It's COLD here!

Yesterday the wind chill got below ZERO degrees! Brrrr!

Well, I've been doing much better about keeping up with blogging lately. Then last weekend I bombarded everyone with tons of new posts as I was beginning to transfer my old blog over, and now it's quiet here!

See, we live in an old drafty house. The drafts are BAD, especially when it is very windy. (I'm going to focus on fixing that later this week.) Not only is it cold and drafty, but this house is also in need of new wiring. So, when it is really cold like this, we need to turn on all the heaters we have (no central heat and air at the moment), which means I have to unplug the computer, which means no blogging!

I need a laptop!!!

But it's all good! I'm sitting next to the front door that is really drafty and also on the north side of the house, and it's not bad today! The temps are about the same, but I guess the wind isn't blowing. Yea! It's actually quite warm in my bedroom!

We've mostly been watching TV (way too much of it.....I'm getting sick of flipping through show after show!), reading books, finger weaving, face painting, crocheting (I taught the kids a chain stitch this morning, and they caught on very quickly), playing with blocks and Legos, fighting off the dogs when we're trying to prepare a meal and eat (since they are in the kitchen right now because of the weather), trying to keep the dogs and cats away from each other, and taking turns in front of the smaller heaters. I am getting so stir-crazy!

To top it all off, I can't find my phone. I really feel isolated today!

We can't get out right now either because Myles took the van. He doesn't have a working heater/AC in his car. We're supposed to get out tomorrow though, unless our activities get cancelled. We've got PE and then a gingerbread house-making party! Fun!

Wow, this post sounds so negative! LOL!

But it's all good. We'll get out tomorrow, even if our activities are cancelled (because it is supposed to get above freezing tomorrow!) and I'll go get what I need to seal up the front door. It's supposed to get like this again this weekend, but at least we'll have a couple of days to fix the problem.

I hope everyone stays warm! I already have lots more pictures to blog about, but they'll have to wait. I need to turn the heater back on. (sigh)

Loops & Hoops

If you were intrigued by the recent post about finger weaving with nylon loops to make jump ropes, bracelets, belts, etc. then you might be interested in this book. This is the sister company for Hobby Lobby, so that is where you can purchase this IRL. I found the same book on Amazon for $8 and another site for nearly $5, so this is a great deal!

I am going to get this for my kiddos for Christmas along with a couple more big bags of nylon loops, and maybe some cotton ones as well. They love using them, and I don't have to worry about anything getting smashed into the carpet or staining anyone's clothes! We may even get some loops this week and work on jump ropes for gifts for friends. We made hula hoops last year, and they were a big hit and so easy! We still have some of the materials left, so maybe we'll do more of those again soon. I'll be sure to post pictures if we do!

Finger weaving with nylon loops!

The kids and I have been finger weaving a lot lately. They don't know it yet, but I had actually bought one of these looms (metal with a metal hook and nylon loops) for them for Christmas. Well, someone recently gave us a LOT more of them, and not all nylon, so we've been using them up. I made them each a jump rope, and they LOVE them, especially Jayla. The older two could have made the ropes themselves, but they are not fast at it yet and it takes a long time when you are just beginning. You can make all kinds of things like this, such as headbands, bracelets, etc. Jonathan likes to make "snakes"!

Just by the colors you can probably guess which is Jayla's. :) The rainbow one is Jonathan's and the darker colors with the white is Jacob's.

I was showing a friend how to do this today at homeschool PE. Jayla had brought one of the jump ropes along, so my friend was curious how it worked. So, since I had simply tied off the end, I untied it and showed her how. Then I told her that there surely had to be a Youtube video of it or something. Well, I didn't find a video on it, but this is a great instructional page with pictures of exactly what I was showing her!
http://www.makingfriends.com/jump_rope.htm


On this page it says that the age recommendation is 8 and up, but my 6-year-old caught on a lot quicker than her 8-year-old brother, but it didn't take him long to learn it either. I bet my 4-year-old could do it too with a little extra help! Give it a try! It's fun! :)