When you don't pay attention

I cleaned out my office ALL DAY Monday.  Because of that, I left the children to their own devices.  Yes, I know, not so smart.

Leah got the stool out of the bathroom and used it to climb onto Lucy's top bunk bed.  MacGuyver in training, I suppose.

And then there's Joey.  Seriously, I struggle to understand his thought process.  According to Robbie (who didn't stop Joey), Joey was cutting his own hair over the toilet.  Robbie cleaned up the toilet area.  But, the effort did manage to litter the sink and counter as well.

        I chose to capture the moments for everyone's viewing pleasure.

Bread in a Bag

I taught a bread making class a week ago at church.  I always try to put together a booklet of recipes and instructions to give to those attending.  I had found this Bread in a Bag recipe on one of the YahooGroups that I'm on and decided to give it a try....with the kids participating.

Kneading dough kept the kids out of each other's hair.  We may have to make bread everyday.

It was a mess but it did result in pretty good bread actually.  The trick is to knead it to death, out of the bag.

Bread in a Bag

2 cups white flour (and a little extra for kneading)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup hot water

1 package rapid rise yeast

3 Tbl sugar

3 Tbl nonfat dry milk

1 Tbl salt

3 Tbl vegetable oil

gallon size resealable plastic baggie

bowl

spoon

greased loaf pan

plastic wrap

oven mitt

1.  Pre heat your over to 375 degrees.  

2.  Mix 1 cup of white flour, the packet of yeast, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 cup hot water in the resealable bag.

3.  Let most of the air out of the bag, close it, and smoosh the bag with your finger to mix the ingredients.

4.  After about 10 minutes, the mixture will start to bubble as the yeast makes carbon dioxide.  The carbon dioxide produced by the yeast will make bubbles in the bread dough, making it bigger and fluffier.  The bag will also expand.

5.  While you're waiting for the yeast mixture to bubble, in a separate bowl, mix together 3 Tbl nonfat dry milk, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon of salt.

6.  Open the bag and add the mixed ingredients and the oil.

7.  Let most of the air out of the bag, seal it closed and smoosh the bag some more to mix everything together until it's pretty smooth.

8.  Open the bag and add the other cup of white flour.

9.  Reseal the bag and smoosh again until smooth.

10.  Take the dough out of the bag and knead it for another 5-10 minutes.  You might have to put some extra flour on your hands.  Kneading makes the dough stretchy so it keeps it shape and gets a nice chewy texture.

11.  Now put the dough into a greased loaf pan, cover it loosely and plastic wrap and let it rise for about 30 minutes.

12.  When the dough has risen, put it in the oven.  Be sure to remove the plastic wrap.

13.  After about 25 minutes, it should look gloden brown.

14.  Pull it out of the oven and let it cool.

Leah and the Potty

So, I really wish I had a video to go along with this story.  Actually, while this was happening I thought I should go get the camera, but then I thought it wouldn't be appropriate.  But, it is funny.

Leah is a week away from being three years old.  We've got the "pee in the potty" part of potty training down.  Why is it that the poop is so difficult for the children?  I just don't get it.  Well, Leah is having problems with pooping in the potty.  She'll hold it for days.  

Leah knows when she has to go.  Wednesday night Sam and I tried to bribe her with anything and everything to go.  We even brought her little potty chair out to the living room to watch tv with us.  I promised her fruit snacks (yes, I know--not a great choice for a constipated child) and even opened the little package for her to see the colors.  Poor thing, she carried around the bag and kept sticking her nose in it to smell the snacks.  She never did try to eat one.  Pretty impressive.  We finally put a pull-up on her hoping that she would poop.  Instead, she crawled up on Sam's lap and just about fell asleep.  No poop.

Thursday morning we were walking out the door to go to gardening class when Leah announces that she has to go poop.  Seriously?!!  

I take her back to the bathroom and put her on her little potty.  She made a little effort but the only thing that convinced her to stay put was for me to sing songs to her.  Yes, songs.

Bless her little heart.  She was really backed up.  I'm singing every Primary and nursery rhyme song I can remember.  She grunting and groaning, her little face is turning bright red at times.  She even grabbed hold of the little wall between the bathtub and toilet for help.

My singing, accompanied by a random child walking by the bathroom from time to time, seemed to be the magic.  Just before she reached out her hand for me to hold and support her during the passage she said to me, "Mommy, sing loudah, I don't wanna hear the poop."

Applesauce

With the help of Diane Paul and Lucy Bergin, I was able to can 31 quarts of applesauce and 1 quart of apple juice. I pulled the apple juice from the peelings and cores of the apples, using my steam juicer. I can later go and make apple jelly in the winter, when there's nothing else to do. :) It's pink because I put candy red hots in it to make it a little cinnamony.

1 Year Anniversary

It's been a year ago today that I pulled the kids out of school and started the journey of homeschooling.

I have shed many a tear and been overly frustrated.  Just as recently as August, I almost put the kids back in school.  I'm thankful I didn't.

I would've missed our trip to the beach.  The trip where I fell in love with my children all over again.  The trip that Lucy says her favorite thing was spending time with her mom.  And she really means it.

I would've missed seeing my son Joey sound out his first words while learning to read.

I would've missed observing my children becoming better and better friends.  Oh, they still fuss and fight a lot, but they work and play together much better than ever before.

I would've missed allowing the kids to be involved in so many extra curricular activities and watch them expand their talents and skills.  While in school, there just wasn't time to do so much before bed time.

I would've missed seeing their eyes light up when the finally "get it".

They would've missed seeing their mom serve others.

They would've missed being an integral part of their baby sister's development.

They would've missed sleeping in. :)

They would've missed marching to the beat of their own drum.  A couple of them have VERY different beats.

They would've missed learning how to become more self reliant by learning how to cook, clean and take care of themselves under their mother's watchful eye. :)  (Yes, I know that sounds like housework, but they need to learn it)

They would've missed learning how to learn their own way and what they want to learn.

I'm am ever so grateful to the Lord for His exhortation that I pull the kids.  It was nearly a year before I shed my resentment.  I am more thankful than ever for Him knowing better than me.

Recommit

So, tomorrow is October 1st.

It's been two months since I wrote about changing my life.  I did a super great job for the first month.  September didn't go so well.  

I'm recommitting.  I want more of the abundance that started to grow.  What happened, you ask?

I'm not quite ready to tell everything, but it's different and I believe the Lord's hand is in it.  During the first month of my commitment, my spirituality grew, my health increased and I felt more purposeful in the efforts with my children and their education.

Why in the world would I stop something so wonderful?  Stupidity?  Laziness?  Contentment?  Probably a little of all three.  I also hurt my ankle making it difficult to walk every morning.  

No more excuses.  Back to the drawing board.  I'll be revisiting my entry on July 31st about my 160 day challenge.  I'm still determined to it.

That's enough rambling.  Time to get to work.

Happy Birthday Joey!

September 30th is my little Joe's birthday.  I can remember we this little pumpkin made his way into the world.  I took the time with Joey today to tell him his birth story.  I didn't tell him how difficult it was for me to have a C-section.  But, I did tell him that the Lord blessed us both that we were safe and healthy, because I was obedient to the blessing I received.

I've recently gotten more convinced of the power of story.  Everyone has a story.  I want my children to know how important their story is to me.  Just a few minutes to tell Joey how much I love him and how incredibly grateful I am for his big head. :) (That's the reason I had to have a c-section.)

Enjoy a few pictures from his birthday.

Joey's birthday cake came in the form of a Volcano Cake at Don Pablo's the night before his actual birthday.  Robbie had a baseball game on Joe's birthday so we celebrated it a little bit early.
Lucy made Joey breakfast in bed, but he woke up before she was done.  So, he got to eat it in the living room while watching t.v..  
                                                                      Strike a pose!
Joey wanted a remote control truck so badly.  He had to wait all day before he could open his present.  He got exactly what he wanted.
                            This is one happy little boy.  Dreams really do come true.