Wow, I feel so popular!

Wow,Ms. Shannon from Teaching Tiny tots thank you so much for the award!!!!! I decided to check my blog this morning and discovered I recieved an award. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so here are the rules for the award:
This is what you need to do…Thank the person who gave the award to you,
post the award on you blog or on a post,
nominate 10 blogs which show great attitude/gratitude,
link to the people you chose on your post,
and comment on their blogs to tell them about the award!

Teaching Tiny Tots
Chasing Cheerios
Ramblings of a Crazy Woman
No Time For Flashcards
Crafty Crow
Montessori Journey
It's a boys life
Diary of A Stay At Home Mom
Very Blessed Mommy
Megalicious

Baking, Baking, and Baking!

Walter the Baker by Eric Carle!

If you haven't read this book before your seriously missing out. I didn't realize this was a book about making pretzels. I didn't even see it coming. It was a pleasant surprised. I decided this would make for a fun after school activity! I just used a regular pretzel recipe but I used my bread machine to make the dough. Landon made it home from school and the dough was almost done raising. I told him to run over to the neighbors house and see if they wanted to make pretzels with us. They came running over and were soooo excited. I sat down with all the boys and read them this story about Walter the Baker who has to create a roll that will let the raising sun shine through it three times. The neighbor boys were really excited because this was their first time making pretzels!

This my neighbors oldest son! He is so well mannered and nice! His mother has done a great job with her kids.
Landon and Aaron are trying to roll out their dough. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to roll it out. I ended up having to help with Logan's pretzels.

Here's Micheal again. His such a good helper!

Ta Da!!!! The final product! Don't they look good!

Here's the whole gang! We invited Violet to come over and try out the pretzels with us. They were seriously so good! Yummo!

Micheal almost got me in trouble with his mother. He asked her why she didn't do all these fun projects with him! Yikes...His mother said it was because I like to do these types of things! Plus Micheal's is oldest to entertain himself. Well, I really do like doing fun things with my kids. I really like having lots of kids over to play. Micheal's mother is right. I do enjoy doing these types of activities. Yes, my house is a wreck but who cares. Doing what I love makes everyone happy!

Reading Theme Challenge: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

I'm just posting this for right now. I'm still working on pulling together a couple more resources for the reading challenge. We are going to have lots of fun learning the song and playing with foam letters. I will post back later on...

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Song

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Book

Burr! It's Cold Outside

After, story time at the library. I decided to stop by one of the local flea markets. I ended up picking up a ton of cute stuff for school time. I don't know why I didn't think about going to flea markets before. I picked up new puzzles, plastic horses, really cute cooper animal cookie cutters, and tons of plastic animals.

Due to all the cold weather. I decided to go ahead and use the polar bears to make this neat activity tray. I just used a couple of ice cubes and set the polar bears into a little tray. Leah loved it. She was really surprised how cold the ice cubes made her hands feel. I'm going to eventually make a little igloo house to go with this activity! Also, I will probably make a couple of little icebergs to go with the polar bears! If I'm really brave, I might go ahead and add water for the polar bears to swim in!

After, I took this picture of Leah. I decided to jog on my treadmill. While working out, I notice we still had ice on the back porch! Logan and I went out back and brought several pieces of ice inside. I dyed the water blue and we placed the icebergs in glass containers. Logan loved it. He

wanted the polar bears to eat fish but all I had was plastic turtles. As soon as the ice melted we ran back outside and grabbed some more. Totally fun!!!!!!!!

Polar Bear Slideshow!!!

A busy day...

Crafting, sewing, and knitting!

I decided to make several goals for myself this week to complete! One of my goals was to learn how to make my own felt food items. I'm very proud of myself. I just finished making my very first felt food items. I found my inspiration at Chasing Cheerios! I decided to follow her directions and make my own Valentine cookies for the kids. Mine don't look as good as her's but it was my first time. It really wasn't that hard and it didn't take a lot of time.

Next, I decided to make some yummy pink color play-doh with gold glitter! I pulled out a bunch of my heart shap cookie cutters to add to this cute tray! Leah is going to love this! Logan wasn't happy about the play-doh being a girl color.

Lastly, while at Walmart this morning. I came across this new loom. I couldn't pass it up. I picked out some new yard and I'm sooooo excited about being able to make some baby blankets! I can't wait until the kids go to bed tonight so I can try out my new looms!

My Learning Poster

Leah is starting to show an interest in letters. The kids were busy playing on the floor with mini foam letters. Leah came running up to me to tell me she found the letter "L"!Yes, she was so excited this is what she said "mommy, mommy, I found letter "L"! It was too cute. I wasn't sure if she was just quessing. So, I picked up the letter again and asked her wath letter it was and she got it correct. So, I felt inspired to make "My Learning Poster"! Logan attempted to write his name at the top. It doesn't really look like his name but at least he is trying! Each week the theme will be based on Teaching Tiny Tots book challegne. The kids were excited. They all help to put it together!

Happy Homemaker Monday

On my bedside table:

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
All Things Bright and Beautiful by James Herriot
Barefoot Contessa: back to basics by Ina Garten
The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease's-Every parent with young children should read this book because its about bonding with your children through books.

On my TV:

Nothing!
Trying to live with less TV and more real life experiences...

On the menu for tonight:
Classic Hearty Corn Chowder

On my To Do list:

Clean out the kitty litter box
Clean up Leah's room
Put away clean laundry
Vacuum the stairs

New Recipe I tried last week:

I made hamburger patties, small yellow potatoes, and onion gravy! I will never go back to using the dry onion soup mixes again. This onion gravy is super easy to make and its awesome! You will be literally licking our plate clean. Yummy!!!

In the craft basket:

Just a bunch of yarn and my knitting looms. I really want to start making felt food toys. I don't know how to make them but I keep seeing them all over the Internet. Any tips on how to sew your own felt food?

Looking forward to:

peace and quite
The kids have been home all week long due to the weather
Getting the house clean-not really but I'm going to keep telling myself a clean home is a happy home.
Going to Krista's baby shower!
Going for walks at Lake Bella Vista with the kids

Homemaking Tip for this week:

I don't have any tips to share this week. I'm wanting to start making my own soap! Does anyone have any good tips on how to go about making the soap?

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):

check out this wonderful site called TeachingTinyTots! She has the most wonderful ideas for little tots! You can find endless resources for teaching your little ones.

Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:

Cherish your children. This past week we were hit with a big ice storm. We ended up staying home all week long. It was a wonderful time for our family. No distractions from the outside world. It was a complete blast. It wasn't always easy but we ended up with a ton of wonderful memories.

On my Prayer List:

My children, My hubby, and My family!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses Key Verse:

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities" (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

If you want to join in click on this link: Happy Homemaker Monday