Chocolate on my Cranium

Spudnuts

2012-01-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

Old-fashioned homemade goodness!

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Spudnuts

1 cup water
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 cups mashed potatoes
2 tsp. salt
3 cups water
6 eggs, slightly beaten
2 TBSP yeast
2 TBSP lemon juice
1/4 tsp. grated lemon rind
12 cups flour (plus two more cups)
3/4 cups dry milk
oil for frying

Place the 1 cup water in a large pan and heat. Add shortening, sugar, potatoes, and salt. Stir until shortening is melted. Remove from heat. Add 3 cups water to make mixture lukewarm. Add eggs, yeast, lemon juice, lemon rind, 12 cups flour and dry milk. Mix thoroughly. Let rise 1 hour 15 minutes. Add additional flour until it can be kneaded well. Let rise another hour or until dough has doubled. Punch down. Roll out to a little less than 1/2 inch. Cut into donuts. Let rise 1/2 hour. Cook in 375 degree oil, turning once. Drain. Glaze with plain glaze or chocolate glaze.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Q & A: Homeschool Edition

2012-01-27T03:34:00.000-08:00

Today is Q & A day here, focusing on homeschooling. Have any questions about how or why we homeschool? Ask away in the comments.

When I have time here and there throughout the day I will try to answer the questions, adding both the questions and the answers in this post. If I don't get to your question or it seems that I passed over it, chances are the answer is too long so I will make a whole post about it. If that's the case I'll leave a reply to your comment in the comment section letting you know the question will be answered later.

What do you want to know?

Q. What kind of curriculum you use?
A. For my elementary and middle school children we use Sonlight Curriculum. It is a history/literature based curriculum with LOTS of good books to read for every age level. We use Abeka Math for K - 4th grade, then Saxon Math with Dive CDs for 5th-8th grade. My second daughter used Math-U-See because she was a very kinesthetic learner.

My high school aged daughters did BYU Independent Study. It is a terrific program but it got to be too expensive. Now they are doing Nevada Virtual Academy, an online program utilizing the K12 program. It is free! And perfect for out situation.

Q. Do you school year round?
A. Yes! Here is a link to a post I did detailing our year round schedule.

Q. How do you do school with a newborn?
A. Part of this can be answered in that post I linked to above. Another answer is this article written by Diane Hopkins - The Baby IS the Lesson. Basically, I rearrange our schedule so we will have at least a month off after the baby is born. Then we reduce the amount of school work for another month while we get used to having another baby in the house.

Q. Do you do cutesy preschool stuff with your kids 4 and under? To me it just seems hard to find the time espeically while trying to teach the older kids, ages 6 and 8.
A. Our school day is divided into segments where I help each pair of kids (those closest together in age and school work) for an hour. While I'm not helping them each child has school work they are required to do on their own. You can read more about our daily schedule here.

There are some days when I do more "cutesy" stuff with my preschoolers. But most of the time we just read, read, read, books together, do some math and letter recognition, and call it good.

Q. How much computer {educational games} and TV time do you give your kids during the week?
A. We have computer and tv/movie coupons that I give out at the beginning of each week - four 30 minute computer coupons, two TV coupons, and two movie coupons. They have to turn in a coupon if they want to play a computer game, watch a 1/2 hour TV show, or watch a movie. The exceptions are they can play educational computer games (we defined exactly what those games are), watch the news, or watch a movie with the whole family (dad included). There is a monetary value attached to the coupons (very small monetary value, like 50 cents a coupon) so if they choose not to play on the computer or watch TV or a movie they can turn their coupons in for the cash value instead. Most of the time they opt for the cash. =)

Q. Have you encountered any subjects yet that you aren't well-versed in and struggle to teach or help your older girls in? How do you deal with upper-level subjects on your own?
A. I am a nerd, dork, geek, whatever you want to call it. I LOVED school and cried when it got for the summer. I went to college when I was 15. I LOVE math and science and wanted to be a high school history teacher when I grew up.

So far we haven't had any problems with subjects I do not know. What I had problems with was how to teach children who learn differently than I do. I didn't know there were different learning styles until I tried teaching my second daughter. She is very kinesthetic. I couldn't understand why she didn't get concepts the way her older sister did (who learns like I do). We had a very rough year of tears and struggles. Once I figured out that she learned differently I was able to cater to that and change my style of teaching her. The second year was so much better . . . and happier! I wrote a whole series of posts about learning styles. {That link is to the first one. It contains links to all the others.}

Every homeschool situation is different. Utilizing homeschool co-ops is a terrific way of having someone else who is more knowledgeable on a subject teach your children. Look for others, particularly of the senior population who do know subjects and ask if they'd be willing to teach. My older daughters were given sewing lessons by an older woman from church. She enjoyed coming over every Monday morning. My girls loved having a "grandma" around teaching them sewing skills.

As mentioned earlier, my daughters in high school took correspondence courses from BYU. Now they take online classes. The teachers are available for tutoring online, through e-mail, and via phone. I've also found that I really am able to remember things if I truly learned them in high school/college in the first place.

Q. What about homeschooling an only child? There is concern with no sibling or class mates that he will be negatively affected socially.
A. Obviously I am not the ideal to answer this question. But I do have friends who homeschool with only one child. They take advantage of homeschool co-ops or groups as much as they can to provide bi-weekly, if not daily, social interaction with others. If there isn't a homeschool group near where you live, take the initiative and create one! They can be a lot of fun for both children and parents alike.

Here are a couple of articles about homeschooling an only child, written by ones who know all about it!
Make Time for Friends
Homeschooling an Only Child
SimpleHomeschool: The Pros and Cons

Q. How do you get started? How can I feel it out and see if it is for me? Would a packet curriculum make it easier? Or should I wing it? I guess I just don't know where to start.
A. I wrote a basic post about getting started homeschooling here. There are other packaged curriculum not mentioned in that post that are good to use too if you feel a need to go in that direction.

Sonlight (K-12) - mentioned earlier in the post. It is a bit expensive but SO WORTH IT in my book. Especially is you want everything laid out for you as far as a schedule of what to teach and when. If you purchase the core packages you get everything you need except science and math. I can't recommend Sonlight enough!

GuestHollow - free curricula guide, you must find all the supplies.

Q. How do you find reading material for your kids that is both enjoyable, moral, inviting, and exciting?
A. Here are the links to all the lists I trust for good books for my children.

"Boys" Book List - by my friend Meg, divided into age groups
"Girls" Book list - again by Meg
Ambleside Online - Links to booklists by school year are on the left sidebar - extremely thorough!
Arthur Henry King's Reading List for a Lifetime - for middle school to adults. If you can get through this list you will definitely be one smart, well-read individual!
Sonlight - requesting a catalog is the easiest way to see all the books for each grade level
And if those aren't enough School of Abraham has loads of links to browse through.

Q. My question, though, is about my mom, who has started homeschooling my 12 year old sister this year. It seems like my mom and sister get into lots of battles about home school. When in public school, she never fought with her teachers. What do you do when kids don't want to do home school?
A. Hmm..this could be attributed to a variety of factors. Here are a few ideas:

How long ago did she start homeschooling? Many times there needs to be a "detox" period {for lack of a better word} between coming out of public school and when homeschooling actually starts.

At this age too, children are ready to begin taking some responsibility for their own education. I allow my children to decide what subjects beyond Math and English they want to study. There has to be some type of Science - but I allow them to choose. When they study what they are interested in they are learning how to learn and not just being educated, if that makes sense.

What are the battles over? When school needs to be done or assignments completed? What to study? My second daughter likes to do her school mostly in the afternoon and even into the evening as late as 10pm. She actually does better, especially with her math at that time of day! Of course, she realizes unless she wants to take all night classes in college she will have to change those habits. She is slowly working on that {she's a sophomore} but for now I allow her to study at those times rather than the typical time of day. It has avoided plenty of fights!

Q. How much school time do you require of each child and at what ages do you increase school time?
A. Here's the average time spent on formal schooling {sit down work} each day for our family:
Preschool age: 1 hour - Reading with Mom (usually me reading books to them) (30 minutes), Writing (10 minutes), Math (20 minutes)
K-2: 2 hours - Reading (45 minutes), Math (20-30 minutes), English/Grammar (20-30 minutes), Other subjects of science, history, social studies, art, or music depending on the day (20-30 minutes)
3rd-5th: 3 hours - Reading (60 minutes), Math (30 minutes), English/Grammar (30 minutes), Science/Social Studies and Geography/History (45 minutes) these get rotated throughout the week, two subjects per day, Art/Music (15 minutes) rotated per day.
6th-8th: 4 hours - Reading (60 minutes), Math (30 minutes), English/Grammar (30 minutes), Science (30 minutes), Social Studies/Geography (30 minutes), History (30 minutes), Art (15 minutes), Music (15 minutes)
High School - 6 hours per day - Sometimes this is less, sometimes more depending on the projects, essay assignments, science experiments, reports, etc that are required from their teachers.

These time frames don't take into account any extra activities such as science experiments, music practice, field trips, etc. Also there is a lot of overlap. For instance the reading times include when I read aloud to all of them out of our family read aloud book. They don't include all the extra reading my kids love to do. Music doesn't include practice time on the instruments but rather listening to and learning about music.

Keep in mind that some states require a certain amount of time for formal schooling each day. Find out what your state's laws are and make sure you can provide proper documentation if needed. We are lucky in that Nevada has some of the loosest laws regarding homeschool.

Q. The problem at our house is motivation and keeping on task. I can't seem to keep our kids doing what they are suppose to. The wind blows and they get distracted! Math is the big hang up @ our house. The things they are working on aren't things they can't do, they just take FOREVER to get them done.
A. I think every homeschooling parent has struggled with this issue! We still do from time to time. Here are some things we do to keep everyone on track:

*Use Timers. They do not race against each other but try to beat their own time from the day before. This works especially well for those pesky math dawdlers!
*Incentives {bribes}. If they get their school work done by a certain time they can do, get, earn ___________. Fill in the blank. Usually my children just want an extra 15 minutes with mom to do something together one-on-one which is why they were really wanting mom's attention to begin with even though they really didn't need the help.
*Set the example. Many times my children are just following what they see me do. If I allow myself to get distracted and not stick to the tasks that need to be done they will follow suit.

Q. (from facebook) How do you transition from a learner that needs mom constantly to a more independent learner?
A. Very slowly! =) In all seriousness the transition happens a lot better when the child has learned to read really well. I can't stress enough how important reading is for a child! It will happen at different times and rates for each child which can be frustrating for parents at times.

For my kids the transition has occurred sometime around 3rd or 4th grade. I start by assigning what needs to be done each day for everyone. There are usually some things even the younger children can do on their own. When my children come to something they need my help with they just skip over it until it's their turn for mom to help. (see our daily schedule for more info on help times) Gradually as they get older it just naturally falls that they need less and less of my help. When I know a child can work something out but they think they cannot I will have them read the directions to me and then tell me what they don't understand. We will go through each step of the instructions together. Usually doing this helps them to realize they CAN do it without mom's help.

Of course, there is always something, even the high schoolers, need help with, "Mom, I can't figure out this Algebra problem!" or "How is this Chemistry equation supposed to go again?" A mother's/teacher's work is never done!

Q. (facebook question) How do you encourage children to WILLINGLY or at least CHEERFULLY help out with their chores?
A. Ha! If anyone has this figured out let me know too!

Actually we have a few girls that really do love to do their chores...or at least like having the result of chores done which is a clean home. We've found they are more willing, sometimes cheerfully so, when there is a lot of positive encouragement, focusing on the good job that was done instead of nagging about all the stuff that wasn't. What goes around comes around....The other day I deep cleaned the laundry room. Fudge (9) came in and started looking around, checking under stuff, looking in the closet, etc. She turned to me and said, "Good job, Mom! You even did the broom closet!" It was pretty funny.

We do have a rule that morning chores need to be done before breakfast so if they want to eat hot food they know what they need to do! It's not always done cheerfully, especially when someone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, but the chores do get done. . . .usually.

Q. (facebook question) How do you teach children to not be selfish?
A. This is an on going process! We are ALL selfish by nature, even with how we spend our time, so it is something we are constantly working towards. Sharing a bedroom, not buying toys just for one child (toys are community property around here, except for the American Girl Dolls), having them work together on chores, teaching respect for one's private spaces, sharing, trying to show by example - are just some of the things we do.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Simple Pleasures: Copycat Recipes

2012-01-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

Did you know that this

used to make this recipe

makes a really good copycat for these?

My simple pleasure of the week!

What simple pleasure have you enjoyed this week?

Simple Pleasure Thursdays are back! Link up your post about your simple pleasure below.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Wordfull Wednesday: A day in my life

2012-01-24T19:57:00.000-08:00

I've done a typical day post before so this time I posted more of my perspective and what I do rather than what everyone, including the kids do throughout the day. Here is the bare bones.

My day begins earlier than everyone else's. I am a morning person to the core. I don't use an alarm but usually wake up before 6am.

This is my time to study before teaching seminary at 6:30.

7:30 am After seminary it is chore time. This week Brownie is the cook but isn't feeling well this morning so I make oatmeal muffins. I take a shower while they bake in the oven.

8:30 - 11am School is done with all the kids in the morning. You'll have to excuse the lack of pictures here. I couldn't remember where I put the camera!

10:35am. Camera is found! Ganache is ready for his morning nap. I watch the news while I rock him and feed him his bottle.

11:14am. The younger kids are having fun with cloud dough.

11:45am. I start making chicken noodle soup for lunch which we normally eat at 12:30pm.

1:00pm. Family scripture study, then quiet time.

1:56pm. Ganache goes down for his afternoon nap. We have the same routine as the morning.

2:10pm. I write my post for Homemaking Tuesday - Young Women Personal Progress Book Holders.

2:42pm. I get a call from Mr. FR that a Lowe's (home improvement store) in Reno is closing. Everything is 50% off. I go online and give my order for goods to my brother-in-law who is braving the crowds.

3:24pm. I help Special Dark pick up his bedroom.

4:20pm. I'm doing the day's laundry.

5:15pm. Mr. FR comes home bringing the first draft of our house plans!

6:14pm. Watching the State of the Union. {The President needs to get a new make-up person!}

7:16pm. Writing my Wordfull Wednesday post while Cookie and Special Dark do a puzzle. Ganache and Hershey are playing on the floor. Mr. FR and the five older girls are in at the church for interviews, Young Women, and Activity Days.

This hasn't happened yet but typically around 8pm I'll help Cookie, Special Dark, and Hershey start their bedtime routines. We'll say family prayer around 8:30pm and start sending kids off to bed with hugs and kisses and goodnight stories.

Join us for Wordfull Wednesday! Show us what a typical day is like for you. Come and link your post here!

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Young Women Personal Progress Book Holders

2012-01-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

My cute little niece has been making these as gifts for all the girl cousins who are in the Young Women organization at church. They hold a Personal Progress booklet and journal, a pen or pencil, and a For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. I haven't seen them before and thought they were a novel idea! Here is a tutorial for those who would like to make their own.

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Materials needed:
2 coordinating pieces of fabric cut 14x18 inches
1 piece of iron on interfacing cut 14x18 inches
1 yard (36 inches) of 1/2 inch ribbon

Step 1: Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of one piece of fabric. With wrong sides together, sew the fabric pieces, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Make sure to leave a 3 inch opening along one long edge (18 inch side) for turning the fabric right sides out.

Step 2: Clip corners so you get a nice crisp corner when you turn it right side out.

Step 3: Turn right side out. Make sure to push the corners and edges all the way out. This is where interfacing comes in handy! It makes the edges nice and crisp.

Iron all the edges turning fabric at the opening inside.

Step 4:Top stitch 1/8 inch from the edge along the side with the opening. This will close the opening.

Step 5: Place your fabric with the inside fabric facing up and the top-stitched edge at the bottom.

Fold up the top-stitched edge 5 inches and pin. The top-stitched edge will now become the top of the pockets.

Sew 1/8 inch from the edge all around the packet.

Step 6: Starting from the left side of the packet measure at 5 1/2 inches, 10 3/4 inches, and 11 3/4 inches. Draw lines at these marks going from the top of the pocket to the bottom.

Sew along these lines making sure to back stitch at the top and bottom.

Step 7: Turn the holder over. Place the ribbon so it in is the middle about 4 inches up from the bottom. Measure 12 inches of ribbon and place that at the left edge. Pin.

Step 8: Sew the ribbon at the left edge and at each pocket stitching. See photo above for reference.

This is what it will look like. You should have about 12 inches of loose ribbon on each end. Place clear nail polish or fray check on the ends of the ribbon to keep them from fraying.You are done!

Step 9: Place Personal Progress Book and journal and For the Strength of Youth pamphlet in each pocket. Don't forget a pen or pencil!

Step 10: To fold up, fold left side over, then right side and tie the ribbon with a bow.

Download a pdf file with all the instructions here: Young Women Personal Progress Book Holder © 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Just a reminder about Wordfull Wednesday

2012-01-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

Remember Wordfull Wednesday's topic is to share a typical day with us! So if you haven't done so, keep track tomorrow of what your day is like so you'll be ready for Wednesday's blog link up! The linky will be open for over a week though so you have plenty of time to get to it.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Creamy White Chili

2012-01-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

Perfect to eat on a cold, snowy day.

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Creamy White Chili

1 pound chicken, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 TBSP. vegetable oil
2 15 oz. cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chicken broth
2 small cans green chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add the beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream and heavy cream. Serve immediately.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Nature Stones and Homemade Snowflakes

2012-01-20T06:13:00.000-08:00

Ah....pinterest! What did I ever do without you? Lost all my ideas and "wanna-do's" in my bookmarks on three different computers, that's what.

This week for school we did some fun science activities that I pinned. I'd like to share them with you.

First we made homemade snowflakes using the instructions at Heart of the Matter. The hardest part was waiting for over an hour to see the crystals form.

But once they did we learned a few things.

The concentration of borax affected the size of the crystals that formed. The more borax there was the faster the crystals formed and the smaller they were.

Less borax = larger crystals but a longer wait time. Both are pretty though, don't you think?

Arianne, at Still Parenting always has the best posts about nature. Her photos are beautiful! It always leaves me inspired to do more with my own children.

Her recipe for Nature Stones was easy to make.

The dough is oddly "liquid" because of the cornstarch but sets wonderfully. It also whitens as it dries.

The kids had a terrific time making impressions of their nature finds in the "stones."

The younger ones declared they were making fossils.

What fun things did you do with your kids this week?

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

To be counted . . .

2012-01-19T02:15:00.000-08:00

a baby incognito

colorful baker's twine ready to wrap packages

fresh ground peanut butter with chocolate chips for snacking

bulging loaf of whole wheat dough

Glimpses of gifts I have counted this week at my photography blog.

joining this blog hop

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Next Wordfull Wednesday Topic for January 25

2012-01-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about my typical day. A typical day in winter is vastly different than a typical day in summer. And is there ever really a "typical" day? What does that mean anyway?

The topic for next week's Wordfull Wednesday is to share a day in your life with us. You don't have to provide pictures for every single thing or even chronicle minute by minute. Just hit the high {or low} lights. You can get an idea from this post or this post. Just think what a terrific journal entry this will make. I would have loved to read how a regular day progressed in the life of my grandmothers or great-grandmothers when they were my age!

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Living . . .

2012-01-17T20:33:00.000-08:00

I'm behind on this

but not this

The school book closet is reaching teetering proportions . . .

...again. How did I end up with two copies of War and Peace?

And only so much can be done while this Bubba Boy naps.

This photo just cracks me up! Ganache is not quite as fat as he appears in the photo but he's close! Quite a change from his rocky beginning {those pictures still make me cry}. Chubby babies are so much easier to care for, and are much more fun to squish and kiss and munch on, don't you think? And hearing him laugh deep belly laughs . . . pure joy!

In other news every single room in this house will be getting a complete decluttering in the next few months. And it will take months. Um, the school book closet is not the only part of the house that looks like that. I plan on doing a thorough job taking at least a week {or more} per room. Why? We are building a new house this year!!!! I am so excited! We built a house when we lived in Fallon, lived in it for 2 years, then moved up here into a smaller, older, rundown house while at the same time increasing the number of children by half of what we had when we moved. I want to decrease our stuff and simplify our routines before we get to the moving stage. You can see a bit of what our new view will be here.

So how about you? Any exciting plans for your family in the works?

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Literary Likenesses

2012-01-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

I kind of side skirted answering my own question for Wordfull Wednesday. I wrote what my children thought, rather than who I identified with, and some of you noticed. =)

The reason is there really isn't ONE fictional character that I solely identify with completely. There are, however, many that I can relate to for one reason or another.

Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables . Bookish, loves school and academics, and this, "I know I chatter on far too much... but if you only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me SOME credit."

Elnora Comstock from A Girl of the Limberlost. I actually like bugs! And science. When I was little (2 or 3) I came into the house with black stuff all over my neck. My mother couldn't figure out what in the world it could be so she had me show her. I took her out to our box elder tree, picked up a box elder bug, placed it under my chin and squished it between my chin and neck. It made a pleasant crunching sound!

In college I had a pest management class where I had to create a bug collection of over 50 various insects. Being the overachiever I am, I collected about 100 in about three weeks. We were supposed to take the whole semester. =)

Elinor Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility. Practical, meticulous, sensible, the typical oldest sister.

Marmee from Little Women. I admit I love Marmee! She gives her girls unconditional love, tries to shape their characters, and offer moral guidance. And, this is important, let's her daughters be who they are meant to be.

Elrond from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. What? I identify with an half-elven creature? Yes! Because of the description of his home, which is something I am trying {key word there} to create for mine. "His house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.

"I wish I had time to tell you even a few of the tales or one or two of the songs they heard in that house. All of them. . . grew refreshed and strong in a few days there. Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers, and their hopes. Their bags filled with provisions light to carry but strong to bring them over the mountain passes. Their plans were improved with the best advice." (J.R.R. Tolkein, The Hobbit, 61)

That description reminds me of my grandmother's house too.

The old woman who lived in a shoe. Every once in a great while when I have a very bad day I feel just like her, "with so many children she didn't know what to do."

There you have it - some of the various characteristics of ME.

It's not too late to join in our Wordfull Wednesday fun! Write a post about what fictional character you identify with and leave a link here.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

17 years 23 days

2012-01-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

That's how old I was when I got married.

Boy, {I} was young!

Yesterday I marked the milestone of being married for 17 years and 23 days.

I can now officially say I have been married for half of my life!

Look how far we've come.

Here's to many more years together with my one and only.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Wordfull Wednesday: Ma, Marme, or Mother?

2012-01-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

What fictional character do you identify the most with?

I put this question to my older girls asking them what fictional character I remind them of the most.

Here's how the conversation went down {to the best of my memory}.

Bon Bon: Ma.

Semisweet and Brownie: Ma?

Bon Bon: Yeah, you know Ma Kettle.

Me: What?! {laughter all around}

Bon Bon: {laughing} Just teasing! I meant to say Ma from Little House on the Prairie.

Me: Well, that's much better.

Semisweet: I was thinking Ralph Moody's mother.

Brownie: Yeah, you are more like that, only your husband isn't dead.

Me: Thank goodness he's not! So Ralph Moody's mother? Not Marme from Little Women?

The girls {I can't remember who said what at this point}: Not Marme. You have a lot of girls but you aren't like her. Ralph Moody's mother, yes! She's resourceful, loves her children, doesn't complain about the situation her family is in, and is happy. She digs in, gets it done. Her kids grow up knowing how to work together.

Well, I'm not going to argue with that! I'm so glad I wasn't the wicked step-mother from Cinderella or Mrs. Comstock from A Girl of the Limberlost!

If you've never seen Ma and Pa Kettle watch this funny clip. Twenty-five divided by five is fourteen?

So what fictional character do you feel a kinship to?

Join us for Wordfull Wednesday! Write a post about today's topic and link it up. Be sure to read and comment on other bloggers posts.

Since we only had one Wordfull Wednesday each in November and December I combined the participants of both for the drawing of this fabulous family love tree from ColorBee Love on etsy.

The winner is Kimberli from Tripp Trap Tripp Trap! Congrats!

Want a chance to win a great handmade item from etsy? Join the fun and write a post for Wordfull Wednesday!
© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

What fictional charactor do your identify the most with?

2012-01-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

That's the question you need to answer for tomorrow's Wordfull Wednesday.Think about it, write a post, then come back tomorrow and link up! (Thanks to Jaime for the idea!)

I'll announce the winner of December's Wordfull Wednesday prize tomorrow!

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

About Me

2012-01-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

I think I've been agonizing too much over what to write for an about me page. Consequently I've been putting it off. Now I have forced myself to sit and write until it is done, using an old post for inspiration.

Who am I?

I am...

. . . a baby when I hold a newborn babe and try to see the world through fresh eyes

. . . . a child playing kickball with my daughters and rolling down our grassy hill giggling the whole way

. . . . spoiled listening to my father play his guitar every night of my childhood. Dan Fogelberg's "Leader of the Band," The Beatles' "Blackbird," and Eric Clapton's "Hey, Hey" serenade me to sleep

. . . 15, the youngest freshman at Ricks College in the fall of 1993

. . . . a young bride, one month after turning seventeen, posing for pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple where I was married.

. . . . a first-time mother, one month before my eighteenth birthday, cuddling my daughter

. . . . a recipient of many kind acts of service - some big, some small, all appreciated

. . . . terrible at keeping my house clean. It's more fun to do other things

. . . . a daughter still calling my mom for advice and to tell her all my joys and sorrows

. . . . a milly said, unintentionally talking in spoonerisms at least twice a day

. . . . a reader filling extra time with words from a page

. . . . silly as I dance and sing around the kitchen everyday just to see my children roll their eyes - then I catch them doing the same thing later

. . . . musical. Playing the piano calms me, listening to oratorios swells me, singing soothes me.

. . . . not an animal person. Chickens and a dog are about all I can handle - unless we have a horse (ours died a couple of years ago). I like horses.

. . . . a homeschooling mother of nine with too little time, too little time

. . . . impatient

. . . . a chocoholic and lover of potatoes cooked-all-kinds-of-ways

. . . . 34 and have been married half my life to the best husband and father a girl could dream of

. . . . cheerful (most of the time) much to the dismay of my pessimistic friends

. . . . a Scrabble playing maniac

. . . . a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal - except for when I'm pregnant then I prefer cool, breezy skirts

. . . . faithful and faith filled

. . . . a steward over the children who God has trustingly placed into my care

. . . ancient. The blood of my ancestors - women of faith, humility, strength, fortitude, and wisdom - courses through my veins

. . . . a giver. My life has been a very blessed one. My wise parents provided me with many opportunities for growth and discovery of talents. But they also taught, "where much is given much is required." (Doctrine and Covenants 82:3) Meaning, the Lord has blessed me with these talents so I can be an instrument in His hands to serve others - whether it be my husband, my children, friends, or anyone else whose paths I cross

. . . . me.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Printable Perpetual Calendar - thankful scripture verses

2012-01-05T21:45:00.000-08:00

Is January 6th to late to post a printable perpetual calendar?

I didn't think so.

Perpetual calendars are great for just keeping track of birthdays, anniversaries, and other special dates without having to transfer those to a new calendar each year.

While these can be used in the traditional way, I created these two perpetual calendars with something a bit different in mind.

I used scriptures that speak of thanks and gifts, one for each month, in the hopes that these will be used to record the daily gifts from God that we each receive.

There are two different files. One using scriptures from just the KJV Bible (for my non-LDS friends) and one that also uses scriptures from the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants.

You can download them here: (click on each photo)

Bible {KJV} Thankful Scripture Perpetual Calendar

LDS Thankful Scripture Perpetual Calendar

Keep each calendar separate or mix them together to create two calendars with thankful scriptures from the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine & Covenants.

When printed on high quality cardstock these make lovely gifts that can be given any time of year.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Eucharisteo

2012-01-03T20:47:00.000-08:00

{early morning light in my daughter's bedroom}

For the last few months I have been on a personal journey. I've realized this is the only real 'goal' I want to carry forward going into the new year. Not because I don't want to accomplish other things or better myself but because this one thing has the power and capacity to be the catalyst for everything else. I have already seen it beginning to change me. It feels good!

And I want more.

Giving thanks, thanksgiving, eucharisteo.

Ann Voskamp writes, in One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

"The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning "grace." Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks.

But there is more, and I read it. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning "joy." Joy. Ah...yes. I might be needing me some of that. That might be what the quest for more is all about--that which Augustine claimed, "Without exception...all try their hardest to reach the same goal, that is joy."

{Matching colorful wooden mice to their families and home}

I've begun keeping a gratitude journal, numbering the daily gifts from God. President Henry B. Eyring has been keeping a gratitude journal for years. He would write a few lines every single night. Of this experience he shared, "Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened."

{kneaded with lots of love}

This one question “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” is powerful. The answers even more so. Why?

"To name a thing is to manifest the meaning and value God gave to it." (Alexander Schmemann)

Naming the blessings helps us see ourselves and those around us as God sees us. Giving thanks, counting my blessings, has changed my perspective, my focus. I no longer look inward. My eyes are drawn outward, upward to God. In that drawing I am able to see the needs of others around me. In my limited realm of experience I have learned that in giving thanks I want to give. How can I not when I see how much I have truly been blessed? It is a natural God-intended consequence.

Giving thanks, thanksgiving, eucharisteo.

It is changing my life.

P.S. I will be chronicling some of my daily gifts through pictures on my photography blog, Montserrat Photography. Come, feast with me.

P.P.S. This post is a re-written one of a guest post I did for Carrie at All That is Sweet in Life.
© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Flying High

2012-01-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I had the unexpected opportunity to ride in a small airplane over our valley. I am terrified of heights but surprisingly was not afraid to fly in this tiny little thing. It was a lot of fun! My only remorse is I forgot to get a picture of my four younger children (Special Dark up to Truffle) who were sitting in the back seat flying with me. How did I forget to do that?

Our house is at the bottom of the photo with a view of the four of the five pivots in our section.

The same section with a view of all five pivots. Our house is off frame at bottom right.

The shops with all the equipment lined up.

The pilot's gauges.

Remember the wildfire we had back in October? Here's a view of some of what was burned.

Another view of the plane after we landed.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T12:33:00.000-08:00

May your day be full of gratitude and wonder and awe at the miraculous birth that took place over 2,000 years ago. May your Christmas be shared with those whom you love and those whom God loves, even the less fortunate and the forgotten.

Here's wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas. See you after the new year!
© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Christmas Traditions: Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

We began making gingerbread houses when my two oldest were 2 & 3 years old. It has become a tradition we all look forward to every year. It is always a blast! And now 13 years later it is still as fun as can be.

This year we've decided we wanted to create a village. Several of the kids made houses, one made a "mansion," a couple others made some shops and stores (a candy store and The Pink Pig Bookstore), one made a church, and I made the Salt Lake Temple.

We use a basic template I created years ago. The house is just big enough to decorate with plenty of candy but not so big I have gingerbread dough coming out of my ears and I'm baking all day. . . well as much as baking ten gingerbread houses takes. :)

Gingerbread House Template (small) pdf

Every child gets their own house to decorate. Nobody has to share! That does make for a lot of baking and candy but ....it's tradition!

Hershey had help from Brownie. Can you tell she liked to taste the candy before it got put on the house?

Here's my favorite gingerbread cookie recipe. I cut it out of a Martha Stewart magazine years and years ago. Each recipe of dough will make about 4-5 houses. I make the dough, cut out and bake the pieces the day before our decorating day, and let them sit out overnight to harden up. Each child gets their own to decorate. I give them each their own small ziploc sandwich bag with a corner snipped off filled with royal icing and let them have at it.

Gingerbread Cookies

1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup molasses
5 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add molasses and mix well. Sift together dry ingredients. With mixer on low speed slowly add dry ingredients and 1/2 cup water to molasses mixture. Mix until smooth. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle. wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour. On floured surface roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters or use template to make gingerbread house pieces. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes 4 dozen cookies or 4 gingerbread houses.

Royal Icing
3 TBSP. meringue powder*
4 cups confectioner's sugar
7 TBSP. water

Beat with electric mixer for 7 minutes or until stiff peaks form. If icing is too thick add 1 tsp. of water at a time until you get better consistency. I usually end up making three batches of this so there is enough for everyone. (We do have nine children after all).

* I buy the Wilton's Meringue Powder that comes in a can in the cake decorating aisle.

Tips:

♦ I cut up old boxes and cover the pieces with foil to put our houses on.
♦ Assemble the house first and let set for about 15 minutes so the icing has time to harden a little before decorating your house.

The church

♦ Use your imagination to find candies, cookies, cereal, and other edible goodies for your house. We use sugar cones turned upside down for trees, shredded wheat for snowy rooftops, tootsie rolls for a pile of logs outside the house, swirled chocolate chips, gumdrops, red hots, M&M's, candy canes, wafer cookies, the possibilities are endless.
♦ Don't stress! Letting each child have thier own to decorate however they want is part of the fun. I love seeing the uniqueness of each house each year. It does get messy but that's okay!

The mansion

♦ Make extra house pieces to use in case someone does happen to break one of theirs. Honestly we've only ever had three pieces break in the 10 years we've been doing this.
♦ Invite friends over for a grand party! One of my daughter's birthday is December 18. For her eighth birthday we had 12 kids gathered round the table making their own gingerbread houses. It was so much fun!

This temple was really fun to do! I just created an outline of the ends with the spires on paper. I cut around that template using a butter knife. The side pieces were just rectangles. I cut the tops using the stem end of a leaf cookie cutter to create the square cut-outs.

I transferred the pieces to foil lined baking sheets and cut out the windows. I used an apple corer to cut out the circles on the side pieces and a butter knife to cut out the long curved windows on the end pieces.

Then I sprinkled broken pieces of blue and purple jolly ranchers (any hard candy can be used). To break the candy place in a ziploc bag and pound away with a hammer or rolling pin. I baked the gingerbread as usual then let it cool completely on the pan before removing.

I softened starburst candy in the microwave for about 7 seconds to mold the Angel Moroni on top. It looks more like a honking duck than an angel blowing a trumpet!

Also don't be surprised if you find a scene similar to this after making your gingerbread houses. That's the fun of it!

Fudge about 5 years ago

Slice of Heaven also has several free printable gingerbread house, church and elf house patterns to try.

Have fun, make a memory, and enjoy!

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Christmas Traditions: Nativity Scenes Part III

2011-12-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Traditions: Three Gifts

2011-12-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 ¶And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1-11)

Just as the Christ child received three gifts from the Wise Men each of our children receives three gifts. (Of course they also receive gifts from grandparents and friends but from our immediate family the number is three.) Two come from mom and dad and the third comes from the sibling gift exchange. Those sibling gifts are always homemade. It is so delightful to help them as they secretly scheme and plan, sew and build the perfect gift for one another.

The gifts we give as parents usually fall into two categories: one that is meaningful and one that goes along with their interests or talents.

For example the meaningful gifts this year are:

The Faith of Our Pioneer Fathers for the three oldest girls. This book was written by their great-great-grandfather. It is full of true faith promoting stories.

Living Water by Elspeth Young

The four younger girls will get the print of "their" woman from Elspeth Young's Women of the Bible series. Two of our daughters don't have a print to match their name so we chose unnamed women whose stories are faith filled, Living Water (The Samaritan Woman at the Well) and What Is to Be Done For Thee? (The Shunammite). The three older girls already have theirs (they received them for Easter) framed and hanging in their bedrooms. These prints are gorgeous!

The sibling gifts are always homemade. Sometimes it can be tricky to think of something good to make but in the end an idea always presents itself. Here are some of the things being made for siblings this year.

Mr. Ferrero Rocher is helping to make

an earring holder similar to this but with a mesh screen in the wings.

And a swing like this.

I am helping to sew an apron, an art kit,

and a pettiskirt.

There is also a personalized beauty book with hair style ideas and how-to's, make up application techniques, and nail polish design ideas all contained in a small binder. (Thank you, Pinterest!)

And quiet books downloaded and printed from Simply Fresh Designs.

How do you do gifts at Christmas?

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved

Come Let Us Adore Him CD winners

2011-12-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

It was fun reading about everyone's Christmas traditions. Thanks to all those who entered the giveaway. The randomly chosen winners are

and Heather from Raising Memories who shared a new tradition with Christmas bows.

Christmas Traditions: Advent Calendar

2011-12-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

This advent calendar was made by my dad several years ago. He used wooden office supply drawers typically used for the top of desks, attached knobs to the fronts of each drawer and then numbered and decorated them to match our tastes. If you look closely you can see our brand.

The first year Grandma and Grandpa filled each drawer with either candy or some other item like silly straws, hot cocoa mixes, and pieces to a small Nativity set. Each drawer also contained a passage of scripture that had to do with the Christmas story.

Every year my folks send out a few things for the advent calendar, usually a new Nativity set, and then Mr. Ferrero Rocher and I fill the rest of the drawers with goodies or activity suggestions. This has become a wonderful tradition counting down the days to Christmas that involves family from far away.

© 2007-2011 Chocolate on my Cranium, LLC all rights reserved