Menu Plan Monday: Dec 20th

It's here! Christmas week!

I've got very simple meals planned for us on the non-big-holiday-dinner days. That way I can have more time to finish wrapping gifts, make gingerbread houses, bake Christmas cookies...you know.

Ironically, I did choose a couple of new recipes* to try for those simple dinners~trying to work with what's in the pantry and freezer.

I'm looking forward to the big holiday dinners! This year my family is having something different on Christmas Eve: tamales! We all love them and there are some great authentic places to get them here~I've heard making them is quite the labor of love and I'm just not ready to go there yet. I'll be making Chicken Enchilada Soup to go with them and Vince is going to whip up his awesome guacamole and pico de gallo. Yum!

My mom, sister and I have a yummy Christmas dinner planned, too, but that's a post of it's own.

We've got a couple of day trips this week for family dinners, so no cooking on those days.

Monday: {in Tulsa to celebrate with Vince's mom}
Tuesday: Turkey & Corn Chowder*
Wednesday: Baked Salmon, Baked Potatoes with Mixed Veggies
Thursday: Boston Baked Beans*(in the slow cooker)
Friday: {Christmas Eve} Chicken Enchilada Soup, Tamales, Chips & Dips
Saturday: {Christmas Day} menu to follow
Sunday: {in Oklahoma City to celebrate with Vince's extended family}

What have you got cooking this week? Are you ready for the holiday meals?

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

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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