Mom, I'm bored!

School is out!  How long until you hear, "Mom, I'm bored"?  Time will tell, but be prepared when that time comes sooner than you thought.   Recently I asked my kids what are some things they would like to do at home this summer that we don't get to do very often.  I wrote down everything they said!  And then later I looked under the beds and in closets for all those toys that need time to put together or don't get played with very often.  I wrote down everything I saw that I know they like but don't play with during the average week.

I then took ALL of the ideas and wrote them on strips of paper and put them in a jar.  Its the official "I'm bored" jar of summer 2010 and I am hoping it works.  Most are activities we can do at home with what we have.

Here are some things in our jar to get your own ideas going:

• Make a movie ( I will gladly turn the camcorder over to them for a few moments of peace)
• Watch old home movies
• Paint
• Make a dessert
• Board games ( I have several listed by name in the jar)
• Puzzles
• Card games
• Train track 
• Water Bombs
• Sidewalk paint and chalk
• Legos ( I have every building set we own named in that jar!)
• Write letters to friends and family
• Trip to cash in our coins ( Coinstar followed by bank)
• Art photography ( take pics of art from last school year)
• Set up play tents
• Art projects
• Many  more but you get the idea, I did name toys and games specifically because we all know "Go play" does not work.....

I would love to hear your ideas too!

Easy Recipe: Mexican Pork

Use this delicious pork meat for nachos, tacos, burritos,on a bun, and so much more!

1 boneless pork shoulder roast
1 can Rotel undrained
1/4 cup chili powder
3 T minced garlic
2 T lime juice
2 T honey
1 T chopped and seeded jalapenos ( I just tossed a few picked jalapenos in there instead)
1 tsp salt

Cut roast in half and place in a slow cooker on low.

In a blender, combine the Rotel, chili powder, garlic, lime juice, honey, jalapeno and salt.  Pour over pork and cook on low for 8 -10 hours.

Shred the pork with 2 forks and leave it in the cooking liquid until ready to serve.  Place the meat in tortillas or use however you like.  This is a mild spicy meat, my kids like it!

Summer Entertaining Tip

http://img4.realsimple.com/images/0904/decorative-glasses_300.jpg

Here is a great idea from  RealSimple.com!!  Repurpose those removable gel window decals for markers for your drinking glasses or just to suit your party theme.  Prettier than red plastic cups with names written with a sharpie, although this is a must with a big crowd!  I have spotted these window decals for every holiday in both Wal-mart and Target.

Have fun with this idea!

 Real Simple has a neat magazine too!

Spring Cleaning

I admire those who have a list of seasonal cleaning to do and hop to it the first day of Spring.  I am not one of those people!  But here are some things that do need to be cleaned so why not do it in Spring!

Clean the inside and outside of all your indoor trashcans, they can get icky!!

Vacuum your mattresses and flip them for even wear.  You can sprinkle them with backing soda before vacuuming to freshen up.

Wash all the bedding you can:  comforters, pillow, shams, dust ruffles, blankets.

Clean all your overhead lighting.  Ceiling fan blades can grow fuzz and other light fixtures can become an insect graveyard and very dusty.

Clean your coffee maker- this needs to be done more than once a year.  Follow the directions for your  model.  Don't worry if you can't find the owner's manual, Google the brand and model info and you can find it online.

Clean refrigerator coils for optimum performance.

Vacuum out the inside of the closet or area that houses your heating system.  Lots of extra dust in this area!

Vacuum the books on your bookshelves.  We often dust the shelves, but the tops of the book sitting on the shelves often gets neglected.

Okay, that is enough cleaning talk for now, I've made myself tired!