thoughts on things

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the junior mint phone

hello! apparently, i disappeared for quite awhile. and just so you know we're still here, still good, a few catch-up thoughts on things that have been happening the past few weeks....

* we had the first--of what i imagine to be many, many more--recitals. mary's teacher introduced her as "mary. she's six. she's only been taking lessons for a few weeks. and, isn't she so tiny??" mary was brave, confident. and unmistakably flawless in her rendition of "sea whale". 

she's so tiny

* egg production has dropped off with the darker days. we have no electric at the coop, so we don't simulate longer days for the girls with lights. it makes each little egg a gift.

* i don't think i've seen the inside of birdy's mouth in three weeks. her lips are in a constant, sucking-pursed-state, as we wait, and wait and wait for these painful teeth number three and four to emerge. poor babe.

* soccer season ended with many, many tears when the girls lost their final game in the tournament. lots of tears, except for emma. who packed up her gear and walked off the field. i was okay with that. 

DSC_0036

*birdy is army-crawling all over the house. gone are the days of peaceful baby playing on the quilt. this morning, she discovered the little pile of ash in front of the woodstove (the stove was not going) and covered herself in grey dust.

*my mother-in-law came to visit last week. and while she was here, she cleaned my living room and kitchen. not "tidied" but cleaned. i'm not sure if i should accept this as a wonderful gift, or as a sign that my house is a dirty mess. 

*there is a ten-gallon fish tank on the floor of my living room full of pine needles, leaf litter, grasses, dandelion fronds and ONE wooly bear. 

* i am taking a 6 week class at a local gym called, "body conversion". sounds scary, doesn't it? but, each night that i go, i am reminded that there is a big difference between what you think you cannot do, and what you can push yourself to do. those voices in our heads sure like to tell us otherwise. i am loving it.

So, hi! hello! i've missed this place. i make no promises, but i hope to be back here a little more regularly. (famous last words)

 

 

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the bell

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the bell

we gave it to dan's mother for her birthday several years ago. 

when we moved here, she gave it back.

she thought we'd like the cow, outside our door.

it's the dinner bell. 

it's the "you've been down at the stream too long and i need to know you're still alive" bell.

it's the "you always play outside so nicely right before it's time to start school work" bell.

it's the "i hear the way you're talking to your sister, knock it off" bell.

it's the "i know you're out here hiding from chores" bell.

some day soon, i want to upgrade. but for now, this one does the trick.

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staycation

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we bowled

Just popping in to say hello.

This week, we are on a little "staycation". Dan took the week off from work and we've been puttering around as a family, making little low-budget, half-day trips and outings here and there.

On Monday, Dan took the two older girls on a huge hike. While he was gone, I noticed that he'd left the trail map up on the computer and it was marked "moderate to difficult". When they didn't arrive home until just before dinner, I was beginning to wonder. Turns out, they got just a wee bit lost while on the trails, but had such a good time. And the girls were amazing troopers. 

They collected trail maps at the end of their hike and have been coloring and marking and plotting their hike and the ones they plan to take in the future. 

it's all in the technique

Today, we took the girls on their inaugural trip to the bowling alley. We would have been done in half the time if it weren't for the amount of time it takes for a very small person's ball to inch its way done a bowling lane. Elizabeth even managed to have her ball stop halfway down the alley. 

the spare

Tomorrow we'll ride a train. Friday, when the weather improves, they'll canoe. And Birdy and I will man the canoe pick-up and drop-off taxi. 

And Friday night there are rumors of a bonfire and campout in the back field. 

Not a bad way to spend a 'cation. 

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on a kick in the kitchen

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I'm the kind of person who gets on "kicks" in the kitchen. Last winter I was on a "chicken and dumpling" kick, there was the shortbread kick during Summer of '09, tomato-basil-mozarella-balsamic this summer, again. 

 Once I get to the point of being able to make something without any recipe, and I'm making it more than once-a-week, I officially declare it a "kick". This fall it is chocolate chip meringues. 

my new kick

Really, I blame my sister. She introduced them to me over a year ago. And upon first taste they got stored away on that list of "must figure out how to make" in my brain. 

Of course, when I was ready to make them I couldn't get her on the phone, so I had to go to the internet for research. And I found this recipe at smitten kitchen. It was my starting off point, and now that I'm feeling like a seasoned meringue-maker, I've been bold enough to eek back the sugar and go with the flow. 

Seriously, do yourself a favor and whip up a batch of these. Don't be intimidated by egg white stiffness or foaminess, or perfect meringue done-ness. 

Even better, they're low-fat. Right? Right!

Molly's Mini-chip Meringues (with a nod and tip of the hat to my sister, and 'smitten) :

2 egg whites, room temperature (or straight from under the hen's rumpus in our case)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 ounces mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Put two egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until foamy. Add salt, cream of tartar and vanilla and continue to whip until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar and whip until it holds stiff peaks. Fold in mini-chips.

On a parchment-lined baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of the sticky white clouds onto your baking sheet. Bake at 300 for approximately 30-35 minutes. (there are also long-methods for making meringues, which I've never tried. but this is what I've been doing.) Personally, I check the meringues as I near the end of the baking time. Once they begin to get firm on the outside, I remove them from the oven. They will continue to crisp up a bit more as they cool. 

When you are done, you'll little pockets of goodness, crispy on the outside, a bit chewy on the inside. Whatever doesn't get eaten in the first feeding should be stored in an air-tight container. 

Enjoy!

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Did you know, I'm back over on the MOMformation blogs again? They've done a complete make-over and there is some pretty good stuff happening. They've added lots of great bloggers to the already standard favorites, like Jon and Sherry from Young House Love, Kristen Chase from CoolMomPicks, Alison Czarnecki from Petit Elefant --just to name a few...

I'm part of the Products & Prizes channel, and I'm writing a weekly article about great finds for your kitchen. (how fun, huh??!) And I'll soon be adding some regular posts on children's music, as well as product reviews and giveaways (some GREAT giveaways). 

To find me you can click on the button in my sidebar, or go to my bio page and SUBSCRIBE to my posts. You can find all my latest here. (Lately, I've been talking about making baby food...not to be confused with making babies.)

Hope you'll click over and check it out. 

 

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stop. regroup.

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going out

We've been "in school" now for four weeks. Four pretty intense weeks. There have been things that have been tossed by the wayside in an effort to keep moving forward. Things that need to be done, that have been ignored.

So I have declared this the official "stop & regroup" week. Our school schedule is a lot stricter than ones I've kept in the past. And I feel really good about it. It is something we all need. If the girls and I stay on track, it means that we always have Fridays off -- for lounging, running errands, playing, watching movies together. 

But not as many Fridays as I would have liked have felt like that loosey-goosey pace I was hoping for. 

I vowed that this year, I would make more of an effort to get my girls "out there". We've joined a great co-op. Which means we now have fun things like choir, and American Girl Club, and classes here and there on other fun topics. They both have taken on music lessons this year, too. Emma on violin. Mary on piano. Not to mention the soccer practices and games.

In the past, I have always dragged my feet on "activities". We all tend to err a bit on the homebody side. And with very little ones in tow, I am a dictator about naps. I will not miss them. 

But I've had to ease up a bit. Be a little more flexible. I realized over the summer, that Emma might very well miss out on "out and about" kinds of things for years because of the need to always be back home for naps for her younger siblings. I've had to be okay with a nap in the car, knowing a better one will come in a few hours. I've had to be okay with earlier bedtimes, even though it might cut into time with Daddy. 

But at the same time, it is so very, very easy to get swept up in activities and going and doing. And so, I've also had to put on the breaks. Saying no to things. Both for them, and for me. 

And I've had to do things like this. The stopping. The regrouping. Read a few chapters. Go upstairs and clean a bedroom. Start a science experiment. Go out to the barn and unpack the tubs with warmer quilts and comforters. Go to the library. Knit. Make applesauce. 

Once I let myself let go of this week, I felt instantly better. I felt the furrow in my brow release itself. There is no rush. 

Stop. Regroup. 

Refresh.

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