12 Months of Christmas January 2012 Linky Party

Welcome to the end of January and our very first 12 Months of Christmas linky! Have you been sprinkling Christmas throughout the month? 

I'll be honest, I've tried. I've thought about it. I've attempted to make our ornament a few times with my boys but it hasn't happened yet.

We've had a lot of illness in the house and 12 Months of Christmas took a backseat. Well, while we are being honest, a lot of things took a backseat. But that is one of the very reasons I love homeschooling and blogging. We can take a break when we need to.

It is also a bit challenging to think of Christmas when we have just come out of the Christmas season. We missed some things we usually do (like making ornaments!) I have a plan for one so it is on the agenda for tomorrow - with or without my boys!! With the beautiful day we have forecasted, making Christmas ornaments may not be on our minds!  

12 Months of Christmas January 2012 Linky Party!!

If you have been sprinkling Christmas throughout the month and want to share what you are doing, join in the fun!

Smart Sweets

I became familiar with Kitchen Stewardship a couple of years ago while  looking for more wholesome-than-I-was-cooking recipes. Katie Kimball is amazing in the kitchen. Kitchen Stewardship is now one of my go-to places when I feel a need to try a new recipe. She's taught me the ins and outs of soaking flours, dried beans and making yogurt. Kitchen Stewardship also made me realize that even though I was "cooking from scratch," it wasn't necessarily healthy. And because of her I've changed some of my ways of doing things.

I have talked about Healthy Snacks to Go (one of my most favorite ebooks ever!!) and Family Camping (which went with me on several camping trips last summer) and now Kitchen Stewardship has delighted me once again! Smart Sweets: 30 Recipes to Indulge Your Sweet Tooth is a "healthy-er" way to cook treats for your family. It has made me feel better about the times I indulge my kids' sweet tooth with cookies or brownies or even chocolate cake!! 

But Smart Sweets is more than just a recipe book. Katie explains (in the frank and honest way she always does in her very descriptive, detailed, and thoroughly researched blog posts) the differences in "healthy-er" sweeteners and why we should make these Smart Sweets for our friends and family (it may "tempt others to eat wholesome foods.")

My personal favorite, Almond Joy Bark, is a variation of one of the recipes included in the book. There are always plenty of variations included in any recipe Katie creates.

Almond Joy Bark

Wanna try one of her recipes for yourself? You can download a free recipe,
Apple Crisp, from her website. Apple Crisp is actually straight out of this book! I love the easy-to-read format of her eBooks along with the nifty charts at the top of each recipe. (Almond Joy Bark scores three in the Real Food Rating.)

I am thrilled to be able to offer my reader a discount on Smart Sweets this week. Use code tractor25 to get a 25% discount until February 2, 2012!

Get you own copy of Smart Sweets for 25% off this week!! Use code tractor25 to get the discount until February 2, 2012! 

This post uses affiliate links. I was given a copy of Smart Sweets for review purposes. No other compensation was received and opinions expressed are my own.

Dawn's Perfectly Pumpkin Bread

This is my most requested recipe. It comes from the very first cookbook I ever bought. We make it year round for breakfast and snacks but folks especially request it at the holidays.

Dawn's Perfectly Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs
2-1/2 cups sugar (I use evaporated cane juice.)
1 cup butter, softened 
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cups flour (I use part whole wheat when making it for my family.)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (can use any mixture of baking spices: allspice, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg)
2 teaspoons good quality vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream butter in a large mixing bowl until fluffy. Add sugar and pumpkin. Add eggs one at a time.

Sift together dry ingredients. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with water, mixing well between additions.

Fold in vanilla.

Bake in preheated oven until an inserted knife comes out clean. I love my Pampered Chef Mini Loaf Pan for gift giving. We usually make muffins to eat for breakfast (and snacks!)

Approximate Times for My Oven

Muffins 18-20 minutes
Mini-Loaves 30-35 minutes
Large Loaf 45-60 minutes

Homemade Gifts from the Heart 2011

Today I am going to share what we made for last year's Christmas presents (2011.) We made more presents than we have in years past due to finances and a few other things we'll get to as the year goes on.

2011 Handmade Christmas List 

Remote Control Pocket Pillow

Fort Kits


Paper Airplane Folding Kit
I printed several copies of the easier planes along with instructions on how to fold them.

Rag Quilt 
(Made this twin sized for my hubby. Pics coming soon!) This was truly a labor of love. It consumed more time than I intended it to. I re-purposed materials (sheets and curtain panels) from the thrift store and although I knew I was going to make it and had all the materials, got started really late!

Peppermint Sugar Scrubs (Mini Tutorial coming soon!)

Re-purposed Chalkboard Frames (Mini Tutorial coming soon!)

Do you make any homemade gifts?What homemade gifts did you give last Christmas? Have you thought about making any this year?

TOS Review: We Choose Virtues

We Choose Virtues is a character training program that uses adorable cartoons and unforgettable catchphrases to teach children (and teens) the principles of biblical integrity.

With an easy 10-minute-a day-system, families, homeschools, community schools and youth groups can learn the morals our grandparents grew up with.

My boys often wait on pins and needles for our review packages to come from the post office. They also watch over my shoulder on occasion as I open various downloads that have been emailed to me. Farm Boy immediately begged for me to print out some pages from the coloring book when he walked through my office the day I received them. The coloring pages are adorable and full size with the name of the virtue at the top.


The Virtue Clue Cards are glossy, full-color and the size of business cards. They are used to introduce the virtue and provide a reminder of the character trait being developed. 

The Teacher's Handbook explains the program and is included in many of the kits. It is also available separately. This full color 48-page book is filled with helps and teaching aids for helping students learn what it is to be patient, forgiving and gentle (and nine other imperative character traits of integrity.)


What to Teach When
Character training with We Choose Virtues can begin as early as three years of age for families and homeschools. Community Programs can use the younger or older program depending on the age their are working with.


What's It Gonna Cost Me?

FAMILY KIT-faith based
$69.99 

HOME SCHOOL KIT-faith based
$99.99  

YOUTH MENTOR'S KIT
$24.99 

 

There is a CLEARANCE going on right now for a couple of posters and the sticker chart.

Check It Out
Check out the Character Assessment Tool for families. There are also two Scripture Memory downloads for kids and youth.

Check out We Choose Virtues on Facebook.

Final Word
This is a really neat product. I love the concept and how much my kids enjoy it. However, the cost of the program would have prevented me from trying it in my homeschool had I not reviewed it.

Legal Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a sampling of materials free of charge from We Choose Virtues for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

2012 Home Goals

My Kitchen (that seriously needs some color!!)

Today I'm joining up with Nester's 2nd Annual Home Goals Linky.  These are the things I want to get done in my house this year.

Make my bed.

I've had this on my list for three years at least – maybe more. I LOVE this bed. I would love it in antique white as shown here but I have grown to love a pale robin's egg blue too. We will need color as we continue to rent a home with our future nomadic lifestyle. 

Ana White Farmhouse Bed

Put stuff on my walls.

Most of my walls are empty. Most walls I've lived with in the various places we've lived have been blank. I hate it. But Nester is freeing me from the need for things to be perfect. I will hang things. And I will love it. (And if I DO hate it, I'll take them down and re-hang something!)

Remove photos of fake people from the picture frames in my house.

And replace them with people I actually know! I'm not the only one in the world who has fake photos. I actually saw a few fake family pictures hanging on my sister's wall over Christmas. :)

Decorate seasonally.

I realized after decorating for fall, a month of December birthdays and then Christmas, that I love seasonal décor. Why not do that year-round too? I also want to make some sort of interchangeable wreath for the seasons as well as a few special ones for various holidays.

Make a rug for schoolroom from recycled tee shirts.

This is a big project, but we spend a lot of time in our schoolroom. I want something fun to go with our fun, mistreated, twin sheet curtains (which really need to be hung higher!!) 

De-clutter and simplify.
We aren't moving until sometime around the first of the year 2013 or spring 2013 at the latest. But I would really like to enjoy the remainder of the time we have in this house and would like to be de-cluttered by March.

Finish a few projects I started last year and never finished.Like the shower curtain for our bathroom that I made when we were snowed in for an entire week LAST January - this week in fact!! It has been waiting to be hung but doesn't have holes for the shower curtain hooks. Lame, I know. I'm scared of them. But I will be tackling that this month because it doesn't have to be perfect!! I also want to make a Family Sign.