The Letter "P"

Peter turned 3 in May and is like a little sponge.  His mind is so thirsty for knowledge and yet he is so busy and always getting into trouble.  The key I have found is to keep his mind and hands busy and then he doesn't look for trouble quite as much.

Recently I have noticed that he is learning his letters almost by himself as if through osmosis.  He is exposed to letters through our alphabet magnets, Sesame Street, alphabet puzzles, and his desire to write his name.  To further cultivate this I have started collecting the letter "P" from junk mail and old magazines.  The mail arrives and Peter instantly wants to have it so he can look for "P"s.  I am shocked at the tiny letters he can spot.  He points them out and then we cut them out and past them on a piece of paper.  

 The paper stays on the refrigerator for use the next day.  Throughout the day he talks about all the "P"s he has found and wants to look at the paper.  I figure that we will do this until the paper is full and then start on the next letter in his name and so on until we have finished his name completly.  It is a great free activity that is laying a foundation for his future education and keeps him occupied for quite some time.

 This is what Jacob does while Peter and I work on letters - Look Cute.

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Stitched Notebooks

I really like to write in visually appealing notebooks but they are so much more expensive then the plain ones.  Here is a solution for free.

Take your scrapbook paper scraps and a few sheets of plain white paper (or any paper of your choice for that matter) and turn then into pretty little notebooks. 

If you can sew a straight line on your sewing machine you can make these.

Look through your scraps and decide what size notebooks you want to make.    In the photo below I have two separate pieces for the front and the back and one more small piece to place on the top. 

 Cut you paper about 1/4 inch smaller than the finished notebook.  Stack all your layers together.

 Place the top portion on the finished stack.  In the photo below I have cut one piece of paper for the front and back and just folded it in half.  In this case I didn't put a top portion on. 

 Take your finished stack to your sewing machine and stitch it together.  I lengthen my stitch to the longest possible and back stitch a few times on each edge to prevent the thread from pulling out. 

 Sit back and enjoy your new supply of pretty little notebooks.  Stick them in your pocket, purse, car, desk....  you get the idea.  Now when you have a brilliant idea you can write it down. 

I have a vivid childhood memory of sitting next to my Mom while she made larger versions of these out of lined paper and construction paper.  She would always make us a few stitched notebooks in preparation for a road trip.  My girls (10 & 8) can even make these for themselves. 

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Chopin at 90 years old

My Dad turns 90 in a few weeks and he is my hero. 

We went to visit my parents today and after a while Dad announces that he is going to play us something on the piano.  He proceeds to play a beautiful piece by Chopin.  It literally brought tears to my eyes.  Dad has always played piano but has never considered himself a pianist.  He always said he knew just enough to get by but doubted his ability to be really good at piano.  He is really just being modest - he is the organist at church and has been for the past 20+ years.  It doesn't come easy for him and requires a lot of practice but he is good at it. 

Apparently last week he decided that the beautiful grand piano in his house shouldn't go to waste and should be played every day.  He wants to develop his talents and not just be satisfied with his abilities as they currently are.  So at the age of 90 he has started playing beautiful music by Chopin and who knows who else.  At an age when most people really start to slow down he just never seems to stop.  He has finally started to age a bit but what that man manages to do each day inspires me. 

If at 90 years old he can decided to play Chopin and further his musical talents what should I at only 35 be doing each day to further my talents? 

My Dad taught me an important lesson today that I hope to never forget. 

Quiddler

We spend a lot of time playing games with our kids.  We started teaching them to play UNO when they are 3.  It is a very simple game that they can play with help that teaches them colors and numbers.

As the kids get older we move onto more challenging games.  My favortie games are the ones that are fun to play as well as educational.  Quiddler has become a favorite to play after we put the little boys to bed and have some peace and quiet in the house (Ok that is all relative - the big 4 kids make plenty of noise).  It takes a bit of concentration but is a great spelling and vocabulary reinforcement.

One of the funnest parts is seeing the silly/gross/unusual words that get spelled.  Here are the kids with their winner hands.

 

 

Jim generally spends the game helping the kids with their hands and then having to play his own. He is a great father - and I am not saying that because I am a bit biased.

Follow this link to Amazon to read a full review of the game.  So much fun.

What games do you like to play with your family?

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Pumpkin Sheet Cake

I love all things pumpkin.  During the fall it is a must have but I like it so much we have pumpkin flavored things all year long.
 
We love this cake for dessert (and sometimes breakfast)

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Yield 2 sheet cakes (can easily cut recipe in half)

3 cups white sugar
1 cup margarine
2 teas vanilla
2 cans of pumpkin (the regular size cans)
4 eggs
3 cups flour (I use whole wheat and it taste great and is more nutritious)
4 1/2 teas baking powder
1 Tab baking soda
1/4 teas salt
4 teas cinnamon

I dump all the ingredients into my mixer and turn it on until it looks good and mixed.  (I am not a very precise person in the kitchen)

Bake at 350 degrees in a greased cooking sheet for 20-25 min.

It is tasty plain or with a light glaze on the top.

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My skirt made it into the top 15 designs for the 

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Mine is #14