Gingerbread Village

Last weekend, I took the kids to a local Gingerbread Village fundraiser.  There were a lot of gingerbread houses on display (at kid eye level!) - NO - I didn't get any pictures as I was VERY busy keeping little fingers from picking off all the candies!  There were also mascots (a HUGE snowman, a Frosty snowman, and a reindeer) - Nate got a kick out of those.  There were clowns, balloon animals, crafts, cookie decorating and Santa (which my kids wanted NOTHING to do with...).  Kids had fun even though I find these kind of venues very stressful as both kids have no fear of racing off to explore on their own - had to put Nate on a harness.

Waiting in line for a balloon reindeer.

 Decorating cookies.

 Finished product! (how many jellybeans can one girl cram onto a single cookie?)

Taste test!

mmmm....  jellybeans....

Silly Santa!  He has too many eyes!

GLUE!

Nate's Favorites

Nate has three books that we MUST read each night.

1.  Freight Train
by Donald Crews

This is the simplest book ever and Nate just adores it (and has it memorized).  He has learned colors, counting and memorization all from this simplest of books.  Best of all, it takes NO time to read at bedtime!

2.  Two Little Trains
by Margaret Wise Brown

A poetic story of two little trains (one old and one new) going West.  Nate loves the rhythm and illustrations.

3.  I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track
by Joshua Prince

Nate just saw me typing this and SCREAMED with delight "it's ANT!".  This is his current FAVORITE book and we read it multiple times a day.  Cute rhyme story about an eastbound ant on a westbound track.  HUGE hit in our home!

Books We've Enjoyed This Week

1.  Uncle Elephant
by Arnold Lobel

Cute story of a little Elephant whose parents are lost at sea (it's never explained how or why Elephants are "at sea"...).  Anyway, the little Elephant goes to stay with his silly Uncle for a few days until his parents return.  Cute.  Kept both kids interest the entire way through.

2.  Small Pig
by Arnold Lobel

Nate LOVED this story.  It is the first story of any length that he has sat still and quiet for!  Cute simple story of a little pig who loves his mud.  When "the farmer's wife" vacuums up his soft mud, the little pig is so angry that he runs away and gets himself stuck in the city. 

3.  The Just So Woman
by Gary Blackwood

My just-so girl related to this story of a woman who needed to have things "just-so".  We read it multiple times.

cig gal

i started this yesterday and finished tonight and i love it!

i have some extra studio time thanks to some time off from teaching for Thanksgiving break.

bobby gave me the walnut ink, it's my first time to paint with it.

i will be getting some more.

"cig gal"

walnut ink on paper

31" X 27"

Kitchen "Helper"

I've been very reluctant to let my kids help in the kitchen with anything.  Really, they are still pretty little.  I've tried to let them help with mixing muffins, however, I end up with flour everywhere and kids sticking their faces in the batter and I just find it all very stressful and not enjoyable and therefore I kill the joy of it in my kids.  blah.

Lately, I've been having lots of conflict with Adrianna always wanting to be in the kitchen.  Usually she wants to be snacking.  Constantly.  It drives me CRAZY. 

Yesterday I decided that if she wants to be in the kitchen so desperately, I would put her to work!  She washed all the potatoes for dinner.  She "made" the green beans (got the beans out of the freezer, put them in the pot and put water in the pot).  She washed the dishes (minus the knives).  It actually was helpful.  And enjoyable.  And I really do need to lighten up a bit!

While dinner was cooking, we made up a joint story.  She wanted me to tell her a story, so I began but I made her fill in the blanks and create the story with me.  It actually worked out pretty well. 

Hollywood's Thinnest Stars Insist...

I took the kids on a mini walk yesterday along a path near our house.  We needed fresh air and a change of scenery.  Adrianna found this:

We stopped and examined it.  We observed that it was growing on a vine in a swampy area.  We took a few home with us.  Then, googled it and we learned together that it is a prickly cucumber.  Very fun. 

Then, Adrianna proceeded to pick it apart completely layer by layer and bit by bit.  Later, she "narrated" it to Daddy, "we found a pokey cucumber and it had seeds in it.  It grows on a vine!"

Ok.  Maybe I can do nature study.