Homeschool Valentine Party - Better Late Than Never :)

We had a very fun party yesterday to celebrate Valentine's Day.  Yes...it was late but I had sick kiddos the day it was originally planned.  So, we just saved our valentine's and our candy hearts and celebrated together yesterday.  My kids always have so much fun when their friends and their cousins come over.  They talk about it for DAYS in advance.  This time was no different :)  So...I thought I would post some pictures from the party on my blog since I am taking a hiatus from FB.  Which....btw....has been much easier this time around than either of the times in the past that I've done it.  (This is year #3 for me to give up FB for Lent).  Anyway....here are some cute kiddos celebrating with chocolate, muffins and lemonade!! 

I just LOVE vintage Valentine's....

I need to learn how to take photos in my dining room....with that big window behind me.  The lighting on these pics is NOT GOOD.  But...you get the idea....

Here is our Valentine table....

Goodies for the kiddos....they are in my FAVORITE white enamelware bucket that I found at an antique shop on one of my beloved "Girls Getaways" last year.  I think I put something in this bucket every time I have a party.  Usually I put bottled water in there.  

Field Trip to the Braums Dairy Farm

Today we went on a field trip with a homeschool group to the Braums Dairy Farm.  Braums stores are located in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri.  We already LOVED Braums before our trip and now we REALLY LOVE it!  My goal is to buy all my dairy products from Braums from now on.  They said that from the time the milk comes from the cow it takes only 24-36 hours to get into the local stores.  They don't use antibiotics in their cows and they grow all of their own grains for their cows.  Anyway...we had a blast!  I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside the buildings but I was able to at the end when we enjoyed our ice cream bars!

A view of one section of the farm from the road....

The kids LOVED riding in the "cow bus".  It even had mooing sound effects :)

The cousins!

These girls are anxiously awaiting the tour!  And giggling a lot too ;)

Time for ice cream bars!

Here is a picture inside the bakery building.  We watched them making waffle cones and hamburger buns.  That building smelled wonderful!  They let us take pictures in front of the cinnamon roll mural!  :)  All the kids were drooling....

Enjoying a yummy ice cream bar....

Our First Snow of the Winter

Well...it is about 2 months too late but we finally have our FIRST SNOW of the Winter! My kids and I have been wanting it to snow for several months now. We have for some reason had an unseasonably warm winter so far, though. So...when they started forecasting snow last week I started getting all giddy!!

We spent the day indoors yesterday because it was just so cold and windy.  Seems that anytime I know we are going to get snow I start feeling the need to clean my house!  I get all the laundry done, I like to bake and just make sure everything is cleaned up.  I guess it's because I know we'll be inside and that there is always a slim possibility we might lose power.  I want to make sure our clothes are all clean before anything like that might happen.  Well...yesterday was no different!  I cleaned.  I baked muffins.  I did the laundry.  I burned some of my favorite simmering spices.  I watched the weather and checked the weatherman's FB status all day watching.  Waiting.

I have to say that we did not get nearly as much snow as I had hoped for.  And it's almost all melted.  I did have a lot of fun anticipating it.  My kids LOVED waking up this morning to all of the snow.  We bundled up, went outside, froze our toes and drank hot chocolate!  Oh, and I'm listening to Bing Crosby today.  Singing Christmas songs.  Yes.  I know that Valentine's Day is tomorrow.  And that's okay.  It makes me happy ;)  Hope you enjoyed your snow!!

Our lovely wintery view...

They were all gone by the time the snow got here!

Makes my house smell cozy!

My tools for my cleaning spree!

Two of my snow angels....

This was Vi's first snow!! Since she is still too small to stay out for very long, I got a bucket full of snow and brought it inside for her.  This is one of the MANY great ideas I learned from Aunt Ruthie at her blog, The Sugarpie Farmhouse.  Read about her snow day here.

Wisdom From the Almanac

I recently purchased a copy of a Garden and Farm Almanac 2012.  I have never read an almanac of any sort and found this to be very interesting!  It talks about our calendar, weather predictions, it explains leap year and it has many tips for the handyman, housewife, recipes, gardening, even taking a kid fishing!  Well...I read through a few of the "Hints for a Housewife" and thought I would share a few of my favorites!

* Locate a plug where you plan to STOP vacuuming, not where you start.  Now just work backwards toward the plug and the cord will always be behind you.

* Place a piece of white chalk in your jewelry box to absorb moisture and help prevent tarnishing.

* Try cleaning the bathroom after you have showered.  The steam will loosen dirt and make cleaning the walls and fixtures much easier.

* Keep your linen closet smelling fresh by soaking a few cotton balls in your favorite scent.  When dry, place in corners and on shelves.

* Kool-aid mixed with plain (or vanilla) yogurt is a great finger paint for your kids.  They will love it and it won't hurt them if they eat it!

* The next time you are buying bread in the grocery store, no need to "squeeze" the loaves to determine the freshest loaf.  Simple check the tie used to close the bag.   Bread is delivered fresh to the store five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday).  Each day has a different color twist tie.  They are:
Monday = Blue
Tuesday = Green
(No Deliveries on Wed.)
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow
So if today were Thursday, you would want a loaf with a red twist tie and not one with a white tie.  That bread was delivered last Friday (and is almost a week old!)

* Put broken eggshells into a watering can, fill with water, and leave overnight.  This will extract the nutrients making an excellent and cheap plant food.

There were SO MANY MORE neat ideas and tips in this little booklet!  Definitely worth the $1 I paid for it!

Wall Art Made From Vintage Childrens Books

If you know me personally or you've seen my pin boards you know that I love all sorts of vintage things!  I especially love vintage children's books.  I love the art inside.  I came across this book at an estate sale over the summer and bought it.  I thought I would be able to find some use for it in the babies room. It has been sitting on a shelf for months now.  What happens with me is that I have all of these good ideas and then I get to Hobby Lobby and don't know what to buy.  Or I will have too many of my ideas running through my head.  I have bought things only to bring them home and set them on a shelf where they sit.  In the bag.  For months. And I've gotten to the point where I get mad at myself for doing this.  So, I've decided to NOT buy things until I have a VERY specific project in mind.  So, I was so happy with myself when I actually completed this one!  I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 3 frames.  Yes, they were half price.  Came home.  And put this together.  It was hard deciding on WHICH three pages from the book I wanted to use.  These are for a shared room.  A boy and a girl.  So, I had to have something for both.  Anyway...all I did was measure the pictures, cut them out and put them in the frames.  As easy as that.  I love how it turned out.  I even took pictures of the pages so I could just have them as extra graphics for future blog posts or whatever.  They were SO cute!!  

I thought this carefree barefoot little girl was so cute and I love her little house behind her!

I really liked this momma and her little girl on their old snowy porch with that cute little red barn behind them!

And this little girl is just precious!

Anyway...here is the finished product.  I think they are perfect in their room.  Now I just need to figure out how to decorate the rest of the room!