Category: Life

St. Nicholas Day 2016

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog2 Comments

Oh my gosh! This seems like it has been so long ago but the kids have been talking about St. Nicholas Day and what they got. They are so excited about it coming up that I really need to make sure to keep up with this tradition. Check out the post for some ideas.

Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog's avatarPollywog's Place Blog

**This post does contain affiliate links.

This was our first year celebrating St. Nicholas Day here at our house. I am hoping to keep this new tradition and continue to build on it as we go through the years. Below are some of the ways that we celebrated today:

The night before, after our Advent Study, we set out our stockings. Many traditions involve setting out shoes, but we chose to use our stockings because Momma didn’t want to put the shoes on the table. The kids also made some chocolate chip cookies with DD17. Then they left a glass of milk and a plate of cookies for St. Nick to snack on.

st-nick-day

Sometime after the kids went to bed St. Nick made a visit by our house.

stnick.jpg

They each received a book, a coloring book, a small toy, and a few candies. (Santa picked all of these up at…

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place BlogLeave a comment

Hey y’all I know it’s gonna be a super busy day but I wanted to pop in and wish you all a happy thanksgiving from our family to yours. We do appreciate each and every one of you.

I really do hope to get back to blogging on a more consistent basis very soon. Life has been so crazy here lately with homeschooling, Square dancing and kids! We’ve already had a few birthdays this month…. can you believe William is 16?!!! This has been a crazy transition for all of us trying to help him learn to handle these BIG teenage hormones and emotions.

We’ve also done a BIG rearranging of the house here. I’m excited about how everything is coming together and it really is starting to look and feel like HOME! 🏡 ❤️ I’ll be sure to post some pics soon… you may even notice some changes in the pics below.

The new arrangement has helped so much already. Last night was a lot of fun here as the kiddos all helped with Thanksgiving preparations. They’ve actually been helping all week as we rearranged and had to put our Fall decor back in place. (No Christmas decorations up here… at least til we get through Thanksgiving.)

We made some really fun snacks for tomorrow’s dinner:

Turkey cupcakes

The kids loved making these!

And then we made some pretzel cookies/candies.

(The Rolos unwrapped are so handy for this!)

And some acorn cookies:

They also made some ‘Indian corn’ with Reese’s pieces:

We can’t forget the Pinterest fail caramel apple bites:

They did look pretty good before but they’ve been sitting in a warm kitchen for a few hours and they are melting faster than the wicked witch after Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her.

After the kiddos were off to bed I set about getting a few things ready for tomorrow. There are some pies:

The pumpkin is the recipe I shared on my blog. The pecan is a new variation and I’ll share it once I’ve had a chance to taste it. I normally don’t recommend trying out brand new recipes the night before a big event but this wasn’t the only new recipe I worked on.

I love making yeast rolls for Thanksgiving and it is one of our traditions. I’ve been wanting to try to make some sweet Hawaiian rolls and finally did. The dough smelled heavenly and I’m hoping that they will taste as good.

I also whipped up a batch of my regular dinner rolls… I’ll share that recipe soon if I haven’t already. The rolls are now in the fridge waiting for their second rise so they can bake into golden deliciousness. My tummy is rumbling just thinking about the wonderful aroma that those rolls will be giving off tomorrow.

Another new thing we will be doing is frying our turkey. I’ve had a turkey fryer but haven’t used it for turkey yet. Our bird is in the fridge soaking in some Cajun butter injection juices. I’m hoping all goes well with this.

In addition to all of that I’ve gotten all the casseroles prepped and in the fridge. They are covered with foil and have the baking directions written on the tops. Just a few more things to take care of tomorrow before everyone gets here.

I’m so excited! This will be the biggest get together we’ve been able to have in our little house on the pond. Fingers crossed all goes well and everyone gets plenty to eat.

Then I have an exciting trip planned with the kiddos for this weekend. It should tie in nicely with our Little House on the Prairie Adventures. Anyway I better get a couple of hours of sleep before the kiddos are up and at em again.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

God bless!

Just Like Grandma’s Chocolate Pudding

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog10 Comments

I don’t know if this is actually the recipe that my Mom-mom used but it is close. If you don’t like the ‘skin’ that cooked pudding has then simply place a piece of plastic wrap over the warm pudding so that the wrap touches the top of the pudding. When cool you remove the wrap and the ‘skin’.

**Special thanks to my son-in-law @moments2lifephotography for the amazing cover photo!

 

Just Like Grandma’s Chocolate Pudding

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2/3 c. sugar
  • 1/4 c. cocoa powder
  • 4 T. cornstarch
  • 1/4 t. salt
  • 2-1/4 cups milk
  • 2 T. butter or margarine
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium size saucepan whisk together the first four ingredients. Slowly stir in the milk.

Cook this mixture over medium heat until it boils. Stir constantly and boil for about 1 minute.

Remove your pan from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Pour into a serving bowl and chill for about 2-3 hours.

For Pie:

I usually only use 2 cups of milk and then pour this into a baked pie shell or a graham cracker crust. Chill for 2-3 hours. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Continue reading “Just Like Grandma’s Chocolate Pudding” →

I know, I know .... some of us just don't want to think about Christmas shopping yet, even though I have already bought a couple of gifts. However, I am getting a lot of requests about what my kiddos want or what sizes they are wearing so I think its time to make up my list so I can send it to those people who have asked for information. Seeing how I normally go through the kids' clothes around this time of year it makes it the perfect time to take note of what sizes they like. I can also use this time to ask them about the styles and colors they prefer and maybe even 'sneak' in a quick question about what they might like for Christmas.

Free Printable Shopping Guide – Makes Christmas Shopping So Much Easier!

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog7 Comments

I know, I know …. some of us just don’t want to think about Christmas shopping yet, even though I have already bought a couple of gifts. However, I am getting a lot of requests about what my kiddos want or what sizes they are wearing so I think its time to make up my list so I can send it to those people who have asked for information.

Seeing how I normally go through the kids’ clothes around this time of year it makes it the perfect time to take note of what sizes they like. I can also use this time to ask them about the styles and colors they prefer and maybe even ‘sneak’ in a quick question about what they might like for Christmas.

Continue reading “Free Printable Shopping Guide – Makes Christmas Shopping So Much Easier!” →

Little House On The Prairie Adventure Weekly Guide Links

Published on by Susie @ Pollywog's Place Blog6 Comments

Click Here for Little House On The Prairie Adventure Weekly Lesson Plan Links Only.

How we use these lesson plans:

Our school week is usually completed in 4 days. We use a Loop Schedule where we work for a designated amount of time on each subject before moving on to the next. After their work is completed for the day the kids are allowed to have independent studies were they can study whatever their little hearts desired.

Our 5th day is an optional day that we use to complete unfinished work or for other activities as we choose.

Please click HERE for a list of resources that we have purchased from Amazon and other suppliers.

Click on the links below for the series you would like to view/use. I will update these links as we get them finished.

Tip: If you want to go to a certain week/chapter or topic simply push the ‘ctrl’ and the ‘F’ button down together and a small bar will pop up. Type in the week number or chapter number you want and it will take you to it.

1. Little House On The Prairie Adventure Week 1 Lesson Plans

Continue reading “Little House On The Prairie Adventure Weekly Guide Links” →