Decorating the Tree

 This year I got more help decorating the Christmas trees than ever before!  Both kids spent the afternoon helping me make our house look festive and get all of our non-breakable ornaments on our trees.  We had to be really cautious to not put our super sentimental favorites on this year, just in case our bulldozer baby decided to bulldoze our tree.  Even without some of our favorites, the trees turned out beautiful and definitely make our home feel cozy and ready for Christmas.  Advent begins tomorrow.  We are ready!

Wreath making with Katie

 

Katie and I had been planning a craft day for quite a while, but with our recent Covid scare, we had to postpone.  We were finally able to get together today for a masked, socially-distant wreath making party.  She picked up all this beautiful greenery as a Christmas present for me and it was fun and relaxing to listen to Christmas music, catch up, and work on our wreaths.  I love how pretty they look!  And an extra special bonus is that they'll last all winter look since they aren't overly Christmassy! I love moments that almost seem normal in the midst of this pandemic and a little time crafting with my friend was just wonderful.  

Thanksgiving

 Due to the recommendations of our state health officials, we decided not to gather with anyone outside of our house this year for Thanksgiving.  Though we missed our families, we had a wonderful, peaceful holiday filled with lots of delicious food.  We started the day off with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the National Dog Show.  Eric and I took turns in the kitchen, getting everything prepared for the big meal.  We tried a bunch of new recipes and stuck with a few family favorites.  Steve and Patti were nice enough to share their turkey with us, so we didn't need to mess with that.  We stuck with a standard mashed potato recipe and made a savory rosemary gravy.  The chipotle sweet potatoes were smoky, sweet and so tasty - definitely a great twist on a classic!  One of the other new stars of the meal was the herb and apple bread pudding.  We used parmesan and garlic Italian turkey sausage with apples, rosemary, parsley, and homemade croutons.  It was flavor packed and absolutely delicious. Growing up, my favorite recipe at Grandma Edie's Thanksgiving dinner was the scalloped corn dish that her mother used to make.  It is filled with bacon, onion, and lots of swiss cheese.  It tasted just like I remembered and was the star of the meal for me yet again.  The kids loved it too.  I also made a from scratch green bean casserole with homemade béchamel, fresh green beans, cheddar cheese, and French fried onions.  Great Grandma Ruby dropped off some homemade rolls and Eric made a delicious cranberry sauce.  We finished our amazing meal with a coconut cream pie and some absolutely stunning sugar cookies, made and decorated by a lady in town.  

After our meal and Simon's nap, we stopped by Steve and Patti's to deliver our last of the Thanksgiving care packages we made.  When we got home, we made a batch of popcorn for dinner and curled up to watch Home Alone together.  It was kind of a magical way to end the holiday.  And then, as if out of a movie, giant fireworks appeared from the house across the street.  We hurried outside to watch.  There were only a few, but it felt special.  We capped the day off with a video chat with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marcia before bed.  Despite missing our family, it really was a wonderful day! 

Homeschool: Unit Six - Alexander Hamilton and early American History

My kids have been addicted to the Hamilton soundtrack since August.  We have literally listened to it EVERY single time we have been in the car for the past four months.  They know most of the words.  Even little Simon sings along with "I'm not throwing away my SHOT!" when he hears it come on.  Both kids have been asking questions about the meaning behind the different songs or what life looked like back then, so I decided to do a quick unit on the colonies and Hamilton to help them connect even more with the music they love.  

Look at those beautiful 5s that Olivia made!

We made silhouettes as an art project.  They were NOT easy and did not turn out that great. Win some, lose some.

We learned a song with the bells.  

The kids each chose a career from the colonial time period.  Nolan was a silversmith.  He talked about the different hammers he would use in order to get the different designs on his silver pieces.  

Olivia was a farmer.  She made a plow for her horse, wore a farmer's hat, and talked about growing her crops and taking care of her animals. 

We talked about the Boston Tea Party and unfair taxes.  We had our own tea party, though ours wasn't a protest.

We attempted to make johnny cakes and butter.  Neither turned out.  Oh well.

We made our own quills out of feathers.  We practiced writing with ink.  Since the ink was not washable, I held my breath the entire time.  Luckily there weren't any spills.  The kids liked it and had fun.

We also spent time analyzing Hamilton song lyrics and talking about different points of view.  Nolan and I discussed George vs George - King George vs George Washington - and how they both had valid feelings about the revolution.  We talked about the Loyalists and the Revolutionaries.  He had a hard time choosing which side he would belong to, because each side had valid arguments.  It was fun to expand on the music that they know so well and love and learn a little more about it.  

Olivia's First Missing Tooth!

 Despite my insistence that Olivia is NOT old enough to lose her baby teeth, her first bottom tooth fell out today...or should I saw she pulled it out.  She was very proud of the fact that she got it out all on her own.  It has been wiggly for a while, but in the past couple of days it has gotten to that super disgusting point where it can bend completely flat either direction.  Livi was super excited for the tooth fairy to come and was thrilled when she had $5 in her tooth pillow the next morning!  I can't believe my little girl is old enough to lose teeth!  She is growing up so fast!