Sierra Selfies

The other day, Sierra found the camera, brought it to me, and wanted me to take her picture.  Again.  And Again.  And Again.  And she had to look at the display after each picture and admire herself.  Then she would hand the camera back to me to take another picture.  This kid cracks me up!

My New Clothes Dryer

So about two weeks ago, my dryer decided to go out in flames.  Literally.  It caught on fire and set the smoke detector off and stunk up the house.  Fortunately I was standing right nearby and shut it off and unplugged it before it did any damage.  Our friend Aaron looked at it a few days later and declared it dead.  So, Molly and Nick graciously agreed to give us the extra dryer that they will have when they close on their new house, 3 1/2 weeks after my dryer broke.  So for now, I have this lovely drying rack, which is currently in front of the fire since it is 9 degrees outside.  And my parents and Molly and Megan have also dried a few loads for me.  So we are making do for now, but I will be so happy to have a dryer again soon!

Teaching Time

The big kids and I are looking forward to winter break starting tomorrow.  Dave even has Friday and Monday off with us.  Sierra still has school, which I am hoping will enable me to get several big projects completed during our time off.  But, in the meantime, we have been plugging along with school.

Alexa was working on measuring and adding to find perimeter, so she measured the kitchen rug.

Jordanna working on a sock sorting page for "S" week

When Sierra gets home from school each day, first she likes to drink her juice and watch a show.  Then she often sits right here in front of the bookshelf and pats the floor for me to sit with her.  We build blocks and string beads and read books before she goes to take her nap.

Here is Jordanna with a city that she made this week.

Alexa typing her spelling words.

And Caleb practicing piano.  He does most of his work upstairs in his room, so it's hard to catch a picture of him.

Trim Healthy Lunches: Part II

Here's another round of Trim Healthy Lunch ideas.  And I took a lot of pictures this time.  I keep saying that I will post snacks, but I'm always grabbing snacks on the run and never remember to take pictures.

Day #1 - 1 Light Rye Wasa crackers, beef summer sausage, cheese slices, carrots (just a few in an S) and ranch, berries - S

Day #2 - 1 toasted Joseph's Pita topped with homemade pimento cheese (see recipe below), 1 boiled egg, side salad with ranch - S

Day #3 - Bread in a mug (from the book) sandwich with a fried egg and slice of cheddar cheese, two sausage links, berries - S

Day #4 - Mixed greens, smoked ham, egg salad, cheese crisps (place wax paper on a microwave safe plate, sprinkle with shredded cheese, microwave for 1 to 1/5 minutes until oil is released and cheese is brown and crispy), ranch, berries - S

Day #5 - Sandwich made with 2 slices of Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Tuscan Panne, lean ham and light laughing cow cheese, toasted under the broiler then topped with mustard and mixed greens, Triple Zero mixed berry yogurt, carrots - E

Day #6 - 1 Joseph's pita split in half and toasted then topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and mushrooms, blueberries - S

Day #7 - Brown rice topped with black beans cooked with salsa and cumin, plain Greek yogurt or fat free sour cream, salad with low fat dressing - E

Pimento Cheese - S

8 oz Kraft sharp cheddar cheese

½ c mayo

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ c pimento

salt and pepper to taste

2 doonks Worcestershire sauce

Shred cheese and combine all ingredients to your desired consistency.

My Silly Jordanna

Jordanna stayed home sick from church on Sunday, and she kept herself busy most of the day playing and pretending.  She also has time each day to play by herself when she finishes her school.  Here are some of the things she has been playing lately.

She dressed up like this (hat, princess crown, glasses, apron, sweater, purse, and red shoes) and performed a drumming and singing show for me on Sunday night.

Here she is playing "Cinderella family".  She got out 4 Cinderella baby dolls and was playing all sorts of pretend things with them.  Side note: Why do we have 4 Cinderella dolls?

One day during school, she set up all the chairs and her baby dolls and got them menus and played restaurant.

I love my sweet, silly Jordanna!

Teaching Time

Caleb and me working on science.  I have no idea why he is wearing his hood.  It's not THAT cold in our house.

Alexa working on 3 digit, 5 column addition.  Hopefully both of us will survive this week of math.

Jordanna playing the train game to work on her phonics skills.