Fall seems to have passed us by – winter snuck in this morning with a mini snowstorm! This was of course a source of TOTAL excitement among all 4 of the kids. Not so much for Ken and myself –  though I do admit I was a tiny bit excited. If nothing else, I love the look of snow and how much the kids enjoy it!

Of course first we did our letter for the day! The last one – Z! Zander is quite worried about what we are  going to do every day now that we are finished! So I have a new mission – find something that will last a while that they can do each day…

The letter Z accomplished we moved onto our next big adventure – the first snow of the year! So after our usual extended struggle getting all 4 kids and ourselves kitted out we all headed out the door to enjoy the first bit of snow.

Trinity was not sure of the outfit – which I must say is the best 10.00 spent this year! But we wrestled her into it. I used one of the lighter baby caps instead of the heavy toque as she was already complaining at that point.

Outside the boys just went nuts! Of course there was not enough out there to make a snowman but Gavin made do and made himself a snow VOLCANO!

Trinity kept herself busy running back and forth down the sidewalk and checking out the neighbor’s yards with Daddy. I think Ken and myself got cold and bored before she did! But was she ever ready for a nap when we brought her in and sent the boys to the backyard.

This movement right into winter fun has also prompted me to start our winter lapbook activities. So today we talked about fall and then coloured a winter sight words book I printed from an online resource. I really like these sight word resources. The boys seem to be responding to them positively. I did find a book I could order online for a modest amount so I am thinking wish list item!

The cold weather also gave me a great opportunity to try out my homemade hot cocoa on the boys. I added another 1/4 cup of icing sugar to our mix and that seems to be the magic amount. So yummy! All I need to do now is find pastry bags to package it up. Ken is pulling out first rock candy on sticks out of the mix tonight! We think we FINALLY have the amounts down so I am hoping to start the packaging very soon.

Today was take two on the beans! I am very pleased with them… the boys are requesting them for EVERY meal and the bulk white beans Ken bought are so affordable! My mom suggested chilli though it is more expensive to make… so I think I may look into the price on barley and make beef barley soup like she says my grandma used to make. I do love a good beef barley soup!

In fact, I believe I will go on another cooking binge. Ken was able to get me a large amount of flour and sugar for cheap at the warehouse place so tomorrow I will take the egg yolks from today’s apple oatmeal cookies and make another double batch of the sugar cookies… these ones to ice red to go with the green ones for Christmas… I wonder how cherry icing would go over?? I also am feeling the hankering for applesauce muffins… I have some in the freezer but fresh is always good… have I mentioned I bake when I worry?

Yup and worrying I am once again – I got a call from a bank that is in charge of the original student loans I got (back when you HAD TO go through a bank) that I am behind on payments… confused! And then I called the GOVERNMENT which is in charge of the rest of my national… and they have STILL not figured out how my repayment restructuring is going to go. That has been WEEKS past when it was supposed to and is VERY much needed. Of course the operator I talked to put in a RUSH on it which… get this… has set the response for ANOTHER 5 days from today?? Anyone want to tell me when my government will start to work FOR me? Of course the BANK treats the loans like regular loans so until the decision is reached I have to keep paying the full monthly amount to them… blood from a stone huh?

The big craft activity today was part one of two… back when we did the letter V on Starfall.com they had an image of a volcano blowing up. One of the boys asked if we could make one so I jumped on it. We are making a mini lapbook… some pictures of volcanoes they can colour, a little book on magma and the letter V… I am also planning on printing out a couple pictures I took myself of the volcano and then one tomorrow to paste in there (just printed out on printer paper).

We still have the homemade play doh from way back in June when we went to Nathan and Ada’s wedding. Nathan’s mother was so kind as to have activities for the kids and then sent us home with half of them! So I put the homemade play doh in zip loc in the refrigerator and it is still to this day usable. I figured a volcano was a good sacrifice for 3 of the colour packages. So we brought it out, a disposable roasting pan and a plastic cup. Using play doh to form the volcano (and grass at the bottom according to Ken), we put a plastic cup in the centre for tomorrow’s explosion. This is left out to dry and harden. Vinegar and baking soda later and I am sure we will have 3 VERY happy boys! Ok 4…

I tried the tutu on Trinity and was unhappy with the waist size that I took from the instructions. Thankfully I had made another waist based on her exact measurement that I had not disposed of and un-knotting the first layer is nothing impossible. So I re-tied them and I think the result is VERY cute. She is still not too happy about wearing it yet but I am hoping once I finish the waist with a softer ribbon she may bend a little. Tonight I am hoping to get Ken to cut the shorter green pieces with a point to them (something I have not done before) and then by the weekend have the entire piece done. I am a little disappointed that I have been unable to hunt down red leggings amongst the bits and pieces Trinity has been given in the past but I have some ideas. I will post pictures as I go!

The other idea I have for the boys and their lapbooks is paper dolls – there is UK site that has some and links to others (though their asian dolls are not exactly pretty for some odd reason). A lot of the doll sets have winter clothes and Halloween costumes, so I figured why not have the dolls in each book with a set of things that go with the theme? I know I know a bit girly… but I figure fun all the same! I found a snowman with a set of scarves and hats to match that I am going to put in Emanuel’s book. I am not sure how to make the pieces stick without ruining the snowman though, I really am looking forward to getting a laminator. What I MAY do is get some cheap velcro with a sticky back and go that route.

Tonight is Thursday night – guy night – so I am making an apple crumble for the boys to snack on during their gaming. I just can’t get away from the apples! Ken also got us signed up for the HLSA group for homeschoolers. I look forward to having access to their forums and a first hand notice about their events and information!

I am creeping up on another quick finish – the 3rd monster. I am debating on a design for Trinity but Ken is planning on getting me my cousin’s wedding present and a random one I came up with first. The pattern section is still in progress but I am optimistic that Ken will get it up tonight or tomorrow morning.

With this cold weather I am unsure on what our plans are for tomorrow. A couple families cannot make the nature centre so I am watching my email to see what the rest of the people say… Other than that we have the volcano to play with, Fall to work with and Colours and Shapes to finish! I am excited about that one – our first big project! I hope it turns out as well as I am thinking. Completing things always gives me a bit of a boost!

A Smile on My Face and Love in My Heart - What More Do I Need?