Teacher's Christmas Present

So I have been a little behind on blogging but ready to go for 2011. This is something I have been meaning to post but the holidays consumed me and I have had little to no time for blogging. I did get this idea from A bushel and a peck and loved it. I am all about homemade gifts and it all cost under $5. I did have the teacher's name in vinyl on the apple, just did not get a picture of it. The cirlce wreath part is a wooden embroidery hoops. I used a 10" for the outer ring and an 8" for the inner. Each embroidery hoop comes with 2 so really you could make 2 if you have 2 kids in school. I just glue gunned the crayons to each of the hoops. I also glue gunned the apple to the crayons and the ribbon to the back of the hoops. The wooden apple was from Joanns wood craft section for .50 cents. I also bought a 64 ct Crayola crayon box from Joanns and used a 40% off coupon so they were under $3. Hopefully her teacher liked it!

True Meaning of Christmas

So I just received a very inspiring email from an amazing mom and my best friend Jenny. She has been following her new favorite blog and shared a post that she read from it. I was in tears as I read it because I felt really guilty. We bought our Christmas tree late Saturday night and Hanna has been very excited to decorate it. So Saturday was too late to do anything with it. Then Sunday we had church and then company for dinner it just got too late again. Monday rolled around she went to a friends house and then again we had company from out of town stay the night and it still did not get done. She has been begging me to help decorate the tree and I have been putting it and her off because I have been too busy. I have been too busy Christmas shopping, cleaning, cooking, work, etc., etc. Thank you so much Jenny for this because I have woken up and realized that I am putting off precious memories. Christmas is about family,giving love and building memories. I will never forget this and tomorrow will change my priorities. Here is the post:

Young@Heart
By Pam Young

I was at Michael's (the craft store) in the late afternoon when I heard a conversation in the next isle between a mother and her six-year-old child.

"Oh, Mama, look at this!"

"Uh huh."

"I love this!!"

"Uh huh."

"I have one don't I!!!"

"Uh huh."

"You made it for me didn't you Mama!!!!"

"Uh huh."

As I listened to the excitement and love for her mother in the child's voice and the drone of her mother's responses, tears welled up in my eyes. I thought about how many times I'd done the same thing with my children when they were young. After all, I had a centerpiece to make, a decoration for the coffee table to think about, colors to consider, people to impress and not enough time! At that moment in Michael's I would have given anything to go back to just one time in the isle of a store, hear my child's voice and not miss what was really happening. Love, joy adoration. The stuff of Christmas!

My kids are grown now and I'll never again hear their little bell voices exclaiming their joy over something. That time is gone forever.

I had to get to the next isle and see the child! With tears streaming down my cheeks, I peeked around the corner and looked at the small girl's happy little face. She had a dress on and her hair was dark brown in shoulder-length curls. She was holding a Christmas stocking with a Santa Claus on it. She looked up and smiled at me. Then I looked at her mother. She was tired; I could see it in her eyes. But when she looked into mine she smiled seeing my love for her child and the moment.

I told her what had gone through my mind listening to their conversation. Her tears started to collect and she said, "Now you're making me cry." She dabbed her eye with the back of her wrist, "Thank you, I needed to hear this. I get so busy and it's easy to neglect her natural enthusiasm." I told the mother it was obvious that the child had not been neglected, because she was such a happy little girl, and that I understood how easy it was to get wrapped up in our own thoughts and miss these holy moments.

I left Michael's knowing I wanted to write about this. Your children adore you and they are like little joy dispensers, especially during this time of year. Since it is also an especially busy time for you, it can be so easy to miss those gifts of love and joy your children are eager to give to you. They are gifts that can't be wrapped up with festive paper or charged on American Express. Stay awake! This is a holy time.

Merry Christmas!
Pam

Parenthood

I was on the computer catching up on some of my favorite blogs and I had to share this quote from the Steve Martin movie Parenthood, posted from Little Miss Momma. (I have not watch this movie since I have become a parent so I am putting it on our Netflix que.) This is from the crazy old Grandma:

"You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster.

Up, down, up, down.

Oh, what a ride!

I always wanted to go again.

You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together!

Some didn't like it.

They went on the merry-go-round.

That just goes around.

Nothing.

I like the roller coaster.

You get more out of it."

-Grandma from PARENTHOOD (The Movie)

Life is like a theme park ride.

Will you chose the roller coaster

or the merry-go-round?

Ava's Birthday Cake

My little Ava turns 3 today! Her favorite princess is Snow White and so I really wanted to make a princess cake. I was going to buy a barbie pan at Michael's but then thought that my giant cupcake pan might work. I just used the top of the giant cupcake pan and then broke the legs off of one of the many Barbies we had and stuck it on top after it was done baking. We iced the cake with a cake frosting tool and then Hanna sprinkled red sprinkles all around it. She loved it! Happy Birthday Ava!

Almost Thanksgiving!!!!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! The first picture is of the girls wearing paper Thanksgiving costumes. Hanna is missing her Indian headband. I cannot take credit for this though. Ava brought them home from pre-school and they were so cute I had to share! I found a website that gives instructions on how to make these costumes. Lastly every year for the past 12 years I have been making pumpkin rolls for family and friends. I have been told they are pretty tasty so I keep making them and every year it seems like I make more and more but I have gotten a pretty good system down so it is not too bad. Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Batter:

3 eggs

1 c. sugar

2/3 c. pumpkin

1 tsp. lemon juice

2/3 c. flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp ginger

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:

1 c. powdered sugar

6 oz cream cheese softened

4 tbsp butter

½ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread parchment paper over a cookie sheet to fit the length of the cookie sheet. Beat eggs, sugar pumpkin and lemon juice until creamy. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and then add to pumpkin mixture. Pour mixture over parchment paper and spread until even leaving an inch on each side. Sprinkle nuts over mixture. Bake for 15 min. Coat a clean dish towel with powdered sugar enough for the roll to fit over. Once the pumpkin roll is done baking flip upside down onto the sugar-coated dishtowel. Carefully tear the wax paper off the pumpkin roll. Roll the towel with the pumpkin roll in it be careful not to roll it too tight. Chill in refrigerator until cool. To make filling mix all ingredients until creamy. Once pumpkin roll is chilled spread cream cheese filling over the entire surface. Spread evenly and then roll back up to refrigerate.

I first wrap in foil and then wrap them in some muslin fabric and found these free cute little tags here. It is kinda hard to read but it says, "From The Kitchen Of" and then at the top it says "Please pass the stretchy pants." Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!!

Little Hands, Big Helpers!!

Fall is here!! I wish the trees would stay red and yellow longer than a few weeks but at least for kids they have the joy of playing in the fallen leaves. We had a huge pile in our front yard that the girls got to play with. To get your kids to help with those leaves piles you can make some scoopers for their little hands. I went to the Dollar Store and bought some gloves and super glued them to pie pans. Note do not use the disposable ones showed, they were too flimsy. Next time I am going to buy actual pie tins, which they have at the Dollar Store as well. The girls were able to pick up big piles and help with the yard work.

A New Playhouse

The girls love to play in tents and we have a few princess tents. To be honest I dread getting them out. They are always in the middle of the living room and they are difficult to fit back into the bags they came in. My husband had to Youtube a video just to figure out how to fold it back into the bag! So I came across this idea in a magazine and I instantly fell in love with it. I made a playhouse tent that fits over our dining room table so that way it is easy to put up and a way and does not take up any space. I added felt flower pots and a felt welcome sign. I still want to add more like a fence and grass around it. Maybe some felt furniture on the inside. If you have boys that are not into playing house you could make a hospital, animal clinic or a fire station. My table is 4 1/2 x 4x1/2 and it took about 9 yds of muslin fabric, I don't think I paid more than $4 with a coupon at Joann's. I measured it out on my table and then sewed the edges together so it would have a snug fit and not fall off. I used scrap pieces of felt that I had so this was a really low cost project and the girls loved it!