Funny Friday

Turning 75!

Yesterday, we threw my Grand-mother a 75th Birthday Surprise party. I did not relies how much work went into party planning until now! Trying to locate all the people to invite, sending out invites, calling people who ignored or forgot about the RSVP date, and of course decorating. However, I think the hardest part of it all was making sure my Grand-mother did not find out. She is one smart cookie, but we managed to fool her ;)




                                                  Here is a Picture of her Cake

It was a Great party, we were afraid we would have thunderstorms all day, but thankfully the rain held out until the party was over. We had about 60 guest's, mostly family. It was so fun getting to see cousins that I had not seen since I was a little girl. I know my Grand-mother enjoyed visiting with her family and getting to see all of her siblings ( She is one of 5 kids ) and her children, Grand-children, & Great Grand-Children ( She has 5 kids her self, 6 Grandchildren & 6 Great Grand-children )

In other news last week, the kids have been using a new online Science program. So far I am really liking this program. Last Tuesday, I watched them do their Science in motion lesson and I even found it interesting ;) 
Whether your new to homeschooling, or not, and are looking for a Great Science curriculum, you should check Science4Us out!


Until Next time...

Happy 2014

                                  


So, it has finally arrived, 2014 is here! Our family, celebrated like many, I am sure.We all stayed up to watch the ball drop on TV.

My daughter asked, like many years before, when we will go to New York and see it in person. I then, always give her the same answer; When you grow up, you can go :)
We also have a tradition, that we do every year, we play games. This year was CLUE. We also buy sparking grape "pretend" champagne to drink and of course
Yell!        & give each other a Kiss!

Afterwards, before we get ready for bed, we sit and talk about what our New Year's Resolution's will be.
Mine is, to decided what I want to be, when I grow up.  I have been going back to college for a couple of years now and I planned on a Degree in OTA, but I am now wondering if that is the best route for me to go, career wise. So, I am taking a break to figure out what my next step will be.

My husband, his was to get more rest, like he needs any more ;)  

My daughter's was to see China McClain in concert.

My son's is, learning to read. He is doing really well for his age, and is not far off from it, but not there yet.
So, this next year, I will be carving out some extra time for more reading lesson time, in our homeschooling schedule ;)


Until Next Time...

Merry Christmas

 

The most Wonderful Day of the Year has finally arrived!

In my family, we have a few tradition's that we do, to celebrate. For instants, on Christmas Eve, we bake some sort of goodies for Santa. This year we chose to make mini Gingerbread houses. This was the first year, we had made them, and I must admit the first time I had ever made one myself. It was actually really fun & yummy too ;)

 

 

 We also drink hot co-co, while watching Christmas shows, that I have pre-recorded on my the DVR previously before bed time. On Christmas morning, we do like most family's. Wake up and open presents. The only rule I have, is that the children have to stay in bed, until they see daylight. When I was growing up, I can still remember waking my parents up, way to early. Now that I am the parent, I knew that was one tradition, I would not be continuing on in my own family, lol ;)

 

 

The past few days, we have not done much schooling, to be honest. We did a fun plant lesson and printed some fun Christmas themed printable word search, coloring pages, etc., but that is it.

I plan on taking the rest of this week off.

 

 

Until Next Time...

 

 

 

 

Christmas is almost here

Hard to believe Christmas is less than a week away.
We have been super busy, busy getting ready for the Big Day.
We have our tree up, home decorated, goodies baked, gifts bought, and wrapped. The children, are of course, waiting excitedly for the day to arrive.

Yep! Christmas is almost here!






So, what  have we been doing this week, school wise? Well, since the kids always enjoy baking with me, I thought it would be a fun way to teach an important life skill and some Math to boot.

This week we made one of my favorite & Super easy to make, Christmas goodies, that my Mom used to make for me, when I was a girl. They are actually called "Wedding Cookies", but we always used to call them "Snow Balls".

 SNOW BALL COOOKIES



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar                                                    

3/4 teaspoon salt                                                    

1 1/2 cups  chopped  Pecans (optional)                                                                                        

 4 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract                                                    

 

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour                                                      

 

1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for rolling

 

 

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Cream butter or margarine in a bowl.
3. Gradually add confectioners' sugar and salt.
4. Beat until light and fluffy.
5. Add your chopped Pecans and vanilla.
6. Blend in flour gradually and mix well.
7. Shape into  "Snow"balls using about 1 teaspoon for each cookie.
8. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 min. *Do not brown.*
9. Cool slightly, then roll in the extra confectioners' sugar.

                                   Then Enjoy!




Other homeschooling activity's, we have done this week, is mainly just some fun computer games like hangman, alphabet games, etc., from my favorite educational websites.



Until Next time...

 

It's Christmas Time

Christmas time, is one of my most favorite time's of the year! There is just something about all those blinking light's, Holiday movie's, & music. Getting to decorate festively and of course all those presents :)  Still, with all of those things, I think my very favorite part is going out every year with my family to pick out that perfect Christmas tree.

When I was a little girl we always had artificial tree's, but now that I am the "Mom", I don't know, I just loved the idea of a real tree in my home. So, last Saturday, we did just that! Unfortunately, the following day, when we were supposed to wake up and enjoy a day filled with hot cocoa, Christmas movies, and decorating, but my daughter woke up sick :(
After a trip to the Doctor, we learned she had Strep throat, ugh!
So, for the past few days my poor, empty, wonderful smelling tree, has been sitting in my home empty, waiting to be decorated. Hopefully, in another day or two, my oldest will be all well, and we can finally decorate our Christmas Tree.






On the Homeschooling front, my youngest has been my only student this week, since his sister is ill. I had hoped, to have my oldest do some review work, on her Multiplication tables, contractions, etc., but that will just have to wait until she is feeling better. With my son, we did manage to do some fun Holiday themed lessons this week. I printed out some Christmas themed printable flashcards, worksheets, and coloring pages.
I tell you what, having a printer at home, sure makes schooling at home some much easier and fun ;)

Until Next time...

                                                 

 

Bowling, Birthdays, & Homophones

Today, I am writing to you, from a Bowling Alley. Yes! I said bowling! Today, my oldest had practice (she is on a league). So, I figured, why not take advantage of the free "Me" time and enjoy some blogging time  ;)
I will admit, that using my new tablet for blogging is kinda awkward. Even though, I am able to blog on it, I still miss the familiarity of my lap top.



In other news, this past week has been pretty busy. My oldest turned 12 years old ~> A bitter sweet moment, as she informed me, that this will be her last "kid" year, sigh...




On the home school front, we have been taking advantage of educational videos  this week. I find that the kids love them and they are great resource, when your super busy or just need a break ;)  We have also been busy learning division, with my oldest, and adding/subtracting with my youngest; plus learning about homophones, etc.

Until Next Time...