Snow, Ice and Piglets

What a week! It began snowing Tuesday morning. Then it was sleet and freezing rain. Then more snow. The power went off at 4:oo AM that night. It just came on again at 6:00 P.M. This evening. 

In the midst of all this, Papaw was trying hard to get the pig barn done before the sows were ready to farrow. You may notice that much of the building materials for this barn are from that barn we tore down in the fall. 

Thursday we moved the two sows, and all the fat pigs to the the unfinished building because the sows looked to be getting close. If you have never tried to herd pigs, I can only say that is chaos. We aren't set up yet with chutes to move the pigs, so we were leading them with feed and attempting to herd them. At the time it was quite frustrating, but I am sure that the whole thing would have appeared quite comical to anyone looking in from the outside. 

Then tonight, almost simultaneously with the power coming back on, Charcoal started having piglets. The building isn't complete, but she and the new little ones are snug and secure in a pen with a warming lamp. 

It has been an exhausting week. All I can say is thank God it is Friday, and thank God the electric is back on. Word is that another snow storm is headed our way early next week. I do believe this is why I moved away from Northeast Ohio wasn't it?

Her First Sewing Project

Lydia and I both got sewing machines for Christmas. Lydia wants to learn to sew, but she doesn't want me to teach her. She wants Mamaw to teach her. It is just as well. My sewing skills are limited to a middle school home ec class and a couple beginner 4-H projects. Mamaw is a bit more accomplished. 

My machine has been used to mend some items. Lydia, however, has been stealing away to Mamaw's every chance she gets to practice, and create her first project, a skirt. It is a simple, one seam, elastic waist skirt. Lydia did almost all of the sewing by herself. Mamaw added a decorative stitch at the bottom. 

Lydia is so proud. She finished the skirt last week, and has already worn it twice. She is asking to start the next project that is yet to be named. I better get busy, or she will soon be out sewing me! 

Double Take

If you've been reading for awhile, and you have a good memory, you may remember this picture from March of 2007. It was taken during a walk the kids and I took to the creek. I'm re-posting it now as an entry to Five Minutes for Mom's "Just Horsing Around" contest. Entries are being accepted until February 6th. So head over there for the details. 

Surprise!

Bernice, the goat I thought was just in heat about a month ago, the one who was last to kid last year, who I thought was no where near kidding again even though my dad thought she was ready (man, I hate it when he is right!) had twin doelings this afternoon. Meet Evening Star and Mae. 

Is Big Brother Watching?

Today while I was making lunch, Kellen was on the computer. He was supposed to be researching and writing about King Tut and the archaeologist who discovered his tomb. He says, "That is strange." I, thinking he is going to tell me something about ancient Egypt, walk into the office to see what he found. He had gotten distracted checking his blog stats. 

He loves to go into statcounter and see the map where visitors come from. The one he thought was strange was from Charleston WV. The strange part is the IP address is the West Virginia Department of Education. The visitor had been to his blog repeatedly. 

After Kellen got his report done, I checked my stats a little closer than normal. Yep, the WV Department of Education has been watching my blog too. Eighty-one visits and a visit length of four and a half hours today. Crazy. 

I'd like to think that perhaps this is someone who is curious about homeschooling. Who, with no agendas, wants to learn about how we spend our days. Maybe they are trying to understand the growing popularity of homeschooling. Perhaps it is a parent who is considering homeschooling their own child. Or maybe it is even a homeschool advocate in the department looking for some real life homeschooling stories. These were not my first reactions. 

It may reveal my own insecurities, but my first reaction was that I felt we were being graded, judged, and tested. Are they trying to figure out how many days we actually open our books? Do they want to prove that homeschooling just doesn't cut it? Why are they watching me? I haven't been able to get this song out of my mind all day. 

My reactions may be a bit silly. We have nothing to hide. Our kids are well rounded, educated and interact well with others. Kellen's test scores are excellent. Lydia will be testing for the first time this year, and I am sure will also do well. We meet the requirements of the law. Why the paranoid reaction?

Perhaps because I once was part of the public education system, and from that experience learned that most public educators are against homeschooling.  I expect with the growing popularity of homeschooling will come the increased desire by the state to exert more control over it. I take for granted the relative freedom homeschoolers have in this state, and do not want to see it changed. 

To my fellow WV homeschoolers, check your statcounter. I'll bet you will also find the WV Department of Education is checking out your blog. To the visitor from the department, I hope my paranoid reactions are incorrect. I hope you are just curious, or even better, an advocate of homeschooling. Either way, I think you will see that our ways are quite different than traditional school, but that they also are quite effective. Enjoy your visits to our blogs. 

 

And the party. . .

Lydia's party was yesterday. We kept the party smaller this year. She invited four friends. One couldn't come, and there were still 21 people here! How does that work? There is your trick question for the day.

The party was very laid back. We did have a craft activity planned, but the girls just wanted to play. I was fine with that. They ate snacks, played, made ice cream sundaes, played, and played some more. Somehow I only managed to take pictures when she opened gifts. Gift opening is always memorable, but when your siblings are Nolan and Vivian it is extra special. 

Lydia was taking her time to open presents. She carefully read every card and was enjoying reading what her friends had written to her. Vivian grew impatient, and said to Lydia, "No read cards! Me no like cards!"

A few minutes later Nolan pipes up out of the blue, "I farted a lot of times."

Ah, the joys of younger siblings.

One of Lydia's friends spent the night. They ate pizza, played twister and dolls, and fell asleep watching a movie. We made blueberry pancakes this morning. Now we are all lounging around like it is a Saturday. I think we will should all take naps. Think I can talk the kids into it?

To the Birthday Girl!

My little girl is growing up so fast. She is learning to sew and loves to help me in the kitchen. Sweet, sweet Lydia, how can you be seven already? Happy Birthday!

How odd...

I'm surrounded by a millions things I should be doing. A certain little girl will be having a sleepover party on Tuesday to selebrate her seventh birthday. Our guests might appreciate it if the table weren't covered with laundry, and my extremely droopy Christmas tree was put out of its misery. Yet I sit here. Now, that is not all that odd. I often am lured in to the blogs when I should be doing other things. 

My hips hurt. . . from playing a video game. We played Wii Fit last night over at a friend's house. What a blast. It didn't even seem like excercise, but it sure feels like it this morning! I rocked hula hoop, which is odd since I can barely get one going in the real world. 

The weather is crappy and wet. Not all that odd. This winter has been very wet, but what is odd is that there is thunder and lightning. Some of it very close and very loud. One rumble seemed to shake the whole house. Odd for January isn't it?

I need to get to work. Have a good Saturday. 

New Babies!

The newest addition to the farm; two ewe lambs born yesterday! Despite our warnings that both of these may be destined for the freezer, the kids have tentatively named them Spotty and Zelda. Enjoy the pictures of our new lambs, but please pardon our oh so stylish morning chore attire.

Don't you know that answer?

We started back into the normal routine this week. I feel kind of thrown back into it. My tree is still up, and places still need to be found for Christmas gifts. But the world isn't stopping for me to catch up. Lydia's seventh birthday is right around the corner, and she is planning a sleep over. Band started again yesterday, and today was the first day of co-op.

Co-op was a lot of fun. The kids are always excited to get back to that and see all their friends, and meet the new homeschoolers that join us. After all the classes we eat lunch and the kids play. Vivian (2) was being her normal social butterfly and going around the gym to visit. I have my suspicions that she actually is less concerned about the social interaction than she is the snagging of better food than the food I packed. Doesn't seem to matter what I pack, she goes on her wanderings, smiles pretty and ends up with Teddy Grahams or other such treat not found in our lunch box. But I digress....

Today on her rounds she stopped for a bit with one group that often sits together. They must bring really good food, because I've noticed she always spends quite a bit of time there. Later one of the mom's, who has a son close to Vivian's age, related the conversation she had with Vivian.

The mom: Vivian, how old are you?

Vivian: Two.

The mom: Oh I thought you were three already.

Vivian: No, I two.

The mom: When will you be three?

At this point Vivian looks at her a bit strange, and says, " On my birthday." Then she walks away. I guess she thought that the mom should have known that answer already.

What a week!

The last week has gone by so fast. It has been full of friends, family, travel, and lots of food. The holidays went so fast. It is hard to believe that we will be back to the normal schedule on Monday already.

Christmas Eve we went with my parents to a Christmas Eve service. This has been a family tradition for a long time, but had been pushed aside since we moved here. Our church does not do a Christmas Eve service, so we went to a church in a nearby town. We had never been there, but a friend said it was the church she grew up in.

It is a smaller church, and the sanctuary was sparsely filled. We arrived late. Hoping to slip in unnoticed, we quietly slid into the back pew. Do you believe that we could quietly slide in with our four kids? Not a chance. Not only do the children lack any stealth skills, the pew was the squeakiest pew on God's green earth. We all sat down, "Creeee-aaaa-eee-kkkkk," and heads turned to see what the ruckus was all about. Of course there is also no sitting still with young children. The service was punctuated with many a "creak" and "shhhh" from the back row. And let's not forget the several, "I need to pee," declarations. So much for going unnoticed.

The service was fine. It was a candlelight service with lots of Christmas carols. There were other children there too, and no one seemed annoyed by our noisy intrusion. I am glad we went.

Christmas day we stayed home. It is so nice to have a day with no where to run to and no pressing projects. We enjoyed the morning opening presents and playing with the new things. Then we fixed our Christmas dinner and relaxed some more. Later in the afternoon, Tim helped Papaw with some project (the fence?) and we started packing our things to go to Ohio.

Friday morning we headed to Tim's parents for the weekend. Tim's brother Mitch was there with his son most of the weekend. We got to meet the newest nephew, Parker, and see some other family. We played a lot of games, ate a lot of food and had a great time. There is never enough time to do all we want while we are there.

Monday we left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and headed to Akron to do some things to the house we still own there. We worked all day and still didn't get everything done. I am beginning to hate that house, but that is a subject for another post.

A plan was hatched for us to take two of Jake's kids back to WV with us that night, and for Jake and Delilah to pick up our kids from Jeff and Gail on Wednesday on their way here. As Jake and I were working out the details, I get a call from Gail. Vivian was not happy. She had been asking for me the whole day, and saying she wanted to go home. We decided that she should go home with us that night instead of waiting until Wednesday.

By the time all the arrangements were made, and we had all the kids that were going with us, it made for a late start home. It was almost midnight when we finally got home.

Vivian woke up Tuesday morning, and the first thing she did was ask for Lydia. When I told her Lydia was at Grandma's she cried to go to Grandma's house! She and I had a lot of errands to run that day and every so often she would whine for Grandma or Lydia. UGH!

Jake and Delilah arrived with the remaining children Wednesday afternoon. Vivian was very happy to see her sister. We opened presents, ate seafood stew and cheesecake and had fun hanging out. We laid out sleeping bags for the kids that were staying up for the New Year. (Nolan and older.) Kellen, Miles and Ashley played Monopoly and Tim and I watched Cars and fell asleep with Lydia and Nolan in the living room. The older kids finished their game in time to watch the ball drop. Tim and I woke up for the event, then we all promptly crashed.

Yesterday we left Mamaw and Papaw with all the kids and went with Jake and Delilah to see Valkyrie. It was good, definitely worth a rental, but maybe not worth the outrageous prices that the movie theaters are charging now. We went to a matinee, so I didn't feel too bad about the money spent. When we got back we ate the traditional pork and sauerkraut dinner, and it wasn't long until we all crashed.

Tim is back to work today. Tonight we are having a ham dinner with everyone including my Great Aunt Hazel and Terry who came down yesterday afternoon. Tomorrow the guys are going to get hay and working on the pig barn that needs to be completed before the sows farrow at the end of the month. We are expecting lambs any day now. My thoughts have turned to chicks and seeds, and I need to do a little research and order chicks for the spring. I have plans to turn the bathtub in our room to a place to start my seeds. It is back to the normal schedule with band, and co-op next week. Always something to do around here.

Hope you had a great Christmas and happy New Year to everyone.

Merry Christmas

You have made known to me the path of life: you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. - Pslams 16:11 NIV

Image credit: Angel Guide

Make it from Scratch

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve as my kids like to say, and welcome to this week's edition of the Make it from Scratch carnival. Here are a few last minute ideas for your Christmas celebrations and more.

Food!

As expected the sweet treats abound in this week's carnival. Feast your eyes on these holiday treats.

mom2my9 presents Super Lemon-y Sheet Cake! posted at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven.


Our Red House presents Gran's Fruit Mince posted at Our Red House.

MC presents Oreo Snowball Truffles posted at Shibooya.

Mama Bear presents Coffee Chocolate Chip Biscotti - A Christmas Project #5 posted at I've Got a Little Space to Fill.

Liz Nast presents It is autumn and that means PUMPKIN PIE FOR DINNER! posted at Industrial Light and Morons.

Julie presents Fun and Tasty Christmas and Holiday Desserts posted at More4kids.

Joanna presents Rachel Ray's Fudge Wreath posted at One Krusty Mama.

HappyCampers presents Don't Buy Caramels Anymore...Make Your Own! posted at The Adventures Of The Williams Family.


Woman can not live by sweets alone. (Though she certainly could try this time of year.)


CzechFolks.com presents Exploring Czech Food – Part VI - Famous Potato Salad (Poznavame Ceska Jidla – Cast VI - Slavny Bramborovy Salat) posted at CzechFolks.com, saying, "It is hard to find an authentic recipe for the real Czech potato salad, which is traditionally prepared during Christmas. This recipe will give you the closest taste using ingredients from abroad and will make you famous amongst Czech and other European communities."

vh presents Christmas dinner plans posted at Funny about Money.

Mary@SimplyForties presents Why Not Try A Duck? posted at SimplyForties, saying, "It's not as hard as you may think!"

Kelly from Almost Frugal presents 5 Ways to Use The Rest of That Cranberry Sauce posted at Almost Frugal Food.

Stephanie presents Canning Stew Meat posted at Stop the Ride!.

crafts!

Pretty up your Christmas table, gifts, and outfit.

Joanna presents A Christmas Centerpiece, Year 2 posted at keeping feet.

Kris presents Veggie Might: Bead Me Up - DIY Holidays Part Two posted at Cheap Healthy Good, saying, "Thank you for hosting!"

Belle presents Handmade Decorative Hair Pin posted at Homesteaderbelle's Blog, saying, "This is a post about a hair pin I made with a bobby pin, seed beads, and wire. "

makingthishome presents The Greenest Wrapping Paper You Can Make (for free!) posted at Making This Home, saying, "What a fun project. Thank you, and I look forward to everyone's ideas."

RecycleCindy presents Pointed Granny Dish Cloth posted at MyRecycled Bags.

other

A little of this and a little of that made from scratch.


Alex presents Cat Urine Smell Remover Recipe posted at Home Life Weekly, saying, "It can be difficult to remove cat urine smell from furnishings as the cat urine odor tends to linger, well instead of buying expensive odour removers, this recipe can be used to remove the odor of other pets as well."

Anthony Delgado presents Website Promotion from Scratch posted at Need Extra Cash?.

Stephanie presents Edible Gifts: Putting it all together posted at Make It From Scratch.

nickel presents Homemade Christmas Gifts: 18 Do-it Yourself Ideas posted at fivecentnickel.com.

Thank you for joining us this week for Make it from Scratch. Submit your posts for next week's carnival using the Blog Carnival form. The carnival will be at A Dusty Frame.

It is a gift...No it is a science lesson.

I saw this wonderful (and inexpensive) idea for a Christmas present over at Greenhab. We put several of these together using paper white kits purchased at Aldi for $4 a piece. Each kit contained four bulbs. We also bought several bags of pretty stones at the Dollar Tree. The glass containers we already had. 

We planted the bulbs about two weeks ago. Some of these we gave away before the plants really had begun to grow, but now they are growing and I can't help but see a science lesson here. When else can you grow a plant and actually see the roots? 

I brought all the kids into the kitchen for an impromptu science lesson. We talked about the plant parts and their functions. The cool thing is the learning doesn't stop there. 

We are keeping one of these for ourselves and in a few weeks should see the flowers. Then after the flowers fade we can talk about how the bulb stores up energy. At the end of the summer we will allow our bulb to go dormant for 5-6 weeks and then start the process over; the complete cycle. How cool is that? Kellen is less than impressed, but I think the other kids will enjoy it. 

You just never know what may turn into an educational opportunity. These were intended only for Christmas presents. They have become a pretty science lesson also. 

A new Christmas Tradition?

This week the kids and I were talking about Christmas Day, and the subject turned to what we should have for our Christmas dinner.  After cooking a traditional meal for Thanksgiving, and enjoying other similar meals with our church and 4-H group in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are ready for a little something different. But what?

I thought it might be fun to let the kids help choose the dishes. They were all for this idea, and quickly started offering suggestions. Their suggestion all sounded delicious, but let's just say they were a little heavy on the main dishes and desserts. So we decided to write down some food categories on small pieces of paper. We threw the papers into a hat and everyone drew out a category to choose a dish from. We started with the youngest.

Vivian drew "dessert" out of the hat. Her choice; cookies.

Nolan drew "appetizer." After explaining to him what that meant and giving a dozen or so examples, he finally settled on shrimp.

Lydia picked out "side dish." It only took her a second to decide on mashed potatoes. 

Kellen got the other "side dish." His choice; pepper jam with cream cheese and crackers. I felt this really was an appetizer, but could not convince him, so a side dish it will be. 

Tim drew the coveted "main dish" category. We will be having grilled chicken breasts wrapped in bacon. Unless of course a deer is taken, then it will be bacon wrapped fillets. 

That left me with the beverage choice. It will be sparkling fruit juice for the kids and wine for the parents.  I may try to make egg-less eggnog also. 

It may not be the most nutritionally balanced meal, but it will be delicious. We had a lot of fun coming up with our menu. I think this may be a new tradition in the Appleton household. 

Warm and Cozy

Almost fourteen years ago, Tim and I embarked on this wonderful adventure called marriage. There have been good times and rough times, and so many memories made. The adventures started from day one of our marriage. 

We were married Tim's freshman year of college, during his Christmas break. Pressed for time and money, we decided to rent a cabin from a family friend for our honeymoon. 

The cabin was located nearby, in a remote area of Central Ohio. Being in the middle of nowhere, in a cabin during a cold Ohio winter may not appeal to some, but to two young, wildly in love outdoor enthusiasts, the romantic appeal was tremendous. Not to mention the price was right. 

We packed our hiking boots, our favorite foods, a huge bottle of wine, a few games, and headed off to the woods. When we arrived we cranked up the heat, started a fire, and went to setting up the kitchen in our first "home" as a married couple. 

While unpacking and getting organized, we were blissfully unaware of the fact that the cabin really was not warming up. We prepared and consumed a meal, and sat down to play cards at the table. Though we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves, as the sun set, we began to notice that our toes were awfully cold. As were our noses, and was that my breath I just saw?

A check of the thermostat revealed that it was not just our imagination, the cabin was cold. The furnace was running, but the vents were blowing cold air. We called the owner of the cabin, Dan. 

Dan was a retired small town preacher. He reminded me of a backwoods Santa. He had a gray beard, balding head and the round belly to go with it. Most likely you'd find him in jeans with suspenders, a button up plaid shirt, and hiking boots. He was kind, and not easily riled up. 

He explained that the gas for the furnace came from a well on the property, and that sometimes it just didn't have enough pressure to keep the furnace going. He tried to walk us through a fix that sometimes worked. It didn't work for us, and he said he'd be there in the morning. 

Thinking of that situation now, I know I'd be hopping mad if that happened to us today. I can assure you that now, if the electric goes out and we are left with only the fireplace for heat, I do not in the least find it romantic, but fourteen years ago it only added to the ambiance. 

The bedrooms were on the opposite side of the cabin from the fireplace, and freezing cold. We pulled one of the mattresses out into the living room, and laid it on the floor in front of the fireplace. We made the bed with every blanket we could find. We snuggled in under the blankets, and had no trouble staying warm. 

Late the next morning Dan came, tinkered with the furnace, and got it running. The rest of the week the entire cabin stayed warm and cozy. The mattress, however, stayed right where it was for the duration of our romantic winter honeymoon in the woods.  

In our fourteen years I wish I could say that we have embraced every challenge with such enthusiasm and idealism. There have been times I’ve been down right frustrated and angry at situations we’ve faced, but I can say we have faced those challenges hand in hand. From the other side of the challenges, we can appreciate them for the growing experiences that they have been. After all isn’t facing challenges together and learning from them what this adventure called marriage is all about? 

This post has been entered in the Scribbit Write Away Contest. December's theme is Keeping Warm. 

Trying to out smart me again....

I'm feeling the pressure to get things wrapped up for Christmas. That combined with a virtually empty refrigerator and cupboards pushed me to do something I normally would not consider - an all day shopping spree - with four kids. 

Yes, I normally take the kids with me to get groceries. Then we are talking about half the day and two, maybe three stores. Yesterday we left at 10 and did not return until after 5, making a quick stop at the library, hitting seven different stores, stopping only for lunch with Tim. It was craziness I tell you! 

In the midst of all this Vivian (2) devised another way to try and out smart  her momma. Vivian loves to push the cart. She thinks she should be able to push the cart solo. I don't mind letting her help, but c'mon she is two. She can't see to drive the cart, even if she could actually handle the thing.  It is a pretty regular battle, especially in stores that have the smaller carts like CVS or the Dollar Tree. 

Yesterday in the Dollar Tree, she was insisting on pushing the cart. I told her she could, but then I went to the front of the cart to help steer it. Oh the drama! You'd think I'd taken her favorite toy away. She finally settled down, and decided if she couldn't push the cart herself she wanted nothing to do with it. 

She was content to walk beside the cart, and after awhile she started playing a game. She was pretending to be the momma. The kids play house a lot and take turns being the parents, so this was nothing out of the ordinary. But then she turns to me, grabbing the cart,  with mischief in her eyes, and says, "You Vivian. Me mommy. Me push the cart."

This Little Piggy

The piggies aren't so little anymore...Christmas ham anyone?

Wordless Wednesday

Why so quiet?

Since I haven't posted in over a week you might think it is quiet around here. Is it ever quiet around here?! Nope there is always something going on. 

Thanksgiving was good.  Aunt Hazel, Terry, Jeff, Gail, Uncle Steve, Ashley, Miles and Amy all joined us. Thursday was nice and a few of us got up super early to go shopping. It was mass craziness, but really I don't mind. It is a different kind of mass craziness than what I usually shop with. (Meaning shopping with four kids!) I found a few things, and marked a few people off my list. I still have a way to go. 

Monday it was back to the normal schedule; school and band. We had co-op on Tuesday, and went to a friends on Wednesday for a bit. Tim was off Friday which always messes me up. I like when he is off, but then it seems like a weekend, but it isn't. Then he goes to work on Saturday and it doesn't seem like a Saturday, but more like a Monday. And well, I'm rambling. . . .

Today we got a space ready in the barn for the sheep and moved them there. Maggie looks to be getting pretty close to lambing. It may be a few weeks, but with this super cold we are having, I'd rather be safe than sorry. We put Mini with her, but apparently Maggie still isn't happy and was crying and tried to get out when Papaw was up there. We don't have the ram. He was loaned out to service the ewes of a friend of a friend. He agreed to keep him over the winter, and that is fine by me. It is so nice not fighting that big bully every feeding time. Not to mention we don't have to worry about him fighting with the other animals now either. 

We were supposed to have a church dinner, but it got cancelled because of the weather. Yes, it is that bad here. It was in the teens last night, and never got very warm today. It snowed a good deal of the day. Tim drove home at about 10 MPH. He said the roads are all iced over. They were predicting a cold winter. So far they are right. 

Tim decided to go out and hunt since we weren't going anywhere tonight. Now, I have to figure out what is for dinner. Feels like a clean up leftovers night to me. Then maybe a family movie night and bed. Hope you are keeping warm where you are!

To you...

Image Credit: Vintage Holiday Crafts