End of Summer Fun

Well here it is the end of the summer and we are almost out of fun water toys.  I know everyone has probably seen these around the internet this summer as they seem to be pretty popular.  I first ripped this out of the magazine Family Fun, but it is also ALL over Pinterest (if you are not on, you need to be).

Anyway... today was a nice, crazy humid, overcast Georgia day perfect for hitting the pool for a few hours.  Perfect because I wouldn't scorch to death and it would give us a much needed break from potty training.  Prior to going, LM and I made a few of these.  They are super easy!

Supplies- 3-4 sponges, dental floss or any other strong thread or string and scissors

• Take your sponges and cut into strips- I cut into four strips but you can do five if you want.

You can see I had a little helper in this picture.

• Stack them on top of each other and tie with string- I don't have a picture of this as someone was grabbing at the strips to practice counting and colors so I had to act fast.
• Double tie the string to make sure it is as tight as you can get it!
• Go play and have some fun!

The best thing about these (besides being cool and fun to play with) is that you can just throw them in the dishwasher when they get nasty!!!

Now go out and have some fun with your little ones!

I am linking to Skip to my Lou
and Bear Rabbit Bear

MIA and Pickles

Well I have been a bit MIA lately.  We had a bit of sickness in our extended family (all is ok now) and then went on vacation.  I am swamped at work now (summer and fall are my busy seasons) but I have been able to do a bit around the house and managed to document making some pickles!  I am sorry for the crappy pictures- no excuse today for it!

Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles

1) Clean and sterilize your jars and lids- I don't have a picture of this step because as I was finishing up the thought hit me that I should post this on the blog... sorry about that!

2) Cut up your pickling cucumbers and lay them on a double layer of paper towel and sprinkle with pickling salt.   Regular salt will cause the cucumbers to discolor. Let them sit for about 20 minutes or so.

3) In the meantime, place your vinegar, sugar, pickling spices and pepper flakes in a pan.  Bring to a boil and then a quick simmer for about 20 minutes.  I tied mine up in a piece of cheese cloth.

4) Additionally, place your lids in simmering water so they stay hot.  Your bands can hang out to the side.

5)Cut your onion in this slices and set aside.

6) When your vinegar mixture is ready, take your hot jars, pace your cucumbers in with a few slices on onion, a hot pepper and a pinch of pickling crisp.  Pickling crisp helps to keep your pickles crisp - duh :)

7) Leaving about a 1/2 inch head space ladle in your vinegar mixture.  Use this handy dandy tool to get rid of any air bubbles and to measure your head space.  Head space is very important because as things expand and contract in canning, you want to make sure you always have room.  Check your recipe to see how much head space you should have.

8) Wipe the top of the jar with a moist rag to ensure a good seal.  Put on the lid and screw on the band.  Leave on your counter until cool then put in to fridge.  Wait a few days for the cucumbers to "pickle" then eat within the next few months.  These must be kept in the refrigerator as they have not been properly processed and could grow all kinds of things that might upset your tummy.

A few hints and tips-
Pickleing crips really helps, but not biggie if you can't find any- I got mine at Wally World
Keep everything (jars, lids and liquid) crazy hot!
Try and slice your cucumbers in 1/4 inch slices
Use only pickling cucumbers and make sure to scrub any waxy substance off if you get them from a store
Wipe the top of the jars off so you get a good seal!
Make sure to use vinegar with at least a 5% acity.  It will read like this fancy lable

That is it... leave a comment if you have any questions!  I have peaches to do next!
I am linking to Skip to my Lou...

Potty! and Strawberries!

It was a BIG day here in our house today! LM and I were hacking around in the morning and all of the sudden, he looked at me and said, "Potty NOW", so off we went. He sat there for hours- so long that I had to get some new books for his book basket as per his request.

Finally, we got our pee!

After a phone call to TH to celebrate with a round of pee, pee in the potty (if you don't know the song, I am sure you can imagine it), we got dressed for the day and loaded up in Mama's Truck, to go pick some strawberries.

I can't tell you how unbelievably well behaved my son was. It must be in his blood to pick strawberries. My Mother took us kids (5 of us plus what ever neighborhood kids were around) to go picking every year. We would spend hours picking flats of strawberries to make into jam for eating throughout the year and for giving as gifts. Such a simple thing, but I have been excited about passing this tradition onto my son. He stayed near me as I picked like crazy thinking I was on limited time. He spent his time helping me pick the red ones and pointing out the no-no ones (green or rotten). As I left each bucket or flat behind, he got concerned about it and would go back to check on it. He also would drag the small backpack along the ground to me. (Yes, I now use a small backpack as a diaper bad so my son can wear it and carry it around like a Sherpa.)

 Also it helped that Mama let him eat as many strawberries as he wanted. A wonderful time was had by all and I now have new memories in my memory bank.  Especially this one!