Sweater repurpose

I've been wanting to try to fix sweaters that have little snags in them for some time now. I found the perfect project in helping my mother-in-law who had a couple that needed mending. So with a little help from the internet, I figured out how to make ribbon and felt flowers. I also used some clear glass beads to add some texture. They both turned out so cute and 

I even fixed one of mine while I was at it. Fun, Fun- helping save some nice sweaters. 

Ice storm

The ice sure made everything so sparkly. Lola had a ball picking the tiny icicles off the trees. She filled a little bucket with them and ate them:) She is really learning what winter feels like:)

Girls day out

Lola and mom spent the night with Granny on Tuesday and then drove together to see Great Granny in the country. It was a chilly winter day but we had a lovely girls day out. We brought  great Granny some Guacamole, she enjoyed snacking on it while we played with her puzzle. Then we went to town to have Granny's hair trimmed and to run some errands. When we returned home Granny rolled up Great Granny's hair in some curlers. A good way to cure some winter time blues.

Bella and Duchess

Bella Bunny went with us to dance class today and when we came home Duchess needed some love too. Lola sure seems so at home in a little pink tutu and pink tights. She takes her lessons very serious and talks about her class so fondly. She's the oldest because it's during regular school hours so the other girls are all 3 and 4. But she doesn't notice really. It's cute to see  her bend down to talk to the other little ballerinas. 

Back in her groove

 

Back in her groove! We have missed the gym since our moves across the US. We found a simple little gym for us to get back in the routine. It's fun watching how she enjoys it. 

Sunday

Sunday's are so nice to have a day where we are together at church. The whole day is really spent thinking about God. We have found a very sweet church that has what seems like more kids than grownups:) In Lola's worship time they have singing and games and make crafts. She likes going so much. Today they had a lesson on Noah and made some rainbow streamers. After church we relax and play games or read and then in the afternoon we head back to church for the kids choir practice. She learns the songs and sings them all week. It is delightful to hear her sing about Jesus.

Fun time @ Car show

Lola liked playing 'find a color' on the hot rods at the car show today. She loved the pink corvette:) How do they get the cars so shiny?

Bathroom experiment

So sorry, you have to witness our dirty shower...., but it's all in the name of science and living greener:) We are trying to switch to more natural cleaners. We ventured out to find a new product today and picked out something to try. It's very difficult for me to leave behind my beloved 'bleach' products. I have only ever trusted there sterile smell. But we have been researching the negative effects they have on the environment and our bodies. Our little Doll has been plagued with one skin problem after another. So with reading on how we should switch from using antibacterial hand soap in the bathrooms to complete purging of all bleach products we are experimenting with how these changes will affect her skin. 

Back to the bathroom science project.... It was time to clean the shower and I tried these new products from Whole Foods and let me say they were excellent! With the efficiency and the clean smell I am very satisfied. I also picked up the kitchen countertop version from the same company and it worked great too. 

Mom caves, they do exist!

In our new little love nest we have a small room that is available for sleepovers with the very beloved pull out sofa. And we have, with much love to Ikea, created a mommy & lola cave. It is our office, craft supply area, library, stamping space, crochet/knitting nook, photo albums location, board game holder, printing booth, sewing quarters, and cozy snuggle reading couch. Oh it's really a very enjoyable room to have, especially since it's all unpacked:)

Snow and swim suits

What is it with the weather and this girls wardrobe? It started snowing this afternoon and this is what she put on.... Lola is so funny. She is also very creative. This is what she made me out of those Styrofoam art things, not just flowers ( the usual) but flowers and a vase. She is so cool.

Great granny

A day in the country with Great Granny. First, we sewed up some little doll pillows. Then had a very lovely lunch.After lunch we played a few hands of Uno and Granny won the first round. We had some cake and tea in the afternoon. Lola had to, of course, go check out the garden. She plucked a couple of turnips too.

moving out to a tree

Well, not really a tree, but that's what her plan was. She is so funny. She creates such a vivid story around her plan too. She packed some of her favorite toys to take along to the 'tree' which is really mom and dad's bedroom. She set everything up around the room. We're glad she gets to have so many adventures.

Happy Birthday

We had a nice day of hanging out today. Lola and I played candy land and went to the mall for lunch. Virgil cooked a very lovely dinner and Lola helped decorate my cake. Everything was so nice.

Epiphany card take down

When my Birthday comes, I usually like to take down our Christmas card collage. It is such a warm place in our home during Christmas, where we can remember our friends and family, a little solemn now until it's filled with Lola's art:) My gift to myself this year are those two buckets of grain. We haven't had room to store grain recently, but now that we do I look forward to frequent baking with fresh flour. Here's some new year ideas for those looking for ways to be healthier in 2012.

The 30 list

Tomorrow is my birthday. Last year I turned 30. I decided to create a list of 30 new things...It turned out to be pretty easy to find 30 new things to experience, see, and do. Some people were cheering me on and here's the list not really in an order:)
1. cake decorating class~ inspired by my girlfriend Gloria
2. Flower  icing class
3. Read a book on spiritual awareness The Power of Now- a gift from my neighbor Martha- what great timing for a new decade
4. Tried a new chocolate cake recipe~Martha Stewart's baking handbook
5.Volnteer for handicapped children at our church~ if your church is looking for a program look into Joni and friends
6. Fondant Icing class~ Michaels was having a special on their cake decorating series:)
7.Tried new Ginger bread cake recipe~ so yummy
8. Volunteered to feed the homeless~ not really my gift however my husband is great at it:)
9.DROVE from West coast to East coast~ with a 4 year old and a lizard
10. Saw Valley Forge, Saw Liberty Bell
11. Volunteer to help rebuild houses in San Jose
12. Took a train ride from Philly to DC
13. Enrolled in Horse Riding Lessons~Via Pony camp for Lola, decided horses are definitely missing from my life and have added owning a horse and pony to our 5 year plan
14. Donated my hair to Lock of Love~ 4 years after a bad hair cut finally decided to give it a trim:)
15. Crocheted a pair of socks
16. Sewed old fashioned bonnets~ With my husbands 93 year Granny:) Good times
17. Adopted a cat~ not just any cat, a very wild street cat from Philly~ That is slowly learning not to eat paper and plastic or crickets from the lizard:)
18.Volunteered for the pet adoption association
19. Saw Ben Franklins house/ grave
20. Saw Betsy Ross house
21. Fed a sting ray
22. Made soap
23.Visited the Philidelphia art Museum~ Rocky Statue included free:)
24. Explored the Cambridge Aquarium
25. Went to the National Dog Show
26. Petted a Penguin~ actually extremely cool
27. Made an Onion dip from scotch
28. Baked some Toffee Bars
29. Visited Atlantic City
30. lived in 3 states in one year

There really could be 30 more things... like started Kindergarten homeschooling with my daughter, took the Doll ice skating and she could do it a little, baked donuts (& was so hoping they would be mouthwatering, but alas they are what they sound like - just cake donuts:(0) And saw many new places  on our journey to the east coast. We sure had a full year. Life is a great gift and any day spent with my family is truly a blessing, friends are always a bonus:)

New Blog:)

In an effort to create more documentation on our home learning adventure we'll be  moving 'school' stuff over to the new blog. Wish us luck:)

new blog:
http://prewitthomeschool.blogspot.com/

Snowflake swap

Sorry about the fuzzy photo... 

Todays spelling fun was snowflake swap.

I wrote different words on the end of this snowflake and she had to swap one of the letters to create a new word. It's interesting how many words end with t... She found the bus one quite funny. We also did several centers today-playdough, lincoln logs, ponies, DEAR time.

Playing with our food

Do you ever play with your food? 

Here's this mornings grapefruit flower.

Snow continued

We did a lot of number activities today. We practiced greater than concept and telling time. We played a bird migration game where you roll the clock dice to see what time the bird would leave. The cat really enjoyed this game. She would grab the bird by the neck and take it over to her food area. It was kinda comical. Later we made a snowman, or should I say snow lady story- talking about beginning, middle, and end- like a snowman has top, middle, end. During our afternoon tea, we noticed the cat on the tea cup our neighbor had given us matches our Duchess. As  you can see, Duchess very much enjoys tea time....

Snow flake Sprinkling

As there is only a sprinkling of snowflakes in our back yard, we decided to make some indoor snowflakes today at homeschool. here's a great link for how to make your own indoor snowflakes:) We also couldn't resist a little winter walk around the back yard. Keeping an eye out for ice crystals, Lola found a tiny icicle on the end of the window sill that she just had to eat. We felt sorry for the birds too since the water was all froze in their bath.

Here's our snow week reading selection:
The cat in the hat comes back- dr Seuss
Snow- Roy McKie and Pd Eastman
Snow- Uri Shulevitz
The snowy Day- Ezra Jack Keats
Just a snowman - Mercer Mayer
Snow Crystals - WA Bentley & W J Humphreys
And for the fun of it Snow White-Walt Disney Golden book

Happy 2012!

On New Years day, we rushed around to get ready for church. While I was looking for Lola a dress to wear, there came a strange glow from her window. So I opened the blinds and there was a very beautiful rainbow. I called to Virgil and Lola to come see. It was such a cool way to be welcomed into a new year. So then we made it to our new church just in time. They had a combined service and we all sat together to worship the Lord on this First New Day of 2012. It was so peaceful. After church we cooked some lunch then headed over to Ikea. At Ikea we discovered that we loved their mattresses, compared to the ones we had shopped for so far. But, there's not much room in the car to take one home so we asked the guy how long it would take to have one delivered. He told us that you could rent their van and take it now. So with the other misc items we needed to pick up, we borrowed the IKEA van and took everything home, leaving our car there. We unpacked at the house then returned the IKEA van. Next, we ate at Red Robin and then ran into the movies (because by now it was freezing cold outside). The movie we enjoyed was We Bought a Zoo. My poor husband kept worrying the whole movie, Oh my goodness, now my family is going to need  me to buy a zoo! It was a great movie. ( And yes, I would love to have a zoo one day:) Maybe not african cats, but a little farm menagerie wouldn't be too bad, would it? So after the movie, we were walking to the car and it started to snow! It was so beautiful. How many people have experience such bizarre weather, with a  rainbow in the morning and snow at night? It was, as my granny said, a Miracle.

Duchess misses the boys

with the boys back in Colorado, our poor cat was depressed for a day. She kept looking for them all over the house. She even moped while she was being petted on mommy's lap. These creatures sure seem to have hearts too.

Happy new year!

The countdown started around noon at our house. Lola was so excited to be able to stay up until midnight. She, of course had the most energy of all of us. It was fun just hanging out on the couch playing uno and watching the ball drop. She is definitely a night owl. staying up until midnight was no problem for her:)