Science Fun!

Here's a picture of one of my friends holding Max as he looks at one of the demonstrations at Jack's 5th birthday party last weekend. The theme: SCIENCE!

It was a hit and so easy to do at home! Here's what you need....

1 clear plastic 16 oz soda bottle


1 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide


1 tablespoon dishwashing soap


1 tablespoon yeast (1 package)


3 tablespoons warm water


1 foil tray (at least 3" tall)





Pour the hydrogen peroxide in the bottle with a funnel. Add dishwashing soap (we used Ajax). Place the bottle into the empty foil tray. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, and pour this mixture into the soda bottle. Stand back and watch it foam!





You can also add food coloring to make this extra special!

Saving money with couponing!

I've been having a ball lately shaving our monthly budget. I started cutting coupons last summer and have cut our monthly bills in half! For our family of seven and 2 cats, our monthly budget for food, OTC medicines, paper goods, cleaning products, pet food and beverages was between $800 and $900 per month! Since I've discovered couponing, our bills range between $400 and $500 a month. Our shelves are stacked and we donate 7-10 bags of food every month to the local food pantry. I can't even begin to tell you how good this makes us feel. And we're eating better than ever!

Want to know more? Just ask :)

Here's a great recipe for gluten-free banana bread (it's in the oven as I type this). Adapted from Fannie Farmer, it's also low-fat!

GF Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas, well mashed
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour blend, see below
2 tsps xantham gum
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts, optional

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a loaf pan. Mix the bananas and eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Add the walnuts and blend. Put the batter in the pan and bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan to a rack.

Flour blend
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato or corn starch
1 cup tapioca starch

Saturday

I'm learning a little bit about how to post to the blog. It's a typical busy Saturday around here, but I'm taking some time to myself. My DH has been working nearly 12/7 for the past few weeks, so I'm due for a break!

A little bit about our family. We have five fabulous kids. Our oldest son is 12, the girls are 10 and 7, and the little boys are 4 and 16 months. It's never quiet around our house!

Our oldest is mostly homeschooled (goes to public for gym and computer lab). Our girls are in public schools and our 4 yo is in a Christian preschool. We are a faithful Catholic family.

My DH and I are both electrical engineers. We met while in graduate school and both have Master's. We left grad school without PhD's, and both complete all requirements except the thesis for those degrees. I stopped working for the corporate world when my oldest was born and have been home ever since.

We have some dietary restrictions in our home. Two boys and I are lactose intolerant, and the baby is gluten intolerant. Since I'm still nursing, I'm gluten-free as well. I'm always looking for interesting recipes that are gluten and/or dairy free.

My first entry!

ok, I've finally joined the ranks of blogging moms. I'm not sure what this blog will include, but I'm sure I'll have fun creating it!