The girls and I made chocolate nests for Easter. So simple and quick.

1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate,
2T of peanut butter,
1/2c of shredded coconut
2 cans of Chow Mein noodles. (approx 4 cups.)

Melt the chocolate and peanut butter in a glass bowl over boiling water, add the dry ingredients and mix. Spoon out mixture into greased muffin tins. Adding “eggs” (In this case, egg shaped Whopper candies) to finish.

Cool and serve.

The nests have been a huge hit around here. We made enough for all the cousins on Easter, with a few to spare as “samples” in the mean time.

Then, today, the nurse at Children’s handed me a print out for Resurrection Rolls. The basic concept is to dip a large marshmallow in melted butter, cinnamon, and sugar and wrap it neatly within a crescent triangle. The Marshmallow symbolizes Christ and his pure sacrifice for our sins. The butter, cinnamon, and sugar represent the oils his body was anointed with in burial. The crescent triangle is wrapped (sealed) around the Marshmallow, representing the Tomb.

You bake the Resurrection rolls according to direction (see prepackaged crescent roll directions) and once baked, you break open the tomb to find that Christ is no longer there. He has risen!

I’m really excited to try this out with my girls.

Just a heads up, neither of these recipes really encompass the traditional foods diet that we’re trying to eat. We consider this a special treat for Easter. (Lest, you be shaking your head in wonder at our consumption of Marshmallows and Chow Mein noodles. lol.)

The house is half asleep. DD1 and DD2 were shuffled off to bed promptly at 8:00, and the two youngest appear to be hanging in for the long haul. I’m not sure why they’re insisting on staying awake. Especially since my 18 month old just approached me and stated, “Mama. I’m dored.”

I clarified, “You’re bored?”

She nodded, “Yes. I’m dored.”

Ugh. Then go to bed. LOL.

This year, 2008, the first day of Advent is Sunday, November 30th. Just a little over a week away! I’m intending to re-use the scriptures I set up last year. So, thankfully, I’m almost ready. I just need to sit down and make a list of family activities. I’d like to come up with one activity per day. Whether it’s a Christmas movie, a family craft, a special reading… I’m really excited about it.

My intention is to use this entry to update ideas and links.

~Homemade Advent Calendar - Using toilet paper rolls and tissue paper.

~Advent Themed Coloring Pages

~A Paper Advent Wreath - Perfect for Sunday School and for explaining Advent traditions.

~Make some Christmas Potpourri.

~A “This Day In History” to correspond with each day leading up to Christmas.

~A list of discussion starters. This list is Catholic in tone, but translates easily for Protestants. Plus, it includes a great list of fun activities to do together as a family.

~A list of books and movies that are Christmas/Christian themed.

~Create Cinnamon Ornaments.

~Make a Tin Can Luminary.

~Gingerbread House Decorating

~Pasta Wreath Ornament.

~Create a Prayer Chain. (source)

Activity: Create a prayer chain out of construction paper. Using red and green paper, cut strips 8 inches long for each day of advent. Using a dark marker, write names on each of the strips for people that you would like to pray for during advent. You can also pray for groups of people or missions. Staple the first strip end to end. Looping the next strip through the first ring, staple it’s ends together. Repeat until all strips are linked and your prayer chain is complete. Some families like to make the last strip a prayer of thankfulness to Jesus.

Closing Prayer: Close by thanking God for giving us this wonderful season surrounding the birth of Jesus. Thank Him for your family and all the blessings in your life. Ask him to help you keep your focus on HIM for the next 25 days.

~Candy Cane Reindeer.

~Snowman Soup

~Reindeer Food (from the same source as Snowman Soup. I couldn’t resist.)

~Snow-globe Craft from babyfood jars and miniature ornaments.

~Homemade Carmel Corn.

~Use a decorative hole punches to create luminaries out of white paper sacks. Additional supplies needed: Sand and votive candles.

~Personalize Ornaments.

~Homemade Garland:

Using Fruitloops

Using Paper Chains.

Using Popcorn.

~A 3-D Manger Scene.

~Angel Tree Ornaments.

It’s official. I’m pooped. This has been an incredibly productive and exhausting weekend. Beginning with my Grandma, Mom, and I painting the girl’s bunk-beds and then later that same day my Dad and I installed an extra shelf in my laundry room. Saturday, DD1 had her first dance class, and then today we resumed our remodeling efforts after church.

The plan is to tile the downstairs half-bath, install wall paper and trim as well as wainscoting. We even made some great headway. Dh and Dad primed the wainscoting, removed the existing tile, and my Mom and I hung the wallpaper. Tomorrow we’re installing the moulding around the ceiling and will lay the tile. Once the tile is down we’re going to add the grout, install the wainscoting and then put the trim around the doors. After that we’ll put the toilet, sink, and mirror back.

The goal is to have all this done before Dh goes back to work on Thursday. I’m keeping my fingers crossed, but know it’s no simple task to do these types of projects when four “littles” need lots of mama and dada attention.

Did I mention I’m exhausted? This project took on a life of it’s own. And now something simple promises to be quite consuming.

For the lazy:

How Martha Stewart teaches T-shirt folding, explained by videojug:

Last year, one of the projects I made for my folk’s Christmas was this neat little family tree. Reminiscent of an abacus, the tree is made from pine, a few dowel rods, and painted wooden beads. With each bead symbolizing each member of my parent’s family. Recently, I was contacted by CookieMag and asked if I would mind having my project featured in one of their online blogs.

So with kid like excitement, here’s the link: Nesting

Along with my own project they have a number of different family tree ideas. Go ahead, and check the article out.

Every once in a while I stumble across something that actually makes sense. A program that creates LESS dependence on consumerism and provides valuable resources to those in need. Maybe you remember (or maybe it’s still running in your area) the Tamp*x commercial that gives pads to african girls for every purchase. (Or something like that.) In theory it’s a great idea. Until you start thinking about landfill issues and the waste/disposal problems. Or the fact that Tamp*x is very strategically marketing to an untapped demographic. Talk about name-branding!

Anyway, as an answer to all of that Good 4 Girls is starting a campaign to put reusable feminine hygiene products into the hands of young women in Africa. There are a several ways you can help. 1) Sew and donate. 2) Donate through cash contributions or 3) Purchase new pads and donate them to G4G. Visit the How To Donate page for more information.

The theme for this week is “Lighthouse” and the vocabulary word is “Beacon.” We lucked out and were able to find one book on the library list and then I found another photography book on the lighthouses in Maine. I also have a TON of nautical stuff around the house to use, so we’re doing better this week than last.

I tell you what, though, the lack of available material at our Public Library is surprising and sad all at once. They never have any of the books I’d like to read and now, it seems, they don’t have much for the kids. I mean, they have a sizable children’s section. So why is it so hard to find books based on themes? I can totally see why some parents just bite the bullet and buy curriculum. That way you KNOW you’re going to have everything you need. No scrounging around and substituting.

I tried searching for lighthouse type activities to do in the DFW Metroplex, and am coming up empty handed. Apparently they don’t build them in area’s that are landlocked. *chuckle*

In other news, we’re switching our Raw Milk provider. Our Coop will now be getting our milk from Nors Dairy in Abbott, Tx. Next Monday will be our first day using their milk, and I’m curious to see if there’s much difference. I have tentative plans to organize a farm day with the girls to go down and visit the farm. I know they’ll love to see the cows.

My mom and I also have sketchy unformed plans to head out to an Alpaca Ranch just NE of us. One of the ladies in our spinning guild raises ten Alpaca’s out there and said they’ve got a little shop open to visitors.

Speaking of spinning guild. Did I mention I have found a new obsession?

Spinning!

My husband groans every time I mention it. I’ve promised him that I’ll start small while I’m working on honing my knitting skills. My plan is to make myself a drop spindle from an old CD and dowel rod. He (my husband) still maintains that I’ve lost my mind. hee hee.

Doesn’t matter. I’m still really on excited about it. I have four ounces of Icelandic Wool to spin, and then a lady at the guild gave me some silk, mohair, and cotton to try once I master wool spinning. Can you just feel the excitement? I’m practically tingling thinking about it.

I always feel terrible when I allow days to drift by between posting. I used to update daily, now I’m lucky to get something once a week. I guess life got busy? Who knows.

Anyway, I wanted to share a link to Faith Comes By Hearing. They have the entire New Testament available for free download to your favorite mp3 player. As I type, I’m downloading the dramatized NIV version to my player. The site also offers a variety of pod-casts. Including an entire page of stories for children. I just recently listened to one of the KidzBible podcasts and think that DD1 might get a kick out of them. Some of them are quiet and relaxing enough, that she might even be able to have the on to listen to before naps.

Speaking of naps, I stopped by the library today to pick up three books for this weeks theme. (”Eyes,” with the vocabulary word being “iris.”) Usually I bring in a list of 5 or 6 recommended books and then choose three of the most interesting options to check out. I limit our selection to three books because A) It’s an easy number to remember and B) three books is my pre-bed limit. The problem with today was that there was only ONE of the books on the list even available at the library. Which would have been fine if the book hadn’t been mis-filed. Dh and I searched that place up and down and never located it.

So then we decided to just find something that would work instead. Except, we couldn’t find ANYTHING that had anything to do with seeing or eyes. No “I Spy” books, nothing. It was so frustrating. When I asked the librarian for help she told me I needed to stop looking at the fiction books and go check out a book on anatomy.

Gah.

The whole point is to find three STORYbooks that follow our week’s theme. Not to go check out a textbook.

In the end we found three books that only sort of relate to our theme. One ended up being a horribly boring selection about “spectacles” and a little girl that found out she needed glasses. The other book was a book about dreams. The third is a book about “seeing” the moon. All three are quite odd. We probably should have just scratched the theme all together and just tried to find three fun books. Except, by the time I started thinking about that option, the girls were starting to get restless and we bailed.

About the only other real accomplishment for today was the fact that I finally picked up ringsling material for a sling I’m making for my cousin’s baby. (He doesn’t read my journal, I don’t think. So this shouldn’t ruin the surprise. I hope.) My plan is to make the sling tomorrow and have it in the mail by Wednesday. We’ll see how ambitious I get.

I have two more craft projects on my list. A bag for a friend and three heavy capes for the girls. The capes can wait, though. They’ve been waiting for a couple months already. So a few more days won’t hurt. I have a photo shoot concept that I want to do with the capes. Stay tuned for that adventure.

Oh, before I go. I wanted to mention that I just found out Sonlight is offering a Core A curriculum for 3 and 4 year olds? We’d thought about getting the Core B for DD1 in the fall, but now I don’t know. We’ve been trying to do the Letter of the Week Pre-school curriculum and may just continue on that course. I guess it just matters how far we get with LOTW.

Well, the initial reports back from the laundry detergent are not good. My mom said her whites lacked their normal bright clean look, and she ended up running them through the washer again with some bleach. She’s going to try it again with double the detergent and will report back with her findings. I’m hoping that the issue was too little detergent for her large capacity washer.

I was so excited about that DIY laundry detergent. Phooey.

In other news, I found a simple overnight recipe for my steel cut oats.

Breakfast Porridge:

2 cups of steel cut oats.
2 cups warm water.
2 TBSP plain yogurt (or substitute kefir, whey, buttermilk, or lemon juice)
1 tsp sea salt.

Mix all ingredients together the night before and let it sit overnight on your counter. Add 2 cups of water in the morning, and cook. Be sure to stir constantly. It only takes about 5 minutes. Top with butter and drizzle some maple syrup and raw milk over the top for added flavor.

As an aside, I cut this recipe in half if I know it’s just going to be the girls and I in the morning eating breakfast. Two cups of steel cut oats is just too much for us.