Making your home a haven

This week's challenge for "Making your home a Have" is to Focus on the Kitchen. The heart of the home.  Cook things with pleasant aromas and that the family can cook together.   It is also a reminder to give thanks for all things.  Now, I enjoy cooking.  I enjoy trying new recipes and making our "tried and trues".  When I worked full time, we got into a terrible rut but when you only have 30 minutes from the time you get home until dinner needs to be on the table, a rut is easy to do!  Now, though, I cook lots of different meals and we've enjoyed some GREAT things and some awful things!  Yet we always enjoy it together - the good food or laughing at something horrible as I grab the keys and run to Taco Bell! 

So, bless your family this week with something special from the kitchen.

You can read Courtney's full devotional here at the Women Living Well blog.

Too Cute Not to "Toot"

fBloggers are busy putting out lots of great ideas.  I think the Halloween ideas are starting to tickle down but have no fear, there are many great plans for upcoming holidays!
I'm always looking for great teaching ideas for my kids so when I saw this Thankfulness Countdown Calendar, I just had to share!

Check it out Here!

Over at Lemon Tree Creations, she gives a really easy project to do with all of those beautiful leaves.  They would make a great addition for Thanksgiving decor!

One of my favorite blogs, Oopsey Daisy posted something for all of you jewlery makers.  She created a rosette necklace for fall.

You can check out the full tutorial here

Are you ready for Christmas?  Make one of these and I think you will be!

Cute!

I thought this was a great idea for traveling when the boys get a little bigger and it is such an easy project!

Tic Tac Toe using a burner cover!

My boys rooms both have a sports team and need more decoration - this fits the bill and, again, uses burner covers!!

Click here for the full tutorial.

I also found this tutorial athe Brassy Apple on how to make the magnets used in the Tic-Tac-Toe above.

Aren't these awesome?

One more idea for burner covers!

Check it out here!

I plan on doing some updating in my kitchen this winter and really like this idea!


Click here for the full tutorial

There are alot more fall ideas out there - those I'll save for Next Monday :-)  ! 

The "Little School" - Halloween Theme

And this is the TRUTH!  I love Oopsey Daisy!  I've mentioned this site before because Alison does some awesome things!  She does something with her son called "Mommy School".  She began posting all of her plans just about the time I finished my lesson plans from another site.  Those plans were through 2 years old so I new I needed to find something else to start incorporating with Josh and her ideas really sent my mine spinning.  I wanted to share both her ideas and the plan that I morphed it into. 

There are other plans before this one and I REALLY meant to post this at the beginning of last week since the Theme is Halloween but, that didn't happen.  It isn't just Halloween though!  It is the color orange, the # 3, and more!  In this packet, you will find: (you can find ALL this at  Oopsey Daisy's  blog - she did ALL the work!!)
*Halloween learning games and activities
*Tons of Halloween art ideas
*Halloween Science, Math, and literature connections
*Food Ideas
*Four Flannel board stories with corresponding visual aids
*Book Ideas
*Songs and fingerplays
*Halloween party ideas for toddlers
*Ideas for the color, number, and letter of the week
*Tons of visual aids and learning activities ready to go

I can't say enough how fantastic this is AND how much work it took for "Oopsey Daisy" to put together.  She shares it, as do I, because I believe in teaching little ones at home.  I also believe in sharing ideas - there is no reason for everyone to re-create the wheel.  I am working on creating some plans of my own based solely on literature which I will also be sharing and just doing those plans has shown me how much work she has done!  She also lists all of her sources - check them out too!

You can download the whole "Halloween" lesson plan Here

And my spread sheet Here .   I plan lesson plans for two weeks at a time so I will list 2-3 things on some days AND I also overplan.  No matter how hard I try, I can't get through what i have planned each week so I just get through what I can!!

So enjoy!  Yes, I did do some of these activities this year and I will be doing some more next week.  But more than that, I look forward to NEXT October when I can do even more of these ideas with both boys!

Future Lessons: "L" is for Leaves, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, "A" is for Apple, and more!!  I'll try to get at least one posted each week so I can catch all of you up.  And . . .there will also be a "Thankful" lesson coming soon!

30 Days of Thankfulness Challenge

November 1, 2010



I am thankful for the opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom!  I love being home with my boys each and every day.  I get to see all of their new discoveries, hear their little laughs, listen to their conversations (which only they can understand!), and hug them lots.  There is, in my little opinion, no better way to spend the day!  Has it been easy? Is it easy? No.  There are days that are long, tiring, and "never ending".  There are really tight months, weeks, days . .. where we don't know how we are going to make it yet we have seen God provide.  Yet I don't worry about my kids or wonder what they are doing or who is picking on them because they are with me!  Such a privilege that I have to be with my little muchkins :-)

What are you thankful for today?  Take time to share and link up below!  I'd love to read what you have to say.

30 Day Blog Challenge - Day 22

Day 22 - City you love

Las Vegas!!!!

Shipshewana, IN 

Gatlinburg, TN

Those would currently be my three favorite places!!