Running to Finish

Today I got to run my first 5k! It made me incredibly nervous- I hate doing things that I'm not good at and with all the health problems I've been having and Austin's work schedule I've only been running once or twice a week consistently.  My friends Stacey and Riann who are "real runners" and did the 15k were so encouraging and kind to me, though, and made me feel much better about the fact that I was running to finish and not running to be good :)

(If I keep running....can I look like them?)

We did the Hot Chocolate 5k/15k which was a little bit of a logistic nightmare- they didn't really think about their being only one entrance into National Harbor, so the traffic was insane, but we got to parking okay (eventually) and our being late helped since they started the race almost an hour late.

I didn't get to run at the pace I'd hoped to keep the whole time since the 5k bottlenecked through a tunnel almost immediately, but, again, I was running to run (insomuch as the crowd of 20,000 allowed) the entire 3 miles, which I did.

At the end of the race there was hot chocolate and chocolate fondue, and then I went to cheer on the 15k people while I waited for Riann and Stacey.  They did such a great job- I hope that in a few decades I can keep up with them!! They were also very sweet to be so kind to me when they ran 3 times as long and 10 times as fast.  I actually really enjoyed doing a race and I'm excited to do another!

Craft Tutorial: Advent Countdown

Quite possibly the easiest craft you'll ever do! You could easily alter this project to be a countdown to Hannukah (use blue and white peppermint patties!) or Easter (pink, yellow, and green wrapped candy), or even a child's birthday.  If you prefer not to use candy, a small toy or trinket would fit, too! You could also easily dress this craft up (Look at THESE!!), but we planned this craft for our CC friends to come over and do, so I wanted it to be easy enough for the kids to do fairly independently.

Here's what you'll need:

Ribbon (curling or fabric, either is fine), number printouts, scripture printouts (optional, but why not!), scissors, a one-hole punch, plastic wrap, mixed Christmas wrapped Hershey Kisses.  I like using my ironing board for this craft so that I can lay the plastic wrap out, but a long kitchen table would be fine, too!  If you have a stampin up circle cutter that can fit around your numbers, all the better!!

This process could not be any easier! Spread out your plastic wrap.  I've found that for 3-4 kids (so 3-4 kisses in each bundle) I need about 5.5 feet of plastic wrap.  If you need extra, it's easy to add by tying it into a bundle and it sticking to the other piece, so no worries if you're short.  For 2 kids I think 4.5 feet is enough.  At the top of your wrap, use several colors of ribbon to tie a bow, using one piece to tie a loop so you can hang your countdown up!

Next, bundle in one piece of candy per child per night, tying securely under each bundle with ribbon.  For an Advent countdown, you obviously need to have enough "bundles" to get from 1-25!

Next, cut out your numbers.  I got mine from HERE and I think they're so cute! (Plus it's a free download!) You could mount these on Christmas paper, or you can put them on top of folded scripture cards, or you can just use them alone.  Hole punch each card once so that you can thread it onto the ribbon between each section.  The number goes under the candy it goes with so that when you untie it to take the number off, you get the candy above it, and then next number and its candy stay securely tied!

I love how it looks for two kids because you can put the kisses in a diamond shape and they fit so nicely!! For more kids it's a little harder to bundle nicely, but it works out!!

Fun!  Some other versions that work, too, include printing numbered cards with quotes on them, or glueing your numbers onto folded scripture verses (we did these at a church I worked at):

After the jump, you can get versions of my devotional scripture readings to go along with the countdown, or a more "meditational" version I designed to be a little more "seeker friendly" with some quotes, carol verses, and a little less scripture.  I printed these using a 4.5 inch margin on the left so that they could be folded over into cards with the number on the front.

Happy Crafting! 

A Day in December

Homeschooling in December is amazing.  Yes, yes, it's the first day of December, but still.  I love that we can take advantage of the very small window of time where it's not dark and freezing.  I love that we can get our work done with plenty of time to enjoy the season and get projects and baking done.  I love that baking counts as reading comprehension and math....actually, I love that a lot :) 


Today was such fun.  We started our day off slowly, but got through our Primary Arts of Language work, math, reading, and some CC review by noon.  Logan's PAL handwriting has looped around to include uppercase letters, so I took the opportunity to match up Riley's work so that he can do cursive on the same schedule as Logan's printing.  It makes my life easier when I can get something to match up! 


We took a few minutes to get our rooms clean and put our schoolwork away, and then the kids helped me get a few snacks ready because we had friends coming over to play some games for the NWF.  The woman taping went to middle and high school with me and needed some kiddos to play, and I definitely have those.  My mom nearly had a heart attack about it because this person had been just right of center of some girl drama and foolishness that really hurt me "back in the day".  In fact, my dirty little secret is that after said drama (which involved both girls and church youth group, a lethal combo) I tried REALLY hard to be an atheist for two years.  


Don't worry- it didn't take.  


The self-loathing took, though.  I was good at that before it started.  However, as I told my mom, I'm not 13 anymore, and I grew up.  It makes my heart happy that I can be over things that, at the time, truly truly felt like the end of the world.  


I'm a grown up and stuff, people.


Anyhow, the kids had a great time, and it was truly great to see someone from the past.  So often, even when we see people on facebook, our ideas about people get frozen in the past and it's just not who people are anymore.  I really enjoy "meeting" people that I knew decades ago as totally different people.


The kids had fun playing games and being filmed (they're all talking about being movie stars now) and between "scenes" had a great time playing pretend with every toy in the house and, of course, Riley's birthday present from Uncle Kevin.

Her name's Caramelita (you can't see it- but she's caramel colored). She's the nicest bunny, ever, and if you let her out to hop with access to her cage, she won't even poop on the floor.  We're hoping that she and Bun Bun will bond, since our research indicates that female rabbits will form bonded pairs and live happily together, but Bun Bun keeps trying to....umm....do things that make us worry BunBun is not, in fact, a female.  It makes me worry.


After our friends left we had a very successful first night of our pantry challenge with baked potatoes stuffed with pulled chicken and sour cream, cole slaw, and broccoli.  Savannah helped make the chicken, which turned out really good!  We did 3 (VERY LARGE) chicken breasts with garlic powder, chopped onion, a pinch of cayenne, a bottle of honey bbq sauce, 1 cup of diet coke, 1/2 cup ketchup, 1T honey, and 1t cumin.  We probably could have just done the bbq sauce and water, but Savannah really loves to add stuff to the pot so we just kept adding and it turned out really good! All the boys went back for more, I cleaned my plate, and Savannah categorically refused everything on the plate because her arm was too tired to pick up the fork, which she's done every night for the last month.  


She eats breakfast like a champ, though!


While I was finishing dinner the boys make some Russian Tea Cakes with pecans instead of walnuts because that's what I had left over from Thanksgiving.  They did such a great job following the directions, and just needed help with "granulated" and "confectioners".  Rolling the balls into equal sizes was a little challenging for Logan, but he got it down in the end! We did one cookie each for our Advent treat and the rest were put into a tupperware to go in the freezer until we're ready to do cookie plates, which is the plan for the cookies we make tomorrow night, too.  I usually do a baking marathon over a weekend to get cookie plates done, but spreading them out over the month and using baking as a lesson is going to be so much better and less stressful!

Advent devotion tonight was about how God had a plan for salvation in creation.  We read from Genesis and talked about how even in the beginning God knew he would send Jesus to reconcile man to himself.  Savannah Lynn blew my mind with this little conversation:
"Momma, I knowed that!" 
Okay, Savannah, that's good.
"No, Momma, I knowed that! I knowed Jesus was from the beginning!" 
Good Savannah, let me finish reading.
"But Momma, In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and the word is Jesus, Momma"

Huh.  I guess two things.  One- wow, that CC memory work is really taking (she did the sign language, too!) and two- man do I love that Jesus came as a baby.  Is there anything more powerful than the faith of a child or the profound impact of such a tiny person telling us such great truth? 

How to Stock Your Pantry, The Kristina Version

I started typing a response to a friend on facebook and decided it was going to be too long and complicated for that format.  (Having re-read this before posting, please do not panic when you start reading this.  It should take you several months to a year to build a useable pantry and freezer, not one shopping trip....although if you have several hundred dollars laying around with nothing to do, you certainly COULD go on a bender at Wegmans, but please invite me because I think it'd be fun!)

The question was, basically, "say someone has never really developed pantry staples, how would they go about doing that"?

Here's my answer, although I'm sure there's a few ways to do it.

Step 1- Decide if you're going to shop with or without coupons.  Coupons can save you an insane amount of money, but they do require time and organization.  Then, decide what your stock-up price is on various items.  It's important to have standards.   Each week when you shop, make part of your grocery budget be for "stocking up" on an item that is on a good sale.  Keep in mind where you have storage available.  I have a regular fridge/freezer in my kitchen, LIMITED cabinet space, and a full size freezer in my laundry room.  That means I prefer to have freezer-friendly items! You might rather have shelf-stable. Some examples of stock up prices (without coupons, so it's fair for everyone):
Pasta Sauce, $1 a jar or less.  Giant runs 10/$10 sales on a very regular basis.  I usually get marinara (because I can use it in a pinch on pizza or pasta) and "doctor" it with veggies, herbs, and spices.  It's a great go-to back up meal, too.
Butter, $1.75 or less per pound.  When butter is on a good sale, I'll buy a few pounds and freeze it.
In-season Fruit, $1 or less per pound for in-season fruit. Packages of berries I am really happy to get at $2 each, but usually once a summer they'll do them for around $1, too. This is another that I'll freeze like crazy.  We love fresh fruit, too, but if it's a good price, I'll buy extra to wash and freeze.  (Apples get peeled and sliced in 2 cup increments to use in applesauce, crumbles, and pies.  Berries get washed, dried, and frozen on a cookie sheet before being put into ziplock baggies so they aren't stuck together.  They're awesome in smoothies, breads, pancakes, jellies, etc)
Frozen or Canned Veggies- I consider the Wegmans brand prices on these items to be stock-up every day.  Their corn, peas and green beans are consistently under 50 cents canned and their frozen veggies tend to be around the $1 a bag mark.
Meats- here's one where you need to know what you like to eat.  I think that buying whole chickens is genius and I love to do a roast chicken on Sunday that becomes enchiladas mid-week and soup or chicken and dumplings on the weekend.  Whole chickens go on sale for under 50 cents a pound and freeze well :) Around $2 per pound for chicken breast is pretty good, and $3 or under per pound for most steak items (lean ground beef, stew meat, etc).  The meat with the "Save $2 now!" on it is usually 2 days from its sell-by date, but if you're going to freeze it before the "use or freeze by date" it doesn't matter :)
Tuna- 50 cents or less per can
Pasta- 50 cents or less with a coupon, I've never bought it without one....but I'd guess $1 without.

Some items that I like to have in my pantry are always stock-up price, and I buy them in rotation with my "stock up money".  I like to have beans, lentils, rice (rice is another one worth printing off a coupon for because you can get it for FREE) and there's always some baking item that's on a great sale, like flour, sugar, cake mixes, etc.

Step 2: Figure out what you like to eat and ignore anything I'm suggesting that you won't.  I (in the words of a dear friend) "cook some seriously weird shit".  In any given week we might have tofu tikka masala, homemade mac and cheese, vegetable pad thai, spaghetti and meatballs, and chicken fatteh.  If you do not like ethnic foods, spicy foods, vegetarian proteins, etc, then ignore me and buy what you'll eat.

As for a "What do I need in my pantry", here's where I've built to.  Note that we are a family of 5 and love to feed other people.

FREEZER:
Shredded Cheddar and Mozarella Cheese (I buy them in ENORMOUS bags and then repack them into usable amounts.  Cheese freezes very well) We have 5 people in our family, I like there to be at least a pound of each.
Chicken of some kind (whole or breasts) I usually have 2-3 whole and 2-3 packs of white meat
Ground meat (beef or soy crumbles, we'll eat either) 2 pounds
Ham or ham steaks (mostly for soup, but if spiral ham goes on sale it makes great sammies!)
Hash brown potatoes
Bread (when bread goes on sale I buy several loaves since my family goes through about 1/week)
Frozen green beans, corn, mixed veggies, and stir-fry mix, 2 bags of each
Frozen chopped onion and bell pepper (this is where my veggies go to live when they're getting close to not being good but I don't need them)
Frozen apples (about 3 pounds), frozen berries (about 3 pounds)
Butter 2 pounds
Flour and Sugar usually around 20 pounds of each depending on if it's baking season :) and yes, I keep them in the freezer.  We got flour beevils once and that crap is never going down in my house again.  EVER.  Period.
Stock.  If you are ever cooking something with bones in it and you're not making stock you don't love yourself.
Casseroles or soups- I was better about this when we were a 2 person family, but I have only ever known how to cook for "family" size meals.  When it was just us and a non-eating baby, I'd make chili and instantly put half in the freezer.  Now I usually only do this for spaghetti sauce or stew or lasagne, but making double of something and tucking it away for a night you don't want to cook is smart.

Pantry
Canned beans- chickpeas (for Indian and Lebanese), kidney beans (for chili) and black beans (for Mexican).  3 cans of each is my happy number.  One to use, one to know I have and one as a backup for when I forget I used the other 2.
Dried beans/peas- navy bean, peas, various colors of lentils (red for Indian, brown for Italian) Usually a bag or two of each.  They keep forever and they're cheap.  My grandmother used to tell me if you bought a ham bone and a bag of beans, you could feed your family for a week for under $2.  She's still right.
PASTA! Listen people, if you have Jesus and some pasta, you can be saved from most dinner emergencies.  You can generally put anything on Pasta and people will eat it.  Have pasta.  I like to keep angel hair or spaghetti, rotini or spirals (casseroles, mac and cheese or pasta salad), and a soup shape like ditalini.
Cream Soups.  Don't hate.  They're totally horrible for you, and yes you could make your own, but I have limits.  3 cans each of cream of celery, cream of mushroom, and cream of chicken will get you through a lot.
CANNED TOMATO PRODUCTS- I don't think you can have enough of these.  Sauce, spicy rotel brand, paste, diced, crushed, whatever is on sale, I'll buy and keep around.  Tomatoes are a great base for so many things.  Also, jars of pasta sauce, as previously mentioned.
Cereal.  Lots. :)
Oatmeal, whether because you like to eat it or because it makes meatballs, cookies, and meatloaf.
Peanut Butter and Jelly.  I have small children.
When ramen and tomato soup in a can go on sale, love yourself and buy some.  I have some great ramen noodle recipes and sometimes, there's nothing like tomato soup from a can.  Don't hate.
Vinegar (I buy the gallon containers of both white and apple cider but also like to have balsamic at a minimum)
Vegetable oil (frying) and olive oil (everything ever)
Rice (white medium grain will do you just fine, but for me I need jasmine and sushi rice, too.....and nori)
A box of nice crackers and a jar of olive tapenade.  Trust me on this.
If you don't have stock in your freezer, have bullion cubes or broth in your pantry

Also, build yourself a spice collection.  Start with garlic powder, salt, pepper, baking powder, baking soda, flour, white and brown sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, parsley, bay leaf and an Italian Seasoning Blend.  Next get poultry seasoning, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper.  Ginger, dill, season salt, onion powder or flakes, allspice and nutmeg.  Then you can move on to others- I like tumeric, fenugreek, sumac...this post is making me hungry.

FRIDGE:
Yogurt (both vanilla for eating and plain greek as a base for ethnic sauces and/or a sour cream substitute)
Milk
Cream cheese
Fresh fruit
Lettuce
Onions
Garlic
Carrots
Celery
Lemons
Potatoes
Eggs
Mayo/Mustard/Ketchup/Worcestershire Sauce and Soy Sauce (side note- buy tamari, it'll change your life).  If you cook "weird shit" like me, you'll probably also like to have hoisin sauce, chili paste, tahini, wasabi, etc.
And then whatever veggies you've bought for the week.  We tend to keep bell peppers, cucumbers, baby carrots, and celery for the kids to nosh on, but broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and tomatoes are also popular.



Now- this is obviously what an "ideal" pantry looks like for me.  For example, right now, I'm out of beef/soy crumbles, all beans except kidney and dried navy, and I'm running copiously low on both cheese and yogurt.  However, with any combination of these items, you can make a million things.  If you literally have nothing in your pantry, I'd start with this list:

-Frozen vegetables
-Onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, garlic
-Pasta
-Canned tomatoes, jars of pasta sauce
-The first spice set
-Chicken
-Beef/soy
-Dried beans
-Fridge sauces
-A good olive oil
-Apple cider vinegar


If you've already got most of these things, then when you shop for next week's dinner, add one stock up item to your list (for example, oh look! pasta sauce is on sale 10 for $10! I'm going to buy 5.  Also, pasta is on the same sale! I'll get 6 boxes).

If this was your pantry, here's just a few things that you could make:
Chicken and Dumplings (only I use a leftover chicken from roasting one)
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce (using a jar of sauce you add to sauteed onions, garlic, and beef with extra seasoning)
Breakfast for dinner
Chili (Rotel tomatoes, spices, onions, beef, chili powder.....and a bud light)
Macaroni and Cheese using yellow mustard in a MUCH SMALLER AMOUNT
Navy bean soup (ham steak, onions, carrots, dried beans)
Split pea soup (ham steak, onions, carrots, bay leaf, dried peas)
Roast Chicken (whole chicken, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, butter) with mixed veg and mashed potatoes
Tuna Noodle Casserole with peas (pasta, tuna, cream of mushroom, frozen peas, greek yogurt)
Stew (crockpot! beef, carrots, onions, potatoes, flour, peas, stock, salt, pepper, bay leaf, bonus points for red wine)
Cheddar Garlic Biscuits to go with anything listed above (you don't need bisquick- just flour, baking powder and salt)
Vegetarian Sushi
Spicy Red Lentil Dahl with Naan
Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Tenders with Garlic-butter noodles and green beans
Schechuan Noodle Salad
Hoisin Glazed Chicken with mixed veggies and fried rice
Chili stuffed potatoes
Grilled steak with baked potatoes and green beans (fine, you'd have to shop for the green beans but it's so worth it)
Vegetarian Burrito Bowls (rice, black beans, sauteed bell pepper and onion, drained canned corn, rotel tomatoes, cheese and greek yogurt)
Brownies
Apple pie
Berry Crisp
Oatmeal Cookies
Chicken Salad (I don't put raisins in mine because re-hydrated raisins make me want to die)

Etc.

Plus, you could make 8,000 other things just by picking up one or two ingredients, which is the ultimate goal.  The goal is to get to a point where you can say "Oh! I want to make THIS for dinner! I have everything except the sundried tomatoes!" and instead of buying 17 ingredients that aren't on sale, you use the stuff you bought at home when it was a good price, and just buy the sundried tomatoes that aren't on sale.




This looks way more intimidating than it is.  Another way of doing it is to buy double of the ingredients of foods you know you like to make (ex: "I'm making lasagne this week.  I know we love that, so I'll buy two boxes of noodles and two jars of sauce and two pounds of cheese") and then store one set of ingredients so over time you at least have the stuff you need to make what you know you like.

In Which We Have a Pantry Challenge

This time of year I think everyone could use a little extra money, whether it's for presents or charity, or just to head into a new year with some dollars in the bank.

I decided that this 2 weeks (my grocery budget is divided into 2 week increments) would be a pantry challenge.  I'm giving myself a budget of $20 for each week to fill in where needed (i.e. when my kids inevitably run out of milk) and hoping to use up items in my fridge, standing freezer, and pantry.

Tonight I started off by cooking a HUGE bulk package of chicken breasts that I got at Wegmans on great sale a few months ago.  I usually break up such large packs when I get home before freezing, but, if I remember correctly, I was out of plastic storage bags and so I lazily threw this whole mama-jama in the freezer and have been avoiding it ever since because it's TOO big to use unless we have a BBQ! It'll work out great for this week, though, even if we're very chicken-heavy :) All the chicken meals are basically prepared and put away, unless they need a last-minute addition (i.e. matzo balls)

For breakfast we've got oatmeal, cereal, toast, and eggs.  Lunches will be turkey or pbj sandwiches or leftovers, and I'll do mac and cheese or something warm at least once.

Week 1- November 30-December 6
Wednesday: Mexican Chicken Casserole, Spicy Corn with Bacon
Thursday: Slow cooker bbq chicken over baked potatoes, green beans, cole slaw
Friday: Pasta with capers and white wine butter sauce,  cucumber tomato salad
Saturday: Pizza (Riley's birthday party and the CC Practicum)
Sunday: Kung Pao Chicken with Rice, egg rolls
Monday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sammies (Scouts)
Tuesday: Leftovers

Shopping List: Egg Rolls, cole slaw mix, cucumber, tomato

Week 2- December 7-December 14
Wednesday: Matzo Ball Soup, yeast rolls
Thursday: Vegetarian Chili, cornbread
Friday: Pancakes and Bacon
Saturday: Grammy's House (Cookie Swap)
Sunday: Chicken Salad over greens
Monday: Vegetarian fried rice, fruit salad
Tuesday: Leftovers

Shopping list: Onion, parsley, can of rotel tomatoes, salad mix, frozen mixed veggies

Anyone else trying to cut a few corners on the grocery budget this December?

In Which We Return to the World :)

Austin's been on a "unemployment" week (not really, he quit his job at BAH, which was such an answer to prayers, because he got a job at a new company! The week off to relax was a bonus!) and we took the week off with him.

This was the strangest "vacation week" our family has ever taken.  We stayed home.  We slept (copious amounts) and we watched TV.  A lot of TV.  I hate the television and keep it off all week so 7 days of TV was crazy! There was a bunch of rain, but when there wasn't, we rode our bikes and played with chalk....I read some books to snuggly children but generally speaking we stayed home and were lazy.

It was incredible.

We're such a go-go-go kind of family, so this was a completely unhealthy, but much needed vacation!

On Thursday we had Thanksgiving at my mom's house.  Kevin and his girlfriend went to have dinner with her family, and with our resident "THINGS MUST STAY AS THEY ARE!!!!!!!" member of the family out of the picture, I enjoyed being able to experiment a little with some new dishes and have to say that the new pumpkin pie recipe was a rousing success.  It's from Paula Deen, so it's dreadful for you, but it was yummy! You can check out the recipe from her HERE, and I added a little cinnamon and nutmeg to mine, which was quite nice!

Saturday we went to the local drive-through lights show with my family, which was frustrating to me because I really want to reclaim Christmas from all the (sorry) BS to make it more like our observation of Hannukah, which is distinctly a sacred celebration.  The lights didn't bother me, but the hot mess of a carnival at the end ($3-$5 per ride! win a santa toy! buy buy buy!) was offensive to me.  I love living close to my family, but sometimes it makes it really hard to celebrate holidays the way I feel is right for our family.  My mom is a Christmas fiend and loves presents and Santa, which isn't bad, but it's what I feel a calling for my family to head towards.

Sunday my baby turned 8.  EIGHT.  I don't know what else to say about that.  I just can't believe how the time flies.  Riley wanted to spend the day exploring a cavern, and he looped back to Luray, which is fine with me because it's my favorite.  He and Logan were totally enthralled, Savannah was completely unimpressed! It was a good workout, though, since I had to carry her the entire 1.25 miles over quite the incline.  The 64 stairs at the end were fun, too! She's getting heavy!

I'm super excited for Advent to have started, and I'm really excited that I get to weave this season into our learning. I keep mentioning that we're not homeschooling for religious reasons, but the more I'm able to take advantage of the fact that I can weave our faith into our lives more and more, the happier I am :) We'll still spend some time exploring the other festivals and holidays happening this month because my little comparative religion minor (Riley)  just needs to know everything about religions. He's a history major, in case you were wondering.  ;)

I'm excited! Happy Advent!

In Which It's November

Oh, hey...look at that, it's been a few weeks!  Whew!

Let's see...there was no Halloween party because our basement decided to give me trouble....I didn't get to go see my friend Lindsay when she brought her new son home from Africa because my kids were sick and then I had a headache for 3 days where I basically slept non-stop to escape the pain in the back of my neck (bonus: I lost 5 pounds by sleeping instead of eating anything!) Savannah got scarlet fever, Austin quit his job so he could take a new one...I think that covers it :)

 Look! Cute pictures!! We've been enjoying the Tuesday craft days that a very sweet woman in our CC group hosts every week.  In addition to having an amazingly decorated home, she also comes up with an adorable craft each week.  In this one, we did spider cupcakes and then Connor, who is the love of Savannah's life, taught a lesson about garden spiders.

 We were seriously suffering without our basement being functional! A townhouse is small enough without having to jam everything on to two floors! Riley enjoyed moving all over the main floor especially because it allowed him to do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE while listening to his story of the world CDs.  He would listen to them all day, every day if he could.

 We got to enjoy our friends Mia, Kat, and Bella for a sleepover.  Their parents went to a ball! How fun! I wish that non-military institutions would do balls.  I haven't dressed up for a dance since Freshman year of college!! We had a fun (albeit late) sleepover and then the next day, I woke the kids up and rushed them around before realizing it was Veterans Day and there was no preschool.  I'm a genius.

Instead we went to the Marine Corps Museum and gave cards to Veterans.  Savannah was adorable going around saying "Happy Vetwans Day!!" and I'm pretty sure she made several grown men tear up.  All the kids had a great time handing out cards, although the museum has a lot of "reality" in it and seemed to make Kat and Logan very concerned about everything.

In terms of school we're doing well, too.  We're on week 12 of CC, studying the end of the civil war, geographic features of the east coast, and finishing up with a field trip with our friends to Appomattox Courthouse.  Logan's moved on to chapter 7 of Singapore Math A which is on measurements and Riley just finished 2A chapter 2.  Logan's reading is going really well, and so is Riley's.  I'm still really enjoying Teach Your Child to Read and Logan is in the 60s.  Riley is reading Revolutionary War on Wednesday right now and doing very well with it.  The IEW work is going well, too.

Our CC group takes a huge break after this week, allowing us to have time to truly enjoy the Christmas season.  I've been collecting work that will allow us to focus on the holiness of the season and integrate our studies.  We'll also use the time to review our memory work.

I think that's about it!