CHRISTEPHI

Monday : Beef stir fry with radishes, fresh greens, bell peppers, onions and carrots (all from CSA) Tuesday : Potato soup and fresh breadsticks Wednesday : Baked chicken, green salad, rice Thursday : Meatless spaghetti Friday : Butternut squash parmesan Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Chicken fried rice with more CSA veggies

Monday : Pork chops, fried eggs, green beans, rice Tuesday : Baked chicken breast, baby butternut squash, rice Wednesday : Potato soup Thursday : Southwest chicken w/ homemade salsa, corn chips Friday : Stuffed acorn squash Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Bean burritos

My mom bought this book years and years ago, probably shortly after it was published in 1989.  I can’t remember not having it around!  Recently, she loaned me her copy and I thought it would be fun to work our way through the recipes.  I may not get to all of them because some are not appropriate for my kids ages yet, but we’ll do many.  It’ll be a great activity for cold winter days or wet, muddy ones! Today we made Oily Dough 1 which says it is “ easy, models well, keeps well ” and is appropriate for ages 1 and up.  It only has flour, salt, oil and water.  My kids are happily exploring it!

I used part of this week's grocery budget last week to buy scrumptious peaches and plums on sale ($0.99 per pound is probably the cheapest we'll see till next year!) and put up 12 jars of sliced peaches, some peach jelly, and plum butter.  I also bought cantaloupes at $0.99 each that I sliced up and put in the freezer.  So my menu will be based on a slightly smaller budget this week.  About $55 instead of $75. Monday : Runzas Tuesday : Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green salad Wednesday : Corned beef, fried eggs, Brussels sprouts, rice = Hubby's favorite meal! Thursday : Chickpea curry and rice Friday : Black bean burgers with sweet corn Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Ham and potato casserole

Miss M enjoyed science most this week.  From the very first day she opened our Calvert box, she wanted to use the “themodeder” and she finally had her chance this week.  (I don’t let her play with stuff ahead of time or she’ll have nothing left to look forward to, right?)  She also loved charting people’s favorite fruits! I queried my friends and family on Facebook so we’d have a nice list to work from. For literature this week, Miss M was supposed to listen to “The Blue Jay’s Nest,” but I had her read it to me instead. She does very well!  But she was heartbroken about the eggs that fell from the nest and were broken.  Kids have such marvelous sensitive spirits! In social studies she viewed photos and drawings and identified the difference between the two. At first I think she was a bit befuddled by the concept, not because she couldn’t tell the difference between the two images, but because who ever thought of comparing them?  But she quickly caugh...

Monday : Asian corn cakes, sweet potato casserole, rice Tuesday : Hot roast beef sandwiches Wednesday : Pancakes for supper! Thursday : Oriental chicken in the crockpot, broccoli, rice Friday : Chili Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Chicken curry, rice

It was a short week since Monday was Labor Day. We took the day off from school since Daddy was home from work.  Then Tuesday felt like Monday and Wednesday felt like Tuesday and by the time Friday rolled around I was all jumbled up!  Miss M on the other hand keeps careful track of the day of the week and the current date. Right now her reason for doing so is the new “hero” on Super Why! that will be premiering on Monday.  She always finds something to count down to! We finally received our social studies book today!!  We have managed without it, but I’m glad it came. Miss M very much enjoyed measuring this week, using both nonstandard and standard methods.  She now knows that her school desk is 4 combs wide, or 22 inches.  And she loved being able to take paperclips out of my canister; she’s not typically allowed to touch them!  This week’s Math also focused on counting and writing numbers 1-10.  She is doing so well with holding her pencil...

I had my meal plan ready, just forgot to schedule it for Monday! :-) Monday : Labor Day meal with family, supper is popcorn, sliced cheese, fruit Tuesday : Personal pepperoni pizzas Wednesday : Grilled chicken with acorn squash and rice Thursday : Potato soup with fresh sourdough bread Friday : Chicken enchiladas Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Grilled cheese and fresh tomato soup

This was our second week of 1st grade.  We read several poems this week, but our favorites were “White Sheep” and “Secret” from the Lesson Manuel. White Sheep by Christina G. Rossetti White sheep, white sheep On a blue hill, When the wind stops You all stand still. When the wind blows You walk away slow White sheep, white sheep, Where do you go? Miss M was quite enchanted by the idea that there could be a meaning other than just what the words say.  Her eyes  lit up and she exclaimed, “That was hard!” In math she worked on patterns including ABC patterning which she hasn’t formally encountered before. She did well, though if a pattern stopped before completing the set (e.g. ABB ABB AB), it usually threw her off when extending the pattern which I chalked up to lack of attention to detail, rather than lack of understanding of patterns. She very much enjoyed the Change of Pace exercise: tossing a paper cup and tallying how many times it landed on it’s bott...

Last week's meals got juggled around a bit and we ate out a couple days, so there are some repeat meals on this week's menu! Monday : Creamed tuna on toast, cantaloupe Tuesday : Asian beef and noodles with stir fry veggies Wednesday : Spaghetti, garlic toast, carrot and celery sticks Thursday : Black bean burgers Friday : Ham and eggs with potatoes Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Personal pizzas

This was our first week of First Grade!  We mostly covered review material in math and language arts: object position; grouping, sorting, and classifying objects; short a words; identifying and writing lowercase and capital letters. Miss M is far beyond all this, but a little easy review for getting into the routine of school is fine with me! It builds her confidence and so far has kept her interest despite it’s being too easy for her. In science, we learned to observe, compare, and classify using our five senses.  We also discussed how scientists use the scientific method to learn about the world.  Miss M is fixated on the magnifying glass that came with the curriculum and wanted to use “magnifying glass!” as her answer to every question.  The book Your Five Senses by Melvin and Gilda Berger was a big hit with Miss M – not included with the Calvert curriculum. Our social studies lessons didn’t quite happen because I realized during Lesson 2 that I was miss...

He actually did very well getting the paint on the paper.  There was also quite a bit on himself, but very little on the floor and none on the walls!  And it kept him quiet for a good 30 minutes!

Our CSA got hit by a terrible hail storm the end of last week.  Our week's share was completely destroyed.  Thankfully, none of the farmers' main buildings or animals were harmed! Monday : Eggs, homemade hashbrowns, sausage Tuesday : Chicken parmesan, salad, french bread Wednesday : Black bean burgers, mozzarella, lettuce, salsa Thursday : Meatballs, broccoli, rice Friday : Chicken stir fry Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Creamed tuna on toast Despite needing several higher priced items all at once, I did well staying within my budget this week!

This week I built my menu around the fresh produce in my kitchen (mostly from our CSA shares) that needs to be used before it goes bad! Monday : Eggplant parmesan Tuesday : Burritos featuring crockpot refried beans and fresh garden salsa Wednesday : Pasta salad Thursday : Grilled chicken and patty pan squash Friday : Beef stroganoff Saturday : leftovers Sunday : Chicken fried rice with carrots The eggplant parmesan will be an "experiment" meal since I've never made (or even eaten!) it before.  Most of my experiments are passable, not all are enjoyable. What are you eating this week?

I mentioned in this post that we will be using the Scripture Memory System from Simply Charlotte Mason. I am not, however, using their suggested list for first grade.  I’m sure their list is great, but I already had a few ideas about what I want Miss M to learn this year, so I came up with my own list.  I formatted them the size of 3x5 index cards and printed them on cardstock.   And now that I’ve done the work, you don’t have to! At least not if you use the same verses we are. Scripture Memory Verse Cards – pdf 52 verses New American Standard, unless otherwise indicated grouped in a somewhat logical manner numbered to indicate the order they are to be memorized in (in case the baby dumps the whole box, right?) If you find any mistakes or have any suggestions – like the “page” numbers; I didn’t think of that till after I had printed and cut mine apart! – let me know! The rest of our Bible curriculum this year will be reading through the Student Disc...

We started Calvert PreK about a year and a half ago when Miss M was 3.25 years old.  We enjoyed it very much, but Miss M outgrew it faster than we used it!  She is now a little over four and a half and is quite the little reader.  I’m constantly amazed at the complex words she reads.  (Like “generation” and “Oklahoma.”)  And she tells me, “I just sounded it in my head, Mom, and now I can read it!” If we were going to put her in public school, then she wouldn’t be eligible for kindergarten until Fall 2012, shortly before her 6th birthday.  Thankfully, we’re not putting her in school and we’re skipping kindergarten altogether! Some time this past spring Calvert had a sale on curriculum, so we went ahead and purchased 1st grade at a discount!  I looked through it when it arrived and decided Miss M wasn’t quite ready for it, but would certainly be ready by the end of the summer.  Now that I’m looking over it again, I see that the first half or...

To keep myself from wandering aimlessly around the grocery store, spending twice as much as planned, and coming home without half the things I needed, I decided to get myself back into the habit of planning meals for the week before I go shopping! We have a budget of $75 per week for the four of us.  Hubby's lunches are very dull...he prefers the same thing day after day.  I typically eat leftovers for my lunch while the kids eat simple sandwiches, bits of cheese, and animal crackers for dessert.  That leaves just suppers to be planned. Monday : Spaghetti, garlic toast, carrot and celery sticks Tuesday : Pot roast, potatoes, corn Wednesday : Nachos Thursday : Asian beef and noodles Friday : Meatballs, mashed potatoes, broccoli Saturday : Leftovers Sunday : Italian chicken tenders, rice, green beans This week I have most of what I need on hand, so I plan to use the remainder of the budgeted amount to lay in a supply of canned goods that are on sale.

I'm really not pleased with these two nightgowns I made using Butterick BP436 (which is now being sold as B4647).  I made size 3 with no adjustments and Miss M (who wears size 4T in store-bought clothes) is drowning in it! But mostly I just think these sleeves are the ugliest things I've ever seen!  I will definitely (and with Miss M's blessing) be cutting them down to short sleeves instead.  I used an old floral bedsheet and vintage eyelet trim, so at least it's soft and comfy! The strawberry one is a bit hit with Miss M!  She'll probably be able to wear it for two or three years...minimum!  She can wear it now, but it trips her up if she gets "too wild" instead of just going to bed. Today she was telling me a story and used air quotes...I should start calling her Miss Precocious!

For Easter this year I decided to make Miss M a traditional Filipino-style dress.  I Google-searched a lot of images before I had fixed in my mind what I wanted the dress to look like. At first I thought I'd make the older baro't saya or blouse and skirt with the accompanying wrap around skirt and scarf (like the one the little girl is wearing in this picture ), but in the end I went with a terno which is what the baro't saya has morphed into in modern times. I was quite intimidated by the "butterfly" sleeves à la Imelda Marcos, but it really wasn't so bad once I got started.  In fact, the whole dress went together pretty quickly!  Fast enough that I was done the Tuesday before Easter and I had time to make myself a blouse too!  I'll post about that later.  It's just a simple A-line design generously flared at the lower hem, with a bodice overlay, and of course those sleeves.  There are two ruffles of netting attached to the lining to ...

Don't you grow your children in pots?

Toy Story 3 is very popular in our house. In fact, during the day on the weekdays it's on more often than not.  Little Guy will sit still and watch it long enough to fall asleep (which is why I put it on at naptime so often!).  He loves Buzz, in fact, he calls the whole movie "Buzz," but Miss M loves Jessie.  Wow, does she ever love Jessie! When her grandma and auntie got tickets to go to Toy Story 3 on Ice this weekend, Miss M was over the moon!  She has a Jessie Halloween costume, but it's nothing more than a one-piece printed pajama-like suit and she's already outgrowing it.  She's been asking for a "real" Jessie suit and this seemed like the perfect excuse to sew her one! I used materials I had on hand -- white cotton toweling, yellow quilting cotton, red piping (vintage), red ribbon, and a bit of white felt. Only the buttons were purchased specifically for this purpose.  I used Ottobre 6/2007 #19, the "Ollie" shirt.  The front...

As I worked on my latest sewing project, Little Guy occupied himself with this sweet Raggedy Ann doll my friend gave me. He lavished her with hugs and kisses and put her to bed again and again. Though he usually managed to get the blanket over her face and left her feet exposed! I just had to grab the camera and capture his play.  He’s such a sweet boy!

I've done so much sewing for Miss M and hardly any for Little Guy. I decided to rectify that. He has plenty of t-shirts that fit right now, but he's short on pants, so I decided to make him a pair or two. I've never done a fly zipper, so I decided to try one.  It turned out pretty well, considering! I made the "Alma corduroy pants" (Ottobre 4/2008, #6).  I cut up a pair of women's pants and used twill tape that had been in the lower leg of the original pants instead of cutting new belt loops.  The waistband is a bit of blue chambray I had left over from another project.  I made size 68 to fit Little Guy's waist.  I think the pattern is meant to be full-length pants, but it turned out to be more like long shorts. But I knew that because I measured the outseam and inseam before I started! This is his "I'm not so sure I'm ready to be awake" look.  Can you believe how big he's getting? I never ...

It looks like I finished this up just in time for Miss M to enjoy today's beautiful spring weather!  I joined Sandra at Sugar Cubes and Spice Cake for a sew-a-long (although I fell behind working on a quilt for the kids' room instead).  The sew-a-long was helpful and loads of fun! I really enjoy seeing other people's execution of the same pattern. Being the overachiever that I am, I decided to do two simultaneously. Hubby picked out the butterfly fabric from my stash (I purchased it at Tall Mouse  when Miss M was less than a year old!).  The yellow gingham was a high thread-count men's shirt. I had to do some creative cutting to get all the pieces cut out.  I'll tell you a secret: the underside of the collar is pieced together since I couldn't quite fit everything! The pattern is from Ottobre 1/2010, #15.  I made the yellow one exactly as directed, and the only things I changed on the other one was lengthening it to just below the knee...

We had a few warmer days after the snow melted before it got cold again. Since Little Guy learned to walk only shortly before the on-set of winter, he doesn't remember ever walking outside before. To his recollection, when we go out, one of us always carries him.  But since it was finally so nice, I took the kids outside to play!  He thought it was the most amazing thing to be able to walk around outside. He wasn't quite sure what to make of uneven terrain (quite different from the level floors of a house!), but adapted quickly.  He had loads of fun throwing and chasing a bouncy ball his sister got from one of the gumball machines at the grocery store.  While they were playing, I snapped a few shots. A leftover sycamore leaf, a green patch of moss, a cardinal feather, and an acorn. A stand of cottonwoods (see the little bits of snow left over?) and a view of the amazing sycamore tree that a photo will never do justice.

We have two bedrooms in our home. Hubby and I have the larger master bedroom and it encompasses not only our sleeping area, but also our hobby stations. Hubby plays the saxophone and has various music equipment for making arrangements and recordings and the like. I, as you know, sew and knit and do a variety of other crafts.  From the time we moved here over two years ago, we were short on storage space. But storage devices require money and, frankly, we didn't have the money to spend on shelves. The room got worse and worse.  As I did projects I had to quickly whisk things up off the floor out of the kids reach.  Things piled higher and higher on what was supposed to be my crafting table and with nowhere else to put it, it all just sat there.  It was embarassing.  It was depressing.  It was a block to our creativity. I finally decided something had  to be done about it. Hubby said I could buy some needed org...

When we were at Hobby Lobby and Hubby bought Dora fabric for Miss M, he also bought a yard of Cars fabric for Little Guy.  Right away Hubby said they should be made into pants.  After finishing the Dora dress , I looked through my Ottobre magazines for a suitable pants pattern.  I settled on the "Kaarna" lined pants from Ottobre 6/2009, only without any frills at all: no pockets, no drawstring, no yoke, no mock fly. And put together in such a way that they can be completely reversible.   One side is Cars fabric, the other black polar fleece. The waistband is black ribbing with elastic in it since I didn't make a drawstring.  I made size 74 which is a bit long for Little Guy yet, but I figured that way he can wear them for a good long time (and I can use the pattern again later without having to re-trace it!).

This one was cut out before Christmas! I finished it some time in January, and finally got it photographed now that it's February.  I prefer Miss M to wear long dresses for modesty's sake.  She is, after all, a very active little girl.  To that end, I added 2 inches to each of the skirt panels.  I also added an inch to the length of the sleeve because my girl has freakishly long arms just like her mother. The pattern is the Snow Flakes dress (Ottobre 6/2010, #7), size 86. (Incidentally, did anyone notice that the pattern only goes up to size 86, but in the magazine it lists size 92 as well?)  In the magazine it is pictured on an infant, so I was curious to see how it would look on a bigger girl.  I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's darling and I love how it fits Miss M, but on the other hand, adding 4 inches total length did unbalance the design a bit.  In future, I might add the length by adding a ruffle or eyelet to the...

A Friday evening out on the town. Hubby, two munchkins, and me. Where do we spend our leisure time? Hobby Lobby, of course! Miss M spied some Dora the Explorer fabric and insisted, "Mama, we need this!"  I politely ignored her. I'm quite adept at it. She tends to talk nonstop most of the day, so I'm a pro at tuning it out. Hubby, on the other hand, is wrapped around her little finger and quite easily caved in and bought her a yard of Dora fabric.  I asked her what she wanted out of it and she promptly said she wanted a dress. I shuttered inwardly.  Most of the garments made of character prints are rather garish and umm...generally repulsive.  Still, I vowed to do my best.  I used the Jänönheinä tunic from Ottobre 4/2010 as my base pattern since it was already traced off. I added a 9-inch ruffle about 1 1/2 times the width of the bottom edge of the tunic and lengthened the button band to make the tunic into a long dress. I needed something to balance the h...