Letter of the week- B

This week we got into full swing with our letter of the week theme and it has been so much fun. We've both had a blast with all of our crafts and activities. Here's the week rundown.

Buttons glued on a blue B

Tracing page
 Source

Memory verse
Inspiration

Butterfly out of a toilet paper roll
Inspiration



Ballerina handprints
Inspiration



Beehive with bees
Inspiration

Tower of Babel story and activity

Letter of the week- B: fun food

This was my first week making cute lunches for Bailey. I have to say that I had fun, she LOVED them and usually ate everything on her plate and asked for more. I'm a new convert of the cute food movement. They say you eat with your eyes first and I believe it. Here are some of our ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Everything I did here was just with basic cookie cutters, knives, and sprinkles for details. I want to get more fun stuff later down the line but it will have to be a gradual process. Who says kids shouldn't play with their food?!

Bird standing on berries. I wanted to make a branch out of something but Eli was waking up and Bailey was demanding food so they just got thrown into silicone baking cups. :)

Berries and bananas fruit kabob. This was part of a snack and she went crazy for it. This just shows how a different presentation makes all the difference. I wouldn't advise it for itty bitty guys though.
Bear sandwich. I had other sides too but they didn't make it into the picture. This was a rushed day.

Bunny sandwich with carrots and ranch dip. Teeth were string cheese.

Spontaneous fun

Sometimes you have to let loose and let your kids take the lead. Eli was napping and it had been raining all morning. The rain stopped and Bailey was begging to go outside and jump in the puddles. I SOOOOOO did not want to do that because I had other things planned for us to do during his nap and wanted to clean up the house a bit. I decided to be a little spontaneous and let her do exactly what she wanted to do even if it meant we would get soaked, dirty, and wouldn't get done what I wanted to get done. I figured, God has given me only one Bailey, and only this one moment of this day. I'll never get today back again. I better make the most of it and live with no regrets. You know what? We had a great time. Here are some pictures of our spontaneous puddle jumping.

Because my family likes to see pictures of my kids...

New Magnetic Chore Chart

Bailey is getting to the age now where I want to start teaching her some responsibility. Yes she is only three, but I don't want to raise kids that don't do anything around the house and grow up not knowing how to take care of themselves let alone anyone else. My husband and I thought it would be a good time to start her on some chores. I consulted my trusty facebook friends to get their ideas on what jobs their kids have to around the house. They all had some great ideas, everything from dusting to washing windows. I don't think she is quite ready for washing windows yet...um...let's be honest...I'm not ready for washing windows yet. lol We decided on four chores for her to do everyday. They are feeding the dog, making her bed, picking up toys, and brushing teeth. Ok so brushing her teeth isn't quite a chore, but it's one that we sometimes forget (the shame) so I wanted to include it in there to establish a better routine. I wanted a fun chore chart because you know me, I love a good craft project. After looking on pinterest for some inspiration, I came up with my own design and I love it! It's cute, functional and cheap which makes it a win in my book. All of the items I had at home already except the colored contact paper and magnets. If you were buying everything from scratch it could get a little pricey, so I would suggest looking for items you already have at home and improvising. Here's what I did.




I simply took a metal cookie sheet that we didn't use because it didn't fit in our oven and spray painted it black with spray paint that I had used from a previous project. Then I bought some decorative contact paper, cut it to fit the inside of the cookie sheet and simply peeled and stuck it in there. Next I printed off the words, CHORES, TO DO and DONE, cut them out and Mod Podged it where I wanted them. Lastly I went searching for free clipart online that represented her chores, printed them out and used the mod podge again to adhere them to large round magnets that I found at Target. Bailey helped me with the project and is so excited about doing her chores now so she can move the magnets to the DONE side. I'm sure this excitement won't last forever but it's a good way to get her in the habit now.

Brussel sprouts with bacon

This was a night that I had cleaned all day and didn't have much more energy to do anything. I really didn't feel like making anything and was this close to suggesting we get take out. My sweet hubby said he would make pork steaks on the grill so it was my responsibility to think of side dishes. I came up with sweet potatoes in the microwave and these brussel sprouts. Quick and easy. Brussel sprouts aren't something that I make too often. In fact, Ken insists that I have never made brussel sprouts since we've been married. He claimed he had rarely ever eaten them and honestly didn't seem to thrilled when I told him that's one of the sides I was making to go along with his beloved pork steaks. I figured I could win him over if I added bacon. I mean, who doesn't love bacon? If you don't love bacon, please don't tell me. That's a crime as far as I'm concerned! As I expected, the bacon did the trick and these babies were delicious. Miss B wouldn't eat them but she did gobble up her pork steak, sweet potato and grapes so I wasn't too disappointed. The secret to them cooking so fast is slicing them into smaller pieces. They're not quite shredded but I sliced each sprout into about 5-6 pieces. I love how they got a bit carmelized and picked up all of the brown bits off the bottom of the pan from the bacon. Yummy!



Brussel sprouts with bacon- serves 2
1 lb. brussel sprouts ( I think. There were about 12)
2 slices thick sliced bacon
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper
1/8 c water (just enough to deglaze pan and give some moisture)

Heat skillet to medium heat. Cut bacon into small strips and cook in hot skillet until crisp. While bacon is cooking, trim off ends of brussel sprouts and cut into slices. Add sprouts and garlic to bacon and turn up the heat to med-high heat to sear the sprouts. After sprouts have picked up a nice golden color, add the water to deglaze the pan. It should sizzle and you should be able to scrape off any brown bits that have accumulated on the bottom. Season with salt and pepper, turn down heat to low and simmer until sprouts are tender and liquid has cooked off. Mine cooked start to finish in about 10-15 minutes.

Letter of the week- A

My little girl loves her projects and so do I but I was craving a little organization to our projects because was running out of ideas. We needed themes. I decided to start with letters of the week thanks to notimeforflashcards.com She has great ideas for little ones. This week we started with the letter A. I have plans to do a letter project, tracing page, craft, food, Bible lesson, activities, etc all relating to the letter of the week. Bailey started running a fever on Wednesday mysteriously after yet another allergic reaction to walnuts (that's for another blog post) so we ended up only doing two things but I thought I would share them with you anyway.

A is for Alligator

Watch out! The Alligator A is about to ATTACK! :)


Apple prints: Slice an apple in half. Dip in paint. Stamp on paper. Decorate as desired. I also had her trace the letter Aa up at the top. It was her first attempt. lol