Weekend Links ll June 30, 2023

 

Me? Teach Shakespeare?

Fourth of July Sensory Bin

Famous Authors Every Teen Should Know

12 Steps for Composer Study When You Dislike Classical Music

Your Ultimate List of Fun Math Games

15 Educational Apps for Tweens & Teens

This Week: 

What I'm Cooking:

Spent some time this week baking with the teenagers.  I love seeing my older son grow in his confidence as he helps out at meal time, and my daughter's baking experience is just exploding.  She's rarely afraid to take on the challenge.  They're fun to be with in the kitchen.

What I'm Reading:

I'm currently reading A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck.  We've previous read some of his other work and they've been pretty funny.  I've heard good things about this one and so far, it does not disappoint.

What I'm Doing:

Josiah and I have been playing board games several times a week.  He picks one day and I pick later in the week.  So we've really been going through our game collection.  Most days he picks Monopoly, but I'm always looking for the game we haven't played in awhile.  This afternoon we played Flag Frenzy and I actually felt like I was starting to recognize some of the flags by the end.

What I'm Enjoying:

Cornmeal mush...

Evenings in the pool...

Family bowling...

Playing the piano...

Tomatoes in the garden...

What are you up to?

Letters of Comfort {Review}

 

Book #2 in The Friendship Letters series, Letter of Comfort focuses on Doretta Schwartz, a young woman who's life takes a sharp turn when her fiance is killed in an accident.  Struggling with her own recovery an depression, she isolates herself and closes herself off to love and family.  Doretta becomes determined to forget and bury her pain through staying busy.  When an opportunity arises for her to work at the local health food store, it seems like the perfect distraction.  But things might be more complicated than they seem.

This series just keeps getting better.  I originally read book #1, Letters of Trust, earlier this year so I had some context for the characters in this series.  But Letters of Comfort goes even deeper, dealing with grieving and depression in a very real way.  Brunstetter does a very good job of representing all those emotions in an authentic manner, and creates very true to life characters.  Although this is the second in the series, it could easily be read as a stand alone title.  So real and honest... I definitely recommend this one!

*Disclaimer: I recieved a copy of this title from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

2 Ingredient Cloud Dough {Pinterest Inspired}

*This post was originally published on 7/27/16.  Enjoy!                                            

                                                

My kids love all kinds of play dough.  They could spend hours molding and playing with it.  Between our basic play dough recipe, this peppermint variation, and this pink lemonade variety, we are constantly making sensory doughs.  Especially now in the summer, we love having the time to experiment with play dough.

So when I came across this cloud dough recipe on pinterest, I knew we had to try it.  And what could be simpler than flour and baby oil?  

Basic Cloud Dough

8 c. flour

1 c. baby oil (we used lavender)

closable shoebox from Dollar Tree

Just mix it all together and store in an airtight container (we used a shoebox)!

Couldn't be any easier, could it?

The verdict?

The kids love it, especially my 8 and 4 year olds.  It's so soft and shapes well.  It really does live up to it's name; you feel like you're touching a cloud.  Plus the lavender scent is beautiful.  

So tell me...

Have you ever made cloud dough?

Amish Friends One Pan Wonders Cookbook {Review}

 

As a busy mom, I'm always looking for one dish meals to save time and mess.  I have teenagers so hardy meals are as must as well.  So I was excited to review this cookbook from Amish fiction writer, Wanda E. Brunstetter.  The sample I recived covered the first fifty pages which was mostly the breakfast section.  Many of the dishes include eggs and can be prepared in one pan as promised.  The directions were clear and the pictures were beautiful.  The recipes seem fairly simple and would make a nice gift for newlyweds.  This also the type of cookbook that I might use myself with some adjustments to seasoning.  From the sample, this looks like a nice quality cookbook.

*Disclaimer: I recieved a free copy of this cookbook from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Weekend Links ll June 23, 2023

 

Free Anatomy Coloring Pages and More!

Jerked Chicken Bowls with Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice

Free Printables for Learning the Constitution

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

Tex Mex Chicken Chopped Salad

This Week: 

What I'm Cooking:

My favorite meal this week was definitely last night's dinner.  We made one of our favorites: stuffed bell peppers and cornbread.  Both are so good and so filling.  I can't believe how sweet the bell peppers become when they're cooked and the filling is wonderful.

Second place would have to go to the chocolate peanut butter cake my daughter and I made for Father's Day.  Double chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and a rich chocolate frosting.  So goooooood!

What I'm Reading:

I'm currently reading Letters of Comfort by Wanda Brunstetter.  This isn't typically my favorite Amish fiction writer, but I have been pleasantly surprise by the realness in this book and I'm really enjoing it.  It's been a hard one to put down in the evenings.

What I'm Doing:

Tending to the garden and making sure everything is fertilized well before the heat hits next week.  We've been having a mild June and it's been wonderful to be in the backyard.  I'm trying to get both the citrus trees and roses fertilized this week so it can do it's work before the heat hits.

What I'm Enjoying:

Cool mornings...

Simple summer homeschool...

My audio Bible...

Board games...

Seeing our children study their Bibles...

What are you up to?