Friday, December 04, 2009

Home: Inviting and Giving

Did you have a *fun* day yesterday? We did! No school work was completed, no laundry was folded - but fun was had!

I'm glad I did not make a trip just to go to Kroger - I found their ad this week to be a bit misleading as far as the sales, and the mom in line behind me agreed. I got a few deals, but not what I had thought it would be! Fortunately, this was not the main attraction for the day!

Despite a forced detour on our way - we did make it to the mall to ride the train, the carousel, play in the soft play area and enjoy lunch!

I made these pancakes for dinner - and was skeptical that one batch would be enough for my little pancake lovers! But, indeed it made 15 pancakes and we have leftovers!

How do I shape Christmas pancakes? I found a box with these four molds on the after Christmas clearance last January at my mom's grocery store. This was the first time we'd tried them - aren't they fun?! And, yes - it was like serving dessert for dinner. We had popcorn and sliced apples later with our movie.

Today's theme is inviting and giving ~ I've been wondering how to plan our day on this topic. And, God has provided something for us that I know will be a lot of fun!

I'd like to work on our Christmas letter and getting our cards closer to being ready to mail out - this is part of giving for us at Christmas, so this is a good day to focus on this.

For inviting - we are having two little friends of Emily and Rachel over to have a Christmas tea party. We're going to decorate gingerbread houses, have a snack, color or do another craft and read a Christmas book. Plus, I know they will just want to spend some time playing together.

In the morning, I'd like to do a quick once over on tidying up the house - to maintain all the work I've already put in this week. And, I'm hoping we can catch up on our schooling since we took yesterday off! I'm also hoping to finish a couple of chores I did not do such as cleaning the master bathroom and finishing the dusting.

I have really enjoyed this week - it has been what I hoped it would be, it has helped me to focus on my home. It has been a blessing as our home has been tidier and cleaner. Plus, I have enjoyed our home more as it has been easier to enjoy and more relaxing.

For dinner - hmmm, I haven't decided yet! I'm also hoping to plan a Family Night for tonight.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for joining this week - hope it has been a blessing to you and your families as well!

17 comments:

Ginger said...

The littles look like they had a great time. Samuel has such expressions!

Elise said...

Those are such sweet pictures!! And you have gorgeous eyes!!
Elise

Julia said...

Cute pancakes! I am going to have to keep my eyes out for some molds like that.

Chrissy said...

Looks like everyone had a great time! We're going to be in town next weekend for my in-laws anniversary...looks like we may need to pop over to the mall and see the decorations!

Debra said...

Looks like everyone had a great time yesterday. My daughter had early release yesterday so after a trip to the bank (and the lollipop that goes with it) we went to some friends to play a bit and then home to do homework. A little more fun than usual. Her hockey practice was cancelled due to the weather so she ended up with a little play time before dinner.

I wish I could say I played as much! But I am trying to finish up these Christmas preparations so I can relax later in the month.

Thanks for this nice week of posts. I have acheived some things I may not have thanks to reading each day!

Have a great weekend.

Leanne said...

your posts were such a blessing this week, Monica!
Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Monica, Thank you for your blog! It such an encouragement to me. We have much in common and I enjoy hearing how you strive to be a Godly wife and mother while blessing your home, training, and teaching your children. Thank you for the encouragement and example. May God bless! Have a wonderful Christmas!
Amy Sue

rachel@thecupcakesprinklesinlife said...

Adorable pics! I attempted to be as productive but our homeschooling week was a bit more hectic. I think I'll press on tonight (husband works evenings) and maybe spill over into next week. Monica, you are a great blessing! I am inspired daily by you and am reminded that it is a great thing indeed to be proud with my job as a homeschool mom and "house wife".

Heather said...

I love pancakes! So cute! For inviting and giving, I am working on a project with my girls and their Daisy Troops. We are baking and freezing bread and delivering it to a local nursing home. We will visit with the residents and sing Christmas Carols and enjoy yummy banana coconut bread. This is the second year we are doing this project with www.spreadthebread.org. Such a wonderful project to do this at this time of year!

I had a great time this week! Thank you! This was such a blessing to our family and home this week!

Bonnie said...

Samuel is getting so big!
Yesterday only got decorated, but seeing Biscuit run around looking at everything and exclaiming "Oh my goodness!" over and over was the fun part!

I finished Christmas shopping today, so does that count as giving?
Also, for giving, I wanted to share my needs done daily routine. I am serious when I say it doesn't take long, and I could have drop in company, even if the toilets need cleaned and vacuuming hasn't been done.
Morning:
Beds made
Clothes picked up
Breakfast dishes washed
boosters wiped down
kitchen swept
kitchen tidied
Bathroom sink wiped out
Bathroom tidied
Afternoon:
Living room tidied> Before lunch
Family room tidied> " "
Lunch dishes washed
boosters wiped down
kitchen swept
bedrooms tidied(before naps)
Beds made (after naps)
Vacuum
Evening:
Supper dishes washed
boosters wiped down
kitchen swept
10 minute children pick-up
steps cleaned off (before bed)
Bedrooms tidied (before bed)
Living room tidied
Family room tidied
Kitchen tidied
dishes put away
dishwasher emptied
B.'s lunch made
These are the order I have them in my daily flipper, because that is how it works for me.
Really, it looks like a lot, but morning and afternoon only take about 10-15 minutes
and the evening takes around 30.
It is SO nice to come down in the morning to everything clean and picked up, and like I said It works.
Sorry to take up so much space with this comment!

Linda said...

I have had an empty nest for a long time now. While it is delightful to spend the days with my husband, there are times I miss the little voices. Thank you for sharing your day. It sounds like such fun. I think the pancakes are a really happy idea!

Lauren said...

I had a wonderful time joining in on this series. Thanks to Monica and everyone else for the encouragement!! Here is my link to today's post.

http://homewitholivia.blogspot.com/2009/12/making-my-home-haven-inviting-and.html

Simple Home said...

Your kids are so cute and look like they really enjoyed themselves. I love your pancakes!
Blessings,
Marcia

Amy said...

To make a shape pancake I make the pancake, then use cookie cutters to cut out a shape in the center. I lay the shape on the side and pour the syrup in the middle of the pancake. If I make a little man I allow them to use sprinkles for the face and buttons.

Jennie Shutt said...

Here is my list of accomplishments:

Quiet Time: Tea Time with God pg 16&17

Breakfast: Chocolate Silk Coffee (Folgers), and Oatmeal Banana Cookies

Read: I finished A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher and started reading Gideon’s Gift by Karen Kingsbury

Tidy, tidy, tidy! I walk around my house and put everything away that is out of place each morning and again before bed.
Computer: read blogs & check email
Lunch: Leftovers

Giving: Make gifts for the kids to give for the gift exchange tonight and for the Mad Hatter Party tomorrow.

HOTR: The kids went to the HOTR Teen Christmas Party and did a gift exchange, and they had a Taco Bar for dinner. My husband and I went out to dinner and looked around the town the party was in.

Computer: blog

Tidy, tidy, tidy! My before bed routine.

Momof3 said...

Aren't these the best days? I know there will come a time when we can't take as many days like this away from school time, but for now, when we are nurturing little hearts, these are WONDERFUL days! The pancake pics made me a little sad, as my husband is the resident pancake maker in the house. We will have lots of time for pancakes when we gets home. Enjoy your weekend!

Jenelle said...

Just found your blog recently. Thanks for sharing your life and ideas for those of looking to make the most of each day...

I let my kids use cookie cutters year round with their pancakes after collecting cutters for most of the seasons/holidays. It's fun to eat the shape plus the void that is left behind.