My little Sous Chefs

Last night I tried the Baked Ziti recipe from Whole Food Mommies.

Whole Food Mommies

It was a hit! I've been an epic failure when it comes to feeding my kids health options.  So, over the past few years we've been eliminating A LOT of processed foods and now we're working on adding back in whole foods.

Jeff and I had been really working on eating whole foods, but we hadn't been including our kids in the meals so it was just too much work.  Enter websites like Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live, Whole Food Mommies, Healthy Girl's Kitchen, and the Engine 2 Diet.

We find several recipes that we've tried with our kids and the results have been mixed,  but the baked ziti got raves reviews all around.

Click on this link for the recipe.

I used brown rice penne pasta instead whole wheat, I only used about 4 or 5 baby portabella mushrooms, 1/2 of a red pepper, and we didn't use the kale this time.  I'll probably try it next time though!
Other than those variances, I followed the recipe and it turned out great!

I added fresh green beans as a side.  Here are my sous chefs cutting up the green beans (Well, one is not so little anymore..):

Let me know if you try it!!

DIY: Birdie Art Work

I love unique art work.  I was looking through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog a few years ago and saw an adorable collection of birdie canvases.  Super cute, but the price wasn't so cute.  I wondered if it was something I could whip up on my own.  I searched the internet and found some templates.

I used this free Amy Butler template for the rooster, butterfly, and tall bird.  Did you know she has free sewing and craft patterns?  How cool is that?  It's the Nigella Silhouettes.  I didn't make the intended artwork, but the templates can be used for a variety of projects.

A bit of rick rack and a tiara make this tall birdie quite regal. 

This rooster got a sparkly eye and trimmed in some ribbon.

I found another template for the smaller birdies, but unfortunately the template is no longer available.  I traced the parts and scanned them in case you want to use them.  It's not professional, I'm sorry...  You should be able to click on the picture and print out the template.

I added a scrapbook embellishment to the bottom by the branch that looks like a little leaf.

Here I just flipped the pattern over and cut out a mirror image so I had two birdies facing opposite directions.  This little birdie got a gingham scarf in the form of a tied ribbon.  Hold the ends of the ribbon over a open flame, very carefully and not directly in the flame, to seal the ribbon so it doesn't fray. 

Here is the other bird template.  You can see the main body, then there are two wings, an oval belly part, tiny feet, tail, and a branch.  It's best to dry fit your pieces before you start glueing.   You can look at my finished bird below for a sample placement. 

The original tutorial I followed recommended artist canvas.  I happened to see some wooden blocks in my dad's garage that he was going to throw out.  I scooped them up, spray painted them white and they worked perfectly for this project.  I also think embroidery hoops would work great too!

After you select your templates, simply cut out the pieces using any scrapbook paper.  I used Heather Bailey's Pop Garden Scrapbook Paper for my project and used spray adhesive to attach them to the surface, but you could use any glue that allows the paper to lay flat.  Once everything is in place, start embellishing!  As a mentioned earlier, I used scrapbook embellishments to jazz up my little animals.
Rhinestone stickers became the eyes. Tied ribbons became little scarves. Ribbons bordering the bottom looks like a collar.

Get creative.  There's no right or wrong.  After I ran out of animal templates, I made one of the blocks a monogram of sorts.  It have a "K" along with cute other embellishments.

This was a super easy, quick, and inexpensive project.  Such a fun wall art collection that can be tailored to any decor!  Have fun!

Can she be any cuter?

Kate is our only girl, and although she doesn't have a sister, that doesn't stop her from having a fab time.

Here she set up several of her Barbie's on the table and was just talking away to them.

Last Minute Valentine Ideas

Well, it's the weekend before Valentine's Day and I'm short a Valentine box and cards for 25+ kiddos.  Yay, to Google and Pinterest!  I found this link to a cute mailbox.

Here's my version...

I used a post office box I had in the house, glued both ends together with Elmer's glue, painted two coats of red paint, carefully cut three sides with a box cutter, and hinged the back.  Then it was ready to decorate!

Kate and I made a quick shopping trip to Michael's where we found lots of Valentine's decorations 40% off.  Don't forget to check their website, they usually have coupons you can print out.  We found a cute lock and key, ribbon for the bottom, glitter hearts, and some cute flowers.  I printed out the MAIL portion on some scrapbook paper and applied it with double sided tape.  

I cut a small piece of ribbon to use for the closure and attached it with sticky foam dots.  Velcro dots would be better, but I was out.

I then poked two holes in the top with some scissors and fed some ribbon through for a handle. Ta-da, a super cute valentine box!

Now onto the valentine cards.  I really didn't want to do candy this year, so I saw this great post on Pinterest.  Her complete post was lovely, but I didn't have time to order an alphabet stamp and I don't have a cute little paper heart cutter.  Sooooo, I found some heart shaped silicone ice cube trays at Michael's and tried those for the crayons.  I bought the $1 box of 64 crayons and used a razor blade to take off the wrapper.  I used her suggestions to group the crayons by color families and made some camo ones for the boys and girlie ones for the girls.  I wasn't sure if the silicone would melt, so I baked them at 220 degrees for about 20 - 25 minutes.

I simply cut out some hearts from scrapbook paper and hand wrote the message, "You color my world" and her name. She's adding a few smiley faces, x's, and o's.  

Now I just hope it doesn't snow on Monday!!!  Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!

xoxo

Capitol Day!

Today we traveled to Oklahoma City, our state capital, for the home educator's Capitol Day sponsored by OCHEC (Oklahoma Christian Home Educators' Consociation).  It was my first time to attend the event and it was a wonderful day!

Did you know that a homeschooling option was written into the Oklahoma State Constitution?  OCHEC has a saying that Capitol Day is the one day of the year when people come to the capitol to ask their legislators to doing nothing.

Governor Fallin addressed the packed rotunda.

We had a chance to meet Senator Dan Newberry and he was quite gracious to take us to the Senate lounge and talk with us for a little bit.  It's always fun to have a behind the scenes tour! 

Here is Veronica, her son Luke and Jono.

I believe this sculpture was called "The Guardian" 

Zach took a beautiful picture of the Capitol Building

The Rotunda was beautiful!

Shhh, don't tell him I told you but, Zach even recognized some Latin and partially translated it.  Woot, woot!!  So proud of him!

All in all, a great day at our Capitol and you never know the seeds that were planted today and what might become of them in 10 to 15 years....

How I came to the end of myself...

Ya know, there are times I look back with regret on the years I wasted, but there is also something about coming to the end of yourself that solidifies a no looking back mentality.  Here's how it happened for me.

Jeff and I were married our senior year of college.  I loved him fully and completely.  Our early years were good, yet now I see we just lived for ourselves.  We both worked full time and spent all our money and time on ourselves.  We "attended" a church in town, but I'm sure they didn't know we attended since we looked for any small excuse not to go.

The years of growing up in Christian homes gave us a spiritual foundation, but because we didn't continue it in our own lives, we became spiritually bankrupt.  After the birth of our first son, things began it deteriorate quickly.  Newborns can cause additional stress and bring an already fragile relationship to a breaking point.  I remember trying so hard to be nice when Jeff got home, but it seemed every conversation ended in an argument and we just weren't like that!  We never argued before, never.  We were great friends, so this made it all the more difficult since I felt like I was losing my best friend and my husband.  The month Zach was born, Jeff took a job at a new company.  In his desire to climb the corporate ladder, he started going to happy hour.  I completely supported him and thought it was a great way to earn more money.  Jeff is an all or nothing kind of guy.  He's either fully in or fully out.  I could see the pull on him.  I remember him saying he struggled with alcohol in high school, but we never drank as a couple.  He began spending more nights out with the guys.  It hurt.  I was losing my best friend.  I started to withdraw and harden my heart to him.  I'm sure that's why it was so difficult to be nice.  In my mind, I began thinking about how I was going to support my son and I by myself.

All the while, I would keep up a good appearance to my family and try to portray that everything was fine. Funny thing about parents, they know the truth.  They kept bringing over books for us to read.  Later, my Mom said, she came over and saw all those books stacked up on our mantle that they had given us and wondered if she should stop.  It was one of those books, A Heart Ablaze, that Jeff pulled off the mantle in December 2000 that began a change in our lives.

He came home from a business trip and something was different.  He said we were going to go to church.  I knew he needed it, but I didn't realize how much I needed it too.  That next week, we went to church and then enrolled in a discipleship class at the church.  There was one class for the ladies and a separate one for the men.  My parents worked at the church where we attended the class, so it was a little awkward for me, but Jeff just broke immediately and I could see the change was instant.  Like I said, he's either fully in or fully out and he had truly come to his end.  I remember seeing him go down for every altar call, glad he was getting the help he needed.

In farming, they say drought stricken land cannot absorb water from a torrential downpour because the ground is too hard.  It needs to be softened first.  I think that's what happened to me during the 12 week course.  As I continued to attend each week and read the assigned books, I was getting watered and softened.  I cannot tell you when exactly it happened, but I broke.  All the years of striving on my own, not wanting to fully surrender my life to the Lord because I was afraid he'd ask me to do something I didn't want to do or that I'd change into someone I didn't want to be, were over.   I came to my end.

Now I wonder why I waited so long. He is the most loving, caring Father and one who only has my well being in mind.  Sure, there were things I had to adjust, and some things were a little more painful to lay down, but in the end I am a better person for it.  I'm still in process, everyone is.

We are going into our 12th year of living completely surrendered to the Lord.  There have been some ebb and flow times, when I have to shake myself spiritually and commit to more time with the Lord, reading and memorizing His word.  A quick glance in the rearview mirror of my life, like writing this post, makes me all the more thankful for His faithfulness and renews my resolve to finish strong.