Old School Bunnies

Remembering Face Washer Bunnies from my youth made me want to try them out again. I remember buying these things from School Easter fundraising stalls. And I think my mother showed me a few times and we made them as kids. Its been a long time (20 years??) so these are OLD SCHOOL Bunnies :)

Aaaawww... aren't they cute?


Roll facewasher until you have a sausage shape


Fold in half


Fold in half again


Secure 'ears' half with a rubber band and add googly eyes. You can add a cotton ball tail if desired too


They proved tricky to photograph, but you can pop an egg in the back.


A chocolate and a facewasher! what a gift :) My girls have been playing with them as toys.

Palm Sunday

There are many online resources with ideas for activities for the week leading up to Easter.

We 'borrowed' some palm fronds from our neighbour who kindly pruned her tree for us.
I read a page from a children's Easter story book we have

"One spring day before Passover Jesus said to the 12 disciples we should go to the temple in Jerusalem for celebrations. When the crowd saw Jesus riding on a donkey into the city, they thought perhaps Jesus is going to make himself their king! They began to wave and cheer and they waved palm branches and placed them infront of him as a sign of happiness and respect"

We then waved our leaves and took turns riding our 'donkey' (*cough cough* a recycled christmas camel :) through the palm leaves


We also made Palm Crosses from the palm leaves. See link here on how to make a palm cross . Since our religion does not use the cross as a symbol and we don't have any in the house (we prefer to see the joy in resurrection and not focus on the death of Christ) this will probably be the only cross craft we do, I enjoyed making them, kinda like origami :)


Here are some links that outline what things Jesus did in his last week. I plan to have a short devotional each night(and maybe a craft) with the girls on the things Jesus that day/what happened leading up to his death and resurrection.

Last Week of Jesus Life
Last week overview

A quick kids version

Sunday: Palm Sunday
Monday:Cleansing of the Temple
Tuesday: Mary annointed Jesus with perfume
Wednesday: Judas betrays Jesus for 30 silver coins
Thursday: Jesus goes to Garden of Gethsemane
Friday: Jesus Cruxified
Saturday:Laid in Tomb
Sunday: Jesus Resurrected
Monday: Appears to people and eats fish and honeycomb (I buy real honeycomb for the girls just for easter monday)

Enjoy your Easter

Sabbath

According to your faith ~ be it unto you. ~ Matthew 9:29

Eggs, Eggs and more Eggs

The Easter Advent activities for the last few days have been kid inspired/requested and basically all about eggs

We made chocolate Half Eggs

I borrowed these molds from my mother in law over a year ago (anyone else in the family want to use them??)


Inspired by the best rocky road I have ever had at my brothers a few months ago (White Lindt chocolate, macadamia nuts, marshmallow, Turkish delight - IT WAS DIVINE) I made a similar one with mashmallow, turkish delight and chocolate melts. The girls put 100's and 1000's on theirs


I love these foil painted eggs from Kids Craft Weekly sign up for her enewsletters.. she has lots of ideas.. this month version is all about eggs

Basically cut out a carboard egg (we used cereal boxes) cover in Alfoil and paint all over


Then using a cotton bud make patterns on the egg


Our finished eggs, I am going to stick them on the window


We made Easter Cards for our neighbours and teachers using egg stickers


We Dyed Eggs - this time I used a $4.95 egg dyeing kit from Spotlight. It came with containers, nifty lifter, wax crayon and dye tablets. The pink and purple were too light so I added some extra food colouring.


This is what happens when dyeing eggs with 2 year olds


Our Eggs - we made one each.


The girls loved it, so we will be dyeing eggs again before Easter is up I think

Thats it for the last few days.. Oh I did go to an awesome Twilight Bookclub with friends on Friday :) and it has been raining here lots... perfect twilight weather!!

Smashing Fun

For day one of our Easter Advent Calendar, we smashed our cascerones(cahs-cah-roe-nays) - confetti filled eggs from South America.

Confetti Hair in morning light


As it is also April Fools the girls decided to get the MR early in the morning when he just woke up. They snuck in behind him while he was on the computer and smashed the eggs over his head!! He definately was not expecting it, they were happy - The MR is hard to trick!!



Then we went outside (for easy disposal of all that confetti) to smash the rest over ourselves.

Look at that determined face :)


The little one got bored of waiting for someone to smash one over her she did it to herself!!

Here's how to make if you missed the links before.

Fill empty, clean egg shells with confetti - we just cut up a catalogue


Glue some tissue paper over the hole


Decorate or leave plain and place back in egg box ready to smash over heads!


The girls complained 6 werent enough and that this was the most fun they had in a while - I said that is because they didn't HELP make more than that (they bored easily in the making stage - that'll teach them!!)

Some Cascarones History I found on the net

Cascarones have an uncertain beginning, however historians have traced their birthplace back to China. Its believed that Marco Polo brought them from Asia. These original eggs were filled with a perfumed powder and the eggs were used as gifts. From Italy the tradition was carried to Spain and then to America. Carlotta, the wife of Emperor Maximillian, was so fascinated by the eggs that she brought them to Mexico during her husbands rule in the mid 1800s.

In Mexico people replaced the perfumed powder with confetti. It was then when Mexicans labeled the eggshells.... Cascarones... Which derives from the word "Cascara" which means shell. In Mexico Cascarones were popular at one time, but the tradition eventually faded. Only in the late 1960s and early 1970s Cascarones regained popularity in South Texas, where it has now become a family tradition. Some make very creative Cascarones' designs that sell for as much as $10 for one Cascaron.

Throughout Mexico and the American Southwest, Cascarones are used to celebrate. The fun is derived from breaking the egg over someones head; allowing the confetti to spill out. Prior to Easter or during Fiesta San Antonio churches and schools do fund raisers by selling Cascarones. Others just enjoy cracking them over their friend's heads. Many say... the confetti shower brings good luck and good fortune! But if anything they are lots of fun and almost addictive!

Do Cascarones have a religious link?
It's believed that Cascarones represent the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; the breaking of the egg symbolizes how Christ had risen from the tomb, just like a newborn chick opens the shell.

Sabbath

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as the Spirit of the Lord ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

Earth Hour

8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. Saturday 28 March 2009 www.earthhour.org


Earth hour originated in Sydney 3 years ago. We have participated for the last two years. The Kids love it.. any excuse to get out candles and walk around the house with them :)

We seem to be out on this date often, so we come home and don't turn on the lights and let the kids play a bit and go to sleep in candle light.

This time we come home and our German student is home with all the lights on. Miss K runs into the house

'You have to turn the lights off - Its for the earth'

student.... ' uh uh'

'It's very important - only once a year!'

So we have our fun with candles



about 15 mins into earth hour while she is in bed trying to fall asleep to the flickering candle light and trying to read a book in the dim light.. a quick heavy rain shower begins.

"The earth is crying happy tears because of earth hour" she says

(After a pretty bad 5-7 year drought any rain is appreciated around here)

'You give to the earth and it gives back'

I really don't know what environmental impact turing off all the lights has (though it is stated when cities turn off the empty office building lights etc for just 60 minutes A YEAR of electricty /carbon footprint is saved)

but I do know it made a difference to my kids and their outlook and that's all that matters

And who doesnt love a bit of candlelight??

Practicing

It easy to forget how different little babies are - squirmy, cute, gooey...

I got to play with my newest neice this week.. and she is ADORABLE!!

Growing Grass

*Gasp* I am not "one of those LDS mums" Yeah it's true.. I don't have any wheat storage, I have never ground wheat, nor made a whole wheat loaf of bread (not that I don't want to.. just never have) so when I wanted to grow some grass I actually went to the health food store and purchased ....

60 cents worth of Organic Wheat!! Big spender hey!!

Soak Wheat for 8-12 hours


Sprinkle wheat over soil and wait for it to sprout (about 1-2 days)


I mist the wheat 1-2 times a day with a spray bottle of water.

I had a few fails - the seeds I put in egg boxes that had cling film under the soil did NOT sprout. The grass I put in a jar DID... so I am currently making some more in Jars.

I swear this stuff grows each time you turn your back.. we even went out for a few hours and the girls we sure it had grown while we were out. They have been measuring the grass and it grows at about 1cm a day!! We even give it haircuts regularly!!

This is about 2 weeks growth - Tall hey?


And with an egg in it. I think I might need to cut the grass shorter?


Easter Grass Anyone?

Oh and I know that I should be eating the stuff - but I dont have a juicer.. wheat grass juice is the answer to all your health needs I hear.

Sabbath

But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good... And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? ~ Alma 32:30

Easter Advent Calendar

Using some left over blocks and some plastic Easter Eggs I have made an Easter Advent Activity Calendar. This one only has 5 eggs that open on it, so I might fill them twice - 10 activities. As Easter starts on the 10th of April this is perfect, starting on April 1st.

Alternatively you could use 12 Plastic Eggs and write "Happy Easter!" on it and your calendar will go until Easter Sunday. Just blu tac them standing up on any surface. My eggs are just blutacked onto the wooden blocks, nothing fancy here ;)


Here are some ideas that I will print out on strips of paper and place inside the eggs. I plan to do a mixture of religious and secular activities, but I will write two lists and you can choose to copy from one or the other or both.

*Make Pom Pom Chicks from Wool
* Paper Easter Baskets
* Scrap Fabric Bunnies
* Rice Krispy Treat Nests with eggs
*Any of these Egg Crafts at Kids Craft Weekly would be great!
* Paper Mache Eggs
* Easter Egg Pinata This was a family favourite last year!!
*Dyeing Eggs
* Cascarones
* Easter 'Tree' out of branches

Ideas to promote more religious reflection

*Bake soft pretzels - the shape is arms folded for prayer
*Give to others - make up some gifts to give away- God gave His Son. Jesus gave His life - we too at Easter should give to others
*Bake Hot Cross Buns on Easter Friday
* Resurrection Eggs we have done this for a few years and the kids love it.. I saw a nice set for sale at Koorong but you can easily make your own with plastic empty eggs.
*Visit the Art Gallery - many galleries will feature paintings of Christ.
*Read John 13 and wash your children’s feet. Your lives might never be the same. Tears were shed when The MR did this last year for our girls.. priceless.
*Make a "Tomb cake" to help children understand the meaning of easter. make a layer cake, cut a hole and tunnel out of the bottom layer, frost it and put a cookie in front of the opening. We make a big deal of removing the cookie and seeing that the "tomb" is empty
*Bake Resurrection Cookies
*For Easter Monday, eat fish and honeycomb. Before eating, read Luke 24:38–44, which describes what Jesus said and did after He was resurrected. Then sing the song “Did Jesus Really Live Again?” (Children’s Songbook, 64)

Mmmmmm... doughnuts.....

I have been wanting to make baked homemade doughnuts for ages after drooling after all the ones on the net. Well The Artful Parent's one activity a day challenge for the month of march sealed the deal! She found the recipe via 101 cookbooks and those sugary little balls were too good to resist.

What I found...

It takes a long time (as with any dough recipe) so I made up a batch while the kids were at school so they could have one asap afterschool. Then I let them roll the left over dough and we rose those ones to eat for dessert. The first batch were the best. Warm and doughy and sugary!!


I didnt have the right cookie cutters so we rolled snakes and joined them to make circles... make the hole BIG!! Most of mine puffed shut.

You must eat these directly from the oven.. they don't taste as good later on.


I found mine a little too 'yeasty' tasting.. so less yeast next time for me.

But they were good... here is the photographic proof :



And some may have just licked the cinnamon and sugar!

A bit more pink?

Looking forward to this little one arriving in August!! She is definately a strong one.. has fought through even being conceived and a Threatened Miscarriage - it has been an interesting few months!!

The Poor MR... definately outnumbered now :)

I obviously don't do this often enough..

AT the local store last week on the far wall was one IRONING BOARD leaning against the wall for sale.. in my defense I will say its cover was very bright - multicoloured swirls ~

Miss 2 Years old says...

Mum. Mum.
Surfboard!!

I say "No darling, Ironing Board."

NO! NOT!
IT SURFBOARD!!

Me laughing.. Ok darling.. It Surfboard...

So there you have it.. even my 2 year old knows that I don't Iron...It's true I can't remember the last time I Ironed.. probably when the MR had a job interview or something..For crafting/quilting purposes I sometimes Iron on the Kitchen bench with a towel..... But the board never comes out....I have my excuses..

My crazy always under my feet kids would have ended up in emergency with burns, no room to have a board set up, an old iron which would probably leave more marks than iron out the wrinkles, and of course No Ironing means I have more time for Blogging ;)

Maybe I will get the Ironing Board out and let the kids have a surf on it... Yes.. I am off to find it now and take some photos :) I will be right back.

Paddling out :)


Standing up :)


There may be hope that my kids will be the Surfers The Mr and I are most definately NOT!

Secret Lusting

While secretly lusting after Carli's Emma Chair first mentioned here, for a while now... On Sunday a lady at church came up to me and said she was bringing me a rocking chair on Wednesday!! Pretty Random hey!

The only downside is that I live in the smallest house ever that contains 6 people. So rest assured people.. I can now rock by the fireplace, watch tv, blog on the computer, check the dinner and almost shower from that chair!! Now the only problem is getting the kids off the chair.. I have had one go!!

Oh and the angle on the chair is not the most comfortable, so I definately need a cushion or something.. recommendations anyone? I don't think I could sew my own.. and plus the cane might be picked apart by certain little fingers.. so it definately needs something on it/covering it.

B DAY - Baptism Day

More picture heavy posts!! Will return to normal crazy musings soon.. for now I am a proud Mumma.. and got to show off my darling family :) Photos Courtesy of my favourite photographer Zanabelle Photography

Me and My Girlies


4 Generations


With her Great Granparents


With Grandma (my mum)


With Grandad (my dad)


With Grandma (The MR's mum)


Lots of Trust in Daddy to Baptise her!


Our Family