Glad We Aren't Little House on the Prairie

Tim and I have often commented that it would have been great to live in the 1800's. Great to be self sufficient pioneers living off the land. I think our view is a bit romanticized.

For school this year Kellen is doing an unit study using the The Little House Collection (9 Volumes). There really are a lot of similarities between our way of living and theirs. They raise meat and vegetables. They forage and hunt for food. We do too, but there are a couple of major differences. For one thing we have a lot of tools that make the jobs easier. I don't think I'd want to build a log home in the manner that they did. The second thing is we are not really and never will be completely dependent on the land for our survival, and I am glad for it.

I look at our pantry stockpile for the winter, and am glad I have a nearby grocery store to fall back on. Yes, there are a lot of jars of food, mostly green beans, but after an unusually hot and extremely dry summer, and troubles with insects, there are many things planned for that are missing.

There are no jars of fruit. The blackberries produced minimally. There were no pears or persimmons. The apples barely produced, and were consumed by the animals before I got to them. In the freezer are a couple pints of blackberry jam and a few quarts of strawberries picked at a pick your own farm.

There are lots a green beans in the pantry, and a smaller than planned for amount of tomato products. There are a few jars of pumpkin and hot peppers, and about 15 pounds of potatoes. There is no corn, thank you very much cutworms, no beets or turnips. Certainly not enough of anything, but beans, for the winter.

The meat department is a little better. There isn't much in the freezer now, but there are rabbits and chickens that soon will be. Hopefully we will have a few deer soon to put in there too.

Though disappointed with some things that didn't go as planned, I really can't complain. I am very thankful, though, that we really aren't dependent on our land to feed our family. If we were, or if a trip to town took me a whole day, or if my only money to buy things came from what we got from our land, we would be in for a long lean winter.

We do enjoy the gardening, the labor, and the reward from it. That part of the life of the Ingals family I am happy to share, but I am so thankful that our survival doesn't really depend on it. Thankful that we live in a time where there are many tools to make the job easier and grocery stores to keep us fed all winter long!

Ooops, Tuesday Links on Thursday

Carnival of the Green

Carnival of Homeschooling

Carnival of the Recipes

Make it From Scratch

Carnival of Money Stories

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Family Life

Learning in the Great Outdoors

Do It Yourself Face Paint

Wordless Wednesday

We have a yard!

Can you see it? Look closely. There is grass, real grass in that there yard! After two years of living here, grass is a pretty exciting addition! The siding on the house is nearly complete, only a few pieces on the ends of the house left to do. It has been delayed again by yet another project; a storage building/chicken house. I've requested that the builder, aka Papaw, put the priority on the storage building.

I want to get those chickens trained to sleep where they belong, and maybe get a few more too. I also would like to get rid of our "temporary" storage area. Siding on the house is pretty, but I am opting for the practical. The truth of it is what gets worked on depends on which logs are next in line for the sawmill. The red oak goes on the house. The pine and other woods are for the storage building.

The siding on the front of the house is done, and that is enough to get the lawn in. I never realized how much work it is to put in the lawn. Thanks to Papaw who did most of the work while Tim is in his busy season for work, putting in about 60 hours a week. Here is what was done.

1) Till up the yard.

2) Rake it to smooth out the tracks and even up the ground.

3) Fertilizer was put on. Lime was later added too because there was some left after covering the pasture. Nolan (3) woke up the morning after the lime was spread, and said, "Look! Kellen it snowed last night! "

4) Grass seed was spread.

5) Rake again to cover the seed.

6) Water. We had enough rain water in the tank for the first watering. It is important to keep a new lawn well watered until established.

7) Keep kids and animals off it until established. Uh. . .I'm trying, really I am!

The grass has sprouted and hopefully we will have a nice lawn yet this fall, and a lot less mud to deal with!

The Little Appletones

The Little Appletones got together for another practice. This time I got it on video. For your listening. . .uh. . . . pleasure.

Here linky link link

Make it From Scratch

Carnival of the Recipes - recipes and memories
next week diet recipes

Carnival of Family Life

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Homeschooling

Short and sweet! Have a good night!

Signs of Fall

Wordless Wednesday

Remembering

I'll never forget September 11th. I was teaching in the public schools; eighth grade history. I was pregnant with Lydia. I didn't know what had happened until another teacher pulled me into the library at lunch time. There we sat for our forty minute lunch staring at the television and not sure what to think. After lunch we had to go back and try to pretend it was a normal day. The prevailing sentiment was that the news would be best given to the students by their parents.

How the world has changed. . .

Tomorrow I plan to spend part of our school day remembering and teaching my children about September 11, 2001. Here are some links that I am finding that we may use. Feel free to add any you know of too.


Patriot Day and Remembering September 11.
These sites list several others for your consideration. Some of the sites include lesson plans.

A+B=

Crappy! We had a rough day, and it is no wonder when

A. All four kids woke up at various times throughout the night. Three of them slept in our room for part or most of the night. Two were in our bed (though not at the same time.) No one got a good nights sleep.

and

B. It is the first time all week we've had a normal schedule. Can I still call it a normal schedule when it doesn't happen until Thursday? The kids, apparently, did not remember how our normal day goes.

A crappy day was practically unavoidable. Tim is working late tonight. (again!) We are having dinner and maybe watching a movie and going to bed EARLY! Tomorrow will be a better day!

Tiny Turtle

Wordless Wednesday

The First Day of School & Tuesday Links

Actually, we've been doing school, but today was the first day of co-op. The way my kids were acting this morning you would have thought it was the first day of school. They were so excited for co-op and to see their friends. It was cute.

I also felt like it was my first day of school. I actually taught a class today. Last year I hid in the nursery all year. I did have a good excuse the first half, as Vivian was nursing a lot still. The second half of the year she really didn't need me so much, but I stayed and played with the babies anyway. This year I am going to help more with the older kids.

We are studying the Civil War this semester, and I taught a geography/history lesson about which states were Union and Confederate. I felt like I was teaching school again; planning a lesson, running a classroom, it was kind of fun, but I am glad I don't have to do it everyday anymore.

The kids had a great time. Vivian wouldn't stay in the nursery though. GRRR! She went with the preschoolers. She does this at church too because she is the only one in the nursery. She didn't know any of the adults in the nursery, but knew the preschool teacher. Nolan was there also. The kids are already looking forward to the next session in two weeks. Kellen is giving me suggestions for what I should teach the whole semester too. He wants me to do the food. He said the food is his favorite part and my cooking is the best. Aw isn't he sweet!

____________________________________________________________________

Make it From Scratch

Festival of Frugality

Carnival of Money Stories

Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs

Carnival of Recipes - Late summer favorites. Next week recipes that make you remember childhood.

Carnival of Natural Family Living

Carnival of Homeschooling

Carnival of Family Life

Growing By Leaps and Bounds

Have you ever noticed that instead of growing and developing in baby steps kids seems to grow by leaps and bounds? Just this week I've noticed that all the kids are suddenly so big.

Kellen(9) has become a big helper, and with a good attitude most days. Yesterday, he was working with the men, helping to paint the neighbor's barn roof.

Lydia (5) always the the little momma, has suddenly become a real helper. She makes lemonade and snacks for everyone, and tries to do her sister's hair. Not to mention she has grown out of two sizes of clothes and shoes this summer.

Nolan (3) is getting himself dressed and undressed. His vocabulary has increased greatly and he talks like a little man. Well, a little man with improper grammar. He makes his past tense by putting ed on everything. "We goed to the store." It is cute, but we do correct him.

Vivian (18 months) also is growing like a little weed. I bought her a pair of shoes about two months ago. She wore them a few times and then we could not find one of them for the longest time. When I finally found it, it didn't fit! She is learning new words like crazy. She has opinions, and is learning to express them!

When did my kids get so big? Do they really grow by leaps and bounds or was the summer just so busy I didn't notice how quickly they were growing until things slowed down?

Enjoy it While You Can

Shhh. . . Do you hear that "music?" That would be The Little Appletones; the sibling band. It isn't exactly in tune. Well, who knows what tune they are trying to play anyhow? The rhythm? Well, let's just say they are each playing to their own drummer. Yet, it is music to my ears.

Kellen is joining the homeschool band this year. Tim is the director, and he started Kellen on the trombone a little over a week ago. About a week ago, you would have found Kellen in tears, whining about how hard the trombone was, how he'd never learn to play it, and he certainly would never learn to read music.

Then the light clicked on the other day and he played "Mary Had a Little Lamb." He was so proud. Since then there has been no whining and no crying. He wants to practice and even gets frustrated when he can't because a sibling is sleeping.

This morning the three oldest were holed up in the boys' room while Vivian and I were in the kitchen. First I heard the trombone. Then a trumpet joined in. Kellen was trying to teach Lydia. Soon there was a bugle. That was Nolan's instrument of choice. (When your husband is a musician, you have a lot of instruments around the house.) They were attempting to play together.

It was the first time all morning that the sounds coming from them were not yelling and bickering. It was sweet music. Yes, we should be doing our lessons or our chores, but when the kids are playing nicely together, sometimes it is best to just enjoy it while you can.

Works for Me Wednesday

Blue Skies

Wordless Wednesday

Festival and Carnivals

Festival of Frugality
Article topics include saving money on beauty supplies, food budgets, travel and how green and frugal go hand in hand.

Carnival of the Recipes- Let's Do Lunch. Next week - Late Summer Favorites
Lots of great ideas here for packed lunches, at home quick lunches and of course delicious not so quick ones too.

Make it From Scratch
Yummy recipes, do it yourself projects, crafts, activities to do with kids, they are all found at Make it From Scratch.

Carnival of Family Life
Funny stories, helpful tips, dilemmas and advice all relating to the family all found in one place.

Carnival of the Green
You'll find articles about green living, shopping, alternative power, and much more.

Vegetarian Carnival
Lots of yummy recipes.

A Full Weekend

It was another busy weekend around the farm. Tim was off Friday. He helped Papaw saw boards in the morning for the siding on the house, and for another project that will be started soon. In the afternoon we ran errands together; without kids! Mamaw watched the kids while we dropped an instrument off at one of Tim's customers, did our first mystery shop, had lunch, went to the feed store, and made a quick grocery store stop. It wasn't exactly a date, but it was nice to be alone. It has been awhile.

The mystery shop was fun. We shopped a discount department store. There is a lot to remember on these mystery shops, and of course you can't take notes while you are there. I am not sure I would be able to do one alone if I had the kids with me. We didn't make any money on the mystery shop. Yes, I'm getting paid for it, but we spent more on lunch than that. We treated ourselves to a nice lunch. We also found some good deals on things we needed, and ended up spending more at the store. We still had a nice time together, and bought things we needed so I guess it was worthwhile.

Tim worked Saturday. The kids I were supposed to go on a field trip with our co-op group, but Vivian hadn't been feeling well all week, so we opted to stay home. The kids did school. Yes, on Saturday. They were off Friday after all. I'm a taskmaster aren't I?

We got a surprise in the evening; a husband for Maggie. Yes, we have another animal; a ram. He has no name yet. We have purchased several animals from the same guy. Last time he was here delivering a bull, Papaw mentioned that we were looking for a Suffolk ram, and how much he wanted to pay for it. Saturday night the guy pulls in with a ram in the back of his pickup. He is a big boy, and looks pretty nice. Maggie ran away when she saw him. I think she thinks she is a goat. She isn't ready to breed yet, and that is fine. We will be separating them. We want to wait so we will have spring lambs and not one born in January.

Yesterday, after church and lunch, it was straight to the farm work. Tim butchered a rabbit. I think he will tell that story later. We had her for dinner last night. Looks and tastes like chicken, but the texture is a little different. Then we sexed and separated our oldest litter. They are 8 weeks now and weighing a little over three pounds each. We weighed our young litter. There are only three of them, and at three weeks are already weighing over a pound a piece. They are little porkers; about double the other kits at the same age.

Next we tended to a goat with hoof rot. Poor thing was hobbling around and miserable. Two of her hooves were tender. We cleaned them out well, gave her a shot of antibiotics and squirted some on her hooves too. She was reasonably cooperative for the whole procedure, probably because we let her eat grain the whole time.

Then it was up to the garden to dig a few potatoes and check for tomatoes. We also checked on the wild apple trees up there. They aren't ripe yet, and there aren't many. Only one tree set any fruit. Very disappointing. I am assuming it is because of the dry summer we've had.

In the evening we laid out plans for a new storage and animal building; another new project. When they are sawing logs, they are running into many that aren't good enough for the house siding, but would be just fine for a storage building. In fact, they are finding more wood for the building than the house. So, it looks like the building will be started soon. I'm good with that. I would rather have the building than the siding on the house finished. I'm hoping to get rid of the eyesore of a storage area we are currently using. This building will also be for the chickens, and after it is up I can train them to roost and lay where they are supposed to. I'd also like to get more hens then.

The work and fun never stop around here. It's Monday and that means laundry. Yippee! (Said with extreme sarcasm!)

About those eggs. . .

Lots of you had good guesses about those eggs. Some of you even had the right answer. The egg with the darker yolk is from our chicken. She is free ranged, and the egg was within a few days old. Mary, it may have been laid in the rabbit pellets, but I can't be sure of that. The other egg is from the store. Just your run of the mill, extra large, store bought egg; not from free ranged, or organic hens. There is a difference. One you can see and taste.

The ducks aren't laying right now, but adding a duck egg to that picture would be interesting too. The duck eggs are even richer with darker yolks.

Great guesses all and way to go to those of you who knew why my eggs looked so different.

Running Errands with Kids

Running errands with kids is simply a reality around here. Rarely am I able to go when my husband is home, and when you homeschool the kids are always with you. I try to keep all the errands to one day. It can make that one day a busy one, but it seems to work better than dragging the kids out on multiple days.

How do I run all my errands with four kids and keep my sanity? Well the reality is that it doesn't always go smoothly, but most of the time it does. Here are a few things we do that help.

Make a plan.
Try to plan your stops by geography so you spend less time running back and forth. Another thing to consider though is priority. If there are stops that must be done today, try to do them first. That way if the three year old is having a continual melt down (not that mine ever would mind you) you can abandon ship and save the less important errands for another day.

Let the kids in on the plan.
After they are strapped into the car, when you have their full attention, let them know what you are doing today. Remind them of the expected behavior, and when possible hold out a little reward. (I'm not above bribery for my sanity.) Our reward is often as simple as a $0.25 can of pop from the vending machine when we are done shopping. It could be to read a story, play a game, or watch a movie when the errands are done. Use whatever works for your kids. Remind them of the plan, expectations and reward as needed.

Food and drink.
Nothing is worse than shopping with hungry kids. Pack lots of snacks and drinks; a lunch if needed.

Let them help.
Give them small tasks to do while you are shopping. My kids love to pick items up and put them into the cart. They really love it when I let them choose which item we are going to buy. The older ones love to push the cart, and can sometimes be talked into playing games with the baby.

Make it educational.
Talk to the kids about why you are choosing items. Show them how to price compare. With younger ones you can practice colors, and counting.

Running errands with kids is an adventure. Make the best of it. Hopefully some of these tips that work for me will help you too. Please leave your ideas too!

Works for Me Wednesday

The Difference in Eggs

Do you know why these two eggs look different?

Wordless Wednesday

On a Tuesday

Today it started out feeling like summer, hot and humid. We went to a play date with our homeschool coop. It started raining and the temperature must have dropped 15 degrees. It now feels like a fall day.

It is hard to believe fall is just around the corner. We gave our school cupboard a good cleaning out yesterday, and reserved a bunch a books. I think we will start tomorrow. We traditionally do school year around, but this year it looked different. About mid July when the garden started producing and the busyness started, we gave up on any book work. We've had lots of hands on learning and field trips since then.


The garden has slowed. The cousins went back to their mom's. The apples aren't quite ready yet, but it feels like fall. Must be time to get out those books. I am looking forward to it. I think we could use a little more routine and normalcy to our days.

And todays links:
Carnival of the Recipes - Anywhere but here. Next week- Let's Do Lunch
Carnival of Family Life
Make it From Scratch
Carnival of Homeschooling
Festival of Frugality