This Last Week....

Life just keeps going, doesn't it?  We have had a busy week, but it's been fun!  And maybe even a little productive too. :)  Here's what we've been up to.....

 Badger and The Little Lady are the best of friends.  He is the first one she looks for in the morning.  She says his name!  And he is so patient and good with her.  He loves to make her giggle and I think he is enjoying his first experience with a little girl adoring him.  It's really fun to see their sibling relationship develop.  I'm loving it.

 She is all cuteness....

 She has the sweetest expressions....

 And she has started eating Cheerios. Which is so fun.  She loves to eat and is super sensory with touching and mouthing everything.  I literally save her from certain death several times a day, because she puts everything in her mouth.  And though I watch her without leaving her at all, it is really hard to keep all the little pieces out of reach with four big brothers.  Today I found a teeny, tiny rock in her mouth!  And I had just vacuumed!  Anyway....she is my little monkey.... I am smitten.

 And I'm not sure if you can see it in this picture, but she just got her one top tooth! 

Also this week....we made spring cutout cookies.  It's getting more fun as the boys are more able in the kitchen.  I mixed up the dough while they did school and then let them have at it.  They rolled the dough and cut it mostly by themselves.  Then the next day I frosted while they decorated. 

 Look at those goofy smiles.  We were having a fun time.  And I didn't think of it until I saw this picture, but Badger was reading an encyclopedia about the Revolutionary War (i think it was volume 4)  while decorating cookies.  That's normal right?  This kid still plows through books faster than I can provide them. 

 Also this week, the boys had their first sleepover.  Well, first "friend" sleepover.  (we get to have our cousins usually once a summer!)  It was just two extra boys, but super fun for them.  And as you can see although it's supposed to be Spring already, we still have snow!  That didn't stop them though from playing out in the sun.  They were playing "The Battle of Bunker Hill".  And all I have to say about that is, it's really, really good to have other homeschooled boys to be our best buddies. 

 One of the highlights of my week was one morning when I got a bit of alone time with my boy.  This one just can't get enough of the outdoors.  So while the baby napped, I bribed the eldest boy with a new book to watch her so I could get outside too.  We chipped away at the thick ice that still haunts our front yard. 

 We drank some warmth together.  This boy loves coffee.  (don't worry I only let him have a sip)

 We chatted while he lay in the hammock and I pulled ice off the sprouts from the bulbs that are desperately trying to come up through the cold.  He told me about his hopes for the Summer and how much he loves his brother.  What he wants for his birthday.  How he loves that his Papa has been going for long walks with him.  This kid is such a dreamer and has such a soft, wistful heart.  Of course he is also the one who gets into the most trouble sometimes!  But oh how he has my heart!

 

 And over the week the ice slowly melted away.......

 ......enough so that we could clear off the little side porch and pull out the red chairs.  In the morning it's the best spot to grab a little sunshine and some attention from a brother.

 And lastly....I just had to include these pictures of the littlest three playing together.  The little girl just has to be right where they are.  Notice the boy's hand trying to keep the Legos away.  They are so patient with her and she so persistent!

 Look at how big they are compared to her.  That is boy #3 and boy #4.

 My little punkin.....

Love.

Seeds and Homemade Bagels

 It's that time of year again!  Time to plant seeds!

 This year we are trying something a little different and planting in toilet paper rolls.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!  Supposedly it works well because you can just pop them right in the ground without disturbing the roots of your seedling, and the paper roll just biodegrades in the garden.  You have to put them on a watertight tray though.  And...we learned the hard way that you also have to be careful not to bump them when you are filling them with dirt because obviously the dirt comes out of the bottom when tipped.  I imagine this will be less of a problem once there are plant roots growing though.

 Hen was very excited about digging in the dirt.  And remembered some forgotten tulip bulbs that needed a home.  So he got right to it, filling up a pot for them.  The older boys made a paper funnel to help get the soil into the tubes a little more easily.

 Wait a second...Hen....you are supposed to be putting dirt in the pot....hmmm......

Cricket helped too.  He is always ready for a project this one.  I love that about him.  He's totally rockin' that long hair too, isn't he?  

 What did we plant?  Parsley and Basil and Kohlrabi.  We hope to do broccoli and a few other things this next week.

 The little girl loves to watch her brothers in action.  She is such a riot watching them, laughing at them, chatting with them.  She is saying words!  This morning she said "stinker!" clear as a bell.  Ha!

 Also this week, Cricket got his hair cut.  And while I am all for him having choice with things like his personal style, I have to admit that I like his hair shorter.  This picture shows a wee bit of the brotherly goofiness that these two eldest guys get up to.  It's way more entertaining in real life.  Trust me.

 

Our other project for the week was making bagels.  So fun!  I have no idea why it took me so long to try making them.  Maybe they seemed too involved somehow.  It was so easy though.  Although Badger mixed up the dough entirely by himself and all I had to do was help him finish the kneading.  It is so helpful to have a boy who knows his way around the kitchen.

 Here they are before their water bath.  Then...into the pot for seven minutes!

 We decided to put some sucanat and cinnamon on top, because we...okay me.....I....was having a need for a treat that day. 

 Goofball.  My adorable, helpful goofball.

 Here they are all ready to be popped into the oven.  Yum!  They were a treat indeed.

The Whole Thing

One of the things that I've had to revisit over and over in this crazy, messy, beautiful life of ours is figuring out our priorities.  The thing is, you think you know what your priorities are, until something happens to make life even crazier, busier, and more beautiful than you anticipated.  Then one day you wake up and realize that you really don't have the time or energy to live up to all your ideals.  You have to figure out what is really important.  I mean uber important.  Like so important that you will lose sleep for it.  Or give up alone time for it.  Or your last five dollars for.

And I don't have it all figured out, by any means.  I'm just learning what works for us, and what's worth fighting for.  And so we are in this season of change....learning how to live out what is important to us.  Because there is nothing that points out your inconsistencies like parenting a pre-teen!

And this brings me to ....the menu....because whole food is one of those things that got put aside for a wee bit while we were getting used to having five.  And when I say "put aside" I just mean that we perhaps ate out more than we should and started taking some shortcuts that allowed me less time in the kitchen, but meant more processed food.  But no more!  Baby may be crawling and teething and needy, but we need to be healthy!  So I have dove right back into the kitchen with menu in hand.  And I'm pleased to be able to tell you that it's been a few weeks and I'm sticking with it.

So...here's the menu for the week....made with almost all organic ingredients with the music turned up and a baby on the hip....

S - Hardboiled eggs and homemade almond scones
      Roasted garlic chicken (crockpot) with roasted brussel sprouts and spuds
      Spinach Lasagna with Italian salad

M - Whole wheat pumpkin waffles
      Pesto grilled cheese and sliced apples
      African Pineapple Peanut Stew

T - Oatmeal with raisins and nuts
      Pesto pita pizzas and raw red peppers
      Black bean and Sausage soup with whole wheat corn bread muffins

W -Eggs and toast
     Leftover soup and corn muffins
     Beef and Broccoli stirfry with brown rice

Th - Oatmeal with raisins and nuts
       Peanut Butter and Fruit Sandwiches with carrot sticks
       Brats and Kraut and Roasted spuds

 F - Whole wheat blueberry pancakes
      Leftovers and yogurt fruit smoothies
      BLTs with sweet potato fries

S - Eggs and homemade biscuits
      And the rest of Saturday will have to be whatever random thing I can make with what is left in the fridge and pantry....

So there you have it!  What's cookin' at your house?

Peaches, Flooring, and Happenings...

 Nope.  Not apples.  Peaches.  Because that's how ambitious I am!  On top of all the harvesting here, I decided to buy a box of Michigan peaches to put up for the winter.  They were beautiful....I couldn't resist!

 I blanched them, and the boys peeled them.  All 68 of them or something like that.  Then I sliced them and froze them for peach crisp, and peach pie, and fresh peaches on our granola. Yum!

 Six giant bags of peaches are in my freezer. :) And 26 jars of homemade salsa are in my cupboard!  Thanks to my mom who brought tomatoes from a friend and worked hard hard hard with me all last Saturday.  And well, actually there are only 13 jars in the cupboard she has half of them.  

Also, recently...the men put in the laminate floor in the orange room.  Our eldest son worked all day with papa on measuring and cutting boards and laying them down.  It was a joy to see them work together, and to witness how capable our boy is.  How hardworking and interested and helpful.

We've also just been getting into the swing of school.  Our days go so well when I actually get my stuff together ahead of time and have lots of projects and ideas for them.  No, I don't actually always "do" the stuff with them, but I am the idea maker alot of the time!  Having more structure in our school day really seems to suit us.  It's definitely NOT like school structure at all.  More like...have lots of things lined up to do that are interesting, hands on, and pertinent and then go with the flow.  But we do make sure we get to Math, Bible, and Handwriting everyday, while the other subjects kind of shift around depending on how we are doing, what harvesting needs to get done, and what field trips we are taking!  It's been a good fall so far.  I hope it continues so!

Makin' Grape Juice

The autumn days have settled in here and along with the cool crisp days comes the ripening of the orchard.  The apples are ready on the Cortland tree and the Concord grapes are starting to ripen.  It is such a blessing to have all of these good things growing right in our own little spot of earth.  But it can also mean a lot of work! 

This year, the boys are a bit older, and so we've decided to have a Harvest Week instead of the more structured book type learning of "regular" homeschool days.  They were excited to get started so I set them to work right away!

The two eldest boys washed the grapes, plucked them from their stems, smashed them up and put them into a pot.  The smashing was by far the most exciting part.  They are so juicy!

 Here they are all smashed up and ready to cook.  Did you know that concords are green on the inside even when ripe?  It's the skin that gives the juice that dark color. 

 They cook over medium heat just until they boil for a few minutes to release the juice.  Then it all gets put into a cheesecloth to be strained.

 The color is so beautiful to me and the whole process smells soooo good.  I let it sit in the cheesecloth for a day or overnight and then carefully pour it into a big glass jar for the fridge or freezer.  And Yes! We drink it straight!  It's sooooo tart!  We put it over ice-cubes and it's a fun time.  I also use it to make grape jelly.  Homemade grape jelly tastes so much better than the store bought kind and it's a treat to have a jar in the pantry come winter.

So right about now you might be wondering how I manage to get this done with little Hen always getting into things!  He is definitely into things!  (i love it!)  Well...the two older boys were so helpful that while they were making the grape juice I made a batch of chocolate zucchini bread, which kept Hen busy.

*Don't miss out on the opportunity to win something from my Etsy shop!  You still have two days to sign up.  I hope to hear from you about which one you like as it's an important part of the learning process in this whole adventure!  Thanks!

How to Make Fresh Pesto

The basil is ready!  Are you? :)

 Reba's Pesto Recipe....adapted from the Moosewood cookbook....

6 cups fresh basil leaves (packed cups)
2/3 cups organic olive oil
2/3 cups fresh parmesan cheese
6-8 large cloves of garlic

Put the basil and garlic into a food processor and process until very finely chopped.  Add the oil and cheese and process just a bit more.  That's all!  It's that simple!  Add to pasta or pizza or chicken or fish for a delightfully, fresh summer flavor.

Variations:  You can add toasted pine nuts or walnuts to add a nice nutty flavor.  You can also substitute part spinach for the basil.  (really you can, and it still tastes great!)

To store the pesto...put into a glass jar, smooth out the top and add a small layer of additional olive oil.  This helps preserve the fresh green color and makes it last longer.  It should keep for up to two weeks in the fridge.  Pesto freezes really well too so go ahead and make a couple of batches for those winter days that are sure to come.  Enjoy!

Chai Tea Cake

Waiting for the cake to cool.  Thought I'd pass this one on to you, because it's that good!  It was originally given to me by my long lost friend, Jack, but I've made some adaptations.  So, here we go....

Chai Tea Cake

5 tea bags of good quality chai tea (i used Stash)
1/2 c. milk
1 stick of butter (i use unsalted)
1 c. sugar (i use organic sucanat, but brown sugar would work, and I suspect honey would too, although decrease amount to 3/4c. if using honey)
3 eggs (room temp is best)
1 2/3 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350degrees.  Prepare 9 inch round pan by greasing and flouring.  (makes a nice bundt cake if the recipe is doubled)

Over low heat, heat milk until small bubbles appear.  Remove from heat and add tea bags.  Let the mixture cool and squeeze out the tea bags into the milk.

In a separate large bowl, combine butter and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.   Add eggs and whisk together.  Add milk and tea mixture.  Whisk until combined.

In separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.  Then add to wet and stir until combined.  Pour into prepared pan and bake.  The 9 inch pan takes about 30 minutes.  The bundt pan a little longer, like 45 minutes.  (Check it with a toothpick to make sure the middle is done.)

This is delicious as is!  But it looks extra nice with a bit of powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

I'm about to make the one pictured above and it's partner (a 9 inch round) into a Star Wars Hoth Cave cake for Cricket's birthday brunch tomorrow. :)  I'll try to post pictures tomorrow of the finished cake!

This Spring Day

Breakfast with berries and cream is always a good way to start out the day.  J made the coffee, I made the waffles.  The boy cleaned the berries and we were all set.  I love breakfasts together.  It is rare for us to be able to eat together on the days that J works, without it feeling rushed.  I have been making a better effort to get up early and just get breakfast started earlier, and it is making our mornings much nicer. (note to self, getting up early is not just for "me time", I can get up early to help others too)

We made an effort to finish some things we've been working on and get them out of the way early in the day.  So we tackled math and history and cleaning.  Go team!  The littlest two were kept busy with this novel idea....  

 A Balloon!

 They had so much fun!

 They played for about an hour while I cleaned the kitchen and did laundry.  I think I'm finally caught up from being sick over the past month.  Honestly.  I get behind like that and it takes forever to get caught up again!

After lunch, we headed outside to play.  The sunshine was so warm, the sky so blue.  The grass was dry enough to sit on while I weeded the asparagus bed.  I cut fire wood. (for real) They had some jedi training going on.

There was some bird watching...or maybe he was being a spy....

 Then we headed inside for quiet times and I have to say the new couch was incredibly helpful with this today.  No one grumbled a bit and they all rushed to get a good spot on the couch!  After we rested, it was time to get to work on dinner!  Hen helped with the rolling out of the dough.

 Have you ever seen such a cute kitchen helper?

 We made chicken artichoke calzones, one of J's favorites.

 And while we were at it, we made a pizza for later, and this spinach garlic cheese bread.

 After dinner, I was able to go for a long walk with Millie.  It must be spring!  It was still light out when I got home and my soul just felt lighter knowing that longer days are here.  I don't always realize how much the darkness of winter affects me while it's happening.  The sunshine of spring, the light of the longer days....it's like it thaws me from the inside out.  It's such a fantastic feeling of renewal.

Crocus blooming, and hollyhock's green growth.