April Fools !

April Fools Day is this Sunday !  
For the past couple of years we've been having so much fun with pranks and a special April Fools meal : )
One year while looking thru past Family Fun Magazines I came up with the idea of having a special dinner of April Fool foods.
We had Meatloaf cake complete with mashed potato frosting and decorated with carrot flowers on green bean stems. An egg for dessert (canned peach halve surrounded by whipped cream). The kids absolutely loved it ! I look forward to the treat this weekend.

Read "April Foolishness" by Teresa Bateman for a fun rhyming April Fools story !
 

Spring has Sprung !

Spring has finally sprung ! All around you can see the bright blooming trees bursting with color ! With the mild Winter we seem to have started Spring a wee bit early. I hope the warmer temperatures continue so the blooms stay out in full force.
 
The kids and I have started our Spring cleaning.....dividing the clothes and bringing them to Rappahannock Refuse Center. They've got a shed set up with tables and built in shelves to place things you no longer need in hopes that another person will find them a treasure : ) Also finding homes for much of the items on our local FreeCycle.  I also received an announcement from Kids Haven Consignment that they are getting ready for their Spring Sale. This gives the kids a chance to go thru the books, videos and dvd's they no longer want.

This morning I saw perhaps an old friend or a family friend. A phoebe bird that has built its nest up on a corner gutter drain. Each year it returns and fixes it's nest up. Last year something was able to knock the nest down and we found parts of it in the driveway.  This year one of them has returned and re-building the nest ! 

Read the book "Are You My Mother" and do these fun crafts : )

Spread some peanutbutter on a pinecone and then roll it in birdseed and hang it outside from a tree branch.
Help the mother bird build a nest by putting some short lengths of string, hair clippings, etc outside for the mama bird to find.
As you are planting your flower seeds from the pretty small envelopes, consider keeping these envelopes and making a birdhouse out of them. Either glue the edges together or use a small hole puncher and punch a few holes down the sides and thread the envelopes together with pretty yarn.
 

Getting back to blogging

I'm getting back on the blogging in these coming days. It's been a while and there's really no excuse. I hope to start another blog in the way of living in these hard times and still having fun staying at home or out free places or very inexpensive !