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Showing posts from 2008
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A penny saved is a penny earned. -Benjamin Franklin Did you know? Norah's learning about money right now; pennies are worth one cent, nickels are worth five, etc. We took a magnifying glass to one of our brand new pennies today and with the help of educational websites, we discovered a lot of neat history we usually overlook. If you have a penny minted in 2008, you can see the initials VDB on the bottom of Lincoln's sleeve. These initials are infamous and there's a rumor about their obvious placement as part of the design... They stand for V.D. Brener , the man who designed this Lincoln profile used since 1909. But, interestingly, V.D. Brener was not the Chief Engraver of the US Mint at the time, Charles Barber was. Usually, the Chief Engraver always got the honor of designing new coins... So, it is said that Barber went behind the scenes and insisted that all of VD Brener's initials be put on the coin in an effort to make Brener look arrogant about his work a
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Pumpkin Dump Cake This is another dessert that doesn't look or sound like it would be appealing, but it is yummy. Ingredients: 1 29 ounce can of pumpkin puree or two 12-15 ounce cans 3 eggs 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup white sugar 1 12 fluid ounce can evaporated milk or two 5 ounce cans 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 package spice cake mix 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans 1/2 cup melted butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar and milk. Stir in cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin filling. Sprinkle pecans over the cake mix. Drizzle melted butter over all. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool. Serve with cool whip.
This is a video of Norah "reading" our Advent Book on Christmas morning. Starting December 1 , we open a new door in the book every night leading up to Christmas morning when we read what is behind the last door, so Norah had most of the Christmas story memorized by then and would always insist on "reading" the parts she could. In the process, she mumbles some, gets a few of the big words wrong and I am sure the footage could be tedious to viewers in places, but of course, every second of it is precious to us. My favorite parts are when she puts her finger up to get me to shut up (I am sure she learned this gesture from me anyway) and I laugh when she says "apembly of angels" instead of "assembly." We'd like to say a special thanks to Dwayne's mom, Grandma Karen, for giving us this book years ago. It has become a family treasure and tradition.
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We got this recipe from a waitress at a certain Greek restaurant in downtown Summerville, SC (which shall remain nameless). It was one of our favorite places to eat when we lived in SC. But, we noticed that after that waitress gave us the recipe, we never saw her again... We think maybe they offed her cause she gave up their secret brew. So, if I am gone in a week, you'll know why. Spiced Tea Brew a pitcher of tea as usual, but instead of using four bags of regular tea, use two bags of regular tea, one bag of cinnamon tea and one bag of orange spice tea. Sweeten as desired. Serve with ice. You can brew more tea at once, but keep the proportions of flavor 2:1:1.
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I'm afraid this picture won't do these bad boys justice. I think these cookies taste so good, even though the photo may inspire some doubt. They're called No Bake Coco Cookies and really, they are shamefully easy to make. My mom made these when I was in elementary school, but when I asked her for the recipe after I got married and became more interested in baking, she didn't know what cookies I was even referring to. I described the cookies for my brother and sister who both said they remembered them, so I knew I wasn't mistaken about my memories. So, my mom had just somehow forgotten that she made these at all and the recipe was lost to me for a while. But, a few years ago, I was visiting a friend and she happened to make some of the same cookies for her kids that day. (That's what I call a divine appointment). She told me what they were called, so I could find the recipe on line for myself. And, since my brother is here, I thought I'd make them. They&
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My brother Donnie is here visiting. He's a truck driver and had a delivery up this way, so it was easy enough for him to stop by. While we were preparing the guest bed for "Uncle Donnie," Dwayne asked Norah, "Do you know what an uncle is?" Norah's answer made us laugh, "It's an old person who lives far away... who is a boy." My brother likes hearty meals, so I made pork and beans (using part of the ham we had left over after Christmas) and cornbread. We all played UNO while dinner was simmering. Norah got this neat little card holder , so she was able to play right along with us. Without this, she usually has to lay her cards out on the table for everyone to see.
Norah's game Perfection proved to be less than perfect. I guess we got a dud, because the timer kept sticking and we kept having to threaten Norah since she was beating the thing out of frustration to get it to start ticking again. So, we decided to just take it back to the toy store and we got Fix the Mix! instead. It's awesome! I also finally found a pack of UNO cards that don't have Hannah Montana or Elmo on them, so we got those, too. We played a game of it while we were waiting on lunch earlier today.
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Dwayne pointed this out to me earlier today. It's a page torn from one of Norah's princess coloring books and it is hanging in her new bedroom (whose walls haven't been painted pink yet). He said, "Did you notice? Norah's got her first pin up." I hadn't noticed and honestly, I am not even sure how long I've overlooked this! I find so many things about this hilarious. First, she chose this picture from the rest and hung this up on her own, like older girls will do with magazine pictures of Zac Efron or something. She has no older sister to model this kind of behavior. I have framed photos of her dad on my bed side table and dresser, but that is the closest thing of this kind that she's ever even seen... besides that scene from The Little Mermaid of Ariel with Eric's statue. That could explain it! Next, Norah hung this so high up on her wall that when I saw it, I assumed her dad had helped her put it there, at her request, and that is how
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After french toast with maple syrup and powdered sugar, we read our Advent book and the Scriptures for Christmas morning. (With a second glance, I noticed all the tissues in the background of the first picture and this makes me chuckle. Those background details will be heartwarming evidence to me in years to come that all of us were tenderhearted about Christ. We are all criers, though I do it more than anyone in my family, especially since I am pregnant.) Then we opened gifts. You can see above that Norah's Barbie got a wedding dress and we've been enjoying hiding and using the wand to find our monkey . We also played or took turns with Norah's games: Match Up! , Perfection , The Ladybug Game and Hyper Jump . I'd recommend any of these for other kids Norah's age. I also got Gun Slingers for Dwayne, just for the fun of it, so we all played that, too, and got laughs from the sound effects (western showdown music and amigos with accents) and we laughed at the fact t
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After church, dinner, It's a Wonderful Life and our Advent readings, we opened our Christmas pajamas. We all snuggled in our big bed to read the last portion of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever . Dwayne and Norah are already sleeping, but I can't.
Late in the day, I dropped Norah off to Dwayne as he was leaving work and met up with two of my good friends for dinner and a movie. We saw Four Christmases . It was crude in places, unnecessarily so, and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else pay to see it in the theater. It didn't keep me in stitches, but there were two scenes that are still making me chuckle. Spoiler Warning: What comes next may ruin some of the scenes to any of you who want to see the movie with fresh eyes. For me, the first really funny scene is when Reese's character realizes that her best friend in high school was, most likely, a lesbian. She is trying to argue that this wasn't true, but what she says in defense of her point just brings to light what should have been obvious to her all along and her voice trails off as she comes to the realization... I think this was a great bit of acting on her part. I liked it so much because I can't tell you how often this happens to me and how many of tho
"On Christmas Eve, the mall is a sea of men in flannel." -Dwayne, defending himself after I accused him of being the only husband who waits till the eleventh hour to purchase gifts for his wife.
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Norah likes to find hiding places in the racks or on the shelves as I shop. I am still recovering from yesterday. Norah and I spent almost the entire day at Cabela's getting Dwayne's Christmas gifts. The store is huge and I move slow right now. And, there's no reason why I can't post that here, since Dwayne knows exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing there. Norah loves that store, maybe even more than her dad does, so I knew she wouldn't be able to keep where we went a secret. He told me what she said when he asked her where she'd been. She said to him, "I'll give you a hint... It starts with a C." But, I also know Norah doesn't actually pay attention to the specific things I put in the cart, so for this year, at least, she won't be able to spoil his Christmas surprises completely.
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It snowed again. Most of the day, we stayed huddled inside watching the snow pile even higher and the icicles drip longer and longer. After Dwayne was done throwing all the newly fallen snow, we visited our neighbors across the street who gave us homemade bread, their annual tradition. Then, we took the five minute drive to the coffee shop. Dwayne got a "medium coffee, cream and four Splenda," his reward for all that work in the cold. On the way home, we stopped at the big hill and took Norah sliding again. The snow was packed perfectly, the sunset was stunning, it reflected pretty colors off the white ground. All was quiet, expect for other families laughing as they went speeding down the slope and faint Christmas carols coming from a home somewhere down the street. Once it was dark, we came home for hot chocolate and homemade cookies.
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Some pictures of Norah at the bottom of the big hill, coming back up and the Jeep, after a drive to the grocery stores. I love my Jeep this time of year. We affectionately call her "Libby."
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Our princess practices phonics. When Norah dresses up and plays pretend, she always marries Eric, Ariel's fellow. I haven't been able to convince her that it isn't right to go after someone else's man. Details... you know. When I told her it was time to practice phonics, she said, "I have some time, but they're almost done decorating... (for the ceremony)"
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Norah's doodle of me, her and our chihuahua (even though we don't have one). You can see baby Avril in my belly if you look closely. I thought the circles that Norah drew on her chest were boobs, but she clarified this for me after I got up the courage to ask. "Mom! They're my bathing suit straps!"
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I was on the phone on hold this morning and still had a mess or rather, several messes on the kitchen table, so I started going through everything while waiting... I made a pile of things to throw away. At first, I put this picture of Norah's in it. (I know! It's shameful! But, I do sneak Norah's pictures into the trash can. There's a verse in the Bible somewhere that says if all the things Christ had done in His life were written down, there wouldn't be room on the planet for the pages... This is also true for Norah's doodles. There is no way our home could contain them. She alone is the reason for deforestation.) Anyway, later, I happened to look closer as I was on the way to crumple this picture up and realized Norah had obviously drawn a Christmas tree! When I asked her about it, she said with the same tone of a young business professional holding her day planner, "Yeah. But, I can't put all the ornaments on it in one day... I'll do that tom
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"That's a double right, Mom." -Norah's way of giving me two thumbs up.
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Norah made a marshmallow igloo today. These little projects not only help her problem-solve and practice coordination, they also allow her to process and retain the information she's heard about igloos and Eskimos so far. She even reminded me to help her leave a little hole in the top "to let out the stale air," something she was told the Eskimos will do periodically. Marshmallow Igloo Materials: Hot Glue Sticks and Gun Liquid Glue Small Sponge Shallow Lid or Bowl Two or three cups of miniature marshmallows Small Styrofoam Cup Paper Plate Cotton Balls Damp Paper Towel- To clean messes and sticky fingers as you go. Cut an inch or two off the rim of a small Styrofoam cup, turn it over and hot glue this shallow bottom of the cup to a paper plate. (Norah picked a pink plate left over from her birthday party.) Fill the lid or bowl with liquid glue and use the sponge to "paint" the outside of the cup with glue. This extra layer of glue helps the marshmallows stick
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You learn something new everyday. We got another gift package in the mail from Dwayne's company. This one included a huge picnic basket from Virgina holding a ham that barely fits into our fridge and further down in the box were two slabs of bacon, a block of cheddar cheese and a literal keg of maple syrup. So, now my kitchen actually does resemble the attic in Little House in the Big Woods . (See blog entry for October 1 ). Tonight, we had our first experiences with slab bacon. We thought for sure that what just appeared to be one huge chuck of meat was really just a tall stack of thinner slices. We said things like, "The slices must be wrapped so tightly that we just can't see the lines between them, etc. etc." as we squinted and looked at the hunk of meat in the package. Oh, we were so naive. It was, quite literally, a solid slab of bacon. You could almost picture where it was on the hog's back, originally. We did our best to cut it without using a wood a
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I'm listening to: Norah's lesson over my shoulder. With her teacher's guidance, she's using a ruler to measure objects by the inch. I'm wearing: My sweaty exercise clothes. I subbed for another instructor's Senior Aerobics and Stretch classes this morning while Norah played with lots of other kids in the babysitting room at the gym. I'm looking at: A sink full of dishes, a kitchen table covered with projects... I can't get enough: Grapefruit sprinkled with Splenda I can't bring myself to: Drink water. It makes me nauseous. I need to: Get up and off the computer, shower, straighten up my kitchen, plan dinner, start a load of laundry, guide Norah through her phonics pages for today, take a trip to the library for several children's nonfiction and picture books to compliment Norah's unit on the Arctic and Eskimos, cut out more math manipulatives from craft foam... Here's hoping: I can have time and creativity enough to design stage
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Norah's newest thing is to "read" the back of her cereal box in the morning. I never suggested she do this, so I think it's just great that she asked on her own. She said, while still chewing, "Ma... Can you pass that box to me...I wanna to read the back..." It may be silly of me, but I was so taken back by this that I took a photo while she was counting how many toasts were on the illustration. I didn't really think about it again till I looked over yesterday morning and saw her dad kind of hunched down, reading the back of his box while eating his cereal! I really cherish the things I've seen Norah begin to do that are so common to humanity. To me, it's a privilege and a joy to have a front row seat to the little and often impolite things she does that just come natural to everybody: like leaning to one side to pass gas, for example, or licking her fingers after eating Cheetos or slurping the sugary milk left in her cereal bowl... it is fun
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Norah's monster.
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This is a photo of Norah with our Mayor Jarjura taken at our neighborhood's Christmas party. Her dad and I think it is unfortunate but also pretty humorous that she is making that gesture with her right hand. Norah has ruined a number of pictures this way. She really has no idea.
Folks in the northeast may appreciate this one. Norah told her dad, "Mattresses last forever." When Dwayne asked her why she thought this, she quoted a Sleepy's television commercial: "Cause you can 'Trust Sleepy's... for the rest of your life.' "
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Norah made this simple nativity scene during one of her lessons. Your kids could do the same thing with images you find online. Find, print, let your kids color them and cut them out, etc. Mount them to card stock and cut a slit in the bottom for the bases, also made of card stock.
"Mom! Look! An activity set!" - What Norah says when we pass a church with a nativity set out front.
I'd like to recommend (to those of you who don't already know about it) what I think must be one of the best Christmas albums ever written: Dreaming of a Holy Night . The songs on this album are all original. Graham Kendrick is the same singer/songwriter who wrote songs like "Shine Jesus Shine" and "Knowing You" and all the songs on this album meet that standard easily. Not that I know him in the least, but he knows our head pastor very well, so he worked with the worship leaders at our church and created a Christmas musical using these songs last year. I imagine that some, if not most of the songs on this album will be accepted Christmas classics in one hundred years. My favorite song on the album is What's to be Done About Mary? You can find the lyrics to that song and hear at least a sample of all the songs on the album online . I think that song, in particular, sheds light on how Mary's pregnancy would or rather would not have been accepted
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I overheard a fraction of a conversation Norah was having with one of her toys in the Jeep. She was saying, "We believe...d in Santa... the other day." I got a kick out of the fact that Norah changed verb tense in mid sentence. And, right when I thought she was done speaking entirely, she added, "...the other day." That's when her voice trailed off and that's when I broke into spontaneous laughter. The picture above was taken at our neighborhood's Christmas party. (See the blog entry for December 7 for further explanation.) You can see Norah in the bottom right hand corner of the photo listening to Santa tell the story "The Night Before Christmas." We're Christians, so we focus on Christ at Christmas. Go figure. But, we didn't foresee the problems this would cause any child, like Norah, with any set of parents, like us, who live somewhere within, say, the continental United States. I really don't question parents who include Sant
The same truth holds for government and ladies' cosmetics; less is more. -Original by me.
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Norah's sitting on her dad's lap while we read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.
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Sometime after the election, I read the quote on the bottom of the photo above. Immediately, an image of the crowd at Grant Park came to my mind. Norah and I came home from the gym tonight (I teach water aerobics on Thursdays) to find Dwayne watching I Robot . I watched the rest of the movie with him and was struck by how often the lead character's attitude is similar to my own in today's political climate. If you want to know how many political conservatives feel when some of today's leading democrats speak, watch the movie again. Will Smith's character is a good picture of a real conservative's doubt and suspicion. While government leaders seem so eager to begin legislating for the people's good, I fear the outcome of so many new laws will result in so much less liberty that America will become unrecognizable and uncomfortable for all of us, even for those who support the leading party's agenda currently. But, I am sober for now and sincerely hope I am pr
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This makes a very tasty, cheap and easy dinner. It is one of those things you can make when you have hardly anything but staples left in the kitchen cabinet. Potato Parmesan Soup Ingredients: 4 Potatoes 1 Small Chopped Onion 1/2 Cup Butter 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour 1/2 Tsp. Salt 1/2 Tsp. Basil 1/4 Tsp. Sage 1/4 Tsp. Dried Celery Leaves 1/4 Tsp. Onion Powder 1/4 Tsp. Black Pepper 1/4 Tsp. Thyme 4 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth 4 1/2 Cups Milk 1 Cup Shredded or Grated Parmesan Clean, chop and cook potatoes in boiling water till tender. I leave the skins on. Leave them in chunks or mash them to a consistency you like. Last night, I used left over mashed potatoes. I made enough to serve with dinner on a previous night and saved the rest in the fridge to use in this soup. In a bottom of a kettle, melt butter and saute onions on low to medium heat until they are tender. In the meantime, mix flour and spices in a bowl. Once onions are done, stir in the flour and spice mixture. Gradually add the
Norah has been asking a lot of questions this winter, wondering where all the animals have gone. So, she and I are reading through a kid's book called Animals that Hibernate by Larry Dane Brimner. I found yesterday's portion about groundhogs fascinating and even encouraging. “A female (groundhog) is a loving parent, but a strict one. A mother often 'drills' her youngsters. Pretending to spot danger, she'll give a false alarm to make certain her pups know what to do in an emergency. A wise pup scampers into the burrow where it is relatively safe from enemies. Any pup remaining above ground is given a gentle nip. It doesn't take long for the youngsters to learn the habit of going underground when danger is present.” Recently, I have been growing more concerned that Norah be able to respond to an emergency, especially a situation which may cause me to be incapacitated. I've always been concerned about this, but she was too young before now and there was v
A place for everything and everything in its place. I cleaned out and organized my kitchen cabinets and drawers. This isn't something I feel compelled to do on a regular basis, but right now, I'm pregnant and I know from experience that makes me a little insane, so I am giving myself grace and going with all these motivations. Really, when's the next time I'll feel the need to get down and scrub the floor behind our stove? And, with all this organizing, I've noticed that I tend to collect things and these things are really starting to add up. I am a little insecure about admitting this, but I wonder if other moms, homeschooling or not, also feel the need to save things "just in case." Jars and their lids We need several of these every spring and summer for the bugs and caterpillars. Plastic Shopping Bags I use these around the house for obvious reasons, like bathroom trash. But, once a year, I also stuff as many as I can into the Christmas box we send
The newspaper I work for published an article in this month's edition that included answers given by little kids to the question, "What does love mean?" Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your french fries without making them give you any of theirs. -Chrissy, Age 6 This made me think about something that happened early in my marriage. Dwayne and I laugh about this like it was yesterday. I always order first. We happened to be at Wendy's this time. I told the lady I wanted a "number 1 with cheese and a diet soda" and then I had the fries and drink up-sized. Then I turned to Dwayne who was listening to what I said, looking up at the menu and waiting to order for himself. I don't remember what sandwich he wanted that day, but he didn't order fries to go with it. I noticed this, but I didn't think anything more about it. I just assumed he didn't want any fries. I got napkins and straws and was going back to get ketchup, b
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We played in the snow this afternoon. There wasn't much of it, but it was perfect for building a snowman. Instead of taking the trip down the road to the big hill, I let Norah slide on the slope in our backyard, then we came inside for hot chocolate.
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This is a great dish to bring to parties in the winter or to make for cookouts in the summer. Spinach Dip Ingredients: 1 Cup Mayonnaise 1 Cup Sour Cream 1/2 Cup Green Onions- Chopped 1/2 Can (4 ounces) Water Chestnuts- Chopped One Bag Frozen Spinach- Thawed, Rinsed and Drained One Bag Vegetable Recipe/Soup Mix Mix everything together and chill until it's time to serve. We like to eat this dip with wheat flavored Toasteds .
We made french toast, did laundry, then went out to get the Jeep's oil changed and have it washed inside and out. Dwayne needed a haircut, so he got that done while I shopped and found the cutest snowsuit and matching jacket for Norah for only $30. It fits, but it is also big enough for her to wear again next winter. We went to another store right after that and uglier sets of snowsuits in the same brand were as much as $75. I was so happy. Dwayne met up with us and kept Norah distracted while I found pair of festive pajamas for Norah to open and wear on Christmas Eve, another tradition we adopted from our good friends who have done it their whole lives. And, I found a set of three Christmas ornament/picture frames on sale. I have given Norah an ornament for every Christmas she's been alive, so I hope this set will provide one ornament for the next three years, if only I can keep them hidden from Norah, tucked away with the decorations in the attic or something. It look
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Norah's dancing to Christmas music, now looking at library books, now keeping the beat with a kitchen spoon and paint stick on her school table, now playing under a makeshift tent with her marbles... Dwayne's working on his laptop. All my housework is done save a basket of socks to be matched, so I'd rather be blogging, even for the second time today, even if it makes me a looser. I popped corn on the stove while dinner was in the oven and let it cool while we ate. After we cleaned up, we strung it and hung it on our littlest tree, the one with colored lights and candy canes, the one that I paid $15 dollars for six years ago when I was an underpaid professional educator, the tree I have dubbed "My Concession," where I will always gladly hang any ornament Norah brings home that she made out of too much paste, too few popsicle sticks and too little rickrack. This second tree allows me to be much more territorial about our larger, formal tree. It has become absol
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Norah made this Bagel Bird Feeder during her home school lessons today. We didn't have any birdseed, so instead of taking a trip to the store just to buy some, I collected things I happened to have in the kitchen: almonds, raisins and sunflower seeds. The only problem with sticking items we actually eat to the bagel: Norah thought she was making herself a snack and had a real problem when I told her we were going to hang it to the tree for the birds, even though her DVD teacher also made it very clear she'd be making a bird feeder. You would think I don't feed her well enough, the way Norah carried on. But, I bargained with her. She got a pop tart, so the birds could have their bagel. Bagel Bird Feeder Yarn Bagel Peanut Butter Bird Seed If your bagel came sliced, don't tear the two pieces apart. Just leave the bagel whole. Thread a long piece of yarn through the bagel's hole, take the two loose ends, put them together and lay them to the side, out of the way.