Guess what we saw!!!

Guess what we saw last night?

The Nutcracker!

Goose and I saw a performance last night that was wonderful! Her friend was a Ginger Snap!

The entire performance was stunning!

We had so much fun!!!!!

Happy Holidays to all!

Happy Hanukkah!!!!!!

Hanukkah's first candle was lit tonight! Here are the menorah's reflected in the window.
Goose is lighting her menorah.

This lovely fish menorah belongs to Goose! Cute, isn't it!

And this train menorah belongs to Binky!

It's time to light the lights for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Solstice!

May love fill your hearts!

superheroes and scarves

Binky lined up all his super heroes in the living room yesterday. Perhaps they are waiting for Santa, too!
My mamma made this beautiful scarf for me the other day. I love it!

And here is Goose finger-knitting away! She's officially addicted. Can't stop! Soon even Cody the dog will be wearing one... if he's lucky, that is!

Finger-knitting

This is the scarf Goose made for her doll, Josefina. She made it all by herself! She is so proud!!! Today we bought some more yarn so she can make more scarves for friends and family. We are going to use a thicker chenille this time. Josefina seems to like it!

Well, the rain didn't stop us last night. We finally got a tree! Goose and Binky had fun puddle-jumping while finding the perfect tree. Daddy was a real pro with the lights. Hot cocoa, popcorn and a fire made the night even more fun! We had a fun, relaxing evening. Now it really feels like Christmas around here!
We spend every Christmas eve with my mom and my sister's family. We have pot roast for dinner and then open gifts. Christmas day we open gifts here at home and then see Daddy's family. This year we are going to his mom's house. I'm sure it will be fun.

Tonight we have martial arts class and then off to my mom's for a crochet lesson. Goose and I are determined to learn to crochet! Goose really wants to make a scarf to give for Christmas. Maybe for me, if I'm lucky!!

More Cookies

All four grandkids stayed at my mom's this weekend and had a blast! I was there on Saturday to decorate cookies and ornaments and take photos! Grandma painted the glass balls with a matte acrilyc paint and then the kids used glitter glue and stickers to decorate them. Messy and fun. We were supposed to get our tree last night but the rain ruined that idea. Today calls for more rain and COLD weather. Cold to us is 40s during the day. I know, we are big babies when it comes to cold here!

Guess what we are doing today? More cookies! Yeah!

Cookies

We made chocolate crackles yesterday. So yummy! Goose and Binky loved watching the chocolate melt. Goose has been studying forms of energy, where energy comes from and how it causes things to change form. So we talked about how the stove gets energy from natural gas, which then causes the water to boil and melt the chocolate! Definitely one of the more yummy science experiments we've done!
Each day I have been adding the ornaments from the swap we are doing to our mantle tree. Here's what we have so far! It's so fun getting these in the mail.
Today we are making sugar cookies to take to grandma's house tomorrow and decorate. I also want to make some adorable tea light holders I saw on Mom in Madison. It's already noon here and I can feel the day slipping away.
Last night a friend and I went out for a couple of hours. It was so relaxing! And great to exchange thoughts on motherhood and homeschooling and husbands. We both started homeschooling around the same time after a very unpleasant year in the same school. Our boys adore each other! And Goose adores my friend. The best part is, we live only a few blocks away from each other. I am so lucky to have met her and her family!
Well, off we go to the store for cookie-making supplies!
Have a great day!

I'm back!

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I have been able to sit down and do this! I fantasize about it!! I've missed blogging terribly. So here I am with an update. We've been busy with our homeschool group and a field trip to the train museum with our charter school. We've been making gifts and going to martial arts class. Monday I mailed off our crafty crow ornaments for the swap. We already received one of the seven on their way to us. We had a lot of fun making these peace doves. There have been lots of playdates, too. This weekend we are going to grandmas for our annual cookie and ornament making day. Can't wait! There have been letters to Santa and decorations around the house. And this week we will pick out the tree. I can't wait for my tea to boil and then sit here and read all the blogs I have come to enjoy so much!!! Happy Holidays!

what are we thankful for?

Our Tree of Thanks is up! Goose and I cut out some leaves on cardstock and we used yarn to hang them up. So far, we are thankful for: cookies, Mommy and Daddy, my family, my friends, homeschooling, Daddy's hard work, Legoes, Grandmas, hot tea, learning to play piano, Cody the dog, and autumn. I can't wait to see what other leaves move to the tree! What are you thankful for?

Goose and Binky tested for their first yellow stripes on Tuesday evening. They were nervous the whole day.

But there was no reason to worry! They were great!

Yesterday we made gingerbread cookies. We had a great time. Yummmy!

We also made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies per special request by Daddy.

Goose reminds me daily how many days are left until Christmas. Yikes! We are going to make our own snowglobes this year to give to Goose and Binky's friends. We have never tried this, but I found the idea in a craftbook that looks pretty easy. We'll see how it goes. Goose is sick today. Maybe I can catch up on some much needed housework. The dust bunnies are multiplying by the hour!

Tissue Paper Votives

We have a bunch of glass votives/vases up in the cupboards so I thought we should do something with them this holiday season. I grabbed a package of tissue paper and cut it into squares and triangles. Then we applied them with Elmers glue and sponge-tip applicators. We finished with a couple of layers of Modge-Podge. They are so pretty! I do think I need some larger candles. Tea lights aren't quite bright enough. They are great as votives or vases!

Week in Photos

This is me always with a mug of tea in my hand.

Fun at the playground.

Cody on the mend.

More leaves by Goose.

Binky waiting for Sensi Terri to prepare for his first stripe test.

All in all, a pretty good week. It has been quite warm here the last few days. More like summer than fall. Binky is so excited he can hardly sleep because tomorrow he is going to work with Daddy! Yep, Daddy has to work tomorrow. Only for a few hours, but still, it sucks! Well, not for Binky! He loves it! Anything to be alone with Daddy, just the guys! Goose and I are doing our yearly get-together with Aunty, Cousin A, and Grandma to see the first tree-lighting of the season. We get some holiday shopping done, take lots of silly photos, watch the tree-lighting and then have a sumptuous dinner. We always have such a good time! I love spending the time with just us girls. Goose and I started making holiday gifts today. But more on that later! Goodnight!

Yesterday was the last day of Wednesday classes until January. Binky was really into his Geometry artwork. Goose was taking science and creative writing classes. She had a great time! She got quite creative in her writing. I will post one of her stories later.
I made this loom for Goose a while back. She has been reading "An American Girl-Josefina" who lives in New Mexico on a rancho in 1824. Josefina and the women in her family have to weave all their blankets themselves. So I made this one out of twigs. It was meant to be a nature weaving but it fits in with this lesson so well. These stories are great for learning about history in a way that's fun. Goose has the Josefina doll, who came in historically accurate clothing. Our educational coordinator even found a workbook to go with this series. Goose is going to make a replica of Josefina's rancho out of clay. I am looking forward to that! I wish I was homeschooled!!

I am loving the long shadows these fall days.

I love these kids!!!

I love spending my days with them, even the rough ones.

Just Beautiful

Yesterday was just beautiful! The sun was so bright, casting shadows everywhere. We went down to the water and went for a walk. Binky went for a skate.
We brought our nature journals and did some sketches of local plants. In the midst of sketching, we had a visitor come and say hello.

I love to go for walks here. I am always happy near the water.

Yesterday was one of those days where everything goes the way you planned it in your mind.

Just beautiful.