From My Reader

I saw this, this week and thought it was so easy and so pretty. I am amazed at what an inspiration blogs can be, I will share some of my own inspired creations very soon.

Handmade Dogwood Blossoms

From My Reader

Here are a few fun craft projects for the season, I am excited to try them all--enjoy!

Spring Baskets

Coloring Eggs Naturally

Bottle Cap Bunnies

From My Reader

Here are a few fun posts that I have stumbled upon in blogland this past month, I hope you enjoy.

A do it yourself magazine holder.

A Treasure Basket for the little ones, I am thinking of doing this on a regular rotation for B.

A great, great game idea and I just found some blocks this afternoon that I can use, I know the bigs will really enjoy this activity.

A great nest craft that made me happy when I thought of it hanging on our hutch. Now I just need a trip to the thrift store for some spoons and JoAnn's for a few eggs.

We have had the book Benjamin's Box for several years, so I was so excited to see this post. We will be making our own Benjamin Box this season.

Banana Mini Muffins

The other morning E and I wanted to bake some muffins. E decided she wanted banana muffins and a recipe by Giada(her favorite food network chef), so this is what we baked. We did not make the frosting and I added a bit of wheat germ for good measure and they were so tasty. When the muffins came out of the oven I just wanted to try one and before I knew it I had eaten four. I had to laugh because as I looked at the pans I noticed someone else had gotten to them first (J) and couldn't hold himself back either--so yes the muffins were that delicious--enjoy!

Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Muffins:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 ripe bananas, peeled and coarsely mashed

Frosting:

• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions

Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl to blend. Beat the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the banana. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the muffins on the middle rack until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached, about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack and cool slightly. The muffins may be eaten warm or cooled completely and frosted.

To frost the cupcakes: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the mascarpone cheese and then beat in the honey. Spread the frosting over the muffins. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

Daybook

Today We Are Celebrating: A's 6th Birthday--wow I am amazed that our BooBa is 6, it does go fast. I think it has been a fun day for him filled with special treats and a lot of Transformers. (Posting a day late, I didn't feel good last night and had to stop and get in bed.)

Around The House:I think I am longing for Spring and when it isn't threatening snow the sun is shinning brightly and the birds are singing. I made this arrangement using 3 Dollar Tree flower stems, branches from the yard and a vase with greenery I already had. I am getting excited to transition the house to a fresh season.



I wanted to share my china hutch before the change over. My red dished are still up in addition to a splash of red flowers and a Love day decoration made with scrapbooking supplies and a vintage print from here (so many cute prints). Also on the middle hutch of the shelf you can see 2 creamers and a mini teapot, all thrifty finds that I am so glad to have. Thrifting has been a great way to start building up my tea collection.


Also as spring approaches I am longing to clean out and reorganize cupboards and closets but that will probably have to wait until summer.

Real Life: This is what our great room looked like on my last tile cleaning day. Yes, a mess and they cleaned it all up.


What I'm Reading: Dwellings: Living Fully from the Space You Call Home. It is by Mary Beth Lagerborg and inspiring in all areas of home life. I had wanted it for a long time and got it this past Christmas. Reading it is like comfort food for my heart. I am also reading Oolong Dead from the Tea Shop Mysteried by Laura Childs. I try to retreat for 2 chapters and a cup of tea every afternoon.

Quiet Time Ponderings: Oh there are so many things right now. I am currently in Galatians and I already got stopped at verse one "Paul, an apostle---sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the father,". Okay, so if Paul was sent to the Galatians by no man but God himself am I any different. I (we) are sent by God to minister to our families and to any other person or people that cross our threshold or path. This verse gives me confidence that no matter where I am, home or away I am sent by the Lord to do his ministry. So, no worries of "What am I going to say?" or "I can't handle this" when the 3 year old is screaming for the umpteenth time or the 7 year old is doing the same in the form of arguing and crying; because God has sent me to minister to these needs. So I read on and got stopped again in verse three "Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." So as I go about ministering to my family and any others God sends my way; am I greeting them with the same grace and peace God desires me to impart to them? Am I giving grace to my children in their behavior and mistakes, even if I am horribly tired and impatient? Is my own attitude fostering peace in our home? or is my attitude grouchy, cross and short? When I am driving, visiting the library or grocery store am I greeting others with grace and peace when they are slow, crabby, impatient or confused? I should because that is how our heavenly father greets us. So many more gems but I will stop.

In The Learning Loft: We have finished up our study of Australia and will be starting Antarctica. For Australia instead of making notebook pages we made mini books and put them all in a lapbook when we were done. This was a great change that we will stick with for Antarctica. We also have a few more weeks left in our Dinosaur Study. We are using a Dino book and study guide from Queen Homeschool and it has been wonderful. E is working on 2-digit addition and subtraction with carring and borrowing as well as graphs and graphing. A is working on skip counting by 2's and 5's. K is doing lots of counting and ABC activities associated with The Mitten by Jan Brett.

In The Kitchen: I made macaroni and cheese for A's birthday and we have also enjoyed Rosemary Chicken, Chicken and White Bean Soup and Lentil Soup. The freezer is stocked with the left overs. J and I really like soup but the children do not but I will persist.

On My To Do List: Lessons, laundry, clean bathrooms, pack for So. Cal trip, prep some lessons, clean up the kitchen and change B's diaper.

Have a great day!

Valentine's @ the Park

J asked what I wanted to do for Valentine's day and I said "go to the park." Yes, I know it is the middle of winter but the need to experience some sun on my body is huge, so we went to the park in Reno and had a picnic. I think the smiles on their faces tell you it was an afternoon enjoyed by all.


Boo-Ba

Peanut


He seems a little young to be doing this but he climbed several times with our help and had a lot of fun. I think it was only his second visit to a park.




My favorite picture of the day--K all smiles.

Visit a park it's good for the winter heart!

Valentine Card

Here is our final card project. The children and I made this for J and we were very happy with the result. I used 2 lunch bags folded in half and then stapled the binding. I had 2 pockets at that point so I snipped off the ends of 2 of the bags to get 2 more pockets. Then the 3 older children wrote or dictated their messages for Daddy and decorated their cards. I attached a little pretty scrap paper for tabs and we filled the pockets. (I think scrap paper is so handy and I keep a file of my scraps for various uses).


Our cover


An inside page with one of the children's handprints.


Another handprint and a vintage print printed from here. I discoverd this wonderful blog 2 weeks ago and have printed out many things to frame for added touched here and there.


The back cover with B's handprint.

Such a cute keepsake that can be made in so many ways--give it a try!

Scroll down to see the original post and link to the idea for this card with a lot more detailed pictures.

Cute Card--you want to take the time to look at this.

I just had to share this because I think it is so neat and could be used for so many occasions. It is a fun interactive card or book that you can make with so many of your own supplies or your children's. We are going to make one soon and I will post pictures when it is finished.

Here is the link--enjoy.

A Quick Heart Game

I made this game for K's Tot School with a Valentine's theme but you could make it with any theme you need.

Supplies:
dollar store stickers
blank business cards




Take 2 cards and adhere the same sticker on each card and presto you have cards to play matching games --try Go Fish or Memory. I made 10 pairs but make as few or as many as you would like. You could also turn this into a File Folder Game by attaching one set of cards to the inside of a folder and have your tot match them up.



Enjoy!

Snowflake Craft

This was a fun multi-aged craft. First I gathered all things, white, clear or natural from around the house. We used white beans, white pom poms (not seen in the picture), white and clear buttons, and white and clear beads.


I"m not sure where this muffin tin presentation came form but somewhere in blogland (sorry) but sometimes a craft is all about the presentation and organization to make it interesting to the reluctant crafter.

Then E took some popsicle sticks and glued them into a snowflake pattern for everyone to paint white and then we decorated with our stash of items and glue.


Here are E and K's creations.


I hung them with fishing line from our dinning light and it makes a cute display of the children's handiwork.

Go ahead give it a try and enjoy the time with you precious children.

Wintery Days

What do we do all day (besides lessons)? How do we spend Winter days? Here's a look.


We let the 3 years old have the camera--not bad if I do say so myself, yes K really took this pictures.


We loose our first tooth. A noticed it was loose on Friday afternoon and by bedtime he was in the bathroom with a mouthful of blood doing the extraction himself. It was uncanny because the previous day as part of our Dino study we studied and made a booklet on the 4 types of teeth.


We learn to self-feed with a spoon. B is now 16 months.


We pull out the ball pit.


We make transformers out of math rods and tape.


E gave K a manicure and a pedicure.


Build a snowman, of course--E did this all on her own and then helped A build one too.


And we play in the snow in our boots, jacket and swimsuit--K wanted to also go in the sprinklers but I had to tell he no, much to her disappointment.

Happy Winter!

Daybook

I am thankful for: the wonderful white snow falling outside and the chicken on the stove.

I am reading: I just started reading James Dobson's Bringing Up Boys because I am wondering if I am missing something or expecting to much.

Around the house: E and A are learning to vacuum. I finally took the experts advice and grouped my chicken/rooster collection together and I am very pleased with the results.


This is the top of my china hutch.

On the to do list: I have a stack of printouts that need to be glued and cut for file folder games, more blog posts, scrapbooking and this behemoth of a mess, Jay calls it "the Tammy know one knows":



This is the top of my dresser/ night stand. It is a major dumping ground for reading materials, lists and future education plans. Can you spy how many books are on it? Too Many! I need to straighten, dust and trash this whole area and there is even a pile on the bottom that you can't see.

When will I ever learn: to stop throwing these precious gift away (or at least put them in the garage garbage where they won't be found.) I started a box to keep the really special ones in but I have cause one to many protruding lips and vanishing smile.



On the menu: Chicken and Dumplings (Jay's favorite), perfect for a snowy day. I have tried scratch dumplings but the best is Bisquick. And for another night Mexican soup from Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa.

Something new I am trying: I found this great list the other day and it was such an answer to prayer. Sometimes it feels like my prayers are all over the place and this has given me a focus for praying for my children. It is also neat because it gives me something to share with them each morning and lets them know Mommy is praying for them. It is a list of verses to pray each day of the month. Click here to see.

In the learning loft: We are studying Dinosaurs, Winter, Australia, the 12 disciples and Ben Franklin. We are reviewing the continents and place value. We are starting to experiment with graphing and counting by 2's and 5's.

Quiet Time ponderings: Practicing the Law of Love. I think we are all familiar with the verses that say "Love your neighbor as yourself" but do you know God wants more than that from us? In John 13:34 Jesus says "A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another." Jesus doesn't say love others as long as it works for you or as long as it is easy but he says love one another as I have loved you. Jesus also says never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we, striving to be more and more like our savior, ought to never stop loving the people in our lives no matter how difficult. Jesus never gives up on us and we are never to give up on others. In the verses just prior to John 13:34 Jesus is having the last supper with his disciples and he is trying to tell them who is going to betray Him, Judas. Did you catch that Judas, the very one who shows his sinfulness and disloyalty was welcome at the dinner table. Judas, no matter how vile or disloyal was gathered with Jesus and sat among his closest friends. We are to do that in our own lives. No matter how much someone hurts us, we are to gather them among our closest most trusted friends and welcome them at our tables, in our very lives. How? Romans 5:5 says "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is by the Holy Spirit in us that we can love the people Jesus places in our lives. We are to love like Jesus does, not matter the situation, Jesus laid it all down and gave it all up. We are to give up ourselves, our feelings, our concerns, our needs and replace it with the spirit of God and love as He does.

Matt. 7:12 says "so in everything do to others what you would have them do to you." So I ponder as I go through my day how to love the little ones and big ones in my life, as Jesus does. I think of how I want to be treated and cared for and then do in kind to others. Oh how I wish I was more perfect, more like Christ, because I daily miss the mark but yet I ask myself what can I sacrifice so they can have abundant life, what can I give, what can I teach, how must I behave to communicate that I love them and so does our Lord.

Blessings To You All!

"Nutella Cookies"

On Christmas morning I found a jar of Nutella in my stocking. Nutella is a wonderful chocolate hazelnut spread that makes the driest graham cracker taste like a decadent dessert. But better than a cracker is a cookie. I stumbled upon this recipe from the Food Network show Everyday Italian and it is yummie. Giada calls the recipe hazelnut biscotti but we just call them Nutella cookies. We omit the hazelnuts and ad 3/4 cup chocolate chips. Enjoy!



Got Nutella?

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In another medium bowl combine the butter, chocolate hazelnut spread, sugar, and brown sugar. Using an electric mixer, cream the ingredients together, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Add the hazelnuts and stir until just combined.

Using a tablespoon measure, spoon out the cookie dough onto a cookie sheet, spacing the mounds about 4 inches apart. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the cookie dough. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool.

Where We Have Been & Where We Are Going!

Happy New Year everyone. I just wanted to share a few glimpses into our lives as we review the last 12 months and look ahead to the next 12. It is my aim to not just create a brag list but rather let you know how we really live here in the mountains raising our sweet ones.

The year has been a blessing and we have had to take it day by day and month by month. As many of you know the building industry has come to a grinding halt which has rocketed us into very uncertain financial times. Our lives have become truly dependent on the Lord and he has not let us down. God has provided for us through several Cornerstone remodels, H & R Block, family, gifts cards, hand me downs, our church, consignment stores and thrift stores. At times I have felt like life is boring and nothing ever exciting happens to me but when I reflect I truly praise God for the slow lifestyle we live here in Truckee. Now, that is not to say that I am bored in the least. A home, husband, 4 children and a home-school keeps me very busy in the day in and day out and I frequently say "I wish I could get bored." I love my family dearly and pray that in the coming year the Lord will continue to endear my heart to theirs and show me their real worth and value in His eyes. So let me start with me. The highlight of my year was all the hiking that we got to do this summer and fall (scroll down to see me and my shadows on a fall hike). I love the outdoors and I look forward to finding more family friendly hikes this next summer season. Blogging also became a big part of my time this year--there is a whole world out there, pick your hobby and you can find an online community to share your passion with and glean ideas and encouragement from. As for me I read homeschooling blogs, frugal living blogs, decorating blogs and spiritually encouraging blogs. I continue to enjoy great music and good books. Kari Jobe was the music artist of the year for me; check her out on YouTube if you need some good inspiring tunes. As far as books I read the Forever Faithful series by Karen Kingsbury, Unafraid and Unshaken by Francine Rivers. Unafraid and Unshaken our 2 books about the women in the lineage of Christ, both were great and gave me new thoughts to ponder about Ruth and Mary. I have started reading the Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs (Available through the Truckee Library). Now I am not typically a murder mystery fan but these are great and super fun to read. I get to indulge my love of tea and reading in one fell swoop. I also revisited an old favorite The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elizabeth Elliot, just great encouragement for caring for my home and family. This next year I hope to read books by Debbie Macomber (Truckee Library). I read A Cedar Cove Christmas and really enjoyed it so I plan to continue on in the series. How do I have time to read? I make time. I try to get 30 minutes a day to read whatever I want. It doesn’t always work out but I think it is one of the keys to staying sane in a busy noisy house. I have discovered that it is not enough for me to be left alone in a room full of people doing their own thing but that I actually need to retreat alone and for me that is usually my room. So in the next year I hope to spruce it up with a few more pretty accessories, courtesy of the thrift store and a can a spray paint if necessary. I also aspire to beautify a few more areas in our home through thrifty finds and hope to be better at taking before and after photos. I pray that our lives both inside and out will be a thing of beauty to the Lord. I pray that the Lord will keep my heart open to whoever and whatever he brings into my life in 2010 (2010, can you believe it? I can't) So on the inner beautification side, I am continuing to work my way through the bible, book by book, trying to walk in the spirit day by day, praying the scriptures for my loved ones and keeping the Sabbath set apart as a day of rest and reflection with our family. I plan to do a bit more studying on fasting in the next year and have been so delighted to share my love of bible women with others. This past summer I lead a bible study called Bible Moms and then subsequently got to teach on Jochebed (the mom of Moses) at our local MOPS and Mary at our church's Christmas tea. I always knew I wanted to teach/speak but I just never thought it would be form the word, I always thought it would be in the form of counseling. Just a few last thoughts on the year ahead--I hope to reinstitute Movie Time Monday at our hose. I did this during the summer and it allowed me to get a lot of scrapping done while the children enjoyed a movie. I hope to sit more. Yes, you read that right, I said sit more. Just sit and enjoy my surroundings and the people in them. Sitting needs to become a discipline for me because many days I never even leave my house but I never just sit and enjoy what is in or around me. And finally, I hope we can plan a camping trip to Yosemite, I haven't been since I was very little and would love to enjoy it again with our family.
So enough about me and on to the rest of the Garbarino clan.

Kensley is 3 years old and full of life, both happiness and venom. She loves to dance, wear fancy shoes, look at books, count, paint and color. However, look out if she doesn’t like what you say or you cross a line she screams with the best of them.

July 2009--Lake Nacimiento

Emry Anne is 7 and in second grade. She loves to dance, draw, play with friends, watch TV and listen to books on tape. The Boxcar Children have been her favorite CD's to listen to. It has been a new world for us this year with all of the new girls in the neighborhood. Emry is learning to strike a balance between times with friends, TV and just being content to BE at home. It has and is a growth process for us both.

Martis Creek--2009

Ayden is 5 1/2 and in kindergarten. The boy loves to build and anything that transforms. He learned to ride his bike this fall on his own. He picked up a neighbors bike and just rode off leaving me with my mouth hanging open and Emry screaming "He's riding a bike, he's riding a bike! We also rejoiced this fall because Ayden is pull-up free--yahoo! (Only 2 more to go) Ayden is the opposite of Emry, she has friends in all directions and Ayden has very few. At times it has left him feeling very sad and mischievous to see his sister, his best friend, play with others. So we are problem solving and seeking solutions on this issue. It is so sad to see my dear boy cry tears over being left out.

Our backyard--June 2009

Brady is one and so much fun! He has been walking for the last month and talking up a storm. They say boys are so much slower to develop linguistically but that is not and has not been our experience. Brady has so many words and daily seems to come up with new ones. Last night he was saying Kensley's name, he tries to repeat most everything, now if he would just stop hitting his head on the tile.

Learning Loft--September 2009


Me and my precious jewels--Crystal Falls--September 2009

Now as for Jay he is plugging along. He continues to engineer, workout and love good food. He has perfected a sourdough starter and bread this year as well as tiramisu. He has us starting a P90x hybrid with Tony Horton's, One on One series this week and he still desires to stay fit and encourage others to do the same. We are blessed that he will be working for H & R Block again this winter and possibly the U.S. Census in the spring. He still plays monster with the children and is currently instituting a memory game with the children all over the house in the evenings. He has been attending a men's bible study on Friday mornings, reading Jerry Bridges online devotional, enjoying Facebook and maintaining 2 blogs of his own (see the sidebar for his links).

Paige Meadows--October 2009


Angora Lakes--October 2009

So that is it our lives in a nutshell. Thanks to everyone who sent us pictures and cards, we love the updates and pray your hearts will be open to the hand of the Lord in your lives in 2010--May God Bless You!