Baking for Teacher Appreciation...

Like many schools, our school picks one week each Spring to honour our teachers and the amazing jobs they do!  I am so grateful for teachers!  As a 'class mom' it is my job to make sure that these teachers feel special this week!  I ask parents to sign up for one day during the week where they will commit to doing something for the teacher...maybe a hot coffee/tea, flowers, a treat, or even a card or time in the classroom.  In the past 4 years I've always made a full, hot meal for Olivia's teacher so that they get one night off when they don't have to cook!  This year I was too 'chicken' to do a meal for Olivia's teacher because he's a vegan!   I respect it, but can't relate to it hunnny!  So...this year it was fresh, hot from the oven, pans of blueberry cinnamon buns for Livi and Abby's teachers.  Hope they enjoyed them!  It's a pretty easy recipe, and if you have a large mixer then it'll do the work for you! 
Here's my recipe:
-- Mix 2 tsp granulated sugar into 1 cup of warm water. Sprinkle scant 2 tbsp of dry yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes. (I do this in my kitchen aid bowl so it's ready to have ingredients added)
-- Once proofed (poofed) stir yeast mixture to mix. Add:
2 large eggs
1/3 cup cooking oil
1/2 sugar
1 cup warm milk 2 cups all purpose flour
Beat together well.

Now work in 4 - 4.5 cups of flour (I switch to the dough hook for this one)
Work it in until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.  You can let it knead in your machine for a good 5 minutes once it's all blended, or, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes.  Should be smooth and elastic.  I love working with the dough so I always opt for a few less minutes in the mixer and do some kneading by hand...work out those frustrations girls!

Place dough in greased bowl, turn once to grease top.  Cover with tea towel and place in oven with light on and door closed.  Let rise for approx 1 hour until doubled in size.
Filling:
1/2 cup butter softened
3/4 cup brown sugar mixed with 2.5 tsp ground cinnamon
4 cups blueberries. (I use frozen)

Now, divide dough into 3 equal parts.  Roll each into 9x12" rectangles. ( I do one at a time)
Spread 1/3 of butter on each piece
Sprinkle 1/3 sugar/cinnamon mixture on each
Scatter 1/3 berries on each piece

Starting on the long side of the rectangle, tightly roll up each piece into a log.  Cut each log into 9 even pieces and place in greased  8x8 pans.  (I always use pie plates)
Cover with tea towels and let stand in oven with light on and door closed for another hour.

Bake at 375* for 20 minutes...watch, they burn easy. 

Glaze:
Blend 1.5 cups icing sugar with:
1/2 cup softened butter, 2-3 tbsp milk or water
1/2 tsp vanilla
Drizzle over buns once they've cooled a little.

Christmas at King...

The girls' school has a traditional sing-a-long every year at Christmas.  The sing along was on the last day of school for the year and I was working so this year Rob took the afternoon off so he could go with the kids.  Abby's Kindergarten class was being featured so out came the camera!  The pictures turned out a little blurry, but I appreciate Rob taking a few while he juggled Isaac!  Abby's class performed a few numbers and Abby had no trouble belting it out and grooving through it all!  Shane & Angela Wiebe were kind enough to lead the sing-a-long portion.  We will miss them so much when they move out East!  There's nothing like a kids Christmas presentation to get you in the Christmas spirit!

Oli Does Volley...

Olivia joined the volleyball team this year.  It's so great to see her getting out there and enjoying herself.  She gets a little nervous come game time, but she loves the teamwork and hanging out with friends.  Today was their tournament with a bunch of the local teams.  Abby, Isaac and I rotated our chairs all over the gym to watch her play her games.  It was a fun day...but I have to admit, I don't miss the smell of an elementary school gym filled with hundreds of sweaty little bodies...nope, don't miss it at all.

2 Off 2 School...

This is a big year here in the Hildebrandt household!  This is the first year we have 2 girls off to school.   The crazy part is, it's the only year these sisters will ever be in the same school together!  That's what we get for having a 5 yr age gap between kids!

Abby was so excited to start school this year.  She's been talking about her teacher since Spring.  All summer she kept asking how long until school starts, asking when we could get her uniform ready and on and on.  I've mentioned in previous posts that our kids attend a Traditional values school.  Basically the kids are encouraged and taught to place emphasis on respect and responsibility and hard work.  With these things in place it is an ideal academic atmosphere.  Olivia has done really well in the traditional system and we are hoping the same for Abby.  This will be a trial year with Abby to see how she responds to this type of atmosphere.  We think it's similar to our values and life philosophy as parents.  Although there is no official element of faith base in this school, we are constantly encouraged by the wonderful Christian parents and teachers we have relationship with at King.  Rob and I have made efforts to recognize the different personality differences with our children and try to encourage them in their individualism.  It's not an easy job, but we try.  Abby is our free spirit of the clan and I never want that to change.  Fine tune, yes, but change, no.  We know she will always need her space to be an individual and mature into the wonderful girl she is.  So, here goes trial year.  We do have a back up plan if we think it's not working to her advantage!  So here's my Abby...off to Kindergarten, cute as a button, and full of hope and dreams of what school will be.  She has a wonderful spirit filled teacher who we think will identify with Abby and embrace her strengths.  King only has 1/2 day kindergarten, but every day.  This means a year full of driving, but my hubby is great with doing drop off in the mornings on his way to work.  Everyday I ask Abby how her school was and she always has the same answer....'AWESOME!'.  Doesn't get much better than that!

Here's our sweetheart Olivia...all grown up and in Grade 5!!!  I can't believe it!  It seems as though we just started school years with her but, here we are.  In just a few short months we'll be making the decision about where to send her for middle school.  We may continue on in traditional, or we may be bold and make a switch.  We still don't know where God is leading on this one.  Olivia is genuinely enjoying her new teacher.  This is the first year she's had a male teacher.  The first day of school Olivia came home saying 'Mom, Mr.K. is sooooo funny!'.  Her grin was so big it was heartwarming.  There's just such a great joy in knowing your kids feel safe, loved and are having fun in their learning environment.  Somedays I feel like life is just flying by, and then I remember...'oh wait, I've gotta do this all over again in 3 years when Isaac is ready'. 
On that note, I am thoroughly enjoying my mornings of one on one with Isaac.  He is every bit of troublesome two's these days, but he's got such a sparkle in his eye.  We usually just hang out and play.  He either wants to play in his new 'sand-a-box' or watch for planes flying above.  He is a joyful little man who is currently obsessed with 2 things:  'sand-a-box' and 'Unca Ken'.  Heaven help me.

Super-Dad!

Our girls are so proud of their daddy! Being a farmer, Rob doesn't get too many days off. Yes, sometimes during the year his days are more laid back than others, but for the most part he works a lot. He does technically get a day off here and there during the month, but he usually ends up having to head over to the farm to fix a problem or just check on the birds. He sleeps better if he knows his 'chicks' are happy! Well, today Rob headed over to the girls' school in lieu of one of those precious days off. Our school is so family focused. All you have to do to feel like you're a part of the school is to volunteer every once in a while. Our families raised the money for a beautiful new addition to the playground. The school decided to ask the families to do the work to save on cost, so in true barn-raising fashion, they organized a one day construction date to get this playground up and ready! It's really great to see that if everyone works together something that would normally take a long time and a lot of money can be done so quickly and efficiently! Livi is in grade 4 at King Traditional, and Abby is registered for kindergarten starting in Sept. The weather was phenomenal ( 16 (C)+ degrees under blue skies) and there was plenty of help. Rob was at the school from 8:30 until almost 6pm. The kids and I popped in during the afternoon to see the progress and visit a little. There were trucks and trailers, a cement mixer, a bobcat, and lots and lots of hard working daddies! I sent Rob along with a bucket of cookies and muffins to share, and there was a bbq and pizza for all the workers. It must have been tough for all these guys to give up their weekend (many plan to go back on Sunday to finish). The weather is so beautiful and the Olympics are in full swing here, but these dedicated parents took time to do this for our children. Like Rob said, all his kids will benefit from this playground so he didn't mind helping out. Most importantly, our kids were shown just one more way how much their daddy loves them!

Something Old..Something New...

Well, the something old is Olivia going back to school. The something new is Abigail going to preschool! Both girls were very excited to get to school. Olivia is in grade 3 this year and attends a traditional school where there is a uniform code, so there are no problems with what to wear every day! Abby is starting preschool at the early age of 3. I wasn't ready to send Olivia to pre-school until she was 4, but Abby is ready! Abby's been talking non stop about preschool since we registered her back in March. Last week, every morning, she'd say "come on mom...i have to go to school!" It was so hard for her to wait, but alas she got to go this morning.

It's hard to see the girls growing up so fast but I try to take advantage of every moment and enjoy my time at home with them so I'll remember these years. Luckily for me, I've still got little Isaac at home and he's not going anywhere without me any time soon!