beating the February blehs

Everybody talks about the February homeschooling blahs, but never more than in a leap year. That extra day throws us all for a loop. This year, however, we refused to wallow. Instead, we worked hard to combat them by . . . 

--feeding calves. Each week, the big boys walk to the dairy with walkie-talkie in hand and spend a couple of hours helping feed calves. What started with the five-year-old in tears because he was getting tossed around by animals bigger than him has ended in begging to go every day. As a mom, I'm thankful for this opportunity for the boys to learn to work alongside men, learn patience and the ability to keep with a task even when it's hard, and find ways to work with animals calmly and genuinely helpfully. 

--science experiments. We are currently tumbling rocks and growing crystals. Time is marked, not by the calendar, but by what day the rock tumbler can be opened and when the crystals will be finished. So fun!

--catching up with friends. From last minute Sunday night meals together to meeting up with out-of-state friends passing through during lunch time at CC, we tried to make it a month of saying "yes" to as many outings with friends and family as we could. 

--baking. We baked and decorated valentine cookies to make little care packages for all our friends at the dairy. I even sneaked a little handwriting practice in by making the kids write everyone's names on their bag of goodies. The kids loved it, the guys loved it, and I love that my kiddos have opportunities to show gratefulness and care to others. 

--more, ummmm, baking. I started making sourdough to conquer my fear of bread. Now my kids look forward to slathering it with my mom's strawberry rhubarb jelly any opportunity they get. My dad's contention that "Bread is just a carrier for jelly" lives on in our house on a weekly basis.

--celebrating Valentine's Day. Each day in February leading up to Valentine's Day, I wrote down one thing I loved about each child on a paper heart and taped it to their door before I went to bed. They thought it was so fun to wake up each morning and find the new heart. And my reluctant reader enjoyed it so much, he helped read the hearts for his little brothers. They've left them all on their doors for the whole month, and it's a good reminder to me in hard moments what a gift and joy they truly are. On the actual day, we made homemade PopTarts and dipped bananas in Nutella and smothered them in sprinkles and enjoyed cookies from Aunt Cookie WITH Aunt Cookie. A lovely day all around!

And just that quickly, February is almost over, and the blahs will soon be behind us. Flowers are blooming, Holy Week and Easter are coming, spring is so close we can feel it. March, we're here for you!

 

 

 

persisting

We started out the month with a two-year-old turning three who couldn't decide what kind of birthday he wanted. A bed birthday, a silage birthday, a cow birthday, so Mom picked and gave him a good, old-fashioned digger birthday, and it turns out he was quite okay with it because M&Ms were involved. So that solved that. 

Then we moved on to celebrating my sister's birthday, and she wasn't nearly as particular about birthday themes as long as she didn't have to cook and got to do a little thrifting. So a weekend together with my mom and sisters solved that. We're on a roll!

 

 

Then, thanks to Grandma keeping an eye on the toddler, the big kids and I started a science lab to see if we can make sourdough starter from scratch. This feels like a science experiment gone really wrong. Not gonna lie.  Fermented cultures don't sound like something I really want growing in my pantry, but nevertheless we persist. 

 

 

We're also heading into fall party season, so naturally giant ears of corn decor are a must. A MUST.

 

The five-year-old wanted to bake some bread to enter in the fair, so we baked and then promptly forgot to enter it. But the peanut butter cookies both boys entered got first and second place, so the bread was quickly forgotten. 

 

We also picked flowers for our Classical Conversations tutor to let her know how grateful we are for her and her kindness! And also because if we waited two weeks longer, the zinnias may have been a dried arrangement, and that's just not really how we roll. 

 

We attempted a final peach pie of the season. Score: 9/10 for taste, 2/10 for appearances. Pie bakers, leave all your tips and tricks in the comments. The cows were the only way to cover up the hideousness of it all.

 

 

So now we are gearing up for our fall harvest party, replete with all our dear homeschooling friends and neighbors and church family, and then our post-silage thank-you party where we feed our dairy friends in a vain attempt to thank them for the long hours they put in on our behalf. Speaking of, anyone have a good soup recipe that feeds 125?

 

 

Anyone? 

 

We Started Off Okay but Then . . .

The first week of school started great. We've got a second grader, a first grader, a kindergartner, a two-year-old who thinks he's a high schooler, and a three-month-old who doesn't want to miss out on any of the states and capitals or the doubles plus one facts or narration about Gilgamesh and Hammurabi.  Here's here for all of it. 

We eased in. Handwriting and blob mapping and poetry memorization for a couple days, then added in math, then added in First Language Lessons, then math, then Writing with Ease. I was feeling pretty confident. All we have left to insert is Classical Conversations weekly work. 

 

 

And then disaster struck. One morning, it seemed like the only work being accomplished was dealing with poor behavior. And answering questions that had nothing to do with what we were learning. And all the math problems were wrong. And no one could remember what "th" sounds like in reading. Or how to correctly differentiate between 6s and 9s. Then someone clogged the toilet. Then someone spilled Mom's coffee. Then I texted my sisters, texted my homeschooling friends, spilled it out to my mom, and then declared us all fine. FINE. We're all FINE. 

And we are. That's what each one of them told me: that it's normal to have hard days, that part of homeschooling isn't just learning facts but that it's also learning how to be human, and that there are days we do more "home" than "school" and days we do more "school" than "home."

So I unclogged the toilet, poured another coffee, sat the sobbing two-year-old on my lap, and we got back after it. Not for the whole day, but just long enough to remind ourselves that sometimes it's like riding a horse. You have to get back on or you won't remember that you actually can. 

summer 2023

 

I had some really grand plans for this summer. We were going to plow through some read-alouds, bone up on our science, work through a reading curriculum, have a bountiful garden, raise a calf, do some canning . . . 

 

 

Wanna know what we actually did? We grew a lot of weeds, finished exactly one science book, made it through two read-alouds, raised some tomatoes with blossom end rot, let a lot of bananas get over-ripe, and didn't do a ding-dang bit of our reading book.

 

On the plus side, five kids are alive and kickin'. The laundry is mostly done. The meals are mostly healthy. Most of us are getting sleep. We've eaten our fill of blackberries off the stem and cut some pretty colorful bouquets. 

Here I Swap: Mug Swap 2022 - now closed!

Six years of mug swapping is about to go down. I hope you ladies are ready. Six years! Back when I first started the mug swap, I remember thinking, "Why should all the crafty blogger ladies have all the fun swapping mugs and making friends? Lutherans can do it too." Something like 150 of you signed up that year, and then the number almost doubled the next. It goes to show that Lutherans really can care for one another and care about one another. So keep up the good work, ladies! 

As with every year, I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that every year, there's a handful of ladies who sign up and then don't end up sending a mug. It really bugs me. And I know it's especially disappointing to the couple of ladies who don't get a mug. So, please, if there's a remote chance you'll forget, not follow through, or change your mind about this down the road, please X out of your browser now.

The good news: I'm ready to start gathering names and info!

 Now, let me also just be real with you for a moment: My primary vocation is wife and mother. As a result, I won't be snappy in responding to emails. My children and homeschooling and making sure my husband is well stocked with homemade salsa come first. That may mean that it feels like you're waiting forever to be paired up. (I promise it won't actually be forever. Just check back on the FB group now and then. I'll keep it updated.) I do ask for and appreciate your patience. There's nothing in this for me other than seeing you ladies connect up over our shared love of Christ Jesus, our Lord, and our Lutheran Confessions. 

And mugs.

 With all those caveats, let's get this show on the road.

 1. After you fill out this form, I'm going to pair you up with another Lutheran gal and send you both the information you'll need to know about one another (names and addresses, etc.). That means that you must fill out the form in its entirety--with correct email addresses and zip codes and the whole shebang.

2. Put together a little care package for her. Add as many goodies to the package as you'd like -- as long as it doesn't cost you more than $20.00 -- but you have to at least include a mug. (Thus . . . a mug swap.)

3. Stick that package in the mail! Sending an email to your swap buddy to let her know it's on its way won't hurt either. (Keep in mind that mailing something also has a cost.)

4. Wait for your package to arrive. If you don't get it around the time it should arrive, send an email to your swap buddy and politely check in.

 If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking this link and filling out the form. 

• Sign-ups close mid-September, and you'll receive information on your swap friend within the next few weeks. (Yes. It may take me that long. I'm not getting any younger, people.)
  

• Send the mug/package by October 15!

• Post a picture of your swap package when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2022 on Instagram, Facebook, or whatever socials you're currently digging.
  

• Finally, I'm hoping this swap remains a helpful, joyful way for Lutheran women to encourage each other, but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. If she doesn't send you a package, feel free to follow up with her via email or tag her on Facebook. Let the Law do its work.
• Now let's get swapping!

Here I Swap 2021

 SIGN UPS ARE NOW CLOSED! IF YOU MISSED THE DEADLINE, NOT TO WORRY. WE'LL HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

Happy five-year mug-swap-iversary! We made it to a milestone of mug swappery. High five for that. 

Now, I've got good news and bad news.

Let's rip off the band-aid. Bad news: Every year, there's a handful of ladies who sign up and, for whatever reason, don't end up sending a mug. This is bothersome to me. I know it's sad to the couple of ladies who don't get a mug. So, please, if there's a remote chance you'll forget, not follow through, or change your mind about this down the road, please X out of your browser now.

The good news: I'm still giving the swap a go this year, despite having four kids 5 and under, homeschooling, and trying to keep track of my dairy farming husband. It may not always be feasible, but for this year it is. So thank you for being understanding if I don't reply to a query or email super fast. I'm probably wiping up spilled milk or breaking up a squabble over who gets to wear the Davy Crockett coonskin hat first thing in the morning.

A few reminders on how this works:

 1. I'm going to pair you up with another Lutheran gal and send you both the information you'll need to know about one another (names and addresses, etc.).

2. Put together a little care package for her. Add as many goodies to the package as you'd like -- as long as it doesn't cost you more than $20.00 -- but you have to at least include a mug. (Thus . . . a mug swap.)

3. Stick that package in the mail! Sending an email to your swap buddy to let her know it's on its way won't hurt either.

4. Wait for your package to arrive. If you don't get it around the time it should arrive, send an email to your swap buddy and politely check in.

 If you're 21 or older, sign up by clicking this link and filling out the form. 

• Sign-ups close October 3, and you'll receive information on your swap friend by October 23. (Yes. It may take me that long. I'm not getting any younger, people.)
  

• Send the mug/package by November 10.

• Post a picture of your swap package when it arrives. Use the hashtag #hereiswap2021 on Instagram, Facebook, or whatever socials you're currently digging.
  

• Finally, I'm hoping this swap remains a helpful, joyful way for Lutheran women to encourage each other, but unfortunately, I can't be held responsible for your partner's actions. If she doesn't send you a package, feel free to follow up with her via email or tag her on Facebook. Let the Law do its work.
• Now let's get swapping!

cookie baking

 

 

She spent 10 minutes making the cookies, 10 minutes scooping them out, and a solid 45 minutes placing each sprinkle in the correct place.

 

 

And I don't ever want to forget it.