Teacher Appreciation

Teachers are an extension of you.  You depend on them to direct your child in their learning when they are not at home.  Great teachers are those who positively influence your child, beyond the book knowledge.  We have been so thankful to have such wonderful teachers at my oldest daughter's school.

This year, for teacher appreciation week, we gave her this:

Apparently we ruined a perfectly good mascara day.  I know how that can be.  We, especially my daughter, will sincerely miss being in her class.

Zucchini Pasta

I was reading a recipe on Whole Living lately that was meant to be vegan.  I chose to change it up a bit, to fit our family's style, and thought it may be a way for my kids to actually enjoy zucchini, which has been a hard sell.  When my youngest saw zucchini in the fridge, she got excited and said "Yay, zucchini bread!"  LOL  I had to try very hard not to disappoint.

Before I share the easy way to make this meal, let me tell you about my excitement to hear that Consumer Reports named my food processor, the Breville Sous Chef, the best out there.  I had a nice Kitchen Aid that lasted me for about 13 years, but it was on it's last leg, and so I replaced it late last year.  The Sous Chef makes me happy.

To make the Zucchini Pasta, I took 2 large zucchini and cut them in half lengthwise and also in half the other way.  Then I used my french fry attachment to cut them.  For us, I boiled 1 cup of whole wheat penne.  While that was boiling, I sauteed the zucchini with 1 minced fresh garlic clove and fresh cracked pepper in about 2 Tbsp olive oil, over medium heat.  It took about 12 minutes for both the pasta and the zucchini.  I did cover the zucchini some, so that it would be tender-crisp.  I served with our favorite marinara sauce and some fresh parmigiano reggiano cheese.

What a healthy meal!  The zucchini was good enough to replace pasta, but I have to ease my family in, and there's no harm in a little bit of whole wheat pasta.  The kids ate the zucchini, and even said it was good, and that's good enough for me!

Sugar Free Valentines

Valentine's Day is a fun day for kids, giving cards and treats to friends and receiving the same in return.  But who says the treats have to be filled with sugar?

This year we did glow bracelets.  I chose to make expressions like "You light up my life!" and "You make my heart glow!"  I found a similar idea on Pinterest.  To make the hearts 'pop' we used pop-up glue dots.

We turned it into family craft time, which the kids love.  It puts more meaning into the message.

I've been under the weather this weekend, so I haven't accomplished anything that I had planned other than these.  What have you been up to this weekend?

Book Exchange Birthday Party

After discussing some birthday ideas with my almost-7 year old, such as a craft party, etc, she settled on a book exchange.  We have harder times with ideas for her, since the weather here is so unpredictable in January.  She absolutely LOVES books, and goes through them very quickly.  She currently has a fixation on the Rainbow Magic books, and also still loves Magic Treehouse books (and FYI if you're not familiar with either series, there is no correlation between them even though Magic is in the series names for both).

She knew we were on a budget, and after all was said and done, we managed to keep the entire party, including our gift to her, which I'll tell you about later, under $100!

The idea behind the book exchange, which grown-ups also do for fun, is to wrap a gently used book that you enjoyed reading.  At the end of the party you each go home with a different book.   This is supposed to be in lieu of bringing a gift for the birthday girl.  I created the invitations in MS Word based on inspiration from Reid Girls Handmade.  It cost me only $3 for copies to be made on cardstock at the local office supply store.  Ribbon and envelopes are always on hand in my craft room, so no extra $ spent there.

We did a game that was like Dirty Santa, but only 1 girl stole from another, so I'm not sure these young girls understood the game part.  (LOL)  It was great watching the girls see their new book in the end, there was a lot of excitement in the room!  Each girl filled out a simple card to place inside that told who brought it and what they enjoyed about the book (see above pic).

I did some very simple decorations.  My daughter didn't want any balloons, so I used green and blue buckets (her favorite colors) to hold flowers and drape ribbon.  The ribbon tied in with the bookmarks that they made.

I bought jumbo paper clips for them to tie ribbon on.  The girls ended up recruiting their moms to help.  I had a bucket of small ribbon pieces, told them to pick out about 10 each, and tie them to the top of the clip.  I thought it was such a cute idea, and the ribbon was no extra cost for me, since I have a TON of it upstairs in my craft room.

Lastly, we had an ice cream social.  The birthday girl did not want cake, since she doesn't like frosting.  So, per her request, we had ice cream, homemade whipped cream, and fresh fruit- a selection of fresh blueberries, sliced strawberries, and sliced bananas.

It was a nice relaxing party, no hustle and bustle, and the girls all had a great time.  Best of all, it didn't break the bank.

Our gift to her was an LED book light that has a charging station (and the special edition book Belle the Birthday Fairy).  We let the girls read at bedtime (we encourage reading), and feel it gives them flexibility and not 'feeling' forced to lay there when they're not yet tired.  We've used glow bracelets in the past to provide them the extra light.  The book light was definitely something she loved- my husband even found her using it in a dark room in the middle of the day one day!

Up Close & Personal with Butterflies

A couple of weeks ago we took a short trip to Raleigh, NC.  We were going to be meeting family for dinner, but decided to spend the afternoon doing something fun with the kids.  So we decided to head to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, a free museum with many exhibits!

I had heard about one of the permanent exhibits, a living conservatory, where live butterflies accompany you through the room that "recreates the sights, sounds and smells of a dry tropical forest."  There was also a sloth, although he was in a protected area, of course!

We were in awe of the butterflies, they flew all around, even inches from your face, at times.  There were several beautiful types, and here are some that we saw.  One thing that was interesting is that sometimes it seemed as if you were looking at different butterflies, but then would realize after a simple movement that it was the same.  They had different patterns and colors on the other sides of their wings!

We had a fun trip and a nice dinner with the family, and we will definitely be making another trip to that museum!

If you look closely, you can see that this is the other side of the wings on the blue butterfly!

Christmas Giving

Last night our family read from 1 Peter 5: 1-7. We talked about what it means to be humble, what greed is, and putting others before us. Then we sat down at the table with strips of red, green and white foam (could be construction paper), a stapler and some pens. On each piece we wrote someone or a situation to be praying about. I didn't count, but based on how much I think I cut out, we probably had about 60. Then we linked them together in a chain, using the stapler. Then we went to a more comfortable place in the house and each prayed. We prayed that God would lift up each of those people and situations. The girls prayed, too, and it was so sweet.

Last year I shared with you a mission that we supported at Christmastime, when we bought a bed, food and Bibles for children and families in Haiti and Honduras, through Lifeline Christian Mission, a great organization that I know is reputable.

Another great organization that we learned more about this year is called Gospel for Asia. They have a Christmas campaign where you can donate things that will truly impact the lives of the recipients.
For example: "Have you ever received a rooster or hen as a Christmas present? Maybe not, but for a Dalit family, these animals are a welcome gift—and often the source of 200-300 eggs a year! And when the pair produces chicks, they will continue to provide nourishment and income."

It is so simple, and your children, if you have children, will also enjoy hearing about the different ways you can help families. Make them a part of this giving process!

"Here's my concern: that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way."

1 Peter 5:2-3 (The Message)

Advent- New Book to Read with the Children

Last year we officially started the advent tradition of opening a new Christmas book and reading it to the children.  My mission was to find a book that reflected the true meaning of Christmas, and yet still captures the heart of a child.

If you read my post from last year, you know that we read a great book called The King's Christmas List, which is such a heartwarming story, and presents the opportunity to discuss giving to people in need.

This year I found a book at the Craftsmen's Christmas Classic show, held each year on Thanksgiving weekend, where everything is original crafted work.  There were a couple of vendors there who had authored or illustrated children's books, including the family of Phillip W. Rogers (I believe his sister was there on his behalf).

The book we selected was called Does God Celebrate Christmas? and is great discussion for the meaning of Christmas, the hustle and bustle of shopping for gifts, and a tactful approach to Santa and all the other fluff that people try to fill their holiday with.

I'm very glad we chose this book.  The girls seemed to really enjoy the story, enough to ask to hear it all over again!

Christmas Baking, Festival of Trees, and giving to others!

This past weekend was full of fun Christmas activities for us, including baking Christmas cookies and brownies.  This year we added in scripture to talk about creation, from Genesis 1, to tie in to our creations.  This year, many of our goodies will be headed to my mom's Christmas party.  I set aside all of my favorite baking recipes this year and tried some from the book Kids in the Holiday Kitchen.  I made 3 recipes from this book and they all turned out very nice.  The shortbread cookies were my favorite, and I did several things with them (I will share details soon).

A small but exciting opportunity presented itself this week.  I ran into a dear friend at the store.  She was there with a college-age girl who was packing for a mission trip to Togo.  They were shopping for gifts for the children.  We decided to gather some things together to send with her, such as small toys, toothpaste, etc.  On Sunday, we delivered a small box of items at church, so that she could pack them with her stuff.  Please be in prayer for Ashley as she heads to Togo this week.  Also be in prayer for all of the children and others that she may touch on her journey!

We also brought some homemade turkey soup to a couple of elderly individuals who are in less fortunate conditions than us.  We hope they were blessed by our small offering.  We read scriptures to our girls about helping the poor, the orphans and widows.  We continually explain to them how much we have been blessed, by explaining how little others have, in comparison.

We also visited the Festival of Trees.  This event takes place at a local convention center and includes over 100 trees, all uniquely decorated.  It is a fundraiser for a local non-profit that "provides emotional support and resource information for families who have a child with a disability, chronic illness, premature birth and for families who have experienced the death of a child."  


We always enjoy seeing the trees, and our kids love it, too.  Each tree is accompanied by a sign that explains the name given to the theme, who sponsored it, and who it is in honor or memory of.  Here is a peek at some special designs from our visit this year.

 NC State Tree with flags, dogwood, cardinals, and I love the lighthouses made from TP tubes!

 This tree reminds me of the land of sweets from the Nutcracker!  This was my favorite.

 Of course there had to be a pirate tree, this is pirate country!  Arrrrrrgh!

 In memory of a young girl who touched so many hearts in our area, lost her battle with cancer this year.

 Pink Ribbon Tree

 I just loved the colors on this one!

 A couple of nicely decorated trees...

 Beach theme, I also loved the colors on this one, and loved how they used aqua cello wrap as decoration!

More to come on our advent activities, stay tuned.

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 

1 John 3:17-18

Reflections during the Christmas Season

My friend Rachel wrote a blog entry that I wanted to share.  Think about this as you are preparing for Christ's birthday.  Christmas is a time of giving, and are we giving for the right reasons?  Are we giving to the right people?  Are we following our instincts?

I'm once again doing 25 days of Advent with my girls.  Our focus is on giving, not getting, at Christmas. I have changed some of it, partly to adjust for changes in age, partly to improve upon things I learned from last year.  One thing that will not go away, however, is the discussions about those who do not have basic necessities such as food, or beds, or clean water, and supporting them. 

Photo belongs to Lifeline Christian Mission

Christmas season is not meant to depress, but we should reflect on the true meaning of giving.  Respond to what your heart is calling you to do, and blessings will fill you with true joy.

For the birds

I wrote this early last month, but didn't ever get around to editing and publishing... but I think it's still relevant, so here it is:

January is a month where many of us are uninspired to do anything.  Christmas and Thanksgiving put us into overload, we're recovering from all the activities, parties, cooking, baking... for me January is very inspiring.  When the snow comes here, it is very exciting because it doesn't happen much.  We've had snow several times this winter, which comes and goes very quickly.  My biggest inspiration for this project was seeing the birds after the snow melted.  As soon as the snow was melting and the ground was soggy, those birds were out in full force, looking for food.

When I went to pick up some groceries on Christmas vacation, they had some large pinecones on clearance, leftover from Christmas.  I bought them, and picked up a bag of bird seed on another day.

The girls and I sat down with 1/2 jar of cheap peanut butter, and covered the pine cones with peanut butter using plastic knives.  Then we rolled the cones in the bird seed.  I tied some twine to the top (tie it tightly), and then we hung them in the front and back yards (it's best to hang above a branch that will support a bird).  The seed left in the tub got sprinkled in the grass for the birds to also enjoy!

Now, we can enjoy watching the birds get some food to eat! 

Happy Winter!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Am I the only mom in the world who has kids that don't peel their crayons?  This year I decided to melt crayons into heart shaped ice cube trays, but the most difficult part was peeling all those crayons!  I used the double boiler method with some leftover food cans.  They turned out fine, but I think I took on too much this year, with 2 kids, we had to do enough for about 25 kids.  Hopefully they will use them!  I tied them into tiny cello bags with a bow on top.  I recruited daddy to help, since it ended up being more work than I bargained for.  This might be a great project for parents whose kids enjoy peeling all of their crayons.  It takes a LOT of crayons to do this.

Here's my oldest's lunch for Valentine's, complete with heart shaped PB&J and I hulled the strawberries in a way that, when sliced, looked like hearts!  Daddy wrote the message with a food marker.

I included this card and a simple bead bracelet in her lunchbox:

Hope your Valentine's is full of love and friendship!

How things are going with our December schedule...

So far we're really enjoying our Advent plans; our girls are enjoying it, especially the older one.  The little one is still to little to really get into some of it, but I think we have a good balance this year for both of them to enjoy it. 

Today we had an unusual opportunity.  My husband got off work early, so we picked up the girls from school together and headed over to our local convention center.  They were having a Festival of Trees to raise money for a local organization.  I'd say there were about 50 trees on display, each decorated uniquely.  Some in memory of a loved one, others as an advertisement for a company.  The girls REALLY enjoyed looking at all the different styles.  I was surprised at my older  daughter's interest to identify the states by their shape and 2 character abbreviations, she wanted to look at every one of them!  I loved one that was designed in Southeast Asian theme, with bright colors, and 3 Asian umbrellas on top.  I really should have taken pictures, but I was so into the family time and soaking in the design ideas.

Another thing I wanted to share with you is a book I recently had the pleasure of winning!  It ties right in with our goal to focus on Christ and giving to others in need.  And, ironically, it arrived soon enough that we will fit it into our "new book" night on the 15th, so this will eliminate the need for us to purchase one.  The book is The King's Christmas List.

I really didn't know what to expect when I opened up the cover of the book, but inside was a story that cuts right to the heart, and yet it is worded in a way that will really inspire children to want to help others.  This will be a book we open every year.

We have mostly the same tree and mantle as last year.  Not a whole lot of change, although I may have eliminated or added a couple of things and organized it differently.  Here's a link to last year's pictures.

I would love to hear if you're doing anything special for the Christmas season!  Please post a comment and share!

Advent Plans- Child friendly

We had 3 goals in creating this plan for the Christmas season, or as some call it, Advent (which means the coming of Christ).  Our minister has been preaching a series titled "Advent Conspiracy,"  We have always done Christmas differently, at least since having children.  We have always had presents, though in a modest way (with a very small budget).  We have not done Santa, however.  We do not ask the kids what they want, so no list making!  We, instead, always wanted to keep the focus on Christ, not on getting things.

The first objective for us THIS year was creating lasting memories for our children.  How many gifts from your childhood do you actually remember receiving?  Probably can't count them on one hand, unless you have a photographic memory.  The second objective was making sure our focus was on Christ!  The third was considering how much we already have, and how there are so many people out there who are much less fortunate than us.

That being said, here are our plans, I have to create the physical calendar, but this is what is going inside.

Dec 1: Luke 1:26-38.  Angel Comes to Mary.  Angel Coloring Page.
Dec 2: Matt 1:18-24  Angel appears to Joseph.
Dec 3: (Friday- Movie Night) Veggie Tales Christmas Movie 1 (Star of Christmas)
Dec 4: Matt 14:15-21; 24:35; Prov 28:27; Isaiah 58:10 Feed a family in Haiti and a family in Honduras (rice bag and food basket from Lifeline Christian Mission)
Dec 5: James 1:27; 1 Tim 5:3; Talk about what it means to be a widow and what we should do; Tomorrow, bring dinner to 2 widows.
Dec 6: (Bring the dinner to widows) Also read Isaiah 9:1-7 Names of Christ prophesy; Veggie Tales Song "For Unto Us a Child is Born" which ties into the scripture reading.
Dec 7: Luke 2:1-5 Trek to Bethlehem (Life Group meets that night)
Dec 8: The Pine Tree Parable book; Christmas Tree coloring page
Dec 9: Make Christmas Cards (Finish tomorrow if needed)
Dec 10: (Friday- Movie Night) Veggie Tales Christmas Movie 2 (The Toy That Saved Christmas)
Dec 11: Bake Christmas cookies; visit neighbors with goodies
Dec 12: Luke 2:6 "No room for Jesus" discussion for kids, the idea that if people had known who was being born, they would have offered their room
Dec 13: Deut 15:11; Prov 19:17; 1 John 3:17-18; Acts 20:35; Eph 4:28; Discuss children who are much less fortunate, ie. no bed to sleep in; Buy a bed for a child in Honduras through Lifeline Christian Mission.
Dec 14: Sing Christmas Songs; Lessons & Carols at daughter's school
Dec 15: Unwrap a new Christmas book (need to pick, buy and wrap ahead of time) and read it together.
Dec 16: Mark 1:1-11 Prepare the way; John the Baptist baptizing people; Jesus gets baptized
Dec 17: (Will be in the car) "Lord, Bless us with..." fill in the blank; Listen to Christmas music
Dec 18: Legend of Candy Cane; Bookmark craft; eat a candy cane!
Dec 19: Using small strips of paper, write who you want to pray for this season, make a prayer chain and hang it (like garland).  Doesn't have to be just people you know personally (ie. children who will receive your gifts, etc.)
Dec 20: 1 Peter 5: 1-7 Shepherd; Buy a Bible for a child in Haiti or Honduras through Lifeline Christian Mission.
Dec 21: Matt 2 Wise Men; What gift(s) would you bring?; Coloring Page
Dec 22: Family Game Night
Dec 23: John 1:1-18; Light of Christ; Drive around and see Christmas Lights
Dec 24: Bake a cake for the birthday celebration; Candlelight service at church
Dec 25: Luke 2:16-21; Open presents.  After naptime, eat birthday cake!

What will you do differently this year, to shift your focus?

Lunches- trying not to be boring!

My oldest daughter has to have lunch packed daily for school.  I actually started doing this when she started summer camp, which was a day camp that she went to all summer.  I will say that I enjoy having fun with this, but I do not go to quite the extreme that some bloggers do. 

I believe that lunch, just like all other meals, should be healthy.  I also believe that kids will be exposed to junk, and that while they should be eating and enjoying the healthful foods, you should not completely deprive them of the things they will see the kids around them eating.  One day they will be making choices on their own, and it will be good to give them a balance.

That being said, here are some lunches, with comments on some:

 This one has chips, homemade salsa, peaches, blackberries, cheese cubes, some homegrown lettuce and a sprig of parsley (and yes, she will eat that), and standing in the middle is 1/2 of a Kashi bar.


This next one here has little sandwiches, fruit strip, carrots and spinach, Doritos, and Kashi Warm Cinnamon cereal.

 

 Above are cucumbers as flower stems, tortilla and cheese flowers, pear slices, strawberry applesauce, Kashi crackers and dip.  Below I did air-popped popcorn, Kashi crackers and cheese, granola and Craisins.

 Below was canteloupe, Kashi crackers, peanut butter, cheese cubes and carrots.

 Above is my black bean salad (see recipes), raspberries, spinach, tortilla & cheese flowers, and pear sauce (Trader Joe's).  Below (one of her favorites) was refried beans and chicken (got heated up at camp), spinach, cheese, tortilla, and grapes.

 Sunshine egg salad over a Sandwich Thin, cheese for the rays, freeze dried peas for the eyes, and an apricot smile.

 Above she got chicken, whole wheat blueberry muffin, bread, spinach salad (with 1 grape tomato), and 1 large strawberry.  Below she got chips and salsa, spinach, apple slices, chicken & cheese.

 She really liked this butterfly, with a Simply Fruit rollup antennae.  The sandwich was tuna fish, and I found some food markers at one of the local arts & crafts stores.  Served with an orange.

 This last one is supposed to look like a palm tree, with apple slice palm leaves, a Flat Out original flatbread with peanut butter for the trunk, cherry "coconuts" and a monkey.  Served with carrots and teddy grahams.

I'm not perfect, but adding in a little creativity makes lunches interesting for my daughter!  There are still many days of just a sandwich with fruit or chips. 

I hope to soon post a recipe of something I do with the leftover scraps of bread & crusts from making lunches.   Perfect for autumn!  Would love to know what some of your favorite autumn recipes are...