Natural Dye for your Easter Eggs

Easter eggs can be dyed naturally with foods! Hey what better since that that make than to dye something we are probably going to eat with something we already eat instead of some toxic chemical? We are learning more and more each day about the dangers of dye in our children’s diets. Why not have fun showing them the amazing colors you can make from real food? Cabbage, beets, carrots, dill seed, turmeric and onions are just a few of the foods that are commonly used to dye egg shells. The best part is that if you keep them refrigerated, your kids can eat them without the worry of toxic dye’s leaching through the shell.

Instructions:

1. Place a quart of water (4 cups) into a saucepan.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.

3. Bring the water and vinegar to a boil.

4. Reduce the heat to simmering and add one of the following foods depending on the color desired:

Red: 4 cups onion skin or beets

Yellow: 3 Tablespoons turmeric (find it in spice isle) or 1 whole pomegranate chopped

Brown: 4 Tablespoons coffee grinds

Blue: 4 cups of cabbage

Lavender: 2 cups of blackberries

Simmer the natural food dye for 30 minutes and strain the food out. If the food isn’t strained, it creates splotches on the egg. If you like the marbled splotches, there is no need to strain it.

5. Place the eggs in the food dye and simmer for 30 minutes, or soak them overnight at room temperature. Soaking them overnight reduces the chance of the shells cracking from boiling and it also gives the eggs a rich, deep color.

Have you tried this before? Please share any tips if you have or any other food suggestion that would make pretty colors for the Easter Eggs. Happy Hunting!

Don’t forget to save your egg carton! You can organize small objects, such as buttons, pins, change, or beads. Or, plant some seeds with your kids and watch them grow. Cartons are always great to have on hand for crafts.

Red Rose Tea Review

Red Rose Tea comes in a little squirt bottle. Each bottle makes 24 servings. You can mix different cocktails using Red Rose Real Tea. It is just as good mix as it is just to enhance your water. It is handy to carry anywhere you go. Small enough to fit in your purse or on your car. Save money by getting water at restaurants and using this to make your own tea.

This tea tastes just like fresh brewed in your home.  Many teas I have found to have a tangy taste to them or even almost a lemon taste even if it does not have lemon added.  This tea is great and refreshing.  I really enjoyed it and will continue using it.  Their are other flavors but the Black Tea is my favorite.

Check out their Facebook Page!

I received a sample of this product in return for my honest opinion.

Cup cakes

I went to Target yesterday for my annual "pre-Easter comparing prices" trip.  I like to go into the stores to see what they have and see what the prices are.  Plus taking the kids it gives me an idea of the things they would like to see in their baskets.  Strolling around I seen this, and while it is not Easter yet and I normally refuse to buy anything till closer to time, I got it.  

Now I had to fight the kids off all night and all morning to keep them away from it and to wait till we got the kitchen clean and some laundry done.

The directions are very simple and on the back of the box that it all came in.  All supplies were included except; butter, milk, and water.  Very easy for the kids to follow the directions and to make themselves.  Then they got to decorate which was their favorite part.

Now we can't forget the most exciting part of the trip...

It can't get much better than a chunk of chocolate the same size as your 2 month old son!  Pretty sure he was drooling at the though of it...to bad he has to wait a few more years to get something like this!

Coming Back

Two years ago I left the beautiful town of Savannah. I have finally made my way back almost exactly two years forward. Some of my stuff I had left here in storage thinking I would never see it again. First thing I pull out is my trusty Mr. Calendar. This old thing was used everyday teaching my girls the days of the week and the months, all while Micah threw things at us through the door of our school room. Now Micah will get to sit with us and learn it too. Then eventually Syler will be throwing stuff at us while we learn.

I love my family and I love having my kids home where I know they are safe from the outside. I love that all my children learn different and at different speeds and they can continue at their own pace without being forced to go at someone else's pace.

If they need to stop for a drink they can do so without having to beg a teacher or walk down a long hall to get to it. 

If we need a mental break to revamp our minds we can take it and only be a step away from being back at work.

Most specially is we can have random learning experiences to interrupt our day and teach us about how a refrigerator works and how you repair one. Is that a better skill that you will use in the real world vs making sure your letters are written the perfect size and placement?

Plus what is better than telling your child that asks about a brick school what it is like and seeing this face!!

Homeschooling rocks!!

Egglo Entertainment Review

Vendor: Egglo Entertainment

Products: Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs

The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure

Price:

               *Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs ($11.99)

               *The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure ($12.99)

               *The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure (book audio                              download) ($2.99)

               *Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls ($4.29)

               *The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure Program Guide                           ($14.99)

Age: Any age but ideal age is 4-13

Egglo Eggs were very fun to review for our family.  Our family generally does not make a big deal out of Easter as a festive holiday like most.  We do the fun part of coloring eggs but it is generally geared to teaching about mixing colors.  We do talk about the reason for the resurrection instead. When we do our egg hunt it is a quick 5-10 minute game and it is over.  So when I was given the chance to review this product I was so happy.  I never knew something like this existed!  Now I can join the typical festivities of Easter but doing it all with the focus of Jesus!  It doesn't get much better than that does it?

These plastic eggs glow in the dark to allow even more fun of doing this in the dark.  It was still cold when we did this so we hid them in the house.  The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure Program Guide is also included which helps you prepare a fun time with your children or even for your church group.  The program guide gives devotionals, snack ideas, and review questions for the older kids. The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book and audio down load is a great addition adding a nice adventure to the idea of the eggs.

So upon starting this the guide gave us different areas in the Bible that we could read the story of the resurrection. We started out doing this so the kids got the true story straight from the Bible.  My kids are 9, 7, and 5 so some of it was a bit harder to grasp in order to be able to answer the review questions but my 9 year old did pretty good with some of them.  Then we went on to read The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book along with the audio download to listen to while we flipped through the pages. It is also nice when mama doesn't have to do all the reading for something we do with all the kids. 

The book is about the adventure that Pascal, Hardy, and Anastasia went on through time travel.  On this travel they find glowing eggs with scrolls in them with thing in them to teach the children about God's will.

When it came time to use the eggs I filled each one with a scroll and let them set under the light all day.  There are 12 eggs and they are blue, green, yellow, and pink.  Then when it was dark I was able to turn the lights off in the house and hide them about.  The only issue I had was that maybe I should have charged them in the sunlight instead of a lamp because they did not get very bright for me.  This made it a bit harder to find them.  

Also only 12 per package and 3 kids made for a very quick hunt.  I will be using these again come Easter time though.  I think it would be neat to mix in regular Easter eggs and then it would be extra special to find the glowing ones.  Almost like finding a gift straight from God. The kids are pretty excited about using them again.

Once we were done with our hunt we turned the lights on and read the scrolls. Each prompted a conversation on what each one meant.  What a great way to enjoy fun on Easter but still keeping it all about Jesus and what he is all about.  I think this would allow more families to enjoy this day with their kids as well as churches.  So many churches do huge hunts that adding this in would make for a better teaching time.

Be sure to check them out on their other sites.

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/eggloeggs/egglo-easter-egg-hunts-about-jesus/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EggloEggs
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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EggloEggs
Google +: https://plus.google.com/113761975581466698158 

ScienceandMath.com Review

Vendor: ScienceAndMath.com

Product: Amazing Science, Volume 1

Price: Download $14.99 DVD $17.95 Age: Grades 1-3 I loved reviewing Amazing Science I think as much as my kids. First of all check out the preview of it below.

Amazing Science is a 2 DVD set.  Between the 2 DVD's there are 23 different science experiments. All the experiments are very easy to understand for this age group.  Most of the things needed for the experiments are things your probably already have on hand, if not they are super easy to obtain (no off the wall ingredients).

Some of the things that Amazing Science covers are heat, electricity, magnetism, chemistry, and physics.  These experiments are also good for kids a little older or younger than the recommended age.  

There are several different camera angles taken during the experiments.  This helps you feel like you are right there watching in person.  It also allows you to fully see what is going on during it as well.

The first science experiment we did was of course the color changing milk.  Since I had everything handy; milk, food color, dish soap, plate, and cotton swab.

Holding a 2 month old and keeping the 5 year old from getting food coloring all over the floor I was unable to take any pictures myself.  However the kids LOVED this.  My 7 year old loves tie dye so she was in heaven making all the colors mix and explode. It is always great when you are able to make learning so much fun that they beg to do it all day.

The guy in the DVD is Jason, he speaks clearly and loudly so everything is easy to hear.  He uses words that are easy to understand for younger kids.  This was nice as some of the things I was unsure of why it worked myself.  I am glad it not only showed the experiment but also told why it worked.  Also I liked the list that popped up on the materials that you need when the experiment stops.  We paused it and obtained what we needed and continued.

We do science about 3 times a week. So we watched a few experiments each day.  Each one is only about 10-15 minutes long on the DVD so it did not get to boring for the young minds.  We tried a few out on the ones we had things for, but it was nice still learning about the others even though we didn't have the supplies for them.

The kids thought it was awesome to see all the cool things that you can do with things around the house.  Although  now I have to guard the milk as it was their favorite.  It also prompted them to think about what other things they could use and if it would do the same thing or not.  So we tried baby oil and it did not work.  It was nice to see their minds thinking beyond what was given to them in the DVD.

The only think that could have made this better would be to have a pre-printed list of supplies in the DVD sleeve so that we would know what to have before watching it. 

I suggest you go check them out for some fun and easy science.

You can also get free science and math videos in your email by signing up on their website, ScienceAndMath.com  

Check them out on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ScienceAndMath.com

Macy's Spin and Win (Daily try)

Sadly I did not win today, however you might!  

Head on over to Macy's Spin and Win and try 

your hand out in the 5 chances to win a prize 

from Macy's.  Remember you can do this 

everyday not just today!

Free Krispy Kreme Doughnut

It doesn't get much better than this. Go into Krispy Kreme today and get a free glazed doughnut to celebrate having to get up an hour earlier.  As if we need an excuse to get one of their yummy creations.  Go get it while its hot!

Georgia

I thought a picture post of our new life in Georgia would be fun.

Kailea is a great big sister! Syler loves her so much.

Micah tried so hard to love on him but he can't handle being still that long and begs me to take him back.

Just chilling,

My sleeping beauty.

I think big foot was at the beach.

Micah enjoying the hot tub. He thinks the pool is to cold.

Back to Georgia

After a long two years (almost) I made my way back to GA. I missed the beach and the homeschool community so much. Though I am still worried about making it with cost of living being triple what it is on Arkansas. I know God made me a way here and he will take care of me. 

Can't wait for more adventures in the sand! The kids found sand dollars this week so we looked up information on them. It was very interesting to see a larva of one. They are not something that seems like a true 'animal of the sea' as when you find them washed up they are nothing but a limitless stone.

Baby wearing on the beach will be my new look. Lol Syler loved the sun, he loves water and he will be old enough I hope before summer is over to be able to play in the shallow as the water washes up the shore. The kids have already been begging to swim but it's still a buy cold and we have had lots of rain. So we got a hotel with a pool for now. 

I think we have found a house! We will find out this weekend I hope. Funny thing is it is only a few blocks down the same street I lived on before. It's a good area and super close to both malls, and everyday shopping. I also know all the residential roads so I never have to drive on the main road in traffic just to go to the store. There is also an extra den I can  make into a school room. The bad part is deposits and all will tap me out so I won't be able to afford to go back to Arkansas for awhile to get my stuff out of storage. This will suck as we have no furniture. Hope I can find a cheap air mattress lol.