More Snow

It snowed again today. There is quite a bit out there now.

Little E and I took a walk. Actually, I walked and he rode in a sled.

Big E and the D were at the park with their friend L. They were playing a game where one boy would go down the slide and they the other two would put a big ice chunk down after him. The idea was for the boy on the slide to make it down before the ice "hits him in the butt."

Yeah. Boys.

Don't get me wrong, I love boys. I just don't understand them.

Anyway, when we all got home, I had a nice cup of tea and a butterscotch cookie. (Yet another thing I learned how to do today on Martha.) They had hot chocolate with theirs.

Life is pretty good.

Fun in the Snow

Today, we got a snow storm. It wasn't a big, whopping snow storm, but we did get 5-6 inches, or so. I guess that is a fair amount.

Big E and Little E went outside to play. The D was sick, so he lay in my bed and watched a movie.

When the Es came in, they were cold, so I made them some hot cocoa. We were out of marshmallows, which they didn't mind, but that reminded me of the time I made marshmallows. It is really quite easy. (Unfortunately, I was out of unflavored gelatin, so I don't have any of my own to show you.)

Here are some recipes from Martha Stewart. I made the snowflake marshmallows a couple of years ago when they were featured on the cover of Martha Stewart Living.

Homemade Marshmallows These are cut into squares after they are set.
Snowflake Marshmallows These are cut with cookie cutters into snowflake (or other) shapes.

Enjoy these in a hot cup of cocoa after you come in from the snow, or give them away as a Christmas gift with a mug and some hot cocoa mix (store bought or your own).

Here are some pictures of the boys outside. I love to "spy" on Little E as he bumbles around. They are so fun to watch at that age.

First, he walks away from Big E, who is building a fort.

He makes a U-turn, then sits in the snow.

Finally, he decides to make a snow angel.

Back From Thanksgiving

We are back from visiting my husband's family for Thanksgiving. It was wonderful, but it always is. I love his family.

The kids were great. On Wednesday morning, after a dreadful first few hours, The D decided that he was tired of being angry all the time and we have had an amazing several days, for the most part. I am resisting the urge to think about the fact that it will likely not stay this way forever and am trying to just enjoy being a "normal" family for now.

I never got a chance to post about the results from his doctor, but for the most part, there were no results. She said that normally there are more people filling out the questionnaires, ie teachers, so the results were inconclusive. There was concern about violent behavior, hyperactivity, and depression, based on my answers, so now he needs to go to a psychiatrist for an evaluation.

We live in the same city as a medical college, so I called there, but they have a 6-8 month waiting period. The pediatrician recommended someone who can get us in for the middle of December, so we went with that.

He said there would be one meeting with Bob and I, followed by two with The D, then another with Bob and I. Hopefully, I will know by the end of January what is going on.

I have more to say, but I need to go lie down. I have a sore throat, complete with little white sores on my tonsils. Fun, fun, fun.

Little E was sick all weekend. He even threw up at the kids' table at Thanksgiving dinner!

Sore Backs, Snowmen, and Other Things

Hey there Blogville! Sorry that posting has been so dreadfully light this week. I threw my back out on Monday and have not been able to sit at the computer for longer than a couple of minutes. (That's why I need that pink laptop, Bob, if you're reading.)

It is feeling slightly better, but not enough to sit here long. I have to make pies and bread to bring with us tomorrow to my parents-in-law's house for Thanksgiving, anyway.

Hey, it snowed a little bit here the other day. It snowed quite a bit in other parts of the state, but Burlington is in the lower elevation, right by the lake, so even thought nearby towns got a couple of inches, we got just a dusting.

Still, it was enough to make the first snowman of the season on Tuesday morning. Meet Humphrey.

He's just a small muddy ball now, and it's raining, but he meant a lot to us while he was here.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone! We will be traveling, but I hope to be back to blogging when we return!

Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

This evening, Bob had Bible study, so after dinner it was just me and the boys. We decided to watch some videos on GodTube and YouTube. Veggie Tales song videos.

Their favorite song is "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." Here is the official Veggie Tales version, but we also found a video made with Lego people for the Relient K version of the song from the album Veggie Rocks, on which popular Christian bands do covers of popular Veggie Tales songs.

For your enjoyment...



I just found out, from the Big Idea website, that there is going to be a "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" movie in theaters this January.

Our Camping Trip

Our camping trip this weekend was great!

Bob took a half-day off work on Friday, so we were able to get down there in the late afternoon and set up long before dark.

After we set up, we went over to the beach for a while.

I almost forgot how gorgeous that lake is, surrounded by the Green Mountains. I went there every summer as a kid, many times, since I lived only a couple of towns away, and I never appreciated the beauty of it.

We went back to the site and cooked dinner over the fire, then went to bed.

The next day, we were exploring and the kids met some other kids. Later, when we were hiking, we ran into them again.

The hike was amazing! We went up to a ledge where you could see the whole lake and forest. I wish I had my camera, but I didn't bring it for the hike.

Later that afternoon, the family we met decided to leave early and offered us their site. Their premium site. Their site that, as I type, is already booked for all of next summer. That's how awesome it is.

What a blessing!

The site is bordered by a stream with lots of big rocks in and around it. The kids had such a good time down there. No more "I'm bored" for the rest of our time there!

It was such a great trip. Everyone got along well and had a great time.

The only downside was that it POURED rain when we were breaking down the site Sunday morning.

Everything is still wet and muddy. UGH!

We had such a great time that no one even complained about breaking down the site in the pouring rain.

That's a sign of a good trip!

Now, the photos:
You can see the full set here.

www.flickr.com

Frustration Abounds

This week, I am trying to wrap up my assessments to send into the state because I plan to start this school year on August 20 (a week from today).

This process frustrates me every year. I do not believe that the state has a right to require this reporting, which makes it even worse. As a result, I am very resentful.

My biggest problem is that The D does not like to write and I do not make him. His fine motor skills are not the best and it is a frustrating process for him. Plus, he does not have the patience to struggle with writing something down when he can just tell it to me orally.

You have to understand, this kid has been through a lot this past year and, often, it is a struggle just to get through the day. For him and for the rest of us. He has been depressed, angry, and at times, even has wished he was dead. (For real, not as an attention getter.)

I am not going to waste our time fighting to get this kid to write down something that I know he knows just to satisfy some bureaucrats in Montpelier. Not a chance.

I could probably have him classified as "special needs," but then my reporting requirements to the state get even more invasive.

I decided today to look into having a licensed teacher evaluate him, instead of doing a portfolio of his work. I found one who would be a great fit for us, but she charges $65 per child.

There is just no way we can come up with that. We just had to have our car fixed and we have a couple other big expenses coming up that are non-negotiable.

The only subject area that I am lacking portfolio samples for him is language arts, since it is the only one that requires the kind of writing that he does not like to do.

I guess we will just continue to work together, a little bit each day, to finish the last couple of pages I need for his portfolio. We did some work today and it went okay.

This is just so frustrating for me. I had a migraine and even started crying at one point today because I am so sick of this.

There is no need for the state to put homeschooling parents under such stress.

Sometimes I wish I could fight this, but I know that I cannot afford to take time away from my family right now, especially with everything The D is going through.

The time will come, though, when I can fight this, and I will.

That time is not now, though, so I just need to get through it. And I will; I just needed to vent.

I have also planned ahead, so that I will not be in this same boat next year. I realized today that if I just remain diligent in making him do a little bit each day, within the limits of what he can tolerate, and make sure that all of the little bits put together demonstrate everything that he has learned, I will have more than enough for the portfolio next year.

Homemade Jam

I made my first homemade jam yesterday!

My mother took the kids and I to pick blueberries and raspberries, and she surprised me with a box of jelly jars. (I already had a box of pectin that she bought me earlier this summer when I had mentioned that I wanted to make jam sometime.)

In the afternoon, the kids and I made black raspberry jam. It came out great.

I was a little worried because I don't have a canner, so I had to use the inversion method and I wasn't sure if it would work. I did get a seal on the jars, though, so it seems fine to me.

The USDA advises against using the inversion method because it can lead to mold growth or spoilage, due to a weaker seal, but I doubt we will have it around for that long.

We had a little left over, so I put it into the fridge in a jar and had it last night on some vanilla ice cream. Yum!

We were able to get 7 full jars, but I plan to give some of them to my mother as a thank you for buying me the supplies.

Now I need to buy a boiling water canner, so I can put up some more jams and some of the tomatoes from my garden, when they come in.

Little E was pretty proud of making our own jam. He loves PB&J sandwiches. When he came out this morning and saw the jars he said, with excitement, "Remember that we picked berries and make our own jelly yesterday?"

The Ben & Jerry's Tour

On Friday, we went to visit the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, VT, which is about 30 minutes, or so, from where we live.

If you have this idyllic picture of a whimsical, little factory nestled in the mountains of Vermont, well, you'd be pretty much right.

We totally forgot that there was a bunch of stuff going on in Stowe this weekend, which is right next to Waterbury, so the place was unnecessarily packed.

I say unnecessarily because living 30 minutes away, it is not necessary for us to go when the place is packed.

Some might even say it is a little foolish.

Unless those people like big crowds, in which case, I would say those people are a little crazy.

At any rate, we got there around 3:20 and the next tour we could get tickets for was at 4:10.

Fortunately, there are a lot of things to do there.

Unfortunately, they all cost money.

They do have a free playground there, though, so we went and hung out there. The time went by pretty quickly.

The tour was fun, you know, as far as factory tours go. And we got to have a sample of ice cream, too.

Then we went to the supermarket and bought a box of Hood ice cream cones for $2.50, instead of spending $2.75 per person for a single scoop of Ben & Jerry's.

The important thing was that we got to have some fun family time.

And ice cream.

Big D (and Chocolate Fudge Brownie)

Little E on the playground

Big E with an ice cream mustache

Garden Update

Due to transportation issues, namely, we only have one vehicle now, this year's community gardening experience has not been as fruitful as I had hoped in terms of educational experience.

We have managed to get most of the weeds under control, with the aid of a couple of bales of hay, and keep the bugs at bay, with an organic insect repellent my sister recommended to me, so we will get some delicious, locally-grown, organic vegetables out of it, though.

A few years ago, I lost everything to bugs, so that alone was no small victory for me.

The day before yesterday, I had my first small zucchini and summer squash. Very tasty. There will be lots and lots more where they came from. I planted two of each and they are all very big and healthy looking.

I was there putting up poles for the beans, albeit later than I should have, and there are going to be lots of those really soon.

The peas and tomatoes look good, too. And carrots.

Also, Big E has a watermelon that is about the size of a golf ball so far, which he is very proud of. We have yet to have luck growing watermelon.

I also planted pumpkin seeds. The plant looks very strong right now, so I hope that we will get some of our own pumpkins this year.

The jury is still out on whether or not we will get any cucumbers, but Big E's plant looks promising. All of mine died, but I replaced them with a seedling that I bought at a farm stand the other day, so I am still holding out hope that we will have some cukes. (And I really hope so because they are really expensive this year.)

Here is a picture that I took on July 6. I have been back a few times since then, but it still looks pretty much like this, except there are poles in the beans now (front right).

We still have some weeding issues to address and, unfortunately, I left a lot of open space that should have been used, but I was reading, in the latest Martha Stewart Living, some suggestions of things that it is not too late to plant, so I might use up some of that space after all.

Learning Honor

At the beginning of last summer, the boys were having problems getting along and being respectful to Bob and me.

Desperate for help, we found this great book called, Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes . . . in You and Your Kids!, by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller.

The book is about honor. It teaches parents how to honor their children and children to honor their parents, and each other.

The book contains "family time activities" to instill the attributes of honor in all family members.

We started doing this book and it made a difference in our family immediately.

Unfortunately, soon after, Big D went away for three weeks to visit his biological father. When he returned, there were a whole host of issues that needed to be dealt with.

Not realizing the full extent of the trauma he endured, and compounded by a few other major events, things really spiraled out of control this past year. Instead of continuing to learn how to honor one another, we were preoccupied with merely trying to survive each day.

At any rate, we are back to the book again. We are re-reading it and re-doing the family time activities, confident that it will yield the same remarkable results.

Just this morning, Little E asked Big E if he could use his Power Rangers. Big E said, "No," and Little E reminded him, "Remember when we were talking about honoring each other and you said you would share your Power Rangers with me, Dummy?"

Eek!

On the one hand, I am glad that Little E is remembering our honor lessons, but I had to remind him that calling Big E a dummy is not honoring. We obviously have a lot of work to do!

We're Back

Well, we're back. I have so many things I want to post about, but I am so tired. So tired.

On Wednesday, we traveled to Bob's parents' house in western Massachusetts to stay the night so we wouldn't have to do the whole drive at once. They were already at Bob's grandmother's house in NY, so we were there alone.

It was just me, Bob, and Little E. Big E and The D stayed with my mother. They never met Bob's grandfather (Bob is not their biological father) and the drive was going to be very long. I wanted Bob to have time to grieve without having to deal with three kids in the car.

The next morning, we left early to go to Ossining, NY, where Bob's grandparents live.

Avid Law and Order watchers will recognize that as the location of the Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Bob's grandfather, and his father before him, was a prison guard there for thirty some-odd years.

The wake was on Thursday. We spent the night in a hotel just outside Chappaqua.

Avid Clinton watchers will recognize that as the location of the home the Clintons bought so Hilary could run for US Senator from New York.

The funeral was Friday. It was a Catholic funeral, which was interesting for me - interesting: weird and interesting: enjoyable.

It was great to see Bob's family because I really love them, but I wish it had been under different circumstances.

Bob's grandfather, who I only met once, was an amazing man. Most notable to me was his amazing faith. I plan to write more about that soon, but I really need to go get some rest and spend some time with my husband. (He just came out from putting Little E to bed.)

To wrap up, we stayed another night at Bob's parents' on the way home. His father was there this time, but his mother stayed with her mother for another night.

We headed back to Vermont this morning.

Tomorrow morning, we have to drive an hour and 15 minutes to get the boys from my mom's house before church.

It's not too bad, though. We go to the slacker service at 11:15. :)

Now, I am going to go relax and enjoy sleeping in my own bed!

What's New With Us

I will probably not get much of a chance to blog the rest of this week. Bob's grandfather died this morning. He was 97.

We will have to go down to New York state for the funeral later in the week. We also went down Sunday, so Bob could see him once last time.

It was a long trip and very last minute, but I'm glad it happened the way it did. The family was very fortunate to have that time together. So many people do not know when their time is up in this life. So many times we do not get that last good-bye.

Anyway, blogging will most likely be very light for the rest of this week.

Thanks for reading!

Life Goes On

Everyone is still moping around because our neighbors left Wednesday morning. It is getting slightly better each day, but it will take some more time.

The new people already moved in yesterday. It was so weird to see a different car in their parking space when I looked out the window.

On the bright side, no one has knocked on the door yet this afternoon to see if we could come out and play, so I get to blog a little!

Where I have been all week

Wow! It's been almost a full week since I last blogged!

Let me tell you what has been going on with us. Our best friends and next door neighbors moved today. To Seattle! (We live in Vermont.) Yeah, we will not see them for quite a while. So, we have been spending every minute with them and helping them get ready for the road. (They drove!)

I cannot even begin to explain how much these people meant to us.



When God brought them to Vermont - yes, God brought them here. He revealed it to them to come here, from Texas, before they head to Seattle to fulfill their missionary vision. When God brought them here, Bob and I were just in the early stages of seeking Christ. I cannot even imagine where we would be in our walk had it not been for these amazing examples of God's love and grace coming into our lives.

My first real experiences with Jesus happened after the mother of the family invited me to join a woman's book study group.

The D thought Christian Rock was not as cool as regular rock, which we used to listen to, until he found out that their daughter, his age, likes it too.

The mom and I were both stay-at-home moms, and the only moms in our apartment complex who sit outside with the kids when they play. Needless to say, we spent many days together.

The dad and Bob used to play outside with the kids when they were home from work. All the kids in the neighborhood would join in the big kickball games that they would start.

They have four children ranging from The D's age to Little E's age.

The boys actually schedule our day around when the girls would be home from school, so they could play.

Their little boy would always come over when his sisters were at school to see if Little E could ride bikes.

We had barbecues and birthday parties together. We went to the beach together. We spent hours outside playing together.

We will miss them so much, but we are at peace with it because we understand that the Lord has plans for them in Seattle. Their time here is at its end. They have blessed so many lives and our lives have blessed them as well.

I am excited to hear about what God has in store for this amazing family.

I am excited to experience what He has in store for our family, too, as this chapter of our lives ends and we start the next one.

What I Did Today

I finally decided to give Little E a haircut. I liked his long, shaggy hair, but it drove Bob nuts. Little E and I planned yesterday to cut his hair today and surprise daddy when he got home from work. That turned out to be a great way to get him to sit still for an otherwise unpleasant experience.

Here are the before and after shots. I took these out on the porch, since my batteries were not strong enough to power a flash, so he is kind of squinty.

It took me quite a while to get used to, but I think the shorter hair does look better. It was getting a little too long.

The Dangerous Book for Boys

Finally, a book that celebrates boys being boys. I can't wait until this one hits book stores (May 1).

My older boys were born into a world where boys and girls were not different; where any differences that existed were considered imposed by society. You might be thinking "yeah, right," but I actually bought that.

Add to that the fact that their father disappeared shortly after Big E was born, leaving me a single mother, who had been raised by a single-mother in a home with all girls, to raise them, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Thank God that He brought a wonderful father and husband into our lives to show the boys how to become good men, but we are still dealing daily with the mess that was made in their early years.

The bottom line - boys and girls are different.

Boys should be allowed and encouraged to be boys, and shown that their masculinity is something to be proud of - not ashamed of, as is the message our society often sends them.

But that's a topic for a whole other post.

Here's the clip about the book. (Click on the "clipped from" link to go to the full article.)

clipped from www.comcast.net "I think we've come through the period when we said boys and girls were exactly the same, because they're not. Boys and girls have different interests, different ways of learning, and there's no real problem in writing a book that plays to that, and says, let's celebrate it. Let's go for a book that will appeal to boys." Exuding the brisk breeziness of Boy Scout manuals and Boy's Own annuals, "The Dangerous Book" is a childhood how-to guide that covers everything from paper airplanes to go-carts, skipping stones to skinning a rabbit. "I wanted to do the kind of book that we had lusted after when we were kids," said Conn Iggulden, who co-wrote the book with his younger brother Hal. He and Hal, a theater director, researched the "Dangerous Book" over six months in a garden shed, rediscovering the lost childhood arts of secret codes and water bombs and building simple batteries and pinhole projectors.

A Sure Sign of Spring

Last November, I posted in my old blog about a squirrel that came to our (second story) porch. We fed him a huge dried out sunflower head from our garden and he became our friend for life...or at least until the winter set in.

Our friend is back now. He came by today. I really think it is the same squirrel because he came right up to our open sliding glass door and was not afraid of us.

I tossed him a handful of walnuts. He loved them. He should have, they were organic and pricey.

Here are a couple of pictures.

A funny thing just happened. Little E was looking at the pictures in this post and he asked, "Is that the girl squirrel?" "How do you know it's a girl," I asked in return.

"Because when [the D] looked out there once, he saw where she milks her babies."