Mamut Cake

Here on the field life is a little different, we are aware our children miss out on somethings their counterparts in the U.S. have and do.  In light of this, we try to create traditions that the kids can look forward to, that make life unique and special and create memories.  For example, we did not have room to bring Christmas decorations when we came to Mexico, so we have a tradition of making decorations every year.  This year we made Peppermint ornaments, which you can see by (clicking here).  We also do Tostada Tuesdays, which you can see by (clicking here).  Another tradition is letting kids choose what kind of birthday cake they want to be made for them.  One year everyone wanted ice cream cakes, the next year everyone wanted cheesecake.  This year Josiah wanted pecan pie.

So this week Haden and I walked to the store for some carrots I needed for dinner.  He asked if he could bring a few pesos to buy a treat.  As we were walking along and he was thinking about his treat, he said he wanted a Mamut cake for his birthday.  I was a little confused, so he explains this is his favorite sweet treat at the tienda.  I tell him I have no idea what it is and need to take a look before I can promise anything.  After two tiendas we find carrots and mamut, which is what we called Moon Pies when I was growing up.  A round cookie sandwich with marshmallow filling, covered in chocolate.  When we got home I typed "Moon Pie" into the Pinterest search engine and there were actually several recipes for homemade moon pies.  Figuring out how to modify the recipe to make it the size of a cake was pretty easy.  It turned out very yummy, very sweet, but very yummy.

The kids and I had fun with the PicMonkey edits.

Mamut means Mammoth, by the way!  Before you get too impressed with my Spanish, I only know that because one of the kids told me.  This is the blog where I found the recipe for homemade Moon Pie. (Click here)

Pinterest Fail

When we moved to Mexico our Christmas ornaments were one of the things that just did not fit.  So, we began a new tradition of making Christmas ornaments.  We have made popcorn chains with chilis, popcorn balls (very yummy, they make great gifts also), paper snowflakes, origami cranes, dried apples and oranges (bonus: they smell great), cute little peanut snowmen, gingerbread cookies, ect.  The kids love this tradition.  

I turned to Pinterest for inspiration this year and I found this neat idea that SEEMED very easy and staight forward.  The idea was to place peppermint candies in cookie cutters and place them in the over to melt together, producing {these} cute ornaments.  Honestly, I thought the hardest part would be finding peppermint candy in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Super, mega easy...right?  I mean, I'm crafy...right?  :)

I think this is when you say...NAILED IT!

In the end, we did get a few to turn out nice enough to hang on the tree.  

How about you?  What Christmas tradition do you enjoy with your family?

Crazy February Holidays: Answers

Las Repuestas!

As Gru from Despicable Me says in an eastern Europeanish accent, "Of course, I have pins and needles that I am sitting on."  As I am sure many of you do, waiting to find out which crazy, fabulous February holidays we were celebrating last Friday.  

I have good news!  The wait is over!  All fourteen are in the pic below.  Can you find them?

Thank you Baptist Missionary Women for hosting this super fun event.  Looking forward to next year.  

Next Friday, I will be sharing part of our homeschool room makeover.  All I can say is it was cheap and the results were spectacular!  (Lots of exclamation points this post, please forgive me)

Here is the before picture...I know, almost anything would be a much needed improvement, but trust me...it's going to be great.
  

See you on Monday for Ministry Monday.

What crazy holiday do you like to celebrate?  Maybe it's Star Wars Day(May 4th) or Eat Ice Cream for Breakfast Day(Feb 1st) or Collect Rocks Day(Sept 16th).  

Post your 'fav' in the comments below.  



Linking up:  A Mama's Story

Missionary Kid Spirit Week: Crazy Holiday

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is Crazy Holiday Day for MK Spirit Week over at Baptist Missionary Women (BMWs - get it! ;) ).  

There are so many great crazy holidays, it was impossible to pick just one.  So, we picked, just one month...February and tried to see how many crazy holidays we could fit in one picture. 

We managed fourteen crazy holidays celebrated in February.  Can you figure out which holidays we are celebrating today?  CLICK HERE to see a list of crazy February holidays and see if you can find all fourteen.  I'll post the answer sometime next week.  

Update:  A picture with the answers has been posted, simply CLICK HERE.

Linking with: Shaken Together

MK Spirit Week

This week Baptist Missionary Women is hosting MK Spirit Week and MKs all over the world are joining the fun!  Yesterday was mustache day and today was crazy hair/hat day.  We didn't have time to join the fun yesterday, so we combined mustache day and crazy hair/hat day.

Hooks and Setting

This week we were introduced to two interesting literature elements, hooks and settings.  The oldest two kiddos worked on writing a paper about how Mark Twain used the setting in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to further his main reasons for writing the book.  It was challenging to think about how a setting would be used to do more than just tell a story.  I was proud of them for brain storming, outlining, and revising until they had a good paper.  

Adventures in Tag Sales

I shopped Tag Sales Saturday morning. At least that is what Martha Stewart calls them. Tag Sale sounds so much more whimsical than yard sale or garage sale. I even saw a sign for a rummage sale. Whatever you call them, they are great fun. For 50 cents we got Adelina a pair of glittering red shoes that fit her glittering personality. Another 5o cents bought Samuel a two inch thick WWII History in Pictures book. He is obsessed with all things military right now. I got a small stack of very old books, one published in 1928 and one in 1905 for 25 cents each. One was written by Helen Keller and looks to be very interesting and challenging to read. It’s small and blue with delicate pages. The stack makes me wish I had better photography skills; they would make such beautiful pictures.
The girls and I went together and had a wonderful time. We hope to go again in a few weeks with my mother, who is a real pro. I have sweet memories going with her as a girl.
Happy Tag Sales, I hope you find something useful and beautiful that makes you smile every time you use it.