What's been keeping Cole busy lately

He has spent almost the entire day today at his little desk coloring and stickering. Stickering is not a word but is should be.





My mom bought this really cool Brio building set about 800 years ago from a garage sale and we finally brought it out for Cole. He really enjoyed hammering. My mom finds much better stuff at garage sales than I do.

And I can't forget his favorite activity which is harassing our little cat.

This weeks theme-Space

Sagan went to "space camp" this week. Not the super cool one where you get to ride in rocket simulators but one put on by the local school district where they shoot off rockets and watch videos about space. Lots cheaper. Anyway, I figured space was a good theme for everyone. We are a little behind however and I'll have to post more pictures of the activities when we have actually done some.

Canning time!

So a few weeks ago Cole got ahold of some of my jelly jars. Surprisingly, this post doesn't end in disaster! No, he actually did the cutest thing with them. He stuffed all his play food and had a canning session of his very own. How cute is that? And what a brilliant way to store his play food. I canned pickles. Three different kinds of pickles at the same time which was rather confusing actually. I'm surprised they seem to have turned out ok.

Thirty days of {blank}

I guess its a thing going around in the mommy blogging world. I stumbled upon it the other day and it was so coincidental because I had been planning to do a month of wearing skirts. Why skirts you ask? I grew up with a mom and an older sister who took much care with their appearance. I cannot tell you how many hours I have waited for these two women to get ready SO WE CAN JUST GO FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! So I guess its just a form of rebellion that I could care less what I look like. Sometimes I leave the house without brushing my hair. I never wear make-up and lately I am usually in sweats. So, I figure wearing skirts will take me so far out of my comfort zone that I will be forced to take more care in my appearance. I will have to think of what I can wear with a skirt. I will feel silly wearing a skirt and not brushing my hair. Plus my husband is very fond of skirts and that's always a plus.

Long Time no "See"

I am currently somewhat overwhelmed homeschooling 3 children. My older 2 are out for the summer but we decided to work a lot with them to get them up to speed. They are not happy. Unfortunately, this has really made me slack on Cole's side of things which is too bad. I need to pull together some new and more challenging activities for him and I just can't get motivated to do it.

In other news, I'm going on a big decluttering binge. I'm determined to let go of a lot of stuff even if its painful. I need to tackle the basement. yuck.

This weeks preschool theme-My body

This week we are doing a theme about our bodies. I printed out a body puzzle from Kidssoup. We are also building a train picture and putting Cole's picture in it. I think for the more Montessori side of it we will try doing a lot of sensorial activites. One thing I have planned is doing kool-aid playdough because apparently the kids can smell it. I am also hoping to get some dressing frames done. Cole has been very interested in dressing himself lately (finally) so this will be timely. I also have a handprint kit that we will do and maybe for an outside activity we will trace our bodies and decorate them in chalk. I'm still researching some more activites to go along with the theme. Pictures to come!

A cool garage sale find

I found this little German preschool activity at a tag sale for a few cents. I have no idea how its suppose to be played because the instructions are in German. There are four larger cards each with four pictures and then individual cards that match the picture. There is a card for activities that take one hand, two hands, one foot and two feet. Anyone want to guess how you play? Cole just likes to place the cards in the right spot. I just like the adorable pictures on the cards.

Finally!

We have been reading The Wizard of Oz together for what seems like forever. I'd been planning all the activities we would do when we finished. I had the movie from netflix for weeks and so it was so nice to finish the book and do all the things we had planned. We made tornadoes and hung them from the ceiling, we made amazingly yummy rainbow cupcakes and we all enjoyed the movie.

Our next read-a-long will be one of the Little House books.

Rainbows! *Day 2*

I'm not really sure how long this whole rainbows project is going to take. Right now we are tackling a little tv addiction with Cole and he is very unmotivated to do anything "school". So I'm still pondering possible solutions to this problem. I know one helpful thing is to recruit the older kids to help or play along. This is what I did the other night to get him moving on the rainbow project. He is about half-way done now. For this step of the project he has a glue stick and his little bits of rainbow colored paper. I thought he would love to glue but he was more tolerant of it than anything. He did pretty well with the concept of putting the colors in the right spot on the rainbow. I told him when (if) he completes his rainbow that we will hang it up along with the pictures the big kids colored that night. He was slightly motivated.

Brown Bread

I made this recipe for brown bread right off the box of vital wheat gluten with some minor substitutions and some slightly less minor mess-ups. This turned out so yummy especially for an all whole grain bread. It wasn't bitter at all and had a good texture. Well, it would have had a better texture had I not screwed up during the rising process. I accidentally stuck it in a too hot oven to rise. Not really a good idea. Here's the recipe:
2 1/2 cups warm water
1Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup molasses (I love molasses!)
1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rye flour
1/4 sesame seeds
1 tsp sea salt

1 to 1 1/2 cups additional whole wheat flour
Combine yeast, molasses and water. Then add dry ingredients. Use additional flour as needed. I needed using the dough hook on my mixer for about 10 minutes. Let rise in a bowl until double. Punch down and shape into loaves. Place in 2 greased 9X5 loaf pans. Let rise about 45 minutes (not in a hot oven ;) ). Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

This recipe originally called for 1/4 cup Millet flour which sounded expensive and I didn't use it.

Rainbows! *Day 1*

We are reading The Wizard of Oz together so I decided to design some craft activities for Cole around rainbows. I realize that rainbows have nothing to do with the book but since our project will culminate in the watching of the movie I figured it would work. Cole used to really like cutting so I cut out strips of rainbow-colored construction paper that he could then easily cut into small pieces. I made little construction paper boxes so that he could also practice color sorting. We could then take these small pieces and glue them to the appropriate place on the rainbow. Well, since he is 2 he of course decided that he is no longer interested in cutting especially if mommy would like him to do it! So I did have to help him finish cutting. Oh well. I guess on the upside he did enjoy the color sorting aspect of it. I guess he is just done with the cutting phase for now. I imagine that once he develops a little more he may get interested in cutting more exactly. He is not there yet though.

Tomorrow-day 2 of rainbow making.

First try at Montessori

I haven't really done the research yet but I have been interested in Montessori since before I had kids so I felt confident that we could make a beginning. I set up a tray with polished rocks from the dollar store and a couple of cups from my cupboards. He has been transferring rocks for almost an hour! I've decided to do mainly one activity a day to start. He has the hardest time with stopping and starting and I don't want to push it.

I did check out a bunch of books from the library. I also looked through their amazing variety of learning toys. I think when we need a change or run out of stuff at home it will be such a nice resource.

Later this afternoon I'm planning to go to the dollar store to find a few things. Then, hopefully this week I'll get a shelf organized for him.

Oh! I love this hat!

My mom wanted me to knit her hat. So she picked out the yarn and to be honest I thought it was a little wacky looking. When it got here I started to doubt even more. Parts of it were spun tight while other parts were completely untwisted. I wasn't sure how well that texture was going to work with this cute pattern I wanted to use. The pattern is from here: http://i-like-lemons.blogspot.com/2008/01/button-tab-hat-pattern.html But I love how it turned out. What an awesome pattern and the best part is its free! And I got to use one of my vintage buttons! I hope mom likes it. I'll be sending it to her for her birthday.

To: my imaginary friends

I will blog today. I will. I will also pretend someone reads my blog. Maybe I'll even tell my friends about it.

Delicious Whole Grain Cookies!

I'm really excited about this recipe. Its the first time I have come up with my own baking recipe. I am dieting but I have found if I don't have something to sweet to snack on than I lose all my senses and over eat. These were my attempt to combine sweetness and healthfulness.

2 sticks of butter, softened
1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
Cream together until fluffy.

Add 2 eggs
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Meanwhile in another bowl combine
2 c. whole wheat pasty powder or regular flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Add to butter mixture and mix just until combined. Then add
2 cups oats
1/4 cup flax seeds
chocolate chips
chill for about 1/2 hour and bake at 350.

notes: You don't have to add the flax seeds but they do add a little crunch.
I have only tried this recipe with whole wheat PASTRY flour. Let me know if you try another kind.
I used old-fashioned oats.

My Wii Fit is judging me

I got a new Wii Fit today. I had my little son try it out first. I guess I didn't realize it weighed you. Yikes! I sent him outside so as not to witness my shame and looked down at my Fit board. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was already passing judgment. I hesitated before setting foot on it. When I finally did I could just hear it say, "watch out! here comes the heavy-weight!" Then I went through the balance test and you know what Wii Fit I kicked butt! So there! I am a coordinated fat girl. meh! Then it had the gall to say my body was actually in better shape considering what a fatty I was. (well, maybe that isn't the exact wording) Then I turned it off. Sorry Wii Fit. I'll do better tomorrow.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

by Barbara Kingsolver

This book is about eating locally. The authors write about a year of living of their land and only buying local foods. I am really inspired to do my garden this year. I have already planned it out, which plants, where they are going. I am totally excited to get going but unfortunately its January. I should have read it in March.

Book Notes

I'm an addict. I'm completely addicted to reader. I am so hooked that I pratically devour a book so much that I don't remember a whole lot after I'm done. Its so extreme that I can read the same book over and over. Hello, my name is Harmony and I'm a book addict (which unfortunately tied to my eating addiction). So, in an effort to slow down and take note I'm going to start taking notes! Maybe that way I will remember something.