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.

March 22

 Rhubarb

 Blackberry Cane

 The girls out enjoying this unseasonably warm weather.

 The apple trees trying to blossom.  Did I mention it's March?

 Pears in bud.

 Currants in bud.  (really unusual for them to bud at the same time as the fruit trees)

 Daffodils flowering about 6 weeks early.

A close up of the vinca vine in our woodland garden.

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!

In the Garden With My Loves...

The garden calls to me in the morning.  I hurry to finish the necessary tasks, the must be dones, so I can head outside.  Some of the special beauties growing there, they wait for no one.  If you don't get up early enough you don't get to see them raising their petals to the sky.

squash flowers at sunrise

 morning glories singing their praises...reaching for the sky...see that one tendril reaching up past the gate  a few feet?

 Some flowers do wait, patiently even.  This one grew in a very unlikely place and gave me quite an interesting perspective when I stooped down to his level.  Funny how a flower can make even an old rusty fence an object of beauty.

 the chicken coop peeking through the morning glories

 Today the first tomato was spied!  He's hiding behind a leaf, blushing red with sweet ripeness.

 This year we were adventurous and planted spaghetti squash.  This one is quite large and the boys check on it every day.  I'm not sure what they are expecting it to do or be but they think it is amazing that it grew from the small seed they put into the ground last May.

 Hen in the early morning sunshine. 

The best thing about the garden?  Even better than all the delicious things it gives us, is how it brings my boys together.  When I am weeding or watering a boy is certain to be nearby asking questions, looking for bugs and telling me the things on his heart.  They are becoming quite knowledgeable about growing things, but more importantly they are learning patience and trust and how to tell me their little hopes and worries.

Today we picked cucumber beetles off the squash vines.  Sounds like a "not so fun" job, but it was actually a good time!  A boy would spy one and I would come and scoop it up and drop it into a jar of soapy water.  It became a game of hunting and we soon had a jar full of them.  The boys were especially interested in why the cucumber beetles float and other beetles do not.  I think I sense a bug anatomy lesson in our very near future. (isn't homeschooling great?)

 Cricket with the jar of bugs.

We harvested more than bugs today. :)  Lettuce and green beans and cucumbers.  Basil and tomatoes.  Eggplants.  The peppers are almost ready and the new potatoes too.  

It must be a gift to grow things.  The way my soul feels about it.  Growing food.  Flowers.  Boys.  For me, it just doesn't get much better than that.