Math: Count number of feet in story. Make paper doll cut out for each member of our family. Count number of feet in our family.
Words that start with Nn:  nap, nest, note, night, noon, necklace, nice
Draw/Write a note for a family member. Sign name.
Glue noodles on cut out letter N

Letter Oo

Read Somewhere in the Ocean

Learn and sing the song. (Simple sheet music is in the back of the book.)
Play with Ocean Sea Life felt figures for Flannel boards
Find the ocean animals in the book/song.

Read Officer Buckle & Gloria

Talk about the safety signs we see on the road and how to safely cross the street. (Stop signs, stop light, crosswalk)
Words that start with Oo:  orange (color and fruit), ocean, oatmeal, ox, olive, onion, octopus, office, officer, on, off
Eat oranges for a snack.
Paint cut out letter O orange.

Scripture Story

Samuel the Lamanite Tells About Jesus Christ, Book of Mormon Stories, chapter 40
Teach lesson from Primary 1 Manual: I am Thankful for the Day and the Night (Break up into 2 days)

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

Read sometime this week just ’cause I forgot to read this book when we did the letter Mm. Love this book and its message. Every child should hear/read this book.

The baby took a half hour nap while the 4yo took a half hour tantrum.

But good news! All that screaming wore out the 4yo. I got him out of the bath and told him to go put his pajamas on and found him curled up on his bedroom floor fast asleep. He needed the nap so he’d be ready for our All Night Christmas Party that always follows cutting the tree.

When the oldest arrived home (around 10PM) from their YM/YW activity at Temple Square, we could finally all be together and start our traditional All Night Christmas Party. (All together meaning we’re all in the same house–the baby was too tired so I put him to bed.)

It was probably a good thing he missed the tree decorating. He began undecorating it as soon as he woke up. Then when presents appeared underneath the tree, he unwrapped them and tipped the tree over. So now the tree has a cooler under it propping it up. Decorations only adorn the top one-third of the tree, and all the presents have been removed. So far he hasn’t pulled the lights off. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for the next five days.

I’m glad we got a pic of what it looked like  for a few hours before the baby, my children have dubbed Walking Tornado, awakened.

It’s quite a houseful, and getting a turn at dipping is a challenge.

Grandma does her best to teach us the technique.

Her basement smells heavenly.

It’s one of those days my girls look forward to all year. Thanks, Grandma!

Monday
Introduce letter Ll and its sound.
Practice saying words that start with Ll. (light, little, lion, lollipop, lick, like, lemon, lime)
Talk about sweet and sour tastes. Taste some sugar (sweet), taste some lemon juice (sour).
Make lemonade.

Tuesday

Read Can’t You Sleep Little Bear

Compare little things and big things.
Pair little (baby) animal pictures with big (mommy) animal pictures.
Letter Review:  Pair little (lowercase) letters with big (capital) letters.
Make cut out letter L. Punch holes all around and lace yarn through them.

Wednesday

Read Room for a Little One
Talk about the star that appeared on the night of Christ’s birth and how it gave light.
Make a star with yellow paint and glitter to put on the Christmas tree.

Thursday
Introduce the letter Mm.
Practice saying words that start with the letter Mm. (mitten, map, mouse, mom, magic, magnets, money, marshmallow, etc.)
Make cutout letter M. Bite mini marshmallow’s in half and stick on. (Thanks, Jenni!)

Friday
Read Christmas story from New Testatment Stories, chapters 5 & 6.
Have preschooler retell on flannel board using cut outs.
Point out manger starts with Mm.
Set up manger. Tell preschooler everytime he does something nice, he can put a piece of hay in the manger. We want the manger to be full of hay by Christmas so it will be nice and soft for the baby Jesus.

Congratulations to Hayley! I’ll get your book to you. Merry Christmas!

So my friend Tilly and I have a cooking show. Stop laughing. Please. Yes, I know. That’s why I haven’t said anything about it on this blog.

Then the 200th post thing came up and I thought, Now would be a good time to post something about it since you’ve been filming since May. Yes May. Seven months. In front of the camera before I’ve returned to pre-pregnancy weight. If that exists anymore.

Cooking in front of the camera. Cooking in my kitchen. At least it gets cleaned once a month. The camera man doesn’t pan the dining room table where everything I don’t want on camera is piled.

You can watch all of our epicsdes here and see the recipes.

This is our November show.

Now for the giveaway I keep mentioning. Sometimes when there are 9 or 10 children running around while filming a cooking show, things happen. Sort out the truth below and you will be entered to win . . . drum roll please . . . a book. I know. Shocking. I never give books away on this blog. The thing is I can’t decide which one right now so you’ll have to wait and see. Anyway, on to Stranger than Fiction. Maybe Truth or Fiction. Wait, I know, I know:

Kate’s Confusing Kitchen.

1. You can accidentally pour the pre-measured soy sauce into whipped cream instead of the vanilla (they are the same color after all) and the children will still eat it.

2. The camera man will stop the camera if one of the cooks has to change a baby’s diaper.

3. The camera man will stop the camera if one of the cooks has to nurse a  baby.

4. The four-year-old can walk on camera, declare he’s not wearing any pants, you can check that he is indeed not wearing any pants (or underwear), and it can all be edited out.

5. A pre-schooler can walk through the kitchen during filming, say, “I’m done,” and place a half-eaten banana on the counter.

6. Our tag line is, Family Dinner: Because You’re in a Hurry and We Make You Look Gourmet.

7. Chopping zucchini while holding a baby is easier with a second cook to move chopped pieces out of the way.

8. The Bumbo is the best invention ever! Babies can sit in it just out of camera view but with bare feet dangling in a glass casserole dish. Highly entertaining and surprisingly quiet.

9. Unwatched water does boil and may explode during filming scaring both cooks and the camera man.

10. One of the cooks is pregnant. The other one just looks like she is. Hint: I’m not pregnant.

So which one thing is not true? Yes, one. *shrugs*. Welcome to the Controlled Chaos Experiment I call my life. What? It’s too hard to pick? Okay, okay, I’ll tell you the answer. Yes, you can still enter the giveaway. Just leave a comment and you’re entered to win.

If you want to make me feel better, you could leave a comment about one of your own kitchen disasters or an embarrassing moment. Or you could just laugh with me at the ones I’ve listed here. Believe me, there are more. Many more.

Which one isn’t true? Number 6 of course. Our tagline is Family Dinner: Because You’re In a Hurry and We’re Not Gourmet. 

When my children ate the Pumpkin Crunch (scroll down for the recipe after clicking the link) Tilly made for the show, they said, “This is the best thing you’ve ever made on the show.”

I explained that Tilly had made it to which they asked, “So is Tilly gonna do all the desserts? Her raspberry shortcake was so good.” So my children are so happy Tilly endures my craziness so she can make them desserts. So go make this for your family. Enjoy.

Practice writing first name.
Practice ordering letters of last name.
Play Alphabet Bingo

Count to ten using various game pieces.

Read King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub
Point out the letter Kk. Talk about the sound it makes.
Begin work on retelling the story in preschooler’s words. Make tub for each page and have preschooler add simple drawings and cut outs to go with the story.
Put lipstick on and kiss a cutout letter K.
Practice ordering letters of last name.
Practice counting to 10. Can use objects preschooler collects or sort colored tiles into piles and count each color.
Make crowns for Kings. Talk about crown starting with letter Cc but sounds like letter Kk. (Introduce Cc as a thief letter–it steals other letter’s sounds.)
Practice kicking a ball.

Read King Benjamin (Book of Mormon Stories, Chapter 12)

(I haven’t forgotten the 200th post giveway–I’m just really behind right now. It’s coming .  . . eventually!)