This is a simple and delicious crock pot dessert. More importantly it is CHOCOLATE! It's hard to go wrong with chocolate but it is possible. I've seen some pretty disappointing dessert recipes to make in the crock pot or a microwaved mug. This one is good. Really good! It comes from the October 2002 Family Fun Magazine.
Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
6 Tbsp. butter
1/3 c. chocolate chips
2/3c + 1/3 c. sugar
3 Tbsp. + 1/3 c. cocoa
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. milk
1 egg yolk (I usually toss in the whole egg)
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. hot water
* optional whipped cream or ice cream.
** drizzling with raspberry sauce (warm raspberry jam) is amazing.
Directions:
Coat the inside of a 2 1/2 - 5 quart slow cooker with cooking spray. (Cake's cooking time and final appearance will vary depending on your crock's size.) Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. In large bowl, melt the butter and the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler and mix well. Whisk in the 2/3 c. of sugar, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, vanilla extract, salt, milk, and egg. Add the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour the batter into the slow cooker and spread it evenly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar, cocoa and hot water until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture over the batter in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 1/4 - 2 1/4 hours, depending on the size of the crock pot. Even when done, the cake will be very moist and floating on a layer of molten chocolate, but you'll know it's ready when nearly all of the cake is set and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pot. As you check, try not to let the condensed steam from the lid drip onto the cake. When it's done, turn off power, remove lid and let cool for 25 minutes. Serves 6-8 with whipped cream or ice cream on top.
ENJOY!
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
R.I.P. (or “rest in PIZZA”) With “Heart-y” blood sauce
Each year the 4th grade does a “gross grub” luncheon instead of a Halloween Party… no sweets allowed. So Tristan and I decided last week what our plans would be and signed up to bring this goody in. Apparently most of his friends are pretty jealous of Tristan’s pizza lunches when he brings them in and so we thought this would be fun to add to the grub table with a Chicago style cut for everyone to enjoy. I added the pepperoni to this after it was baked but still hot so the pepperoni would stay in place to spell RIP.
Friday night pizza with a movie started out many years ago at our house now as a cost cutter. We wanted a break, wanted some fun, so did our kids but we were also feeling tired after a long week working and most important was the fact that we were tight on money so going out let alone paying for a babysitter was not possible. Also, it was something for the kids and I to look forward to as they got older and for all of us when Rick was working Friday nights. The menu for one night a week is a no brainer; nice for me, and we NEVER seem to get tired of eating pizza. Pizza is cheap to make and fun to eat. That’s that! Plus if you’re feeling lazy or rich you can order out or pick up a pizza or even buy frozen and heat it up. Pizza is pretty easy to come by.
4 1/2 tsp. yeast (or two packages if you purchase it in the pouches), 2 cups warm water, 1 tsp. salt, 4 tsp. olive oil, 6 c. flour, cornmeal
Directions:
Add yeast to 2 cups warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes if you have time; long enough for it to dissolve and begin to bubble. Add salt, olive oil and flour to the yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook until kneaded. Divide dough in half and with cornmeal roll out into a circle to fit the pan forming a collar around the edge of the pan with your fingers. Place on sprayed or lightly oiled pans. You can let these unbaked crusts sit covered to rise for up to an hour if you need/want or you can immediately dress your pizzas. It works well either way but works better with letting rise with certain pizza pans. Add toppings as desired and bake at 450 for 14-15 minutes.
Pizza Sauce (the BEST sauce)
I make my own pizza sauce. At one point I was buying a huge can of pizza sauce, splitting it at home and freezing it because this made a small difference in my budget. Sometimes it was a pain to remember to defrost the sauce in time though. I don’t know how much it costs in the stores anymore because it’s been years since I’ve purchased any. One time I discovered I was OUT of sauce and had absolutely no money to buy any. (I’m rather strict with my budget because I have to be and if it’s not there it’s not there). Not wanting anyone to be disappointed I came up with my own sauce after reading through some old classic cook books using basic ingredients I did have on hand in my pantry. The next week I doctored it up based on my previous experience with it and I now consider it perfected. We prefer this sauce over any we’ve purchased and it is way less expensive than store bought canned sauce.
Incidentally an improvement to this sauce came in the form of home canned tomato sauce this year. I made 14 jars of it; enough for 28 pizzas and it is SO GOOD!!! But store bought canned tomato sauce works fine.
Directions:
Olive oil, 8 oz. tomato sauce per pizza, 1 tsp. minced garlic or 1 clove garlic per pizza, pepper, parmesan cheese, oregano
Brush each pizza crust thinly with olive oil. Stir 1 clove/1 tsp. garlic into each 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. Spread garlic tomato sauce over oiled pizza crust. Sprinkle pepper over tomato sauce. Lightly sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then sprinkle oregano over the parmesan. Dress with Mozzarella or a mozzarella/provolone blend. Add desired toppings; pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, black olives or whatever else you like. Bake as directed above in the recipe for the crust.
(In a pinch you can use garlic powder or dried minced garlic to = 1 clove. Tomato paste can also be played around with to make pizza sauce but the above really works well and is our favorite).
ENJOY!
Friday night pizza with a movie started out many years ago at our house now as a cost cutter. We wanted a break, wanted some fun, so did our kids but we were also feeling tired after a long week working and most important was the fact that we were tight on money so going out let alone paying for a babysitter was not possible. Also, it was something for the kids and I to look forward to as they got older and for all of us when Rick was working Friday nights. The menu for one night a week is a no brainer; nice for me, and we NEVER seem to get tired of eating pizza. Pizza is cheap to make and fun to eat. That’s that! Plus if you’re feeling lazy or rich you can order out or pick up a pizza or even buy frozen and heat it up. Pizza is pretty easy to come by.
So pizza making every Friday night which is about 104 of the pies a year (more now) has added up to virtually THOUSANDS of pizzas coming out of my oven over the years. I’ve been making two every Friday and now sometimes I make three pizzas to have a few leftover pieces for lunches to stick in the freezer for a later date and also to satisfy some growing appetites. In that time, nearly 1 1/2 decades, I’ve tried many different pizza crusts but this is the recipe I always fall back on now. It’s easy to handle and is tasty as well.Crusty Pizza Dough (makes 2 crusts)
4 1/2 tsp. yeast (or two packages if you purchase it in the pouches), 2 cups warm water, 1 tsp. salt, 4 tsp. olive oil, 6 c. flour, cornmeal
Directions:
Add yeast to 2 cups warm water. Let sit for 5 minutes if you have time; long enough for it to dissolve and begin to bubble. Add salt, olive oil and flour to the yeast mixture. Mix with dough hook until kneaded. Divide dough in half and with cornmeal roll out into a circle to fit the pan forming a collar around the edge of the pan with your fingers. Place on sprayed or lightly oiled pans. You can let these unbaked crusts sit covered to rise for up to an hour if you need/want or you can immediately dress your pizzas. It works well either way but works better with letting rise with certain pizza pans. Add toppings as desired and bake at 450 for 14-15 minutes.
Pizza Sauce (the BEST sauce)
I make my own pizza sauce. At one point I was buying a huge can of pizza sauce, splitting it at home and freezing it because this made a small difference in my budget. Sometimes it was a pain to remember to defrost the sauce in time though. I don’t know how much it costs in the stores anymore because it’s been years since I’ve purchased any. One time I discovered I was OUT of sauce and had absolutely no money to buy any. (I’m rather strict with my budget because I have to be and if it’s not there it’s not there). Not wanting anyone to be disappointed I came up with my own sauce after reading through some old classic cook books using basic ingredients I did have on hand in my pantry. The next week I doctored it up based on my previous experience with it and I now consider it perfected. We prefer this sauce over any we’ve purchased and it is way less expensive than store bought canned sauce.
Incidentally an improvement to this sauce came in the form of home canned tomato sauce this year. I made 14 jars of it; enough for 28 pizzas and it is SO GOOD!!! But store bought canned tomato sauce works fine.
Directions:
Olive oil, 8 oz. tomato sauce per pizza, 1 tsp. minced garlic or 1 clove garlic per pizza, pepper, parmesan cheese, oregano
Brush each pizza crust thinly with olive oil. Stir 1 clove/1 tsp. garlic into each 8 oz. can of tomato sauce. Spread garlic tomato sauce over oiled pizza crust. Sprinkle pepper over tomato sauce. Lightly sprinkle with parmesan cheese and then sprinkle oregano over the parmesan. Dress with Mozzarella or a mozzarella/provolone blend. Add desired toppings; pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, black olives or whatever else you like. Bake as directed above in the recipe for the crust.
(In a pinch you can use garlic powder or dried minced garlic to = 1 clove. Tomato paste can also be played around with to make pizza sauce but the above really works well and is our favorite).
ENJOY!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Stamp of Disapproval
"The Stamp of Approval", when given, usually gives the receiver the conotation of success and a general feeling that perhaps could maybe even be described as... pride. It is desirable to receive this kind of "stamp" whether you are actively seeking it out or not. At a job I might be seeking approval from my boss and co-workers as I prove to be of value to them and I certainly want the love, support and "approval" of my spouse but mostly I am my own person and I rarely seek for that "stamp of approval" from anybody. I know if I'm giving it my all or if my choice was made in prayer.
The "Stamp of Disapproval" then you might guess is probably the opposite and is even perhaps different in the way that the "receiver" is probably NEVER seeking it out. Ever! It just isn't something that we seek after because it is certainly not felt or seen as "desirable" in any way.
We grow up being told not to "judge" others but to "use judgement" and I believe there is a difference. We are all unique and so we should try not to "judge" others choices... we don't even know their situations; what their priorities are or what makes them tick or how tired they might be or what their upbringing was like or what opportunities they had. Each person has a unique set of circumstances challenging them in different ways every single day that we all grow from. Living in a society full of individuals we all affect each other in both positive and negative ways too. One of the ways I am affected by others is with how health care is being handled and paid for today, the housing market affects me, and even the little things like why the teacher couldn't arrive to her class on time today has its affect. Certainly when I have acted upon an impression to make and bring somebody a meal, without being asked by anyone and especially when this person was certainly able bodied enough to make their family dinner themself I did not question the "why" or try to judge what the situation might be. I just did it. With cheer!!! I was making somebody's day a little brighter than it might have been. "Why" wasn't important at all and I may never know why anyway. Using "judgement" on the other hand involves using common sense; while respecting all people and their rights you don't start hanging out with the crowd that likes to party on the weekends or become permissive by flippantly saying "well, it doesn't hurt anyone."
The "Stamp of Disapproval" hurts. Why go out of our way to pull the block out from the middle of somebody elses fragile block tower they've so carefully built up, so to speak? Life is hard enough for all of us, isn't it? I like to think that somebody elses unsolicited disapproval really stems from their own jealousy, insecurities and lack of thought or understanding. They try to build themselves up by knocking down anybody around them they feel they can. Are we not able to "catch" ourselves disapproving and judging others before we hurt them realizing in time that we must have some of our own jealousies and insecurities at work? Or do we place ourselves on such a pedestal that we actually believe we are better than others? We need to realize that we are not all the same and that "it takes all kinds" to make the world go 'round. Would not the world be a much nicer place if we just helped out and assisted others where we could without needing to know so much of the where and why of it all? Instead of saying or thinking "They did this to themselves and they're lazy" we could try to understand the underlying causes or outside factors to their predicament if we want to think about it at all. And sometimes a predicament to one is not hardship on another. "She has to do that" could be looked at in this way... "She GETS to do that". I'm talking attitudes.
To the women who snicker at my "line of ducklings" and question "are these all of your children, aren't you missing a few" or "are these your youngest ones now with nobody in your arms anymore... at least for now" I would tell you that I love each one of my children. I'm glad that they're here and that they are part of my family. My children are happy, talented, clean, well cared for, smart, dressed appropriately and well fed without the solicited assistance from others. To anyone who wants to question my small house or my old car I would tell you again that I am living responsibly and within my means. That's called being smart. My choices are prayerful ones made with consideration to my priorities in life. And we are blessed. My husband enjoys his job... how many people can say that? And it has supplied our family with a steady and dependable income that we can budget... a huge blessing! I'm smart enough to know that. It is not enough to live lavishly and leaves no room for extravagance of any worldly sort. But I never expected that. I am grateful that my parents have never once called on the phone and told my husband that he needs to be a better provider for their daughter or for his family or said he should get a "real" job. They've never insinuated that I should set my children aside (or not had so many) and go get a job or use my college degree so I could have "more" than is being provided. Any help they have ever given us was freely and genuinely offered without petition and with no strings attached; love was felt with a lesson by example for me to learn in kindness and compassion. And Rick and I have been left to figure out the life we want for our family. My home is not empty and my heart is full. We have enough. Huge blessings! We are blessed with five children and we feel lucky for that. Each child was wanted and I would rather face any of the difficulties I've had then be looking at fertility issues with an empty heart and home.
So why is it important to look at someone in the face when help was unsolicited in the first place and say "I'm not going to help you because I disagree and disapprove of your choices and your situation"???
President Thomas S. Monson said this past Sunday as the last speaker in the morning session of General Conference that we live in a unique time blessed with much but with so much negative. He said that we can find greater happiness if we change our focus to what we have, the ordinary, instead of focusing on blessings that we don't have. He didn't tell me here that I will only be happy if I go to Disney World or have 25 pairs of shoes. He said I can be happy with what I HAVE.
And he didn't tell us to judge others on what they have or don't have, either.
So why measure up others with what they don't have. More importantly why measure ourselves by the standards of others or with what we don't have. Be the best you can be as you help others on their way too. Embrace the unique-ness that is you! Just stand up and be your own kind of beautiful.
The "Stamp of Disapproval" then you might guess is probably the opposite and is even perhaps different in the way that the "receiver" is probably NEVER seeking it out. Ever! It just isn't something that we seek after because it is certainly not felt or seen as "desirable" in any way.
We grow up being told not to "judge" others but to "use judgement" and I believe there is a difference. We are all unique and so we should try not to "judge" others choices... we don't even know their situations; what their priorities are or what makes them tick or how tired they might be or what their upbringing was like or what opportunities they had. Each person has a unique set of circumstances challenging them in different ways every single day that we all grow from. Living in a society full of individuals we all affect each other in both positive and negative ways too. One of the ways I am affected by others is with how health care is being handled and paid for today, the housing market affects me, and even the little things like why the teacher couldn't arrive to her class on time today has its affect. Certainly when I have acted upon an impression to make and bring somebody a meal, without being asked by anyone and especially when this person was certainly able bodied enough to make their family dinner themself I did not question the "why" or try to judge what the situation might be. I just did it. With cheer!!! I was making somebody's day a little brighter than it might have been. "Why" wasn't important at all and I may never know why anyway. Using "judgement" on the other hand involves using common sense; while respecting all people and their rights you don't start hanging out with the crowd that likes to party on the weekends or become permissive by flippantly saying "well, it doesn't hurt anyone."
The "Stamp of Disapproval" hurts. Why go out of our way to pull the block out from the middle of somebody elses fragile block tower they've so carefully built up, so to speak? Life is hard enough for all of us, isn't it? I like to think that somebody elses unsolicited disapproval really stems from their own jealousy, insecurities and lack of thought or understanding. They try to build themselves up by knocking down anybody around them they feel they can. Are we not able to "catch" ourselves disapproving and judging others before we hurt them realizing in time that we must have some of our own jealousies and insecurities at work? Or do we place ourselves on such a pedestal that we actually believe we are better than others? We need to realize that we are not all the same and that "it takes all kinds" to make the world go 'round. Would not the world be a much nicer place if we just helped out and assisted others where we could without needing to know so much of the where and why of it all? Instead of saying or thinking "They did this to themselves and they're lazy" we could try to understand the underlying causes or outside factors to their predicament if we want to think about it at all. And sometimes a predicament to one is not hardship on another. "She has to do that" could be looked at in this way... "She GETS to do that". I'm talking attitudes.
To the women who snicker at my "line of ducklings" and question "are these all of your children, aren't you missing a few" or "are these your youngest ones now with nobody in your arms anymore... at least for now" I would tell you that I love each one of my children. I'm glad that they're here and that they are part of my family. My children are happy, talented, clean, well cared for, smart, dressed appropriately and well fed without the solicited assistance from others. To anyone who wants to question my small house or my old car I would tell you again that I am living responsibly and within my means. That's called being smart. My choices are prayerful ones made with consideration to my priorities in life. And we are blessed. My husband enjoys his job... how many people can say that? And it has supplied our family with a steady and dependable income that we can budget... a huge blessing! I'm smart enough to know that. It is not enough to live lavishly and leaves no room for extravagance of any worldly sort. But I never expected that. I am grateful that my parents have never once called on the phone and told my husband that he needs to be a better provider for their daughter or for his family or said he should get a "real" job. They've never insinuated that I should set my children aside (or not had so many) and go get a job or use my college degree so I could have "more" than is being provided. Any help they have ever given us was freely and genuinely offered without petition and with no strings attached; love was felt with a lesson by example for me to learn in kindness and compassion. And Rick and I have been left to figure out the life we want for our family. My home is not empty and my heart is full. We have enough. Huge blessings! We are blessed with five children and we feel lucky for that. Each child was wanted and I would rather face any of the difficulties I've had then be looking at fertility issues with an empty heart and home.
So why is it important to look at someone in the face when help was unsolicited in the first place and say "I'm not going to help you because I disagree and disapprove of your choices and your situation"???
President Thomas S. Monson said this past Sunday as the last speaker in the morning session of General Conference that we live in a unique time blessed with much but with so much negative. He said that we can find greater happiness if we change our focus to what we have, the ordinary, instead of focusing on blessings that we don't have. He didn't tell me here that I will only be happy if I go to Disney World or have 25 pairs of shoes. He said I can be happy with what I HAVE.
And he didn't tell us to judge others on what they have or don't have, either.
So why measure up others with what they don't have. More importantly why measure ourselves by the standards of others or with what we don't have. Be the best you can be as you help others on their way too. Embrace the unique-ness that is you! Just stand up and be your own kind of beautiful.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
September Activities
Nearly every day Nathan exclaims upon our return from the morning drive, “Mom, it’s just us”! Yes, having Kaitlyn go to school is an adjustment for everyone.
One of the results is that this post is nearly all about what Nathan and I have done during the day simply because “it’s just us”… at least for a few hours each day.
With so many apples around to snack on and fix for breakfast, lunch and dinner Nathan decided to try his hand at peeling an apple “all by myself” since he is so independent these days. He gave it a try before handing this one back to me. Then I took a turn trying to talk him into eat this apple WITH the rest of its peel. I remember having the same “peel discussion” with MY Mom only I was on the other end of it.
We made our favorite Chocolate Softies one Monday when it was Nathan’s turn to make Family Night treats. He enjoyed learning how to roll dough into balls and he enjoyed eating a few of these balls after he rolled them in sugar.
Cats found some new napping spots. I found Spooky in the laundry basket in the hall one evening. Oscar discovered a love for the vintage chair from Rick’s late Great Aunt Eleanor that moved into our home halfway through the month. Since the seat is a beautiful needlepoint cover I put a quilt over the pad making the chair even better in the cat’s opinion.
Nathan and I blew catnip bubbles for the cats one rainy morning down in the basement. All the cats gathered and their silliness made us laugh. Sandy retrieved her favorite catnip mouse, last year’s Christmas present, and attacked it for a while, making us giggle and smile. Spooky and Scruffles are often together doing the same exact thing. They are loving the open windows of late summer.
Nathan enjoyed play-doh outside one morning. He loved watching the play-doh hair grow and then giving the guy a hair cut. As long as we stick with cutting play-doh hair only I will be happy. Nathan also enjoyed putting together a variety of puzzles and shows focus and concentration as he works and problem solves. Asking him to complete a regular task, like “go put your pants on” is an entirely different story.
Kaitlyn was content when she finally got her first homework assignments which just so happened to make all of the other kids jealous. Not that they didn’t have homework!!! Nathan was jealous because he wanted homework too and the older ones were all exclaiming over longing for homework assignments like hunting for autumn leaves and making crayon rubbings too.
Nathan decided to try his hand at stencils and crayon rubbings as we used one of his puzzles/stencil/zoo figure set to help us tell a brief story of our trip to the zoo and when it was finished we put it in an envelope and walked it to the mailbox to tell his cousin Porter all about what we saw at the zoo.
We went to the farm one morning for a few hours. They have another barn cat finally who resembles our beloved cat Samantha who Nathan sadly does not remember. Her name comes up frequently and Tristan has a picture of himself with her in their bedroom though so he is “aware” of her.
Another picture of the barn cat before we ran off to water the gardens, chase the chickens and play at the playground. Most school days Nathan ends up falling asleep in the car during the drive. One afternoon after having gotten up exceptionally early I found him asleep on the couch during Quiet Time. Rare!
Nathan was a good helper vacuuming out toy bins when we switched toys around and was also a good sweeper and vacuum-er when it was his week to clean the kitchen with me. He also has been enjoying his very own magazine called High 5. His favorite pages are the hidden pictures and silly pictures and the cartoon story each month with the cat named “Cow”.
We grabbed some before school playtime with Kaitlyn when we could. One day they constructed a huge tower from nesting blocks so they could make a sky high building which Nathan can also do alone. Nathan can do the same thing with nesting/stacking cars also. And he enjoyed reading a book he put together himself from his new magazine about his feet making music! He brought up his “feet making music” on several walks after this, especially once those leaves began to fall in earnest forming a crunchy carpet on which to walk.
There were Little People to play with who rode the bus to school and went on Field Trips to the ZOO!
Then the whole Living Room would turn into a ZOO as we used Little People as well as Legos for our stories. The Zoo was also a fantastic garden with exotic flowers and trees as well as the usual exotic animals to see. After the twins named Owl & Freddy paid their admission and the bus load of students on their field trip entered the gate with the teacher and began to visit the Polar Bear there was a runaway construction vehicle who kept trying to run into the zoo visitors and the children who were scared had a hard time finding their teacher (who had been picked up by a digger truck and carried off) so they found the zoo police who told the construction guy to behave and be safe who said he wouldn’t behave and be safe and so jail was threatened but the construction guy said there WAS NO jail and so the zoo keeper commissioned one to be built and said the people would come to see him in jail at the zoo and after that the construction vehicle behaved himself so the elephants and giraffe could be seen after all! What an adventure!!!
Haley set out her breakfast, a blueberry coffee cake containing cream cheese, one morning and when she turned around she found one very happy cat with some very good manners waiting patiently in her seat!
This made us all laugh.
Sunday afternoons were utilized for tea parties in the backyard, just like old times. And they were even dressed up for these but the footwear was a little off!
Nathan helped me make some peanut butter and jelly cookies which were so good. He used his old baby spoon to help put on the homemade raspberry jam after criss crossing some of the cookies with a fork.
Early morning seminary treats were made, left on the counter and then tossed into the timed preheated oven at 5 a.m. so they would still be fresh and hot. Not sure I’ll ever get used to 5 a.m.
Kaitlyn also began her very first violin lessons this month on a 1/10th size violin. It is once again, so tiny and cute pictured here next to mine and they almost look like twins. I work with her during the week at home on her skills and we go to school early at 8 a.m. every Thursday for a beginning group lesson. I’ve had enough beginning Suzuki lessons over the past 10 years after having taken Suzuki violin years ago personally to probably teach this myself. So after working all week on her posture and playing position the teacher went around the room correcting everyone until she got to Kaitlyn. “She looks excellent” remarked her teacher, who didn’t have anything to correct but then attributed it to “watching her big sisters all these years”. Oh well! I never seem to get any credit. I have been working on auditory skills with Kaitlyn as she repeats the rhythm and note pattern I pluck out for her. She repeats this perfectly and knew all the names of her strings the first time she picked it up, which I’m not sure how she knew. We are also working on “holding” the bow correctly. Now that her finger tapes are on we will begin learning “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” along with the notes ON the strings. It’s exciting to see another child learning her music, making connections and feeling proud of her progress.
Nathan worked once again on sorting by shape and size and reading equations with words like “plus, take away” and “leaves” as he looked at the math sentences and counted the pictured objects in his mini puzzles.
Stamping, coloring and water color paints were favorite mediums for artwork this month.
A study in art of symmetry and cursive writing as we made our names “beautiful” enamored even Tristan. And there is Nathan on the right, done with his math puzzles. “Let’s do it again”.
We ended the month when Kaitlyn came home from school having been “caught being good”! She was “Student of the Month” at Fairview and if you had needed a band aid or were lost or needed a reminder to get in line in the proper place or needed to be walked to the nurses office or you had lost your sticker and needed someone to share theirs with you she was your girl. She does seem to have a lot of friends except for two boys in her class who tell her they don’t like her… to which she shrugs. She LOVES school and after taking her kindergarten readiness test the teacher concluded that as long as Kaitlyn isn’t coming home bored she’s fine. She could take the end of the year test right now and be ready to move on! At her parent teacher conference I was informed by her German teacher that Kaitlyn has excellent auditory skills and can repeat words and phrases with such exactness that he calls on Kaitlyn first to model for the other children and that she is learning well and is an excellent roll model in every way for her peers. Her regular teacher described Kaitlyn as “the perfect student” and said “if only I could have a whole class of her”. This might be why we are missing her at home! The next school day after getting her “Student of the Month” note Kaitlyn got in the car and announced to me that she had a “bad note” in her folder. This surprised me after such high praises the week before and so when I enquired what this “bad note” might tell me I was informed that it would tell me that Kaitlyn got poked in the eye! Well, that wasn’t nice but wasn’t what I was thinking either! And her eye was fine. Side note; Kaitlyn lost her front left tooth one day in the lunch room and went to the nurse to get cleaned up and a special envelope for it. Amazingly she wasn’t the only one in her class to lose a tooth at school that day!
THAT was our September.
One of the results is that this post is nearly all about what Nathan and I have done during the day simply because “it’s just us”… at least for a few hours each day.
With so many apples around to snack on and fix for breakfast, lunch and dinner Nathan decided to try his hand at peeling an apple “all by myself” since he is so independent these days. He gave it a try before handing this one back to me. Then I took a turn trying to talk him into eat this apple WITH the rest of its peel. I remember having the same “peel discussion” with MY Mom only I was on the other end of it.
We made our favorite Chocolate Softies one Monday when it was Nathan’s turn to make Family Night treats. He enjoyed learning how to roll dough into balls and he enjoyed eating a few of these balls after he rolled them in sugar.
Cats found some new napping spots. I found Spooky in the laundry basket in the hall one evening. Oscar discovered a love for the vintage chair from Rick’s late Great Aunt Eleanor that moved into our home halfway through the month. Since the seat is a beautiful needlepoint cover I put a quilt over the pad making the chair even better in the cat’s opinion.
Nathan and I blew catnip bubbles for the cats one rainy morning down in the basement. All the cats gathered and their silliness made us laugh. Sandy retrieved her favorite catnip mouse, last year’s Christmas present, and attacked it for a while, making us giggle and smile. Spooky and Scruffles are often together doing the same exact thing. They are loving the open windows of late summer.
Nathan enjoyed play-doh outside one morning. He loved watching the play-doh hair grow and then giving the guy a hair cut. As long as we stick with cutting play-doh hair only I will be happy. Nathan also enjoyed putting together a variety of puzzles and shows focus and concentration as he works and problem solves. Asking him to complete a regular task, like “go put your pants on” is an entirely different story.
Kaitlyn was content when she finally got her first homework assignments which just so happened to make all of the other kids jealous. Not that they didn’t have homework!!! Nathan was jealous because he wanted homework too and the older ones were all exclaiming over longing for homework assignments like hunting for autumn leaves and making crayon rubbings too.
Nathan decided to try his hand at stencils and crayon rubbings as we used one of his puzzles/stencil/zoo figure set to help us tell a brief story of our trip to the zoo and when it was finished we put it in an envelope and walked it to the mailbox to tell his cousin Porter all about what we saw at the zoo.
We went to the farm one morning for a few hours. They have another barn cat finally who resembles our beloved cat Samantha who Nathan sadly does not remember. Her name comes up frequently and Tristan has a picture of himself with her in their bedroom though so he is “aware” of her.
Another picture of the barn cat before we ran off to water the gardens, chase the chickens and play at the playground. Most school days Nathan ends up falling asleep in the car during the drive. One afternoon after having gotten up exceptionally early I found him asleep on the couch during Quiet Time. Rare!
Nathan was a good helper vacuuming out toy bins when we switched toys around and was also a good sweeper and vacuum-er when it was his week to clean the kitchen with me. He also has been enjoying his very own magazine called High 5. His favorite pages are the hidden pictures and silly pictures and the cartoon story each month with the cat named “Cow”.
We grabbed some before school playtime with Kaitlyn when we could. One day they constructed a huge tower from nesting blocks so they could make a sky high building which Nathan can also do alone. Nathan can do the same thing with nesting/stacking cars also. And he enjoyed reading a book he put together himself from his new magazine about his feet making music! He brought up his “feet making music” on several walks after this, especially once those leaves began to fall in earnest forming a crunchy carpet on which to walk.
There were Little People to play with who rode the bus to school and went on Field Trips to the ZOO!
Then the whole Living Room would turn into a ZOO as we used Little People as well as Legos for our stories. The Zoo was also a fantastic garden with exotic flowers and trees as well as the usual exotic animals to see. After the twins named Owl & Freddy paid their admission and the bus load of students on their field trip entered the gate with the teacher and began to visit the Polar Bear there was a runaway construction vehicle who kept trying to run into the zoo visitors and the children who were scared had a hard time finding their teacher (who had been picked up by a digger truck and carried off) so they found the zoo police who told the construction guy to behave and be safe who said he wouldn’t behave and be safe and so jail was threatened but the construction guy said there WAS NO jail and so the zoo keeper commissioned one to be built and said the people would come to see him in jail at the zoo and after that the construction vehicle behaved himself so the elephants and giraffe could be seen after all! What an adventure!!!
Haley set out her breakfast, a blueberry coffee cake containing cream cheese, one morning and when she turned around she found one very happy cat with some very good manners waiting patiently in her seat!
This made us all laugh.
Sunday afternoons were utilized for tea parties in the backyard, just like old times. And they were even dressed up for these but the footwear was a little off!
Nathan helped me make some peanut butter and jelly cookies which were so good. He used his old baby spoon to help put on the homemade raspberry jam after criss crossing some of the cookies with a fork.
Early morning seminary treats were made, left on the counter and then tossed into the timed preheated oven at 5 a.m. so they would still be fresh and hot. Not sure I’ll ever get used to 5 a.m.
Kaitlyn also began her very first violin lessons this month on a 1/10th size violin. It is once again, so tiny and cute pictured here next to mine and they almost look like twins. I work with her during the week at home on her skills and we go to school early at 8 a.m. every Thursday for a beginning group lesson. I’ve had enough beginning Suzuki lessons over the past 10 years after having taken Suzuki violin years ago personally to probably teach this myself. So after working all week on her posture and playing position the teacher went around the room correcting everyone until she got to Kaitlyn. “She looks excellent” remarked her teacher, who didn’t have anything to correct but then attributed it to “watching her big sisters all these years”. Oh well! I never seem to get any credit. I have been working on auditory skills with Kaitlyn as she repeats the rhythm and note pattern I pluck out for her. She repeats this perfectly and knew all the names of her strings the first time she picked it up, which I’m not sure how she knew. We are also working on “holding” the bow correctly. Now that her finger tapes are on we will begin learning “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” along with the notes ON the strings. It’s exciting to see another child learning her music, making connections and feeling proud of her progress.
Nathan worked once again on sorting by shape and size and reading equations with words like “plus, take away” and “leaves” as he looked at the math sentences and counted the pictured objects in his mini puzzles.
Stamping, coloring and water color paints were favorite mediums for artwork this month.
A study in art of symmetry and cursive writing as we made our names “beautiful” enamored even Tristan. And there is Nathan on the right, done with his math puzzles. “Let’s do it again”.
We ended the month when Kaitlyn came home from school having been “caught being good”! She was “Student of the Month” at Fairview and if you had needed a band aid or were lost or needed a reminder to get in line in the proper place or needed to be walked to the nurses office or you had lost your sticker and needed someone to share theirs with you she was your girl. She does seem to have a lot of friends except for two boys in her class who tell her they don’t like her… to which she shrugs. She LOVES school and after taking her kindergarten readiness test the teacher concluded that as long as Kaitlyn isn’t coming home bored she’s fine. She could take the end of the year test right now and be ready to move on! At her parent teacher conference I was informed by her German teacher that Kaitlyn has excellent auditory skills and can repeat words and phrases with such exactness that he calls on Kaitlyn first to model for the other children and that she is learning well and is an excellent roll model in every way for her peers. Her regular teacher described Kaitlyn as “the perfect student” and said “if only I could have a whole class of her”. This might be why we are missing her at home! The next school day after getting her “Student of the Month” note Kaitlyn got in the car and announced to me that she had a “bad note” in her folder. This surprised me after such high praises the week before and so when I enquired what this “bad note” might tell me I was informed that it would tell me that Kaitlyn got poked in the eye! Well, that wasn’t nice but wasn’t what I was thinking either!
And her eye was fine. Side note; Kaitlyn lost her front left tooth one day in the lunch room and went to the nurse to get cleaned up and a special envelope for it. Amazingly she wasn’t the only one in her class to lose a tooth at school that day!THAT was our September.
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