At Home Journal vol. 4

Outside my window:  foggy, chilly and wet...though I do notice more daylight hanging on in the afternoons since we've passed solstice.

Around the house: things are in need of some cleaning.  After the bustle of the holidays passed cleaning was the last thing on my list.  Now, the kitchen floor is hollering for a good wash and the bathrooms would like a scrubbing, especially the toilet.  Julia is not the neatest potty trainer.  Makes me cringe to think about Erik giving it a go!  We've also started cloth diapering again.  So the laundry is once more on schedule...guess that's good.

The baby: is sleeping on my chest as I type this in the Ergo- that both of us love.  He continues on schedule of eat, sleep, poop and is quite content most days unless he has a bubble from one end or the other.  And a content baby means BIG smiles and gooing come our way quite a bit!

The kiddos:  have been at eachother the past few days.  And that leaves me at them...leaving none of us very happy about things.  They have come to new levels of arguing and I am trying not to play referee but things continue to come back to me.  Ugh.  I feel like  I need to renegociate my contract. :)
Katie enjoys bringing Julia to tears and tantrum and Julia enjoys rubbing Katie the wrong way and so the endless cycle.  Currently, Julia is in tears again as Kate has hidden her doll..."Katie make me mad!"  While Katie is harping, "Go check behind the couch...it's not scary."  Argh!

In the kitchen:  We enjoyed a Herb Roast Chicken yesterday.  If you're a fan of easy whole chicken recipes I highly recommend this one!  Kurt also dazzled us with Brie en Croute  that he used to make with Ken and Pat at the Wisconsin House many moons ago.  Delicious!  We also had a friend gift us a freezer casserole that I used this week Wednesday.  A nightmare ensued with Katie 'no casserole'.  That is one thing I don't like about being the one to chose the menu...you can't please all tastes all the time.  We'll see what the weekend holds.  I think Gooch's Pizza Saturday as we don't get FOX and want to watch the Packers in the playoffs at least for a bit.

Bringing me joy:  My mommy friends who keep it real.  We got together yesterday for an Epiphany party.  They are the best!  Baby smiles and snuggles.  A new author, Kate Morton, who's books I've been enjoying.  I got to read The Forgotten Garden over the holidays and loved it and all the fairy tale, Secret Garden references.  Now I am in the middle of reading The Distant Hours. 

Thinking about:  balancing time with my spouse and children...sharing love.  Struggling to work on the plank in my own eye before seeing something in some else's.  Staying healthy and away from the flu without going into hibernation which just the thought of makes me crazy.  My extended family up north, I miss them.  Our Christmas was canceled due to flu.

Picture to share:  Well, I can't seeme to get Blogger to upload right now so it looks like we're pictureless.  But if you're on Facebook check out the video I posted this week!

Caught ya!

So this month's challenge at Work Play Read was to 'catch' your kids reading.  Neither kid technically reads yet but both have a few stories they know by heart.  

Here's Kate reading Mother Goose to Julia.   I love how into it Julia is ...so enthralled with each page, leaning into it!  Kate really enjoys being asked to 'read' to her sister, so proud to do it herself!

Family Literacy- January/February

I had intended to post this and link to Work, Play, Read for one of their Family Literacy posts but they're changing it up for the month so I'll just post it here. 

For K week I happened upon numerous books with 'Katie/Kate' as the main character and just couldn't resist bringing them home to enjoy as a family. 

If you have or know of a Katie or  you just want to read about one these are recommended:
Kate and the Beanstalk
Katie and the Mona Lisa and Katie and the Sunflowers (as well as the rest of the Katie series by James Mayhew) these books are also great books on art and artists!

The other book we read a lot K week was a special book about our very own Katie.  "Katie Can" was a book my mom put together on Blurb for Katie's second birthday. (I can hear my mom groaning as I type this...sorry Mom if you're reading this I couldn't resist...its just too great to not share!)

I really can't recommend this idea enough for a great keepsake gift.  It is simple to do and oh so meaningful.  Our Katie has it memorized and even Julia never tires of reading it over and over and over.  The text is simple.  The pictures close up and easily enjoyed (thanks to my SIL who does the photography).

 I have used Blurb myself to create a wedding book and am now working on another project to remain nameless at this time.  Anyway, nothing encourages literacy at our home like a little old fashioned pride I  guess.   In the future I hope to also find some books about St. Catherine (Katie's patron) and include these (perhaps for a little more virtue!), too.

Also for K week Katie made a timeline of her life (with a combination of ideas stolen from Heidi and Monica).

 She loved looking through the pictures I'd printed and hearing/telling about each one.  She put them in order with a little help and then went at it with the gluestick.  We were both pleased with the outcome.

So rassle yourself up some name books and have a good time reading!

Quick Takes 11-11-11

1- As H week wraps up we are anticipating a visit from one of our favorite H's, my cousin, Heidi!  She's always a fun house guest and the girls are tickled that she'll be spending the weekend with us.  Hopefully we can get her some needed R&R away from the college life.  And her and Kate are requesting more SNOW!

We had our first round of snow this week and Katie loved every minute of it.  She was out in it not long after the day began!

2-Well I think that we're through the HFM and the disease never really seemed to take over as I expected.  Though 8 days of keeping the girls home was certainly enough in this mom's book!  Neither girl has a blister and there are just dwindling signs of the rash that plagued them.  I am grateful that it wasn't worse. 

3-FREE Things!  Really excited to see this printable at Catholic Icing not only for my own kiddos but for Religious Ed classes locally.  Really helpful, really handy and FREE! And just received a reminder about Advent Adventure from Holy Heroes, another FREE faith opportunity.  We really enjoyed the things they did for Lent last year and are definitely looking forward to Advent with joyful anticipation now!

4- We attended Wool Day at a local farm with the Home Education Network (HEN).  It was a big hit for Kate.  I was quite impressed with it too.  The family hosting had sheep that they showed how to sheer (though just a bit because a wool coat comes in handy this time of year), then a local artisan brought wool samples and supplies and showed the kids how they could each felt their own ball.  For the older kids she did spinning lessons and more.  Kate and I were quite happy with our felted ball.  And I was particularly pleased to meet a few other moms for potential networking

Katie took the pictures of our ball to post on the blog.

She also picked out the colors herself- blue, black and glitter sparkle (which you can't really see from her shot).

5-We did this act of thanksgiving today (and H is for Hands!).  I case you're wondering, it is a tree with hand print leaves that note things we're thankful for on the hands.  I have to once again put a plug in for Small Steps for Catholic Moms, It was the act of the "Think, Pray, Act" today.  I highly recommend this book for moms particularly ones with small children who struggle to fit prayer and apply it to daily life.   It has been a continual blessing to my days. 

Katie is thankful for- Grampa, Gramma, Mom and Heidi.  She traced her hands and wrote all the names herself!

Julia is thankful for "Boos" aka her pacifier, Cock-a-doodle-do aka roosters, and babies.  Mom is thankful for Dad, Our Church and coffee especially at today's 5 AM wake up.  I think I live with roosters!

6-And speaking of gratitude...ladies do you dare to try this?  I'm giving A Heart of Gratitude a go (started yesterday with my own adjusted version) but wow, I think Betty's right on the money in these remarks.  However, what a great lead in to Thanksgiving or just practice in gratitude and love!  I know I've seen a few folks listing things they're particularly thankful for on Facebook, too.  I dare not try that, I'd be on there way too much!

7- You'll be seeing a new look on the blog in the near future!  Be patient as I try to have patience!  Here's to a great weekend!

Head over to Conversion Diary as she hosts "Quick Takes" every Friday!

November Family Literacy- The Gingerbread Boy

For G week one of the books by our author, Paul Galdone, was The Gingerbread Boy.  It was definitely one of Katie's favorites.  As she told the story back to me a few times.  She was particularly humored by the ending (spoiler!) where the foxy fox settles in for a nap after his snack. 

 As a activity to go with the story we decided to try to make our own Gingerbread boys.  It was tricky as I had to borrow the cookie cutter from the neighbor, guess I should put that on our list. After that, we suited up for the task. Everyone was game for helping in the baking!

Aren't their aprons the cutest?!?

Katie took over the camera for a few of the pictures. She had to get a shot of my apron.

 As I didn't have a recipe in mind I ended up using this one from Allrecipes.  I liked it because it didn't call for any eggs and I new that I'd have some dough eaters in the kitchen.  I did have to adjust it a bit as the initial recipe (as mentioned in the comments) was too dry to roll out.  It may have been because I ran out of white flour and had to substitute with wheat.  Regardless,  a bit more water in the mix seemed to do the trick.  I also ended up taking the cookies out earlier than 10 minutes (it was more like 6-7 min) so that they were soft.  I didn't know with the current bout of HFM if hard cookies would be right for us. 

 I must say the recipe was delicious both cooked and uncooked.  I honestly thought about balling up the dough and serving it as is though the final product is delicious, too.  I will probably make them again at Christmastime.  I had one cookie stealer in the kitchen...at least twice I caught her with cookie in hand and on the run!  Rascal!!!

"You can't catch me with the gingerbread man!"

Katie thought the dough was mighty tasty, too!

Much to my delight, Katie did wonder to herself as we put the first batch in the oven if one was going to jump off the pan...and if it did, we'd definitely catch it for a snack (and if I had my way, a nap like that foxy fox!)!   We all enjoyed catching the gingerbread boys- especially Daddy. 

What have you done as a family to encourage literacy lately?  Head on over to Work, Play, Read and link up to November's Family Literacy Challenge. 

'C' is for Creek (My 200th post!)

For 'C' week we invited our friends to join us for a field trip with the intention of going to a nearby creek.  The creek we planned on really wasn't child or mud boot friendly so we continued up  the road with a plan B.  My dear husband suggested the night before that if the creek was a washout try heading to a place on the river.  And so our creek was the Mississippi!  Kinda big for creek status but the outcome was just what I was hoping when it came to exploring.    

As you can see from this last shot we were right below the Lock & Dam.  It was one of the last BEAUTIFUL Indian summer days that we had and the picnic following our exploration filled the kiddos and settled them down a bit.  We enjoyed the story Let's Explore a River a great choice with many of the things our kids got to do the children in the book did, too! This thus far was one of my favorite days on the Alphabet Path with Kate (and friends).

Apples- October Literacy Challenge

As I have been remiss in blogging for quite sometime I've decided to just start somewhere.  Recently, we've begun the Alphabet Path as a more intentional way of learning at home.  Along with 'A week' we did a "Storybook Science" unit on apples- our titles included-

Life and Times of the Apple
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
Rain Makes Applesauce
as well as a few other selections from our local library.  We also have been using Museum ABC.

 One day, along with our story reading we took up drawing apples.  After looking up some of the 'apple' works featured in Museum ABC we found a great link to an online story through the Met's web page. 

We listened and watched  Cezanne's Apples at the Met Online together and did our own drawing and tasting as told in the story.

 At the end of the week we visited a local apple orchard with some friends.  While there, we walked the rows, played on the swings and settled in at a picnic table for some apple stories.  Oh, and of course, tasted some apples!

For more ideas on family literacy stroll on over to Work, Play, Read.  You may even want to participate in the Family Literacy Challenge!

Summer Reading....

Since I was young I've participated in Summer Reading at the local library (with a long break in college and graduate school- no time to read anything but textbooks then) and now with my girls look forward to summer for some enthusiastic reading.  This summer's theme is One World, Many Stories (albeit a little cheezy but not too bad).  The girls and I have started reading in earnest.  Kate is up to 21 books (with many minutes added in rereading them).
So I've picked up a few books thus far this summer that I'd like to recommend.

The first is God's Smuggler.  It is the life story of Brother Andrew, a Protesant missionary, who was called to bring the Word of God behind the Iron Curtain after World War II.  I heard about it from this post from Conversion Diary.  I don't often read non-fiction in my 'freetime' it just seem exhausting when I'm exhausted to try and think.  But I must say I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

Kate has been on a Laura Ingalls Wilder kick.  She really enjoys the easy reader versions of the Little House Series. Her favorites are the stories taking place in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.  Because of this recent interest of hers I discovered another famous Wisconsin girl, Caddie Woodlawn.   This young tomboy has adventures with her brothers around their home in Northern WI.  I enjoyed each little tale of this young girl's journey to adulthood.  After finishing it I found out that the Dunn County Historical Site keeps the Woodlawn home at a wayside near Menomonee and that there is a sequel.  I am looking forward to reading these books with Katie and Julia eventually.  There are even paper dolls of Caddie to print and play with at home.

Finally, a friend of mine read and recommended The Noticer.  I read this book in one Sunday afternoon.  It was one of those books that I wanted to read excerpts to my husband and say, "Listen to this...isn't it great?"  (I tried to at one point but he fell asleep shortly into one chapter.)  There were countless times that the lessons for living shared resonated with my experience.

Currently, I am listening to The False Princess on CD, so far, SO GOOD!

A Librarian's Daughter...

Yes, I'm a librarian's daughter and whatever that might mean to you in my world it means having a greater than 'normal' interest in books, being addicted to books, having more books checked out on your library card than I could ever read before they become due and having even more books in my home some of which I've never read.

My latest reads include- for pleasure the full Chronicles of Narnia series (I'm reading the books in Narnia Time order that is, beginning with the Magicians Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle. ) For personal growth I'm reading- What Mothers Do Especially When it Looks Like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen (I have really been enjoying this one. I picked it up at La Leche League last month.). In the interest of volunteerism I've cracked: What'll I Do with the Baby-O, Baby Faces. Clap Hands, Busy Toes, and Lapsit Services for the Very Young II. If you can't tell by the selection I am planning to lead a Books and Babies program at the Cuba City Public Library. I know, what have I gotten myself into. But like I said, I'm a librarians daughter!

In other news, I know, I promised wedding pictures. The event by the way was good, very good. We enjoyed ourselves, Katie was fantastic and there's more but I'm waiting on the pictures. I thought I had enough batteries in my digital but unfortunately that was not the case. Thank goodness I had the trusty film camera on hand to capture a few moments that day- like most of the moments. Anyway, the problem with film is that I can't develop it and well, not all the pictures on the roll have been taken yet and I hate to waste them just to get to the goal. It's my last roll and I don't know if they make that stuff anymore. So you'll have to wait till after the weekend and hopefully I can find a place that develops them with a free CD!

Until then, enjoy this shot of Kate in her wedding attire. Isn't she a cutie! And yes, we let her chew on that bouquet.