In Like a Lion...

Let's hope for the Lamb!!!

March came roaring in with a wintry storm that called off our coop classes for the day! So I thought we would start wishing for spring around here...

We started by making a calendar to track how many wintry days and how many springlike days we have this month.

Then we decided to make some flowery wreaths and garland strands to hang all over the house using some recycled tissue paper - HERE is a great link for tissue paper flowers of all kinds!

Here is a rather interesting elementary level art project lesson plan.

Here is a cute little play from Scholastic.


On another note there is only about 18 hours left to register for World Math on March 4th -Be sure to Go here to register and challenge people from all around the world!

A Fantastic Holiday Week in Review

With such a multifaceted family structure our Solstice/Christmas Holiday lasts at least a week. With the visits slowing down I thought I would share some of our favorite pics from the week!

Matching aprons to help with the baking!

Playing with Grampa!


Some favorite presents:SC's was a box and...

& a new step stool!

KM's was her Nintendo DS - she was VERY surprised!

Mine was my new mixer!!! - Life will be sooo much easier!

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday!!!

Have a Holly Jolly Day!!!

A Wonderful Solistice...

was had by all around here! It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day.
KM and I got a lot of baking done, finished up some Christmas presents for relatives, and finished up the laundry and cleaning that we had started during Saturdays never ending snow storm.
CJ was still out plowing a good part of the day, but when he finally got home, it was just in time to have a cozy dinner, just the three of us.
We had lit all the candles and sconces in the house and only had the tree and fairy lights going - oh and spongebob of course. It was very simple and peaceful.
After dinner we open a few yule gifts and then all snuggled up to watch a movie and eat some yummy cookies we had made earlier in the day!
KM's favorite present was a Wizardology Code Writing Kit and we all got a kick out of our Feety Pajamas!
After the movie we were all sitting together and it was like a light went off for all of us at once - this is what we are suppose to be doing. THIS is our family.
CJ and I have been drawn more and more away from traditions that we were raised with and more towards creating our own types of traditions that fit our family. Since CJ's parents and my father moved South and Noni passed away it has felt like we are really the leaders in our family and we need to make the holidays what we want our family to remember them as. So we are thinking next year we are going to focus less on Christmas and more on the Winter Solistice and Earth Based/Natural Holidays. After doing the Holidays Around the World, I think that KM has also come to realize that NOT everyone celebrates Christmas and that in other parts of the world it is the minority of people who actually do celebrate it. We will of course still respect our friends and families members who celebrate it, but for our family - the three who live under this roof - we are going to go our own route and enjoy the wonderful welcoming of winter!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Yule!

"December 21 -- Winter Solstice -- Yule

Mythologically, this is the time when the Goddess gives birth to the Sun God. Mother Bertha is the Crone who gives presents and steals bad children. Yule celebrates the birth/rebirth of the Sun God." found here including photo

I have found some fun activities here for the wee ones. There are even more here. Still more here.

Holidays Around the World

After we finished our election study we decided to learn about Holidays from around the world that are celebrated in December. It was a great History/Geography/Cultural Studies project and here is our outcome:

We used a ream of finger-paint paper for the back ground, some coloring pages we downloaded and lots of clip art and doo-dads to make if fun!

We colored in each holiday's origin on the map that we printed out from - here - this site is great for all sorts of maps in a huge assortment of sizes!

KM's favorite one was Santa Lucia Day, which is celebrated in Sweden, because "they were daredevils!" balancing the candles on their heads.
I was rather surprised to discover that although Kwanzaa is a celebration of African ancestry, it
was created here in American. It was also rather interesting to hear about all the different ways that kids around the world leave some sort of "footwear" out for "someone" to leave them candy and presents in! We were unable to figure where exactly this footwear phenomenon started, but they seem to do it in some form or another on every part of the globe!!!

Reflections on the Changing Seasons

I have mentioned many times how much we love fall, but I am starting to wonder if it is just the changing of the seasons that we love the most. As each new season comes along there are so many changes and chances for anew.

Though I like this quote -
“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.” - by Yoko Ono

This is my favorite quote about the changing seasons:
Autumn to winter, winter into spring, Spring into summer, summer into fall,-- So rolls the changing year, and so we change; Motion so swift, we know not that we move. ~ from Immutable by Dinal Maria Mulock


As we come to the end of another wonderful Autumn season, I am truly grateful for the bounty we have obtained as a family. The changes that we have made over this past year have been countless. We are more efficient, confident, happier, closer, stronger, kinder, and most of all a more loving family.

Last year on this very date, I was sitting, agonizing over my decision to take KM out of public school. I was petrified, at the prospect of taking on such a monumental task. However I knew, deep within me, that it was the right thing, the only thing, to do that would fix the situation that had been unfolding. Over the next few weeks I was reading everything I could get my eyes on ~ as most of my information I found online. I spent hours upon hours looking at resources and curriculums, finding support groups, asking for guidance from everyone I met and listening to people try to talk me out of it or ask me "Are you really sure this is what you want to do?"

I have been told by many, that if you had seen me during that time, you never would have known I was struggling with the decision. Apparently on the outside I was sure of myself and I think that was the true feelings shining through. I knew it was the only solution that could fix the things that were going wrong in our home. This is the path we were meant to take.

I know that it is not the path for everyone and there are a multitude of reasons why families can't or choose not to homeschool or unschool, but I wanted to take a second to thank all those wonderful, dedicated parents who have also chosen this path for their children. It can be difficult, it can be challenging, but it is so worth it ~ our children are worth it!

Tis the Season for...Reading

Each year when we take out all the Holiday decorations, there is one thing that really makes it feel like winter is coming - the book basket. KM and I are rarely without a book, but this basket is special because it has all our holiday books that we read and add to each year. We keep the basket by the fireplace and try to cuddle up there at least once every few days and flip through them.
Some of them have been given to us as gifts, others are favorites from when CJ and I were little, while still others are just fun!

Now that KM is getting older we may need to get a bigger book basket, but for now we have another pile on the hope chest.

Here is the list of our favorites:

1. Snow Family ~ Daniel Kirk
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas ~ Charles M. Schulz
3. Beauty and the Beast: One Magical Christmas ~ Karen Kreider
4. Snowie Rolie ~ William Joyce
5. Care Bears: Catch the Christmas Spirit ~ Katie Tait
6. Hello Kitty: My Little Angel ~ Paul Coco
7. The Penguin Who Wanted to be Different: A Christmas Wish ~ Maria O'Neill
8. There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! ~ Lucille Colandro
9. The Christmas Penguin ~ Mary Packard
10. Gingerbread Baby ~ Jan Brett
11. Five Little Christmas Trees ~ Lynn Adams
12. Little Critter's: The Night Before Christmas ~ Mercer Mayer
    
13. Strawberry Shortcake's Berry Merry Christmas ~ Monique Z. Stephens
14. Toot & Puddle: I'll Be Home for Christmas ~ Holly Hobbie
15. Can You See What I See? The Night Before Christmas: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve ~ Walter Wick
16. Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present ~ John Burningham
17. If you take a Mouse to the Movies ~ Laura Numeroff
18. Snow Magic ~ June Eding
19. Snowmen at Night ~ Caralyn Buehner
    
20. Santa Claus ~ Rod Green
21. Judy Moody & Stink: The Holly Joliday ~ Megan McDonald
22. On Christmas Eve ~ Ann M. Martin

The titles that we will be adding to the basket this year include:
The Christmas Book: How to Have the Best Christmas Ever ~ Juliana Foster
When Santa Fell to Earth ~ Cornelia Funke
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever ~ Barbara Robinson
A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens


What are your families favorite seasonal stories?

18 days Til Christmas -

and my bedroom was transformed into Santa's Workshop this morning -

I put on some old Wintry/Christmassy movies and got all the presents that have arrived wrapped.

Packages are ready to be shipped out
& the tree looks perfect!

After I had gotten all the presents done, KM started asking about the different symbols and where they come from - I knew a lot of them, but there were a few that I was surprised by. I went in search of and found last years December issue of Pagan Moonbeams written by TristA & Shannon Donaldson. It had a great list of traditional symbols and explanations of where they derived from.

Here is the article's list:

Bells– Pagan. Bells were used to drive away demons which surfaced during the dark time of the year.
Candles– Pagan. Candles were lit to encourage the sun to shine, especially during festivals.
Candy Cane– Christian. Peppermint leaves and teas are Pagan, however the candy cane was invented by an American confectioner using a Christian symbol.
Carols– Christian. Carols were introduced in the fourth century by the Catholic Church.
Elves– Pagan. The Norse land of Alfaheimr (land of the elves) was inhabited by spirits that created the sun.
Evergreens– Pagan. There is evidence of different Pagan groups throughout history decorating evergreens.
Gingerbread– Christian. The Crusaders started this tradition by introducing ginger, and gingerbread. French and German bakers united to make the gingerbread into a man.
Holly– Pagan. Holly began as a symbol of rebirth and friendship for many different Pagan religions.
Lights– Pagan. For many centuries homes were decorated with light to frighten negative entities and urge the sun to shine.
Mistletoe– Pagan. Believed to first be used by the Greeks during winter ceremonies. The Druids are the ones who gave it sacredness and special meaning.
Ornaments– Pagan. Fruits, candy, cookies and flowers were all used to decorate trees by the Germanic people.
Poinsettia– Christian. An old Mexican myth of a poor boy wanting to buy Christ a gift for Christmas made this magical flower appear.
Reindeer– Pagan. These magical creatures were derived from the Goddess Freya Stags that carried her chariot or symbolizing Cernunnos, a Celtic god.
Santa Claus– Pagan. Either from the Norse sun-god or the Aryan god Odin.
Sleigh– Pagan. Definitely from the Norse god Freya who spent 12 days after the Winter Solstice in her chariot drawn by stags. She gave gifts and goodwill to the good and misery to the bad.
Snowflakes– Pagan. These represent Demeter’s tears when Persephone descended to the Underworld. The symbol was also used by Pagans throughout time to represent love.
Stockings– Christian. They fall back to a story of women who were worried about living a lone and of St. Nick leaving presents in them one night when their windows and doors were locked.
Tinsel– Christian. A story of spiders wanting to climb on the tree and not being permitted so the Christ child allowed them to go on the tree anyway. They wove webs that covered the tree which delighted the child and he turned them to silver so they would always be there.
Tree– Pagan. Decorating a tree began back with the Egyptians and Babylonians. Decorating a tree during this particular holiday came from a version of this practice used by the Germans, who got it from the Romans.
Wassail– Pagan. The Anglo-Saxons started this ritual by sprinkling trees with eggs, apples, cider and ale to insure a good apple yield for the coming year.
Wreath– Pagan. The Greeks picked the circle because it was a symbol of life (death, rebirth, death, rebirth, etc…), like the sun in the Pagan religions, then covered it with greenery and used it for decoration during their Sacacea festival.


If you know where any other Holiday symbols come from please let me know, I would love to add to the list!

Decking the Halls....With Sponge Bob?

We were a bit late this year in getting our decorations up. Usually we do it the day after Thanksgiving, but CJ was working and we had to get a new tree....CJ went to the store to pick up new smoke detectors and some extra lights and when he got back, went into the crawl space to get the tree out - we suddenly remembered that we had recycled the 6 year old tree last year - as it had just served it's time! - and had planned to grab one during the after christmas sales - OOPS!

It took him along time to pull those branches apart, but in the end it was worth it.

They decorated....

while I nitpicked...

and hung the stockings, doodads and boobles..

and it turned out beautifully!

We decided to put the Spongebob that is usually on the porch indoors this year.
I don't know how well SC is going to do with it, but it will be fun to see!

When do you do your decorating?

27 Days Til Christmas!!!!

This is my FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!!!
I stumbled across this site that looks pretty cool!
I am so glad that I have SC around to keep the Santa Magic going!

A Wonderful Thanksgiving

We had such a great Thanksgiving! It was the smallest that I have ever done ~ there were only 7 of us ~ and we actually got to eat at the table family style, instead of doing a buffet line!

The turkey came out perfectly!

The kids played "Boogie" on the Wii for a bit after dinner.

Then we headed over to MC's new house for desert!

The girls hung out and watched some TV.

While the parents got a bit silly!

We were most grateful for the wonderful family that we got to spend the day with!

I am hoping that all of my visitors had a great, wonderful and safe holiday as well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a wonderful, peaceful, enjoyable
Turkey Day!

Turkey Day Prep part 2

After yesterdays Turkey Day Prep post, I got lots of emails - and even a few phone calls - from some of my friends who are starting out with the holiday responsibilities, looking for suggestions for turkey recipes. So I figured I would take a few minutes this morning to post the recipe that I use.

Here is Giada De Laurentiis' Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus Recipe. I follow it to the letter, as it has always come out PERFECTLY! I stumbled across this a few years ago on the Food Network site and have just never strayed from it, cause it truly comes out sooo good! I cannot rave enough about it and if you don't believe me just look at all the incredible reviews she has gotten on the site as well!

Turkey Day Prep

We are in full force Turkey Day preparation mode here, as I am sure most everyone else is as well! I have been doing Thanksgiving for nearly 10 years now and I don't really stress too much about it anymore. I have come a long way since that first year where we ordered everything in, to this Thanksgiving when I am planning on making everything from scratch.

Last year was the most nerve racking, as it was the first time that I made the Turkey myself. Since I had taken over the holiday events for the family, Noni had always continued to make "the bird" to take some of the pressure off of me. Then on the first Thanksgiving after she passed away, I was just too overwhelmed and asked DD to do it for me, which she gladly did and it came out perfectly. Last year I took the reigns and did it myself. I had been offered help by many, but I really just wanted to do it. It was not like I had never cooked a Turkey, it is just that it is the centerpiece at Thanksgiving and there really is no room for error when it comes to a holiday that is ALL ABOUT THE FOOD! - I know it is also about being thankful, but really who thinks about being thankful if the Turkey is going up in flames? hmmm

So this year will be a small group at my house for dinner, since MC is going to be having her first go round hosting for her in-laws. I have decided to try and make as much from scratch as I can. I have been practicing and trying different techniques out over the past few weeks and think I have it all pretty well figured out - I do however have some things like gravy and crescent rolls in the fridge just in case any debacles should occur!

I do have some posts in the works, but if it is quiet round here, you will now it won't be for too long!

Happy Halloween

We had a very Happy Halloween - Samhain Fest at our house from Thur evening's traditional viewing of
"It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown".

To old-fashioned mask making...

A puppet show with the masks!

Dressing Up & Trick or Treating

They all had lots of fun and got LOTS of loot!!!
Hope your holiday was as fun as ours!

Carved and Poked Pumpkins

Here they sit on the front bench -
our carved and poked pumpkins!

Frankie the Werewolf!

And Smiling Jack-O-Lantern.

My Favorite Spot...

on a chilly afternoon!

Curled up in front of the fire!

Yup - It's Official!

We Love Fall!!!KM's interpretation of the "Green Man" changing through the season!

Pumpkin Painting

Since KM was little we have always painted pumpkins so that we could decorate for halloween with some, before it is time to carve them - we don't let the carved ones hang around for more than a week! So on our way back from co-op yesterday we stopped at a local farm and picked out our pumpkins for the season!

Today SC got to paint her first pumpkin!

She did an awesome job, picking and swirling the paint!
When she got bored, her house kept her entertained!

While KM took her time with her "Vampire Princess"!

With bloody fangs -

and streaked hair - of course!

We used some print outs to add the eyes, nose and mouth to SC's swirly pumpkin!