Homemaking with Monica

May Flowers

I just love this time of year. We have a lot of purple and yellow flowers blooming right now. The weather has been perfect for checking things off of my May Gardening To-Do List.

Here are some pictures.

Japanese Iris

Early Blooming Lilly

Peony

Iris

Yellow Knockout Roses – I love how the flowers start out a bright yellow, turn peach and then fade to a pale yellow.

Purple Puff Ball – I know that’s not the proper name, but I think it fits.

Rhododendrone

What are some of your favorite flowers blooming right now?

Spring Gardening To-Do-List (May)

We had a warm and humid day today. I was able to make a little progress in the garden, but there is certainly still much that needs to be done.

Here’s what I plan to tackle this month.

:: Finish mulching

:: Plant apple and pear trees

:: Purchase and plant annuals

:: Purchase and plant tomatoes

:: Arrange hanging baskets

:: Split and share hostas (let me know if you’re interested!)

:: Hang patio art

What’s on your list? Are you trying something new this year?

Spring Flowers

Here’s the next installment of what’s blooming in Monica’s garden.

The lilacs were gorgeous right around Easter and so fragrant.

Honeysuckle (a birthday gift from my mother in 2003)

Lilly of the Valley

Dwarf Lilac

Coreopsis

Catmint

Peony (Grammy’s favorite)

Spiderwort

Knockout Rose

We have baby fruit on our trees and are super excited.

Plums

Sour Cherries

I am happy to announce that I completed all the items on my Spring Gardening To-Do-List for April. I will publish my May To-Do-List later on today. There’s still much to get done. Whew!

How is your garden coming along?

(Note- The links in this post are my referral links.)

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This afternoon my students performed a Spring Recital at a local retirement home. Everyone is preparing for the upcoming piano guild auditions, so this was a chance to perform some of the pieces in front of an audience.

Here’s Nicholas playing Night Wind and Big Ben (his favorite!).

Check out Clara playing Knecht Ruprecht.

Family Vacation in Tennessee

I’m back! It’s been a while since I checked in. Oops. We were on vacation in Chattanooga, Tennessee over spring break and had a fabulous time. Here’s a glimpse into our week.

We spent a day at Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park. We learned a lot of Civil War history and Clara completed the Junior Ranger program at both parks. I highly recommend this program. It is available at all National Parks (for FREE) and gives kids a fun and educational experience.

On our second day we visited the Tennessee Aquarium.

Giant crabs!

I loved the extensive exhibit of jelly fish and sea nettles. They are such fascinating creatures.

A family portrait.

We took a two hour cruise on the Tennesse River. It was Clara and Nicholas’s first time on a boat.

Here we are exploring the Cumberlad Caverns (with a tour guide, of course!).

In The Hall of the Mountain King. I could totally hear the music in my head. It also reminded us of the book The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald.

No vacation would be complete without locating and visiting the local used bookstore. Chattanooga did not disappoint. They had a huge McKay store. We were able to find many books on our booklist to add to our library. If you’re looking for a great list of kids books, check out Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt.

Now it’s back to “real life”. Just a few more weeks before the summer fun begins!

(Note- The links in this post may be my referral links.)

Resurrection Rolls – Teach the Meaning of Easter

Here’s a wonderful way to teach kids the meaning of Easter while having fun in the kitchen.

Ingredients

cresent rolls
melted margerine
large marshmallows
cinnamon
sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Unroll the cresent rolls and lay a triangle in front of each child. This represents the cloth that Jesus was wraped in.

3. Each child receives a marshmallow to represent Jesus.

4. Dip the marshmallow in the melted butter. The butter represents the oil that was used to preserve Jesus’ body.

5. Roll the marshmallow in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. This represents the spices that were used to prepare Jesus’ body for burial.

6. Wrap the marshmallow in the cresent roll. Pinch sides together to completely seal. This step represents the wraping of Jesus’ body.

7. Place the rolls on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for approx. 12 minutes. The oven represents the tomb and the baking time the three days Jesus was in the tomb.

8. After the rolls cool, have each child open a roll. The marshmallow will be gone. Christ has risen!

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2 Easter Egg Decorating Ideas

The kids and I had so much fun working on decorating eggs the last couple of days. Here’s what we did.

Ladybug Eggs

Supplies

blown out eggs
red candle
matches
black permanent marker
black ribbon
bamboo skewer

1. Stick the egg on a skewer.

2. Light the candle and wait for wax to melt.

3. Drip wax on egg and cover with dots. Drop from a higher distance for thinner wax dots.

4. Let dry. Add bug head and legs using permanent marker.

5. Add ribbon hanger. Hang on egg tree.

Butterfly Eggs

Supplies

blown out eggs
butterfly/nature stickers
watercolors
toothbrush
ribbon
floral foam
paper towels

1. Cover the egg with stickers. We used butterflies, hearts and flowers.

2. Stick the egg on a skewer and stick into floral foam.

3. Wet toothbrush and dip in paint. For best results use lots of paint and little water.

4. Rub your finger along the toothbrush bristles and spray the paint on the egg.

5. Make sure the stickers are completely outlined with paint spray.

6. Let dry.

7. Remove stickers to reveal the butterfly.

8. Add ribbon hanger. Hang on egg tree.

Nicholas spraying eggs with paint.

More butterfly eggs.

HAVE FUN DECORATING!

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How to Blow out Easter Eggs

Ready to decorate Easter eggs? Here’s a step by step guide to blowing out Easter eggs. I’ll share how we decorate our eggs in a follow-up post later on today. Don’t miss out and follow me on facebook.

1. Gather supplies (needle, toothpicks, bowl). Rinse eggs and dry off.

2. Gently poke a hole in the top of the egg using the needle.

3. Use the needle to chip around the edge and enlarge the hole. Follow the same process at the other end of the egg.

4. Insert a toothpick through the hole and poke the yolk.

5. Get ready to huff and puff . Start blowing in the top hole so the egg white and yolk come out of the bottom hole into the bowl. If things get stuck, just use a toothpick to gently remove any obstruction and continue blowing until the egg shell is empty. If it’s still tough to blow anything out you may need to enlarge the bottom hole a little.

6. Rinse the egg under water and blow out any excess water. Let dry in egg carton.

I used some of the eggs to make scrambled eggs in a cup and will use the rest for breakfast burritos.

7. Let the fun begin and DECORATE!

(Note – The links in this post may be my referral links.)

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Resurrection Eggs – Teach the Meaning of Easter

Here’s a simple hands-on way to teach kids the meaning of Easter. You can purchase a set of Resurrection Eggs or make your own. We made our set several years back and the kids love opening the eggs and telling the story of Easter over and over again. Make sure you don’t miss out on other Easter projects and follow me on facebook.

Here’s how to make your own set of Resurrection Eggs.

Supplies

12 plastic Easter Eggs
1 egg carton
black permanent marker
items to fill each egg

First, number the eggs with 1 through 12 using a permanent marker.

Then fill the eggs accordingly:

3 dimes – Matt. 26:15 So they counted out thirty coins.
small pieces of twine – John 18:12-13 They bound him and brought him first to Annas.
small leather strip – John 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.
small picture printout of a crown of thorns – John 19:2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
small piece of purple felt – John 19:2 They clothed him in a purple robe.
2 nails – Acts 2:33 Put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
little piece of sponge – John 19:29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
toothpick with one end colored red – John 19:34 One of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear.
small piece of gauze – John 19:40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.
color the inside of the egg black with permanent marker – Mark 15:33 At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.
small rock – Mark 16:4 They saw that the stone, which wa very large, had been rolled away.
keep empty – Matt. 28:6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Note – Some of the eggs contain small and sharp objects. Keep away from small children.

(Note- The links in this post are my referral links.)

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Easter Basket Garden Centerpiece

I love decorating for the holidays. Here’s a super easy way to create your own Easter Basket Garden Centerpiece. I also posted some pictures of other Easter decorations we put up throughout the house.

Supplies:

basket
reindeer moss
hot glue gun & glue
plastic insert or pot
plants & bulbs
dirt
Spanish moss
decorative chicks, eggs, bunnies… (optional)

1. Cover the basket with reindeer moss using the hot glue gun.

2. Prepare a pot with spring flowers and bulbs. I used a plastic pretzel bin cut down to size and filled it with pansies, daffodils, hyacinth and grape hyacinth.