Homemade Stockings from old Sweaters and Skirts.

 

I saw this picture  and thought it would be fun to make my own stockings from my old sweaters.  Here's what I did:

 

 1.  Made a pattern.  I got one of my knee socks and traced around it to make a big pattern (there are a lot of free ones off the internet you could just use).  Thanks to Carol, she helped me get started.

2.  Cut and sew right sides together.  The striped stocking below is mostly of the arm of a sweater.  The two on the right were from old skirts and have a zipper running down the backs.

 3.  I used fusible webbing (had never heard of it before this project) to add a little stiffness to the stockings.  I just asked the JoAnne's worker about it and bought some.  No sewing required, just cut and iron!

 4.  Decorate.  Click HERE for tutorials on how to make the flowers below.

 

Click HERE for a tutorial on how to make this flower.  I used this to cover up a problem area on my stocking.

 

Kid-Made Ornaments.

The kids have their own little fake tree where they got to go to the 99 cents only story and pick out beaded strings and tinsel. They picked out balls to take home to decorate. With all the different colors (they even chose the lights), it looks like Christmas threw up on the tree (yes, we've already decorated for Christmas). They loooooove it! Carleton and I also found some gorgeous ornaments for our real tree we're going to flock-can't wait to put it up but we don't want it to die before Christmas. We had red and silver and decided this year to have only white and silver. We found the most beautiful ornaments at the Dollar store-crazy huh. But seriously, they're better than the ones Martha Stewart is selling this year.

Looking for ornaments kids can make? Here are some using Christmas balls:

1. Paint. We used the kids paint that look like markers. I put washcloths in the kids' tins so they wouldn't roll around.

2. Glitter. Make a design or dots (easy for kids) and pour glitter over. I love these turkey roaster pans (I think that's what their called-never made a turkey) that catch all the messes-got it from the dollar store.

3. Glue. Apollo said this guy ran into a snowflake and it stuck to his mouth. How cute.

Here's one of Annie's ornaments.

4. Puff Paint.

Apollo said this is Santa. He said Santa will like this ornament the best because it's of himself.

This was probably Annie's (age 2) favorite to make. She beaded pipe cleaners. I fastened the ends for her to hang up.

Another idea. Clay. We just used some playdough the kids had. We left them out for a few days to dry. The kids molded a lot by hand and then we brought out cookie cutters. We put holes in the top while the clay was still moist so we could put ribbon through them and hang up when they dried.

 Letter E.  E is for Elephants.  

To print off an animal for every letter go HERE.  I printed mine on card stock.  Annie's artful letters are being hung in the toy room.  They look beautiful together.  I'll take a picture soon to show you.

For a cute elephant color by number go HERE.  The Confessions of a Homeschooler blog is the first place I always go, print what I want, and get extras from other places.  Jodi, so glad to here these ideas are helpful. 

Sarah Morris emailed this parenting article to me to post.  Enjoy.  Thanks for the article, Sarah.

Encourage Your Child's Scribbling: The Beginnings of Writing

Submitted by Sarah Morris on behalf of Primrose Schools- the leaders in preschool and kindergarten education.

Children observe adults writing daily in numerous ways, from scribbling notes to filling out forms. Moreover, this observational curiosity often leads to a desire to begin writing themselves. Although their early writing attempts are commonly referred to as 'scribbling,' this can be consider a nascent form of legitimate writing. Typically, the first conscious effort a child makes is to write his or her own name. From an adult's point of view, this attempt may ostensibly be random scribbling, yet upon closer examination the patterns in each scribble will vaguely resemble letters. Such a moment is cause for celebration, the first step of a long journey to communicating with the written word.

Nevertheless, it behooves a parent or teacher not to emphasize precise letter formation at this stage. A pedantic approach to penmanship will send the message that mimicking how adults write is more critical than the act of communication. It is important to create a distinction between penmanship skill and writing as a way to express their emotions. Furthermore, chastising a child can foster feelings of frustration and inadequacy with relation to writing. It helps to remember that many young children are still developing the coordination and motor skills required to write properly. Accepting where they are in their development can help parents and teachers guide their letter formation gently.

A healthy writing atmosphere will help encourage children to communicate via stories and messages. By giving them nothing more than paper, writing utensils, and positive reinforcement, children will show enthusiasm in demonstrating their writing ability.

• Writing tools - Keep pencils and paper everywhere. By having ready access to the tools of writing, children will be more inclined to practice wherever they go.
• Reading - Reading to your child can help acclimate them to letters. The juxtaposition of pictures and text also helps them associate words with bright, energetic pictures.
• Imitation - Children have a tendency to mimic their parents. Make a habit of keeping lists, writing notes, or using a whiteboard to list daily reminders. Watching you write will trigger their curiosity. If they inquire about writing, show them how to hold a pencil and practice forming letters. If they struggle to hold a pencil, they can also try writing letters in the air with their hand.
• Email - These days, traditional writing is being replaced by keyboards in a variety of ways. As the most important aspect of writing is communication, you should encourage a child to practice writing with whatever method they enjoy. Sending an email to a relative is and familiarizing them with the keyboard is another way to encourage writing development.

Letter of the week.  Letter D.  

 I printed off some things from here that I liked again.  To avoid any confusion, when you want to print stuff off her blog, click on what you want from the alphabet page, click on the blue button labeled "download now", wait the 20 sec, then click on "download file now" (not Click here), open it, and then print.  The "click here" button takes you somewhere weird when all you want to do is print.

 D is for...Dots

 ...DECORATE then DELIVER.  We decorated the cupcakes left over from Apollo's party and then Annie and I took them to our neighbors. 

 ...DRESS UP.   She loves to dress up.  I got out my makeup too-what girl doesn't love jewelry, makeup, and dresses? (I guess I don't sometimes).

 ...DRESS UP DOLL. 

 

 ... and DINOSAUR PUZZLES.

 

 Go here to get letter searches for all the alphabet letters. 

For Justin.

My brother is a bachelor and is busy getting his master's right now. He said he is eating super healthy right now and lifting a lot (watch out ladies!!). He said it's hard because he's just cooking for himself and if he wants to have fresh produce that doesn't go bad, he's going to the store a bunch each week. I told him I'd send him some ideas and recipes and this is what I have off the top of my head. I got an email from Lisa this week too about how she doesn't like cooking - she's basically only cooking for two (has one picky kiddo), and wants to be healthy-so Lisa, this is for you too.

Freeze everything you can! I've been really into freezing. I like to make double and freeze a bunch for Carleton's meals or other family meals. I told Suzana, why didn't I think of this before??

1. Harvest Soup. A very VERY yummy soup perfect for the season (from allrecipes.com). Has lots of veggies-make a bunch and freeze a bunch. Would be great to warm up on a chilly day with some wheat rolls...or just alone.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large potato, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups cubed butternut squash
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (didn't use this myself)
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in leeks and onions, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potato, squash, carrots, apple, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Carefully puree the soup in batches in a blender, or use a stick blender to puree the soup right in the pot. Once the soup has been pureed, return it to the pot and stir in wine and cream. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper; simmer gently for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives.

2. Pumpkin Peanut Butter Oatmeal. My kids asked for this for a couple days so I made it again this week. Annie and Apollo can eat tons of this (from Deceptively Delicious cookbook). I quadruple this recipe. It's great frozen or in the fridge for later. When I put it in the microwave later, I put in a little milk and pure maple syrup. Yum. Another fun one during this season.

Ingredients:

1 cup Nonfat (skim) milk 1/4 cup Light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed 1/4 cup Pumpkin or sweet potato puree 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract (optional) 1/4 tsp Cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice 1 cup Old-fashioned oats 2 tsp Natural peanut butter Pure maple syrup

Preparation:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, if using, and spice. Bring to a gentle boil and stir in the oatmeal. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the oatmeal is soft and creamy. Stir in the peanut butter, if using. 2. Spoon the oatmeal into bowls, sprinkle with dried fruit and nuts, if you like, and serve warm with maple syrup

3. Chicken Salad Sandwich. Just use the chicken packed in a can (looks like tuna) and add as much Greek yogurt as you want to taste. The Greek yogurt has 23 grams of protein and the kind we get at Costco has no fat in it. You can add chopped nuts, grapes, or a little lemon juice if you like.

Add some jam to your left over Greek yogurt , and yum. It makes a delish, thick yogurt. Shannon eats it a lot for breakfast with fresh fruit.

4. Egg Salad Sandwich. Boil eggs, and add enough Greek yogurt to taste (or fat free mayo). Super fast and yummy.

5. Canned, healthy soups. Eat some of the can and save the left over in the fridge for the next day. We like chili out of can for lunch sometimes.

6. Watermelon. Cut and eat it fresh. Blend some of the left over the next day in a shake (just mix up the watermelon and add ice-so good). If it's a ripe, good watermelon, you don't need to add anything to it. Finally, put all leftover chunks and blend in the blender (seedless watermelon) and put it in a Tupperware in the freezer. When you want to eat the frozen watermelon puree (icee), just take it out of the freezer and thaw until it's the consistency you like. So, so good. Go here to see the cute blog that this came from.

7. My friend January made a whole cookbook of super super easy and delicious recipes for new moms to get them through the first few months. I'll email it to you, Justin. If anyone else wants this book via email, just post a comment and I'll send it to you too.

8. Whole Wheat Waffles. We put cheese, sausage, and eggs between ours today for the first time. They are so good and good for you waffles. Make a million and then freeze a bunch in freezer bags. When you want a waffle, just pop it in the toaster straight from the oven and add pure maple syrup. We like them with a little peanut butter too. You can do the same for pancakes.

2 Eggs 1 3/4 cups Skim milk 1/4 cup Canola oil 1/4 cup Unsweetened applesauce 1 tsp Vanilla extract 1 cup Whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup Flax seed meal 1/4 cup Wheat germ *1/4 cup All-purpose flour 4 tsp Baking powder 1 tbsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Salt

*We just add extra wheat flour to replace the white flour.

9. Bran Muffins. You can make and freeze any muffins, then pop (straight from the freezer) into the microwave for breakfast or a snack. I've put it on this site before or you can find healthy ones off allrecipes.com. Just replace oil with applesauce and white with whole wheat flour.

10. Spaghetti. Use whole wheat pasta, and you have a quick, healthy meal. Double the batch and freeze a bunch for later.

11. Frozen Veggies in Bags. Easy, still healthy but you don't have to make a bunch of trips for fresh veggies and you get out just as much as you'll eat at a sitting.

12. Frozen Fruit. I like the Costco berries in the big bag. They are great for shakes and you don't have to worry about the fruit getting old. When I do see normal fruit getting bad, I just add them to smoothies we're making.

13. Homemade smoothies and slushies. Have you heard of Buddy Fruits? They're like a buck for a couple of swallows but the kids love it. I make my own now. I just put applesauce with other fruits-like bananas and strawberries.. Throw them in the blender (if you have a Vitamix, put it on high for a great smooth texture). We did straight pears the other day (with seeds) and had that instead of applesauce. Throw all these in a Tupperware in the freezer, and when you take them out, let them thaw for a few minutes and have a no-sugar-added slushy.

We do a lot of smoothies around here. Just last night, Carleton made a fresh peach one. Smoothies are great for fruit that's about to go bad. If you don't drink all of your smoothie, again freeze the leftovers. You can even put it in an ice tray and add it to your next smoothie.

14. Chips and salsa. Costco has a mango salsa without much sugar. We eat it with corn chips or you could even do whole wheat crackers.

15. Canned Fruit. This is a good bachelor snack. Canned fruit (in their own juice) and cottage cheese. You can keep a lot of the left over canned fruit to top on salads.

Cornbread. We ate this with tomato soup (straws for the kids). This last idea isn't the healthiest, but it's so good. We replaced the white flour with wheat flour. They were a big hit with all the kids too. I made two batches and froze one. I just wrapped it with aluminum foil, then plastic wrap and threw it in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (we used whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

In the next couple of weeks, I'm getting together with some friends to put together a month's worth of crock-pot meals. You cut, cook a little, and organize into freezer bags. I'll post the recipes if they turn out good.