Orange Candles

This time of year I am anticipating the long, dark winter so I'm searching out warmth in all its forms. Shorter days bring out the need for comfort.

The straight-haired girl made orange candles. We melted down two tapers that were past their prime and poured the wax into clove studded orange hemispheres. They have burned for quite a while now, giving off light and warmth and a wonderful holiday aroma.

Use What You Have

Made these.

From felt.

Added sequins.

They're three and a half inches tall and two inches wide. 

Just the right size for smaller fingers.

We're on to Something Here!

Here's a thought: What if quality time is different than what we have made it to be? Our society trends toward bigger and better. If it's more than two days old, it's past tense. Archaic. We believe that to hold attention, to be amazing and wonderful, it has to out do anything we have previously encountered. All that is new becomes old and stale within months. To solve the ennui, we update to bigger and better.
For the first birthday party, we have cupcakes and streamers, complete with a theme and beautiful decorations. By the time our children are ten we're taking them and a few dozen friends to Disney World all expenses paid. And we wonder why we have such trouble with boredom and entitlement...

ATTENTION! That was Charlotte Mason's name for mindfulness. The ability to be present fully in the now, and it mattered little where she found herself. For her it was just as important to give full attention to the little people as to the big.

Dr. Gary Chapman lists Quality Time as one of The Five Love Languages. Attention must surely be one aspect of quality time. If we care enough to give them our full attention, what is that saying to them? What are we saying when we don't? We live in the world of a million and one distractions. Heaven forbid that our loved ones should get the message that they are less than important to us. Heaven forbid that our children feel the need to do something spectacular to earn our attention or our love.

Somewhere along the line, we've forgotten the rhythm of the mundane, the simple. Attentive quality time has gone the route of the front porch swing. In our rush toward all things new and exciting, I hope we haven't lost more than we've gained.

Deserted Island Homeschooling

I've been thinking about how many things I think I need in order to homeschool. It can get a little excessive, so I've made a "deserted island homeschool list."

If emergency strikes, these are the things I'd absolutely need to have in order to continue to homeschool on a desert island: A Bible, a beach full of sand and a sturdy stick, and a good math book (because I lack the fortitude to create my own curriculum in this area). If all else fails, I would hope my local library would deliver books to deserted islands.

I'm keeping this list to remind myself that I needn't go overboard when it comes to purchasing homeschool materials. It's too easy to view it as necessary, when perhaps it is just more stuff in a different category.

What To Do With Mushy Bananas

My husband thinks I have a problem. Well, he probably thinks I have more than one, but let's not go there... In his opinion, bananas with little brown specks are perfectly edible.

"Not so," say I.

This one is clearly past its prime.

If they aren't yellow with little hints of green, they're just too ripe to eat fresh. But every once in a while, our grocery store sells bags of bananas for $1.69 each. Each bag, not each banana. So in an effort to feed my family for le$$, I buy a bag. Or two. Or three.

What to do with all those bananas? Peel them, smash them, measure out the amount you need for your favorite recipes and freeze them in ziploc bags. They'll look kind of disgusting, but who's gonna care when they're baked up in banana bread, or muffins, or blended into smoothies?

Muffins for the Chronologically Challenged

Photo credit: jeltovski from morguefile.com

I love, love, love muffins.They're portable, they are compact, and they come in a million different varieties. What's not to love? (Notice, I'm conveniently not mentioning the calorie count, 'cause I don't care. Much.)

What I don't love is the length of time it takes me to make them from scratch when I'm stumbling around, barely awake, in the morning. So, I made up two mixes that can be customized at will. I store a batch in the freezer in a ziploc bag, ready for use. Here are the recipes:

Muffin Mix #1
For each 1 dozen muffins, mix the following in a ziploc bag:
2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
Shake well to mix and toss in the freezer. When you want to use it, pull it out and put in 1 1/2 cup of your favorite frozen fruit (blueberries with lemon zest, hint, hint), or 1 cup of chocolate chips and some orange zest, or 1 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 c. white chocolate chips, or whatever you dream up. I've even thought about leaving out the sugar, adding 1 cup of shredded cheese and a handful of bacon bits and some spices of some sort. Fresh herbs, maybe. Sounds great with a glass of o.j., but I digress.

When your dry ingredients have been added, mix the following in another bowl:
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 t. vanilla
Add to dry mix, being careful not to over mix! The goal is muffins, not hockey pucks. Bake in a muffin tin at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

The other mix is whole wheat. We eat this mix a lot in the fall and winter.

Muffin Mix #2
For each 1 dozen muffins, mix the following in a ziploc bag:
1 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg

When the dry mix is complete, mix the following in another bowl:
1 egg
1 c. pumpkin
1/2 c. vegetable oil (we use canola)
1/2 c. milk or apple juice

Mix the two gently (avoiding hockey pucks) and fold in 2 c. chopped apples if desired. I also like to mix up a streusel to sprinkle on top from 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. chopped pecans, 1 t. cinnamon, 1 T. flour, and 1 T. butter. Bake them in a muffin tin at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

When the Snow Finally Melts

We don't waste time! It doesn't even have to be completely melted. It doesn't have to be particularly warm, either. On this "spring" day, I think the temperature topped out at fifty...

 

They have been waiting half the winter to go outside and play ball with Mr. Dad. The yard was barely dry enough to call it anything but a swamp, but they talked their father into going to the dollar store for a bat and a good supply of balls. The Curly-headed girl promptly whacked two of them so hard they split in half. So much for the good supply...

For the record, this would be a great time to have the kids make cave art. They are already equipped with an ample supply of mud, sticks and a sidewalk. It'll rain sooner or later and wash it right off. Let them create away. The girls love this activity, and when it is warmer with plenty of sunshine mud can be hard to find. Sometimes you just have to make hay art while the sun shines is no where to be found.

Natural Easter Egg Dye

When I was little, visits to my paternal grandmother were rare so I remember them well. One spring we dyed Easter eggs at her house. I'm not sure where she learned this trick, but I love the way the eggs look when they are finished; all burnished brown and golden splotches.

Photo credit: stachoo from morguefile.com

I put a mess of dry onion skins, a dozen brown eggs, and a chunk of beeswax about an inch long in my biggest pot. Then I cover it with water. (If the only pot you own that is that big is the one you use to make homemade macaroni and cheese, don't worry; the beeswax wipes right off!) Cook the eggs just as you would for hard boiled eggs. After the water comes to a boil, slide the eggs up and down through the beeswax. The more beeswax that adheres to the eggs, the more interesting they will be. Feel free to swirl them around a lot!

Let them sit until they are as dark as you want them to be. Using tongs, take them out and let them dry on a paper towel. After they are completely dry, they can be polished with a cotton cloth.

Put the pot full of water in the refrigerator. As the water in the pot cools, the beeswax will harden. When it is solid, pull it out with your fingers or a slotted spoon. Scrape as much beeswax off the sides as you can. Fill the pot with water again and bring it to a boil. Empty the pot and while it is hot, wipe it out with paper towels.

Thrifty Sloppy Joes

McCormick Sloppy Joe Seasoning = $1.57

Flavorite Tomato Paste = $.50 Assorted Spices = not sure, but it has to be less than $1.07!

This recipe is from The Thrifty Cook. I'm not sure if you can get it in print right now, but if you see one at a garage sale, snap it up post haste!

Sloppy Joe Mix
1 T. minced onion
1 t. green pepper flakes
1 t. cornstarch
1/2 t. sugar (we leave this out)
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. celery salt
1/4 t. chili powder

Combine all ingredients. Place on a 6" square of aluminum foil and seal air tight. Repeat recipe to make as many packages as desired. Makes 1 package.

Sloppy Joes

1 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. mix
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 1/4 c. water
hamburger buns

Brown beef in skillet. Drain off excess fat. Blend in Sloppy Joe Mix. Stir in tomato paste and water. Cover and simmer for ten minutes (we find it may take longer). Serve hot.

They're Cute But They Multiply Like Dust Bunnies Under the Bed

There was much fun and frivolity around our house last weekend. The Straight-haired girl had her eleventh birthday party, complete with nine giggly friends. A great time was had by all. But our quest to match our habits with our convictions - among which we list "less junk, less money on things that don't matter in the long run" - is slightly out of kilter with the average birthday party.

We have tried to instill in our family the realization that the time with friends is more important than the material benefits involved in a traditional birthday party, but that's hard to do when the wrapping paper is so pretty and the presents are so shiny and new. So, we tried to have gift-less birthday parties last year. We asked our guests to bring food for the food pantry instead of a gift, and the girls did not complain. But half the joy of a party is "wrapped up" in the presents. And I know, too, that the girls like to give other kids something for their birthday. Who hasn't given a gift, and hoped that it would speak to the recipient and communicate how valued they are as a friend?

So, we tried to strike a balance this year. We told our friends that gifts were optional.  Yes, it was a cop out. We let our friends decide for us. Sigh.

Among the Straight-haired girl's new treasures are a toy her friend treasured in the past, a gently used yard-sale find, a highly practical gift (for our family that means new art supplies), a certificate for a fun outing, and a brand new toy. She loves them all.

She wanted her friends to go home with something fun from the party. Since we are trying to avoid junky Dollar Store toys, goodie bags were out. And in the interests of keeping our budget intact, we used supplies that we already had. They made their own fun.

Balloon Toons: Adopt A Glurb

The Straight-haired girl's slight obsession with this book (and its rapidly multiplying cuteness) sparked a desire on her part to make Glurbs for her friends. We also needed party activities to keep nine tweens busy for two hours. She ended up planning the fun, and we decided to combine the two with a sewing lesson.

We pre-cut the bodies, arms and legs. She also decided that she wanted to make the faces ahead of time. All her friends did was sew the body halves together and stuff them. Each Glurb had its own personality, and since we had a surfeit of pink leopard-print knit, that meant they were perfect for an eleventh birthday party.

It's a Good Day for a Picnic!

I talked to my mom yesterday. All the snow in her neck of the woods is gone, the grass is greening up, and the temperature has hit 60 already. It's even better farther south. I keep hearing rumors of garden planting activity. In our neck of the woods it's been snowing (since October). We've been sick all winter, and I have cabin fever times ten. The kids are antsy. The husband is gone. And it's snowing again.

When you can't get out much, you have to create your own excitement...it's time for a picnic! Let the creative director make name tags - that makes it an official indoor picnic. Fix the fanciest frozen pizza you can find, pull out the picnic blanket and have at it. (That is a stuffed hamster, by the way. I have my standards.)

Serve bubble gum for dessert, and practice blowing bubbles while playing Uno.

Happy Hearts Day

Last summer, I painted a tree on the Straight-haired girl's wall. She absolutely loves it and wants to turn her entire room into the Big Woods. For Valentine's Day, I made up little red hearts from construction paper and wrote things I appreciate about her on them. Then, I taped them to the wall over the top of the leaves on the tree. She moved them all to her owls, right over her bed.

Red construction paper - $1.99, sharpie markers - $3.99, fillin' up the love tank - priceless.

Homemade Lunchables

I don't like store bought lunchables. In spite of their great appeal to the girls, they tend to be high in sodium and nitrates and yucky sugar treats. All that packaging seems wasteful, and the price tag is way too high for the amount of good nutrition inside.

I like the idea of lunchables though. Not to mention the highly portable nature of the "lunch in a box" concept. So, I decided to make my own...after a quick trip to our local "piggly wiggly" we were set. Open compartmentalized disposable boxes; insert crackers, block cheese, and grapes. Lunch. Done. It's our most requested menu item.

In my mind's eye, I'm seeing boxes like this.

 Or this.

 I'm seeing cutesy shapes from cheese with cookie cutters; something more along the lines of this. Except it's fake wooden food...

Reality check, Mama. The Straight-haired girl is way beyond the restaurant playing stage. And the Curly-headed girl would need to make real sushi and get grossed out at the contents. Never mind.

Kitchen Curtains

Tea towels with calendars on them used to be all the rage. My grandmother got a new one each Christmas. When the new year came, she would promptly starch and iron it and hang it on the wall. She kept them all... from 1950 something to 2008.

When I was digging around for kitchen curtains that would allow for some privacy and simultaneous bird watching, I came up with the idea to clip them at the top and use them for curtains. Problem solved.

And, it reminds me of Grandma's kitchen and chocolate chip cookies and Sunday dinners. Trust me, that's a good thing!

Flying Low to the Ground

After supper, we all piled into the van and headed off to the Eighth Street Ice Rink. Yep. That's right. For all you people who live in basketball land, that's a hockey rink. H-o-c-k-e-y. It's a hockey rink, because it's outside. The intrepid people who live in our town (and others across the fine state we live in) just poured water on the frozen tundra, and kept doing it until a rink formed. Then, they periodically plowed the snow off the ice. Magic.

Tonight we were lucky. No one else was in sight. The rink had just been cleared with a zamboni and dusted with fresh snow. The girls were in skating heaven.

Two rinks to fly across and no one else in sight. The curly-headed girl just needed us to know that her toes were numb because her feet were growing out of her skates. She didn't really expect anyone to do anything about it because that would have taken precious time away from what really mattered - skating.

She was skating! You can see the joy on her face. She was not falling down. Much. She was almost flying she was going so fast!

 

Please don't hate us, prairie-dwellers. We know you pay big money to strap on skates and glide on ice. But up here? It's free! I can't even believe this is the first winter we have done this since we've moved up here. We must be learning how to live up north. The curly-headed girl was quick to inform us that this ice is safe. because there is no water underneath it, just grass. It's amazing: They know how thick the ice must be before it's safe. It's inherent knowledge, just like knowing which way is north.

Random Acts of Kindness

We are doing Secret Angels this year. The house is full of giggles and the very best kind of secrets. And always, great artwork...even if the artist is a little shy about signing her name.

How Many Days 'Til Christmas?

"How many days 'til Christmas?" is a question every Mom wants to hear only so many times.

So in our house, we made an advent calendar on a piece of yarn strung between the door and the picture window. We used old pictures the girls had drawn and scrapbook paper that was not put to use elsewhere. They colored and pasted and painted to their hearts' content to make the rest of them. Then, we cut them into envelope shapes and glued them together. After they went to bed, I filled them. On December 1, we started taking them down for all kinds of excitement. 

We filled the envelopes with the following items:

1.  Set up the manger, but don't fill it.
2.  Make Christmas ornaments.
3.  Lindor's chocolate balls (mint flavor).
4.  Make Christmas cards.
5.  Glass menagerie animals from our local drug store.
6.  Make snowflakes.
7.  Make Christmas cookies.
8.  Money for donuts (and a coupon for a trip to Timmy's!).
9.  Hot chocolate mix.
10. Go shopping for Dad's presents.
11. Sing Christmas carols together.
12. Drive around in our jammies and see the lights.
13. More glass animals.
14. Candy canes.
15. Make suet and seed cakes for the birds.
16. Gift certificates for free Domino's garlic cheesy bread.
17. Money for a special treat (and a coupon for a trip to the candy store).
18. Watch a Christmas movie together and devour homemade popcorn.
19. Lindor chocolate balls (raspberry flavor).
20. Stickers.
21. Go shopping for the cousins.
22. Money for a treat (and a coupon for a trip to Beachy's).
23. December Book-It certificate - which assumes they have met their goal. Otherwise, I'll substitute.
24. Track Santa on NORAD and play games.

The whole thing cost us a whopping $8.87, not counting money we gave them for treats. Pretty cheap entertainment, I'd say. And the best part? Not once have they asked me, "How many more days until Christmas?"

If Stain Removal Doesn't Excite You, Don't Read This!

• Add 1/4 cup white vinegar to dish water for greasy pans.

• White vinegar also cleans cloudy glassware. Apply full strength with a toothbrush, or use it as a rinse in your dishwasher.

• Baking soda removes stains from plastic containers (as well as odors). Another way to remove odors is to leave newspaper in a dry container overnight.

• Onions will remove rust stains on knives.

• If aluminum pots and pans are stained, boil rhubarb or lemon in the pans.

• Clean your blender by filling it half full with warm water and a drop or two of dish soap. Run it for 15 seconds or so.

• Put a cup of water and 1/4 cup white vinegar in the microwave for 5 minutes. It will be easy to wipe out as a result.

• When your washing machine needs a cleaning, add 2 cups of white vinegar to the rinse cycle.

Foraging for Food

Do we know how to have fun with nature or what?

Yes, the tent is set up in the living room. Your eyes are not deceiving you. When we can't get out and camp in the woods, we like to pretend. I found this tent on clearance at our local Stuff-Mart, and it has been a favorite plaything for the entire time we have owned it. The straight-haired girl maintains that what makes the tent so special is the gear hammock in the roof: Baer has his own place to sleep!

And since the tent was set up in the living room, we decided it was only natural to forage for some food. I hid dessert (chocolate) in an obscure place and left little white index cards scattered hither and yon. They ran all over the house searching for them. I didn't think it would be THAT much fun. The curly-headed girl has already decided we should do it again, but I do need to tell her that dessert will not be ice cream. I don't need a puddle of that in the bottom of my closet!

Just in case you think we are softies and unconnected with nature, we did go outside and garden for at least an hour today. Give us some credit, please!

Pink Anyone?

When I was younger, I didn't really care all that much for pink. Then my mom made me a pink quilt (not this one), so being the decor minded individual that I am, I begged my mom to let me paint my room to go along with it. Then I just about gagged on all the pink. Overload!

Until one summer day, my husband and I found out that we were having a little girl. Suddenly, pink was en vogue again. I loved little pink crocheted booties, pink bibs, tiny dresses of pink calico and everything else pink.

Don't tell, but I've kind of liked it ever since. In fact, I like it so much that I can't let go of this little baby quilt that was my husband's. Back in the day (before sonograms) his mom got this very pink baby quilt and then promptly had two boys. It wasn't used much until the granddaughters came along. But as you can see, it's had a very hard life lately. Now I've decided to fix it. I have loads of leftover pink fabric and I'm going to put it to good use! One can never have too many quilts up here.