December Projects!

These are a few things that JJ and did during the month of December! I did not get pictures of everything since we ate some of the things. We made homemade biscotti, multiple cookies and cheese cakes, and cupcakes for parties.

Jj and I made this YUMMY homemade eggnog french toast bake.    -1 1/2 cups homemade eggnog   -one Pyrex rectangle dish filled with day old bread  -4 eggs  -1/2 tsp nutmeg  -2 tbl cinnamon  -1/4 tsp cloves  -1/2 package cooked bacon   -5 cooked sausages or 1/4 pound cooked ground pork    we just layered it in the Pyrex and let it soak for a few hours in the fridge. then we baked it covered with tin foil for 25 mins at 400degrees and then uncovered for 10 mins at 375 to finish.   cranberry glaze  -1/2 cup dried cranberry  -1/2 cup raspberry jam  -1/4 cup water   -1/4 cup maple syrup  cook on stove top until it bubbles and thickens. pour over the top of the eggnog french toast bake when it is done and on your plate :)

We also made this fun wreath out of left over dollar store Christmas decorations like the green garland, ornaments (from a friend who moved), and a bow my aunt had made us a few years prior. I used some hot glue and an old wreath circle I had left over from crafts my mom and I used to do when I was a kid. This is what we got! :)

We also made some fun toddler projects like this handprint raindeer and tissue paper snowman.

We also made salt ornament hand prints but I forgot to take a picture before we put them away.

school is in session!

I am going to start JJ with some homeschooling preschool this next week. We always work in learning things as we go but this is going to be the first time I start doing an actual planned out lesson plan with certain letters and numbers and shapes we focus on each week. I am starting out doing it a certain letter, a certain number, a certain shape, color and a corresponding animal/noun a week. We will go from there. Next week is A, 1, circle, red and apple. I am keeping it pretty basic for now and we will go through the alphabet with corresponding numbers, shapes, colors, and nouns every week through 26 then I will go from there and add things and make it a bit more involved as he is ready. I will be using the library and getting a few books a week to go with the theme and we will also be doing some art project too. I wish I had started in September to go with the seasons a bit more but that's ok. We will just use our day/month/weather chart and talk about seasons separate from the letters/numbers of the week.

I plan to add sounds and go back through the alphabet after this first round. We will have story/singing time everyday probably in the am and I am going to start getting him up at a certain time to start (just like we would if he was leaving for preschool). This will help me keep on track as well.

I am going to blog about this on here as well. If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them. We are also going to be continuing our daily living things like helping to cook and learning to measure as part of our homeschool experience as well.

chew on this!?!

I made Evelyn some teething biscuits and she loves them. I made them into a circle with a hole in the center to allow her to hold onto them. Recipe from A bird and a bean blog I love her recipes.

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons water (or enough to bring dough together)

Dump out onto counter to knead for about three minutes. Add flour if needed to make the dough workable. Then roll out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut out shapes to bake. 300 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Just watch for a dry looking cookie. Then set out and dry. The cookies will continue to dry and get hard as they cool.

goal homemade food to make this year

I have been working on my list of things I want to try this year. I have just made the list so far for things I would like to try cooking/baking. This is what I have so far:

Graham crackers

Cheese-its

Wheat thins

English muffins

Naan

Pop tarts

Pizza bites

Marshmallows

Gummy candies

Caramel

My own ranch, taco, and onion seasoning mixes

Granola bars

Master homemade noodles

Ice cream

Chocolate cups and other filled treats

Sushi

Gluten free baking

Bagels

Frozen yogurt

I also have a goal of at least 4 new breakfasts, 4 new lunches, and 4 new dinners a week (like things I have either never made the kids or not very often) I am getting tired of the same stand-bys and I would like to work on expanding jjs pallet

I will add to this as I discover other things.

I have also started a DIY list for things I would like to learn to make that is not food.

Learn to:

Crochet

Knit

Sew: sleeves, diaper covers, quilt, zippers, button (with machine), cording, how to add PLU, and how to add batting.

These lists look ambitious but I am determined to homeschool jj by working with him learning as we go. I want this year to be productive and hopefully I will have learned some new things I can continue to make as the kids grow.   

sleep?!?

I am begining to think that anytime I know that I have something to do the next day, the kids sense it and stay up WAY too late. It was like trying to put cirus animals down last night. I can not believe that in the first time in a long time, JJ was up till 1am. He was coughing and wheezing....boo asthma. Lets hope our party goes well today considering the kids are still alseep.
      Kids 1 Mom 0

Kids New Years at Noon

So my first “blog” post is going to be about my plans for the kids New Years Eve at noon party I am doing tomorrow with m friend, her son, and a new friend she is bringing. We are going to make some homemade horn “noise makers” for the kids, out of card stock. I am letting the kids decorate the paper before we roll it into the horn shape. We are also going to let the kids stomp on bubble wrap to simulate poppers (since they are 3 and under). Luckily the kids don’t know about watching things on TV so at noon we are just going to tell them Happy New Years and let them go to town. We will be serving a star shaped pizza, yummy cupcakes and special chocolate smoothies. I have a million ideas for fun things to do with the kids for New Years as they get older. For instance I would love to decorate our tree as a New Years tree next year as soon as Christmas is over. It would include balloons with treats inside ready to be popped as well as necklaces, big year glasses, and other fun things to decorate the kids with. Then New Years day we would take everything off and celebrate!