My Search for the Holy Grail....I Mean, the Perfect Cranberry Sauce

I don't know what it is with me and my sister, but it seems like every year at Thanksgiving we are always searching for that *perfect* cranberry sauce recipe.

I really don't know why that is, because in all of our growing-up-years we never had any other kind except the jellied kind from the can. You know, the one that still has the grooves from the side of the can impressed on it. And that never bothered us before.

But somehow, somewhere, we must've discovered real cranberry sauce and now we are compelled to find that perfect sauce for our Thanksgiving feast.

One of our family's favorite recipes is one that I got from my husband's step-grandma, Mama Jane, not long after I was married. It's the one we revert back to when a new one has bombed royally. It involves canned whole cranberry sauce, raspberry jello, celery, etc. Mucho yum-o!! I should definitely share that one with you!

Another we have tried is this one with jalapenos from Martha Stewart. I loved it (I made it), but everyone else didn't have much to say. Then there was the one that involved red cabbage that my sister loved (she made it), everyone else...not so much.

This year I was all set to make our fall-back-favorite from Mama Jane, until I saw this from The Pioneer Woman. Good 'ole P-Dub just has the most irresistible recipes. Or maybe it's all those photos. They always have me practically drooling by the time I've scrolled to the bottom of the page. It's really not fair!

So anyway, I'm going for it. I checked with my sister to see if she thought it looked acceptable, but I'm not telling anyone else about the switch-a-roo. I'm just showing up with it:) I'll definitely let you know how that goes.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on cranberry sauce. Do you have some fabulous recipe that I need to try next year? I'd love to hear all about it!!

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

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