Spring is in the Air: Getting Dirty in the Kitchen.

I wish it was beginning to feel like Spring...today was actually bone-chilling cold. Although temps and wind-chills were both above zero so who am I to complain?

Despite the cold temps, last weekend we took a trip to the local gardening and landscape center.  We didn't go for plants but seeds.  We are actually thinking about our garden before May 1 this year (yeah us!), and we're hoping that starting a few tomatoes and bell peppers from seed will be fun, educational and money-saving.  

We got three different seed packets: Red sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes (sweeties),  bush tomatoes (ace). 

 

It would perhaps be nice to have more variety, but then it becomes less of a money saver.  Especially for us since we only have space for 6-8 tomato plants and we don't eat a lot of peppers (2-4 plants is plenty).  If you had a large garden then obviously you could buy a bigger selection.  

The most important for me was the full-size tomato since I can can or freeze those.  It also was a priority that all the seeds were heirloom.  Heirloom means that we can save some seed from this year's crop to plant for next year.  Ideally everything we plant will be heirloom and if we are successful, we'll never have to buy seeds again (bwa-ha-ha...that's my evil laugh)!

To start our seeds Matt purchased a greenhouse kit from Menards.  There are 16 cells, so each kid can plant and take care of four.  The cells in this kind that he bought are made of something from a coconut so that we can just plant the whole thing and not worry about upsetting any roots.

He also purchased some organic seed-starting soil and a plant light.  The plant light was the most expensive item purchased at around $5.  Perhaps it will last more than one season though.  Total on everything we spent around $18, but we leftover dirt and seeds.

The process was very simple, but there was something exciting about getting a little dirty and planting some tiny seeds!  There was a bit of a Spring buzz in the air!

 Evelyn planted 4 red pepper plants, Addie planted 3 cherry tomato and 1 regular tomato plant, and Nathan and Ella each planted 4 tomato plants.

Matt was involved so everything was done very carefully.  He made a hole the correct depth for each seed, covered the seeds back with dirt, and then tamped it down a little (with a plastic spoon).  

(I would have just pushed it in with my finger and called it good.)

 

Once planted, we watered the seeds.  We used a water bottle so that it would be more gentle, but I'm sure there are other methods that work well too.  We put the plastic cover over the top, so the greenhouse effect could take place.  We made sure to put them near a window, but there's not a perfect place for them.  So far they've just sat on our kitchen table.  Once they all sprout, they can move to the basement and they'll have the plant light.  Although our basement is a little chilly, so we may have to rig something up down there or come up with a secondary location.

Upon entering the kitchen later, I found that Aerial and Cindy were on duty protecting our newly planted seeds.  Having them face different directions is good strategy...

So, if anyone has experience or knowledge in this department, we are always open to advice.  Like most everything we do, we're learning as we go!

update:  We planted the seeds on Sunday 2/08/15.  One week later on 2/15/15 we have 8 sprouts!

Labor of Love.

 So, as a homeschooler I sometimes have felt like my kids are missing out on some aspects of public school.  One such being class parties.  But now that I have a kid in public school, I'm surprisingly apathetic towards them.  They don't really seem that valuable to me...however, the kids enjoy them and nobody's going to end school parties because of my apathy, so carry on.

This Tuesday was Nathan Valentine's party.  This was our first party that required at home effort: creating "the box".

He was told he could bring it Monday or Tuesday, but all weekend long no one even thought about it.  It was not high on my priority list, and apparently not on Nathan's either.

Then, of course, Sunday evening comes.  Nathan declares he's been thinking about his box and he thinks he would like it to look like Gandalf (from Lord of the Rings).

Alrighty I say.  I'm not going to stress about it.  But, I do realize that I also volunteered to bring some candy to the Valentine's party and Nathan doesn't actually have any Valentines to pass out yet.  So, Monday we picked up Nathan, stopped at Target for said Valentine's "necessities" and headed home about 4:00.

This gave Nathan two hours to create his Gandalf box before dinner.  After which he had Bible study and wouldn't be home until 9:00.

So, as soon as we entered the house it was game time.  I told Nathan he needed a plan. 

[By the way, I could find nothing on the internet for Gandalf Valentine's box, not even on Pinterest...shocking!]

This is what he came up with:

(I'm not sure if they were helpful or not)

I then told him find a box or two.  So, he brought up ten.  I helped him get started, but I had to work on dinner.  He was on his own, and I didn't have a whole lot of expectations for what Gandalf was going to look like when completed.

When he left for Bible study, he had a good start.  However, the hat wasn't quite finished and he hadn't started his beard.  Personally I felt like these were the two distinguishing characteristics, and so must be completed.  Nathan's idea was that I finished his box while he went to Bible study...right.

Obviously, I didn't do that.  

But, when Nathan got home at 9:00 he wrote out his Valentines cards to his classmates while I shredded paper.  Then Matt and I hot glued the paper on for his beard and hot glued the top of his hat to the brim.  It wasn't perfect, but it was finished...and Nathan headed to bed at 10:00.

Nathan was actually so pleased with the final result that he spontaneously gave me a hug and kiss and told me thank you.  It made every hot glue burn worth it!

So, here's Nathan and Gandalf, all ready to leave for school the next morning.

He thought he was going to win the prize for "coolest Valentine's box", but some kid came in late with an even cooler box and won that prize.  I guess there was also some confusion as some kids thought it was the wizard from Harry Potter.  But Nathan was still glad.  He told me there were even 5th graders that wanted to see his box.  I'm guessing the custodial staff was not as pleased since Gandalf was also a bit of a shedder...

I was able to volunteer an help with the party.  It seemed it was a success...kids exchanged cards, played games, and ate too much sugar.  Nathan did however describe it as "the worst party he's ever been to".  I can't win with this kid!

With all the cardboard lying around, Ella also decided to whip up a Valentine's box Monday afternoon.  

 

It's a unicorn!

She had plans too, though I couldn't find them to take a picture.  She worked very independently and finished it before dinner Monday evening.  I love it.

It Is Well?

I have another wall project in the works.  

I'm hoping that between my diy canvas and wall gallery(ish), our home will look cute and charming and not just cheap.  Though perhaps it is the triple threat.  

My new project is barely started, but I need the letters to spell "It is Well with My Soul."  However, Michaels apparently only likes to carry one two-inch wooden  "w" at a time, so I left with just the letters for "it is well".  

I left the letters on the counter, and this is what I found Sunday afternoon:

 

Life with my 8 year-old boy, it is not for the faint of heart.

Sweet Evelyn.

 I get comments a lot lately about how 'big' Evelyn is getting.  It's true.  In a few short months my baby will be three.  She's really not a baby all...sigh.

She's enjoying exerting her independence more and more lately.  I'm enjoying watching her personality come out as we get to continually learn more about her.  It's so fun (and often funny) to finally hear her speak and discover what is going through her mind.  She has a very gentle and fun personality.  I'm totally in love with her. 

However...packaged with this independence and sweetness is a streak of naughtiness.  She has definitely been testing the boundaries more and more.

I got this shot of her earlier this week:

She selected her outfit and her shoes.  Yes it's February, so when it was time to go get Nathan I slipped some leggings and a sweater on her (and some boots).

She looks totally studious and lady-like here...never mind the blue plastic snake under her chair.  However, when she is drawing with markers (here she has a dry erase marker and board) the rule is she needs to be at.the.table.  

(side note: This rule has come about as a result of negative marker experiences...if you have young kids you should also have this rule!) 

We had already had a battle over the fore mentioned rule once this day (and several other times on other days).  So, she is feeling quite pleased with herself right now.  Like perhaps this is acceptable because she is sitting in the correct chair, or maybe if she crosses her legs it's okay because she'll get some cuteness points.

Sadly, it may have worked a little.  After all, she is the baby.  

Hopefully I don't have a photo next week of marker all over our furniture...

[Addie wanted to be in the photo, so she is posing in the background.  Ella is doing some spelling.  I see she is flirting with the rules too!]

Let the Freedom [School] Bell Ring.

You likely haven't heard, but it was National School Choice Week- a week to highlight "effective educational opportunities" and "empower parents to choose the best educational environment for their children".  I'm 100% in favor of allowing parents this freedom, and I encourage all parents to be active in the education of their children... but I can't help but thinking about how difficult it can be to choose.

I was with some good friends today and many of them spoke about how it can be overwhelming to order at a restaurant.  You want to make the right choice, and there are so many options.  So many things look good...or nothing may look good...or there's just too many choices and your brain shuts down.

That's how I can feel  about schooling choices.  There are many options: public school, private school, a "specialized" school, or homeschool.  This list may be longer (or shorter) depending on where you live.  I want to get all the positive aspects of each one.  Unfortunately, I can't have it all; I have to make a choice, and the effects of the decision will last much longer than a full stomach.

[Evelyn on a trip with a homeschooling group at the Butterfly House]

We homeschool...and we don't.  I have one school-aged child in public school, and one at home. I have this paradigm where I feel half of those I know think I'm crazy for homeschooling, and the other half think I'm crazy for not. But, what do I think?!  That's the tricky part.

I love homeschooling. It's difficult to argue with the list of benefits.  I can give my children an individualized education.  We work at their level and their pace.  The student to teacher ratio is unbeatable.  Even if you have a large family, it's not going to be 27:1 like at my son's school (unless you have a very large family!).

I also get to spend more time with my children.  There are days when it can feel like a little too much time, but I wouldn't trade time with my kids for anything.

 [Who doesn't read in a leotard?]

Our education is Christ-centered.  We can talk about how all education points to our awesome God because He made science, He designed math, He established different languages, and He wrote history, etc. 

Our schedule is flexible.  Especially at times of big life-changes this has been a huge blessing.  When my mom passed away, we didn't do school for a week.  I didn't have to worry about how my kids were doing emotionally, because they were with me.  We spent some time loving on each other and spending time at my dad's farm.  It's beneficial in little ways too.  I feel it now as we try to plan trips, we always have to be mindful of the school calendar.

[A song Nathan recently wrote for my mom] 

However, once/if I decide to homeschool, I have to choose (or write) curriculum, and the list of options becomes insurmountable again!  This does get easier every year, but it's more time consuming and expensive than sending my kid to public school.  We have enjoyed Classical Conversations this past year, which helps with curriculum decisions somewhat, but also adds to the expense.

[The girls making ABAB patterns]

Homeschooling also isn't all sunshine and roses.  It involves difficult kids (why are kids so much more well-behaved for other adults than they are for their own mother?!), and a phone call to Matt about once a month declaring my sanity may be lost for good and I don't know if I can do it any longer.  This may just be me though...

[The girls with their "bodies" they constructed at Classical Conversations]



On the flip side, public school (this is our first year) has gone well for us also.  Our son, is at an advanced-placement school and has had many opportunities that he wouldn't have received at home.  We have been very watchful of what he is learning, and have not had many issues at all. We were skeptical of the math program, but have found it to not be that different from what we had done with him at home.  Early in the year he studied Ancient Egypt, which fit in perfectly with the timeline we were learning at home (yes, Nathan still does learn at home) as well as the Bible study he was doing on the life of Moses.  It was an answer to prayer. We've seen God work out many other things as He has empowered Nathan to speak up and ask questions when things he's learned at school didn't quite match up with the Biblical worldview he's taught at home.  Nathan enjoys public school and he likes working with his peers.  He gets to hammer out ideas and fix problems with his classmates in a different way than he would get to at home.  He also has a great teacher who has had very open communication with us the entire year, and has been very easy to talk to when we did have a question or concern.  He loves recess, gym, Spanish, and music...all classes that become more enjoyable when done with other people.

 [Columbus Day, making foil boats and seeing who can float the most pennies]



But there are disadvantages:  the education is secular, there's the schedule as mentioned before, kids can be mean, he's gone from home, the system as a whole can feel broken, and please let's not even mention "Common Core".
I'm also sensitive as to whether Nathan feels left out.  He's the only boy, he's the only kid gone during the day, all the girls share a room, etc.  But, perhaps it's in a mother to feel a little guilt.

[A page from Ella's Bible study.   11. God showed His special kindness to the Israelites and kept them safe.  How has God shown His special kindness to you?  Ella's response, "He gave me a sweet momy."]



Ultimately, as a Christian, sending my child to public school felt like a calling.  We are not to conform to the ways of this world, but we are to be active and living in this world.  Imagine what the public schools would be like if they were abandoned by all Christians.  It's easier for me to build up a large hedge around my family, stay home, and avoid the world.  However, I don't think it's what God would have us do.  I'm challenged as to how I can better represent the Gospel in my community.

 [Nathan reading to his sisters]



In conclusion, as I think about what we'll do for school next year, my answer is "I don't know!"  I'm pretty certain the girls will still be at home, but Matt and I are still pursuing God about what Nathan will do.  We've always made decisions year by year, and God has been faithful to guide us.   You can see how I may be a little jealous of those who "know" they're homeschooling through high school, or who don't even consider it and "know" their kids will go through public or private school though.  Sigh...

The happy ending is that we have freedoms to choose, and there's not a "wrong" answer.  God is sovereign and will lead His people according to His will.  No education system is perfect, but God can take the pieces that are lacking and knit them together for His glory.

To further help me in my pursuit, I'm going to veer from my monthly reading challenge of reading a classic and a non-fiction and read two non-fictions.

The first is, The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education by Leigh Bortins.  The author is the same person who started Classical Conversations.  I'm hoping this will better inform me about classical education before we make our decision.  (We don't have any classical schools here, so to do classical education we would have to homeschool).

Also, I'm going to read Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School.  This is written from a Christian perspective as to how to nurture the power of Christ in your child as you send them to public school to show God's love and even be a light in the darkness.  It explores what the Bible has to say about education and why everyone should also homeschool in addition to public school.

So, am I alone?  Does anyone else struggle with this decision?  I'm looking forward to finding how God will direct us!

A WALL GALLERY (ISH).

 I think I said it previously, but January I've given myself the challenge of decorating some of the walls in this home.  It's going fairly slowly, but I did tackle the big blank wall in the living room!

I had originally hung some photos on this wall a year or so back, but took them down when we were having our floors sanded.  I wasn't motivated to put them back up because I wasn't in love with the arrangement I had going on.  The largest photo in the grouping was an 8x10, and since the wall was so expansive it just seemed...small.

I pondered some larger print sizes, even 16x20, but when placed next to our 19 inch t.v. it made our television look....well, small.

Then the day came when our whole family when to Costco to look at a t.v. on sale.  The kids and I never actually thought Matt would go through with it, but the price was very good and we walked out of there with a 40 inch t.v.  So, not only could we now host movie nights and Super Bowl parties, we could also hang some larger photos without it looking ridiculous!

About the time of New Years I got an email from unitprints.com advertising their 16x20 prints were on sale for $10 (normally $20).  This was a great opportunity to order some big prints and save some big $$.  So, I ordered a 16x20 of each kid, plus two 11x14 sized prints, two 8x10 prints, and even an 8x12.  My goal in putting up "artwork" on the walls has been to keep it frugal and keep it personal.  My final total was definitely not "cheap", but I spent about $75 on all 9 prints with shipping and tax. (I should also note that I wanted professional quality prints, it may be cheaper to print at Target, etc. but I didn't look into that).

I will admit that when I received the package in the mail, I was a bit nervous to open it up.  The box was b.i.g., which meant the photos were b.i.g.  I honestly had never ordered anything larger than an 8x10, and now those looked puny.  

I should have taken a photo of the process, but I cut out each photo's dimensions from newspaper so I could place them on the wall.  This is where it started getting troubling for Matt.  Matt dislikes holes in the wall, which means he also dislikes photo galleries.  

Sometimes for fun, I like to show him Pinterest projects like this:

And then I act like this is a project I'd like to do.  This above gallery also contains a plethora of IKEA frames...another strong dislike of Matt's!

(sidenote:  I just showed the above photo to Matt and he shook his head in disbelief and commented, "That is so pointless...")

So, I do have to keep his preferences in mind when I decorate any wall.  Matt can be a stickler, but the truth is that he's usually right, and so I'm thankful for his judgment to guide me (most of the time)! 

I left the newspaper cutouts up for about a week and moved things around from time to time. Then I had to find and purchase frames.  I had 8x10 frames, but that was it.  I looked at a couple of thrift stores, but couldn't find anything I liked, let alone seven frames I liked.  I looked online (some frames are ridiculously expensive), but ended up purchasing frames at Target.  It was another investment, about $140, but I used some money from Christmas.
Then I laid out the frames on the floor (ideally I would not have left these on the floor for three days...thankfully none of them broke even though Evelyn walked across several of them several times!)

Finally one night Matt and the big kids were busy changing the oil in the truck and finding constellations (true story, he's a great dad), and Evie and I hung some photos.  I found out that I'm very bad at measuring and nothing really ended up exactly where it was suppose to (Matt made a joke that it's good I'm not a pharmacist), but I was pleased with the end result.

It was super bright and sunny today, so getting a great photo without glare was difficult.  However, I'm not going to complain about sunny and 50 degrees in January!

Yes, our "media cabinet" is a little small, that may change or it may not.  Eventually the t.v. will be in the basement.  And yes, that's an antenna from our rabbit ears in the corner!

Here's the photos a little closer, but with some glare.

The photos are from left to right: Evelyn (1 day old); scrapbook paper with "t";  Nathan (8) from last summer in WI; Ella (1 1/2) from a trip to CO; Ella (6) last summer downtown Sioux Falls; Addie (4) on a fishing trip last Summer in WI; Evelyn (2) last summer dtsf; Matt and Addie (3) a couple of summers ago at the Ingalls Homestead; Evelyn (2) at a CO Rockies baseball game; and Evelyn with Great Grandpa Bob (though you can't really see it in this photo below, it's more visible in the first photo).

The good news is that Matt also likes the end result!   I'm glad we went big; it's much more proportional and visually pleasing.  I've even left some negative space for growth in the future...though Matt does feel like adding anything is "completely unnecessary"!

Losing teeth.

There have been a couple of big changes for Ella this week!

First, this happened...

 Ella lost her front right tooth...with the help of some dental floss and a door knob.  She's so brave.  They did it while I was gone because I can't stand the idea of it!

Later that week we were sitting as a family reading our current read-aloud (Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH), when out of the blue she asked, "where's my tooth?".  Turns out it was loose and just fell out on its own.  (We did find it in her chair).

(It's bottom right, next to her two middle teeth...which she lost a while ago.  Addie was trying to sneak in and give Ella bunny ears).

Sweet Ella, she's growing up, getting very tall, and losing teeth!  She's very pleased with her smile right now though....and the cool $0.75 she got per tooth!