Let's get this show on the road

Update: Today is 8/16/18 and I discovered this post written up but left in draft format and not published. I had published it for a very short time but then removed it. I think it's kind of raw and maybe I was feeling vulnerable so I took it down. But I'm re-publishing it today. I think it's nice to see how difficult life can be sometimes. The move to WA was brutal but life is getting back to normal and I'm trying to get back to my blog again. If you see something that's simply not appropriate just let me know. I'm not the best editor especially of my own stuff and I love people who can tell me when I made a typo, bad grammar or generally said something really stupid.........

In 3 days time, it will have been 8 months since our family of nine boarded a plane, having only one-way tickets, for Portland, Oregon. We would not be returning to Alaska any time soon. We were moving away. I videoed the take off and wept as the plane sped up, the trees whizzed by and the wheels pulled up into the belly of that plane. Nobody noticed the tears streaming down my cheeks. Nobody else on that flight knew that we were moving. It was a normal Thursday, June 4th for everyone else. But not for us. Not for me.

I have spent 8 months being tired, being frustrated, being overwhelmed, feeling lost, feeling raw, and eating too much crap. I didn't not like it here. I wasn't regretting moving. But it was like my brain had to be turned inside out, and that is generally uncomfortable.

I mentioned two posts ago that I was ready to find me again. Well, me is back. She is overweight, tired of feeling tired, and ready to rock and roll. She is overwhelmed because God has given the family an amazing house. The reality is, is that this house was chosen because it seemed to be being offered up on a silver platter to us. I essentially gave in to my husband on this one. I "sacrificed" my own will for his will and that of the will of God on this one. That's a huge deal for me. I like being in control. I like to say that my husband wears the pants in the family...but as they say. The man is the head and the woman is the neck. He loves me and wants me to be happy, so he typically gives in to me on most things. He would have let me pass on this house, we actually did once earlier in the summer. He didn't push it, it was ultimately something I decided to choose to be happy with because I knew how much he loved it, but it had to be my decision too. The reality is, if I really have the ability to choose to be happy anywhere God puts us, then why would this house be any different? It was structurally sound, beautiful in my husbands eyes and I knew that I could grow to love it. I have one photo of him in the living room just grinning, the most contented grin, from when they were showing us the house. I kept coming back to that picture. I knew he would be happy here and I knew I could be too.

We were allowed to move in 2 weeks before Christmas and since the bank was not ready for us to close the owners let us rent. The oven didn't work and they did their best to replace it. We closed on the house January 1st. We finally got a working oven 2 weeks ago and we got a lot more unpacking done in February too. January was crazy and we weren't really settled in 'till February.

Today is a landmark day for me. It's March 1st. We are doing our very first canning session since moving here. (I'm teaching E the canning beans my way method, it's been almost exactly one year since we canned beans last.) I made a new chore chart for the kids last week and they were actually excited. Hubby talked to me yesterday about eating more healthy and how he wants to try it and it was perfect timing! I'm sooo tired of being overweight, Lent starts in 2 weeks and I'm excited that he's also ready for a change! Last night we had green salad and roasted asparagus with dinner and tonight we're making chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Hubby has started cooking more too and though we just got him a fryer I think he's more inspired to get away from the vegetable oils and stick to animal fats. That's good with me too, it seems like a more natural choice for eating.

Anyway, just wanted to report on our silly old lives thus far.

A few updates that have happened in the last 8 months:
-Oldest daughter bought a car (Feb)
-Oldest daughter and oldest son got lifeguard training last summer and will be lifeguards this summer.
-Oldest daughter started working at McDonalds and is officially graduated from high-school. She's still trying to decide what to do with her life but is earning money for now.
-Our car was stolen at our other house on youngest daughter's birthday. It was rallied, totaled and returned to our driveway. I haggled hard with State Farm and they paid out an acceptable sum of money. We had only had that car for a little over a year since I had gotten rear ended in 2014 in Wasilla and that totaled our minivan. It gave us enough money to buy a much older Suburban and get all the seats transferred over from our Yukon so that it would fit all nine of us. Also for a hefty down payment on a new Subaru Forester.
-We started attending the mission here in the funeral home. My Deacon husband hunted for a rental and found one, a stinky old building on Main Street with leaks that had been vacant for 3 years because the land lords didn't take great care of it. He re-wrote the rental contract, got them to fix a ton of stuff before we would move in and negotiated the rent payments down on a one year lease. He got the non-profit organization status for the church finalized. He submitted names for our church to the Metropolitan and my favorite name was chosen, Ss. Joachim and Anna. I could not be more elated. It seemed so fitting for being just down the street from the Orthodox Monastery. Our mission is here for married couples, for people who want a parish life but who like to live close to a monastery. We are here for converts and plan on converting the town! The men stumbled upon a great piece of property that was for sale out by the main highway. It is 8 acres and though the man selling it got a higher offer from someone else, he said that he preferred that it go to our church and is giving us a very good deal on it. We closed on that in January and begin making payments next month. This is a poor town and there is much chatter about how will we receive enough funds to build a church...but as our priest says, "God owns all of the money in the universe. Do not worry about money." I love that.
-K will turn 18 in May, A turned 15 in June, M turned 14 in February, E turned 12 in December, F turned 10 in February, S turned 7 in August, TT turned 1 in August.
-Our last house was infested with box elder bugs. That was terrible.
-Our last house was not heated very well, 2 of the kids bedrooms and the office didn't have any heat source. That was also terrible.

Mostly I have become generally more thankful and a lot more prone to saying the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner!). Thank God for that, right?! I have needed to cling to something that I know, and I know that no matter where we move, no matter if someone dies. Our Christ God will be the constant in this crazy life that we live. We are on an ocean with waves crashing around and He is our rock. Clinging to Him has helped me so much and drawn me closer to Him. If that is all that I got out of this move, that would be the most important. I am amazed at the gifts He has poured out onto us. I am amazed that this house was actually built for our family 50 years ago...for us. Every day that I live here, there is something else I discover that is so perfect for us.

Thank God. I'm back. I'm ready to re-boot this life of mine. Thank God.

Canning beans with E.

There are so many deer around here.

Our beautiful house. A frame houses apparently look good on me.

These two. So funny. Looking at deer.

Chore time, this girl is a good worker.

The convincing photo.

I reject your Monday and substitute it with my own.

What am I doing today? I am rejecting your Monday and substitute it with my own snow day. We will add in a sprinkling of chores, work and school. It will also be accompanied by a warm fire, fresh baked sugar/nutmeg cookies, Play-Doh, Alvin and The Chipmunks, Polly Pockets (the original ones you can swallow, of course!), Wartime Farm on youtube, a kid's movie production with friends and lots of hot chocolate and coffee.

My 3 littles enjoying the snow. Our last snow was in September!

Older 13-yr-old son cutting kindling in the garage.

Our Esse wood cookstove looking as handsome as ever.

11-yr-old son offered to bake cookies today rather than shoveling manure.

Mama's happy feet.

Checking on the cookies. Not sure why, but they seem to taste better when baked in the wood oven. I have learned that when the temperature gauge is pointing directly down at "hot" your oven is at a just right 350*. If it's hotter you can bake cookies in half the time. I have baked them perfectly before for only 2 minutes.

Cookies are done. Oldest daughter looking way too grown up and beautiful with out her braces.

My sweet "F" having frosting fun.

And just in case you can smell the cookies from here...you will definitely want the recipe. I think the magic to my grandmother's sugar cookies is the NUTMEG! They are so wonderful, soft, moist and delicious with or with out frosting.

Grandma Johnson's Sugar Cookies
2c sugar
1c shortening (you can use part butter, but shortening is nice in here)
2 eggs
-cream together these three first, then gradually add:
1 c buttermilk (I never have buttermilk so I always add a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the milk)
Dry ingredients, sift these and add slowly while mixing:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
5 c flour (this can vary)

Refrigerate overnight or for 2-3 hours. This dough is very soft, you will want plenty of flour to roll them out and if there's not enough, you can always kneed in a bit more flour before rolling...best not to add extra if you can help it.

Bake @ 375* for 10 minutes. You want them just barely turning brown on the edges.They have a perfect crunchy bottom and moist middle and a nice top for decorating. My favorite is when they just come out of the oven with no frosting.

Both of my grandmothers raised their families on farms. I lived in Alaska growing up and they stayed on their farms in MI and VT and came to visit from time-to-time. When I make their recipes it makes me feel closer to them. The nutmeg smell always reminds me of these cookies and of her Long Johns; her famous doughnuts that were rectangle shaped and also contained nutmeg. She must have really loved nutmeg.

No pictures, words will have to do...

Today I woke up earlier than normal.
The sun woke me up shining in my face.
Papa and son walked to Liturgy.
It was a crispy morning, the clouds hung low and snow was trying to fall.
The remaining six of us drove to church and attended Presanctified Liturgy.
Communion was served, the Holy Gospel was read, prostrations were made and we returned home.
I started a fire in the stove to give warmth to our toes and hearts.
Math had to be done, lessons had to be re-learned, tears were shed. School is not over, quite yet. Next week will be our Spring Break (during bright week) I love being able to set our home schedule around the Church's calendar.
Older son's hair needed cutting, he wanted to cut it himself, he did a great job.
Animals were fed, watered and milked. Eggs were collected, manure was shoveled.
Dishwasher loaded and emptied, rooms cleaned, island tidied, table cleared, messes made, messes picked up, always trying to stay ahead of those messes.
I'm making a skirt for Fran, I made sure it would fit and started hemming it, then the phone rang.
I started working, customers are waiting, facebook and pintrest grabbed my attention. Customers are still waiting.
Papa went to town, he has the week off for Holy Week, it is so nice.
Yesterday and today he: jumped the car and got it working, jumped the truck and got it going, checked the bees, finally went to the chiropractor, trimmed up the long hairs on son, ran an errand for me, read his book, bought a new battery for the car, worked on choosing a new electric smoker for his fish and meat projects, took a call from work, read books to the girls. I imagine he'll fix the 4wheeler next. I like it when he takes a week off of work.
We got another lamp for the girls room from the mail carrier today, we have the best mail lady in the world.
Sus went outside, she's tormenting chickens and cats. I love that we have cats and chickens for her to torment.
My neighbor and her six kids are out cutting their firewood logs with the chainsaw, splitting them with their mauls and hauling them inside. I am convinced God put her next to me to constantly humble me.
It's April 30th and it's snowing and I don't mind. I love Alaska and her surprises. I love the calmness that the weather on days like today bring with it.

Silly Saturday

My kids are funny and they say or do amazing or silly things. Sometimes I write them down on facebook or here...

As you may know we are homeschoolers. Spring is the hardest time for school for any child and that does not exclude mine. Math seems to get harder this time of year as well and they loose their focus more than usual. I decided to declare a contest on Thursday and to let the kids race through the rest of their math books and see who could win a promised "large bag" of candy. Well the boys were ok with that but were convinced that their little 9-yr-old sister would be the clear winner. She was already 10 lessons ahead of the 11-yr-old and 16 lessons ahead of the 12-yr-old. Well little miss 9-yr-old decided that she was going to win and the first day did 3 lessons total and on Friday morning got up and did 3 more lessons before I even got out of bed! I asked her if she was even going to give her brothers a chance. She giggled, "No!" The boys gave up so I decided to offer a boy reward of the video game that they have been wanting. Yep, I'm desperate.

little miss stinker doing her math

Yesterday was garbage pick up day. I asked the kids if the trash man had come yet. My 4-year-old daughter responded. "Yes, he came and we talked and talked. Oh, mama, I have to whisper you something." "Ok."  I said and bent over. "I think the trash man and I are in love with each other." Hopefully my daughter will grow out of the extra tall, much older, really creepy men stage.

the girl who loves the trash man

My 11-year-old son has now read all of the Brothers Grimm stories he also had his own chicken job this week and his brothers as well. On Tuesday he wrote this story:

The Two Chickens

Once there were two chickens. One of the chickens ate eggs and the other was simple and stupid. One day the evil chicken overheard the farmer talking with his wife, "One of the chickens is eating our eggs! When I find out which one eats the eggs I will kill it!" When the hen heard that, she became frightened and then she remembered the simple one and thought of something evil. The next day the farmer came out with a hatchet and put an egg in front of both the hens. Then the evil hen said to the simple hen, "Hey guess what? There is a treasure inside the eggs, just peck them out." When the simple hen heard that she looked at the evil one and answered, "But I don't know how to do it. I have never done it before." When the evil hen heard that she became angry and yelled, "Why are you so stupid" Do I have to show you how to do everything? Look, you do it like this." Then the evil chicken pecked the yolk out of her egg. But no sooner had she done this her head was cut off. And the stupid hen lived happily ever after. Then end.

My writer man on his birthday. I had to go with the Instagram 1977 look because of his vintage
Star Warst-shirt and his Star Wars cake his sister made for him.

Bumbershoot

In 2011 my kids were calling umbrellas "bumbershoots" it seemed very random and strange. It was the younger girls too, but they all did it. I even mentioned it in a blog post one day called "random".

Today I saw this posted by a fun "word of the day" fellow who posts daily on facebook:

You can follow his page here.

I had to laugh. Here I thought they were making up a silly word but they probably read it somewhere. I love knowing that my kids are are learning with out me even knowing it.

Different kinds of stupid

Talking tonight to a friend of mine, I decided to write about the subject upon which we stumbled.

There are different kinds of smart.

This is a light in my head on a dimmer switch, slowly growing brighter over the years.

My personal experience goes something like this:

When I was young I did very poorly on spelling tests and expectations on reading ability and strength. I was tested for dyslexia and didn't have it. I would study for those spelling tests very hard but without fail I would get one or many words wrong. Math I found enjoyable and it made sense to my seemingly feeble brain. Socal Studies, another "important" subject I found dull. Science was fun, but isn't it to all children who have turtles in their classroom and are allowed to play with mercury? What an amazing element. But when you can barely read out loud, are as slow as molasses in January with all school and chores, you may as well just sleep. (one of my fondest past times)

Junior high school began and my days of private school were over. This was the wonderful place where I learned my sex education, I learned that my black English teacher was racist, I learned what racist meant, I had many crushes on many boys, I turned down boys who wanted to "go out", I learned what "go out" meant, I played soccer, I played basket ball, I learned that people could be very cruel, I cheated my way through Algebra 1 (thus no Algebra learned but the life lesson that when you cheat you don't learn and have to repeat the subject was learned, never did that again), I scribed my first graffiti into a library book, but for the life of me I have no recollection of being in any classroom during those 2 miserable years sans the horrid English and the cheating Algebra. Now that I really think about it, the other classrooms that I can remember at all was in Home Economics where I got to sew and Shop class where I made a cutting board.

High School was not as terrible of an experience but I do believe graduating from High School was the best day of my life. Wait, I'm married, I meant to say the second best day of my life.

I learned soon enough not to go for those AP classes, those students had to work WAY too hard and learn WAY too much. I would go along and play "dumb" and take the required classes and the lower level options and the easiest most fun classes I could find. I did fine in Math but chose not to take Trigonometry in High School (wish I would have), I had "honors English" for my 9th grade year but that was entirely too much reading of entirely too many boring books. One of which being "My Antionia" by Willa Cather in which case after I read the lovely book my teacher had to point out that the author was a lesbian and how did we feel about that? (personally? I didn't like knowing the authors sexual preference, thank-you-very-much) I discovered later that my simple poetry class was really quite fun and I enjoyed writing poetry. When I was in 9th grade our History class was hijacked by the Berlin Wall falling, it was on my birthday in fact, and thus our world history was dominated by learning current events. In general I did not engage myself in High School. I realized that I just didn't have to. I didn't want to. I wanted to learn fun things like photography and cross country running and Algebra (the teacher was ever so handsome) so I chose those classes, stayed awake for those classes and slept through the rest. I must have, as I only have recollection of the classes that made an impact on me. The rest have faded away. My GPA was nothing to speak of. I managed the honor roll sometimes but only because the average was so low. I was not cut out for Ds, I got one in typing class and that grade deeply bothered me. I don't know if it was the D pulling down my GPA or the fact that I couldn't type fast enough. I took the class again and got an A. I could handle Bs, I was a B kinda girl. I knew I could do better but didn't really want to.

What I was never taught in all my years of private and public education was how to think critically. This is a big one for me. Because once I was made aware that I did not have to follow the sheep of this world and think everything the way they do, the door to my new life was opened and I stepped through, into the light.

I think that I owe my husband the most gratitude for teaching me how to think. He may not like a thinking wife these days, after all, my opinions don't always match his, but nevertheless, he can't stuff me back into that box.

First Lesson he taught me the first year of our marriage: "You are not stupid. Your education was flawed, but you are not stupid." This has taken me years to really grasp onto. I think I finally believe him. My husband is a "very smart fellow" he's good at memorizing facts, he can navigate books like no other, he has read the bible many times and can quote from it, he knows more about more things than anyone I know. He actually REMEMBERS things he learned in school. Who does that? I felt like a dullard compared to him. He once mentioned something about that Nero and his wickedness. I asked innocently, "who's Nero?" He about flipped his lid horrified that I'd never even heard of this monster. I was indigent that he would be so horrified at my stupidity, but he had to explain how it wasn't me that was stupid. I was never taught it, that wasn't my fault. Thus it began, I learned many things I either hadn't been taught or things I hadn't deemed important enough to stick into long term memory. He gently coaxed me to speak with better grammar, teaching me small things one at a time. I would sometimes get angry at being corrected until he explained that I would be teaching our children to speak and homeschooling them. I'd best know how to speak properly. The first year of marriage he broke me of some bad TV habits like soap operas and the Today Show. He explained simply that he didn't want the mother of his children watching such things and I may as well stop now. I was taken aback that he would actually forbid me from watching them, but after just a short time they were not missed. Little did I know that this slow breaking me of TV would gradually lead to my new world of thinking for myself.

I don't know how many times he has corrected me, I have overreacted, we have gotten into an argument and he finally convinced me that he's not telling me that I'm stupid, he only wants me to learn the truth of the matter or for me to research it on my own before spouting that nonsense to someone else. I have learned (with all my new mad thinking skilz) that correcting people is very tricky. He doesn't always have to correct me, but if he does I always learn something new. I have also taught him that correcting me is a real blow to my psyche and I don't like it. So he'd better save it for the really important things.

He is better at certain things and I'm better at others. We have come to appreciate each other for our strengths and try to make up for the other's weakness. That includes each others brain skills and work skills. We encourage the other at what we're good at, we even sometimes try to do the same things on different levels. I encouraged him on a day that he has a list (in his head) that is a mile long he should not feel obligated to the phone ringing or to the three things on his list that I can do for him. When I feel overwhelmed with my life he encourages me to eliminate large things that take more time away than I even realize and how important priorities are. He convinces me that I take on too much and can't do it all.  He's better with the bigger picture.

I'm not stupid. Sometimes I don't know my limitations, that makes my life harder and me a less dependable person for others. I am learning my limitations. This makes my life simpler and more enjoyable I'm finding.

I never knew how to spell. I think that I never wanted to learn how to spell. Have you ever looked at the English language rules? Have you seen the lists of words that broke those rules? Apparently that can madden a young child like me enough to make them say in the deepest depths of their brain, "Screw the English language, it can't even follow it's own rules, why should I learn how to spell those words when even English can't spell them right." Grammar rules I do like, however. I know where punctuation goes (don't tar and feather me when you find punctuation mistakes). I know how to form a complete sentence, though sometimes very run-on. I know when and where to use Capital letters (just kidding, capital). I know when to indent. And I love new vocabulary words!

I was forced to write a few book reports in gradeschool, but remember, I was a terrible reader. Still a very very slow reader to this day. Didn't like the books I had to read (except for Heidi, see a theme here?) so had a very strong disregard for book reports. But after having children, writing yearly Christmas letters and of all things Facebook, I discovered a new "like" for me. Writing. Crazy, I know, I really still can't figure out how it works in my brain. But I think the non-wit from my younger years has finally been overcome by the new "smart" me who's not afraid to speak up for myself, stick a foot into my mouth now and again, and put fingers to key board and type my little heart out. Good thing for that extra typing class.

All this wordy nonsense to say: if you think you're "stupid" you probably are not. You have been sold a bill of goods that is not true. What are you good at? What are your strengths? Look to those, that is what makes you important, useful and smart. If you feel the itch to dive into more detail in those things that you love, do it!

You have to unplug from the Matrix of life; the television, NPR, talk radio, you will discover that your brain can actually function much better with out the excess noise and clutter. You may even like to listen to the sounds of your own head. It will not make you smarter but more aware of your real surroundings. Even if you unplug from one TV show at a time like I did, and don't let the times of those shows control you (we still like a good thriller or sitcom on Netflix). There really is more to the world. It's yours for the taking. You're not stupid. Stop acting like it.

The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to. -Trinity, The Matrix

Christmas break and the dreaded week after

I can not express how much I love Christmas break. This year was better than ever because I decided to take a full two weeks off and to not even THINK about school 'till it was over. A couple times when the kids seemed stir crazy I considered giving them school to keep busy, but quickly forced those demonic thoughts out of my head and told them to play more video games or watch another movie. We enjoyed our break, IMMENSELY. 

Starting school again after Christmas break is always rough.

This week...has been hellish.

This is the week all those homeschooling moms say, "why do I do this again?" and by the weekend are ready to lay in bed for two days straight after drinking themselves into a stopper because on Friday they started drinking at noon to just make the pain go away.

I have come up with some neat tips and tricks that you can tuck into your ammo vest, this list was compiled mostly with what not to do methods I discovered by doing them. That's how I roll.

Firstly (for the kids) DON'T constantly loose your temper at them right away in the week (like I did: do as I say, not as I do) . If you've come down with a nasty fever/cold like I got, perhaps TAKE A SICK DAY as much as humanly possible or you will be an even more wicked witch than you normally are and nobody benefits from it. In fact, I have a feeling that anything you wanted them to learn that day will be eternally blocked from their memory because it was taught on such a traumatic day, so it won't matter anyway.

TRY even harder this week to be EXTRA CALM. This will benefit you, I promise. A calm mother helps to calm her children. Even if that means calmly duct taping your 4-year-old mouth shut and sticking her in a closet, that's fine. After all, she has soooo many new songs she wants to sing after watching an exorbitant amount of NetFlix cartoons during your 2 week vacation.

Use bribery. Again, something I totally forgot about 'till today, Friday (the booze helped me to remember). Bribe with all that 50% off candy you bought the day after Christmas, that's right, chuck your no sugar rules OUT THE WINDOW this week! Bribe with their new video games that you just screamed at told them they couldn't play for a year because they weren't getting their school done. Coax them by cutting out problems in their math, after all, they are all just. so. repetitive. 

Stay in your pajamas. One less thing to do. It's a good thing. (this is one of the things I DID do this week)

Extra coffee. Well, duh.

Make good food as much as you can. I know, I know, this is hard. But, it reminds your kids that you can actually be kind and they may even thank you for your delicious food when you sit down to eat as a family. Also, feed yourself!!! This is one of my biggest mistakes, but forgetting to eat makes for an extra chafed mama.

Try to get at least one date night in during this week. You need a break from your kids but an even bigger reason is that they need a break from YOU! Go out with your husband, your girlfriends, or yourself. Doesn't matter.

Apologize to your family (individually). If you had the week from hell like I did, take a few minutes to tell them how hard it was for all of you and how very sorry you are for loosing your temper so often. Also praise them for the great job they did in spite of having such a rough week. This goes a long way. Include a hug for good measure. Remember that you're not only their teacher but also their mom, your job is to nurture as well as teach. Something I often forget.

Buy extra pencils just for this week. Sharpen them, leave them in jars on your table. (thank you Amber for this tip) They will inevitably: drop, loose, snort, eat, destroy, disappear and break THOUSANDS of pencils during this week in order to avoid doing their work. Don't let those pencils win.

Air horn. Brilliant. Thanks, Aimee.

Don't shower. Again, less to do for you. (did do, don't tell)

And that just about sums up the practical tips that I have after my week is now over (mostly) and my brain suddenly makes it's grand appearance after being in hiding all week long. I shall try to read my tips BEFORE school begins after next years Christmas break. But I probably won't. I think I'm doomed to repeat this cycle for the next 12 years that I will be homeschooling my children. 10 years down, just 12 to go!!! If you have tips to add PLEASE indulge us! Add them to the comments below.

And don't forget, sweet mothers-at-your-wits-end, homeschooling is a sacrifice and a choice you made to benefit your children. Wear your yoga pants-greasy hair-no makeup badge proudly. And remember my wise husband's motto that helps me be a better, and less worried homeschooling mother:

"It's our job to screw up our kids education, not the government's. Have faith that even if we have some failings, we WILL do a better job than someone else can with our God given children."

He also asks regularly:

"Honey, would you like a beer or some chocolate?"

What a wise man.

This is a fairly good image except for the mom's cute top, clean apron and dressed children...what homeschooed kid 4 and under wears all clothes at all times?? And look at the little girls' hair, it's BRUSHED. Psh. Unrealistic.

Disclaimer: Please realize that this post is VERY tounge-in-cheek. I want to stress how much I adore my children and love them dearly. I'm the best mom they could have and I would never actually do anything to harm them. Please don't take this post too seriously. I personally think it's silly to have to say this, but wise husband has encouraged me to regardless.

Amazement

I know I'm not the only person out there who is constantly amazed by their children. I don't know why every time I'm amazed I'm also surprised. But I suppose that's part of the meaning of the word amazed.

My 12-year-old son is a boy through and through. But he has a tender spirit, he always has. He's not witty like his brother, he's quiet and contemplative. It takes a lot of explaining for him to get jokes but when he does he has the best laugh. He is a rule follower and does what he's asked. He has a talent for teaching himself how to do things and especially has a fondness for the arts: music, poetry, drawing, science fiction stories, computer programming, video making and more.

Last week I asked the kids to do a "free write" day where they can write what they want. I found this in my inbox all typed up:

Sun

Skies are blue sometimes,
Other times they're grey.
But when the sun shines through,
We all run outside and play.

We pretend that we are soldiers,
Conquering the world.
We sail on ships and fly in planes
And we're always tossed and hurled.

We pretend that we are spies,
On super-secret missions.
And when we come across a villain,
We'll put him right in prison.

We pretend that we traveled,
In to the future.
And when we come back home,
We will have had an adventure.

I love their poetry. I love it for the imperfections and the thoughtful descriptions they include. I have never taught them how to properly write a poem or the different kinds of poems that are out there, they have simply read poems and run with it. I have always loved poetry if I ever take the time to read it. I also like to write it, again, if I take the time. I don't know if it's because he's my child or because I know he won't play this way forever or because he seems to appreciate the fun he has being a child and exploring the skills he has as a writer. Perhaps it's all of it. I feel a sense of peace and perfection at this moment. I want to savor this feeling. I don't want to hold onto it forever, just take the time to be thankful for my life, my children and the amazement they continually give me.

A Barley's Journey

A grain of barley is eaten by a bird. The barley goes through the esophagus into the crop, which softens and stores the food until it can be digested. The food then goes into the stomach, where it mixes with juices. The barley then passes into the gizzard where it is ground up with small stones the bird ate to help digest. Out of the gizzard and into the one intestine the bits of barley travel, and inside of the intestine the nutrients are taken from the food and is given to the blood vessels running along the sides. It's job now done, the food is passed out through the vent as solid waste.

This paper was written today for my 13-yr-olds Science/English lesson. I was impressed by how I expected the barley to grow and be produced for humans but instead I was brought into a story about birds digestion. I was pleased. It was funny because early today we discussed her love of birds and my lack of caring for the creatures. This captured my interest in a very fun way. Also there was no spelling errors...she gets that from her grandmother and her father. :)

What did you think?

The circle of life in mice

Now, you might be guessing, why in God's name would I write such an essay. I would never do such a thing, but my 13-yr-old, lover of all things animal, would. This year has been an interesting one with our homeschooling. I have not stressed as much about what I want them to do or study, but instead have encouraged them (in their English) to write every day and usually write what they want to write. This way they can work on their cursive, punctuation, spelling, grammar and over all how to write a paper. They love it and writing now seems to be easy and not a chore for them. It has been fun for me in the process. I'm amazed (still) at how different my 6 kidletts are and how their interests are so vastly different.

The other day my daughter asked if she could study mice and write a short paper on it, I obliged. Here it is:

A baby mouse is called a pup. Newborn pups, or "pinkies" are almost transparent. Pups are weaned at about 4-5 weeks. Mice can mate at 5 weeks old. Female mice (does) come into heat every 3-5 days. After the buck (male) breeds the doe, extra semen forms a waxy plug in the vagina. The gestation period in the doe lasts 18-22 days.

The doe needs fattier foods such as sunflower seeds during pregnancy. The doe normally gives birth between midnight and four in the morning. A doe's average litter size is 8-12 pups. Does can have anywhere between 1-32 pups.

And there you have it. Isn't that interesting? I never knew...

Poem by Second Son

Birds

There are many kinds of birds in our neighborhood.
Like the Yellow Bellied Dote
and the Blue Crested Balote.
The Black Headed Squinch
and the Evil Brain Finch.
The Ugly Faced Belch
and the Moldy Head Squlch.
All these birds in our neighborhood.

Kids and dogs

My oldest daughter turned 13 this May. This is my child that has begged me for animals her whole life and this year is no different. She wants a puppy so she can breed it and sell the puppies.

I am not an animal lover. Not at all. I used to like cats, but not anymore. When I started having children I lost any interest I had for animals. HOWEVER as you know, we have many animals. This is mostly the fault of Martha Stewart and my daughter. Martha Stewart because when I watched her show years back she had the most beautiful eggs and I coveted them. I wanted THOSE chickens so I could get THOSE eggs. My neighbor knew about chickens so we jumped in. Turns out having chickens is fun and my husband took to them much more than I did. I love the eggs, he likes the hens.

When my daughter was eight she begged me for a horse (again) we have 2 acers but no fence or barn. Horses are very impractical in Alaska, however, as a homeschooling family we want to encourage our kids passions not discourage them. We got her into horse lessons. Unfortunately she was a natural...which sucks 'cause that means we can't easily quit. So we go during the summer. Last year she won the first competition she was in...beginners luck? At this point in time we are not equipped for horses and perhaps never will be, but we like the idea of her being distracted with animals through her teenage years. I don't think that will be a problem...our younger girls on the other hand, well that's a different story.

Another animal she begged for were goats. I didn't want to milk a goat, who was I kidding. I'm a lazy NOT farm girl. But goats make a whole lot more sense than horses do. I began collecting chain link dog kennel panels after our friend gave us theirs and another friend gave us theirs. I realized they would be great for goats (who are terrible at getting through fences). When I discovered last year that goats don't need the kind of heavy duty shelter that chickens do up here in the winter, I realized it was time to jump on board. No time like the present...if I don't do this now I may never. So we took the plunge, 2 Nubian does in milk producing 2 gallons a day. A whirlwind of a learning curve, what to do with THAT much milk?! Learn to make everything out of it and find what you like best.

This June one doe is maybe pregnant, harder to get her knocked up than the other. The other had 3 bucklings. The nice thing is that bucklings need more milk than doelings, so the doe will produce more that year, but the bad part is they suck it all and you don't have it to drink. We get about 1/2 gallon a day from the other doe now for ourselves, which is barely enough...we have to ration it. I'd wanted a LaMancha doe last year but the breeder I chose didn't have any. This year she had more LaMancha kids available. I don't have enough milk at the moment with the doe feeding kids and I also don't want my children getting attached to the bucklings we're raising to sell as bucks or to butcher this fall for meat...I decided that after my daughter did an amazing job this year doing 95% of the milking that I'd buy her a goat instead of a puppy.

It was a good call (so far) she was not disappointed, she's totally in love, she picked out the one that was born the day we were at the breeder's visiting, she and I will split any profits from sales of kids and the doeling will provide our family milk for years to come. Daughter named her Elka and though LaMancha's aren't nearly as cute as Nubians (no ears!) with her docile personality, she will definitely grow on us.

I'm finding the goats are growing on me in general. I dare say I could end up being a goat lover. Don't tell anyone.

This week

Sunday the kids were so happy to open the incubator and pull out some of the new chicks that had hatched. They are especially adorable when you hatch them yourself. Probably like when your own baby is just by far cuter than any other baby you have ever seen. It was amazing to watch and the fun should begin again this weekend with another batch. They sold them all very quickly and Papa will be taking over the sales and customer service end of things because apparently 12-yr-olds can do algebra but can't count chicks and will over sell them to your friends and family. Not as fun.

Pictures? No, of course I didn't take any pictures of the VERY FIRST BATCH OF CHICKS THE KIDS HATCHED OUT!!! That would be much too clever of me.

I've been feeling run down since last week but I had a meeting to go to with E on Tuesday night. By the time I got home I felt rotten and had a low grade fever. By the time I forced myself into bed it was a full on rough-and-tumble fever and I got out the big guns (huge polar fleece quilt) and hunkered down for the night.

Wednesday I slept all day, not a huge fever but needed to sleep. Right on through to Thursday late morning when I forced myself upstairs so my husband (now sick too) could have the morning in bed and I could get the kids to do chores and some school. I canceled the appointments I had and by 4:30 I needed a nap. Back to bed, hubbys turn. He made them spaghetti for dinner and got me some soup.

Friday I decided to get better. Sometimes that works. I got up, didn't feel like death, took a shower and then felt very tired. I got dressed went upstairs, got the kids to do some chores and school and snuck into my office where I have been neglecting customers all week. I had 8 new messages. I called back a few and hoped for message machines so I would not have to get into a long conversation with anyone. After a half hour I was done.

My brother-in-law had called earlier asking if we were better yet. Friday was Annunciation the day when Angel Gabriel comes to Mary to announce the news of carrying Christ in her womb. Because of this feast, Friday is also the only "Fish" day during Lent. I had agreed for the first time in our marriage to go out to sushi with my husband and so my brother-in-law wanted to bring my sister to try some out too. I said, "I'll try to feel better by then, I could take a Tylenol and we could try!" But at around 1:00 he called and said they wouldn't go, so I was relieved and ready to go back to bed. Hubby immediately went and picked two nice big salmon fillets out of the freezer and put them in the sink to thaw.

I got into bed, read some blogs and woke up 4 hours later having missed my friend coming over to say hi. (Sorry Jessie!!!!) I don't feel great but I felt like writing what is probably the lamest most boring blog ever!

I just hate being sick, fortunately I'm not sick a lot. As you can see I have a wonderful husband that takes good care of me when I am.


2010 meat chicks and pretty cute er rag-a-muffin gang



2 things

First: I love when I tell my kids that they could/should/will do something that I know they don't know how to do. And they say, "but Mama, I don't know how.....but you can TEACH me!" that makes me so happy, kids love learning. I love teaching them.

Second: I had two friends (one conservative and one liberal) post blog articles tonight and I got to "evil George Bush" in one of them and closed it. In the other one I got to "evil liberals" and closed that one too.  It's masking the real issues in regards to what is really wrong with our country...overspending, too much government control (on both sides) etc. I'm done with it.

child learning to eat cake and not fall asleep from the sugar crash, I had to teach this, my life is rough

On brainwashing...

I recently posted something about guns where I said, "after you drag out that fear that you have been brainwashed with since a little child, you realize that guns are simply tools."

I am too harsh with my words generally speaking. This was too harsh. It especially took my parents aback when they read it and I'm sorry. The word brainwashed is used by me to describe propaganda or innuendos or subliminal messaging in movies, media and schools. It's not the true meaning of the word, and I have mis-used it. I see it plain as day everywhere now, but as a kid it just slowly sunk in.

They did not brainwash me. They raised me in a very wonderful place full of much love and sense of community. We were not afraid of buglers or bears or strangers because we were surrounded by people we knew. The news was on sometimes and I heard it. The newspaper was sitting out and I read it. Whether I paid attention or not, it was going into my head. They were not political people, we didn't have in-depth discussions about things of that nature. I went to private school until 6th grade and then went to public school because our church school didn't go past 6th. The schools feel that it's their duty to educate the children on things such as sex, guns, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, HIV, and these days they have added global warming, recycling, blind acceptance of homosexuality and probably other things of which I'm not aware.

I have even been known to joke and say that, "If anyone will brainwash my children it will be me and they will have clean brains." But again, after reading the definition today and trying to educate myself before sticking my foot in my mouth yet again, I realize this is just part of education. The schools teach what they want children to learn and homeschooling parents do the same. I strongly believe that in addition to religion, math, English and science they also need to learn gardening, farming, and hunting as part of their education.

My dad is not a hunter; both he and my mom grew up on farms and raised their own beef, chickens, etc. If they were good farmers they had a .22 or larger to protect their livestock from predators since caged chickens and other small animals tend to attract that sort. My dad had a gun but never used it, so I never saw it. It's not a bad thing; just something he didn't think was important to teach. I'm not upset about that nor do I hold it against him.

He gave me the gift if life, a warm beautiful home, stability and most of all he led our family to Orthodoxy and that is the most important thing my parents could have taught me. They, with others in their community searched for the true faith, they left their family's faiths and found it for themselves. They looked for the one thing needful and found it. I'm ever grateful for the things they gave and taught me.

Bows vs Guns

It has long been known in our home that there shall be no bows and arrows since guns are far superior. It was a bit of a disappointment at first because I had fond memories of trying to hit targets with our old bows in grade school. However, being taught how to use a firearm has been wonderfully empowering and given me a very nice sense of being able to defend my children, myself and my home...against bears, predators, or what have you. My husband knows, loves and keeps learning about guns. We don't really have a lot, but after you drag out that fear that you have been brainwashed with since a little child, you realize that guns are simply tools. After working with power tools this summer I learned you have to be CAREFUL with them, because just like guns they will kill you if you're not.

Today began a 4 part homeschooling class that they are letting me take with the kids. In class I hit a bulls-eye and it felt great. Granted, it was only 10 feet away, but it still felt great. Perhaps it's because it's quiet or perhaps because they had a comfy indoor range, but it was a blast to shoot. Perhaps it's that I have a chip on my shoulder now since a girlfriend of mine shot a moose...with her bow...out of her bedroom window. Seriously? She also throws her baby in the back pack and hikes over the frozen river and shoots rabbits. She's my hero.

With bows and arrows it extends your hunting season by quite a bit, you get more at the beginning and I believe more at the end. I've never wanted to hunt myself, I'm not the Sarah Palin type, not even a fan. I don't love a good hike. I don't love roughing it. But perhaps I might feel differently if it were a bow and arrow and I could shoot from the comfort of my home.  I'd love the attention meat!

she's so cute I can't stand it

Meger accomplishments

Today's accomplishments:

-getting 4 kids to do math
-wishing the 4-yr-old didn't want to do math but helping her some even though she's sick
-getting 4 kids to do chores
-figuring out and assigning punishment to oldest for very sneaky actions: chicken coop clean out duty
-made dinner on the cook stove
-did a minuscule ammt of work
-plan out a little boy's teensy b-day party, I'm so not a fan of b-day parties
-working on a quilt project promised to someone
-taking vitamin D since I can feel the un-motivation in full force again
-cleaning up water all over the floor in bathroom after the little girls had some fun

Nice day over all.

working on one of my "new" thrift store machines

Serious Random

Sus attacks me when I sit down to the computer and wants to be held, tonight more than usual.

Aid made salmon for dinner to earn extra time on the computer. They get 10 minutes per day on the computer/wii or x-box when all their chores and school work is finished. If they want more they have to earn time somehow. I'd rather have none of it but being married to a geek = geeky children (and very bright I might add).

Max is still doing his math  at 6:50pm and it's driving me crazy.

Yesterday we were literally walking out the door to church for the feast of the Presentation of our Lord into the Temple and Sus puked all over papa and her boots and the floor. It was Max's birthday so we stayed home, did compline here, and papa went to town and rented Despicable Me which turned out to be really cute. We made a donut cake out of donuts and had ice cream. Sus puked again and seems better today.

I feel extremely lethargic, just took 10,000 IUs of Vitamin D to see if that helps.

We decided to skip today's funeral for Kh. Barb. It was a hard choice, but the "we are all probably sick" won and we stayed home. I'm glad as the kids are kind of a wreck and it's been like pulling teeth to get stuff done around here today...not sure if it's because I'm so tired or them.
Our family loves salmon. I'm so glad God gave us salmon and a new fisherman to buy it from, much cheaper than our own fishing trips.
 
The new Catechises of the Good Shepherd that we are doing on Fridays for the kids at church is amazing. It's tough because we are still working to convert it from the Catholic teaching and that's a lot of work and debate and struggle, but soooooo good. The kids LOVE it and wish it was every day.
 
One of our goats should have babies in mid April, right before Pascha.
 
I'm not ready for spring.
 
I really need to clean out my garage and organize. Maybe this vitamin D will help, I need a good surge of motivation for that room.

Is there a school in the room?

Our school room is very hard to keep clean...4 kids learning every day, art projects, music, coloring books, JUNK...you name it, it's in here making a mess.  Not to mention my work office takes up 1/2 the room. 

It is, however, one of my favorite rooms.  I painted it 4 years ago right after Fran was born, the last room in our house to be finished (well besides the white paint and the boy's doodlings on the walls).  I new just what I wanted, my husband thought the color I was putting on the wall was crazy, but he liked it in the end too.

I got a new bookshelf and table for the room the other day and finally gave Em an actual "desk", we may set up a computer for the kids there too (no Internet!) we'll see.

Took some pictures since I had it mostly clean, it's very crowded as you can tell, but I've given into the fact that I will try to keep the house generally tidy, but there's no way around cramming it with stuff when both hubby and I work at home, school the kids at home and simply have 8 people in our family.

And yes, like most homeschool families out there, we do 1/2 of the work out in the kitchen where I actually am much of the time. However Stud Papa teaches them history in here most days of the week while I keep the little ones quiet. The bigger kids like to do their math in here. It's just nice mostly for them to have a place to put their stuff away.



I almost forgot my favorite part, it's when you look up and away from all the clutter...the letters my mom gave me when we moved in here and decided to homeschool.  She'd gotten them in Vermont where she's from and used them every year in her own classroom when she taught at the school when I was younger.  They meant so much to me and I wanted a good way to show them off, so I saved them for this room...one of the main reasons I wanted a school room...silly, I know.  I love the red trim around the room and they fit perfectly above that.  They remind me of the simple life that I'd like to lead. 

Winter is here, let's buy furniture, cook chickens & dream of sewing!

It snowed yesterday right as I was leaving to run errands in Wasilla.  It inspired me to buy a desk at Fred Meyer so that I can hopefully set up my sewing machine and get back into sewing this winter.  I know I won't have as much time as I'd like, but something is definitely better than nothing.



Children outside before the snow melts.

 After the kids convinced me (not hard to do) that they REALLY wanted to play in the snow, out they went instead of doing math.  Fran, in the meantime, convinced me that she REALLY wanted some pound cake with cream cheese and powdered sugar on it (her idea not mine) this idea sounded pretty awesome, so I made myself two pieces and her one before I got busy in the kitchen.

Fran modeling our snack.

I'd decided yesterday that I would bake some chickens today.  We have a huge freezer now, but it can only hold so much.  We had 20something birds from this summers chicken harvest, so that takes up a lot of room and I need to use more chicken!  My friend, Steph inspired me to do bake them this way couple months ago...roast 4-6 chickens all at once, then eat chicken for dinner and then shred the rest and freeze it for future dinners (like chicken pot pie!) and make chicken stock.  I forgot that it's time consuming to stand there shredding, but I think it's worth it in the end.  Here are my somewhat frozen birds going into the oven for a couple of hours.

Then I got busy on my new sewing area.  I have had plenty of sewing areas in the past, but ever since my business took over the school room and office last fall, I decided that it had to be my "hobby" for the winter so that I could get it back-on-track.  Well, it's in good shape, and I still work more than I'd like, but my paychecks pay for the kids music, art, and various sports.  I'm happy to be able to pay for those things with out flinching and thinking "well maybe we can't afford it"...that's why I work, to pay for those classes that I don't know or give a hoot about.  Anyway, K cleared out the corner by the piano for me and then I could get busy assembling the new desk while their Papa taught them some history.



My littlest ones enjoying the peace & quiet during history. 

In the meantime we had a brief visit from Steph (from Up North, Over Yonder & Out of my mind.) & her DH when they came drop something off and then their car decided not to start.  It was quite enjoyable since we don't get to visit that often.  They were eventually rescued by their daughter but I do believe I have inherited a pretty sweet non-running Volvo with many Libertarian, Republican and Progressive crazy person bumper stickers on the rear.  Sometimes I wish I didn't care what others thought as much as Steph...I'm working on it.  While they visited the 4-yr-old was invited to her friends to enjoy the snow and then my 4 older ones made their way over to their new music lessons that they adore.  I am stupid for not starting these sooner...but I'm spoiled that I have a music teacher as a next-door-neighbor, so she's ready to give my kids private lessons this year.  (Yay me!)  I got the sewing area somewhat set up, but not enough where I have to dive in just yet.  Still have chickens to de-bone.

While de-boning the birds we played the "what now mama game...with M&Ms"  This is the version with actual treats added so that there is not as much whining and moaning.  It's much more enjoyable.  They have to say, "What now mama?" and I give them a job and when they come back and say "What now mama?" they get a treat and and another job.  The house went from utter disaster to somewhat picked up & K went and milked the goats.  We also started clearing out a corner in the school room for the book case and table I got last night too.  Em's desk this year has been 3 boxes stacked up next to a bunch of other boxes...um, so, yeah.  Needed something there. 



Chicken stock.



I thought about doing the bookcase tonight but I'm so tired!  The chicken stock is cooking and Papa is watching a VERY LATE "coy boy night" with the kids.  My sewing area is all pretty and waiting for me now.  Don't worry, be patient.  I'll be there eventually.

My wonderful old machine on my new desk.

*Pictures taken with my new Blackberry phone that GCI "gave" me (along with a 2 year contract).  Picture quality isn't bad for a cell phone and it's so handy to get pics onto the internet.