Easter pics

Our Family Easter picture

OK...I know a few blogs back I was complaining about how all our special holidays get turned into some crazy character. However, this Easter, my kids saw the Easter bunny. For real!!! I don't know if you can see him at the bottom of the brown strip on the shed. He's one of three babies that live under Grandma and Grand-dad's shed. While Grand-dad was grilling our Easter steaks...mmm...Grandma told the kids to go ask Grand-dad about the bunnies that lived in their backyard. And lo and behold one was peeking out at us. The kids were soooooo excited. It was cute to see them sneak up and lay lettuce down for it to eat. So...at least for this year my kids got to visit the Easter bunny.

Easter Eggs

Haircuts, anyone?

Today, John, Layton, Elijah and Cheney all got haircuts. It was time for warm weather hairdos. And after months and months of at-home haircuts and since it was quite a dramatic, they actually all got their hair cut at a salon. We'll go back to trimming it at home again. But now I I am going to have to give them a lollipop. Take them to a walk-in salon and see what happens..ha,ha!!

Before....

AFTER...

I think Nathaniel was feeling a little left out but we decided we would actually let him grow some hair before we cut it. He has the least hair compared to all our kids when they were this age. Elijah had his first hair cut at 3 months because he had so much hair. Ooops, forgot to take an after picture of John. You'll have to wait for Easter pics to see how his hair and mine look styled. ( I got mine cut on Thursday morning.) Looks like I am going to have to go back to coloring it blonde so I look I am a part of the family. The following picture was taken by either Layton or Elijah...got to teach them how to take only flattering shots of Mom. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day, little people!!!

OK...I didn't do any school work last week...was a coping mechanism...dealing with John out of town. Just needed to focus on feeding, bathing, playing, stuff like that. Well, St. Paddy's day totally caught me by surprise. Since yesterday I didn't even know what date it was...other than the day that HGTV was giving away a home in the Keys.

But...I totally enjoy the rush of flying by the seat of my pants so with a bottle of green food coloring and the Internet, my kids are having a pretty fun and educational St. Patrick's.

For lunch, we had green bowtie pasta (added food coloring to the boiling water, green alfredo (again added food coloring to the jar of alfredo), green beans, Bisquick biscuits with green food coloring swirled through cut out with cross cookie cutters, fruit salad with the token green kiwi and green lemonade(yes, the food coloring strikes again). OK...next year I am going to buy green spinach pasta and maybe puree some green veggie into the sauce.

It hits me as sooooo funny how our world takes anything religious and changes it into some goofy character. Not that those characters can't be fun but come on here...Jesus' birthday becomes Santa Claus, Jesus' death becomes the Easter Bunny and a missionary who took Christianity to Ireland turns into leprechauns and shamrocks. And the shamrocks' three leaves originally represented the Trinity.

Reviewed my St. Patrick's Day facts with http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ by printing out a book I am going to read to the kids and have them color. Also from that site, I printed out a coloring page with all things green on it. Then printed out a handwriting page from http://www.first-school.ws/t/alphabet/holidays/stpatricksday-az-zb-c.html.

So after nap, we are going to color, read and learn about a teenager who was captured and taken to Ireland. He was forced to work as a shepherd but escaped after 6 years. After becoming a priest, he returned to the country that had captured him and shared Christianity with people worshipped nature.

Fits right in with our morning and the verse we read off of "The Blessing Chart" after Layton kicked Elijah and then Elijah hit her in the face with the broom handle...Proverbs 25:21-22 "If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire on his head and the Lord will reward you." What's better than leading your enemy to Christ. I couldn't have planned it any better. Thanks GOD!!!

Oh...I need to thank Kitty for the encouragement to find wells where I didn't dig any. God is so faithful to provide if we will only look to Him!!!

Oh...and with the luck of the Irish...yea right! ALL 4 of my kids are asleep at the same time for nap. CRAZY MIRACLE. Wells are overflowing!!

OK...last thing...when writing "Jesus' death" should it be "Jesus's" I taught that rule in second grade but now can't remember it. Gotta look it up somewhere.

Ooh, la, la, home spa

Ok...remember those days with an infant (or I suppose anytime as a mom) when you feel like you never get to do anything for yourself. Well, I am in the middle of those and thought...maybe tonight I would pamper myself. You see for Christmas John blessed me with gift certificates to 4 different places. One of which was from Bath and Body Works. So shortly after the evening when John and I were cuddling and he gently mentioned that I might want to moisturize my feet, I figured I might need to invest in some creams and lotions. Its not that I don't have any...it's just that there aren't any thick and creamy enough to soothe my poor feet.

Tonight was actually only the second time I have taken a bath since Nathaniel was born. He has been a marathon nurser in the evenings so I just feel blessed to hop in the shower when I get the chance in the evenings. This past week or so he has actually given me about an hour between his too evening feedings ...So I thought...I should break out the spa foot treatment in a box I got with my gift certificate. "shea it isn't so" shea butter foot cream and "toe the line" smoothing foot scrub with walnut shell powder along with a little motorized pumice stone with various attachments. Nathaniel cooed and smiled on the changing table while I soaked in the tub and then babied my feet. I was feeling so relaxed and smelled like I had actually been at at spa. So I decided that I would bathe my spit-up encrusted baby...not quite that bad...but you remember that smell. After we were all smelling so good...me of Eucalyptus Extract and him of Johnson and Johnson's cucumber melon baby bath, I figured the only thing that could make this night better was a pot of hot tea. So as I was filling the pot with water and the baby spit up all down my shirt.
UGH! But it was only on my shirt and after digging another one out of the clean clothes pile that has taken over my couch and avoiding a dangerous avalanche...

I am about to nestle in to the recliner with my creamed up feet and a cup of tea and nurse my baby to sleep.
Nigh, Night.

UGH!!!

Please check out my post below of Easter ideas but I just had to say that the helicopter that keeps flying low over the state streets is really wiggin' me out at 11:00 p.m.

Easter Ideas

With my past life as an elementary school teacher, I can't help but go online and try to find activities for holidays. I decided to post these ideas for Easter Activities. I have used them over the past few years and was putting them together to take to my MOPS group with me and decided I would post them here, too. Hopefully you will enjoy.

One year, I decided to use the Crescent puffs that I had made for my sister's wedding shower and make them as Empty tomb rolls one Easter and thought it was cute. I really enjoy doing the Easter tomb rolls but they are a bit much for a Sunday morning breakfast when you are all trying to get ready for church in your Easter best...might be better for dessert later in the day. There are some Empty tomb cookies on the second website (shirleys) that you do the night before that have all kinds of scripture that go with them. I have not made them yet. Maybe this year :)

WEBSITES for Easter Activities:
The Resurrection of Jesus-Printable Puzzle Craft Bible Preschool Activities


http://www.first-school.ws/activities/bible/resurrec.htm
(* http://www.first-school.ws/ is one of my FAVORITE websites to find stuff for my preschoolers)



Christian Easter Activitiesand Easter Crafts for Kids
http://www.shirleys-preschool-activities.com/easter-crafts-for-kids.html#easter-cookies


Easter Poem - Jelly Beans (I made revisions to make a bracelet with a bead of each color…)


You will need to buy a small packet of jelly beans or other candy that contains sweets of each color mentioned below or use beads and yarn or leather strips.



Red is for the blood He gave.
Green is for the grass He made.
Yellow is for the sunflowers so bright.
Black is for the dark of night.
White is for the grace He gave.
Orange is for the sun He made.
Purple is for the hours of sorrow.
Pink is for our new tomorrow.
A bag full of jelly beans,(-----a bracelet full of beads)
colorful and sweet.(-----made with lots of care)
It's a prayer, a promise,
and a child's treat.(------and it’s fun to wear.)

Empty tomb rolls
(really called Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs in the Pillsbury Best of the Bake-off Cookbook page159)


The recipe is below….but basics…dip large marshmallows in butter roll in flour, cinnamon and sugar…wrap with a crescent and bake in a muffin tin. The marshmallow melts and leaves a round empty puff…a.k.a. empty tomb.

Ingredients:
For puffs
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 (8-oz.) cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
16 large marshmallows
¼ cup margarine or butter, melted
For glaze
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
¼ cup chopped nuts, optional


Heat oven to 375° F. In small bowl, combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Separate dough into 16 triangles. Dip 1 marshmallow in margarine; roll in sugar mixture. Place marshmallow on wide end of triangle. Roll up starting at wide end of triangle and rolling to opposite point. Completely cover marshmallow with dough; firmly pinch edges to seal. Dip 1 end in remaining margarine; place margarine side down in ungreased large muffin cup or 6–oz. custard cup. repeat with remaining marshmallows. Bake at 375°F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. (Place foil or cookie sheet on rack below muffin cups to guard against spills.) Immediately remove from muffin cups; cool on racks over waxed paper. In small bowl, blend powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over warm rolls. Sprinkle with nuts.

Technology...

OK...I have 3 email addresses, a myspace page, a facebook page and a blog on blogger. It's no wonder I don't get my dishes done trying to keep up with all this stuff. We have also added to this technology a skype account. My dad got us and my sister's family a webcam last week so we can "call" my sister over the internet and see her and her family. They moved up to Tennessee right after Christmas. Yesterday I got my Mom and Dad's computer and camera all set up, so they can see their grandbabies whenever they want. So we made a call last night from my Mom's to teach her how to do it.

The kids get so excited. They hardly know what to say. Elijah kept asking, "are you having a great day?" My neice kept making funny faces so we all had a funny face contest. Cheney just says Hi and Bye within about 1 second. Layton, being the verbal child that she is, handled the conversation much better. We have plans of letting Layton read her cousin a book on our next call from home. How fun is that. So if you have a skype account just look me up. The computer is always on...though I can't guarantee I will always here the ring...John says I only answer the phone about 30% of the time. I don't here it. Remember, I live in a circus of love. Can't always hear the ring above the elephants trumpeting you know.

A family pet...

My kids and husband deeply desire a puppy. But I have put my foot down. No more living things can be added to our family for me to be responible for at least until after Nathaniel is walking and we have a fence around our yard. I know I am so mean.
I had been thinking about maybe getting a tadpole or something...fun and educational and you don't have to hold it. But Elijah came up with a better option

Oh...did I mention it is plastic and fuzz. Elijah bought it at Dollar Tree. It has a tube attached to its "bootie" that blows up a little "foot" underneath it that makes it jump. Hours of fun for the whole family and I don't have to feed it.

A homeschool family...

Do your neighbors think you're homeschool family is weird??? I know we get weird looks everywhere we go with our 4 kids...like having more than 2 children and taking them out in public will spread some sort of disease. But I love it.

This video is really funny!!

We haven't been homeschooling enough to have any of the results seen in this video...maybe we'll get there before too long. :)