Snowman fun

We are still keeping with our snowman theme for the month of January.  The only problem here as been thats its very,very, very cold outside and no snow!  That makes it hard for going outside to a build snowman so we decided to build a big one on our stand up freezer. 

 

For the eyes and buttons I used a circle punch.  The carrot nose is a funny shaped triangle cut from a piece of orange paper.  And the scarf is a 12 x 12 cut into 3 strips of 4 inches thick. 

We have also enjoyed snowman suppers made out of pancakes.    The eyes and smile are chocolate chips, the buttons are pomegranate seeds, the scarf is a strip of bacon and the "snow" is plain yogurt.  The kids really thought these were a fun idea.  

In school we have been playing roll a snowman which the kids really love.  I got the idea from this and I used this template to cut the pieces out of cardstock.  I did just use a single hole punch for the eyes,  cut a crocked triangle for the nose,  used 3 matching buttons, paper sticks for the arms and I drew the boots.  So really I just used the template for the snowman body. heheh

 

Since we do a lot of cookie sheet activities I decided to make the snowman pieces magnetic so they would stick on the cookie sheet.  I love using magnetic photo paper.  I simply cut little squares and place them onto whatever I want to stick onto the cookie sheet.  For the black eyes I put the paper right on the photo sheets and then used the hole punch.  But all the other pieces just got 1-2 little squares of magnetic paper.  

To play Roll a snowman we put all the pieces onto the cookie sheet.  In order to start your snowman you need to roll a 1.  After you roll the one you continue to roll the dice and add the pieces until you have completed your snowman.   If you wanted to it to take longer you can change the rules so you only can put on 1 arm, boot or button at a time. 

Another fun activity the kids did was paint these wooden snowmen.  I think I purchased them a few years ago on clearance but its only been this year that they are "into" painting so I got them out and let them paint away. 

I love the thinking that two brushes will make it go faster.

When they were finished painting I glued on the eyes for them.

Lady J did all the white herself but I helped only a little bit with the red and orange. 

Eben's job was to do it all by himself.  He did a great job not mixing up the colors to much. 

Now we have 2 more snowman to add to to our snowman decor!

Baby subway art

This is a project that I am totally in love with how it turned out.  I first saw the idea on pinterest of course and knew that I needed to figure out how to do that.  So I started the project off by creating a blank picture in paint and saving it as a jpeg.  Then I went to one of my favorite photo editing places PicMonkey to do up the writing. 

 

I started with Eben's since he is the oldest.  I decided I wanted mine to say their name (since each one has a powerful meaning), date of birth, weight and height, time and place of birth.  I played around with the fonts I wanted to choose, colors and the sizes but once I was finished with his I used the same for the other two only using different colors to match their personalities.   I wish I could find the little piece of paper I used to write down which fonts I choose but I can't so you will have to get creative and make up your own...sorry. 

Once they were finished I sent them to Costco for printing.  I really love using Costco cause I can order online and pick up at my convenience and you can't beat the price. 

I really liked how they were framed and thought I would do the same until I was walking the dollar store and came across 8*10 canvas and thought I should just put them onto those so I picked up 3 canvas instead of the frames. 

During a nap time I gathered all my supplies and got to work.  

I wanted to have the outside of the canvas black so I painted the sides black along with some of the inside just incase the picture didn't fill the whole thing it would still have the frame looked feel. 

Once the paint dried I covered the whole canvas in Modge Podge and put the picture onto it and added another layer of Modge Podge. 

I love how each one turned out !!  The only problem I realized, just last week, was I have the wrong weight for Eben.  He weighed 7lb 13 oz not 8!!  Whoops.  It wouldn't be one of my project if there wasn't some sort of mistake with it! hehe

I wasn't sure where to put these but my AMAZING husband had a great idea and hung them up for me down in the kids section of the house.  I love how he alined them like this.   

Musical sight words

How to get an active little boy to learn how to spell??  Get him up dancing of course.  

 

Learning doesn't have to be boring...have fun with it by taping sight words around the living room/class room.  Play up-beat fun music.  When the music stops I yell out a word.  He has to run to that word then say it, spell it and say it again!  

Once we play a few rounds of this then he can sit at the table, with more focus, and write them out for me as I ask him. 

We play lots of fun games to learn which you can check out here.  So what fun games do you do to get your little ones to learn?  

snowman fun

With the Christmas season over and the Love month theme still a month away I decided that January would be snowman month in our house.  We would decorate the house with snowman and I planned our homeschool curriculum around a snowman theme. 

Durning one snow fall Micah and I were out shoveling the deck and drive way.   It was such a nice evening we decided to have fun and build this guy for the kids to see when they woke up. 

 

I thought it was a great idea until I had to strain to get the biggest round ball on the top!  The kids were excited to see the snowman the next day so it was worth it. 

When school was back in we through a snowman themed party for some other home schoolers.  We had all the kids wear there snow gear;  they were suppose to go outside and build snowmen.  Unfortunately the snow was not good for building snowmen so instead they played outside building forts and painting the snow with spray bottles. 

We did have lots of snowman themed treats for them when they came inside. 

There were melted  snowman cookies. 

We also decorated plastic cups and filled them up with popcorn for the kids to snack on.

And what kind of winter party would it be without a hot chocolate bar.  We had mini marshmallows  crushed candy cane and chocolate dipped marshmallows.  

 I must say I was a busy lady trying to get ready for a 10 am party.  Being a multitasked I was working on everything all at once.  I had just finished dipping the first marshmallow when I turned to check on the popcorn.  Turning back to my chocolate project was my 2 year old, Lady J, putting them on sticks and dipping them in the chocolate for me.  I couldn't believe my eyes and didn't have any time to get the camera out for a picture.  I just went to work on another project and let her do them all buy herself.  She did a great job and I am so happy to have such a great kitchen helper helping me out.

Daniel Fast

How has everyone been doing with this years 21 day Daniel fast.  We started our fast a little later (Jan 8th) because of Micah's birthday on the 7th.  We also have had a rough go this week due to the 24 hour stomach bug hitting 4 out of 5 of us this week.  We did good just to keep down water and soda crackers; but its a new day and we are all MUCH MUCH MUCH better so we will push on with our Daniel fast.

I wanted to share 10 tips with you on how to be successful during this time.

1.  Put all your "junk" food into a big tote to be stored until Feb.  This included our chips, chocolate and other foods that aren't permitted during the fast time.  Just like the old saying goes out of sight out of mind.  It helps with the temptation.

2. Fruit bowl:  If it is there then we will eat it.  Put apples, oranges, pears and bananas in a fruit bowl to leave on the table top or the counter   That way when you want a snack you can grab something nutritious.  Having food visible usually means you will choose it and be less tempted to grab for something else.  This also works for veggies as well.  If you buy a large bag of carrots or celery wash and cut them up.  These can be stored in air tight container in the refrigerator and ready to eat at anytime.    A mid afternoon snack might be to take out the container and put it on the counter with a bit of hummus for people to graze as they walk by.

4.  Mixed Nut:  These are a great source of protein and also a great snack.  We also have a couple dishes of nuts around the house for snacking.  The kids have been enjoying toasted almonds, peanuts  and of course their favorite pistachio.  Good thing Eben got this for his birthday!!!

5. Search for recipes:  There are so many recipes out there and good resources I recommend searching for some delicious recipes to enjoy during this time.  I really have been enjoying the Ultimate Daniel Fast book on the kindle it has lots of information on the fast as well as lots of delicious recipes.  If you have tried any please comment and let me know which one you tried and if it was delicious or not. 

6.  Drink your calories:  This is something we don't usually say but during a fast time its the best way to enjoy an afternoon snack.  We are using lots of our fresh local strawberries that we frozen from this summer.  Along with local frozen blueberries!!  To add some protein to your drink try putting in a TBSP of Chia seeds to your smoothie.   This is also a good way to use up some of your fruits and veggies that might be going a little too ripe. 

A favorite smoothie recipe around here is
frozen strawberries
frozen banana
1 tbsp Chia seeds
Orange juice
Water (optional)

Today I tried I spinach one thanks to a friend who posted a picture this morning...the kids didn't really enjoy it as much but I thought it was tasty.

1 cup spinach
1 cup cold water
handful of pineapple
ripe banana

7.  Root veggies:  Right now these veggies are in the grocery store for pretty cheap so toss them in some olive add some spices and roast them up together.   Serve them over a high protein grain such as quinoa.

8.  Water water and more water:  Make sure you are drinking lots of water.  If you have a hard time doing this maybe filling a water jug and using that will help you see how much you are really drinking during the days.  Also if its too blend for you why not slice up some lemon, lime or even orange slices and added them to your water for a bit of a flavor boost.

9.  Use dip:  Two things that come in handy for the fast around here is hummus and natural peanut butter.  You can enjoy hummus with lots of cut up veggies like  carrots, celery, broccoli, mini tomatoes, and peppers.  Three years ago when we started doing the Daniel fast we switched to natural peanut butter and haven't looked back (except the first 14 weeks being pregnant with Abraham).  The kids love to use it for apple slices and on celery sticks.

10.  The never ending salad bowl:  So I went to Costco last weekend and pick up a 6 pack of romaine lettuce.  When I got home I cut one up and put in a large container with some red, orange and green peppers.  Every lunch time and supper time I bring out the endless salad and we add other things to our individual portion.  Then the bowl goes back in the fridge and getts filled up with the lettuce and peppers as it runs low.  I love just using those basic ingredients so nothing goes soggy in the salad. We usually add tomato and cucumber to our portions along with some orange or apple.  To give it a sweet taste without using salad dressing we have been topping it with a few Craisins.

I hope some of these tips help.  Please let me know any tips you have learned or that you use.  I would love to hear from ya.

Daniel Fast Meal Plan

Welcome readers to 2013!!!  Like every year we are starting our year off with our annual Daniel fast.  This is a 21 day fast (January 6-26) were we cut out processed food, junk food, meat and "rich" dishes and enjoy a wide variety of fruits, veggies, legumes, grains that we don't consume on a regular basis.

Last year I found a great blog called the Ultimate Daniel Fast which gives great information on what the fast is all about, how to prepare and wonderful recipes to try.  This year I purchased her book to do the 21 day devotional and to get a list of all her recipes and meal plans for the 21 days.

Over the month I will try my best to post pictures of the recipes along with reviews on how delicious or not so delicious they were.  Bur for now I will leave you with some of the great looking recipes I will try over the next 21 days. If you want to see a complete list you can always follow my Daniel fast pinterest board. 

Breakfast

Apple and Cinnamon Quinoa (sub milk for soya or almond milk)

Muesli 

Snacks

Rainbow skewers (forget about the pancakes :P)

Almond butter bites (these are very yummy)

Spring Rolls (A favorite here)

Vegetarian Taco Salad (homemade tortilla chips from here)

Please leave links and comments of any of your favorite recipes so I can add them to my Daniel fast board.