Moey's Heart & Hearth

Got Mail

2011-10-12T13:04:00.003-04:00

The little kids are getting to that really awesome age where they are beginning to take in more of their surroundings, ready to learn all about things outside their immediate vicinity.

I really love the preschool age. Everyday events are just fun, fun, fun with preschoolers.

One day over the summer all the little kids wrote letters to each other, and we went off to the post office to mail them to ourselves.

We addressed the envelopes, and bought stamps to put on them. Then we pushed the letters through the mail slot at the post office.

On the way home, we stopped at the library to check out some books about mail service. The kids were really curious about what was going to happen to their letters.

The very next day, all the letters arrived back at our house, and we found them in our mail box.

There was a very excited flurry of letter-opening, and everyone had a letter from someone. Not all of it was decipherable, but it was all written with love.

Gater had the biggest surprise in her letter.

That was really fun.

Why I've Been Away

2011-10-11T23:03:00.004-04:00

Life is never dull around here, I can tell you.

August saw the start of a new homeschool year with a high schooler, a junior high student, a second grader, two preschoolers and a baby. Mamma knows when Mamma needs help, and this year we chose to enroll the three school-age children with K-12, online public schooling.

This is what we got in the mail.

Crazy, huh!

I thought they were going to send teachers, but came to find out that it was just me again, with more stuff and someone else's schedule.

The 2nd grade curriculum wreaked utter devastation on our formerly happy, laid-back style of homeschooling.

It's been a heavy couple of months.

Pulled the 2nd grader out.

Sending a lot of this stuff back.

The 8th and 9th graders are doing fine. They started very well and are continuing on that way.

Good now.

Post more soon :-)

Super Fancy Cake Decorating Tutorial for Broke Monkeys

2011-08-18T22:00:00.004-04:00

This is a tutorial to show you how to decorate a cake that makes you look pretty clever.
The beauty of this method is that you can put anything you darn well want on a cake. Your kid likes a certain team and you don't trust Walmart Bakery?

No problemo. All you need is a picture off the webz (or a coloring book page, or a drawing you did yourself) and you can make any design you want.

In this case, Gater wanted a "Dora/Princess" cake. I didn't know how I would do a "Dora/Princess", but all I had to do was spend 10 seconds on Google, ("princess dora coloring page") and there was a coloring page all ready to print out.

First, bake your cake and let it cool thoroughly. It needs a flat top, so do what you have to to make it flat.

Make your icing; a buttercream made with butter is best. You want an icing that is smooth and soft, but that hardens in the freezer. You will probably want to make a double batch to be sure you have enough to divide into all the colors you need.

*When you make your icing, you will want to sift the powdered sugar and mix the icing up quickly so you don't get lumps. You don't want lumps clogging up your icing tips in your detail work. Your icing should be of medium thickness, not too stiff. Soft peaks.*

Ice your cake. You want a flat-topped cake. The icing job does not have to be perfect, just flat.

Print out a coloring page, and make sure it is the right size for the top of your cake. You need at least 1/2" space around the edge of your design on the cake.
*your design will be reversed, so if you are doing a team logo or similar, you will want a mirror image of your original printout.*

It is a good idea at this stage to decide how many colors you want to use in your finished design. You might want to mark those colors in the appropriate areas on your coloring page with markers. I didn't this time, because the design was simple and I was lazy.

Trim your coloring page, and tape it to the back side of a flat piece of glass. I always use glass from a spare picture frame.

Tape a similarly-sized piece of wax paper to the front of the glass. Now you have a coloring page/glass/wax paper sandwich.

Mix up the colors you will need for your design. Don't forget to include a dark color for outlines and details.

*I prefer to use paste colors because they are vibrant and easily blendable, they don't thin out your icing, and they last pretty close to forever. One little jar of each of a few basic colors will last you for years. Sometimes you get lucky and find a marked-down pack of specialty colors, like I did. If the specialty pack has a couple good basic colors in, or ones that you are likely to use in any case (for example, the Diego colors I bought for $1.99 had a skin color, blue, black, and brown -- all good colors,) by all means -- pick those suckers up, and some for your mommy friends too.*

Now the fun part! Fill your icing bags. For the finest details, use a #1 decorating tip -- and you don't have to get fancy if you don't have actual decorating tips, they just make it easier. As you can see in the picture below, for some of the colors I just used ziploc bags with the tiniest speck of the corner cut off.

But for the initial details, you are better off with an icing bag and a #1 decorating tip if you can get one.
Now, trace over the outlines that you want to see on your finished product. This bottom layer will be the top layer -- the one you see -- on your design.

Once your bottom detail layer is established, you can fill in larger areas over the details with other colors of icing. You can't go back in and put details in at this stage if you leave them out, so think logically, one step at a time. It isn't hard and you can fix things later if you need to, so don't stress too much about it.

Color in all the areas with the icing layers to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Fill in right to the edges and on top of your detail lines, so your whole design is supported by that 1/4" thickness of icing.

You can hold your glass up to the light to see if there are any pinpricks of light shining through your icing design, so you can fix those thin areas before you go on.

*This is when your children will come in and inform you that you have screwed up and your icing job was a good try, but it does not look like Dora. You may chuckle to yourself at how ~~ignorant~~ ~~impertinent~~ amazed they will be when you reveal the final design.*

Now, take the whole coloring page/glass/wax paper/icing design sandwich, and slip it into the freezer. You want it in the freezer until the icing is hard to the touch. I don't really know how long that takes, but I'd venture at least fifteen minutes.

Now is a good time to busy yourself with making the sides and bottom edge of the cake look pretty, or doing the dishes, or having a beer, or whatever.

Now -- the magic! Take your coloring page/glass/wax paper/icing design sandwich out of the freezer and make sure the icing is nice and hard.

Un-tape the wax paper/icing, and quickly but carefully, up-end your design onto the cake. Press it down a little so it sticks.
Then, also quickly but carefully, before the design softens, peel back the wax paper to reveal the design.

Now, make the top edge of the cake look pretty with some stars or whatever (a #16 tip is good to use for decorating the sides and edges) and pipe your message.

Voila! You are a genius!
Or a broke monkey!

Gater's Third Birthday and a Trip to the Museum

2011-08-17T20:39:00.003-04:00

I think the next several posts are not going to totally be in chronological order. I don't know why, I think I just got bored with that. Anyway, perhaps you would like to see what we did for Gater's 3rd birthday.

Daddy took the day off work in honor of her birthday, since Joman had cross-country training that night and there wouldn't be enough time to celebrate otherwise.

Miss Rose dressed Gater in an appropriate princessy-dress (the same one Miss Rose wore for her fourth birthday -- a Princess Party!) and off we went on a special outing.

We made a re-run to the Cincinnati Museum at the Union Terminal. I took the kids there in May for a free school function, but we weren't there five minutes when Roks threw up, so we hastily left. He was mortally disappointed, as the museum is expensive and we hardly ever go. This time, we bought a membership. Clever of us, hey!

We thought the little girls especially would have fun in the Children's Museum part. It really is a super-fun place, all hands-on and interactive.

It was a crazy noisy place when we were there, overloaded with preteens who were loaded up on pop-tarts and off their medication for the summer (true story, I heard it in the bathroom,) but the little kids managed to have a really fun time, anyway. There was a shop to buy groceries from, a cafe, a house, cars to drive and fill with gas, a post office, mailboxes at every station, a nursery, a veterinary office, a water discovery center, buildings and construction "vehicles" and so much more.

One of my favorite parts is where they have all different kinds of homes, from all over the world, to go in and have a look at. That was really interesting.

As an aside, I kind of want a yurt.

Roks and Bert got to visit the state where they were born! Western Australia. This was a display of some Aboriginal folks who live up north of the state, and below, is a letter the little boy wrote about Perth, the capital city where my little boys were born.

Pretty cool!

I guess all the continents were represented, and there were drums and thumb pianos and all sorts of things to play with.

Gater and Bert spent the most time at the veterinary clinic. They looked at x-rays and examined their animals.

Roks got to play at his dream job in the cafe. He constantly talks about having a restaurant. He informed us that when we die, he is turning our house into a restaurant. There was more to that conversation, which was very funny, but I can't remember it now.

He can be a bizarre child.

When we got home in the afternoon, we had cake-and-present time. Gater had requested a "Dora Princess" cake, and that is what she got. It occurred to me that I post a lot of pictures of these type of decorated cakes, which are so simple and cheap to do that a broke monkey could do it, and perhaps I should do a tutorial. I will try to do that tomorrow.

Miss Rose had made a whole box of Easy-Bake Oven mixes for Gater. It was a great effort, and Gater was so excited to receive them. We haven't baked any yet, but we will.

And Gater's present from Mamma and Daddy was her very own big-girl Princess Bed, with all the beautiful Princess bedding. She has been sleeping in a crib this whole time, and she was finally ready to move up.

I think she had a great birthday.
Happy Birthday, Gater!

Adventures in Eating -- Cooking from the Pantry

2011-08-17T03:24:00.003-04:00

Jumping to the present time, for a moment, since it only takes me approximately 5 minutes to forget whatever it was we just did, I want to talk about something small that I'm doing right now that is making a bigger impact than I expected on my kitchen attitude.

Simply, I've put my mind and energy to really using what is in my (fairly extensive and eclectically-, if not well-stocked,) pantry. You see, I had just completely lost my motivation to cook or do anything in the kitchen; there was no creativity in it any more. I mean, I made up an 8-week rotation of menus, I would go buy the stuff, I would cook the stuff, we would eat the stuff. Good stuff, but really boring for the kitchen help.

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to create something from "nothing". I guess it comes from growing up with little money and few toys. Once the creative spark is planted as a child, and, as a child, you make very pleasant and useful and pretty things from "nothing," -- found objects, cast-offs, what-have-you -- well, it is kind of a let down to be able to get whatever you want to make whatever you want. It feels spoiled and, frankly, boring.

I've always preferred scrappy quilts to designer quilts, just for this same reason -- the pleasant surprise of never knowing quite what you will find put together in it, but knowing that whatever it is, if a clever person put it together, the end result will be delightfully more than the sum of its parts.

Well, that is a very long way of saying that my cooking has gotten to be like a designer quilt, and my pantry has gotten to be like a hoard of scraps, leftover from my designer (not gourmet, lol) habits. It's a boring way to live, and it can turn out to be wasteful, too.

We aren't going to do that any more. It's time to find a use for the random tins of coconut milk and seaweed flakes, before they go bad. It is definitely time to not be so squeamish about the squash bugs and just get out there and pick the dang squash and then not let it turn into fruitfly food, but actually USE it (btw, I still do have a butternut squash in the pantry that we harvested LAST fall, will try to do something with it tomorrow!)

We celebrated Gater's birthday recently, and instead of going out and buying gourmet goodies, I used what we had. I only had to purchase sandwich meat and cheese, lettuce, and bread for sandwiches. And a bit of generic pop. The rest -- homemade baked beans, potato salad, 3-bean salad, homemade cherry pie, the birthday cake, and the other assorted goodies, were assembled within a couple of days, from pantry and fridge goodies. I used up ALLLL of some veggies that normally get discarded before they are completely gone...celery, for example (embarrassing, but true. I'm sorry.) It's not that I don't know what to do with the stuff, it is just that using it all up doesn't fall as conveniently into the schedule as I would like it to.

Anyway, (and it is very late and I fear I am rambling), we had leftover birthday cake (will do a birthday post soon) last night, and this was the verdict from Wannie:

At Gater's party, the first time we had the cake, I had to pry the empty plate out of Wannie's cold dead hands. Not literally, but that was definitely the message she was giving. Oh my.

The cake was a Pig-Pickin Cake, deliciously fresh-tasting and moist, and made with pantry/freezer ingredients.

Well, as though two birthday cakes and a cherry pie were not enough dessert-y goodness for one week, today I went cleaning out the fridge in preparation for (rather random) grocery shopping tonight. I located 2 elderly packages of cream cheese and a just-out-of-date tub of sour cream -- and I had just processed a whole bunch of opened-but-not-finished packs of graham crackers into crumbs. And I had this leftover apple caramel dip that I had made for the party, plus some leftover pineapple and some leftover cherry filling from the pie...so naturally I had to make this:

Caramel-swirl cheesecake

and a half-dozen plain mini-cheesecakes to top with that leftover cherry filling and pineapple.

Oh, sooooo bad, but honest, I had to do it. Those ingredients had to be used up. It's the right thing to do.

Mothers' Day 2011

2011-08-12T07:19:00.003-04:00

Deb and I had many adventures! We went to Amish country with Miss Rose and E, visited our grandmothers, and braved the rainy weather to see sights around the town as much as we could in a short time. But the day before Mothers Day, Deb and E had to go home to the other babies and Larry.

My kids and Daddy anticipated that it would be a sad Mothers Day for me, and they did everything they could to make it happier.

In the morning, I was encouraged to stay in bed for a while and read. When I was called to breakfast, all these gorgeous smiling faces greeted me.

Some very-much appreciated gifts had been bought! A tablecloth I had wished for, and this pretty petunia plant, and a bird-decorated ironwork hanger to hang it from. And some gorgeous handmade cards from my gorgeous, thoughtful children.

The kids had made baked oatmeal, fresh strawberries, orange juice and coffee, and there was probably other delicious stuff too, but I have a really bad memory, even for things that I really appreciate.

Early that afternoon, a praying mantis somewhere became a mommy. We had seen this funny thing in the japanese maple, and thought it was some kind of cocoon, so I was surprised when I walked out in the yard, to see this wet-tissue-looking mass hanging from the "cocoon."

When I went closer and saw what it was, wow -- it was so fascinating watching the teeny tiny praying mantises squeezing out like little worms, and then unfolding their antennae and legs, one by one by one. It was very methodical and machinelike and lifelike all at the same time. All the children came out and watched, and the neighbor kids came and had a look too.

When Deb and I were up in Amish country, we did some spring yard-saleing at whatever interesting sales we came across as we were driving around. We picked up such a lot of cool stuff, books and music and clothes and crystal candy jars -- but of course, the item that really got the baby girls going was the Easy Bake Oven.

I think I have wanted an Easy Bake Oven, myself, for, like, forever. I mean, how fun are they!

On Mothers Day, we spent the afternoon baking little cakes with Gater and Bert. We found that ten minutes per cake is a very long time to wait when you are two or four years old. But wait they did.

Our first cake was such a bright pink, and it tasted pretty much like cooked playdough. I learned since then that it is a better idea to just throw the ingredients together myself. I've been cooking a long time, lol.

But anyway, Gater very much enjoyed serving teeny tiny wedges of cake to everyone in the family. Ellie wanted some too but Gater was very adamant that the cake was *not* for doggies.

Wannie was sold on the cake for sure.

Gater thought it was pretty good. She immediately wanted to make more, in different colors.

Miss Rose enjoyed the cake too, just as much as anyone can enjoy cake with the color and aroma of playdough.

This is to remind us of why we should wash out-door-babies' hands before they eat. Oh well, call it natural vaccination. She survived. She even liked it.

This centerpiece is brought to you by Roks. He made all those flowers, all by himself, which is quite a big undertaking for a six-year-old boy. I was pretty impressed and I asked him where he got the great idea for those flowers. He was too embarrassed to tell me! Which made me all the more curious, because I could not imagine why he would be embarrassed -- was he looking at something he shouldn't have? Well, he finally admitted that he learned how to make the flowers from that "whiny baby show", Caillou! LOL

Roks also made the beeswax candles. He had made four hand-dipped candles, and gave them to his most favorite people. One for the pastor, one for Mrs. F, and two for me. He is such a sweetie, and has such a creative spark.

So that was my Mothers Day this year, and it was not too sad after all. It was a very good day.

Blooperflies

2011-08-11T07:42:00.005-04:00

NOM NOM

My sister Deb and I, in between the various kid and grown-up illnesses that bombarded us at the time, tried to get out and see as many things as we could, around the place.

We went to Krohn Conservatory for the Butterfly Show -- butterflies from South America.

The mix of kids and flying bugs was so awesome.

"Awwwwww!!! Look at that adorable baby with the pretty..."

(((BLOOPERFLY)))

"Wook, Mom, Wook! I holding a..."

(((BLOOPERFLY)))

"I'm gonna carry TWO..."

"...ONE butterfly."

Gratuitous cuteness.

And a pretty babyfly.

Easter, 2011

2011-08-10T08:11:00.001-04:00

It was a wet spring -- a very, very wet spring, and I think even a record-breaking wet spring. It did not seem to stop raining for at least a month.

But spring did bring two rays of sunshine, my sister Deb and her newest baby, E.

They arrived just as I was finishing up matching dresses for all three of the little girls, for them to wear at Easter. Miss Rose also got a new Mamma-made dress, but not matching.

Easter morning was as crazy as ever, with everyone running around trying to get ready for church.

Roks was looking spiffy in mint green, Bert in lavender, and Joman in robin's-egg blue.
Just right for springtime.

Miss Wannie was enjoying spending time with her little cousin so much!

Miss Rose made hats for the baby girls. Wannie really liked hers.
And it suited her, I think.

After a particularly strange and off-putting morning at church, of which I cannot share details, we went to Grandma's for Easter dinner.

Here is Miss Rose in her new dress. The fabric for this dress was such a nightmare! Never ever again. The pattern was lovely though, I plan to make her another one in a better, more manageable fabric.

Here are the girl cousins.

And here are the boy cousins.

And here was a challenge. How to get all nine children to smile/look pretty for the camera, all at the same time? Between Grandma, Aunties and Mamma, there are probably 150 variations of this particular photo, and I bet not one of them has all the kids looking the same way and smiling at the same time.
You can't take away the cute though, the cute is overwhelming.

Here is Wannie, turning her hat into what we call a "Wee-Woo." A Wee-Woo is any hand-knitted or crocheted item that Wannie hugs to her face while she sucks her thumb. I guess it is because we gave her those handmade afghans when she was a tiny baby, and the texture of the knit or crochet is comforting to her. Of course, we think it is so adorable when we give her a new sweater or hat, and she does this very thing with it.

It's so rewarding.

Birdhouses For Spring

2011-08-09T08:03:00.001-04:00

Spring finally arrived with the promise of finer, sunnier, weather.

It lied.

It rained ALL spring, didn't it?

That's the way I remember it.

At any rate, Daddy got the little boys into action, beginning to prepare some birdhouse gourds he had dried in the garage all winter, for painting and use as, well, birdhouses.

The little boys had a real fun time with this project.
Next spring, they can finish them up, and then maybe the year after that, they can hang them out and see if any birds nest in them.

Ha ha, I jest, I jest. I should shut my mouth, being the queen of unfinished projects.

Joe's 13th Birthday

2011-08-08T07:25:00.000-04:00

Joman's 13th birthday followed right after Wannie's first. It still happened to be winter, and a long winter at that, and we opted to postpone a real party until nicer weather arrived. Unfortunately, the weather just hasn't ever gotten nice enough -- that, or, well, the party just hasn't been organized due to Mamma's er, disorganization. One of those two things.

But anyway, we did have a little family party for Joman.
One advantage of having a rather large family is that every day is a party.
Right? Right.
If we want it to be.

The little girls were all ready for another round of cake and ice cream.

And Bert was, too.
Joman had gone out with his grandparents earlier, for a meal of his choosing, and then we had....something, I can't remember what, that he liked, at home for dinner.

Miss Rose was still flashing the grill. She has since gotten her braces off, and has the most gorgeous set of pearly whites, but I'll show you those later.
I mean, we are still back in March, here.

Since it was Joman's birthday, let me tell you about him. Well, first off, he has grown about a foot over the past year. And he has still, in all his thirteen years, only lost his temper the one time. He was eight when it happened.
I'm serious.

He is truly the most laid-back, easygoing, happy person you are ever likely to meet.
I don't know where he gets it. I guess he is a lot like his dad, only with more hair.

He got contacts for his birthday, and wow, do those bright blue eyes shine.

Happy Birthday, Joman.

The cake, by the way, was his request. He was watching the Duggars on tv one time, and they made this cake with ice cream sandwiches and cool whip and butterfinger bars and chocolate and caramel topping. It was so easy and a huge hit.

Here is the recipe.

Wannie's Birthday

2011-08-07T08:20:00.000-04:00

In March, our baby Wannie turned ONE!

We still haven't had a proper Turning One Birthday Party for her yet.
I guess at this point, we probably won't.

But we did have a cake and a little party for just her and us, on her birthday.

For some reason, our kids all seem to choke on their birthday food. I have a whole series of photos of Roks when he turned one, and gulped a whole scoop of ice-cream, in one painful swallow. I'll dig those out and scan them in some time.

Wannie's cake had an extra-special inside, pink and white swirls. She really didn't care but the other kids were properly impressed.

Cutie-tude and Frischs

2011-08-06T07:54:00.002-04:00

This is just a teaser-squeezer post.

This is for all my family in Australia who want Frischs RIGHT NOW.

Mmmmmm, popcorn-ice Cokes. Mmmm, Big Boy Sandwich.
Mmmmmmm-mmmm, Frischs extra-special, super-delicious tartar sauce.

And Gater -- don'tcha just want to squeeze 'er!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-08-05T07:25:00.000-04:00

Valentine's Day shortly followed Miss Rose's birthday.

Since Mamma was still recovering from the party, Miss Rose put together a gorgeous little Valentine's lunch for the kids. Obviously, they enjoyed the extra care that was taken to make their lunch special that day.

That night, we had boxes of chocolates, too :-)

Miss Rose's 14th Birthday

2011-08-04T08:15:00.001-04:00

Speaking of young ladies and cake, Miss Rose turned 14 this year. Can you believe it? She really is a young lady too, no bratty teenager here.

For her birthday, we had a party with cousins and friends.
Miss Rose requested no gifts necessary, but of course most people brought her a little something. In this picture, the little "something" was a card with three sets of zipper earrings, which she really wanted.

Gater was a little unclear about whose birthday it was -- a cute tiny helper, though.

Miss Rose had enjoyed Gater's Aussie-style party so much, that she wanted one too. So we laid out a table with the most delicious things -- lamingtons, sausage rolls, fruit and cheese tray, cream cheese and sweet chili sauce cracker tray, fruit salad, whipped cream, mini bacon quiches and blue cheese tarts, jam and cream pikelets, honey joys, twisties and tortilla chips, bean dip, veggie tray, chocolate truffles, and even some Aussie biscuits and Aussie lollies like raspberries and pineapples and strawberry-and-creams, and violet crumble. Oh, and the pavlova!

And the sunshine punch, and for fun, flower tea.

There may have been more, I just can't remember.

I loved Enid Blyton as a child, can you tell why?

We had a store-bought cake as well, because my second (and third) pavlovas just would not set up. Oh well, never mind, there was enough of the one for everyone to have a taste and fall in love with.

When the parents came with their families to pick up the daughters, there was plenty left for them to try everything too, of course. Ha ha!

At any rate, Miss Rose had a fabulous party with her friends and family, and it was a gorgeous sunny day as well. A good day all round.

Happy Birthday, Miss Rose.

Oh, and if you are interested, here are our BFF's at the best Aussie shop in the USA:
SIMPLY AUSTRALIAN

Gater Bakes Cupcakes

2011-08-03T11:35:00.001-04:00

Gater turned into a little big-girl last year, and all of a sudden she was really interested in doing big-girl stuff.

One day, she got up and wanted to make cupcakes. Pink cupcakes, naturally!

These were pink strawberry cupcakes.

She did great, and they were delicious! When the cakes came out of the oven, we iced them with white icing and beautiful sprinkles. And then I forgot to get a picture. But you can imagine. By the way, the boys do not mind cakes that are pink. They don't mind the pinkness at all.

Art Museum

2011-08-02T09:32:00.000-04:00

We go to the museum to see the art

but sometimes we become the art.

Actually, I have recently come to see my kids, my home, and my family life

as being my best, most vibrant, most expressive, most intelligent, most life-filled, most moving ongoing work of art.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

New Year, New Hair, New Teeth

2011-08-01T08:14:00.000-04:00

On January 2, we went to see Grandma (Great Gma to the kids).
She had a wonderful meal for us, a party! I especially loved the shrimp and cocktail sauce -- it had been a really long time since I'd had that, and YUMMO!

We weren't able to see her a week before, at Christmas, so we had a little Christmas at her house. It was a very nice, relaxing, delicious time! And it is always so good to see and spend time with Grandma.

Gater's hair was finally long enough to do stuff with, so we started making her some crazy hairstyles. She is very fashion conscious, so she was thrilled.

No, really, she was.

Roks really, really, really wanted me to take a picture of his first lost tooth. I don't know if he planned the extra bits for comedic effect or if it was just accidental.

Wannie was nearly 10 months old already.

See? Happy as Larry.

Festival of Lights

2011-07-31T08:01:00.002-04:00

We don't often go to the Cincinnati Zoo Festival of Lights, even though we have season passes, because of the cold and the crowds. Mamma can take one or the other, but BOTH together is pushing it. Well, and since they replaced the regular lights with LED lights, it just wasn't pretty any more.

However, the 30th of December proved to be a fairly warm night, in the 40's, and we heard that the gray-white LED lights of previous years had been replaced with colorful LED lights, and it was a huge improvement. So we, along with many others, visited that night.

She wasn't crying, it was a bad setting on the camera for a portrait. But I couldn't resist posting a pic of the Wannie smiling!

For some reason, there was something about looking for fairies or a fairy garden or something, I don't know, but anyway, here is one of the fairies. She is kind of gangly and athletic, don't you think?

The little kids really like these puffy things. Well, they are cute.

The little kids had an obsession with the Cannon version of Hansel and Gretel at that time, and were watching it daily with horrified fascination. Bert especially liked the witch being thrown in the oven, and the credits, where the gingerbread man gets eaten bite by bite. Yes, he is *that* kind of boy, with oodles of morbid curiosity.

However, when they happened upon a "real" gingerbread house, the story became a lot less fun, and a lot more scary. Bert would not go near the house. Roks was pretty nervous. It took a lot of cajoling to get them to actually go up and knock on it. It was a good joke. Suckers!

Seriously, they need someone else to set up this poor creche. They used to have it in the actual stable, where the cows and sheep and donkey are, but for some reason, they moved it into this obscure little pen, and there wasn't enough room. Not enough room in the stable, ha ha.

Roks is showing you how flamingos stand.

And you can't really see it here, but this was the first time Gater ever wore a ponytail.

Oh, and here is Hansel and Gretel if you want to see it for yourself.

Little Princesses

2011-07-30T13:11:00.003-04:00

Nothing to say here, really, just -- aren't they cute!

After three boys in a row, we were so ready for this.

Christmas Day 2010

2011-07-30T08:13:00.002-04:00

And then, it was CHRISTMAS MORNING!

All the children got up suitably early, and Mamma and Daddy opened their bleary eyes, and we all soon wandered into the living room for -- PRESENT TIME!

Grandma and Grandpa usually come over for the opening of the presents. It is kind of a madhouse but they enjoy it. Maybe they like my homemade cinnamon rolls. Even though the ones last Christmas had too much brown sugar in the middle, and they got kind of extra-chewy. They were more like toffee-stuffed rolls, but hey -- the extra chewing had to be good for alertness, and nobody lost a filling, so all's good.

THE STOCKING! thestockingthestockingthestockingthestockingthestocking!!!
Yep, I got it done, just in time. Roks was too thrilled.

Wannie got to be my sixth baby to use this "Baby's First Christmas" stocking. Remember way back when, in the 80's and 90's, everyone was edging appliques with puffy paint?

Gater had a *thing* for "siwwy banz" and she received about 400 of them for Christmas, and I have been picking them up off the floor ever since.

Miss Rose, who suddenly became a young lady over the past year, got her first makeup. All in pretty, subtle shades of peachy pink. She doesn't need it, but I figured she might as well learn how to use it while she is still non-adventurous in that area, am I right?

New jams. SO CUTE! It was just funny to think of 2yo Gater as a "big" sister.

All three of the older children love to needle-felt and have made some gorgeous creations. Miss Rose was really thrilled to receive some new wool in natural colors --

--and a pattern book to go with. My sisters and mom and I traded present-buying since they live overseas, and shipping is prohibitively expensive. For example, I was going to send one sister a photography book and two knitting magazines, and the Post Office wanted $60 to send them. Ridiculous! So anyway, many of the gifts my children opened on Christmas morning were really from Aunts & Uncles & Grandparents who sadly, couldn't be there to see the joy.

Yep, still Spongebob addicts. Although, to be up to date, I have not seen Spongebob on the telly for a very very long time, so I think they finally bored of him.

Here Wanny is opening a handmade blanket and teddy bear, which were a collaborative effort between Joman and Miss Rose. I love it when my children make things!

So cute! Such hard work!

The Fashionista was in fine form on Christmas morning.

It was a bit big, but she still wears it almost every day. She just hikes up the skirt and parades around the house. And annoys people with her incessant begging to "hep put on my gwubs! Pwease! Pwease, Mamma!"

The Princess, gwubs and all.

This present came from both aunts, to both little boys. Oh my, the excitement.

The total excitement.

Joman got big into Lego this past year, and we really didn't have any, due to the large influx of small people, but it was time.

Bert sat in this position, almost without moving, for about 30 minutes.

Meet Baby Kim.
Gater hates her. I thought she was so adorable! But Gater throws her out of the crib, leaves her n*ked and lying on the floor. She does not want Baby Kim. She only loves Baby Shooshie.

Awwwwww!

And here is the blankie, all finished. The pattern is from a gorgeous baby-afghan crochet book, and I have made almost all the afghans in it. They are so delicate and pretty, and the patterns are well-written and easy.

So, after a crazy day of opening presents and then cleaning up presents, and madly cooking and stuff, we hosted Christmas Dinner at our house, for sixteen.

The kids played games in the living room

and the grownups socialized in the family room

and the candy/cookies got nibbled in the dining room

and we all had a lovely Christmas dinner together.

I so wish you all could have been there.

Christmas Eve 2010

2011-07-29T08:50:00.001-04:00

The night before Christmas, I was up way, way late --finishing a certain little boy's Christmas stocking, and wrapping presents, and baking cookies, and cleaning -- we were to host the big Christmas gathering the next day.

In the wee hours of Christmas morning, while I had my Anne Sofie von Otter
and Libera , and-- to my surprise-- public radio playing gorgeous Christmas and sacred music, I finally finished my work and sighed a contented, quiet sigh.

Everyone was sleeping, and the house was so peaceful -- dark, but for the Christmas lights and the candles -- and the snow was falling outside.

I iced the cookies, and filled the stockings -- which were too full for the pushpins on the mantel --

and, like everyone else, I fell into a warm bed, and fell into a sweet and peaceful sleep.

The Newest Family Members

2011-07-28T08:07:00.001-04:00

This cute fix brought to you by Wannie and Ellie.

Ellie came to us in December, and was immediately adopted into the hearts and lives of the family. We are just watching her, but for an indeterminate amount of time, while her owner family is traveling the country doing missions work. She is such a good dog! She barks loudly at strangers when she is outside, and she sleeps when she is inside. She has endless patience with the littles, a trait which any dog in our family MUST have.

The only thing I have against her is the endless and profuse shedding: but really, my floors needed more frequent sweeping and vacuuming anyway, right?

Pumpkin Disposal Dec 4, 2010

2011-07-27T07:44:00.002-04:00

I remember that the first snow was quite early last year, and continued through December -- unusual for this part of Ohio.

We never did end up carving those four pumpkins we bought, so the guys threw them outside, and to our surprise, the deer loved them, and ate them all up.

I guess we should not have been surprised: the deer eat everything up!

They are so cute, but seriously: GO AWAY! ;-)

Bert and New Couches

2011-07-26T08:38:00.002-04:00

Knowing we were going to host Christmas last year, we finally came to the decision that we must buy some new couches. Most of the furniture is hand-me-downs, which is wonderful! But, the couch situation was pretty miserable, and also, I got a really good deal.

Bert was the first person to really get into the new-couch experience. As soon as the couches hit the floor, he hit a couch, book in hand, with the generous afternoon sunshine streaming in through the window.

It was a good idea, all around.

Putting Up the Tree 2010

2011-07-25T08:26:00.001-04:00

No matter how exhausted we are; no matter how much we need to sleep off all that turkey and dressing and recover from kitchen patrol, we always-always-always set up the Christmas tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving.

We deal with ants from time to time in various areas of the house. Which is why, last year, when we put away the decorations, we should have thought about the ramifications of shoving a beribboned jar of candy canes in with everything else.

Weren't we shocked to find an ant colony enjoying the ant equivalent of Pinocchio's Pleasure Island.

What used to be candy canes, were now tubes full of ants, ant by-products, and ant babies. They were very organized. If it wasn't so creepy and unexpected, it would have been extremely cool. In any case, it was educational. The kids learned about ants, and the mamma and daddy learned about not putting candy canes away in storage for a year.

Wannie was just big enough to observe and enjoy, but not quite big enough to help.

Gater got to be the angel-helper this year. She was delighted, of course!

Aunt Jeannette gave us this gorgeous nativity set, but, having no place to put it where it was safe from little fingers, we put it in the hutch -- where it stands to this very day.

And here are almost all the Christmas stockings. Whose is missing? One still being stitched.

And it was well and truly time for full-on production of Christmas presents. Here is mamma and the littlest angel, with a soft, pink present for her, just being started. Wannie particularly loves soft, pink presents, and she is at this moment laying near me, cuddling a mamma-knitted soft pink sweater, sucking her thumb. What an inspiration for more and more soft, pink presents. We must make them while we can! Before all the babies want are things like iPods and bicycles.

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-07-24T08:21:00.001-04:00

Thanksgiving was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We are most thankful for Gater! We would not laugh half as much without her.

The meal was very good, and the gathering and sharing was good, too. I missed my family so much! Sometimes unbearably much, and holidays are always difficult. But still, we are thankful for everything we have. And we have way more than we need, so many things to enjoy.

Bert's 4th Birthday

2011-07-23T08:24:00.002-04:00

Halloween kicks off a fairly busy season for us which stretches through to the end of March. All the holidays and birthdays, and people visiting from overseas -- it all happens at that time of year.

So a few days after Halloween, was Bert's 4th birthday.

On their birthdays, we let the kids eat anywhere they want to, and sometimes we have a party. Bert opted to have his party at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and they were pleased to host.

Bert wanted pancakes and bacon and sausage and eggs for dinner. So that is what we did. We packed up all the food, and went to Grandma and Grandpa's, and cooked it all up. We had quite a few people for a small party, including relatives, but eight of them were us. Anyway, cooking pancakes for a crowd is not as easy as cooking casserole for a crowd. But it worked out and Bert loved it.

The hardest thing for Bert is that his birthday is the last of all the birthdays in the family. Then Christmas is not too long after, and then he has to endure seven more birthdays where none of the presents or cake are his. Poor Bert! But he is so happy when his birthday finally rolls around.

Halloween 2010

2011-07-22T08:22:00.002-04:00

With all the camping we did in October, we didn't have much time to prepare for Halloween. So we just did our usual 15-minutes of preparation, dug some old costumes out, and tried to round up some candy. We didn't even carve the pumpkins this year -- no time!

Wannie got to wear the pumpkin-baby costume from 1998...

...but Gater didn't have a costume to wear at all. We had this "princess" dress that Miss Rose used to wear when she was two or three, and I had a bunch of felt (still do, actually) so I whipped up this little cape and hood for Gater, gave her a basket, and she was good to go.

Bert in 2000's football costume

Wannie suits the pumpkin costume, don't you think? All that roundness.

Somehow we stretched the lion costume that Bert wore last year, over Roks' 18-inch-taller frame, and it worked ok. He liked it.

And Miss Rose wore her prairie dress, which is really and truly too small for her these days.
Joman opted out of costume-wearage and handed out candy with me, instead.

Everybody thought the girls were way too cute.

Visiting with neighbors. They always have a fire pit and scary music, and good candy. They usually get our kids a special little treat, like coloring books and crayons. Sweet! Halloween, while absolutely not my favorite holiday, is my favorite time to catch up with the neighbors -- some of whom we've known since school days.

Here is JK, a friend who came to trick-or-treat with the group of good friends who live at the end of the street.

It has been a real blessing for our family and our children to have these good, creative, fun friends.

Fun times! But what to do with the pumpkins we didn't carve?

Zoar, OH -- Second Camping Trip

2011-07-21T07:46:00.001-04:00

While we were camping in Amish country last October, we decided to drive out to Zoar, OH -- another town based on a religious community, but not Amish. Zoar is less than an hour from where we were located in Amish country.

The settlers of this town were German separatists, who immigrated to escape persecution in their own country. They had quite a rough go of it, as they did not have help similar to what the Amish had when they came.

Zoar's history is just as interesting as Amish history, if not more so.
Part of its charm, as a town, is that people actually live in the historic, numbered houses, and as far as I can tell, the residents of the town keep the historical stories alive.

The drawback to this, is that Zoar is not primarily set up for tourists -- and there wasn't a lot open. Fortunately, we had packed a picnic lunch. And there were public restrooms.

The weather decided to be gorgeous that one particular day, and we almost even got hot walking around the town.
This garden in the center of the town is built around some religious ideas having to do with the Book of Revelation. It was at the end of its season, of course, but pretty nevertheless, and we were able to walk in it and enjoy it.

It was amazing seeing all these old, old log cabins and houses -- most with additions which had been built on over the years. The houses of the original religious town were marked with numbers, so you could go and see them all, and find out about the people who originally owned them.

Wannie and Joman
particularly enjoyed the fine weather. Wannie was really getting quite heavy to carry around for lengths of time, so we kept swapping duties.

Gater was anti-shoes that day. After picking them up off the ground 3,206 times, we gave in and let her go barefoot.

The residents of Zoar take evident pride in their town -- and so would you, if you lived there. I wanted to move there pretty much immediately. Such a quiet, pretty little place.

We really had a very nice day, walking around Zoar! Zoar is located by the Erie Canal, which we discovered quite by accident as we were walking around.

I think we may try to visit again when some of the buildings are open, and do a more comprehensive tour. It's a place to see!

Second Camping Trip -- Amish Country

2011-07-20T08:19:00.002-04:00

We took another camping trip in October 2010, this time to the Amish-country area of Ohio. Last time we went and stayed in a motel, but this time, since we had the whole family, we took the camper and stayed in a small, but very nice, campground. Once again, it started out bitingly cold! But we had a couple of nicer days in there.

We went to all the old familiar places, like Hershberger's Farm and Bakery
We did see some new and unfamiliar sights though -- like the exciting and dangerous roof goat!

The roof goat stands on the roof of the barn and begs for food, which you supply for a buck. Get a cone-full, put it in the conveyor-belt holder,

turn the handle,

and send it up to Mr. Gruff!

Hershbergers still had the full range of non-dangerous, non-exciting, super-domesticated fuzzy-wuzzy barn animals and babies too. Oh, and that great big horse. And lots and lots of pumpkins.

Amish country is beautiful any time of year, but I particularly love it in the fall. And the spring.

The kids were especially enamored of the buggies (which they called, "campers") and the horses and their drivers (which they called, "cowboys"). They were somewhat less enamored of this particular buggy after we discovered the yellowjacket nest.

This is a Swartzentruber farm, where we went to look at some quilts and to see the home. It was a weird sort of vibe --not the countryside, but the home. It was just so very stark and quiet, even when their children arrived -- they sat and stared, not saying a word. Mrs. Swartzentruber says the quilts come from other families who sew them and she sells them. The quilts themselves were okay, but very very expensive, $800 or more. I am not sure really how I felt about that whole experience -- I've been there a couple of times now, and I still feel a bit off about it. Weird, huh!

Morning in the camper, before we set out for another day of yumminess and gorgeous scenery. This camping trip was a lot smoother, with generally nicer weather -- except for the one night where bad storms were predicted, and we opted to rent a cabin at Evergreen Resort (which was, incidentally, very nice, even without running water or in-cabin bathrooms.) It rained and rained and rained, and blew for a while, but we were cozy in the cabin, and we got to watch cable tv too. Bonus!

Of course, in Amish country, you eat a lot. So much pie! :-) But of all the places we ate, once again, the Chalet in the Valley was still the best, by far. Not the cheapest, but definitely the best. I am pretty sure that the little kids, Gater and Bert, liked the "cowboys and horses and campers" the best.

First Camping Trip in the Camper!

2011-07-19T08:04:00.001-04:00

After purchasing the camper last year, we were wanting to take it out before it was just too cold to camp with little kids. As it turned out, it was still too cold to camp with little kids. It was a little raw, actually.

The first trip we took was to Gatlinburg, TN for a few days. We hadn't been to Dollywood, although we'd been to Silver Dollar City in Missouri a few years before, and loved it -- we heard that Dollywood was similar, so put it on our list of places to go.

We got started late, and it was Very Very Late by the time we found the campsite and got all set up. It was also rainy and chilly. And we had a puker in the car. But the kids were already having an absolute blast, and as soon as we got the camper parked (oh my) and set up (oh my), we made them a very late dinner of bologna sandwiches, and tucked them in bed. It was sooooo cold, though!

After a night which dipped down into the 40's (did I mention that it was COLD in that camper?) we had a drizzly freezing day in Gatlinburg, I think (memory:fuzzy) and, um, Mamma was not in a good frame of mind. Mamma is not a good camper anyway. So much hassle! So much stress! So little room! Am I right, moms of many? And then the camper was leaking and there were muddy wet damp things hanging everywhere and...oh, did I say that it was cold?

Wanny was pretty ok with camping. She ended up having to sleep with Mamma and Daddy, because of, well, the cold.

So, this is the movie-version of our camper. Look! A guitar -- they have so much space, they have a guitar! However, they do not have 8 people and a pack-n-play and it is, noticeably, not raining. And also, they have a "bathroom". Families of 8 do not need a bathroom, they need storage space, and that is what we have.

Here is our reality-based version of camping, pop-up style. At various (and most of the) times, the floor was covered in shoes, wet towels, pack-n-plays, small toys and muddy socks. And there were many, many more towels and wet laundry items hanging from stem to stern down the middle, edges and wherever else something could be hung inside the camper. This is the real reality of camping with a large family, am I right, moms of many?

Anyway.

We did go to Dollywood -- I think, for two days. It actually got to be reasonably nice weather by the third day of camping or so, got up to the sixties and sort-of sunny, anyway, so that was nice. Much nicer than the first couple of days which included driving and walking around in cold rain and -- yes -- ice.

Unfortunately, somewhere in the middle of the trip, Gater managed to dislocate her elbow and we had to make a trip to the ER. She was fine after they put it back in place and charged us about a million bucks. They gave her the cutest little sling to wear, and of course the cuteness of her was just compounded by the cuteness of the little sling.

Can I get a collective, "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Stinker.

After the weather sweetened up a little, we did get to do some of the things we actually went down to do -- ya know, cook hot dogs and smores over an open fire and stuff like that. Almost like being in our own back yard. The resort itself was quite picturesque, if not completely well-maintained (the bathrooms? you want water? HOT water?) and a couple of pretty creeks ran though it. You could fish, hike, or play on the playground if you were so inclined and the weather co-operated. The campground was fairly empty while we were there, of course, but I can hardly imagine it in peak season -- I don't think it would be all that pleasant, actually.

I have to say, though, that the kids absolutely loved it. They LOVE camping in the camper. Whenever we start talking about camping in the camper, they start marking off the days. "How many days till camping? 146 days!" Ha ha.

This is a gratuitous photo of the camper and the van. We had to buy a van because we bought the camper, and not only did our other van not fit all of us inside, it also did a fairly poor job of towing the camper. It was quite a jump from the little Honda Odyssey to the 12-seater Ford 350. But I like it, now. Lots of room for puke buckets.

New Stuff! And End-of-Season Stuff.

2011-07-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

This is a gratuitous photo of stuff from the garden. The two potatoes are 2/3 of my entire potato harvest. I know some of you like looking at garden-y stuff, so there you go.

Daddy did get the Christmas house set up in the spring. Later on, we moved it to a closer, more convenient location; and the new spot seemed to be a good place, so out the kids went to play.

After the wasps and spiders were evacuated, the little kids set up shop.
(Oh, also, we bought a camper, and that's it in the background. More on that in another post.)

Grandma was the first special customer. She was there to buy a little weed.

Plenty of grass for everyone. It is a neighborhood specialty. :-P

Cute little shopkeeper.

Bert was serving up baby-bottled juice. Not sure who purchased that, but I am sure they found out, as I did when I was little, that no matter how good the juice looks inside the baby bottle, it isn't coming out.

The mailbox at the front door encouraged the little kids to "mail" each other things. Usually small dolls and leaves.

Little Wanny was just hangs around nearby in the sun/play/schoolroom.

This Could Be My Backyard

2011-07-17T14:31:00.006-04:00

One of our favorite places for family-fantasy-garden-style inspiration is the Highfield Discovery Garden at Glenwood Gardens in Hamilton County, Ohio. Last September we visited and had a great time.

The kids, of course, don't care that much for the garden inspiration; they just want to play with all the stuff.

It is a wonderful place for parents too -- so green and relaxing, with plenty of natural-style stone and wood seating.

But you do have to watch out for creepy crawlies, ha ha! Actually, there are hundreds of little (and big) details to look for. Gnomes and fairies, spiral pathways, interesting plants and all sorts of things.

The main attraction was then (and still is) the giant treehouse. The bottom entrance is a little bit scary for the little kids, with the big mouth, but after Joman showed them it was okay, they got very brave. Then, before we knew it, we could see little heads popping up at the very tippy-top levels.

Koi ponds and wetlands with stepping-stones!

Oh, and I almost forgot this -- the second main attraction for my crowd. The walk-through train trellis, with trains running constantly.

Bert and Gater camped out in the train station.

In the train station you can press the buttons to make the crossing lights flash and the whistle blow loudly. They are little control freaks so this pleased them very, very much.

Even the trees are interesting in this park.

Inside the houses are tables and chairs and little house-y things for the children to play with.

Nearby, is an old brick building which has lots of interactive activities. The kids pumped water, made a demonstration of the water cycle and water conservation, and looked at the edible raised gardens. All kinds of things are planted there, from strawberries to squash to herbs. Daily demonstrations and lessons are done in the building on different nature topics.

Wannie was 6 months old.

So cute!
But heavy, after a while!

The spray tunnel, perfect for a hot day! You can't tell from this picture, but the tunnel is actually a big dragon. Ooh scary!

Wouldn't it be ever so much more fun to do this with the dead trees in the yard, instead of chopping them all up to bits.

And these are my most favorite things -- the miniature fairy gardens. I want to go make one right now. Maybe I will. :-)

End of Summer

2011-07-16T21:37:00.004-04:00

Summer seemed short last year, looking back on it now. All too soon it was time to get back into schoolwork -- a change of pace and curriculum for Roks, and back into Sonlight, a literature-based course, for Miss Rose and Joman.

The deer are still hanging around, as plentiful as ever. These two cuties grew up more-or-less on our property over this past year.

Roks, our third poor, deprived homeschooler, got to start his weekly farm-school program. He had a rough start, being a teeny-bit perfectionistic and angsty about doing new things; and also very young for the program, but nevertheless, he had a great year overall.

Here Roks is, on his first day of "school".

And here are Joman and Gater to see him off.

Wannie Smiles

2011-07-15T11:28:00.004-04:00

These are the last of the black and white photos. Turns out I am more utilitarian than artistic behind a camera -- I'd like to get into photography more, but I don't really have the time, as I found out.

Anyway, Wannie was and is a very, very introverted child. She took a long time to start smiling, and she doesn't smile easily at any time or for anyone. She and the Gater are just almost polar opposites in temperament. So I was really pleased to get a few b & w shots with her smiling.

Of course, our Wannie is so colossally cute with her perpetually slightly-worried expression and those huge round eyes. I love her.

Here are three little kids, sitting in *my* chair, playing with *my* little laptop mini, just like three naughty little Goldilockses.

Speaking of a naughty Goldilocks, how do you like this one? Gater -- you, with the marker-striped cheek -- you are SUCH a naughty girl! (Can't you see the guilt and remorse! Ha ha.) This closet will be the death of me. It's the homeschool/kids closet in the family room, and it pretty much always looks like this, no matter how often I clean and organize it. Something I need to do again, right now, as a matter of fact. I guess you all know where I'll be today! :-)

Gater's 2nd Birthday

2011-07-14T11:51:00.004-04:00

Gater had an Aussie-style birthday party.

I had to put the camera back to color settings for her party, of course!

Mini-quiches, curried egg sandwiches, cucumber-cream-cheese sandwiches, pumpkin scones, devonshire cream scones, homemade sausage rolls, lamingtons, fairy bread, and other assorted lovely Aussie-style edibles were laid on the party table. A very delicious Sunshine Punch (in the pitcher) has made many appearances on our table since then. I believe the recipe used to be on Rhonda Jean's Down--to--Earth site, but I haven't been able to find it since then. The basic ingredients in ours, for a gallon, were: two cans of Jumex apricot nectar, a heaping tablespoon scoop of frozen apple juice concentrate, a good splash of lemon juice, a big can (48oz?) of pineapple juice, 2L of Sprite or ginger ale, and if there is any space left, top with orange juice. :-)

The only things missing were party pies and those little red sausages in sauce that we used to love so much.

Obviously, it was a good time.

Funny to think that less than one year ago, Gater was sitting in this high chair, wearing a bib! She is way too grown up for that now.

It never seems like we have bought that many presents until everyone else comes and the kids start opening them all. Then, all of a sudden, it turns into a lot of stuff. :-)

This was truly love at first sight. Baby Susie (Shooshie) has rarely left the Gater's side since. She's been lovingly adorned with all manner of sticky decoration, dressed, undressed, hugged, kissed, thrown, remorsefully sobbed over, tucked in, dunked, and fed; but she's never been forgotten for more than ten seconds.

In keeping with the tea-party theme, Gater received a sweet table-and-chair set, and a whole lot of dishes, cups, cutlery, pots and pans -- and the most adorable vintage hand-embroidered tablecloth, from the antique store.

Gater has enjoyed all of her presents over this past year. You hardly see her without her Minnie Mouse purse -- especially the phone, she LOVES the phone -- and her table, chairs, cooking items and "chocolates" get almost daily use. She was a little rough on the breakable dishes at two years of age, so we put them up for a little while, but she's much more mature now, so it may be time to get them down for her again. Bert loves playing tea party with Gater, too, so it's a win-win.

This is a very poor picture of a very fabulous concoction. A mixed-fruit, whipped-cream-topped-with-passionfruit pavlova. This was the Gater's birthday cake, and I ought to have made two.

The three gorgeous girls. We're so proud of them!

Our sweet Katy, two years old already! And -- that was nearly a year ago. How is it that sometimes the days never seem to end, and yet the years fly by!

Wobots

2011-07-11T15:50:00.007-04:00

This time last year, one of the little kids' favorite games was "Wobots." Anything square-ish that can fit over your head or face makes a great Wobot costume.

In metallic, monotone, loud voices, they stomp around and chant:

"I. M. E. WOBOT...I. M. E. WOBOT...I. M. E. WOBOT"

We did eventually discover that it is a good idea to hide the puke buckets from the little kids in the event of illness. Puke buckets do not make good Wobots.

Gater's fashionista tendencies were in evidence even before the age of two. They are in full fledge now, at nearly three years old. Oh yes, they most certainly are.
She still stuffs her feet into these little jeweled silver sandals, if she isn't wearing her black sequins, her pink cowboy boots or her red ruby slippers. She is very particular.

This is my favorite photo, and this is straight out of the camera.
Bert has the look.

Roks was then, and still is, the most moody and dramatic of all the little kids. He has the true artistic temperament. I hope it won't involve ear amputation or anything like that, in the future.

And these are carrots from last year's garden. Ta-Daaaa!

This time last year...

2011-07-11T14:35:00.006-04:00

I've been going through some photos that were taken through this past year. I don't really have a good way to share them with you other than to, well, just do it. I really ought to blog more -- it's the only form of journaling, other than prayer journaling (and that has been pretty scarce over the past 4 years, too) that I've been even remotely consistent with. I'm always glad when I go back and see the blog, so obviously it is something I should continue. So, sorry for the break, and I guess I will just pick up where I left off, more for my own memories than your interest, I guess.

This time last year, Daddy, Miss Rose, Joman and Roks were involved with VBS at the church we were attending. Annie was only a few months old and I don't actually have much memory of this period of time. Probably, basically, overwhelmed. At any rate, someone (not me) took these photos of the little kids having fun with some of the leftover VBS materials. I remember that Daddy had volunteered to do the craft sessions -- which I thought was cuh-razy (talk about a duck out of water!) but actually, it went very well for him and he was happy, and the kids were happy, and it was good.

Bert, age 3

Roks, age 6

Gater, age 23 mths

I do recall that my cousin and his wife and their children were visiting from overseas that month. I don't think that they fully understood the emotions I was going through then. I know they didn't. I guess I don't expect people to much, any more. Generally, I just shut up about it. Funny how my blogging stopped right around the same time, huh.

Introspection is so boring for the observer. LOL!

Anyway, around the same time, I watched a very intriguing documentary called The True Meaning of Pictures about the photography of Shelby Lee Adams, of the people of the Appalachian region of his childhood. I don't know that I would do it justice to describe it; I have seen a lot of discussion about it, both negative and positive. Some people seem to think that the underprivileged of the Appalachian -- or really, any American -- region ought not to be discussed. Some people think that the subjects have been exploited and their situations manipulated for personal gain. Some people think that Shelby Lee Adams' photographs have expressed and encouraged "hillbilly" stereotyping.

Well, in general, I don't agree.

Discussion of what is, is far preferable to discussing what should be. If people live like the stereotypical hillbilly, that doesn't mean anything at all regarding the stereotype. It's not a judgment on them; they are people all the same, with many skills, talents, challenges, strengths, and problems. Most of all, they are who they are. That's not a judgment, that's just a fact. If one doesn't like the indignity of their position, that says more about the judge than it does about them. Of course, I am sure that they need help and have things they would change if they had the opportunity, and many could benefit by better nutrition and warmer clothing and significant medical attention. As with anyone. At any rate, I don't feel that they are being exploited, but maybe I am viewing them with a different eye than some others. I don't want to exploit them, and I don't take them for mere entertainment, although some of the actions, events, and expressions portrayed are, in and of themselves, entertaining. Just like in my own life.

I guess what I'm saying is that it is a film to see.

So around that time, I was impressed by the ability of black and white photography to convey a more starkly engaging picture-thought, and so I starting doing a few shots in black-and white. These are a few of the first ones.

Annie's first reaction to anything she was unsure of was, at the time, and still is, to stick her fingers (now thumb) straight in her mouth. She never has been much of a cryer, because at the first sign of trouble, in goes the thumb of comfort.

These photos weren't much of anything except just testing out how light works in black and white, without color cues for definition and shape. But I'm posting them anyway because little Annie is just too cute not to.

As an aside, I sent Shelby Lee Adams a message the other day and he confirms that he has a new book coming out this year, and he is starting a foundation to help the people of the region he has made visible to the rest of the USA.

Hopefully, more tomorrow.

We Has Photoz

2011-06-16T23:50:00.003-04:00

Soon! Like, tomorrow, even.

But for now:

Just cuz it's recent, and it's cute.

I've got photos all the way from last year to torture you all with! It will be like your Aunt Gertrude's Holiday Snap annual festival! I know you can't wait.

What is the hold-up, Moey?

2011-06-16T11:45:00.004-04:00

Well, it's kind of a long and dumb story. My FB friends know that I quite often publish photos to my FB before they appear on the blog. Last time I uploaded photos, I used my big laptop. I had to upload software for editing and all that junk. Big laptop doesn't work real well ever since I tried to download some software so I could watch DVD's. I guess it has a virus. In the meantime, the littles got onto the desktop computer upstairs and totally fouled it up -- it had to be rebuilt and I lost all the photo-upload-and-edit stuff I had on that computer.

Eventually, one day, I went up to work on the desktop -- to reload my software and upload my photos and do all that junk -- only to find that when I had worked on my laptop, I had taken all my registration paperwork with me, and it is lost somewhere in the school/craft/playroom disaster. I've not been able to find it at all.

So the long and short of it is that I have had no way to get my photos on to the net, and what is a blog without photos?

This past week, I have been working on the mammoth task of bookshelf-rearranging to make way for the new influx of computers, books, and school supplies scheduled to arrive in July. I found the original disk that came with my camera, which should work to provide SOME way of uploading my photos. Can't remember if I need a registration number with that or not, but I think not.

At any rate, I will get onto that as soon as I can. Right now I have the BabyPuter and I am at the orthodontist's office with Joman, so, you know. It might be a while yet. :-)

Coming Back

2011-05-13T14:09:00.001-04:00

"It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment?" — Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962)

busy busy

2010-08-26T13:25:00.003-04:00

I have some photos n things I would like to put up here, but seriously, time is in short supply around here at the moment. I am a little bit stressed (well, when am I *not*) and it is showing in a lot of ways.

I wonder what my kids are going to remember of their childhood, sometimes.

Right now we have school 5 days/wk and soccer 4 nights/wk plus weekend games (and church.) Next week Roks starts at the farm program one day a week, and the following week, we add two mornings a week with swimming lessons and gym at the YMCA. Well, that is in addition to just the general busyness of having life with jr. high-age kids and little kids and toddlers and babies. It is just pretty much chaos around here.

My dieting has been a failure, if you didn't notice the ticker. I quit Weight Watchers because I was feeling guilty about spending money on LOSING WEIGHT when there are babies starving in the world. That, and I was just not doing it. Counting points and denying my sugar cravings when I am tired and all that.

I don't know how people avoid eating when they are stressed, and how they ignore the call of coffee and chocolate and lots of cups of tea. I have to be pretty emotionally stable to be able to pull that off, and right now...that isn't happening.

Not to complain, I know this is the good life, I am just letting you know why I haven't been around too much.

Shut your Trap

2010-07-13T12:10:00.002-04:00

I am not supposed to be blogging about why this car was here the other day.

Or why this (former) groundhog hole is booby-trapped and loaded with oatmeal cream pies.

We were expecting five black and white, furry, cute, extremely smelly and terrifying little invaders.

But all we got was one of these, so I guess it wasn't worth mentioning anyway.

Toby F.P.

2010-07-12T13:12:00.004-04:00

He's Bert's best doll friend. Bert named him, himself.

His name is Toby F.P.

He used to be a girl, but Bert doesn't know that.
Apart from that, the two are alike in almost every way.
Can you guess what Toby F.P. stands for?
I don't know if I should tell you. It is not very polite, but neither is Bert, and I know some of you have heard stories (they are all true).

(F.P. stands for Farter Pants.)

All Sorts of Sports

2010-07-11T20:04:00.001-04:00

The kids organized a sports day with their friends on Saturday.

A soccer field was built, teams were organized, and everyone showed up ready to play.

The kids designed their own team logos, and painted shirts and hats. I don't know all the games they played, but I do know that soccer and cornhole were part of the day's events, and more sports were played across the street.

Stats were kept carefully and filming was important.

Apart from the fact that they could have used a referee to defuse arguments on play calls and rules, they had a great time.

Even when they weren't playing sports.

Comments??

2010-07-06T09:51:00.000-04:00

I know some of you have left comments on the last posts, and they are not showing up. I am sorry. I don't know why they are disappearing like that. Anyway, rest assured, I love the comments and get them via email, so even if they don't show on the blog, I get them in my inbox.

xoxo

Before N After

2010-07-05T16:21:00.002-04:00

I am sorry this post is not too exciting or anything. I just thought you might like to see how things are changing in the garden over time, around here.

last year

this year

It is not that there isn't anything exciting going on around here, it's just that the exciting things aren't that picturesque.

last year

this year

this year

They also don't smell good.

spring

And we are terrified of them, frankly.

summer

And the exciting things are getting very expensive.
More later.
(It's not that serious, so don't worry. )

Flowers in the Garden, Children in the Home

2010-07-04T16:59:00.002-04:00

Name this butterfly. We couldn't, for certain.

Rose shares memories that Gater doesn't own.

The castle with windows for the robots

Someone thought this was a delicate little flower

but that was poppycock -- I mean, hollyhock

The 18th of June was a good day.

Baby Goodness

2010-07-03T16:28:00.001-04:00

I know, it was awfully bad of me to tease you with that bit of baby goodness yesterday. So, here are some more pics of the littlest darling. I hope you can get to know her a little from her photos.

Annie has been growing like a weed and learning all sorts of awesome things.

Learned to grab toes

and hair

and her clothes

learned to suck her hand

and to complain if necessary

a bit louder if necessary

a bit longer if necessary

Learned to suck her thumb

Says hello

and, see ya later!

Introvert vs. Extrovert

2010-07-02T22:10:00.001-04:00

We have both kinds here.

before flash

after flash

Don't You People Read My Blog?

2010-06-23T12:51:00.001-04:00

Come on, now! I know someone must have noticed that I posted TWICE about that prairie dress! Look, HERE, and HERE!

And none of you told me? I would really like to know if I am losing my mind, thank you very much...obviously I need other people's input on that, because I am missing the signs.

Just for that, I am going to leave up both posts, so the whole world & posterity knows what a nong I am!

On the bright side, I think I will make a new post, maybe tonight. Just random junk around the house. And if I don't completely lose my marbles before then.

Gastronomy

2010-06-16T21:46:00.001-04:00

We took a day trip to Youngs Dairy. We putt-putted, rode the giant slide, hit baseballs, tasted fried cheese curds,

and ate ice cream.

It was good (but it wasn't Graeters)

We celebrated Roks' and Daddy's birthday with a Memorial Day weekend party at Grandma's. Roks wanted a star cake, and this one was a very yummy butter cake with lemon filling and vanilla icing.

Little Annie is practically edible. She is 11 weeks old here.

My current new best favorite thing to do combines craft with food.

There can not be any better combination of anything in the whole world.

Bento! Our first bento boxes for lunch today.
Inside were salami and cheese flower sandwiches, cucumber spears, creamy italian dressing cups, croutons, fresh strawberries, fresh pineapple rainbows, plain yogurt with a sprinkle of brown sugar, and two coconut-chocolate cookies.

Now we know how the Japanese get spoiled children to eat their lunch and love it.

The Musical Musical Musical

2010-05-26T22:22:00.001-04:00

Daddy and Miss Rose reprised a song at a local high school, from a musical Daddy (and Mamma, for that matter, and Auntie Hannah) were in, wayyyyy back in the 80's. Miss Rose was not a twinkle in Mamma and Daddy's eye back then. Nevertheless, it was perfectly fitting, as it turned out, seeing as how Daddy has many children of his own, now.

Can you guess the musical? How about the song?

Here are some more photos from the night.

She's just a girl who cain't say no.

Packed with dynamite!

The telephone hour.

He just keeps rolling along

Look at what she's dripping with

Now he has his own beard, his own five children, and is a successful, if not rich, man

No idea.

Nicole remembering

Thrills when he drills a bicuspid
(and kept Roks TERRIFIED, clinging to the edge of his seat)

Those Canaan days,

Where diiiiiiiiiiiiiiii------iiiiiiid they go?

Hard knocks.

(Answer: it was Edelweiss, from The Sound of Music.)

The Appalachian Festival

2010-05-25T21:57:00.001-04:00

I don't have many pictures from the Appalachian Festival. The basic rundown is that we arrived, it was hot and muggy, we walked around a lot of artisanal stores, enjoyed the view, looked at the river, watched people make furniture and pottery and quilts and violins and jewelry and food and log homes and canoes, listened to bluegrass music, made a guy play a hundred songs on his dulcimer (Roks), charmed people out of small gifts (Gater), followed Native Americans, ate pulled pork and pulled chicken and pulled brisket and coleslaw and funnel cake, sawed souvenirs with a crosscut saw (Joman and Roks) and sat in a tepee.

Joman sat and talked for ages with the tepee owner. She had made many of the things inside it, and was living in there for the duration of the festival.

It was cool and breezy inside the tepee.

I really, really, really want a tepee.

So do they.

The Pics You Have Been Waiting For

2010-05-25T00:42:00.000-04:00

Annie Waa-Waa-Wanny
2 Months Old

New Post Coming Soon

2010-05-19T09:53:00.000-04:00

I promise.

Tasks that Can Be Done One-Handed

2010-04-19T12:50:00.002-04:00

(hard, but possible with a baby in the arm)

making the bed
drying and putting away the dishes
sorting and putting laundry in the washer or dryer
most homeschooling
reading the Bible
dusting with a feather duster
polishing the coffee tables
wiping windows
setting the table
clearing the table
phone calls
small writing jobs
crocheting
eating

Tasks that take two hands:
(impossible or dangerous with a baby in arm)

folding the laundry
ironing
cleaning out the fridge
cleaning the bathroom
vacuuming
sweeping
washing the dishes
cooking
large writing jobs
wiping large messes off the floor
changing sheets
moving furniture
sewing

I'm finding it's easier on me to have a mental list of things I "can do" with a baby in arm, since she won't be put down most of the time, and another mental list of things I "better do RIGHT NOW" to run to when she is sleeping or otherwise occupied. That way I don't feel so lost or frustrated at my current limitations.

Today is so Random

2010-04-19T12:22:00.002-04:00

This morning we had to make a semi-emergency trip to the orthodontist for Miss Rose, who needed an adjustment to the braces she had worked on, on Saturday. Stopped at the bread outlet, not much joy there.

Looking specifically for food that I can eat more of, for less calories. Of course. Got WW meeting tonight, have to weigh in. I did good for 3 days and lousy for 3 days. I have no idea what the scale will say, but I did learn something this week: if there is something in the house that I ought not to eat, I will eat it. So I need to make some good choices about what I'm putting in the grocery cart tonight, and not go buying things "for the kids," because I can't be trusted with it.

Got more to say about "Mama Guilt" on Thursday, but one thing that I will bring up now, is how terribly hard it is for me (mentally and physically) to lose weight when I am nursing a little one. Either way, I have guilt confusing the situation. I feel guilty if I am full, and I feel guilty if I'm hungry. I have a little one to feed! But I am overweight. Darned if I do and darned if I don't. WW gives you more calories to eat when you are breastfeeding, to compensate for the calories used by milk production, but still...the nagging voice that is always with me in every situation, says what it always says...you aren't doing it right, and you're going to fail with nursing, or you're going to fail with losing weight. Just like always.

I'm way behind on my Management Monday -- I really needed to have done my menu for this week and my grocery list, yesterday; and gotten at least this week's school planning done. The end of the school year is fast approaching, and the children will need to do some modified schooling over the summer so they can start their new year's curriculum on schedule in the fall. I need to pick n choose through the remainder of their curriculum, to make sure that they A) get the best of it, B) cover the things presented that they don't know yet, and C) are prepared for their standardized testing which we will most likely do in July.

I should have been working on it yesterday, but I was just so tired, and really fried mentally. I was feeling like I was on the edge of a breakdown, so I went to take a nap instead of working on it. But then the baby would not let me sleep, so I just layed there, thinking about thinking about things, and then the day was pretty much over, so that was that. Bummer.

Having all this junk hanging over my head all the time is really wearing me down.

I listened to a brief talk (Q & A) by Victoria Botkin last night, via Internet. I really enjoyed her relaxed, peaceful voice, and her smoothly interesting vocal cadences. She sounded like a gentle mama teacher, which I so needed to hear. She said, "When you are a mother of little ones, you CAN NOT do everything. You must only do what needs to be done. Spend time with your children." (paraphrased, LOL!) I was pleasantly surprised and a little cheered up by her talk. Not that it wasn't anything I haven't heard before, but it was just the right time and the right tone.

Went to see about the other talks in the series. She is doing an 8-week course through the end of April. I thought I might sign up and listen to the rest of the series.

Until I was sadly surprised to see that it would cost $49. Well, never mind then.

Carry on.

Thoughts -- Reading

2010-04-15T08:34:00.001-04:00

...the baby's life was more real to her than her own. His life was full of needs: actual and urgent needs, which she could supply. What was her own life, by contrast, but a series of gnawings, ill-defined and impossible to satisfy?

All the while, when Nazneen turned to her prayers and tried to empty her mind and accept each new thing with grace or indifference, Chanu worked his own method. He was looking for the same essential thing. But he thought he could grab it from outside, and hold it against his chest like a shield. The degrees, the promotion, the Dhaka house, the library, the chair-restoring business, the import-export plans, the interminable reading. They were his self-fashioned tools. With them he tried to chisel out a special place, where he could have peace of mind.

--Brick Lane, Monica Ali

Picked it up to read last night, very good book so far.

Sorry for no post yesterday, things are a little demanding around here.

School is More Fun in Spring

2010-04-12T16:46:00.002-04:00

Since Spring and mild weather has arrived, suddenly, as always (I took this photo just a week ago and it already looks so much more lush, green and grown out there!), we've been enjoying whatever work takes us outdoors, including school work.

I didn't order a science curriculum for Roks this year, since he is only 5, and not quite ready to be bored to death with a formal science study. So I have put together a little science/nature course for him, and we are focusing on seasons/observation/plant study.

This child is very artistic and loves to draw, amongst all the other artistic things he does. Right now, one of his most favorite prized posessions is his nature journal (working on his second one now). I make the journals at home since all those little books are so expensive at the ed. supply store. I just fold used printer paper/junk mail/old assignments so that the clean side is showing, then staple the loose edges into the fold of a piece of construction paper, for the cover. I made a whole bunch of them this year and we use them for Roks' language arts assignments, journals, or any time he wants to write a book. They are fun and free. :-)

Yesterday we went out to observe "nature" -- taking note of what we could see, hear and smell. Some of the things we could see and hear were: redwing blackbirds, a woodpecker, a hole in the tree, the next-door-neighbor's dog, a big hawk, bees and ants, blue sky, and lots of green grass with drifts of little pink-white flowers. We smelled lilacs-- just starting to bloom, jonquils, and a sampling of all the herbs that are reappearing this year. Mint, chives, thyme, parsley, sage, and lavendar. Then Roks drew an ant. :-)

Joman has a really interesting curriculum this year, studying the nations of the East, including Australia. Many neat enrichment activities with this curriculum.
Of course, the nice weather is so distracting....

and so is this.

Going to Weight Watchers (updated at bottom)

2010-04-12T09:15:00.002-04:00

Hello! Hope you had a nice weekend. We did. The weather was good, some projects were worked on, and everyone is healthy. We had a speaker from a missionary organization come and talk about their work in Mexico and Papua New Guinea -- fascinating as always. Ever since I was a little girl, whenever the missionaries would come, after hearing them speak and seeing the pictures, I was ready to get on the next plane. Things haven't changed. I'm mentally off to Papua New Guinea this week. Makes me wish I'd gotten that medical degree after all since I'm qualified to do exactly nothing on the missionfield. Maybe one day that can be rectified, I don't know. Six children isn't ALL that many, right?

I was planning to do a Wandering Weekend post but since we didn't go anywhere, due to the current need here at home for curriculum planning (got new science curriculum that needed looked at and planned for), yard and garden work, and stuff like that. Annie turned 4 weeks old yesterday, so she is still a little young to tote around to public events anyway.

Recently I got the movie Babe from the library for my little kids -- they loved it, and I was hoping to get them to a local sheepdog demonstration this past weekend. But, never mind. I know they do the demo's at the local fairs in the summer, so we'll have a look then. I grew up watching sheepdog comps and I love them. Such well-trained, clever little dogs.

I will share with you that I am, today, getting serious about managing my weight. I'll also share with you the previously top secret info that I currently weigh at least 225 lbs! Considering that is only 4lbs less than what I weighed 4 weeks ago at 41 weeks pregnant, that's not really a good omen for the future. And my body is complaining a LOT. I have joint pain anyway, have for years, but the past few weeks have been torturous with pain in my lower back and hip joints. It's always worse after I have a baby, due, the doc says, to fluctuating hormone levels. So just when I plan to feel better, after having a baby -- I don't. And I guess all the extra weight doesn't help much.

So tonight I am toddling (waddling?) off to Weight Watchers, to sign up for the umpteenth time. I need retraining. And an audience. And encouragement. And to lose at least 75lbs.

I'm putting a ticker in the sidebar for bragging rights for me, or nagging rights for you. Accountability is a good thing, right?

I spent some time this weekend writing appropriate recipes that I would actually use, on index cards. I have all the recipes that I use on index cards. It's easier than looking them up in the collection of cookbooks. Also, when I make up my weekly menu, I can just pull the index cards, keep them in an easily-accessible spot, and I can see at a glance which side goes with which main dish, what ingredients I need, and whether I need the crockpot or the oven or what (I code for these things in the corner of the cards).

So today I will make up my menu for the week, since tonight is also grocery shopping night, and get the recipe cards out, and make my grocery list, and I'll be good to go.

Now, I have a question for you. Does anyone have a good way to keep raccoons from fishing from your garden pond? The kids have already lost two of their koi and we are pretty sure it's raccoons. Not sure what to do about it. Nature is awesome. LOL.
---------------------------update below -------------------------------------------------------
So, I just got back from my first WW meeting. First in a couple ways: first American meeting, first using their new Momentum program, and first time I've ever gone away from a WW meeting with a sugar high and melted chocolate on my jeans. (Is this a good thing? I think yes. I mean, no. Or whatever. Yum. Sigh.)

Bad news: According to their scales, I weigh 5lbs more than I do on mine. Which puts me at, yes, ONE POUND HEAVIER THAN WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE HOSPITAL, 40wks, 6days pregnant, TO HAVE THE BABY, FOUR WEEKS AGO.

Oh my.

See why I didn't wait to go.

Wish me luck!

Prairie Dress

2010-04-09T09:53:00.002-04:00

I have actually finished quite a few things between Christmas and now, to my own pleased surprise :-) , but I'll go back to January, and show you something I made for my niece, for her birthday.

Christmas of 2008 I had made a prairie dress and apron for Miss Rose, and Niece E seemed to really like it. Grandma sometimes takes the girls to square dance events, and Miss Rose eventually won a prize for her costume dress. So, since I had another pattern in (what I hoped was) Niece E's size, I thought a prairie dress would be a nice gift for her too.

The dress itself is a navy cotton with a purple and lavender tiny floral print, and the apron was made from a very light lilac broadcloth. The bonnet was made from a light purple gingham. It was sort of an unusual combo, but I think it worked.

Niece E really loves it, so that made the project worthwhile. :-)

In the meantime, Miss Rose has grown about six inches, and now needs a new prairie dress again, herself. But there are several WIPs that need done before I get on to that!

Home Comforts -- a rant/review

2010-04-08T10:57:00.001-04:00

There are several things in life that I am just not cut out for. That, to say the least, do not come naturally to me, that are a constant struggle for me, and that I find sometimes difficult and the rest of the time defeating. One of these things is motherhood, and another is housekeeping. My deficiencies in motherhood, I am sure, will be the subject of many future Thoughts for Thursday posts (just skip Thursdays, there's a thought for ya,) but today I have a book to review for you.

Let me tell you how this went down. I was ordering some Weet-bix online. American cereal manufacturers seem to only be able to produce cereals that are 99% sugar or 99% cardboard, and nothing in between. Weet-bix is one of the most perfect breakfast cereals ever. You can eat it crunchy, mushy, hot, cold, sweet, as-a-snack-with-butter...it's an ideal baby food mushed up with a bit of warm milk. In Australia, you can get it in nice big kilo boxes, in several different brands, and it's one of the most economical cereals out there.

Here, you can sometimes get Weet-bix in the natural-foods section of some stores, for somewhere between $5 - 6 a box (1 lb).

I searched Amazon, and found a six-pack of boxes for the relatively cheap price of $3.90 per box, which was close to-- but not quite --getting me free shipping. So, I decided to order a book to push me over that free-shipping cost line.

I saw this book, Home Comforts, by Cheryl Mendelson, briefly discussed in positive terms on someone else's blog. A blog I like to read. Which I can't find now, so if you have seen it, and know which blog I'm talking about, please remind me.

I admit, I was suckered in by the title. Home Comforts. Because that is a big area of confusion for me. I want to have a comfortable, homey, nurturing home. Which is clean and orderly and organized. But I can't seem to make the two ideals co-exist to my satisfaction. So, knowing from the blog that this was a book about keeping house, and presuming from the title of the book, that it was keeping house in such a way as to provide Comforts, well...I bought it.

I've tried a lot of different home cleaning plans, such as Flylady and others. This is because I have no real idea of How Much Is Enough vs. How Much Is Expected vs. How Much Is Ideal vs. How Much Is Realistic With a Large Family vs. How Much More Work Does a Large Family Really Create vs. Do I Still Get to Do Anything Else or Is My Life Over; with a little of How Do You Clean That Anyway?

And, okay, I have six children including a newborn who are home 24/7, and amongst other things, need to be fed, clothed, and schooled. By me. In a very large and slightly broken house with a very large and slightly out-of-control yard. I realize this would be challenging for most people; at least I hope so, and don't burst my bubble if you don't agree, because I am fragile here, okay.

So, the book. Started out great. Written by a lawyer with slightly feminist leanings who was raised in a big family on a farm. And who now (and I should have realized at this point that things were about to go awry) lives in New York with her second husband, (who, unlike Husband #1, is able to put up with her domestic excesses) and her one non-homeschooled-child in her fully-mod-conned apartment. Ahem. (Put the book DOWN, Moey, put it DOWN...) Okay, so I gave her the benefit of the initial doubt because she works. And that puts her out of the house for a good portion of her day, which necessitates that she provides Home Comforts in the time that she has at home, which I thought probably evens the playing field between us. Right?

In the introduction, Ms Mendelson makes some excellent points and observations. Here she summarizes what I assumed she would be addressing in this book:

This sense of being at home is important to everyone's well-being. If you do not get enough of it, your happiness, resilience, energy, humor, and courage will decrease. It is a complex thing, an amalgam. In part, it is a sense of having special rights, dignities, and entitlements -- and these are legal realities, not just emotional states. It includes familiarity, warmth, affection, and a conviction of security. Being at home feels safe; you have a sense of relief whenever you come home and close the door behind you, reduced fear of social and emotional dangers as well as of physical ones. When you are home, you can let down your guard and take off your mask. Home is the one place in the world where you are safe from feeling put down or out, unentitled, or unwanted. It's where you belong, or, as the poet said, the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in. Coming home is your major restorative in life.

So, her prescription for accomplishing the "sense of home" is laid out a few paragraphs later, thusly:

What really does work to increase the feeling of having a home and its comforts is housekeeping. Housekeeping creates cleanliness, order, regularity, beauty, the conditions for health and safety, and a good place to do and feel all the things you wish and need to do and feel in your home.

And her views on the defense and rigors of housekeeping:

No one is too superior or intelligent to care for hearth and home. Domesticity does not take time or effort but helps save both. It is just an orientation that gives you a sixth sense about the place you live in, and helps you keep it running with the same kind of unconscious and effortless actions that keep you from falling when you walk down stairs.
....
Seen from the outside, housework can look like a Sisyphean task that gives you no sense of reward or completion. Yet housekeeping actually offers more opportunities for savoring achievement than almost any other work I can think of.
...
Housekeeping requires knowledge and intelligence as well, the kind that is complex, not simple, and combines intellect, intuition, and feelings....The ability to split your attention in several ways and stay calm is essential. You need to exercise creative intelligence to solve problems and devise solutions: efficiency measures that save money or time; psychological or social measures to improve cooperation; steps to improve physical comfort; analyses of why and how some routines break down. Housekeeping comprises the ability to find, evaluate, and use information about nutrition, cooking, chemistry and biology, health, comfort, laundry, cleaning and safety. Above all, housekeeping must be intelligent so that it can be empathetic, for empathy is the form of intelligence that creates the feeling of home.

All good, yes? We'd agree that yes, housekeeping looks like a Sisyphean task "from the outside," (and from the inside too, from my perspective, but I expect at this point that our intelligent, educated, sympathetic author is going to anticipate and remedy this perspective in the following chapters.) We would also agree that housekeeping could be the primary way in which we create the environment for ourselves and our families; and naturally, especially for those of us who are thoroughly bounded by our home duties, we like to feel that the activities which require all of our time and energy also afford us the dignity of the acknowledgment of some intelligence. True?

Warning flags should have popped up, then, at this point in the introduction:

At a minimum, we should avoid thinking that time spent on our homes is wasted time, or that our goal should always be to reduce the time and effort we spend on them. Much housework is discretionary, but not all housework is. Minimum standards of cleanliness and order are inescapable necessities for health and happiness. It is up to each of us how to choose the dimensions of "necessary" in our own case.

Now, I do need to clarify at this point that I have only read the first, oh, tenth of this 850-page manual. There is only so much angst one can have in one day, and there are only so many days in one's natural lifespan, so, this book may just have too many pages for me to be able to read it all *and* deal with the consequences, before I die.

A few pages into the second chapter, this little paragraph jumped out at me:

In my experience, the most common cause of dislike of housework is the feeling that the work is never done, that it never gives a sense of satisfaction, completion, and repose.

Yes, yes! Exactly. There is never the reward of a job well done. Even if your paid job is ongoing, at some point in the day, you pack up and go home. At some point, even if your employer doesn't sing your praises, your time spent is validated with a paycheck. There is a stopping point, and there is a reward system built into paid employment. Generally, there is also laid out for you a certain set of expectations, for which you will be respected if you overachieve, rewarded with a paycheck if you meet, and be corrected (or fired) if you fail. If the expectations are too high for the rewards, you look for other employment -- that's your prerogative.

No one in their right mind fires the mother housekeeper, and goodness knows, she can't quit.

It's said that defining the problem is half the solution. So Ms Mendolson has half the solution in the first 15 pages, and can't find the other half in the remaining 840+ (judging from the chapters I've read so far). I began to realize this was the case when I read the following sentence:

You need different goals for ordinary times and times of illness, stress, company, new babies, long working hours, or other interruptions of your home routine. People with large houses, many children or guests, active households, or invalid parents will have to spread themselves more thinly and should not expect to be able to keep house like the Joneses [or the Mendelsons]. Also, the fewer your resources of all kinds -- money, help, appliances, skills, time -- the more modest will be the level of housekeeping you can realistically hope for.

All at once I realized that Mendelson's "ordinary times" are nothing, and in no way, like the "ordinary times" I experience. In a (large) house filled with eight people, half of which were born in the last five years, what are the chances that I will experience any length of time at all without a baby, (plus a toddler, preschooler, kindergartner, and two middle schoolers), or without being ill myself or needing to take care of an ill person, or have a house size that is managable, or looking after 8 sets of personal belongings, endless dishes and laundry, school supplies, shopping, storage, etc? These aren't the interruptions to my routine, they ARE my routine. And these "interruptions" are the very ones I'm trying my darndest to make Home Comforts FOR.

Hello.

Well, having given her the benefit of the doubt so far, I thought I would at least see what she suggested adding into a housekeeping routine, since it is so important and a foundation for the book itself.

Her Daily list was nothing too much out of the ordinary, with the exception that I would switch out her suggestion of "cleaning sinks and tubs after use (including drains and traps)" with "wash, dry, fold, and put away several loads of laundry and keep up with the ironing or you'll be doing it in an 8-hour session like last time" and "oversee schooling for four children while breastfeeding the baby and keeping the toddler from climbing the bookshelves" and "clean the high chair, the floor around the high chair, and the walls behind the high chair after each meal."

It's the weekly list that I take issue with. Changing the bed linens twice weekly? For eight? Vacuum the upholstered furniture and lampshades? Wipe the fingerprints and smears off everything (weekly is not enough for this in our house). Wash all washable floors (ditto). Wash down entire bathroom: toilet, sink, tub, wall tiles, toothbrush holders and all fixtures, cabinets, mirror, floor (again: we have four fully-utilized bathrooms so this is a full day's work right here, plus, we wipe down the toilets and sinks daily anyhow.) Clean air-conditioner filters and humidifiers according to manufacturer's recommendations. (no humidifiers, and what is an air-conditioning filter, where is it, and why clean it weekly, exactly?)

Here is a telling statement:

In many respects, the old routine no longer makes much sense. Sewing and baking are anachronisms. Those of us who still bake and sew do it for fun and count it as a leisure activity. Many people do little or no ironing. The number of major household chores [referring to laundering, ironing, sewing, marketing, cleaning and baking] has been reduced to three, perhaps three and a half, and some of these, especially laundering, do not take anywhere near the time or effort they used to.

Begging your pardon, Ms Mendelson, but many of us out there do, indeed, bake, sew, and iron, and we do it not for reasons of enjoyment but for health and economy and because we have eight mouths to feed, and eight bodies to clothe, seven of whom are home all day, every day, making all sorts of messes while we are doing it. If I did laundry once weekly, as you suggest, I would indeed spend the entire day doing it. Ditto the ironing, ditto everything else. Add in schooling, and you have a housework schedule that either needs simplifying (which you dis-recommended earlier) or is not humanly able to be accomplished.

The rest of the book, not to overly summarize, but because I really really have to go do other things and not keep sitting here blogging; is how to do every chore you've ever thought of, and some you haven't, and to emphasize the dire importance of it all, and somehow still remain almost entirely irrelevant to the challenges I and most of the women I know, face as mothers trying to create a HOME and still have time to enjoy it and feel fulfilled in doing it, since there isn't time nor option for anything else.

My big question now: is this book merely physical and mental clutter or is there enough good reference info in the remaining hundreds of pages to justify the space it takes on my shelf, that could be utilized for school books? Will I ever find out? And who was the crazy blogger who posted about it previously? I need to make a comment!

And excerpts from a much better review (with a different perspective) than I have just given you, amongst others, is from the Amazon review section, by "A Customer" -- There's A Difference Between Homemaking and Housekeeping:

Basically, this is a book on how to do the work of a full-time housewife with the income from two prestigious, demanding careers. I think this shows that the author - not her dissatisfied readers - has some leftover feminist issues. All her disclaimers notwithstanding, the sheer heft and excessive wordiness of the book show that only major projects meet her standards for dignified work. She dismisses as frivolous any notion that creative activities, rather than cleaning and organizing, could form the fundamental basis of home life. Such mere "hobbies" as sewing and baking, she sniffs, can never substitute for gleaming floors and sanitized countertops. (Apparently while she was working on that philosophy degree she never came across a book called "Leisure, the Basis of Culture.") Several readers have rightly commented that her standards of cleanliness seem more appropriate for institutions than for a house. Indeed, the book's unspoken message seems to be that we should bring the level of organization and energy found in professional workplaces into the privacy of our homes. Sadly, the very structure of the book is a confession, painful to witness, of the author's unfinished business in the professional realm. Apparently she didn't quite cut it in her original academic vocation, so at this late date she makes up for it by weaving philosophical ramblings into her book on housekeeping, where they just take up space, offend some readers, and make the real info hard to find. Similarly with the legal profession and the several mostly irrelevant chapters on "legal issues" at the end of the book.

And that ends my Thoughts for this Thursday. Got guests coming in an hour, gotta go.

Big Kids' Fish Pond

2010-04-06T22:19:00.002-04:00

WIP Wednesday is brought to you by Miss Rose and Joman.
This is their Koi pond, which they designed, dug and built themselves. Their young friend (and helpful advisor/digger) across the street had built one at his house, with encouragement from another friend up the road who had built one and raises fish there.

That's peer pressure for ya. :-)

This picture was taken on the first day I ever saw the pond. I had no idea that when they said they were building a fish pond, that they meant a 7x4 foot, 36" deep, lined pond with all the trimmings, plus a planned (and now mostly dug) garden area surrounding it.

The pond is now home to three happy orange-and-white Koi, and the kids plan to purchase some butterfly Koi when the weather plans to stay warm.

Thanks kids, for sharing your WIP, and thanks, Deb, for the blog idea. :-)

Easter Annie

2010-04-06T09:07:00.001-04:00

3 weeks old

Stay tuned, will try to post again later today. Busy busy busy!

Then We Had

2010-03-14T18:42:00.001-04:00

Annalise Lenore
6lbs 5oz
40wks, 6 days
20.5 inches
9:18am Sunday morning
8 hour labor from first contraction to delivery, no dramas
PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Mamma and baby are doing great.
Thank you again for your prayers

But it's not all bad...

2010-03-13T12:55:00.002-05:00

I just took a little walk outside in the rain (in my slippers, not such a good idea, LOL) to see the magnolia tree, which is beginning to bloom.

Can you believe it? It was the dead of winter a week ago, and now the magnolia is beginning to bloom. There are buds on the weeping cherry tree, and hundreds of worms wiggling in the driveway; and in the herb garden, parsley, sage and thyme are already growing back. The lavender is greening, and the crocuses have bloomed.

A week or two ago, if someone had said that spring was just around the corner, I would have never believed them.

Soooooo happy! Spring is on the doorstep, winter is almost past.

We had...

2010-03-12T22:25:00.001-05:00

Thunder.

We had hail.

And developed another leak in the roof.

But did we have a baby?

NO.

Just a tiny human battering ram who is never ever ever going to come out.

Thunder?

2010-03-11T23:30:00.001-05:00

Not a rumble of thunder today, after all. It was cloudy and wet from time to time, but no thunder.

Well, how am I supposed to have this baby? Nary a contraction either! Although she is busy trying to bust an exit...no luck, baby! All the ones before you have tried, and none successful yet. :-)

They are saying thunder and hail tomorrow as the low pushes through.

I can't say I'm looking forward to labor but I am looking forward to meeting this little one who is causing me so much stress.

Praying and hoping (and sometimes despairing) constantly.....

40wks 3days, still here but....

2010-03-11T07:47:00.001-05:00

she turned head down yesterday afternoon and today is thunderstorm day. :-)

I hope if she comes today, that she comes earlier rather than later. :-)

40 wks 2 days and still still still here

2010-03-10T09:57:00.002-05:00

...and she's still hanging out breech, still moving around a lot, starting to get uncomfortable. She is not a very big baby which is enabling all her movement. I am glad and thankful she is active though!

Doc is happy to continue to wait things out. We may have to make a decision next week as to what to do, but for now, things are okay.

I think I will be glad to have her born and not pulverising my guts any more. LOL.

Back a couple weeks ago when we had all that snow on the ground, and I was in the midst of winter doldrums, I told hubby that I wanted three days of warm sunshine, flowers and bunnies, a big thunderstorm (so I can go into labor) and then come home with a baby, to spring. Well, little did I know that we would get 3 days of beautiful sunshine, crocuses on the ground, bunnies, and the thunderstorm is supposed to come tomorrow. God surprises me sometimes. :-) Turn, baby, turn! Tomorrow is your day. :-)

39wks 6 days still still here but barely

2010-03-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

Oh, I thought we were going in last night. I was awake with productive contractions all night long. Which provided a great opportunity for prayer, which I needed.

Unfortunately, baby is still (or was --not sure at the moment) breech, and she didn't turn, and the contractions fizzled out (which is a good thing, because I'd still like to avoid a C-section, naturally!) and today is going on pretty much as normal, except that we missed church and I am extremely sleepy!

So tomorrow is my due date, and if I don't have another night like last night, baby will actually be due or overdue.

Please pray for our baby to turn, to be healthy, for an easy labor and delivery, and for everything to turn out fine. I have had a great deal of anxiety, which is normal for me, but it would be great if I would, for once, learn to trust. I feel pretty good right now and clinging to the promises of God.

LOVES LOVES LOVES

39wks 1day --still here

2010-03-02T17:16:00.001-05:00

The little darlin' decided to turn breech over the weekend. Went in for appointment, doc confirmed via ultrasound. Frank breech, sitting fairly low, hanging on to the umbilical cord for dear life. I think she is scared to come out and be part of this big crazy family! LOL.

We are just waiting it out for now. I have never been pregnant this long before. :-)

Is Today the Day?

2010-02-24T10:04:00.001-05:00

38 wks, 2days...weather system coming in...other prelabor signs...but no contractions yet.

Will keep you posted!

Today I have packing to do, pediatricians to find, cleaning (natch), and freezer meals to cook and get in the freezer. If baby can hold off until I get that stuff done, I will be extremely happy.

That's all for now.

Ho. Ly. Cow.

2010-02-03T17:09:00.002-05:00

I have my shoes on.

I'm 35+ weeks pg and I have my shoes on.

Yes, that is my accomplishment for the day. I am so exhausted from putting on my shoes.

Scenes From Christmas

2010-02-02T14:12:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share a few photos of our Christmas season, even though it's now well past Christmas and already into February! Time flies...but yay for that, because...it's almost spring!

We had my cousin's family of six come to stay for a while over the Christmas season. With four extra children in the house, we all had a blast. This is Jada, my cousin's youngest daughter.

One afternoon we sat all nine children down and made graham cracker gingerbread houses.

This sort of thing is right up Roks' alley.

Roks' very friendly house

This is my cousin's oldest daughter, Talitha, with her house.

And here are all the little houses in the front window. They really were cute.

Besides the dolls I made this year, there were other handmade gifts - not made by me. Miss Rose and Joman felted balls for the younger children.

Miss Rose made these awesome Spongebob jammies for Roks. They are his favorite.

And Miss Rose also made this adorable Waldorf-style dolly, from Living Crafts Magazine, for the Gater.

The little Gater was well and truly walking by Christmas! So cute. She walks just like a penguin.

We had Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was a jolly good time.

This is one of my favorite photos. I looked up to see Grandpa and the Gater sharing Christmas cookies...and aw, melted my heart.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

I'm kind of behind on holiday pictures...

2010-02-01T10:05:00.002-05:00

but I wanted to show you what I made for my niece, for her birthday in January.

E had a Hawaiian Luau theme for her party, and was wearing a gorgeous dress? Muumuu? Don't know what it was, but it was pretty. I made her something to wear, but it didn't have a Hawaiian theme :-)

Here is E opening the gift.

I think she likes it!

And it fits perfectly, which is a relief.

Miss Rose brought her prairie dress to the party too (although she has grown so much since I made it for her only a year ago! She needs a new one!) and the girls had a fun time playing with the Holly Hobbies and dressing up.

Tea Rooms and Other Dreams of Mine

2010-01-30T11:11:00.001-05:00

Ya know what I would really *love* to do? Something that's been a dream of mine since I can remember?

Have a tearoom. A lovely tearoom in a lovely garden that serves up lovely scones and jam and cream, and homemade pies, and isn't overly girlified or stultifying or la-de-dah.

I wouldn't require people to come at 11am OR 2pm; I wouldn't require reservations months in advance; I wouldn't act like tea was some magical potion; I wouldn't charge $20 a head.

I wouldn't tell people how to eat their scones or how to drink their tea.

I'd have tables set up in the garden and allow people to arrange pretty parties for their pre-teen girls. I'd make little quiches and fairy bread and pikelets and melting moments.

But men and boys would be welcome too, and not feel out of place -- I'd have whopping huge, warm scones, and big salad sandwiches.

It would be awesome.

Forgive the Brevity...

2010-01-29T22:41:00.001-05:00

...I'm just trying to get back into the habit of posting. I don't really have anything to say. I have a few pics to show you of stuff I've made recently.

These are three little girls I made for my three little nieces in Australia. They are from a 1973 Holly Hobbie pattern. When I was little, my mom made the same dolls for myself and my girl cousins. It was a lot of fun to see them "come to life" again.

And here are my other niece (on the left) and my two daughters with the little girls I made for them.

I have two more to make for two baby girlies yet to make their arrival. I have all the stuff but not the energy. :-)

Turkish Pide

2010-01-28T20:52:00.001-05:00

Tonight I tried making Turkish pide.

It turned out pretty good. :-)

Taste of a Great Country

2010-01-27T14:31:00.001-05:00

The Aussie Salad Sandwich (made in America)

Star players: aged Wisconsin cheddar , freshly shredded (.75) ; grated carrot (.10); tomato (.50); red onion (.25); cucumber (.25); sliced pickled beets (.20); finely sliced lettuce (.15); 4 bakery rolls, crisped in the oven (.75); condiments (s & p, miracle whip, a little spread/butter) (.10)
Prep time: 30 minutes (but there's enough salad prepped for another set tomorrow)

Total cost for 4 as above: $3.05
Taste: priceless

Hoping to post soon...

2010-01-16T11:07:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry for the delay in posting! I was way, way busy over the holiday season, and soon I'll get some pictures and details up for you.

In general news, I'm now in the 8th month of pregnancy, and everything is going fine. I am looking forward to being done (hopefully) with pregnancy for a while and letting my body recover and strengthen. 4 kids in 5.5 years is a lot for an old chook like me, and I have the older two to keep up with, too. I feel a bit like they are being deprived by the constant pregnancy/nursing cycle, and they would probably like to do a few more age-appropriate activities.

Been crafting a lot.

That's all, really. God is good!

Making Donuts is Easy

2009-12-03T12:08:00.001-05:00

First, you get your donut seeds.

Put them in a nice place where they have room to grow.

Arrange them neatly so there is enough space.

Sprinkle them with donut powder so they will grow nice and healthy.

Now they are ready to grow.

Put them in a nice dark place. They grow like mushrooms. Five minutes is long enough.

Look, they grew into big donuts! Aw, all except one little dud.

The rest of them are real tasty though.

See? Making donuts is easy.

It's Somebody's Third Birthday

2009-11-06T19:38:00.001-05:00

We celebrated somebody's birthday today.

Bert turned THREE! Already, can you believe it?

(The Gater is walking a few steps at a time, too, but we won't mention that since it's Bert's birthday and we don't want to steal his thunder.)

After we went to Cracker Barrel for brunch -- Bert loves pancakes....

we did a little shopping and then came home to have cake and ice cream and presents with Grandma and Grandpa.

Auntie Hannah and Uncle Steve sent this play food. Both of the little kids love it!

We had to break up a few food fights.

Miss Em and Joman made the cake.
Happy Birthday, Bert!

Halloween

2009-10-31T21:39:00.002-04:00

Fall is fading fast, and within a few days, the trees will be naked, and winter will make a visual, if not actual, appearance.

I walked around the house to get a few pictures, of nothing in particular. Just fall-looking things, and stuff laying around.

Michael's had a great sale -- $1.99 for the grapevine wreaths, $.99 for the fall flowers/leaves, and 40% off the ribbon. So for less than 10 bucks and 10 minutes, I was able to throw this wreath together. It doesn't look professional, but it's nicer than a plain door.

Roks' Christmas stocking in progress.

Sewing today. I think the view from the windows will be changing soon. We can already see the cars zooming past -- they are no longer hidden behind a strip of trees and brush.

We hadn't intended to do anything for Halloween this year. It's just not our favorite holiday. But our neighbors-across-the-street were not vacationing this year, and their children wanted to go with ours. So at about 5:53pm they kids threw on whatever they could find for costumes, and off they went.

Daddy and Gater handed out the $6 worth of candy I had bought. I had planned to eat it or give it to our non-trick-or-treaters, but it turned out that we were glad I'd bought it after all. Hope the visitors weren't too disappointed. They each got a chocolate eyeball and two Hershey's kisses (or one Reese's cup.)

Joman carved this pumpkin last night.

And Miss Rose carved the jack-o-lantern face.

Bert was too afraid to look at himself in the mirror.

Sunday Walk

2009-10-25T22:04:00.001-04:00

Last Farmers Market Day, 2009

2009-10-11T11:00:00.001-04:00

Saturday was the last day of the local Farmers Market.

Some of us had been feeling a little shut-in, so we decided to jump in the car and get out there.

Not much produce at this time of year, but there were lots of lovely pumpkins. Besides the great huge orange jack-o-lantern pumpkins, there were also these fancy styles; and stands selling handcrafts, pottery, local honey and beeswax, homebaked pies and breads, jams, jellies and salsas, and much more.

Since it was the last day of the season, the Market had some special activities for children.

Pony rides, unusual animals, a Fall crafting station, a chalk-art storyteller, and lots of fun games.

The Gater was feeling much better, having been able to get out for a while. Although it was very cold and muddy! We arrived as the market opened, so it was still early and very chilly.

Bert loved this game. I think he always wanted a chance to throw pumpkins.

Sad that the markets have come to an end already. But there are always a lot of fun things to do in Fall, anyway.

Fall means Back To School

2009-10-10T15:03:00.001-04:00

Roks started kindergarten this fall.

He especially likes the "garten" part. Most especially the "callerpilter" part of the "garten" part. This 3.5" caterpillar eating the Japanese maple was a Polyphemus moth-to-be. This was the first caterpiller we've ever seen that Roks wouldn't touch. Roks thought the caterpillar might take a pretty good bite out of him if it had a mind to.

Miss Rose saved up her allowance for a long time, and bought herself a brand new sewing machine.

Then she sat and taught Roks to use her little sewing machine.

School is fun. Actually, sewing is "CooL."

The Gater has learned how to grow teeth.

Mamma's making progress on the never-ending-afghan. But she's having to put it away for a while to make time for other projects.... It's holiday season right around the corner!

Art & Artists

2009-09-05T09:15:00.001-04:00

If you have followed our blog for some time, you will know that we encourage the children strongly when it comes to art (and music, and science, and literature, and....)

Today I took the children out to a small art exhibition, with art by Thom Van Benschoten. They were intrigued by the detail in Van Benschoten's pencil and pen-and-ink drawings.

Some of the places portrayed looked oddly familiar, but set in a different time...

Some stories portrayed were fun to talk about...

Some places portrayed, we've seen...

And some of the artwork was original for sale...

Some was particularly impressive to the little boys...

Some was nostalgic.

All of it was lovely, and so very finely detailed.

Mr V.B. had included a few pencil portraits of children as examples, for anyone who would like a pencil portrait of their own families. The prices were reasonable, but my children were amazed that someone would pay so much for something "anyone" could do.

I said, "'Anyone' could do that? Do you think so?"

Joman said, "Well, YOU can, Mom."

I said, "Well, first of all, I'm not 'anyone,' and second, I'd have to work a really long time before I could do so well. But you guys take note: work on your talents, and you can have a job you enjoy doing, and make a living at it."

We have been working at home a little bit, here and there. I got out some watercolors we've had for a few years, and a very good botanical art book, and gave it a try. I wish we had time to sit and paint more often.

Inspiration from the book

Inspiration from the garden

Of course, if a child is inclined to be arty, they will always find a way. :-)

Kater-Gater's Birthday -- Summer Photos part 3

2009-09-04T09:16:00.001-04:00

Apologies for the overabundance of baby photos, following. She's so cute. I culled as many as I could. :-)

In August, Katy turned 1. We had a small party for her.

I'm going to let Woby narrate these photos for you.

Wook! Gamma! Arin! Emmy! Joe! Wook! Cookies!

Bebe Teetee! Emmy, book!

Bebe Teetee's open pesents!

Teetee's Bunny! Mmm, bunny!

Wook! Cookies, cookies! Ha ha ha! Beer cake, heart!

Daddy and Bebe Teetee.

Toby, Bebe Teetee, one, cake! Cake beer!

Bebe Teetee in high cheer!

Peetchure Bebe Teetee! Bye bye!

Summertime Photos Part 2

2009-09-03T09:03:00.001-04:00

Miss Rose and I joined a group that makes "6-hour Quilts" for charity. There is a specific method to making this kind of quilt, but it's quite simple, and we have enjoyed learning how.

Later in July, we held our first annual family birthday party. With seven (soon to be eight) people celebrating birthdays each year, we thought it might be a lot more fun to celebrate with the small family on the date (most of us with winter birthdays,) and have one big party for everyone in the summer, when it's nice outside.

Activites for everyone: marshmallow shooters (and wars,) painted flower baskets, painted wooden snakes and lizards, and games like cornhole and soccer.

We ate a lot of food, then had a fabulous magic show, then ate a lot more food.

For some reason, Grandpa always, always gets picked as a volunteer. He's had worse assignments than this one, I promise you.

Hee. Cute babies.

Summertime Photos Part 1

2009-09-02T19:48:00.001-04:00

It's almost the end of summer. Can you believe it? We actually had quite a busy summer, although I didn't post much on the blog. Just thought I'd share a few pictures with you, of things you probably haven't seen yet.

Roks turned five years old. Around the same time, he changed his name to Flower Rocket Star, but that was too long to put on his requested "colorful soccer ball" cake.

Aunty Hannah and Uncle Steve sent this Butterfly Garden kit, and oh, my...did he ever love it. Roks' favorite thing in the entire universe is "callerpilters." He is a man obsessed. We ordered the painted lady caterpillars, and he raised them all successfully to beautiful butterflies. Now he talks incessantly of chrysalises and butterfly life cycles. Thanks Aunty Hannah and Uncle Steve!

In July, we made another trip up to Amish Country. I had intended to do a post entirely about this trip, but I guess I won't ever get around to it. So here are the photos with some brief descriptions.

Best food in the county. Guggisberg.

Pie, of course. Very important.

While we were eating, a big storm blew up, with clouds barely clearing the ground. There was a tornado warning, and a howling wind. But in just a few minutes, it was over. When we went outside half-an-hour later, the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and it was just lovely outside.

Cutie. :-)

Guggisberg Cheese Factory.

These folk sit across the street from the cheese factory and sell their wares. The elderly man is Old Order Amish, and the girl selling baskets with her little brother is from one of the strictest sects of Amish, the Swartzentrubers.

I don't know what this is. But it was friendly.

Granny's quilts. Love this place. Got that pattern I was after, too.

$500.00, and this Amish buggy is yours.

We ate with this Amish family, the Masts. They host dinners in their home.

Here are the buggies of their grown children and grandbabies, who came to help serve, eat, and clean up dinner.

We spent some time relaxing by the pond at Guggisberg Swiss Chalet.

This is one of the many one-room Amish schoolhouses. We were able to see many Amish teens playing sports on the weekend too, and very many families gathered together to cook out and picnic in the front yards. I don't think we saw a front porch without someone young or old sitting, a-rocking on it.

These are buzzards, and they were eating raccoon road-kill before we pulled up.

The end.

Tasha Tudor Day 09

2009-08-28T22:58:00.001-04:00

Tasha Tudor Day is annually, on the 28th of August, which was her birthday.

Tasha Tudor is a fairly new discovery for me. As a matter of fact, I read a book about her garden a very long time ago, but I just didn't "get" it, and sent it back to the library, forgetting all about Tasha.

But recently, I came across the book again, as I was preparing my own garden. This time, I was hooked -- by her garden, her lifestyle, and Tasha herself. What a singular person Tasha was!

When I discovered that today was the anniversary of her birthday, it seemed like a good time to help the children experience a little of the Tasha magic.

In the morning, after breakfast, Daddy took the children for a long walk in the woods.

While they were gone, I ate my breakfast of homemade yogurt, homemade granola, and strawberry jam the neighbors harvested and canned. I brought out the tablecloths and picked what seems to be the last straggly flowers of the season. Not much to look at, but we'll miss them when they leave us in the fall, just around the corner!

When the family arrived back home, we ate a light lunch of Cream of Chicken Soup, Cheddar Cheese Rounds (Tasha's receipts,) grapes, and orange juice.

Then we set to work on making some small soft furnishings for the dolls' house. Roks (5) learned to "embroider" a pretty tablecloth for the dolls' table, and the older two children and I made tiny braided rugs to keep their feet warm.

Daddy and Bert worked outside in the garden, tidying up and weeding around the flowers. Roks joined in as soon as he was finished stitching and fringing his table cloth.

They have a lovely pumpkin growing in spite of devastating bug/fungus attack, and had three watermelons.

We thought it would be a great idea to let the chicken ladies into the garden, to eat the grass growing up around the end-of-summer-season veggies. They did do a lovely job of eating lots of clover and grass -- but also helped themselves to several cucumbers, quite a lot of celery, and two of the watermelons.

Daffodil, a Buff Orpington

Bessie, a Plymouth Rock Barred, and Ruffian, an Araucana.

Tigger, an Araucana

Truckster and Tigger, side by side -- Araucanas.
We have two more Buff Orpingtons, another Araucana and another Plymouth Rock Barred.

We collected up the eggs, one blue, one green, and three brown -- and took them inside, to make a tasty custard for dinner dessert. We collected a huge brown egg a couple of days ago, and we used it too. When we broke it open, it had two full-size yolks. Good work for a young chicken lady.

In the late afternoon we had a small tea-break, with homemade hot chocolate and marshmallows. And we worked on our projects, finally getting them finished a little bit too late for mamma to make dinner. So we had fried chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans, but not homemade. :-)

After dinner, we ate the silky-smooth custard (Tasha's receipt,) courtesy of the lovely chicken ladies, topped with a drizzle of home-produced maple syrup from our neighbors' maple trees.

Tasha Tudor Day was quite a lot of fun for everyone.

But oh! the house is messy!

Why I am Not Impressed...

2009-08-25T12:14:00.001-04:00

...with having to ask the State's permission to homeschool:

http://www.wlwt.com/download/2009/0825/20546588.pdf

Read and weep.

Maybe Ohio should be minding its own business on the subject of education.

Permission

2009-08-10T12:06:00.002-04:00

Today I get to put together all the documents necessary to beg permission from the powers-that-be to educate my own children in my own home, for another year.

The longer I homeschool, the more ludicrous this process seems.

FWIW, they both scored in the 99th percentile in their standardized testing this year.

My just-turned-5yo will homeschool kindergarten also. He can already read, add, subtract, and do all sorts of other kiddie tricks, so I think he will do well. I don't have to beg permission to educate him formally until next year.

:-)