....but really, I'm BUSY!

So it's been pointed out that I haven't posted since before Halloween. Sigh. All true. When I began this blog, it was to keep track of memories that I didn't want to forget in all the myriad duties of having four little kids. I have always told myself I should write daily, but honestly, you know how it is. Busy, busy, busy. Some of the busyness is true--home schooling, field trips, social engagements, errands, ferrying around four children. Some of it is more like laziness. I admit, I love Facebook. I love IMing with friends. I love watching movies or TV shows with Matt or as a family. I love reading. I love writing too and I should do it more. There are also all the chores involved with a family such as housework, cooking, pet care, laundry and yard chores, and I try to get to the gym or jog or work out in the house 5 days a week....the days just don't contain enough hours for all I need to do and like to do and want to get done.

We lost the last of our former batch of hens in June, and we gave ourselves some time before getting more. Part of that was that Matt needed to build a raccoon-proof chicken run--after 4+ years of free ranging, I fenced them in halfheartedly because they were ruining my newly restored perennial garden--and almost instantly we had a slaughter. Poor girls. I think that Matt took a long time to build the run because he was waiting to see if we'd lose interest in having chickens--but on the contrary, as annoyed as I'd gotten with them wrecking plants and dirtying up my flagstone patio, I truly missed seeing them, and I was really dismayed at going back to store bought eggs! The kids begged and begged for chicks, and finally in August we got 8 of the sweetest babies ever...only to lose 6 to those devilishly clever raccoons! When at last Matt had turned the run into a fortress, we reordered 6 more chicks...and lost 3 of THOSE to illness! All's well now, though--we now have 5 sassy little hens who have learned to flock together. We miss the babies we lost and are determined to keep the raccoon away from our girls now. Buffy, Faith, Daisy, Penelope and Sirius Black are here and we hope for eggs in just 2 or 3 months.

The end of the year flies by so quickly. We start the school year and spend September working up a head of steam in all our subjects. Everything's new and the kids are excited to begin, and so am I, mostly. October arrives, the leaves start turning and then we have to focus on Halloween. Deciding and getting our costumes together--another thing I have gradually moved over to the easy way with, mostly buying instead of mostly making as I used to--and then there are parties and trick or treating and in between we have leaves to rake and still school to do. Once Halloween is done we get a bit of a breather, but I usually begin my Christmas shopping, thinking that for ONCE I will finish early. That never happens, because before I know it Thanksgiving arrives and we leave for our family celebration and then our annual week in Boston.

Boston is always fun. The week flies by with plenty of museums, walking the city, seeing friends from Matt's office and even one my best friends from grade school. We have nice dinners out, and this year instead of staying at a hotel (cramped for us even with a pricey upgrade to a "junior suite," as Matt's office will only pay for the regular room for him) we used an online apartment service and stayed in a Victorian brownstone apartment. The kids bemoaned the loss of the pool, but I am completely hooked and would far rather do that than ever sleep in another hotel room. It also has the huge benefit of being the same price as a regular Westin room--meaning we don't have to pay one cent!

When we return from Boston, there's the holiday decorating to do, because we always have the tree up for Rachel's birthday on the 8th. This year she turned fifteen, which is just completely insane. I simply do not believe that my little girl, who was just born really, is fifteen. Impossible! The shopping kicks into high gear as I realize I have nothing accomplished, as does baking. We include cookies and candies with our holiday gifts to faraway family, and we give treats to neighbors and Matt's office. Then of course there's our wedding anniversary on the 19th (this year we're celebrating 18 years!) and right afterwards the Christmas holiday fun begins. The new year turns before we know it and then time stands practically still until spring. None of this is a good excuse, I know, but I just want to explain (again) how it happens. (I think I do a variation of this post every year.)

Anyway, as always, I resolve to post more. Julia just discovered felting and has learned how to make stuffed animals from wool and roving. I am starting to felt soaps, which basically turns a bar into a loofah, and looks beautiful, too. Rachel takes wonderful photos, although she has her own photography blog, which means my putting her pictures in are a bit redundant. I have been cooking and baking new things too, such as candies for the holidays--I've made peppermints dipped in chocolate, bonbons and truffles, and now vanilla and chocolate bark with dried fruits and nuts. The kids are constantly drawing and saying cute things and writing poems--all things that would make sweet (and quick!) blog posts.

I'll just have to remember that a blog post doesn't have to be long and that I am missing memories if I don't post! You can all feel free to remind me to blog on Facebook, too! (Already I'm thinking I could regret that....)

The Red Hot Chili Pandas

Julia spent quite a while on this picture--the kids were listening to the Red Hot Chili Peppers the other day while drawing and reading in a fort made with blankets and our breakfast bar in the kitchen. Quite cozy with sofa pillows and blankets on the floor, a lamp borrowed from the living room, and Molly the cat as extra company. I always love Julia's art, but this one, with its clever take on the Chili Peppers name combined with some of her favorite characters for pretend with Emma and Ben--Ginger is the cat on the drums, Bella is the panda on guitar and is the lead singer (note the bleeped out words, since after all, they ARE the Chili Pandas!) and Kirby is the koala on bass--just cracked me up. Notice too that the unseen (except paws in air) audience is going wild, throwing flowers and hats at the band....

The Great Desert, a poem by Emma

Today Emma wrote an acrostic poem for a project about the desert. We read "Around One Cactus: Owls, Bats and Leaping Rats," by Anthony D. Fredericks, which was not only well-written and beautifully illustrated, but full of fascinating facts in the field notes section that I never knew. For instance, kangaroo rats digest carbohydrates so efficiently that they never drink water, and the saguaro cactus doesn't grow arms till it's 70 years old! These giant cactus also don't need water for 2 years at a stretch, and can live to be 200 years old. Anyway, Emma wrote this poem (she did have a bit of help when she got stuck, but I still think it was a great effort, so I'm sharing) in the acrostic style. Enjoy!

Scorpion stings
Animals at night
Gila monsters' painted backs
Underground burrow
Arid and dry
Rat hopping like a kangaroo
Owl flying
Cactus in the moonlight
All the animals are adorable
Caves of bats
Tails of fox are bushy
Unkind rattlesnake
Sand is yellow

Summer Vacation, Almost Over

One of the best things about homeschooling is that I decide when we begin again. So I always take the entire Labor Day week to finish up vacation, while school kids are generally starting back. And still, I find myself wanting more vacation. Part of it is that, well, vacation is lovely! Who doesn't prefer sleeping in, reading novels, going to the pool or water park or beach several times a week? Not having to enforce bed times, catching fireflies, planning day trips, camping, watching movies, IMing on Facebook any time of the day or night? Ice cream, s'mores, barbecues, carousel rides? I call all that F-U-N! And school work is...less fun.

Which is not to say we aren't excited about the year ahead. We thrill to new school supplies and books arriving daily for a few weeks. The kids like to set up their notebooks, and I love seeing my calendar be blank at first but then fill in slowly until there is somewhere to be many days of the week. The kids start complaining of boredom and asking when we will start work again, and I find myself marveling that they don't seem to want endless vacation as I do! I plan lessons and gather supplies we'll need, and everyone notes the first day (this year it will be September 13) and for some strange reason they will all get up and dress in "school clothes" and want to start at 8am...for the first week, anyway--then we will snap into reality and do work in pjs once more.

I am particularly excited at my new plans to do history, science, art and music in a one room school house format for Julia, Ben & Emma. (Rachel, being in 10th grade, must of course do a much higher level of work than the 6th, 3rd and 1st graders!) The materials are for Julia's level and the other two will absorb information like sponges, I hope--which will be a far cry from the usual suffering through boring "grade-appropriate" work that is frankly a waste of time. I plan to have the kids take turns reading what needs to be read aloud, and then we will talk about things and work on maps, projects, experiments, art, or music projects together. This will add interest for all of them as well as make MY life a whole lot easier! I just find I am burned out trying to switch between grade levels AND subject matter when everyone is doing their own thing. I feel like I can't take it any more.

We also have some fun plans, including heading back to the Bronx Zoo and the NY Aquarium, heading up to MA to go to 6 Flags when lots of public schoolers have switched gears to the school year and aren't thinking of amusement parks any longer, and going on one or even two more camping trips. This will, of course, depend on the weather since we have to wait till the last minute to take off--my family does not have good luck with planned camping; it always rains on us! Rachel and her friend are joining a Long Island-wide photography club, so that is going to be very exciting for her. Bimonthly meetings, monthly day trips and a photography contest each month--she is in heaven! Plus she will be attending the Comic-Con of the Anime world in October...though I can't remember the name of it--we have to get her costume for that together, too.

Sometimes I feel like it's lazy of me to want endless vacation--but then I remember all the parents whose kids go to school jumping up and down at the sight of the school bus, and realize it's the same for them--it's just that their vacation is longer than mine! Also, how lucky I am that I get 3 solid months of summer vacation when a lot of parents are working while their kids go to school. I guess we just get used to what's normal for our own families. I am lucky to be able to spend so much time with my kids, and if it entails the full time job of teaching them--that's how I like it.

Onion Rings

Onion rings are popular around here, and really very easy to make. Plus they're just plain delicious! Mmmmm, fried food...

Ingredients:

a few large onions
1-2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
2 eggs
vegetable oil
basic seasoning

Other things you'll need:

slotted spoon
2 bowls
large pot (we used a Dutch oven)

Begin by pouring vegetable oil into your pot (so that it's about 2-4 inches deep depending on how many rings you'll be making.) Heat on high for a few minutes, then medium. While the oil is heating:

Peel and cut your onions equatorially. Make sure each slice is between 1-2 centimeters thick; you're going to have to pull each layer apart. This way you'll get lots and lots of rings per onion you use.



After preparing the onions, put about 1 cup of flour (we just play it by ear!) and however much seasoning (salt, pepper, spices, etc) and sift thoroughly. In the other bowl, crack two eggs and mix until it is the same color all the way through.





By now your oil should be hot enough. If you want to test it, wet your hand and fling a drop or two of water into the pot. If it spits, it's definitely ready. (Watch out so you don't get burned.)

Dip an onion ring into the eggs first, coating completely. Then roll gently in the flour mixture and place carefully into the oil. You can do this with your hand if you're brave, or just place the ring on a slotted metal spoon. Repeat.



Cook the rings in the oil until the outer coating is golden-brown. The good thing about these is that the onions don't have to be cooked before eating, like potatoes or meat. Let your finished product sit and cool on folded paper towels until ready to serve. Enjoy!



photos credit to Rachel

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The Red House And Beyond

Emma's Birthday List

Emma isn't taking any chances after seeing Ben's barrage of gifts yesterday. She has the advantage of having a birthday two and a half weeks after her brother, so seeing his birthday always gives her all kinds of ideas. For a couple of weeks I'd been asking Ben what he wanted, and his response consistently was, "Oh, I don't know, I'm sure I'll like whatever you pick out!" He ended up with quite a haul--and I don't mean from only Mom & Dad...now that Rachel earns money herself, she bought him a new Calvin & Hobbes comic collection, which he loves and has already devoured, and then Julia and Emma both wanted to spend money on him, so Julia got him a Bakugan set and Emma got him a game called Cuponk, which involves trick bounces of a ping-pong-like ball into a cup that lights up and makes gorilla noises. Then, of course, there was birthday money and gifts from friends who spent the day with us, and he will get more when the family comes to visit.

Anyway, Emma got right to work making her list. Normally, I would scan it so the entire deliciousness would be understood--her handwriting adds a lot! However, our printer is not working with the new operating system--MATT, get on this problem, please!--so I am just going to type it in, spellings and capitalizations intact.
(My comments are italicized next to hers.)

My BirthDay LiSt

a shYoushYou this is one of Ben's gifts, those hamsters that run on wheels with their attachable habitats--it is actually ZHU-ZHU pets!

an iPod for once, her capitalization in the middle of a word is correct, but I don't think she knows that!

aNd A AQuAtic FRog LiKe Boeabuls at first I was impressed that she spelled "aquatic" correctly, but Ben said she asked him how to spell it. Oh, well. And "Boeabuls" is her version of "Bubbles," Julia's aquatic frog.


BY EMMa
Going to Be 6 Years oLd

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Ben's birthday is tomorrow--he is turning 8 and I am crumbling. Yes, as usual, I am given to exaggeration, but every time my kids get a year older I find myself sad. I was just telling a friend that if you'd asked me five years ago if my life was going to change soon, I would have thought you were nuts. Five years ago Rachel was still 9, Julia 5, Ben 3 and Emma just 1. My life looked like an endless stretch of nursing, diapers, little sleep, ride on toys, chicken nuggets, Blue's Clue's and strollers. Bath time was a hurdle, forming a coherent thought just about impossible. What a difference five years make! Rachel is practically on her own, and Julia, Ben & Emma are a band of friends who play their own games, read their own books, talk on the phone to their own friends, and most definitely have their own opinions about everything.

Of course it isn't all bad! Independent kids mean I get plenty of rest, they do chores and can help me with things like gardening and painting things and can do a lot of their school work alone, too. Older kids are more reasonable and better able to empathize; they see the value in cooperation and although I sometimes despair over saying the same thing three hundred and ninety four times, in thoughtful moments I can see that overall they are caring, generous and will be lifelong friends. We can do a lot more now that we're unencumbered with strollers, diaper bags stuffed with snacks, extra outfits and toys--even Emma can walk all day now. We have more fun at museums, now that everyone can read and focus on signs and such, and we can do more programs geared to older kids, see shows and stay up late without worry.

But. When I think how sweet and gorgeous my babies were---when I think of all the hours spent rocking, nursing, cuddling, reading stories, playing silly little games, when I think of how a kiss could make the world right again and how easy they were to please---it just makes me sad. Sad because I know they have to grow up, sad because growing up means growing away before they can come back as adults, sad because having experienced it once already with Rachel, I am dreading the power struggles and inevitability of adolescence to make even the most easygoing child into a four headed beast with no coherent thought except, seemingly, to make everyone else in the family miserable. Sad, too, that no more babies means that I am no longer in the category of young mom--age doesn't matter here, either. Whether you're done breeding at 25 or 45, once all your kids are elementary school aged and above, you are in a different category of parenting. The fact that I feel young and look young for my decrepitude doesn't change the fact that having a teenager makes me...well, not so young. Let's face it, when you're toting a baby, you seem younger than when your kids are thinking about college.

So I am sad for many reasons. Why can't life stay the same, ever?

Happy birthday to my dear, sweet Ben. You are the boy I never knew I wished for, and my life could never be the same without you in it. I love you, and I always, always will.

Summer Planning

I have been avoiding work lately. Part of it is the usual summer thing; enjoying vacation and not wanting to think about the school year looming ahead in September, but part of it is what is known as burnout. I just completed my eleventh year of homeschooling...but if you include all my kids, I have homeschooled twenty one grades! That is a lot of planning and reporting, and part of me is sick and tired of it. Not sick and tired enough to throw my kids to the school system, mind you...just sick and tired of the hoops and keeping all my ducks in a row. Next year marks the first year where I must report all four kids to the school district (although Emma has completed her Kindergarten year, she won't be 6 until August, so by law I only have to report her this coming school year) but thankfully, I only have to report Rachel for two more school years (you can stop at the end of the year the child turns 16, since school is not mandatory after that.) Still, two years of reporting four kids still adds up to 8 letters of intent, 8 IHIPs, 32 quarterly reports, and 8 end-of-year assessments or 8 standardized test requirements. Jeez.

As usual, I am reading the Rainbow Resources catalogue from cover to cover (although I am skipping all the religious topics and much of their science section-- allowing terms as "secular" and "mentions evolution" to catch my eye...the OPPOSITE of what they intend, but very useful for me!) I spent the first few years of homeschooling using various sites, message boards, and catalogues to plan my syllabus--but once I discovered Rainbow I never went back. There is so much information in there; because the family who runs the company is so vast, they have used almost everything and they describe in minute detail. I don't always buy my books from Rainbow--I can often find them gently used or cheaper somewhere else--but I use them for the decision making.

This year, as in most years, we are making a few changes. The best part of homeschooling is that you can change whatever you want depending on the needs of your kids. The first change will be in history and science. Now that I have three kids of elementary age (!) I have decided that we are going to work these subjects together. I am getting programs geared to Julia's age, since she's the eldest, and Ben and Emma will work with us at their own levels and pace. History Odyssey seems to be the program I will get; science is still undecided. It is quite simply too irritating to not only plan three levels of history and science, get all the books and supplies needed, but to actually help them along at three different levels is mind boggling for me. We can take turns reading things aloud and work on projects at the same time. I think this will cut our frustration levels to almost nothing. History Odyssey also has a high school program, so Rachel can work on the same meta-subject but at her own level.

The other major change is that I plan to cut out some busy work. Language Arts is the prime example. In the past, each child has had spelling, grammar, literature (reading and writing in whatever capacity) of various sorts, proofreading, handwriting and vocabulary in different combinations. While these are all worthwhile things and need to be studied, my kids are, quite frankly, really good at all of these things. I am seeing less and less value in workbooks that are at their grade level, but pose no challenge at all. I am going to focus more on the literature side of things and less on the time wasters, because reading helps all of those areas and endless drills are boring.

Hopefully I will have my IHIPs together in the next 2 weeks, and my books ordered. I hate walking into Target in the middle of July and seeing BACK TO SCHOOL all over the place, but I have to admit that summer flies far faster than any other season and I have to be prepared. And in the meantime, we are enjoying all that summer has to offer!

Summer (so far)