Especially when you have little girls who love animals.
And a Mama who loves Europe and would really, REALLY like to go to Venice someday.
(Hint, hint, hubby...)
What happens in the story?
Piper: Papa Piccolo is a tomcat. He finds two kittens. He sings to them and they go fast to sleep. He goes to see Sophia and asks if she can keep them. She says no. The kittens make a big mess. They get thrown out on a boat. Piccolo waited and waited for them to come back. When they do, he is so happy to see them again! He teaches them to eat spaghetti and how to get home.
What was your favorite part of the story?
Piper: My favorite part is 'signora' because I like that name!
Taitum: When the kittens weren't coming home and Piccolo was lonely.
To start, we turned on some Italian music to get us in the mood.
This was the girls favorite...
With this playing in the background, we set to constructing Venice.
We used blocks to construct the buildings in our waterplay box and used plastic boats for the gondolas that carried various figurines around the block!
We learned where Italy is found on the map and some European words that we came across in the story.
(We had great fun with this! One day I even heard Piper exclaim "Caro mio!" when she walked into her very messy room! haha!)
We enjoyed an Italian meal of spaghetti and meatballs for supper one evening!
We talked about what makes a good father and listed what Papa Piccolo taught his kittens.
The girls answered questions about their own Dad and drew a picture to surprise him with at the end of the day.
They learned a few new vocabulary words, too!
In art, we completed a color wheel and learned about primary and secondary colors.
We also experimented with pastels and watercolors by drawing a scene of Venice with pastels, filling in the windows yellow and painting over the picture with blue and black watercolors, creating a nighttime effect!
This was a bit technical for Taitum so her and I worked on this together.
Piper, on the other hand, was very intent on her artwork.
She enjoyed this so much that later in the afternoon she asked if she could do it again and when on to create another beautiful nighttime scene of Venice!
Halloween landed in the middle of the week so we simply incorporated cats into our Halloween fun!
We baked cookies for our visit to the seniors' home and the kids got a hoot out of the googly eyes on the cat cookies!
The girls carved...
And painted...
Until they had made the cutest little kitty jack-o-lanterns!
In language arts, we talked about the lullaby Papa Piccolo sings to the kittens to help them fall to sleep.
Piper and Taitum then came up with some lullabies they thought would be appropriate for various animals.
I wrote it on the board as they came up with ideas so we could sing the whole lullaby together at the end!
This was a lot of fun and caused many giggles!
Here are a couple videos of the girls singing their lullabies.
The first is Piper working on a lullaby for frogs.
Taitum's is really hard to understand but I thought it was so cute as she was quite sure of what she was singing about! :)
We took some time to act out some of the action words found in the story.
As we scurry around, preparing for an evening of trick or treating, I can't help but smile.
The livingroom is scattered with human anatomy books, jack-o-lanterns, costume pieces, children's Bibles and skulls.
It's been an interesting week to say the least.
Filled with discoveries of what's inside our bodies and that skeletons and such aren't very scary after all.
A random yet rivetting conversation concerning the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:55
(I'm consistently amazed at what a 4 year old picks up on!).
And then the traditional decorating, pumpkin carving, costume preparing, filling pumpkin bags with leaves.
I am wondering if perhaps this controversial holiday is another training ground in which we can prepare our kids for real life.
Guiding them through the world and it's ways, helping them to learn truth as a result of it.
This is another opportunity to teach them to see things through the lense of God's Word.
Equipping them to take on the truly scary things of life that someday will inevitably come knocking at their door.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)
And could it be that this night could be but another opportunity to teach these little ones generosity?
To give the candy at the door, to put a smile on an elderly person's face, to connect with neighbors often missed in the hubbub of life?
First, obviously, we picked out our pumpkin which this year meant digging one we liked out from the haystack display at the entrance to the grocery store. Nothing too magical but quite a feat considering I'm basically already carrying a pumpkin around under my shirt! ;)
Next, the girls washed their pumpkin.
For the record, this is now going to be a new Halloween tradition for this family.
They washed that big ol' pumpkin for half an hour!
Piper kept telling me that the pumpkin would smell so good the neighbors wouldn't run away!
The next day, we moved on to the carving!
My MIL was kind enough to do the dirty work of helping the girls clean the guts out.
(This Mama just can't bend over for long periods of time anymore!)
Piper bravely dug right in!
But not without a few comments of disgust!
That's just part of the fun though, now isn't it?
Taitum also did her part but preferred to use a spoon.
I was proud of her though, knowing that she has a huge aversion to touching anything that feels strange!
Finally, it was time to start designing Mr. (er, Mrs.) Pumpkin's face!
Piper was the designer, I was the carver.
Here she is drawing her plan for what our pumpkin should look like!
In the end, I think we made a good team!
Piper had the genius idea of adding a bug to the pumpkin's cheek.
One with lots of legs.
At least Mrs. Pumpkin has eyelashes to show her feminine side!
Taitum may have taken the idea of homemade Halloween costumes a little too literally this year...
I mean, seriously kid, I woulda bought you the fake dollar store teeth had you asked!!
(For those who will start worrying and inquiring, Taiter Tot and Sister were up to their usual late evening shenanigans that began with lots of giggles and shrill screams and ended with a collision, crying and blood. In the end, other than a chipped tooth, my little babe is just fine!)
I tried several new recipes in the past few days and thought I'd share them since they are "Fall-ish". There is nothing cozier then being in the kitchen baking sweet goodies this time of year! I try not to eat too much of it so I take any opportunity I can to bake for groups of people!
First, I tried a Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe for our Halloween party. You can't go too terribly wrong with cheesecake and this one was good! My only mistake (and I knew it was a mistake beforehand but did it anyway!) was using softened tub cream cheese instead of the regular brick. It made for a mushier cheesecake then I like but was still totally edible! I added the spiderweb with melted chocolate in a piping bag. You can find the recipe here: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PumpkinCheesecake.html
Together Piper and I also made Halloween Sugar cookies. I was so excited that this recipe ( http://www.joyofbaking.com/halloweenrecipes/HalloweenCookies.html )worked out because up to this point I had no 'go to' recipe for when we make cookie cutter cookies for any occasion. Well, this is the one! I loved it not only because it was simple and tasty but also because you can make up the dough the night before! I did and the next morning was able to pull it out of the fridge and get right to Piper's favorite part - the cookie cutters! I plan on making these again at Christmas with her! I did find that the cook time was too long as a few in my first batch burned a little but my oven may just be extra hot.
My only disappointment was that I didn't get to try out the Royal icing recipe. This was my own fault since I didn't read ahead to the fact that it calls for egg whites or meringue powder as an alternative. Considering how much of the icing Piper eats as she is decorating the cookies, I felt egg whites probably wasn't the best plan and had no time to go buy meringue powder...maybe next time. Instead I used this icing recipe which worked well too: http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2880/powdered-sugar-icing.asp
Mama's little helper!
Last of all, are one my favorites - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies! This is not a new recipe for me. I found it online last year but have enjoyed it so much, I've gotten into the habit of baking several batches each fall! Piper and I made some this afternoon for the home Bible study group that comes to our house Monday nights. Considering there were only a couple left at the end of the night, I'd say I'm not the only one who enjoys them! http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies-iii/Detail.aspx
As a Christian, I consider every year the pros and cons of celebrating Halloween. On the one hand, I have so many good and fun memories of Halloween as a child and even now see it as an enjoyable, imaginative event. But I am also not so fond of the scary stuff and the gruesome, evil things it can sometimes 'celebrate'. And so I think its my responsibility, especially as a parent, to evaluate what our family's motives are in participating. This year I came across an article which I feel sums up my thoughts and feelings about Halloween well. This paragraph in particular:
Many of the ideas and rituals that have contributed to the Halloween mish-mash aren’t congruent with our beliefs. However, setting aside times to remember or honor those we love that have passed away (hopefully to be with our Savior Jesus) is not a bad idea. [Referring to "All Saints'/Souls' Day"] On a less somber note, wearing Spider-man costumes, making funny faces on vegetables, and engaging in neighborhood activities where one can both give and receive hospitality is not something we oppose. Fictional fantasy tales of monsters and elves even scary ones are not wholly inappropriate either, whether punctuated on this particular weekend or sprinkled throughout the year in classic tales from authors including Tolkien and Lewis. We regard Halloween as a second-hand issue and ask that every Christian examine their response to the modern-day Halloween celebration in our culture.
I encourage you to read the whole article, especially if you are a Christian struggling with the good and the bad of October 31st. Considering that today is Reformation Day too, I add the words of Martin Luther "to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen. " Whatever your stance may be on the whole Halloween issue, be sure it is one that does not go against conscience.
As a side note, this year did give me a great opportunity to talk to my three year old about how powerful God is. The scary things she saw this Halloween at the stores or while trick or treating provided the perfect chance to teach her about how God protects her because he is stronger and bigger and more powerful then any frightening thing!
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)
Tonight we had a Halloween party for our family! Everyone got dressed up and joined us at our house for some sweets and an overall good time! Our family is so great and such a joy to be around! I love having the opportunity to make memories for the girls with all those who love them most!
But as I was running around today trying to get everything ready, Matt asked, "Why do you do this to yourself?!" Admittedly, I probably did look like a chicken running around with her head chopped off but I was in the zone! Some of you will understand what I mean but for those of you who don't, it means that I'm totally focused on what has to get done for the party. So anything that interupts that causes frustration and/or irritability. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a monster when this happens just, as Matt puts it, "a little more stressed out then usual" (ie. 'your never stressed out so this is weird!')
Anyways, back to his question - why? And to be honest its because I love it. I love being able to get my creative juices flowing and then after all the planning and preparing to watch it all pull together! It is so gratifying to see everyone enjoy their time with us, chatting and laughing and eating! Piper was so pround of the Halloween banners she had made and the cookies we had baked together for the occasion. Both girls soaked in the attention they were getting and the joy of all the hubbub surrounding them. Memories were made. Fun was had. Family was together, enjoying each others company.
So at the end of the day the answer is - because it is worth it.
“I am more convinced than ever that even in the midst of the mundane, burdensome, and oftentimes frustrating tasks of life allotted to me as a mother, God wants me to find his joy. He wants every single day of my life to be a celebration of his blessings, whether large or small. He wants me to celebrate life ~ the life He has given me.”
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