Peanut Butter Pumpkin Spread

I had some leftover pumpkin, so I made this spread. It was yummy! We used this spread many different ways. Add some slices of banana and make a sandwich, spread on crackers or celery, also it would taste great on a toasted English muffin.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Spread

• 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin
• 1 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Combine all ingredients and spread how you would like.
2. You can refrigerate leftovers for 5 days.

Sketch Tuesday-Coral Reef

This week over at Harmony Fine Arts Sketch Tuesday blog the assignment was to sketch something you would see on a coral reef. The kids enjoyed participating in this assignment

as they always do!!

Silly guys crab and sea urchins

Sweet girl's jelly fish

Creamy Wild Rice Soup

This soup was a great way to use up some of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey. After cooking everything I put it in the crock pot on low for a few hours. It was delicious!

Creamy Wild Rice Soup
from: Grandma's kitchen

• 1/2 cup wild rice
• 5 cups chicken broth, divided
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
• 1/4 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken(I used turkey)

1. Rinse wild rice under cold water; drain.
2. Combine 2 1/2 cups chicken broth and wild rice. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, until rice is tender. Drain and set aside.
3. Melt butter in 3 qt. saucepan over med heat. Add sliced carrot; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add chopped onion, chopped celery and sliced mushrooms; cook and stir until veges are tender, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in flour, salt and white pepper until smooth.
4. Gradually stir in remaining 2 1/2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil over med heat; cook and stir until thick, about 1 min. Stir in chicken(turkey). Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until soup is heated through, about 3 minutes.
5. This is where I placed the soup in the crock pot, on low.
6. When ready to serve, spoon 1/4 cup cooked wild rice into each serving bowl. Ladle soup over rice.
   

O Christmas Tree

Putting up the Christmas tree is always so exciting for the family. Since we have lived in Hawaii, we have made it tradition to set up the tree on Thanksgiving. The children get so excited to pull out their ornaments from Christmas past. They bring back memories and fill the soul with joy. Every year on Christmas Eve my husband and I give the children their new ornament and their Christmas pj's. They look forward to opening them up and I think it helps them to fall asleep.
I thought I would share some of our first ornaments.

This ornament is my first Christmas ornament. It was made by my dear aunt.

This Santa ornament is not a first, but I can remember when I got it. I was

about 7 yrs old. I can remember we were at the Baltimore Inner Harbour.

I also remember being afraid that I was going to fall in or drop

my ornament in the water. Isn't that funny!

My mother must have given me a warning to stay away from the

water.

Our first Christmas together, 1995

Little Man's first Christmas ornament. Nope, that is not my baby's picture.
This will be his third Christmas and I have made it a personal
goal to put his picture in there-he he.

Sweet girl's 1st Christmas, 1997

Silly Guy's 1st Christmas, 2000

I love this ornament...so sweet!

Lily pug's 1st Christmas. Lily pug is no longer with us but

Sweet girl said as she pulled out this ornament,"Lily will always be

with us for Christmas." (sad)

Kiflis

This recipe came from my daughter's American Girl magazine. A great treat if you are studying eastern Europe.

Kiflis

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup cream cheese
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 cups flour
• jam(tart jams such as raspberry or apricot work best)

Cream together the butter, cream cheese, salt, and sour cream. Stir in the flour. On a floured surface, knead the dough with your hands until it's smooth. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for three hours.

Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured countertop. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough thin (about 1/8"). With a table knife, cut the dough into 3 inch squares. Spread one corner of each square with jam. Starting in that corner, roll up each square, then curve in the ends to form a crescent.

Gently place the crescents on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to turn golden.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!! I wanted to list a few things I am most thankful for..... a loving & forgiving God , my wonderful family and friends, health, freedom and our service members who protect it.
A little Thanksgiving acrostic from the kiddos....

Thanksgiving
by: Sweet girl

Turkey

Hunger satisfied

Annual holiday

Nibble on food all day

Kindness

Supper is big

Give thanks

Irresistable

Vegetables

Interesting food

November

Gourds

Thankful

by: Silly guy

Turkey

Hungry

Apple Pie

New found land

Kindness

Faith

United States holiday

Leave nothing on your plate

Sketch Tuesday A Sunset

One of the assignments this month for Sketch Tuesday(hosted by Harmony Fine Arts)is to sketch a sunset. This assignment happened to work into our art curriculum. They used oil pastels to complete their sketches. They really enjoy the assignments and they always learn something new!

Sweet girl's sunset

Silly guy's sunset

Desert Notebook Download

My son is currently studying The Desert. He prefers notebooking to worksheets. I made this notebook to go along with his study and I wanted to share.

HSLaunch is a great place for homeschoolers to share all kinds of goodies! Click here if you would like to download the Desert Notebook.

Here is the link to my page at HSLaunch if you have trouble getting the file.

http://www.hslaunch.com/mypage/profile

Italian Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich

Another winner at our dinner table....Italian Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich. These sandwiches were huge. One sandwich could easily be shared between two people, especially if serving with sides. I hope you enjoy!

Italian Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich
by: The Mama
Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast(about 1 lb)
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper to taste
• Italian Panko breadcrumbs (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
• 1 small onion
• 1 red and green pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 Ciabatta rolls

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Whisk 2 eggs in a bowl.
3. Mix together, on a dish, Italian Panko breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
4. Dip chicken in egg and breadcrumbs, coating chicken completely.
5. Place chicken on a greased baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
6. Top each breast with spaghetti sauce and cheese. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
7. Meanwhile saute onion, red and green pepper in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until tender.
8. Fill Ciabatta rolls with chicken and top with sauteed vegetables. Enjoy!

Organizing School Supplies

I found this idea on a website sometime last year and I finally put it together. These shoe organizers work great for keeping school supplies readily available and organized. As I was putting it together I realized I have way to much glue, about 5 rulers, and 8 pairs of scissors-yikes. I realized this will be a great way to keep track of what I actually need. Being see through you can easily see what is needed.
I also labeled every pocket so things will be put away where they belong-Yay!

Italian Sausage with Penne Pasta and Herb Butter

I am really enjoying my new kitchen and it has inspired me. I just want to be in that room! Anywho, here is a recipe I whipped up last night and it was delicious. I will warn you, not a diet food but it is okay to cheat every once in a while, right?

Italian Sausage with Penne Pasta and Herb Butter
by: The Mama
Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened (you will only use about 1/2 in the pasta but I used the left over for garlic bread)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano( I eye balled it but I would say this is about how much I used)
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse ground pepper
• 1 package of penne pasta
• 1 package(16 oz) of Italian ground sausage
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. In a bowl, combine the butter, oregano, garlic and pepper; set aside.
2. Cook pasta according to the package.
3. Meanwhile in a skillet, cook and crumble sausage until it is no longer pink. Drain and set aside.
4. Drain pasta and transfer it to a large bowl. Add the sausage and 1/2 of the herb butter; stir gently.
5. Add 2/3 of the tomatoes and cheese; toss.
6. Top with remaining tomatoes and cheese. Top with a little more herb butter if desired. Serve immediately.
7. The remaining of the herb butter can be used to spread on bread.
   

12 Years Old

My Sweet girl turned 12 years old last week. I can't believe how fast time goes by. She is such a strong, big hearted young lady. She has a spirit that is inspiring and I am so proud of the person she is becoming.
I was young(20), but so ready to be her mommy. When she was born I held her for the first two weeks of her life. I couldn't put her down. Holding her felt so right and I knew my purpose. This was the start of my motherhood journey.
Every year on her birthday, I read her a letter I wrote when I was pregnant.

October 16, 1997
Dear Baby,
Hello my sweet baby, this is your mommy. I am writing you this letter to let you know how excited we are about your arrival. Your daddy and I both love you so much. I can't wait until you are here and I can hold you in my arms. I can't wait until I can tell you how much I love you! Right now you are growing inside of me and it is a wonderful feeling. I love it when you move around and sometimes I can see your precious little foot pop out. I must admit I will miss those little kicks and movements. But then I'll be able to hold and rock you, sing to you, and tell you how much I love you. I am so excited to look into your eyes and see your daddy and myself.
I wanted to let you know I will try my best to be an example, to teach you, and to raise you the best that I can. I will be honest and try to be fair. But no matter what I will always love you!
Love,
Your Mommy

Composer Study-Antonio Vivaldi

I purchased Harmony Fine Arts-Art and Music Appreciation a few months back. We are just getting started with the curriculum. Barb the Harmony Art Mom has designed a curriculum that is easy to follow and very user friendly for busy moms. The cds that are recommended for the study could even be listened to in the car. It has given us the opportunity to study composers and some of the most beautiful music.

This week we finished up our study on Antonio Vivaldi(1678-1741). While you listen to the music she suggest you write down images or words that come to your mind. Today we listened to The Four Seasons, Op 8 Autumn and Winter. I thought it was interesting what the kids wrote down.

More on Antonio Vivaldi click here

The Four Seasons, Op 8 Autumn

Sweet Girl-Leaves falling to the ground, birds flying, telling a story, the weather turning cold

Silly guy- Falling down a waterfall, London, jumping lizards

Mama- A coronation ceremony, someone sad in their room, then happy because they could go outside to play

The Four Seasons, Op 8 Winter

Sweet girl-Snow falling, sharks chasing someone, falling, sitting in a rocking chair sipping hot coco, haunted houses, sadness

Silly guy- A cat chasing a mouse, someone sad about his grandparents

Mama- running through the woods, mad scientist, a spooky hallway

Keeping Little Man Occupied

It is a challenge keeping a toddler busy while you are homeschooling older children. It has helped having a "school room" now. I can keep little man occupied in the living room/kitchen. Meanwhile, the kids can have quiet in the school room.
I found this cute idea for heart bird feeders on The Frugal Family Fun Blog . He loved it!! It was so great because he could do it all by himself.

I pre-cut heart shapes on cardboard and tied a string onto it. He then spread Crisco on them, front and back. After sprinkle with birdseed. We also took the opportunity to talk about birds, shapes, and it was a great activity for following directions. He was so cute. He would say over and over as he was making his bird feeders... First put Crisco, then turn it over and last sprinkle bird seed. It's ready!

Who Stole the Pumpkin Cookies?

Who stole the cookie off the cookie plate?

Little Man...

Who Me? Yes you!

Couldn't be. Then who?

As you can see these Pumpkin Cookies were a hit with my little cookie monster.

Give them a try....

Pumpkin Cookies From: Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shortening(I used butter)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. each baking soda, baking powder, salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup pumpkin
• White cookie icing(I used cream cheese icing)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix sugar, egg, shortening and vanilla.
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir into the creamed mixture, then stir in pumpkin.
4. Spoon dough onto greased cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 12 minutes, then cool.
6. Drizzle icing on top or for a holiday party you could write your guests' first initial on each cookie.

Microscopic Finds

This week my children each had an activity involving the microscope. It is always so much fun to pull out the microscope and investigate our wonderful world.

Sweet girl was learning about meteors this week. This activity was fun. The best thing was we found some meteoric dust. First, we placed a powerful magnet inside a plastic bag. Then, we passed it through the debris in the rain gutter. After that, we placed the plastic bag in a jar of water and removed the magnet. Once in the water, we swished the bag around to remove all of the dust. Left in the water were little dust particles. Meteoric dust is composed of iron and nickel which is why it sticks to the magnet in the bag. We were surprised to learn two tons of meteoric dust falls to the earth every twenty-four hours. Here is one of the pieces we found magnified 600X.
Silly guy also had a microscope assignment this week. He was learning about stillwater life. His activity was to find still water and take a sample to see what he could find. We don't have a pond nearby and the drainage ditch is locked behind a fence. Lucky for us, we have had rain every night over the last week. We found a good size puddle on the playground. We didn't find fish, snails or amphibians but we did find something interesting. As we were looking at one sample under the microscope, we saw a microscopic worm. It was wriggling around....kind of neat and kind of Ewwwww!!! On another sample, we saw another bug crawling around the algae. Oh and lots of dog hair. Let's just say this lesson turned into another lesson....how important it is to A. Wear shoes and B. Wash hands!!! I labeled the photo to point out the worm. It is hard to see in the picture.

Here are my little scientist. Little man is always ready and waiting to get involved.

Trick or Treat

The kids had a great time trick or treating. We moved four days before Halloween so costumes were a last minute decision. We went shopping a few weeks before we moved but they couldn't decide and to be honest I was not willing to pay $30-$40 for a costume.

Sweet girl decided on a robot. We threw this costume together. We made it out of moving boxes, paper towel roll, paper clips, cd's and bottle caps. The total cost was $2.22 for spray paint. It was a hit too. People were asking her to take her picture while we were trick or treating.
Silly guy had this costume from last year. Last year he was Baltimore Raven Ray Lewis and this year Ed Reed. We added the Ed Reed beard. He said it made him feel "manly". He, he!
Little man loves Toy Story and this costume was a hand me down from a friend. He was telling everyone he was Buzz(so cute). He didn't want to take off the costume and slept in it.
Here is Little Man after trick or treating. We barely made it in the door and he had three pops open and in his mouth. LOL!

Holiday Goodies from The Old Schoolhouse

The Old Schoolhouse is offering a free digital holiday magazine. It is filled with recipes, activities, tips, etc. Click to download.

A Few Things...

The curriculum(Alpha Omega Lifepacs) we chose this year is giving us the opportunity to learn about many things. The kids are loving it!! I am loving it too!! It is keeping their interest and they are excited to learn. It has taken six years, but I finally feel like I have found the perfect curriculum for my children. Here is what we have been up to recently in Science.

Silly guy is currently learning about Ecology and how man depends on God's plan. He

has learned about God's resources, the food chain, populations(plants and animals),

and the balance of nature. He will be learning about the different communities(water, fields, desert, forest, human) and how man depends on them, also conservation/preservation. I am excited for my silly guy!! He loves Science!!

Sweet girl has just started a unit- Earth in Space. So far, she has learned about the ancients and their beliefs. She has had an in depth study about the constellations and is is currently working on a six page report(yikes) about them. She has also been tracking the sky every night to see how it changes(over a 30 day period). This unit is going to fill her with knowledge. She will be learning about the different philosophers and astronomers, their theories about earth and space. She will also be learning about the different tools astronomers use. The picture below is something she did in addition to her current assignment, the constellation report.. I had her make some of the constellations on paper w/ glow in the dark star stickers. We wanted to use black paper but it was already packed in a box.

Here is Little man making his constellation too. He loves participating in their projects. Afterwards we went into the closet and looked at his constellation in the dark.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

In our back yard :)

E Mālama i ka ‘Āina (to take care of the land)

We went on a field trip to the Waimea Valley. We have been here a couple of times before as a family. Today's trip was with our homeschool group to participate in a class- E Mālama i ka ‘Āina (to take care of the land). The kids were separated into groups so I didn't get pictures of Sweet girl but she enjoyed herself too. On the car ride home Silly guy said," That was a great adventure today Mom." They learned the importance of bugs and their role in nature and the decomposing process. They were able to plant a seed and also get a guided tour through some of the exhibits. In this "sacred" place you will see endangered Hawaiian plants, birds, and insects. Here are some pictures of the trip. I will try to remember information but I was chasing Little guy around. He didn't want to stay with the group, lol. "I go this way.." he would tell me.

This is the Native Hawaiian Garden. Many of the plants are endangered.

Can you imagine how big the frog would be? Well actually our guide told us frogs don't

like this lily pad because it is spiky on top.

Silly guy digging through the compost pile. Ewww! My Silly guy is petrified of

bugs. I was surprised he wanted anything to do with this activity.

Little Man couldn't get to the compost pile fast enough. He was ready to

dig for some bugs!

Planting a seed. Our guide was so great! She had the children observe the

seed before placing it into the ground. She explained to them what the

seed will need. "But most of all the seed will need Aloha."

Then she had the children talk to the seed. Silly guy gave me a look(I think

he is getting a little to old) but most of

the children were talking to there seeds, cute.

Little man making holes for his seed.

In this station the children were learning how to make natural insect

repellent. They mixed Lemongrass, Rosemary, and water. She said to

let it sit over night, then spread it on your plants.

He spotted water!

This guy was perched on a railing above the bathroom entrance.