What’s Not Right With This Picture?
Posted by Cindy on December 16, 2008
Snow in December or cows in the yard??
A Birthday Party!
Posted by Cindy on December 15, 2008
Eli won’t officially be two until December 23rd. Since everyone was going to be in town for the big kid’s Christmas Program Sunday, we decided to celebrate his birthday a little early.
Eli with his Daddy and Great-Grandpa.
He didn’t quite understand what presents were all about at first, but let’s just say I think he’ll take to it pretty quickly when Christmas morning arrives this year!
I hesitate to even share this picture of his birthday cake-less table. Third children born in the month of December are sure to lose out, aren’t they? He wanted a truck and tractor theme. Since we’d already made tons of cookies and sweets, I decided to improvise on the whole cake thing and save myself a little time. Shameful, I know. I’d rather be called creative! 
Happy Birthday my sweet “ittle boy”!
Pretzel and Nut Bark Recipe
Posted by Cindy on
Here’s one of my favorite and super-easy Christmas sweets.
Pretzel and Nut Bark
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup thin pretzels broken into small chunks
2/4 cup salted nuts of any kind (I use mixed nuts)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips or almond bark
2 Tablespoons (more or less) of Christmas colored sprinkles (any style)
Line 13×9″ pan with foil so that the foil hangs over the edges. In a large bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate chips 1-2 minutes. (Stir the chips after one minute, microwave in 30 second increments until chips are melted.) Stir in pretzels and nuts. Spread in pan.
In a smaller bowl, microwave the white chocolate chips or almond bark for 1 minute or until melted. Place melted chocolate in a plastic ziptop baggie. Snip the corner and squeeze the chocolate over the bark in the pan. Lightly cover with sprinkles. Chill for about 1 hour (until firm).
Lift the bark out by the foil, then peel the foil away. Break the bark into pieces. Keep chilled until ready to eat.
Cream Cheese Cookies
Posted by Cindy on December 12, 2008
We’ve made oodles of cookies and sweets this year – many of them the old standby recipes like peanut butter fudge, chocolate chip cookies and magic cookie bars.
I thought I’d share one of my favorite indulgences this time of year that’s maybe not so ordinary, but very easy.
Cream Cheese Cookies
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
2 cups flour
Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Stir in vanilla, flour and nuts. Roll in a damp cloth (or waxed paper) and place in refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Slice thin (about 1/4″) and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or just until edges begin to brown.
For what it’s worth, these freeze well and taste just as good frozen as fresh! 
Math and Science – Bridges
Posted by Cindy on December 11, 2008
Our “math break” continues to bring lively and rich lessons! One of the projects from Hardhatting in a Geo-World
After completing the activity and filling in the chart provided, I had the kiddos show their findings with homemade graphs.
The book talked a little about why some bridges were stronger than others, but we wanted to know more. I found this very cool site linked from THINK’s blog.
We also decided to complete her Bridge Challenge.
Caleb’s first attempt (not so strong.)
Caleb’s second attempt (much stronger.)
Mahayla’s bridge.
Tomorrow – we’re off to do some Christmas problem solving! You can find some links here. Happy Christmas learning!
