I Beat Someone Famous! ~~Ms. Cellaneous

Back in May of 2008, I published some silly pictures on www.youpublish.com just for fun...

A few days ago, someone famous was eating raisin bran and was impressed with the size of one of the flakes. He decided to blog about it. He also surfed the web to see if there was any sort of world record for the size of a bran flake. In his searching, he found my picture of the World's Largest Bran Flake and included my link in his blog post.

This resulted in thousands of people going over to view my World's Largest Bran Flake picture. It is now the most viewed publication on that site. It also comes up as number one in google search rankings.

Pretty funny, huh?

Who is the famous person? His name is Jorge Garcia. Do you know (without looking him up on the web) what he is famous for? I had no idea until my Dad informed me last night via email.

{I could include a picture of the now famous flake here, but I am not going to. !cheesy grin! This way, you get to click on the link to see it and I get even more views. You'll be so impressed, you will want to let all your friends know about it too. heh, heh, heh.}

If at First You Don't Succeed...Try an Alternative (Mama Rika)

Feeling stressed and overwhelmed, I didn't answer Princess in a very nice manner when she asked if she could do something. I told her, "No. And I don't want to hear any whining or bugging me about it."


Surprisingly her reception of my comments seemd rather compliant. That is until she turned back around with a grin and asked, "Well, can I bug Dad about it then?"

Mama Rika--Funny Stuff

This is what happens to your face when you try to drink a smoothie that is realllllly thick, without using a straw!
This is what happens when there is a princess in the house...

This is what happens when the princess tries to gain converts.

This is what happens when one of your best buddies has a horse. (And it isn't funny, but it sure is cute.) ;)

Science Experiment Cleaning by Ms. Wise & Ms. Otherwise

You know that baking soda and vinegar experiment that all kids love to do? Well, guess what?! It can make cleaning fun! (Okay, maybe not fun, but at least more interesting!)

I have no idea why I didn't think about these things sooner. But I have now, and am happy about it. I have learned that just about anything can be cleaned with baking soda, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. These products have a LOT going for them.

• They are inexpensive.
• They are kid friendly. If the kids spray them on something they shouldn't, or forget to wash their hands after using, or leave it out and the baby gets into it...you have far less to worry about than with commercial cleaners. And, you can watch them foam!
• They are non toxic, and non smelly.
• You probably have them in your house right now.
• They work!

Here's a picture showing what I did with mine to make them very easy to use. The baking soda is in an old taco seasoning container. The lid can be removed completely, or you can open it partially and just shake out a little bit at a time. The vinegar is in a plain old spray bottle. I mixed the vinegar with a few drops of peppermint essential oil (see picture below). Doing this masks the vinegary smell when cleaning. The peroxide is in a non-clear container that squirts. (I read that light can cause hydrogen peroxide to change back into water.) Here are some things I have tried that definitely work.

• Sprinkle baking soda all over the bathtub. Spray vinegar all over the baking soda. When fizzing stops, scrub out the tub with a washrag. It got rid of soap scum and gunk quite nicely.
• Spray vinegar onto a folded paper towel. Wipe a mirror. Dry it with a second folded paper towel. Looks great--no streaks.
• Flush the toilet to coat the toilet bowl with water. Shake baking soda liberally into the bowl of the toilet. Scrub with toilet scrubber.
• Squirt peroxide onto bloodstains. It will fizz a bit. It removes the blood wonderfully well. It also works on grass and mud. Haven't figured out yet if it does strawberry stains and other things.
• Spray vinegar on your chrome faucets and wipe dry for a shiny look.
• Shake baking soda around faucets, spray vinegar onto the soda. Scrub with a toothbrush to remove gunk that starts to build around the faucet. Works decently. Fun to shake and spray.
• Use vinegar as kitchen counter spray.
• Did you cook all the water out and burn a pot? Baking soda works great!
• Use baking soda in place of scouring powder.

Some sites I visited said that peroxide was great for pet stains and other general cleaning, including using it in place of bleach. Here is an interesting site that lists all kinds of natural cleaners.

One reason I never made my own natural cleaners is that I just thought it was going to take too much effort. But, I would have to say that using these three items that I listed above, really can't get much simpler. I really love the idea of getting things clean and disinfected without the dangers and smells.

As far as the science experimenting goes, I am happy to hand a bottle of vinegar and a shaker of baking soda to one of my kids and saying, "have at it!" If they are feeling like making a large volcano, why not do it in the bathtub rather than outside and get my tub cleaned in the process?

You can use these products to help you accomplish more Spring Clean for 5 tasks!

Oh! And please feel free to share with me what else you have used these cleaners for!

Mama Rika Asks, "To Date, or Not to Date..."

Teenagers. I've written about them before. (See it here.) I have four teens. And, since I have four, a lot of things that go on around here involve them. I love hearing about their night's out. I love talking to them about their plans for the weekend.

We like to be creative. Creative costs less money. I like helping them brainstorm fun and silly ideas of things to do, or ways to ask someone out on a date. (Here are some of our ideas.)

Here is a recent event. Bub asked a cheerful chickadee to a formal dance by attaching a very large, long roll of paper with a message on it to the side of the girl's house. Under the sign was a silly little rhyme to ask her out. In return, the cheerful chickadee came to our house when Bub was gone for the evening and did this. (Yes, we knew she was coming.)

She had a little help from Nan. Those two giggled like crazy as they sprayed the confetti in every direction.
When Bub arrived home, he found the TP and a poetic note answering in the affirmative. His main concern was how in the world he was supposed to get to bed. Obviously, he made it. Getting back up in the morning, however, proved to be too much. (He was turning off the alarm on his phone and his eyes just didn't seem to be able to open.)
Okay, so that didn't really answer the question in the title, but oh well!

Share with us--what are some fun ways you have asked people out on dates? What have you done on a date that is totally a hoot, yet costs little to nothing?

What would a post be without a little friendly nagging to do your Spring Clean for 5?? Come on, now!

Mama Rika's Silly Kids

I came home last night to find our house rearranged and booby-trapped. Nanner, Bub and Sticky thought it would be a fun thing to do for April Fools day. There was scotch tape to try and trip me up before I even got into the house. I managed to avoid this because I saw it glisten from the light coming from the house. (Hubby on the other hand was caught unaware! lol)

Then, I opened the door to find this:

I then looked to the right and saw place settings on the coffe table, along with benches and kitchen chairs. You can also see Princess's little kitchen stove off to one side.And, you guessed it, the couch and family room chair were in the kitchen. No, I didn't take a picture of that one because my kitchen was also embarrassingly messy!!

As I went to my bedroom, I narrowly avoided being hit by a lightweight blow-up ball that had been precariously perched on the top of the partially open door. (Again, Hubby didn't fair so well. The unfortunate thing is that no one got to see it happen!)

Silly, silly kids!

Ancient Art with Ms. Wise & Ms. Otherwise

We studied ancient Greek myths. Here is what Princess came up with for a Medusa mask. She says even Medusa's eyelashes are snakes! Here I found these "ancient" hieroglyphs on Nan's wall. Isn't decorating fun?

How about these African designs made by Peanut from self-hardening clay? Know what they are?

Ear bobs! Or rather, ear rings, take your pick. Wouldn't those make "your ears hang low" and "wobble to and fro"!

It is always fun to see what the kids come up with for art projects. Often they come up with their own unique twist to things.

Fit for 5? Now is a good time!

Mama Rika's "Cleaning Game" Fun for All the Family

Tired of nagging? Want to do something a little different? I invented this fun game that the kids actually didn't complain about and it made a difference in the state of the house. I call it Out of Place Bingo.



To play, each person is given a Bingo sheet and a pen/pencil. When you say go, everyone goes around the house and finds the items that are mentioned on the sheet and put them away. As soon as you find an item and put it away in the proper place, you can put an X in that square. You can play it where you just have to do one line like Bingo, or do Blackout as well. Blackout means that the first person to X all the squares is the winner. The winner gets to pick the first slice of pie, or some other little treat or prize.



When we played, if you got a Bingo, you yelled it out so we could tell who was getting close to Blackout. It was fun to watch everyone scurrying about the house cleaning as fast as possible! I even had hubby cleaning. We'll definitely be playing this game again!



Here is a link to the Out of Place Bingo game sheets. {You can also find a lot of our other publications, like books, games, music, articles, etc.) on the same site. Look around, you might find something else of interest.} If some of the items on the game sheet are not applicable to your household, feel free to write in something that is! Let me know how it goes for you. And, if you have any great ideas on how to disguise the act of cleaning, please comment. I am always looking for such ideas!!

And, here is your daily nagging...Did you do your Fit for 5 yet today??

Check here for Talk about Tuesday tips on kid's chores.

Sport Maki Says, "What?! No Pinewood Derby?"

I can't believe it! For the first time in I think 10 years, we do not have a boy in Cub Scouts. When I heard the announcement for the upcoming Blue & Gold Banquet on the day it was happening, I wondered why I was only hearing about it on the day it was happening. Kevin reminded me that we wouldn't be attending this year, so why would we need to know about it? How weird!

Next came the Pinwood Derby announcements. While I am glad to miss the last minute frantic designing/cutting/painting of the car that Kevin and whatever boy/boys were doing it that year, I know they had fun together doing it.

Our "claim to fame" for our 4 boys was ever-trying-but-not-succeeding-at-winning-lots-of-races! We actually kind of made a joke out of it rather than get discouraged each year. Our final year (last year) Peanut had the cutest car ever. Here he is. His name is "Tuh".
He is "Mater's" cousin. (Familiar with the movie Cars?)

Tuh looked awesome, Peanut glad.

After a couple of losing rounds, a minor adjustment was made and Tuh started winning and winning. Too bad the first rounds counted, or he probably could have placed. Oh well, such is life.

In 7 years, Kevin & Chubby can have a go at Pinewood Derbying. Perhaps we can break our streak then. :)

Did you do your Fit for 5 yet today?

Mama Rika's Child Sits Like Only a Snake Could.

I threatened to take a picture and put it on my blog if he didn't straighten up. He straightened up, but not before big brother secretively took the pic below and sent it to me. LOL! He doesn't look very comfy, does he???

Fit for Five Minutes with Sport Maki

Welcome to the “Fit for Five Minutes” series! Through this series, I will give you an idea a day for half the days in March of things you can do to get yourself moving! Do them during commercials, just before lunch, while baby is asleep, whenever you can!!

When you have completed a Fit for 5 task, come back here and leave a comment for a chance to win a prize. To easily get back here, click on the drawing of the basketball guy on the sidebar. Read through the FAQ’s after the list of ideas to understand what this is all about. Here are all the ideas:

1. Jump rope or jump on the trampoline.
2. Turn on your favorite crazy song and focus on trying to wiggle every single part of your body at least once to the beat of the song. This means your head, hands, neck, toes, belly, arms, knees, behind, back, etc!
3. Jog in place.
4. Lay on floor with legs lifted slightly off the floor. Pick up something heavy (your baby, weights, books) and lift it up and down, up and down with your arms, straight into the air. You may pause after each minute to put your legs down for a sec if you need to.
5. Do as many sit-ups as you can in a row. Rest, do it again until your 5 minutes is up.
6. Jumping jacks.
7. While watching television, mimic the actions of the actors/actresses in the commercials in an over-exaggerated fashion.
8. Sing every children’s song you can think of that has actions to go with it.
I’m a Little Teapot
Once There was a Snowman
Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes (Do this one lots!)
The Hokey-Pokey
Do as I’m Doing
Little Bunny Foo-Foo (Have to jump like a bunny too!)
9. Dance around the kitchen (or wherever) with or without a partner.
10. Imagine a hopscotch game on your kitchen (or other room) floor and use it to get hopping. Or, make a real hopscotch game with sidewalk chalk outside and play it with your kids.
11. Toe touches & knee bends.
12. Lay on your side and lift your top leg slowly up and down, never letting it quite touch the bottom leg. Do 15 to 20 leg lifts before rolling over to the other side and doing leg lifts on that side. Keep repeating. For added difficulty, hold the bottom leg up a couple of inches off the floor.
13. Kegel exercise 8 different times for at least 30 seconds. {What's this? If you are a Mom, you probably know already. If you aren't, you probably don't really need to do this one. Email me if you still need/want an explanation because I couldn't find a good explanatory site to link to that I considered child friendly. ;)}
14. Play a quick game of chase with a child or other available, willing participant.
15. Your turn! You make up one and tell us what you did to get active for 5 minutes!

Why are you putting this on your blog? I thought of doing this mostly so that I can make myself do some of these things. By putting it on my blog, I give myself some accountability. Besides that, I thought someone else might want to join me in doing this. :)

What about accountability for CompleteLee Blog readers? Aha! Good question! My idea for you is this:
**Read over the ideas.
**Decide to do it.
**Do it. (Today, next week, whenever you plan it in)
**Report back here and leave a comment (or email me at http://www.blogger.com/blog@completelee.com) letting me know “I did it!” {You can tell me exactly what you did, or how much fun you had doing it if you want, or simply let me know, “Did #2”.}If you follow those steps, I will willingly lavish praise upon you as well as enter you in to a drawing to win one of these items: {If you win, you choose the item you want.}

~~My “He’s the One” CD (digital version or actual CD)
~~My “Out of the Mouths of Babes” book (digital version only)
~~One dozen cookies or one loaf of bread (continental U.S. only)
~~Three pieces of my “non-free” sheet music (digital copies)

Hmmm. Seems like I’ve seen that prize list before. Hey, now! That’s not quite true! I added something different this time—the funniest book I have ever read (or written). You’ll be hearing more about it soon! And, who knows, it may be only you and I that participate in this series. I am fine with that. I am hoping that the actual prize will be the fun of doing these things for someone, but I thought it would be fun to throw in a little prize for the thrill of it since it is always cool to win something. {If you have a prize you would like to donate to the cause, let me know!}

Can my name be entered more than once into the drawing? Absolutely! Every time you leave a comment letting me know you got one done, you are entered in to the drawing again.

How many times can I be entered in to the drawing? There are 15 days worth of ideas for you to do. You can do each thing once and receive 15 entries. Or you can pick and choose, repeating some and not doing others and get one done every day, thereby earning an entry every single day! If you really, really, really, really want to win a prize, you can also refer your friends and family members to this contest. If you can get them to leave a comment on my blog stating your name (or blog name) as the person who referred them, you will be entered in again!

Why 5 minutes? This is an easy question. I am busy! Anyone can find at least 5 minutes out of their day seems do-able. {"Am I right or am I right or am I right?" 1 bonus entry to the person who first correctly identifies either the character that said that, or the movie it came from.}

Any questions? Please ask away! This is going to be fun--Let's get moving!

Sport Maki's Baby's New Fashion

I, Chubby, found a new use for cones:

You put it on your head like this...

The side view is very appealing. Do you like my hat? (Go Dog Go! lovers would recognize that line.)

And, of course, my mother decided it would be a good idea to throw in this cute, yet random, camo boys picture.

Aaaaaw!

Ms. Wise and Ms. Otherwise Learn about the Haka Dance

The boys had an opportunity to get a little culture. They, along with several other teenage boys, learned the Haka dance from a Polynesian group. {What's Haka?} With minimal practice, they pulled off a very entertaining show complete with make-up and costume. Here is Sticky after the performance. I think he is ready to never don make-up again. And here you have Bub hamming it up for the camera (surprise, surprise). He really is a handsome kid--I swear it!

The video for your enjoyment:

A little loud. A little crazy. But definitely fun and entertaining. The boys loved doing it.

p.s. See other show and tells here.

Makiavelli's Latest "Stupid Shelf" Design--Monkey Madness!

I was going to post pictures from Christmas today, but the computer that has the pictures is gone. (Don't worry, it will be back.) Instead, you get the excitement of seeing my silly creativeness.

We took down all the Christmas decor today and the "Stupid Shelf" (Dust collector, whatever you want to call it) looked bare. I blogged a while ago about my stupid shelf and mentioned thinking about trading out the decor seasonally. I didn't have a lot of interesting stuff to put up there, so I had to get creative, thus the monkey madness. Monkeys in hats, monkeys in baskets. It works for us. Both Kevin and I love monkeys. Some of the monkeys are from my collection of stuffed monkeys from when I was a kid. The big purple one in the middle was a Valentines Day gift. He holds a sign that says "I love you". A couple monkeys are my children's.

And, in case you are wondering...No, I didn't paint that part of the wall yet. Maybe when I redecorate the next time!

Sport Maki Says Join the National Virtual Bowling League with Us!

Registration is now open for the National Virtual Bowling League which will begin the week of January 12, 2009.

What in the world is the National Virtual Bowling League??? No, it isn't bowling on the Wii. You can watch the video below to get a good explanation of how the NVBL works, but here's what happens in a nutshell:

1. Gather friends and head to the bowling alley
2. Each week, bowl the number of games for your division
3. Report scores each week on the website
4. Check the bowling website for weekly results.
5. Repeat weekly
6. See if you win



Who can join? Anyone! This fun competition is great for all ages and skill levels. NVBL can be a great family time as well.

Where is it? It is everywhere! It doesn't matter where in this beautiful world you live. As long as you can get to a bowling alley, you can join.

Where can I find out more? Find out more and register at www.completeleesports.com.

Ask Coach Kevin questions at bowling@completelee.com.

Mow-gLee's Fabulous, Funky, Free-stylin' Fruit!

So...It is late and I am tired, but I have to wait up for a teen. This means you get to see what happens when I get tired. I get a little loopy, silly, you name it. I just got pictures from our camera uploaded (downloaded, onto, transferred, whatever it is) to the computer and chuckled at the picture I took of these grapes.

Can you believe the size of that whopper of a grape?

Pretty silly to take a picture of, I know, but it goes well with our collection of unusual food pictures. I'm sure you'll want to check out this ginormous grapefruit as well.

If you are dieing (did I spell that right? It looks funny!) to see more unusual food, click here to view another silly post of mine.

Okay...that didn't take up enough time. She's still not home. (No, she's not in trouble. She's been babysitting.) Hmmmm...do I subject you to more of my silliness, or do I find something else to do.

Oh! I realize that Hubby should be home within about 10 minutes anyway, so if she isn't home by then, I am sure he'll be up for another hour anyway and he can wait up for her. (He's the night owl. I'd much rather play early bird although these late night make it hard for me to be one!)

Alrighty then, ta ta for now!

{Show and tell at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Canadagirl/ check it out.}

Mow-gLee Tells Our Top 10 Family Games the Whole Gang Can Play!

Need some ideas on what to give your favorite family for Christmas? Here’s what I think are our top 10 family games. I may have missed a good one or two. All these games can be adapted for tiny people to teens to grown-ups.

{A note on babies—sometimes ya gotta just try to keep them out of the game all together while pacifying them with something fun between two of the players. Occasionally you will get an older baby or toddler that will enjoy sitting in your lap and throwing the dice on your turn. It is surprising what they can be taught as they watch. You can try explaining some things to them, or give them a specific task. Don’t exclude them totally from family fun, but don’t expect them to miraculously do exactly what you want them to either! The more they are allowed to be around while the older people play, the sooner they will catch on to the concept of games. Thinking of ways to occupy babies can be part of the fun and definitely a great challenge to add spice to your game playing!}

If you look at the parentheses, you may think I am swearing at you, but really, it is just a secret code. Here’s the formula for the code.

Quickness of play—
* = Play for 5 minutes or 105 minutes. You can stop at any time
** = Takes about a half an hour
*** = Plan on more than half an hour

Ease of incorporating everyone—
+ = No problem to include all with guidance
++ = Little people need some help
+++ = Little people play a minor role

Giggle factor—
# = Crack a smile or two
## = LOL
### = Snorting, giggling, laughing, and wheezing can happen

Boggle— (*++#) Great game for the whole family. Little tykes can practice writing the letters they see. Beginning readers can go for the two letter words. When playing with varying age groups, simply handicap the older people by assigning fewer points per word! This is very fun and educational. You can practice your spelling, vocabulary, handwriting(little kids), and reading.

Card Games—(**+++##) Card games can include Go Fish, Old Maid, Joker, Cribbage, Spoons, Crazy Eights, Progression, Wanna Be a Ten and more. I like card games because they can help you learn math concepts, and the versatility of card games makes it so your family can be entertained in many different ways by one piece of “equipment”. With younger kids, it can be helpful to have them hide their hand behind a book, Lego construction or some other blocking device until they are old enough to have mastered holding the cards in their hands and being able to view them at the same time! The other thing they can do is to place their hand face down on the table and then sneak peeks when it is their turn to play.

Charades—(*++###) Trying to guess what in the world your family members are acting out runs a fine line between confusing and hilarious. To help little ones with this game, one person can help them by whispering into the child’s ear what they are supposed to do. They catch on pretty quickly how to do the motion for “movie” or “sounds like”. It is surprising how many clever ways they think of on their own as to how to act something out. Occasionally, the young ones are the ones that guess part of the phrase first! I couldn’t find a Charades game on Amazon that I liked, but you can easily get Charades phrases for free online, as well as the rules.

Jenga—(**+++#) This game is simple,yet fun. Just try to pull out a wooden piece without knocking over the tower. One thing I like about this game is that it doesn't take long to play. You can interrupt your daily task list to play with the kids for a few minutes!

Mad Libs—(*+###) Think up the most outrageous words possible to have the most fun with this silly game. I love playing this with younger kids involved because they come up with some of the absolute best nouns and adjectives and just need a little coaching. To make it easy, if you are asking for a “verb, past tense”, just ask them for something they can do. When they let you know, simply put it in past tense yourself. We have loads of fun with this game. We have enough Mad Libs pads that everyone can have their own and randomly shout out, “Noun, Dad” or “Name of Person in Room, Mom”. Dad and Mom have to holler back a word while continuing to work on their own sheet. This method gets a little crazy because sometimes you get asked several things all at once. But it is totally fun. Start off slowly with this game by just having one person ask for words and everyone else giving the answers. Then, read back the story for silly entertainment. Hee, hee, hee.

Memory—(**++#) This game is most enjoyable for young whipper-snappers. I get a kick out of watching the kids play. The younger ones are so intent on studying to make sure they know where all the cards are and can get a match on their next turn. I on the other hand tend to pay just enough attention to the game to get an occasional match. This way everyone thinks I am playing and am just not very good at it when I am actually “throwing” the game a bit. It is just so fun to watch the 4 (or 5 or 6) year old who is sitting by me, get a match. I just can’t help myself. Oops, now I just revealed my secret and some of my children read my blog for some strange reason! Maybe I should blog that they should go clean up their bedroom now. Maybe that would be an effective way to communicate with them.

Storyoni—(*+###) Storyoni is a game I made up and have tweaked over the years to come up with several templates to choose from. When we get started playing this game, the kids never want to stop. “Please, just one more?!” Often, I want to say the same. J We always have tons of laughter and rolling in the aisles with this game. It never gets dull and it is always a new game every time we play!
Taboo Jr. —(***+++##) We recently tried out this game and had fun. Basically, you have two teams and you have to try and guess the word without saying the taboo words. It is harder than you think at first. The game comes with a little squeaky thing that you are supposed to squeeze when the other team says a taboo word. For us, it made a good baby toy more than anything. Watch out that the younger ones realize when they are supposed to guess and when they are only supposed to listen. You can help little people on this game by whispering to them a few words that they can say to help their team guess.

Uno—(***+++##) In learning this game, it is helpful to have the little people pair up and be a “partner” to an older player. They can toss down the proper card for you, help find the right color, snicker when they play a card that sets someone back, and of course drawing cards is always fun. When you have all mastered Uno, then try Uno Attack where cards are literally spewed forth at you if you need to draw!

Yahtzee—(***+++##) Yahtzee is another great little people “partner” game. Even two year olds like to throw the dice and get praise for doing such a great roll. There isn’t a ton of skill involved in Yahtzee, but it is fun. It is always suspenseful to see if you can produce the needed number of sixes to qualify for a bonus, or can you get that two you need to finish your large straight?? If you are up for a little bit more of a challenge, try Triple Yahtzee. Triple Yahtzee takes longer, but you have to strategize a bit to get the most points.

You can buy most of these games through Amazon and YouPublish online by clicking on the one you want over on my sidebar on the right. This saves having to make a trip to the store and it just might make a good game to play after your Thanksgiving feast, or to give for Christmas or birthday gifts. There are some very reasonably priced items! Some qualify for super saver shipping too! (I tried to locate the best Amazon price for you to save searching.) {Oh, and FYI, I do make a teeny tiny bit of commission if you purchase the Amazon items clicked on here--I think 4%}

I put three other games over there on the sidebar too. Bang is a western themed, very unique game that my kids were introduced to by their cousins. Will you get to be the Sheriff this time, or perhaps you are an outlaw or a renegade? Will you have the protection you need? Will you have the right gun and ammunition? Find out! {For some reason I am only finding the expansion pack for this game on Amazon right now. I’ll keep checking back to see if I can find it and upgrade links for you! :)} Update: Thanks to Momof5boys for directing me here to purchase Bang.

Pass the Pigs is a simple game where you roll the pigs like dice and earn points based on what position the pigs end up in. Silly,yet fun.

Phase 10 comes in two styles—the card game and the dice game. Each game shows you 10 phases you must complete in order to gain points and become the winner. It is quite a rush to complete the phases first. :)

What are your favorites??

{See other product reviews here.}

Strange Baby Habits

My baby has developed a pinching fetish. He enjoys pinching small bits of skin (preferably mine) between his chubby little thumb and pointer finger. He pinches on my arm, my earlobe, my cheek and most especially likes to grab a tiny bit of my lip to pull and scratch. Ouch!

This got me to thinking about if my other babies did strange things like this. Yup, sure did. Princess loved to hold on to people's thumbs. She attached a little song to the ritual. She would hum a little ditty that she made up while rubbing and poking someone's thumb. When she could speak, she would often inquire sweetly of someone, "Fum?" (Thumb)

I had another baby that loved to take the triangular edges of his blanky and put them gently in his nostril as he would fall asleep. Triangle edged blankets were a favorite of another child or two that liked simply to put their fingers in and out of the triangle.

I had one baby that was attached to a binky and then a thumb after that. But that is fairly common, I think.

At least a couple of my babies enjoyed "banging". They would bang their head or chest into something repeatedly just for fun. Why? Mystery to me!

What are some strange baby habits your children have exhibited? Just for fun, comment below and let me know! :)

Fun and Exciting and Cool Things!

First, I would like to suggest to those of you that are getting this blog via email--go to the actual site for this post. I'm not sure if all the features will come through the emails. (http://www.completeleeblog.blogspot.com/)

1. I acquired a loom! Thank you! Thank you! I studied weaving in Sweden and also at college, but haven't had the opportunity to do anything with it since then because I have had no loom. So, here I go with a reawakening of something fun for me to do. Please feel free to bug me in the future to see if I have been diligent in playing with my new toy. (I need reminders to play.)

2. I created a YouTube account and have listed some fun (and funny) videos on there. Take a look to see:

*Dancing Dads Competition -- Kevin's big win. :)

*Cheerleading Competition -- Watch closely

*Amos 3:7, Mosiah 2:17 and John 3:5 as songs-- I put these and many more scriptures to music in order to encourage scripture memorization.

*Grains, Fruits, Vegetables-- This is a fun little song about eating in a healthy manner. The kids had fun being silly with it.

I'll be adding more videos on a regular basis, so check back or bookmark my channel!

3. If you don't mind... Please give my blog a ranking using the smiley buttons on the right sidebar. (I prefer green smiley to red frownie, thank you.)

4. My Chubby babes slept all night last night. I am blessed because I usually get at least 4 or 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep anyway. But there is something akin to bliss when one has been without a full night's sleep for a week or more and then such a luxurious thing happens.

So, there you have it. Fun and exciting and cool, right? Okay, if not, how about at least giving it an "uncommon" or "interesting" or a slightly animated "whatever", please. All these items earned the adjectives in my title according to me anyway. :)

If you want to, pop over to "Talk About Tuesday" to see interesting things from other people.

Snowballs in Summer?

Mormor thinks my kids are deprived. Well, maybe not really, but she had a little fun. When we arrived at her house, she had a gallon size bag full of snowballs saved from their last winter storm.


Some of my kids don't even remember ever seeing actual snow, so this was kinda fun. The only trouble was that the snowballs were no longer light and fluffy. They were hard, compact, ice bombs! After instructing the kids not to throw them at each other or the house, they set about trying to destroy the snowballs.


The preferred method of destruction was to slam them into the asphalt in the hopes that the ball would shatter into smithereens. (You can see white specks on the pavement in the following photo that prove they succeeded.)

The six year old loved the balls, but didn't have enough strength to make them explode on impact. The sixteen year old "took pity on her" and finished hers off.

We put the few remaining snowballs into the cooler on the way home to help regulate the temperature. Unfortunately, they melted and leaked out a hole in the bag and ruined our favorite travel treat! Rats! Oh well, it was still fun and educational. :)