Presidents Day

Did you know that both Abraham Lincoln and George Washington have a February birthday?  They each used to be national holidays, but today we celebrate them jointly as Presidents Day, along with honoring all of our presidents on this day.  A joint celebration didn't cut it for my mom though, so we always celebrated Abe's (Feb. 12) and George's (Feb. 22) birthdays on their respective dates.  

To honor Lincoln, my mom would always read to us the Gettysburg Address and some cute stories and cool facts about Honest Abe (see below). She had a set of Lincoln Logs we would play with too and after dinner we'd always have an ice-cream roll  cake or what we'd call a "Log Cake" (does anyone else remember these?!)  They're hard to find now but I know some people even make their own.  

For George Washington's Birthday we would make a cherry dessert and talk about the story (fable?) about him cutting down the Cherry tree. And then we would watch the short animated movie "President George Washington"  by Living History Animated Heroe Classics. 

I on the other hand was feeling a little less ambitious, so I decided to just go the way of the world and celebrate both of these great men on Presidents Day.  I hope what we did will give you some ideas for celebrating Presidents Day with your kids in the future. 

LEARN ABOUT PRESIDENT LINCOLN

Did you know Lincoln was the first president to have a beard? He didn't always have a beard though. Do you know why he decided to grow one? 

It was all thanks to a little girl named Grace Bedell. This is a darling TRUE story that my mom would tell us each year. She has a cute children's magazine article about it she has saved over the years.  While I was unable to find a copy of this article in print today,  I did find some other books and websites that essentially tell the same story. 

Read about it online here!

Or check out one of these books: 

Some other impressive facts about Lincoln: 

There are hundreds of documented examples of Lincoln's integrity and honesty. This is why he was given the nickname "Honest Abe."  Once example took place when he was the manager of a general store. While counting his earnings one night after work, he realized he had accidentally overcharged one of his customers by a few cents.  That night he walked a long distance to pay the man back those few pennies.

He was born in a log cabin. 

He loved to read.  


His mother died at age nine. He loved his stepmother though and called her his "Angel Mother."

He was 6' 4" tall. 

He married a woman named Mary Todd and together they had four boys, two who died at an early age. 


Before he became a president, he was a lawyer!

He became the 16th president of the United States in 1860 during the Civil War. 

He wrote the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery, and also wrote the famous Gettysburg Address. 

He was re-elected for a second term in 1864. 

He was assassinated at age 56 by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theater. 

 LINCOLN STOVE PIPE HATS 

 

I came up with the idea to make stove pipe hats, just like the one Lincoln wore, but made out of marshmallows and Girl Scout Thin Mints. I think they turned out pretty cute and were actually quite delicious :)  I just melted semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave and then dipped the marshmallows in it using a fondue skewer. Once covered I stuck them on Thin Mints (you can also use Keebler Grasshopper Cookies) and put them in the freezer for about 10 min. to harden. 

POPSICLE STICK LOG CABINS 

We also had fun making a log cabin using popsicle sticks. Most people know that Lincoln grew up in a log cabin (hence the toys Lincoln Logs)  so I thought this was a cute craft. While I put together the cabin, my little one-year old drew the "trees" on either side. I think he did a very nice job :)

And let's not forget GEORGE WASHINGTON!

TALK ABOUT GENERAL GEORGE

He was the FIRST President of the United States

Before that he was the Commander in Chief (General) of the American Army and fought courageously against the British. He is considered to be a military genius and did much to help the American Army. 

He was a religious man who believed in God and prayed often. 

He was 6' 2" tall (almost as tall as Lincoln!)

Washington D.C. is named after him.

He is the only president to have been elected unanimously and was known as the "father of his country."

He had false teeth!  Toothaches bothered him most of his life so he had all of his teeth pulled by the time he was president!


MAKE GEORGE WASHINGTONS

This was a fun easy craft that I found online. We made our own by coloring a little paper plate flesh tone, then glued on a blue hat, cotton balls for his powdered wig, and little tissue for his neckerchief. 

TELL THE FAMOUS "CHERRY TREE STORY"

Washington is also known for his honesty, specifically through the famous story of him cutting down his father's cherry tree. Even though the story, we know today, isn't true, this is a fun way to teach kids the importance of the telling the truth. 

   The story goes that when confronted about the tree, George told his father, "I cannot tell a lie."  We can ask ourselves, "Do I sometimes lie or even just bend the truth?" "Am I honest in all my dealings?"  On Presidents Day, commit to being more like Honest Abe and General George by always tell the truth. 

CHERRY SWEETHEART SHAKES

 Sonic this month has Chocolate Cherry Sweetheart Shakes for Valentines Day. They also have Cherry Creamslushes and Cherry Limeades always on the menu. I thought these would be a fun way to celebrate George Washington and his honorable character. We plan to go get one of these as a family this weekend when my husband is done with finals! (Yay!)

SOME STORIES YOUR KIDS MIGHT ALSO ENJOY: 

Thanks for reading!

Valentines Day

Ah February, the month of love!  

I know many of you have awesome Valentines Day traditions, but I'll still share with you some of what my family does to celebrate during this month. 

MAKE HOMEMADE VALENTINES

No store bought ones for us! Each year since I was a little girl, we would always make homemade valentines and this is a tradition I want to carry on with my own children. I loved when my mom would bring out her box of valentine stickers, heart-shaped doilies, and red and pink construction paper. We would set to work cutting, snipping, pasting and folding our way to the perfect valentine. 

I had my little boy make his own this year (with my help of course!)  He did a good job placing the stickers on the paper, although the temptation to then peel each one off and rip it in half got too tempting at times ;) Alas, complete with darling crayon scribbles, traced hands, and glitter globs we made a batch of the cutest valentine creations to send to grandmas and other loved ones. 

  

And of course we had to read The Day It Rained Hearts, one of the cutest books about making special valentines for friends. 

MAKE VALENTINE LUNCHES

Every valentines day my mom packed a festive lunch for us with a heart-shaped sandwich, red juice, a red bag of chips and other fun valentine-y things.  I'm not packing school lunches for my toddler yet, so we enjoyed lunch at home.  One day I made grilled cheese with heart-shaped carrots and radishes . . .

And another day peanut butter sandwiches with strawberries and thin-sliced apples cut out like hearts. 

On Valentines Day I sent my husband to school with a "red" lunch. I knew I might embarrass him too much if I sent heart-shaped sandwiches for him to pull out in front of his dental school buddies, but I still stuck in some things to make his lunch a little more festive than usual: red cherry fruit snacks, 'red' Doritos, a red Chobani, an apple, and peanut butter with red jam, and of course a little love note ;)

MAKE VALENTINE GOODIES 

Before you start worrying about how much sugar I'm feeding my son, no, we did not eat all these ;) I might have tried a little of each, but he didn't get any ;) I know, such a mean mom. 

 But Valentines is the month of showing love, so what better than to whip up some Valentine goodness for others! I even sent some  of the brownies to my husband's study group. 

I especially love this tradition because of the lasting impression one Valentines Day left on me when I was a little girl. I was still in elementary school, and my mom told us that besides the little valentines we were to take to school to pass out to our class, she wanted us to make a special valentine treat that we would leave on someone's doorstep. However, the one rule was that this person had to be someone in our class that either we didn't really get a long with, or someone that we felt just needed some extra love.    
As a young girl, I was surprised the impact this exercise in love had on me. As I thought of one girl in particular, a child who didn't make friends easily and got picked on a lot, I wondered what my "popular" friends would think if they saw me taking a valentine to her house. Would I get made fun of too?  What would others think if this little gesture of mine resulted in a friendship between us? Would I suddenly be "uncool" too?  It seems so trivial now, but as a child these were heavy matters, and although I was generally a kind little girl, I was surprised how much I was tempted to take the valentine to someone else . . . someone less "risky" than this girl. 

I'm thankful for my mom's powerful Valentine lesson though, because I will never forget the incredible warmth and joy that burned inside my chest that afternoon as I walked a plate of red, heart-shaped Jello Jigglers to this girl's doorstep and rang the doorbell.   

No, that small act didn't mean we automatically became best friends, but it taught me to put another's feelings before my own. And, I always had the courage after that to say hi to her, sit by her, and be kind to her, even if it was the unpopular thing to do.  

I hope when my little boy is in school years from now, I also teach him the power of a Valentine. 

Martha Stewart Heart Brownies!

CUDDLE UP WITH HOT COCOA 
and VALENTINE BOOKS

We would also, of course, sing Valentine Songs: 

"Knock, Knock, Knock"  and "I Love You"  by Jeneen Brady

HEART CEREAL and VALENTINE BINGO

Okay, these weren't around when I was little, but I thought they were perfect for February when I saw them at the store. This heart-shaped cereal by Quaker is perfect for my toddler's little hands and is especially good with milk and some fresh blueberries and strawberries on top.

I mean, how cute is this cereal!

When my little boy is a bit older, I thought it would be really cute to use this cereal to play Valentine bingo! 

  

(Bingo printables courtesy of preparenotscared.blogspot.com! 

Or if this cereal doesn't stick around, I could always use Sweetheart candies or just plain old cheerios to play with :)

( Free printables at libbiegrove.blogspot.com! )

MAKE VALENTINES MORNING SPECIAL

We would always wake up on Valentines Day to a table spread with love and cheer. The table would be set with a pancake breakfast and at each place we would find a special valentine for us from mom and dad. 

Our Valentine table this year!

My son's little Valentine goodies.

Stauffer's brand Cheddar Whale crackers

Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chip Graham Goldfish

Red Duckies for the Bath

He loved putting the duckies in and out of the little mailbox :)

For breakfast on Valentines Day, my mom would always serve us pink whole wheat pancakes with strawberry syrup, pink milk (just add a couple drops of red food coloring to pancake batter/milk), and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. 

  

Instead of pink milk, to make things a little more nutritional, I served raspberry Kefir (a probiotic yogurt-like drink). Plus its already pink!

HAVE A FUN VALENTINES DINNER

I got the idea for this soup from The Gathering of Friends cookbook Volume I. However, I didn't like their tomato soup recipe, so I just got some organic tomato soup from Trader Joes and added a touch of worcestershire sauce, half and half, basil and oregano. Then, just like in the cookbook, I used sticky rice and a heart shaped cookie cutter to make a rice heart for the center. I served it up with a green salad, parmesan toast, and sparkling cider!

And for dessert,  angel food cake topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh red berries. 

I hope you all had a Valentines Day full of love! 

Candlemas (Ground Hog Day)

My family has always celebrated Candlemas, the original version of Groundhog Day. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this holiday, I'll give you a little background: 

February 2nd is Candlemas, a centuries old custom. Traditionally, this is believed to be the day that Mary and Joseph took the Christ child to present him at the Temple in Jerusalem. In those days, Jewish custom held that a woman would take her newborn child to the Temple on the fortieth day after giving birth (when she was thought to be sufficiently clean) and offer up a sacrifice of two young pigeons or a pair of doves. 

Luke 2: 22-40  tells of the prophet Simeon, a High Priest in the Temple,  who was told that he would see the Messiah before he died. He had waited his whole life for that moment, and when Joseph and Mary arrived at the Temple on that day, Simeon recognized Christ immediately. Tenderly taking him in his arms, he proclaimed Christ to be "a LIGHT to the lighten the [world.] "

Simeon's Moment, by Ron DiCianni. LOVE this painting! Especially how it illustrates the idea of Christ being the Light of the World. Gives me chills! No wonder I was an art history major :)

In honor of this tradition, Catholics take their candles to Mass on this day to be blessed. Thus, the name Candle-Mass (Candlemas). 

In the Victorian Era it also became custom on this day to take an inventory of one's candle supply to make sure there were enough to last the rest of the winter. 

So how did Groundhog day get mixed up in all this?  Well, the weather on Candlemas (February 2) was believed to predict the length of winter. The old english song says: 

"If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Come, Winter, have another flight!

If Candlemas bring clouds and rains, 

Go, Winter, and come not again."

Since Candlemas was thought to predict the length of winter, in the Middle Ages, Europeans believed that the groundhogs (or hedgehogs) decided to end or prolong their winter's hibernation based on the weather on Candlemas.  For some reason this idea stuck, and today in the United States, people still look to the groundhog's "weather report" on February 2nd to see if winter is sticking around or not. 

Some other cool facts: 

The largest Groundhog Day celebration is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. (You've probably all seen the movie Groundhog Day!)

In Mexico, this day is known as Candelaria, and is the day when whomever found the baby in their piece of cake on Three Kings Day, must throw a party!

So...

In my family, the tradition has always been to have a candlelit dinner on February 2nd to honor the traditional reason Candlemas came about, which is to remember Christ, the Light of the World. 

And since the weather is warming up very nicely where we live, I decided to have our candlelit dinner outside on our back patio and use my new solar lanterns (aren't they cute?!) instead of candles.  

Not that this has anything to do with Candlemas or February, but my husband and I like to have breakfast for dinner occasionally, so I made my homemade breakfast taquitos for our lantern-lit dinner. (Country sausage, cheese, jalapenos and scrambled egg rolled up in fresh tortillas, brushed with olive oil and broiled for 8-10 min.) 

And to make it a little more festive, I made pink Veggie smoothies (from Weelicious Cookbook) to go along with our taquitos.  I feel like smoothies are a great way to get my toddler (and myself!) to eat more raw vegetables! This one has beets, carrots, and apples blended up with a little apple juice.  The beets give it the *bright* pink color! I also added some strawberries and a banana to tone down the beet flavor and make it a little sweeter  :)

(To make this smoothie, peel and cut up 1 raw beet and 1 large carrot into 1" pieces.  Steam for about 8 min. Then add chopped apples and steam for about 2 min. longer. Let them cool completely, and then blend them in a blender with 1 C cold 100% apple juice, 4-5 frozen strawberries, and 1/2 fresh banana.) 

• • •

While we lounged on our patio sipping our healthy smoothies, I shared with my family the story of how Candlemas and Groundhog Day came to be and we read aloud the story of Simeon from the New Testament.

There are also fun books to share with your kids about Groundhog Day. Here are just a few:

What traditions do you guys have for Groundhog Day? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear about them!