Dishes and Beowulf?

My twelve year old really likes to complain when it is time to work!  I've tried to get him to be quiet and just work but I've realized that he needs to talk.  So now I'm training him to say something worthwhile instead. 

He didn't like Beowulf  so we have agreed that he can read Psalms or Proverbs.  I want him to think about what he is saying and how that impacts everyone around him.  Chore time has been really stressful lately!  I think this will change his attitude and the atmosphere of our home too.

Oh, and I did get his permission before posting this to my blog.  nathan (that is his signature)

My Veggie Garden In June

Finally, the gardens are filling out.  I love when every inch of ground is covered by plants. 

The corn is still pretty short. 

The grapevines have finally started to twist and twine in my branch arbor.  The morning glories are starting to grow.  Hopefully, by next month they will have reached the top of the arbor.

Green beans starting to twist around their supports.

My herb garden.  Funny how you can't see any herbs in this photo.

Here are some  of the herbs.  And there is an artichoke.  I'll move it this fall.

The sunflower volunteers.

I saved this geranium from last year.  It was in the house all winter and is finally starting to grow again.  The pretty pinkness of its blossoms is the only thing keeping it from being replaced.

I love when my plants spill into the pathways.  I don't mind walking over and around them.  I have a bunch of radishes going to seed.  I leave them because they have pretty flowers. 

Tomato plants are in the middle of this square.  I've only gotten one so far.  They should really start going this month.

I have morning glory growing here and there throughout the veggie and flower gardens. 

Grapes.  I'm still learning how to prune and we didn't get any last year.  I must have done something right this year because the three vines are loaded.

These are red grapes.

One side.

The other side.

Thanks for visiting!

52 Books Week 36

Pictured are Cali and her kittens enjoying their raw diet.

53. Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman

Sewing Fail

Here is a picture that is not of the fail.  I am trying to keep my sewing confidence up by showing you the dresses I made for my daughters before I tell you about my failure.

On to my failure.  I made these cute straight skirts out of denim with green gingham ruffles on the bottom.  They were to go with two tops I found at the store for the girls.  Well, I cut the skirts out using directions I found online since I was missing the skirt piece to a pattern I've made before.  I kept thinking they looked a little too narrow for my girls but I trusted the measurements I had taken and sewed up the skirts.  Then I gathered and pinned the mile long ruffles and finally got them sewed on.  Before I made the waistbands I decided to have the girls try the skirts on.  Too tight!  They could barely walk across the room!  Maybe if I had used spandex the skirts would have worked!  I really wish I had listened to myself and checked the size before I spent all that time gathering the ruffles! 
I don't have any pics of the skirts because they are in the trash!  I could have taken the ruffles off and made new skirts but I just don't have the fortitude to do that right now! 

I also made them shorts from some patterns that I had.  They turned out super long and baggy.  I shortened them but I don't like how baggy they are.  Let's just say I'm finished sewing girl clothes for the summer.  I was going to try to sew a skirt for myself but now  my confidence is gone.  Maybe in another month I'll be able to try again. 

Catnip: Fresh Is Better?

I'm growing some catnip in my herb garden.  We like to share some with the kitties about once a week.

This is Oreo before the catnip.

Here he is chewing the catnip.  He chews the leaves but doesn't eat them.

And then he rolls around on the kitty drug, I mean herb.

Ahh, feels good.

After being playful he ends up in a stupor and then takes a nap. 

I think the fresh catnip is stronger than the dry stuff.  If we ever have to take a cat on a long drive I will pack some catnip.

How I Got My Children To Like Cleaning House

My children aren't always happy to help clean up the house.  For the last few months we've been holding a weekly room competition.  The house has never been cleaner.

Here is how it works.  On the first day each child gets to choose an egg which has one of four rooms listed on it, bathroom, porch and entries, living room, or dining room and office.  The green eggs are for my 4 year old.  He grabs one to find out who he gets to help for the week.

I make a quick chart to hang on the wall so everyone can keep track of their stats.

Then after daily chore time they work on their rooms.  It started out with them being responsible for picking up the room.  Depending on how badly they want to win the prize they will wash windows, sweep or vacuum and even clean out the couches without me asking them to. 

Then for a finishing touch, their favorite part, they decorate.  I let them use my linens, houseplants, chotskies, and even arrange flowers or leaves.  We end up with some interesting looks some days!

At the end of the week the child with the best score gets a prize.  We've even had a few ties.  They don't always know what the prize is, which helps keep it interesting.  Sometimes we will take the winner to lunch, give them cash, or let them shop for their own surprise.  I try to keep the rewards to $5.00 or less.  I think it is money well spent!

Here is another idea which I put together but keep forgetting to use.  I filled the eggs with odd jobs that need to be done but that are not on our regular chore list.  I included some change in each egg as payment for the job.  When we have emptied the eggs I will refill them with the m&m's or raisenets. 

Recycled: Dinner Leftovers Into Chicken Eggs

My children don't always eat everything on their plates but that's o.k.  We have chickens so all the wasted food isn't really wasted, it gets turned into fresh eggs with dark yellow yolks.

I like having chickens to eat all of the weeds I pull from the garden.  When we clean out the coop and the yard we throw everything onto the compost pile and then later it makes its way back into my garden.  A complete circle.  I love that none of the my soil nutrients are wasted by the weeds. 

I may be a tad obsessed with gardening and healthy, nutrient dense foods.

My Life's Work: Encouragement For Homeschool Moms

"A talented woman was asked by a friend, "Why have you never written a book?"

"I am writing two" was the quiet reply. "I have been engaged on one for ten years, the other five."

"You surprise me!" the friend said.  "What profound works they must be!"

"It doth not yet appear what they shall be," said the woman, "but when He makes up His jewels, my great ambition is to find them there."

"Your children?"

"Yes, my two children.  They are my life's work."

And so for Mother, we six were her life's work.  She asked for no other."  From The Shaping of A Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot

With so many things to do each day I sometimes forget that just raising my 8 children is enough.  Time seems like a constant battle for me.  I want and need to do so many things.  I feel guilty that we aren't doing crafts, nature study, music study, and science experiments each week.  I tell myself that if I could only manage my time better I could fit everything in.

We shouldn't undervalue the work of just running a home and caring for our children.  That is a full time job and then we add homeschooling to our day.  If we don't get much done beyond that, so what!  We have still done what we should do and that's o.k.

I will keep trying to fit the extras into my day but I will also put proper value on the basics and feel accomplished if I only do them.  Being a mom is hard work.  Don't downplay what you do.  Be proud that you are doing what God has called you to do.

Links To Learning: Honeysuckle - Medicinal Herb, Jelly, Wine, Perfume

We have honeysuckle growing in our yard.  While it was flowering I wondered if it was useful for anything besides keeping my children occupied with harvesting nectar.  So I googled it and here is what I found.

The honeysuckle flowers, buds, and stems are used medicinally.  It is reputed to be of great use in treating coughs and asthma.  I am going to dry some flowers to have on hand in my herbal cupboard.  I also found a recipe for a cough syrup that I want to make and keep in the freezer for the winter. It is also used as a tea.

You can make honeysuckle wine.  I might try this.  The last time I made wine I had it racked and aging when a cork shot out of one of the bottles and wine went shooting out across the laundry room and kitchen.  I had just painted the walls a creamy white weeks before.  Oh, and it didn't taste very good.

It can be made into jelly with a basic flower jelly recipe.

Perfume  It takes a lot of flowers to make a tiny bit of perfume but I thought my little girls would enjoy making this. 

The flowers are edible so you can add them to salads or use them to infuse drinking water.

I also read that the vines are used in basket weaving.

Who knew that something considered a weed could have so many uses.  So, what have I done with the honeysuckle so far?  I'm ashamed to say nothing.  I did this research while I was in my first week of recovery from surgery and stuck in the recliner with my foot propped up.  I am adding harvesting and drying the flowers to this weeks to do list though.  Oh, and the children made some honeysuckle water a few times. 

Ransomed Dreams by Sally John

Sheridan Montgomery is married to Elliot who had his career as an ambassador to Venezuela cut short by an assassination attempt which left him handicapped and unwilling to live anywhere but a small Mexican town.  Sheridan is contacted by a man from her past, Luke, who brings her a message from her sister that her father is dying.  She leaves her husband and travels to her hometown of Chicago where she, her sister, and Luke uncover secrets about her family that will change her life once again.

This story is written in an engaging manner which kept me reading long past my bedtime.  Although the main character Sheridan's life is much different than mine she faced some of the same issues of the heart that I have to deal with.  The main characters seem to have wandered away from their faith due to the aftermath of the shooting.  As they face challenges throughout the story they begin to find their way back to God and to each other.  If you are looking for and entertaining fiction story with an uplifting message I recommend this book!

I received this book from Tyndale for free and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

52 Books Week 35

46. How To Read A Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren
       I received a bit of flack about reading this book from my family. They thought it was ironic that I, being such a bookworm, would need to read a book about how to read a book.  If you read this I recommend that you use a book cover.

47. The Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel
       I quit my low carb diet and have sworn off diets for the rest of my life, so I read this book.  I lost most of my baby weight a few years ago(and then had three more babies and gained more baby fat) by eating quality foods and using visualization so this method is not new to me.  You can download his evening visualization cd from the website for free.  I highly recommend trying it.  I used to always fall asleep while I visualized but with the cd you can fall asleep while your subconscious listens. 

48. Washington Square by Henry James
       I didn't like this book.  The characters lack depth and you are left wondering about who they really are.

49. The Schwarzbein Principle II The Transition by Diana Schwarzbein
       Another diet book.  I've been following her advice for the last two months.  I think I'm going to try to let go of counting and worrying over how much of each protein and carb I am eating at each meal and listen to my body instead.  I was thin no matter what I ate before and after my first child so I know my body knows what it needs to do to get back to how it should be. 

50. The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
       I read this to see if it would be good for my preteen to read.  I really enjoyed this story.  It made me thankful for how much easier life is today but also made me long for the simplicity of life long ago.  This book would be a good read for a mature 10 year old to adult.

51. The Shaping of A Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot
      Loved this.  It is on my reference and reread shelf.  Elisabeth tells about her childhood and how her home was ordered.  She also tells about how her mother and father grew up.  It is encouraging and full of ideas for how a Christian family can live.  I loved reading her mother's reminisces about her childhood and how she raised her family. 

52. Ransomed Dreams by Sally John
      I will be posting a review of this book soon. 

Quote of the Week

"...how soon would dear bought experience proclaim that when a people or family so divide, it never fails to be against themselves."  John Jay

I'm reading "The Federalist" by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison.  It is a series of articles that the authors wrote and had circulated throughout the colonies to try to convince the public as to why the Constitution of the United States should be adopted.  

Things I Want To Try

I read the book "A Life That Says Welcome" by Karen Ehman a few months ago and want to try some of her ideas. 

*Hang a chalkboard in the kitchen or dining room to write special announcements, menu, etc on.

*Leave notes and gifts for family members to find.  We like to set up a mailbox and leave notes and little gifts for each other.  I want to do this more often.

*Set up a note center.  I want to set up a place to keep note cards, pretty papers and pens so that we will remember to write to each other.

*Keep a one-to-one journal with a family member.  I love this idea.  You write a question for the other person to answer and then they leave you a question.  You keep a journal together.  I thought this would be fun for our whole family to do together.

*Keep box of gifts for children to give to each other.  They can buy them with extra chores, etc.

*Have a tea party(girls) or coffee time(boys) one day a week.  We have done this a few times. 



I'm glad I found this book and plan to look through it again for ideas on living at home in a way that welcomes others as well as the people who live with me.

Blog Walk

I'm going on a blog walk to meet some fellow members of TOS Homeschool Crew. If you homeschool or just want to learn more about homeschoolers, go check out these blogs.
 

1. http://theunsells.blogspot.com/

2. http://peacecreekontheprairie.com/

3. http://walkinghomesk.blogspot.com/

4. http://snydershome2003.blogspot.com/

5. http://orangemarmalademama.blogspot.com/
 
6.  http://locustpointeacademy.blogspot.com/

7. http://suncoastmom.com/

8. http://created2bcreative.blogspot.com/

9. http://trainingchildrenupforchrist.blogspot.com/

10.  http://homeschoolblogger.com/dunrominfarm/

Broken Promises

 I know I said I had some posts coming up.  I am still getting back into my usual routine.  I need to figure out how to budget a little blogging time into each day.  Yes, I spend time at the computer but it is not blogging time!  Maybe I'll have to bribe myself.  If I write a blog post then I can go look at all the interesting things that have been posted by others since yesterday.  I have to make little deals with myself sometimes so that I get something that I don't really want to do done.  Otherwise we would not have clean laundry, there would be toys and junk all over the house, dinner would be eggs cooked at the last minute, but I would be caught up on my reading and gardening!

This is my foot a week after surgery, which has nothing to do with this post besides that my little toe is broken and will be for the rest of my life.

I took a picture 'cause I wanted to remember the little foot that my podiatrist drew on my foot to mark which foot needed surgery.  How many times can you use foot in a sentence?  Sorry, about that.  I will not show you a picture of how it looks now that the stitches have been taken out.  I call it my frankentoe. 

And now I will end the post.  I will not tell you that another post is on the way or what I may post about in the future.  I will say that most likely there will be another post some day. 

How My Veggie Garden Looked Way Back On May 27th

Good thing I took these pictures before my foot surgery.  I've finally reached the two week mark and can start getting back to my normal routine.  After mostly sitting for the last two weeks walking hurts.  I should be back to my usual activity level in about two weeks.

Let's walk out to the garden.

The corn patch is the first bed.  The next bed has beans in the center with pumpkins, tiger melons, and peppers on the sides.  I can't wait 'till the beds are a jumble of plants and I can start looking for something to add to our meals.

Now we've walked through the arbor and can see the rest of the garden with the chicken coop in the background.

This is the herb garden.  Only about half of the herb seeds I planted came up.  That's better than usual!  Herbs seem so hard to start.  I need to try to get some going inside. 

This is the view from the other end.  I planted the two beds on this end first.  We've just started to harvest peas.  I guess I didn't get them planted soon enough.  We also had some problems with the chickens getting out and scratching up seedlings so that has slowed down production a little.

See those two stepping stones?  They mark the middle of a sunflower house.  I took this picture before anything sprouted.  Hopefully, we will have a house instead of a few sunflowers this year.  That's Lily guarding/leading me.  She's a cattle dog and likes to be right in the middle of whatever we are doing.

So that's that.  And now we are halfway to the next update.  I'm going to try to weigh everything that I harvest.  I want to see how productive I can make my garden.  I harvested 2 oz. of peas today.  A tiny start!