Right Now.......

(Before I take a break from technology for a few days......)

My life in pictures.......



: For the most part, I am really loving this homeschooling journey. We are only weeks into it, I am aware. But, it IS maintaining simplicity in our lives. I AM getting that intentional time with the boys. And life will never again be this SLOW.


: Apples have been picked. And peeled. And partaken of........


: My girls still soothe me. I love them. I will never again NOT have chickens.


: I love my big girls, too. My boys just made a winter home for them, so now I don't have to get rid of them during the snow.


: I am SAVORING this baby. He is delicious. And he will be ONE in just a few weeks. What? HOW??? Wild.


: This week, I get to go home to my PEOPLE, and spend many an hour on this Beverly Hillbilly contraption! THIS is one of my absolute, most favorite things to do in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! Cheap fun, I tell you.


: I love these boys. They delight me. They exasperate me. They make my life worth living. They make me want to sell them to the zoo on bad days. And they make the crazyness of the rest of life put into very clear perspective.


: And that big one in the front? The leader of the pack? I will follow him to the ENDS of the earth. He defines our family. He leads with love. He seeks the Lord. He loves us selflessly. He keeps me sane. He keeps us whole. I think I'll keep him.

In The Sticks

We have some dear, dear friends visiting from Pennsylvania for a couple of days. They're a couple in their 50's, they've seen a lot of life, they've raised their kids to love Jesus, they are on the other end of parenting now - and they are still best friends. So much wisdom can be gleaned by them. It's been so much fun just visiting with them, listening to their stories about life and loss and struggles; and it's just really special having this friendship with people who really could be our parents! They totally and completely rock, they love us, and they are just huge supports and encouragement in LIFE for us!

They've never been this far "North," and they couldn't get over how for the last two hours of their drive to our house, they saw nothing other than trees on the interstate. Maine really is an entirely different culture than PA - they don't live "in" the city, just outside of it - but it really is a whole other world here. I told them that they haven't seen anything yet. Our home is still a little more "city-ish" than we would prefer. I need to take them to the County - to MY people - the next time they come up! That's where the real wide open spaces are!

But, they've gotten to experience our world a little bit. They've met the girls. They checked out our garden. They met my neighbor Lou. (I LOVE Lou). And, today we're going to take them on a little trip to see the sights and smells of our beautiful Maine Coast. Very different from the Jersey Shore. We LOVE the Jersey Shore. It was one of our most favorite places to visit and "be" while we lived in PA. But, we SO love our coast, as well. It's wild. And rugged. And so "Maine-ish." Very different from what they know.

So, that's what we shall conquer today. A day out and about. A picnic somewhere overlooking the water. Maybe some crabbies to catch. And some deep, meaningful fellowship. How we love these friends!

Snippets

~ Today during school, the boys were hooligans.
~ So, I sent them outside to ride their bikes and do laps in the driveway.
~ They were in their undies.
~ You can do that when you homeschool.
~ I'm going to start implementing a "shorts or jeans required" rule.
~ Next week.
~ Just as soon as I start implementing a "One bath a week is not enough" rule.
~ And a "I can't remember the last time I washed your sheets, so I'm going to try to do that once a week, too" rule.
~ No promises on those last two lofty goals.
~ But the clothing during school is a good one.
~ Maybe it will make them act less like hooligans.
~ But, I doubt it.

P.S. - Their favorite part of school today - their "take home" that they'll remember for the rest of the day - is that back in the day in Rome, when people really appreciated their meal, they burped LOUDLY. That was the highlight of the day. Appropriate, I guess.

For the Dads.....

THIS is hilarious.......

Thus Endeth Summer

Sigh.

How I DO love Fall....everything about it, really. But, it's what comes after that's not so much my fave. I hate the cold, and I despise snow. I know - I'm a full-fledged hypocritical Mainer. But, it is what it is. Yucko. So I'm trying to savor. Please stay for awhile, sweet Autumn. Don't fail me now. Stay sunny. Stay bright. Stay crisp and happy.




We had a good run.

So, we won't look back. Instead we shall look forward to apples and pumpkins, and crisp leaves to rake and jump in, warm soups and apple pies, hoodies and cozy shoes, fires in the fireplace, 3 hooligans trapped inside when it gets too cold to be out - oh wait, we won't thing about that yet, tromps in the crispy woods, perhaps a deer to slay, and all manners of glorious foliage that our beautiful State provides for us. And after experiencing these beauties, I shall try to forgive this blessed State for the harshness that it will be about to lay at my doorstep in the form of boatloads of snow and frigidity......

Stick a Fork in Me

Well, with the exception of the boatloads of applesauce that I want to make on the week-end, my canning season has come to a close. In true Amy fashion, I went OCD about the whole experience and wanted to can every single thing that I could pick, peel, smash, or chop! Over 150 jars of canned goods later, it is officially out of my system. I have no desire to can another thing for many many moons!

However!

I must say that I absolutely loved this gardening season. I really loved everything about it. My anal self was able to let go of the weed issues, I embraced the boys digging up things before they were ready and smashing others that were perfect. My sweet little old fence was mostly successful in keeping my girls out, my tomatoes didn't die of blight, things grew!, I learned a lot of the basics that I really knew nothing about before, the boys learned where veggies TRULY come from, I learned about porportions and will plan better for next year (i.e. 18 tomato plants were a little over the top), and we had tons of fun trying new recipes and giving lots of our canned treasures away for gifts. It will be no secret in my family as to what people will be getting for their Christmas gifts. Ahem.

Anyway, overall, I am pretty pleased with the results of the different things that I canned. Some of my recipes were tried and true, others I found online and just went for it, and still others I got from trusted friends and family. Some I love, some I hate, and others are okay but would do some serious tweaking if I were to ever make the same recipe again.

Here are my final thoughts on my canning season:

* Dilly beans - Horrors upon horrors. Nasty little things. I MUST find a better recipe for next year. Probably just a normal dill pickle recipe, methinks.

* Bread and Butter pickles - There is no better recipe in the world. It was Gram's. Probably my personal favorite of all things made.

* Hot dog and burger relish - Ditto.

* Zucchini relish - Fantastic. I got it from Mom. She rocks. Lots of work - mucho grating. LOTS of zucchini needed to made a little batch, so I would grow way more next year. I also will need it for my favorite chocolate cake. Delish.

* Salsa recipe from an Amish lady - Okay. Way more work than necessary. No pizzaz. Wouldn't make it again.

* Salsa/pico de gallo recipe - Combined 2 recipes from a trusted friend and cousin. Fantastic. Wish I had made ALL of my salsas this way. Way less work, too. No peeling of the tomato skins needed. What a yucko job that is. One of my most favorite things that I made. It's pretty. It's sassy. And it's expensive to buy in the store!

* Spaghetti sauce/marinara - Okay. Not my fave. Still searching for a more "prego-like" sauce. This was the messiest and the most involved. Not overly impressed for all of the work it took. Plus - sauce is SO cheap - it's hard for me to justify all of that work when I could spend 99 cents for a huge can of Hunt's.

* Canned tomatoes - What can I say? They're canned tomatoes.

* Dill pickles - I kind of botched this recipe, and may end up having soggy pickles. That would be the worst. Jury is still out on these guys.

* Green beans - Again. They're green beans. It'll be nice to have my own this winter.

* And lastly - Applesauce. - It will get made on the week-end. We love LOVE homemade applesauce and I hope to get tons and tons of apples so that we can have enough to last us until next year.


And THEN - stick a fork me, for I shall be WAY past done!

Conversations With a Three-Year Old

While drawing for Daddy, this is Jesse's and my conversation that I wrote word for word on Kev's card:

Mama: What do you want to say to Daddy in this card?
Jesse: I want to say to him that I colored a card for him. And you're coloring words on it.
Mama: What do you love about Daddy?
Jesse: Hair! And we're gonna' beat Dada!
Mama: Why do you love Daddy?
Jesse: Because I'm Jesse! I love to play fight with Dada & Kaden.
Mama: How much do you love Daddy?
Jesse: Five! Like a lot of hugs much.
Mama: What else do you want to tell Daddy?
Jesse: I like to go on a trip with Daddy in the van and the car, too. And I like to go to stores. And jump in water and get my eyes wet. That's my whole story. And I like to climb on trees. And I like to get my hands wet. I forgot that. And this card is really for you, Mama!


All righty then...........

Right Now

This:

has every fiber of my being begging for this:

I am trying SO hard to resist.
But I don't.....have.....the......power........
The boys are napping.
The house is quiet.
My bed looks so lonely.
I'd better go keep her company.
She's asking for tea and a good book....what's that?....OH, and I think some cake.

Sugar Baby!

THIS:

is the crowning glory of my garden. I have waited and watched this little baby growing all summer long. Hoping and praying that it would not kick the bucket. And being the amazing gardener that I am, up until a few weeks ago, I thought it was a cantaloupe! One day, the dark green skin finally clued me in as to what it really was. Duh.

All of my other cantaloupes and sugar babies died except for this wee little melon. And tonight, we picked it, cut it, and ate it all up!

Poor little guy. He didn't know what hit him.
He didn't stand a chance with us five little piggies......

Booker Fun

My family never had a lot of money to play around with when the three of us kids were growing up. Dad was a teacher and bus driver at our local high school, and we made the sacrifices so that Mom could stay home. We never lacked for anything, that's for sure. God always provided for our needs. And even if we did lack for a "want," we never knew it! For most of our growing up years, Mom and Dad chose not to have a t.v. in the house, so we never saw any of the commercials and t.v. ads for all of the new bells and whistles that everyone said that we were all supposed to have. We didn't know the difference, and we were happy as could be!

We never went to Disney, and we never travelled any further than the coast of our own state, but boy oh boy - did we have some doozies of good times as a family! Whenever we can all get together and whenever one of us would stop having a newborn, we always try to replicate our camping and canoeing trips - and both of my brothers and I always say that we would never trade our childhoods for the WORLD! We tented and canoed out in the boondocks with all of the cousins right along with us. And on warm summer evenings, we would hook the wagon on back of our four-wheeler and haul as many people as we could over every single dirt path that we could find - stopping to pick raspberries along the way and even go for a spontaneous swim in a river. More often then not, we would have a bonfire in our back yard, or at the very least a little firepit in our driveway so that we could roast a hotdog or marshmallow. Mom would play her guitar, the cousins or neighbors would always drop in, and we just hung out as a family. It was simple. It was cheap. But we were together, and that was all that mattered.

That's the kind of life I'm trying to recreate for my boys. Simple fun. Intentional time as a family. And building memories that they will want to continue long into their adulthood and that they will want to replicate with their own children. Good stuff.

Today's family day marked the beginning of the "Fall" fun tradition that we started last year when Ransom was just days old. He's our first fall baby, Daddy is an avid hunter, and the big boys love whatever Daddy loves, so thus began our "family heater hunting" expeditions. It goes a little something like this:

~ I pack lots of healthy snacks: M&M's, hot chocolate, you know - treats!
~ We drive until we find an old dirt road somewhere.
~ The two big boys hop up front with Daddy to scout out the territory.
~ I sit in the backseat, pull Rancey into my lap, and snuggle him to sleep.

It. is. glorious.
Truly, it rocks.

Daddy gets to scout out potential hunting spots. The boys think it's a hoot sitting up front and hanging out the window like dogs. They also love the treats. I love snuggling with my baby. We stop to pick raspberries and blackberries. I find lots of fun sticks, trees, and rocks to bring home to decorate with. Kev and I laugh our heads off and make fun of the boys' quirky mannerisms.....(does anyone else do that?) Just kidding. We don't really. Well, maybe we do, a little.

And, that's it. Simple fun. It costs zero dollars.



And on the way home, we hear this little conversation in the backseat:

Kaden: "It was a GOOD day!"
Jesse: "Yeah. High five!"

Mission Accomplished.

Right Now

One of my most favorite songs. It ALWAYS makes me cry.

Relish

Okay, I promise the postings about canning and my garden are soon coming to an end. In fact, this may be my last post about it....maybe. The season is drawing to a close, and it is slowly getting out of my system. I'm moving on to greener pastures.

But, this recipe is for my friend Rachael - and for anyone else who has let a few of their cucumbers go by the wayside and realized that they have gotten rather ginormous. It's an awesome way to finish out your cucumber harvest. This relish is a great way to justify not wanting to eat another single cucumber....and yet they keep growing.....but I just can't eat another one.....so I'll just let them grow and see what happens....but oh man, I can't just let them go to waste....whatever shall I do with them.....kind of a recipe.

So, here comes this fabulous recipe to the rescue!

14 humungous cukes - or a whole wack of smaller ones....you can really be generous here
10 large onions - or 20 small ones.....again, it's all "ish" in the amounts

Peel the cukes. Cut them lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Put both these and the onions through a food processor. (Or if you don't have one, like me, just chop all of them up really small.....prepare for a huge crying fest with all of the onions....and plan this recipe accordingly, because onion smell will ooze through your pores for a few days. It's awesome).

Pour 1/2 cup pickling salt over all of this. Stir it up, and let it sit overnight.
(This is how I do it. Baby in sink not required).

Day #2
Drain well in colander. DO NOT rinse.
Heat 4 cups cider vinegar in a heavy pan. Get it hot but not boiling.
Take 2 cups of cold vinegar and whisk it together with 1 cup flour.
To the vinegar/flour mixture add:
~ 7 cups packed brown sugar (a recurring theme here on the unhealthiness of these recipes)
~ 4 TBlsp. tumeric
~ 1 tsp. ginger
~ 1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix that all together and add it to the hot vinegar on the stove.
Boil this slowly for 5 minutes while stirring steadily.
Add your drained (but not rinsed) cukes and onions.
Bring to a boil again slowly - do not burn it!
Turn down the heat, and boil slowly for 10-12 minutes.

Ladle into hot, sterilized jars and lids.

Yeilds 12-17 pints - depending on how huge your cukes and onions were.
Just to give you an idea of the "general-ness" of the amounts: My first batch gave me 12 pints exactly, and Mom's gave her close to 20! Methinks she had more ginormous-er cukes!

This is really yummy on top of dogs and burgers or just on the side of your plate with any meal. I promise you, you'll never use storebought relish again.

One final note: If you hand chop your veggies like I did, it will turn out with more of a chutney consistency as opposed to a relish. We've found that we actually like the chunkier consistency better. Enjoy, dear friend!

Bountiful Blessings

Just LOOK at what God grew in our little garden this year. We are ALL astounded and amazed every time we walk down to our plot. For my boys to watch this stuff start from a little seed and expand to this bountiful harvest is the absolute coolest thing in the world to watch!


On the agenda for this week to make:

~ salsa
~ canned tomatoes
~ spaghetti sauce
~ hotdog and hamburger relish
~ zucchini relish

....and possibly some apples to be picked and made into applesauce.

I'm noticing a trend in my life - a somewhat OCD pattern, you might say. I get a "thing" that I'm kind of into....and I tend to go crazy with it until I get it out of my system. Last year, during the height of my nesting time and readiness to have Ransom, I got into a jam making "thing." Instead of having all sorts of nice meals in the freezer for the weeks after his birth, instead I had about 100 jars of jam! No meals to speak of.....but plenty of jam should they be starving!

This year, my "thing" has become canning. I want to can and pickle everything that I can get my hands on. I am loving everything about it....except for my dilly beans and my dill pickles that I totally botched last night. No big deal. I'm having a blast learning as I go.

I think I was made to be a farmer and work with my hands. Next year I want my garden bigger, and I want a cow, and I want a goat to eat my poison ivy, and I want meat birds, and another turkey, and a kajillion canning jars for my birthday, and maybe another baby to spice things up........

I'll let you know what Hubby has to say about all of my "wants!"
(I'm pretty sure it'll be a bunch of big fat no's.........one can only push so far!)

A Gloriously Long Week-end

Well, we just got back from a fabulous long week-end up in the County hanging out with my family. I love Love LOVE going "up home" in the fall. It was actually kind of a weird week-end. Literally, one day we were 4-wheeling in our tanks and flip flops and stopping for a wade/swim/fall in a river, and the next day we were huddled around our campfire in jeans and hoodies. Weird. But so like the County that I love. You get a little bit of everything when you go up there! It was so nice. So slow. So much time with my parents and time for the boys to bond with Grampy and Grammy.

Just a few highlights of our trip: KADEN LEARNED TO RIDE A BIKE!!!!! It was amazing. We went on tons of beautiful 4-wheeler rides, had lots of campfires and smores, slept in every day because the boys crawled into bed with Grampy and Grammy instead of us!, visited my old church family, caught and released a skunk from Dad's live trap, watched movies late into the night, saw extended family and friends, brought home lots of nature to play with, visited a little Amish store and got a rockin' salsa recipe I'm going to try this week, and just thoroughly enjoyed stepping back from life for a wee little bit.

And now!!!

We are home to a gangbuster garden where the tomatoes and cukes are ripe and needing to be made into salsa and spaghetti sauce, relishes and pickles; boatloads of laundry because the kids get every speck of clothing filthy when we go up home; a chicken coop to muck out; much wood to be brought in and stacked; and a new week of school to start.....with slightly exhausted and overtired boys....but it was SO worth it!

Happy Labor Day, friends!

Week One - Recap

Okay. We have successfully completed our first week of homeschool here at the Booker Academy. No tears were shed. No hair was pulled out on my part. Jesse's incessant chatter didn't frazzle me too awfully much. Ransom's new crawling moves didn't throw things too much. And twice, I heard Kaden say: "I love school." That's a bonus; although, I am fully and completely aware that we are one week in, so all things are new and exciting. Overall, though, I would say it was a success, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

One of my main reasons in doing this has been to maintain simplicity in our lives for a bit longer. I DO see the irony in that I have just added something else to my plate. However, the way I look at it, is I would either be adding roughly two hours a day, five days a week of driving to my plate (to and from school twice a day) - or roughly two hours a day reading, writing, and sitting around my kitchen table with my boys. When I look at it that way - I would much rather have Kindergarten school work added to my plate as opposed to two hours of driving. Yucko.

Plus, already I am loving the flexibility of our schedule. Today, we kind of crammed two days of work into one (not the greatest idea, and one in which I won't do often. We're both fried) so that we can have a long week-end with the grandparents. So, I do love that.

On the other hand, I have already had a few moments of panic in wondering if I've made the right decision and if I am doing right by him. It was day #2 actually - before we even started school for the day! We only had one little day under our belt, and I was already questioning our decision. This could be interesting! I was having thoughts like: "OH man. I just found out that one of Kaden's very best friends at church just got enrolled in Kindergarten. They would have had so much fun". And: "Oh - if I had made that decision, then Jesse and I could have two hours every single day with just him and I while Ransom naps. Jesse hardly ever gets me all to himself." And the thoughts rolled on....

But, I DO think we've made the right decision. I certainly don't think I'll ruin him for life, anyway! We have two very intentional hours together every single day, and then the rest of the day is life as we know it, which is really good too. And dear little Jesse sits right beside Mama the whole entire time......talking nonstop.....and feeling like he's a part of everything anyway. So, it's good.