The Big Scary X

Homeschooling is full of surprises. Nolan is full of surprises. The combination of the two makes for some very interesting, and occasionally frustrating days in this house.

Today Nolan was working on math. We use Miquon. One of my favorite things about Miquon is that it uses all four math operations throughout the curriculum. Multiplication is introduced early on. It is introduced as natural  extension of addition. This makes it less intimidating. Well, unless of course you have older siblings. 

Nolan normally flies through his math. Today he flew through the first page, and then I heard him exclaim, "I'm done. I don't do those." Having no idea what he was talking about, I had him bring the book to me. He pointed to the X on the page.

Now, apparently, having older siblings around has introduced him to the idea that X in math is something big and scary. It could be the X in Kellen's algebra or the X in Lydia's multiplication. Nolan didn't have a clue what the X in his math meant. He just knew that X was something hard. Something that only his older siblings did, and something that he wanted no part of.

I tried to remain calm. I showed him that 3 X 2 simply meant 3 twos. I showed him how the previous page had him write out the addition problems, and the multiplication was simply a short cut. I showed him where to find the first answer, and sent him on his way.

A few minutes later he breaks down in tears exclaiming, "I don't do X. I don't know what X means.  X is hard. I don't know how." Glancing down at his workbook, I see he has filled in the first answer I showed him, and the second answer, which also is correct. The remaining blank questions are simply more of the same.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to hold onto my patience. X is not scary. X is easy. I showed you how to do it. You did it. You get it. Can we please just finish this without all the drama?!

Once he finally got back to work, it took him less than five minutes to finish, and they were all correct. "Of course. That was easy." he says.

Just goes to prove that even the best curriculum, even combined with loving instructions does not compare to the words of the older siblings. Ah, homeschooling.

Sausage Balls - I'm just a little obsessed.

Sausage Balls from Scratch

We attend a lot of functions where everyone is asked to bring  snack type items to share. I love these kind of gatherings because you get to try a little of everyone's favorite things.

I was kind of in a rut for these functions. It seems that all I ever brought were sweet things. I like to bake, and normally have everything I need on hand for something deliciously sweet. If I'd remembered to get cream cheese and crackers, often times I'd also bring hot pepper jam. It was hard for me to come up with something savory I could take that didn't require me running to the store for an ingredient.

Then in December someone brought sausage balls to our band concert. Yum! I was so excited because sausage and cheese are something I almost always have on hand. I went searching for recipes. In my initial search, every recipe included baking mix. That is not something that I keep on hand.

So, I did a little asking, and a little digging, and I found a few recipes. It is no surprise that the recipes were sausage, cheese, and what would be a biscuit recipe without the liquid. That is just how I made them, using my favorite biscuit recipe. I think I've made them for every get together since (a new rut?) and a couple of times just for us to eat. (I have to perfect the recipe you know.)

From Scratch Sausage Balls
2 cups flour
1 TB sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C lard (or butter)
2 lbs sausage (I like a 1/2 light hot and half mild. Use all mild though if you don't like it spicy.)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or a little more.)

Mix dry ingredients. Blend in lard with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Mix in sausage and cheese. You'll have to use your hands to get it mixed well.

Form into walnut sized balls and place in a single layer on a baking dish. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enter A New Phase

Parenting is an ever evolving skill. I remember the physically exhausting days of having four little kids. Four kids who needed  me a lot. They needed me to tie their shoes, change their diapers, do their laundry, prepare their food, and feed them. I remember the stress and chaos of trying to herd four little kids through the grocery store while maintaining the mental capacity to bargain shop and stick to the budget. I remember the physical exhaustion of caring, providing, and supervising them.

I also remember of the words of those who had been there before me. They promised it was only a season in our lives. They promised that the diapers, the terrible twos, and the constant physical neediness of me would end. They said I would miss those days.


While I can't exactly say that I miss those days yet, I can say that those friends were right. Those physically demanding early days of parenting seem to be gone. Everyone can get themselves dressed. Everyone can feed themselves, and even make their own food to a certain extent. The older ones can help the younger ones.

They no longer have to go everywhere with me, but when they do go I don't have to try to push the cart and carry the baby. I don't have to worry about them knocking down the display shelves or hiding in the racks of clothes. There is no more dropping everything to run to the bathroom for the newly potty trained toddler. The kids can actually help in the store!

Those same wise friends also warned that the physical exhaustion would become mental exhaustion as the kids entered the teen and early adult years. They warned that there would be conflict and worry. They warned of walking the tight rope of protecting your kids while allowing them to become adults who make their own choices and take responsibility for them.

They are probably right. Those times are probably coming, but we are not there yet. We seem to be in a blessedly quiet and enjoyable stage of parenting. So far, the pre-teen and teen years have been mild and enjoyable. I plan to enjoy it while I can, and hang onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, we will get to enjoy years like this until they all reach adulthood.

I thoroughly enjoy these kids. They are such individuals, all full of personality and life. Sometimes, they make me want to pull out my hair, but more times they make me laugh. They make me proud. I love watching them grow and develop. They really are amazing.

Help For a Blogging Friend

A blogging friend, Hopeful,  is asking for a little help. Her partner, Amy,  has stage 4 melanoma. As you know, melanoma has been a personal issue for us. Through it Hopeful has been an encouragement to me sharing her experiences and journey. They have had to give up their home and their dreams of homesteading to be closer to the medical facilities that Amy needs.

Hopeful is rebuilding her business after the move, but you can imagine the huge emotional and financial stress. Right now they are living with friends. She is asking for a little help, a little boost to help them get settled in a place they can call their own.


You can read more of their story, and find out how to help at her blog, Lazy Dog Ranch.

A Litte Seed Organization

This weather.... Oh My Goodness!  We've had beautiful and mostly sunny days with highs in the 50s. I have to keep pinching myself to remind me that it is only February. It is hard to remember it is truly winter, and the possibility of snow, ice, and cold is very, very real. After all, Punxsutawney Phil did predict another six weeks of winter yesterday. (I'm going with the local prediction of French Creek Freddy though. He says early spring.)

If the ground wasn't so wet, you'd have to tie me up to keep me from digging in the dirt in my gardens. I have spring garden fever, but a glance at my seeds, revealed that I really am not ready for the coming season.

This was the sorry state of my seed storage. Sad to say this has been my "system" for several years. Lunch bags were labeled with the types of seeds they contained and then were thrown in the box. This did keep all the different types of vegetables together, but made it difficult to find the bag I was looking for, and virtually impossible to see what variety and quantity I had in each bag. A little organization, and a better system was needed desperately.

Nine times out of ten when something needs done around here you'll find me looking for a way to make do with what we have on hand instead of running to the store to buy some product that is supposed to help me organize or make my life easier. That is how we roll. This morning I found a perfect container for the job. In a former life this box contained VHS tapes. It is about the size of a shoe box.

Then I took some old manilla folders and cut them to fit in the box. I notched out the tops in different positions for labeling

The seed packets then were filed away. They are roughly organized in the order they are planted, but I can see I'll probably be changing that. I never get cole crops in for the spring. Maybe this will be the year?

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The corn seeds did not fit in this box. So, I took a shoe box for them and used the remaining space in the box for things that are handy to have when I'm working with seeds. There are a bunch of plastic knives that have been saved when all the spoons and forks from a mixed pack have been used. These make handy seedling markers when I start seeds indoors, and decent markers for outside rows. There is a permanent marker in the box too.

Once all the seeds were nicely organized, I sat down with the Baker Creek Catalog and got to work. It was so easy to check what I actually have on hand while flipping through the catalog. It was also easy to see what was missing in my box. Did you see that there are no peas? Oh the horror!

I got my order together, printed it out, and stuck it in the shoe box. I am horrible at keeping track of what variety of vegetable I've planted. I'm hoping keep the years' orders with the seeds will help. I can even keep a few notes on there as to what I liked and didn't like.

Ok, I am organized. My seed order is placed. Now, I am ready for the season. Bring it!

Deep In Thought.

Sunrise on the Farm.

I'm still here despite my lack of posting. There really hasn't been much to talk about. Oh we're busy, plenty busy, but this time of year is relatively quiet. We've dug back into a regular routine for school, and we've been busy with field trips and homeschool activities. Around the farm,  though,  it has been pretty basic maintence. No big projects. No births. Pretty much feeding, and cleaning up after that feed has been processed.

It is a time when I do a lot of thinking, and make a lot of plans in my head that are well beyond what we could ever get done. I am good at the thinking, the planning, and I can get a lot done, but what I am not good at is being realistic about the hours in the day versus my commitments and responsibilities.

I've been thinking about the garden:
We are losing our largest garden spot this year. It is at the neighbors. True, we have 100 acres, space should not be a problem right? Acreage isn't a problem. Land that is flat enough to garden is a problem, and land that is cleared on our acreage is almost non existent. Clearing of any space isn't going to happen for this season. This has caused me to think hard about where, what, and how we will grow vegetables this year.

I've got the itch to get started. Soon, very soon.

I've been thinking about the farm:
Tim's work schedule is about to change. It is going to mean more time away from home for him. We aren't keeping up on the farm now. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to turn away from some of our more heavy labor farm activities, and look at things that would be easier for the kids and I to maintain. I'm thinking about bees, maple syrup, fruits, expanding on the poultry, a high tunnel for veggies, and mushrooms.

There are a list of projects we need to complete. A list of fixes that need to be done. Projects in the house we never quite get to, and projects I'd like to work on for the upcoming season. My head is spinning with lists and ideas. 


I've been thinking about our away from home activities:
I'm too busy, way too busy. I know it, and it shows in the things that don't get done (or done well) around here. I struggle to cut things out. I'd love to cut out working away from home. I am to the point of cutting back on that, and that is wonderful news. Cutting other things is hard.

Things that aren't as important to me are very important to the kids, and I'm a sucker for all the great looking field trips and educational opportunities that come across my path. It is a blessing that we have so many wonderful things for homeschoolers here, but it makes it hard to say no. I can't (and don't) do them all, but we do too many of them for sure.

Then there are other activities. Church activities, d-i-y classes I want to take, and the possible start up of a new local foods market that I have found myself involved with. I'm excited for these things. I see a lot of value in them, but where do you draw the line? I want to do it all.

This struggle is nothing new to us. Seems Tim and I have gone through this cycle our entire marriage. We get mind numbingly busy, and then we cut back drastically. Slowly we add one activity and then another until we are over booked again. At least I can say that the cycles have gotten longer.


Even when it is quiet here, it is busy, and when it is quieter, that is when my mind seems to race 100 miles an hour.

Drawing a Line in the Snow

Recently, a friend called our weather here  bipolar. I think that is a pretty accurate description of the typical West Virginia winter, at least since we've been here. Last week the high temperatures didn't break the freezing mark. Today was in the 50's.

Personally, I love it!

The temperatures started creeping upward yesterday. In the winter, the sun crosses the sky behind our house casting a wide shadow across our front yard. It leaves the yard closest to the driveway melted and the the front porch and yard covered in snow. Just a bipolar yard to go with our bipolar weather.

Since You Asked - Cube Steak

If you are eating the meat you've raised, or even if you are committed to eating locally raised meat, you will probably find yourself learning to cook cuts of meat that you were not previously familiar with.

When a whole cow is butchered, there is a lot more meat than rib-eyes, chuck roasts, and hamburger. As our beef harvest from last summer's steers dwindles, the choices become limited. A customer recently ordered cube steak, and upon picking it up asked, "How do you cook your cube steak?" As with most meats, my standard answer was, "In the crock pot."

The crock pot and I are good friends. I can throw a piece of meat in (often still frozen,) and add some spice, and maybe a little liquid, forget about it for the day, and have a delicious, tender dinner ready to go. Perfect for days when we are running around. Perfect for days when we are home trying to complete school, farm projects, and housework.

My go to for cube steak is to layer it in the crock pot with onions and tomato sauce. On low for about six hours does the trick. We serve it over rice. Two things I've learned; one, these do not cook well from frozen, and two, don't cook longer than 4 hours on high, or 6 hours on low.

One night, I found myself with a little extra time for cooking. (I really do enjoy cooking, but the crock pot has become my main method as a matter of convenience.) I decided I wanted to try my hand at Country Fried Steak. In my normal manner I browsed several recipes, came up with my own based on what is in my cupboard and our tastes, and failed to write down the ingredients so that I could recreate it in the future.

It is pretty simple though. Dip the steaks in egg wash, dredge them in seasoned flour, fry them in fat (I used lard,) and top with milk gravy. Country Fried Steak on Allrecipes gives you the steps. We like our food well seasoned. So, I did add additional spice; garlic powder and paprika if memory serves.  It was a hit!

My mom reports that her favorite way to prepare them is to bake them in the oven with cream of mushroom soup. How do you like your cube steak?

Spoiled Rotten

They may say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. That may be true, but the way to this woman's heart is for the man to take over the cooking duties every now and then.

How spoiled am I to have a man that comes home from work, sees that I'm a bit frazzled and stressed, and throws an apron on right over his office clothes? And while doing so says, "Here, I'll finish up dinner. You go take care of the other things you need to."

Yes, yes, indeed, I love this man.

Not Unless it is His Idea

Nolan stuck in a clothes basket.

 Nolan is my sweet, lovable, seven year old boy that makes us all want to pull our hair out.  It is hard to believe that all that sweet goodness can co-exist with all that drama and orneriness inside that one little body.

Nolan is simply flying through his school work. I need to challenge him more, but he is pretty content to breeze through. (A subject for another time perhaps.) This week, I've been using his down time for reading (of his choice.) Today he had about 30 minutes before lunch, and I said, "I would like you to read until lunch please."

You would have thought I asked him to clean out the chicken house or something. According to his reaction, accomplishing the task before him was torture . You'd never know that this is a kids who really does enjoy reading. His comment to me, "I already read well enough. Why do I have to read now?"

After a few minutes of his protests, I, trying to avoid the battle (and the drama,) asked, "What would you like to do until lunch?" His response, "I think I'll find a book."

And at this point in the story I smile nicely and say, "Ok honey," and pound my head on the desk as soon as he turns around.

He read a book about dinosaurs until I called him for lunch.

The First Snow of the Year

The first real snow of the year has arrived. If you've known me for any amount of time, you know that the first snow is not a cause for celebration to me.

I whined and cried yesterday when the snow began. I whined and cried a little more this morning before I went outside to do chores.

The children, much to their credit, have a much better attitude. Some of the children embrace the snow more than others.

 

The animals are tolerant of the weather.  They seem to patiently take the weather as it comes. Maybe I need to take a lesson from them.

Truth be told, I really do not mind the snow. In fact, I kind of enjoy going out with the kids to play in the snow. The cold doesn't even bother me. It is all the hassle that goes along with the cold and the snow that makes me want to curl up in a ball until April. It is the thawing of water buckets. The coming of baby animals during a freeze. The worry of frozen pipes. The search for boots, hats, and gloves for four children, and the even bigger dilemma of where to put all those snow covered things in a space entirely too small for all our gear and our laundry. And ever since I almost took the kids over the hill in the van, it is the driving. Any snow on the roads while I'm driving makes my heart race.

So the snow has finally come, and try as I might, I can't embrace it. The negatives simply outweigh the positives. Instead I am bracing myself, adopting a stoic attitude toward the season, and patiently waiting for the next thaw. 

Seveteen Years

Dear Tim,

I am pretty sure everyone thought we were crazy. I know we didn't have a clue what we were getting into. Who could have imagined the blessings that would come, or the tragedies we would experience through the last seventeen years? And who on earth could know how fast seventeen years could fly by?

There have been so many wonderful times. There have been some terribly hard ones too. It hasn't always been easy. It hasn't always been fun, but I couldn't imagine tackling this adventure we call life without you.

 

 

 Thank you for seventeen years of fun, excitement, love and support. And to think we, have barely started the journey! I love you! 

Happy Anniversary.

Mmmm Steak Done Right

photo credit: Dusty Hurley

Recently, I had a friend and customer ask me how I cook our steaks. She and her husband love a good steak out, but have been unable to create a result they are happy with at home. They have good meat, but need to learn how to cook the steaks right.

I gave her my quick and easy version of steak grilling 101. Pre-heat the grill until it is good and hot. Season the steak lightly with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Turn the grill to medium-high and grill away. I explained the thumb test for checking when the meat is done. Don't know that one? It is explained pretty well here. Then I emphasized that you have to let the meat rest before digging in.

Now, I have always been pretty pleased with my steak grilling results, but her question got me thinking, "Is there an even better way?" Cooking farm raised beef is a little different than cooking feed lot beef. So off to Google I went in search of an even better way to grill our fabulous steaks.

I found this, How to Cook the Perfect, Tender Grassfed Steak. She provides a lot of interesting tips and information, but the main difference in her grilling method is that after searing, the meat is cooked away from the flame. Interesting, and a great excuse to pull some rib eyes out of the freezer for the test kitchen.

It was just Tim and I last night, another great excuse to eat steak. I made a little steak seasoning, roughly based on Rick's Steak Seasoning. I lit the grill, and proceeded according to the method shared in the link above.

The results were fantastic. What you'd like to see a picture? Sorry, Tim and I devoured those rib eyes before I even thought that I might want a picture. Thus you get a picture of the steak (and then some) while it was still out on the pasture.

So glad my friend asked the question. So glad I went searching for a better answer. So glad we have more steaks in the freezer.

Let the Festivities Begin

I went into this holiday season feeling completely exhausted. It has been a long hard year and a half. The thought of Christmas, and the tasks surrounding the celebration felt like more of a burden than a joy to me just a few days ago.

Everything was late this holiday season. I started shopping late. Our tree went up very late. My mailed gifts still aren't mailed. (Dear recipients, please consider them post holiday blah breakers when they do arrive.) I was feeling quite buried and emotionally drained.

Then Thursday, a mere three days before Christmas, an unexpected breeze of Christmas joy found me. I was putting together cookie trays and treat bags to give away, and it felt good.  I felt peace and joy. I remembered Christmas isn't about a tremendous to do list. It isn't about all the family traditions we try to keep, or the expectations we set for the holidays.

It is about the miracle of the gift we've been given in Christ. It is about time with family, and the joy of giving to others. And in this house it is about good eating.  (Just keeping it real.)

The whole family is home today. We've had a relaxed day. Farm chores have been completed. I spent some time just watching the animals which is something I thoroughly enjoy, but rarely take the time to do. My little helpers and I have been enjoying the day in the kitchen preparing the feast.

The appetizers are laid out for snacking. Kellen just finished the sushi. Tim and Nolan are finishing up some chores outside.

The sauce is simmering. The meatballs are ready. We may or may not have made enough meatballs for an army. The cheesecake is chilling.

Soon Tim will be in, and we will spend a quiet evening together eating, reading the Christmas story, singing, and likely opening our gifts. We are breaking tradition this year. We are doing things a little different, but fully remembering and enjoying what the season really is all about. We wish the same for you.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Babies

Look what Tim found, or more accurately I should say heard, when he left for work this morning! At first we thought we had triplets, which would be a first for us. We realized that they were in fact, not triplets, but that our only two remaining goats, who are mother and daughter, gave birth on the same night. What are the odds?

There are two boys, on the right, and one girl pictured on the left. The dark one is simply adorable!

So much cuter than any baby pig. Kellen and I have an ongoing discussion about who reigns as the cutest baby animals on the farm.

Sure they are cute, but goat kids rule! I will concede one thing though, baby goats are much louder than baby pigs.

Much to my surprise, Lydia named them right away. They are (from right to left) Brownie, Henry, and Tanla. Guess animals are more fun to name when they are little and cute.

Now, these little cuties have quite distracted me from my substantial to do list this morning, but I am not complaining. Thanks Lucy and Marble for my early Christmas present.

Retro

The kids' chocolate covered pretzels remind me of the '80's. Really there are pretzels under all that splatter. Now if chocolate just came in Day Glo colors.

He is a Little Fruity.

I sent Nolan to the freezer to looking for coating chocolate while I was cleaning up some dishes. With my back turned to him, I heard him ooohing and aaaahhhhing, so I assumed he had found the chocolate. When I turned around he had a huge grin on his face. The bag he was holding however, was not full of chocolate.

The exciting find was a bag of frozen blueberries. He had stopped looking for the chocolate and was begging me to eat the blueberries. This is the most fruit eating kid I've ever known.

Our Early Christmas Present

 There are so many things to love about homeschooling. One definite advantage is you can go places during the week when the rest of the world is in school, often at a significant discount. We took advantage of one such offer last week at Great Wolf Lodge.


I've looked at visiting there before, but the rates were a little beyond my comfort level. But then they had Homeschool Week the first week of December. The discount was significant, and we were able to get a room for all six of us and two days of entertainment for a little more than the normal cost of a hotel room. Merry early Christmas kids. We are headed to the water park.

We were duly impressed with the lobby, not to mention the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff who cheerfully fixed a date mix up on my part, but the water park blew us away.

There was so much to do, plenty to keep the big kids and the little kids happy while wearing the parents out. Everything was clean, and the staff was attentive and friendly. There were only a handful of families there, and some of them were friends of ours. Could it be any better?

In the evening there was a story, songs, and snow in the lobby for all the tired swimmers.

We had so much fun. I hope they offer homeschool week discounts next year!