day 243: a fishy valentines gift

the finished "fishy" valentines treats for the peeps

day 243 and we have had our first day back at school today, tomorrow i will show you pictures of the classroom for those who are interested (it will be in a separate post for those who don't so you can pass it by!).  that meant i was a little tired after our first day back so i went for an easy creation this afternoon, a valentines treat for the peeps from me on valentines day.

i love this idea from sara at bateman buzz, love how simple this idea is but totally cute :)  the idea is pinned to my newly created st valentines love board on pinterest.  we don't have swedish fish candy but we do have chocolate fish in new zealand ... in fact, we specialise in them!

speaking of which i have a give away of new zealand goodies starting monday, so stay tuned if you would like a slice of new zealand to turn up at your door :) 

i used my memories (fast becoming my favourite publishing software) to make the tags that are attached to these little valentines gifts.  i used the my memories seaside whimsy kit, so cute and perfect for some fishy valentines!

these are the little tags i created for the chocky fish

ready to assemble ... 

the finished valentine's gift .. quick, easy, and really inexpensive ... we like that kind of crafting!

outcome: pending ... but i would be stoked if someone near and dear to me gave me a chocky fish for valentines ... are you taking the hint nearest and dearest!  i am guessing these will be a hit as neither will be expecting anything on valentine's day as it is a new holiday to new zealand where gift giving generally only happens between adults and teens!

thanks to sara at bateman buzz for giving me a really cute valentine to make on a day when tiredness has overcome me and i was looking for something super quick and simple to make ... today's creation definitely fitted all those criteria!

as for the 17 day diet, still going strong after eight days i have lost 4.6kgs ... not bad as we reach the halfway point :)  my favourite part of the diet is the yoghurt and jam at night!

day 242: learn to crochet

learning to crochet, the start of my new year's resolution :) 

day 242 and i am starting on one of my new year's resolutions today ... to learn to crochet.  i have been using this crochet lesson from rachel at maybe matilda to learn chain stitching.  my sweet friend dee is the most amazing crocheter and she told me this was the first step to achieving this resolution.  i have wanted to learn to crochet since my second day on pinterest when i saw all the amazing projects people were completing with this wonderful craft!  the tutorial is pinned to my crochet .. my new years resolution board.

i used rachel's tutorial over and over again to practice and i found her combination of photos and words really helpful and easy to follow.  rachel has the whole gamete of how to's for crocheting and she is my number one person to go to for instruction when dee is not sitting next to me on the couch giving me advice ;)

i have been working on my chain stitch so today i could go to my sweet friend dee's to learn some crochet stitches that would help me turn wool into flowers :)  for a beginner to crochet you need some double knit wool and a 3.5mm hook ... well that's what i began with today and had great success using.   the other thing that was highly recommended to me was using metal hooks over plastic as the later break too easily.

what you need, as i mentioned if you only want to begin with one hook grab a 3.5mm one to start with :)

i am on my fourth go round for this flower!

the finished flower, my first ever crochet flower ... yip, just a bit proud of this creation ;)

outcome:  I MADE FLOWERS!  yes indeedy, the chain stitching tutorial has worked wonders and i found learning all the other different types of stitches easier thanks to the practice i had from maybe matilda.  i used her tonight to help me remember some of the stitches i used with dee to finish my large flower which was awesome :)

my sincere thanks to dee, who's patience was incredible and to rachel at maybe matilda, who's tutorials and instructions are so easy to follow.  both these ladies have given me the skills to be able to go forth and crochet ... well with some practice and more coaching anyway! 

day 241: library book storage

the finished library book storage .. happy days

day 241 and the final touches are going on in the classroom today so it is all finished for tuesday when we start back at school after the summer holidays.  today i am using a pinterest found solution for library book storage as my creation.

i am always chasing library books around our house in order to return them before they are due, it drives me absolutely barmy as both peeps use the library A LOT.  that means LOTS of our time is spent finding books and i am sure it's because we have never had a proper place to store library books once we bring them home.

i went on a picture tour of lisa's home school classroom from pieces of us and found heaps of ideas for our classroom and was completely inspired by her family of 8 ... yikes!  i pinned her library box idea to my ideas for organisation board on pinterest, knowing that i would begin one this school year.

instead of using a box, i found these wire baskets at the hardware store that will fit the books for each child perfectly.  i really liked the idea that it wasn't another thing to house on the floor or on top of a table.  we have put them up next to the reading area in the school room and i made name tags for each one so they would know where they were to be returned to.  to reinforce this putting back idea, i have added clips to the front of each basket so they can attach their library loans printout so they will know what's to be returned to the basket ready for library day.  for those peeps that are able to do this and all books are accounted for on a friday (our library day), without the need for a full scale treasure hunt, there will also be an addition reinforcement of $1 rewarded to them.

the 'handy'  baskets for the library book storage :)

i put them right next to the bookcase in the classroom and also next to the reading area which is on the left of this picture 

finished and ready for all ben's books, we go to the library once a week so this will hopefully save us a lot of searching time!

outcome:  here's hoping that having an immovable place to store, retrieve, and return library books to will stop the valuable time we lose looking for library books.  i am hoping the addition reward will help them remember to return the books to the baskets.  i will let you know in a couple of weeks just how that is going ;)  the good news is at least we now have somewhere to store them that's also away from their own books so the two lots don't get muddled up in the chaos their bookcases are ... looking forward to when that appears on the 52 weeks to an organised home (currently we are in the kitchen organising recipe books and binders)!

my gratitude goes to lisa from pieces of us for this great idea.  i absolutely loved reading what she had to say with regards to her home schooling schedule and the organisation of there things, it was brilliant and so inspiring :)

day 240: french toast

french toast served with maple syrup and powdered sugar :)

day 240 and we have a loaf of home made bread that needs using ... steve suggested he make french toast for breakfast for he and the peeps.  i told him i would find a recipe for it on pinterest (given we haven't made it before) and i would help and make it today's creation :)  so that is what we did.

this recipe is from southern food on about.com and is pinned to my recipe must do's board.  this recipe rates really highly on their boards so i figured we would be fine, even though i was baking in the morning ... i'm not a morning person ;)  lucky for us this is quick and simple to make and only requires a whisk and a bowl, now that's my kinda kitchen work early in the morning.   the other nice part of this recipe is it doesn't add sugar until serving up, so great for diabetics, and it is a reduced fat version using only one whole egg and two egg whites ... happy days given i have the household on a health kick currently :)

we followed the recipe according to directions and then served them with maple syrup and icing sugar for the peeps.  steve had his as they were straight out of the skillet.

the ingredients

my whisking man straight out of bed ... not even the coffee had been drunk!

it smelt really good cooking, not as good as last nights pinterest but still good!

the peeps had there's garnished with maple syrup and sugar :)

outcome:  when we asked polly what she thought of them, she asked as if we saw hearts in her eyes and ben, well, he gave us a thumbs up which was pretty much all we got out of him until he was finished eating!  steve thought they were just fine as they were out of the pan but if you liked a sweet breakfast definitely add the sugar.  all in all a very happy way to start the day for most of the family ... and what did i have for breakfast?  a very healthy version of scrambled eggs so i was happy too :)

my thanks to southern food on about.com, i am absolutely certain the peeps will be asking for french toast every weekend thankfully it is easy enough to be able to do that!

day 239: parmigiana roasted potatoes and 17 day diet update

these smelt so amazing, worth doing for the smell alone!

day 239 and i am making something for those of us NOT on the 17day diet and losing lots of weight (see the bold red weight loss at the bottom ... seriously!).  i figured the family not dieting might be getting over all the health i have put into our menu over the last couple of days, so a treat i don't mind missing out on is my creation for today.

this recipe for parmigiana roasted potatoes looks really nice and steve LOVES potatoes ... does every guy consider potatoes as the only other food group to meat?  the recipe comes from lovin' from the oven, such a sweet blog with plenty of mouth watering recipes.  it is pinned to my pinterest recipe must do's board, which i can barely look at with so many tempting treats to make and pack onto my hips :(

for this recipe you dice the potatoes, toss them in all the ingredients, and then put them in the oven ... you can see why i chose this recipe can't you!  yes, it's fair to say limited time in the kitchen when dieting is a VERY good idea :)  the only changes i made to the original recipe were to substitute the italian herbs with tuscan and i used grated parmigiana instead of the powdered stuff.  i also used 3 cloves of garlic instead of 2 and garlic powder.

the ingredients, plus the parmigiana cheese which is in the fridge :)

ben declared these should be eaten every night ... dream on my boy, the smell would  drive me insane not being able to eat them, so much for a tasty treat i didn't mind missing out on ... i stayed strong this time, but next time, i'm not so sure ;)

outcome: steve and the peeps loved them .... that's an understatement, they REALLY appreciated them and me for making them ... check ... brownie points earnt for today ;)

my thanks to kim from lovin' from the oven for this delicious recipe my family loved ... i will definitely be back to visit the sweet treats when i am slim and healthy :)

weight tracker: after three days on the 17 day diet 3.2kgs lost ... i kid you not!

still going strong, surprisingly full, but still would love something sweet :- / ... ah well at least it's working!

day 238: valentines subway art

i love subway art :)

day 238 and i have just realised valentines day is right around the corner ... it's not a massive holiday in new zealand but it is growing every year.  i decided i would add some valentines décor to our home this year to get us all in the mood of love whether it be as friends, family, or one true loves ;)

i am starting with subway art ... always a good way to start!  this free printable comes from the girls at eighteen25 and you get two colour choices :)  i went with the pinks and reds, if you are going to decorate for valentines, you may as well go all the way.  i pinned the idea to my holiday goodness board on pinterest and liked the white frame it was it so much, i decided to copy that as well ... why mess with perfection!~

step one: print free subway art

step two: buy a cheap but nice frame

step three: put in the frame and display :)

outcome:  COOL, love how simple and quick subway art is to make!  one for every holiday coming up ;)

my thanks to the the sisters from eighteen25, they always have such great ideas, not to mention the best, freshest looking subway art that's always free to download ... love that :)

day 237: multiplication ice block sticks

multiplication ice block sticks ready for learning

day 237 and i am back to reality and out of holiday mode and once again preparing for the new home school year, which is now less than a week away ... yikes!  today i am in maths mode for pollyanna in the form of multiplication tools.  there are HEAPS of ideas on pinterest, and i have chosen one to make today ... ice block stick multiplication.

i got this idea from the first grade parade and it is pinned to my home school projects board.  mrs carroll uses the ice block sticks for teaching addition and subtraction and i thought the idea seemed so good it could easily translate to multiplication and eventually division.

i used a sharpie to write the problem on one side and the answers on the other.  i also used both ends of the ice block to demostrate that, like addition, it doesn't matter which number comes first in the equation.

what you need

the stick, this photo shows what the front side and the back side look like

2 x family ... i am going to give this group to pollyanna first and work our way up from there :)

outcome: i am hoping that this will make learning her times tables more fun for pollyanna and less about just reading and remembering her times tables from a chart.  the great thing with these sticks is i can mix them up or keep them as families.  the answers are readily assessable to her but not immediately so shw will be able to give it a go and then check whether she is right :)

my gratitude goes to mrs carroll at the first grade parade for uses such a simple everyday item to make maths more exciting for littlies :)