way to support the zoo, get outside after a forced hibernation, and see the zoo.
This was the second year that Frugal Boy ran the kids fun run. It meanders through the zoo grounds past exhibits before finishing just outside the gates. Every participant gets a medal and a baggie of apple slices.
Frugal Boy did a great job this year and finished somewhere in the middle of the pack. I was proud that he didn’t wipe out on the concrete like some of the other kids. He is not the most graceful so that was a big accomplishment in my book.
After the kids fun run, it was time for the 5K to start. Shae pushed Frugal Girl in one jogging stroller while I pushed Frugal Boy in a second stroller.
I finished in 25:02 and Shae finished in 36:47. We were both satisfied with our times considering the stroller handicap and both recuperating from illness.
Afterwards we had a little picnic lunch at the park. Post race food always tastes so good. It must be a running thing.
It was such a lovely day that we went to the zoo afterwards. Part of the race registration fee included a ticket for admittance to the zoo. Frugal Girl found someone as stubborn as her.
And later on, I found a couple of chicken nuggets.
Another year and another year of school birthday treats, holiday parties, and misc other celebrations. Every parent wants to be fun and bring something sweet but it starts to really add up when there are 10-30 kids in a class. Cookies, cakes, donuts, candies, brownies, and more just keep showing up week after week and it is the kids that unknowingly suffer. They fill up on the empty calories and then crash hard later on. Then there is the palate that is being developed and reinforced by this kind of environment. A palate that will stick with an individual for a potential lifetime. Can we spell obesity epidemic?
Alright, so now that I have firmly established myself as the party pooper, what are the alternatives?
This year I decided to make rainbow fruit cups for Frugal Boy’s class treat. They are healthy, simple, and attractive!
Pick up a variety of different colored fruits. I used strawberry (red), mandarins (orange), pineapple (yellow), grapes (green), and blueberries (blue).
If you have a little helper, they can pick the stems off the grapes and peel mandarins while you cut the pineapple and strawberries. I used small clear plastic cups as the containers. You could use bigger cups for adult celebrations such as bridal parties and the like.
There haven’t been any big blizzards so far this winter and I am okay with that. We have had some snowfall that the kids can play in.
I took Frugal Boy to a good sledding hill after our town received several inches of powder.
We went up and down the hill a dozen times before he got too cold.
His favorite was to go down the hill face first. I would lay on the sled, and then he would lay on top of me. We were almost able to make it to the first line of trees using that technique!
We built a snowman in our backyard. Mr. Snowman only lasted 24 hours before he melted.
We did some more sledding at our house. Who needs hills when you have a slide?
Finally, you can’t ignore a good snowball fight.