To Shell or Nut to Shell?

Today we learned about hickory nuts. My husband and older boys went on a hike this past weekend and Micah brought back a box full of nuts (that at the time I recognized but didn't know what kind they were or if you could eat them). Since doing a little research, we have learned that they are hickory nuts and can be eaten like pecans, in fact they are part of the same family as the pecan.

Hickory nuts

We did learn that you cannot break them open with a regular nutcracker. It takes a hammer and hitting them in the right place to get the meat out.

Tried using a nut cracker, didn't work.

These cracked nuts were done with a hammer.

Kaitlyn cracking hickory nuts with a hammer outside.

A closer look

One of the things that we love doing around Thanksgiving is buying nuts in their shells and breaking them open ourselves. I know it takes more time, but it's fun for the kids and has become a tradition around my house. In fact, when I buy the bags of shelled nuts I get, "Aww Mom, why are you buying those. We like to break them open ourselves." So this year we are breaking open our nuts (I may buy some small bags of shelled nuts, just in case the ones being shelled get eaten, that happens often).

For now we are working on hickory nuts and enjoying the fruits of our labor. Next week we will begin shelling pecans and walnuts for our Thanksgiving meal.

Joshua wanted to try.

(Excuse the toothpaste stains)

Josiah digging out the meat from the hickory nut.

How about you? Do you ever shell your own, or do you always buy the bags of shelled nuts? If you've never shelled your own, try it out. It's a lot of fun for the kids and keeps their hands busy for quite some time :)

Modeling Fun

My sister-in-law is taking photography classes and needed to take some shots for class, so she asked my two girls if they wanted to model for her. Of course, they said yes, and had a blast helping her out. I think she did a great job. Here are a couple of pictures she took.

Christiana near a passing train

Kaitlyn surrounded by beautiful fall colors

Wordless Wednesday - My Boys

My handsome boys. Adding another one in January :)

Tuesday's Tip - Fixing Loose Snaps

Have you ever had your little kids pants constantly come unsnapped due to loose snaps? Did you know that there is an easy way to fix this problem without having to just sew them up and using them as regular pants (kind of defeats the purpose of having snaps)? A friend showed me this trick years ago and it has been a lifesaver for me, because it drives me crazy when my little guys pants are always coming unsnapped. Let me apologize for not having pictures to go along with these instructions. I tried, but my camera is not cooperating today. So hopefully you'll understand what I'm trying to tell you without pictures.

First, unsnap the pants, being aware of which snaps are loose. Then take a hammer and LIGHTLY tap the head (or what you would call the male end) of the snap. If you tap too much or too hard you will flatten the head too much and ruin the snap altogether. With just a few light taps you should flatten the head just enough to hold the snap together again. Test the snap to see if you need to tap more or if you have succeeded in your first try. And there you have it, good as new snaps and pants that aren't constantly coming undone.

If you have any questions or my instructions aren't clear enough, please feel free to ask me. You can ask either on this blog site or on my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Knoxville-TN/B-4-U-Ask/107161739321089?v=wall.

Hopefully this helps save some of your favorite child's pants from being banished to ''play" pants only.

Fun Field Trip

Friday I didn't get the chance to blog because we were on a field trip with our homeschool group from church. We went to see the Nina and the Pinta then headed over to the McClung Museum. It was a lot of fun and we all really enjoyed ourselves. Thought I would share some pictures today from Friday. Enjoy!

The kids in front of the Nina and the Pinta

Me with the kids

The Nina

The Pinta with fog on the water

Our tour guide was excellent

Small boat on the Nina

Looking below deck

Matthew

Kaitlyn

Josiah at the McClung Museum

Joshua and Jonathan

Micah and Joshua

Christiana

Jonathan and Matthew

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today I would like to take the time to stop and thank all of our veterans. Thank you for your service to this country. You really are appreciated.

In order to teach our children about veterans and to make sure they understand the respect that should be given to men and women who serve our country, we always try to do something special on Veteran's Day. Last year we took them to a veteran's cemetery and talked about the people who served and some who died in the military. This year we took them to the Knoxville Veteran's parade (Kaitlyn had the honor of walking in the parade with American Heritage Girls). We make sure our children show the proper respect for our veterans. They stand and place their hands on their heart during the National Anthem, they applaud and wave to veterans and thank them for their service. Since my husband served in the Navy and is a veteran himself it is very important that our children understand and appreciate veterans.

How about you? Do you teach your children the importance of showing proper respect for veterans? Do you do anything special on Veteran's Day or is it just another day for your family?

Here are some pictures from the parade today. Happy Veteran's Day!

Micah, Matthew and Jonathan watching the

parade and waving their flags.

A USAF plane flew just above the

high rise buildings right over the

parade route. Awesome!!!

Two Veterans in the parade

AHG walking. Kaitlyn is in the middle

helping to carry the banner.

Joshua enjoying the parade and waving his flag.

Wordless Wednesday - My Knight in Shining...Helmet