Rose has been playing with her new Fairy Tale Cottage Dollhouse at the base of our Christmas tree and even her dolls have their Nativity set displayed! We just took down our tree and miss it already...
Showing posts with label Playmobil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Playmobil. Show all posts
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Monday, March 21, 2016
Books for Boys :: A Closer Look at the Bookshelf
I've been meaning to share this post ever since posting Books for Girls :: A Closer Look at the Bookshelf! I actually took these photos back in November of
{Note: Many of their books are kept on the History and Saint bookshelves. This post just lists the book which they keep in their bedroom. All links are Amazon Affiliate links.}
.: Top Shelf :.
Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan
- The Ruins of Gorlan (Book 1)
- The Burning Bridge (Book 2)
- The Icebound Land (Book 3)
- The Battle for Skandia (Book 4)
- The Sorcerer of the North (Book 5)
- The Siege of Macindaw (Book 6)
- Erak's Ransom (Book 7)
- The Kings of Clonmel (Book 8)
- Halt's Peril (Book 9)
- The Emperor of Nihon-Ja (Book 10)
- The Lost Stories (Book 11)
The Brotherband Chronicles by John Flanagan
- The Outcasts (Book 1)
- The Invaders (Book 2)
- The Hunters (Book 3)
- Slaves of Socorro (Book 4)
- Scorpion Mountain (Book 5)
Tales of Foreign Lands, Volume 1
Tales of Foreign Lands, Volume 2
Tales of Foreign Lands, Volume 3
This series was a gift from the boys' grandparents.
Various books by J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings
- The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One
- The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two
- The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three
- The End of the Third Age (The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part 4)
- Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth
- A Dictionary of Tolkien
- The Simarillion
I'm working on this post while traveling and I don't have access to all the boys' books to check the ISBN numbers to find the matching editions for our older boxed sets. We gave this illustrated edition of the Hobbit to our 8 year old and it is by far his favorite book. I'm tempted to order another copy while it's 40% off!
You can find Ranger's Lord of the Rings Hand-Painted Action Figures here.
.: Second Shelf :.
A Few of Ranger's Metal Earth Models:
The Constitution of the United States of America
Dragon Slayers: The Essential Training Guide for Young Dragon Fighters
Letters to an Altar Boy
The Young Man of Character
The Young People's Book of Saints
The Soldier of Christ: Talks Before Confirmation
A Child's Book of Warriors
The Gate
Twenty Tales of Irish Saints
Christians Courageous
Crossbows & Crucifixes: A Novel of the Priest Hunters and the Brave Young Men Who Fought Them
Saint Magnus, The Last Viking
Crusader King: A Novel of Baldwin IV and the Crusades
A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of Saint Camillus de Lellis
Ablaze: The Stories of Daring Teen Saints
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower and the "Hotspur" (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower During the Crisis (Hornblower Saga)
Hornblower Beat to the Quarters (Hornblower Saga)
(This series was also a gift from their grandparents.)
Lost in Peter's Tomb
Break-In At the Basilica
Curse of the Coins
Secrets of Siena
Bank Robbery!
Shadow in the Dark
The Haunted Cathedral
The Fire of Eden
Fabre's Book of Insects
The Call of the Wind
The Adventures of Tom Saywer
My Side of the Mountain
By the Great Horn Spoon
Rascal
Swallows and Amazons
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
Adam of the Road
The Good Master
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Snow Treasure
Redwall
Peanuts
The two sets in the corner of this shelf are a couple of their favorites from when they were younger. Our current eight year old really enjoyed reading them last year!
The Tales of the RAF series includes:
We have the paperback editions, but the whole set is also available in hardcover and I'd love to add it to our collection!
The Billy and Blaze series includes:
- Billy and Blaze
- Blaze and the Forest Fire: Billy and Blaze Spread the Alarm
- Blaze Finds the Trail
- Blaze and Thunderbolt
- Blaze and the Mountain Lion
- Blaze and the Lost Quarry
- Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony
- Blaze Shows the Way
- Blaze Finds The Trail
Additional Metal Earth models have been added including Neuschwanstein Castle (pictures here), Brooklyn Bridge, London Tower Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, Star Wars Millennium Falcon, and Notre Dame.
.: Third Shelf :.
Chronicles of Narnia Box Set
Tom Playfair: Or Making a Start
Percy Winn: Or Making a Boy of Him
Harry Dee: Or Working it Out
(They also have additional books written by Father Finn including: Claude Lightfoot: Or How the Problem Was Solved, Ethelred Preston: Or the Adventures of a Newcomer, and That Football Game: And What Came of It)
The Boy Mechanic: 200 Classic Things to Build
The Boy Scientist: 160 Extraordinary Experiments & Adventures
The Boy Camper: 160 Outdoor Projects and Activities
(Gifts from grandparents.)
Ship's Boy with Magellan
John Treegate's Musket
Peter Treegate's War
Sea Captain from Salem
Treegate's Raiders
The Reb and the Redcoats
Alvin's Secret Code
Alvin Fernald, Foreign Trader
Alvin Fernald, Mayor for the Day
The Winged Watchman (We love the audio version!)
Enemy Brothers (The audio version of this book is excellent too!
Hittite Warrior
The Small War of Sergeant Donkey
Old Sam: Dakota Trotter
Augustine Came to Kent
Brave Buffalo Fighter
Beyond the Desert Gate
With Pipe, Paddle, and Song: A Story of the French-Canadian Voyageurs
The Mystery of the Periodic Table
Between the Forest and the Hills
The Drovers Road Collection: Adventures in New Zealand
The Flying Ensign: Greencoats Against Napoleon
The Lantern Bearers (The Roman Britain Trilogy)
The Silver Branch (The Roman Britain Trilogy)
The Eagle of the Ninth (The Roman Britain Trilogy)
Warrior Scarlet
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Great Names in Our Country's Story
The Outdoor Book for Adventurous Boys: Essential Skills and Activities For Boys of All Ages
The Art of Stone Skipping and Other Fun Old Time Games: Stoopball, Jacks, String Games, Coin Flipping, Line Baseball, Jump Rope, and More
(I can't believe how much these two have grown in the past year and a half!)
.: Fourth Shelf :.
LEGO Architecture The Leaning Tower of Pisa, White House, Empire State Building, and Seattle Space Needle.
The Hardy Boys
(some from their Dad's childhood collection and others from a friend)
Childhood of Famous Americans
(various books from the series)
Landmark Books including:
A Boy Sailer with John Paul Jones
Men Against the Sea
Gettysburg
The Mapmaker
Friar Among Savages
Outlaws of Ravenhurst
The Chariot Race: From Ben Hur
.: Bottom Shelf :.
Holy Card Albums
Lap Books
Various Civil War books
The Art of the Hobbit
The Atlas of Middle-Earth
Gettysburg: The Long Encampment
Arms & Equipment of the Civil War
Backyard Ballistics: Build Potato Cannons, Paper Match Rockets, Cincinnati Fire Kites, Tennis Ball Mortars, and More Dynamite Devices
The Dangerous Book for Boys
Amon's Adventures: A Family Story for Easter
Learn to Burn: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Started in Pyrography
See Inside the Middle Ages
Time Traveler
The Usborne Book of World History
Second World War
World War II Discovery Kit
The Civil War Day by Day
Songs of the Wild West
Blue Knights Boys' Club Member Books
Behind the Blue and Gray: The Soldier's Life in the Civil War
A Christmas Carol (illustrated by P.J. Lynch)
Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
.: From the Archives :.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Back-to-School Schultütes {Simplified}
Back in 2009 I was inspired by Barbara to start making Schultütes to give to our children at the beginning of the school year and have continued this tradition ever since. Each year they have looked a little different, but have always been made from poster board and filled with lots of goodies and new school supplies. That first year I only made them for our four oldest, but as the years have passed, and we've had more children, that number has increased. My "pre-schoolers" don't like to be left out of all the fun, so this year I had SEVEN Schultütes to assemble. A couple weeks ago when I was at the store, I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money on all that poster board (I have too many other projects I'm trying to work on around the house and have been cutting back on craft supplies in the meantime) so I nearly skipped making them this year. Instead I decided to try and use some of my excessive stash of 12x12 scrapbooking paper to make smaller simplified versions! They were so quick and easy to make. I filled them with a few treats and our children loved them just as much as always!
Supplies:
Paper - I used 12x12 scrapbook paper for this year's cones
(poster board works great for larger cones)
Glue Stick and Scissors
Stapler & Decorative Tape (optional)
Tissue Paper and Ribbon
Variety of Treats and School Supplies
- Apply glue to one end of the paper. I used a glue stick (instead of a hot glue gun) since my cones were smaller this year.
- Roll the paper into a cone shape and trim the point off the top of the cone to make it flat.
- Secure the top with a couple staples.
- Cover the seam with a strip of decorative tape if desired. (I cut a piece of patterned duck tape for the boys cones and some pretty nesting doll tape for the girls similar to this!)
I wrapped the treats in some white tissue paper, tying the top with some curly ribbon, and then slipped them into each cone.
I gave each of the older children a Holy Card from Saints Galore with A Student's Prayer in Honor of St. Anthony.
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| Playmobil Child's First Day of School |
Oh! And check out these little playmobil figures! I had to order a set as soon as I saw them to give to our little ones. (Thank you Alison! They were a hit!)
I also quickly assembled some Back-to-School Treats with my printable and everything was ready for Tuesday morning, our "official" first day of school this year. I'll be back with the rest of our back-to-school photos soon!
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The Boys' Bedroom and Triple Bunk Bed
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| In the process of painting and redecorating... |
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| The Boys Bedroom - March 2012 |
My brothers did have a triple bunk that my Dad had built when we were all crammed into a tiny mobile home while my parents built our home (and actually so did my dad and his brothers when they were little), but when they replaced it with these log style bunk beds my parents never considered (or even needed since they then had plenty space) triple stacking them.
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| Boys' Triple Bunk - July 2013 |
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| It's been overcast and was difficult to get decent pictures... |
Years ago I installed ClosetMaid Organizers in the closet and each of the (three) boys has their section for hanging clothing. On the left side of the closet the boys hang all their belts and we have a CapRack on the back of their bedroom door for all their baseball caps.
The older boys just use the shelf/floor below their clothing for their shoes, and Snuggles keeps his shoes on a shoe shelf. Various sets of toys are in the wicker baskets and additional toys (matchbox cars, army men, playmobil, etc) are stored in the drawers under the single bed.
Around Mother's Day we purchased a couple new bookshelves for the school room and I passed on my 3-Drawer Organizers to the boys for their legos! They LOVE them and we just purchased one more.
The black bookshelf was from Target and they use it for their own book collections and displaying some of their lego creations. All of their Playmobil ships fit nicely on top of the bookcase.
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| Black Bookcase from Target (purchased on sale and during a"buy-one-get-one 50% off" promotion!) |
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| Baskets from Target for Dress Up, NHL Quilts, Lego Architecture Sets, and Sopwith Camel |
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| Soldiers Boat, Viking Longboat, Royal Ship of Egypt, and Warrior's Ship |
The only trouble with the black furniture is that it shows dust horribly, and it is so difficult to dust around lego displays... To help with this problem we recently covered the boys dresser with 4 x-large grey lego base plates for some of their Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Lego Collection.
On the wall above the dresser we hung three shelves (along with a small shelf for Rascal to use in bed - see picture above) for additional lego creations! The bottom shelf was added last year and we just added two more... The shelves don't have the best reviews, but they have worked for us.
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| Still need to get additional knobs for the dresser... |
My boys are really good about taking care of their bedroom and belongings. Yes, they make messes and often you will see battle scenes, lego creations, or one of their favorite board games all over the floor, and empty paper towel holders stashed in the corner, but when I ask them to clean their room they do an excellent job! (The girls are a different story... They still need lots of help from mom every so often.)
Oh, and one last thing... I took it down for the pictures, but usually there is a baby gate blocking the door to their bedroom. It is how we keep the legos out of the reach of a particular little toddler who finds them very intriguing!
We are off to the pool for our third day of swimming lessons followed by four back-to-back appointments with the orthodontist. It's going to be another busy day!
Friday, March 29, 2013
A Child's Way of the Cross
"When Jesus was taken before Herod, John led the Blessed Virgin Mary and Magdalen over the parts which had been sanctified by his footsteps . . . they stopped and contemplated each spot where he had fallen, or where he had suffered particularly; and they wept silently at the thought of all he had undergone. The Blessed Virgin knelt down frequently and kissed the ground where her Son had fallen, while Magdalen wrung her hands in bitter grief, and John, although he could not restrain his own tears, endeavored to console his companions, supported, and led them on. Thus was the holy devotion of the 'Way of the Cross' first practiced; thus were the Mysteries of the Passion of Jesus first honoured, even before that Passion was accomplished, and the Blessed Virgin, that model of spotless purity, was the first to show forth the deep veneration felt by the Church for our dear Lord."
(The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the meditations of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich)
And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, "Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Luke 22:41-42
When He rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." Luke 22:45-46
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?" Luke 22:47-48
Then they seized Him and led Him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. Luke 22:54
So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this rightous man's blood; see to it yourselves." Matthew 27:24-25
And all the people answered, "His blood will be on us and on our children!" Matthew 27:26
And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Luke 23:12
Jesus knelt down by its side, encircled it with his sacred arms, and kissed it three times, addressing, at the same time, a most touching prayer of thanksgiving to his Heavenly Father for that work of redemption which he had begun. The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich
Thus began that triumphant march of the King of Kings, a march so ignominious on earth, and so glorious in heaven. The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich
Next I beheld our Blessed Saviour and Redeemer - his bare feet swollen and bleeding - his back bent as though he were about to sink under the heavy weight of the cross, and his whole body covered with wounds and blood. The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich
So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgatha. There they crucified him. John 19:17-18
And he bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud, and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mark 15:46
Having first seen with their own eyes that the body of Jesus was really there, [the guards] fastened one rope across the door of the tomb, and a second across the great stone which was placed in front, sealing the whole with a seal of half-circular shape. The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich
At this moment the rock was so violently shaken, from the very summit to the base, that three of the guards fell down and became almost insensible . . . [Our Lord's] body was beautiful and lightsome, and its beauty was that of a celestial being. He was clothed in a large mantle, which at one moment looked dazzlingly white . . . His large open wounds shone brightly, and could be seen from a great distance. The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Blessed Anne Catherine Emerich
The seal of the grave is broken; He who reposed therein is living; He whom we saw die upon the wood of the cross, as the outcast of mankind, He has proclaimed His divine dignity; neither seal, nor grave, nor stone, nor oak could withstand Him; He is risen! Sermons of the Cure of Ars
* The boys were just asking to see their old Playmobil scenes of The Easter Story (here are the links from 2009, 2010, and 2011) and I realized I never posted the pictures from last year, so we are adding them now.
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