All-in-One Update

I've been finding it terribly hard to get to blogging lately.  We're getting over one wave of the bad cold with Baby A, and now it seems that I'm getting it.  I'm also beginning a large computer project that I take on this time every year, and so any free computer moments have been given over to that.

While we've had our fair share of annoying, cranky, sick, and tired days, there has also been a lot of fun fun around here.  I thought I'd break this post into a quick update in the following categories:  Chickens, Home, Garden, School.  (If I had a "U", I'd make a cute acronym like CHUGS, but alas, I lack a "U".)

Chickens

The chicks are heading into their 4th week.  They have gotten so big, and their true feathers are coming in. I placed a wire/mesh covering over the top of the brooder because they love to practice jumping and flying.  I found one on top of the waterer the other day, which is just way too close to "flying the coop" for my taste.  The girls are as helpful as ever with them, and Ailin has finally started to enjoy interacting with them.  

Giving the chickens some time outside.

I love how their feathers blend in!

You can see how I've raised the feeder and waterer, both to make it more comfortable for the chickens to feed now that they are taller, and also to keep them from kicking so much of the pine bedding into them.

A chicken.  On the playset.  Ailin finds it amusing.

Happy girl!

I think the one on the right is Runty.  But I can't tell anymore!

Home

My Soup on Saturdays plan has been working marvelously.  I should mention that I usually double the amount of onions, garlic and seasoning in pretty much every soup I make.  :-)  These are the soups we've had so far:

1.  Quinoa Minestrone (I use a version of the recipe from Whole Foods, which I alter depending on what is in season, what grain I want to eat, and what I have on hand.  It's a great starting point for whatever Minestrone you feel like making!)
2.  Cheese and Broccoli (Super secret family recipe.  With one gigantic Velveeta brick.  'Nuff said.)
3.  Black Bean (Already wrote about that adventure!)
4.  Sweet Potato with Pear
5.  Italian Sausage with Cabbage
6.  Lentil and Swiss Chard Soup

My favorite has been the Italian Sausage with Cabbage.  All three girls loved it, and I couldn't believe it when they were stuffing their faces with CABBAGE!  Hooray!  It's similar to another one of our family favorites, Sausage, Kale and Lentil Soup, but it was lighter, simpler, and just as delicious.  The best part about this whole "Soup on Saturdays" plan is that I have had instant lunches for myself, since I'm really trying to eat less wheat and more veggies these days.

I've also tried making a couple new recipes this past month or so.  I tried a new Stuffed Shells recipe, which was super yummy.  I also tried my hand at Beef Empanadas for the first time.  I left out the olives and raisins in the recipe, because who puts olives and raisins in something with beef and expects kids to eat it?  (I would've done it if I had been making them for myself...)  Empanadas are a LOT of work.  I doubled the recipe, and had some leftover to freeze for dinners this week, but I'm not sure I approve of how much work they were for how much you actually get.  Perhaps taking a shortcut and buying pre-made refrigerated dough would help.  They were delicious, though.  My goal for November is to get all the squmpkin we harvested this summer cooked and frozen.

Outside the kitchen, we celebrated Halloween and All Saints Day recently.  That was a lot of fun.  Caeley put together her own St. Rose of Lima costume this year, so that saved me from having to worry about it.  For Halloween she was Robin Hood, which she had decided as soon as we started reading the original story for literature.  (It is a pretty fantastic story.  I had never read it, and am really enjoying our Wednesday afternoons with the merry men of the Nottingham.)  Meara was Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha for All Saints, and a black cat for the millionth Halloween in a row.  I can't believe the leotard part of the costume still fits her.  Ailin was Raggedy Ann for Halloween, and melted down when I tried to put her in the angel costume for the All Saints party.  A fallen angel.  Literally.  

Robin Hood + Black Cat

Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Man

Coolest Pumpkin Ever.  GO RAVENS!  (No, I didn't carve this--we saw it out trick-or-treating.)

Kateri and Rose of Lima

St. Joseph Joe and Ailin

Musical Chairs is always such a hit!

Garden

Helping harvest the turnips.  

Garlic is in.  Turnips are out.  The girls helped me harvest them yesterday.  We still need to cut the greens off, wash them, and figure out what the heck you do with turnips.  I was clearly feeling adventurous when I planted them, because I have, in fact, never eaten a turnip.  Nor do I have any idea how to cook one, what one tastes like, or whether my husband or children will even like them.  Caeley is super excited, though, because apparently in her "Little House on the Prairie Cookbook" there's a recipe for mashed turnips, so I guess we'll give that recipe a try with a couple of them.

CHEESE!

Picking turnips

Greens, Carrots, Sage and Thyme

The hoop house is really serving its purpose.  My mesclun greens are flourishing under it, the oregano and rosemary are still alive, and if it weren't for the slugs, my spinach would be doing much better.  The slugs have given up somewhat on the kale, so that's finally coming in nicely.  (Directly behind Ailin in the picture.)  The real pain in the butt was the surprise October snow.  In the middle of my Saturday morning Bible study, I had to run outside and clear all the snow from the plastic because it was getting completely weighted down by that wet, heavy mess.  I had to find garden tools and sticks to prop up the plastic in the middle of each hoop so that the snow would run off it.  Next year, I will fashion some poles cut specifically for this purpose, which will work much better than what I had to throw together on the spot.  In spite of the "work" involved,  I am pretty excited to still be picking my salads out of the garden well after our first frost.

School

We organize our school year into three twelve week trimesters.  There's so much I could say about how our first trimester is going.  I will need to do a longer post at the end of the trimester, but overall, I am happy with our progress.  I think I might need to cut down our work load slightly, as it seems like we never really finish all I want to do.  And I realized that I planned too much "extra" stuff for Meara, and that my focus this year for her needs to be basics--math and reading.  I think I'm going to let her be more self-directed about what she wants to learn for "science" this year.  I might have over planned, but I'd rather overplay and feel free to cut back than vice versa.  Caeley is loving grammar, Meara is starting to read and is more motivated about the whole process, and Ailin knows most of her letters.  (No, I don't purposely teach her anything yet.  She has this set of Sesame Street books with letters on the front.  Since she's obsessed with Sesame Street, she has learned the letters from reading these books with us over, and over, and over, and over.  Today at Panera, she saw the "EXIT" sign above the door and shouted "X! Over there!"  It was a pretty cool moment!)

The homeschool group on a tour of the
Historical Society of Frederick County

Aside from the "book learning," we've been taking a nature class every Friday, which is awesome, and on the other Fridays there are things like Little Flowers, Little Saints, and field trips.  There always seems to be something going on, which has made our days fly by!

The homeschool group at the nature center class. 

On a hike, thinking of words to describe nature for the Hiaku poems later.

 I do know that I am gearing up to push through these next 2 weeks until Thanksgiving break.  We are ALL (Daddy included) taking time off to rest, recouperate and decompress from the first trimester.  I'd like to take a field trip day to the Native American museum in DC to round out our unit on Native Americans, and hit the art galleries to hunt for the Fragonard pictures we studied this term.  I am so looking forward to it.  It is during that break that I will probably reemerge to do a more proper blog post. :-)
PS: I'm too sick and tired to preview this for grammatical, punctuation, or any other errors.  Pardon me if there are any. :-)

Hey Diddly Dee...

...A Farmer's Life For Me...

I long to be a farmer.  My current life is about the closest I will get, I imagine.  I can read all the books I want about the farmin' life (The Dirty Life is GREAT and I highly recommend it!) but that doesn't bring me any closer to the reality.  I can look at all the lovely properties for sale within five miles of our house, and dream, but that also does not get me any closer.  I can visit my favorite farm and breathe in the smell of manure, hay, compost and sunshine, but that only makes me want that life even more.  (Yes, it's true, I don't think "farmy smell" is smelly at all!)

In a little, tiny way, though, the chickens seem to nudge me a little closer to that dream.  They are already a week old!  (Yesterday was their official "birthday" but I had no time to update the blog.)  It's been a great week.  School work has been much harder to attend to with ten fuzzy distractions in the garage, but the girls are SO much more invested this time that I am trying to be more patient with myself about how much we get done.  (Caeley even took care of feeding and watering without being asked this morning.  I haven't even asked them to do "chicken chores" yet because there isn't all that much to do!)  I tell myself that they are developing responsibility, but really it's the habits of observation that they are fine-tuning.  Both girls can tell almost all the chickens apart!   (We are having what I am calling a "Larry, Curly, and Moe" situation with the three yellow Leghorns that all look completely identical, so they are the exception!)  I ask them, "How do you know that's Elizabeth?!!??" and they can give me ten characteristics that distinguish her from the other two or three birds of similar breed.  I'm lucky if I can still find Runty these days!  She is growing so well, right along side her partner sister, so they get harder to tell apart each day.  (I'm wishing I had banded them when they arrived, but when their real feathers and combs come in it should be easier to tell them apart.)

Who's Runty NOW???!!

Caeley showing me that the chicks are already starting to feather out.

Caeley with "her" Henny.  Short for Henrietta.  After some character in a book...

See what I mean about the Leghorns?

We are also discovering that in addition to being the hardest to identify, the Leghorns are also the most feisty of the bunch.   They definitely resist being held more than any of the others.  I had a breakthrough today, and felt like the "Chicken Whisperer" when I found a new way to hold them (NOT pictured above) so that they relax and stop flapping like crazy.  One even dozed off in my hands!  

Meara's artistic rendering of all us girls visiting the chickens.  We are standing on our chairs and stools to see into the coop, which is at the left of the picture.  Above our heads are letters so we know who is who.  Apparently some of the chicks morphed into adult chickens and are flapping happily around our heads!

As for me, I've noticed that having tons of cute creatures around has made me feel more connected to the world outside my house.  Or maybe I am realizing that "outside chores" will soon become my reality again, and this is my way of mentally preparing!   It's been hard not to notice the crisp mornings when I have to go out to check on the chicks in the garage.  (And oh how cold it will be once that coop is outside!  In late January.  In sleet.  Or snow...)  This morning was a particularly magical morning, and I'm glad I stepped outside, took a deep breath, grabbed my camera, and said a little thank you for "all creatures of our God and King."  

A peek-a-boo view of the mountain through the trees.  When the sun hits it first thing in the morning it sets it on fire with color!  This is the view out our school room window!

Sun just starting to come up.  Awesome purple sky.  But it has nothing to do with the Ravens.  I'm boycotting them.  At least until Sunday.

The hammock/fire pit area is just begging to be used.  This is my favorite tree, which always turns pinkish and is the first to change in the fall.  This picture makes me happy.

  

My Prince Charming

Yesterday Ken and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  If I'm going to be honest, I should preface all of this by saying that one of my greatest faults is that I really lack the clarity to see all the blessings that God places before me each and every day.  And this was never so clearer than it was yesterday.  I am no Cinderella, but I have truly found my Prince Charming.  I can't believe how lucky I am and how much I take Ken for granted.  He had an entire day of wonderful surprises planned, but of course, I thought he had forgotten our anniversary since he hadn't really mentioned it at all.  (At some point months ago I told him I  wanted to renew our vows, but decided to drop the idea after it received a luke-warm reception.)

I was blown away by Ken's thoughtfulness and kindness yesterday.  Some of the "littler" things he did for me included dropping me off at a massage and facial, hunting down a VHS player so we could FINALLY watch our wedding tape (it had been sitting around mostly unwatched because WHO has a VHS player anymore???!!!), and showing up after the spa trip with a huge bouquet of flowers that looked eerily like my wedding bouquet.  But I was most blown away by his planning a SURPRISE renewal of our wedding vows.  He had arranged for some of our closest friends (and cousin Kyle!) to be at the noon campus mass.  I had NO idea that anything was amiss, thinking that a bunch of our friends were there to pray for a mutual friend who recently experienced a very sad loss.  It wasn't until the priest mentioned that "a very special family was at mass" that I realized what was going on.  There, in front of friends, some co-workers of Ken's, and also quite a few strangers and college students, we stood in front of the altar and repeated those words we said to each other ten years ago.  But this time we said, "I CONTINUE to take you as my husband/wife."  I was choking back tears the entire time and could barely get the words out loud enough for anyone to hear.  Standing there looking into Ken's eyes, holding his hands, looking down at his wedding band, I was taken back to that day we stood in the church right across the sidewalk and vowed to love each other through thick and thin.  And sometimes it has been thick.  And sometimes thin.  And sometimes exhilarating.  And sometimes infuriating.  And there have been bad times.  And good times.  And times when it has felt like work.  And times when it has felt easy and natural.  But no matter what, we've stuck through it together for ten years. Not only have I found someone who will put up with me and my impossible-to-please personality (and who will love me anyway), but I've found someone who keeps working every day, in so many ways, to show me how much he loves me, even when I'm too silly and blind to see it.  I am so so so lucky and look forward to many more wedding anniversaries to come.  (I better start planning my surprises for next year now!)

The Christmas before our first baby was born!  This is the earliest digital picture I have of us.  Before this, pictures came on PAPER!  Can you believe it?

Baby number two!

The once in a lifetime vacation we took to Costa Rica before baby number 3!

The "Alpha and the Omega"

Had to write this one down before it got lost in the deep creases of mommy brain:

During our morning chicken visit, I was trying to feed the chickens yogurt from my finger.  Only one chick was brave enough to come over and eat.  I said to the girls, "Maybe this one will be the Alpha female."  Caeley promptly replied, "Yes, and I think Runty will be the Omega."  Meara asks, "What is Omega?"  Her sister commenced to fill her in on how Jesus is called the Alpha and the Omega, the First and Last.  The Beginning and the End.  So funny the lessons kids take away from school and then apply to life.  I was thinking in terms of animals.  Caeley was thinking in terms of Jesus.  Naturally.  (I'm half tempted to name those chickens Alpha and Omega!)

"Behold, I am coming soon, I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end".  -Revelation 22:12 

Baby Ladies!

The chicks arrived yesterday afternoon! We're already in love!  They seem to be doing well, although we do have one "Runty" that seems smaller, less active, and therefore more adorable than the rest.  She made it through the first night, but I have to keep reminding myself and the girls that she might not make it.  Of course, she's already my favorite, which is problematic for obvious reasons!  Anyway, we're trying so hard to enjoy this phase fully, knowing all too well how quickly they will grow up and be more than a handful (literally!)  PS:  Local friends, if you want to see the cuteness, make a point to come by soon!

Peeking in the box for the very first time!

First moments in the coop

Watching them fall asleep standing up is hysterical!

Checking out the Gro-Gel (Chicken gatorade)

This is Runty.  She spent a lot of the day just like this, although she did get more active as the day went on.

Trying to get a picture of them close up...

All ten of them.  And some poop.  Man, I forgot how much they POOP!

Good Friends and Garlic

I finally got the garlic into the garden today.  What an amazing day to be out in the sunshine!  The sun and wind have finally dried out the property, so it wasn't a complete soggy mess out there.  I was so happy to A.) have finished school so I didn't feel guilty working in the garden and B.) have "helpers" who collected the leaves for me to cover the bed with when I was finished.  Not to mention, the entire process, which will eventually produce 51 heads of garlic, took less than a half an hour.  BONUS!

Step 1: stick cloves pointy side up, about 6 inches away from each other in loose, fertile soil.

Step 2: Bury the cloves 2 inches under the soil.

Step 3: Cover with leaves.  Add garden netting to keep the leaves from blowing away. 

Traditionally, garlic is planted in the fall.  It hides underground, hidden away, for quite a long time until the warm spring weather causes the green shoots to appear.  But even then, it takes until mid-summer for the entire process to be completed.  Although it takes a long time, it requires actually very little work AND you get a whole HEAD of garlic for each CLOVE you plant.  Talk about reaping what you sow (and then some!)  It is truly worth the wait and the space in the garden to plant garlic.  This year, I spaced the cloves closer together and used only a half of a half of a bed.  Let's see how that impacts the harvest...

Speaking of things that are worth the wait...It was so good to see my friends Matt and Laura P. from California recently.  Along with Erin, we've been friends for well over ten years.  Erin was the first person I met in college.  All of us were on the outdoor pre-orientation trip in college, three of us went on to become outdoor leaders, and well, we all know how that story ended.  :-)  I wish California were a little closer...

Caeley loved Charlotte from the get-go!

Ailin tentatively showing Charlotte her cracker.

Four Friends.  :-)

Four Friends and their many female children.

Is September Really Over?

I'm having trouble coming to grips with the fact that September is over.  Probably because my second-favorite month felt like a total wash--literally.  The rain, the clouds, the rain, the clouds...it honestly made me (and I think the girls) a little depressed and annoyed.  September is always a hard month, adjusting back to the routine, or in our case, trying to find out what the routine should be, and spending less time with daddy as he dives headlong into work.  In many ways, I felt challenged around here.  I promised myself that when I started a blog, I wouldn't be that type of homeschooler that presented our life as this blissed-out, every-moment-is-wonderful, aren't-we-so-holy existence.  The reality is, September kinda stunk for us.  We started strong, making time for daily mass, getting most of our work done, managing the house work, etc.  I was super optimistic.  People would ask how the school year was going, and I could honestly say, "Great!"  But then the rains came.  Then Ailin decided that daily mass right before nap time was a bogus idea.  All the baskets I was holding (thank you Kristina for the basket analogy) started to get too heavy.  The laundry one got dropped.  The cooking healthy meals basket got chucked into the corner when I tried to pick the laundry basket back up.  That was the beginning of the basket juggling act and I am a bad juggler.  Dropping baskets make me so frustrated.  

Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of fun moments, but overall it felt like we were riding a roller coaster.  (I utterly HATE roller coasters.  Barf.  Barf.  Barf.)  Either we'd have these wonderful days, or we would have a throw-in-the-towel, what-idiot-decided-homeschooling-was-a-good-idea kind of day.   There was nothing in between.  I'm really really looking forward to some nicer weather in October, hoping that the fresh air, sunshine, and a pressing of the "reset" button will put our feet and our hearts on more solid ground.   I think a big part of it, at least for me, will be trying to make daily mass work for us.  I don't quite know how yet, but it seems that when that piece is missing from our lives, it really makes a difference.  (Another goal for October is to return to saying the Rosary more.  It has never failed to help me put my life, my relationship with God, and all other things into perspective!)

I'm thankful that I took some pictures during the better days, a reminder that September wasn't all horrible.  :-)

St. Michael Craft

St. Michael Gluten Free Cupcakes.  Caeley's wheat allergy seems to be getting worse, so I'm starting to experiment with gluten free baking.  

Ailin, Elmo, and nap time

First really nice day to rake and play outside

Elmo helping with the raking

Exploring the tree branches

Peek-a-boo!

The coop extension came, and I finished putting the whole thing together.  The babies arrive the week of the 17th!

Building a fort out of the coop box.  Great rainy day fun.

Turnips sprouting

Mommy and Ailin fooling around with the iPhone camera

Meara lost one tooth, and another the next day!

Lentil Science, a TOPS program that I really like.  We haven't done it every week like  I wanted to, but I hope to get back to it!

Thank you, God, for football!

The gigantic wolf spider that was living under the chair in our living room.  We kept him for a few days, fed him crickets that were also living in the house, and then let him go.