Party Planning

The little monkey's birthday is this Saturday, and party preparations are in full swing.  Fox's has sort of zapped all of our time and energy the past few weeks, so I was a little worried about being able to pull off a party worthy enough for Lu Lu's first birthday.  Then I had the bright idea of just having Sunday lunch in town, and inviting everyone to join us for a party at a restaurant.  But...........I was gently guilted encouraged to bite the bullet and give her a "real" party.

So I've been taking advantage of every spare minute to get the house ready for a party.

This year's party theme?

I know.  I know.  Clever.  Cute.  Creative.

I've nearly got all of the decorating complete.  Now I could let you believe that I'm being super resourceful by decorating days in advance, but what I'm really doing is putting off the housework as long as I possibly can.

For the menu I've planned chicken spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread.  And for the cake, I decided to make cupcakes!  I've printed out "I Love Lucy" clipart to use as cupcake toppers.  When they are all decorated in red, black, and white they will be so cute.  Can't wait to show y'all some pictures when they're done.

I don't have time right now (got to go make some pizza), but later today, I'll try to post some pictures the party invitations and some of the things I've got decorated so far.

I've got something else fun to show y'all too, but I'm going to let that be a surprise.  Hopefully I'll have time to tell you about it this evening.

Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmetic

For the first time in my life, I am actually experiencing some positive excitement about the upcoming new school year.  Ty's new 1st grade curriculum arrived this week, and I have been browsing through the material trying to get a jump on things.  This year I have decided to use the aBeka curriculum.  I have a few reasons why I chose it.

1.  I'm familiar with it.  This is the same material that I used when I was in elementary.  Even though that was roughly 20 years ago (Eek!) I can still remember some about how this was taught to me.  Everything from letter formation, to phonics blends, to health and safety is coming back to me as I flip through Ty's new textbooks.

2.  Easier Preparation & Lesson Planning.  Rather than purchasing books for each subject individually, I ordered the parent and child kits from aBeka.  I think this is going to work out great, because the lesson plans are already written for me.  The lessons are broken down step-by-step, with a full list of all the supplies you will need each day.  The lessons even include exact phrases that the teacher should say, and they tell you how many minutes should be spent on each part of the lesson.  The material also comes with all the worksheets and tests that we will need each week, so I don't have to go running around trying to find or create those on my own.

3.  Bible-Based Curriculum.  My most important reason for choosing aBeka is its Christian foundation.  Moral and Christian concepts are incorporated into every part of the curriculum.  Handwriting practice includes copying Scripture.  Arithmetic word problems aren't just about apples and oranges, but speak of mothers and fathers and friends.  One of Ty's readers this year is a Bible primer, with a selection of well-loved Bible stories.  Health is explained in terms of why God created our bodies the way He did.  And the science textbook is entitled Discovering God's World.  I doubt we'll find anything about the big bang theory in there :)

I've already been working on laminating some pictures and flashcards, and I've got a short shopping list of things I'd like to pick up before we start school this year.  I want to get some kind of storage cabinet or drawers to keep all of Ty's school things in.  And I'd like to get him a desk that is all his own, just for his school work.  I think this is really important since we will be starting cursive writing this year.  I've just got to get him a good place to sit so he will be able to write properly.  I know I could probably just hop on over to Target and find something there, but wouldn't it be much more fun to browse Antique Alley looking for just the right pieces with just the right character?

Ty was so excited when his books arrived this week.  He really loved looking through his science and history books.  He was begging me to try some of the experiments at 11:00 the other night.  I just hope he will be as enthusiatic once school actually begins.  Maybe ya'll could pray about that for me :)

Sorry there are no pictures here today.  But, if you'd like to see some of Ty's school books you can look here on aBeka's website.  Then just click on any of the product numbers to view the books.

My Thoughts Exactly

I found this vintage image online several months ago, and I can sooooooo relate. 

Don't you just think this is hilarious?

How to Make Your Own Pizza

We finally had a little down time at the restaurant the other day, so the Tool Man decided to let Ty make his own pizza.  Ty loves to cook, so this was right up his alley.

Step 1.  Docking the dough.  This step is the most difficult part of the whole process.  There's a little trick to getting the dough the right thickness while making it just the right size for the pan.  Daddy was there to show Ty just how to do it.  (FYI:  The Tool Man has taken to throwing the pizza dough on occassion.  Show Off!)

Step 2.  Sauce the pizza.  Pretty self-explanatory.  Get a scoop of sauce, dump it on the pizza, and spread it out.

Step 3.  Top it!  Definitely the most fun part of the process.  Ty chose to go with your basic cheese and pepperoni.

Step 4.  Into the oven.  About 5 1/2 minutes from the time it enters the oven til it emerges on the other side.  I'm telling you, your tummy will start growling when you see and smell all that bubbling cheese coming out the other end of the oven.

Step 5.  Slicing and Dicing.  I love the way that fresh baked crust sounds as the cutter is rolling through it.  Just a little crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  Yumm-O!

Step 6.  Enjoying the fruits pizza of your labor!

Yee Haw! More Cowboy Fun

Walker B. had his first birthday last week, and I made this cowboy cake for him.

sssssshhhhhhhhhhh.... Don't tell anyone, but this cake was easy-peasy.

Another secret I've learned that helps take some of the stress out of cake bakin' is to do the actual "bakin'" about a week in advance.  Then I just pop the cakes into the freezer until it's time to do the decorating.  This sort of spreads the workload over several days.  Freezing also makes the cakes easier to ice and stack.

I don't know, but something tells me he liked his cake!

Here's the birthday boy trying on his new duds.

Miss Lucy liked this present so much that she decided she would just carry it with her.  It's funny to watch such a little bitty girl walking, much less toting a big heavy toy.  She's not even a year old yet!

Fox's Opening

We've been soooooo busy with the opening of the restaurant that there seems to be very little time left for blogging. Hopefully as we learn a little bit more about what we are doing up there, things will calm down a bit, and I can get back to posting more.  I thought you all might like to see a few pictures from our family night at Fox's. 

Bro. Don was our first guinea pig customer of the night.

I think the pressure was starting to get to the Tool Man.  He may be an old pro in all things construction, but pizza is a new domain for him.

Our very first Big Daddy pizza!  That thing is a beast.

Mr. Charlie was there being his usually self.

He told me that everything was good except for the food. Very funny, Mr. Charlie.

Here comes Miss Lucy.  I'll have to post later about the Fox's shirts I made for her and Ty.  I found the neatest freezer paper stencil instructions online.  I can't believe how great the shirts turned out.

Ty and Faith had the best time playing together.  All the kids got out in the front courtyard and had a blast running around and playing ball.

Things were crazy busy opening day.  We were swamped I tell you.  SWAMPED!  I don't think that any of us expected that.  It's going to take us a day or two to get all of the kinks ironed out and to learn the tricks of the trade, but we'll get it.  People really seemed to love the place and the food.  I hate that customers were having to wait so long, but they were very understanding and encouraging.  We learned a few things during the opening lunch, and supper ran a lot more smoothly.  I was surprised at the number of people who came for both lunch and supper.  That just shows me how much people really enjoyed Fox's.

If you haven't had a chance to drop in yet, I hope we'll see you soon!

Plan B

I searched the thrift stores a couple of weeks ago for a cowboy shirt that I could wear to Bible School.  I found one for $2.50.  It was a little too large for me, but I thought I could alter it some.  Silly me.  It's not that I couldn't alter it.  It's that I thought I had the time to do it.

Needless to say, VBS is over and done with, and I never got around to the shirt.

But what to do with that shirt?

A pillow!  Ty's new room is going to be "cowboy-esque," so I thought I could use this shirt to cover a pillow for his bedding.

Ta Da!    I cut the shirt so that it buttons down the front of the pillow.  There are also two shirt pockets on the pillow.  Not bad for $2.50, huh?