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Monday, October 29, 2012

HOW ABOUT A LITTLE EYEBALL SOAP?!?

Good Morning!

Krumbs and I are sitting at home waiting for Hurricane Sandy to hit the East Coast of the United States.  There is no school for the next two days, the stores are closed, people are boarding up their windows...and the storm hasn't even started yet!  Krumbs is more than a little crazy right now because he HATES heavy rain and wind and we know it is coming our way.

While we batten down our hatches, put batteries in our flashlights and get out our supplies of candles, we thought we'd take a break and post for everyone.  (And let's face it...posting on our blog and visiting the Cafe keeps Krumbs busy enough that he's not hiding under beds, whimpering uncontrollably or wrapping himself around my knees-Poor Krumbs!)  We have a fabulous Halloween activity to share...it is useful, fun to make and incredibly gross!!!

What is it, you ask?  We're talking about EYEBALL SOAP!  Yes, eyeball soap.  We read about it on the Cafe...and you can read about it right here.  The recipe teaches you how to melt glycerin soap, add fake eyeballs and let it harden in muffin cups, but you don't have to stop with eyeballs.  You can melt the soap and add plastic spiders, insects, mini-snakes, or any kind of creepy crawly you'd like.  The finished product makes a hauntingly disgusting Halloween gift, that your friends are sure to love.

I hope we'll be able to go trick or treating...Hurricane Sandy might not let us get out.  (But I'm not telling that to Krumbs just yet!)  Check back on Wednesday for an update on this horrible "Frankenstorm". 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

PENGUINS...THE NEWEST BEACH BUMS?

Good Morning Friends.

Today Krumbs and I discovered a great new tidbit of information.  Did you know there are penguins living in Africa?  We had no idea either, until Krumbs came up with a fantastic article posted on the Imagination-Cafe about African PenguinsWHO KNEW?!?!?

When we picture penguins, (and we do, because they are one of our favorite animals) we imagine mega-insulated cold weather superstars, who belly-slide down snow covered mountains and plunge into icy ocean waters.  We don't picture hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters and we certainly don't picture AFRICA!!! 

According to scientist, David Brown, Krumbs and I need to adjust our picture!  In his article, "Penguins of Africa", Mr. Brown talks all about African Penguins...and it is pretty amazing stuff.  Do you know one group of African Penguins is made up of 3,000 penguins living together?  Did you know these penguins live on a sandy beach instead of an icy shore and that if we're not careful, these amazing animals could become extinct?  (We've just learned about them and now...they might disappear?)  Read more about these crazy, beach bum penguins on the Cafe by clicking here.

Monday, October 22, 2012

A PEANUT BUTTER SURPRISE FOR YOU

HolaHoy es Lunes!  (Hello, today is Monday)

Well, I've spent the weekend doing Spanish homework.  I can't believe how many sites there are to translate words from English to Spanish...I thought I was getting pretty good at speaking Spanish!  You know what, though?  I was at the mall on Saturday (without Krumbs--they won't let him in because he's a dog!?!?!) and I overheard two kids talking...in SPANISH.  I was so excited...but only for about a minute because I found out I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND A WORD THEY WERE SAYING!  They were talking so fast and using so many words that I was lost faster than you can say, "Hoy es Lunes!" Oh well, I guess I have a long way to go, but at least I'm working at it.


Krumbs and I had some time to have fun this weekend.  We went to the park (because it was a balmy 70 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday).  We played touch football, chased chipmunks and rolled down a grassy hill.  It was awesome and when we came home, we invented a fantastic new snack called "Peanut Butter Surprise"! 

Picture this....creamy peanut butter, sliced bananas, cinnamon, and brown sugar rolled up in a soft tortilla and then heated in the microwave--yummy goodness!  You can check out our recipe and the directions below but make sure to get an adult's permission and help before you use the microwave:

Peanut Butter Surprise: A Krumbs and Cookie Recipe



We love PEANUT BUTTER!!!  Did you know by the time most kids graduate from High School, they've eaten  more than 1500 peanut butter sandwiches?  Krumbs and I learned all kinds of Preposterous Peanut Butter Facts like that one by reading "Nuts for Peanut Butter: The Best Spread on Bread" at the Imagination-Cafe.  The article tells all about the history of peanuts and peanut butter...did you know peanuts were once a food fed only to pigs?!?!?  It's true...check it out at the Cafe!  Do you like peanut butter as much as we do?

Check back with us soon...and try our recipe for Peanut Butter Surprise--we think it ROCKS!





Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Es casi Halloween!!!

 

Es casi Halloween!!!
(It is almost Halloween)
 
 
Hola Mis Amigos!


As you can see, my Spanish classes are really going well!  I'm learning more every, single day and...I really like itIt is cool to know I'm learning another language.   I remember when we had a friend from Germany stay with us for a year...she was staying with our family while she took college courses and learned to speak English better.  She said she knew she was really comfortable with English when she had been here about six months and something wild happened.  She said she started dreaming in English!!!  She, and everyone else in her dream, was speaking English!  How amazing is that?
 
  I wonder if I'll dream in Spanish someday!?!
 
Well...as I wrote at the beginning..."it is almost Halloween"!  Time for ghosts and goblins, wizards and witches and things that go bump in the night--Aren't you excited?  Krumbs and I are too excited for words. 
 
We decided NOT to show you our costumes today.  We'll be sharing them on Halloween Night...we're having a party, inviting some friends (EVEN THOUGH IT'S A SCHOOL NIGHT!) and going Trick or TreatingThat seems like the right time to show you our costumes, right?
 
 
Do you know Halloween was started 2,000 years ago by Celtic people in France and Great Britain?  It was a celebration of the harvest time, but people also felt it was a magical time when goblins and fairies, witches and mystical creatures walked the earth with people.  EEEKKKKK!!!!  In order to hide themselves from these creepy creatures, people wore disguises
 
Krumbs and I learned all kinds of creepy Halloween facts by reading Donna Marie West's article called "The Celtic Roots of Halloween"It is a great Cafe article that tells all about trick or treating, games, fires and foods (our favorite!).  The author even leaves you with a completely YUM recipe for Easy Soul Cakes
 
 
What are you planning for Halloween?  Are you counting the days like me?  If you need something to help the time go by while getting you more psyched for Halloween, check out "The Celtic Roots of Halloween".   See you soon!!!!!

Monday, October 15, 2012

HORRIBLE HALLOWEEN MELTDOWN

Good Morning Everyone!

Guess what we did this weekend?  Krumbs and I bought HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!  Well, sort of.  Well, kind of.   Well, we looked at costumes, but that's as far as we went-- in the store.  Here's the story...we've been begging for weeks, but my mom has been...kind of avoiding the whole idea of Halloween shopping.  See, Krumbs gets a little...hmm, OVEREXCITED about Halloween and mom just wasn't ready to deal with it.  This weekend she finally agreed, and despite all of the talking, all of the preparing, all of the role playing, Krumbs kind of lost it

We arrived at the store safely enough.  We walked to the Halloween Section and checked out candy, decorations and spooky, haunted lights--so far, so good.  When we reached the costumes, Krumbs and I prowled the aisles...choices, choices, choices.  Should we go mysterious, scary and ugly...silly, crazy and funny...cartoon character, movie character, video game character...or just flat out strange and bizarre?

Who knew there would be so many choices (or that Krumbs could stay so calm)!  Getting a little riled up, Krumbs ran from one thing to the next.  He wanted me to be an evil sorceress (so he could be my trusty black cat), Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (so he could be her trusty dog, Toto), Mario from Mario Cart (so he could be Luigi), and finally, a fried egg (so he could be a side of bacon)!  It wasn't until we reached the end of the people costumes, that Krumbs discovered something that would put him right over the edge.  Krumbs found an entire aisle of ...DOG COSTUMES!!!!!  (I know, I couldn't believe it either--and it was the beginning of the end.)

Would Krumbs become a hot dog, a banana, or a taco?  Could he be a pirate, a superhero, or punk rocker?  Maybe he'd choose to be a fireman, policeman or doctor.  Should he transform into a dinosaur, bumblebee or shark?  Krumbs had too many choices and he just couldn't handle it!  Suddenly, he was spinning in circles, racing down the aisles, howling with excitement and making a complete spectacle of himself
I tried to calm him down.  I tried to reason with him, but he was WAY TOO EXCITED.  Before I could say "Halloween Meltdown", mom had had enough and we left the store.  Without costumes. 
 
 What a DISASTER!!

When we arrived back home, I talked to Krumbs.  We decided we needed to wait another year before Krumbs could hit the Halloween Sales again.  He was so embarrassed...and after apologies all around, he agreed to look at Halloween things online instead.  By the end of the day we'd found our costumes. 

 I'm going to be a neon purple body without a face--so eerily amazing!  My entire body is covered from head to toe with a stretchy, shiny, purple material--no hair, no face, no skin showing at all!  I'm simply a purple being..wooooooooooooo!  Krumbs will be a taco, one of our very favorite foods.  He has a yellow shell filled with red tomatoes, green lettuce, orange cheese and brown taco meat--yum!


That is the story of our Halloween Disaster!  Have you ever done something you wished you could erase?  I certainly have and Krumbs, well, Krumbs has definitely had an embarrassing moment--and we've shared it right here!  The truth is everyone messes up...even celebrities. 

Krumbs and I visited the Cafe's section called "Celebrity Screw Ups".  I wanted him to see that even famous and important people mess up sometimes and that sometimes, the best you can do is say you're sorry and move on.  If you visit the Cafe, you can read about other people's "embarrassing moments" or "celebrity screw ups".  Reading those things sure made Krumbs feel better...CHECK IT OUT!

That's all for now, friends.  Check back with us later in the week...maybe we'll post a photo of our costumes!!

Friday, October 12, 2012

DUCT TAPE DOES EVERYTHING!!!

Okay, okay, okay, okay...we gave you the dirt on (idiom meaning "the information about") our most awful moments of the week when we wrote on Wednesday.  Strep throat stinks-actually, it really does make your breath smell horrible--but it also "stinks" (I'm using another IDIOM!!! --meaning "really bad"),  But now, we're going to give you "the scoop on" (yep, it's another IDIOM--"the information about") our really awesome , amazing , completely astounding reuse and recycle project-- I think you'll love it as much as we do!!!

It all started because of my old, smelly nasty sneakers.  They are beat up, broken down, battered and brutally ugly, but I keep them to wear when it's wet, muddy or nasty outside.  The nasty sneakers help save and protect my newer, cleaner, less smelly sneakers.  Trust me--it all works!!!
 
I was hanging out with Krumbs and some friends when I noticed the rubber bottom had separated from the cloth top of my sneakers.  My friend, J laughed and said,
 
"Hey, you should duct tape that!" 
 
Hmmm....hmmm...hmmm!  J is a pretty smart guy and well, duct tape does fix just about anything, so we borrowed some of Krumbs' duct tape and taped my sneaker back together.  We didn't stop there--we taped the entire sneaker with every cool duct tape color we could find.  AMAZING!
 
 
 Before you could say, "This is awesome" , we were planning a massive "re-work your sneaker" night.  Some of us are bigger and some of us are smaller so we put all of our old sneakers together for a "sneaker swap"-- we shared sneakers, and traded sneakers until all five of us had a pair of "new" old sneakers. 
 
 
Our next step was to pool our duct tape.  Thanks to some creative digging around our houses (and some donations from our parents), we came up with 12 rolls of crazy, printed duct tape...and we started to tape.  We taped on top, over the side, on the bottom and everywhere in between.
 
 
Check out our pictures below to see our
totally amazing, stunningly sensational sneakers:
 
I'm not too proud of them, am I?  We actually wore them to school and my friends thought they were awesome.  Would you tape up your shoes? Do you Recycle or Reuse?
 
Tell us whether you would "do the duct tape".  Tell us what you do to recycle and reuse.  Tell us anything...join "Klub Krumbs" at the Imagination Cafe and let's talk about it!
 
Check back on Monday for more from us, Cookie and Krumbs...until then, you can find us in the Cafe!

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

DISGUSTING DOESN'T BEGIN TO DESCRIBE IT

Good Morning!

It feels like forever since I last wrote...a million things have happened (and some have been really, really awesome and some have been really, really awful)!  Here's the part one on life with Cookie and Krumbs:

Shortly after my last writing, I started to feel awful--achy, awful pain in the back of my neck, sick to my stomach, headache, chills and a monster sore throat.  I was afraid to even look at my throat, the pain was so bad!  Obviously, we called for a doctor's appointment and while I waited, things got worse.

I was shaking so bad everything looked like it was vibrating and when I finally looked at my throat, well, it looked like I had a thick, yellow garden growing across my bright red tongue!  My tonsils looked like bright, red bowling balls with yellow splashes and my uvula (the little thing that hangs down in the center of your throat) was actually stuck to my right tonsil.  No wonder everything hurt!  Disgusting is a great word, but it doesn't begin to describe what I saw in the bathroom mirror.  I think it was worse than the "pimple takeover" a few weeks back.  Check it out in my drawing below:

 
 
See?  I went from a volcano on my nose to a multiple volcanoes in my throat- YUCK!
 
 
We finally made it to the doctor's office and guess what?  I had a horrible case of Strep Throat.  My mom was thrilled because she says strep throat means you'll be better in no time!  You take the medicine and in one day, you're back to normal.  Hmm...hmm...well, it took me two days, but I did get back to normal.
 
While I recovered, Krumbs came up with a fantastic surprise for my horribly horrendous sore throat.  He made me Joy Delgado's recipe for Super Simple Sorbet.  Krumbs is the best dog in the world.  He snuggled up next to me, watched a Harry Potter movie marathon and kept me supplied with Super Simple Strawberry Sorbet.  Nothing ever felt as icy cold wonderful as Krumb's sorbet.  I'll owe him forever!
 
What do you do when you're sick?  What makes you feel better?  Feel free to try the Super Simple Sorbet recipe if you need something icy to numb burning pain in your throat!
 
Are you wondering about the totally awesome part of our weekend?  Check back on Friday and we'll show you photos from our REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE party...you're gonna love our newest idea!
 



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

THE "CHI, CHI, CHI" MONSTER MYSTERY

Good Morning! 
Today we go from RFB's (Really Fabulous Books) to...things that go "chi" all day long!!

I know it sounds crazy, but here's what's been happening at our house.  Strange and unusual noises are occurring all over our yard.  "Chi, Chi, CHI, CHI! Chi, Chi, CHI, CHI!"--the high-pitched, chirp comes from the bushes, the flower beds and even from the gutters of our house!  Sometimes the noise is just one "CHI", short and sharp.  Other times, there is a whole sentence of "CHI, CHI, CHI, CHI" that sounds angry and hurried.  And sometimes, the "chi, chi, chi's" are calm and quiet and almost peaceful.

It's a mystery and you know Krumbs and I love a good mystery!  Some more clues?  We've been gathering information and writing it down...so, here goes:

  1. We have lots of strange "chi, chi, chi-ing" going on outside.
  2. Our yard is filled with animals...probably because it is fall.  We've seen deer, squirrels, groundhogs, wild turkey, rabbits, and chipmunks racing around our yard.
  3. The "chi, chi, chi-ing" only happens when the animal is hiding.  We've never seen or heard any of the animals "chi" when they are right in front of us.  The "chi's" come from the bushes, drains, flower beds and gutters.
Those were our clues.  What to do? What to do?  Of course, we set out to find out all we could about the animals running around our yard.  We read about deer...Krumbs and I felt they were TOO BIG to make the "chi, chi" sound and we were right!  We read about squirrels...maybe, we thought, squirrels could make this music.  We found out squirrels make chattering noises and metallic chirps, but no "chi's".  We read about rabbits...no dice.  We read about groundhogs...oooohhhh, maybe.  We read about wild turkeys..."gobble, gobble", no, no!  We read about chipmunks...ooohhh, maybe.

With two "ooohhh, maybes" on our list, we were ready for our next step.  What to do? What to do?  Amazingly enough, we didn't have to DO anything at all.  The sneaky, little "CHI, CHI, CHI" monster leaped right out at us...and he really did leap right out at us!

Here's what happened.  Krumbs and I were doing homework...(well, I was doing homework-HOLA MIS AMIGOS! Krumbs was hunting around the Cafe reading "Cheeky Chipmunk" by Lisa Hart) when I decided I needed a little break.  It was time for some "aqua" (that's the word for water, in Spanish), so Krumbs and I went out the garage where the extra water bottles are stored.

I opened the door and took two steps into the garage with Krumbs at my heels.  As the door into the house closed behind me, I heard a loud, angry "CHI! CHI! CHI! CHI!"  I jumped about a mile, which was good since Krumbs decided to hide between my legs.  Of course, we fell into a mangled, mixed up mess on the garage floor and what jumped out at us from behind a pile of lawn mowers and leaf blowers?  A tiny, striped chipmunk, angrily "Chi, Chi-ed" his way past our tangled tushies and right out the open garage door.  The "chi, chi-ing" chipmunk was free and Krumbs and I solved the mystery of "things that go "chi" all day long"!

Sometimes, Krumbs and I solve our mysteries by accident...but at least we solve them!  If you'd like to learn more about "CHI, CHI-ing Chipmunks", check out Lisa Hart's article, "Cheeky Chipmunks" at the Cafe.

Check back soon to learn more about "The Adventures of Cookie and Krumbs".

Monday, October 1, 2012

I HAVE AN "RFB" (IN FACT, I HAVE THREE)...DO YOU?

"I have read....one, two, three...THREE fantastic, incredible, amazing and wonderful books this month.  I know, I know, you wouldn't expect me to love to read, but reading and I have a special relationship.  See, I can read the books I have to read for school-and I do it, but then, ALL OF A SUDDEN, I'll have to read a REALLY FANTASTIC BOOK.  When I read a RFB (Really Fantastic Book), I want to read another and another and another.  Before you know it, I'm writing a post that says something crazy like--"I read THREE fantastic, incredible, amazing and wonderful books this month". 

So how do you find an RFB? Well, my RFB's are usually recommendations from friends.  I talk to Krumbs (who really does find the time to do some reading!), friends in school, teachers and of course, I check out recommendations from my "Cafe Friends".  The Cafe has lots of book choices, reviewed and recommended by kids, so you know they're going to be good!  Check out some RFB reviews in the "Tip Jar" at the Cafe under "BOOK-TASTIC"--How many of the reviewed books have you read?

So, are you wondering about my three RFB's for this month?  Well, my first book is called Because of Mr. Terrup by Rob Buyea...OH BOY!  This book is amazing because it gets right into the minds of seven fifth graders in the same class.  There are kids we all know--one kid is really smart, one is a troublemaker, one is a "mean girl", one is a new kid, one is a loner, one hates school and one is super shy.  The great thing is that each kid takes turns telling the story about the year they have with their teacher.  Each kid changes because of Mr. Terrup and because of the awful thing that happens in their class.  You won't be able to put it down--I know because one night, Krumbs and I stayed up for two hours...READING!

My second book is called MY LIFE AS A BOOK by Janice Tashjian.  This book is about a normal kid who hates reading.  (I know a lot of kids like that!)  He is forced to attend summer school and read three summer reading books that he doesn't want to read. 
 (NOTE TO ALL ADULTS: It is much more fun to choose your own books instead of having someone else choose them for you!)
This book gets really cool though, because it turns into a deep, dark mystery and the main character is right in the middle of it!  He has to find out how he is connected to the drowning of a girl that happened ten years ago...AWESOME!
 
The third RFB is called THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET by Pseudonymous Bosch.  It is the story of a girl named Cass and her best friend Max Earnest.  They are trying to solve a mystery involving the death of a magician.  The book starts by telling you NOT TO READ IT!!!  (How cool is that?!?)  The author tells the story, but almost stops a bunch of times, but he eats chocolate to give himself the courage to write more!  It is funny, suspenseful and exciting.  (I admit it...this is the second time I've read this book.  I LOVE IT!)
 
So...that's all for today.  Will you try some of my RFB's Do you have some RFB's of your own? 
 
Check back later this week for more news from Me, Krumbs and the Cafe!