365Project.2015 | Weeks 42-43

Welcome back!  Nothing earth shattering this week ... just the ordinary bits and pieces of life in these parts ... :)

Day 265. Sometimes you're hopeful that a jar of pom-poms will keep the little one occupied ...

And yes ... it does. For a few minutes. Till she decides to taste-test the contents. ;) But she sure is a cutie! :)

Day 266. The fall colors have been absolutely beautiful!! This is just a small bit of the view from our laundry room door ...

Day 267. Cooler temperatures mean we pull out the blankets ... doesn't this look like a comfy way to do school? :)

Day 268. Abby-girl has started consistently signing "please"!! :) Yay! And every. single. diaper change involves a ritual of her asking to "please" hug Hannah's dolls ... all three of them. One at a time. And then when we're done, she cheerfully waves and says "Baaaye! Baaaye!" as we leave the room. #toocute

Day 269. And words are simply exploding for Matthew! Not only is he flying through his reading lessons each day, but he's begging me to stop long enough to let him write sentences. !!! So. exciting!!!

 

Day 270. Guess who discovered the magic of a "walker." :) As of this week, she has been taking a few steps on her own here and there ... but she's not quite walking independently yet.

Day 271. Oh yes. White stuff is coming. And a very little bit arrived just to help us appreciate our remaining days of fall ...

Day 273. Matthew was pretty excited about the space theme he created in his Reading Horizons "club house." :)

Day 274. And, we have "official" school pictures, compliments of our youth pastor who blessed our homeschool group with a photo session. :)

 

 

Day 275. Hannah-bug's school location of choice varies from week to week ... she's claimed the kitchen stool for a little while now ...

Day 276. He's adding periods and lower case letters to his sentences now! :) (Subject-verb agreement will come later ...) ;)

Day 277. Hannah's "Doodle Crate" arrived! :) She chose to order a 3-month subscription with some birthday money, and this is the second one she's received. We've been really impressed with both of them! Each one has been a very creative, interesting project with quality materials. (They also have "Tinker Crates" for the more mechanically inclined.) ;) If you're interested in trying them out, I can send five friends an invitation to receive a free crate. I'd really love to share them, so please message me if you'd like to receive one of them. :)

Day 278. Abby loves Mommy's "laundry jar." She's quite happy to sit on the counter investigating all of the little trinkets that have navigated the terrors of the washing machine while Mommy piles folded laundry all about her. :)

 And sometimes, she looks out the window and sees Indians wandering the yard ...

 Or maybe some fall colors. We have certainly been blessed with a beautiful view. :)

And that's life in these parts ... we're in the thick of homeschooling. Some days, everybody's super diligent and the lessons get done in record time. More often than not ... distractions and what not mean that the lessons drag on longer than any of us would prefer. But, one day, one lesson at a time, we press on. :)

365Project.2015 | Weeks 40-41

These last few weeks have been "plugging" weeks ... just trying to keep pressing forward even when the days look significantly different than "planned." About my only guarantee from day to day is that "today" will look different from yesterday. Definitely a challenge for this routine-loving mama. :)

Day 270. Overall, Abby-girl has been doing really well in the nursery, but today? Not so much. And sitting quietly in the lobby? Not so much that either. So, Mommy decided to enjoy the beautiful day, and we took a walk around our church's property. A beautiful breeze and bright blue skies made for a refreshing stroll. :)

 We were blessed with clear skies to be able to enjoy viewing the lunar eclipse ... very cool!

Day 271. This was our "Sabbath" week with no regular school activities. The weather was a bit rainy and cool, but the kids enjoyed pulling out the board games and art supplies throughout the week, along with a couple favorite movies on regular repeat. :) Mommy spent most of the week working through our semi-annual "Clothing Swap."

Day 272. Hannah is v.e.r.y. excited about her new watch. :) It's so fun to see the kids save their money and then make special purchases. :)

Day 273. Clothing swap ... one of the significantly neater moments. 

"Look, Mommy! I made piles in here, just like you have in the dining room!" We won't mention that those clothes HAD been folded ... :)

Day 274. Somebody is extremely pleased with herself ... ♥ And let me just say, it's a joy to hear Hannah-bug play!

Day 275. While Mommy was busy with clothes, the kids pulled out the Lincoln Logs ... and then took pictures of their creations and scenes. This is just a glimpse of the pictures I found on my camera ... :)

Day 276. When Mommy decides that picking up a few plastic containers is a very reasonable price for a few minutes of contented playing ... ;)

Day 277. Sleepy girl ... ♥

Day 278. If ever you need a smile, have a talk with Matthew. :) I love to see his creativity and imagination at work! ♥

 Day 279. Miss Personality strikes again! :)

 Day 280. The early bird sees the tractor ... :) Mommy had to wait. ;)

 Peter thoroughly enjoyed a half-hour or more of watching the tractor winnowing the field.

 Love this young man and so glad for the time I got to spend with him. ♥

Day 281. School continues. :) Even when it means measuring canning jars with Duplos because everybody needs lunch (especially the littlest one who has let us know in no uncertain terms) and we either drop the math lesson or continue it in the kitchen while Mommy makes sandwiches ...

Day 282. Abby + Toby = ♥

Day 283. This young lady is growing up so fast. ♥ She planned this Saturday's entire dinner menu and then made all of it by herself ... including homemade challah, chicken corn chowder, and apple cake!

 

Day 284. And finally, we explored our new stomping grounds this weekend with our annual fall foliage trek. :) We won't mention that what Mommy anticipated being a 3-4 hour trip turned into something over 8, but hey, who's counting??? At least the colors were pretty ... :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's life in these parts. :)

Thanks for visiting!

365Project.2015 | Weeks 37–39

We have a new understanding of the words "harvest time" around here. We were blessed with a small orchard at our new home, and we've spent most of the last three weeks either picking and preserving our fruit or learning how to do those things. We've seen midnight more often than not ... usually with pots still wet on the counter from recent washing in our efforts to clean up before the start of the new day. But we are thankful ... other than some minimal pruning, we've done nothing except pick the fruit, yet we've enjoyed a bumper crop. We are blessed.

Day 249. The pears came in first, and we learned that Abby. loves. pears. :)

The pear tree was loaded!

 

Day 250. In our preparations for winter, we've also done a bit of dirt work to replenish some areas that had seen significant erosion.

 Day 251. For the first time ever, we're involved in a homeschool group. We're enjoying it. :)

Day 252. Our pears. :) If you've never had "pearple sauce"--a mixture of pears and apples--you're missing out. :) Our first batch was about 4 parts pears to 1 part apples. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Another interesting note ... organic homegrown pears look quite a bit different from store-bought pears. We bought some a few weeks later to mix in with our apples after our pears had run out. Hannah commented that the store-bought pears almost looked fake. I had to agree. (They kinda tasted that way, too.)

Here's the beginnings of Peter's dump truck ... linear actuators raise and lower the bed, and he can drive it with remote control. :) Completely his own design. No instructions. #mindblown

 Day 253. Yay! Hannah's homecoming day! :)

And yes, Mommy definitely added a few extra items to the cart in honor of her pending arrival. :) (But mostly it was that full due to the 20 freezer meals I was preparing to make on Saturday.)

Even the skies were cheering for her arrival! :)

Yay!!! She's home!!! The picture's a bit blurry ... definitely more interested in giving hugs than taking perfect pictures, but I thought it was cute that Abby was giving a "thumbs-up" in this one picture I took. :)

 Day 254. So glad to have our Hannah-bug home! ♥

 Sister smooches. ♥

Hannah received a monetary gift for her birthday, but it took a while to decide how to spend it. After serious consideration (months!), she decided to purchase some baking themed accessories from American Girl. They arrived while she was in SC, so exploring them made for a nice first day back. :)

 And while it wasn't a super breezy day, Peter was able to make the kite fly with a little assistance. :)

Day 255. Freezer meals = Mommy's sanity. Two to three hours on a Saturday, and then it's just thaw and dump for the next month? Yes. I'll gladly take that.

Day 256. Our Monkey loves dressing up for church ... and his good morning smile completes the look perfectly! ♥

Day 257. No running needed today! It was a perfect day for flying kites!

#fascinated

 ♥

 Day 258. Soccer at homeschool group today. :)

Day 259. And ... our first venture into the world of canning. :) Besides the jars, we bought a food strainer for this first year at the recommendation of friends. It was well worth the investment. :)

And on canning day, happiness is Grandma surprising you with a visit ... wearing an apron. ;) So thankful for Grandma's help this first day. Things were .. shall we say ... a little crazy???

 Yep. The canning process started post-8pm. The prep started about 1:00. #longday

 First batch. :) So thankful for my Grandma's canner!

 And my first 11 jars! The popping sounds were absolutely. beautiful. :)

 Day 260. The weather has been amazing this entire month, and we've thoroughly enjoyed some school days out on the deck. Complete with coffee and airplanes. ;)

Day 261. Did you realize that the bib tends to catch the really good stuff? It's best to check it before claiming to be finished. ;)

Day 262. Canning lesson #1. Clean your fruit before canning day. Canning lesson #2. Wear shoes with good support. Hannah and I spent multiple hours Friday afternoon/evening cleaning these four boxes of apples, plus two larger bins that were marked for cider.

Day 263. And Saturday launched canning round 2. Rather than 11 quarts in as many hours, we got 14 quarts in about six hours. Definitely improving. :)

And while the ladies were in the kitchen, the men were working on a drainage project. Drainage projects seem to follow us. #dejavue

Day 264. Because of course, the best way to see over the steering wheel is to stand on it. :)

 Day 265. Canning lesson #37. Do 1-2 steps at a time. Period. None of this multi-tasking business. This was my third round of canning and definitely the most efficient. All apples quartered and softened before a single one entered the strainer.

Canning lesson #65. Beg, borrow, or steal large bowls. Lots of them. You will need more than you expect. So thankful for Grandma's bowls that have been on semi-permanent loan for the last month. :)

Canning lesson #71. Weigh your produce before you start processing it so that you'll know exactly how many pounds you processed. Something upwards of about 200 lbs yielded 44 quarts of apple and pearple sauce this season. #thatsalotofapples #notyetdone

Canning lesson #102. Hire a really handsome Chief of Clean Dishes. ;) I'm so thankful for my hubby. I've done the bulk (not all!) of the work of the processing/canning, but he's been right there beside me when it came time to clean up. And I most definitely know how to make a mess. ;)

 Day 266. Art class at homeschool group!! :)

Day 267. Abby thinks Mommy's smoothie makes an excellent breakfast! :)

 And she is most definitely Daddy's girl. She totally lights up when he gets home from work. ♥

Day 268. We started piano lessons! (Finally!) :) While Hannah's picking up where she left off, Peter's just starting out.

 Day 269. Sisters. ♥

Day 270. And this Saturday was Cider Day! :) You can only make so much apple sauce. :) With an abundance of apples still on the tree and the blessing of a cider press on loan from a friend, we decided to explore the world of cider making. :)

Well, Abby just decided to explore. ;)

 And no one is surprised that Peter delighted in his role of climbing the tree to shake down the apples. :)

 We picked about eight bins by the end of the day.

 All of which got washed, then ground ...

 And pressed ...

 

 Well, minus one or two ... ;)

We decided to use a bit more care in picking for next round. Daddy + Hannah + John Deere made a good team. :)

We started outside, but after a few hours the bees decided that they really. really. really. liked the apple juices. We were swarmed by bees. Ugh.  Daddy continued mostly solo for a bit, and we finally just decided to bring the whole operation indoors. It made a bit more mess, but not having to deal with the bees was absolutely worth it.

Peter totally figured out the press and did a great job manning it!

 So thankful for our big helpers!

 We jugged 25 gallons of pasteurized, homemade apple cider by the end of the night. It's delicious. :)

The last round of canning dishes for the year ... I think. :)

And that's where we be. It's been a very. full. month. And I think we're all ready for Mommy to get out of the kitchen and enjoy some of this beautiful weather. :) I read about the concept of "sabbath schooling" this summer--six weeks on, one week off--and we're trying it this year. After six solid weeks of school, we're all looking forward to a break this week. :)