Beach Bash Birthday

A few weeks ago my 2nd born daughter turned 5. It always seems that 5 is a significant age. I guess it's because 5 is the age where most children leave home to embark on the journey of "school". Since we homeschool this is not the case for us, but I still find that turning 5 makes a big difference in a child or at least to mom :).

Sewing lessons

Several years ago, I began showing my oldest daughter how to sew. I am by no means a

seamstress or anything near that, but I really enjoy making things. I especially enjoy making

dresses for my daughters.

I tend to take sewing in spurts though. I'll sew for a while and then put it down for a while. I

haven't sewed much lately. Seems school and sports have taken a great deal of our time.

Now that we've completed our school year, I'm planning to set a time each week to work on some

sewing projects.

Last week, I asked her (9 year old daughter) to make a list of 5 things she'd like to make or

complete projects that we've already started. (Yes, we have began things and never finished

them.)

She was very eager to look at her patterns and sewing book she received for Christmas

and make her list.

Today we began working on a doll shirt that we started a few months ago using this pattern:

We worked on sewing the facing to the shirt front and back. I think it looks pretty cute myself.

And she loves it and that makes it worth all the time in the world!

A Giveaway

I am so excited about a new giveaway I found this morning!!! Over at http://raisinghomemakers.com/ they are giving away http://www.veritaspress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=000800. I am so excited about this because it is the curriculum that I wanted to use for my upcoming kindergartener and her younger sister. It is valued at over $200. Go check it out!!!

Rain, Rain and More Rain

100 Days of School

We were a little late with this since it's been well past 100 days for us, but here goes anyway! I wanted to try doing this with my children (mainly my 4 year old). Each day she put a sticker on the chart to count to 100. All of my children looked forward to this every school day. Today we had our little celebration. We ate a 100 Grand candy bar. I'd never tried one before, but I might buy them again. It was delicious! We put together a 100 piece puzzle of a hundred dollar bill. We, also, counted 100 beans and shaped it into the number 100, made a paper chain of 100 strips of construction paper, exercised 100 times and several other things. It was fun and I think they enjoyed it. That makes all the difference. If they learned and it was fun then it was worth it!

Making a bow holder

I enjoy finding ways to make gifts that are simple, practical and inexpensive.

I had bought a bow holder from a craft fair a few years ago. It was a simple wooden crown shape painted white and pink with a long wide ribbon glued underneath to hold hair bows.

What a neat idea! A few months ago, I was invited to a baby shower and thought I'd try my hand at making one myself using a wooden letter.

I painted it light green to match the baby's room. Then I added some little flicks of pink paint on the edge of the letter to give it a little more "character".

I also, made some bows for the baby to add to the gift. I thought it turned out so cute that I might do this next time I go to a baby shower for a girl. I don't have any ideas for a boy shower, but maybe I'll find something.

Since my girls have so many bows, I made one for them using colors to match their room. I think it turned out really cute. But the best part is that it is simple, practical, and inexpensive!!

Egyptian Meal

We are studying Creation to the Greeks with My Father's World. http://www.mfwbooks.com/

We are enjoying our study through Genesis. Today we finished up the story of Joseph and have been studying Egyptian culture and life. We had a meal of fish, cheese, pita bread, nuts, fruit and vegetables dipped in plain yogurt.

I borrowed these platters from my mom. I thought it looked nice served on them. :) I'm not usually too concerned about how things look when we're about to eat it, but I tried to make a nice presentation. Plus, lately I am all about some paper plates, which, by the way, we ate our Egyptian meal on, hee, hee. Kind of funny after being served on a silver platter. Oh well!

My eight year old daughter said this was the best meal she ever ate. Not sure if that's a compliment or not considering she eats almost anything.

By the way, the story of Joseph is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I get teary eyed every time I read Genesis 50:20.