Bumble Uses the Computer

 Bumble learned to use the computer soon after she turned three.  One website that helped her learn to use a mouse was the educational children's site www.starfall.com. If you have preschool children this is an excellent website to also teach them letters and how to read.  Now lets see what you can do on this site with your child? Lets learn letters and the sounds they make. For those of you that don't know this is the letter B...

 

 

Hmmm. I wonder why I chose to show you the letter B?

After your child masters letters and phonics they can read simple stories on the site.  Here Bumble is about to read a story.

 The website also has games to reinforce what they just learned.

Does you child need to practice writing letters?  Under the parent and teacher pages they have worksheets available to print. Here Princess Bumble is working on letter C.  "C" is for crown!

 

Let's take a peek over her shoulder.  Not bad for a three year old.  She has two more years to work on them before Kindergarten starts.

Now here comes the most exciting news. This website is FREE!  So why not try out www.starfall.com today?  You and your child will B glad you did!

 

Bumble the Butterfly

Let's reminisce again.  It is a warm sunny day on the Bee's front porch. The flowers are in bloom and the Bees are buzzing outside the hive.     

  

Here is the sandbox that sits on the front porch. 

  

 

 

 Here is the lid.

 

 

 

 

  Here is what Bumble thought of to do with the lid...

 

Can you guess what she is?  A butterfly.  Here she is flying around...

 

 

 

 She had to stop for a drink of nectar.  Do butterflies drink nectar?  Well, this one does.

 

Butterfly tired.

 

 

Once again our reminiscing must end.  I sure do miss summer.   Winter butter-fly by quickly!

Honey Plays with Fire

Honey has done a lot of clearing at the home of our future hive.  

 He had made quite a large brush pile.

 

 

Honey decided it was time to burn the brush pile.
 

 

So he lit a match and watched all his hard work go up in smoke.

Don't worry. Queen Bee called the fire department and notified them that a Bee was about to start a fire.

 

When the pile was finished burning Honey put the fire out and returned home.

I asked Honey when he got home if he was finished with all the clearing that needed to be done. He said there is more brush and trees that need to be cleared where our sandmound will go.  That stinks! By the way if anyone knows of someone that could use some firewood let me know!
 

The Bees Go To Christmas Candylane

The Bees traveled outside the hive recently and went to Christmas Candylane at Hershey Park.  It was open from 5:00pm-9:000pm the particular day we went so things went a little differently then they did when we would go to the park in the summer.  Since we left in the afternoon, Bumble and Stinger napped on the way there.  This was quite nice!

 

                            

 

 When we arrived it was already dark. They had the park decorated for Christmas with lots of lights...
 

  

 

They had what looked like Japanese lanterns on some trees. These were my favorite. They were beautiful.

 

Only the kiddie rides were open so I didn't have to stress about Bumble riding any "big" rides.  She did ride lots of the kiddie rides.  Of course I had to take a picture of this one.

 

Here is a Bee riding in a bee.

Here is a Bee riding a horse...

 

 

and in a rocket.

 

 Yes, I took Stinger.  He enjoyed the evening and liked looking at all the lights.  Unfortunately, I bundled him up so much he could hardly walk.  

 

 

Somewhere in this snowsuit is my boy.  I promise the other side of him had an opening so he could breathe.  All in all the Bee family enjoyed Christmas Candylane.  The best part was that the price of admission was included with our season passes.  Queen Bee likes free"bees".

A Message From Deer

 

 

 

Paul Overstreet, "Merry Christmas, Mary"

Well, it is after Thanksgiving so I guess that means it is also time for Christmas songs. Here is one of my favorites from Paul Overstreet, "Merry Christmas, Mary".

 

The Bees Crawl Behind the Couch

Bumble and Stinger like to crawl behind our couch. Stinger crawls behind it first and Bumble chases him. If you look closely you can see Bumble behind Stinger in this picture.

 

Sometime I push back the couch a little bit when I clean and forget to pull it out so they have room to squeeze through.  The next day I'll hear Stinger behind the couch complaining. That is his way of telling me he is stuck!

 

Honey thinks this is fun too!

 

 

I guess you could say our hive has a crawlspace!

 

Bumble Makes Carrots

Bumble is a lot like her daddy in so many ways, but when I saw her making these the other day I had to smile.  

 

 

She does have a creative side like her mama.

 

She came up with the idea to make carrots all by herself. 

 

What makes this even sweeter is that she is dressed as a princess!

Princess Bumble, I love your play-doh carrots.  Do you care-ot if I make some with you? 

The Bees Are Thankful

Here are some words from the song, "Thank You Lord, For Your Blessings On Me," sung by the Easter Brothers.

There's a roof up above me
I've a good place to sleep
There's food on my table
And shoes on my feet
You gave me your love Lord
And a fine family
Thank you Lord, for your blessings on me

Happy Thanksgiving from the Bee Family!

Queen Bee Is Thankful for Food

If you are going to Weis Markets this week please check the store flyer and coupons for deals as there are too many to list in this post.   At www.kelloggsfamilyrewards.com there are Cheez-It cracker coupons.  They are on sale for 2 for $5.00.  Each coupon is for $0.70 off of one which will double to $1.40 off each box.   

 

The total shelf price of these 4 boxes was $17.36. After sale and coupons these 4 boxes cost me $4.40.  One of these boxes is headed to our church nursery where Bumble and Stinger are known to consume large quantities of snacks. 

 

Not impressed yet? How about cereal?  If you use the coupon in the store flyer you can get selected General Mills cereals for 4 for $8.00 this week.  Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch are included in this sale.  Each have coupons available at www.coupons.com and www.bettycrocker.com.  Some are for $.50 off a box and some for $0.60 off a box. Of course both coupons will double. 

 

If you can use four coupons of $0.60 off of one box the total cereals above will cost you $3.20 or $0.80 a box.  If I would have paid shelf price they would be $16.76 for all 4! Please never pay that much for cereal!  Again Cheerios make a great snack for church.  No wonder my children are never hungry for lunch on Sunday! 

And yes, I did buy a turkey. There are incredibly cheap so I couldn't resist.  He is currently in the freezer.  I am not sure when I will cook him but I will let you know when I do.  The first time I cooked a turkey I called my mom for instructions on what to do and we laughed for about 20 minutes! You want me to reach in where and pull out what?!?!

What Happened To Buzz? Update

So what happened to Buzz?  For those of you that forgot, Buzz was our pet caterpillar that turned himself into a chrysalis.

I am sad to say nothing happened to Buzz.   He is still a chrysalis. He is hanging on by a thread.  I think he might soon be a dead chrysalis or already is one.  He should have came out by now. Right? How long should I wait?  I think I should take him to the vet.  He may need open chrysalis surgery.        

Queen Bee's Relaxing Run

 A couple days a week I like to put on my running shoes and go for a run.  I like to run alone. Just me and the road.  It helps clear my mind and no one comes and asks me for a snack, a drink, or to play with them!  It is usually my only "me" time and it is very relaxing.  When I come back I feel refreshed and ready for anything, or so I thought. Did I mention Honey watches the kids while I run? Here is what I came home to the other day...

 

  

 

The next time I run I hope it will still be refreshing and relaxing.  In the back of my mind I will know that this is going on at home.  Thanks Honey for watching the kids!

Johnny Cash "Thanksgiving Prayer"

This was a song Johnny Cash sang on the show "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman." It's called "Thanksgiving Prayer."

 

 

Last Minute Deals at Weis

I am late again with my couponing post this week.  Queen Bee will try to do better!  I was finally able to leave the hive last evening to pick up some great deals. These deals end tonight at midnight.

Crackers anyone?

 You will find wonderful cracker coupons at www.kelloggsfamilyrewards.com.  Weis has a sale this week on Keebler crackers. They are on sale for 4 for $8.00 with a coupon from the flyer.  When you combine this with the coupons from Kelloggs you can get some cheap crackers.  There is a $0.70 off of 1 box of Townhouse Flatbread crackers which will double to $1.40. If you have access to two computers you can do the following...
4 boxes of Town House Flatbread Crackers = $8.00 with coupon in Weis flyer
                                                         -1.40x4= -$5.60
                                                                      = $2.40 for 4 boxes of crackers.
That's $0.60 cents a box!
If you only have access to one computer use 2 of the above coupons with a $1.00 off of 2 boxes at the same site and you total will be $4.20. That's $1.05 a box!


Cookies anyone?

Also at www.kelloggsfamilyrewards.com you will find Keebler cookie coupons.  They are on sale this week for 3 for $6.00. You must buy 3 to get the sale price.  If you have access to 2 computers you can print the $1.00 off of 1 Keebler cookies three times. Here is how it will ring up...
3 packages of Keebler Cookies= $6.00
                                                  - $3.00 in coupons
                                                  =$3.00 for three packages of cookies

If you only have access to one computer use 2 coupons and your total bill will be $4.00.

I am glad I made a special trip just to get the above items.  Honey will be home for 6 days over Thanksgiving and I need some snacks in the house.  If Honey is happy we will all be thankful!  

The Bees Like Sweet Potato Fries

I have decided to try to cook a little healthier.  Yes that was a serious statement. On a recent visit to our local library I checked out a cookbook published by the television show The Biggest Loser.  This was one of the recipes that I decided to try.  It was a winner.  Here is the recipe for Parmesan-Pepper Sweet Potato Fries. 

 

First you will need to buy some of these.  Don't these potatoes look sweet! This recipe calls for 1/2 pound of sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into strips.  This is what 2 lbs of sweet potatoes look like.

 

 

Now for the rest of the ingredients...

 

 

 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

salt to taste

pinch of pepper

 

This recipe serves 2 so if you are cooking for more please double recipe. 

 

First peel the sweet potato.

 

Then cut the potato into strips. 

 

Then drizzle the olive oil over the strips.  If you are not on a diet drizzle a little more than the recipe says. They will get crispier that way. If you are on a diet forget that I ever told you that!

 

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.  Again if you are not on a diet add a little more Parmesan cheese than the recipe states. Also if you are sure your Honey loves you unconditionally you may want to entertain the idea of adding more garlic.  Again, if you are not sure please forget I ever told you that!

 

 

Now coat the fries with the mixture.

 

Put the fries on a baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  If you like them crispier bake a little longer.  Here are the finished fries.

These are quite tasty.  Bumble and Stinger love these.  I think Honey loves them as well but he drenches them in ketchup so I don't know if he really tasted them.  And yes, I add more garlic to these! My Honey loves me!