If I take away a dead kit, and a doe who had trouble kindling this morning I had a good day.
Out to trivett memorial church's harvest party. The lad went on bouncy air things, rode electric vehicles, built a high building out of blocks with another lad. I got a fair bit of gardening done and killed a whack of yellow jackets. Went back to the harvest party to watch Dufflebag theatre (they did beauty and the beast).
So I spent time with family and was productive as well. That spells for me a good day. :)
will add pics once the lad is in bed. :)
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Busy busy day
Started off with caring for three sick bunnies. I'm all out of probiotics now so we'll have to see how they deal with life. It will be a spell before I can find new probiotics in a form easily administered to bunnies so we'll have to see how they do. I don't want to lose them but I have learned that fighting with young kits is pretty much a losing battle. So I'll offer all sorts of supportive care and let their systems sort things out.
Had the joy of holding Mr. Snuggle Butt.
This young fellow is the sweetest most in your face little bit of loving that you'll ever meet. In another week or so he'll be ready to start looking for someone to snuggle up with. :)Did homeschooling with the lad this morning. It went well for the most part though he does like to whine about doing copywork. :) Instead of getting upset about it I went up stairs and chuckled about it.
Then the lad practiced being an archaelogist. I joined him for a while, and daddy joined him for a while. It was all good. I thought it was cute at one point. "Mommy, when I play digging, am I learning anything? Is it like being in school when I'm playing?" I said "yes, buddy, it is like being in school. You are learning to look carefully through the dirt to find the red clay (red brick bits). You are learning not to stab mommy in the hand (so you are paying attention to your surrounding). You are learning to work with mommy at something. AND you are being an archaelogist because you are finding things that got buried!" He was quite happy and content by that. :)
that implement... a pick axe!
that implement... a pick axe!
he is managing to find his red clay treasures.
I got the front lawn mowed. Spent time with the lad. Got the back yard mowed. Dug with the lad. Removed a variety of things from the garden. Dug with the boy. Did more garden clean up. Then discovered we had a HUGE ant problem. So put ant drops on two nests. Hubby was home from visiting so he raided all the visible ants to death. AND THEN I discovered where the yellow jackets were coming from and that killing them required a different sort of weapon than what we had. So off to Canadian Tire to pick up some more insecticide. WOOT WOOT! No more yellow jackets. No more ants coming in the house. I am one HAPPY woman!
Carrots, peppers, squash and tomatoes. I brought the ripe tomatoes in the house.
The greens will sit out for a bit.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Cleaning the House
A while back I decided I was tired of letting the house get away from me.
NOT being a person who is naturally clean and tidy, and NOT being a person who loves to clean, I decided that perhaps making a list of what needs doing would be a good idea. Flylady proved of some assistance. She has detailed cleaning lists. :) Mind, you need to modify them for your own use though.
Did you know that sometimes making a list is a good idea? Go figure! it is!
I have some daily goals which are always getting met because sometimes life gets in the way.
My daily goals
Now that the kitchen has been well cleaned doing the floors daily should be more possible, the making sure there's nothing in the kitchen that doesn't belong there well...that will take some continued effort. :) Good thing there's three of us in this household so perhaps we can manage it one of these days. :)
I also made household cleaning tasks up.
thus far I've managed to clean...the front porch, the kitchen (mostly), the upstairs bathroom, the guest bedroom (mostly), the garage was given a once over as well as the basement. I got the hall way done but it needs doing again.
I've the living rooms to do, the main bedroom, the bookroom AGAIN, the linen closet and the lad's room. I hope to do the lad's room biweekly but time will tell. :)
AND THEN>>>>
I even made up a list of things to do before winter.
So I am making progress. Thought I'd put it here so I can keep updating it. Looks good to see that I am indeed making progress. Life is good. Hubby is patient and kind and sometimes helpful in the process. Once I give the house a good going over I'm going to start making a chore chart so that together we can hopefully maintain it. :)
NOT being a person who is naturally clean and tidy, and NOT being a person who loves to clean, I decided that perhaps making a list of what needs doing would be a good idea. Flylady proved of some assistance. She has detailed cleaning lists. :) Mind, you need to modify them for your own use though.
Did you know that sometimes making a list is a good idea? Go figure! it is!
I have some daily goals which are always getting met because sometimes life gets in the way.
My daily goals
Dishes
Kitchen table
All toys tidied in living room/dining room
NOTHING in kitchen that doesn't belong there
Sweep floors
Now that the kitchen has been well cleaned doing the floors daily should be more possible, the making sure there's nothing in the kitchen that doesn't belong there well...that will take some continued effort. :) Good thing there's three of us in this household so perhaps we can manage it one of these days. :)
I also made household cleaning tasks up.
thus far I've managed to clean...the front porch, the kitchen (mostly), the upstairs bathroom, the guest bedroom (mostly), the garage was given a once over as well as the basement. I got the hall way done but it needs doing again.
I've the living rooms to do, the main bedroom, the bookroom AGAIN, the linen closet and the lad's room. I hope to do the lad's room biweekly but time will tell. :)
AND THEN>>>>
I even made up a list of things to do before winter.
Plant lettuces for the fall DONE
Finish bookroom
Patio stones – put in place
Dig up the front garden
Dig up the side garden – remove as many perennials as possible.
Dig up the corner perennial garden - put in the perennials from the side garden
Build a shelf/rack for the rabbitry
Winterize the trailer
Dig up potatoes DONE
Freeze beets DONE
Do up some more applesauce and apple butter
Make some pie filling
Remove TV from basement DONE
Clean garage DONE mostly tools and bench need cleaning but that's where hubby dear needs to assist to prevent complaints of "WHERE DID YOU PUT THIS". :)
Clean basement DONE
Put lawnmower in rabbitry for the winter
Get snowblower ready for winter - Hubby's job
So I am making progress. Thought I'd put it here so I can keep updating it. Looks good to see that I am indeed making progress. Life is good. Hubby is patient and kind and sometimes helpful in the process. Once I give the house a good going over I'm going to start making a chore chart so that together we can hopefully maintain it. :)
Monday, August 29, 2011
Pinery Pics
Out at the Pinery Provincial Park on Sunday afternoon. Lunch and a walk.
Here is a boy hard at work looking for toads. And for more toad pictures you have to
this link. :) They are a fascination at the moment.
We walked the Carolinian Trail.
Did you know that the Carolinian forest was named after the forest of North and South Carolina?
Horrid pic I know, "let's rest of a minute mommy" and then
he was OFF again, scarcely before I could get the camera out.
Hubby here was a bit more patient.
Mommy, how did they get the post into the water?
Why did they want to put this post here?
Can you see them? There are three, took the lad a while too.
one butterfly
Pretty Yellow flower. I liked how it peeked out over the steps.
a moth. Just sat there until i tried to get too close, then off it went.
there are brief moments in life when I wish I had more than a
simple point and shoot. Pics of water lilies are one of those moments.
Mommy, how did they get the post into the water?
Why did they want to put this post here?
Can you see them? There are three, took the lad a while too.
one butterfly
Pretty Yellow flower. I liked how it peeked out over the steps.
a moth. Just sat there until i tried to get too close, then off it went.
there are brief moments in life when I wish I had more than a
simple point and shoot. Pics of water lilies are one of those moments.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Thinking out loud
A cousin of mine wrote this blog post. 6 reasons I never wanted to be a mother to a boy.
I find that Patti is well written in what she writes and I do wish I could write as clearly as she does. She's very open in what she thinks and feels which is helpful overall.
Anyways, her six points are as follows. Please do go read her blog as it lays out her thinking quite nicely.
1. I mostly don't like any of the little boys I know.
2. I can't stand all the stereotypes about boys.
3. I hate the way that everyone wanted me to have a boy
4. I don't trust men so I don't know how to raise a boy into a man.
5. Mothers are always blamed for whatever their sons do that deviates from what is considered 'normal'.
6. I think it's harder to be a man in modern culture than it is to be a woman.
I cannot and will not deal with each of her points. But I thought I'd list them out for you. :)
I have to admit.. little boys can be a handful. They can be. They different, but then again, so are little girls and there is SUCH a huge range out there in behaviours for all children, and every parent has a different style of parenting. All the things she said about little boys and behaviours the doesn't like can be said for little girls. I for one was scared out of my mind when I was confident that my lad would end up being born and not be a miscarriage. What was I scared about? that he would end up being a girlie girl. Petrified I was. What in the world would I do with a girlie girl? that is SO far from what I am that I couldn't conceive of what I would do with one. Just couldn't. When I learned I had a boy I was SO very relieved. I thought I'll have this little high wire of a lad, I know what to do with high wires. A boy I can raise. Good.
What I have NOT a little high wire. What I have is a cautious, intelligent lad. He is stubborn (but putting a good spin on .. he's persistent, VERY persistent). he doesn't like to get hurt, he's careful about what he wants to do, likes to be VERY clean ALL the time, and is not like me in many ways. he is like me in some ways, but he's much like his father and I find that intriguing to raise. I've learned in the past six years that you raise what you have and that as a parent you adjust to what God has given you to raise.
A statement that Patti made caused me to feel VERY sad. "There is no man in my life who I would consider to be an ideal role model for my son." No man in her life that would be a good role model for her son? NO ONE? That feels so empty and hopeless to me. and yes I know that it isn't. But doesn't she at least want her boy to be like his dad? Isn't his dad a good man in his own way? That will be her son's first role model so shouldn't he be a good one? I can't understand that mind set. So it just makes me feel sad.
I read a blog post or an article a while back on raising boys to be men. It made an impact on me. I find that see myself supporting maleness in my lad. Males tend to be the supporters and workers in families with high protective instincts and the ability to be focused on the task at hand. So I find myself encouraging the lad when he wants to help mommy or he wants to fix something and when he gets so focused on something. And yes... is some of that a stereotype? well yeah... but stereotypes exist for a reason... males are typically stronger, more task oriented, and so forth. is that a bad thing? uh...no. But are people equally capable of crossing those male/female boundaries??? Yah! And that's just fine. I have zero issues with women being strong and protective and men wanting to raise their families. No problems. But where a lad is being a leader and protective I will encourage that. I will strive to help him do so in a godly manner.
Just as if I had a girl child who was a strong leader... I would encourage her to use those leadership skills in a godly manner... which would be a challenge to do. be a leader, yet be submissive to the male leadership in a church... Harder to do in this day and age.
I will Very very much agree with Patti when she says it's harder for guys to be guys in today's world. It is. Men are expected to be so much more and yet so much less now a days. Encouraging/training the lad to be a good strong male leader in his own way, despite what the world around us wants... that may be a challenge. But God is with us all the way so we'll hopefully get 'er done. :)
I find that Patti is well written in what she writes and I do wish I could write as clearly as she does. She's very open in what she thinks and feels which is helpful overall.
Anyways, her six points are as follows. Please do go read her blog as it lays out her thinking quite nicely.
1. I mostly don't like any of the little boys I know.
2. I can't stand all the stereotypes about boys.
3. I hate the way that everyone wanted me to have a boy
4. I don't trust men so I don't know how to raise a boy into a man.
5. Mothers are always blamed for whatever their sons do that deviates from what is considered 'normal'.
6. I think it's harder to be a man in modern culture than it is to be a woman.
I cannot and will not deal with each of her points. But I thought I'd list them out for you. :)
I have to admit.. little boys can be a handful. They can be. They different, but then again, so are little girls and there is SUCH a huge range out there in behaviours for all children, and every parent has a different style of parenting. All the things she said about little boys and behaviours the doesn't like can be said for little girls. I for one was scared out of my mind when I was confident that my lad would end up being born and not be a miscarriage. What was I scared about? that he would end up being a girlie girl. Petrified I was. What in the world would I do with a girlie girl? that is SO far from what I am that I couldn't conceive of what I would do with one. Just couldn't. When I learned I had a boy I was SO very relieved. I thought I'll have this little high wire of a lad, I know what to do with high wires. A boy I can raise. Good.
What I have NOT a little high wire. What I have is a cautious, intelligent lad. He is stubborn (but putting a good spin on .. he's persistent, VERY persistent). he doesn't like to get hurt, he's careful about what he wants to do, likes to be VERY clean ALL the time, and is not like me in many ways. he is like me in some ways, but he's much like his father and I find that intriguing to raise. I've learned in the past six years that you raise what you have and that as a parent you adjust to what God has given you to raise.
A statement that Patti made caused me to feel VERY sad. "There is no man in my life who I would consider to be an ideal role model for my son." No man in her life that would be a good role model for her son? NO ONE? That feels so empty and hopeless to me. and yes I know that it isn't. But doesn't she at least want her boy to be like his dad? Isn't his dad a good man in his own way? That will be her son's first role model so shouldn't he be a good one? I can't understand that mind set. So it just makes me feel sad.
I read a blog post or an article a while back on raising boys to be men. It made an impact on me. I find that see myself supporting maleness in my lad. Males tend to be the supporters and workers in families with high protective instincts and the ability to be focused on the task at hand. So I find myself encouraging the lad when he wants to help mommy or he wants to fix something and when he gets so focused on something. And yes... is some of that a stereotype? well yeah... but stereotypes exist for a reason... males are typically stronger, more task oriented, and so forth. is that a bad thing? uh...no. But are people equally capable of crossing those male/female boundaries??? Yah! And that's just fine. I have zero issues with women being strong and protective and men wanting to raise their families. No problems. But where a lad is being a leader and protective I will encourage that. I will strive to help him do so in a godly manner.
Just as if I had a girl child who was a strong leader... I would encourage her to use those leadership skills in a godly manner... which would be a challenge to do. be a leader, yet be submissive to the male leadership in a church... Harder to do in this day and age.
I will Very very much agree with Patti when she says it's harder for guys to be guys in today's world. It is. Men are expected to be so much more and yet so much less now a days. Encouraging/training the lad to be a good strong male leader in his own way, despite what the world around us wants... that may be a challenge. But God is with us all the way so we'll hopefully get 'er done. :)
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Overdone things a bit
so we've had a fairly busy, followed by a busy Saturday biking and playing and doing things in the sun. Followed by a late night watching fireworks.
So I had a sulky sounding boy to put to bed last night, and a sulky sounding one this morning.... to be followed by a boy who tossed his breakfast up.
FORTUNATELY...my boy is a helpful lad in that he holds it in, and uses a cup and tells us when we need to stop the car (we went out to Clinton this morning to deliver a couple of rabbits and to do a spot of yard-saling). Sold the bunnies, found Jim a hand held auger (for putting holes in the ground for his workout thingey), and bought a change of clothes for the lad at the Rack and Room thrift store.
Then home with a sleeping boy, and a good time relaxing on the couch.
At 115 p.m. he asked for some crackers/cheese and a drink. by 2 p.m. he was sounding a bit better. Still not quite himself yet, we'll encourage him to continue to just sit and relax and not be busy, and he'll have crackers/cheese/banana for supper and then to bed early. Hopefully that will completely get him back up on his feet.
So I had a sulky sounding boy to put to bed last night, and a sulky sounding one this morning.... to be followed by a boy who tossed his breakfast up.
FORTUNATELY...my boy is a helpful lad in that he holds it in, and uses a cup and tells us when we need to stop the car (we went out to Clinton this morning to deliver a couple of rabbits and to do a spot of yard-saling). Sold the bunnies, found Jim a hand held auger (for putting holes in the ground for his workout thingey), and bought a change of clothes for the lad at the Rack and Room thrift store.
Then home with a sleeping boy, and a good time relaxing on the couch.
At 115 p.m. he asked for some crackers/cheese and a drink. by 2 p.m. he was sounding a bit better. Still not quite himself yet, we'll encourage him to continue to just sit and relax and not be busy, and he'll have crackers/cheese/banana for supper and then to bed early. Hopefully that will completely get him back up on his feet.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A nice day
Yesterday was Victoria Day here in Canada. A day of fireworks and stores being closed. Does anyone really celebrate that it's a reminder of the our ties with Britain? I dunno, I know I don't. :)
Our day started with me doing a bit of gardening while the boy woke up. And then I mowed the front lawn while he designed a game to go to gramma's house. Stopped at Dollerama here in town so that he could pick up another toy foam shooting gun. :)
Had two rabbits to sell so I brought them along with me to London, and had a nice chat with their new owner. Like me, he's going to get out of Mini Rex...for similar reasons of really really liking the polish temperament.
Gramma, the lad and I had fun playing and talking together. We took some toys to the school grounds and flew them. It was fun.
Went home played and talked some more and then out McD's for a late lunch. I left gramma and the lad to play and headed out to pick something up from Freecycle (some files and wrenches) and then stopped at the civic gardens for a walk. AH... it was so lovely and quiet. I took tons of pics (posted them on facebook). Just a lovely day.
Headed home for 6 pm were we relaxed for a bit (I checked emails, J watched Gilligan's Island) and then out to do the bunnies. While I did them J played in our mud pile. I'm actually quite impressed with the moat he has made and how much fun he has playing with water and figuring out physics and engineering. If I put a hole here..AH!!!! the bunnies of bunny town have to fix the hole!! AH!!!! the baby bunnies are going to drown!!!
here he built a boat and is checking out how it floats.
Rescue the baby rabbits! Fix that hole!!!
see the hole! and then he got it fixed and then the BAD CATS broke it again!!
The game of discovery would have continued except the lad got bombarded by those bugs that like to fly around your face and just drive you batty.
My batty son went into the house to recover himself.
Our day started with me doing a bit of gardening while the boy woke up. And then I mowed the front lawn while he designed a game to go to gramma's house. Stopped at Dollerama here in town so that he could pick up another toy foam shooting gun. :)
Had two rabbits to sell so I brought them along with me to London, and had a nice chat with their new owner. Like me, he's going to get out of Mini Rex...for similar reasons of really really liking the polish temperament.
Gramma, the lad and I had fun playing and talking together. We took some toys to the school grounds and flew them. It was fun.
Went home played and talked some more and then out McD's for a late lunch. I left gramma and the lad to play and headed out to pick something up from Freecycle (some files and wrenches) and then stopped at the civic gardens for a walk. AH... it was so lovely and quiet. I took tons of pics (posted them on facebook). Just a lovely day.
Headed home for 6 pm were we relaxed for a bit (I checked emails, J watched Gilligan's Island) and then out to do the bunnies. While I did them J played in our mud pile. I'm actually quite impressed with the moat he has made and how much fun he has playing with water and figuring out physics and engineering. If I put a hole here..AH!!!! the bunnies of bunny town have to fix the hole!! AH!!!! the baby bunnies are going to drown!!!
here he built a boat and is checking out how it floats.
Rescue the baby rabbits! Fix that hole!!!
see the hole! and then he got it fixed and then the BAD CATS broke it again!!
The game of discovery would have continued except the lad got bombarded by those bugs that like to fly around your face and just drive you batty.
My batty son went into the house to recover himself.
We then had supper and he went to bed. :) I had a nice chat with hubby over the computer. His knee is sore, but they are enjoying themselves.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Birthday party and more :)
Yesterday the lad went to his first ever birthday Party. I took lots of pictures but I don't post pics on-line of other children because it's makes some mom's nervous. But I did take a couple of the lad. :)
After the party we went to Costco to see if we could find something for Jim's knee which is bunged up right now. (No)
then off to home health if they had crutch covers, (no) so off to Wal-mart to see what they had (ice packs meant for knees) YES! The lad had fun riding around on a bicycle. He knows which one he likes... but the one we like is just a bit bigger and will last longer... so we're thinking about it. :)
Then off to The toy Store which is having a 50% off sale since they've been bought out. We got some stuff. The lad had to do some math and problem-solving so we wouldn't take home too much as I can't afford it. :)
Then home, Gramma came to pick up the lad since we're off to Chatham today. So that's a brief update for you all. :)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tante Willy
Obituary for Willempje 'Willy' van Leeuwen
Willy van Leeuwen ~ Gone Home to be with her Lord and Saviour, at Listowel Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, April 19, 2011, Mrs. Willempje 'Willy' van Leeuwen of Listowel, and formerly of Conestogo and Atwood, in her 80th year. Beloved wife of the late Dirk van Leeuwen. Mother of Marj and Albert Versteeg of Elmira, Anna and Jack Hovius of Listowel, Neil and Patricia van Leeuwen of Wainfleet, and Jo-Anne van Leeuwen of Elmira.
Also remembered by 10 grandchildren, and by her siblings Corry van Oostveen, Pons Tinholt, Bill and Wilma Tinholt, all of Listowel, John and Jeanne Tinholt of Winnipeg, Walter and Henny Tinholt of Moorefield, Arthur John and Josie Tinholt of Waterloo, and Adriana and Gordon Klaassen of Harriston.
Predeceased by her parents Johannes and Adriana (Hoogendoorn) Tinholt, her infant son, and her granddaughter Keri, and by her brother-in-law Kees van Oostveen.
Visitation will be held at the Eaton Funeral Home, Listowel on Wednesday from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The funeral service will be held at Bethel Christian Reformed Church, Listowel, on Thursday, April 21st at 1:30 p.m. Pastor Ralph Wigboldus officiating.
Interment in Elma Centre Cemetery, Atwood.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Went for a walk came home with.....
A pet!
Two caterpillars to be precise.
One is a Hyphantria cunea caterpillar(fall web worm) and the other is a Pyrrharctia Isabella caterpillar (isabella tiger moth, woolly bear, banded woolly bear). The Fall web worm that we found is differently coloured than many as it's the orange/yellow version instead of the more normal yellow with Long Spikey Dense fur.
They are now safely ensconced in mouse box (aka...a bug house from the dollar store). We are going to give them lots of grass and lettuce. We will have to see how they do. We're not sure how well the web worm will do as they prefer to eat tree leaves, but we have no tree leaves for it to munch on so it will have to cope with what we have available.
Two caterpillars to be precise.
One is a Hyphantria cunea caterpillar(fall web worm) and the other is a Pyrrharctia Isabella caterpillar (isabella tiger moth, woolly bear, banded woolly bear). The Fall web worm that we found is differently coloured than many as it's the orange/yellow version instead of the more normal yellow with Long Spikey Dense fur.
They are now safely ensconced in mouse box (aka...a bug house from the dollar store). We are going to give them lots of grass and lettuce. We will have to see how they do. We're not sure how well the web worm will do as they prefer to eat tree leaves, but we have no tree leaves for it to munch on so it will have to cope with what we have available.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Irish Meal Day
I freely admit that this is a duplicate post to my post over at the homeschool blog. But this also seemed very family oriented so I thought I'd share it here as well. :) Cheers!
Boy, the lad and I had fun today. Yesterday we did days 2 & 3 of Expedition Ireland put out by Amanda Bennett Unit Studies. We learned prata is potato, that Ireland has beautiful scenery and interesting stories. We had fun colouring their flag and learning about Burren and Crystal.
Instead of doing more studying of Ireland we decided to have a cooking Irish food day.
We started the day off with pancakes of course.
A few we added some gooseberry jam and rolled.
We learned we like the cinnamon sugar best and NOT to be shy with it either. :)
here the lad is learning to apply the cinnamon sugar.
Here I teach him how to roll it. He was a bit hestitant to do it himself as they were quite warm yet.
And the finished product...the cinnamon sugar ones in front, the jam ones behind.
We had thought about dusting them with icing sugar but "Mommy, I think plain is better."
Then off to go grocery shopping for the rest of the days meals....The lad looked hard for the buttermilk, and thought it funny that evaporated milk has a cow picture on the front of the can.
For lunch, due to hunger issues, we decided that the Irish part of our lunch would be GREEN salad. :) The rest we just ate as we wanted to. (sandwiches).
This afternoon we made
That it is fun to alternate kneading bread.
That is it HARD for a five year to cut an "x" in the top of a ball of bread with a big knife.
the boy working hard at kneading
I neglected to take a picture of the finished product. Turned out a bit dry, but the inside was yummy. We'll do this again sometime.
I was HIGHLY intimidated by the thought of making candy and was VERY nervous that I would mess it up. BUT it worked!!!! I was delighted.
Grandmom's Irish Potatoes Candy Nutritional Information
They are pretty good. Hubby says they are kinda like fudge, but different. We were supposed to put nuts on them to look like potato eyes, but the lad nixed that idea and I didn't mind since I'm not a huge nuts in candy person anyways. :)
Oh... we also made cookies!
Nutritional Information
We spontaneously decided to invite gramma up to share our Irish meal. Apparently all the ladies at the bank wanted to come and share it as well. Gramma turned them down. :) Our Irish meal was ham, potatoes, and bread.
The brown furry guy in the forefront is "super Jeff". He's an all powerful rabbit who helps make all types of things. This time he helped make cookies! He was a VERY curious rabbit and got flour on his nose in the process. :) He isn't the lad's favourite stuffy, but he is a good comrade in arms. :)
For more irish meal ideas.. go here. :)
Boy, the lad and I had fun today. Yesterday we did days 2 & 3 of Expedition Ireland put out by Amanda Bennett Unit Studies. We learned prata is potato, that Ireland has beautiful scenery and interesting stories. We had fun colouring their flag and learning about Burren and Crystal.
Instead of doing more studying of Ireland we decided to have a cooking Irish food day.
We started the day off with pancakes of course.
We did two things with them. MOST we put cinnamon sugar on and rolled them up.Here is an easy way to make thin pancakes:
4 oz/ 125g/ 1 cup plain flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 pt/ 250ml/ 1 cup milk
1 tbsp melted butterPut all the ingredients in a blender and blend for about 30 seconds. The batter should then be allowed to stand for 30 minutes in a cool place. Heat a small pan over a medium heat. Grease with a little butter and wipe out with kitchen paper. Fry about 2 tbsp of batter at a time, swirling to cover the base of the pan. Keep them thin and there will be no need to turn. Serve rolled up with sugar.
A few we added some gooseberry jam and rolled.
We learned we like the cinnamon sugar best and NOT to be shy with it either. :)
here the lad is learning to apply the cinnamon sugar.
Here I teach him how to roll it. He was a bit hestitant to do it himself as they were quite warm yet.
And the finished product...the cinnamon sugar ones in front, the jam ones behind.
We had thought about dusting them with icing sugar but "Mommy, I think plain is better."Then off to go grocery shopping for the rest of the days meals....The lad looked hard for the buttermilk, and thought it funny that evaporated milk has a cow picture on the front of the can.
For lunch, due to hunger issues, we decided that the Irish part of our lunch would be GREEN salad. :) The rest we just ate as we wanted to. (sandwiches).
This afternoon we made
Irish Soda Bread
mix together:
4 cups bread flour
1 tbsp double action baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Add 2 c. buttermilk
Mix well
Knead 1 minute
Cut in half and form into two balls
Place on greased cookie sheet
cut an 'x' in the top of each ½ inch deep
cook 350 oven for 45-55 minutes.
We learned that if you subsitute whole wheat flour for white, adding more fluid a good idea.
That it is fun to alternate kneading bread.
That is it HARD for a five year to cut an "x" in the top of a ball of bread with a big knife.
the boy working hard at kneading
I neglected to take a picture of the finished product. Turned out a bit dry, but the inside was yummy. We'll do this again sometime.I was HIGHLY intimidated by the thought of making candy and was VERY nervous that I would mess it up. BUT it worked!!!! I was delighted.
Grandmom's Irish Potatoes Candy
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, butter, evaporated milk, cream of tartar and salt. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cook to the soft ball stage at 234 degrees F (115 degrees C). A few drops will form a soft ball when dropped into cold water. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add vanilla and beat until creamy and stiff. Roll into balls and shape like little potatoes. Roll each ball in cinnamon to coat, then press in pieces of chopped nuts to look like eyes. You can also dust with cocoa to simulate dirt.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 62 | Total Fat: 0.9g | Cholesterol: 3mg
They are pretty good. Hubby says they are kinda like fudge, but different. We were supposed to put nuts on them to look like potato eyes, but the lad nixed that idea and I didn't mind since I'm not a huge nuts in candy person anyways. :)Oh... we also made cookies!
Irish Ginger Snaps
Ingredients
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Cream sugar, egg, salt and shortening together. Add flour, baking soda and spices. Mix well. Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and roll the balls in sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 5 to 6 minutes.
Nutritional Information 
Amount Per Serving Calories: 87 | Total Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 6mg
NOTE: in our oven... 15 minutes.
We spontaneously decided to invite gramma up to share our Irish meal. Apparently all the ladies at the bank wanted to come and share it as well. Gramma turned them down. :) Our Irish meal was ham, potatoes, and bread.
The brown furry guy in the forefront is "super Jeff". He's an all powerful rabbit who helps make all types of things. This time he helped make cookies! He was a VERY curious rabbit and got flour on his nose in the process. :) He isn't the lad's favourite stuffy, but he is a good comrade in arms. :)For more irish meal ideas.. go here. :)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
News from our family
Yesterday we packed up Justin and our lunches and went to the Western Fairgrounds. We went to the Health and Fitness show. Last year this show was interesting, this year...BORING. Full of garbagy health stuff...Jim calls them "snake oil salesmen". Hardly any fitness centres, and only two of the centres there, possibly three seemed fully legit and grounded. I won't attend a flaky type women's gym if you paid me...well..okay perhaps if you paid me and it didn't cost me anything and I wasn't to be influenced by "garbage"... then maybe.
I also sold a bunny and an old cage I had kicking around here.
We lunched at the Western Fair farmers market and had a good look around. They sell some interesting things there. Stopped at Costco as the lad had to use the facilities (after drinking three juice boxes I think I would have needed to as well!). Did a bit of shopping and abit of nibbling there as well. Then over to the wrong mall to see about dropping my kitchen shears off to be sharpened...but as I said..WRONG mall so we'll do that Monday.
Found out Saturday that a dear saint of the Lord passed away after a LONG battle with Leukemia. God used his leukemia for good in the life of this man, yet his loss to us is a sad thing (yet good because he has no more pain). His funeral will be on Tuesday. He is not from our church but has preached there often. Henk DenHollander's obituary can be found here. Prayer for the family would be appreciated.
I also sold a bunny and an old cage I had kicking around here.
We lunched at the Western Fair farmers market and had a good look around. They sell some interesting things there. Stopped at Costco as the lad had to use the facilities (after drinking three juice boxes I think I would have needed to as well!). Did a bit of shopping and abit of nibbling there as well. Then over to the wrong mall to see about dropping my kitchen shears off to be sharpened...but as I said..WRONG mall so we'll do that Monday.
Found out Saturday that a dear saint of the Lord passed away after a LONG battle with Leukemia. God used his leukemia for good in the life of this man, yet his loss to us is a sad thing (yet good because he has no more pain). His funeral will be on Tuesday. He is not from our church but has preached there often. Henk DenHollander's obituary can be found here. Prayer for the family would be appreciated.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Trying things in a new way
Trying to Do things a new way.
Being more organized with homeschooling the lad. Working on it, not there yet, but feeling overall better about things.
Adding some exercise everyday. Usually mom and son, but sometimes Dad joins in. Will do 1/2 daily if not longer, regardless of the weather. Will sometimes mean exercising in the basement, or sometimes running the stairs at church, but mostly will be outside...playing in the snow, skiing, snowshoeing, walking around the block or whatever we happen to find.
Eating better and hopefully more regularly. :) right now that seems to be 1000, 130, 5/530 and then snack. I know...odd timing, but so far that's what is suiting us. Eating less and hopefully healthier overall. Added lots of fruit to my diet which is better than munching on this that and whatever. :)
Going to bed ON TIME. No more late nights. Means I can get up in the morning and have time for devotions AND to set up Justin's computer games for him.
Trying to realize I don't have to do it all. Doing what I can and just stopping is not a bad thing. (yeah, right)... still working on this one. :)
Being more organized with homeschooling the lad. Working on it, not there yet, but feeling overall better about things.
Adding some exercise everyday. Usually mom and son, but sometimes Dad joins in. Will do 1/2 daily if not longer, regardless of the weather. Will sometimes mean exercising in the basement, or sometimes running the stairs at church, but mostly will be outside...playing in the snow, skiing, snowshoeing, walking around the block or whatever we happen to find.
Eating better and hopefully more regularly. :) right now that seems to be 1000, 130, 5/530 and then snack. I know...odd timing, but so far that's what is suiting us. Eating less and hopefully healthier overall. Added lots of fruit to my diet which is better than munching on this that and whatever. :)
Going to bed ON TIME. No more late nights. Means I can get up in the morning and have time for devotions AND to set up Justin's computer games for him.
Trying to realize I don't have to do it all. Doing what I can and just stopping is not a bad thing. (yeah, right)... still working on this one. :)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Snow shoeing and skiing
This afternoon we headed out to the field behind the church. I wanted... no....I NEEDED to get out of the house.. so I decided to test out my new snowshoes.
I like 'em. :)
Jim broke trail for Justin, and I kept Justin company by snowshoeing beside him. MUCH easier to help a boy get up again if you aren't on skis yourself. :)
Justin skied way better this week than last week. I was quite impressed. he actually skied really well without using the poles. I carried those. It gave him less to have to think about I think.
The pics are from last week skiing. I didn't want to bring my camera in case I tripped over two much bigger feet. :)
Friday, January 07, 2011
Busy Day
First off....trip to the London Art Museum. To read more on that go here. :)
Then off to Costco for groceries, Wal-mart for supplies, and a few more places.
Boy...I had planned for this to be a longer post... ooops..
Oh right, in the evening I gave a chair away that we no longer needed. It was gifted to us, so we choose to pass it along again.
I discovered two does making nests. One I expect kits from, the other I'm really not convinced of (she had a miscarriage a week ago so not expecting kits, but odder things have happened). And one doe being decidedly grumpy but NOT building a nest... but she gets really grumpy the day before she kindles...so I'm hoping. :)
What else... did some more work in the book room. Also started making Justin a picture file box. Pics and interesting words that I'm pulling from old magazines and what not.
Going to bed tonight Justin commented "I'm glad I'm homeschooled mommy. I like it". Made my heart smile it did. :) hopefully he'll continue thinking like that. :)
Then off to Costco for groceries, Wal-mart for supplies, and a few more places.
Boy...I had planned for this to be a longer post... ooops..
Oh right, in the evening I gave a chair away that we no longer needed. It was gifted to us, so we choose to pass it along again.
I discovered two does making nests. One I expect kits from, the other I'm really not convinced of (she had a miscarriage a week ago so not expecting kits, but odder things have happened). And one doe being decidedly grumpy but NOT building a nest... but she gets really grumpy the day before she kindles...so I'm hoping. :)
What else... did some more work in the book room. Also started making Justin a picture file box. Pics and interesting words that I'm pulling from old magazines and what not.
Going to bed tonight Justin commented "I'm glad I'm homeschooled mommy. I like it". Made my heart smile it did. :) hopefully he'll continue thinking like that. :)
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Snow again
So yesterday it decided to snow. We got I'm thinking.. a good 10 inches all told.
It was 630 when daddy noticed how hard the snow was coming down, which prompted a "I want to go out and play!". I said, okay... I"ll shovel some snow. Jim took over my plunging the sink...he took it apart as opposed to plunging it...even found the little screw that goes with our scissors. YEAH!!!
After clearing the driveway we went for a walk. We tossed a few snowballs, it was good. A nice way too for a boy to run off excess energy before bed. :)
and then this morning after I came in from doing the bunnies I found a boy getting all dressed.
"I want to come outside with you mommy"!
Out shoveling snow this morning. The lad I thought was off playing in the backyard.
Out he comes with his wagon and shovel.
"I"m helping too mommy"!
"great" I said as I continued to shovel snow.
"NO!!! don't take that snow mommy! I'm making letters"!
He made a B, J, H, O, A. He was quite pleased with himself. I"m pleased as well. Nice to see a boy writing his letters and then singing the alphabet song, mostly correctly. :)
It was a good time outside in the snow. Not too cold, pleasant conversation, and a job well done. :)
It was 630 when daddy noticed how hard the snow was coming down, which prompted a "I want to go out and play!". I said, okay... I"ll shovel some snow. Jim took over my plunging the sink...he took it apart as opposed to plunging it...even found the little screw that goes with our scissors. YEAH!!!
After clearing the driveway we went for a walk. We tossed a few snowballs, it was good. A nice way too for a boy to run off excess energy before bed. :)
and then this morning after I came in from doing the bunnies I found a boy getting all dressed.
"I want to come outside with you mommy"!
Out shoveling snow this morning. The lad I thought was off playing in the backyard.
Out he comes with his wagon and shovel.
"I"m helping too mommy"!
"great" I said as I continued to shovel snow.
"NO!!! don't take that snow mommy! I'm making letters"!
He made a B, J, H, O, A. He was quite pleased with himself. I"m pleased as well. Nice to see a boy writing his letters and then singing the alphabet song, mostly correctly. :)
It was a good time outside in the snow. Not too cold, pleasant conversation, and a job well done. :)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Bethleham Walk
Tonight we went to the Exeter CRC to take part in something called "Bethleham Walk".
I have to say...it was well done.
Justin was intrigued.
Jim enjoyed it.
The teens apparently did the decorating without Adult supervision.
They did a good job.
Justin wanted to go through it a second time, and we did the first couple of rooms again and then I said you know what buddy...we really have to go home as we've a busy day tomorrow.
So off we went, got him into bed. I made some rice krispie squares and puffed wheat squares and eventually made it to bed.
Tomorrow...OPEN HOUSE, 2-4, 7-9, hopefully people will show up. If not... we'll have a quiet afternoon with tons of goodies to use up. :)
I have to say...it was well done.
Justin was intrigued.
Jim enjoyed it.
The teens apparently did the decorating without Adult supervision.
They did a good job.
Justin wanted to go through it a second time, and we did the first couple of rooms again and then I said you know what buddy...we really have to go home as we've a busy day tomorrow.
So off we went, got him into bed. I made some rice krispie squares and puffed wheat squares and eventually made it to bed.
Tomorrow...OPEN HOUSE, 2-4, 7-9, hopefully people will show up. If not... we'll have a quiet afternoon with tons of goodies to use up. :)
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Rainy Day Plans get changed
Our original plans...go to the ilderton fall fair and parade.
It was raining this morning when I got up.
Took me FOREVER to get the bunnies done... and by the time I was done I was chilled through and through.
NO desire whatsoever to stand outside in the rain for a parade, as fun as the ilderton parade always is. so our plans to leave at 930 to drop off critters at Robin's for her to take to the sale tomorrow and then go to the parade changed.
We instead left at 1100ish, dropped them off, went to gramma's for a short visit. The lad stayed behind as Jim and I headed out to run some errands and just spend some together time.
We had a lovely day, got a lot done, talked a fair bit about this that and whatever. The lad had a lovely time at grammas and a rainy day didn't seem so overbearing afterall. :)
It was raining this morning when I got up.
Took me FOREVER to get the bunnies done... and by the time I was done I was chilled through and through.
NO desire whatsoever to stand outside in the rain for a parade, as fun as the ilderton parade always is. so our plans to leave at 930 to drop off critters at Robin's for her to take to the sale tomorrow and then go to the parade changed.
We instead left at 1100ish, dropped them off, went to gramma's for a short visit. The lad stayed behind as Jim and I headed out to run some errands and just spend some together time.
We had a lovely day, got a lot done, talked a fair bit about this that and whatever. The lad had a lovely time at grammas and a rainy day didn't seem so overbearing afterall. :)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Checkers
On a quiet Sunday afternoon I decided to teach a five year old how to play checkers.
We had fun. Played two games.
I won one, he won the other (granted, I 'made mistakes'). But we had fun, and he learned how to play a game by the rules, this is sometimes a difficult concept for him.
We sandwiched a walk in-between.
We had fun. Played two games.
I won one, he won the other (granted, I 'made mistakes'). But we had fun, and he learned how to play a game by the rules, this is sometimes a difficult concept for him.
We sandwiched a walk in-between.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Today's Satisfaction
Many of you know that I have a part-time job on Fridays. I work at Subway. I normally work 11-2:30 but that's changed recently. My hours are a bit more varied on Fridays and I'm never sure how late I'll work and sometimes I"m let go at 2 (which I would rather not have).
ANYWAYS, That tends to make Friday mornings busy at home with me just doing this that and the other thing before I go to work, but today Justin REALLY wanted to play with me, and said you know what buddy? why don't we do some school. And... so we did some school. he did some counting and he did some mazes that we found on-line. And we even left the browser window open so Daddy could find a maze to do as well. It was a good time together.
Then I had to leave for work and... today was a fun day at work. I teased the girls, they teased me and it was all good fun. We chatted, we worked and life was good. Worked until 4. We're training new staff now since many of the students have left to go to College/university. Always and interesting time doing that.
After work I did a mystery shop and then had to do the report when I got home. Watched a bit of a movie with the lad and dad. and then we sliced beans. I had picked up six quarts of broad beans at the Farmer's Market on Thursday evening and do them up tonight. All three of us took turns slicing them. Did them in the living room as that was the only place the slicer would work. jim and Justin had supper followed by Justin and I picking grass for the bunnies (and having a friendly chat with our neighbour). Had snack, and then a boy went to bed. After he went to bed I processed up the beans and.. I SHOULD be in bed by midnight!
Tomorrow we have a church picnic to attend. Jim made a cucumber salad. I'll need to figure something out for a dessert... maybe some two bite banana brownies. Justin likes those.... (as well as his parents) (grin).
anywho.... see you all another time. :)
ANYWAYS, That tends to make Friday mornings busy at home with me just doing this that and the other thing before I go to work, but today Justin REALLY wanted to play with me, and said you know what buddy? why don't we do some school. And... so we did some school. he did some counting and he did some mazes that we found on-line. And we even left the browser window open so Daddy could find a maze to do as well. It was a good time together.
Then I had to leave for work and... today was a fun day at work. I teased the girls, they teased me and it was all good fun. We chatted, we worked and life was good. Worked until 4. We're training new staff now since many of the students have left to go to College/university. Always and interesting time doing that.
After work I did a mystery shop and then had to do the report when I got home. Watched a bit of a movie with the lad and dad. and then we sliced beans. I had picked up six quarts of broad beans at the Farmer's Market on Thursday evening and do them up tonight. All three of us took turns slicing them. Did them in the living room as that was the only place the slicer would work. jim and Justin had supper followed by Justin and I picking grass for the bunnies (and having a friendly chat with our neighbour). Had snack, and then a boy went to bed. After he went to bed I processed up the beans and.. I SHOULD be in bed by midnight!
Tomorrow we have a church picnic to attend. Jim made a cucumber salad. I'll need to figure something out for a dessert... maybe some two bite banana brownies. Justin likes those.... (as well as his parents) (grin).
anywho.... see you all another time. :)
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