A Yummy American Girl Treat!!

If you have a daughter like mine, they absolutely LOVE the American Girl dolls!! Hannah's collection just keeps on growing. She recently has gotten into the activity books put out by the American Girl Co. besides the dolls, so that's a good thing. Many of them are very educational as well as fun!!

The most recent book she's working her way through is called
"Molly Just for Fun"



Inside this book was a wonderful recipe for 'Frozen Fruit Cups'. They are SO good!!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of orange juice
• 15 ounce can of crushed pineapple in it's own juice
• 7 ounce can of mandarin oranges
• 1 pint of strawberries
• 2 bananas
• 1 1/2 cups of ginger ale (use diet if you need to)

Other things you'll need:

• measuring cup with spout
• large mixing bowl
• can opener
• knife
• cutting board
• mixing spoon
• 5 ounce paper drinking cups (we used large plastic ones!)
• plastic wrap

The process: (written in very simple terms for children)

• Measure the orange juice into the mixing bowl.
• Open the cans of crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges.
• Add the pineapple and its juice to the mixing bowl.
• Drain the juice from the mandarin oranges into the sink. Cut the mandarin oranges into small pieces and add them to the mixing bowl.
• Wash the strawberries. Use the knife to remove the stems and cut the strawberries into small pieces. Add the strawberries to the mixing bowl.
• Peel the bananas and cut them into small pieces. Add the bananas to the mixing bowl.
• Stir the fruits and juices together, and then stir in the ginger ale.
• Dip the measuring cup into the mixing bowl. Fill the measuring cup with the fruit mixture. Pour the fruit mixture into the cups.
• Cover the top of each cup with plastic wrap.
• Put the cups into the freezer for several hours or overnight.
• Enjoy!!!

We used tall plastic cups...they hold up better in the freezer.


Mmmmmm...ready to eat!


The delicious result!! They are very refreshing...especially after a good workout on Wii-Fit...I'd know...that's when I had mine! =)


Hannah, enjoying the 'fruits' of her labor!!! (pun intended!)

Cupcakes & Cheese??

Cupcakes:

To say that Sweet-Pea enjoys baking is an understatement! She absolutely LOVES being in the kitchen. She'll help cook dinner, bake desserts and even prepare various beverages (iced tea, lemonade etc.) Every Mom should have a helper as wonderful as she is.

A few weeks ago she decided she wanted to make cupcakes she saw in one of her American Girl books...decorated like puppies. So, she and Daddy went to the store and purchased all the necessary ingredients. When they got back home, she got busy right away decorating (the cupcakes were made earlier)! Here she is creating her masterpieces:





She made 3 different puppies...

This cute little guy with speckled ears:


This little white fluffy guy (either a poodle or Bichon):


And my absolute favorite - the adorable one with peanut butter cookie ears:


I think she did a fantastic job, don't you??

Cheese:

OK, I just HAD to comment on the Amazing Race. The 14th season premiered tonight, and I have to say that this was the first episode in all the years it's been on that I laughed until I cried! Edward and I were watching it together and we laughed so hard, the kids came down to see what all the commotion was in the living room!! Did any of you see it???

The funny part was when the contestants had to walk up a steep slippery hill in Switzerland, pick up a 50 lb cheese wheel, and transport it on their backs down the hill. They had to deliver a total of 200 lbs of cheese (4 wheels). It sounds easy enough, but the wooden contraptions that were supposed to be on their backs to transport them kept falling apart, and the cheese wheels kept rolling down the hill! That was funny enough, but then many of the contestants started scooting down the hill on their backsides with a cheese wheel on their lap. It was just the funniest thing!!! I'm hoping that someone will put it up on YouTube so I can post it here. It's worth the giggle.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time!! It felt good to just sit and be entertained like that. Kudos to the Amazing Race for a funny episode. Let's hope the rest of the season brings us more comedy like they did in this first episode!

Family....

...is what makes Christmas so special!!!

Some highlights from Christmas morning:



I created a 100 page book for the kids this year with Shutterfly. Inside the book are photos and captions from our homeschool experience. Our classroom, all about the kids, field trips we've taken with our homeschool group and as a family, educational vacations, and a variety of photos of the kids working in school at their desks, with experiments, crafting and more! It took me quite a while to get all the photos together (over 600 of them!) but it was well worth the effort!!! This book will be a treasure for years to come. Here they are looking at it.


Lionel loves anything to do with World War 2, so what better gift than a pair of aviator goggles!?! He looked just like the flying ace...in pajamas! hee hee


Here he is with some of his WW2 prints. He got a few of these, some great vintage WW2 planes fabric for new curtains and an awesome balsa wood WW2 plane...the Messerschmitt. Believe me, he was one very happy camper!!


He also loves educational shows, so he got the Discovery Shark Week DVD set, and a few great DVD's from the History Channel!


Samantha finally made it into Sweet-Pea's American Girl doll collection (...and then there were 8!!!) Knowing that Samantha would be retiring this year, we had no choice but to purchase this one if we were going to help make Sweet-Pea's collection complete. We knew we were going to get her an American Girl doll for Christmas, but we weren't sure which one. Sweet-Pea simply loves Samantha, so it was the perfect choice anyhow!!


These are the priceless reactions we aim for on Christmas morning!!! Thanks for obliging me Sweet-Pea!!! There were several of these looks from both kids, but this was the best one captured on 'film'. (Is that politically correct to say now that our photos are all digital?? There IS no film!)


One of Sweet-Pea's favorite gifts were the American Girl skates. This was the first thing she wrote down on her Christmas list, so when she opened them she was thrilled!!!!


Two of my favorite photos, hands down!! (No, they were NOT staged either!)





Cody was not left out! He enjoyed a stocking full of fun gifts too! He got several different kind of treats, 2 stuffed toys, a chew toy and this big enormous bone! It didn't take him long to claim it as his, and his alone!!!


Dinner was great! We had Edward's family over, so it was a nice crowd. It really stinks that the kids have no cousins around, so they don't have other kids to play with, but I suppose they are used to it by now. They love their grandparents & aunts/uncles who live nearby, so they at least get to spend time with family.


I do hope your Christmas was wonderful, and that you were able to make memories with your family and friends that will last a lifetime!!

This 'n That...

It's been a week since my last blog post...that's totally unlike me!!! I guess time has simply slipped away. We have been busy with listing our home and keeping it clean. Boy, it's not easy to keep a house spotless with 2 children and a dog!!! As I already mentioned in a previous post, we listed it last week and in the first few days we had 3 families look at it...not bad for the market we're dealing with these days. One family was particularly interested in it because we have 5 bedrooms and they have 5 children. So far no offer though. This weekend we will be having our first open house, so PLEASE be in prayer with us that the Lord would allow us to sell it on Sunday!!

I also mentioned that we found a home we fell in love with. It's a new home and in a town nearby. We did put an offer on it, but in the mean time we're still looking at what's out there. Well...we found another new home in the next town over that's only $2,000. more than the first home, but is much bigger! So, tomorrow we're going to look at it and then make our final decision. The great part about it is that it's the same exact builder, so he could simply transfer our deposit from one home to the other. Here are the main differences between the 2 homes...

Home #1

4 bedrooms, living room, dining room, laundry room, 2 1/2 baths, big kitchen (eat in), deck and .23 acres...2 car garage. Close to in-laws. 15 min. to hubby's work, 20 min. to church. Totally flat property, on cul-de-sac...2nd home in the development. Only 7 houses on street.

Home #2

4 bedrooms, living room, dining room, laundry room, 2 1/2 baths, kitchen (not eat in), den, deck and .33 acres...2 car garage. 10 min. from in-laws. 15+ min. to hubby's work, 25 min. to church. Flat in front yard, slopes down in back so it has a walk out basement, then flat back there, on a cul-de-sac...2nd home in the development. Only 7 houses on street, but 12 in development altogether.

They're pretty much the same, but the 2nd home has that extra room and a walk out basement which is highly appealing...but yard does slope a bit. The den would be our school room. In the 1st home, we'd have to use the dining room as our school room which really wouldn't be ideal. There's also a firehouse in the back of that home...it's a volunteer firehouse so no sirens...but still.

So...do we pick #1 - smaller but closer location to things in the smaller town, or do we pick #2 - larger but further away and up a hill in the bigger town? Tough call huh?!? Send your thoughts...and I'll let you know what we decide once we make our final decision....that is IF we even sell our home on time!!! We may not get either of these homes if that's what the Lord wants. It's hard to wait on the Lord but we're trying to. There aren't many decent homes on the market these days, so to find two homes we really liked was a surprise.

OK, enough house talk...I do get tired of talking about it and thinking about it. It's draining on the mind!!! We just need to let God take control and lead us to where He wants us! Where ever He wants us to 'hang our hat' is where we'll live...but if it's one of these 2 houses, we certainly will be thankful to Him for His added blessings!

What else are we doing with our time? The kids are doing school...on and off...it's been difficult. Summer school here we come. That's OK, we started so early this year, we will just have a few weeks of make-up in June and we'll be fine. Lionel took a math test the other day and aced it. He and I went on a field trip to a local college and had a great time! We were there for over 2 hours and he was engrossed the entire time. I think he saw what lies in his future and he's excited about it. Only 3 years more before college - gulp!

Sweet-Pea is mostly working on her reading and writing these days. She is still studying about horses and we are reading through the Beautiful Feet curriculum together. Those books are fantastic!!! I only wish I had more time to read out loud - or when I do have time, that my throat lasted longer. I wish they'd put more books on cd...then we could sit together and read along in the book while someone else reads it.

Sweet-Pea has been sleeping in these jammies quite a bit lately....just so she could sleep with Nellie. She's a trip! Maybe I could teach her to sew her own matching clothes...only I'm not that good at sewing. (Hey, Christine...care to come give me some pointers!?!?! ha ha)

Here they are in their matching American Girl jammies...




Lionel has been busy building more airplanes. Here's his latest, complete with cockpit suitable for his old aviator Pooh from when he was young!


Close-up of Pooh with his aviator hat on...


Let's see, what else....I took the kids out to Cracker Barrell the other morning for breakfast just to escape from the craziness at home...not to mention the fact that we had nothing to eat in the house either! ha ha We had a great time...the only thing missing was Daddy! He had to work. The fireplace was roaring and it felt so cozy inside!!


Of course I had to get photos of the kids on the rocking chairs outside. If you've never been to Cracker Barrel, they line the front porches with these beautiful wooden rockers (to buy) and they're very comfortable. We have one on our front porch which the kids gave to me for Christmas one year...best gift ever!


So, that's been our week...sort of. I left out all the cleaning, all the car trips to the dump and the many trips to my in-laws to drop boxes off to get them out of our home for the open house. The house never looked better, but I have no idea where anything is anymore!! I finished reading the 2nd book in the Lori Wick 'Rocky Mountain Series' and am anxious to start book #3, only I packed it away and it's in the basement of my in-laws. UGH! Yet another good reason to sell this house quickly. ha ha

Well, keep praying for us and for the quick sale of our home. It truly would be a blessing. We aren't having time to grieve the death of my father due to the whole house ordeal...in a way it's good, but in another way it may hit us harder once our lives settle down.

Have a great day!!

More on our American Girl Tea club

I've had a few people ask me about our American Girl Teas...so I will explain more about what we do. As I mentioned in a previous post, we have 6 girls and 5 moms (that includes us) in our home once a month. Sweet-Pea and I have so much fun setting up our table with fine china and teacups. The first month we met, we asked that each mother/daughter bring their own unique set of tea cups and saucers. We keep them here and use them once a month for our teas. The variety of cups/saucers on the table along with our own china plates makes for a wonderful setting! It's formal yet casual.

The girls usually dress up...sometimes in very elegant dresses, and even a couple times some have dressed in attire specific for the time period we're learning about. I have to admit we Moms have gotten a little bit more casual as time has gone by, but the girls still do love to dress up! They are taught how to act like proper young ladies during our teas. We teach them basic table manners as well as what it's like to be a gracious host.

What do we do during our teas? We meet from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon. The first 10 minutes or so are pretty much for socializing and getting settled. We then sit down and the mother/daughter team who is leading that particular month totally takes over and runs the show. We usually have our snack time first. During our snacks (which are usually foods specific to the time period for that doll), we talk about the story and sometimes are quizzed on how much we know. Lots of laughter go on during this time!!

After we eat, usually Sweet-Pea helps me to clear off the table while the devotional is given by the mom of the mother/daughter team. Scripture that pertains to our story is used and the girls are taught how it can be applied in their own lives. After the devotional (usually only 5-10 min.) we do our craft. Sometimes that takes up the rest of the time, but sometimes we can squeeze in a game - again, something that pertains to the time period.

That's it in a nutshell. Here are a few photos of our teas (so far) and what was done for each. I don't remember ALL the details, but I'll do my best to type what I know.

DOLL #1 - Kaya
Food: corn bread, pumpkin pudding, nuts, Indian tea, coffee, lemonade
Craft: t-shirts (the pink one Sweet-Pea is wearing), bracelets
Game: the stick game



DOLL #2 - Felicity (Even Lionel got into this one by wearing his 3 pointed hat while answering the door for us - then he split into another room to 'escape'!)
Food: apple butter, homemade rolls, sweet pudding, tea, coffee, lemonade
Craft: fruit topiary
Game: table top bowling



DOLL #3 - Elizabeth
Food: muffins (not sure what else), coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: potpourri sachets
Game: blind mans bluff



DOLL #4 - Josefina
Food: sweet breads, cookies, Mexican corn things (?), coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: corn husk dolls
Game: beans game



DOLL #5 - Kirsten
Food: sliced apples, ham, raisin buns, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: yarn rag dolls
Game: no time!



DOLL #6 - Addy
Food: hard boiled eggs, homemade breads, jelly, corn dish, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: paper drawings
Game: no time...but after we were done the girls got into Sweet-Pea's princess dress up bin!!



DOLL #7 & #8 - Samantha/Nellie
Food: omelettes, muffins, gingerbread, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: gingerbread house
Game: pass the paper people drawings (hilarious!)



DOLL #9 - Kit
Food: waffles, ambrosia, breads, coffee, tea, lemonade
Craft: paper lanterns, tissue paper flowers
Game: alphabet game



We still have to do Emily, Molly and Julie to complete the series. Once we're done with the American Girl dolls, we will do the Life of Faith dolls, then we'll start all over again with the American Girl dolls!! Sweet-Pea can't get enough of these dolls, so we'll be doing this for quite some time I imagine.

One of the highlights thus far was definitely our trip into NYC to have lunch at the American Girl Place. We had a blast and I'm sure the memories made will last a lifetime!!

Here they are enjoying their delicious meals...


Here's Sweet-Pea with her 'Just like me' doll...she even dressed like her for the day!


Now...to brainstorm a club for Lionel and his friends...hmmm. Any ideas? I was thinking of "The Lego Lads" and having 3 friends over each month specifically to build a Lego creation that pertains to a particular topic for the month. Share your thoughts if you have any. I need input! Thanks!!