Little House in the Valley

We've been listening to a LOT of Little House on the Prairie lately, thanks to a recent bunny trail I followed on the web which led me to free* downloads of all the Laura books, read by Cherry Jones.

We're up to By the Shores of Silver Lake and I am so glad I gave the boys Wild West and Powhatan Indian Toobs (link is to a friend's amazon affiliate link...if you search toobs a bunch will come up) in their Easter baskets because they are getting a lot of use!   We have been studying early American history in school, so these books and related activities are a great accompaniment...as long as I pause every now and then to explain some of the prejudices that I never noticed were there the first time I read the books as a child!

 Maybe it's the stash busting urge I get every spring, maybe it's inspired by this recent artwork by my youngest, but I've been doing a little bit of prairie-inspired work myself. 

 I snapped this picture last week as I was eating my breakfast and my oldest was practicing his cursive handwriting (with a sheet inside a page protector and a dry erase marker instead of slate) and "Laura" playing on itunes  in the background.  I'm about 10 rows further along now.  I hope I have enough motivation and fabric to make a rug large enough for our school room, but we'll see.

 *I really hope I'm not going to get nailed for criminal activity....

we interrupt this accidental blog break to bring you...birds!

I happened to glance out my living room window towards our bird feeder yesterday afternoon, and was startled to see a female cardinal in a nearby tree!

After neglecting to fill the feeder for some weeks, it was looking very abandoned of late, so this was a very pleasant surprise.

Boy1 (who informs me that he'd like his moniker changed to "Rocky Rock Lava") and I were able to watch for about 15 minutes as this pair of cardinals were joined by a few juncos and one woodpecker (sapsucker? flicker? didn't stick around long) joined in the afternoon snack before all of them were startled by the sudden appearance of a pair of binoculars in the window and disappeared.

We were ridiculously excited by the color, song, and activity and as soon as they were gone rushed to our bird books and the internet to make sure our identifications were correct and listen to their songs again. We also confirmed that our feeder was in an ideal location for songbirds, especially now that we are a 2 cat family again (as opposed to 5. oy.). Boy1 was even inspired to copy one of the drawings into his notebook to "help him remember it for next time".

Nature study for the day: complete. 

Attention stylish people: help!

so here's the deal.  I took the arms off a huge 100% wool sweater the other day so that the body could become a Christmas pillow.  It was cold, and I'm me, so I stuck the arms on my legs for safekeeping.  Happened to walk past a mirror and think, "hmm....any chance that would work in public?"  I decided to rip the top back a few inches and add ribbing (you can't see from the picture, but it gaps a lot in the back), and now I'm having second thoughts on whether or not I'd be allowed in public with sweaters on my legs.  so...help!  what do you think?

Should I
1) knit more ribbing so they're over my knees and try to figure out what footwear to put with my now stylishly warm legs?
2) bind off, do the same thing on the other one, and never.leave.the.house. with them on? (but of course wear them in the house all winter long because they are SO warm)
3) rip it all apart and make normal wool socks instead
4) something else?
5) ps: no those aren't the needles I stabbed myself in the chin with...and you don't know what I'm talking about, pretend I never mentioned it.

Like father, like son

There's been a lot of acoustic guitar playing going on in our house lately.  A certain Mr. is not only trying to justify a recent purchase (ahem.), he is also involved in church worship and recently has discovered a few new artists on youtube to emulate.  Oh yeah, there was also that Phil Keaggy concert we went to awhile back...

I guess it's no surprise that I walked into the living room a few days ago to find this:

and then a few days after that, this:

all together now, awwww...

PS: yes, I know, we need a new kids' guitar.  Anyone want to donate to the cause?  Guitar must be able to withstand extreme pick work and repeated bashing into doorways.

Benjie and Boo visit (some of) the animals

 *note: all narration provided by the 2yo, several weeks after the fact.*

Benny is feeding the chickens mom! He is dumping some food, it is weally messy and he is in trouble.  Gan' Boo gave him more food. Come here, Chickie, 'mere! Do NOT run away.

 They like it mom! I fwow more.

 He needs a coat, Mom.  Chickens say, "ba ba bawk bawk!"

 I chased them and gave them more food...

 ...but they went inside to lay an egg.  Benny is looking for one egg.

 The sheeps like their food, Mom.

 Benny will give them more food.

 So soft, Mom! Gan' Boo says "move over, Sheep!"

 Sheeps say "BAAAAAA BAAAAAAA!!!!" and I can pet them.

 Right there, sheep.  You need to eat your dinner!

 Benny is petting the so soft sheep.  Boo says "time to go." I like the sheep bewwy much. The blue one likes me.

the end.

decorating the tree

The breakable ornaments are staying in the tote this year, for two reasons.  One: I have 3 boys and 4 cats and one dog (and one husband and one me).  Two: our tree this year is much more "Charlie Brown" than"Clark Griswold."  I love it.

how to manage a year's worth of kids' magazines

 My mother-in-law gifted the boys with a year's subscription to Highlights High Five magazine last year.  We love it! 

This is definitely a magazine worth keeping around so that all 3 boys get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of it.  Just this week I stumbled upon the perfect solution: hole punch each magazine and store them in a binder. 

#3 seems to approve :)

too big for my britches

 so... I got dolled up Thanksgiving weekend to have dinner with my inlaws.  "new" skinny jeans, "new" cowgirl boots...and I don't remember the rest of the outfit because I was that happy about the first two items.  well.  Before we even started eating I ripped the seat of my pants open!  Either I needed bigger pants (ahem.) or this was a classic case of the most comfy pants are probably also threadbare. 

 Now, some people have moms that baked cookies with them in grade school, and now they make great cookies.  Those of you who know me know I tend to put weird things like applesauce in my cookies, so that tells you how much training I've had in *that* department ;-p  However, my mom didn't leave me totally lacking in the skills department.  After years of watching her repair work jeans for my brothers and dad, I like to think that when the need arises I can mend a rip almost as well as she can.  And, Mom, if you are thinking of this as a challenge, I have a pile of boy jeans in the mending basket just waiting for your competitive fingers.)

I'd show you the inside, but apparently Max is enjoying the morning sun.

school for antsy boys

 Every now and then my boys are a bit reluctant to sit down in a chair at a desk with a pencil in hand and workbook in front of them.  And by "every now and then" what I really mean is "nine times out of ten".  When this happens, sometimes I force the issue and other times I switch tactics mid-sentence.  This time I went with the latter.  I colored 12 or so spots in this egg carton with 12 (or so) different crayola markers. 

Then I wrote the color names as well as number names on separate slips of paper.  Boy1's job was to match the words to their color or digit and then help boy2 with his job was to search the house for little objects to match each color.  They both did well and were more than ready to settle down for the rest of our bins by the time all the scavenging was complete.  Bonus: I had a chance to finish the dishes I'd started washing during breakfast.  Boy3 wisely kept himself out of the way, choosing instead to practice his screwdriver and hammer skills on a spare piece of wood.

Thank goodness I have only 3 pupils; I don't know what I'd do with 25 antsy kiddos!

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

I have a recipe just for you! This is one of our favorite breakfasts, whether fresh from the griddle or toasted straight from the freezer.  The original recipe came from a site called MomAdvice (which I've never been to, but that's what the watermark on the original pic says).  I've modified it enough to feel justified in calling it my own recipe now though, so here you go :)

The night before:
mix together:
1 2/3 c milk +2T orange juice (or substitute kefir or sour milk)
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
4T melted coconut oil

*note* you can skip the above step if you want and just start in the morning.  It helps with digestion, but is probably not critical for consumption ;-p  you can also substitute butter for the oil.

In the morning, add:
3t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1 t nutmeg
1 t ginger
1 pinch of salt (1/8 t)
2 eggs
2 t molassas (or brown sugar)
1 c pumpkin puree

Mix together, cook on your waffle iron.  Greasing the griddle not critical if you use coconut oil.  Be careful to let them cook long enough (4-5 minutes) or they will be a gloppy mess and not come off your griddle nicely or be as delicious. 

Best served with coffee in a pretty mug and children just out of camera's eye view

for all the bed stuff.

So our church is having a makeover (new sanctuary!) and part of the project involved removing the old pews to either repurpose or sell.  This past weekend my studly hubby unscrewed a few of the Bible/hymnal racks from the backs of a few pews and handed them to me with a "you had better come up with a use for these fast or they're going back" look on his face.  I'm pretty sure I'm not the only wife in all of creation to ever get that look ;-p  Yesterday I screwed them into the wall next to the bed for 2 of my boys.  I thought perhaps they were for books, but apparently toys also fit quite nicely so there you have it. I love them! There may or may not be 2 more in the basement.  :) 

appreciating the mediocre photos

because right now, they're all I have.  Last week my laptop had a midlife crisis and the hard drive committed suicide, taking with it 3 years worth of bookmarks, downloads, and pictures.  For someone who documents the minutiae of life in an attempt to create a virtual memory bank to draw on in old age (seriously.  almost every memory I have of my own childhood is tied to a photo my mom took of that moment.  If she didn't have a camera back then, my memories would be numbered on one hand.), this is devastating.  I have been telling myself that 100 years ago people didn't even have cameras, but it is not helping.  Knowing what I am losing is hard.

                              (last week we also all had the flu.  talk about adding insult to injury. some of us recovered better than others)

people: back up your computers.  It's easy.  It doesn't take long.  You can do it online, or to a separate hard drive.

(one part of the required outfit for an aspiring astronaut: a shirt with the main constellations on it.  self-satisfied smirk not required)

                      (more astronaut gear:
swim vest temperature controlled underlayer,
snowpants space pants,
camo baby mittens and police helmet super special space gloves and helmet. not shown: the backpack full of
water bottles air tanks.)

anyway, here are a few of the pics taken the last few days that would never have made it onto the blog pre-crash.

                      (this particular morning everyone wanted to work at the school table together)

I will not apologize for blur, lack of artistic positioning, or junk in the background.  I will cherish the little memories that each offers, and share them with you.

                                            (we read a lot of books.  we like most of them)

Because really? I bet about 5 people will read this blog, 1 will comment, and nobody will ever nominate me for popular blogger of the month.  So if all I'm doing here is archiving memories for my own personal enjoyment, so be it =)

                                        (mom and baby giraffe. you can pet them if you want.)

snipping with scissors.

 Some call this kind of thing early Montessori*.  I call it oops-the-baby-found-the-scissors.  And the jar of homemade bookmarks (a.k.a. 1/2" strips of colored paper with a hole punched in the top. a.a.k.a. #1's first moneymaking scheme).

 After working on it for quite awhile on his own I noticed he was becoming a bit frustrated and offered to help.  "No mom I do NOT want help." was his quick reply. So I went back to my work with #1.  About two minutes after that #3 finally relented and asked for help.

 A quick lesson in "thumbs up" for scissors later and he was off and running...er...cutting.  Either way it was a total success. 

#2 offered to help hold the strips and provide moral support.

and now my floor is covered in little pieces of multicolored construction paper. The things I sacrifice to let my littles learn for themselves how to function in this big world...

 Maybe tomorrow I'll set out a blank piece of paper, a brush (with half the handle cut off for ease of use) and a little cup with some watered down elmer's glue. Maybe.

*there are many other blogs I could reference, but this gal has a huge archive and was one of the first places I looked for activities when #1 was almost 2.