Candy Cane Wreath

 I saw many different varieties of candy cane wreaths around pinterest...so I pulled my favorite parts of different wreaths together to make one all our own. 

First Kimberly painted an old cd with red acrylic paint....

 while the paint was wet, toss on the glitter...a lot of glitter.  After the paint and glitter dried I sprayed the whole cd with Spray Acrylic Sealer to keep all the glitter in one place.

 I used 18 candy canes for our wreath. 

I used the glue gun to make pairs of candy canes.  

 Testing out the look.

  Below you can see that I added green ribbon to each pair of candy canes. I also used the glue gun for this. After the ribbons were added, I placed the candy canes into the wreath shape and glued the tops and bottoms together.  It is still pretty floppy at this point.  

I then used a lot of glue around the circular center of the wreath and placed the glittery cd in place.

This made it much more stable.

I added a pretty bow in to the center of of the wreath and green ribbon for hanging.

We are all very happy with this years wreath. 

The Day of Preparation

 Today it was all hands on deck!!

Time to get ready for Thanksgiving dinner and Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Luke made the pumpkin bread.

 Laura's first apple pie.

 Gracie made the pumpkin pie. 

 A beautiful centerpiece from our neighbor. (I love this idea for the vase)

 Daddy and Kim used her BabyCakes machine to make cake balls.

 Kimmy made very cute pilgrim hats.....

 all by herself!

 Gracie with her pies and pretzel and M&M dots.

 Laura made us very yummy caramel corn.

We are almost ready for Thanksgiving.

For full disclosure...we told the kids to eat cereal for dinner tonight.

Mr. Gallon Man---Equivalent Liquid Measurements

 We have reached a point in our Saxon 3 Math where we needed to find equivalent measurements of liquids.  I had seen this fun visual somewhere out there on the world wide web so today we recreated it to remind us of these measurements. 

Mr. Gallon Man

 4 quarts equals one gallon

 2 pints equals one quart....and 8 pints equals one gallon

Finally, 2 cups equals one pint....or 16 cups equals one gallon.  

We have now hung Mr. Gallon Man on the learning wall to remind us of equivalent liquid measurements.  

Happy 19th Birthday, Laura!!!

 Only one more year as a teenager.

Where has the time gone?

Thick and Quick Toboggan Hat

 I made my first crocheted ear flap hat last night.

I used Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick yarn.  I just love this extra chunky yarn.

 Kimbery made the braids herself (I helped attach them to the hat.)

Daddy is the professional pom pom maker and once again he didn't disappoint us.

I found the pattern on the Lion Brand wedsite.  You so have go be a member to access this pattern, but it is free to sign up and download tons of patterns specific to the Lion Brand yarn.

I now have 5 orders for this hat.  We may end up with one of every Wool-Ease color.
You can find this and other toboggan hats at the Lion Brand website.

This is the winner...

 I think this leaf from our maple tree in the front yard is the biggest maple leaf I have ever found.

 It's a lot bigger than Luke's hand.

That's a big leaf!!

 

Leaves

by Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

 

 

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.

Craft Hope Project 25----We are Kenya

We Are Kenya is an organization who believes that one way to change a society is to change the future of it's youth. They are a nonprofit dedicated to feeding and educating sweet children in the slums of Soweto, Kenya. Soweto is the second largest slum in Kenya and home to We Are Kenya. Soweto is a large slum whose people daily struggle with sickness, crime, hunger, and hopelessness that results from severe poverty. In a slum where many children have one or no parent, the daily quest for food supersedes any hope for education.

 

They need handmade knitted/crochet hats, gloves, and scarves. Approximately 200 to be exact for kids ages 4-15. Winters get cold at night and we need to keep these sweet kids bundled up. Sewn hats and scarves are also welcome.

I made up some mittens with yarn I had on hand.  It is a small thing...but it can make a difference in a child's life.  If everyone does a little, a lot will be accomplished. 

The Project 25 mailing deadline is: November 15, 2014.  Please try to have all of your handmade items to them by this date.

We Are Kenya

10914 Hillcrest Drive

Laurel, MD 20723

Physics for Kids

We have been having fun learning about force and motion. Recently we spent an afternoon doing experiments. Kim and Luke love science, and couldn't wait to repeat these experiments when Dad got home. These experiments all came from the Young Scientist Club Kit #33.

I Think I'll Blow a Bubble

 "We're raking the leaves, right kids?"

 I saw another blogger post about giving her kids a few packs of gum with real sugar and then stepped back and watched what was to happen.

 Some of the kids are expert bubble blowers....

 Others, as seen in the background of this photo, are not.

 But he tried,

 and tried.

 Some folks with orthodontia tried to fool the photographer and blew up a balloon.

 He got it!!

 I didn't say he was an expert yet!

And the winner of the first annual bubble gum blowing contest is Kimberly!!

It's Raining Gumballs!
It's raining gumballs!
It's raining gumballs!
It's quite a wonderous treat.
They're falling from
the clouds above
and bouncing off the street.

It's raining gumballs!
It's raining gumballs!
A sticky, spectacular shower.
I try to catch them
in my mouth
for hour upon hour.

It's raining gumballs!
It's raining gumballs!
I'm not sure of the reason,
But I'm glad instead of
just the four,
we've now got gumball season!
(C) 1998 Arden Davidson(

Balloon in a Balloon

Physics...the screaming balloon

Thanks to the laws of inertia and some centripetal motion, the hex nut flips up on its edge and spins around the inside of the balloon. and you get a screaming balloon! The unique shape of the hex nut vibrates the walls of the balloon to produce a wonderfully annoying sound.
Thanks Steve Spangler Science

Happy Birthday Dan and Becky (and Kim and Luke's First Pinata)

We have entered the birthday blast weeks. 

We have 4 birthdays in 3 weeks.  Dan and Becky's birthdays are one day apart. 

Beautiful Becky celebrated her 26th birthday.

Dan is celebrating his 22nd birthday...He was born one day before Becky.  Becky was not so thrilled to receive Dan as her birthday present when she was 4 years old.  (She also received various hospital soaps and lotions)

Not many 22 and 26 year old get to have a piñata to help celebrate their birthday.

Gracie-13 next week-and the piñata zip tied to the broom handle.

But when we were out shopping yesterday for dinner supplies and balloons, poor Luke and Kim mentioned that they had never, ever, experienced hitting a piñata.  I thought about it and realized that this was true.  They had been denied a vital piece of childhood.

Mark-14

So, wonderful sister Amy purchased a piñata and the candy to fill it. 

Amy-20

These kids are crazy...they all got into smashing the piñata.

And if you notice, we are using the bottom section of Pat's crutch for a "whacking stick".

Dan-22

Dan, getting ready to be blind folded (a pillow case) by his father (who was a very good sport with the unexpected chaos)

Grown children had to kneel down when they whacked, especially since Dan can't even stand under the ceiling fan without hitting his head.

26 years old and having her turn at the piñata---Becky

Way to go, Becky!

Daddy giving Luke instructions.

Mark's cheating!

The final whack.  Poor Kim and Luke didn't know they were supposed to dive for the candy...they were surprised when we told them this fact mid-whacking. And if you notice, poor Kimmy didn't know she could remove her blindfold once the piñata broke. 

This was fun.

Exciting

Crazy

Chaotic

Nuts

Yes, I had a migraine the next morning, stayed in bed until 10 o'clock, and then knit for the rest of the day.  I may be getting too old for all the fun!