Daybook for November 4, 2013

Outside my window... all the leaves have changed or are changing, so it looks beautiful!  Yesterday we took a little family hike on a trail nearby to enjoy the cooling - but not too cold - weather!

I am thinking...about the strange dream I had last night.  It is one of those that I can't remember at all, other than it was an odd one.  It annoys me when I can't remember the details of a dream!

I am wondering... if this cold that Cecilia has will spread to all of us, or if it will stay nice and mild and then go away.  I have been considering ordering some fermented cod liver oil this season, to give us all some extra vitamin A and D, which will hopefully be good for helping us fight the germs when we get them.  Drinking raw ACV in the meantime!

I am praying...for the friend mentioned last time and her baby, born at just over a pound.  Praying for the baby to grow well and the family as they have to travel to and from the hospital, which is over an hour away.  If you have a moment, please say a prayer for them!

I am thankful...to have been able to lose 30 pounds since June.  I need to keep that number in mind when I get discouraged, because I still have about 15 more to go, and it has been slow going lately!

Chris says I look skinnier in the belly... so that's good!

  I am hearing... a chainsaw.  Or, rather, the sound of my neighbors paying too much for their tree removal service.  This is literally the seventh family (including us) on our street since May to get trees removed - and this is all seven houses within my view here at the portion of our street at the top of our hill.  Who knows if people way at the bottom have had any trees taken down, too?  Out of the six other residences besides ours, the same tree service has been used for 5 out of 6 of them.  Their estimate was I think $200, maybe $400, more than what we paid for our tree work, which makes me scratch my head.  I think it's funny that, not only do all the neighbors get their tree work done one after the other, but they all use the same service.  It's like it's the cool thing to do on our road, ha ha.  Guess we're not cool, but hey, we saved money! 

Learning at home... Cecilia has finished G week - she made a garden lapbook which gave her lots of cutting and gluing practice.  Caroline finished her pyramid project and took photos that I will plan to add here soon, once I get them off the camera card.  Caroline is also working on speed drills to memorize her multiplication facts better.  We need to get her to be quick with those before moving to more complex multiplying.

Updated to add some of our learning photos from the past week or so:

 

 Caroline's pyramid project... she made all the clothing for the little "Egyptians" herself, too!  This is the pyramid where Pharaoh Cheops was buried.

Cecilia has an interesting sense of spatial awareness... she made her little letter h into the door of a house - H for house!

G is for Garden - they decorated this garden "cake" (uh, gluten free banana bread covered in chocolate cream cheese frosting, that is...)

Lucy thinks she is big stuff - she is learning to cut fruit.  That's just a table knife, of course.  She cut the whole thing and did a fine job of it, too!

From the kitchen... tonight, apple cider cheese fondue!  Yum, yum!  We'll dip apple slices, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, chicken sausage, and bread cubes into it.  I made this soaked bread recipe - yet I will avoid eating it.  I am still trying the approach of eating very few grains/refined sugar to kick the excess weight off.  Last night, we had beef bourguignon, and it was sooo good... the house still smelled like it this morning!  Beef bourguignon means half a package of bacon left in the fridge, so I think tomorrow will be an eggs and bacon breakfast - yum!  We're also going to have this grain-free pizza tomorrow - it is delicious and easy!   And I just ate the last piece of this coconut oil chocolate bark... I made it with dark cocoa powder... oh, so yummy...

I am reading... Home Education by Charlotte Mason (still), and, uh... well, I looked through a catalog the other day for Christmas gift ideas - does that count?  I haven't felt like reading lately and need to get back to it.  Last night, I opted to watch an old Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode with my husband.  I came home from swimming laps at the pool, and I was highly offended that he'd be watching MST3K without me!  You know you're a nerd when that offends you...

To live the liturgical year...today is the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, patron of seminarians.  It happens that this is also my seminarian brother's birthday!  So we baked gingersnaps - a final cooking project for G week - and made little tags for them.  Although they will obviously get them after the feast day, we boxed them up to send to Uncle Tim so he can share a treat with some of his fellow seminarians.  We appreciate them in learning to give their lives to the Catholic Church as our future priests!!!  So if you know a seminarian, thank him today!

We also celebrated the Feast of All Saints on Friday and are commemorating the month dedicated to All Souls.

One of my favorite things... fall clothing!  I got a really cute dress that I am excited to wear now that it is cold.  And it looks awesome with my combat boots!  (I think I can hear my husband sighing and shaking his head as he reads this...)  And yeah, I don't generally wear dresses because I've been breastfeeding somebody for nearly the past eight and a half years... but this one can pull down enough to nurse.  Not so much that I would want to wear it with a newborn who is nursing often and long enough that I would end up stretching it out... but it will work if there is an occasional toddler nursing episode!

the combat boots, in style

I am creating... deodorant.  At least, I am planning to do so.  I have the ingredients and am wanting to try a new recipe.  To wear with my combat boots.  "Cause I am apparently some sort of eclectic hippie type. ;)

I am also going to be making 36 ornaments - all the same one - for a Jesse Tree ornament swap!!  A group of us is making 28 Jesse Tree ornaments plus the seven O Antiphons, and then once we mail ours to the mom who is generously coordinating the swap, she will sort them and mail us each back a complete set!  Mine will all be O Key of David.  I ordered the keys to use in constructing my ornament the day I signed up for the swap... yet, they have still not arrived.  That's what I get for ordering cheap stuff from China, apparently.  But the shipping was even free!!!  They are supposedly arriving by Friday, which will give me enough time to make them and send them out one day next week.  I am excited to make them and to see what everyone else comes up with, and it will be so nice to have a unique, handmade set!

Around the house... constant cleaning.  I cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets and put down diatomaceous earth in an effort to kill bugs.  So that's fun, with all the pots and pans and bowls living in the guest room for now.  I still need to switch out the kids' summer clothes with their fall/winter clothes.  As soon as I do so, temps here in Georgia will go back into the mid-80s, I am sure.  And then I did this fun project: the license plate border in the sunroom!!

It is only half-finished.  I need to figure out a not-too-expensive way to adhere hooks to brick so I can finish the other two walls.  Those tiny 3M hooks are very expensive!  Must check Amazon to see if they are cheaper in bulk there...

A few plans for the rest of the week... I need to vote tomorrow.  We have a city commission election and school board and some local special sales taxes - do other communities do these things called SPLOSTs?  It seems like they are always trying to pass a SPLOST or three locally... apparently every project is one requiring "special" extra funding, ha!

Wednesday evening, the girls have PSR class.  Thursday is ballet class.  Then on Friday afternoon, we are going to meet Chris's family at a stat park the next state over for the weekend.  Looking forward to some nice fall weather there!!

A picture thought I am sharing...

Lucy loves to get dirty outside.  This is getting harder as it gets colder outside.  Cool windy overcast day + toddler covered in wet sand = unhappy toddler, eventually - you know, once she realizes it!