Crunchy Peas

Belly Talk

I'm literally gaining weight by the minute. Hmmm, perhaps it has something to do with the aforementioned cinnamon rolls and donuts?  Just a thought.  I am only 14 weeks along, and already I have quite a pooch going on here.  I guess 4th babies just come faster. I am hoping that is also true in labor :)

I gained 50+ pounds with my other 3 pregnancies.  Yikes, it was hard to look at the scale towards the end.  You might remember how hard I worked over the summer training for my triathlon.  It has been difficult to see some of those pounds show up again.

Now that the 1st trimester fog is behind me, I have decided to get serious about staying reasonably fit during this pregnancy. I don't love the gym.  It is okay when I am feeling tip top...but with my belly and less-than-cute fitness wear these days, I'd rather do what I can at home. Not to mention the cost savings.

This book rocks!  It has specific circut-training workouts for each trimester and a great section on post-partum fitness and diet.  It is totally doable at home and I found it to be a realistic program. I highly recommend it.

I checked this video out from the library last week.  I love it. There is a great 40 minute conditioning workout with modifications for all three trimesters AND a 20 minute partner workout.  The partner doesn't really workout per say, he just supports you.  The instructor wears a tank top and boxer shorts and the "studio" is a living room.  Love that.

Finally, with my ballet background I always love a good yoga session.  This prenatal yoga was great.  Not too strenuous, I use it for a slow-paced workout on the weekends.

I've kept up with my swimming a couple times a week. It feels great to be weightless in the water.  There are all shapes an sizes at the YMCA on the mornings when I am there.  Me and the grannies kick it during the 6am lap swim. I really enjoy it.

So, here's to a growing belly...but not a growing booty.
 

handiwork

Donut day. Lovely friends, lovely confections.

Kneading.

Rolling.

Cutting.

Assembling.

Cooking.

Best of all...eating.

We also made these lovely corn husk dolls. 

I bought the corn husks from the grocery store.  I found them in the Hispanic foods section.  They had to be soaked in water overnight to make them more pliable.  I think these are wonderful. So simple and sweet.  The girls actually played with these all afternoon. Instructions here.

It was good to put our pencils down for a day and work with our hands.

an early winter?

We woke up to this one day last week.

It began the night before, so I guess were weren't entirely surprised.  There wasn't much- just a little dusting.  But for the girls, it provoked some excitement. 

A simple holiday soon commenced.  Just a little celebration to go with the first snow of the season.

I had been looking for an excuse to make the Sticky Pecan Carmel Roll recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I mean, how dangerous can it really be to have cinnamon roll dough at the ready any time you get a buttery whim? A cozy snow day was just the right opportunity.

Let me tell you, it can be very dangerous.  There is another lump of dough in my refrigerator waiting to be transformed (the recipe makes enough dough for TWO pans of sticky buns, so knock yourself out).  I used the challah dough recipe.  Also, I didn't have pecans on hand so I just chopped up some walnuts and they worked fine. I did most of the work the night before. I made the dough, let it rise, rolled it out, filled it, and cut them into rolls.  Then, I put it in the fridge overnight (covered in plastic wrap). In the morning, I let it rise on the counter for about 40 minutes, then baked them. I'm thinking these would be perfect for Christmas morning. They were gooey and flaky all at the same time, and I'm sure that we won't wait for the next snowfall before we eat these again. Pure heaven.
 

leaves, squash, and cookies

This was the view over the mountain pass as we traveled over to visit family last weekend. 

This picture was taken through the car window, at 70 mph, no photoshop...we were in total awe.  Our normal route was plagued with construction, so we went a different way across.  I'm glad we did.

 

A visit to the pumpkin patch, looking for just the right one.  It was quite a search.  Her pumpkin required just the right stem.

 

I required that we eat butter saturated, freshly plucked corn....and take several silly pictures.

(Uncle Alex and Aunt Marsha- or is it the other way around?)

Silly, borderline inappropriate pictures.

Hannah was not amused.

And now for the cookie recipe some of you requested, there is butter involved. Lots of it. You've been warned.

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Cookies:

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 baking soda

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I always just use cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves- a pinch of each)

1 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

16 oz can of pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

12 oz chocolate chips

Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Next add pumpkin and vanilla.  Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon onto a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!!
 

some self talk

I want to be completely honest.  Homeschooling is a lot of work.  Work isn't really even a good descriptive word.  "Work" implies a bit of drudgery.  It makes me think of something monotonous and unpleasant.  I wouldn't call it any of those things.  I will say that it is time consuming.  Like, really time consuming.

     

One of my friends asked me the other day, "So when you are teaching the girls their lessons do you just sort of ignore the phone and the laundry and stuff?" She was asking because she is doing some pre-school work with her 4 year old son. She was trying to figure out how to balance it all. My answer: yes. There is a portion of my day that is devoted solely to schooling (usually from 9am-2pm), whatever remains after that is when all the other issues of home-managing are addressed (ie. phone calls, emails, dishes, laundry, cooking, cleaning...need I go on- you all know what I am talking about).  Some days, that portion of time is but a few hours.  

Where am I going with this?  The truth is, with baby #4 on the way I have already begun to feel a little overwhelmed. I am entirely in touch with reality this time around. Sometimes I think a little ignorance would be blissful. But being that I am feeling a little "seasoned" at this mothering gig- the logical questions I have asked myself are: "What will have to change?"  "Can I really do all of this"  "Could I simultaneously nurse AND make homemade hand-dipped candles for a project in history relating to the medieval times?" "Is there enough of me to go around in this capacity?" "WHY, AGAIN, ARE WE DOING THIS?"

This post (lovely blog!) brought it all back to me.  It helped me so much.  I wanted to share it with all of you that are homeschooling or may be considering it.  It really sort of encapsulates my thoughts of the "why" of homeschooling for us. This one helped too. And while you are there, you might as well read this one as wel.  So freeing. I went back and read my own thoughts when we were first starting out.  And before long other little reasons (our own family's reasons- not saying that homeschooling is right for every family) started cropping up.

Including reason # 493...

Pumpkin cookies and cocoa in our slippers,

sometime between math and spelling.

I'm gonna slip in some other reasons as I recognize them from time to time.  Just to remind myself- we are doing this.  We are doing it day by day.  It is working and I'd like to think that it will continue.

Thanks for indulging me in a little self-talk.

By the way, I have already decided that pumpkin cookies totally count as a vegetable!

things I'm loving

I am generally not in love with "things", but it never hurts to have a few lovelies in your life.  Here is some of what I have been enjoying lately.

1. Breakfast.  I took a little 6 week vacation from tasty morning meals.  Basically I survived on bananas and saltines (a few grapefruits too).  Morning sickness is comparatively mild for me- thankfully. Just a bit of nausea. Feeling much much better.

2. Pixi cosmetics.  Especially this cheek stain.  I am a total sucker for packaging.

3. Braids.  Lots and lots of braids.  No shower required :)

4. Squeezo.  Makes canning tomatoes and applesauce a breeze.  Okay not that easy...but easier! No peeling. If you see one at a garage sale, snatch it up!  There are a few on ebay!

 

5. Wuthering Heights on netflix "watch instantly".  Good, really really good.

 

6. The Diary of Mattie Spenser.  A good quick read.  It took me one full Sunday.

7. Lavender.  I bought some from buds from the farmer's market a while back.  I have them stashed in little dishes all around the house.  Smells wonderful.  I've always used this in my bath. 

8. Kissaluvs size 0.  Cloth diapers...they're baaaack.  Keeping my eyes out for some good deals on a new stash.

9. Ghosting.  Hillarious! Hamish and Andy.  Who knew?

10. Pictures by Hannah.  Once a day I let her take photos with my iphone.  This gem showed up the other day.  I think she snapped it when we were waiting for Emma to come out of piano lessons.  I love how it shows a tiny snippet of the daily affection that is mine.  Love those arms around my neck.

Feeling more like Fall

The weather is finally turning.  I am so ready.  Summer was beginning to wear out its welcome.  Cooler temperatures and chilly breezes swooped in just in time.

 

Yesterday we fished out our sweatshirts (I say that as if it was a minor task- it wasn't.  Lots and lots of digging through a very disorganized even hazardous closet) and headed out for a little hike...

out behind our house to the wheat fields

 

I love the way these girls explore nature.  They are becoming so much more observant, so much more appreciative of God's creation.

 

We could see Fall emerging.  It was so subtle.

  

Thank you all for your sweet little notes about the new baby.  I will admit we were not planning this pregnancy. At first- the idea took some getting used to (it took me no less than 20 minutes to convince my husband that I wasn't joking!).  But, mothering these 3 girls has been such a joy-filled blessing and we are privileged to be shepherding their hearts.  I know that baby number 4 will be more of the same, in the best kind of way. 

 

sweet sweet sound

-

This is a doptone.  Using ultrasound, it detects fetal heart tones.  I use it many many times at every birth I attend.  I've heard countless little beats from soon-to-be-born babies using this doppler.

And this is me-- today.  Hearing MY OWN baby's heartbeat for the first time. 170 beats strong. Yep, that's right...SURPRISE!  Baby #4 is due in late April.  Nothing compares to hearing that little heart fluttering away. A sweet sweet sound.

Camille's Annual September Birthday Bag

My friend Camille's birthday is September 7th.  Every year I make her a bag. The last bag I made her was from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing Book.  It met her needs so well (she is a busy lady!!), that I thought I would use the same pattern this year, just changing the look of it.

I used a polka-dot denim for the outside, and a striped seer-sucker for the lining.  I made a few yo-yos for the front using my handy-dandy yo-yo maker.  The pattern doesn't call for bias trim on the side and back pocket, but I added it and liked the way it looked.

This bag whips up in an afternoon.  I had just enough time to cut it, sew it, iron it, photograph it, and wrap it in 4 hours!! As I was giving it to her, I worried that it looked a bit juvenile- what with all the polka-dots, yo-yos, and all. 

Thankfully she didn't agree. She loved it.  She then went on to totally annihilate all of us in a fierce round of bowling.  I was the BIG loser, setting a shameful record with a score 57!  What?!? Too bad we weren't golfing.  Lots of laughter (mostly at my expense).  Happy Birthday Friend!

back at it

 

For those of you interested, here is a list of the curriculum that we will be using this year:

Tapestry of Grace History/Literature- Year Two, Lower Grammar 

Shurley English- level 1 and 3

Spell to Write and Read

Saxon Math-level 2 and level 54 (with DIVE cd)

Nature study- this website will be so helpful.

Art- Drawing with Children

Bible study/character development- Young Peacemakers

Besides that, the girls are again to going to take some extracurricular classes one day/wk like: cooking, spanish, science, karate, and music.

In general, the week went well.  At first, there was a bit of laziness. It took a couple of days to get back into the discipline of our morning routines, sitting still, listening carefully, and working with diligence (I include myself in that).  By the end of the week there fewer off-task moments and we were happily settled in for another year of home-learning.

Hope your families are thriving in your new fall schedules!