March Preschool

We had a very busy, very active  week and, I will admit right now that the kids totally outsmarted me on my new binder idea.  In the end it worked out because they did most of their work pages even though we didn't have preschool every day. 

On Monday we actually had a full lesson and it was fun!

 We started our lesson by looking through a scrapbook album the boys found.  It was an album I had recently finished of our animals so we turned it into a counting and color adventure. 

 Yes, they are both sitting on the table - it is fun, what can I say?   We then worked on our Rising Rock Stars lesson from 1+1+1=1.  This week we were working on the letter "C" and our verse was "Children Obey Your Parents" (Trust me, we reviewed that verse a LOT  HA!)

 We also worked through a few of the Resurrection Eggs.  I will admit, I should have remembered that I bought these and had them downstairs well over a week ago but I didn't.  I will be adding notes to my Easter plans for next year so I that I DO remember because the boys really enjoyed them.

 I found two awesome preschool books at Micheal's last week and have started incorporating some of the pages into our daily lessons.  Nate was busy working on some counting in this picture.

Josh is really getting great at cutting AND cutting on the lines.  This is hard for the little perfectionist.

Now, we got to the end of Monday's lesson but . . the boys turned the blank page in their binder and saw Tuesday's lesson so they just kept going. (I heard, "Mom, just one more page, just one more!!")  My error - next time I will only put one day at a time in the binder.

On Tuesday, we took a field trip with our Homeschool Group to see the butterflies at a local Garden/Sculpture park. 

 Lets keep it real.  The place was packed.  Josh doesn't like busy, new, loud, spaces so Darryl got dragged through the Butterfly section while I let Nate wonder through and see everything he wanted to see.  We lasted about 30 minutes with the butterflies and then Josh dragged us outside.  I think he needed the wide open space to clear his senses :-)

The boys ran and ran and ran outside around the sculptures before we managed to get a few photos.  It was a fun day, really, especially since we ended with lunch at our favorite Mexican Place  - The Beltline Bar :-)

Wednesday both boys had Dentist appointments so that took up our morning. They both got perfect reports - no cavities and they both were perfect in the chair.  We have a fabulous dentist which helps a lot!

The boys got out the dot-to-dot paints, though, and we made Easter pictures - can you see the cross?? 
Oh, and we made our first trip to Dairy Queen for the season.  YUM!  It was so cute -when we got there I asked Josh what he wanted, he told me a Hot Dog.  That was it.  Well, he knows his mind so I figured, if needed, I would get him a small fry after the fact.  Well, as he finished his hot dog he said, "Mom, now I want my ice cream, that is why I only wanted a hot dog" hahahaha   He remembered that he gets a small cone with his meal and did NOT want to fill up on the real food :-)

On Thursday, we went to the church so I could practice a song before heading to the grocery store and going out to lunch.  Needless to say, that was our day HA!  But, the boys asked for their binders so they could work on more pages.

One of the sections we were working on were these great "Just Color" pages from 1+1+1=1.  They boys loved coloring all of the different pictures related to Easter.

Friday was a beautiful day.  The boys played outside ALL afternoon.

They got the gator out and decided to take a trip to the "park" so they managed to load that gator up with just about every toy - even holding things on their lap.  You can't see it in the photo but they even built a "campfire" out of old sunflower stems.  Imagination is the best teacher, is it not?  I have to say, I am so thankful that my brother and sister-in-law gave us this gator AND that my dad did a lot of work to get it running perfectly.  My nephews played with it when they were younger but outgrew it.  It is such a wonderful gift and my boys LOVE it. 

We really had a great week.  I'm reminded that "preschool" isn't just work book pages and lesson plans but learning how to live every day life, getting to experience new things, and yes, just getting to play.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter - may you take time to celebrate the reason for this holiday - the fact that Jesus IS Risen for each of us!

Goals for April

Check out the progress in March HERE

Here are April's Goals:

Home
1. Get an estimate on doing the kitchen Floors so I can save for it - we know what we want to do, just need to price it out- I have the estimate; now to save to get it done this summer
2. Get an estimate on doing the kitchen counters so I can save for it. - again, I know what we want to do, I just need to double check the price. Again, I have the estimate, hoping to also do this during the summer too
3. Purchase the first 3 gallons of paint for the house so we can start painting - we already know the color, etc., just need to purchase and start painting.I will be picking this up in May - April was very cold so there was no painting happening anyway :-)


Kids
1. Continue the Diaper boy challenge - no comment. Success !!!  Josh is almost 100% trained and Nate is about 50 %
2. Complete Lessons with the boys - the goal in April is to do D, E, F, and G.We completed lessons D, E and F :-)
3. We want to start taking walks! Hopefully the weather cooperates We actually got a few walks in amazingly enough!
4. Make one thing related to the birthday board I have a Too Cute idea to make but just haven't had the chance to make it yet .
5. Chore Chart I let this slide this month - we jumped into the potty training thing and I only want to "push" one thing at a time.
6. Begin taking the boys to the Library on Wednesdays- the plan is to go every other Wednesday, when Darryl has practice. We started this on the last Wednesday of April :-)
7. So confession is good for the soul, right?  I said I set up Nate's savings account last month - we'll  I MEANT to, but our scheduled changed so the day I planned to do it,well, we were busy.  So I want to do that this month and also make a small contribution to each of the boys accounts.Confession is still good for the soul - this isn't done yet.

Me
1. Scrapbooking - My goals this month are to: A) Finish 2012 - I'm trying to do a two page spread every single day.  All that I have left is December so this is doable!   B) Put memorabilia in 2008 album - the albums have been done for well over a year but I have a whole envelope full of stuff that I need to add or throw out. C)Stick all pages in the 2009 Album- thanks to a sale I was able to order the last pages digitally for 2009.  D) Stick the pages in the boys baby books and finish them up -  it will take me a total of like an hour to do this project E) Do Josh's monthly pages for his second year.  Yes, lots of projects but other than the 2012 project - the rest are only 1-2 hour projects total.Got a few things done but need to do more!
2.Work on my step level - I've slacked off on this but want to pick it back up now that (hopefully) we can walk outside more. 
3. Read a book on my topic study
4. Learn to play 1 piano song
5.  Maybe this will be the month I go on a snack strike :-)
6. Get a radio for the kitchen - I have an idea how I can do this for free! I remembered our little Short Wave Radio that Darryl has had for YEARS . So I put in new batteries and it is now sitting in the kitchen.  I will say, that I just saw an under the cabinet Radio, CD player for only $34.00 - I'd love that so I can practice Soundtracks for church while in the kitchen so I might still upgrade :-)
7.  Last month I did my feet; this month, I'm working on my hands (and trying to keep up with my feet!) Both are done - it's kinda nice to have them painted again :-)

Marriage
1. Dental Insurance
2. Begin "A Word da Day"
3. Have a movie night with the hubs
4. Plan May's budget before May 1st
5. Pay $25.00 towards the balance on our truck
6. Subscribe to the sentinel
7. Get our Will done - we found out about an organization through a college where we can get this done. 

Travel
1. Reserve the hotel for our family vacation in June
2. Go through camping stuff and make a list of what we need

Crafts/decor Photography
1. read "How to Photograph your baby and do it
2. Make a list of 100 things about me
3. Make Nate's John Deere Blanket
4. Do Pinterest and Too Cute Projects
5. Find racks to hold current Scrapbooks in the living room (a pinterest idea, actually)

Organization
1. Finish the basement
2. Organize manuals into three ring binders
3.Organize our tax documents into a file box
4. Organize DVD's - need to order system from Amazon
5. Get racks to hang under the cabinets in the kitchen to store recipe binders

Holidays
1. Plan one family fun activity to do in May

Food Friday - Cherry Turnovers

Cherry Turnovers
Adapted from Lemon Sugar

There isn't a whole lot to say about these sweet, breakfast treats except they are fantastic.  Wow.  

Ingredients

• 2 cans store-bought crescent rolls
• 1-1.5 cups cherry pie filling
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 2 Tablespoons heavy cream (or milk or half & half)
  
  
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
  

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to temperature specified on crescent roll package. (Ours was 375 degrees F).
2. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
3. Unroll the crescent roll dough and separate the triangles.
4. Place a heaping tablespoon or so of cherry pie filling at the wide end of each crescent roll, and gently roll it up.
5. Place on baking sheet, and bake according to package directions, 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
6. While baking, prepare the glaze.
7. Combine confectioners sugar, cream and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
8. The glaze should be thin enough to coat and run off a spoon, so add more sugar or liquid as needed to achieve desired consistency.
9. Generously pour glaze over hot rolls, and enjoy warm

 

Weekly Menu - Thursday is the new day!

As I mentioned last Saturday, I'm moving my weekly menu post to Thursday since that is now my shopping day.  I know, you are beyond excited, aren't you?  :-)

The past few days, I used up some things we had on hand - Tacos on Monday, Chicken and Dumplings on Tuesday, Mac and Cheese on Wednesday.  Super easy and cut down on the grocery bill too.  Now it is time to get back into the groove though !

Thursday - Chicken Noodle Soup and Homemade bread.  Anytime I make Chicken and Dumplings, I turn the "leftovers" into chicken noodle soup.  I really dislike cooking on grocery days so this is perfect - it is already done!

Friday - Tonight is the Good Friday Service with several churches in the area so to keep dinner easy, we are going to have a freezer meal - it is actually the leftover Chicken Taco's from a few weeks ago that I froze.  We'll add chips and salsa and maybe some rice if I feel like cooking it :-)

Saturday - I'm thinking the kids will have Mac and Cheese and Darryl and I will order in for a date night :-)

Sunday - EASTER! Our church hosts a breakfast in the morning - I'm going to make the Cherry Turnovers I posted on Friday.  For our Easter Dinner the plan is:  Maple Glazed ham, Cheesy Au-Gratin Potatoes, Classic Green Beans, Deviled Eggs and Rolls.  For Dessert will be Colorado Creme and Bunny Cupcakes.  I think we will have a Tid-Bit tray when we get home from church with Cheese, Crackers, Pickles, Salami and Grapes to hold us over for a couple of hours until I can get dinner cooked. 

Monday - I need to use up some Pasta Shells so I think we'll have stuffed shells and french bread..


Tuesday - To use up Ham From Easter we'll have Ham and Scalloped Potatoes, Garlic Bread and Asparagus

Wednesday - Either left overs or maybe a pizza :-)

Our Annual Trip

Twelve Years ago, My husband and I got engaged at a Metro Beach.  Yes, we went to a beach in March. In Michigan.  It's fitting since we both love the beach and the water.  Every year we head back to the beach sometime in March as a time to just go back to where it started and relive that fun memory.  It is even more fun now to take the kids.  Now, lets keep it real.  Some years it is so frigid we spend about 10 minutes there (Last year it was so unbelievably cold that we didn't even make it all the way down the boardwalk to the beach!).  This year, though, the weather was pretty nice - so nice that we spent about 1 and 1/2 hours playing there.  We have a basic "routine" that we do every year!

This year, we drove to my parents on Friday and stayed the weekend which was nice since it brought us an hour closer to the park. 

We always start out by eating lunch at National Coney Island - it is a resturant that is only in the Metro Detroit area and I just love one thing there - a Hani (and . .chili cheese fries!!).  From there, we head to the beach. 

 We always bundle up as we get ready to walk to the beach but, as we were putting on layers both Darryl and I said, "Wow, it is pretty nice out here today."

 My boys are really into making funny faces when I get the camera out lately.  Yes, Nate's tongue is blue - they boys got blue (gross) suckers at Coney Island.

 Isn't this an awesome photo - I want to blow it up into a canvas and hang it on my wall I love it so much!!!  I told Darryl that every year we will have to take this photo!

 It is in this spot that Darryl actually proposed so we always try to get a photo here.  It's fun to see how we have changed and how our family has grown.

 Another tradition - Darryl does a chin-up.  Some day he will have some competition I think :-)

 For the first time ever the boys were able to play in the huge playground area.  Nate even made a friend who he played soccer with and then played in the play-scape with also.  He is still talking about his new friend.

 When we got engaged, Darryl took a photo of me with my ring by the car so now, we always try to take the same photo but include Darryl with his wedding ring too!

Once we leave the park, we head to Morley Candy Factory to pick out chocolate.  Usually I take photos of us with our chocolate but, since it was the week before Easter, the store was a ZOO!!!!!  Wow!  It took all of our patience to help the boys pick out two types of candy, to pick out our own, and then get out of that store!!! 

Finally, we always do a third fun thing but it changes each year.  This year we decided to take the boys to see "The Croods".  It was the perfect choice - they, especially Josh, loved the movie and has already asked to see it again. Considering the fact that he always says he doesn't like movies :-)  We decided that it would be easier to eat dinner at the Mall (where the theatre was) but, boy, were we wrong.  First, we walked by Jeepers - which is like a Chuck-E-Cheese - we HAD to stop and play  . . .wow.  The food court was a zoo too.  Not to mention the Easter Bunny.  Next time we will leave the mall for dinner (lesson learned!) . 

Really, it was a great day with so much family fun.  Both boys were exhausted when we got back to Papa and Nana's house :-) 

Too Cute Not To Toot

The first idea comes from Two Little Banshees and is a great artwork piece.

My kids have seen some seatbelt "critters" on TV and "want them".  I feel bad for them when they fall asleep in the car and their heads roll around . .. . this idea from Simple Dimples might be just perfect.

I'm planning to start going to the library on the Wednesday's that Darryl works so we need library bags.  I love this simple idea from Literacy Launchpad.

One of the ideas I want to do in my laundry room is putting up favorite photos and just building a huge wall of photos.  How great would it be for a kid to go into the laundry room - a room no one else sees - and find it covered with their photos?  Well, I love this simple (and inexpensive) idea from literally inspired.

One last idea for this week - I'm always looking for creative storage especially for the boys room.  I love this idea from Upcycle 101 for putting a crate on wheels.

Happy Crafting!