Magnets, Dinosaurs and Pennies

May was the month of field trips.  We have done several this past year, but mostly with the Daisies.  I haven't done too many with the homeschooling group this year.  Mostly because I have a four year old with a fierce independent streak and a two year old that is a runner.  Both boys make field trips a tricky proposition - so I have to be very selective about what I can do at the moment.

Jordan went on a trip to Rawhide Power Plant on his birthday with his grandma.  Little ones were not allowed on the tour, so it was (mostly) just kids 10 and up.  I'm glad he got the chance to go - but this month has been such a whirlwind that I haven't had the chance to ask much of anything about the visit or what he thought of it.


We chose to do Little Shop of Physics this year because it is a perennial favorite of ours, and there is enough to do to keep even Colin occupied.  LSOP is hosted every spring and fall by the Physics department on the Colorado State University campus.  They have four classrooms dedicated to housing all sort of hands-on experiments.  My memory is lame, but each room has a theme - something along the lines of electricity, magnetism, something and something else.  (See?  lame.)  There is a ton of cool info on their website, so check it out!

Notice I didn't get any pictures of Jordan.  He asked for permission to hang out with a friend and travel through the rooms with her at their own pace.  I guess we've reached that stage... it's no longer fun to hang with your siblings... but I can totally understand, and am glad that he feels comfortable doing that.

Next up was a family trip to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  We were supposed to go to Homeschool Family Day at Elitch's Theme Park, but it was cold and rainy that day, so we went to DMNS instead.  We had friend Abbi along with us, and it was such a nice way to spend the day.  No agenda, no time constraints... just fun.  Jordan and Abbi enjoyed an hour of exploration time in the museum on their own, and they had a good time.  These little tugs of Jordan's at the apron strings are much easier to handle than a hard jerk, so we let go and give permission when it feels good to do so.  They loved a little dose of independence and they did great!  While they were off exploring, we went to check out the dinosaurs.

We also checked out the temporary snake and lizard exhibit.  The kids had fun looking at the different animal exhibits and playing with the props in the theater section.

Jordan and Abbi 'snake racing' on their bellies



Then it was off to the DNA lab to don some lab coats and do some experiments....

Last field trip for the month was a visit to NCAR, or National Center for Atmospheric Research, in Boulder, CO.  This was last Thursday, the day after Jordan left for his summer visit to Oklahoma.  Rylan was already missing him terribly.  I signed up for this field trip since it was a class that was geared towards her age group, and I thought she would enjoy it.  It was also her first 'class'/field trip like this.  When we got there, we waited with the others for several minutes to see if any more of our group was going to show.  Unfortunately there were a few who didn't... :(  Our guide opted to do the tour first and then the class.  Our guide was great - he really knew his stuff and gave a very in-depth discussion into our atmosphere and everything in between.  Maybe...a little too in depth.  After 60 straight minutes of talking, combined with a respectable amount of showing - enough to keep an adult engaged, but not a 5-6 year old, Rylan decided she was *done*.  Both of the boys were *done* after the first five minutes.  And then it was me chasing, shushing and chasing and shushing....and chasing and shushing before I decided I was *done* as well.  And we hadn't even got to the real reason we came - the class!  Rylan could not be persuaded to stay - and well, I admit it, I was relieved.  I didn't know how much longer I could stand trying to keep the two little ones under some semblance of control.  So, at least I know where we stand.  A successful field trip for Rylan must include very limited grown-up talking time and a lot of doing time.  I will know what to look for in future field trips, now.   Rylan is a lot like her older brother, in that respect.

This was all they wanted to do - watch the pennies go down the whatchamacallit.  Hundreds of them.  Well... okay...about 30.  40 tops.



Living Slowly

A couple of weeks ago, Tsh, over on Simple Mom, wrote a post about living slowly.  She asked her readers to ponder some questions:

1.  What does living slowly mean to you?  How would you define it?
2.  What is one thing you would add to your life if you had spare time?
3.  If you could say 'no' to an obligation, what would it be?

So this post has been percolating in my mind for awhile, since I had no time to sit down and write all that has been going on in my life until this very week.  This post was meant for me!!  This May has been the craziest one yet - yet living slowly is all I want - it is the key to my personal happiness.

1.  How would I define living slowly?

Not living by a schedule.  Oh how I wish I didn't have to be a slave to a schedule.  I'm not talking about the internal family schedule - like doing chores and schoolwork - that is what keeps our family life sane and gives us structure.  It's when the busy outside schedule messes with the internal schedule, that all hell breaks loose.  The outside schedule is the classes, meetings, field trips, errands that have to be done by such-and-such a date, appointments, scouts, playdates, MNO's and so forth.  Don't get me wrong - each and every one of those 'things' are important in their own right.  But lately it has been too much of a good thing.

I relish the days that we can move about our day with no need to be constantly looking at the clock.  That if we want to meander, we can.  If I want to deviate from our plan of action for the day, we can.  An exceptionally beautiful day means that we can ditch the books and go enjoy some time outside.

Living slowly means that the kids can have long, extended play sessions (where true creativity and problem-solving happens).  That I can get lost in a book.  That I can do a load of laundry and see it all the way through - from start to finish.  That I can bake an impromptu batch of cookies.

2.  What is one thing that I would add to my life if I had spare time?

Art classes.  I have no artistic skill, but that is not what I am after.  It's the way I get lost in what I am doing that I lust after.  It sort of feels like a drug.  When I am painting or sculpting or whatever, I am completely and utterly absorbed in what I am doing.  When I live 99.9% of my life with the constant distraction of multiple things going on at the same, a chance to focus on a single task is my mental refuge.

3.  If I could say 'no' to an obligation, what would it be?

Laundry?  Dishes?

Seriously, if I could say 'no' to something it would be scouts.  And I just did that - so I hope things get better.  I can't even begin to relate how frustrating it is to coordinate a group of individuals who all have different levels of personal commitment.

Another obligation that I have considered saying 'no' to was our homeschooling group.  We have been through a very rough couple of years.  Out of our current membership of 150 families, I am in regular contact with about 10?  15?  The rest we never see or hear from unless there is something they don't like.  I resent the apathy in our group.  We have recently gone from loosely organized to incorporating into a non-profit and forming a Board.  I am now on a board of nine members as one of a team of two that manages the membership aspects of the group.  This will increase my time commitment, but it will be no where near what scouts was requiring.  It also means that I work with just the board - all ladies that I know pretty well and have a great deal of respect for.  And we have a common, unified goal - and we are all pretty committed to pulling our group up by the bootstraps and creating a better entity in the interest in serving our local homeschooling community.  That is something I can truly commit to without resentment.  But I wholeheartedly say 'no' to the obligation that our board has to organize and 'entertain' the membership.  I won't do it.  Lots of the families are in the group for only one thing: social opportunities for their kids.  In and of itself that is not a bad thing, but it's the ones that EXPECT things to fall into their lap.  There is no initiative on their part to plan things or create things for the kids to do.  I organized several field trips a few years back and then just burned out.  It was too much work and homeschoolers are notorious for signing up and then not showing up.

So on this day I am glad to put the busiest month of the year to rest.  I am so thankful that June is here, and we can look forward to living more slowly.

How about you?  How would you answer these questions?

Adding with Cuisenaire rods

As we have been working through Rylan's lessons (she is midway through Year 1 of MEP), she has been having difficulty readily identifying number partners when adding.  When we hit the practice pages for adding up to six, it was time to have her use some number strips.  Instead of printing out and cutting up a bunch of strips, I just pulled out our box of Cuisenaire rods, and wrote their 'value' on them with a Sharpie.  And then I helped her build these patterns to help her see the partnerships better.

But.  I didn't tell her what we were building.

And I know we got somewhere with this because all of a sudden she exclaimed, "Wait!!!  I see something!  I see a pattern!".

Bingo.

Moroccan Chicken Tangine

So, on Monday morning, while Dean was sawing lumber and building the composter (and the kids were outside "helping"), I enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of the house by trying to knock off an episode or two of America's Test Kitchen from the DVR.  I have 21 in queue right now...

First up was an America's Test Kitchen version of a Moroccan dish called 'Chicken Tangine'.  I have never cooked anything remotely like this.  Ethnic foods for me have been limited to Mexican and ... well, Mexican.  I can't call spaghetti 'authentic' Italian.  I just can't.  There is very little thought process that goes into it (sorry if you are Italian and I've just offended your grandmother).  I'm talking about SPAGHETTI.  Sure, I have a rather ingredient-heavy recipe - but hey - you throw it all into a crockpot and simmer it for hours.  Where's the challenge?

With Chicken Tangine, it was a 21-step process.  And it begins with food prep.  You need six different spices just to get started.  I had all of them, but the age of two of them I couldn't vouch for.  One of the bottles had a label on the bottom with my maiden initials on it.  I put it there in 1992, when I lived with two other roommates and we just stored all of our spices together.  1992.  So that makes that bottle 20 freakin' years old.  I sniffed it.  It smelled vaguely of sawdust.  How is it, in the past 20 years, I didn't use all of my cayenne pepper?  About ten years ago I got into the habit of labeling my bottles with the month and year that I opened it.  I know that about 3/4 of my spices need to go, based on age (most lose potency even just after 6 months).  That is an expensive proposition.  But in ethnic cooking, where spices are the headliners, you can't skimp - so it was off to the store.

Since I didn't have a prep team to dice and measure everything for me, I had to go through the recipe and do it myself.  Toast some almonds.  Mince and mash lemon peel, garlic and salt together until you have a paste.  Slice onions, olives, carrots... and on and on.  Each into it's own bowl until it was all ready to go.

Here is some sage cooking advice that isn't mine, but I know it works:  Prepare all of your ingredients beforehand.  Line them up in little bowls, dishes, spoons, whatever you have on hand.  Because as you see chefs on the cooking shows emptying bowl after bowl of different ingredients into the cookpot as they go - there is a reason, and it's not to look fancy.  It is so you can pay attention to what is going on in the pot.  You don't want your back turned, madly dicing the onions, when you chicken is burning.  Do it all beforehand, so that you can pay attention to what you are doing.

This recipe required ingredients and techniques I've never done before.  Shallots.  I used to dislike onions.  A lot.  I am now reformed, but because of my dislike, I never, never tried shallots.  Oh - my goodness - I have missed the boat!  They are mildly oniony, and they soften like butter.  No kidding.  I am going to plant some.  Immediately.  My usual, pathetic, lame grocery store - soon to be former grocery story, didn't have any.  ANY.  So I pulled up some images on the internet to show Dean, and sent him after some at a different store.  He came through  - I didn't know they could grow as big as the ones he brought home, but they were very good.  So glad I finally tried them.  The other thing I have never done before, believe it or not, is cut up a chicken.  I don't like dark meat, so almost all of the chicken I cook is breast meat, or I buy a whole chicken, jamb it on a beer can and roast it in the oven, and give the drumsticks to Jordan.

I watched the cooking video three times to get down the method of cutting up a chicken.  They make it look soooo easy.  ha.  I had a weak pair of kitchen shears, and a dull chef's knife: a lethal combination.  Luckily I didn't hurt myself.  I couldn't find any of the joints that were supposedly "just right there", or cut out the back bone without hacking into the breast meat quite a ways... Uugh.  I bagged up the backbone, wings and other various bits and pieces in a Ziploc to save for a day that I will make a chicken broth.  I felt like I was left with only a fraction of the chicken that it once was...  but at least I did it.  Next time I will be prepared with a sharper knife.  And a mean pair of scissors.

Next up was to make some couscous.  I've never attempted this before, either.  I had a disaster with polenta a while back and I vowed to stay safe with rice.  And only rice.  I do thank the testers at America's Test Kitchen for finding a way to make it easy and practical - take it out of the box, but not follow the box's directions.  It turned out awesome.

So there you have it: four new things to add to my 40 Things: ethnic recipe, shallots, cutting up a chicken and making couscous.  No wonder it took me two hours to get dinner on the table!

One other piece of advice: If you are already a fan of Fly Lady, you probably already do this.  Partially fill one of your sinks with soapy water, and wash and rinse your cooking dishes as you go.  As you can see in the picture, there were a ton of dirty dishes generated in act of making this recipe.  Most of them could be cleaned with a just a swish in the soapy water and a quick rinse.  I only had two pots at the end - the chicken pot and the couscous pot that still needed washing.  I was thankful not to add anymore to my dish pile.  I still have the perpetual pile next to the sink that never.  goes.  away.

Here is the recipe, from America's Test Kitchen

Chicken Tangine

1. Make your spice blend, set aside
* 1 1/4 tsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp ground cumin
* 1/4 tsp (each) of ground ginger, cayenne, coriander and ground cinnamon

2. Make lemon paste, set aside
Take one long strip of lemon peel (use a peeler and make sure there is no pith), and one clove of garlic and mince both until very fine.  Sprinkle mixture with a little salt and then take the flat of the knife blade (use a nice, wide chef's knife), and wipe it back and forth, mashing the mixture.  The goal is to release the lemon oil.

3. Dice one small yellow onion and place in a bowl, and add two long sections of lemon peel on top.  Set aside.

4. Mince 4 cloves of garlic, set aside.

5. Slice 3 - 4 carrots, set aside.

6. Slice 1 cup of Greek green olives.  (I used Spanish because that is what I had on hand)

7. Pour 1 3/4 C chicken broth into measuring cup, set aside.

8. Rinse one whole chicken, remove bag of giblets and pat dry.  Cut off thigh at the hip joint and then separate thigh from the drumstick.  Remove backbone with scissors and discard or keep for broth.  Remove wings and discard or keep for broth.  Take remaining to halves of breast and divide each into half.  You should have four pieces of dark meat and four pieces of white - sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and pepper.  (Using dark meat is essential to building the flavor in the dish - or so ATK says.  I may try this recipe again, and do so with all breast meat and see if that is so.)

9.  Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven on med-high heat until it is just smoking - the chicken should immediately sizzle when you add it.  Add the chicken (it will be crammed) and brown on one side.  Turn and brown on the other.

10.  Remove chicken from pot and set aside.  Drain off all of the oil except about a tablespoon's worth, and then add the sliced onions/two slices of lemon peel.  Saute until brown and softened.  If the pot gets too dry and begins to burn, you can add a Tbsp of water or two.  While you are waiting on the onions, remove the skin from all of the chicken pieces, using a paper towel. (discard the skin)

11.  Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds, then add the spice mixture.

12.  Stir the onion/garlic/spice mixture until the spices bloom and get fragrant (about 30 seconds)

13.  Pour in chicken broth (be careful - the pot is super hot!).  Scrape the bottom to release leftover chicken bits as you stir.

14.  Add 1 Tbsp honey.

15.  Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and add ONLY the dark meat.  Cook for 5 minutes.

16.  Carefully cover dark meat with the carrots, creating a platform upon which you can place the four white meat pieces.  You are essentially 'steaming' the white meat.  Cover and cook for 10 -15 minutes, until the breast meat measures 160F.

17.  Remove chicken to a plate and tent with foil.

18.  Add the olives and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

19.  Add in the lemon 'paste'

20.  Add 3 Tbsp of lemon juice

21.  Add 1/4 C chopped cilantro and bring mixture to a simmer.

22.  Return the chicken to the pot (including the juice on the plate) and simmer for five minutes until ready to serve.

Couscous:

1.  Toast 3/4 C of sliced almonds in a dry skillet, flipping them around often, until they are a nice golden brown and have a nice, nutty aroma.

2.  Melt 3 Tbsp of unsalted butter in a 2 qt. saucepan.

3. Add 2-3 shallots, sliced thin, and saute until softened.  (about 3 min).

4. Add one clove of minced garlic, cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds.

5.  Add two cups of couscous and stir and toast until couscous has a nice, nutty aroma - about 4-5 minutes.  Be careful - it can go from toasted to burnt in just a few seconds - so stir constantly!

6.  Add 1 C water, 1 C chicken broth and 1 tsp salt.  Stir well and bring to a boil.

7.  Cover and remove from heat.  Let sit for 7 minutes.

8.  Fluff with fork and then add 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1/4 C minced parsley and the toasted almonds.  Toss gently.


Serve the chicken atop a bed of couscous.

(I personally thought the chicken breasts were a little dry and flavorless using this method.  Next time I *might* eliminate the dark meat, and cook the breast meat directly in the sauce)  Otherwise it was a hit.  Even Owen, the pickiest of the kids, had cleaned his plate before I had even finished serving Dean and myself.  I love the complicated mix of flavors and the aroma....oh, the aroma!!  (and wouldn't you know it - I forgot to get an aftershot!)

40 Things



So the deal with 40 Things is to do 40 Things that I have never done before,
during my 40th year.

So here is where I am keeping my list of what I have accomplished so far.

1. First mammogram

2. Build a gingerbread house
3. Bake and decorate a doll cake
4. Plant some Jacob's Beard
5. Grow onions
6. Grow potatoes
7. Lead a Girl Scout troop
8. Make strawberry/rhubarb jam
9. Cook/eat a Moroccan dish: Chicken Tangine
10. Cut up a whole chicken
11. Cook with/eat shallots
12. Cook/eat Couscous

Pj's, Plants and Pancakes

Every year I tell my husband not to stress about Mother's Day.  I think it is a good thing to take the time to show gratitude for the mother-figure in your life, but I hate how the flower, jewelry and card companies - with the help of the media - have whipped this day into the over-hyped guilt fest that it has become.  What a shame.

All I ever want for Mother's Day is a hand-made card and breakfast (in bed is a bonus).  And then I hint-drop about a little-something-extra.  Year before last it was garden beds.  Last year it was a kitchen sink.  This year I made it easy - new pj's.

And my husband came through with flying colors!

I woke up to the youngest child, Colin, (with the help of his oldest brother), entering the bedroom bearing a gift bag and a card.  My husband had a breakfast tray.  A long hug and a cuddle and then they all left the room.  Inside the bag was some pj pants.  On the breakfast tray was chocolate chip pancakes, bacon and juice - complete with a balloon left over from Rylan's birthday the day before.  Score!

A little while later another child came in, bearing a gift bag and a card.  Pj top.  Repeat.... Another pair of pants!  Repeat.... Another top!  Yesssss....  I got in a couple of hours of reading time and I dozed and I ate pancakes.  The day will go down in history as the best.  day.  ever.  (thank you honey!)

After I roused my lazy self out of bed I figured it was high-time to get my garden beds in shape and ready.  I had already spent a bit of time turning the soil, so I was ready to plant.  I went downstairs to the basement refrigerator to retrieve my huge Ziploc bag of seeds from previous years.  No seeds.  I spent the next hour searching high and low in the basement for my seeds.  I know they were in that fridge.  I open that fridge on an almost weekly basis and I have glanced at them every time, thinking about the gardening season to come.

Still no seeds.

Some little two year old bandit had removed them from the fridge and deposited them God knows where...

So, a little while later my mom came by to watch the kids (as my Mother's Day gift - thank you mom!) and Dean and I ran errands.  I know that doesn't seem special or anything, but the ability to run errands, comparison shop, read labels, wander aimlessly and stop for coffee is severely hampered when you have four kids.  Severely.

Dean absolutely spoiled me.  He knew I wanted to begin planting in our front bed, that has remained barren for three years now, so as a final stop we went to the garden center.  I haven't been able to wander in a garden center for years.  Something has reawakened in my soul.  (More on that later).  He treated me to a couple of very nice specimens of Jacob's Beard.  (pictured above).  I have admired these beauties in every garden tour we have been on in our seven years together, but had yet to put one in our yard (so I think this also qualifies as one of my 40 Things).  I also bought a new seed packet of everything I wanted in the garden this year - and then some.

We came home happy and rejuvenated - and worked in the garden all evening.  I have said - more than once - that I have a great dislike of spring.  I have one exception - the start of gardening season.

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window... A gorgeous morning!  As soon as I am done I am off to water the garden and potted plants.

I am thinking... That today is the day that I will probably drive myself insane, driving all over town looking for the kind of garden mulch I want.  Straw was an absolute disaster last year.  But I will attempt to see if I can find the kind of small bark I want, or buckwheat hulls - if it is not overly expensive.  I wonder if I will run into the problem of stores being closed today due to the holiday... Memorial Day.

I am thankful... That my stepmom had only a short visit to the ER last night.  My dad drove her home early from a family camping trip (we elected not to go) down near Florissant when her abdominal pain got to be too much.  She has diverticulitis but thankfully there were no perforations or abscesses in her abdominal wall, so surgery was not required.  She has been down this road before, and it was pretty scary - multiple surgeries and an extended hospital stay.


From the Learning Rooms... I am looking at the calendar and it looks like May Madness is OVER!!!  Yeah!!!!!!!!!!  I am itching to hit the books again.  Since Jordan is at his mom's for his summer visitation, I can focus on Rylan and Owen.  I can't wait.  Also, a visit to the library to sign up for the summer reading program.


In the kitchen... Another batch of rhubarb and strawberry jam today, and veggie quesadillas for dinner tonight. - it's Meatless Monday!

I am wearing... My *new* Mother's Day pjs!  I asked my husband and he listened.  I'm a happy momma.  :)


I am creating... Dean is building a 3-compartment compost bin and I am plotting new garden beds for next year. We have done a lot of work in the backyard in the past three weeks - more than we have done in the past seven years! I have already knocked out all of my projects I wanted to get done for the summer - and it's not even June yet!  I am also creating several gardening and planting blog posts as well.

I am going... I hope we get to go on a short bike ride around the neighborhood today.  All work this weekend isn't exactly fun.



I am wondering... Why... on this holiday weekend, I can't sleep past 6 am. So unfair. Good for writing, but bad for a sleep-deprived me.

I am reading... Things I want my Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble.  It is our book club read for June.  I'm maybe a sixth of the way through it.  It's a decent read, but it's just not gripping me, so I haven't been making much progress - which is bad because I am supposed to pass it on to other book club ladies after I'm done.  I'd better get reading!  We also entertained the idea of reading the whole 50 Shades trilogy, but most of us have decided to pass because of it's negative message.  It may be entertaining, but life is too short to read stuff like that.

I am hoping... That my zucchini and pumpkin seeds sprout soon.  It's been a week and I am getting impatient.


I am looking forward to... Seeing the finished compost bin.  I won't post until it's finished.  Which is why you haven't seen the sandbox either...

I am learning... About the science of composting.  I will need to pick up some topsoil today too.  You begin a pile with a 6-8 inch layer of organic material with a proper ratio of green (cuttings/food scraps) to brown (leaves/ shredded paper), a hefty sprinkle of compost starter or 10-10-10 fertilizer, and then a 1-2 inch layer of topsoil.  Then repeat.  And repeat.  And repeat.  When your pile is about 3 feet high, sprinkle with water and keep it moist (sorry Erin).  It should reach proper temperature in about two weeks.  Keep adding to the pile and turn every couple of weeks.  (Or something like that.)


I am hearing... Coldplay's Us Against the World. Still my favorite song on Earth.


Around the house... Well, it's 7:24 am.  I just got up a minute ago so I could go upstairs to retrieve my book and type in the title, and as I rounded the stairs there was my 2 year old, Colin, sitting there, rubbing his eyes.  I pulled off my headphones and I heard him mumble, "(something)(something) binkie...".  So we went back to his room, I located his binkie in a crevice behind his mattress in his bedframe, and he climbed right back into bed.  Now, even with headphones on, I can hear him banging around.  I guess he's up now.  And so goes the house.

I am pondering... I've lost a total of five tomato plants (out of 20) in the past couple of weeks.  One was because the dog stepped on it.  (Abby!  Don't you know your paw print is a dead giveaway??)  Two were due to Colin messing with them and breaking the stem at the crown.  The other two were due to constriction/rotting happening right at the crown.  I've never seen that before.  I looked around on the internet yesterday, and the best I could come up with was a fungus called Fusarium crown rot.  I hope that is not what it is because then I have a serious problem with the soil, and I won't be able to use that garden bed for tomatoes for about 3 years.  Shucks.


One of my favorite things... My husband.  Yesterday, while I was busy staking and pruning the tomatoes, he brought me cold drink and started up some music outside for us while we each worked on our project.  All of a sudden a tedious job was a lot more enjoyable.  :)

A few plans for the rest of the week... Nothing, nothing, nothing!!!  (except karate lessons)


Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

A trip to the zoo on 5-23-12

To read more entries and visit a variety of other blogs, go here...

Graffiti

Deck2

"When we get overwhelmed our graffiti shows up in stacks and piles, sinks full of dirty dishes, unmade beds, backed up laundry, fast food, bulging garages and such. In addition to that graffiti there's inside grafitti and it's far worse.  It collects as guilt, shame and anxiety."

                                           - Pamela Young, author of Sidetracked Home Executives

Taggers have been working overtime in my home....

 

The dirty dishes in the sink

The pile of socks that needs to be sorted

The three mystery food containers in the back of the fridge

The half-completed math lesson sitting on the desk for the past three weeks (!)

The websites that are opened on my browser and waiting to be explored

The forty-odd emails that I need to respond to

The pile of mail

The kitty litter that is starting to stink

The partially-completed art projects sitting on the kitchen counter

The half-way cleaned out garden bed

The partially written blog posts that are really just rants and should be deleted

The three library books beside the bed, and two more in the car

The pile on the bedroom floor destined for Goodwill.  For two months now.

Oh, wait.... yeah.  It was allll me.

The house of stash and dash

Our household has taken a real beating in the past several months.  We had an awesome start to the year, and then February hit... two birthdays, a short visit from the inlaws and the customary seasonal emotional downward spiral on my part.  March was busy, April... well you all know how I feel about April.  May was (is) just insane.  My first free day was - today!

I haven't had anyone over to my house since March, and the house shows it.  We have been in survival mode with laundry, dishes, and shopping for weeks now.  You need to excavate the kitchen counters in order to find what you are looking for.  Remnants from the Girl Scout tea party are on top, followed by a camping trip, canning supplies, then Mother's Day and planting the garden day, then Rylan's and Jordan's birthdays, paperwork from 5 different Dr. appts, and about six different projects in various stages of completion.  Just dig through the layers and you will find what you are looking for.  Unless you are my husband or 12 year old son - then you will require my help.  :)

So on my first free day in ages, I cleaned out the family closet and did four loads of laundry, two loads of dishes and watched 3 episodes of America's Heartland (PBS), 3 episodes of Phineas and Ferb, and an entire afternoon of HGTV.  Then I helped Dean clean out the garage, adjusted three bikes to fit the growing kids, and unloaded a ton of lumber from the car.  Dean is building a three-compartment compost bin tomorrow.

Heaven.  Minus the work part.

The house of stash and dash has worn me down more than I realized.  A lot of yelling happens when you stash stuff and can't find it when you need it.  A lot of yelling happens when you have to dash out the door for the umpteenth time in one day.

I am looking forward to pulling this house back together in the coming weeks.

I'm off to shine my sink....

Girl Scouts...by the numbers

Meadow Mtn. Girl Scout Ranch 8/11

1. Number of girls: 8 Daisies, 4 Brownies, 7 Juniors

2. Number of camping trips Rylan and I attended: 2

3. Number of home meetings: 7

Investiture 9/11

4. Number of field trips: 7

5. Number of Girl-Scout troop-related emails received: 612

6. Number of those emails that required a response: just about all of them

Miller Farms Gleaning trip 10/11

7. Number of times I went to the Girl Scout store for badges/books: 5

8. Number of trainings I attended: 2

9. Number of hours I spent recordkeeping/updating Yahoo group: (about) 50

Spring Creek Community Gardens 12/11

10. Number of dollars I spent out-of-pocket: (about) $85

11. Number of times girls argued during a meeting: None!!

12. Number of nature walks we took in the neighborhood: 3

Artisan You Pottery Studio 1/12

13. Number of hours Rylan spent selling cookies door-to-door: 12

14. Number of hours Rylan spent selling cookies at a booth: 3

15. Number of boxes of cookies sold: 260

Booth Sales 2/12

16. Number of boxes of cookies we personally bought: 13

17. Number of Starbucks purchased to stay warm during booth sales: 5

18. Number of girls who attended every meeting: 1 (yeah Chanah!!!)

Environmental Learning Center 3/12

19. Number of girls who earned all of their daisy petals this year: 5

20. Number of girls who left mid-year: 1

21. Number of Journeys we completed: 1

Magic Sky Girl Scout Ranch 3/12

22. Number of girls with food allergies: 4

23. Number of months a project stayed on my kitchen counter: 7

24. Number of times we cancelled a meeting: 2  (snow)

Tour of Poudre Fire Authority Station # 4    4/12

25. Number of times we learned about nature study: 3

26. Number of crafts: 5

27. Number of service projects: 3

Master Naturalists 4/12

28. Number of times we cooked in the kitchen: 2

29. Number of times we read a story (not including the Journey): 4

30. Number of times a sibling attended a meeting: every time!

Spring Creek Clean-up Clover Project 4/12

31. Number of hikes: 1 (on a camping trip)

32. Number of hours I gave to thinking it through before offering to lead the Daisies: 4

33. Number of hours I regretted making that decision: a handful

Tea Party 5/25/12

34. Number of hours I was thrilled to do this with my daughter: too many to count

35. Number of minutes we spent making Rylan's tea party hat: 10

36. Number of minutes we spent choosing the items for Rylan's hat: 45

37. Number of degrees in the air temperature at yesterday's party/ceremony: 65

38. Number of badges/fun patches Rylan earned this past year: 33

39. Number of hours I spent preparing for yesterday's party/ceremony: 8

40.  Number of parent thank-yous I've received over the year: 5    yesterday: 0

Despite the frustrations with this past year, I will, in the end, say it was worth it.  The amount of distraction involved with emails, disagreements, record keeping, cookies, and prep time was costly though.  Our home life and our schoolwork truly suffered.  I am thankful for the time I got to spend with my daughter - doing girly things, and for the opportunity to get to know some truly wonderful, special girls.  I am thankful that they all got along so well, and worked together as a team a time or two.

I don't know what next year will look like yet - and I don't even want to think about it right now.  I feel like I have just completed a long, exhausting emotional marathon.  And it isn't over yet - we've got to get through Girl Scout Day Camp next month, as well.

For now I will celebrate that we did it - we got through the year and had a lot of fun along the way.

A girl turns 6

The day ended?  started? at about 1 am, when I inverted cake 2 of 2 out of the batter bowl to cool on the counter.  I made sure dog and cat were accounted for and chauffeured them to our bedroom lest a cake disappear over night.  Then I got up a few hours later, at about 7am, to get this cake decorated!

This cake is a cinch to prepare.  The CAKE part.  I used my tempered glass Pampered Chef batter bowl, and used a Pampered Chef doll cake recipe to make the cakes.  (you have to make two).

Assembling the damn thing is a totally different ballgame.  First of all, there was a huge hollow inside both cakes.  While this may be a good thing for shoving a Barbie into the cake, it does not bode well for stability.  By slicing horizontally through both cakes, I was able to build it up high enough, vertically, to accommodate Barbie's ridiculously long, out-of-proportion-don't-get-me-started legs.  It took an enormous amount of frosting to get all of the layers stacked, but in the end it turned out pretty well.  I wrapped Barbie's torso with some tulle and pinned it in the back,  and then I wrapped her legs in plastic wrap so that she wouldn't get ruined by the cake and frosting.  Then I made several cuts (holding the knife vertically) into the cake and then jammed her in there.  That was a mistake.  Her out-of-proportion-don't-get-me-started hips broke apart the top layer.  So I had to jam left-over pieces of cake into the cracks and smother the whole thing with frosting to cover up the mess.  And then cover that with a ton of fabric flowers.  Because nothing hides cake mistakes better than fabric flowers.  Especially when you suck at icing.

My friend Cheryl loaned me her decorating cake pedestal, and that was a life-saver.  I'm gonna get me one of those.  I like how the hem turned out - those large candy pearl nonpareils gave it a nice touch. I'm kind of wishing I'd done the whole cake that way, but I was out of time.  And also, since I have never made a doll cake before, I think this qualifies as a 40 Things ...  This is #3 on the list of official accomplishments.  I had better get crackin'!!   So what did the birthday girl think of her cake?   Rylan 'liked' it, but confessed that the picture she had of the cake in her head was different.  This one wasn't 'purple enough'.  whatever

This was Rylan's first 'friend' party.  We chose to do a gymnastics party at a local gym.  Rylan and Jordan took a homeschool gymnastics class here last year, and Rylan has been asking repeatedly when she can go back.  So she was excited to hear that we would have her party there.  Rylan invited her Daisy troop pals, and Jordan was able to invite along a friend as well.

Dean was on the floor taking pictures (only one parent is allowed to do so, so I stayed up in the party room and finished decorating and gabbed with the other moms), so he took lots of video, and like, two pictures.  So here is one of them.  Jordan is hopping along a trampoline with Colin.  The group got one hour of gym time, and Colin ran and jumped for the entire time.  Owen was finally ready to join the group in the last ten minutes of their time slot.  Before that he stayed upstairs with me, watching the crowd below and playing with the balloons.  He often hangs back like that. 

Then the girls came up to the party room and we did cake, lemonade and presents.  (I'd show these pictures - but getting iPhone pictures to show up on Blogger never works.  You companies are lame -  and I am so frustrated that I can't figure this issue out...)

So here is finished version of the cake - taken earlier in the day.  The candles will go in the icing swirls in front.

 

 

Sorry for the fuzziness of the photo, but Rylan is holding up a skirt.  The little girl who gave it to her is standing behind Rylan, grinning.  She MADE the skirt. She sewed it herself!  I just can't get over how awesome that is!!!

Rylan had a great time and really enjoyed doing gymnastics with all of her friends.  I was very happy with the way the party turned out, and it fit all of my criteria...

1.  Not at my house

2.  I did not have to cook.  (Cake doesn't count)

3.  It was long enough to get the fun accomplished, but not overly long where bickering can begin

We finished out the day with a dinner at home.  Rylan had asked for steak and potatoes for dinner.  We settled on beer butt chicken (I'll have to explain that some time).  I stupidly tried out a new roasting method (roast at 450F for thirty minutes and then turn the oven off and let it sit for another 30 minutes.)  This was from America's Test Kitchen of all places.  It was an epic fail.   Despite taking the temp and returning it to the oven twice for 25 min. stints, the chicken failed to cook through.  We ended up throwing it out.  We made a meal out of mashed potatoes and gravy, grandma's rolls and corn.  And cake.  Which, after the day was done, Rylan never did have a piece of.  Not even a taste.  Even though it was offered multiple times.  ?? 

Next year?  Cupcakes.

A boy turns 12

Jordan turned 12 on the 9th - just getting around to posting about it!  His birthday fell midweek - so the actual day wasn't too eventful.  There was a fieldtrip scheduled that day for our homeschooling group to tour the local powerplant, so Jordan went with my mom on the tour.  (little ones are not allowed, for safety reasons).  Rawhide is located about 25 miles north of where we live, so it was a nice outing for Jordan and my mom.

I would like to take this moment to share some serious frustration with technology, in general.  The photo of Jordan in a hard had that was supposed to be pictured above was nice.  I wish you could see it.  My mom took it with her iPhone.  When she sent it to me, of course I couldn't paste it in because the picture data is all wonky and it won't copy over.  (don't even get me started on my frustrations with all things Apple)  So I had her send me a jpeg and see if we could do it that way.  And this is what we get.  A fuzzy photo, that you can't even see when I look at the preview of the post.  I hate my techno illteracy.  And the fact that my husband is on a campout this weekend, and is not around to help me fix it.   I'm not happy with Google, Blogger or Yahoo either.  Bleh.

Back to the birthday...

My dad came over later in the afternoon to deliver  1 1/2 yards of garden soil.  (Thanks dad!!)  After many wheelbarrow trips and dirt baths, we finally unloaded the trailer and my dad took the kids for a ride down the street and back.

We cleaned up, I frosted the cake, and we headed out to dinner at Jordan's favorite restaurant: Red Lobster.  (Well, one of two.  He also loves the Hibachi Japanese Steak House, but we did that last year).  We had a great dinner then it was on to cake and presents.  The cake (pictured above) is called Chocolate Blackout Cake.  I got the recipe from Cook's Country, when I saw them feature this cake one day a few years ago.  You need to be a member to see the recipe, but there are several versions all over the place on the internet.  I have the Cook's Country version here... with commentary!

Chocolate Blackout Cake
From the episode: Forgotten Cakes

Serves 10 to 12.

Be sure to give the pudding and the cake enough time to cool or you'll end up with runny pudding and gummy cake.

Ingredients :

Pudding (frosting)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate , chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cake
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), plus extra for greasing pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , plus extra for dusting pans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Table salt
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup strong black coffee (room temp)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions :

This is a relatively easy recipe to pull together.  I've made about five cakes now, and I've always had good, consistant results.  I'm a terrible baker, and I can't even mess up this recipe!

1. For the pudding: Whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt, half-and-half, and milk in large saucepan. Set pan over medium heat. Add chocolate and whisk constantly until chocolate melts and mixture begins to bubble and thicken, 6 to 8 minutes. (Be patient and KEEP STIRRING.  It will look all wrong, but as soon as it bubbles the chocolate will melt and the cornstarch will do it's job and thicken it right up.  You will feel the drag on the whisk pretty quickly as it thickens).  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. At this point serve yourself a small bowl of warm pudding because it's just awesome. You deserve it.  You worked hard doing all that whisking! Transfer pudding to large bowl, and place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 1 day.

2. For the cake layers: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl.

3. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cocoa and cook until fragrant (this is called 'blooming'), about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in coffee, buttermilk, and sugars until dissolved. Whisk in eggs and vanilla, then slowly whisk in flour mixture.

4. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool layers in pans 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.

Yep - you guessed it.  This recipe is all about whisking.

5. To assemble an authentic Blackout cake you do this: Cut each cake in half horizontally. Crumble one cake layer into medium crumbs and set aside. Place one cake layer on serving platter or cardboard round. Spread 1 cup pudding over cake layer and top with another layer. Repeat with 1 cup pudding and last cake layer. Spread remaining pudding evenly over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle cake crumbs evenly over top and sides of cake, pressing lightly to adhere crumbs. Serve and refrigerate any leftovers.

This is just too complicated for me.  I just did a two layer cake (pudding in between) and frosted the whole thing with the pudding - leaving about a cup leftover - which makes awesome pudding just by itself!  I then used a tub of chocolate frosting and piped on some decorations.  The level of fuss you want to deal with is up to you.  Yes it is rich.  It makes your head swim with its chocolately goodness.  That is why I make this cake only once a year.  It is all our tastebuds can handle.  And, it is the birthday boy's favorite.  :)

This is one of the gifts Jordan recieved for his birthday.  In fact, it was the only thing he asked for.  (A gift from his Gma Pat and Papa Van).  Well, this and money of course...  This is the first birthday that Jordan did not put in a request for Lego's.  Strange.  But I think it was a wonderful choice!  We found it here, when we were poking around for a rock-polishing kit.  I love that he is exploring his interests.  He put in a request for the Geology Merit Badge (one of three requests) during scout summer camp next month.  I hope he gets the chance to study it.   It also gives me a good jumping off point for the direction our science studies will go, once he gets back from his various travels this summer.

It was a good day.  I can't believe this boy is twelve.

Constantinople. It's fun to say. Just hard to read.

I mentally beat myself up on just about a daily basis when it comes to homeschooling.  Even though my tragic public school teaching days are far behind me, the fear of failure is never far from my thoughts.  I have fought this emotional battle for years.  I shared my fears with friend and fellow homeschooling momma Deanna a couple of years ago.  She commiserated with me and then shared one of the most inspiring and poignant pieces of advice when it comes to homeschooling:

Even on the worst of homeschooling days, never forget that it was YOU, and YOU ALONE, that taught your child to read.  The most important gift you can ever bestow upon your child is the gift of literacy.  A proficient reader can do anything they set their mind to - and YOU made that happen.

Well.  I just turned out my first reader.  I can't take credit for Jordan since he was in public school for kindergarten and first grade, but I will take credit for Rylan.  But it just feels wrong to say that.  Rylan did all the work.  She rarely complains (unless it is late in the afternoon and she is 'done' with schoolwork).  She worked through the workbooks, the readers, the phonics videos, and the best reading program in the world: Reading Eggs.  Things just started to click in the last several weeks, and lo' and behold we have a reader!

The sad thing is that I didn't even know she could do it.  I came into Rylan and Colin's room to change Colin into his pj's last night, and there was Rylan, reading Hop on Pop, out loud, to herself.  And she was really reading it.  No mistakes.  I think I have only read this book to her maybe...once?  And not in the past several months, either.  We have a bajillion books at home, and when you couple that with a bajillion library books, it is hard to read something more than once.

I was just absolutely astonished.  I didn't say a word.  I just kept listening to her read.  I was afraid to disturb her...it was sort of like spotting wildlife.  If you snap a twig they will run away.

I am so excited to phase in some new literacy stuff with her now.  First up: sounding out big words. 

Like Constantinople.  It's fun to say.  Just hard to read.

And now, by virtue of association (and because we are fans of TMBG around here) I offer this for your viewing and listening pleasure:

There's a badge for that...

Last night I attended a meeting for volunteer Unit Leaders at our area's Girl Scout day camp that is scheduled to start in about three weeks.  It was already at the end of a long, long day, and even though I had a coffee to pull me through, I was thoroughly irritated after spending just five minutes in this room of chatty ladies, waiting for the meeting to start.  Then my angst hit a new level when a 40-something Brownie-wanna-be sat next to me.  She was even dressed in brown and green.  Tacky.  She had a shoulder bag with her.  This bag was not just any bag, thankyouverymuch.  It was a patch-hoarders dream!!  And all of the near-by ladies hovered over her (I even had to scoot back so some other ladies could lean over), squealing with delight over her bragfest collection.  This lady even put Isabella, an extremely prodigious Fireside Girl, to shame.  There were so many patches that there was nary a spot of plain fabric to be seen.  There were even special patches from a unit in California.  Special.  Don't confuse my sarcasm with jealousy.  Nope.  It's just pure, unadulterated annoyance at anyone who feels like they need to advertise their scouting achievements to such a heightened degree, of... gaudiness?  embroidery overkill?  Is she really that in need of recognition?  Isn't scouts for (ahem) the girls?

I guess I am just annoyed with all things patches, record-keeping, scheduling, planning, and just Girl Scouting in general. 

Can you tell?

"Sexy"

Am I the cruel type of mom that will post her 12 yr old son's first love note for all of the "internets" to see? 

Why yes.  Yes I am.

But not for the reason that you might think.  I am not out to embarrass him or make him feel bad... it just makes for good blog fodder!!  I will have to make my case for non-embarrassment pretty air-tight though, because that boy is getting more internet-savvy by the day, and he will find his own way to this blog sooner or later.

Back to the note.

We homeschool.  No note-passing in these parts unless you count the endless love notes Rylan writes to her brothers on a daily basis.  We don't do any outside enrichment classes as of late.. not even Sunday school.  Nope.  Never the less, this note-passing thing happened, yesterday, in karate of all places.  Not during class though (that would have been amusing), but afterwards, as everybody was trying to squeeze out the door.  A boy came forward and pressed the note into Jordan's hand.  He was obviously the messenger, and I think he had an idea of the note's contents, because he just couldn't get away fast enough.

Jordan and I were in the middle of a discussion about a scheduling headache this coming weekend with belt promotions and a boy scout campout happening simultaneously.  (I will have to drive an hour up into the mountains on Saturday to retrieve him, deliver him to karate to go through his testing, and then drive him back to camp.  All without knowing exactly where he will be camping.  Good times are a-comin' this weekend!

Back to the note.

As I said - we were in the middle of logistics when this note landed in his open hand.  He opened it and turned beet-red about 5 seconds later.  He must have read the 'sexy' part.  He then handed ME the note because it must have been causing mild burns on his hand or something...

Now stop right here - what 12 year old boy, in his right mind, would shove a love note that he received into his parent's hand?  Our sweet (and maybe a little too innocent, when it comes to these things) Jordan, that's who!  This right of passage was just thrust upon him and he had no idea what to do with it.  I love, love, love, that he invites us in to help him navigate this turn of events.  I cringe at the sad thought of countless pre-teens, all faced with this eventual scenario, who just thrust the note into the back of the sock drawer, and hope it will all go away.  They walk downstairs and hardly utter a word during dinner.  Their mind is working away the whole while, dreading going back to school the next day.  All because somebody 'likes' them.  These are big feelings and no wonder kids don't know what to do with them!

I'm not an idiot, I knew exactly what the note was going to be about.  You just 'know'.  I just held its small folded-self in my hand as we finished our discussion.  First - I wasn't going to give the note-giver any more of the satisfaction of watching Jordan read it and be further embarrassed.  Second - I hope they saw it land in my hands.  Muah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!  The evil parent now holds the note!!!  Oh, the horror!!!  And to think she took it straight home and POSTED IT ON HER BLOG!

When we got into the car, I gave it back to Jordan (without opening it), and innocently asked, "So.  What does it say?".  He got as far as... "I love you Jordan.  you've got a secret lover."  Then he handed it back to me, embarrassed again, and asked me to finish reading it because he didn't want to read the next word...."Sexy".

Two things.

1.  She used the gross terminology "secret lover".  WHO says that?  She must be reading her mom's trash novels.

2.  She used 'you've' correctly.  At least she has that going for her!

The note finishes out with directions on where to leave a note for her in return (in an 'emty shoe cuby at karatie'), along with the indication that she was not going to share her name.  She now loses all credibility with me because she can't even spell 'karate' correctly.  Yes, I know.  I'm a spelling-Nazi.  Can't help it.

So that leaves poor Jordan with the burning question of: "WHO is his secret lover??"

On this particular day there were four possible candidates.  One of which he likes very much, and has for quite awhile.  But I don't think it is her.  She doesn't look like the type who would use the words - secret lover.  I do think she likes him too, though.  Her dad is aware of the situation too because he always gives me a knowing smile when he arrives to pick her up at the end of class.  We have this unspoken agreement:  We approve.  We will rotate holidays and welcome grandchildren in about 18 years' time.

So that leaves the other three, all of which seem equally likely to use secret lover, which is why I don't like them.  What unsocialized homeschooler uses that word?  Oh yeah...the 'socialized' ones.

That is what makes this whole situation so ridiculously funny to me.  Yes, part of the reason we homeschool is to shelter our kids from the pressures of growing up too fast.  So here we are, seeking to dodge this kind of stuff, and it happens anyway.  You can't win!!  It is harmless at this point - maybe even a little 'cute', but it is actually painful to watch Jordan grapple with this sort of thing.  He's growing up...and there is no way to stop it.