psssst!
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I've got a little guest post + giveaway up at my old stompin' grounds...so head on over there and check it out!
Wishing you a happy weekend and a sweet mother's day!
Baking with Kids, (and the answer to a question many have asked)
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My kitchen is getting crowded. There is a little girl in this house who is nudging me out in order to let her give the world of baking a try--solo baking.
And no, contrary to this first picture, it is not Elizabeth--who finds my ailing KitchenAid Mixer very mesmerizing. Rather, it is Emma.
So I've begun the search for some easy, starter recipes. Recipes that require a few ingredients and simple instructions. Eventually, I'd like to pull them all together into her own recipe box.
To help her have complete independence, I've been "illustrating" the recipes for her. Don't laugh at my crude drawings, please. At least Emma knows what they are!
This recipe is one of her favorites--Peanut Butter Kiss cookies--and she can make them completely on her own except for a little help with measuring the sticky peanut butter. It may be time to add a WonderCup to our kitchen supplies.
If you'd like a copy of Emma's recipe card, be my guest:::click to get the recipe card::. Meanwhile, I'd love to hear some of the simple recipes in your repertoire, or the recipes that your children enjoy making by themselves in the kitchen. I love the idea of Emma being able to enjoy baking and preparing things by herself. I know she loves that rush which comes with doing something "so grown-up" all on her own and it also gives her a way to do something special for her family.
As our recipe collection grows, I'll do my best to share them here. And please, share yours as well. I'd love more to add to our bank of recipes. And it will give me a chance to work on my drawing skills. :)
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I also wanted to point you in the direction of Amy's blog, doobleh-vay. She asked me to take part in her "Inspire Me" series, sharing three things that inspire me, along with a few inspiring links. Be sure to stop by and take a look. Amy is also behind the great etsy shop Little Alouette. She and her husband make beautiful wooden toys that are classic, simple and adorable. Thank you, Amy for including me in this series. It was good for me to take the time to put some of my inspiration into words.
Also, if you follow my Bushel and A Peck posts on babycenter you'll know that two weeks ago, I (bravely, I might add) wrote a post about some homeschooling frustrations. The post got a lot of comments--some well-meaning, off-base advice, some support, and some attack. Someone even told me that they thought homeschooling should be outlawed. Hmmmm...
Anyway, a number of people who left comments asked me to address why I homeschool. Honestly, I was pretty hesitant to share. In fact, I'm pretty hesitant to talk about homeschooling much at all on the babycenter blogs. I just don't want to hear all the negativity. (though there were a lot of supportive comments on my first homeschooling post.) But when I thought about it more, I decided to go ahead and share my reasons for homeschooling. It's easy to talk about it here on my personal blog--so many of you homeschool and those of you that don't, don't give negative reactions to the fact that I do. And I'm really, REALLY thankful for that. But in the end, I decided that these are MY REASONS for homeschooling, not some philosophy on how schooling should be handled for all children, not some mindset I'm trying to shove down the throats of anyone who will listen. There will always be nay-sayers and furrowed-brow onlookers. So, for those of you who have sent me emails in the past and asked for me to share my reasons for homeschooling you can check out my post, "A Bushel and A Peck: Week 22: Why I Homeschool."
when nothing is something
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The other day, while I was making dinner, I handed Emma and Mary each a piece of thin wire. I told them to "sculpt" something while I worked on dinner. Emma immediately embraced the idea, wrapping it around knitting needles, fashioning birds and tree branches; while Mary struggled to make hers look like something.
"I can't make anything! I don't know what I'm doing!"
I told her that it doesn't have to be anything. It could be shapes, or a design or just bent in a bunch of different directions. And that sometimes nothing, is something.
I think it was a good little lesson for her--the middle child who always struggles to keep up with the things her older sister is doing. Who is frustrated when she can't write her letters like Emma, or draw a horse like Emma, or figure out a Math problem, like Emma.
With the notion that nothing can be something, she was freed up to create whatever she wanted, and seemed to let go of her limiting expectations.
I want my children to know that not every creative project has to look like something recognizable when it is "finished". That the process and the act of creating is just as enjoyable and important as the outcome.
A lot of ooohing and ahhhing over "nothing", from her Mama, also helped.
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I just started a new series of interviews over at Babycenter, where I'll be interviewing some creative mothers, asking about their craft, how they learned, how they incorporate their children into their creative projects. I'm not sure how many interviews I'll share, but I may be asking a few of you, to take part.
My first interview is Fabiola Perez-Sitko of Fig & Me.. Our virtual paths crossed just a few weeks ago, and now three of her beautiful dolls are hiding in my downstairs closet until Christmas morning. They are the girls' special present this year and their other gifts under the tree will be compliments to the dolls. We are keeping things simple and budget-friendly this year.
I also wanted to let you know that I am always looking for crafty tutorials or ideas to link to on the babycenter blog. I write a crafty feature each week and highlight lots of crafty finds around the web. If you are doing something that I need to know about, please shoot me an email or leave me a comment on this post. The babycenter blogs get A LOT of traffic, so it's a great way for you to let people know about your blog, as well, if you like.
Right now, I'm on the hunt for great holiday crafts, so please send me any and all links and I'll check them out! I have a crafty round-up post scheduled for the end of next week.
top secret (and a giveaway)
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The things inside this notebook are top secret. But it's a good thing I don't have a house full of readers because I've been known to leave it open on the kitchen table. Although I will have to keep a close eye on Emma this year. There are a few things I'm sure she could figure out.
I've been keeping this Christmas notebook for the last three years, following the tradition of my mother and my grandmother. Both had black books full of Christmas lists, presents purchased, filed neatly under years and names. It was always so tempting to peek into my mom's book. It had all the answers. But I never did. I am such a good daughter.
We have looked back in recent years though, remembering what we got in Christmas of '86 or '92. It gets me all nostalgic for roller skates with keys and snoopy snow cone machines. (Okay, never got the snoopy snow cone machine, but boy did I want it.)
So my Christmas journal is pretty simple--a list of names down the side of people I need to buy or make gifts for. A column for ideas and a column for the actual gift that will be given in the end. I tell you, that idea column has come in handy many times, especially when birthdays roll around and I'm out of ideas. There is a nice list of things that were not purchased or made and it gives me fresh ideas.
In the back of the journal I tuck the Christmas cards from the previous year so that I make sure I don't miss anyone on my list. That top card is my sister's family. They definitely win the award for best card almost every year. That's my niece there in the picture hanging on the neck of their donkey, Noah.
I'll be back tomorrow with some more Christmas inspiration. Can you tell I'm excited about our first Christmas in the Thomas Run farmhouse??
And speaking of holidays and giveaways....I'm giving away a PALM CENTRO over on the babycenter blogs. I feel like santa claus. Don't miss your chance to enter and win it! I'd love to see one of you all win!! (but that will be completely up to the random number generator, of course!!)
the news from Thomas Run
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A few things I forgot to mention in yesterday's post, three of which I've already forgotten.
If you have time, please take a moment to read my latest post on babycenter. It was one of those good, much-needed kind of parenting lessons, but the post quickly got shoved deep into the site because of all the election day blogging. I'd love it if you'd check it out.
I have a large box of multi-grain Cheerios hiding in my cupboard in the pantry for Dan's need for a before-bed snack. He has an enviable metabolism and eats often. All that to say, I think I have officially weaned my children off of cold cereal for breakfast. We were having so much trouble with them being starving and grumpy come mid-morning, that Dan and I really wanted to get them off boxed cereal and on to something more hearty for breakfast. And now they've fallen in love with a good bowl of oatmeal with milk and honey, or some toast and yogurt, or my granola. Things are so much better. Those tummies stay full for a whole morning. It makes everything go more smoothly. And not buying boxed cereal is saving me big money on the old grocery bill.
So you'd think "cue the photo of hearty breakfast here", but I have none. Instead you get a picture of my new winter-time laundry drying system.
I purchased this drying rack this week at my local Amish-run General Store in Pennsylvania. I'm falling in love with that store--good toys, every old-timey kitchen gadget you could want, every old-fashioned piece of quilting fabric and flannel you could imagine and good prices. I even bought a few old school hot water bottles for the girls--who sleep in the room farthest away from the wood stove. Now I just need to cover them in something snuggly.
The drying rack is definitely handmade and so much more sturdy than my previous Target-purchased ones. I love it. Though, you'll notice that I'll be dealing with a clothes-thief all winter long. She likes to bring me clothes from the rack, one by one. I'm sure the charm of laundry-swiping will wear off eventually.
Alright, that's the news from Thomas Run. Oh, except for the fact that Emma taught Elizabeth how to do forward rolls all by herself. She's spent more time on her head this morning, than on her feet, with no concern over what she might be rolling over, or on to. This should be interesting. But it's just too funny either way.
