Goofiness!

This is what you can do with camping equipment when you are not camping!
My Husband and Oldest son were preparing to go on a campout in February.

My Youngest decided to wear the bedrolls as legs! (Using Daddy to hold himself up). My Oldest got into them too, but unfortunately I didn't get those pictures!

Our tour of Sweden is almost over...

Well our study of Sweden for the month of February is almost over! Although our study is starting to focus more on the foods of the country rather than the culture. This month was an example of that...other than watching a 15 minute DVD about the country, we haven't discussed anything else of interest. Although, my husband has started really getting interested in what we are going to make each month for our meal. He helped me research this meal, which was funny...I was exploring meals online at home and he was doing it at work and we were on the phone with each other asking how this dish or that dish looked. We've come to the realization that they are a meat and potato (and fish) country!...we had a lot of difficulty finding vegetable recipes.
Can't study Sweden without making Swedish meatballs: 1 lb. ground pork, 1 lb. ground beef, 3/4 c. bread crumbs, 1/4 c. milk, 1 egg, 1 small onion, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix and make 1-inch meatballs. This recipe says to bake them at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, but I fried mine. Take meatballs out and with 3 tablespoons of drippings make a rue by stirring in 3 tbsp. flour. Cook over low heat until smooth and bubbly then add 1 c. half-and-half, 1 tsp. instant beef bouillon, 1/2 tsp salt and boil 1 min. Boil 1 min., take off heat and add meatballs, and stir and top with minced parsley.

Hasselbeck Potatoes (okay, but not my favorite, would have been just as good if I'd boiled them): peel 6 potatoes and cut in slices without cutting through the potato forming a fan shape. Brush with butter and salt and pepper, bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. Mix together 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese and 2 tbsp dry bread crumbs, sprinkle over potatoes, sprinkle with paprika and bake another 20-30 minutes.

The Swedish have access to the fruits of the sea, which I do not here in the middle of the US, so I had to make substitutions and guesses. On the right you see the wheat bread, smoked salmon and Havarti cheese I put out.

On the left I have dill pickles, sweet pickles, lingonberry jam. And on it's own little plate is the Herring that was canned in oil.

Our local Homeland has a nice International foods section so I was happy to be able to find Lingonberry Jam! It was good, different...but not bad!

We have a very scientific method of choosing which country we will choose next (I've put 30-40 countries on little sheets of paper and placed them in a brown lunch bag to be drawn each month!). My husband got the honor for this month so it looks like we are off to France for March!

Percy Jackson Mania!

I discover new reading material everywhere, even when I'm not looking. I check out amazon.com, the local library's website, or I might see a synopsis of a book in a magazine or on a blog or at the end of another book. Sometimes I even get ideas from the TV and that is how I discovered the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (can't get away from the commercials for the new movie!). I thought the movie looked interesting and in my 36 years of experience if I like the movie, I usually love the book so I picked up Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief after a brief wait on the waiting list at the Library (I also put in a request for the 2nd book!), which I just finished.

I loved both books! Rick Riorden did an excellent job incorporating Greek mythology into the modern age and Percy is a well thought out character (he reminds me of my 12 yr. old!), who is drug into the world of Gods and Goddess' and Mythical Beasts kicking a screaming. It's especially fun when a character is introduced, but they are not named...then I get to try and remember the mythology I learned in Highschool to name that character before Percy figures it out!

In the afternoons, after school, but before supper I usually sit down and read a chapter to my Husband, and 12 & 5 yr old sons! It's the quietest I see them all day as they sit a listen to the story. My Husband and Oldest also try to figure out the characters before Percy (my Husband is usually right, although my Oldest has figured out several beforehand!)

February is Sweden Month

We are really starting to get into and look forward to our study of a different country each month. We're studying Sweden in February after studying Russia in January. We had fun with Russia and now Sweden looks equally fun.

January---Russia Month

---We watched a video about Russia, colored the flag, learned about their schools, and ate Russian food including: Chicken Kiev, Vinegret Salad (carrots, potatoes, and beets), Pirozhki and Deviled Eggs. It was delicious.

February---Sweden Month

---We've begun our journey with a video (our library has a bunch of these about different countries. They are from the viewpoint of a child from that country and my boys are really enjoying them)

---We've discussed the flag, but we still need to color it

---Swedish Menu---not sure yet, but husband is pushing for a Swedish smorgasbord! A little bit of everything.

---Schools and Everyday life of a Swedish child---have books to read about these and the Internet is an excellent source of info.

---This time we are also going to read a short biography of Queen Christine (I hope I spelled this correctly).

---And of course with the Olympics this month we plan on keeping track of not only the US, but the 3 countries we've already studied: Germany, Russia and Sweden! This is going to be fun.

I miss being a Den Leader...

My Oldest son's old Cub Scout pack had their monthly Pack Mtg. last night, which I attended since I'm the Advancement Chair, and where I had an epiphany...I miss being a Cub Scout Leader! My Oldest has moved up into a Boy Scout Troop in the last year and although I help out sometimes, it is not the same as being a full time Den Leader. Handing out awards last night, I realized I miss the excitement that I used to see on the faces of "my boys" (those that were in my den), when I handed them their awards. I know I am not being fair...all the boys in the Pack should be "my boys" and to some extent they are, but it's not the same and I miss it. I still have another full year and a half before my Youngest becomes a Tiger and I can step back into the roll as Den Leader. I'm really looking forward to it.

Back to Normal...

Well everything is finally getting back to normal! The routines are kicking back in with school, scouts and sports. Last weekend the boys didn't have school for 4 days due to Martin Luther King day and a Teacher work day...so I stayed home with my Youngest and we just hung out while my Husband and Oldest went off to a Trapper's Rendezvous camp out in Kansas for the weekend.

School is going good for both boys. My Youngest knows his ABC's, most of the sounds associated with the letters and now he's working on letter recognition. My Oldest is doing good in school, although not really applying himself. He's one of those children that is smart enough to slide by with A's and B's (just like his Mom), but just think what he could do if he really applied himself!

Me, I have a birthday coming up next Friday. Another year older...I finally broke down and had my husband take a picture of me...this one is the best of the lot. Oh well.

Gymnastics mini-meet

My Youngest son has been in gymnastics at a local gym for the last year-and-a-half and right before Christmas they had a mini-meet, at which time all the kid's in the gym can compete on the various apparatus and show off to Mom and Dad...and siblings, and grand-parents, and aunts and uncles (there were a lot of people there!). This session was for the young kids 5-7 yrs old boys and girls and everyone received a trophy at the end.
He's the boy in the "Conner's cubbies" shirt next to the boy in the blue.

It is surprising how good these boys are on this equipment. Here they're doing their routines on the rings. My sons a monkey so he loves doing the rings.

Parallel bars...not his favorite, but he was having fun.

His most favorite...the high bar! He's been practicing on his metal bunk beds since he was 2...that's why I put him into gymnastics.

My son and his 1st trophy! He wouldn't stay on the stand for me to photograph him, so I posed him on the mat.

He loves attending gymnastics, and it is good exercise for a very energetic 5 year old.