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Thursday, December 12, 2013

OUR SMELLY HOLIDAY TRADITION


Good morning everyone!  It is the holiday season…our favorite time of year and Krumbs and I are filled with holiday spirit!  Guess what we’re doing this weekend?

PUTTING UP OUR CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!  Putting up our tree is the very best part of the holiday.  We have family and friends come over and we take out all of our old and new ornaments and talk about all our old memories…hurray!  It is one of our holiday traditions.

Another holiday tradition that makes us happy started just two years ago.  Krumbs and I found an article on the Café about scented ornaments.  The article is called “Heirloom Ornaments” and it is by writer, Brooke Halperin.  Ms. Halperin explains how to make cinnamon-apple scented ornaments that are easy to make and wonderful to smell!!!  Krumbs and I will be making the ornaments tonight so they are ready for our tree trimming party later this week.  Check it out by clicking here.

Which winter holidays do you celebrate?  Do you have a special holiday tradition?  Share it with us on "Open Mic" at the Café by clicking here.


Have a wonderful week and check back soon for pictures of our beautifully decorated trees!


COoKIE and KRuMBS

Monday, December 2, 2013

GOBBLE! GOBBLE! FUN FACTS FROM TURKEY DAY!


Hope you had a fantastic Turkey Day! Krumbs and I did…and we found some fun and fabulous facts about Thanksgiving on the WHSV.com Channel 3 website to share with everyone:

Fun Facts about the First Thanksgiving
- The first Thanksgiving in 1621celebration lasted three days.
- Foods that were NOT served at the First Thanksgiving:Mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, popcorn, milk, corn on the cob, and cranberries..
-Foods that WERE served at the First Thanksgiving: Lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese.
 -NO FORKS! The pilgrims ate with spoons, knives, and their fingers.

Fun Facts about Thanksgiving Today
 -In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations.
 -Each year, the average American eats between 16 - 18 pounds of turkey.
 -Californians eat the most turkey in the United States.  
 -Although, Thanksgiving is widely considered an American holiday, it is also celebrated on the second Monday in October in Canada.

Fun Turkey Facts
  -The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
  -The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.
  -Turkeys have 3,500 feathers as adults.
  -Male turkeys gobble. Hens cluck.
  -It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30 pound tom turkey.
 
 

GOBBLE!  GOBBLE!

Cookie and Krumbs

Monday, November 18, 2013

DISGUSTINGLY GOOD READING


Hello Everyone!

Are you ready to hear about the coolest, most disgustingly fun article we've read in a long time?  We took a visit to the Imagination Café and read "THE SCOOP ON POOP".  Oh no, you haven't made a mistake--it is the absolute truth. The Café has a whole article on...POOP!

Whether you call it scat, puppy piling, doo-doo, poo-poo or excrement...poop is the total topic of Cindy Blobaum's awesome articleWe learned about scatology (yes, the actual study of animal poop!) and how the study of poop helps people in many ways.  You know you're curious and you know you want to know more...check it out at the Café!


Monday, November 11, 2013

THANK A VETERAN!


Good Morning Everyone!

Today is Veterans Day.  I know Veterans Day is a day we celebrate any person who has served in our armed services but I didn’t know it wasn’t always called Veterans Day.  (Who knew that?!?)

It all started in 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson named November 11th, Armistice Day, to celebrate veterans who died in World War I, but it didn’t stop there.  In 1938, President Calvin Coolidge made “Armistice Day” a legal holiday, celebrated across the United States, but it didn’t stop there!  In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted to make Veterans Day a day to celebrate everyone who served in the armed forces.  So that year, President Eisenhower signed a bill and Congress passed the bill changing Armistice Day to Veterans Day, a holiday celebrating any person who served in the armed forces of the United States.

What are you doing to celebrate veterans today?  I wrote letters with my class to send to a veteran’s hospital thanking the veterans there for their service.  We also donated our Halloween candy to be sent over to soldiers around the world who are protecting people and helping our country.  Easiest of all, anytime we see a person wearing an army uniform…we thank them.  We just walk up and say, “Thank you for serving our country.” 
You can find out more about veterans, the American Flag and play some neat games by visiting the US Department of Veterans Affairs-kids page by clicking here. 
Enjoy the day…and remember to thank a veteran!!!!
 
COOKIE AND KRUMBS

Monday, October 28, 2013

A FROG, A GECKO, A SKINK—OH MY!


Krumbs and I are buzzing about three new animal discoveries!  That’s right—scientists have discovered three new vertebrates living in a remote area of Australia...and all three animals were found at the same time!  The scientists discovered a new kind of frog, a new kind of gecko and a new kind of skink that no one knew existed!

We can’t believe scientists are still finding new animals after thousands of years.  It is amazing that three animals we’ve never heard of could just hide in the middle of Australia!  Isn’t that just the coolest thing ever?

Would you like to find out more about scientist, Conrad Hoskin’s, fantastic discoveries?  Click here to read the original article and to see pictures of the world’s newest animal discoveries!  Are you interested in even more stories about odd and unusual animals?  Click here to visit the "Creature Feature" section of the Café  where you'll find a bunch of articles about animal topics from Alaska's Elephants to zoo I.Q.and everything in between!

Have a Great Week, Everyone!

Cookie and Krumbs

Thursday, October 17, 2013

GROSSLY EYE CATCHING TREATS


Good Morning!
Are you ready for Halloween?  The super-fun holiday is only 14 days away…and Krumbs and I can’t wait!!!!!  Do you have plans?  Will you make awesome tasty treats? 

We found a great idea on Cake Central for really cool eyeball cupcakes.  Yep, we’re pretty stuck on eyeballs this Halloween, aren’t we?  We took the idea on the Cake Central website and then added our own idea for a darker, bigger pupil.  Are you wondering how we did it?  We made pupils (the dark circle in the center of the eye) using M&M candy!  You can make these treats with a few easy ingredients.  Check it out:

 
Ingredients:
White frosted cupcakes

Gummy lifesavers

Brown M&M candies
Red icing in a writing tube
Some extra white frosting (one or two tablespoons)


Directions:

Place one gummy lifesaver in the center of each frosted cupcake.

Place a dot of white frosting on the back of a brown M&M candy and place the M&M over the hole in the lifesaver.

Use the writing tube to draw squiggly, red “veins” from the lifesaver to the edges of the cupcake.


Try not to eat all of these grossly eye catching treats all at once!!!!! 
Hurray for Halloween!!!!

Monday, October 14, 2013

TALKING WITHOUT WORDS


How do you communicate?  Do you talk, scream, whisper, or whine?  All of these types of communication involve speech and your voice, so they are called “verbal communication.”  Author Tonya Reiman says there is more to communicating than using your voice.   Ms. Reiman says 93% of human communication is non-verbal.  Non-verbal refers to everything you use to communicate that does not involve your voice.  Non-verbal communication involves body language and body language has to do with things like gestures, body posture, facial expressions and eye contact. That means you really can communicate without any words and people communicate non-verbally all the time!

Krumbs and I read all about body language and non-verbal communication in an article on the Café by Julie Musil called “You Don’t Say.”  In the article, Ms. Musil gives fabulous hints on how to use body language to learn more about your friends and what they’re thinking.  (Are you wondering if your friend is telling you the truth?  You can tell if a person is being truthful if he or she looks in your eyes, stands straight and tall, uncrosses his or her arms and move them with palms facing up!)  Are you ready to decode your friends’ thoughts?  Click here to read Julie Musil’s article on the Café.


Have a Great Week!  Happy Monday, Everyone!

Cookie and Krumbs

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

OOEY-GOOEY EYEBALL SOAP


Three weeks to Halloween!  Are you ready?  Krumbs and I are ready!  Well, we’re almost ready! Um, we’re kind of ready!  Okay, we’re not ready at all!

This weekend we are going to look for our costumes.  Last year shopping for costumes was a Halloween Disaster.  Krumbs became a little overexcited and we had to leave.  This year, I’ve learned my lesson—Krumbs will stay at home and I will shop alone.  (Sorry, Krumbs—you know I love you even when I shop without you!)
 
To get ourselves in the mood for Halloween, Krumbs and I are going to make “EYEBALL SOAP” to put in our bathroom.  I found the recipe on the Café last year and it is awesomely gooey and gross looking!  Check out this picture from the Café:

 
You know you want to make some…and give them out to your friends!  Click here for the ingredients and directions and make some awesome soap of your own!!

 

 Happy Haunting, Everyone!

Cookie and Krumbs

Thursday, October 3, 2013

SCARY CHALLENGES


Good Morning!  Good Morning!  Good Morning!  Guess what Krumbs and I did yesterday? 

We went to horseback riding lessons!!!  (Okay, Krumbs ran around the barn playing with his dog friends and mooching dog treats from every rider there and I had a riding lesson.)  It was awesome, as usual, and I had the chance to jump, jump, jump!

It is really scary to jump over fences.  This one was about three feet high.  If three feet doesn’t sound high to you, remember that I was jumping a three foot high fence while balancing on the back of a racing five foot tall horse—which means I was really EIGHT FEET OFF THE GROUND and moving THISFAST!

What about you?  Have you ever done something that feels really scary to challenge yourself?  Here's the thing: scary challenges are NOT DANGEROUS, they're challenging. Maybe your scary challenge doesn’t have to do with sports.  Maybe your scary challenge is about making a new friend, standing up to a bully or answering a question out loud in class.  Maybe your scary challenge is about entering a contest or trying out for a team  Anything that pushes you to try something new or different can be a scary challenge. 

But when you actually finish a scary challenge, don’t you feel like a ROCK STAR?  Isn’t it AMAZING when you do something you never thought you could?  Yeah, that’s how I felt yesterday—ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!

If you’re interested in reading about someone else facing a challenge, read “Daring to Try” at the Café.  You’ll meet Emily, a great girl who feels completely overshadowed because everyone sees her as “Dr. Winter’s daughter” or “Madison’s little sister.”  Have you ever felt that way?  Check out “Daring to Try” by Lisa Hart and find out how Emily takes on a scary challenge and becomes a hero!  CLICK RIGHT HERE to read the story.

 

Have a great week...and dare yourself to try a not dangerous, but challenging "SCARY CHALLENGE."

Cookie and Krumbs

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

SUPER DUPER DECORATED CRISPIES

Good Morning!

Guess what Krumbs and I have been doing?  We've been cooking!  Not just any old cooking-oh no-we're doing incredible, fantastic, better than ever cooking!  Our newest recipe is awesome!

We used the "Scrumptious Crunchy Daisy" recipe posted on the Café as a start...and then we went a little crazy!  We mixed the recipe and made awesome crispy rice cereal treats, but we added a twist!  Instead of flattening the rice cereal treats we went 3-D!  Yep, we rolled them into balls and packed each ball really tight.  Then, we dipped the balls in melted frosting and rolled them in colored sprinkles-YUM and YUM!  They looked awesome and tasted even better.

Are you going to try our recipe?  First, you'll need parent permission to cook and adult around to help.  Then,you'll need to click here to find the "Scrumptious Crunchy Daisy" recipe. You'll have to gather the first three ingredients and a can of frosting and some sprinkles. Next, follow the recipe all the way up to step four (that's the step for mixing the crispy rice cereal with the melted butter and marshmallows).  Then, have an adult check to make sure the rice mixture isn't too hot.  When you get the adult "okay", grab a scoop with your WASHED hands (if you rub some butter on your hands, the mix will be less sticky) and press it into a ball-HARD.  Repeat this step until all the mixture is turned into balls, then let them cool for about an hour.  Ask the adult to melt the frosting into a liquid and then drop one ball at a time into the melted frosting.  Finally, sprinkle the frosting covered balls with sprinkles and let them dry.  Voila!  You've made "Cookie and Krumbs' Super Duper Decorated Crispies". 

Try them and we think you'll love them!  Have a great week!

Cookie and Krumbs

Thursday, September 19, 2013

A HORSE TALE

The air is getting crisp and the leaves are starting to turn.  Guess what time of year it is?  You guessed it...fall is beginning to creep across the New England part of the United States...ahhhhh!

Fall means baseball and colored leaves; chipmunks and squirrels hiding nuts; the smell of campfires and fireplaces and, of course, fall means a return to regular horseback riding.  I LOVE riding.  I LOVE the choppy, crazy rocking horse feeling of cantering across the ring and the "heart in your throat, chest clutching" feeling of sailing over jumps.  I LOVE the sound of horse teeth crunching carrots and sloppy, wet horse "kisses." 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE horses...but I don't want one of my own.  I have watched the owners and their horses at the barn each week.  I see how much time it takes to truly take care of a horse and well, I am just not that dedicated!  I have lots of stuff I need to do...school, homework, sports, and now, horseback riding.  Nope, no horses for me!

I'm glad I learned about the work and time owning a horse takes.  My mom says it is a sign of "maturity"-hmmm, I'm not sure if she's right, but that's okay.  There is a story on the Café called "A Horse for Annie Mae" by Laura Wolfe that I love because the main character really is a lot like me.  It is about a girl who desperately wants a horse but can't have one.  Click here and read about it.

Happy Early Fall, Everyone!!

COOKIE

Monday, September 16, 2013

THIS EDIBLE NAIL POLISH ROCKS!


Good Morning Everyone!

Krumbs and I had a really great weekend.  We slept over a friend’s house on Friday—and we brought an awesome and amazing snack.  I will warn you ahead of time, our dessert is not healthy, but it is pretty amazing!!!!!

We found the idea on pinterest—and it is pretty awesome.  You take a big marshmallow (not the mini or regular size, the really big ones) and you dip it in melted frosting.  While the frosting is still wet, you roll the marshmallow in colored sugar sprinkles.  When the sprinkles dry, you take a mini tootsie roll and stick a toothpick in it.  (Leave half of the toothpick sticking out.)  Hold the tootsie roll and stick the toothpick into the flat top of the sugar-covered marshmallow and….duhn, duhn, duhn…da-a-a!  You have an edible nail polish bottle!!!!!!!  You can check out the picture I drew right here:

 


It is a very cool idea, right?  Check out the Café for other cool recipes and fun stuff to do during your next sleep over.  Click here to visit the "What's Cooking?" section of the Café!

Friday, September 13, 2013

HOMEWORK HAVEN


Have you created a “Homework Haven” yet?  Krumbs and I have made our own little study center so that we have everything we need for homework, right in one great basket. Here’s what we put in our study basket:

1.     Markers

2.     Colored pencils

3.     Blue and black pens

4.     Pencils

5.     A ruler

6.     A pink eraser

7.     A highlighter

8.     Lined paper

9.     Plain white paper

10.   Graph paper

11.   A box of granola bars

12.    A box of dog biscuits

 

We have everything we need to do our homework…and we have our favorite snacks in case we get hungry.  It is perfect!  Do you have a study center?  You should make one…superfast!  We learned all about them reading one of our favorite back to school articles at the Café.  The article is called “It’s All About Homework” by Susan Sundwall and it is filled with handy tips for creating your very own homework haven!!!!  Check it out by clicking here and you’ll be ready to tackle all of this year’s homework—superfast!

Monday, September 9, 2013

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS


Good Morning Everyone!

We had a great weekend.  We did homework, relaxed and hung out with our friends.  We went to a friend’s football game and we watched a family of deer play in our backyard.  I slept in…but not too late and I took a look at goals for the new school year.

It’s been two weeks…time to think about what I want for the year and how I’ll get there (now that the shock of “back to school” has passed).  I looked at several things, talked to my parents and Krumbs, and thought—a lot!

According Caroline Pignat, in her article “The Power of Goals”, I did the right thing by thinking first.  I decided that I want to get straight “A’s” this year.  It is a big goal and I’ve got a lot of work to do to get there. 

Thinking about the work is the next step in Ms. Pignat plan (after I write down my goal).  I will have to be organized and find time to study every day.  I will have to get my homework done and stay focused in class.

I know my best friend from school has the same goal, so we’ve been talking about it a lot.  We agreed to study together and help each other stay on track.  We’re going to eat right and remember to get enough sleep…even during weekend sleepovers!

Having a friend to help and support me will make reaching my goal easier and more fun.  I think keeping everything organized and focused will help too.  I can do this!!!!

What are your goals for the school year?  Do you need some help figuring out how to set your goals?  Check out Caroline Pignat’s article by clicking here.  Krumbs and I know you can do it, too!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

STARTING THE YEAR OFF RIGHT


Good Morning, Everyone!

We are adjusting to our new routines...and it is harder than we thought!!!  I am truly, incredibly, honestly and stupendously EXHAUSTED (which I guess happens when you are used to going to bed late and sleeping even later)!  Krumbs isn't exactly exhausted but he is truly, incredibly, honestly and stupendously LOST without me (and why shouldn't he be, since he's been my constant companion during every single late, late night and even later morning?)  It is hard to get back into the school routine...don't you agree?

I think we need to think a little harder about how we establish new routines.  I remember last year, we used an article on the Café to get ourselves in gear for the year...maybe I should take another look. The article was called "Five Ways to Start the School Year Off Right" and yep, I think I need to take a look-FAST!


Maybe I won't set goals today...maybe I'll go to the Café, read "Five Ways to Start the School Year Off Right", and get myself started.  How about you?  What do you do at the start of a school year?  Do you ease in slowly and get used to everything a little at a time or do you dive in fast and soak it all up?  Tell us about it at the Open Mic at Klub Krumbs!

Monday, September 2, 2013

A NEW SCHOOL YEAR? ALREADY?!?


It is Labor Day in the United States…do you know what that means for kids across the United States?  It means that every kid, everywhere, has either just started or is going to start—a new school year!  (Duhn, Da, Da, Da, Duhn…ominous musical notes, right there!)

So…tomorrow I start school.  No more summer.  No more lazy days and late nights.  No more long, empty days stretched before me waiting to be filled with fun.  Nope, now it is early mornings and early nights.  Long, full days stretching endlessly before me waiting to be filled with work, work, workSigh!

Do you remember my end of summer bucket list?  Well, I’m going to make myself and Krumbs feel better.  We’re going to take a look at how much of our summer bucket list we’ve accomplished:

SUMMER BUCKET LIST CHECK OFF

1.      Chasing Chipmunks- CHECK! I have spent many days racing around my yard chasing chipmunks with my trusty friend, Krumbs.

2.      Playing Softball with My Friends- CHECK!! I have not only played softball, but endless homerun derbies, baseball and wiffle ball games.

3.      S’mores on the Grill- CHECK!!!  Yep, we made s’mores three times over the last two weeks of summer…over a fire pit, over a charcoal grill and over a gas grill (that one was not so successful, but we still had chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers, so how unsuccessful can it be?!)

4.      Visit Fenway Park in Boston- CHECK!!!!  Not only did I visit Fenway, I went to a Yankee vs. Red Sox game-WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!! Check out the photo below, which I took myself:

 


5.      Visit New York City- CHECK!!!!! I did visit NYC and while I was there, I had the chance to see Matilda the Musical on Broadway!  It was AMAZING, I tell you, AMAZING!!!!!  It was as amazing as the book, Matilda by Roal Dahl.  Check out the program from the show, below:
I really did a lot this summer.  I almost can’t believe all the amazing things I did and the goals I reached, which makes me feel better about the summer’s end and the start of school.  If I can make my school bucket list and finish it, the same way I made my summer bucket list and finished it…it’s going to be a great year!!!!!
How about you?  What have you accomplished this summer?   What goals will you set for your new school year? Check us out later next week to find out our goals for the school year!
 
Cookie and Krumbs