Happy Birthday Gus!

Meal Plan Monday

Monday - homemade pizza
Tuesday - Make-your-own Salads, Blue Cheese Vinaigrette (with lots of minced garlic)
Wednesday - Mulligatawny Soup (from Cook's Illustrated), rice, cilantro
Thursday - Salmon, coleslaw (from my friend Melinda)
Friday - Turkey dinner, all the fixings!
Saturday - TBA
Sunday - Soup Dinner at church

The Miracle of Saint Nicholas

A mosiac of Emperor Justinian located inside San Vitale.

We have been studying the Byzantine Empire in our history books. We have read about Constantine and Justinian. We have been looking at photographs of the Hagia Sophia and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, as well as other beautiful examples of Byzantine art and architecture. We have also been discussing the Orthodox church and trying to arrange a tour of the Orthodox Cathedral in Milwaukee.

Anyways, I picked up a book called The Miracle of Saint Nicholas at the library. I was expecting a story about the first Santa and some gold coins (right?), but it was about the persecution of Christians in communist Russia (a little too heavy for juvenile fiction? maybe?) and how faithful townspeople restored their church after the fall of communism. Snuggled under blankets on the couch, the girls and I had a remarkable conversation about freedom, government, and personal character in the face of adversity. It was one of those moments that makes me so thankful that we homeschool. What 5 and 7 year olds would receive that kind of education in the classroom?

Magnet Craft

If your refrigerator is anything like mine, it is covered with library receipts, meal plans, photographs of family (and our investment broker--long story, don't ask), and children's artwork. We never have enough magnets. Today the girls and I made a bunch of really cute magnets inspired by our niece Sophia.

Supplies needed:

Hot Glue Gun

magnets

glass gems (found in the floral department of craft stores)

circular stencil, pen

magazines and catalogs-- Mini Boden had particularly nice little prints to cut out

(1)Find a print that you like and stencil a circle around it.

(2) Cut it out.

(3) Glue the paper to the magnet, followed by the glass gem.

(4) Cute!

Grandmas, the girls made enough for your refrigerator too!

Not Walking Yet

but, he is very close and very fast.

Down Time

My computer is down again. It has a big, nasty virus, and while I try to figure out how to fix it (or have it fixed) Iwill take another break from blogging.