Because...

Because he loves a good beer and I am learning to & because I love organic and he is learning to.

St. Patrick's Day Cookies

Remember those yummy cookies? Well, they inspired these yummy cookies. The plan was to make shamrock cookies but…we didn’t have a shamrock cookie cutter. The cookbook suggested using a club cookie cutter if a shamrock one was not available. Who has a club cookie cutter? Oh, wait! I actually do! What are the odds? I think I have an entire set-club, heart, diamond, spade. They are a vintage set of cookie cutters that dough gets impossibly stuck in. Not at all practical to use. Instead we made green dough and cut out hearts.

the hoop

I have had this secret desire to know how to hula-hoop. Six weeks ago, the kids and I were in Target. The boys were looking at Nerf guns, which happened to be in the same aisle as the hoops. This cool looking purple and silver hoop called out to me, "buy me, buy me." I did. I bought that hoop. And it took me 2 days and some super tender ribs, but I learned to hoop! Honestly, my lower ribs felt bruised. But when I had the knack of it, it was totally worth it! I was hooked! I love my hoop!

I recently went into a store to find out about buying a real grown up hoop. The whole scene went like this. Me, going into a bicycle shop, a hippie-friendly bicycle shop and asking if they knew about any place where I could get a hoop. And not the kid type of hoop, but the real deal, hoop. The guy told me about a clothing store where the people hoop. He told me he didn't know if they had hoops there, but that he knew they hooped.

I went into the store, a vintage-ish clothing store and told them the guy in the bicycle shop had told me they hooped. The woman behind the counter instantly brightened and she took me over between two racks of clothes, reached in past the clothes and pulled out some hoops. Cool. Although it sorta felt like asking to buy something illegal since they were stashed away out of sight.

Those hoops were great. The price was reasonable, except that that reasonable price times 5, no longer seemed so doable to me. The kids have been begging for hoops since I got mine. Seeing those hoops inspired me. We could make our own. It would be more cost effective, everyone can get the size that is best for them and we can do custom colors for each person. Hopefully someday...sooner rather than later we will make some hoops. Photos will be posted should we actually get that done.

Whipped Shea Butter

I finally figured out a whipped shea butter recipe that is the consistency I prefer. I have ordered a wonderful whipped butter moisturizer that was delightful, but I wanted a certain scent, so I started experimenting. My first batch was okay. It was a good starting point. When I ran out and made more, I made a few adjustments and it turned out well. Just how I like it.

Here is the melted shea butter (melted in a double boiler) and other oils. I let it sit out for awhile to solidify somewhat before whipping it.

It whipped up so well! Nice and light. It is the perfect moisturizer for my winter-dry skin.

Want the recipe? Here it is:

2 ounces shea butter (look for fairly traded and unrefined. Prairieland Herbs is a good source.)

1 and 1/3 ounce jojoba oil

a few drops Vitamin E oil

32 drops essential oils (blend as you see fit or skip this for unscented moisturizer)

The Core by Leigh A. Bortins

I started this post back in January. January! Finally, I am getting back to it. I put it off, in part, because I felt inadequate to express how important this book is. I still don't feel adequate to write it, but inadequacies aside, here I go.

Leigh Bortins, author of The Core, is the founder and CEO of Classical Conversations. When we started on our CC journey, I had high hopes. Yet, I held those hopes at arms length. I was wary, not wanting to just be excited about some new thing that would at first seem all shiny and enticing, but whose luster would fade as time when on.

Today we are on Spring Break, having completed over 3/4 of our CC school year. The verdict is (drum roll), it has met and exceeded my hopes. Classical Conversations has been a fantastic fit for our family. I am so thankful.

My all time favorite homeschool book has been The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. I received that book before I started homeschooling and still refer to it. The Core now sits next to it as far as books that have highly influenced my approach to homeschooling. I like it that much. And I prefer The Core in that it is shorter, easier to read and more applicable to those who opt not to homeschool. The Core is very good at boiling down what is essential and focusing on that. The Well-Trained Mind is still top in reviewing curriculum and helping to plan out a classically focused lesson plan for preK-grade 12.

While reading The Core I found myself both relaxing more about some areas and focusing with renewed strength in other areas. This book helped me to define where my primary effort needs to go. Since the author has older children, her perspective is valuable in helping me to see the areas that seem to come together over time. Basically, I have a better understanding of how to make my effort more effective for the best results over the long haul. I now have a clearer view of how and where we are heading and how to get where we want to go.

Reading this book and participating in Classical Conversations has been a super combination because I have had help and support as I have implemented some new things. That said, I believe every parent and educator could benefit from both the overall theme of this book and from specific ideas mentioned in it.

Here are some quotes from the book:

"Learning should inspire joy bound with constant astonishment at the marvels of creation. Learning should breathe life into us-ignite our imaginations and inspire us to share the ideas we learn with people we love. The joy of learning begins in the home, with the entire world as our classroom. I believe children learn best when their parents and teachers are their heroes."

"The purpose of a classical education is to strengthen one's mind, body, and character in order to develop the ability to learn anything. This requires consistent discipleship or mentoring by a concerned adult over a long period of time with very specific academic goals."

"We've hired professionals and experts to separate the subjects as though humans can segment their lives into artificial compartments. Then the adults wonder why the skills children learned in one "unit" of the day don't translate into another. By our methods of presentation we have taught them to think that they are unrelated. The focus now is on course content and professionalization rather than on the nature of educating a whole, young person who can only become a mature adult by spending time with other mature adults."

"Parents who like to discover and understand new ideas model a lifetime of learning for their children. Be encouraged to think of things you like to do and then find ways to include your children more often. Think about how you learn and why you love the things you love. Share your passions with your family."

"Home-centered education also encourages us to think less about a system of grades and more about the human trying to learn a new skill. Even though this book is addressed primarily to parents and teachers of elementary grades, anyone is a "first-grader" if they are learning the grammar of a new topic. For example, if a retiree decided to learn Russian, she must begin at the beginning."

Specific help I have gained from this book:

• The 3 ways children need to spend time with books. This was extremely helpful.
• It is important to focus more on handwriting and not just so that my children have attractive handwriting. There is more being learned than just letter formation.
• What basic math skills are essential. This has been huge! By focusing on a couple basic things that were being overlooked my kids have made leaps and bounds in their mathematics lessons.
• How to really learn geography. Seriously. In years past we have consistently done geography, but since implementing a new approach we have made more progress in the last 7 months than in all the years prior. My oldest daughter can draw, freehand, a map of Europe and label countries, most capitals and major rivers and mountains. A year ago, I would not have thought that possible and I might have questioned why that was really important.
• Fine arts. We finally have a regular routine that incorporates several aspects of fine arts.

I share these things not to give the false impression that we are so very advanced. We aren't. Each of my kids have subjects they do well in and others that they struggle in. Sometimes the struggles are really tough. We have hills and valleys.

For the last 3+ weeks we have been struggling to get in a motivated school routine. There are so many things that aren't getting done right now, in the way I want to get them done. We are consistently doing school, but it has been a more challenging time.

In this challenging time the difference has been that I, now, have a clearer direction and have been given some tools that help me get back on track when we get off track. For example, I now know how to effectively teach Geography to my kids. Even if we don't study Geography as often as would be ideal, it is okay. We will get to it and when we do there are things that can be done to make the time very effective.

As learning becomes more and more integrated into our normal life, these lulls are less scary to me. There is confidence in knowing that while we have missed a few things, we are regularly getting in the main stuff. We may not be getting in as much as we do during other times, but we are on a path, we have a vision and we are learning side by side.

“Put your hand in mine and let us help one another to see things better.” ~Monet

And so we continue, on this journey of life and learning.

Salad-Making Kit

This was originally posted in October of 2008. It seems like a good "One Change Per Month" post for March. With Spring coming now is a good time to consider joining a CSA. We are coming up to months when fresh, local produce tends to be more abundant. It is a great thing to indulge in and savor! Putting together a salad making basket is a helpful way to have non-refrigerated salad ingredients handy in one spot.

Our family has been seeking to eat more salads, so this "salad basket" evolved. It is full of nuts, seeds and other non-refrigerated items. It is easy to pull out of the pantry and toss items onto salads.

A mortar and pestle is great for quickly crushing flax seeds and other nuts.

When a salad is full of all sorts of extra goodies, it can make a meal in and of itself. And having ingredients handy, makes it easier to get everything ready. Use some day old bread and make croutons to toss in the salad too. YUM!

Our favorite dressing is:

1 Cup of olive oil (get the good kind for salads-it really does taste better)

2 T plus a little extra of balsamic vinegar

2 T of flax oil

2t dijon mustard(or other type of mustard)

This dressing is enough for 1 giant salad or more smaller than giant salads.=)

I have had these photos ready to post for some time and today is the day. It has been a fine day, but one where I have felt less than thrilled with the tasks before me.

I am actually in a food-making rut. And I really like to cook, but with homeschooling and all being more involved this year...I am having to weigh out the reality of making healthy meals from scratch vs. doing the homeschool things I want to do, along with all the other life stuff...once again, I am having to so some soul-searching in order to determine what is realistic for life right now, knowing that once I get it figured out (if I actually do), it will change, and remembering that it is all okay and that there is much goodness in it all. It is that ever delicate search for balance...but for right now, I am going to go prepare enchiladas for dinner. That actually does leave me feeling a bit inspired!

Peek-a-boo

The little peeps are growing up!

Chicken Wire Frame

I have had this frame for a long time. Every once in awhile I change it up a bit. A few months ago I drove by a neighbor's house that had an entire roll of chicken wire set out for the garbage. I stopped and asked if they were really throwing it away and they said they were and that I was welcome to it. Yay! After several "thank yous" I popped it into the van and was on my way. Recently, part of that chicken wire was used on this frame as well as on another frame that I use as a bulletin board in my office. Thanks to M, for stapling it onto the frames. I had been wanting to get it done, but had not gotten around to it.

Lil' Egg

Amongst all the regular sized eggs was this tiny egg. Interesting.

Seeds Family Worship

I have known about Seeds Family Worship for awhile now, but only recently ordered some of their music. Fantastic. Their songs are scripture put to music. Good music.

So, here is the rundown. You can actually listen to their stuff for free online. This is full songs, full albums. Free. Love that. OR you can order their CDs. And each album comes with 2, that is TWO, identical CDs. That means you can keep one to listen to and give one away OR you can order with a friend, split the cost and each get an album. That is what a friend and I did.

So why order when the music is online for free? We had listened for free for awhile, but my computer speakers are not great or loud enough to hear when you are too far away. Plus, I wanted to listen in the car. Did I already mention that this music is all Bible verses to music? I want my kids to really learn these songs. I want them to memorize them. I find that, for our family, one of the best ways to get in Scripture memory is through music. It is easy and fun that way.

We have Hide 'Em In Your Heart by Steve Green. Both volumes 1&2. And those CD's are good. My kids have listen to them over and over and now know all the songs/verses by heart. Seeds Family Worship CD's are a great next step. The music is a bit more contemporary.

What better way to spend time in the van or before falling asleep in bed at night than listening to God's word and learning His timeless truths? Listening to them over and over lets the words of the Bible sink into young souls. I pray that as my children grow, these songs, learned as young children will bless their lives and come back to the forefront of their minds as they encounter different situations in their lives. And as a mom, it is so easy to get distracted by cares and concerns. Having God's Words playing as we go throughout our day is such a good reminder for me to. I need those regular reminders of God's grace and truths.

Snow Chickens

We had snow a couple of weeks ago and I realized that I didn't get any photos of the kids in the snow, but I did get photos of the chickens!

Gifts That Make Me Happy

Over the years M and I have gotten much better at gift-giving to one another. Okay, so part of the credit goes to Wishpot. The last couple holidays he has done super well! Remember this post where I expressed some thoughts on homeschooling and shared how much I liked this LL Bean bag?

Well, guess what M got me for Christmas. Yup, it is the bag in the above picture. And, I love it! This bag is super. It is roomy, it even fits my camera. Fitting my camera is huge for me. That means I don't have to hold the hands of children while juggling 2 bags-a purse and a camera bag. Another bonus, my boys don't mind holding my purse! Not that they have ever complained about doing that, but I can just sense that they feel a little better about themselves when they are holding this bag verses when they are holding one of my other bags.

This bag, since it wasn't really designed as a purse, is also super durable and water resistant. Really! It has a lining inside that is water resistant. Cool. Okay, and the cost? Are you ready? It was $25 (it would have been $19 without the zipper top)! And M ordered when there were offering free shipping. That just makes it all the better.

While I was experience bag bliss with my newish tote/purse, M did it again. For Valentine's Day he got me a Chico Bag. See it clipped my camo bag in the photo. It is great. Now when I don't think to carry a shopping bag with me, because, "I am not getting anything or not much anyway." and then end up really needing a bag, now I have one handy. Yes, it looks a little nerdy clipped onto the outside of my bag, but I don't really care. They are my bags and I like them.

Flash Card Art

A friend who is an amazing thrifter, found these Bible flash cards at Goodwill and gave them to me. The cards are fantastic. They are simple drawings with just the right amount of that beautiful blue color.

At Ikea they have 3 packs of unfinished frames for $1.99. Seriously. $1.99. So to buy frames for the 12 flash cards I wanted to hang up was less than $8. Love that. The paint I used was basic cheap-o craft paint. It is super easy to clean up and it dries quickly. I mixed two shades of brown to get the color I wanted. I already owned the paint, so that made this project a complete bargain.

Aren't they sweet? And each drawing represents a different Bible story. I adore these. Simple. Vintage appeal. So unique.

This one might be my favorite. But, really, I can't decide. As soon as I was given these cards I knew I wanted to frame some of them and hang them in L's room. Even though the subject matter is completely different from the rest of the pictures hanging in her room, the color schemes go together nicely. It is that eclectic blend that I love. Things that don't seem to go together, but end up working well together.

Then M, my adored husband, as he often does, came through to make this project look great. He hung all 12 of those little pictures. He spaced them perfectly. They look so good. I am not gifted with measuring and hanging. I can measure and I can hang. But for some reason, more often than not things don't end up even. He so often saves me when I tackle some project. I get an idea in my mind and get started, but too frequently some obstacle gets in the way of the idea in my mind becoming reality.

That is where M so often steps in and pulls it all together. He has saved cakes that I was decorating, or attempting to decorate. He has hung so many things up for me, moved things and rehung them when I changed my mind. In fact, right now he is out in our shed stripping the paint off of the old door that I was attempting to transform into a headboard for our bed. I had started sanding, but hadn't gotten back to it. I am so grateful to him for tackling that project. Because of him, it will look so much better in the long run.

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So now I am inspired to pick up some more frames for these flash cards. We bought them years ago on a trip to Hawaii (business for M, fun for me!). I used them with A when he was tiny and just learning his letters, but I always knew I wanted to frame them someday. The illustrations are wonderful and we have a bathroom that they will look great in. I think I may need to make an Ikea run for more frames...

Valentine Yumminess

These are a bit late in being posted, but here they are in all their pink, sprinkled glory anyhow.

Baby Chicks!

Aren't they sweet! This mamma hen showed up on February 11th with all these little chicks. She was ravishingly hungry and quite thirsty when she appeared. We had no idea that she had be sitting on a nest. These babies were quite a surprise and we weren't completely sure what to do with them at first, but C set up a separate spot for them in the coop and the mamma and babies have all been doing quite well. Aren't they adorable?!

In the picture that I posted yesterday she has all the babies tucked underneath her.