Ok, it's that time of year! RESOLUTION TIME! Here are a few I brewed up this morning with my coffee...

10. Less cursing - I am not a sailor.

9. More impulse control- I need to make sure I keep myself in check!

8. More water- I could use a little more hydration in my life.:) 

7. Less self-pity- Every party is not a pity party.

6.  More confidence- I guess I should believe I can actually do / achieve the things I want in life.

5. Less analyzing, more doing- Stop thinking about the "what ifs" and say "let's go".

4. More letting go- When I hang onto how things should be,  I miss a lot of how they really are.

3. Less flaking- Do what I intend on doing; I always commit with good intentions but never follow through because I half commit to too many things!

2. More purpose- Find things that have meaning and drop things that don't.

1. More yoga- I miss "me-time" on my mat.

WHAT ARE YOUR RESOLUTIONS?

Ok, Dave did this to me. He got me thinking about life in a positive light.  :)

Yesterday, when I was working on a piece about Indian culture, I was researching a state called Himachal Pradesh. It sits next to Tibet, a region which is now ruled by China. As you likely know, Tibetans (including the Dalai Lama) have been fleeing Tibet to settle in other areas, including McLeodganj (in Himachal Pradesh, India). In my googling, I came across the Tibetan Children' s Village (TCV).  I also read travel blogs from the region (I've found you can live vicariously through other peoples' adventures!)

After I looked at the site I felt like this was a really important place in my schema- it's one of those places that really called to me.  I spent some time looking at the site and I realized they have set up schools for 17,000 students and the entire primary system, in the 1970's (I think) converted to the Montessori method (my personal interest). The TCV even received an award in 2000 for its contribution to education and peace.

There are plenty of ways to help. If you feel compelled, look over the site! I hope to sponsor a child one day but until then, I will be putting together a box of warm items.  I'm going to gather thermals and hats and old sweaters. If anyone is interested in doing this with me, let me know. I'll keep you posted. Peace!

Point? I am thankful that I did not have to flee my country in fear and live my life as an orphan in exile from a communist regime.

Holiday Brain Boosters and Family Fun

by dustbunny

1. Measure together in the kitchen.
2. Listen to books on tape like a Christmas Carol, Polar Express, etc.
3. Read The Night Before Christmas, Big Hungry Bear's Merry Christmas book, Santa's Stuck, I-SPY Christmas version, etc.
4. Count together by using construction paper to make a tree and hang / count 25 ornaments; make a mantle and count / hang stockings. Do anything creative like this to boost number-chatting. Other countables: snowflakes, candy canes, stars, etc.
5. Put together pie-fractions.Make a construction paper pie. Glue a circle onto a cardboard "crust." THEN, cut it up an have kids make a whole.
6. Have your child memorize a Christmas verse or poem. Memorize it together for fun, not drilling.
7. Wrap gifts! Have your child practice wrapping. Use softer tissue paper, tape and a small box.
8. Set the table for fun. Make a template and have your kids match the items to the settings.
9. Polish brassing and fading items. See my non-toxic polish page for more.
10. Learn holiday traditions from around the world and pick one to try together for fun. Check out these sites for ideas on traditions and lessons. 
11. Learn how to say Merry Christmas in other languages.  Learn a new one each day!
12.  Look up words from carols to get a bit more background. Pick words like yuletide or french hens.
13. Make Christmas cards, ornaments and decorations with recycled materials.
14. Act out a carol or holiday skit. There are many to choose from! Example:  Dashing through the snow..in a one horse oopen sleigh...etc.
15. Draw a winter scene. Cut out collage pictures from holiday catalogs of things people do  or see in the winter. Easy things to find are sleds, fireplaces, hot cocoa, etc.
16. Make a paper mache tree, grinch, star, or snowman.
17.  Let your child give you a dictation. Take a wintery image from anywhere and have your child tell you a story about the image. You write it down and  paste the story below or on the back of the picture.
18. Collect books for a book drive, coats or other goodies to donate. You can even collect a few dog treats, food and toys to take to the humane society. Call ahead.
19. Tell stories!  Instead of reading, tell a family holiday story OR retell a book, show, movie plot- anything in your own words. Kids listen intently on every word you say! Even fairy tales, fables or classics can be condensed and retold.
20. Sit quietly together and listen to carols, classical music and or other relaxing tunes. Snuggle up and drink cocoa...CHILL!

These are like those rice crispy wreaths but easier. They add a pop of color to cookie plates. They are tasty but REALLY green...watch your tongue!

 photo from flikr, but they look like this...

EASY, No-Bake and really EASY

1 stick butter

40 marshamllows

vanilla

4.5 cups corn flakes

a LOT of green food coloring (a few good squirts)

red-hot candies

Melt butter and marshmallows. Don't BURN!

Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla and food coloring.

Stir in flakes.

Drop 1-2 inch blobs on wax paper.

While still warm, accent with red-hots.  You could even get ambitious and make wreaths but green holly-blobs are just as cool. :)

Ok, it's now or never. If you still need to whip up some cookies to decorate, I highly suggest this Merry Christmas Cookie Recipe. These are PERFECT cookie-cutter cookies. They have honey and lemon in them and they melt in your mouth.

Merry Christmas Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2/3c honey
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 2 3/4 c flour
• 1tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

In large bowl, cream shortening, sugar, egg, honey, and lemon extract.

Sift in (or dump as I do) flour, baking soda and salt.

Stir until well blended.

REFRIGERATE for a few hours or overnight (perfect at-night idea to be ready for the next day).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Lightly grease cookie sheets (or use non-stick).

On a lightly floured board, roll out dough.

Cut with cutters.

Place 1" apart.

Bake 8-10 minutes until edges are golden.

Let cool on racks.

Decorate with colored frosting (see recipe).

I usually make little bowls of all sorts of colors and just let the kids have at it...it's messy but we get technicolor cookies.:) 

YUMMY glaze frosting  RECIPE for decorating.

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 to 1 1/2 tsp milk

Tip: Dip plastic cutters in warm vegetable oil to get a clean cut.

SOURCE: What's Cooking America by Stradley and Cook 

I know, what a country-crafty looking book...which is SO not me. I swear by this book though. It's GREAT.

I FEEL LIKE A POST-HOG TODAY, sorry. It's cold, I'm bored (my kids are at skateboarding, napping and on the toilet, lol).. and I'm WAY off task.

When I hired a super-chill, nice-guy bass player to come to my house and teach my son awhile back, we found this great guy named David Hyman. Well, he moved to NYC to promote his new CD and we no longer have our Mr. Shneebly from school of rock. :(

Anyway, he had a written review in the Seven Days VTand I want to share it.

It's not really my kind of music but a few of the songs are folky and I like that- Neil Youngy meets kind of Flaming Lipsy...as the review says. I'll agree with that. Anyway, not everyone's taste but when chilling or working, it's a nice CD.

DOG's MYSPACE PAGE

You've all heard ignorance is bliss...well, particularly when mixed with shopping, it is "planned" euphoria. BUT I have to thank my friend for forwarding me some information I will show to everyone I know. It will affect the choices I make from now on. If you are anything like me, the normal, so-so thrifty, marginally aware consumer, you will never be the same after watching the story of stuff.

I'll admit I am not the best conservationist.  I'm concerned and I pitch in but I'm not a leader in this dept (rockergirl probably knows all the stuff I'm about to show you!). I drive an SUV and I have too much stuff. I do try to buy second hand or curb the amount of "junk" that comes into the house. I'm not a hard-core shopper anymore (when I lived by Target, I was always picking things up for "fun" not necessity).

When you watch the video,  it will stick with you, I promise. It is 20 minutes but SO worth it. My son was asking me about "ads" yesterday so I think I will show this to him...it's very informative and easy to "get it." Darn, that's the bad part because now I feel guilty and I obligated! I'm just glad that all these conversations are happening and we (normal people) are "buying" into it...let me know what you think.

Check out this very well researched and produced video - before you go shopping. 
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
And remember this - on average only 1% of the 'gifts' you buy will last more than 6 months before they are disposed of and pollute our world. 

Here are some cool holiday gift ideas
- theater tickets
- take a friend to dinner - even kids. 
- donate trees in ones name:  http://www.americanforests.org/planttrees/
- check out this website:  http://www.heifer.org
- look at second hand toy stores - especially for the little ones who wouldn't begin to know the difference.  and thank your friends who give you a used gift.
- do secret santas to limit gifts.
- do group gifts - one 'bigger' vs tons of smaller
- amusement park tickets
- send holiday cards via email
- shop at local craft fairs
- natural ingredient make-up like Arbonne
- pedicure/manicure/eyebrow gift certificates or parties (ask for formaldehyde-free polish!)
- US made clothing
- candles with glass holders

Please watch this
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
Please send to everyone you know.

1. Flash cards (homemade is cool). These are an old fashioned way to get kids into back and forth quizzing. Ways to use them include:

• matching letters to household objects
• cutting magazine photos that match a letter sound
• matching letter sounds to other games, colors, foods puzzles or books
• auditory game like...who am I? I say "s" as in "snake" and have your child grab the card

2. Tracing.  Start with the finger; move to using a crayon; then try a pencil. These are awesome and I am giving them to my sons for Christmas only because they have so much fun writing letters in gritty materials. Tracing is a fun part of learning letters.

3. Air-tracing. Say the sound as you make the letter shape in the air. You can do this while multi-tasking!

4. Sand, salt, grit drawing. Have your child"write" letters and say their sounds in a shallow dish filled with salt or our favorite, grits.

5. Make letter shapes from blocks. Spell out your child's name with blocks (as in make the letter shapes, not use the alphabet blocks- unless you have them!).

6. Letter basket. Get a box or basket. Write a letter on the side. Have your child fill it with items that begin with the sound. Leave it on a shelf to visit often.

7. Scavenger hunt.  Pick letters from a pile. Switch off finding things until you or your kiddo loses interest.

8. Food tasting. Pick a letter, like P. Have a feast tasting wierd things that start with P. Emphasize the sound, "puh."

9. Make a letter-shaped poster. Cut out/find items that have the sound and glue them inside. You could make one huge letter of each one in your child's name and put them on the wall. Contribute to the sound posters as you go.

10. Tissue box toss. Take a tissue box. Use clear tape to secure a letter to one side. On all the remaining sides, tape (packing tape is awesome) images that go with the sound. You can then toss it around during breakfast or when you are bored:).

Wing it and get creative! 

Now that we hang around with seasoned parents, we find that nearly every dinner party ends up in a vasectomy conversation. Hubby & I made the mistake of having a martini and going "there" with our newest 1-kid parent-friends. It's old hat to us but they cracked a joke and we gave too much info...I think it frightened them!

On the other hand, I drove & picked up my friend's hubby to the vas clinic just to be nice and I ran into another hood dad at the bagel shop, he was like, hey...how are you ...I just had my "appointment" this morning. I was all, oooh, gotta get those peas, lol! My hubby felt free to crack dirty jokes during his...I won't even say them but he'll blame it on the valium or whatever they gave him:).

Anyone know anybody homeschooling right now? I'm so on the fence of taking my son and designing our own curriculum. I'm just scared it'll be too much for me to handle.  I don't know why- even with a teaching background- I am afraid to pull my son from school. If you know anyone who has decided to go for it and loves it, could you share your two cents? 

I'm thinking about a Renaissance/ Montessori blended home-school curriculum. There are resources out there for all that so I know I can actually come up with materials but if anyone has guidance, let me know. I have to get some direction here before I do something drastic like pull my kids out of school...

BTW, post-teacher conference update...my son is now too squirrely and he can't follow directions. YET he gets everything done. He's chatty and when I went in there the other day he was crying because he got in trouble for talking. He was so bummed. Why do this to him week after week? 

Thanks! DB