17 December 2008

girl's skate

In between blasts of cold weather, we have enjoyed some warm weather skating outside. Sarah likes to race her momma. And, well... sometimes we skate inside, too.









Are we ever too old to want to skate in the house?

gingerbread cookies

Chase was very proud of himself! These are his first gingerbread cookies to roll out and shape himself. (Sarah and I made the dough using the recipe from our Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. We're going through butter and eggs like crazy around here!)





13 December 2008

traced keys

We are working on illustrating our own letter books. For letter K, we traced keys.









A bunch of odd keys are fun to sort and classify, or just pretend with, and drawing with them is fun, too. (We use them for activities in
Workjobs by Baratta-Lorton - a great book for early math).

One chose to spin the keys around the same hole (motion) and another defined the key with color inside (positive) and around (negative).

11 December 2008

waxed leaves

Fall is my favorite season because of the colors.

We gathered up our favorite freshly fallen leaves in the yard. Wanting to keep them around a while, we followed instructions found here to wax our leaves. Added bonus: playing with the wax as it cools in the can.

09 December 2008

sugared cranberries

We had fun making these this Thanksgiving!

from: Cooking Light, December 2003

Because of the contrast between the tart cranberries and sugary coating, the flavor of this snack pops in your mouth. The berries are steeped in hot sugar syrup to tame their tangy bite. When entertaining, serve these in place of nuts. For gift-giving, package in parchment-lined tins. Present with a small bottle of the reserved cranberry cooking syrup for the recipient to use as a cocktail mixer. If you can't find superfine sugar, make your own by processing granulated sugar in a food processor for a minute.

INGREDIENTS:
● 2 cups granulated sugar
● 2 cups water
● 2 cups fresh cranberries
● ¾ cup superfine sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Combine granulated sugar and water in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring mixture until sugar dissolves. Bring to a simmer; remove from heat. (Do not boil or the cranberries may pop when added.) Stir in cranberries; pour mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain cranberries in a colander over a bowl, reserving steeping liquid, if desired. Place superfine sugar in a shallow dish. Add the cranberries, rolling to coat with sugar. Spread sugared cranberries in a single layer on a baking sheet; let stand at room temperature 1 hour or until dry.

Note: The steeping liquid clings to the berries and helps the sugar adhere. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week. (Add to sweeten lemonade - yum!)