Dance class and Canning

Last night "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was on tv. We had a little Family Home Evening lesson on Christmas and then geared up to watch it. I read somewhere a fun idea- put the kids in laundry baskets with some popcorn and it'll help them pay attention/sit still. So we tried it out....

It actually did work! It held Will for about 10 minutes- which is a lot for him. Amy stayed curled up in it the whole time. At first Lee kept laughing at me, but then when it worked, he was impressed. They looked so cute in their little baskets. :)

Today was Amy's first day of dance class. And yes, the stain did come out of her leotard! (thank heavens) She was so excited this morning.

She did this picture for her teacher.
All on her own, I was in the shower when she did it. 

She wanted to pose like a ballerina

She did a really great job in class. I had wanted to take a few pictures, but forgot once I was there. Plus, I didn't sit in and watch. (I did peek in on her a few times) I figured if I did, she wouldn't pay attention. Plus, I had Will- and he would definitely be distracting. So I sat in the hall and chatted with the other mom's. They were soooo nice. I don't know why I'm so surprised- I guess I haven't had many interactions with other women, besides those at church. Anyway, we are really excited about Tuesday's now!

I had to run by the store on the way home and saw some candy corn at a high discount. I had been wanting some to can. I know, sounds crazy, huh?? But ever since I went to that awesome food storage seminar earlier this year, my eyes have been opened to all sorts of possibilities. I mean, who wants to survive on wheat and oats?? While you would live, I'd definitely like some treats too! If I'm living on food storage, I'm going to be depressed enough. So sweets would definitely help lessen the depression!

Mom has routinely been giving me things from her house that she doesn't want to take to the next. I told her last time that it was starting to turn into a "give Sarah all my crap" mentality. But since we now have a house, Anna/Stratton's is too small, Ben/Ashely's is too far away and Adam/Lauren already have what they need... I guess I'm it. That's ok, I'm not complaining. I'm getting lots of furniture, food storage (totally excited about that!!) and other random things that I don't have to buy myself. Like this contraption....

A food saver! Mom said that Grandma bought it years ago for her, and she just never used it much. I had no idea she had one! I've been looking at them on ebay for months, and it's only because we didn't have the money to buy one that I didn't get one. I was soooo excited!!! Why, you ask?? Well, it's not for the actual plastic bag sealing part (although I'm sure that'll come in handy with freezer meals), but it's for the nifty jar sealer attachment.

With just a press of a button (and the attachment) you can seal jars... and in them candy, cake mixes, granola bars, etc. And the food will stay good for several years!! Hello possibilities!!

I only had 3 large mouth jars clean (I still have to buy the regular mouth attachment), so I did 2 candy corn and 1 cake mix. And since it's just air sealed, you can reuse the lids (unlike actual canning when you can't reuse them). Anyhow- now my eyes are peeled for discounted candy and other type treats. Sooo glad it's the end of the year when all the candy goes on sale! And I know its "candy" and non-nutritional, but I always feel good when I add things to my food storage.

So that's it for today. We had a fun morning, now its raining again and we are all headed down for rest time. I think it's one of my favorite times of the day! :)