January

Hello again!  I have this hope of maintaining a monthly blog.  It's all I can manage but I know my dear family and some friends would like a peek into our goings on once in a while and it's a tidy way for me to organize our photos and memories.  I have about an hour out of the whole month to write this thing so I'm not making any promises as far as quality and editing are concerned.  I'll do my best to make it somewhat coherent.  Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Ninja

January has been wonderful.  We snuggled and read, snuggled and read.

Charlotte Mason said that educators should seek to spread a feast of ideas before children.  I've done my best to lay out a feast and then to make the time to sit alongside them and partake. It has been worth the effort.  Here's what we feasted on this month....

Well, Eve, for starters....isn't she just edible?!

And these....

Is it weird to kiss a book you are reading?  Mark says so.  I loved "Little Women" so much I simply had to give it a smooch here and there to express my gratitude for having finally had the pleasure of reading it.  Thanks to my sister-in-law for the wonderful leather bound copy for Christmas.  She also recommended A Picture Perfect Childhood, shown in the photo.  What a gem!  It is a collection of booklists for picture books.  We borrowed a bunch of the suggested titles from the library and were not at all disappointed.

Claire and Lucy really love to dance these days.  I'll try to catch them on video for next month's blog.  It is quite a thing to see.  As is the daily wardrobe choice...

We don't have TV but we had gotten into the habit of watching too many videos around the holidays.  It could be my imagination but I think I could actually see their brain cells deteriorating.  They go limp and spacey while the video is playing and them become flailing, spitting werewolves when I turn it off.  So we quit, cold turkey.  I have taken all of the videos to the attic for an extended stay.  Our quality of living  has dramatically improved.  We have more time in the evenings to do other, old fashioned things - like make shadow puppets on the wall or play board games or read chapter books by candlelight,

The one time we did put a video on it was to watch a production of Prokofiev's ballet: Cinderella.  They were riveted.  I don't think they would have been open to watching if they were not weaned off of the other stuff first.  It's the same thing with music.  Sure, they enjoy listening to kids' music with dinky instrumental accompaniments but when the only thing that is offered is Mommy and Daddy's CD collection of classical music, lovely things happen.  This month they were often found dancing to a CD of Brahms Lieder and the first movement of Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata became the soundtrack to their pretend play of hearing the rain fall on the roof of their ark.  Kids are amazing.  They come up with so many wonderful things.

School is going very well.  I'm done with all of the creative pinteresty ideas.  Just git 'er done.  On school days we spend 10 minutes on phonics drill (using the Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading); 10 minutes on Math (using Math-U-See Primer); 10 minutes on Handwriting (using a slate and the Wet-Dry-Try method from Handwriting Without Tears); 10 minutes on group piano lessons; 10 minutes of strengthening exercises for Nora; an hour for reading books and about 30 minutes for the Bible/letter of the week preschool program (using Heart of Dakota's "Little Hands to Heaven") which incorporates a lot of dramatic play that they all love.

Nora is doing great in her lessons.  She's such a darling.  And since the botox injections and casting of her right leg she has been able to sit in a pretzel and straddle by herself for the first time in her whole life!  She is so glad for the added level of independence.  I can't even imagine not being able to easily straighten my legs out.  The things we take for granted that she struggles with.  And yet, I think in a way she is made all the better for it.

I was reading today in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Men" a passage which reminded me of her:

"Dick Brown's affliction was a crooked back, yet he bore his burden so cheerfully that Demi once asked in his queer way, "Do humps make people good-natured?  I'd like one if they do." "

Doing some school lessons at the library

So many choices...

Recipe of the Month: 

Creamy Tomato Chicken Soup

Every Sunday I roast a chicken for dinner since Sundays are my day "off" and it takes almost no effort to throw that on the table along with some baked sweet potatoes and steam-in-a-microwave-bag asparagus.  On Monday I take the rest of the meat off and throw the bones into a crock pot with half a cup apple cider vinegar and whatever onion, carrot and celery scraps I saved from the previous week.  That cooks on low for 12 hours and then I use the stock for a soup base for the week.  We eat soup for lunch on most days - it's cheap and it helps to keep us healthy through the winter months.  This Creamy Tomato Chicken has become one of our favorites.  We are trying to stay free of wheat in our diets so it doesn't have any pasta but we have tried it in the past with some added tortellini and it's tremendous.  Even without that, it makes a nice midday meal.

It helps if you can get a helper dressed in a princess costume

1 Tbsp Coconut or Olive Oil

1 Onion, diced

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

1 Can Coconut Milk

4 Cup Chicken Stock

1- 28oz Can Tomatoes, diced, with juice

2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 Tbsp Basil

1 tsp Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

1 Package Frozen Spinach

At least 2 Cups Cooked Chicken

Saute onion and minced garlic in a little oil until tender. Add all of the other ingredients except for the cooked chicken and bring to a boil.  Turn heat to low.  Add cooked chicken.  Simmer until spinach is thawed and soup is heated through.  Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese.

And here is a  video of my girl which I found on my tablet.  She likes to amuse herself at quiet time by taking videos of herself.  I thought this was particularly adorable.