2011-2012 School Year at a glance...

We are getting ready to start school in T-minus 4 days and counting!

Our school year will continue with most of the curriculum laid out in A Well-Trained Mind.This academic year I have Little Man in 2nd grade, Littlest Man in 1st grade (young at just-six, but so ready to be where he is!) and Little Miss Pink in preschool. I feel like I will need an extra arm, an extra brain, and 4 more hours of sleep per night to tackle the challenge of schooling three. But I know that, if I access it as I should, God has more than enough grace to cover my weaknesses!

Here is our school year at a glance as it looks on paper today:

For Littlest Man (1st Grade)
Saxon Math 1
Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, finishing this as it is a LONG book with 200+ lessons
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, volume 1
The Complete Writer, volume 1 for Little Man when we finish Ordinary Parents phonics/reading
Zaner-Bloser 1 handwriting
Spelling Workout A 
McGuffey's Eclectic Reader for once a week read aloud


For Little Man (2nd Grade)
Saxon Math 2
First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, volume 2
The Complete Writer, volume 2
Zaner-Bloser 2C handwriting, which introduces cursive mid-year
Spelling Workout B
McGuffey's Eclectic Reader for once a week read aloud

For Both Boys
Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, volume 2, Middle Ages
Blackline Maps from Knowledge Quest
Apologia Astronomy
Apologia Worldview Who Is God?
How to Use-Child Sized masterpieces for Art Appreciation
And I'm hoping to use this book for art, as well: Drawing With Children

For Little Miss Pink
I'm using this fabulous curriculum for preschool, Letter of the Week. I bought it as an e-book/PDF file set from an amazing homeschool mom blogger, Confessions of a Homeschooler. It is a bit labor intensive (putzy!), but I think she will love it.  The price is right and it covers everything and more I think my little girl needs to learn. She turned three in May, so we will likely stretch the curriculum out over 2 years, supplementing as necessary and desired.

Here is our schedule at a glance, or at least as it should be in an ideal, Excel spreadsheet world, linked here.

So there you have it! We start our new year on Tuesday. Any and all prayers would be appreciated for a grace-filled, patient, kind, loving, learning-filled school year!

2010-2011 School Year Review

Well, with our previous year of craziness, I can't exactly say that we have "finished" the school year. We still have 2 weeks of History to finish up at the start of this year. But I'm sticking a fork in '10-11 and calling it done.

We follow a classical education model as laid out in A Well-Trained Mind. The classical model, to me, makes the most sense and offers such a deep and wide wealth of knowledge. Each school year focuses on a historical time period and all of history is broken up into 4 sections. The four sections are repeated three times in the student's primary/secondary education, therefore solidifying the concepts as he progresses through grammar, rhetoric and logic phases of learning. Most of the literature is gleaned from the historical time period (e.g. The Odyssey during the Ancients, Beowulf during Middle Ages, etc.).


Here is what we did last year:

Saxon Math 1 for Little Man.
Kumon Numbers, Counting, and Misc. Math for Littlest Man

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind for Little Man's Grammar/Copywork
Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading for Littlest Man

Spelling Workout A for Little Man 


Zaner-Bloser Handwriting for both boys

Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 1: Ancient History
Science: Animal Studies using this resource, Human Body studies using this book, and a little bit of Plant Studies using this one. We picked several topics out of each book and did further reading from the library and projects, too.

Music: Classical Music studies with these fabulous CDs.

Art: Lots of miscellaneous projects from various sources, including some great Usborne books.

We also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this history resource--The Usborne Internet-Linked History of the World. The boys cart this behemoth of a book all over the house and it has been taped together at least twice. They love it and it is fantastic.

So there you have it! Our year in a nutshell. All in all, we loved everything we used. I am continuing with almost everything this coming year.

We Travel Together Still

I will attempt to find the words to explain a major change that I have undertaken/undergone/experienced in the past, well, several months and even years. It would be even better to describe it as a change that happened without my realizing at all from childhood.

My faith life (I dislike that term, but cannot think of another to better express it) has been Christ-centered and wholly evangelical for all of my life. Praise be to God for blessing me with my loving parents who raised me in a Christian home.

I have, for years, been an adult who was active in my church, helping where I could and participating. I have read my Bible and tried my best to keep personal quiet time (less successfully as a young mom). I count Jesus Christ as my Savior and friend.

I wasn't looking for a change, but a change has found me. I wasn't looking for upheaval in my faith life (and thereby my social network and my children's lives, too), but it has come nonetheless. But God has been calling my lovely husband and I over the course of days, months, and even years to the Catholic church. And we could not ignore Him.

We have prayed countless hours, pored over the Bible, spoken with friends who have gone through the same, read many, many books (including The Catechism of the Catholic Church, this church history tome, GK Chesterton, Thomas Howard's beautiful Evangelical is Not Enough, two books by Scott Hahn, some Richard John Neuhaus, and more) and spent hours and hours in discussion as a couple.

It started as a slow, gentle inkling that Chesterton describes in a lovely manner: The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it. -Where All Roads Lead.

The gentle inkling slowly became a strong pull and eventually seemed inevitable. We would be Catholic. The Mother Church would be our home. It must be. 

We began to view the world with distinctly Catholic eyes, as if a curtain had been parted. Passages of scripture that I had read countless times to be sure seemed to leap off the pages: How had I not read it that way before? And eventually, How have I been away so long?  

It makes sense that Neuhaus would describe his conversion in an article entitled, "How I Became the Catholic I Was." I feel the same way, too. That I am going home to the Church that I have always been a part of, even when I knew it not.

It is an odd task to undertake, sharing the news that one has "gone Catholic." In this modern age of church shopping and jumping and changing, it seems that sharing such information is almost banal. And yet, I have longed to shout of this decision from the rooftops or wear an "I am (almost) Catholic!" t-shirt. I guess that blogging it quietly will have to do.

To my dear friends who already find their home in the Catholic church where I long to be, thank you for your quiet guidance, your loving welcome, your faithful prayers. I cannot wait to join you in the sacraments and share in the unspeakably beautiful full communion of the Church.

And though I am overjoyed at what awaits, I am simultaneously heartbroken to be leaving the weekly fellowship of the body of believers of our church of many years. Different than leaving to another evangelical church community, becoming Catholic seems to many like a permanent break-up of a relationship. Though I would beg my friends not to see it that way, I understand the root of the sentiment.  

  
I don't know exactly how to express my feelings on the matter or to give justice to the friendships I have formed, the bonds I have made at our lovely evangelical church. Richard John Neuhaus said it better than I ever could when he was received into full communion with the Church in 1990:

“To those of you with whom I have traveled in the past, know that we travel together still. In the mystery of Christ and his Church nothing is lost, and the broken will be mended. If, as I am persuaded, my communion with Christ's Church is now the fuller, then it follows that my unity with all who are in Christ is now the stronger. We travel together still.”

To those of you reading this news for the first time, I would say it to you directly: We travel together still.

Neuhaus, who left the Lutheran church as a pastor for 30 years, also said in a statement:
               
I cannot express adequately my gratitude for all the goodness I have known in the Lutheran communion. There I was baptized, there I learned my prayers,  there I was introduced to Scripture and creed, there I was nurtured by Christ on Christ, there I came to know the utterly gratuitous love of God by which we live astonished. For my theological formation, for friendships beyond numbering,  for great battles fought, for mutual consolations in defeat, for companionship in ministry—for all this I give thanks. . . . there is nothing in that ministry that I would repudiate, except my many sins and shortcomings. My becoming a priest in the Roman Catholic Church will be the completion and right ordering  of what was begun all those years ago. Nothing that is good is rejected, all is fulfilled.

Though I am neither a Lutheran nor considering priesthood (obviously!), his words are the words I wish to share with you.  

 I look forward to beginning the lengthy learning process of RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). I look forward to being a part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I am grateful to God for His guidance, His leading, and His Church. I am so thankful to have undertaken this process in lockstep with my amazing husband whose spiritual guidance and leaning on the Lord have served as earthly leadership for 10 amazing years of marriage. I look forward to the next decade of our marriage and to what He has in store for our family.

Wow. If you made it this far, you deserve a medal. That's an awful lot of rambling. But I feel lighter having shared my heart with you. 

Bad, bad blogger.

When I consider all that has transpired in the previous year, I think I'm a little crazy for homeschooling my kids. We have moved, traveled, had a flooded house, moved out due to said flooded house, moved back in, and had all sorts of "life" in the in between times. I would be crazy for choosing to continue with this journey that is so exhausting and demanding.

And yet, it really isn't a choice for me. It is a calling from my heavenly Father and I can do nothing but follow His will. Did I pretend not to hear His call for a while? Um, yeah. Do I really resent this calling some days? Yes. And have I gone, but only like a toddler in a tantrum? Definitely.

Though the past year has definitely been tough and has added to my wrinkles (but I got BANGS to cover them up!), I would not trade it for any other year. This time spent at home with my kids learning with them and from them has been priceless. I would not trade it for a wrinkle-free forehead or all the money in the world. I learned so much about myself, about them, about God's goodness.

Watching my little man learn to read or seeing history come alive or snuggling while listening to "Beethoven Lives Upstairs"...all moments that made this calling worth every bit of challenge.

I may be a terrible blogger, but I think I'm a decent homeschool mom. I certainly have more books than money, more holds at the library than anyone in town, and more on my to-do list than I could ever accomplish in a day. So I will continue to be a terrible blogger, updating when I remember to...so please forgive me (if there's even anyone reading this!)!

So...that's a tiny update. I will hop on again soon (promise!) to share what we did for school last year and what we'll be up to this year. I am so very excited to learn so much more this year---The Middle Ages and Chaucer and Beowulf and Shakespeare and War of the Roses and Astronomy....

Oops.

Sometimes, I get too focused.

I'll be happily listening to my "Peaceful Holidays" station on Pandora, which I've calibrated to my liking perfectly. Simultaneously, I'm tidying the school mess and making lunch and emptying the dishwasher, while encouraging my daughter, Little Miss Pink, to express her artistic side with some watercolor.

And then I look up from all of that, and realize that she has expressed herself all over her cute little face.

Oops.

Excuse the bad photo. I took it with my Droid, right before I told her to stop painting on her face.

Shout it from the Rooftops!

Okay, so I shared that I have finally come to a jaw-dropping realization. I can't do it all.

Sounds a bit elementary, really. But it was a tough pill to swallow. But then a liberating one.

Really liberating.

Liberating in the exact way Kevin McAllister felt (I would imagine) when he finally decides he's not afraid of the "bad guys" anymore in Home Alone. 

image courtesy home alone (one of the best movies!)

I feel just like that. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I can't do it all! 

I said, "I CAN'T DO IT ALL!"

Amen.

Go ahead, shout it out in your little corner of the world. It feels fantastic.

Amazing Revelation

 yikes. this is a keeping it real picture, proving that i can teach, but, on some days, i can't teach and cook and put on makeup. something's gotta give, and this day it was concealer & mascara. 

I can't do it all.

Simple, right?

But for a first-born, type-A personality, it's actually quite a difficult to accept and life-altering revelation.

I.can't.do.it.all.

With homeschooling, church commitments, family responsibilities, healthy eating, attempting to exercise, be a good friend, maintain my marriage, keep up (somewhat) with laundry....something's gotta give. Or a lot of somethings.

And little by little this fall, I have come to realize and accept that I just can't be everything to everyone and do everything I "think" or "feel" that I should. I have come to love even more the verse in Phillipians (4:13) that says, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Because that verse doesn't say "I can do EVERY thing..." but just ALL things. I think there's an important difference. I don't have to bake 7 varieties of Christmas cookie and make homemade laundry soap and conquer every dust bunny. I just have to do my best at what I do tackle. And, to be honest, these days its a lot fewer things.

Homeschooling is hard work. Mighty hard. But the fruits of my labor have demonstrated that I'd rather make choices about my time and do less, but do it better.

I can't do it all.

Sounds like a simple thing, but you could ask my best friends and they'd definitely realize it's a huge deal for this girl. This girl who, in fact, held her Little Man's birthday party in a BOWLING ALLEY. Yup. I can't do it all.

Thank the good Lord.

**Cute pictures courtesy of Gruman Photography

The Day I Became a Mom

Dear Little Man,

Did you know that I have been writing you letters since the very early days of my pregnancy with you? Lots and lots of letters written in those days to a baby whose gender I did not know, to little ears I couldn't wait to whisper in and kiss, to eyes that I hoped would be blue, like your daddy's.

After you were born, I wrote you letters. Letters as I watched you sleep in your bassinet next to my bed, letters as you crossed milestones, letters on each of your birthdays--six so far. Letters as you became a big brother and a preschooler and a kindergartner and a first grader. Many letters.

But this is the first letter that I know you really understand. Someday, I will give you all of the letters. But I can sum them up in this: I loved you before you were born. I loved you the moment the midwife placed you in my arms, your eyes open wide and soaking up the whole wide world with your wise, serious glance.  And I have grown to love you more and more each day, each month, each year.

I am so very proud of the boy you have become. I feel like turning seven is a very big milestone, sweet boy! When I tucked you in tonight, I felt as I was putting to bed a little boy and would be kissing a young man in the morning.

You are wise and bright and mature. You are fun and funny. You are athletic and handsome. You are a loving big brother, adored by your baby sister and cherished by your little brother. You are a sensitive soul, much like your mama. You feel things so deeply and are so empathetic. I love that about you. You have Jesus in your heart, which makes me most proud of all.

It is an honor for me to be your mom. I am so glad that we met that bleary-eyed early morning in November seven years ago. I am thankful beyond belief that you are my boy. I wish you everything wonderful in life, most importantly that you would grow up to be a man after God's heart. You are on your way.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Little Man.

I love you more than you can every know!

xoxoxoxoxo
mom

***photo credits-last three shots from gruman photography

Favorite Things

 

This is one of my favorite things about home schooling the boys thus far.

Best Friends. 

And this one, too:

She's pretty darn great, as well.

Best Laid Plans....

See, if you look closely, those are our perfect plans....blowing in the breeze, tossed in the air. God keeps in mind our deepest hopes, but sometimes our grand plans are only minutiae compared to that which he has in store for our lives...

Ahh, the best laid plans are those most wholly turned on their heads, right?

Our family made a move from our first home to a better school district, hoping to enroll our kids (Little Man being the first) in a terrific charter school, emphasizing a classical education. We sold, we moved, we entered the lottery to get in and prayed and waited. Prayed for a clear sign that God's will would be reflected in the lot we were given. And it was #7 on the wait list. Which seemed....murky. Not super low on the list (like #200), but not "in like Flynn" so to speak.

So we waited some more. And wondered. And considered alternatives. We knew that we would prefer Little Man to be in a classical style academy. But now what? After much thought and prayer, that cutie pie and I felt that we were going to home educate if Little Man didn't get in. Which seemed IN-SANE.

I mean, come on. Homeschooling? Even though my most favorite roommate (who is, now, by the way a brilliant physician and beautiful and lovely and gracious and fantastic) was homeschooled, could we really do that? Would my children be as brilliant and adorable as she? And, really, could I handle it?

After lots of prayer and some real angst on my part, we decided that this crazy homeschooling would be the plan. And then, Little Man got into this school. And it seemed perfect. He looked so stinking cute in the uniform and the building was brand new and his teacher was a real-life version of a Disney princess. I envisioned the upcoming years with all three of my dreamy children (2 boys and a girl! So cute!) in uniforms, the boys with sweater vests and my baby girl in a plaid jumper with peter pan collared shirt. It would be perfect. I could go to the gym and lose the mummy-tummy and have coffee and cook amazing meals. I could almost taste the plan becoming reality.

Look, it's Little Man! On his first day of Kindergarten at the school I was CERTAIN he would matriculate into and graduate FROM in 12 years. 

And then, it changed. In the end, our school wasn't a good fit for our family. We wanted more for our kids' education. And I missed Little Man like crazy. Crazy. Even on his half days.

So, here we are. A year later and we bit the bullet. We prayed and planned and prayed some more. And we're doing it.

Homeschooling our kids.

See? It's true. Homeschooling. In the flesh. Well, in the jpeg form of flesh.

For real.

If I ran into my 22 year old self and told myself, "Girl. Get this. You're going to be thirty-one with three kids. Stretch Marks? Oh yeah, you'll have them. And guess what else? You'll have books up to your eyeballs and math manipulatives and a platinum membership at the public library. You're a homeschooling mom, missy." I'm pretty sure that 22 year old me would run. Screaming. For. The. Hills.
And, truth be told, I wouldn't blame her. I still sometimes have that reaction. But I know that this scenario works for this little family.

This scenario, this little classical academy we are running with an emphasis on our faith is something that was SO NOT in the plans. But the best laid plans are really the worst laid plans when compared with those our Father in heaven has for our lives.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you......." God had a plan for our family. It wasn't our plan, but it was the best plan. And I'm so glad we're in on it! Later on in that verse He says, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

So, here we are! Home schooling and loving it. Not every moment, but the overall. I think I am learning the most in all of this. It is a blessing. And we are excited for the journey to continue, excited for the future that awaits when we are faithful to his plans.

Long Time, No Excuses

My sad little blog has really gone by the wayside lately.

Life has a crazy, sneaky way of sideswiping you, not always in a bad way.

So we had spring and summer and fall and birthdays and decisions and some vacations and some more decisions.

So here is a snapshot of our little life right now:

Little Man is almost 7. I, the consummate, self-proclaimed obsessive party planner have yet to begin planning his party. What has happened to me? Little Man, though, is seeming less and less little as the days go by. The summer saw the loss of many more teeth in his apparently too-small mouth and the arrival of some even bigger teeth. His smile makes me smile. Every time. The awkwardness of the giant teeth and the spaces and the squinty-eyed grin combined make me melt. Every time. Except when he's making me crazy, in which case I only defrost a bit. :) He is Mr. Soccer, Mr. Football, Mr. Light Saber and Legos, too. Little Man has become quite a smart, outgoing fellow. I am so proud of him. And those cute, big teeth. I'm blaming his father for them...!

Littlest Man is 5. FIVE. Half a decade. Who the heck took those years? He was just my baby. Our "OH MY WORD! We're pregnant!" baby, 20 months younger than his big brother. My smiling from the moment he was born (almost) baby. And now he's starting to read and (currently) covered in chicken pox (from the booster, can you believe it?) and riding a bike without training wheels. His dimple (just one!) is so deep and so charming and so dangerous (you could fall into that thing) that it should come with a warning sign. One little sheepish or even sneaky grin, and I'm smitten. Watch out, World. Or at least girls of the world. When this fellow decides he's putting on the charm, it's ON. And he's FIVE. Did I mention that? FIVE. Cinco. My heart hurts just typing it.

Little Miss Pink. Oh, my baby girl. She's two and almost a half. My baby who I will call "baby" until forever comes. She is sweet and sassy and spunky and stubborn as all get out. But, man! is she cute. She loves shoes and shopping and purses like there's no tomorrow, frequently changing purses and making certain she has one of her cell phones, lest she lose touch with her peeps. The child was fairly mute for almost 18 months, save for the traditional "mama, dada, baby" words. And one day, the girl woke up and started to talk. And she hasn't stopped since. She wants what she wants and has often been heard sassing after being scolded that, "I'm not naughty, I'm just cute!" We're in trouble.

My favorite Irish hubby (and only Irish or any other breed hubby, for that matter) & I celebrated our ninth anniversary this summer. I can't remember what we did....wait. It will come to me. Oh yes. We went out for a fancy dinner and saw a play. But the day isn't really the celebration. It's the day in, day out that is. I continue to be amazed that I married this fellow when we were practically babies (22!), and yet God, in His infinite wisdom, knew that we were meant to be. We've grown closer and stronger and better every year. And he has gotten even cuter. Way cuter. We may have more wrinkles and a few gray hairs (him, not me...!) and some stretch marks (me, not him!) and lots more mileage on us, but I wouldn't trade the "us" we are now for anything. And ten years is coming up fast and furious! Lucky we! Lucky me.

So, that's an update from our little corner of the world. I hope to attend more carefully to this little blog. No promises. Life is crazy. But it's good.

In Absentia

Long time, no post!

Life has been a whirlwind of late, though, to be honest...when is it not?

I guess I really got out of the swing of documenting my creativity, cooking and projects and was kind of enjoying simply living them out on a daily basis.

Since the holidays, my grandmother passed away, which hit me square in the gut. She had faded slowly, but the reality of her passing is still shocking and not fully set in.

So, busy life, grandma's passing, avoidance...these are my reasons for avoiding this blog as effectively as I avoid laundry.

Which I have a mountain of at the moment. Are you surprised?

The Land of 10,000 Kisses

So, we of this little Irish Norwegian family are Minnesotans. Not by birth, but by circumstance and choice. This state we call "home" is referred to as The Land of 10,000 Lakes. The truth is that there are probably more like 15,000 or so lakes. There are lakes everywhere in this lovely state. They dominate the landscape, which is a fantastic thing.

Where I live my life is the Land of 10,000 Kisses. Give or take a few thousand. I figure about 10,000 though, since my favorite Irish fellow and I shared our first kiss 10 years ago today. At the very least we've probably shared 3 kisses a day since then (minus a summer apart...Spain for me, DC for him...but we made up for that I'm sure!), so the math says at least 10-15,000 kisses since that first magical one. I remember it clearly. With a giggle.

What's funny is that, the night of our first "real" date---to an Olive Garden in Jackson, MI----the Cutest Irish Fellow on the planet told me he could see me being the mother of his children. I thought it an adorable comment, but never in a million years would've dreamed it to come true! We were opposites attracting, to say the least.

I'm glad that he was right and I was wrong. I'm unbelievably blessed to live with him and our three kidlets in the Land of 10,000 Kisses, where love dominates our landscape through the up and the down. God has richly blessed our lives and orchestrated us to come together at a tiny college in a tiny town 10 years ago. We are so grateful.

image courtesy dakota community college

I am also incredibly grateful to have a love that has grown more deeply than I could have imagined back in 1999 when we started dating, or in 2001 when we tied the knot. Here in Minnesota, wild prairie grass is prevalent and gorgeous. The thing about planting a prairie, like planting a good marriage, is that a lot of the important growth is below the surface. To weather the hot summers and the cruel winter, the prairie has to have a strong root structure. Our love has definitely grown that structure over time, with God at the center of our marriage. We have gone through ups and downs, trials and struggles. But with deep roots, we know that our prairie will continue to thrive and be gorgeous through the years.

I am thankful for that first kiss so many years ago and every one since.

LEGO Piñata Tutorial

Little Man, as previously mentioned, is obsessed with LEGOs. It helps that his daddy (my favorite Irish hubby!) loves them, too. Those boys play LEGOs for hours! So, when Little Man decided on a LEGO themed birthday party, I was all in. I love getting a birthday theme together and going all out, but in simple, affordable ways.

A piñata is obviously a party must for young kidlets, so I knew I would have to attempt one. I hadn't seen much LEGO anything in the party stores, with the exception of LEGO Star Wars (which was our theme last year--Star Wars). So, I knew I'd have to make the LEGO piñata.

I haven't made papier-mâché since 4th grade and was a little nervous to tackle this project, for fear of it not being perfect (I have issues. There. I said it.). I actually didn't even tell Little Man about it until I knew it was cute enough. (Again with the issues!)! Luckily, this project was super easy, ridiculously quick and the price was right (practically free!)! Three things I love in a project!

To start out, you'll need to make your papier-mâché "goo." I scoured the net and landed at Family Fun (which, btw, is a FAVORITE magazine of mine...such cute projects and ideas for kids and families). They listed their favorite recipe here and it worked perfectly. Make the papier-mâché:

Papier-Mâché (courtesy of Family Fun)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups cold water, divided
3 TB sugar

Bring 2 cups of the water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and reserved 2 cups cold water in a bowl. Add the flour mixture to the boiling water and bring up to a boil, whisking as needed to combine. Once it has come to a steady boil, remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. It will thicken as it cools, then it is ready to use. Store in the fridge after use; it will take about 2-3 days of separate coats of papier-mâché to build your piñata.

 While your Papier-Mâché cools, get your fancy, high priced tools. Just kidding. You need:
-2 cereal boxes of the same size (Little Miss Pink loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
-tape
-fruit and nut cups, or dixie cups with the top lip of the cup cut off could work, too
-knife

-lots of newspaper
-rope to hang your creation from at the end

 Lay your cereal boxes on their backs and stack on top of each other. On the long sides of the boxes (where the nutritional information that I ignore is listed...!), cut a rectangle (I used an envelope to trace the shape) out of the cardboard with sharp knife.

Repeat on both long, skinny sides of the boxes. Then, cut a larger rectangle out of one wide sides of the boxes. You will leave one wide side, and both box tops and bottoms intact.

See, the goal is to create a frame for your Papier-Mâché to go around. If you left the boxes fully intact and then did the Papier-Mâché over the top, the piñata would be practically unbreakable!

Now, tape the box tops closed and then tape the boxes together at the top and corners where the rectangle holes aren't. Does that make sense? We want to tape our frame together. I used painter's tape, but masking or box sealing tape should work just as well.

Next, cut a hole in the top that you'll use to insert your candy later (I did end up papier-mâché-ing over it, but it was easy to re-open at the end). Also, get your rope ready and put that in place, too. I put the rope at the top, as well as the candy slit. I taped the rope into place so it wouldn't wobble around.

Now, for the "LEGO" part. I consulted the household LEGO expert (aka my husband) and he said that, for a rectangle LEGO of this size, I should have 8 little knobby parts (who knows what those are called!?!) on top. I used Fruit and Nut cups from Michael's. See?

They were the perfect size and proportion for the LEGO I was building. I taped them on using Scotch tape. It was looking more like a LEGO already!

Then, I cut lots and lots of strips of newspaper in various widths, from 1" up to about 3". Lots and lots of them.

By now, your "glue" or Papier-Mâché should be cool. Mine wasn't quite cool, but I'm tough as nails and wore latex gloves (which I HIGHLY recommend...this stuff is messy. I also wore an apron!) and couldn't feel the heat of the not-quite-cooled Papier-Mâché. Must be the Norwegian in me.

This is the fun part! Run a strip of newspaper through the Papier-Mâché, squeegee it off with your fingers and apply it to the box frame.

I did all sides in one sitting, then hung it up to dry overnight. Notice the gloves, apron and plastic cover on the table...I recommend all of these! It is messy, but fun. 

Cover the Papier-Mâché tightly and refrigerate overnight until you apply the next layer.

I ended up applying 3 coats, but the LEGO was really tough for the kids to break. I think 2 layers would've been perfect.

Repeat the layering again. I did it this time in front of the TV! So easy! The second and third layers went on in less than 5 minutes.

Once the layers have dried, it's time for paint. Alternately, you could apply colored tissue paper to the top, but I thought paint would yield the truest color result I was looking for in a LEGO. And it was free, since I already had the acrylic craft paint. Tempera would work, too.

It took about three coats of paint, which dried very quickly between coats.

  I re-cut the opening for the candy and stabilized the rope with blue painter's tape and painted over the top again.

I let it dry overnight and it was ready to join Little Man's Sixth Birthday Extravaganza! First, it was on the table as a centerpiece...who doesn't love a gigantic LEGO?

Then, once the kids had arrived, we headed outside for the piñata fun!

All in all it was an easy project, the kids loved it, and it was practically free! A hit all around. My only complaint was that it took too long to break (which is especially problematic in Minnesota when it's cold and getting dark at 5:00pm...less of a problem in the summer, I'm sure!). But other than that, this project was great! I hope you'll try it!

I will post some more details of the LEGO party. I've already shared the invitations here and here, and a sneak peak at the party in pictures, too.

Christmas Cookies in a Jar

We are so very blessed to have teachers in our kids' lives that care deeply for them and do a great job of teaching them. At Sunday School, the boys have 3 teachers who work diligently and passionately to teach them about the love of Christ and His life. At preschool and kindergarten, they have 4 great teachers who are kind, fun, and all around great! As Thank You gifts for our Little Men's teachers at school and for Sunday School, we decided to make Cookies In A Jar this year. Their everyday school teachers are getting another gift, too, that I'll touch on another day. I wanted to give gifts that were handmade and, hopefully, useful and special, too.

This project was very quick (under an hour) and totally kid friendly, with the exception of a bit of cutting.

To start off, I got 1/2 a yard of Christmas fabric at Wal-Mart. I love that I can go there to pick up fabric, chocolate chips and (if I needed them) truck tires. I am a big fan of only getting in and out of the car once, especially when it's -2 like it was when I ran out the other day!

I wanted to cut circles of fabric to go over the finished jars. In true Mostly Mom style, though, I had to mess up 2 times before I found the right size for the circle. The final product ended up being a circle about 6" in diameter. I cut as many as I needed, and 1/2 yard was the perfect amount for 9 circles.
I used a regular pair of scissors, but pinking shears would've been even cuter!

Next, gather your recipe ingredients and quart sized jars, spoons, etc. You'll need granulated sugar, brown sugar (light or dark), all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, dried cranberries, and white chocolate chips. For spooning/pouring ingredients, I grabbed a flexible deli container (to mix and pour the flour, salt, and baking powder/soda), a spoon, my espresso tamper, and a wide-mouth funnel for canning.

We just did these assembly line fashion, with everyone (even Little Miss Pink) chipping in. They loved it!

Layer in the white sugar and tamp it down with an espresso tamper, or use a small ladle.

Then add the packed brown sugar and tamp it down again.

Next, in a flexible (ie bendy, so your kids don't dump the ingredients when they try to pour it in the jar!) container--like a clean deli container--mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Tamp it down. Gently, or flour will poof in your kiddo's faces! This step takes the longest. If you were super efficient, you could pre-measure and mix each portion of the flour mixture and have it ready for your kids to dump. But I think learning patience is a virtue. And I didn't think of that first!

Now comes the really fun stuff! Add in the oats, followed by the dried cranberries (try to keep your kids from eating most of them!).

Finally, the white chocolate chips go in!

Doesn't that look lovely?

 Place the jar lids on top and then the fabric circles. Next comes the labels with the instructions for baking. Don't be like me and realize the labels need to go on before the rings! Or skip the labels I did and do a separate tag.

After the jar lids and fabric were on, I placed this cutie pie label on top, listing the mixing and baking instructions for the cookies. I used Post-It Shipping labels, but you could easily print on cardstock and tape the circle to the fabric, too. If you'd like me to email you my PDF, post your email in comments.

So, lids, fabric and label are on, then come the rings. And voila!

Hello, Holiday Cuteness!

I added some ribbon for a final touch, and am thrilled with how they turned out. The boys love them too. And hopefully, their teachers will enjoy these tasty treats, along with a handwritten thank you from the boys. I hope they know how grateful we are to send our Little Men off to teachers who care for them so much! THANK YOU TEACHERS!!!

Christmas Cookies in a Jar, adapted from Taste Of Home (makes ONE quart-sized jar)
18 Servings

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup dried cranberries (I used Craisins)
1 cup vanilla or white chips

Additional ingredients (list these on a tag, or email me for the PDF of the label)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Using a quart sized glass jar, layer (use a canning funnel!) the white sugar, followed by the brown sugar. Tamp down between each layer to create a clean line. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour gently into jar and tamp down gently. Layer in the oats, cranberries, and white chocolate chips, tamping between the oats and cranberries. Cover and store in a cool place for up to 6 months.

To prepare cookies (provide these instructions to the recipient!): Preheat oven to 375. Pour cookie mix into a large bowl, stirring to combine. Beat in the butter, egg and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2" apart onto un-greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes until browned, cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!