I had to use as smaller size because Blogger wants to cut off Chaney, but if you click the picture, you should be able to see a larger size.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
One Last Post Today...I Promise
I just wanted to share one more picture of the girls. This was the last picture taken the other week when we did our little photo shoot with the new camera. Chaney suggested it, and I only did it to humor her. I did not really give it a second thought, until the other day when I was playing with the photo editing programs. When I saw it, it took my breath away! I am going to have this made into a larger print, and put it up over my computer. What do you think?
I had to use as smaller size because Blogger wants to cut off Chaney, but if you click the picture, you should be able to see a larger size.
I had to use as smaller size because Blogger wants to cut off Chaney, but if you click the picture, you should be able to see a larger size.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Stop Me...Someone!
***Warning...before reading this post, go get a snack and something to drink (something with caffeine would be my recommendation)...you could be here awhile :/
Someone stop me PLEASE!
Now that Christmas is over, I am looking toward our new school year which is coming up in February. Over the past year or so, a multitude of issues (funding, deployments, LICE, moving, just to name a few) has put us on a February-February school schedule. At first, I had plans to "catch" us up with the PS...however once I realized that it was not going to happen this year, it dawned on me that this would work better for us. We can take the time off we want and since we always get our tax returns in February, there will always be plenty of money for curriculum.
We enjoyed a very relaxed year this year. My friend Christy gave me the wonderful idea of staggering start times with the girls instead of trying to get everyone going at the same time. I was pulling my hair out the year before trying to go from one child to the other, from one subject to the other. Now, we start with Chaney. Riley and Kennedy play games or puzzles during this time. I spend about 45min to one hour with Chaney going over the previous days lesson in Math. We correct her paper and work on any problem areas. We then move on to the new concept. When I feel like she has that down fine, we move on and do the same thing with Language. I then give her a premade form that I made up giving her daily work. This lists all her work for the day including worksheet papers, test/quizzes, reading assignments, History etc. She is then on her own unless she needs help with something.
Next, I move on to Riley. I work with her in a similar fashion. I spend about an hour going over her Phonics, Math, Spelling, and Reading lessons. We check the previous days work and assign work for that day. She does not have an assignment sheet like Chaney, I just use the reusable sticky tabs to mark her seatwork. Once Riley is working on her own, I can devote all my time with Kennedy.
This has worked amazingly well for us this year, however, I see problems coming in the next few years. We have used mostly Abeka since we started Homeschooling. I am very happy with Abeka. One of the things that drew me to it was it was almost like "Homeschooling For Dummies." I liked that everything was laid out in the curriculum guides..there is no guess work on what they needed to do, and they even bolded the parts that I needed to say! Abeka is a very solid curriculum...I thought I would use Abeka forever. The only problem with Abeka is that it is very teacher intensive for every subject. By time I get done teaching three math lessons, three language/phonics lessons, and read with the three of them, there is no time to do three History/Science lessons. I have not *taught one History lesson to Chaney(I assign her reading in her History book, and she does the question and answers), very few with Riley and Kennedy...and we have not even cracked open the science and health books this year. I am feeling very guilty. I LOVED History when I was in school because I had great teachers who helped me to visualize what was going on. I did not love Science so much...but the girls are very interested in science. Honestly, the thought of doing three science lessons is painful for me...but I do not want to ruin their love of History and Science before it is even begun.
I realized a few months ago I needed a History and Science curriculum that I could do with all of them. So, I started researching. What I found (for History) is SOTW and Biblioplan. I am very excited to start *teaching History this year. We are going to use Biblioplan for the spine. Biblioplan incorporates SOTW as well as *many other resource and reading books. I am praying that by using Biblioplan and SOTW I will be able to teach History in a fun way that fosters a love of History.
During my research, I stumbled on the Classical Education school of thought. I *knew that there were different "styles" of Homeschooling, but I really was not all that interested in them. I was very happy with Abeka and how they do things...there really was not a need to learn another way of doing things. Once I started looking into CE though, things really started to jump out at me. I loved the idea of learning history in chronological order...and I really liked the thought of incorporating Biblical history with the secular history.
Another thing that caught my attention and held on was Literature. One of Abekas best attributes,in my opinion,is their reading program. All three of my children have learned to read using Abeka, and all three of them excel at reading. I have always appreciated their readers. They have good wholesome-moral stories, with a Godly, and patriotic basis. It dawned on me during my CE research, though, that Chaney was not reading the "classic" books as part of her schooling. She on her own has read things like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Hedi, and Charlotte's Web but she could be reading more...she should be reading more in her school work.
After hours upon hours of reading websites and blogs, as well as talking to more experienced HSers, I decided to drop Abeka reading for Chaney and we are just going to start reading more classic books. Here is where you, Internet, need to help me STOP! Stop obsessing over this reading list. It is driving me crazy!!! Since I have never had to plan out anything on my own, I have *no earthly idea what is to much or to little. I *thought I had it for the most part worked out. I used the Veritas Press catalog to plan out her reading list for this year. I still did not know if it was to much or to little, but I figured we would wing it...and I was good with that...until last week when I I found Ambleside Online.
I have now become obsessed with Chaney reading every great work out there. For Christmas we bought Chaney and Riley the complete library of American Girl Collections as well as some of the AG Mysteries. The reading list I have now has morphed to the point where, between Literature and the reading list for Biblioplan, there may not be time for her to read the AG books...E.V.E.R!
But. I. Can't. Stop!
PLEASE, Internet, reel me in here.
This is what I have so far:
Someone stop me PLEASE!
Now that Christmas is over, I am looking toward our new school year which is coming up in February. Over the past year or so, a multitude of issues (funding, deployments, LICE, moving, just to name a few) has put us on a February-February school schedule. At first, I had plans to "catch" us up with the PS...however once I realized that it was not going to happen this year, it dawned on me that this would work better for us. We can take the time off we want and since we always get our tax returns in February, there will always be plenty of money for curriculum.
We enjoyed a very relaxed year this year. My friend Christy gave me the wonderful idea of staggering start times with the girls instead of trying to get everyone going at the same time. I was pulling my hair out the year before trying to go from one child to the other, from one subject to the other. Now, we start with Chaney. Riley and Kennedy play games or puzzles during this time. I spend about 45min to one hour with Chaney going over the previous days lesson in Math. We correct her paper and work on any problem areas. We then move on to the new concept. When I feel like she has that down fine, we move on and do the same thing with Language. I then give her a premade form that I made up giving her daily work. This lists all her work for the day including worksheet papers, test/quizzes, reading assignments, History etc. She is then on her own unless she needs help with something.
Next, I move on to Riley. I work with her in a similar fashion. I spend about an hour going over her Phonics, Math, Spelling, and Reading lessons. We check the previous days work and assign work for that day. She does not have an assignment sheet like Chaney, I just use the reusable sticky tabs to mark her seatwork. Once Riley is working on her own, I can devote all my time with Kennedy.
This has worked amazingly well for us this year, however, I see problems coming in the next few years. We have used mostly Abeka since we started Homeschooling. I am very happy with Abeka. One of the things that drew me to it was it was almost like "Homeschooling For Dummies." I liked that everything was laid out in the curriculum guides..there is no guess work on what they needed to do, and they even bolded the parts that I needed to say! Abeka is a very solid curriculum...I thought I would use Abeka forever. The only problem with Abeka is that it is very teacher intensive for every subject. By time I get done teaching three math lessons, three language/phonics lessons, and read with the three of them, there is no time to do three History/Science lessons. I have not *taught one History lesson to Chaney(I assign her reading in her History book, and she does the question and answers), very few with Riley and Kennedy...and we have not even cracked open the science and health books this year. I am feeling very guilty. I LOVED History when I was in school because I had great teachers who helped me to visualize what was going on. I did not love Science so much...but the girls are very interested in science. Honestly, the thought of doing three science lessons is painful for me...but I do not want to ruin their love of History and Science before it is even begun.
I realized a few months ago I needed a History and Science curriculum that I could do with all of them. So, I started researching. What I found (for History) is SOTW and Biblioplan. I am very excited to start *teaching History this year. We are going to use Biblioplan for the spine. Biblioplan incorporates SOTW as well as *many other resource and reading books. I am praying that by using Biblioplan and SOTW I will be able to teach History in a fun way that fosters a love of History.
During my research, I stumbled on the Classical Education school of thought. I *knew that there were different "styles" of Homeschooling, but I really was not all that interested in them. I was very happy with Abeka and how they do things...there really was not a need to learn another way of doing things. Once I started looking into CE though, things really started to jump out at me. I loved the idea of learning history in chronological order...and I really liked the thought of incorporating Biblical history with the secular history.
Another thing that caught my attention and held on was Literature. One of Abekas best attributes,in my opinion,is their reading program. All three of my children have learned to read using Abeka, and all three of them excel at reading. I have always appreciated their readers. They have good wholesome-moral stories, with a Godly, and patriotic basis. It dawned on me during my CE research, though, that Chaney was not reading the "classic" books as part of her schooling. She on her own has read things like Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Hedi, and Charlotte's Web but she could be reading more...she should be reading more in her school work.
After hours upon hours of reading websites and blogs, as well as talking to more experienced HSers, I decided to drop Abeka reading for Chaney and we are just going to start reading more classic books. Here is where you, Internet, need to help me STOP! Stop obsessing over this reading list. It is driving me crazy!!! Since I have never had to plan out anything on my own, I have *no earthly idea what is to much or to little. I *thought I had it for the most part worked out. I used the Veritas Press catalog to plan out her reading list for this year. I still did not know if it was to much or to little, but I figured we would wing it...and I was good with that...until last week when I I found Ambleside Online.
I have now become obsessed with Chaney reading every great work out there. For Christmas we bought Chaney and Riley the complete library of American Girl Collections as well as some of the AG Mysteries. The reading list I have now has morphed to the point where, between Literature and the reading list for Biblioplan, there may not be time for her to read the AG books...E.V.E.R!
But. I. Can't. Stop!
PLEASE, Internet, reel me in here.
This is what I have so far:
- Eight Cousins/Louisa May Alcott
- The Railway Children /Edith Nesbit
- Cricket in Times Square/George Selden
- Witch of Blackbird Pond/Elizabeth George Speare
- Robinson Crusoe/Daniel Defoe
- Blackthorn Winter/Douglas Wilson
- Gulliver's Travels/Jonathan Swift
- Susan Creek/Douglas Wilson
- Beowulf/Frederick Rebsamen
- The Hobbit/J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Red Keep/Allen French
- King Arthur and His Knights/Howard Pyle
- Age of Fable/Thomas Bulfinch
Like I said, this is just for Literature...Biblioplan has more history books for her to read. Am I insane?
Tomorrow, I will post about the other changes we are making in our curriculum...and my obsessive need to get it all Just. Right.
I am sure you just can't wait.
Christmas
No, I have not dropped off the face of the earth. We have been crazy busy...but in a good way. The Man went into a "Christmas Schedule" which means he had 6 days off over Christmas...but the trade off is that he will work 6 days over New Years. His first day off happened to be his birthday as well as the day my mom came up from San Diego. What every man wants for his birthday...a Mother-in-Law =:O
We had a lovely visit. The girls were thrilled over having Grandma here for Christmas. Being in the military makes it very hard on the girls. They have never been around family much, so they crave the few visits we do have with family members. My mom spent Christmas here last year as well, but David had just left for Iraq, and we were up to our ears (literally) with the fun we like to call "Lice Fest 2005/06" So it just was not the same. Oh, Internet, if only I had been blogging last year, you could have lived the fun and irony with me *snort*
So, this year Christmas was immeasurably better, for the obvious reasons...The Man: present, The L.I.C.E: NOT!
This year Santa brought the girls a Wii. They had been talking about it since Nintendo first started talking about the new system over a year ago. When it became apparent that the Wii's would be in short supply, we told the girls there would be no way to buy one without sitting in line for hours (true)...and that we were not willing to do that (not really true) for a game system. What they did not know however, was that Mrs. Clause had already sat in line for 6 hours outside Gamestop in November. Where, I might add, she was voted the coolest mother ever, by a bunch of very nice, self described geeks and slackers! Of course I was the *only mother there...in fact for the first 4 hours, I was the only woman there :/
Anyway, Chaney and Kennedy were pretty resigned to not getting one. The Wii was the only thing Riley had asked for from Santa though, so she was pretty confident that the Big Guy would come through...providing we were telling her the truth when we assured her she was NOT on the naughty list. She did not quite believe us though, when we tried to explain that as her parents we would be the first to know if she were put on the bad list. She was so cute this year, it breaks my heart that we only have a few short years to do Santa. Chaney found out this year...and I pray that when the other two find out we can leave out the drama that we had this year. I won't go into the long details, but to summarize: lots of Mom guilt, and much moola put into the therapy jar :/
After the girls went to bed, we set the Wii up in the game room. We were trying to think of ways for the girls to find it. Mrs. Clause wanted to hang the controllers from the Christmas tree...however Santa wanted to put them in their stockings. Mrs Clause relented, because she is submissive like that.
Since I was a little girl, our tradition has been that Santa has put the stockings at the foot of the kids beds so that they find it when they wake up. Santa does this before we go to bed at 1am...
At 1:07 we hear the girls awake! We later learned that Chaney woke up and knew it was the middle of the nights, so she decided to go back to sleep, however, when she stretched out she felt the stocking and wanted to take a quick peek. Once she saw the Wii remote, all bets were off. Way. To. Go. Santa.
We all got up and opened presents...the highlights: pink (3 different pinks) converse hightops for Chaney, Black and Pink Heelys for Riley, and a Posty the Pig Snuggler for Kennedy. My Dad and Step-Mom bought them a laptop to do school work on. Chaney is over the moon about that...although I dont think it has sunk in that it is for school. They also got new DS lites. Chaney and Riley had the old kind, and Kennedy wanted one. When the big girls realized that the baby sister was going to get the new and improved DS, they chose to trade in their old one toward the purchase of the DS Lites. They have been mocking them from the top of my closet for a couple of months now :)
After we opened presents, we all played some Wii...VERY FUN! Even Grandma got into the action! She beat us all in Wii Bowling. She even played Tennis. It was like a Visa commercial...
Brand new Wii Game System: $249,
Wireless Wii Controller: $60,
Watching a 50 year old grandmother play Wii Tennis...PRICELESS!
About 4:30am we all were starting to loose our Christmas cheer, so the adults went to bed and slept, while the girls went to bed and taught Kennedy how to go on bark mode with Nintendogs and the new DS Lites.
Here are some pictures of Christmas "Middle of the Night"...I could kick myself for not getting pictures of Wii playing!
Chaney and her new converse shoes
Riley opening her Heelys. I think these might be a bigger hit than even the Wii!
Kennedy was very happy with Chaney's gift to her...Nintendogs
They seem to think they can keep Mom away from the laptop...I don't think so
This should have gone at the top
Grandma got to buy them their Christmas Pjs this year
I hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Me :)
Monday, December 18, 2006
The Greatest Man Alive...
The Greatest Man Alive? I. Think. So!
You may have noticed that the quality of the pictures posted earlier, were of a much better quality than my previous pictures, done with this very versatile phone. As you will recall...in this post I lamented on how The Man was being difficult about getting me the camera of my dreams. A few years ago he spent a small fortune on a Canon Rebel 2000...the camera that I had been salivating over for quite awhile. So, he buys it for me, then Canon rudely comes out with a digital version a few months later :/
I think he was tired of seeing me take pictures with my phone, because he came home from work the other night, and told me my Christmas present this year would be a camera!!! You may ask...why did he not just surprise me with a camera. Well, Internet, I will tell you. We have this rule...this rule states:
The Man is *never to purchase electronics by himself...E.V.E.R!
I have the opposite problem of millions of women...The Man does not spend to much on electronics...oh, no...he still thinks he's in 1989 when it comes to them. If it were not for moi, he would still be using cassette tapes *shudder.*
We knew going in, that with what we have planned for the girls for Christmas...NO, Internet, I am *not telling...we were not going to be able to swing the Digital Rebel. Once I got to looking though, I knew I was going to be able to find a camera with everything I needed...and most of what I wanted, and still stay in our price range. I had a hard time choosing between the Canon Powershot S3 and the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H6. They both had features I really liked, and the reviews raved over both of them. I ended up going with the Sony, David and I both liked the big LCD screen.
Since it was my Christmas present, I was not supposed to get my greedy little hands on it before Christmas Eve...BUT The Man wanted pictures sent to Family...and well, that could only happen with the new camera :) I have been playing with it non stop the past few days. Today, I finally felt comfortable enough with it, to take the girls outside and try some "real" pictures. Here are some of my favorites...
So, Internet...no more grainy pictures on the camera phone...*I have a real digital camera!!! I also have the best Husband in the world...my kids are pretty darn cute too :)
You may have noticed that the quality of the pictures posted earlier, were of a much better quality than my previous pictures, done with this very versatile phone. As you will recall...in this post I lamented on how The Man was being difficult about getting me the camera of my dreams. A few years ago he spent a small fortune on a Canon Rebel 2000...the camera that I had been salivating over for quite awhile. So, he buys it for me, then Canon rudely comes out with a digital version a few months later :/
I think he was tired of seeing me take pictures with my phone, because he came home from work the other night, and told me my Christmas present this year would be a camera!!! You may ask...why did he not just surprise me with a camera. Well, Internet, I will tell you. We have this rule...this rule states:
The Man is *never to purchase electronics by himself...E.V.E.R!
I have the opposite problem of millions of women...The Man does not spend to much on electronics...oh, no...he still thinks he's in 1989 when it comes to them. If it were not for moi, he would still be using cassette tapes *shudder.*
We knew going in, that with what we have planned for the girls for Christmas...NO, Internet, I am *not telling...we were not going to be able to swing the Digital Rebel. Once I got to looking though, I knew I was going to be able to find a camera with everything I needed...and most of what I wanted, and still stay in our price range. I had a hard time choosing between the Canon Powershot S3 and the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H6. They both had features I really liked, and the reviews raved over both of them. I ended up going with the Sony, David and I both liked the big LCD screen.
Since it was my Christmas present, I was not supposed to get my greedy little hands on it before Christmas Eve...BUT The Man wanted pictures sent to Family...and well, that could only happen with the new camera :) I have been playing with it non stop the past few days. Today, I finally felt comfortable enough with it, to take the girls outside and try some "real" pictures. Here are some of my favorites...
So, Internet...no more grainy pictures on the camera phone...*I have a real digital camera!!! I also have the best Husband in the world...my kids are pretty darn cute too :)
Wordless Monday?
I think most people do "Wordless Wednesday," but today I am going to do "Wordless Monday." What do these pictures tell you about our Homeschool? I am not quite sure myself :)
Friday, December 15, 2006
Changing Over?
I started "Blogging" about a month ago over at Homeschool Blogger. One of the reasons why I chose HSB was for the community. I would rather stay at HSB, but with the challenges the past week, and with some of the features being up in the air, I decided to figure out Blogger...just in case. I am not going to officially change over right away. I want to wait and see what happens over there. Until I decide for sure, I will probably update both places. I have been playing around with moving over some of my posts. I left the posts that only had to do with happenings on HSB.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Progressive Dinner
Our Adult Sunday School class is having a Progressive Dinner this Friday, and we are hosting the first stop. Our church does Progressive Dinners differently than we are used to. Instead of us fixing the appetizer for everyone else...everyone brings an appetizer.
I LOVE Progressive Dinners. Our church in Illinois would have one every year. The first time I heard about a PD, I didn't get it...then we participated in one, and had a blast.
An aside:
That church actually taught us a lot in the two years we were there...things like "Spring Forward and Fall Backwards." Seriously...we thought they were pulling our legs...kind of like changing the air in your tires. The Man and I had only been married a year, and had grown up in Indiana. Hoosiers are practical people...they see (or saw...because for some strange reason they started DLST this year :/) no reason to mess with their clocks! *WHY would you do that? Time change Sunday happened to be on Easter Sunday...and our church decided to have a Sunrise Service. When they "reminded" us to change our clocks forward, we laughed at their joke.
Ha ha... *sure we are going to have to get up at 3:00am...Hahahaha. ha. ha...except, they were not joking!
Thirteen years later, I ask myself the same question every spring...WHY????
But I digress. This year, we are hosting the Appetizer/Salad course. I need to make three courses. I have decided on Country Chicken, Sausage and Potatoes for the main course, my friend Christi posted, back before Thanksgiving, about her daughter's Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe...so I think I am going to make that for the dessert. I have been trying to decide what to make for an appetizer. Since I have to make three courses AND get my house ready, I need something easy. I am pretty sure I have decided to make a potato soup that is out of this world...and easy. What do you think? Below is the recipes for the main course and the soup. You can follow this link for the Pumpkin Cheesecake.
Country Chicken Sausage and Potatoes
3lbs Chicken
1lb hot sausage (in links)
4-6 Potatoes
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper
onion
garlic
14oz can of chicken broth
1/4C red wine vinegar
2tsp Italian seasoning
3TBS Corn Starch
Cut first three ingredients into large bite size pieces and bake at 425 for 20 mins. Stir in peppers (in large pieces) and onions. Add one cup of the broth, then the vinegar and seasoning stir and cover. Bake for another 40-45 mins. When meat and vegetables are done, place them in a large bowl. Put cornstarch and remaining broth in a pan, then take left over juices from the meat/veggies and add to cornstarch mixture to make 3 cups. Thicken, then pour over meat....serve.
Potato Bacon Cheddar Chowder
16 slices crisp bacon (or use real bacon bits)
2C chopped onion (or onion powder)
5C Cubed uncooked potatoes
3C water
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cheddar soup
2C sour cream
31/2C milk
1/2tsp salt
dash pepper
2TBS parsley
Fry bacon until crisp; crumble. Saute onions in bacon grease. Boil potato in water until tender DO NOT DRAIN! Mix soups, sour cream and milk in a bowl separately and add this gradually to potatoes. Add bacon, onions and seasoning. DO NOT LET BOIL.
Ok, Internet, I can hear you asking..."But Tammie, how are you going to fit 20-30 people in your house?" I have *no idea...
Friday, December 8, 2006
Holiday Baking
We were finally able to get some holiday "baking" in today. I put baking in parentheses because the oven wasn't involved...well, except for having to put the pan of chocolate in the oven to soften it. It seems that when it says to put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, that is what you should do...*not stick it in the freezer thinking it would be faster, then proceed to forget about it for 20 minutes.
This was a new recipe for us. I have seen many variations, but I changed this one a little. The biggest difference was the chocolate/white chocolate. A couple of recipes I found used the really good chocolate. The commissary did not carry the "good" stuff...and I, being incredibly lazy, decided that The Man and the kids would not know the difference anyway...so I bought Hershey and Tollhouse. The commissary also did not have peppermint extract...so we used plain mint extract. The girls had fun making this, The Man gave it a big thumbs up, and it was E.A.S.Y.
When it gets a little closer to Christmas, I will post the recipe for a family favorite...Christmas Wreaths.
Peppermint Bark
1lb (16 oz) chocolate (I used 18 oz of Hershey's Special Dark...it was easier to measure a 12 oz bag and half of a second bag)
12 oz white chocolate (I just used the white chocolate chips)
3/4 tsp peppermint extract (oops...I think I used a whole tsp of mint extract)
8-10 candy canes. (since the commissary only had the nasty Starburst candy canes, Chaney took one for the team, fessing up the giant candy cane she received from church.)
~Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
~Add chocolate and 1/2 tsp extract to double boiler. Stir until melted and smooth.
~Spread chocolate evenly onto lined cookie sheet. The thickness should be about ~1/4 inch.
~Set cookie sheet into refrigerator for about 20 mins.
~While this is setting up, clean double boiler for the white chocolate.
~Break up candy canes. They should be about the size of a pea.
~Take out first layer.
~Add rest of extract and white chocolate to double boil and melt until smooth.
~This is where it got a bit tricky. You need it to be firm enough to spread the white chocolate, but still soft enough to melt a bit so that the two meld together.
~Spread white chocolate over first layer. This layer will be thinner than the first.
~Sprinkle the crushed candy over the top.
~Let sit for 10 mins or so, then place in the refrigerator for about an hour.
I tried to cut them into triangles, but some pieces did not want to cooperate. The ones that did, looked very cute though. And here are the pictures.
This was a new recipe for us. I have seen many variations, but I changed this one a little. The biggest difference was the chocolate/white chocolate. A couple of recipes I found used the really good chocolate. The commissary did not carry the "good" stuff...and I, being incredibly lazy, decided that The Man and the kids would not know the difference anyway...so I bought Hershey and Tollhouse. The commissary also did not have peppermint extract...so we used plain mint extract. The girls had fun making this, The Man gave it a big thumbs up, and it was E.A.S.Y.
When it gets a little closer to Christmas, I will post the recipe for a family favorite...Christmas Wreaths.
Peppermint Bark
1lb (16 oz) chocolate (I used 18 oz of Hershey's Special Dark...it was easier to measure a 12 oz bag and half of a second bag)
12 oz white chocolate (I just used the white chocolate chips)
3/4 tsp peppermint extract (oops...I think I used a whole tsp of mint extract)
8-10 candy canes. (since the commissary only had the nasty Starburst candy canes, Chaney took one for the team, fessing up the giant candy cane she received from church.)
~Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
~Add chocolate and 1/2 tsp extract to double boiler. Stir until melted and smooth.
~Spread chocolate evenly onto lined cookie sheet. The thickness should be about ~1/4 inch.
~Set cookie sheet into refrigerator for about 20 mins.
~While this is setting up, clean double boiler for the white chocolate.
~Break up candy canes. They should be about the size of a pea.
~Take out first layer.
~Add rest of extract and white chocolate to double boil and melt until smooth.
~This is where it got a bit tricky. You need it to be firm enough to spread the white chocolate, but still soft enough to melt a bit so that the two meld together.
~Spread white chocolate over first layer. This layer will be thinner than the first.
~Sprinkle the crushed candy over the top.
~Let sit for 10 mins or so, then place in the refrigerator for about an hour.
I tried to cut them into triangles, but some pieces did not want to cooperate. The ones that did, looked very cute though. And here are the pictures.
The One Armed bandit relieves her frustrations on the candy cane
Riley gets into the action
Adding the white chocolate...12 oz didn't *quite make it into the pot...
The Man even helped out!
Sprinkling the candy
Almost done
The finished product
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Remember that Jar We Talked About?
Worst Mother EVER
Do you see the big neon sign up there? That is now, at this minute, hanging over my head! Why? Do you really need *more proof that my kids are going to have "Mom Issues?"
Yes, I think you do!
About ten days ago, Chaney hurt her finger at basketball practice. The coach seemed a bit worried about it, but The Man (who has had many jammed fingers whilst playing basketball in Hoosierville) and I were both sure it was only a jammed finger.
A couple of times there was a niggley thought in the back of my mind asking "what if it is *not a jammed finger?" But, when I would ask Chaney about it, she would tell me that it did not hurt much...or that it was feeling better. She played in the game on Saturday, and it seemed fine. I now know, that either she has a high pain tolerance... or she just *really wanted to play basketball.
Yesterday, she was doing some board work, and when she turned she barely hit her hand on the table, and burst into tears :( That is when I realized there was a good chance it was not just a jammed finger. We took her for X-rays yesterday, and sure enough...it's broken.
We had to take her to an Ortho today. They cast her entire forearm...for a broken finger!
Guilt. Guilt. Guilt.
The Ortho made me feel a bit better when he told us, that had it been jammed, it would have looked just like this break. He also joked (I pray that he was joking) that he would not report us to CPS :/ Even though he assured me that waiting so long did not do any additional damage, and that it was reasonable to think it was only a jam...I am just livid with myself. How could I have ignored that "what if feeling?"
Chaney is very upset about not being able to play. She was crying this evening, right before we went to her game, and tried to convince her dad to let her play anyway. I tried to cheer her up by explaining how she now had a huge advantage in the guilt department. Can you imagine the teen power struggles in this house?
Me: "Chaney, you *will load that dishwasher."
Chaney: "Remember that time I BROKE my finger, and you didn't take me to the doctor???"
Me: Adding more money to the therapy jar, "O.K. you win!"
I have to say though, I could not be prouder of her! She told her coach that no matter what, she would be at every game (in uniform) and every practice. While she is not allowed to handle the ball with that hand, she wants to participate as much as she can.
One good thing? Loading the dishwasher is, for now, Riley's job.
All that...for a broken FINGER?
Friday, December 1, 2006
What are some of your Christmas Traditions?
I love Christmas time. I love the magic in the kids eyes, the excitement for the upcoming holiday. Our girls love the Nativity Story...they could hear it over and over again. We have at least 3 movies about the Nativity, and they watch each one numerous times starting the day after Thanksgiving.
For us, the day after Thanksgiving starts our Christmas celebrations. That is the day we put the Christmas tree up (unless he has to work like this year...then we put it up his first day off.) We pull out all the Christmas CDs...always playing "Run, Run, Rudolf" first thing, much to my chagrin...and start the arduous task of putting up our Christmas tree.
The Man and I bought our Christmas tree 11 years ago this year. Eleven years ago, I did not have three children. I did not have to find a *place for every. single. thing. three children own. So, I had a syndrome called~ "Bigger is Better." This syndrome, over the protests of The Man, caused me to insist that we needed the very gorgeous, very big...and very expensive Christmas tree we have today.
Each year, I dread finding a place to put that tree...in fact, you can read about this years trials here. I dread the two hours it is going to take to put on 1200 lights...and I whine to The Man that I want a pre-lit tree. Since The Man is wonderful, he would buy me one in a heartbeat (just to get me to zip my lip, I am sure)...except that I can never find one I like nearly as much as this one. So grudgingly, I put up our tree, and when it is all done, I fall in love all over again. I then tell The Man "see, we don't need a pre-lit tree!" Completely rational I think!
We don't have many...but here are some of our other traditions:
~Reading Luke Chapter 2 throughout the month...especially on Christmas Eve.
~Watching all the old Christmas movies from when we were kids.
~Driving to see Christmas lights after evening services.
~New Jammies to open on Christmas Eve
~Santa leaves the stockings on the foot of the girls beds, so they can open them as soon as they wake up.
This year, I found something I think we might add to our traditions. Homeschool Radio Shows has the radio show "The Cinnamon Bear" to listen to. It is 26-fifteen minute episodes. We have been listening to one a night, and we should be done Christmas Eve. The girls are really enjoying coloring the coloring pages for each episode while listening to the story. It is times like these where I long to be able to keep them little forever...but, Internet, they are just not cooperating :/
For us, the day after Thanksgiving starts our Christmas celebrations. That is the day we put the Christmas tree up (unless he has to work like this year...then we put it up his first day off.) We pull out all the Christmas CDs...always playing "Run, Run, Rudolf" first thing, much to my chagrin...and start the arduous task of putting up our Christmas tree.
The Man and I bought our Christmas tree 11 years ago this year. Eleven years ago, I did not have three children. I did not have to find a *place for every. single. thing. three children own. So, I had a syndrome called~ "Bigger is Better." This syndrome, over the protests of The Man, caused me to insist that we needed the very gorgeous, very big...and very expensive Christmas tree we have today.
Each year, I dread finding a place to put that tree...in fact, you can read about this years trials here. I dread the two hours it is going to take to put on 1200 lights...and I whine to The Man that I want a pre-lit tree. Since The Man is wonderful, he would buy me one in a heartbeat (just to get me to zip my lip, I am sure)...except that I can never find one I like nearly as much as this one. So grudgingly, I put up our tree, and when it is all done, I fall in love all over again. I then tell The Man "see, we don't need a pre-lit tree!" Completely rational I think!
But isn't it pretty?
One thing I would *never change about decorating the tree though, is taking out the ornaments. I love to watch the girls take out each ornament, and talk about its story. We have quite a few ornaments from when I was growing up, and they love to hear where it came from, and if it was mine or one of my brothers. I am trying to build up a collection of ornaments for each of them to take when they grow up and leave *sob.*
We don't have many...but here are some of our other traditions:
~Reading Luke Chapter 2 throughout the month...especially on Christmas Eve.
~Watching all the old Christmas movies from when we were kids.
~Driving to see Christmas lights after evening services.
~New Jammies to open on Christmas Eve
~Santa leaves the stockings on the foot of the girls beds, so they can open them as soon as they wake up.
This year, I found something I think we might add to our traditions. Homeschool Radio Shows has the radio show "The Cinnamon Bear" to listen to. It is 26-fifteen minute episodes. We have been listening to one a night, and we should be done Christmas Eve. The girls are really enjoying coloring the coloring pages for each episode while listening to the story. It is times like these where I long to be able to keep them little forever...but, Internet, they are just not cooperating :/
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