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| Jeff Serenading Clark and I |
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| A fun way to practice writing letters. |
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| Smiling at Mommy |
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Cuckoo Clock
This cuckoo clock is in our dining room.
It was given to Jeff and I as a wedding present from Auntie Diane and Uncle Phil. They remembered the few times that I visited in their home as a child sitting or standing in their dining room watching their cuckoo clock. I loved to listen to it tick-tock, cuckoo, and watching Uncle Phil wind it every day.
Listening to our cuckoo clock tick-tock and cuckoo bring back memories of being at Uncle Phil and Auntie Diane's home.
First of all they lived in an old farmhouse from the 1800's? in Connecticut. My memories may not be 100% accurate as it has been a long time since I was last there and I will probably never get to return there either. It had fireplaces in the bedrooms upstairs and downstairs in the living room and master bedroom. The staircase was skinny and kind of "spiraled" or at leas it turned some.
I Remember:
- playing outside and being told not to get to close to the billy goat or he would butt me. I don't think I got too close.- playing on the large porch. I played with a toy stove. I also remember looking out the screened in porch at the large yard. My older brother slept on the porch that summer.
- going with their son Tim and my older brother to look for a lost cow. We found it in the woods. I remember my legs ached and I was tired from walking a long time looking for the cow. We got home just as it got dark. I vaguely recall being in the barn, but I don't remember much about it.
-playing in a little blue swimming pool in the yard.
-playing with a real china doll that I had to be very careful with because it was very old.
-sitting in the dining room eating a meal and watching the cuckoo clock.
-helping Auntie Diane make popsicles in the kitchen.
-visiting in the winter and having a "Colonial Days" theme. My Mom took my younger sister and brother and I to visit and we got to pretend we lived in the Colonial Days. We did our best to dress the part, cook over the fire in the fireplace, and practice spinning yarn with the spinning wheel. I'm sure we did something else that day too, but I don't remember it now. I also watched the cuckoo clock.
Do you have a cuckoo clock memory?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Return to School Mode
We started school yesterday!
Our first day went surprisingly well. We even went to the library, where I found out that the librarian renewed my overdue books for me last week so my fine wasn't as big as I was expecting it to be.
The kids enjoyed getting to see their new books and start something new.
Kaomi would have loved to have a full day of school. She had so much fun in her 5-10 minute lessons throughout the morning.
Kent was excited about History and wasn't to thrilled when it came time to do math. He found that math wasn't so hard after all. Hopefully, this year will be better for him than the end of last year when it comes to math.
Katy enjoyed her new things and did better at her copywork than I was expecting. I made sure she knew that I thought she did a great job.
Felicity wasn't sure about what was going on, but she was a trooper and everyone had a turn helping with her during the day. She also had a morning quiet time and a great afternoon nap.
Clark didn't interfere much, he slept most of the time and ate the rest of the time.
This week we are just having schoolwork 3 days and next week we plan to add our 4th day.
Our first day went surprisingly well. We even went to the library, where I found out that the librarian renewed my overdue books for me last week so my fine wasn't as big as I was expecting it to be.
The kids enjoyed getting to see their new books and start something new.
Kaomi would have loved to have a full day of school. She had so much fun in her 5-10 minute lessons throughout the morning.
Kent was excited about History and wasn't to thrilled when it came time to do math. He found that math wasn't so hard after all. Hopefully, this year will be better for him than the end of last year when it comes to math.
Katy enjoyed her new things and did better at her copywork than I was expecting. I made sure she knew that I thought she did a great job.
Felicity wasn't sure about what was going on, but she was a trooper and everyone had a turn helping with her during the day. She also had a morning quiet time and a great afternoon nap.
Clark didn't interfere much, he slept most of the time and ate the rest of the time.
This week we are just having schoolwork 3 days and next week we plan to add our 4th day.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Playing
On Wednesday Jeff took Kent and Katy to VBS. I stayed home in the morning to play with Kaomi and Felicity. I played with Felicity for a little while and them we all sang a few songs. After that Felicity went down for her nap and Kaomi wanted me to string beads with her. I made a bracelet for both Kaomi and Katy. Kaomi made a necklace. Than Kaomi wanted me to read to her.
On Thursday, I worked on getting stuff ready for school. Kaomi sat at the table by me to color. She was so excited that she gets to start school soon.
On Friday after we dropped the two oldest off at VBS Kaomi and I went to Micheal's to look around. Then we went to the mall and Felicity and Kaomi played on the playground. They had so much fun and it was air conditioned :)
On Thursday, I worked on getting stuff ready for school. Kaomi sat at the table by me to color. She was so excited that she gets to start school soon.
On Friday after we dropped the two oldest off at VBS Kaomi and I went to Micheal's to look around. Then we went to the mall and Felicity and Kaomi played on the playground. They had so much fun and it was air conditioned :)
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
What have we been up to?
Last week we went to the Farmers' Market. I let each of the kids pick something out. Kent picked round zucchini and scallop squash. Katy picked corn for supper. Kaomi picked yellow squash. I picked a cantaloupe and peaches. We came home and started in on the peaches.
The kids had fun peeling peaches for me to make jam. My jam ended up a failed experiment so I turned it into peach butter. We are still trying to decide if it is good.
On Sunday afternoon Jeff unpacked several more boxes that were in the dining area of the kitchen. They were my China that we haven't unpacked since we moved into our previous house before Kent was born. They now have a place in my kitchen cupboards.
My china pattern is Royal Schwarzburg RSC 23. I think it is very pretty. Now we can have a formal dinner.
This week is Vacation Bible School at our church. Kent and Katy get to go this year and they are both on the same team. Today while they were at VBS Kaomi, Felicity, Clark, and I went to the Farmers' Market. Kaomi wanted another cantaloupe. I bought some tomatoes to serve with our tacos for dinner and some okra to fry for tomorrow. I also bought some more peaches. Jeff wanted a cobbler. This afternoon after quiet time Kent and Katy helped cut the peaches for the cobbler and Kaomi helped make the batter. Jeff was happy to have his cobbler.
On Sunday afternoon Jeff unpacked several more boxes that were in the dining area of the kitchen. They were my China that we haven't unpacked since we moved into our previous house before Kent was born. They now have a place in my kitchen cupboards.
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| Cake Plate |
This week is Vacation Bible School at our church. Kent and Katy get to go this year and they are both on the same team. Today while they were at VBS Kaomi, Felicity, Clark, and I went to the Farmers' Market. Kaomi wanted another cantaloupe. I bought some tomatoes to serve with our tacos for dinner and some okra to fry for tomorrow. I also bought some more peaches. Jeff wanted a cobbler. This afternoon after quiet time Kent and Katy helped cut the peaches for the cobbler and Kaomi helped make the batter. Jeff was happy to have his cobbler.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Homemade Apple Butter
My house smelled wonderful all day. I made apple butter in my crockpot.
The recipe I used is adapted from this recipe. My recipe is below.
Homemade Apple Butter
2 quarts of homemade, blended applesauce
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/16 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup honey
Mix all in a small crockpot and heat on low. Place crockpot lid on wooden skewers to allow steam to escape. Cook for 7-12 hours, scraping sides of crockpot every hour or so to keep from burning. When as thick as you want it put into jars. Cool and freeze or refrigerate with labels.
I had the above jars from jam and decided to use them and will freeze my apple butter. I left about an inch of head space in my jars to allow for expansion in the freezer. Mine cooked for about 9 hours. You could also can them in a water bath using canning jars.
The apple butter will keep for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator or 6-12 months in the freezer.
The recipe I used is adapted from this recipe. My recipe is below.
Homemade Apple Butter
2 quarts of homemade, blended applesauce
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/16 tsp. ginger
1/2 cup honey
Mix all in a small crockpot and heat on low. Place crockpot lid on wooden skewers to allow steam to escape. Cook for 7-12 hours, scraping sides of crockpot every hour or so to keep from burning. When as thick as you want it put into jars. Cool and freeze or refrigerate with labels.
I had the above jars from jam and decided to use them and will freeze my apple butter. I left about an inch of head space in my jars to allow for expansion in the freezer. Mine cooked for about 9 hours. You could also can them in a water bath using canning jars.
The apple butter will keep for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator or 6-12 months in the freezer.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Wonderful Weekend - Celebrating our Independence
This weekend we had a lot of fun.
On Saturday, Jeff worked at home and took care Kent, Kaomi and Felicity. I took Katy and Clark out for the day. We went to the mall, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target.
On Sunday we enjoyed our Church service and Sunday School classes. In the afternoon/evening we met with some of the people in our Small Group for a picnic supper, swimming, and ice cream. It was great to catch up with those we haven't seen in a few weeks.
On Monday we went to the 4th of July Parade in Denton. Kaomi wanted to know if we would see Santa in the parade. We told her we didn't think so. She was excited to see Santa and one of his elves riding a motorcycle :) After the parade we returned home and Jeff mowed the grass and worked on the baby gate he is building for our stairs. I cut and peeled apples to make applesauce in the crockpot. I am planning on making some apple butter in the crockpot using the applesauce I made. I also unpacked another box. After supper, we went to see the fireworks in Denton. We went early and met up with a few people from our small group and then some neighbors of ours who have kids that we know came to the same area. The kids had fun running around and playing for 2 hours and even made some new friends. Then after it was dark and we were waiting for the fireworks to start Kent lost his first tooth. He went to open his water bottle, with his teeth and his tooth fell out. The fireworks were great and Felicity laughed and giggled at the grand finale.
On Saturday, Jeff worked at home and took care Kent, Kaomi and Felicity. I took Katy and Clark out for the day. We went to the mall, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target.
On Sunday we enjoyed our Church service and Sunday School classes. In the afternoon/evening we met with some of the people in our Small Group for a picnic supper, swimming, and ice cream. It was great to catch up with those we haven't seen in a few weeks.
On Monday we went to the 4th of July Parade in Denton. Kaomi wanted to know if we would see Santa in the parade. We told her we didn't think so. She was excited to see Santa and one of his elves riding a motorcycle :) After the parade we returned home and Jeff mowed the grass and worked on the baby gate he is building for our stairs. I cut and peeled apples to make applesauce in the crockpot. I am planning on making some apple butter in the crockpot using the applesauce I made. I also unpacked another box. After supper, we went to see the fireworks in Denton. We went early and met up with a few people from our small group and then some neighbors of ours who have kids that we know came to the same area. The kids had fun running around and playing for 2 hours and even made some new friends. Then after it was dark and we were waiting for the fireworks to start Kent lost his first tooth. He went to open his water bottle, with his teeth and his tooth fell out. The fireworks were great and Felicity laughed and giggled at the grand finale.
Monday, July 4, 2011
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