Special Days, Snow, Space, Secret Recipes and More

What a delightful and eclectic week it’s been!

~1~

Groundhog Fun

Luke Groundhog in His Snow-Burrow

 We spent the early part of the week reading groundhog books, doing Groundhog puppet shows, building burrows, inside and out, and doing a Groundhog storyhour at home (because the real library story got snowed out for us – we could not get out of our road to make it there!) Lots of fun and learning – especially with flashlight-shadow discoveries!

~2~

Oops!  Missed a St Brigid Reprise

Last Year's St. Brigid's Day Liturgical Table

Despite having Brigid’s Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story out from the library, I completed blanked on having our second annual St. Brigid celebration.  Bummer!  we had so much fun with it last year, and we so love having Saints Teas and Celebrations.  So, I have put a reminder for next year on the December page of our current calendar and am wondering: What do others do to organize and remind themselves not to forget celebrating their Special Day celebration recipes, activities, teas, etc ideas?  Do leave a comment to share your ideas or link to blog posts about them.  I find others organizational strategies so inspiring!

~3~

Spaced Out!

Luke holding two self-made paper space ships in his and Nina's spaceship construction...

While Nina and I were out at the library the other day, so I could to tutor a friend’s son while Nina enjoyed 100% one-on-one attention and story reading with his Mom, “the guys” stayed home together.  Yep, Mike was snowed out of work, so Daddy, Luke and Jack had “guy time”.  Somehow, Saturn came up, which provided an opening for Mike to share one of his childhood passions with Luke – planets and space.  Now, our home is filled with impromptu space exploration in the form of puzzles, constructions, youtube videos, books and drawings among other things.  So, we would love links to your favorite kindergarten/pre-K astronomy ideas and printables and we also want to alert everyone tabout a giveaway we have going until Sunday that includes an awesome Montessori astronomy album as part of a free seat in an online course.  (No homework or assignments necessary with the course, either.  Just go at your own pace to learn as you wish.  All courses should be so easy!)

~4~

Snow, Snow, Snow!

Nina headed out to shovel.

We have had so much snow lately.  And our Nina is starting to like cold and snow better.  As a matter of fact, after helping me make breakfast the other morning, she ran, got her boots on with her jammies and headed out to the front walk, saying, “I’ll shovel for you, Mommy.”  Oh that she always would keep her willingness and delight for work.  Oh, that all we adults could model it – approaching all tasks with love, joy and vigor.  Maybe we should have named our little girl after her nana and St. Therese afterall. J

~5~

Stanger Secret Recipe

Luke's Lip-Lickin' Good "Stanger Recipe"

  

What do you get when you leave two Stanger kids in the kitchen while taking a business call?  A big mess and a challenge that leads to lip-licking yumminess (at least according to Luke.)  Yep, I came out of the bedroom this morning to discover that Nina and Luke – with light speed – had started “making you a surprise cake, mommy”.  After helping them clean up a mess of chocolate powder and questioning what they had already put in the bowl (cocoa, cinnamon, a bit of corn starch, milk, sugar and agave among other things),  I helped them add more to their mix to try to “save” the ingredients they’d used.  Some eggs, more milk, coconut flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and olive oil later, we had a mix that seemed an okay consistency and taste to make “cupcakes” with.  Not sure we have a keeper recipe here, but Luke sure liked the results!

~6~

Belly Laughs and Reaching Out

Jack on a mission to get one of his siblings paper plate skates...

  

Sometimes, God speaks loudest with no words at all.  I cannot express how many times this past week that witnessing Jack’s belly laughs and watching him reach out to grasp something has moved me to reflective, but happy tears or warm, rich smiles.  At just seven months old, he is a constant lesson to me to savor simple moments, wonder at the marvel of natural development God designed so incredibly and understand that life is a joy. 

~7~

Writing Tips, Please

Daddy has been frustrated that his job does not allow him many opportunities to use his truer gifts and talents and has been rediscovering a passion for writing outside of work.  As such, he has published a few Bleacher Report articles, Super Bowl XLV: Steelers and Packers Are Success Stories for the NFL Model and Ben Roethlisberger Apologist: Why I Give Big Ben a Pass, (combining his interest in writing with his love for sports, particular his beloved Steelers!).  He is also looking into a college writing course to take outside work hours and wants to learn more about income-generating online writing and publishing (maybe self-publishing) a novel he has been dabbling at for years.  If anyone has some tried-and-true tips, resources, leads, links, etc., do share!  We’d love to use Daddy’s writing as an example for the kids about how to follow your passions to best use your gifts and talents and any direction from those who have done so before is always appreciated!

This post is being shared at Conversion Diary’s 7 Quick Takes.