Wookiees, A Princess, Friends and A Couple of Mavericks

What do all these things have in common???  Last week's adventures!  Summer went out with a BANG! The Health Museum of Houston has an amazing Star Wars exhibit until September 18th.  The boys are big Star Wars fans, so we couldn't miss this exhibit.  The museum is free on Thursdays after 2PM and you get a discounted price for the Star Wars exhibit.  Save some green and go check it out!  

Princess Leia... hee hee! I made clippies out of pom-poms
I know, I'm a dork!

My Little Wookiees

We also met some friends at the local bowling alley on Thursday.  As you can see from the pics, they had a blast.  

 This pic says it all :D

Friday was the Welcome Walk at the kids' school.  It gave big brother a chance to show our Kindergartener around and meet their teachers.  Afterwards, we headed out to Pitch, Putt & Play for one last hoorah before school starts. 

My two Mavericks and E's Kindergarten Teacher

Look at the determination in their faces

Overall, we've had a great summer... but I wish I had two more weeks with my boys!

More Summer Fun

We've been pretty busy these last few weeks of summer!  We're trying to squeeze out every ounce of fun before summer vacation ends and school begins. Here's what we've been up to the past few weeks...

Chickadoo Suz at Manvel Library

Cotton field... it was as beautiful as snow

Backyard camping with their cousin

Mom & the kids under a beautiful oak tree

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra at MFAH

My little sopapilla at my niece's birthday party

End of summer party with friends

Phone Robot at the Children's Museum

Bubbles on the trampoline?!

Links to all these fun places: 

Chickadoo Suz

Manvel Public Library

Children's Museum of Houston

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

River Oaks Chamber Orchestra

Rockin' Rogers

With temps reaching triple digits and a sick baby at home, I was in a conundrum trying to find something for the boys to do indoors.  I asked the boys what they wanted to do today, and their response was... "I wanna ROCK!"  Well, it's prolly not exactly what Twisted Sister had in mind but we had fun rockin' it Rogers-style!  (These pics crack me up!!) 

Lover Boy

Benny Idol

Rockin' Rogers

Stage dive!

Sing it, Soul Sister!

Having fun and saving green

We had a blast last week and it was all free (thus saving some green)!  From the foam party at Discovery Green to the Texas A&M Chemistry Road Show at the library, what an amazing week.  
We trotted over to Discovery Green for their Wiggle and Giggle Wednesday event, "Wanda and the Oblahlahs" by Joe Sutton. We had the privilege to hear author Joe Sutton read the book.  Afterwards, the foam started flowing. What an awesome way to cool off in the blazing Houston heat!

Author Joe Sutton

Foam!

Root Square Heritage Lanterns

On Thursday, we planned on going back to the MFA to put on our art detective hats and look for more clues; however, curiosity got the best of me.  I noticed an interesting event at the local library which involved science.  I know how much the boys LOVE science, so I couldn't pass up this event.  It was the Texas A&M University Chemistry Road Show, and Dr. Pennington was amazing!  The boys were amazed and awestruck the whole time.  I am so glad we went because it inspired the boys to have a science experiment party at home that night.  In October, Texas A&M will host a Chemistry Open House.  It is a free event with several activities (including hands-on) and demonstrations to keep your little scientist interested. 

Dr. Pennington

Mentos and soda experiment

To find free or inexpensive events in your community, go to your local library's website or your city's website for a calendar of events.  Many cities host a variety of free family events, i.e. movie nights, story time, arts/crafts, concerts, etc.  Get out, have fun and save some green!  

Out and About

We had a blast out and about last week. On Tuesday, we had a special treat at the library... Dinosaur George! He was an amazing speaker and held the interest of the children as well as adults. For a laugh out loud, prehistoric good time, check out his extensive summer speaking schedule. 

We also went to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston for their wonderful children's summer program.  The kids became art detectives and explored the galleries for clues to solve the mystery art piece.  They also got their hands dirty with some terracotta clay and sculpted two interesting pieces of art.  I also took them to see the new exhibit by Charles Ledray, workworkworkworkwork; they loved the child-like miniatures.  Then, off to the sculpture garden for a picnic lunch.  Thursdays are free at the MFAH, and the summer program runs through August 14th.  

 Our adventures this week include the library, Discovery Green for a foam party and more explorations of the MFA so stay tuned! 

Playing Catch Up

Well, I've been slacking once again so I'm catching up today.  Last week, we had a few friends over for the eruption of Mount St. Rogers.  Finally, that darn volcano has been grumbling for over a month now.  It was so much fun!  We used the formula from the second trial from How Things Work Science Projects.

1. Add water

2. Add  vinegar

3. Add baking soda mixture

4. Eruption!

 So I've been thinking about posting a series of blogs featuring local, inexpensive, kid activities.  There is so much to do around Houston, I think I'll have plenty to blog.  On that note, last weekend we met friends at Herman Park for some family fun.  We rode the train and paddle boats; however, there is so much to do at Herman Park that we barely touched the surface.  We'll definitely come back! 

The boys with the conductor

Pedal Boats

Fun with Spanish Moss

Slacking!

I have been slacking on my posts, for a whole month! What can I say, we were been busy little bees in May.  Here is the link to the tutorial for the volcano we made: http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/how-to-make-a-volcano.htm  It's a great tutorial, easy to follow and lots of fun.  We dug in our recycling bin and were able to reuse newspaper, a water bottle and a cardboard box. Keeping it green!  Below is a picture of our little volcano before the eruption.  

Mount St. Rogers

Pictures of the aftermath to follow....

Green Projects

Earth Day is fast approaching!  We started on a few projects that utilize the reuse of common, household items.  Today, the first project is a volcano!  Benny learned about volcanoes at school a few weeks ago and wanted to make one at home.  We found instructions online, gathered the material, and voila, a volcano was created!  You can find tons of instructions online for volcanoes. I'll post the link to the instructions we chose soon. 

 Creating the volcano's frame

Frame complete

 Cutting strips of newspaper

Fun, messy paper mache!

I'll post pics of the finished volcano and the actual explosion later. We're going to have a volcanic eruption this weekend!

Tomorrow, I will post the banner I made using scraps of material for one of my kiddos.  It's pretty easy sewing project and you can also make banners using felt which will require little to no sewing. 

Terrarium Update

The zinnias have sprouted!  The boys have been great about watering the mini terrariums.  Benny has pointed out that you can see the root hairs through the cup :) I can't wait until they flower!

Zinnias

Mini Terrariums

I love Starbucks, and visit it a few times a week.  I try to remember my own travel mug for the barista to use, but sometimes I forget to grab it on my way out the door.  On those days, I am guilt stricken for not bringing my own cup.  Other than recycling, I always feel compelled to do something with them.  Ben and I came up with the idea to plant seeds in them.  (Can you guess what he studied at school this week??)  It's easy and it protects the seeds/plants from the elements.  

For the mini terrariums, you'll need the following supplies: plastic cup (we used a Starbucks cup but McD's will work too), soil, seeds, water, sunshine and love :)

1. Get a clean plastic cup

2. Fill cup with 2 inches of soil

3. Place a few seeds on top of the soil

4. Cover the seeds with 1 inch of soil

5. Add water & put the lid on

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!  The lid not only protects the plant but also acts as a mini greenhouse.  Another great thing about this is that the cups are clear, so the kids can watch the plants grow.  Try this at home and let me know how it works for you.  Remember the three R's: reduce, reuse, recycle!

Spring for Spring

Well, it has been way too long since my initial post.  How time flies!  Here we are at the beginning of my most favorite time of year... Spring! While it's not officially Spring yet, the weather is perfect.  We have been busy these days with baseball, t-ball, yard work, gardening, crafting, Spring Break, and returning to work for me.

As I mentioned, we have been busy little bees working outside in this beautiful weather.  We only get a few weeks of this lovely weather before the heat sets in. We started hap-hazardly working on our vegetable garden last week... the boys were pulling weeds in the yard and noticed a little orange root at the bottom of some of the weeds.  "Mom, they're carrots!!" They were so excited, so we immediately prepared our raised garden (turning the existing soil, adding mushroom compost, etc.) and planted the little carrots.  I love how my kids love to garden.  Last year, they helped so much in the vegetable garden.  I think it's so important for them to learn about all aspects of gardening: preparing the soil, planting the seeds, watering, fertilizing, watching the plants grow,  harvesting, and eating the fresh fruits and veggies.  This weekend, we are starting our vegetable garden from seeds (with the exception of tomatoes... I'm not patient enough to wait for fresh tomatoes).  I have a great idea to share using cups from my favorite coffee shop.  It's a great way to reuse, plus the kids can watch the seeds root and grow through the clear plastic cup.  It's kinda like a mini terrarium.  Until then, have a great weekend!

Why Hello!

Welcome to my little green corner of the world!  These days, you cannot go anywhere without seeing "organic", "green" or "environmentally friendly."  As the song goes, "it's not easy being green."  In my humble opinion, there are many shades of green; meaning that you can be as environmentally conscious as your lifestyle (and budget) allows.  Being green can range from recycling to re-purposing, green products to gardening, crafting to cleaning.  I hope to show you small things you can do to help save the planet.  Not everything I post will pertain to living the green lifestyle, but the majority of my posts will have an environmental-twist to them.  Remember, every little thing you do counts!