Tis The Season

For a few years now I've wanted to set up a Christmas Advent for the kids. Till this year I have always bought those cardboard things from the store and they have a little piece of chocolate behind each door. Yeah I'm just too crafty for that. So I started by getting some card stock and some scrap booking stickers and using my tag maker to make some tags. Then I stenciled the numbers 1-25 on each tag. It did get to be a bit tedious though. Then I bought some small burlap bags on Etsy and filled each one with some Hershey kisses and Reese's minis. 

 Then I made a list of 25 things to enjoy doing with the kids. I had to get my calender out and plan each thing according to what we would be doing that day. This was the most difficult part. Then I printed my list out and cut it into strips and then stuck the strips in the proper bags. 

This is my master list so that I can prepare ahead of time for each project. 

Then I strung them up on the wall nice and high so no little hands could touch. :)

Here are some pics from Day 1 and 2

We made these Oreo balls from a recipe I got here http://www.nabiscoworld.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipe_id=124149

  My children don't believe in Santa but this man was so great... he asked them each if they had been saying there prayers and told them that God loved them very much. :) All year he makes these wooden ornaments that he gives to each child.

And this sweet woman was his wife. She told the children about St. Nicholas and about these wooden shoes that children left out to be filled.

We Choose Virtues Winner

And the winner is........ Christy Pagano. Enjoy your flash cards my friend!!

Meatless Monday ~ Butternut Squash Lasagna~

I'm starting a new series this week called Meatless Monday. Every Monday I'll post a different meatless recipe. 

Enjoy!!!

Butternut Squash Lasagna-
~bhg.com

Ingredients

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick slices

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
1 tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary
9 no-boil lasagna noodles
1 1/3 cups finely shredded Parmesan cheese (5-1/2 oz.)
1 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Place squash in the prepared baking pan. Add oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss gently to coat. Spread in an even layer. Roast, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until squash is tender, stirring once. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

For sauce::

2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in squash and rosemary.

3. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole. To assemble, spread about 1 cup of the sauce in the the prepared baking dish. Layer three of the noodles in dish. Spread with one-third of the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the Pamesan cheese. Repeat layering noodles, sauce, and Parmesan cheese two more times. Pour whipping cream evenly over layers in dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

4. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake about 10 minutes more or until edges are bubbly and top is lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.


Make-ahead tip:

Prepare as directed through Step 3. Cover unbaked lasagna with foil; chill for 2 to 24 hours. To serve, bake, covered, in a 375 degree F oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until edges are bubbly and top is lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

My life in review

Ok last week I reviewed a character curriculum and this week I'm doing a review of my life. I like to take a look at what I've been doing every few months and decide whats working and whats not working and needs to be changed.
 
  Oh where do I start? I know.. lets start with whats not working.. this computer for starters is a piece of junk because it shuts down at anytime it wants to and is missing keys. So it makes me want to pull my hair out when I'm using it. Not much I can do about that though because my budget doesn't allow for a new one. Next....my calendar that I made for the kids yeah not working either. I guess I'm just not that structured.  I want to be but I just can't. So I took it down. Maybe I'll just hold on to it and try it again in the future. OK what else??? I had to change the Princesses curriculum because it was so not working. She is just not a workbook kinda girl and now I'm leaning more on visual learning techniques. All the boys did great with Abeka but its not for her. I've been going back to basics with her and adding a lot of hands on things. Speaking of the Princess, her room was not working for me either. So I changed it around a bit, purged some of the toys and clothes and bought a few new totes for organizing and now it's under control. I could write a whole post on that alone. I have a few others projects just like that one that need to be tackled.
 
   Alright enough of that. Whats working for my life right now. Notice the right now part of that sentence. That's because I know that whats working for me now... might not work for me three months from now. My morning calendar routine is the first thing that comes to mind. Loooove it! It has saved me so much time having everything up and ready in the morning. I don't have to go over each thing individually with each kid and we've made it into our routine.. so the kids know what to expect every morning. This is what my dining room area looks like. We do most of our school here.

My other favorite thing that has been working is this folder. It has 8 slots inside and I labeled them Monday-Friday and then I keep things like reading books and completed worksheets in the other ones. Every Friday I reload it for the following week and I'm all set to go.

Next is my exercise routine. I'm just happy I've been able to be consistent with it. I just completed three months of Chalean Extreme. I really wanted to add some weight training to my routine and I'm so happy I did. I really see a difference in muscle definition in my arms and back. I also lost some of the fat on my abs. This week I'm starting Insanity and that's a 60 day program. I'm hoping that when I'm done I'll have lost the last bit of weight I want to take off. That'll bring me to January and then I'll be starting my marathon training, which goes till race day at the end of May.

So that's all for now. Hope your all having a fantastic fall....my favorite time of year by the way. Have a blessed week!

We Choose Virtues Review

A few weeks ago I was chosen to review "We Choose Virtues". Maybe you've came across them online. We choose virtues is a set of tools to help aid in developing good character traits  in young children ages 3-11. It's designed to be used for a brief amount of time everyday. This can be done at home by a parent or in school by a teacher. It can even be used as a conversation starter at dinner time. The idea is to imprint these characters in the child over several teachable moments found in your everyday life experiences.

There are 12 characters that are covered:

1. Attentive
2. Content
3. Gentle
4. Kind
5. Diligent
6. Forgiving
7. Obedient
8. Patient
9. Perseverant
10. Helpful
11 .Self-Controlled
12. Honest

I really loved how each character began with "I am". For example: "I am" Kind.

 The characters are adorable and the cards are vibrant in color and made of quality material. There are several products offered that range from posters and flashcards to entire teachers kits.You can check out all the different products here http://www.wechoosevirtues.com/shop.  There are also some freebies offered on there site to go along with materials. There is a  Family-character-assessment. and a Kids-memory-verses-bible-hero es-and-truths list.

You can find there current promo codes here https://www.facebook.com/wechoosevirtues

I made the cards into part of our morning board routine. The kids were very excited about adding something new. In addition to the cards I added a Bible hero or Truth and a memory verse that went along with the character of the week.

I also have the opportunity to share some of these awesome materials with one of you. I'm giving away a set of "We Choose Virtues" Flashcards

To enter to win, please leave me a comment stating which virtues that you think are most important for a child to learn and an email address for me to contact you if your chosen. I'll post the winner on November 5th.

~This Moment~

-A Friday ritual. A single photo -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special,    extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause savor and remember.

If your inspired to do the same, leave a link to your "moment" in the comments for all to see. Inspired by Soule Mama.

~This Moment~

-A Friday ritual. A single photo -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special,    extraordinary moment. A moment that I want to pause savor and remember.

If your inspired to do the same, leave a link to your "moment" in the comments for all to see. Inspired by Soule Mama.