Our Learning Room

We finally did it earlier this year. You know the room that you have that's crammed too full of stuff and you just keep adding more junk to it? Well, we got tired of not being able to use that room and did something about it! We turned it into a craft/school room. Ah. We purchased some kids tables and chairs and cleared out everything that didn't need to be there. Since I only have a preschooler and a toddler, our needs are pretty basic until they get to be school age. For now, we enjoy sitting doing crafts - coloring, do-a-dot markers, gluing projects, etc. I've started working on the alphabet with N and will be putting all of his alphabet collages on the wall. So here is the final result of the room.

Since I am linking up to the Homeschool Link-up Party at Joys of Home Educating, I am adding a few more pictures of our learning areas around our house.

The Living Room, where lots of reading happens and jumping off the couches of course.

The Garden (taken last summer!)

The Dirt Box

Fire! Pretend of Course...

My son and I have been looking for firefighting adventures recently. Here's some of the adventures we've been creating:

• I traced this image and then had my son glue small squares of tissue paper for the light, windows and wheels. Then I cut a pipe-cleaner and helped my son to glue the ladder pieces together. Just a quick fun project that helps him with finger coordination and learning about different art mediums.

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• Today I took a cardboard box and cut out some windows and slapped on a thin coat of black paint and added some red and yellow flames. We then got out all of N's firetrucks and played firemen. You can see a cat in one of the windows that is waiting to be rescued, then my son put him in the ambulance and took the cat away to the hospital. Kid's imaginations are so cute!

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• And while we are on the firefighting crafts subject...a year ago for my sons birthday, he had a firetruck party, so I made a firetruck from a box. Again, just some quick coats of paint and paper plates hot glued on to the side as the wheels. The kids had lots of fun riding in the firetruck. Oh, and don't forget the firetruck cake!

Wordless Wednesday - A Day at the Lake

It was a beautiful day on Saturday so we took advantage of it by going to a nearby lake and visiting the ducks. It was great to have a taste of spring!

Linked up at: Mama to 4 Blessings

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

Okay, so fall is over...but that doesn't mean the pumpkin has to go away! I still have lots of cans of pumpkin in my pantry and had some eggnog to use up also, so I whipped this pie up and it is scrumptious and as most of the recipes I use, easy to make! The pie was devoured to fast for me to take my own picture of it!

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 3 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water
• 
  FILLING:
• 2 eggs
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1 cup eggnog
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

• In a food processor, combine flour and salt; cover and pulse to blend. Add shortening and butter; cover and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. While processing, gradually add water until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until easy to handle.
• Roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, eggnog, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg and cloves until blended. Pour into crust.
• In a small bowl, beat brown sugar and butter until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Stir in pecans; sprinkle over filling.
• Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 8 servings.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

Come Ye Thankful People Come...

Come, ye thankful people, come,

raise the song of harvest home; 

all is safely gathered in, 

ere the winter storms begin. 

God our Maker doth provide 

for our wants to be supplied; 

come to God's own temple, come,

raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God's own field, 

fruit as praise to God we yield; 

wheat and tares together sown 

are to joy or sorrow grown; 

first the blade and then the ear, 

then the full corn shall appear; 

Lord of harvest, grant that we 

wholesome grain and pure may be. 
 

For the Lord our God shall come,

and shall take the harvest home; 

from the field shall in that day 

all offenses purge away, 

giving angels charge at last 

in the fire the tares to cast; 

but the fruitful ears to store 

in the garner evermore. 
 

Even so, Lord, quickly come,

bring thy final harvest home; 
gather thou thy people in, 

free from sorrow, free from sin, 

there, forever purified, 

in thy presence to abide; 

come, with all thine angels, come, 
raise the glorious harvest home.

Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanksgiving Recipes

Hooray - Thanksgiving is almost here! A time of reflection for all of our blessings and a time to spend together with family making wonderful memories.

We get together with my husband's family on this day and although I don't make the turkey, I enjoy making some of the side dishes.  I love to try new recipes and this year will be no different! I plan to take old favorites and try a different twist on them.  So, here are the dishes I will be making this year:



Cranberry-Apple Cider Sauce
 Ingredients

• 3  cups  apple cider
• 12  ounces  fresh cranberries (about 2 cups)
• 1  cup  packed light brown sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon  cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon  allspice
• Pinch of salt
• 1  medium Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Preparation

1. In a large saucepan, bring cider to a boil and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes.
2. Combine reduced cider, cranberries, sugar, spices, salt and apple in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Simmer sauce until thickened and cranberries have popped, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. (Sauce will thicken more when cool.)
Recipe and photo courtesy of allyou.com

Florence Mama’s Candied Yams

Ingredients
3 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced crosswise in 1⁄4-inch-thick rounds
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
3 cinnamon sticks
1⁄2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 orange, thinly sliced into rounds

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In an ungreased 2-quart baking dish place sweet potato slices, overlapping slightly and covering the dish. In a saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Cook until sugar is dissolved, then add the orange slices. Pour the mixture over the potatoes, covering the entire surface.
Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake 40 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove foil and bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until top is golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Makes 8 to 10 servings + leftovers.
*Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence. Photo courtesy of tinygreenmom.com

Maple-Nut Tart

Your Favorite Pie Crust 

2 large eggs
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces
1 1/2 cups walnut pieces

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 F. On lightly floured piece of wax paper or parchment paper, roll dough into 12-inch circle. Carefully fit into 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan, gently lowering dough into bottom and sides of pan without stretching. Roll rolling pin over edge of tart pan to cut off excess dough; set tart shell aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and salt; whisk in maple syrup. Add nuts, and mix filling to combine. Place tart pan on rimmed baking sheet, and pour in filling. Bake tart until filling is set and crust is slightly golden, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Remove tart from pan before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Everyday Food

Pumpkin Spice Roll

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar, divided

3/4 cup  flour

1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp.  Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3   eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup  canned pumpkin

1 cup chopped Walnuts

4 oz.  (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Preparation

HEAT oven to 375°F.
GREASE 15x10x1-inch pan; line with waxed paper. Grease and flour waxed paper. Sprinkle clean towel with 1/4 cup powdered sugar.
MIX flour, spice, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl with mixer on high speed until thickened. Add pumpkin; mix well. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended. Spread onto bottom of prepared pan; sprinkle with nuts.
BAKE 15 min. or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately invert cake onto towel; remove pan. Carefully peel off paper. Starting at one short side, roll up cake and towel together. Cool completely on wire rack.
BEAT cream cheese and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in medium bowl with mixer until well blended. Add COOL WHIP; mix well. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour. Unwrap and sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar just before serving.

Recipe courtesy of kraftfoods.com

Linked up at: It's So Very Cheri Party Time
Tuesdays at the Table

Wordless Wednesday - A Trip Down Memory Lane

We have family that lives near San Francisco and on a trip to see them we also gazed upon the Golden Gate bridge - on a clear day!  I took the photos in B&W and Sepia to give them a neat, vintage look.

Linked up at: