Water, Water, Everywhere

After my last post was a bit heavy, thought I'd lighten things up with what we've been doing lately! Most of all, just listening to it rain. It's been SO wet here, everything is soggy and muddy. I am so grateful we finally have some decent grass, so at least the mud isn't quite as close to the house. The poor horses and cows, though... October in Wisconsin is kind of miserable!


We've been working off and on at putting a front porch on our house, which included refinishing my grandma's old picnic table. I'm thrilled! I think I might actually eventually learn to like this house after all. (Just in case you're wondering, no, I haven't liked our house. I like the location and the property, but not the house. I think mostly because I was burned out from remodeling our previous house and not ready to face another huge project, and this one has been a whopper.) The most delightful part of our new porch is that we are putting a small second story balcony above part of it, which will be accessed from the master bedroom. I'm dreaming of being able to do my writing with a big westward view next summer!

The last two days have been very humid and warm, resulting in the yearly plague of Asian beetles and Boxelder bugs. Just stepping outside the door can feel like an aerobic exercise trying to keep them from going into the house and out of all convenient crevices on one's person. Thankfully it usually only lasts a short time, and we'll soon be back to normal exits and entrances.

The baby of the family finally moved out of her toddler bed into her own room and big girl bed. Not quite sure how ready I was for this progress (I won't confess how long I've been putting it off!), but she is thrilled. So thrilled, in fact, that she runs to put her jammies on as soon as supper is over, then comes to kiss us all goodnight before snuggling in... for about 10 minutes, until the sounds of the rest of us going about our evening are too enticing and she has to get up to check out what's up. The toddler bed and changing table/dresser have been sold, and all the clothes she's outgrown have found new homes. Sigh. But I'm super duper glad to be done with potty training and, for the most part, interrupted nights.

Overall, we've stayed pretty healthy and happy lately! Way too busy for our own good, I think, but that comes with the season as we frantically try to get everything we need to buttoned up before winter shows up... racing between raindrops.

Homeschool Organization--The Planner

I'm going to be doing a couple of posts on homeschooling, since it's the time of year we're looking forward to getting started up again. Now, I realize that these posts are going to interest only a few, but that's ok. If you're not a homeschooler, go ahead and skip it!

I love organizing. And I love teaching. (Just don't ask about the regular housework I also have to keep up on!) Jaron is entering 6th grade this year, so I've had a few years to work on and perfect a system. It's what works for us, and works well... and I'm hopeful someone else will benefit from what I've learned.

I always start my planning by deciding when I want summer break to start. I find it MUCH easier to get the kids to sit in the late summer than spring, so I like to be done in early May. Then I start counting backwards, adding in breaks and holidays as needed, to arrive at our start date, usually early August.

School year overview

Next I lay out our calendar of the months we're doing school. I actually draw out the calendars because it allows me to be a little more creative, but I've also used school year planners for students. Then I start writing in lesson numbers in their days, realizing that this is just a general guideline. We use a lot of Abeka, so we stick to their 170 lessons for the school year length, and I work in our other curriculum around that.

Our general weekly plan is science (Apologia) Monday and Tuesday, history (History Revealed) Wednesday and Thursday, and then a short day and/or art/field trip/finishing a hands-on project on Friday. On Friday we clean our school room for the weekend, and I plan out school for the coming week. That includes writing out the lesson schedule for the upcoming week, usually what's on the monthly calendar but not always since some break days we end up jockeying around due to doctor appointments, all day field trips, etc., that I couldn't plan for at the beginning of the year. I take this time to make sure we have the supplies we need for any projects and that I know what's coming up for each child.

My daily task list

A sample of a child's overview of what needs to be done for their grade that year.

Schedule of Bible class

History lesson plans

Science lesson plans

I also have begun a separate planner for Jaron, since he has a bigger variety in his curriculum and I want him to start being responsible for doing what he's supposed to be doing without as much oversight from me... eventually. Since I'm starting Candi with some preschool stuff this year, I need Jaron to start being more independent as I just won't reach around with all 4 children in school!

Jaron's planner above and below

We also have a sticker rewards system. For every day the child completes their work with a good attitude, they get a sticker and some "prize money". If they manage 5 or 10 consecutive days, they get more "prize money" as an incentive to keep things going well. IF I can get all my boxes checked during the week, on Friday once everything is cleaned and prepped for the next week I treat myself to a little something too.

So far I LOVE how this comes together. And that's my planner!

Homeschool post #2: http://lifeonhegehill.blogspot.com/2018/08/homeschool-organization-big-dreams.html
Homeschool post #3: http://lifeonhegehill.blogspot.com/2018/08/homeschool-organization-papers-papers.html

Candice... and other pictures

Here it is almost Christmas again... Seems like the fall flew by on wings of wind, only it still feels like fall! Dreary rainy, foggy, and cool but not freezing weather feels more like October than December. We did get a bit of snow one day, but it disappeared quickly. Lovely while it lasted, though!

My good friend, a photographer, got some pictures of Candice as a newborn. They are SO good, I thought I'd share a few with you!

 

 

Ok, maybe more than a few... anyway, she was, and is, SO precious! So, here are some more recent ones for you to enjoy. And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you. She's a big girl. At 4 1/2 months she weighs 18 lbs 14 oz! She not extremely chubby either, growing long as fast as she's gaining the weight. She can roll over some, and has been working hard at honing those grabbing skills.

Just in case you forget what the other children look like, here they are posing for a picture for my new camera:

We have been staying super, super busy lately. School takes a lot of my time and energy, as is trying to get into the hospitality habit again, and baking LOTS of Christmas cookies! Oh yes, and we took a "quick" trip to PA for Jere's grandma's birthday party, stopping at the Creation Museum on our way out to take in their Christmas program, living nativity, and light display.

  

    

I do hope to get family pictures taken soon, if you want a copy let me know! In the meantime, have a blessed Christmas and a fabulous New Year!

Wildcat Mountain

Yesterday was such a lovely warm day, we couldn't stay inside! So after lunch we headed off to Wildcat Mountain State Park and went hiking. We had lots of fun hiking, looking for wildcat dens (Leanna refused to go anywhere near rocks that had any sort of holes in them!), watching some deer meandering through the woods, and then we had a picnic supper. I thought you might enjoy some of the pictures we got of the children!

 

Deer watching...

 

Science class, and working on the kitchen!

Well, we've had a rather busy week! But then, we've gotten a lot done, too. :-) There's some very exciting progress on the house, and I just couldn't wait to show it to you!

 

But first off, on Wednesday afternoon we had a group science class with some of the other first graders and their mothers from church. We're trying to do it once a month, and so far it's been going well! This class was on the different kinds of trees, their parts, and identifying them. It was the perfect day for it, and we had a lot of fun.

 

Discussing the tree as we're gathered around it.

Making our way down to take a look at the apple trees.

Some of the lovely leaves the children gathered.

The children dipped the prettier leaves in wax to preserve them.

Now, to the house. Our goal has been to get the kitchen ready to move into. So, Jere's been working hard at getting that goal met! I put one coat of paint on the kitchen cabinets, and then he put them up.

Applying molding to the top of the cabinets. (Isn't he awful good looking?!)

Hanging some more cabinet units.

The light now residing above the kitchen sink. It's a remanufactured hanging light. I have the smartest hubby! :-) It's one of a kind, and so pretty!

And, here are the cabinets all in place with the final coat of paint! And, the backsplash is there now too. And Jere hung the main ceiling light so we could see. It's been foggy and rainy and rather dreary around here the last couple of days...

(Just to clarify, that stove is heading out the door. Anyone want a free, antique stove? We just need it out of here!)

It's just incredibly exciting to see the house actually start looking a bit more homey, instead of like a war zone. Of course we have a LONG ways to go, and it will be awhile before even the kitchen is finished. Jere has to build the doors for the cabinets and make the baseboard--both things we intend to do after we're moved in! Meanwhile, we keep plugging away...

Goal this weekend--met!

After such a tough week with the sick puppy, I was afraid I'd never get finished what I wanted to do! But, even though it isn't quite the goal I had set at the beginning of the week, it's still done. The laundry room and kitchen are both painted! And I even have time to spare... well, not really! There's still dishes to wash and laundry to fold and if I braved the pouring rain and mud I could get another can of paint and start on the trim. Wouldn't that be exciting?! With painting the entire main floor the same colors on the ceilings and walls, I'm ready to break out the color! And hope it meshes to look like I want it to! Yikes...

Jere faithfully worked at the plumbing and finished up with that yesterday. He was so excited about having a working toilet in the new house he hollered to me across the yard to tell me! I went to applaud his work, as he finished up something else in the basement, and narrowly escaped getting soaked by water coming through the floor in the bathroom. Here, the toilet hadn't been winterized when the other folks left the house, and it has a HUGE crack in the tank. So, now no toilet till we can get to Menards again and buy one... Well, at least it will be ready to use once we do get it! And still no running water, since we have no working faucets. BUT it's all ready once we get the new faucets in place, and so it shouldn't be too much longer now!

We also pulled the onions, and dug about half the carrots before it started raining. The onions are SMALL this year, very disappointing. But, at least I planted two double rows, so there's still some volume there. And we got something, despite weeds so thick Jere had to take the machete to them so I could even find the onions... Got a few beets as well. And now we just have to finish digging the carrots, dig the potatoes, and wait for a killing frost to dig the sweet potatoes. Besides eating a few fresh peas and a zucchini or two, and a few tomatoes, that's the extent of our harvest this year. Oh well. Hopefully next year we'll not be QUITE so busy? Maybe? I'd REALLY like to be able to have a nice garden again!

For anyone wondering about Chase, she almost seems back to normal. Maybe a little wobbly at times, but she's acting perky and running around and she just looks like she's feeling better. Whew. What a blessing.

Puppy-full days

Well, things have kind of been put on hold around here for a bit. We sold our last two puppies, then one of them got sick. Very sick. So, this week "all" I've gotten done is run to the vet and doctor the sick pup. Please pray that "Chase" gets better and her new owners will be able to come get her. And that none of the other puppies gets sick.

Last week, though, thanks to some help (and neglecting the laundry and dishes--oops) we DID get some paint on the walls. The main floor bathroom is now painted, and all the main floor ceilings are done. We have the first coat on the laundry room, and one wall in the kitchen. So, there IS progress made, just not any this week. Oh, never mind. Jere worked till late one night and got all the drain system hooked together, so now we have drains, even if we don't have any running water! :-) So, that was one piece of progress! He's hoping it won't take long to hook up the water lines, but we'll see. He also needs to do some work on the cabinets so that they're ready to paint. And we need to get this place cleaned up, at least a little, for when the new puppy owners come to get their puppies. The first pup leaves us Sunday, I believe, and that's always an exciting event!

I hope I have time to take the camera for a walk today and get a few more pictures of our progress. We'll see! It's foggy and chilly today, reminding us that soon it will be fire starting season... and we still don't have the furnace hooked up in the new house, OR firewood stashed for the winter. Well, it will come. Meanwhile, I'm actually wearing socks and a flannel shirt. :-)

I'm also VERY excited to be starting the THM (Trim Healthy Mama) "diet". I've known for a long time that my diet wasn't the best, with a fair amount of processed foods, and sugar. What I didn't realize was that wheat in general was also causing problems, and a visit with my healthcare provider informed me that in order to improve my health I needed to go on a low carb diet. With visions of diabetes around the corner if I didn't listen, and the pressure of having no time to dive into research, I bought the book "Trim Healthy Mama" as I knew it contained low carb recipes. Wow, did I ever learn a lot through that book about healthy foods, things I never knew. And why my body was slowly going downhill health wise. So, no more wheat, corn, sugar, potatoes, or rice for me! But lest you feel too sorry for me, I get to eat brownies, chocolate muffins, pudding, and other such delectable treats for breakfast if I want to--and NOT feel guilty because I know those foods are supporting my body. Ok, I don't gorge on that stuff all the time. Even chocolate gets old when you eat it three times a day... :-) And I'm a chocoholic. I'm SO glad I found a way of eating I can make into a lifestyle of healthy choices. I've cheated a few times (thanks for inviting us for a campfire doughnut fry, Aunt Eunice!) but I know that's OK as long as it doesn't happen too often. (They are carefully chosen cheats, and I go right back to my chocolate muffin once I'm home if I need to feel indulged.) And, as a bonus I've lost a few pounds, so that's exciting too! :-) I've had more energy, too, which is incredibly helpful these days, even though I still don't reach around. I'm very excited about it, and just wanted to give you another brief glimpse into what's going on around here!

Computers. . .

For those who noticed, we were having computer problems while we were in Haiti. Well, they didn't quit once we got home, and now we bought a desk top that will hopefully be able to handle everything we need it to! So far, I've spent about two days working at getting things set up. Some things are going well, some not. So, that's part of the reason why I haven't been real inspired to write on here. I'm over my head in computer stuff all day already! Not that it's all I do by any stretch of the imagination. But once I set something to download, install, etc, I walk away and let it take its own sweet time. With our SLOW internet connection, it takes awhile!

Otherwise, it's been normal life. Amy came today and we baked cookies all afternoon, so that was fun! We're planning to go caroling quite a bit over the next few weeks, and need to have something to take along and give to folks. Caroling sure fills up the holiday season for us--I think we'll be singing 4-5 different days, between senior living places and walking the streets and the neighbors. Should be fun, though!

Jere's truck quit on him yesterday on his way home from work. It was a fuel pump, I guess, as he ran back down there today and fixed it right where it sat by the side of the road. Quite some man! :-) I think he plans to start logging again soon. Plus he's getting people asking him to do this or that for them--more work than he needs! Praise the Lord!

Well, it's time I head off to bed. Jere's at a meeting and the little ones are sleeping, so I ought to take advantage of the quiet house and get some sleep myself while I can! :-)

Little milestones, busy time of life

I couldn't quite figure out how to title this post, obviously! Seems like there's SO much going on I just can't keep up.

Okay, for the biggest milestone first: I have one completely out of diapers!!!  Eliott graduated to undies at bedtime after being dry at least 7 nights out of 8! I'm impressed!!! I expect every once in awhile I'll still have to change wet sheets, but he's even been waking us up at night so he can go potty. Nice. Now for the other two. . .

Leanna's about to put in her next three teeth all at the same time from the looks of it. She has 5 right now. What a doll. She just discovered she can climb up on the child-size chair we have! She stands on it, grasping the back, and rocks back and forth laughing hilariously! I set it up against the soft recliner to make sure she stays upright, and she has a blast. Too cute!

The first time I saw her up on the chair!

 

Jaron has been doing very, very well in school. He's reading quite well for his age, often able to read through a whole sentence and comprehend it the first time! Of course if some of the words are too hard he has to go back over it, but I'm quite happy with his progress. Yesterday I saw him valiantly trying to sound out the words in his little Bible. SO sweet. He doesn't know his long vowels yet so it was impossible for him to get it right, but he was trying so hard!

 

Puppies are taking up a lot of my time these days. Between keeping the website updated and answering emails, I also have to supplement the feeding of the little runt of the litter. Poor little guy isn't as big and strong as the others and doesn't get his fair share--or even enough to survive on.  I've been bottle feeding him three times a day, but he's still not gaining so I'm afraid it will have to go up to four times a day, if not more. I feel like I totally do NOT have time for it, but the children so love the puppy coming in to be fed, and the boys fight for the priviledge of getting to put the bottle back in the fridge when Browning doesn't finish it all. So we relax and enjoy it since we have to do it anyway!

 

I've started making our own yogurt again, instead of buying it, and I'm experimenting with sour cream. Plus I'm trying to get back in the swing of making granola and all of our bread, and cutting down on the food we buy. We have a freezer and cupboards bursting with food--good, healthy food from our garden--so why should we have to spend so much at the store? Yes, it takes more time and effort to prepare meals, but it's healthier and cheaper too. So I'm enjoying the challenge most days, and some days wonder why I even try! ;-) I am finding, though, that it forces me to be more faithful and diligent, and inspires me to find things the boys can help with. They love helping SO much, and then when they know its really needed they just thrive. And that keeps them from fighting over toys or making bigger messes too!

 

And that reminds me, the house IS rather a mess right now and I'm needing to clean up the kitchen to get started on some supper! Better get it done while Leanna is sleeping, since she seems to be in the habit of cat-napping these days and not sleeping very long at all. Ah, little ones!

Our Thanksgiving

Well, here at last are a few pictures of our Thanksgiving! It was a little different this year. On Tuesday evening we were at Jere's folks for the big Thanksgiving dinner with all the family. That was fun!

Mama, with two of the grand-daughters.

Uncle Jon was giving mass "horsey rides" to the nieces and nephews! What a riot!

 

 On Thursday, we decided to make lefse, a traditional food from the Norwegian side of my family that we often make over the holidays. It was a royal mess, but oh, SO good! Then in the evening we went to Jere's Uncle Darwin's for supper and had a lovely evening visiting with them!

Jere and Jaron rolling out lefse.

Leanna's first piece of lefse! Oh my, did she ever love it!

 

 By Thursday evening we were pretty sure we'd be having puppies pretty soon!  I guess I already posted about that, but here's another picture anyway! (Megan, we'll start getting more once they start getting cuter!!)

Branson

Happy birthday for 2!

Last Thursday was the first dual birthday party we've had to throw! Leanna turned the big 1, and Mama turned 31. It was a little soon after our trip to plan anything too big and fancy--though we would have liked to have invited some more company to enjoy it with us! Micah and Amy came, and Preston and Carolyn Oberholtzer with their little Mercy who was one in August. Jere confessed later that he had plans to invite a whole crowd more, but Jaron coming down with a cold the day before nixed that! (Jaron had a fever, hurting eyes, and a runny nose. Since then the rest have come down with other cold symptoms, though thankfully no more fevers!) We had a very pleasant evening together as it was.

 

Here's a photo of the birthday "cake" for our big one-year-old! Look girlie enough?

And here's Daddy with his birthday princess! She was fascinated with the burning candle, and though she didn't get the idea to blow on it she sure wanted to grab it!

 

Leanna seemed to know just how to do it--till she was done (nearly finishing off an entire cupcake!) she had frosting and crumbs everywhere!

 

Me with the chocolate cheesecake Amy decorated for me! 

Leanna opening the package with her very first dolly.

Leanna decided to do the one-year-old thing and practice her walking during the evening! She took her first steps on Sunday evening, and then on her birthday was having a blast showing off her new-found walking skills!