facepainting

Facepaint practice day before painting at Trunk or Treat tomorrow. My kids get in line when these paints come out! Can you guess what he will be?

His favorite car. He'll probably never want this washed off!

reversible bag

I've had time to sew! Scott swam with the kids the weekend of my birthday while I made this reversible bag for Sarah. I love reversible, mainly because it means I don't have to finish the edges! One side is for dance, the other is for overnight.

She picked the fabrics from what I had. I said, "Are you sure?" As queen of all things un-matching, she answered firmly, "Yes".

The style is from the Japanese knot bag. (The long handle fits through the smaller handle to close. I started with an idea I found here, made it bigger and added pockets.) Her Nonnie embroidered her name on red fabric for the tags.

Pulling it all together was fun- using red stitching on pink fabric, applying part of an old ballerina t-shirt, and making piping with the unmatching fabric (around the bottom of the dance side).

One project down, and just in time for the first dance class!

kinder grad 2009

Does finishing Kindergarten deserve a celebration? We think so!

Especially since so much effort had been put into completing an alphabet book of work from the year. Thanks to My Father's World curriculum, which took us through the alphabet relating each letter to a Biblical concept. For instance, letter A teaches, "If I stay in Jesus I will have much fruit":

For each letter I made a badge with the lesson on it. Other letters such as G for goat and "Jesus died for my sins," H for horse (her fav), "I obey right away," and I for insect "I am a wise child so I work hard":For each letter we would get messy, like paint with bubble wrap for letter B and make a collage of tissue on sticky contact paper for letter C. Here's the cover to her book and a few pages:
Kindergarten was a lot of fun. On to 1st grade!

yesterday

The kids love this. And that's what they did with him on Father's Day. I am so thankful for this man!

hairdo

He has been sporting a new style, courtesy of his big sister!

her birthday

She got to do two of her most favorite things on her birthday:

making art and swimming.

Happy Birthday, girl! I can hardly believe you're six!!

my three kids

This is a favorite picture of mine, taken recently at a friend's house.

art cabinet

b e f o r e a f t e rOur Art Cabinet was not working. Being too wide and too shallow, I decided to kick it out and bring in this skinnier, deeper, taller cabinet from Chase's room. (No need for it in there, with Chase out of the crib and hopefully out of diapers soon!) It's totally open, but works so much better. Larger paper fits on the shelf, the kids table can be turned, hooks on the side for paint smocks...

As soon as I had it moved in, stuff was coming off the shelves. There's nothing like re-arranging and re-organizing to get the creative juices flowing again!

blueberry pancakes

One of our favorite family times on the weekends is breakfast. I've been using Scott's Mom's recipe for pancakes since I learned I could make my own pancakes without a box mix!! (I learned a lot over the years from her and my Mamaw.)

Nonnie's Pancakes

Combine the following altogether in a mixer and go

(Nonnie uses a blender):

4 Tbsp melted butter

4 Tbsp sugar (I use less)

2 eggs

2 cups milk

2 cups flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

The mix may be lumpy and that's ok. We like to add 3/4 cup blueberries sometimes.

Provide a small pitcher of juice for the kids to pour themselves. Ours love it.

This is a good time for our family devotions. Fill their minds and their tummies at the same time!

make fun of dinner: pizza

Stick your green beans upright in your bowl-formed rice pile.

Invite a friend.Make pizza in your own kitchen.I've been learning how to make pizza at home. Without a bread machine I wouldn't have even thought of it. I'd stick to delivery or buying crust from the grocery... (actually, we weren't eating much pizza last year anyway, with Sarah's eczema problems. Praise the Lord, she's healed.) Making my own bread intimidates me - - without my bread machine. The one I have came from a dear friend of my Mom who wasn't using it. (This is also where my pizza pans and toaster oven came from! God provides...) I like the Pizza Crust I recipe (following Marylyn's adjustments for making it in the bread machine) for making a 2-3 large crusts.Pizza Crust II recipe (following MrsSid's adjustments) makes a lot more dough for a variety of crust sizes/ thicknesses. I was able to get 3 large crusts and 6 small personal size pizzas for all the kids + cousins to make their own.Or save extra crusts for lunch another day. I like to use whole wheat flour for about a third of the flour called for in the recipe. I don't buy Pizza Sauce - - I make my own with a can of tomato sauce and a bit of oregano and garlic added. Or use Spaghetti Sauce like my sister-in-law. Meatballs (made ahead of time and frozen) are a nice quick addition. Of course, pepperoni is essential to some, veggies to another. That's what's fun about making it at home. Especially when Scott and I are having a date at home, without the kids.