Fun School

Last month, I was doing my school planning when our Bible curriculum (Veritas Press) suggested doing dioramas based on one of Jesus' parables. I almost skipped it completely - I rarely do the crafty projects suggested - but I knew my girls would be so excited to do something creative, and they might even learn a little something from it. So, I pulled out a few supplies and turned them loose, hoping they would remember this the next time I did something distinctly "un-fun", like gave them a test or something...

I couldn't be happier with what they came up with!

 

Anna's diorama was about Jesus walking on water. Not a parable, but who cares? She was creative and thoughtful and even looked up the passage!

Pipe cleaners, modeling clay and a shoebox - who knew?

 Abigail went with the Parable of the Sower. Again, very creative - she went so far as to gather grass, rocks and birdseed from the backyard. Each element was carefully labelled for clarity.

I loved that they were able to do this completely independently - I wasn't allowed to look until they were finished. It's all their own work, which shows me that they are engaging with the passage, not what I'm telling them to do. Maybe they'll remember the stories better in future - I'd like to think so. Regardless, I'll definitely be more willing to try something like this in the future, knowing they'll take the assignment seriously and give it their best. That alone made it worth the effort.

Giving up

I've decided to give up.
Pinterest.
For Lent.
This will not be easy for me. It'll mean deleting the app from my phone and establishing a few new habits - like reading a book while I feed the baby, rather than browse other people's creativity.
If you see me pinning things (I'm prone to forget, you see), call me out. Please.
I noticed that whenever someone decides to practice some kind of Lenten fast or activity, they are usually assumed to be Catholic? Why? Why have Catholics cornered the market on Lent, and why do Protestants seem to look upon the season with bemusement? Any time that's set aside for thinking about the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf and taking the opportunity to consider ways to slow down and enter into that sacrifice in some small way must be good for the soul.
If you're looking for some kind of Lenten observance for your family, here are a few ideas:
Make a tomb
Declutter
Make a calendar
Make a pattern

Upcycled

Here we have Daniel in this season's latest - Daddy's old t-shirt.

 It has been modified to fit his frame using the raglan pattern from Sewing for Boys.

A modification was necessary - I tried adding a neckband. Wouldn't fit over his head. It wouldn't even fit over Caleb's head - those Gayner heads...So, off it came and he loves it just the same. 

It's all good

Saturday was a successful day.
For a long time, I've been eager to get out of the house for a little "thinking time", as I like to call it. It's very difficult to get time to think and plan and reflect in a house this busy - even if all the people are out of the house, I'd probably succumb to the siren call of cleaning. It's also difficult when things are going on in the morning and the afternoon fills up with other needs and suddenly, the day and opportunity is gone.
This time, my clever husband had a clever idea - if getting out is important, we need to treat it as important and make time for it at the beginning of the day, before the other needs of the day pushes it out. So, he packed me off to Starbucks, complete with a shopping list to get some alone-shopping done, as well. 
It. Was. Lovely. I finished my yearly retreat book, Shopping for Time and made some notes. I'd been having lots of ideas swirling around my brain regarding priorities and interests, and I was able to finally nail down where my focus needs to be during this season of life. I was able to pray without distraction and plan my calendar. In short, I was able to be a little pro-active and intentional about life. And then I got to do the food shopping without a herd of children making unauthorized additions to the cart.
And my sweet husband, the clever Starbucks-sender? Oh, he was at home, making sure the children did their chores, getting on with a building project in the schoolroom and fixing my laptop screen!!! I hadn't even realized that this was possible, but he was able to order a new screen from laptopscreen.com, watch a video of how to install it and get the whole job done in a matter of minutes. I highly recommend doing this in case your children, you know, drop your laptop on the floor.
But you have to get your own husband to fix it. Sorry.

In the shop

Need a new pouch for your...stuff?

 Wee babe need some privacy?

Celebrate the Ravens' win by purchasing some purple at the shop! 

This is life

• Last week, one of the kids tripped over the laptop cord and sent it crashing to the ground, killing the monitor. Fortunately, the computer itself still works - we just can't see anything but ink and splinters on the screen. Clever husband hooked it up to our PC monitor so it can be used until fixed. Clever husband has also ordered a new laptop screen and is endeavoring to fix it himself. I married up.

• Our weekly family night tends to be some kind of snack food and a movie. It's fun, though if Dan gets excited, it can be a little...chaotic. The kids don't eat as much because they're mesmerized, which means there's more for the adults. He he.

• Abigail has now transferred from the piano after 2-3 years and has begun violin lessons. She's very excited, as am I - I always wanted to play the violin growing up. Anna's continuing with the piano, and Noah just had his first piano lesson this morning. He wants to try the guitar or drums (such a boy), so we've decided he needs to get a year or so of piano under his belt first. He has the best teacher around, so I'm sure he'll love it.

• After Toby was away for a week for work while (some of) the kids were sick, I was done. I don't know that I'd ever been happier to see him. I begged him not to leave again. So, this morning, he left at 4am to catch a 6:30am flight to Kentucky for the day. He'll be catching a flight home this afternoon and should be home in time to kiss the kids goodnight, all so that he doesn't have to be away another night.  What a guy!

• We have reached a new phase of parenting recently - hormones have entered our home. We're talking and praying a lot, but if we all survive it, it'll be one of God's great kindnesses.

• A fun activity around here is "dance party". We turn the 80s station on Pandora and rock it out. So. Much. Fun. I remember all those lyrics, Toby gets down with his rhythm-impaired self (he's such a white boy), and the kids go from showing off their funky moves to laughing at our funky moves. It's the best version of time-travel - all of the sudden, I was in 7th grade, sitting with my friends at the lunch table, singing "Ice Ice Baby". We were so cool.

• Some of our dearest friends left late last week to go meet four boys who want to call them Mom and Dad. Actually, it's more like "Mai and Pai", since they're coming from Brazil. They don't come back until March, and I can't imagine there have been more eagerly awaited children - it seems as if our entire church is adopting them! And it won't be long until our friends are seeing their kids dance around the house, eating everything in sight and tripping over expensive equipment. I'm so excited for them!

Caramel Apple Cake with Apple Cider Frosting!

I have been collecting a lot of recipes. My pinboard has well over 500. My bookmarks tab is loooooong. In the interest of serving others (of course), I feel duty-bound to try out a few of these recipes, just to see if they're any good.

This one was very good.

 

Recipe found at a hint of honey

INGREDIENTS
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1½ cups light brown sugar
¾ cup canola oil
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
¾ cup caramel sauce (homemade or jarred)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1½ cups buttermilk

 (if you don't have buttermilk, measure out the same amount of milk minus 2tbsp, then add 2 tbsp of lemon juice)

Apple Cider Frosting:
7 1/2-8 cups confectioners’ sugar (to desired consistency)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice

(I had to add a bit more, a tbsp at a time to get the right consistency - be prepared to play with it a little)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour two (8 or 9 inch) round cake pans and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In a second large bowl, beat sugar and oil together with an electric mixer until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add applesauce, caramel and vanilla, beat for 30 seconds, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk, and continuing to beat until well combined.

3. Pour batter into prepared cake pans and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Set aside to let cool for 10 minutes, then gently loosen cakes and turn out onto a cooking rack; set aside to let cool completely.

4. For the frosting, put sugar, butter, cider, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Arrange one cake on a large plate and spread about 1 cup of the frosting evenly over the top. Arrange second cake on top then frost top and sides of entire cake with remaining frosting. Set aside at room temperature or in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to allow frosting to set before serving.

Makes a tall 2-layer, 8-9 inch round cake.

 

Tall. Rich. Nice, subtle spice. How can you go wrong with caramel?

We gave it a two thumbs up, for sure.

Make do and mend

So, I saw this idea on Pinterest (where else?) for lengthening pants for kids, and was totally struck by the idea that it would also do very well for replacing worn out and holey knees. I had to put the idea to the test.

Noah was happy to oblige me with some very ragged jeans. I simply cut a bit above and below the holes, roughly 3 inches. I had some old jeans that Toby'd worn out and used that as replacement fabric. Cut enough to go all the way around and sew the short ends together to form a tube. Put it all together with some top stitching, and you're golden.

 

 

It was most gratifying to find that the plan worked and they fit, but even better is when the boy opts to wear his "mama-fixed" trousers instead of another pair that's in better shape. Sweet.

 

 

If I get around to doing this for the girls - I think they have some jeans I can experiment on - I would probably use some cute, girly-type fabric. I didn't think Noah would really appreciate anything that smacked of "cutesy", so denim is usually a safe bet. It matches so well with, um, denim.

Take a few minutes to root through your kids' trouser collection and see what you've got to work with. It doesn't take long and might save you some of your clothing budget. Which means you can spend it on jewelry instead.

Right now...

...I'm grateful for a lovely weekend, including the opportunity to have Caleb dedicated at church and celebrating with family afterwards.
...I'm trying to fully wake up after something of a rough night: Caleb waking me up twice, the first time only an hour after falling asleep? What's up with that?
...I am encouraged by the friend who reminds me that 6 kids can be overwhelming, but God is faithful, so hang in there!
...I appreciate coffee in the pot,my favorite breakfast of yogurt, blueberries & granola, and chicken stock from leftover roast chickens for use later.
...the sounds of the kids getting up, dressed and reading their Bibles are percolating through the house. Didn't realize that Bible reading could be a noisy activity? It is in this house.
...we're getting ready to get back into the swing of school after a week of illness. I'm waiting for protests of shock and horror to ensue.
...I'm frankly a little jealous of all of my English peeps that have snow. Toby built that wonderful storage for all our snow gear - it'd be lovely to put it through its paces!
...I'm working three knitting projects, several sewing repairs and a new book. What to work on first?
...Our family read aloud has got every one's attention, though - Treasures in the Snow by Patricia St John.
...I feel fairly unprepared as I head into a new week, but I am confident of He who is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. He is faithful.

The Best Pork Roast. Ever.

That's a pretty bold claim, isn't it? I don't care - I stand by every word. The only reason it's not "The Best and Easiest Pork Roast" is because the easiest food is the food that someone else makes. Can I get an amen?
I've had Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader for a while and have made a few things from it, but not many. While I was flipping through it during Christmas break, I thought it would be a good idea to rectify the situation. And while the book calls this recipe "Emma's Pork Roast", I think my name is more descriptive. :)

Emma's Pork Roast, from Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader

4tsp seasoned salt

2 tbsp flour

2tbsp dried thyme

3-4 lb pork roast

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 cups chicken or beef stock

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 onions, peeled and quartered

1 cup sliced button mushrooms (I omitted these)

1 1/2 lb new potatoes, quartered

1 cup baby carrots

 

Mix together the seasoning blend, flour, and thyme and rub it all over the roast. Warm the oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Place the roast in the pot and brown. Add stock and vinegar, then the onions and mushrooms (if using) and reduce the heat to a simmer (about 3 on my stove). Cover and cook for about four hours.

Add the potatoes and carrots, cover and continue to cook for another 30-45 minutes. When it's done, remove the roast and let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes before slicing.

So much yum.