Style vs. Warmth

It got down to 15 degrees yesterday!

Paul's mom warned me that the maternity coat I made may not be we warm enough for Michigan.  She graciously gave me her old down coat and luckily it was big enough to button over my belly.

My sisters will think this is funny because they always remember Paul's mom as one of the "safeties" on the elementary school playground. She wore a long purple coat just like this.

I think I kind of look like a safety but James suggested it looked like I was wearing a sleeping bag.  I wore it out on a date with Paul and I admit I felt a bit self conscious after James' comment but I was happy to be warm. 

The coat is a very nice coat but just a bit over sized for me, well over sized for every part of me except my belly.  I felt a little clumsy in it and kept bumping into other shoppers and knocking stuff off the shelves.  When Paul let me in the passenger side of the car the coat would spill out and he would have to stuff it all back in before closing the door.

I kept it on at the Thai restaurant because I couldn't enjoy my basil noodles being too cold.  That may have been over doing it as I noticed many of the young employees smirking at me. But I didn't care - there's nothing like the feeling of eating hot spicy noodles while wearing a sleeping bag on a really cold night.

Now I just need a big Russian fur hat and maybe some old school moon boots to complete the look!    

   

Advent House Tradition

This advent house was purchased 5 years ago at Down East Home for less than $20.  It had another family's name on it but that was an easy fix.

The kids have really enjoyed opening the numbered doors each morning not knowing what the surprise might be.  Some days there would be stickers or chocolates, other days a slip of paper would announce a fun activity or craft planned for the day, sometimes the slip of paper would lead the kids on an adventure through the house and some days there would be a scripture reference for them to look up about the birth and life of Jesus Christ.  

I can't say the doors were filled every morning because just like the tooth fairy I'd forget, sleep in and then tell the kids to all run back to bed and try it again in ten minutes.  That gave me just enough time to scrounge something up even if it was just cough drops.

December 1st crept up quickly on us this year. Just when I thought I was done unboxing from the move it was time to unbox Christmas decorations. As soon as it is time to box Christmas back up again it will be time to unbox newborn baby supplies.

We have decided to simply the tradition of the Advent house. It came to me just as one child opened the first box and with disappointment cried, "it's empty". I told them this year instead of "getting" from the house we were going to give. The little girls helped me cut strips of paper and placed them beside the house for individuals to anonymously record acts of service and kindness given throughout that day. Before any gifts are opened Christmas morning we will open each door and read the crumpled up papers reminding us of what truly are the best gifts to give.

Sunday morning just after recording his kind deed one of the boys ran to me wrapping their arms around what they could of my very pregnant belly, beamed and whispered, "I just can't help but smile". I have never witnessed such a response of joy with any other gift, treat or offering that has been retrieved from the Advent house or even unwrapped from under the tree.  So this simplified version of the Advent House will become our new tradition with hope to fill all our days with moments where we "just can't help but smile".        

Pumpkin Waffles

These were so good I had to share.  

We couldn't cook them fast enough and the smell of simmering turkey bones on the stove combined with the aroma of spiced pumpkin waffles made our Sunday morning feel like a holiday.

The recipe is one of 18 complied together in the Real Lunch ebook from nourishmd.com. We've tried 3 recipes so far and this one was the favorite.  The texture was not as crisp as our usual waffles but nobody complained because topped with whipped cream these were a treat!

We doubled what is listed below and that was just enough - next time I may triple it so we have a few leftovers.

2 cups flour (we used a mix of buckwheat, oats, brown rice, barley, rye, millet from grainmix.com)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

2 eggs

3 Tbs. maple syrup

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 Tbs. melted coconut oil

2 tsp. ground flax seed (I omitted this because some of my kids are sensitive to flax seeds)

2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp. sea salt

-Put flour, half the buttermilk and apple cider vinegar in a covered bowl and soak overnight on the counter

-In the morning, add the eggs, maple syrup, pumpkin, coconut oil and remaining buttermilk to the mixture

-In a separate bowl combine flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt

-Mix dry ingredients with the wet ingredients, let rest for 5 minutes (the batter will expand and bubble so make sure your bowl is big enough)

-Cook in a waffle iron or as pancakes

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clara got me up way too early this morning, that is why she looks so tired in the above pictures.   I should have stayed in bed myself but after finally getting my sewing station set up just the day before I was anxious to get back at it.

These Sugar City Journal Village Frocks were cut out months ago so with that head start I was able to finish them between the mixing, rising, and baking of several dozen rolls.  The mad rush of sewing mixed with baking only resulted in two problems, the placket was cut on the wrong side and sloppy covered buttons forced me to use what mismatched buttons I had on hand.  But paired with white collars, cotton under slips and paper bonnets they made for the cutest little pilgrim costumes.

The turkey was made for William in 2002. It was actually his Halloween costume (the pattern was from an old Martha Stewart kids magazine) but has become the tradition for each of our toddlers to wear it on Thanksgiving, even if they keep it on for only a few minutes.  

James and Peter made the fruit turkey. This is a tradition we are adopting from my sister Cheryl. It kept the kids busy, made for a decorative piece and best of all offered something light and refreshing to go along with the big feast.

Paul's parents hosted the meal and we certainly feasted!  It was a day full of work, family and food.  One of the highlights was the Thanksgiving skit the boys planned, they have been doing it since James was 4 and it gets better every year.

It was almost 10:00 pm when the kids loaded up into the van and Peter exclaimed "Now that that is over with we can start getting excited for Christmas"!  I have an abundance of blessing but as I chuckled in my seat not knowing how to respond to his somewhat inappropriate outburst, I was most grateful for the laughter and love that goes along with being a part of a family.  I was also very grateful for the turkey and leftovers that Paul's mom so generously packed in our van - not having to cook for a few days is a great blessing to tired mom! 

Great Finds

I just talked to my sister and she was unboxing Christmas stuff.  I'm still unboxing junk!  

The challenge is fitting all our stuff in a much smaller home.  Not only was our home bigger but I was also spoiled with built ins.  So before I could get organized I needed to find some functional pieces.  There are some great thrift stores here and it has been fun!  

The lockers are actually from Ikea but they actually lock.  Perfect for messy art supplies, microscope, toddler puzzles, flash cards and whatever else is too dangerous or messy for little hands.  This was the first piece to our homeschool room - it set a very institutionalized stage so I took it a few steps further.

The desk is one of 9 I got from Southfield Public Schools, they were only $6 and now line what is suppose to be the dinning room.  I like how they open up to hide the schoolwork clutter but I also got some open face ones that will hold a computer and printer. You can find all sorts of cool school/office stuff for auction at publicsurplus.com - a homeschoolers dream.  The pencil sharpener was $3 at Treasure Mart and looks just like the ones I use to use.

The dresser was picked up at the Ann Arbor PTO thrift shop and 2 lamps, 2 beds and mattresses where found on Craig's list.  The whole room for under $250, you can't do that at Ikea.

The file cabinet is from the Ann Arbor recycle center.   This reuse center was one of my favorite stops and I'll be sure to revisit it regularly in addition to the University of Michigan property disposition center. 

The van has been great for hauling and Paul laughs every time I pull up with yet another furniture piece to unload. He also noted how practical I have become in my choice of style. I argue that style doesn't really matter in a short term rental but still these pieces have just enough eclectic flair - I'd say it's all practically stylish.

 

Frustration

We had a lot of fun living with Oma and Opa this summer, maybe too much fun because apparently some of my children forgot how to work.  I blame no one but myself and now I'm feeling it. I'm wishing Marie Ricks and Mary Poppins lived next door because I could use some expert help in retraining these kids.

The monster box was Paul's idea made up on the spot during an emergency family council just after lunch yesterday.  No one's been completing their school work, kitchen jobs and beds have been left undone, there are toys everywhere, contention between siblings and one very exhausted mom.  We were told that monsters feed on frustration and gobble up favorite toys and privileges after three warning strikes.

There were several moving boxes still laying around and it was William's idea to give one a scary face.  He said he has over 30 monster designs stored in his brain, they just came to him out of fear at the age of 6.  I told him this one was pretty scary as I watched him sketch it with a sharpie then skillfully saw out the teeth with his new pocket knife.

Today was a much better day! School work and jobs were completed without complaint and though a few kids got strikes, no one dared go beyond two, well everyone except Maryanna. The poor girl was forced to feed "Baby Becca" (her beloved Corrolle doll) to the monster after she bit her little brother's toes.  We decided that kindness and love makes the monster sick and she could quickly make the monster throw up the doll if she could exhibit such behavior.  So that's what she did and Baby Becca was back in her arms with in an hour.

I admit I felt bad when she jammed her baby through the teeth into the box, that just may be very poor parenting but at least it worked for the day and gave me enough of a mental break to start thinking of a more positive training system.  I also realize that 4 months of untraining will take more than a day to fix.   

        

Cow Share

We are now part owners of a herd of cows.

We started buying raw milk last year when we discovered Henry was lactose intolerant (he would scream, throw up, and suffer bad rashes when ever he consumed regular milk). To our delight it all cleared up with the introduction of raw milk. The closest store to purchase it from was Real Foods Market in Orem, it was 45 minutes away but worth the trip.

Four frozen gallons made the trip with us from UT to MI but were consumed the first week living here. Unfortunately raw milk is illegal to purchase in MI so we waited out a screaming toddler until we could get our own raw milk from our own cows. We picked up our first gallons today and Henry is happy again.

In addition to our cow share we may be the newest members of the local Weston Price group.  I can't wait to meet with others who share my passion for wholesome and nourishing foods - I'm also hoping to learn a lot more from them.