Ooples and Banoonoos

Really just ooples.... lots and lots and LOOOOOOTS of ooples

It all started about two weeks ago when, me and a group of church friends caravaned out to the "local" orchard... also lovingly called Jenkins Orchard (because that is its name)

And i was all like "I'ma gonna get me some apple, like 30 million bushels of apples" so i got 2 bushels of seconds(the ones that hit the ground) and me and a friend split a half bushel of the pretty ones.

Then i went home and was like "i'ma gonna make some 279 thousand jars of apple stuff"

Well let me tell you what, the week that ensued was one of the worst weeks i have had in a long time... i felt defeated, beaten, broken, scalded, depressed, and many other bad emotions over those confounded apples.

This was the first batch getting peeled and cut... it would have been much faster had i done it all myself, but i managed to be patient just long enough for them to get impatient and go do something else

I got this batch onto the oven and about 6 hours later it was getting ready to be canned... by this time lil' guy was ready for bed... this is where it gets dicey!!! after taking too long putting him down, i got back to my HUGE GUMBO POT full of almost an entire bushel of apples, gave it a good stir... and realized it had burnt

A nights worth of research and experimenting, brought me to the conclusion that i should just dump it down the drain. I was so sad and defeated that my girl came and gave me a hug, out of the blue. I asked her what was that for, and she shrugged her shoulders and said cause you look sad. It really did make me feel better.

The next day we went to the punkin patch, and then came home and made some caramel apples... white chocolate macadamia nut caramel apples.

Our friend and her kiddies came over also, she decided to do marshmallow and it looked really fun. That night we ate our apples and the caramel was way to hard... again with that bitter sting of failure, but the kids ate them without complaint and looked cute doing it.

Afterwards we made apple jelly.... 3 times, and it still wasnt setting up... so i threw it out

We finally got some apples simmered down and ready, and then we put it through the mill, and it was so super delicious the kids wanted to eat it all up... we made half plain and half cinnamon. 

I sealed em up and put them in the water bath... when i went to take them out i tried to use the tongs to lift them out, and splashed the boiling water all over my face... it made blisters on my lips and under my eye... and i was just about ready to give up

Then we made apple cider, and it made my face feel better

here are my jars all sealed up and done GOOD RIDDANCE. We've got apple jelly, apple cider jelly, apple cider, apple sauce, and cinnamon apple sauce

2 apple pies 

(the second one i made a lattice crust but gave it away and didn't get a picture :/ )

Apple brownies

I love this picture, the big ones love laughing at the little one

haha he is daddy made over

halloween festive Spiderweb pancakes!!

With, you guessed it, apple syrup!!

Now that this apple season has forever been ingrained in my childrens head, i feel like i have accomplished my original goal, to give my kids a since of season.... to hopefuly have them look forward to "fall apple canning time" and i think they will, the girl has already mentioned about what she wants to make with next falls bushels :D

To which i replied, "lets not get to ahead of ourselves now, we still have thanksgiving to think about!"

And as of right now i have to many fun things planned for our christmas festivities, that i am working on weeding the less enjoyable ones out (they all sound like great ideas to me so this is no easy task, alas the man wont put up with to many crafts so i'm trying to stick with the basics)

Toodles!!

Well overwhelmed

I have booked and over booked and piled shtuff on too high, and cant seem to dig myself out.... So the solution is obviously to get here and write about it. You know cause i have nothing else i could be doing with this time.

I already had a ton of things that i needed to get done, for the sake of checking them off of my to do list... and that list is perpetual, so if the "done's" don't get checked fast enough the "do's" keep piling up

Okay so never ending list of do's already stacking up... then the apples

oh how i love apples.... especially when it is fall!!!! My ultimate goal as of the last three years is to instill a feeling of seasons in my children. Having grown up knowing only two seasons(school and not school) i want to take FULL advantage of living in a place that has more than one. This involves doing all the OH SO cliche stuff for each season.

Not to mention fall is the most superior of seasons

So what harm could come from adding a bushel or two of apple to my list, right!?!

So look forward to next weeks "The Week of the Apples" post

In the mean time, here are some pancakes:

Asian Vegi pancake with ginger chili dipping sauce

We (meaning every one but dear husband) really really LOVE pancakes(hence the ever so endearing name of my blog) so when i saw this savory pancake recipe i though... That sounds gross, haha

But eventually i went out and bought an unusual amount of bok choy and chives and whipped up a batch of what turned out to be one of our favorite dishes, even hubs like them. The offspring like theirs with katsup rather than the sauce cause its a wee on the spicy side

potato rolls

And i finally got my potato rolls to look like rolls!!!! yay, to bad my camera skills were lacking(i was to busy drooling) and you cant see the clover shaped top. i honestly couldn't tell you why it worked out this time and not the other times, but it did...happy dance

One last thing, I have been thinking about doing a 101 in 1001 list, but am having a hard time committing... I seed it at a Blog i Follow<---- oh that would be a good name for a blog

my initial thought about this list is that my interest change so rapidly would i be able to stick with the same list for 3 years!?! and my honest answer is not a chance, but maybe that is the point to make myself stick to it, i dunno

feel free to add your thoughts

Choose the wrong... or the right i suppose

Today i had time..... i know right!?! WIERD

It came about from me not caring.... GOSH I SWEAR i care all day long!!! about every stinking little thing!!! not only do i care, i obsess. Let me have a tangent for a moment, here goes: ***erased for risk of embarrassing myself, and really its no ones business***

So i stopped caring about what time it was or about the toys on the floor, or the cereal on the high chair, and the dishes in the sink and the books all over the table and how nutritious lunch was, and suddenly i had a little bit of time... so i reluctantly got out my sewing machine (projects give me anxiety also, they involve alot of stuff and that stuff usually stays out for more than a few days and it drives me bonkers)

But instead of doing the projects i have been dreaming about, i did a continuation of todays lesson's activity... and made:

a target mat

the baby really loved it... so cushy and soft

Double sided, and no point system, for open ended play,
i made up the first game and then they came up with their own

i also made MORE beanbags... as if we didnt have enough.
This side  was going for the skeeball look!!

and THEN i made a bag for our new target game

baby fell asleep under me while i was sewing,
worn out from growing teeth!!

So i chose the wrong project... i disregarded my own needs for the wants of my children.... so is it that i chose the right one, because like everything else in life, i put my kids first, those lucky little punks!

I do know two little boys that will be getting a set similar to this for christmas, maybe with a little less pink, and a little more awsome!!

Happenings @ School

Here we are about to start week Six of school!!! My dearest children have been loving it, but i have had some recent revelations that will change the next couple of weeks, and we will see how it works out.

My kindergartner Loves doing her worksheets, LOVE math and is so super excited about rhyming words and beginning sounds, she points them out all day long!!! My pre-preschooler really like to make a mess, color work sheets, and watch his sister do school! The baby kinda hates every thing about every thing right now, and thinks that he is way to cool for school!

Hop Scotch Tape (its like a Wheel of Fortune Before&After)

Mommy really loves creative writing and art. For most subjects we stick to the lesson plan, or trudge our way through the assignments with as much enthusiasm as if i were gardening. Then we get to writing and Kindergarten girl gets excited, so i get excited and i let her go as far as she wants to go... and she has quite an active imagination so it is really fun.

Then the day winds down and we take on Art: This assignment said very vaguely, "make a mobile"

Two days later we ended up with a fairly LARGE mobile!!! I think it is too big and needs some tweaking but its a mobile none the less (its like two mobiles in one)

This project was to make a "Me book"

it said to punch holes in some paper and tie string... but we took this opportunity to learn a bit about book binding basics

After they finished sewing up there books they decorated them with buttons and yarn, and wrote about "my favorite____" on each page.... she really really love it!!! 

This baking project was first listed for the preschooler, and i put it off a week for the same project in the kindergarten lessons... we read "The gingerbread man" (the preschool story ended differently than the kindergarten rendition did, interesting) then we made our own gingerbread men

YUMMY!!! Ginger bread dough was kinda a long process so it was after dinner before we could roll em out and bake em up... i am glad to say that when we opened the oven, our cookies did not sit up nor did they run away.

That Friday at the park, we went exploring on bikes, and the kids were saying "run run as fast as you can, you cant catch me I'm the gingerbread man" and it was so cute

This was for a science lesson. We are learning about our 5 senses, and this particular day was on Touch.

Feel the luke warm water

Feel the warm and the cold water for a few moments

Then feel the luke warm water again... WOW  they both wanted to do it twice

The face paint was from picnic at the park... where we also were given these neat pencils, from the freelance star (the local news paper) The lady was like "made from recycled news paper"

neat yes... except on closer inspection it has asian Phonics on it... i was pretty disappointed in this

yay, recycled paper pencils, that were imported from china :/

Baking was another Preschool Project( lay out all the ingredients in bowls and let your student mix it up) It turned out a little to sticky for cookies so we just made a cookie cake!! it was delicious!

Foil Mirrors, i didn't have any shells on hand (like it called for) so they used beans instead

Its really fun if i take the time the night before to Read through the lesson and make the necessary arrangements and gather materials and print out the work sheets. 

I Have decided that my pre-preschooler, is a little to immature for the "Calvert" home school curriculum... he really likes doing it, 20% of the time. He doesn't want to participate in discussions and he doesn't pay attention to his readings, but he enjoys the coloring work sheets. So i am going to give Calvert, and all the planning and time that goes into it, up for now I'll give him worksheets out of a few books that i had for the older one at this age, and let him get his need to participate out on that and then he can run off and play... without me feeling like i have waisted my precious time on his lesson that he will not have.

As far as "life after home school" goes.... It is HARD

Trying to find the time and energy for things that i use to accomplish during our home school time slot is not coming easy. I knew it would take some adjusting too, but it is still a battle to stay on top of chores especially the ones that require my leaving the house. 

And i should just give up on anything extra curricular for myself... i have some how managed to get supplies for a few projects of my own, but i have yet to find the time to even START them. It is so frustrating to think everyday, "today i will get to this" and then if by some slim chance i do have an extra 30 minutes (and the laundry is done, no cooking or dishes need to be done, the baby is asleep or otherwise occupied, and the house isn't a disaster) i am just so exhausted mentally and physically, that i want to just SIT DOWN.

Its a small price to pay, i suppose, to raise my children the way i see fit. I have started to let/make them help more and more around the house, and it is lightening the load a bit. But the bottom line is i love them and eventually it will be easier.

I cant wait!!!

A Mothers Helper

Today was a spectacular day!!! There was an unbelievable amount of cleaning done is a very short very quite time!! There was a young woman at church who told the Young Woman President that she was looking for volunteer work as a mothers helper... so the president told me.

I am usually not one who asks for help and i always feel awkward when i being helped or being the cause of someone elses inconvenience. But i thought about how long it would take me to deep clean the house, with youngest baby being as clingy as he is, and then i thought about how badly i wanted to not have any obligations (like cleaning) this weekend. Plus, volunteering looks really good on college applications, so its like i am helping her... right?

This morning i was woken abruptly by the roofing guys, and got off to a late start on home schooling, because i was dealing with moving cars around and other stuff, and i totally pissed the night away last night by facebooking instead of lesson planning, so once again falling behind schedule. then lunch time came around i still hadnt gotten dressed, and school was just coming to a stopping point. And my "mother helper" was about to arrive.

I ran to the back to get dressed (for house work) and then she was here. She took the kids upstairs, as i cleaned up school work, and cooked lunch (Asian veggie pancakes) and made a smoothie for the toothless one. I then cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, and then fed the hungry baby some "momma milk" and then that was the last i heard from them until the entire house was cleaned and sanitized!!!!

Let me tell you it was amazing!!! I could hear the kids get in a spat every so often. **** Usually this would  escalate until someone starts hitting, and then i would have to stop what ever i was cleaning and knee/elbow deep in, wash my hands go upstairs and punish or talk to or bargain with the older ones, and then the baby would have remembered that he "needs" me so i would then take another hour playing and feeding and settling him down, then finally get back to cleaning and it e another 15 minutes till it starts all over again.**** but then i would hear it be resolved one way or another and I didn't have to go through all the time consuming but necessary steps to make EVERYONE happy again!!!

The baby did not have to follow me around screaming every time i would step over him...in fact he took a nap in the Young Woman's arms!!  When it comes time to deep clean my house, I am on edge! For two main reasons, firstly the house has gotten to the point where superficial cleans don't cut it, and i am irritated with how it looks/smells. Secondly, i know that in order to get it CLEAN, the baby must be neglected (not neglected in the call child services way, but in the "mommy cant be constantly playing and tending to the baby" kind of way) and i know this means crawling around screaming his face off pulling my clothes and throwing fits!!!

So my drab slow morning turned into a power clean session in which no one was neglected and everyone was happy, and even the walls were scrubbed!!! then it came time for my helper to go... or at least for us to go... run errands. Well she said she had nothing to do so she can help me with errands!!! YAYYYYYYY

We had to go to the library, and then there were some friends there... typically these friends would have made my kids super hyper and all would have been lost... nope! Then we needed to go grocery shopping.... usually a panic attack waiting to happen....NOPE!! She carried the squirmy disagreeable one and kept the conversationalist busy so that i could, think and have my hands free... 45 minutes!!!! grant it, it was only 4 meals worth of groceries, but still it was such a nice trip.

Now i just wish that i could afford to have a mothers helper when help was needed, like maybe twice a week... for shopping and cleaning. For those things that were so easy before you had kids, but now seem like a daunting task, a nightmare that you need super powers to conquer.

Us mothers can do it. We accomplish whatever is needed of us, regardless of the toll it takes on our emotions and the beating it gives our bodies. It WILL get taken care of... but its so nice to have a little help sometimes... one more set of arms, to tie a shoe, pick up the dropped keys, fasten the seat belts... a set of arms that can go home and get a full nights sleep and not be any worse for the wear!!

::breaths in deeply::

not all days are good

 I had written this long post laying out the details of my terrible horrible day (week/err longer) and then as i was spell checking somehow it all got deleted..... and command z wouldn't work

just one more thing to go wrong today

its okay you wouldn't have wanted to read it anyways because it was so whiny

i give up, i am going to bed

Two weeks down...

34 to go!!

playing dress up to lean fastening skills

Our homeschooling campaign has gotten off to a swell start!!

he enjoyed putting on
daddy's clothes

This week was not as happy and perfect as last week, there are some concerns. Firstly i believe it is my fault for this week being more difficult. When mommy starts to lose focus, then every one is off task! Secondly it is not my fault that this week was more difficult, it was the MICE. Em Eye See Ee!!!!  meaning more than one... 4 to be exact, and where there are 4 mice there are bound to be many many more ::shivers at the thought:: With the discovery of our mouse problem, i set out to rid my house of all things potentially food for mice, and potentially touched by mice.

computer class, her favorite subject
i get asked every day if computer is today

Since cleaning in the afternoon, for me. is like trying to crack an anvil with a nail file(in case you have never tried to accomplish this metaphor... tedious and unrewarding, and most definitely impossible is what i am trying to say) i insisted on cleaning in the mornings... every morning, and quite systematically ridding my house of filth!!! There are deep cleanings... and then there are mouse cleanings and those take much longer and require my hands to become extra sore and chapped and cracked.

and when you complete a
computer skills corse, then
give you a certificate!

Then there were other peoples agendas, to contend with.... like the exterminator, and the siding guy, and political phone calls, and tracking my lost snapfish package, and of course the survey for talking to the usps, all these things happen when i need to be schooling. The children and i are finally sitting at the table the baby is in a good mood, we are making progress, and the phone rings... i pick it up... oldest son walks out of the room, daughter starts digging though her crayon box, instead of doing her math, youngest one starts screaming because some one walked out of the room, i end my 2-3 minute phone call.... have to find my place... have to coral every one back to the table.... get their attention again... cuddle baby again... and by this time it is snack time.... then i am frustrated

schooling at the park

Simple solution: this week no phone calls during home school



Now onto the next problem, i am so gosh darn tired!!!!! this problem is not as easily fixed, i think mostly it had to do with the mice keeping me awake, and the three children in my bed all week because i was afraid the mice would eat them, so hopefully this week i will be less apt to falling asleep during story time.... and yes i didn't fall asleep during story time ONCE.... i fell asleep TWICE, two different days... its not like these stories are really lengthy either. i am just so exhausted!!!!

he wanted lots of tape for his project

Simple solution: this week early bed time for mommy

found a praying mantis on the outside of the window

Next problem, kinda piggy backs onto the last problem. We as a family are not getting started early enough... in other words we are sleeping in to late!! If we could get up an hour and a half earlier we will be finishing at about lunch time... which would mean that lunch would not feel like a huge obstacle in our day, but more like a timely ending to our school and we can all nap afterwards!!! ahhhhhhhhhh napping, i just love the idea, even the word sounds soothing and enjoyable!! Napping

So homeschooling prognosis, still not so bad, i think we are still doing good, just have to iron out a few wrinkles!!

I have decided homeschooling for a mother is like the worst of all worlds, it is like being a work at home mother, except your kids never leave and you dont get adult interaction, and you dont get paid, and your house gets extra messy, and you still dont have time for dinner but you also had to make a full lunch and breakfast so the dishes are piling up already!

its hard AND funny
trying to balance paper
figures on a string

But at the same time i love seeing my kids all day and watching them grow, and schooling a kindergartner is not much different from just being a stay at home mom, we already had "school" time before, just now it counts, and we have to do it on a schedule, and i don't have to make up our lessons(thank you calvert!!) and we have been doing such fun things, it is so rewarding, and i wouldn't change a thing!!

.... except for the mice

i sure do love that little face!!