At the end of a long day

There is so much to be thankful for.

Warm fire, sleepy kids, and a belly round enough to excuse me from picking up everything scattered from a full day of work and play.

At the end of a long day I am thankful for the many ways my children made me smile...................

I am thankful for time alone, for the quiet of nature, endless sky and fresh air that fill me,

I am thankful for the faithful animals that surround me..........

and the cozy home that draws me back in again.

I am thankful for time well spent with those I love.

I am thankful for helping hands.

I am thankful for the man who dares to live shared dreams,

and the way he works to make it work.

At the end of a long day I am thankful for life, to laugh, to love, to cry and sweat; to lie in bed at the end of it all, the days that I thrived or when I've simply survived, there is always so much to be thankful for.

Lockers Up

The one thing our new home is lacking is a mud room, all that was available were 5 hooks next to the back door.  I wish I took a before picture of these hooks over loaded with stuff, and even worse the mess that was left as coats and bags were tossed to the floor in search of the one favorite hoodie.

I've been nagging Paul for a solution since the weather is quickly changing and snow clothes are sure to complicate the mess.  I designed in my head all sorts of functional beautiful pieces and even sketched them out with dimensions.  Paul laughed them off reminding me he lacked the tools, time and experience to build such a vision.  Instead he got really lucky at the UM disposition center and found this set of 10 barely used lockers from the business school.  They fit perfectly!

They are finally anchored to the wall and everyone has their own locker.  No more excuses for lost shoes, hats and coats, and no more excuses for a messy back door area.

Our homeschool kind of does look like school now.  It sounds like one too with the distinct sound of slamming metal doors. 

Paul and I had lockers not too far from each other in the English hall in high school and it was always a treat in between classes to meet up for a few minutes there (and even steal a kiss).  So it is now, just before I'm running out the door or Paul's coming in from the barn office we can meet up at our lockers and "catch up".

The kids honestly have more fun climbing inside them (don't worry they are anchored securely), it actually is kind of cute to see them all lined up poking their heads out.  I'd have taken a picture but we set the rule no hiding in the lockers.  Instead I got a little action shot of them cleaning up.  

How we celebrated William's birthday

I don't know what is moving faster, the weeks or the years - how can it already be William's birthday?!  How can he already be 10?!  This boy loves bacon so continues the traditional birthday chocolate bacon bar.  

Another fun fact about William is he loves cherry flavored frosting, but he doesn't love the color pink.  I like how he got creative with his birthday cake.

William also loves to make small piles of burnt cheese - so I thought it was time to introduce him to fondue.  This is the old fondue set my Dad got in Switzerland over 25 years ago, I remember using it with my family as a child and now the thrill continues with my own children....... and there is nothing more thrilling than sharing fondue with a big hungry family.

Here is one of his favorite gifts that Peter picked out for $2 at the PTO thrift shop, it was a buffalo trophy kit from cardboard safari.  And here it is now assembled and hung proudly in our home.

And since this was a year of birthday parties we pulled something together with a handful of his cub scout friends.  It doesn't take much to entertain young boys outside, the party plan was simple:  toilet paper dodge ball, pinata and campfire.

William helped make the pinata the day of the party and it was still drying as it hung up on the tree waiting to be hit.  Apparently we didn't make the hanging wire strong enough because it only withstood a few hits before falling flat on the ground.  It didn't break though, so the kids took turns going at it with a stick on the ground, it reminded me of that classic scene from Office Space where the employees were hitting the computer with baseball bats.  The pinata finally split and this activity ended in a pig pile and pockets stuffed with candy.

I had also planned for cake filled campfire oranges but it was getting windy and cold and the kids seemed happy enough roasting hot dogs and marshmallows along with their pinata loot - tooties rolls, starbursts and candy bars.

Instead of gifts the party guests contributed small amounts of money that William will donate to Heifer International to buy a flock of chickens for a family in another country.  

After the party we were left with bags of oranges and a bowl of unused batter so the next day we continued the birthday celebration as a family and made the campfire cake filled oranges.  They are simple, scoop out an orange, fill it with cake batter, wrap in two layers of foil and place in coals for 15 - 20 minutes.

Carefully open and enjoy!

Not everyone loved this combination but William did. Maybe we'll recreate it for his birthday next year, or maybe we'll just try roasting some bacon with our hot dogs and marshmallows instead.

Painting Day

So many weeks have passed without a field trip, but this stop at Uncle Dave's store, Creative Art Studio in Royal Oak, is an annual favorite so we made it happen.  Living way out in the country adds just enough driving time to wear me out even before field trips begin so I was very grateful to Paul's parents who said they'd be happy to join in and give a hand.

This was George's first time painting on his own.  Last year we simply stamped his hand onto a bowl and he spent the rest of the time wrapped on my back.  He picked out both the little hedgehog and paints on his own and I was impressed by his concentration and he seemed thrilled about a new found independence.

Henry painted a new bank since his frog bank got busted in the move.  Just like George he was independent in choices and work.  But I have to say it wasn't always so, even last year I was still hovering over how and what they painted.  And I also have to say that this year's pottery painting day was a lot more fun than any others in the past.

Clara chose a fairy sitting on the moon.  She was especially careful in her painting choosing a fine tip brush and waiting patiently between coats, she was the last one finished.  

Maryanna picked out a cupcake box.  She wasn't feeling very well that day because earlier in the morning she hurt herself.  I don't know exactly what she did but I heard a scream from the stair well and she could not straighten up her head.  On the way to Royal we made a quick stop to see Linda Diane Feldt and she gently adjusted her neck back to normal.  It still took her couple of days to be bouncing around like normal and nothing seems normal until Maryanna is bouncing around with her boundless energy and spirit.   

Peter painted the base of a gum ball machine.  He plans to store some of his tiny treasures in there and in scripted "reserved for Peter, do not touch".

For the love of chickens William could not resist this hen tea pot.  He painted it just like one of our Rhode island reds using three shades of red.   

James painted a football snack platter and he was careful in painting it just like one the many footballs that decorate our playing fields. 

After painting the kids practiced lining up (they always joke about not being good at standing in lines because of homeschool).  At this station they got to make wax dipped hands.

I'd say it is kind of creepy and kind of cool.

Here they are, my five biggest helping hands.

Thanks Uncle Dave for once again treating us to such a fun outing!

Leftovers for Breakfast

This recipe is from my midwife as printed in Whole Family Recipes For the Childbearing Year & Beyond.  It makes good use of savory Fall dinner leftovers and makes for a yummy breakfast.  A few of my kids called it pie, one called it cake but really it is a rice pudding.  

Here is the original recipe and then I will make note of what changes I made.

Pumpkin Pie Rice Pudding

3 eggs

2 cups milk

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

2 cups leftover baked squash or yams (be sure these were not peppered)

1-2 leftover cooked rice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Whip the eggs then the milk and add everything but the rice.  Fold in the rice and pour into a buttered 9x9 casserole dish.  Bake for 40-50 minutes.

Here is a good action shot of Henry going after it.  The most exciting news this week is Henry is back on eggs!  We tested him with our very own chicken eggs and there was no reaction.  Maybe because they are fresh, maybe it's the organic soy-free grain or maybe it's all the sunshine and love our chickens get.  I am so excited to add new menu items to our family meals!

I basically followed the recipe doubling it.  I used half sweet potatoes and half kabocha squash and instead of rice used up some leftover buckwheat porridge.  I will say it was a bit too salty since I used salted butter on both the sweet potatoes and squash the night before, I may half (or even omit) the salt next time.  Some of the kids liked it hot and others liked it better once it was chilled but one thing they all requested was whip cream on top, next time.  And yes this is a recipe we'll continue making throughout the chilly months to come.

Halloween Highlights

I love Halloween for the fun of dressing up, carving pumpkins, and running through crunchy leaves with an open invitation to stop by any neighbor's door and say hello.  I can't say I love all the candy or over the top creepiness but we always choose to celebrate in a way that enlivens us.  Here's what we did:

The girls baked up some yummy gluten free pumpkin bars for lunch. 

The boys worked on pumpkins.  This use to be a family event but they (actually it was mostly James) took over completely this year.

This was the first one done.  At first I really couldn't tell what the design was and wasn't too impressed until we lit them up (as shown farther down the page).

Henry napped in his costume.   This penguin suit has been his choice of outwear for about a week straight and is covered in a nice layer of dirt.  It also has one singed wing after a campfire incident where William was quick and heroic in stomping it out.  As of today the costume is now complete with a layer of sticky candy drool.    

George is wearing a size 4T Michigan Football costume and with all the warm layers beneath he really does look tough and ready to play.  The penguin suit was originally picked up at a thrift store for him but as I've already mentioned it has been hard to keep Henry out of it.

James wasn't sure he wanted to dress up this year.  He tried to convince me he was too old and mature for it, but when he got a Denard Robinson jersey for his birthday it was easy to persuade him to make a costume out of it.  The pants are real practice pants that Paul picked up at a U of M garage sale several years ago.  Anyone notice how he purposely left his shoes untied?

The base of this Jango Fett costume was picked up at a thrift store.  We made the belt and gun holsters out of vinyl, the helmet out of foam sheets and jet pack out of an old Muesli box, toilet paper rolls, paper cups and spray paint.  William is always enthusiastic not just in dressing up and acting the part but also taking part in the making of the costume.

Peter pulled out his old army costume and I suppose I should not be surprised at how quickly it seems he is out growing it.  This costume sees frequent use and I was relieved of additional sewing duties when Peter said he wanted to wear it for Halloween.  

Maryanna's Wonder Woman costume was also picked up at the thrift store.  I simply had to make the crown, belt and arm bands to complete the look.  She really took to this character and has been "flying" all around the house attempting to pick up both family members and furniture in an attempt to "save the day".  Needless to say those episodes usually ended in some sort of a crash involving crying so I've since convinced her she could "save the day" by lifting loads of laundry and flying around the kitchen with a cleaning cloth.  

Clara was sure she wanted to be a pink ballerina.  For as much as she wears her pink princess dress I couldn't get her to commit to it as a Halloween costume.  So with a pile of tulle and my favorite leotard pattern we were able to sew something up in just one afternoon.  The problem is now Maryanna wants one as do both their dolls. Hmmmmm....

And here's Henry the penguin again, awake and ready to hit the houses.  He kept saying, "Nanny and Poppy are going to love my costume!"

On our way to Nanny and Poppy's I made a little detour to the home I grew up in.  I've always wanted to stop by there but felt awkward doing so for no reason.  But on Halloween any home with lights on is fair game so I watched with a huge smile as my children ran across the same lawn I use to play and run across daily.  The kids were also very amused when I pointed out the very window I'd climb out of and roof spot I sit while chatting down to Paul below during his occasional late night visits.  

Of course I couldn't resist an additional stop at Mrs. Breer's house next door.  That was always my first stop trick-or-treating.  She still looks the same and still just as generous with her candy hand outs.

The next stop was Nanny and Poppy's.  We were treated not just with treats but also a warm and filling meal.  We trick or treated their neighborhood and Paul was amused to stop by some of the same homes and say hello to the same neighbors he knew as a child.  My favorite stop was a surprise visit to one of our old friends from school who has since settled in that neighborhood as well.  When it comes to old friends, face to face is way better than facebook. 

We counted and weighed the candy - Peter won with 4 lbs. 9 oz!  James, William and Maryanna were around 3 lbs. 10 oz and Clara and Henry came in just under 2 lbs.  That is way too much candy for our family.  We counted it, gave a nice pile to Poppy and will reserve some for gingerbread houses.  The rest I'm not sure if I should toss out or donate.

Back at Paul's parent's home we were treated to a magic show by James and then each child decided they wanted to put on a show with their costumes on.  William and Peter put on a dual, Maryanna lifted some furniture, Clara danced, Henry slid on his tummy and we all laughed and ate candy till our tummy's hurt.  

And here are James' pumpkins, they were much more impressive with the candles lit.  I have to say Halloween gets better every year, simply by the joy I feel in celebrating it in simple ways with those I love.