Tuesdays are always a little busy and hectic for us. We have to get up early and plan enough time for a 20+ minute walk to James therapy appointment after which we hang around downtown for about 40 minutes before craft hour starts for the littles. Today, Carey just took the boys home after we stopped in at Salvation Army but I still had 20 minutes before the class started. We wandered over to the center anyway to wait in the shade and that is when the girls discovered that the raspberries were ready! There is a huge set of raspberry canes in the yard of the center that is very prolific every year. These are one of my favorite fruits but they are too expensive to buy very often. The girls went nuts picking them and they were especially cute sharing their berries back and forth. I think the canes must have been the thornless variety because the girls had no problems forcing themselves to the center of the patch and getting berries no one else had gotten to. Deedee called it her "castle" and they played in there for several minutes before the center opened.The feel of fresh berries in my hand and the bursting of the sun warmed juices in my mouth always bring back many happy (for the most part) memories.
When I was growing up, my grandparents had a good sized garden that included a whole patch of raspberries. One of my oldest memories is of eating them straight off of the canes, hot from the sun and the flavor just bursting in my mouth. Perhaps that is why I love them so much. I can remember another time one of my grandparents kittens had been attacked by some bald faced hornets and it had gotten pretty chewed up. Of course I designated myself as the caretaker but I still had to pick the berries for my grandmother so I would stuff the poor cat in a makeshift sling I had made and hauled it right along with me. LOL I can also remember grumbling because my grandmother had sent me down there with buckets to fill so she could put them up in jam or one of her preserves. Of course, the whole time I was grumbling about filling the buckets I was just as quickly stuffing my face! But oh, the jam. Raspberry jam has always been one of my most favorite things in the world and every year my grandmother would put up a huge batch of freezer jam. I would get myself in trouble because I would eat it by the spoonful. And I still do it! Sometimes, for a speciall treat. :) I no longer hide a container to eat whenever I felt like it. I discovered a few years ago my grandmother always made a few extra containers knowing that I would get into it and she still wanted to be sure there was enough for the winter. LOL
There are tons of great ways to enjoy raspberries other than straight off of the cane. I love piling a few cups of raspberries in a bowl with a bit of sugar and a dash of lemon juice to sit for a bit, at least an hour. It is awesome over vanilla ice cream (especially homemade) or pancakes or a spongecake etc.
Raspberry jam is also pretty easy to make, and it needs nothing fancy. Especially if you're just making a few pots to give as gifts. There's nothing so wonderful as receiving a pretty jar of ruby-hued jam with a pretty bow around the top. Christmas isn't so far off so keep that in mind! I have a super easy recipe that even a young child can help you with and they'll be so proud of themselves after their effort, especially if they're presenting it as gifts. It has a small list of ingredients and makes a small batch which is why it's so ideal for children to help with.
Easy Raspberry Jam
3 c raspberries
3 c sugar
Mash the berries in a saucepan and stir in the sugar. Bring it to a boil and then boil for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat for 6 minutes. Poor into your jars and allow it to cool. Remember to keep refrigerated if you're not canning it.
A raspberry cordial is also always nice. Who can forget when poor Anne Shirley served Diana Barry with currant wine instead of raspberry cordial! When I was a child, that was (and remains so) one of my favorite books so of course I had to try some!
Raspberry Cordial
1 lb 3 oz raspberries (It says frozen but I have used fresh. This sort of recipe can be fudged.)
1.25 c sugar (I use organic unrefined)
4 c boiling water
2 lemons (or equilavent juice, usually about 3 tbsp per lemon)
Combine the sugar & raspberries in a saucepan and cook for 20-25 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Mash the mixture thoroughly and then poor through a sieve or cheese cloth to strain out the juice. Discard the pulp. Here is where a chinois sieve comes in handy if you have one. It is a long, conical mesh sieve that has a long usually wooden pestle. Some come with a stand and some just have a little hook so they will sit over your container. This is what I use. I combine the two steps into one by putting it into the sieve to mash it. Once in a while it looks cloudy so I might use a jelly bag to get out the last little bits. Add your lemon juice, stir thoroughly and then add your boiling water. Let it cool and then bottle. Must refrigerate!
Want more recipes like this? Look up The Anne of Green Gables Cook Book by Kate McDonald! It is out of print but you can usually find it pretty reasonably priced at most used book vendors including thriftbooks.com.
In deference to the hot weather, I have one more addition. Juice and yogurt pops are extremely easy to make and really good for you too (don't tell the kids though). If you can't find a popsicle mold, just use paper cups and wooden craft sticks (otherwise known as popsicle sticks, but don't buy the colored ones). Simply plop some berries in the bottom of your mold, pour in some juice until it's 3/4 full and put it in the freezer. If you're using paper cups, keep an eye on them and when the mixture is slushy add the sticks. Freezer for 2-4 hours or until frozen solid. Simply peel the paper away when it's time to serve.
Sunrise Yogurt Pops
18 oz. plain or vanilla yogurt
6 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate
6 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
2 bananas, peeled and sliced.
1/4 c honey (optional, I usually find it sweet enough)
Prepare your molds by putting 2-3 berries in the bottom of each one. Puree the rest of the berries, the oj, yogurt, honey and banana in the blender. (One hint here: If you don't want the seeds, puree your raspberries seperately in a blender or foley food mill and then mash through a sieve so you still get the juice and most of the pulp.) Pour the mixture into the molds until they're approximately 3/4 full and place in the freezer for several hours or overnight for a yummy breakfast treat. Not enough molds the amount that you made? You have yourself a lovely Sunrise Smoothie. :) This is one that I do with the kiddos a lot. If the mix is too thick for your liking, simply add a bit of milk, rice milk, soy milk, juice etc. until you get your desired consistency. And don't be afraid to mix and match the fruit and yogurts. There are a lot of lovely flavors out there that really come together for a great combination.
Want a layered look instead so it really looks like a sunrise? Split your yogurt roughly into thirds. Take 1/3 and spoon it evenly into your molds. Pop it into your freezer for about 20-30 minutes until it's solid enough to hold the next layer (do this with each layer). Combine your oj, 1/3 of your yogurt and the banana together. This is the second layer. Mix the other third of your yogurt with the raspberries for the third layer. When you're putting your layers in, make sure to leave adequate room for the next layer. It's ok if you have leftovers from each layer. Remember what I said about a smoothie? If you're not up for each layer freezing separetly, carefully pour each layer on top of the other. It will swirl together but it won't completely mix as long as you go slowly. This is where a thicker mixture comes in handy.
A lot of my friends are having babies this summer, so of course the kids have had a lot of questions. My little ones are all close enough together that even James was still pretty young when Kitty arrived and I didn't have home births as I would have wished so the kids don't really know much about it. Recently, they've had lots and lots of question and James has gotten big enough that we've had a much bigger discussions with although not a ton of details as yet. The big thing right now though is just babies. The kids wanted to know how they're born. That in itself is really hard to explain so I looked up a few videos of home births for them to watch. And I got the one question that I wasn't prepared for but just about had me rolling on the floor laughing.
The children were all intently watching a birth and while there was some comment on anatomy and stuff, there wasn't much. At least not as much as one would think from a bunch of children that still think it's yucky to kiss someone. And then Charles popped up with "Babies are born naked!?".
This correlated in with a similar question given by a three year old girl that happened recently. One of my friends was making an outfit for a little baby girl expected by another good friend any day now. The little girl comes up to her mother and stands watching her for a little while and then asks what color her (the baby) shirt will be. It took a couple of minutes for the mother to realize that her daughter wasn't talking about the outfit she was making. She wanted to know what color of shirt the baby was going to be wearing when she born! LOL
So, here are a couple of books that I have found helpful with my guys and explaining stuff.
There is also a set of books that is out of print that you can find relatively cheap on Amazon (I found my set at Salvation Army and paid only $0.50 for it) called The Life Cycle Library for Young People. There are four slim volumes and it goes into everything that deals with reproduction, not just your bodies anatomy. I like these books for that fact because it's really helped me answer some of the kids questions. It doesn't get super graphic if you're concerned about that. Most of it is black line drawings, some colored illustrations etc. The set was originally printed in 1969 so that should give you a good idea. The illustrations of a babies development especially game in handy, especially one drawing that compared the size of a fertilized cell to the point of a pencil. It really helped the children grasp just how little it was.
There are also a few other resources that I found helpful and the kids liked. Watch Me Grow by Stuart Campbell is a wonderful book of week by week baby development shown in a series of 3-D photos. There are also a few films that I found at the library.
I'm not going to post vids of the births on here simply because there are different styles people prefer such as home birth vs. hospital birth vs. cesarean as well as those that would not wish their child to view a live birth in the first place. I would not be able to please everyone so I simply won't try. If you are interested in viewing some, go to Youtube and type in a search for "home birth", "babies birth" etc. There is one vid I am going to post however. It is a simplified time lapse 3-D animation of a birth that shows only the mothers skeletal system and baby in utero. This is the one I showed the kiddos first, after looking at illustrations, before watching real births. I also didn't get my hands on the previous listed films until after I'd shown the kiddos the home birth vids.
I caught Deedee on video singing her ABC's! She's very proud of herself. I'm not huge on the whole "learn the alphabet so you can learn to read" thing since I don't believe being able to recite the alphabet helps with your reading skills. However, I saw no reason not to teach it to her when she requested it. So we sang it whenever we thought of it. We got some really weird looks from people as we walking around town and sang the alphabet! We started out with me reciting the letters and she would repeat them. After a while we added the tune and she would sing along. And then it was all her! It took approximately a month for her to be able to sing without any mistakes. This is her favorite song and a day doesn't go by that I don't hear her singing it at least once during the day, at the top of her lungs. :D In fact, she's listening and singing along to the video of her singing it right now. LOL She sings this so much that Kitty is picking it up to. She knows the tune, the little end bit (Now I Know My) that she will often attempt to sing and several of the letters. One of her favorite things is to follow along behind Deedee and repeat it after Deedee as she sings it. :D I don't think it will be too long before this one knows her alphabet either.
Today, we were held late at Church. As usual I taught the pre-k & K religious education class for the first service. Or, at least I was supposed to. There was a break down in communication between the rosters of teachers and I wound up not having an assistant, which by guide lines I have to have since teachers aren't allowed to be by themselves. So, it was thought that we could borrow one of the nursery assistants but instead we joined one of the classes upstairs. One one student attended today so it was no problem incorporating him in with the first & second graders. Besides, although we had lots of fun activities planned about Jesus (we were going to read a nice little book entitled Meeting Jesus and then look at pictures of Jesus as protrayed by different cultures) in the end I think he was happier upstairs helping to cut out papel picado's instead. The older children we cutting these out as decoration for the Church next Sunday for the Day of the Dead service.
Everyone is really looking forward to it, and I'll be doing a unit on that over this week with my kidlets so they know more about this wonderful day when we honor our ancestors. The parishners have been requested to bring pictures of family, friends and even pets that have passed to honor them. However, I'm getting off topic. Although I teach during the first service, I attend the second service and it's at that time when the boys go to their religious education class and the girls go to the nursery. It was because the boys were having so much fun cutting out their papel picado's that we got out of their a bit late and because we walked, it wasn't until 1.30 that we got home. We were all starving of course. Expending all of that energy always begets a big appetite, but there's also something about a beautiful crisp Autumn day that does it as well.
We already had a beautiful braid of hand made bread. One of our parishners also works at a bakery and he brings lots of left over bread every week for anyone that wishes one to take home and as usual I snagged one. Carey had the grand idea of soup but the only canned soups I ever buy are the creamed soups for recipes (cream of mushroom, etc.) because I'm usually too busy to make those on my own. And I don't even buy them that often. However, recently I hit an awesome sale on organic creamed soups so I stocked up. :D I threw a whole bunch of those together, spices and garlic, and a hodge podge of veggies and it was awesome with the thick bread to dunk in it. Deedee helped too (she added lots of milk when she was only supposed to be stirring it :D). But it was so good I thought I'd share it.
Easy Hearty Creamed Soup
3 14.5 oz cans of creamed soup (I had one each of chicken, mushroom and celery that I used; these weren't condensced.)
14 oz of fresh or frozen cooked vegge (or canned if you must) I grabbed a random bag from the freezer. It had potato chunks, asparagus spears with julienned carrots and zuchinni.
1 c of milk (more or less to taste but please don't add a quart, which is what Deedee did)
Garlic, pepper, herbs etc. to taste
Combine the soup and milk along with your herbs and spices and start it gently heating. Choose your vegge & any other ingredients such as cubed chicken that you might like to add. Cook time depends on whether your veggies are frozen or not. Keep it on a medium heat and don't let it boil. And don't let the 2 year old stir it if you happen to be occupied elsewhere. :D That is, if you don't care what may happen to it. The soups was still good with the excess milk. It certainly went further but it was a bit weak. This is excellent with big chunks of fresh bread to dip in it or serve with croutons on the side. Minus the excess milk, this should feed four adults or a family of six that is comprised of four rambuctious munchkins and two much suffering adults.
Well, the good news is that my son has survived and will heal with a very interesting scare. The bad news? He got 15 stitches in his chin!
James has only recently learned how to ride a two wheeler so couple that with the fact that the "new" bike we bought to celebrate moved the brakes from the pedals (where he was used to them being) to the handlebars spelled disaster. He loves flying down the hill outside our house and has been doing so since we moved in. He always timed the brakes just right so he would stop just where he wanted to. This time however, he misjudged something and wound up in a heap on the ground and his chin meeting the curb. He even lost one of his shoes! I didn't see this happen, although I could hear him screaming and was already on my way out when the neighbor kids all descended en mass on our doorstep to deliver the news.
I hauled him inside with the hope that since head wounds, no matter where they are always bleed copiously and that it would not need stitches. I have had lots of stitches, especially in the head area (can you tell I was an accident prone child?) and couple that with my military medical training I felt confident that I could care for it. However, as soon as I got him to calm down enough to remove his helmet and got the blood wiped away so I could see it, I knew he'd have to go it. It was over an inch long, and very deep. For those that don't have experience with head wounds, they always bleed like a stuck pig but surface abrasions are easy to care for as long as they aren't too deep. However, if you can see the layer of subcutaneous fat, go to the ER because you'll need medical care. It's highly likely you'll need stitches.
So Carey hauled him the few blocks to the hospital and proceeded to spend the next three hours there. He said James was a little trooper and did very well. He actually fell asleep while they were stitching him up (this is something I've always done to deal with bad pain as well but I didn't realize that it was inherited; I slept through most of my labor with both of my boys).
In hindsight, I should not have sent Carey with James. Carey has never had major stitches, so he didn't know how to answer any of James' questions. He is also notorious with his queasiness at the sight of blood. He said he felt faint as he was holding James' hand, but it wasn't until they had to trim the jagged flesh from around the wound that he had to lay down on the floor. :D
In the end it wound up being a wonderful bonding experience for them, although, I wish James needn't have gone through that pain and fear for it to happen. It was also only last night that we hit a "WHY" time with James such as why does Deedee have candy and not me, why is the moon orange and why do I have to wear my helmet? So ensued about a 10 minute talk about they why and wherefores of bicycle safety but we could tell it wasn't sinking in. He's barely old enough to really start reasoning and he was having trouble wrapping his brain around the fact he has to wear the helmet because he "might" get hurt. So Carey got the bright idea of googling pictures of bicycle accident victims and showing James. He didn't shield him because he wanted him to understand just how important this was. A while later, while James was working on his homework, Carey took out the trash. He came running back in and hauled James off with no explanation.
After a few minutes, they returned with James looking a little shaken and upset. Apparently, when taking out the trash, Carey noticed a commotion at the end of our street and being the concerned citizen he is, of course he had to poke his nose in. :D A bicyclist had gotten hit by a car, wasn't wearing a helmet and got a nasty head wound. Not one to waste this fortuitous opportunity, of course he came running back to show James first hand what can happen. It must have made an impression because he didn't whine at all when happily securing his helmet today with no premonition that very shortly it would become very important. Although it didn't prevent James' chin getting torn up, a witnessing adult said his head was thrown forward and only the protruding plastic on the front of helmet kept him from getting hurt a lot worse. He wore an Alibi Helmet by Bell.
Bicyclesafe.com~ How Not To Get Hit By Cars ~ This is especially important in a world where bicycles are increasingly becoming a major mode of transportation.
Kids Health~ Written for kids to understand, has some good pictures of hand signals. These too are very important, especially when riding as a group. Carey and I have adapted the many hand signals we learned to use in our extensive military vehicle experience. It's nice to know when the bike ahead of you is stopping or doing something else unexpected!
So, today we journeyed an hour North to stay the week with my parents. It will be a very busy time, combining several things needing to be done in one trip.
James really enjoyes visiting his grandparents, often several weeks at a time. However, he won't be able to do this once he starts class next week so here's his last chance to spend some time up here until probably Christmas.
Mom has decided it's finally time to go through a lot of my grandmother's stuff and we need to consolidate two storage units into one (a small one into a large one).
I also have an appointment to see a doctor a further hour North of here who will hopefully help me figure out what my problems are. I'm tired of being told that I'm too young for what I think may be happening, and have a family history of. The last three women on my mother's side has all had it, but we have no idea if it goes any further back because my great grandmother's mother died in the flu epidemic when GG was around 9 so not only was she too young to have been told any history, she probably wouldn't have been told anyway.
A chance for Carey to relax before he starts class next week.
Definitely very busy this week. I was happy that we got out of the house right on time, in fact a little early and all we forgot was Charles' suspenders. I had to leave the house a little earlier than planned because I had to stop in a little town on my way, about 30 miles out. There is a local cheapcycle group and a man listed some records of which a few I bought. I had to meet him at the local store and I wound up being there almost 30 minutes early. At first we waited outside, but it was so darn hot and the kids needed to use the restroom anyway so in we went. I especially needed to get Kitty in. She's been diaper free for over four months and I did't want her to have an accident now.
I only had three of the kids since James went up last night to my parents to have a little alone time with them. He's been very angry lately and I'm hoping this will help calm him down. They were all well behaved in the store. They calmly picked out a snack (it's Kitty's special day so she got to pick and she choose Scooby Doo fruit snacks), some banana's and a few other items. They even calmly put the candy back at the cashier when I explained they had already gotten the Scooby snacks and they couldn't have both. I got them loaded back in the van, and then noticed the guy with the records was there so I snagged them real quick.
It's an eclectic mix from Sons of the Pioneers to Frank Sinatra, Peter Paul & Mary, Johnny Cash, even The Night Before Christmas narrated by Louis Armstrong. They're all in good condition and I can't wait to hear them. I paid less than a $1 apiece, and although that's not quite as good as paying only $0.20 at Salvation Army it beats paying several dollars or more apiece.
We quicly continued our trip, and it was a blessed relief when I went from the open valley of agriculture fields and 100 F weather to the hills covered in trees. It was a marked contrast in temperature. It was cool and shady going over the pass and it felt wonderful to be home. I grew up in a logging community, surrounded by hills full of trees and forest only 10 feet out my grandparents back door. And while I'm OK surrounded by the agriculture fields of my current home, I think that's only because the closest tree's are only a quick 20 minute drive, if that. I could never live on the wide open fields of a prairie or the desert. It would drive me mad.
I rolled down the windows, turned off the raidio and breathed in the clean, cool, forest air. I told the kids to look out their windows, breath in the scent and look at the trees as well. This lead to Deedee asking if she could hug a tree. Since I was driving through a section of road that's part of a scenic byway with at least a couple of parks, it was simply to find a place to park although in the end I just chose a turn out because Deedee was getting antsy and we were between both parks. In the end, that was the perfect choice anyway.
It was right in the trees and it was level vs. several that angeled down. This one was also complete with it's own mostly complete deer skeleton. So the kids spent an interesting 10 minutes just looking at that. It had been a doe and was completely picked clean. So we looked at the teeth and talked about how they're different from our teeth and why. Bits of the fur was still there as well and they held some of it to feel the texture and stuff. But they're little so they quickly lost interest and went on to the original goal of hugging a tree. We walked about 20 yards into the trees and it was perfect. It was far enough way that we couldn't see the highway and the traffic wasn't quite as loud. We talked about the birds we heard, and the kids were happy to find a little brook they splashed around in. We wandered around looking at the different plants and flowers and even discovered a spider or two.. Oh, and Charles was really excited to find a little patch of thimble berries that he quickly scarfed down. His whole mouth was stained red and he looked like he'd smeared lipstick on like a clown. LOL Deedee said hello to several trees and collected some fallen leaves for us to identify later. She also said she found several gnome homes. :D
That little side trip delayed us by thirty minutes, but it was well worth it to see the looks on their faces and then listen to their excited talk in the back the last 20 minutes of our trip. When we finally arrived, they couldn't wait to tell their grandparents of their adventures.
Today, I felt better than I have in a long time. The new supplements and herbs that I started taking really seem to be helping the pain. I have had an ongoing battle with my health for some months now and I hope that it's finally turning around.
Every Thursday, a local organization does free crafts for local children ages 4-6 and I generally try to make it if I feel up to it. This week, James wasn't with us because his swimming lessons conflicted and he was still with his grandmother, but Charles wanted to go so off we went. This weeks featured crafts was billed as "Easy Bedroom Door Bells". I wasn't too sure about that but I couldn't think of anything too bad that could come of it. I'm glad we went. It was a lot of fun. Not too many other children showed up, so Deedee and Kitty got in on it as well although technically they were underage and their age group meets on Tuesdays. :D
They're really easy to make. All you need is a cardboard egg carton cut into sections, paint, brushes, ribbon, glitter and/or other decorations, small jingle bells and glue. Poke a hole through the middle on the bottom of each section and paint it whatever color you wish. Either set aside to dry or sprinkle with glitter and then set aside. If it's already dry and you want to use glitter, use a brush to spread on a thin layer of glue. One you have completed your decorations and each section is sufficiently dry, choose how you want to thread them. Everyone seemed to do it thier own way and the choices are infinite. One child used several varying lengths of ribbon, one for each section but he also tied on bits of leaves, bark, acorns etc. along the lengths. He tied one end to the bell and then threaded the other end through the hole on the inside of the section and then tied all the loose ends together (this is the same way that Charles and Deedee tied theirs, minus the bits of Nature). However, Kitty only painted two sections and I tied hers. I tied on a bell, threaded it through one of the sections from the bottom and then treaded it through her other section through the top before tieing on the other bell. I then tied a know in the middle of the ribbon to form a loop to hang it with. The other family there put all of their "bells" on one length of ribbon, evenly spaced.
All of the finished product looked great. Considering there were nine children there 6 and under and two 2 and under, we blessedly had no accidents with the paint. Or, at least those easily remedied. Kitty's glow worm is now personalized (there's orange paint and glitter smeared on it) and I hot a small smear of orange paint on my dress. The cool thing is I washed it out right away and it left a very faint orange tint but it blended right in and now that it's dried I can't even see it.
James is doing great in his swimming lessons. His grandmother takes him and she says that he enjoys it and that he's also very helpful with other children that are a little scared. I'm really proud of him. It seems like he's really grown up lately, even though he's still very childish at times. He had a lot of fun this evening because he got to go with his grandmother and see a play. She said it was rather odd but apparently James enjoyed it. He's working really hard on his K and T sounds although, he's getting really frustrated with them. That's why it really angered me that his grandfather offered to take him to a baseball game (something he adores) but only on the condition that James mastered both of those sounds BEFORE the game, which is very soon.
Every year, a large two day music festival is held in our city park and the two days leading up to it herald a large arts & crafts festival for the younguns. It's certainly interesting and there are two ways to experience this. One, you can preregister your little darlin' for access to group activities (yellow tents), a tshirt and a nice lunch as well as the assorted craft booths (blue tents) or you can be a "walk-on" and register for just that day or even both days with the difference that you get none of the above except the "blue tents". If you are signed up for group activities you go either with the older children who are then seperated into several groups that rotate through the yellow tents every 45 minutes with time to spend in the blue tents as well, or the little ones go to the preschool group.
Hrmmm.........Where to begin? Last year, only my boys were old enough, both went to the preschool group and we registered for only one day. I was vaguely dissastified last year although I wasn't really sure why until this year. In some ways it was better last year. The provide lunch was awesome (donated by Applebee's) and they also took into account vegetarians, which seem to abound in my local progressive University town. This year was a huge let down on the lunch, but I get ahead of myself. Last year I was upset because although we preregistered months in advance (and Carey's parent's winery also helped sponsor, which they do every year) there was no room for us. Literally. There were no seats at the tables for the boys to do their crafts at all so we were actually released early for the craft tents. That always happenes. We scrap the money together to take our kids to a fun event, register when we're supposed to to reserve a spot, arrive on time and "walk-ons" have been given preferance and taken our spots. :( Which is why we have stopped doing a lot of this type of stuff. That's sad because there's a ton of really cool activities done every year that we don't bother with anymore. But, I feel myself getting on a soapbox so I'd better put it away.
So, this year with the three children, well... this year was certainly busy. The older children (which James was a part of this year) start a whole hour earlier than the littles so I had to have him there before 9 to make sure he was signed in. So, after leaving Kitty with a neighbors daughter, I left the other two with a friend that literally lives right beside the park that planned on joining me latter with her two preschoolers. So I thought, perfect, I'll get to spend at least 45 minutes with James making sure he was settled and comfortable with his group before having to leave him to escort his brother and sister around with their group. Unfortunately, that's where things started going wrong. Deedee, who had returned only the day before from an extended visit with the grandparents was frantic that I wasn't there so they had to come and get me to console her while my friends husband stayed with James. I was unable to console her so back to the park she came and then amused herself taking pictures of everything in sight while I spent time with James. Sigh...... For those that have read this off and on for the past year or so, you'll know that James just doesn't do well with a lot of people. Sometimes he settles right in and I was happy to learn that the son of another homeschooling mother was in the same group as James and hoped it would help. James can follow orders well enough and in fact he's become quite the little helper around the house lately, especially when it comes to little Kitty. He's becoming more comfortable with crowds and even greets people properly now! But when it comes to arts and crafts, a child needs to have artistic liscence. However, in his very first group activity, this is exactly what he didn't get.
He wound up in the worst possible place for his group's first project. They were making bday cards and I thought, awesome, Carey's big day is coming up in just a few weeks and what could be more special than to give Dad a card you made yourself? Well, it started out ok but the instructor was too rigid. She actually expected the kids to make it exactly like hers (five candles of varying widths and heigth on the outside on the card; no more, no less and certainly none on the inside) and I actually heard her correcting children! James saw this, and got upset that he was going to have to change his card which got him asking could he go play bubbles and when at first I stalled because I didn't know what to do (we had paid for him to do the group activities after all) he got upset and started yelling he wanted to go home which froze me in the dilema even more. On the one hand, we had paid for him to go with the group. On the other hand, what was the point of paying if he didn't want to stay and have fun? While one must learn how to take orders (that is the way of the world) there is still a place and a time and in the end I decided this really wasn't a battle that I needed to fight. So, instead, I let his group leader know he was going to be with me and we met his siblings at the preschool area. And you know, that was the best decision that I ever made.
For the most part anyway. Both my friend and I were annoyed that the preschool group was planned to read three books with corresponding crafts before being released to do the blue tents (at least an hour but probably more; you know how slow preschoolers move). I was lucky I got them to sit through one story and craft when all they wanted to do was bubbles! (as always, there was a big bubble station set up) In the end, we left that group early as well and wandered around wherever the kids wanted to go which suited them a lot better although, they still had to work on patience since there were lines at some booths.
We spent the first 20 minutes or so of both mornings at the bubbles and they had an absolute blast making big ones and little ones and getting absolutely drenched in the solution. There were also little buble cups that could be made. Small plastic cups with wide mouths had a hole punched in the side for a straw to go through, and a bit of washcloth secured with a rubber band. Then, a bit of dish soap is squirted on top and water is sprayed on until you could blow through the straw and make bubbles come out of the top. It was all great fun for them and I'm sure those cups will float around at home for quite some time.
From there, we were everywhere. The snack art booth (that I didn't like because it was a huge waste of food since most children threw their sculptures away instead of eating them), tie dye, face painting, flag making, more bubbles, string art, meeting the Avista dog (local utilities company), etc. My kids had a great time and never once did they ask to rejoin their groups even though I gave James plenty of options to do so if he wanted. I'm very proud of my little ones. They were very creative in their artistic endevours and they made an impression at most booths they went to. I was also thankful that the booths were relatively small and placed close together which allowed me to park one or two at the bubble station so I could spend one-on-one time with the third child (and still keep an eye on the others). I really enjoyed that time and I hope they did as well. The one-on-one time was spent with them the second day since the first day we stayed with some friends (who only registered for one day).
The kids did great at the flag making booth. Most children chose a piece of fabric from a huge mound and made a basic flag shape to decorate. Many children scribbled something on them real quick and called it good; not my children! Both Deedee and James chose the same basic orange polyester but they were radically different. Deedee had tons of little streamers fashioned from scraps of bright, vibrant (and clashing) fabrics and lace while James' actually coordinated. He had a main streamer of navy blue with bright swathes of gold, burnt orange and cream but then he choose a pretty gold fabric for his smaller streamers. And Charles... well Charles' was a lot more simple with a wild paisley print for the main fabric and fruit print for the one streamer he chose.
They did well at the tie-dye booth although Deedee went way overboard with the dye on her bandanna. You can see a pattern but it's quite dark. In fact, it was so dark that at first it was completely black and I thought that she'd get no design at all! When it had been washed a couple of times, it actually didn't look too bad. Charles wound up making two. Another homeschooled child couldn't make it (her mother was sick) so we got her little bag with her tshirt and then each child contributed a craft kit (Deedee an Ojo de Dios, Charles the tie-dye bandanna that she can wash out herself, and James threw in a bubble cup kit). They were very thoughtful about that.
They had a blast having their faces painted. Deedee asked for a green dino, James a dragon and the girl was quite relieved when Charles wanted a simple apple. :D However, they were a little dissapointed at the last booth we hit at the end on Friday. It's one they'd been wanting to do but everytime we went it was too full. So, of course, just as we got there they ran out of supplies. They were supposed to make alien gloves (latex surgery gloves stuffed and decorated, pretty cool looking) but there weren't any more gloves. So they were actually given the displays to use and they had fun decorating them instead.
At the string booth, they were supposed to be making an Ojo de Dios (God's Eyes) but that quickly turned into luanching airplanes. From there they wandered over to the snack booth and proceeded to load up on goodies, made themselves comfy under a tree and stuffed themselves. One woman complained that the children had more than their fair share. I asked her if her children would be eating their sculptures and she said no, of course not and looked at me as if I had two heads. She complained that my children weren't actually making things with their food so I gave them pretzel sticks to stick in their fruit to eat it with. While on the one hand, she was certainly right, in some aspects my littles did have more than their fair share but on the other hand they were hungry and how do you explain to a preschooler that they're not allowed to eat the yummy melon or olives, crackers with strawberry cream cheese or cheese sticks with cranberry eyes simply because it's supposed to be "art"? You can't. And when I thought of the children who didn't have this bounty, I certainly wasn't going to make them put it back, which they couldn't anyway because they'd "contaminated" it. Bleh... So they had a nice midmorning snack, which was good considering the miniscule lunches they got!
Based on last years spread, I was expecting something really yummy and I was looking forward to the lunch time entertainment (a play on Thursday and a magician on Friday) and you couldn't imagine my shock when the kids came back with a bag lunch and a milk. Still, I shrugged thinking that there was probably a sandwich in there, with perhaps a bag of chips, or a cookie or maybe even a piece of fruit. Wrong! All that was there was a teeny tiny sandwich with a piece of meat and a slice of American cheese slapped between it; ketchup and mustard were provided at a nearby table. That was it. And this angered a lot of people. Not because the sponsor had been so stingy and cheap this year but because no allowances were made for vegetarians. The family I stayed with the first day are vegetarian and when thee inquired about a vegetarian meal the woman in charge of the lunches was quite rude when she said there werent' any. Now, my friend was lucky (remember I mentioned she lived right there) she she ran home real quick and grabbed something for her family to munch on while watching the show. But imagine how many children went hungry that day because they didn't have that option? Most children were dropped off by their parents and picked up again at about a quarter to one and lunch was technically paid for and expected but not received.
It wasn't all fun and games for me. Deedee really got my goat twice. Once, she disappeared only to be found happily stuffing her face after making herself comfortable under a tree and the second time she told me she'd buried her sandals in the sand only to remark that she'd actually left them across the street at my friends house after I dug for over 10 minutes! Grrr...LOL
The thing that made me the proudest of my children: We wound up sticking around a little longer because I was talking to another homeschool mom I hadn't seen in about 8 months. We heard an adult thanking someone for their help, turned around and here were my four (yes, four, Kitty rejoined us for lunch) little monsters that had volunteered their help to the lady cleaning up the stage area. Tarps had been laid out over the dirt and large cases of water had been set out, not all of which were empty or even opened in the first place. And my kids were the only ones there helping! Even my tiny itty bitty little Kitty got in on it by grabbing the biggest thing she could get her little hands on which turned out to be an unopened case of water bottles that had to weigh at least half as much as she did but she hauled it about two feet before the woman took it from her. Now, why can't these guys be this cooperative at home?
Next year, I'm going to make some changes. I'm not going to bother preregistering and will just go as walk-ons. I also plan on taking each child only one day, instead of both. So I'll take the boys one day, and the girls the other. I figure it will be much easier to heard only two little ones around and have fun with them vs. all four. It was a lot of work with just the three of them this year. I also see no point in an extra tshirt (theirs are trashed already; they're covered in dirt, chocolate milk, smears of paint and dye and smell strongly of bubbles) and with the extremely crappy and unhealthy lunch this year I certainly wouldn't rely on that next year and would be bringing my own anyway. And, since my children refuse to "conform" to the normal state of things and join a group, theres no point in paying for that either. There were too many children I saw that were technically part of a group that weren't able to enjoy the smaller blue tents. Inparticular there were two girls I kept seeing in line at the face painting booth only to get up there and be rounded up by their group leader for a "group project". Eventually, I saw the painters heard them to the front of the line, which was really nice of them. So while the group activities really did look like fun, they also seemed to take some of the spontaneity and joy out of the process. I also saw a few mothers inhibiting their children. One woman really amazed me when she pretty much told her daughter that what she was making didn't work and wound up doing the whole thing herself! And another woman stopped her daughter at the tye dye tent. Not because she was drenching it (like Deeder's did) but because she wasn't making it "perfect" as in each little wedge have one color, etc. What's the point in tye dying something to be "perfect"? That's just such a huge misnomer!
The whole organized group aspect of it really bugged me. It really reminded me of school, or even a factory when a certain amount of time is spent on something and then you move onto the next station regardless of whether if was finished to your satisfaction or not. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Was I being really silly about all of these, and should I have made my kids "behave" and stay with their groups? Or was this the right decision? My FIL especially came down on me about it on the whole aspect of "being in a group" that James has to work on if James will be sucsessfull in school this fall. (For those that don't know, James' father has decided to enroll him in kindergarten this year, so we'll see how it goes.) Things will go on as usuall for my other kids with the FIAR curriculum this fall. Deedee especially is excited about this and keeps calling it her "schoouh (she drops the L's on all words like this and I have no idea why).
Today was crazy. It had started out to be a nice, peaceful, lazy day. James & Deedee were both outside playing and Kitty was still asleep. I had meandered over to a neighbor to swap some zippers and a few other notions for some outifts I'm working on for the girls and ask how she's doing (she's 8 months pregnant and counting the days :D ). Carey had dropped in real quick for a bit to eat before heading to class. So I was surprised to see Carey running over, yelling about Deedee and hospitals. Oh, no. I start to rush off, with visions of blood gushing everywhere and then he says bug bight. Huh?
So I slow down and start to tell him that he needs to find a better way of saying things than scaring me like that when I get a look at her arm. Sometime between kicking her out and the hour and a half later that we discover it, her arm had puffed up twice it's size just below the elbow. That really does freak me out since although we've been bitten by various bugs before, none of us have ever had this reaction before. So the doc gets called, Kitty gets woken up and everyone is dropped of with Grandma so Deedee could could see the doctor. Sigh... after a 40 minute wait in the lobby, it only takes Dr. A 10 minutes to take a look, give a prognosis of a spider bite and give me instructions of how to care for it. I was a little surprised that I was told not to bother giving her benadryl or cortisone cream, but then again, that's why I like this pediatric office and am willing to drive 16 miles round trip, even with these gas horrible gas prices. They're untraditional in the fact that they don't push a ton of synthetic meds on you and will even tell you when they don't think something will work. I was told just to pust some aloe vera on it to help sooth any itching, and to keep it clean in case of infection in the punture wounds.
Of course, my MIL wasn't happy about that and insisted that I use benadryl but I think I'll just keep an eye on it and see how it does. I was told that the swelling would go down in a day or two so we'll see.
And then this afternoon we celebrated Kitty's birthday by taking the kids out for ice cream. It's a local little shoppe where I get most of my produce as well as local eggs & sometimes milk. They also sell sandwiches, smoothies, etc at really reasonable prices. I love the proprietor. He goes out of his way to work with you and is very welcoming to the kids. That is to say, he doesn't glare at one when he sees the horde coming and he even asks after them when I happen to pop in by myself. The kids had a blast picking out their flavors. Everyone got little child size waffle coans for only $1 apiece wich is much better than if we'd gone to Baskin Robbins (whose stuff always makes me sick).
Today, we celebrated both James' and Kathrynn's birthdays. We saw no point in throwing two big parties with them so close together. So, instead, we invited a bunch of friends and family and celebrated the children's accomplishments together.
James chose a dino theme and was excited to pull out the box of decorations I'd snagged from freecycle last year to put up at the park. There were even a few balloons that I got although, his wound up getting popped by a jelous three year old sister. Sigh... Even Kitty was happy to see her huge balloon (it's bigger than she is, literally) and her little banner.
Today was one crazy day. I got up before 5 (completely by accident and if I'd realized what time it was I would have marched right back to bed) and was actually ahead for once. Until disaster struck; we had two, yes, two, cake fiascos. The first one was Kitty's. I'd gotten a really cute silicon pan to make a pullapart butterfly for her. I have used silicon before but this is the first time it all stuck so I wound up with a huge mound of cake not in the shape of a butterfly. :( It was easily fixed by turning it into a trifle. It was layered with vanilla pudding, peaches and blueberries. It came out really cute.
Now, as for James'.... well, it wasn't that easily fixed. James wanted this dino cake and I thought, sure, no problem. Wrong although, not in the way you think. The body came out beautifully and even the cake meant to fashion the rest of the head & tail. That is, until it got eaten. Yep, my wonderful husband whom was supposed to be watching kidlets managed to let them sneak into the kitchen and they ate half of an 8" round cake. Grrr.... So I got to make another one at the last minute (it also overflowed and set my oven on fire) and it was cooling when I went to the party, sans cake!
I got to turn around an hour and a half later, go home, spend 15 minutes assembling the darn thing, frosting it, and then hauling it and the other two cakes (oh, we were also celebrating my nephew Jordan's bday) back to the park during which time my MIL & SIL had taken over, children had gotten the idea of cake and were now demanding it and somehow presents were getting opened without me. :( Still, in the end, it was worth it and everyone had a lot of fun. The potluck idea was also a stroke of genius because not only did I spend much less money than I would have providing a full lunch, but there was a much bigger variety. Lots of bean salads (all different types) and fruit salads showed up. And the kids made out like fat rats, both recieving far more than I would have likes. Still, I was happy to see lots of books, outside toys and a few games vs. a lot of plastic junk requiring batteries. There are two presents received that need batteries (one hasn't come in yet, and I don't know what it is) and there other is a little glow worm. I don't mind a glow worm and I'm wondering what the other item is and if I'm going to be strangling a SIL. Actually, there was a third toy that takes batteries, a big plastic dino, but James doesn't know that it can make noises since there aren't any batteries in it and so far he's ecstatic with it.
I was pleased that several members of my homeschool group also came. I wish there had been more, but planning this on Father's Day was the smartest thing to do although, we didn't know that it was Father's Day when we picked the date. Ah, well, there's always next year. I was happy to be able to spend some time with them, and one of the women even had the idea of having an ethnic potluck later this summer. The idea is for each family to choose one or two dishes from their ethnic background and then bring them, introducing the children to all kinds of different foods while giving a bit geography as well. It sounds really neat and I hope it works out.
So, here's the huge slideshow (sorry if it takes a long time to load) of all the pics. Slide your mouse over the pics to pause it and to see any captions.
It's hard to believe that only two days ago it was almost 80 outside. We actually had snow today! :( Today was also very busy. We had Deedee's Well Child checkup (which I was almost late too because I mixed up times). She did very well and cooperated for the most part with her doctor. She's now 36 inches tall and 28 pounds. She even cooperated with the little eye test and she has 20/20 vision.
We stopped on the way home (siblings were with their grandparents) to do some quick shopping. Since she did so well with her doctor (especially with it being a new doctor) she got to choose a treat. So she came home the proud new owner of a fruit leather and a box crackers. :D We got to her grandparents just in time to haul everyone over to Deedee's preschool only to find out that no other students would be there today. :( So it wound up just being free time while the kids ran around and played and I chatted with the teacher whom also happens to be a good friend of mine. We went straight from there to our movement class, which was a complete bust today. :(
There were a ton of kids so James didn't want to participate at all and he was being disruptive. And, unfortunately, the others were taking his lead. Sigh.... I did notice that at one point when I'd had to take the boys out into the hall, I came back in and Deedee was right in the thick of it but as soon as James was back,, she was on the sidelines being a pill again. So I'm going to try just sending Charles or Deedee there with a friend and see how that works out. Because, although it's very inexpensive, it just not cost effective to keep taking the kids if they're not going to participate and have fun. Sigh...
After the dance class, most of us descended upon the new Salvation Army that had their grand opening today. We all found some treasures and I'm so thankful that this has moved in. Not only is it much closer to us than Good Will, it's prices are also much better. It's sad to say that Good Will is certainly not for the poor people anymore. :( I found several books, including a 1957 copy of Cat in the Hat, a unit about bears, and a unit introducing several of our greatest presidents to children. Oh, and addition bars that I'm not sure of or even how they work but hopefully I'll figure them out sometime.
Oh, and one of my friends also had the great idea of our homeschool group setting up Library Thing accounts and having an intraloan library which, of course, is just awesome. We all know that we as homeschooling moms have all have a ton of books (and that we probably don't even know half of what we have, which for me is very very true :D ) and that also we often loan out books to one another and then promptly forget where they are or that we even had hem in the first place (once again, this is so me). This is an awesome resource and I highly recommend that you check it out, if only to set up a personal account for yourself. Even if we hadn't talked about doing this for the group, I had been thinking about setting up an account to help me keep track of our huge library that's growing more and more almost weekly. If you'd like to check out my library sometime, look up briarwren.
This semester. James' RE (religious education) class at Church has been focusing on the environment. Each week, the've been learning about a different animal that Heifer International gives to impoverished families. These might include water buffalo, silk worms, bees, chickens, snails, etc.
Today's animal was the water buffalo. I was interested to find out that their horns are made out of the same material as our finger nails. The kids made water buffalo tracks using sponges and paint and James is very proud of his effort. Today, it was also announced the fund raiser that we'll be doing for Heifer International. Two different ideas were chosen, one being a bit more secular than the other.
The first one, Read to Feed, looks like a lot of fun. Basically, this one is an agreement between you and someone else that they will pay you so much per book that you read. James' grandmother has agreed to pay 0.25 per book he reads. His goal is $25 because he'd like to pay for a bee hive.
This second one, Fill the Ark, looks like a lot of fun too. This one is a little more Bible based since it's based on the concept of Noah and his ark. This one comes with a calendar and a little box that looks like an ark. Every day, a different animal that Heiffer Interational deals with is showcased (such as a yak, bees, horses, sheep, etc.). It gives you a bit of trivia for the animal and then it asks you a question. If your answer is yes, you put so much change in your little box. If your answer is no, you still put so much change in the box, but the amount is often a little more. It's not very much, the one I can remember off the top of my head was 0.15 and 0.25 respectively.
So, we've decided to do both of these. I figured Fill the Ark can be done by just us (Carey always has change in his pockets) and we'll ask assorted family members and friends to help us with Read to Feed. This will run until May 18 when all money packets will be collected. This also coincides with our Churches First Annual Animal Blessing so that's very appropriate I thought. The next Sunday after that, the children will count their money and then decide what they want to buy and earmark it for that animal before sending it off to the organization. James is really excited about this and he's already put change in his little ark.
After Church, Carey insisted on taking us for a drive although he refused to tell us where we're going. The nice peacefull drive ended at a store and we're now the proud new owners of a 32 inch HDTV. Bleh. I can't believe how light the things is! Carey's plan is to hook this up as our computer monitor (this is his answer to my "no" to two new flat screens coming into the house) so my posting will be a bit off over the next week as I get used to the new screen. My parents came down to get our old tv for my brother. I had a nice visit with them and I wish that they could have stayed longer. It was really nice again today too. It was almost 80! It was a bit overcast and muggy though since it's supposed to rain tomorrow. :( The kids' new hats came in handy though. However, Miss Deedee has to be watched because her proclivity for nudity keeps getting her into trouble. She had ditched her underwear somewhere and then decided to climb up the play structure. Sigh... three year olds.
Today was absolutely gorgeous. It actually got up close to seventy and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We spent most of the day out of doors. I ignored a few chores but it was just too nice of a day to pass up. Then again, I did get lots of gardening done so that was an acceptable trad off.
The kids had me pull a lot of their outdoor toys out of the shed such as their teepee and a couple of chairs. They had a blast playing with the stuff as well as other children. Deedee and Charles even hauled some sheets and few toys out to set up house. We just got them a new play kitchen (that's staying outside) and its heavy enough that neighbor kids won't be hauling it off anymore like the other one we had. Oh, and James has an admirer. A young lady brought over a picture of a frog that she made for him. :D
I had planned on taking the kids to a concert that's held every year. Lots of great classical music and then a walk through to get a look at the instruments at the end. I've been looking forward to it, but a mix up in our schedules had Carey doing something else today and no way was I taking all four of my little hooligans to that and expect them to sit still for at least an hour. :( A friend of mine whom was also going was going to take James for me but the decided he would rather ride his bike instead. So then Charles was going to go, but he was getting whiney and I didn't think he'd behave. So he stayed home, and instead after the concert, my friend came back with her son so he could play with the kids. They wound up staying for a couple of hours and everyone enjoyed the ice cream she brought. I enjoyed talking with her as well as swapping books. It's her TJ Ed book that I"ve borrowed and several of my books went home with her as well as a few titles that she's going to find for herself.
The gardening went very well. I weeded out some old pots to give to a neighbor who did't have any, got the last of the old growth pulled up, etc. I snagged some daffodils off of Free Cycle and finally got around to dividing them up and getting them planted. I wound up with so many that several friends also got some. I bought a bag of worm castings to mix in with the dirt this year. I would like to have been able to use my own. There are plans for a foray into vermiculture and the building of a worm bin so hopefully you'll hear more of that soon. So, today I and James planted assorted leaf lettuce, onions, potatoes, strawberries, spinach, radishes, and sunflowers. Soon, the tomatoe plants, squash and other assorted seedlings will be ready to transplant. There are also plans for a few other assorted plants, but that will have to wait until our annual Church plant sale to see what treasures will be found and hauled home. Last year I got some great garlic and tomatoes.
Poor Deedee got sunburned today and I felt horrible. I didn't even think of putting sunscreen on her. She was in a sleeveless dress so her arms, shoulders, nose and cheeks got it. I forget that her fair skin needs more care vs. my darker complexion. How I wound up with a red haired daughter with super pale skin with my coloring is heaven's guess. :D Charles' fair coloring also got a bit pink but he had put on a sweater so only his face got it. Kitty was very slightly pink but she got my darker coloring so she's ok, as well as James. Deedee liked the aloe I put on her arms and doesn't understand why we can't just use all of the plant. :D
I understand this so much better now, but I still have a long way to go. I guess we're lucky in the fact that my little ones are still young (in the Core Phase according to this philosophy) so I have a couple of years to get settled in, find good curriculum, and just study as much as I can For Myself. If the kids see me trying to learn, and even that it can be hard at times, they'll have a better appreciation for it and understand that it's ok if you don't always understand it at first.
This is a whole huge load off of my chest. I've been stressing about James for so long. I know he's learning and there are area's where he's awesome, mainly with his hands and especially with puzzles (and not just jigsaw's either, hidden pictures are a favorite as well). But it's hard to know that he's learning when there isn't phyiscal proof (mainly for the fire-breathing dissaproving inlaws) that he's doing anything. He can't count, he doesn't even know the alphabet song. But he hasn't been interested in learning it and I'm against the whole idea of sitting him down and force feeding the information down his throat.
I got a chance today to spend several hours with someone who has implemented this into her household and it really helped me understand a lot. She has two boys, one in the Core Phase and one that just entered the next phase (not sure about this one, Love of Learning?). Both boys are really smart, and her older one is just phenomally ahead of other children his age but that's because it's just who he is. He's very gifted and his mom says that it's rather spoiled her because it has been so easy with him. Her younger son is just your average kid that's interested in learning but it's not that big of a deal to him.
So, I got to spend the afternoon asking questions and slowly losing a lot of the excess anxiety I've had about James lately, and the kids got to have tons of fun. The family we visited lives way out in the country on a small farm. They have chickens and horses and there's also a pond with ducks and geese. The kids got along pretty well with only minor mishaps. They discovered the toy cash register and James actually made a break through on his change. For some time he's not really understood the differance between the coins besides the size so perhaps that will help him a later better now. He was so frustrated last week because he wanted to play on one of those mechanical toys that takes a couple of quarters. He only had a nickle, but he'd already put it in by the time I found out what he was doing. He was pretty dissapointed when he discovered that a nickle wouldn't work. Charles and James were excited because they got to help gather eggs. And Deedee was happy later because she got to help feed some chickens (and Charles was being his usual demonic self and having a high old time chasing the poor things). They also got to climb on an old combine (all kids should have an old piece of equipment to climb on). So, the kids came home exhausted last night. We'd been having such a great time, that no one even knew what time it was (the sun going down later doesn't help any either when you're still used to it going down around five and here it's almost six and sitll light out :D).
So, I was sent home with a lot of info to mull over as well as come reading to do. I really want to figure this out and make it work. From what little I've been able to read so far, it really resonated with me. Just as much as when I discovered Charlotte Mason last year and I will happily combine these two great philosophies into an excellent education for my little ones.
Well, today was very interesting and elightening. As I wrote about a week ago, opportunies best present themselves when the time has come to take advantage of them. Or, as the old adage goes, a teacher will present themselves when you're ready to learn (even if you did't realized said teacher had actually arrived).
This semester, James' Religious Education classes are focusing on the environment. One aspect is Heiffer International, a non profit organization that helps provide animals to impoverished families. Depending on the animal, it will provide a much needed source of income and sustenance. For instance, a sheep provides wool, milk (excess can be sold), and even meat if you're so inclined. Anway, the teacher had chosen an animal that Heiffer International can provide. Well, in this case I can't really classify it as an animal. Today, the children learned about the silk worm. They learned the life stages, how a butterfly is different from a moth (and the differances), etc. She had even gotten some cacoons for them to handle and she brought in a few articles of silk for them to handle. I even learned a bit about silk that I hadn't known. For instance, you get the nobby raw silk from strands of silk that had been broken vs. the one long strand being unwound intact and then entwined with other strands to spin a thread that is then woven into a silk fabric. Like I said, rather interesting. It really makes one appreciate why silk is so darn expensive. This was the perfect opportunity for her to introduce a couple of fund raising opportunities for Heiffer International that the kids will have an opportunity to participate in starting next Sunday. At the end of the period, any money the child has raised will go to fund an animal through Heiffer International and James is really excited about it, but more on that later. In turn, the day the funds are collected is also the day of our animal blessing at Church, so I'm really looking forward to that.
So, James got to handle several cacoons, even see a dead pupa (I think that's the right term), and his little activity was to make cards of the moths life stages. So little beads represented the eggs, a cotton ball the cacoon, etc. and he quite enjoyed putting that together. His snack today was rice and tea (silk is a major industry in China) that was quite a special treat. Milk, sugar, and cinnamon was provided to put in their rice. Something else found in the rice? A gummi worm! LOL
Today a load has lifted from my shoulders and things have happened as they should which in turn opened some new paths. I haven't felt this happy, and well, optomistic in a long time. First, I had an opportunity to talk to a dear friend who also happens to be very wise. He set aside two hours of his busy time just for me and I had a chance to talk about all of my frustrations, etc. He in turn helped me step back and see the wider picture. I felt quite silly to realize that some of my problems I've been causing because of my complete inability to actually trust myself. I have almost no self confidence. I'm now well on my way to stop being a doormat and letting people push me around. I for one have gotten quite tired of the negative attitude from my husbands parents about most of my decisions for my childrens' welfare but I can feel myself getting worked up again so enough of that. So, that was one instance where a new path opened up today. And that time ended with me meeting a small squirrel (not the furry little chap of last week whom invaded my stroller) that actually posed for me as I wandered home. Yay. So I was actually quite bubbly and happy when I arrived home. I finished watching a movie with Carey (one of his slow foreign films from the 1940's) and then I was off to a monthly group meeting with some friends. I'm so glad I went. I discovered that I wasn't quite alone as I had thought in a lot of instances and I quite enjoyed myself.
So how does classical education come into this? For those of you that know me well, or that have perused my links with a fine toothed comb, you would have noticed that I'm especially attracted to living books curriculum and the classics. About a year ago, I met a woman whom was also homeschooling her children and she mentioned something she called TJ Ed. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but I looked it up when I got home. However, at that time I really didn't know her well at all so although I really liked what I was reading the subject wound up getting dropped. Well, the more I've gotten to know her and the more we've talked about (and the more I've interacted with her extremely bright 8 yo) the more I've wanted to know about this philosophy and how it was applied in the home. The only thing I knew about it was that it was based on the classics, and that the teacher also had to be the student in the fact that they had always be learning themselves to stay one step a head of the said student. Well, I finally got around to borrowing a book (A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion) from her to learn a bit more. She pointed out a few chapters that she thought would be especially beneficial in learning a bit more about it and how she felt some I should just ignore because they would completely confuse me at this time. :D So, I came home and read those chapters and they resonated with me so much that I can't wait to learn more. There was one quote that I wanted to share, but for the life of me I've been unable to locate it within the pages once more. However, suffice it to say that for those especially interested in a living books philosophy and learning from the classics that this is definitely an avenue to pursue.
Today was a lot of fun. We walked to a local indoor play area to meet another homeschooling family! The kids got along great and there are plans to get together again. Plus, the kids ran off all that excess energy they seem to have all the time, so they slept really well last night.
James and I went shopping. It's the beginning of the month, so I was doing my one major trip. You know, all that stuff to stock up on for the month such as flour, sugar, olive oil, pasta etc. I also got some fresh produce for this weekend. That's when James saw them. Dull brown ovoids with a rough furry texture. Any ideas? Well, James saw coconuts. He really really wanted one but I explained the budget just didn't allow for it, so we couldn't get it. He got a really thoughtful look on his face and then he said "But it has milk". I and another man beside us started laughing and James got a troubled look on his face. He didn't understand why what he had said was so cute as well as thoughtful. I gave him a big hug and I wished that I could get him one with all my heart. Then we talked a little about where it comes from, how it grows, stuff we get from coconutes etc. James was so proud of himself when we were checking out. He had brought his own bag (I have my own shopping bags) that he put up there and after it was carefully filled with lightweight stuff, James carefully picked it back up to carry. When we were done, he just as thoughtfully and carefully placed it in the trailer for the walk hom. Then again, who would want to risk having your marshmellow's crushed? :D
On the walk home, it was really cold. The sky was a nasty gray (we actually got snow last night) and the wind was bitter. It didn't help that we were walking into the wind either. I felt really silly for seeing a small nature path beside the main one we use all the time and I had never noticed it before. It's something that I want to look into when it warms up a bit more. At one point, I was really excited and dissapointed at the same time. On the last stretch headed for home, we pass through a small park. I could hear lots of birds, including a red winged blackbird but I couldn't find it. Just as I was starting up a sharp incline, it landed right in fron of me on an old fence post, less than three feet away from me. I didn't dare move as I stared at it. The beautiful red epaulets on it's wings were blazing in the low light and I wanted a picture so bad it hurt. However, I didn't dare move to get the camera, even if I'd had it with me which, of course, I didn't. It was busy recharging it's batteries at home, 10 minutes away. Sigh...
Oh, and the kids have recently picked up that odd habit of hiding their faces and saying "eewww" when they see someone kiss. I have no idea where they got it. I think it's a phase. I can remember doing it as a child myself. Well, now Kitty has adopted it. It's really cute seeing her do it. Last night she tripped and bit her lip. As I was comforting her, and cleaning the blood off of her chin, I gave her a little kiss. She immediately covered her eyes and said "eewww". LOL
Yes, I know, another one of those posts full of relatively inconsequential data, news and pictures from the last week or so. Pretty much just random stuff that didn't make it into any other posts. :D
Today was very busy. It was an absolutely gorgeous day out. It actually got up to 60. After picking James up from his speech pathologists (where both boys pulled the alarm cords in two different bathrooms within five minutes of each other and without coordination) I had to stop to get some snacks for the kidlets because we were on our way to visit some friends and I didn't want them eating her out of house and home (which, of course they did anyway). I got my hands on some lovely sweet limes today. I did have plans for them, but they're now just a pleasant memory in three little tummies that I can name. LOL The kids had a blast visiting. They dug in the mud, the looked for "clues" (I have no idea what said clues consisted of), they got to watch an interesting visitor invade our stroller, and they found some awesome sticks. All in all, it went very well and us moms are planning it again for next week.
Hrmmm.....Interesting visitor invading the stroller..... What's furry, cute, hoardes things very well and can scamper quickly up trees? If you yelled squirrel, you're right on. I got some really cute pics of that furry little chap. I almost had a frontal shot until Kitty interrupted. Bummer. :(
James was very excited that his new wellies came in today and he insisted that I take a picture of him in them. Kitty's came in too and we had to take her pic as well. I have finally dug out the pics of newspaper hats we made in prep for Earth Day and I was actually able to get a few cute ones. Another inprov today was the children's rather creepy balloons. They had dug out a box of surgical gloves from somewhere and had me blow them up today. Still, it kept them occupied for some time and Deedee's lasted well into the afternoon. She even named hers and decorated it with stickers. LOL
Kitty is just advancing by leaps and bounds. She's added lots of new words to her vocabulary including ketchup. She's developed a fetish for shoes way too big for her. And she's doing awesome in the toilet department. My poor little spec was actually able to get us to understand that she had to use the toilet in time with diarhea. For a one and a half year old, that deserves standing ovation. Oh, and lately she's starting clapping and saying "yay" when she sees someone using the toilet; mbarrassing but cute.
I've heard more back about getting James a scan for audio processing disorder but unfortunately at this time, it's felt that he's not ready for it. They're not sure if the results will be accurately portrayed. :( Some curriculum that I was looking at that may help in that area has come to a dead end. It's either just too expensive or labor intensive. I love my son and I want the best for him, but sitting in front of a computer for two hours a day for a very active little boy just won't work. I've also found out that his counselor will be moving by the end of may so that's one more person that he's going to have to get used too. :( Then again, that may be a good thing since James has abruptly stopped cooperating with the one he sees now. Sigh...
This household doesn't get into the whole joke aspect of this day, for which I'm very grateful. I did read several gags online though, a few amusing. Oh, and I finally got around to looking up a history, which I found here.
Our day was quite normal with nothing out of the ordinary happening. We did however, get out and enjoy the beautiful spring day. We set out for a leisurely walk downtown at noon. And we took the long way since it took us right past a creek for the kids to play along as well as led us to a local produce store, Otto's, that we frequent. The proprietor's a great guy and he laughed at the antics of the kids as they chose apples (Kitty was busy eating hers as we took it up to the counter), banana's, milk and eggs (local eggs!). We then headed further downtown, at which time the kids started complaining they were hungry (even after eating apples) so I stopped at the local bagel shoppe to get a lovely garlic bagel with melted smoked gouda to share. It does seem that children (mine at least) are always the hungriest during spring and fall. We were just in time for Deedee's preK. She's only gone a couple of times and she was really excited to join in with her small class. She drew a lovely picture and she was disappointed when it got left at the facility so we'll have to go by to pick it up tomorrow.
And then we got to head down to our movement class with the rest of the homeschool group. It's twice a month with a small fee and the kids love going (which hasn't seemed to be happening lately). The kids had a great time although, they were a bit shy at first. It's not a very structured class. The instructor just helps the kids express themselves in different free form movements. They got follow each other around and try to copy what the first one did, there were ribbon wands, and long scarves and bits of material. There was some sort of a large ball that the kids interacted with during a butterfly dance (where they were supposed to pretend that they were starting with a cacoon to caterpillar to butterfly). The kids had great fun letting off some excess energy.
They were all tired on the way home (where we made one more stop at Otto's (I forgot the lemons) and the propietor just laughed as the kids insisted on hauling their sticks in with them and "guarded" the door. And as I stood outside tlaking to an aquaintance, the boys had great fun playing hide and seek with a guy that's often there. I got some great pics today. Especially of some eggs that I keep seeing around town. Someone is decorating eggs and hanging them in trees but as yet I've been unable to found out by whom and why.
Thanks to Rebecca I discovered this and I'm in LOVE. It is hosted by the blog I'm An Organizing Junkie. For those that have been with me long enough (and have conversed with me privately) you probably know what a hard time I have of keeping organized. :( One thing I have done for quite some time is planning my menu so this is nothing new. But what a fun thing to get involved with!
In my endevours to keep organized, I met the Fly Lady (I have been with her several years now) and the Slob Sisters with S.H.E (Sidetracked Home Executives). Lately, I've actually been using the S.H.E system more than Fly Lady. It's a bit easier for me because Fly Lady's emails need to be checked every day (and I have a strict computer time that I'm supposed to adhere to) whereas S.H.E has an index card system that's easy to grab out of the cupboard. I'm actually a proud owner of one of their original books. LOL I must admit it has been extremely helpful though. Especially in the menu planning department!
I made three different cards, one each for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I then broke each card down by day and wrote what type of meal I wanted that day. So, Wednesday's plan, for example, would look like this:
Breakfast: Yogurt, Fruit, Granola (usually winds up being yogurt parfaits)
Lunch: Something Fun (such as Pigs in a Blanket)
Dinner: Crockpot/Pizza/Casserole etc. (This is a busy night for me)
So having this little schedule at hand makes it easy not only when I'm planning but also when I'm shopping. For instance, we eat poultry and pork only on Tursdays so I only buy enough for one meal and it rotates each week. We had pork last week so we'll have some sort of poultry this week. So for tonight, we're having crockpot apricot chicken. And it's easy to switch around if Carey wants pasta and salad on Tuesday night instead of Friday. The only thing I really stick to is breakfast since some of that coincides with other stuff I'm doing that day. Two days a week (only on my baking days) they get muffins, scones, etc. but I'm usually too busy to plan those for other days and I would rather just include it with my breads.
Where do I get some of my lunch idea's? It can be hard with four little mouths to stuff and I don't always know what to make but these sites and cookbooks have come in very helpful.
So, you can start looking forward (hopefully) to seeing this posted every Monday with my menus. And this is a good way of me keeping track of what I'm doing too. I seem to always lose past menus, and I have a cupboard full of cookbooks that I'm supposed to be using (although I always seem to gravitate towards Recipezaar).
So get your schedule straight, design your template, grab your cookbooks (or favorite recipe sites online) and set up the menu for the next week. Design the menu templates so you (and your family) can see the whole week at a glance. Print off a blank copy and insert it into a sheet protector so you can reuse it. Make sure there's enough room for each meal for each day of the weak to write in the recipe's name and what you'll be serving it with. Post this on your fridge or some other good vantage point. Print off the recipes for this week and put them in a big binder so they're within easy reach. Using a book and don't need an extra copy of the recipe? Write down what book and page and insert that in your binder instead. The longer you do this, the more recipes you have that you KNOW your family likes and you can start rotating those recipes in your meal plans. For instance, Carey loves stuffed manicotti so I make it once a month. And don't forget to keep notes! Did the family like it? What changes to the recipe did you make? What went wrong? Want to do a menu for a whole month and just get it done? You can find out how here. Don't have time to write your own? Saving Dinner is a big help.
You can find one of my menu plans here (pdf) (from one of the detox routines that I've tried) and several of my blank templates here (pdf). No, I can't post this weeks menu. I've already managed to misplace it. From the evidence, I believe the resident dust bunnies ate it.
It has now been just over a month since we lost my grandmother. Here is the slideshow that I made for my mother to post at all of the forums my grandmother especially loved and took part in. She is greatly missed. As I made this, I thought of especially treasured memories from when I was a child.
Begging to dust her shelves because that was the only time I was permitted to actually handle all of the pretties.
Making hard candy with her and her getting so mad when I let it burn. It made excellent windows for our gingerbread house.
Getting to sort through her very numerous jewelry boxes and asking about the history of different pieces.
Her chasing me with a broom out of the raspberry canes. She wanted to be sure we actually had enough to make raspberry jam (my favorite as well).
Sorting through old family pictures and asking about the history
When she was still working, helping her remove her shoes and stockings (I was very small).
When I still actually liked coffee (can't stand the stuff now and haven't for years), dipping a tiny little doll cup (it held only one mouthfull) into her mug to drink myself. I was only maybe three.
The musings of my childrens journey in the wonders of love, life, and spirituality. Love, Live, Laugh, and Learn. That's what it's all about. Welcome and blessed be.
* Carey ~ Beloved husband that puts up with everything.
He's majoring in history, loves to read, play D&D and Mech Warriors.
* Ami ~ Me. Busy teacher and housewife. I love to spend
time with the kids, read, garden, cook, knit, sew, make my own soaps
and salves.
* James ~ Our oldest at five. He loves to build with blocks, enjoys the guitar, adores robots and believes he
can't live without his trucks (and skateboard).
* Charles ~ My little monkey! Our youngest son at four, he
is the most precious gift ever recieved on a birthday.
He's a wonderful, sunny little guy that's very inquisitive and artistic.
* Meradydd ~ Our oldest daughter at three.
An opinionated and exceedingly bossy little girl with a temper to match her copper hair.
My little fashion diva that loves shoes, furlies, & hair pretties.
* Kathrynn ~ Kitty is my 1 year old little angel. She's a beautiful, mellow little girl that's extremely patient but is also starting to show her claws.
Abraham Lincoln ~ You have a Bible and a library card what more could you possibly need? You prefer the Charlotte Mason Method of reading living books for everything: historical fiction, biographies, real histories, nature guides, etc. No soon-to-be-outdated textbooks for you. Visit my blog: Guilt Free Homeschooling Take this quiz!
Today a load has lifted from my shoulders and things have happened as they should which in turn opened some new paths. I haven't felt this happy, and well, optomistic in a long time. First, I had an opportunity to talk to a dear friend who also happens to be very wise. He set aside two hours of his busy time just for me and I had a chance to talk about all of my frustrations, etc. He in turn helped me step back and see the wider picture. I felt quite silly to realize that some of my problems I've been causing because of my complete inability to actually trust myself. I have almost no self confidence. I'm now well on my way to stop being a doormat and letting people push me around. I for one have gotten quite tired of the negative attitude from my husbands parents about most of my decisions for my childrens' welfare but I can feel myself getting worked up again so enough of that. So, that was one instance where a new path opened up today. And that time ended with me meeting a small squirrel (not the furry little chap of last week whom invaded my stroller) that actually posed for me as I wandered home. Yay. So I was actually quite bubbly and happy when I arrived home. I finished watching a movie with Carey (one of his slow foreign films from the 1940's) and then I was off to a monthly group meeting with some friends. I'm so glad I went. I discovered that I wasn't quite alone as I had thought in a lot of instances and I quite enjoyed myself. 
