Peter Pan Party

This was a "Peter Pan" themed party I threw for my daughters 4th birthday. I bought white poster board & drew the word "Neverland" & an arrow & then had it laminated & hung it on the fence.

When party guests arrived, they were greeted by Captain Hook (my husband) & Mrs. Smee (me). N was a little Peter Pan & C was Wendy. Each guest got a treasure box (for the boys) or a Tinkerbell fairy box (for the girls).

The treasure box had an eye patch, gold coins, a telescope & some Peter Pan themed stickers. 

The fairy box had little jewelry, Tinkerbell stickers & some face glitter.

 I got most of these items from http://www.birthdayexpress.com/

Food: Pirate's Booty, Fruit kabobs in sand (raw sugar)...etc. It was all named according to the theme.

 I had my husband go around & ring the doorbell & leave a box that had a note written on a map that was from Peter Pan that said, "Dear friends, I am off on another adventure & I need your help! I have left you clues to locate where I have hidden my most valuable treasures. Please find it before Captain Hook does! 

~Your friend,

Peter Pan " 

My daughter, C, is holding the map up in this picture.

I had more maps just like this one with clues hidden around the yard. Each one would have a clue to the next one & when they finally found the treasure box, it was full of jewels, gold coins..etc. 

I bought a Tinkerbell doll & had this bakery http://www.cakecastlebakery.com/index.html    make the cake & put her in it. Then C got to keep the doll as a gift (after she was cleaned of course:)

They did an amazing job! This was such a beautiful cake & it was delicious! I am not usually a fan of fondant, but theirs was SO good!

 Definately a great party!

Vintage Baby Shower

This is a baby shower I did for my cousin. It was a vintage / shabby chic / Martha Stewart inspired theme. We set the tables with pretty lace linens & used my tea cups & decorated the tables with wooden blocks that were decoupaged with vintage cards. I also added little bears here & there because their last name is "Barrett" & my cousins husband is a vet. To honor the grandfather who was a fireman, but had passed away, I placed little vintage fireman bears around. We placed the mom & dad's baby pictures on each table with a fun little fact about each one. Then we hung our Gpa's old vintage baby clothes & some vintage baby clothes I had found at an antique store & dyed with tea onto clothes pins.

When the guests arrived, they were given an option of buying a raffle ticket (with the proceeds going to the baby's college fund) for a gift basket of pampering goodies.
Then they could guess how many marbles were in a jar & win a prize if they were the closest.
Then they went over to the "Create the Baby Face" game that I had set up. I enlarged baby pictures of the mom & dad & laminated them, then cut the eyes, nose, mouth & chin out in strips. The guests could go & rearrange the faces to create a new face of what the baby might look like. This one had no prize, it was just for fun. It was funny to see all of the combinations people came up with.

Then we played Baby Pictionary with cards I created that had words on them related to baby. I think the funniest one was epidural. :)


I wanted to personalize the cake so instead of the traditional cake I had the bakery make it look like wooden blocks with letters, pictures & symbols that were meaningful to the mom & dad.

One of the dishes I made was "Blueberry Stuffed French Toast" which seemed to be a big hit. It was such a beautiful day & a beautiful party.

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast
Ingredients:
12 slices of French bread or sourdough bread thin sliced (6 slices cut up into cubes)
2 8 oz pkg of cream cheese
1 cup of blueberries
12 eggs
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg For the sauce
1 cup of sugar
2 Tbsps of cornstarch
1 cup of water
1 cup of blueberries
1 Tbsp butter
Arrange the bread in a buttered 13" x 9" pan
cut the cream cheese into squares and place over bread
sprinkle the blueberries over the cheese
arrange the bread cubes over the top of the blueberries
In a large bowl mix the eggs, syrup, milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg whisk well
pour the mixture over the bread mixture
chill the mixture overnight
Bake the mixture at 350 degrees for about an hour or till it is puffed and golden brown
Sauce
In a small sauce pan mix the water, sugar, cornstarch over moderately high heat until it is thickened, then add the blueberries. Simmer for about ten minutes or till blueberries burst then pour over French toast.
Serves 6 - 8

A Miracle Worker!

The Wet-Stop3 enuresis alarm teaches nighttime dryness using an alarm attached to the pajamas near the ear and a moisture sensor held onto ordinary close-fitting cloth underwear. The alarm is attached using a magnet that holds the unit onto the neck of the shirt.
The moisture sensor is threaded under the child's shirt and is secured to tight fitting cotton underwear using the quick-clip jaw sensor. The sensor is attached to the outside of the child's underwear where they would first wet.
The Wet-Stop3 alarm reacts to moisture, teaching the child to stop the flow of urine. When the alarm senses wetness, it alternates on intermittent sound sequence and pulsed vibration when the sound/vibration mode is activated. Sound only or pulsed vibration only can also be selected.


I know this is a common issue that is rarely talked about. But I just had to share what this product has done for our family. Our daughter used to have to wear pull-ups every night & as some of you can relate, that can be very costly. Her pediatrician recommended this to us & said that it worked for his son. So we decided to give it a try, since nothing else we tried was working. In about a months time, she was trained to get up & go potty instead of wetting the bed & now she doesn't need to wear pullups! She has been dry now for a couple of months & doesn't even need the alarm anymore!  If this has been an issue for your child, I highly recommend giving this a try.

http://www.bedwettingstore.com/WET-STOP3-Bedwetting-Alarm-with-Sound-Vibration.html

You can also find it on Amazon

Medieval Lapbook

This is the lapbook that we did for our study of the Middle Ages. The components in this lapbook are a combination of activity books from Rainbow Resource , Homeschool Share , & the internet.

We also listened to The Story of the World (Vol 2) that covers the Middle Ages. It worked really well to listen to that while the kids worked on their lapbook.

 

A Young Historian's Introduction to Worldview, by Marcia Brim

Surprisingly, many children raised in Christian homes have a weak understanding of the character and nature of God, and the significance of man as His special creation. As a result, our children are growing up with a weak biblical worldview, and a lack of understanding as to why God matters in every aspect of life.

Marcia Brim of Brimwood Press presents biblical truths in a two-day, seven-hour class geared for the thoughtful young person who enjoys hands-on learning, discussion and interaction with other students. Students will listen to instruction, participate in small group activities, use 3-D glasses, build “Worldview Boxes”, listen to and discuss good literature, and create worldview bar graphs.
This class examines non-Christian ideas common in our culture. Then it gives students tools for comparing and contrasting these conflicting ideas to Christianity. This method not only has value in evangelism, but it sheds enormous clarity on Christian truth. 

I have attended this class myself & can tell you first hand how amazing it was & how it has deepened my faith in my beliefs & helped me to understand the differences between the worldviews. 

For those that are not able to take her class, you can purchase "A Young Historian's Introduction to Worldview" 

materials on her website & teach your children at home. She also has a variety of other products & curriculum for sale on her website.  I HIGHLY recommend checking out her products! Her weblink is below:

Marcia Brim is a wife and mother of three. Since 2004, Marcia Brim and her husband have owned and operated Brimwood Press providing worldview, history and theological resources to homeschool families across the country. Marcia has 13 years of homeschool experience and a degree in theology from Multnomah Bible College. Her passion is to equip parents and students to be salt and light in a lost world.

FOR MORE INFO VISIT: http://www.brimwoodpress.com/

Bean & Black Quinoa Salad

Thank you to my friend L for introducing this to me!  I was a little hesitant at first with the black quinoa, but I like to try new things, so I gave it a shot. This is so yummy! I modified her recipe a little, this is how I made it:

1 cup of dried lentils
1 cup of dried black beans
1 cup of dried garbanzo beans

Put all dried beans in a crockpot. Fill with water & cook on high for about 3 hours. You can also do this the night before.


1/2 of chopped red onion
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 red or yellow bell pepper

Dressing:
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/3 cup of grapeseed oil
salt & pepper to taste
Wisk together & pour over cooked beans & veggies. Set in fridge so that flavors absorb together.

Meanwhile cook 1 cup of black quinoa with 1 1/2 cups of water uncovered until all liquid absorbs. Serve bean salad on top of cooked quinoa with tortilla chips-so healthy & so yummy!

The Now I'm Reading!™ Books

N just learned how to read this year with an amazing program called SIPPS
Look at how excited she is!:)

We had tried the Bob reader books to supplement with, but I was noticing they were not holding her attention.
I found these supplemental readers at Barnes & Noble & she has just buzzed right through them! She loves them! Each book has 10 readers inside with reward stickers & parent/teacher manual.

The characters in these stories are colorful & fun! As you can see in the picture below, the cub sits in pink gum & it gets stuck to his hairy bum...On the next page he pulls it off & eats it! Ewwww! My daughter LOVED that part & read it (& giggled) over & over again:) heeheehee

 

For Ages 3-7 • $16.99

Each book includes 10 individual storybooks, 40 incentive stickers, and a Parent/Teacher Guide.

 What the Now I'm Reading!™ books offer:

A phonics approach to reading: Phonics is the use of letter sound relationships to help youngsters identify written words. The major purpose of learning phonics is to know how to translate a word's written form to its spoken form. The phonics approach helps children expand their vocabularies, which strengthens their reading comprehension.

A whole-language approach: Each separate book offers a complete plot line, with a beginning, a middle, and an end, which helps develop a child's understanding of "story". The humorous text and lovable characters encourage your child to retell the story in his or her own words. Reading aloud to your child is also recommended, and will help foster a love of language.

Ten engaging stories in each book: Stories about animals or high-interest topics, which allow kids to practice key skills while developing a love of reading.

Simple, repetitive text that uses the same words throughout a given story to provide the reading practice and the self-confidence your child needs to become a successful reader.

A building-block pattern, in which each story begins with a few words and progresses, a word or two at a time, to phrases, then to short sentences, and finally to longer sentences towards the end of each book.

An appropriate, organized sequence of skills, including consonants, short vowels, consonant blends, consonant digraphs, long vowels, long and short vowels together, word endings, and sight words. You will find the particular skills, blends, endings and sight words contained in the story listed on the inside back cover of that book.

Colorful, fun-filled, detailed illustrations. 

Click on link below for more info:

http://www.innovativekids.com/content/view/204/400/ 

If you crave this...This is what your body needs:

If you crave this…	What you really need is…	And here are healthy foods that have it:
Chocolate	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Sweets	Chromium	Broccoli, grapes, cheese, dried beans, chicken
	Carbon	Fresh fruits
	Phosphorus	Chicken, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes, grains
	Sulfur	Cranberries, horseradish, cruciferous vegetables, kale, cabbage
	Tryptophan	Cheese, raisins, sweet potato, spinach, turkey
Bread, toast	Nitrogen	High protein foods: fish, meat, nuts, beans
Oily snacks, fatty foods	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Coffee or tea	Phosphorous	Chicken, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts, legumes
	Sulfur	Egg yolks, red peppers, muscle protein, garlic, onion, cruciferous vegetables
	NaCl (salt)	Sea salt, apple cider vinegar (on salad)
	Iron	Meat, fish and poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Alcohol	Protein	Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, nuts
	Avenin	Granola, oatmeal
	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
	Glutamine	Supplement glutamine powder for withdrawal, raw cabbage juice
	Potassium	Sun-dried black olives, potato peel broth, seaweed, bitter greens
Chewing ice	Iron	Meat, fish, poultry, seaweed, greens, black cherries
Burned food	Carbon	Fresh fruits
Soda and other carbonated drinks	Calcium	Mustard and turnip greens, broccoli, kale, legumes, cheese, sesame
Salty foods	Chloride	Raw goat milk, fish, unrefined sea salt
Acid foods	Magnesium	Raw nuts and seeds, legumes, fruits
Preference for liquids rather than solids	Water	Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Preference for solids rather than liquids	Water	You have been so dehydrated for so long that you have lost your thirst. Flavor water with lemon or lime. You need 8 to 10 glasses per day.
Cool drinks	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
Pre-menstrual cravings	Zinc	Red meats (especially organ meats), seafood, leafy vegetables, root vegetables
General overeating	Silicon	Nuts, seeds; avoid refined starches
	Tryptophan	Cheese, turkey, raisins, sweet potato, spinach
	Tyrosine	Vitamin C supplements or orange, green, red fruits and vegetables
Lack of appetite	Vitamin B1	Nuts, seeds, beans, liver and other organ meats
	Vitamin B3	Tuna, halibut, beef, chicken, turkey, pork, seeds and legumes
	Manganese	Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pineapple, blueberries
	Chloride	Raw goat milk, unrefined sea salt