Ocean

This was the tail end of our O week which got sidetracked when Lemur decided to run away. We've been busy (and cranky) this week so we're wrapping up O today. Last week we read this

While I read to them I gave them each a bag with dawn and some sea creatures in it to play with while I read. Howler was captivated. The other two were incredibly interested in the book.

 

Afterwards I asked them to draw what they would see on the ocean floor. No, this isn't Tamarin's. It's my quick draw example so I could go grab a crying Capuchin. When I returned Lemur was pitching her fit which lead to the "I'm Leaving" post. Howler scribbled all over hers and Tamarin was too preoccupied with Lemur's attempted escape to do more than a couple of circles on hers. I was not about to suggest we finish them lest Lemur get upset at whatever it was. So, you get a picture of mine :p

 

 Not only is my handwriting atrocious, but now you see my artistic ability is frightening.

Today we talked about Octopi.

And looked at some photos and videos from National Geographic. Check out the Shark vs Octopus video O.O

Tamarin was confused about their anatomy, "So... their body is in their head?" On a search for a good answer I came across this site with these pictures:

So, it's not that their body is in their head, it's that their arms are growing out of their head. (Oooo like the ood from Dr Who!) She seemed okay with that answer.

Tamarin loves Wild Kratts so I try to work it in whenever possible. We watched the Octopus Wildkratticus episode.

We also played with their method of propulsion. All you need is a tub of water, a balloon and the lid from a glue bottle. (I taped some long balloon legs on there just to be goofy. He even lost legs like real octopi do! The girls enjoyed it.) It didn't zoom across the tub. Instead it did a lot of circles, but they got the idea :)

I was gong to make these yarn octopus and teach the girls how to braid with the legs. While making my example, I found braiding the yarn annoying so I scrapped that idea. So here's our only yarn octopus. It would be a fun thing to do with kids a little bit older I think.

There's this site with octopi coloring pages. The Octopus are Amazing book talked about them changing color with their mood. Lemur's is angry and Tamarin's is happy (they change color randomly while they are eating according to the book). Did I mention they turned it into a race to see who could get their octopus colored first.....

You can see the transition of 'I'm just coloring' to 'I gotta beat my sister!' *sigh*

That was fun. I think we may spend some time on Australia next. We looked up pictures of coral reefs a couple of days ago. We ended up looking at the Great Barrier Reef which led to looking at Australian wildlife. So much for my plan for the letter M, monkeys and India next week.

Winter in the Country

I realize I've not updated the country stuff lately. Thing is, it's winter. Sooooo.... not much happens. I mean there are some beautiful sunrises and sunsets, but otherwise it's gray mornings and evenings throwing food at ungrateful animals who are tired of being stuck in small (but warm) spaces. The last couple of days were nice enough to let the chickens out. They were so excited my hen that was attempting to hatch a ginger ale can even left the nest.

This chicken.... mmmm...... probably not as happy as the rest of them......

It was even warm enough to send my flock outside. What better way to let the girls feel involved while keeping them out of my hair so I can do the real cleaning than to send them outside with sponges and repurposed windex bottles with a few drops of dawn in them. The outside toys are now thoroughly clean and so is my kitchen. Score for us all!

What this would be farmer is doing with her winter - planning.

I've been looking over the catalogs from McMurray Hatchery and Meyer Hatchery for egg layers. I prefer the Brahma and Orpington, but that's just me. I need to find someone to go in on an order with me. I don't need 25 more chickens.

If any of you reading this are looking for DIRT CHEAP meat chickens, look no further than Central Hatchery. You have to call to order and send them a check, but it's worth it! I ordered from them a few years ago. They sent two extras and they were great stock. All but two survived to butcher.

And seed catalogs! This will be my first year ordering seeds online. These are sites my uncle recommends. He is a pepper and tomato god. Which is why I probably won't plant any, he's had more than enough to spare the last few years :)

HPS Seeds - This was his number one pick for price.
Trade Winds Fruits - This was his number two pick.
Hippy Seed Co - This was his third pick.
Pepper Joe's - They have the hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper. It could be yours! If you don't mind spending a dollar a seed!

You know how I said some time ago I would never save another toilet roll. Well, I take it back. Check out these reused seed starters!

 

This site is in french (I think that's french isn't it?)... but the concept is pretty straight forward.

There's also this:

I wouldn't use newspapers though. Most papers these days use soy ink. I'm anti-soy. Don't ask questions, I have my reasons. If soy doesn't make you raise a brow then by all means go ahead. I'm thinking of all the cardboard I get in the mail.

Locked in the Bathroom

Yes, that's right. I'm locked in my bathroom. This is a first for me. Never had to resort to this before, but I am so done right now. Chris probably won't be home for another 20 minutes and I'm ready to disintegrate into my bed sheets.

Capuchin is not happy no matter how I am holding her. (She's locked in here with me, duh. You thought I'd leave her out there with that lot?)

I've got Howler screaming because she's not happy no matter what I do. Her nap was too short which makes her impossible.

I keep asking Lemur to do things for me for which I get the response, "Why should I?" (her latest fad I've been trying to be understanding about.)

Tamarin keeps asking me a million questions including if she can hold Capuchin, but that just makes Capuchin scream more. Tamarin doesn't understand why I won't let her hold her so she gets indignant and frustrating.

It's taken me all of two minutes to type this out and this just slid under the door.

We've been writing a lot of letters lately so it's: Mom. Love, Ellie

Okay, I think I can handle another 15 minutes of this:

For the record I told them to make angry faces and it took 6 pics before they would stop laughing :)

See. We're going to throw ourselves a pity party, balloons and all.

Jane and the Dragon

I love this show. Stories that focus on building good character traits without being preachy. We had a stint a year or so ago where this was all the girls wanted to watch and read. They got burnt out, but we've begun to pick it up again.

There aren't real enemies. The closest they get to an enemy is the other knight in training who has a bad attitude. He's that fringe friend you were never quite sure if they were really your friend or not, but then they would come through in the end. Know what I mean? His father is considered a villain, but he's not in that many episodes and I would consider him more greedy than evil.

That's why I love this show, it's much more realistic... well... minus the dragon.... or letting a girl be a knight......but you know what I mean. Most shows have one main villain or the mean girl/guy and her/his lackeys and they are out to get the hero which is completely unrealistic in life.

Jane and the Dragon - Picture Book
Jane is the daughter of the young princess's nursemaid and the king's bookkeeper. She is being brought up to be a proper lady in waiting much to her disappointment. She wants to be a knight. Then a lonely dragon kidnaps the prince for a playmate. Jane gets her chance to prove her worthiness of squirehood. 

Jane and the Magician - Picture Book
This takes place after Jane has started her knights training. It is the girl's favorite of the two we own. The king wants to throw a party for the sick prince, but his magician is no where to be found. Jane sets out to find him and saves a small village in the process.

There is a third book that has never gone to reprint and was too expensive on amazon, so I never bought it. Now it isn't even listed on amazon and I can't remember the name of it.

Jane And The Dragon - TV
The show picks up with Jane already in the middle of her knight training. The episodes are usually built around problem situations, teasing, pranks, honesty, loyalty, teamwork, basic character building stuff.

I love this show. I wish there were more episodes. There was only one season. They never sold all the dvds coded for the US, so I don't have them all. It still airs on Qubo which, of course, I don't have. I'm kinda burnt out on the 10 episodes I own.....

A Dragon's Tail: Jane and the Dragon - Chapter Book
Tamarin just started reading this book to me last night. We're only a few pages in, but so far it is word for word what I remember from the episode. It's my favorite episode because it was the first one I ever saw. It's about Jane making peace with Gunther and learning to work together. They have to save Dragon who has contracted a mysterious illness. I don't think either of these chapter books were written that well. We haven't read this entire book yet, but I can tell it's not that great, but better than the other chapter book.

Three's a Crowd: Jane and the Dragon - Chapter Book
This is where I'm disappointed. I just finished reading Three's a Crowd to my five year old and it's, well, not awful, but certainly not good. It's a rehash of a tv episode, but it's got more toilet humor than I remember the tv episode having. Jane is jealous of Gunther sharing fart and poop jokes with Dragon, so she tries her hand at it and fails miserably. Then Gunther's father tells Gunther to make Dragon do work for him for free since they are becoming friends. Jane gets upset because Gunther is using Dragon and confronts him. I think my disappointment is due to the fact I expected a new story. I didn't want a rehash. I wanted another adventure.

The tv show and picture books are wonderful. I'd pass on the chapter books.

I'm Leaving

Fortunately, we've never watched anything that said 'I'm running away', so all she said was, "I'm leaving."

"Okay, I love you. Come back to visit. Don't get run over and watch out for the people who steal little kids."

"Okay."

This was her third attempt out the door. She started in just the nightgown. She opened the door and came back in for long sleeves. She made it down the first few steps and came back in for boots.

We were having a difficult afternoon (correction she's having a rough week ever since the neighbor kids came over and refused to let her run the show). She refused to take the word 'no', pouting, whining and crying. I told her if she didn't choose to be happy that she could go to her room because she was not allowed to ruin the reading and craft time for everyone else. After I got everyone working on their craft I went to check on her and she was packing, "I'm leaving."

"Who will take care of you?"
"I will."
"Where are you going to get food?"
"The nugget place."
"How will you get there?"
"Walk really fast. I'll stay on the grass. I won't walk on the road."
"Where will you sleep?"
"On the ground. I'll use my arms for my pillow."
We had now walked to the living room.
"Will you open the door for me?"
"Nope. If you leave no one will be there to help you with anything. You'll have to do everything on your own."
"Okay."

Then she attempted to leave, making her wardrobe changes before finally setting out. She made it about 10 feet off the porch and came back, "I want to stay."

I gave her a hug, "I'm glad. I want you to stay, too. I love you very much. I would not have let you get to the driveway. Did you know that?"

"Really?" She was tearing up now. I gave her a big hug. "I never want to leave."

What was even more sweet was the fact Tamarin was so upset I was letting her go out the door. While she got her shirt and her shoes I told Tamarin that many kids do this and I wouldn't really let her leave. Tamarin tried to bargain with her to stay using the toy they had fought over earlier. She told her she loved her and didn't want her to go. She wouldn't leave the window as she walked off the porch then said excitedly, "She's coming back in!"

She opened the door for her, "You almost made me cry!"

I know I handled this differently than many people would. How did you handle your first runaway attempt? This was my first. Tamarin never did it.

Crayon, Crayons, Everywhere

If your house is like mine you have a ridiculous collection of crayons. I decided it was time to clean out the crayon drawer.

If you've spent time on pinterest then you've seen a much better version of this. This is our take on it. Let me just say it's more complicated than it looks. I had to hold it really close for them to melt, but then the air was blowing the wax all over. I'm sure if I didn't have anxious kids that wanted to hold the blow dryer themselves it would have been easier. Anyway, the girls had fun and that's what counts. 

Today, I let Tamarin use a knife to chop up some of the leftovers (she's thrilled anytime she gets to use a real knife). We used this Silicone Dinosaur Candy Mold to make some dinosaur crayons. She said she's going to use them as candy for her dolls. *shrug* Sure, why not.

I think they would be cute as a valentine. 

Of course it would be prettier, if I wasn't out of colored ink.......

The crayon drawer is now under control, but next time I'm going to try this. You use a candle warmer and wax paper to let them draw in melted crayon. They'll love that.

Capuchin's First Public Appearence

We went to my in-laws three or four weeks ago, other than that, this kid has only known home. I think before Christmas we did go to a couple of stores where my husband sat in the car with all the kids and I ran in. Today, though, today was her first public outing. I guess I finally reached the peak of my tolerance for cabin fever. I had to get out of the house today. We went to the meat market where the owner and one of the workers that I talk to all the time oo'ed and aw'ed. Then we went to the grocery store where every person we passed asked the same question, "What's the baby?" My reply, "A girl, of course. What else would she be?"

Whats up with old people and babies? Every silver head I passed just had to see her. I had her in my moby wrap so all you could see was the top of her head. Fortunately, only one wanted to touch her and as soon as she reached for her head I took a step back. I LOVE wearing my babies. It has made life so much easier.

Honestly I got a better reception from people today than I did after Howler was born. I had so many ridiculous looks when I went into stores with three. Wonder why that is......

As if those two stops weren't enough, I tempted fate. I went to Hancock's to pick up cheap material for the girls' sewing. We did great until checkout. There were spools of thread to pull out and back scratchers we just couldn't live without. I did manage to leave without extra stuff, but I think I left a little bit of my patience there.

This is me after getting home, unloading all the stuff and feeding Capuchin. Tamarin said she wanted to take a picture of Capuchin... I didn't realize she got me in it too until I uploaded. I think at this particular moment I was telling Lemur she couldn't have another cupcake. Well, we all survived. I made it home with four children and a dog. Did I mention Shaggy went with us? He waited in the car of course.

Anyway the point is - I did it! I even got to see one of my friends leaving the grocery store as we were about to get out of the car. It was a perfect bonus for a good outing!

My Go To Bread Recipe

I found it!!! I've been going through boxes we packed a year ago and among them *cue angelic music and spot light*

 

Okay, if you can't read Laurascript, here's the recipe in English.

Milkless Bread

1/2 Tbs yeast

2 1/4 C warm water

1 Tbs (I add three)

6-7 C flour

1 Tbs salt

Mix yeast and warm water, let set for a few minutes. 

I add the sugar directly to the water/yeast mixture after it's started to bloom.

Stir in flour till it clumps then knead into a ball.

Sprinkle on 1 Tbs salt and knead into the dough. 

Stop kneading when it the dough starts to bounce back.

Set it in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel. Let rise for 2 hours. The directions say set it away from heat... counter intuitive, but it works. 

Form your loaves and let set for another 1 1/2 hours.

Cook at 425 for 30 minutes.

I got this recipe from my grandmother when we were trying to figure out if my second daughter had food allergies and went milk and egg less for a while. This recipe is so good I've continued to use it. It's simple and only has a few ingredients. The only thing is it takes time, but it's worth it!

Last night I used it to make flat bread for tacos. I let is rise for the first two hours then flattened it and fried it.

 

 This was our bread for breakfast. It would have been larger, but I ended up making more flat bread than planned since Tamarin ate two whole rounds on her own.

  

Tamarin and Lemur ate three slices each this morning. I got to use my Christmas gift to myself today for the first time! See the bread slicer there on the right? I'm a sucker for kitchen stuff. Anyway, there it is. Hope someone enjoys it.
   

Crafty Stuff and Reading

The girl's first completed sewing project. Tamarin did incredibly well. I just had to help her turn the material and I did the hidden stitch after she filled him with stuffing. I used the same template from our owl puppets in yesterday's post, but printed as a full sheet of paper instead of a half. Lemur pinned the pattern, cut the material and put her foot on the pedal of the sewing machine. She asked me to put on the button eyes, but she insisted she stitch him up after the stuffing. We just replaced our pillows so I hung onto one and we filled them with reused stuffing :)

This was silly thing I found on pinterest, but I just had to do it. You can find the instructions here. I suck at origami, but this was easy enough even for me :) Last night Chris ended up working and Capuchin was cranky. I told Tamarin we'd have to skip a night of reading. So she told me she'd read it. With a shrug I gave her the book. I figured she'd give up before the end of the first line. Believe it or not that kid sounded out nearly every word in that first paragraph. She needed help with sight, Gilderoy, and exasperated. This kid would have a meltdown in August when I would try to get her to read from a level 1 easy reader, six months later she's reading a paragraph in a novel. Even last week she was telling me she couldn't read a Clifford book. It just goes to show it's all about what the kid is interested in and following their lead.

She tried to read the next paragraph this morning, but as you can see it gets a bit more complicated. By the time we made it to "Friday morning" she was ready to throw in the towel. She put up a valiant effort though!

Orbits, Otters, Owls and Scones

We read The Little White Owl . We made these puppets and the girls put on their own play (with 3 acts even) about an owl trying to find his family. I got the template for the owl here.

We read the Baby Otter Book and searched the internet for pictures of and more info on otters. Ellie thought this picture was hilarious. Maybe because we finally finished the first Harry Potter book and moved on to the second one this week. While she was drawing otters in her book for fun I remembered something we had abandoned from the Oak Meadow curriculum. I asked her to draw what happened in Harry Potter the night before. So the last few days she has drawn scenes from the book. Here is today's installment.

She said her car looked like a fish... I think he looks like he should be chasing (and chased by) ghosts.....

We also talked about orbit. We played an orbit game I made up on the fly. One of us is the sun, the earth and another planet (venus and mars seem to be the favorites). We chased circles around each other for a while. I then told them to pretend we were on the earth's "nose" so if I started spinning like the earth does is it day or night? Which then turned into a host of entertaining spinning and chasing while asking if it's day or night. I explained if the earth didn't spin it would get too hot, just like your nose burns if you are out in the sun too long. The flip side of that being your bum would freeze. I touched on seasons wouldn't change if we didn't orbit, but at this point they were having too much fun to pay attention so I left it at, "Life couldn't be if the world didn't spin and orbit."

Tamarin is plodding along on her Explode the Code book that she hates and we also did some dice math. I do like these sheets (you could use the domino one for dice too), but this time I just had her write them down on blank paper.

A friend of mine was posting questions about scones on facebook which got me thinking, I haven't made scones in forever! I had blueberries sitting on my counter that were slated for a cream cheese bread. They were confiscated for this recipe. With a few differences.

I used 1/4 c cream and 3/4 c 2% milk.
I had to add quite a few handfuls of flour to decrease the stickiness of the dough. Could have been my mistake or could be a problem with the recipe as written.
I flattened it with my hands and folded it on itself like she suggested, but I waited to add my blueberries into each fold instead of mixing it in before.
I picked the log up, curled it around making a circle and pressed on it till it formed a round.
I slathered 4 tablespoons of butter on top, not 2 and shoveled liberal amounts of sugar on it :)
I bumped cook time up to 30 minutes.

If you coat the blueberries in a splash of flour BEFORE adding them to the mixture they won't bleed as bad, muffins scones, bread, anything with blueberries. Got that tip from Alton Brown.

Tamarin liked it, the other two not so much. Mmmmmm....  I LOVE IT. Wonderful recipe.

Reading Nook

I've always wanted to do a reading nook for the girls. I've tried the tension rod approach. I tried string rope from hooks to hold up fabric. Both failed. When we moved I saw this closet and I knew it was perfect!

It's had tools and stuff that we're using to remodel the place shoved into it for the last year. I got a wild hair today to reorganize and rehome things. And here you have the result.

A couple of curtains I had on hand and a crap load of thumb tacs (the flat kind). I did add some no sew velcro (left over from adjusting their Halloween costumes) so the door could be open or closed. The pillows are the decorative ones we never use so they are out of the way in there, win win :)

We'll see how long it lasts, but the great thing is when they are over it I can just pull the thumb tacs out!