From my notebook...

The WHY Box

This one is my own idea.

Decorate a shoe box with a slit in the lid or a tissue box together. Keep slips of paper or index cards nearby, and encourage your children to write down questions they have or things they wonder. When you have some spare moments, pull a question and find out the answer together.

From my notebook...

Baker's Dough

2 cups of flour
1 cup salt
3/4 cup water

Mix all the ingredients together, adding additional water if necessary. (If you want colored dough, add the coloring to the water)

Knead until the mixture forms a smooth dough.

Have fun!

Announcement of a New Arrival

Tomie dePaola has a brand new blog!

Peace

I am sitting here drinking a fresh brewed iced tea (vanilla rooibos, from the MDC tea swap) and a candle is burning. I just ate 3 Starbucks TAZO tea and chocolate tasting squares and am listening to Jennifer Knapp.

The house is mostly picked up (I do have four children after all, and none of them have Fisher Price stamped on their tushies). A lamb stew is simmering in the crock pot, two made-from-scratch birthday cakes are cooling on the counter, and the bread dough is rising. Even the dishes are washed!

The baby is asleep and the older three are outside playing--without arguing!--football.

And I'm just enjoying the peace. I'm not sure why I've been blessed with such a beautiful day. It certainly wasn't because of anything I've done. But right now I'm feeling so much grace and peace that I'm not going to do another thing--not the laundry that needs folded or the bathroom that needs cleaned or the floors that need washed or the history experiment that needs done or the Latin that needs taught--nothing, until I enjoy a few more moments of this beautiful quiet.

From My Notebook...

How cute are these little cork trolls from Family Fun?

The Ajanta Caves in India

Today we went on an internet field trip to India.

The Ajanta Caves, carved out of rock and mountain by Indian monks back in the Dark Ages, are absolutely incredible.


The children were amazed by the sculptures and the frescoes.


Here is a wonderful 3D "map" of the caves.

And a lesson plan on painting frescoes. And an art lesson!

Finally, we're going to paint pictures tomorrow and tape them at the top of the stairs where little hands can touch them often. Then we'll see what happens to the "frescoes" over days, weeks, maybe even months. This will help them better understand how public art needs to be protected from the elements and the public.

Whoo hoo!!! Vice Presidential debate tomorrow!!!!

I've been really excited about the VP debate on Thursday night. I couldn't quite figure out why. Then it hit me-- my brain has totally melded Sarah Palin and Tina Fey, leading me to have expectations of snark and hilarity that probably won't come true.

Ah well. Maybe there will be some unintentional funniness. A girl can dream.

I looked in my freezer and what did I see...

I inventoried my deep freeze the other day and this is what I found. Got any meal ideas for me?

13 loaves of whole wheat bread (we can get it for 89 cents a loaf at the Amish surplus outlet 45 minutes away, so we stock up every once in a while)

4 packs of whole wheat tortillas

3 packs of hot dog rolls

3 packs of rolls

8 "Flatouts" wraps (also from the Amish store)

5 rolls of Pillsbury cookie dough

9 bags of whole wheat flour

9 bags of unbleached white flour

3 bags of oat flour

1 bag of brown rice flour

2 bags of barley flour

1 bag of millet flour

1 bag of white rice flour

2 boxes of tapioca

19 quarts of homemade tomato sauce

4 quarts of strawberries

5 quarts of blueberries

1 bag of squished up ripe banana

2 bags of broccoli

1 bag of asparagus

2 bags of peas

2 bags of corn

1 bag of edamame

1 bag of sliced onions

1 bag of spinach

1 bag of green beans

4 pounds of ground beef

10 packs of sausage

1 whole chicken

2 packs of boneless pork

4 packages of bacon

1 bratwurst

1 pack of stew meat

1 bag of whiting fillets

a giant bag of chicken wings

1 bag of cooked chicken

2 packs of drumsticks

2 packs of chicken thighs

1 pack of lamb shanks

1 pack of wonton wrappers

1 half-gallon of organic chocolate milk I got on sale

1 pack of hot dogs

1 package of pepperoni

2 containers of Ben and Jerry's (Shhhh!)

8 bags of breastmilk

6 boxes of Neufachtal cheese

4 bags of tortellini

1 meal's worth of lentil stew

3 quarts of beef broth

5 quarts of chicken broth

Got magazines?

If you were thinking of purchasing a magazine subscription, would you please consider doing it through this link? Katie Grace is trying to earn some patches.

From my notebook...

Instant Oaties

These yummy no-bake cookies are from Parents Magazine (January 2000)

3/4 Cup oatmeal
3/4 Cup dry milk powder
3/4 Cup creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 Cup wheat germ (honey crunch if you'd like)
And, if you really want to do it up, raspberry gumdrop candies

1. Spread oatmeal on a large plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until lightly toasted. Stir twice during cooking time. You can also toast them in the oven-- watch carefully!

2. In a medium bowl, mix dry milk powder and peanut butter until blended. Stir in oats and honey.

3. Form mixture into walnut-sized balls. Sprinkle with/roll in wheat germ.

4. Press candies into centers, slightly flattening. Refrigerate at least one hour or until firm.