Bugs, Boys and Boo Boos

The Zoo...during vacation week...

2012-04-20T18:36:00.000-04:00

As homeschoolers, we tend to visit places during the week while other kids are in school. We are spoiled, in that when we usually go places like the local museum or whatnot, we're able to do so with minimal traffic and interference. It's quite lovely.

Today we grouped with some other families and decided to go to a zoo. On a Friday. On a 70+ degree in April Friday. During April Vacation. It's a good thing I know I don't do drugs or else I'd have to check to see if I was high. Only crazy people choose going to a zoo on this kind of day.

It was mobbed. There were screaming, crying kids and parents everywhere. One of my momma friends said, "If you feel bad about your son hitting your other son, don't feel bad because I just saw a mom hitting her son...things could be a lot worse." Yikes.

I spent a lot of time pulling the kids off of things (one of my darlings loves to climb fences, go over fences and hang out behind concessions to see what's happening), out of people's way (wrestling and fighting like ninjas in the middle of the path while crying children are being frantically wheeled around by their parents) and trying to explain why they couldn't eat what all the other kids were eating (cotton candy, fried dough, cotton candy and fried dough).

We did have a good time, though. I swear.

Apparently they don't make Del's Lemonade like they used to...the kids still enjoyed it.

Learning about planting sunflower seeds...

Crying over spilled Del's (mind you, his cup was still half full)

Seeing what animal they jump as far as... most were rabbits.

First Del's lemonade. It was a success story.

After a picnic lunch outside the zoo...

Climbing fun.

The little ones enjoying a fruit salad together.

Nature Class, April 17, 2012

2012-04-18T09:27:00.000-04:00

We did the Chipmunk Experiment in nature class today.

Then we did a nature scavenger hunt. Eli and I made a list of things to find and glued them to paper bags.

The kids paired up and searched for the items. It was cool to watch these guys work together, crossing items off their list and hunting for them.

Even the youngest of them were interested in what was happening...

The Chipmunk Experiment, part deux

2012-04-18T09:06:00.000-04:00

Back in September we found a dead chipmunk, courtesy of our cats, in our yard. It was unmarred. You can read more about it here.

I started leading a nature class for our friends and fellow homeschoolers. Yesterday was "Unearth the Chipmunk" day.

A quick overview...we buried the chipmunk hoping it would decompose and we'd only find the skeletal remains.

I talked about chipmunks with the kids, introducing them to the Eastern Chipmunk. I forwarded some curriculum links to the mamas. I bought a box of latex-free gloves for all who were participating.
We turned over the pot I buried the 'munk in. I gritted my teeth and we set to work with little shovels, carefully wiping the dirt away. The kids were really gentle. I was still gritting my teeth...expecting to find a half-rotted carcass and getting ready to be grossed out.

We got through the entire pile of dirt. No chipmunk remains. WHAT? The kids were mildly disappointed and some made a few..."are you sure there was a chipmunk in here?" comments. Others thought the worms at the whole thing.

Then someone found a teeny tiny bone fragment. We all started searching and sifting. We found more bones. The kids got bored and another mommy and me were still plugging away.

We put all the bones in a jar of white vinegar. This will eat away all the yuckies and clean the bones.

side view of the skull

Tiny bones

The kids were pretty excited about it. I was glad we were able to find some...nothing worse than an experiment gone wrong!

We talked about what archaeologists do while unearthing dinosaur bones. One kids asked if we were like scientists... you bet, buddy.

Next week we'll look at the bones and figure out what is what...once they're clean and bacteria-free. No weird chipmunk bone bacteria for these kids.

Patriot's Day 2012

2012-04-16T16:26:00.000-04:00

This weather has been amazingly insane. It's April 16. Patriot's Day. It's hot...in New England. Hope you're enjoying the weather as much as we are!

March 2012 Seedlings

2012-03-18T18:15:00.000-04:00

What an amazing day today is! I was able to work a couple more sections of the garden. I have to be really careful as it's full of poison ivy. That is what happens when you clear a wooded area.
I've planted a bunch of seeds in starter containers.
I have a slew of seedlings at my mother's house. I, unfortunately, don't make it there enough and they're not faring too well. I should really get there more often to water them. I used egg cartons, which is economical and easy. But, when you forget about them...

For our home, since we don't have a suitable place for a lot of seedlings to sprout, I bought a tray (yes, by the hated Burpee) with a pad to hold in moisture so watering isn't a priority. And there's a cover, so it acts like a greenhouse. I have to admit...it's pretty awesome. My seeds sprouted in less than a week. I have a bazillion kale seedlings and about 25 tomato seedlings. I can't wait to transplant them into bigger containers and then into our community garden.

Tomatoes up front.

Reaching for the sun...

Pretty Kale.

First round of poison ivy from the other day.

Grape Arbor

2012-03-14T18:44:00.000-04:00

We've expanded our garden. Well, we've cleared a whole other area on our land that measures probably 30 x 40. I'm just guessing, though.

We're teaming up with some friends and starting a little community garden of sorts. As long as they come and help weed, they can take home part of the result.

We've got grape vines galore over here. I don't know what kind of grapes they are. They had attached themselves to trees and grew upwards of 30 feet in the air. The husband built an arbor for them upon my request. I love it. He originally suggested using store-bought wood. I wanted a more rustic look. We've got tons of wood from fallen trees...why not use those? Here is the finished product...

I had to yank down the vines from the tree. There is still one left that won't budge...and I'm not climbing up there to unhook it. While pulling them down I hit my face with a vine. I've got a nice scab on my nose now. It also busted my glasses... I need to start wearing protective goggles when I go outside.
From the vines and from pulling up saplings and roots and such, I've now got poison ivy on my face. Saw that one coming. I'm thinking I'll have poison ivy on my face from now until November.

Daylight Savings...

2012-03-11T23:02:00.000-04:00

Sometimes your children will fall asleep while waiting for you to get off of Facebook...

And sometimes they'll hang out with you while you're up close and personal with bees...

And sometimes your kids will get along AND pose for pictures.

Walking in the Woods

2012-02-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

The husband and the boys go walking behind our property all the time. It's usually when I need time to relax or time to clean, so I haven't ventured as far as they have. Today I saw the much talked about truck that is just sitting out there. I also got to witness the beauty that is the wilderness I live so close to.

Who leaves a truck in the middle of nowhere?

I was freaking out and had to walk away because there was glass everywhere they were climbing.

I didn't capture how very cool this all looked in person very well.

Deer tracks.

Littlest Man.

Beautiful moss covered rocks were everywhere.

My middle guy. He's just so handsome.

It was 25 degrees out and sunny. All bundled up and moving, it was almost like it was 30 degrees out. It was a beautiful day.

Homeschooling Cub Scouts

2012-02-20T22:33:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. Well, I posted stuff about my psoriasis and GAPS diet endeavor. I started a separate blog for that. It just didn't seem right to post it all here.

Last month I started a homeschooling Cub Scout pack. The beauty of it is that it's during the day and siblings can come along. Meetings are chaos, but the kind of chaos we're used to and love.

So far, we've visited an old school house and the fire station. We've done flag ceremonies (complete with incorrect renditions of the Pledge of Allegiance) and made paper airplanes. We've gone to see Doktor Kaboom! We've created scrapbooks and learned about health and safety - making first aid kits and learning about Stop, Drop and Roll. We've done hands on fun with simple machines. We've done a ton of science experiments - liquid, gas, solid. This weekend we'll be venturing out with our map and compass skills.

The really excellent thing about this is that we can work it all into our homeschooling "curriculum" or standards. We have done enough science, working on the belt loop and pin requirements, to last a few months! Not that we'll stop anytime soon on that learnin'.

Team work to move that incline plane.

Incline plane to move a heavy log onto the wagon.

Old School House...no knuckle rapping for these kids!

Tiger Scouts

Mentos and Diet Coke explosion.

Bernoulli's Effect/Law/Principle (I've seen it called all three)
Blowing into a playing card and having the flame come towards you rather than away.
Pretty cool stuff there.

I love homeschooling. And I love homeschooling Cub Scouts.

Day 2 GAPS Intro - beef soups

2012-02-13T08:25:00.000-05:00

For dinner last night I had a bowl of hamburg and broccoli soup.

Two cups of broth, a handful of broccoli, a premade grass fed hamburg patty and some sea salt and pepper. I boiled it for 25 minutes, making sure to cut up the patty intermittently. It was frozen to begin with. If you just used some ground beef it would be just as yummy.

The soup was pretty good. I was actually a little shocked.

Instead of snacking last night, I made another bowl of soup.

I cut up some steak, about a palm-sized piece. Added a small zucchini, some leek, clove of garlic and a carrot. Let that boil for 30 minutes. That was delicious, too.

I think my favorite was the ground beef and broccoli one. I didn't take any pictures...I just plum forgot.

Today I feel fine. I started the day off with probiotics and water. Then 16oz of chicken broth.

I have some boiled onion, carrot and chicken soup waiting to cool. I used a whole red onion, one carrot and the meat from two chicken legs (no thigh). Boil 25 minutes.

I'll be making some ginger tea this morning, too. While I like broth, I can't drink it without salt, which leaves me thirsty. And water isn't my favorite. The Gut and Psychology Syndrome book (pg. 148) says I can have ginger, mint or chamomile tea. Use 1 teaspoon of grated ginger and steep in hot water.

I have an appointment this morning. I think that'll be the toughest part of this - leaving the house for extended periods of time. I'll bring some tea and some broth. That'll have to tie me over until lunch.

Starting GAPS Intro for Skin Issues...

2012-02-12T12:11:00.001-05:00

I have decided to try to heal my skin by starting the GAPS intro diet. We tried GAPS before, but that didn't work out so well.
I have this skin problem that I'd like solved. I'm thinking that there's something wrong with my gut, so I'm starting there. At least if I heal my gut and nothing is resolved then I can look elsewhere for help.
I'm not claiming to be a medical professional, this is just my own journey.

I began this morning with some probiotics and a 1/2 cup of water. I waited half and hour and then had a cup of chicken broth. I had a simple soup of 1/2 a red onion and 2 green pieces from a leek sauteed in a tsp of coconut oil. I added boiled chicken and 2 cups of broth.

From taking the probiotics to eating the soup, it took 2 hours. This is because I have children. I also had started cooking down some blood orange marmalade. This is not GAPS friendly, but I will hold onto it until I can eat it...on warm buttered toast. I'm not going to lie. This is going to be hard. The rest of my family is not doing GAPS, so I am cooking for them and me. I'm hoping these posts help to keep me in check. I'm also hoping to the first stage for a few days. Fingers crossed.

I get a lot of my inspiration for eating healthy and doing GAPS via these sites:

Nourished Kitchen

Food Renegade

Health, Home & Happiness

Nourishing Days

Psoriasis? Eczema? Leprosy???

2012-02-12T11:44:00.000-05:00

This has nothing to do with homeschooling or being a mom of boys. It's about ME. Just thought I'd add in that little disclaimer.

swollen and red hands, week 1

Two weeks ago I developed swollen red hands and feet. After a week, they started peeling. Then I noticed other patches on my knees, elbows, underarms and a strip under my breasts.

under breasts

elbow

knee

foot

They were a bit tender. My hands were the worst. My feet hurt to stand too long on them. My hands were heat sensitive. At the end of one week, my fingertips began to peel.

one week and 4 days

knee, one week 4 days

I visited the doctor two days into the initial symptoms. She had no idea and had to search the CDC website. She guessed it was Parvovirus and sent me on my merry way. One week later, I went to see a nurse practitioner and he said he had no idea, as did the doctor that was consulting. They ran a blood test for liver dysfunction, Parvovirus and Lyme. All came back negative. They wouldn't see me again to run more tests. They suggested I call a dermatologist. I called them and they offered me the convenient and helpful appointment on the 24th of this month. After some words, I have an appointment tomorrow. Here's what it looks like today:

I bite my nails instead of smoking cigarettes. I'm one of those with an oral fixation. My fingernails are small to begin with. However, after this whole skin peeling, swollen hands thing started, my nails have been weird. My pinkie nail is just about gone.
I Googled some info and found that this could all be psoriasis. The thing that boggles my mind is, if it is, how it just comes out of nowhere and is just here...forever.
My fingers and hands are tight. It's uncomfortable to clench my hands and extend them. They have cracked and bled.
I'm hoping I can get a diagnosis and start my way onto being well again. This all kinda stinks.
Thanks for listening and sorry for grossing you out with photos.

On the Putting Up Bandwagon and other ramblings

2012-02-03T22:43:00.000-05:00

If my husband were to turn to me on our wedding day and said, "7 years from now we'll have 3 boys whom we homeschool, chickens, a rooster and we'll be farming land so we have enough crops to put up for the winter" I'd have laughed in his face.

Here we are. Homeschooling 3 boys, chicken farmers with a harmless and skittish rooster, and clearing out another plot of land so we can fill it with enough veggie seeds so we can hopefully live through the non-growing seasons without spending a fortune in the grocery store. Huh.

We've been having crazy weather in New England. Today was about 40 degrees, but two days ago it hit 60 degrees. In February. In NEW ENGLAND. I had that itch to start doing yard work. I started clearing out another plot of land for gardening. We're going to turn this into our community garden of sorts. There are two other families that don't have the space to garden who will help keep the garden and in turn will reap it's benefits.

Eli and I began clearing it out. Cutting down saplings and thorny vines. Mowing over dead leaves and finding sprigs of green underneath...waiting for Spring. My daffodils are starting to come up. There's about 2 inches of daffodil shoots showing. Upon mowing over one area, however, we came across something very disheartening - rubbish. Our house is in the woodsier part of town. Our home is old. They buried their trash. Sunbeam bread bags. Nissen bread bags. Chip bags. Foam meat trays. Leather shoes. Plastic and glass medicine bottles. It's disgusting. I can't even use a shovel to dig it out because there's no give: just layers of rubbish. In twenty minutes, the boy and I filled a tall kitchen bag full of trash. It didn't even come close to being all that's there. I'm going to have to put in a barrier separating that part of the area from the others, I think. I have to do some research. I'm sure all the chemicals leeched out of the plastics 20 years ago. This stuff was clearly at least 25 years old.

I'd like to move towards no shopping for 2-3 months, aside from milk and the occasional dinner party necessities. I thought I canned and froze a lot this past Summer. It's almost gone. We ate our last chicken last month. Our berries and tomatoes were gone in November. I have one bag of frozen peaches I keep saving for who knows what. I have another small bag of frozen wax beans. I do have plenty of peppers though. We don't eat a lot of peppers.

My Garden Goals:
1. Grow broccoli. It never seems to work out very well. I'm starting my seedlings tomorrow.
2. Increase tomato plants to 60. We only had 4 this year, and we had tomatoes from the csa.
3. Buy 2 apple trees.
4. Build an arbor for the grape vines growing wildly everywhere.
5. Build a chicken wire cage of sorts and plant 4 blueberry bushes in it.
6. Go to Bee school. I want bees and honey.

Meat Goals:

1. Increase meat birds to 75. We had 31 when it was all said and done last year. Clearly, we need more.
2. Get 1/4 cow.
3. Find out more about 1/2 a hog.
4. Hmmm...we'll need a new freezer.
5. We'll also need our electrician to come and update the electrical box to hold 220.

House Goals: (may as well throw those in)

1. Mudroom addition.
2. Think about fixing the bulkhead.

I don't have any related pictures so I'll leave you with these because every blog post needs pictures:

My yummy green smoothie

The tiniest egg...not sure why...our chickens have been laying for months. My kids think there's something different inside...like a tiny chicken or something. I'm a little afraid to crack it open, I have to admit.

Take a Walk

2012-01-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

The unseasonably warm weather we've been having in Massachusetts is weird. I'm expecting a horrific summer, or terrible snow storms in April. Darn global warming. The earth couldn't have warmed up that fast.
We took advantage of the 40 something degree weather today and went for a jaunt. Not only did we wear ourselves out, we exercised, breathed fresh air, collected pine cones for bird feeders/Christmas tree decorations, collected rocks, ran races and were just together.
Cesar Milan, you know, the Dog Whisperer, always reminds owners to just take their dog for a walk. That should be extended to kids. The boys were climbing the walls, tumbling over one another before we left. We've been home almost an hour and they're playing so quietly and cooperatively. Oh my, I should go knock on some wood...
I am totally famous for telling my kids to go play outside, but it's not the same as a.) going with them and b.) getting them to move. I don't know about your kids, but mine will be wrestling and throwing one another around inside the house. As soon as I get them outside they start doing individual activities...quietly. They'll come back in and immediately resume their wrestling matches. Um, so that's not what I had in mind.
I am with my boys 24/7. And I love it. But it's a whole different ball game when you take them out of the house and do something that doesn't involve lists or errands or other people. We just got to be out together.
I don't do this nearly as often as I'd like. The husband usually takes them on hikes into the woods so I can get stuff done around the house. I think I'll have to schedule in times like this from now on.

There's a collection of rocks in that sweatshirt pocket.

"I think that's Land Coral, mum."

He was in the middle of singing...

I almost died...they all actually stood still, posed and smiled...

Electrica Fun...or not...

2012-01-07T10:32:00.000-05:00

While making a lovely Buche de Noel courtesy of Nourished Kitchen, I turned to Eli to explain something about mixing the egg whites separately from the rest of the batter. When I turned back to Odin, who was standing immediately to my left, I hear a crack, see a spark, a spoon goes flying and he jumps back saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!!"
Apparently while I was momentarily engaged to the right, my inquisitive four-year-old took it upon himself to experiment with a metal measuring spoon and the outlet the mixer was plugged into.

The outlet is out. The outlet the fridge is working from is now out. My perpetual broth crock pot had to be moved. I have a call into my husband, who is hard at work today. Oy vey.
And yes, I have to admit that my initial reaction to the spark, spoon-throwing, cracking sound was not worthy of Mom of the Year...it involved expletives...loud, adult-content expletives. I did, however, reassess and then turned it into an extension of their electricity kit discussions..."remember, metal is a conductor? See how it it reacted to the electrical current?"
Off to locate an electrician...

Customizing Family Games

2012-01-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

I came home the other day to find this on the kitchen table.

I love that husband o'mine. Odin was thrilled to be operated on.

Keeping Track of Homeschool Progress

2012-01-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

We don't really do a lot of "school". At least, my kids don't think of the things we do as "school". The few things I do have them do are met with such resistance. For instance, I thought it was a good idea to have my kids track the temperature of the month by graphing it every day. They thought it was fun for all of 2 days. Then I was met with "Why DO I HAVE TO?!" Sigh.
"You don't have to, but I'd like for us to see how the weather changes."
"You're the worst mom EVER!"
Sigh, deep breath.
"Perhaps that is so. Let me pick you up so you can see the thermometer."

Then I thought it was a good idea to chart Eli's money saving. He's saving for a Nintendo DS. Ugh. I am not very excited about this, but it's his money and if he actually saves for one, I'll be completely impressed, and he'll learn about the value of saving...right? I also thought it be useful to track what we've done so far this school year. We're more unschooly/interest-led than anything else, so it was tricky. The only way I keep track of things is via blog, photos and calendar. I had to look through all of those things, month by month. Then I put all the activities on a spreadsheet categorized by subject. Holy cannoli, Batman. That was time consuming. But, it was also validating. As a homeschool mom, I get the anxiety driven by not knowing if my kids are learning enough or are where they are "supposed" to be by school standards. To me, it looks like we've done a lot. I filled up spreadsheet after spreadsheet of academia. I then showed it to my husband who had previously laughed at me for snapping pictures of the kids at the playground and holiday parties, jokingly saying, "You're just going to use everything they do as curriculum, aren't you?" You bet, baby. I then pointed out all the things they've done and how it applies scholastically. Eyebrows went up..."Really, the grocery store applies?" You bet, baby.
I now mean to keep track a little better, but we'll see how long that lasts.

Happy New Year, 2012

2012-01-07T08:06:00.000-05:00

The holiday crazies have now passed us. While I love the holidays, even the crazies, I love the calm after the storm...and the re-energized activities that find their way into our lives again.
We have spent the past couple of weeks doing a lot at home. We took New Year's weekend and rearranged a lot of furniture and created more usable space. It was a great way to start off the year.
We swapped out old activities for new ones. The boys were taking some nature classes. They have ceased their desire to take those classes and opted for something more active - karate. We'll be doing a lot of nature based activities in Cub Scouts, yes, you heard it right...Cub Scouts. I've started our own homeschool Cub Scout pack. This ought to be fun!
We finally found an economically right karate studio for the boys. Incidentally, it has a homeschool class smack dab in the middle of the day - not at dinner time. Their previous instructor was really calm and the class was subdued. This new guy...holy cannoli...he's loud and forceful. The boys love it.

"Mom, I need my face painted like a ninja so at karate everyone will know i'm a ninja."

We've started swimming at the local center again. Yesterday was our first invasion. Between seven and eight homeschool families showed up for this family time swim. I had to giggle a bit. The lifeguard sure hadn't planned on a busy morning! She had to call in another lifeguard and did this with a look of horror on her face. I felt a little bad for the moms with their under-one-year-old babies, though. They sure weren't expecting a bunch of older kids jumping into the pool!
While I'm not enjoying the cold, I am enjoying the new opportunities that it brings every year!

Dog Biscuits

2011-12-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

Grandma, if you're reading this, perchance, go away.
Okay, now that that's dealt with...
The boys decided they'd love to make dog biscuits for grandma's new dog, Buddy. Buddy is the sweetest Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier. And he's 6 months old.
I found a recipe by Googling. I can't remember which recipe it is and I've misplaced the print out of the recipe. Yes, I'm that organized and helpful.
We all gathered around the table and got to making the biscuits. Measuring was off...some of the little ones don't quite understand that in order to complete the measure you've got to fill the spoon or cup...
They enjoyed kneading and stirring the dough. They wanted to taste it...2 liked it and one just about threw up.
Ingredients: 5-6 cups whole wheat flour, 1.5 cups chicken broth, 4 garlic cloves, 2 tbs parsley, and the rest I cannot remember.
The recipe called for rolling out the dough to a 1/4" thick, cutting and baking for 30 minutes, then flipping them all over and baking for another 15 minutes, turning off the oven and letting them sit there overnight so they get all crispy. Um, so we rolled out the dough to a 1/4" thick. The kids fought over who's turn it was to cut and how many they could cut before the next child could partake. They were baked for 30 minutes and were way crispy. So I didn't flip them over or leave them in the oven all night.
I'm wondering if Buddy will ever get to taste these treats. I asked my husband, "If you had a dog and someone made him treats, would you feed them to him?" He said, "I'd say 'thank you' very politely and mean it." Well, that didn't answer my question. Then he said, "Maybe." I think that's better...
We didn't have dog bone shaped cookie cutters. The boys also thought our Christmas cookie cutters were too big. So, we used a biscuit cutter and a knife. Check out these masterpieces!

Using the garlic press...Oh, look, there is yeast!
There was yeast in the biscuits. One more ingredient uncovered....2 tsp.

Cutting biscuits is very serious business.

Shmorgasboard of biscuits...

Mmmm...crispy.

I will totally not blame grandma if these end up in the trash. However, I'm hopeful that she'll allow the kids to give Buddy one.

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

2011-12-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

I made this little guy on a whim. We started out making snowmen with the large sized pom poms. Then our snowmen needed scenes, trees and santas. This santa was pretty easy to make. The head is a pom pom. The body is a pom pom wrapped in a square of red felt. The arms and legs are rolled up pieces of felt. The boots are triangular pieces of black felt glued to the leg to look like a boot. The hat is a triangular piece of felt wrapped around the pom pom and glued together. Everything is hot-glued together. I like hot glue.

This was our Christmas tree ornament. It's stuffed with Poly-fil, hot-glued and beaded. I had more insight to take pictures of the tree. The santas went by so fast I didn't even think of documenting every step.

Lastly, we experimented with an ornament idea from another site. The melted snowman ornament. Too cute of an idea. I tried. I don't know if I need an industrial sized hot glue gun, but I couldn't get the glue out fast enough before the existing glue started to cool and harden. Hers are much cuter than mine. This is what ours ended up looking like:

Not very cute. Now I have a zillion little black hats...

Date Night

2011-12-20T19:08:00.000-05:00

I find it weirdly interesting how cyclical life is. I see this in my blogging, for one. I also see it in my parenting, my interests, the boys' interests and behaviors. For example, I blog religiously for a few days, maybe even a week. Then, my photos pile up (on my desktop...my computer screen desktop, that is). I keep thinking of things I want to blog about and keep a running list in the back of my mind. When I finally find some time (or remember to blog instead of watching The Wonder Years on Hulu) I have so many things to blog about that I end up with "Highlights"...and all my fabulous blogging ideas are lost somewhere in the depths of my mind that only a pill, like in the movie Limitless, could extract. It is only now that I look back at my postings and the "highlights" of the month...I've already posted about most of them. What? Has it really only been 13 days since my last post? And where are the pictures of all that we've done in those 13 days?
I'd like to think we've been busy. I'd like to say that perhaps I've been so busy that there just weren't photo opportunities. Bwahahahaha.

Last week I went on a date night with Odin. I try to do this every so often with each of the boys. Odin loves to visit Whole Foods and "the samples"...so we did that. Then we cruised around the plaza and did a little bit of everything there.

This was him posing...on purpose. He was mighty pleased with this one.

Eating Gum drop candies. He was elated.

Video games...

Ice cream
(by the way, why do people rave about this ice cream? I thought it was gross.)

Next month is my date night with Eli. He'd like to do everything Odin and I did. Just replace Odin's face with Eli's and I'm sure it'll represent very well.

What's With The Weather?! ...and some mud fun...

2011-12-07T12:32:00.000-05:00

It's December 7, 2011. I am in Massachusetts. It is 52 degrees out. What in the world?!
My husband said, "This is going to be a warm winter!" My brother-in-law said, "Farmer's Almanac said we're going to have a very snowy winter!" We'll see.
A mama I know is trying to graph the weather to show how November and December are the cold months. It's not working out so well. After saying, "So, are November and December warm or cold months?", they responded with, "WARM!", very emphatically.
All I know is that it's raining and my kids were out there having a blast. Let your kids out, in the rain, to play in the mud. It's good for them. And it gives you a moment's peace before you need to mop the floor, do some laundry and give baths.

Millis Wonderland

2011-12-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

Every year we take the kids to Millis Wonderland. In case you haven't heard about it, check out the link. It's free. It's festive. It's crazy. We love it. We let the kids ride through it unbuckled...*gasp!* We drink hot cocoa. It only takes about ten minutes with no traffic, like tonight. On a busy night, you might be in line for miles, it seems, for well over an hour. I think last year we waited an hour and a half. It was horrible. I came prepared for a 1/2 hour wait. Then it got insane with tears and screams. We ended up leaving after that hour and a half. We went back on a different night...a weekday night. Tonight was perfect. It's Tuesday and raining. We went through twice with the kids hanging out of the car windows. Yes, we were the crazy ones. Don't worry, everyone was all buckled up once we got to the end and were on the street. Merry, Merry! Enjoy a sampling of the sights!

Cray Pas Fun!

2011-12-05T20:03:00.000-05:00

Another fabulous art class with the wonderful Ms. J at the local library. The kids were introduced, or reintroduced, to oil pastels. I have a love/hate relationship with these things. I've loved them forever. Then I had children. While I love doing messy projects with them, oil pastels does not fall into that category. I know my concerns are completely ridiculous. It's one of the weird pet peeves I have, I suppose. The kids spent about a half an hour experimenting with oil pastels. It was cool to see what each kid came up with. There were happy faces, Christmas trees, get well cards, monsters, cars and food.
The kids had fun. There were smudges everywhere. The world didn't end and I'm okay.

Okay, so this is not oil pasteling...but they were so cute in the children's library I had to take a picture of them.

Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-05T00:08:00.000-05:00

I got our recipe from Simply Recipes. I have a tendency to try to stay away from things I have to roll out. I have this notion that it's hard. I know, I sound like a weenie. Rolling out dough used to be this thing only accomplished bakers did. I was not an accomplished baker. So I avoided it. Pillsbury made a fine pie crust. And there's nothing wrong with chocolate chip cookies. Well, now that I care about my food, Pillsbury no longer makes the cut. And when your kids want gingerbread cookies, telling them that chocolate chip cookie shaped men are the same is not an option. I'm getting better at it. I can now roll out the dough less than 1/2 an inch thick. Confidence is key, I think. I still don't know the specifics of the whys and hows of it all. Nor do I really care to. I just know that this recipe worked well. The cookies came out beautifully. Although, they did stick to the cookie sheet. I also used a cookie sheet I rarely use because it simply sucks, but when you've got Legos on one and Playdoh on the other, the choices are limited. The boys inhaled the cookies. I swear. They were there and then they were gone. All that was left were little voices telling me I hated them because I was obviously lying about the non-existence of any more cookies. This is what happens when you indulge your children right before bed. The Royal Icing came out beautifully as well. This was just a good cookie. Thanks, Simply Recipes. It really was simple.