P is for Playmobil

When I was working I always scheduled vacation for the week after Christmas as a way to unwind heading into the new year. I decided to take it easy with school this week for the same reason.  With that in mind I introduced a new activity to the boys. Playmobil story builder.

We started with a small collection of miscellaneous playmobil figures and pieces I picked up just before Christmas. I sorted everything into a plastic container. 1 row of girls, 1 row of guys, 1 row of accessories, 1 row of hair and clothing bits. The activity goes like this, pick 1 girl, 2 guys, 3 accessories, and 1 hair of clothing item. create a scene and write at least 1 sentence.

Nathan wasn't sure he wanted to do it, but once he got started there was no stopping him. He is getting into the story writing as well as the Playmobil toys more and more.

Story writing is serious business. I think this new activity is going to be a  center or open learning activity the boys can do when they are waiting for the other to finish. I love combining something they love with something they can use more practice with.

100 Bible Verses in a year? Sure why not! Week 1

I have joined with a wonderful group on ladies to memorize 100 Bible verses in 2013. The idea is based on 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know' by Robert J. Morgan in 2013. where each week for 50 weeks we will memorize 2 verses.
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Week 1's verses are:
Genesis 1:1  and John 1: 1 

Genesis 1:1

King James Version (KJV)

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

John 1:1

King James Version (KJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I am writing mine on 3 x 5 cards although I have a preprinted pdf file I downloaded where the verses are already printed. I think writing it down will help me memorize it. I will also be having the boys memorize at least 1 of the verses each week with me.

2012 a few of our favorite things

2012 has been a crazy year. I thought I would share a few of our favorite things. (in no particular order)

   In January Nathan learned to drive a car being towed. He has since been a huge help in the shop.

The boys participated in several Champion for Kids service projects while shopping at our local Walmart store. They learned about giving back and helping out.

We took a couple trips to the Oregon Zoo including a special Summer Concert trip. The boys loved watching the giraffes.

We attended the OCEANetwork Homeschool conference where Nathan and Daddy got to dissect a sea star.

The boys found out that our backyard pond is a great place to learn and play in the summer heat.

The boys participated in the summer reading program through the local library, each earned a t-shirt and trophy and Nathan won a huge box of fuzoodles.

The boys got a true living history unit study with Papa when he did a unit on the Korean War from the perspective of someone that served. I am proud to say my Dad is an Army veteran of the Korean War.

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We participated in the Homeschool Day at the Oregon Gardens with lots of other homeschoolers on a beautiful September afternoon.

Nathan and Daddy learned a lot about working trucks as they pulled the well pump out with a rope truck and put a new well pump in with the same truck as their tool

We spent several afternoons at the new local indoor play and party center Imagine: Play

Mostly we had fun learning together as a family.

Scripture Sunday

I  felt like sharing this one from our weekly lesson

Matthew 10:8

King James Version (KJV) from Biblegateway.com

⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.



Have a blessed week

Scripture Sunday 12/30/2012

This is the last Sunday of the year and what a year it has been.

This week the Golden Text for the weekly bible lesson was simply beautiful. 

2 Corinthians 9:15

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.



Have a blessed New Year.

Mom Fashion , the little black dress

As promised this will be a regular posting. Mom Fashion is something I've been thinking about for a while. If I spend just a little more time on what I am wearing and my outward appearance I feel more prepared for the day. Even something as simple as doing my hair a little different can really make my attitude, who knew???

For my extended family Christmas I decided to wear my new little black dress. Now keep in mind, I'm not little figured woman. This Mom is an average height 5' 6" and a plus size figure, while I'm not proud of it, it is what it is.
This dress was part of our clearance store closing adventure earlier this month.
I really like the length and the details around the neckline.

I added a simple silver and black necklace and used a silver bar clip to pull my hair up after I curled it with hot rollers.

I ended up with a lipstick that was pinker than I wanted but I don't think it looked too bad. I did a simple neutral color (brown shades) on my eyes and didn't bother with any foundation.

Winter Fashion Fun with #Cookie's Kids and #cbias

We live in the Willamette Valley and have fairly mild winters for the most part. This year in no exception. The boys usually don't wear jackets outside, a sweatshirt will do the trick. When we were selected to participate in a social insight study with #Collective Bias and #Cookie's Kids I immediately wanted to get the boys a new sweatshirts. I also knew with the Christmas Holiday coming a new dress shirt would be in order for them as well.  Thankfully, I found both online at Cookie's Kids.

I searched the website for a variety of items. I started off my ordering the sweatshirts in Navy blue along with a couple pair of jeans and a couple belts.

The order page showed exactly what is in your cart along with photos , sizes, quantities and prices.
Once the order was placed I got a notice that the jeans were no longer available and I was immediately credited back the purchase price. I spoke with Erin in New York and got a couple of shirts order and shipped in time for Christmas

Cameron picked out a light blue shirt with tie from Villa D' Marco. I like the simple lines and the tie we received is multi colored blue tie that will coordinate with his blue shirt from last fall.
Nathan picked out what he thought was a basic white dress shirt, it turned out to be a lot nicer than either of us expected including cuff links.


We started out our Holiday week a little early by having a play date at our local indoor party and play Center, a great way to try out their new sweatshirts.

We had a blast playing in the bouncy house and in the wooden boat, train, airplanes, ect..

We finished off our Holiday Week with Christmas Day.

Thankfully Cookie's Kids has a wonderful customer service group that worked with me to make sure it all fell into place. Not only do they have a wonderful website filled with an amazing variety of quality Kids clothing including School Uniforms and fun Fashion, but they also have 7 retails stores in New York and Jamaica.
I love learning more about a company and their history
If you would like to see more of our shopping experience and Holiday Week, check out our Google Plus Album I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Cookie's Kids. #CBias #SocialFabric

Wordless Wednesday, building success

Lego block success

Scripture Sunday 12/24

We had an all day family Christmas yesterday so I am posting Scripture Sunday on Monday.
Praying you have a Blessed Christmas with Family and Friends.

Isaiah 9:6-7

King James Version (KJV)

⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

In light of recent events this passage seemed so perfect. The prophecy of his birth and his ultimate power over our world spoke to my heart. 

I pray my boys will grow to understand that which he is called.

Wonderful

Counselor

Almighty God

Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

Knowing that the government will be on HIS shoulders, the earthly government isn't the government the verse is reffing to , but the government of the spiritual. The peace is that of knowing and being at- one with God.
Knowing that God is in control of this world and our spiritual world makes my heart lighter.

Life Skills: Shop Time

Nathan doesn't like it when I sneak pictures of him working so all I could get was the finished product.  After  math this morning (which was almost a battle), Nathan and Daddy disappeared out into the shop.
I went out to check and make sure Nathan wasn't bugging Daddy and found out that he was working. He helped with the brake job on his Auntie's Mazda  and when I arrived he was sorting out the rocks from the quickcrete mix to fix the crack in the shop floor.
So he learned how to mix concrete in small amounts, he learned for cracks the rocks needs to come out, and he learned how to spread to fill in the cracks. He also worked on his listening skills as you have to follow the directions given or it won't work.



He finished the job using an old coffee can to mix and pour the mix out of. He succeeded in fixing the crack the length of the shop and making it possible to move the shop bench on wheels easily across the shop.

Way to go guy!

Menu Monday on Tuesday

Since the blog joined several other blogs in a moment of silence Menu Monday is on Tuesday.

Monday: Curry Cashew Chicken Salad
Tuesday: Pot Roast and Potatoes
Wednesday: Chili Mac
Thursday: Chicken Noodle Soup
Friday: Tillapia and Curry Rice
Saturday: Oven BBQ Chicken Drumsticks and Potato Wedges

Hope you have a yummy week

Mom Fashion, something new

I've posted a couple of fashion things within my blog but I have decided to share more often and call it Mom Fashion.
What inspired this?
My husband took me shopping at Fashion Bug the other day as they are going out of business and he thought it would be a nice trip.
I managed to find a sparkly shirt and 2 dresses. I normally wear long dresses on the conservative side, but both dresses are short (just below my knees) and not as conservative.

We attended a Christmas Caroling dinner party Sunday evening with church friends and I decided to dress it up a bit.
So here I am.

I love the fun color pattern and the beaded neckline. I added a fun necklace and basic black heels to the outfit and wore my hair down. 

I was happy with the fit of the dress as it covers up some areas that need a lot of work, but there it is in all honesty. I'm just being real.

Sunday Scripture December 16th

I wasn't sure what I was going to share this week, but these verses spoke to be this weekend.

John 1:1-3

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.

³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Healthy Clean eating can be affordable with #SimpleTruth

Are you ready to eat clean healthy and affordable? 

Thanks to Simple Truth at Fred Meyer/ Kroger you can do just that. 

Simple Truth products are free from 101 artificial preservatives and ingredients  and cover over 30 product categories including dairy, chicken, meats, snacks, produce, and even eggs. 

My husband and I attended an event this past week introducing us to Simple Truth products at one of the local Fred Meyer stores.

Local foodie and celeb Leigh Anne shared a wonderful Chicken Curry Cashew  Salad featuring Simple Truth products .

Fresh Ideas with Leigh Anne is a feature on the Fred Meyer website and is loaded with more wonderful recipes.
Leigh Anne was a blast to visit with and talk food with. We also met with local Fred Meyer reps to talk more about Simple Truth and easy meals that even the kids will enjoy. We sampled some amazing goodies from the Simple Truth line and learned about several local organic wineries , breweries, and even a local company creating unique hard ciders.

I was grateful that my husband joined me for the evening and tried the goodies along with me. Sometimes it is easier to introduce new things to the family with a little extra support.
We also got to finish up our Christmas shopping together and just enjoy each other's company.

Thank you to Fred Meyer/ Kroger for hosting this evening. We also received a wonderful selection of Simple Truth products to bring home and enjoy.
Stay tuned as we have a wonderful Simple Truth giveaway coming to the blog.

Healthy cookies, tis the season #CHLight

Tis the season for holiday baking, we all know that, but did you know holiday baking can be healthy and still taste good.

After trying a variety of reworked cookie recipes and failing several times I found one everyone in my house enjoyed!
This is nearly Paleo and it crazy healthy.

Almond Sandies
2 cups Almond Flour
1/4 cup wild grain flour (my blend is kamut berries, quinoa, and wild rice that I milled in my blender)
1 cup butter
1/4 cup C&H Light Blend
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

blend butter and sugar together on high for 30 seconds, add vanilla and mix on medium slowly adding flour until all incorporated. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow flour to soak up the butter.
spoon 1 inch balls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake in 325' oven for approx 20 minutes until bottom of cookies is golden brown.

I picked up Almond flour at our local health food store to try out. I'm use to working with whole grain flour but this was a first for me. I will definitely be looking for more ways to work Almond flour into my baking , it has a wonderful flavor and a unique hardy texture.

the C& H Light Blend is a good blend of sugar and stevia, not too sweet and bakes up well. I found it at my local Safeway store for around $6.00 for 2 pounds. 

Love making cookies in my Kitchen Aid mixer , though this recipe was pretty small for the bowl the butter and light sugar blend creamed pretty well together.

My old air bake pan fit 9-12 cookies so I ended up making 2 sheets at 20 minutes each sheet it worked out pretty good.

I did find they are fragile cookies but they taste really good

I also topped the cookies with a little "powdered" C &H Blend to powder the sugar I put a 1/4 cup in a small blended jar and blend on high until powdered.

C&H has a $1.00 off coupon available currently on their Facebook page you also don't want to miss following them on twitter or pinterest for more wonderful recipe ideas this holiday and the whole year. 

I'm not a Paleo die hard, but am starting to try more recipes paleo style and was happy to add C&H blend as a transition for my family. 

While I was compensated for this post, the recipe although inspired by a cookbook recipe is my own and my opinions and thoughts are my own. Thank you to DEI worldwide for the opportunity to share this recipe and my thoughts on C & H blend.