Cooking Day at Camp Kreitzer

I love spending time with my grandkids. Two of the local grandsons decided awhile back that they want to do "cooking day" with Grandma every week. So for the past month or so we meet weekly to learn cooking skills and enjoy the results. One of the big benefits is that it gets them away from the computer games. They bring their Ipads to do math tutoring with their grandfather (They're home schooled), but that's it. Bike riding, board and card games, and cooking are the fun for the day. They are becoming quite the little chefs.

On Recycling and Making Valentines!

I'm a saver. I save old Christmas cards, all old cards as a matter of fact. I deflate old Mylar balloons and use them for crafts and wrapping paper. I save buttons when I turn worn out clothes into rags. And today is the reason I do it.

Three little grandkids came for a sleepover last night and here's what we've been doing. Other valentines are already in envelopes to mail. Now we just have to decide who the lucky recipients are for these treasures.

The Best Way to Prepare for Christmas? Spend Time with Grandchildren

Of course! If you want to see the true meaning of Christmas, look at the season through the eyes of a child (or two). We had a sleepover with two little munchkins who helped decorate our tree, watched two movies about St. Nicholas and St. Patrick, slept peacefully all night, and woke up to go to Mass and then breakfast with Santa. At home, Anya practiced her bike riding -- she is now an independent rider and both girls spent the entire afternoon creating the Playdough (or "Pluto" as Bianca puts it) Bakery. Yummy cookies, whoppers, and even cannoli.  I was surprised Bianca even knew the word. My cookie cutters got a tremendous workout which they rarely get from making cookies.

Getting ready for bed. Good thing there are extra toothbrushes at Gramma's when visitors forget theirs.

Sleepy time.

Breakfast with Santa -- Bianca wants a violin (????) for Christmas. Where did that idea come from?

Anya just wants "stuff."

Now this is the lap that granddaughters prefer to Santa's. 

Time to dye the play dough or "pluto" as Bianca calls it.

And the little proprietor of the Pluto Bakery has lots of yummy treats to offer.

We talked about making gingerbread boys, but the play dough substitutes look like the real thing!

We are getting ready for dinner now and our sleepover is coming to an end, but we expect to have another next week when out of town cousins arrive. Neither of the girls wanted to leave and begged for another night at Gramma and Paka's house. It was tempting, but the, as they say, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Prepping for the Tea Party

We've been busy today getting ready for the tea party: making placecards, baking and decorating mini cupcakes, collecting flowers, and doing beautiful napkin folding. The older girls did the baking and napkins and all of us collected around the table with colored frosting and sprinkles to decorate the cupcakes. Tonight they will pick out their princess outfits and tomorrow we will make the tea sandwiches and set the table. We couldn't do the table today because we are gathering around it tonight for dinner. Check out all our busyness today and start planning your own princess tea. We will have one little prince among us, Max the Wild Thing who will definitely enjoy the cupcakes! Check back tomorrow to see the tea party pictures.

 Grace was the placecard maker and napkin folder.

Good job, Grace. They look beautiful!

Mia mixed and baked the mini cupcakes.

Everybody had fun decorating them.

Can you tell Bianca likes pink frosting?

Grace and Grandma got lots of practice folding the napkins. 

This is a lily fold. It's just like origami only with cloth.

And daffodils are the perfect centerpiece. So cheerful.

And here's Max the Wild Thing, the only little prince at the princess teaparty.

Craft Fun with Grandkids

I wish I took some pictures during the process of making these pine cone fairies with four granddaughters. But since I didn't I'll just show the results. They are destined to be favors at a princess (or maybe it should be a fairy) tea party tomorrow. Next we will concentrate on the goodies. The girls have requested cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, ham and cheese crackers, jello, tiny cupcakes, scones. and fruit (strawberries and blueberries). They will choose outfits from the dress up box. We have lots of tea parties at Camp Kreitzer, but some are elaborate affairs. Tomorrow is one of those.  Check back later to see the fun we had.

Celebrating Grandkids

We began a week with our oldest daughter's five girls by going to Mass together this morning. For more about our day go here.