dcarch - I'm sure my 6 year old grandson would be thrilled if I would make a solar oven, but I'm not sure I'll go to that much bother (maybe another time). Thanks for the input though. lou - thanks for the ideas, those were really cute. katiec - thanks for the playdough recipe--that's a great idea. coconut - I'm trying to decide if I want to deal with painting messes. The ages are 2, 2 1/2, 3, 6 & 7. They would probably love it though. Maybe they could paint at the kids picnic table in the garage. :) grainlady - thanks for the link--looks like a lot of great ideas. Thanks so much everyone--lots of great ideas.

I'm still sick & nauseated from the bad combo last night (sunflower seeds & cherry juice & lemonade), Men's Health has an excellent article on how certain medications mixed with certain food/drink can have a deadly effect & toxic: http://www.menshealth.com/health/ 1. Limes and cough medicine. You may have heard not to drink grapefruit juice with some prescriptions, including cholesterol-lowering statins. But limes, pomelos, and Seville oranges—although not the more-common navel and Valencia varieties—also may block an enzyme that breaks down statins and other drugs, including the cough suppressant dextromethorphan ... this includes hallucinations and sleepiness; in statins, you may sustain severe muscle damage. 2. Dairy products and antibiotics. Some antibiotics, including Cipro, bind to calcium, iron, and other minerals in milk-based foods. “This prevents the absorption of the antibiotics, ultimately decreasing their ability to fight infections,” Gullickson says. When you get a new prescription for acne or an infection, ask if the drug falls into a class known as tetracyclines or flouroquinolones. If so, avoid milk, yogurt, and cheese 2 hours before and after taking the pills. 3. Smoked meats and antidepressants. Check the label on your happy pills. If they belong to a class called monoamine oxidase inhibitors or MAOIs—brand names Marplan, Nardil, Emsam, or Parnate—combining them with foods rich in the amino acid tyramine can cause life-threatening spikes in blood pressure, says Gullickson. Unfortunately, the list of no-nos includes not only summer sausage and smoked salmon, but also red wine, sauerkraut, hot dogs, aged cheeses, soy sauce, and draft or home-brewed beer. 4. Chocolate and Ritalin. Besides caffeine, chocolate also contains a stimulant called theobromine, says Tom Wheeler, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S., director of pharmacy and pulmonary services at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago. (It’s the reason chocolate harms dogs—canine bodies can’t break it down.) Combining all these stimulants in humans can potentially lead to erratic behavior and seizures. 5. Apple juice and allergy meds. Nix the nectar from apples, oranges, and grapefruits if you take Allegra (fexofenadine) for hay fever—at least within 4 hours of swallowing the pill, Gullickson advises. These juices inhibit a peptide that transports the drug from your gut to your bloodstream. The resulting lack of absorption makes Allegra up to 70 percent less effective at stopping your sniffling and sneezing, Wheeler says. Other medications also travel with the help of the same peptide; lay off these juices while taking the antibiotics Cipro or Levaquin, the thyroid medication Synthroid, or the allergy and asthma treatment Singulair, Gullickson says. 6. Cinnamon and warfarin. People taking the blood-thinning medication warfarin—prescribed to prevent or treat clots—have long been warned to keep their intake of vitamin K steady, says Wolfe. This means you shouldn’t change your weekly intake of foods like leafy greens or broccoli; because vitamin K plays a key role in clotting, doing so could affect the thickness of your blood. But there’s another risk. Cassia cinnamon, the kind on most American grocery-store shelves, contains high levels of a compound called coumarin that can thin blood and potentially cause liver damage, says Eric Newman, M.D 7. Alcohol and acetaminophen. Resist the urge to wash down your Tylenol with a cold one—your body uses the same enzyme to break down the two substances. http://www.menshealth.com/health/

I also think these judgements need to be made with a lot of intelligence. What is likely to go "wrong" with some foods? If ti contains fat, it will get rancid...if it's smoked it will spoil even faster. Frozen bacon won't be good for more than 3 months, crackers, even if they are unopened get rancid and an off taste. Crackers like rye crisp that are fat free last a very long time. Canned tomatoes can go off because the tin can become degraded, jarred pickles seem to last a lifetime. Spices lose their flavor, but if they haven't turned dark and still have a a good smell, I'll use them and taste my food> I found a jar of jam I made in the back of my jam stash, unopened. I thought why not? I sure wasn't going to throw away the jar and the ring, so I opened it, looks just like it did when I made it, smells fine, tastes good....and I am half way through the jar. I repeat....what's to go wrong? no mold, because it was fruit with lots of sugar and some lemon juice, I wasn't worried about botulism, no fat so no rancidity... But crackers that are even a month beyond sell b y date, even if unopened are squirrel food, breakfast dry cereal won't keep, cookies....eww! Crutons....ick. But most pickles and condiments will keep a good long time....and liquors....they keep forever. I have a bottle of Poir that is easily 20 years old. I drag it out to season the pastry cream for a pear tart.....at least every 2 years!

Of course a dinner needs to be bigger than a lunch! My rules are figure 3 servings per pound of meat when served as meat on a plate....and 5 servings for a sandwich...and I know from several times drowning in potatoes that 5 pounds of potatoes feeds 30 people...scalloped, roasted creamed or in potato salad. the first time I did a funeral lunch for 60 I served a 10 pound ham a 20 pound roast turkey, 20 pounds of potatoes roasted, green beans a green salad, rolls applesauce, cranberrys, mustard, pickles, assorted cookies and mints and mixed nuts!! Took forever to go through the line....too many decisions! And there were potatoes left forever! When doing something like a casserole or lasagna I measure servings, like you would cake. Salad? It's a crap shoot!! But after a few times of offering different dressings, I just make a basic honey mustard vinaigrette....and have had no complaints of people asking "do you have ranch"? And if there are little kids attending I always have a platter full of PB and J....with some with no J. I am amazed at the adults that take one too! Sometimes I will also make a dish of Mac and Cheese....but I think your menu is kid friend;ly enough that you don't need to do that. This lunch last Saturday I was wishing I had done that....there were 3 boys about1 0 to 12...looking at the food with a jaundiced eye...wishing I had known there would be kids that age present.. PB and J on white is always a good idea...saves on the "eww! What are those green bits in there? Does it have onions?" etc! LOL!