Thank Goodness: Reflections on Gratitude

     We were off to the library for Lego Club today.  They get a different theme to inspire their building each time.  Today's theme was: build something you are thankful for.

     When they are finished, they can share what they have made.  Our librarian takes a picture and asks them about their project. My son tends to not want to speak up in front of the group, but boy does he like Legos.

What are you thankful for?

     He made what he is thankful for, his house and his parents.  The black stepped Legos are smoke coming from the chimney.  Since we had plenty of time left, he decided to add his tree fort that he built with Dad this summer.

     I am thankful for an awesome kid who has gratitude for the simple things in life.  

Hats Off To Thanksgiving: Fun and Easy Crafts for Kid Company

   Okay so you've cleaned the house, shopped for all the ingredients, and baked up a storm.  Now that your turkey is in the oven and the parade is over, what are you going to do with your company?  I'm not talking about the adults.  They will be happy to pick at appetizers and gab, but the little ones are starting to run up and down the hallway.

   It's time to break out the craft supplies.  My children were very lucky to have the day before Thanksgiving off from school.  They were even happier to get to spend the day with their buddies.  After I read them Thanksgiving at the Tappleton's by Eileen Spinelli, they were ready to get their hands busy with a Thanksgiving project.
 
   Since it was short notice, I had not run to the store for turkey stickers or feathers.  I suggested we make toilet paper tube napkin rings.  They would wrap the tube with plain paper, glue the paper to the tube  and draw a turkey or pilgrim for a little decorative touch to your meal.

Here's your supplies, and go!

   The children had their own ideas.  Armored with paper, glue, scissors and markers they created their own pilgrim hats.  All I had to do was fetch a few supplies and they were happy to create away.  They even stapled bands around the hats by helping each other. Once everyone was decked out they were ready to have their own Thanksgiving parade!

A hat for every head.

   If you are expecting little ones at your feast, don't panic.  Grab a few sheets of paper out of the printer, markers or crayons, and the stapler and you can keep them busy while they have some holiday fun!

Harry Situation

Harry Potter on tape.

   Here's an update on my happy campers this summer.  I suggested some names to do with camping, nature and summer, but the kids voted for a Harry Potter theme.  My oldest is reading the first book and was thrilled when his Aunt sent over the first three books on cassette.  I am trying to stall him from going on to the later books as they get more intense.  He became fascinated with Harry Potter through the Lego sets.

   Now they are earning house points for Gryffindor by completing morning chores and helping out around the house.  When we get to 25 points each a week they are awarded the house cup.  One week the prize was an A to Z Mysteries book.  The next week was a movie night with my husband's wonderful homemade popcorn.  After a great job cleaning up in the morning, I surprised them by inviting a friend over.

  One morning at breakfast we had a "family meeting."  I got out a pad of paper and wrote What can ____________ do to help?  We had a discussion of what they were old enough to do around the house.  Including them makes it more fun than always having me tell them what to do.  They suggested simple chores like feeding the dog, emptying the dryer, cleaning up toys, hanging up a towel, putting away the toothpaste, cleaning up the craft table and UNDER the craft table.  Now if they are looking forward to a family game night or a small prize they ask us, "What can I do to help?"  In their minds it means, "What can I do to get a point or prize?" but I will take it.  I have pointed out that when they wipe the table or clean up toys their Dad and I have more time to take a walk, play a game or take them to the park.

 

Olympic Spirits

We are very excited about the Olympic opening ceremony in my house.  I was  leafing through my recipe collection searching for the elusive Olympic snack ideas that I had stashed away years ago. In the meantime, the kids had decided to get ready for the Olympics by making some decorations.  They had out all the paints and asked me what the proper order was for the rings.  My little one made a picture by tracing circles around the Laughing Cow cheese container and then painting them in the Olympic colors.

  Next she created the painting with the Olympic torch bearer.  The kids busily worked away from what we had in the craft box; cutting out circles to turn into medals and turning a popsicle stick into a torch. My oldest took an index card and filled in the lines to create a flag.  I found some stickers to add for stars.  We took a spin around the globe to locate the five continents represented by the Olympic rings.

We ran out to swim a few laps in the pool to warm up for our opening ceremony celebration.  We concluded the day with Olympic swimmer Gertrude Ederle's biograpy.  Her story of swimming the English Channel should inspire some gold star dreams.

Happy Campers

  We are at the kick off point of summer vacation in my house.  Do you know what that means?  Sun, fun and activities for everyone.  It also means everyone is home in my house.  The upside to this is we are free to travel as a family.  The downside is my usual routine gets lost.  Apparently I am a creature of habit.  When we are off schedule I get a bit antsy.

   I feel like I spend the day saying, "Please clean up your room.  Please clear your dishes from the table. Please get ready so I can drive you to XYZ."

   Instead of living moment to moment I am being proactive.  We are going to have "camp at home". This is what I have so far.  The children will come up with a name for their room and earn clean cabin awards for keeping it picked up.  The living room will be the park and they will check it for litter.  This can also be applied to towels left on the bathroom floor.  Instead of nagging them to help out, they will receive prizes or outings for their effort.

   Monday will be our arts and crafts morning.  My daughter has been wanting to get into the Melty Beads, stamps and butterfly garden that she received for her birthday. Tuesday will be art. Wednesday is P.E. time.  Thursday will be a field trip and Friday we will have music time.  This is not set in stone, but is a reminder for me to stop cleaning the house and make time for their interests.

   I will not map out every minute of vacation.  There will be plenty of time for swimming, visiting friends, lounging with a good book and just good old fashioned play.  What ideas do you use for avoiding the "I'm bored" days and keeping the peace over vacation?

Ants on a Blog

Banana Split

    With a request for a banana split and no ice-cream in the house there's no need to panic.  Cut a banana in half and top it with peanut butter.  The best part is  letting your junior assistant "sprinkle" the raisins on. 

  Ants on a log are another fun snack to make with peanut butter.  I let the kids use small cream cheese spreaders instead of knives.  With no sharp edges and no cooking, let them have a ball sticking  peanut butter to the celery.

   At one point I had an apple bandit in my house.  There would be two or three bite marks in the apples in the fruit bowl, but never a finished apple.  I use the Pampered Chef apple wedger and corer to make apple slices.  Then I fan them out to make a flower or sunrise shape.  I put a dollop of peanut butter in the middle for a fun dipping treat. 

   If you have peanut butter allergies in your household, I often use pumpkin seed butter as an alternative.  It is green which looks unusual, but it works for dipping and is great spread on a banana or pink lady apple.

Can't Catch Me

  Here's a new take on the classic gingerbread man.  After reading Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby we  recreated the story using graham crackers.  It was a simple fun project that you can eat when finished.  What more could a kid ask for?
  
  To make your own here is what you need per person. Start with 2 full graham crackers.  Your helpers can divide up the crackers in whatever creative spirit they desire.  My little cooks used two squares for the head, two for the body, one each for the arms and one each for the feet. 

   For buttons we used raisins, almonds,  puffed wheat and shredded wheat cereal.  We glued our adornments on using peanut butter.  Some of the ingredients disappeared during assembly.  This was a good way to clean out the pantry of unpopular items. 



Graham the cracker man

  This was a good activity for a winter day indoors.  I orginally came up with the idea when using up camping supplies for s'mores and trail mix. Here's a look at our finished product, a no-bake graham cracker man. I was told that he has square feet, "So that he can't run away!"














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Please Snow Cocoa



Homemade cocoa with whipped cream

   
    After the winter we had last year, I thought I would have many opportunities to test out a homemade cocoa recipe.  I pictured whipping up a batch of steaming mugfuls as our rosy-cheeked crew stomped the snow from their boots. What better way is there to warm up after coming off the sledding hill? Unfortunately, this has been the year of little snow.  I know many adults who do not miss driving in the snow, shoveling, or the general messiness of winter.  For children a winter without snow is like a hot summer spent in a cast at the town pool.  Sure, you can find something else to pass the time, but it makes for a long season.

  Our one big snow so far this year was in October.  We carved the jack-o-lantern and then went sledding followed by this delicious cocoa recipe.  It can be made with carob or cocoa powder.  I prefer to use carob since it contains no caffeine.  Use 1 tablespoon cocoa powder to make hot cocoa with the remaining ingredients and directions the same. I know many people like to follow a low fat dairy regimen, but the recipe says that cream is good for the nervous system.  I have to add that it is quite tasty as well.

   The recipe serves one, so I quadrupled it.  I also whipped the remaining cream to serve a dollop on top.  The results were rich and satisfying.  This one is going in the file to have on hand in case it ever snows!

Hot Carob
From The Fat Flush Cookbook by Ann Louise Gittleman

1 rounded tablespoon carob
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Stevia Plus
3/4 cup purified water
1/4 cup cream

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Whisk together until the carob is blended. Heat until just simmering. Serve hot.

Picture This

   When the stockings were finally un-hung and the decorations had been tucked away for next year I was left with a stack of Christmas cards on the hearth.  They sat there for a few days as I deftly ignored their presence until I gave them to my little one.   I gave her a freebie photo album and she carefully cut out the "people" cards.  Now she has her own photo album of friends and cousins.  She was happily busy with her craft project and it kept me from feeling guilty about throwing out the cards. 

   I started this tradition when my son was small.  At the time he was too young to use scissors so I trimmed up the pictures for him and placed them in a baby drool-proof album.  At a time when his speech was still developing, he would point to the pictures and I would tell him who was in each one.  He learned to say the name of his cousins and friends and enjoyed showing his pictures to people.

  Anyone who knows me can tell you I am not good with scrapbooking and keeping up with my photo albums.  Our Christmas card albums are a nice way to let the kids have their own photos without me having to say, "Don't get fingerprints on the pictures."  When friends send photos in birthday invitations or thank you notes, the kids can add them to their album.  It's a nice way to recycle cards and continue to enjoy every one's pictures.  What do you do with leftover Christmas cards?

An Apple A Day...

Grab your cup the press is flowing.

   There is just something about fall, the crisp scent in the air and the crunch of leaves.  As much as I mourn the closing of the pool and the need to put away my sandals, fall has it's own special traditions.  In my house these include making apple cider.
   My father-in-law decided to build his own apple press about 5 years ago and ever since then we have been enjoying gallons of the sweet drink and the production time together.  First we gather apples from our neighbor's tree.  My husband climbs up and shakes the tree like a monkey in the zoo.  Once the apple meteors stop falling, we gather them up from the tarp spread below and fill the bucket to haul to the truck.  One year we had the bed of the truck filled.
     Apples get washed in one bucket and rinsed in the next.  Then they are thrown in the grinder.  This is another homemade gizmo where the apples spin around and are shredded.  Then we gather the apple mash up into a burlap cloth and place it in the press basket.  Pull the handle and the hydraulic press descends on the mash pile. This squeezes out the juice which flows into the bucket unless a cup intercepts the sweet flowing cider.