Homemade Granola Bars

4 cups oats
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup wheat germ or oat bran

Then add another 3 cups of "stuff"-- raisins or other dried fruits, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chocolate or carob chips, nuts, dry milk, the good stuff

Combine all the dry stuff and set it aside.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter. Add 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup brown rice syrup, 1/2 cup brown sugar. Bring it almost to a boil and add 1/2 cup peanut butter. Stir until melted. Add 2 tsp vanilla.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix well. Press into a greased 11 x 13 pan. Refrigerate and then cut into bars.

Happy Birthday, Dear Michael!

Michael is having his "real" cake at his party on Sunday, but we didn't want to let the day pass without cake, so we went the Pepperidge Farm route.

Daniel says, "Mmmmmmm..... CAKE!"

I love Katie Grace's handmade football-themed gift bag.
And here is Michael looking rather manic in his awesome Eagles jersey sent to him from his Mimi and PeePaw.
Michael then...






And now!

One Daniel drumming...
And Daniel's favorite sport-- climbing on the table and looking out the window at the backyard. I can't keep the window clean from little handprints, as he likes to bang on it and yell "Foo-ball! Foo-ball! MINE!!!! KATIEEEEEEE!"


A chalkboard drawing from Katie Grace's Fables Main Lesson block. There's a reason I was never an art major.
And for Candlemas, we made a shadowbox using Seton's Art for Young Catholics, which has some great activities for the liturgical year.

Long time, no blog

Sigh. I don't know what's been happening. I've had a really hard time getting my act together since Christmas (yeah, I said Christmas. I know it's crazy!)

So, what's been happening? A lot! Homeschool is going well. Katie Grace had a math unit in January (addition and subtraction with regrouping and borrowing) and is now doing an Aesop's Fables unit. Michael had a fraction unit in January, and boy was it a doozy! Right now he's enjoying a bookmaking unit. Not the gambling kind, but the kind where he wrote a story and we're going to bind it into a book. Nicholas is just plugging along doing wintery things. Daniel is just along for the ride.

Speaking of Daniel, he's had a language explosion. I love his little rudimentary attempts at sentences. "I help!" "I do!" "I up!" And, when playing ball with Michael, "Pass me!" "Catch me!" Notice he is the star in all his conversation, which is as it should be.

Yesterday Michael turned 10. Having a child in the double digits is something beyond my understanding. I just never believed it could happen, sort of like the night before I went to college when I was convinced Jesus was coming back because I couldn't believe I was leaving home. For his birthday he got a silly nerf basketball set he wanted and an MP3 player. I see strict limits on the MP3 player coming soon, because he won't put it down. He's having a skating party on Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunatly, an early birthday present has been an increase in bad attitude. I think he just has a bad case of the tweens, and we'll all adjust.

Nicholas is still pinging around the world like a hyperactive hummingbird. We think there's a pretty good chance he has ADD, and maybe a sensory processing disorder. I'm doing some research before we have him tested.

And Katie Grace is just lovely. She has her moments, but for the most part she is a little pocket of calm in this house of crazy. She sold 86 boxes of cookies for Brownies, and is currently occupied with learning her recital dance for May.

Chip has had an unusual amount of funerals since Christmas, which is sad. Things are chaotic and busy at church. They bought a building, are hosting a German seminarian, and busily fundraising for the trip to New Orleans this summer-- Jesus, Justice, and Jazz. Daniel and I are going along and I am so excited!

I joined a gym and Weight Watchers right after Christmas and have lost 16 pounds. I'm currently trying out the Couch to 5K program and am shocked to find that I can actually run on the treadmill! I also got a new laptop and have plans for linking my Seasons of Joy site and blog. I'll probably be renaming the blog "Our Seasons of Joy," which is actually (IMO) a great reflection of the life we try to live. I have lots of writing ideas as well, and just need to find the time to move them from my head to my laptop.

So, I'm going to unload the camera and post some way past due entries, and start all over again. Hope you've all had a great beginning of the year as well.

Weekend Round-Up!

Did I mention I got a laptop? *pauses to do the happy dance*

All my graphics, logos, clip art, etc, is still on my old desktop.

Ah well, we'll muddle through.

Here are just a few things I saw in the blogosphere this week that I'd like to check out and try for myself.

Mommy Making Money has some good news-- free breakfast at Denny's this Tuesday!

Tipnut has some great advice on how to freeze bread dough.

Safely Gathered In has some great advice for using your stockpile-- homemade pizza!

I'd really like to try this smashed chickpea salad from Smitten Kitten.