The Old Fishin' Hole

This is it.  The old fishin' hole!  One of several ponds we have on the farm....but according to hubby, this one is the best for fishin.  And me, being an awesome fisherwoman that I am (HA!) would have told you the same.....Umm, Yep!



This is my #2 in the procession of boys.  He is so warm hearted and kind.....He wants to catch a fish, but doesn't want to hurt them...can you feel his dilemma?





My #1 boy on the right and #3 on the left....ha, just noticed he's wearing a shirt with a #3 on it.  Spooky!  My oldest, who thinks he's a professional fisherman....like his mama, of course, is giving his little bro some unsolicited advice.




I think #2 , in the orange shirt,  has caught something.....we caught a lot of moss that evening....  See that nifty atv on the far right?  That's where I assume my position while they're fishing.   After all, there always has to be a supervisor, right?



I'm trying to explain to him, that fishing takes lots of patience....maybe that's why I don't fish?  Good thing hubby likes to fish, otherwise the boys would never get to experience this.  Looking at this picture, it looks calm, serene, peaceful....but if you were there, you would have known otherwise.  Constant chit chat, "where's all the fish", "I have to pee", "Mommy, where's the muskrats?", "Do the fish eat cow poop?'   They love to discuss bodily functions....sorry.



"Mom, you gotta quit talking to me...you're going to scare the fish".  Hmmm....maybe that's why I've never had any luck in the past.



This is our old girl, Hershey, who is/was hubby's pointing dog when hunting.  Jake, in the background, is our cattle dog, who loves to get cows off the fence, police any goings on, help move cattle, and  steal and rough up the kids' basketball.  When we came back up to the house, the dogaloos were so happy to see us...like they haven't seen us in days. 

Caught a glimpse of the sunset before heading inside....wouldn't have traded that evening for anything.

Love to all,

Aimee

Easter is Coming!



Ok, so it was a couple of days ago when I realized that Easter was THIS WEEKEND!

Holy bananas! It was then I grabbed an envelope from a bill I just opened (cause I'm organized like that), and commenced to writing out my to do list on it in order to be ready for Easter.  

 

My List

• Buy Easter Candy (Have hubby hide it, so I don't eat it!)
• Find Easter baskets
• Buy annoying plastic shredded grass for baskets
• Buy egg coloring kit  BONUS!  Found an extra from last year!
• Buy eggs. (This may seem odd since we own laying hens...but we only have brown egg layers.  Ever try to dye brown eggs? Ya, not so easy.)
• Figure out Easter breakfast and dinner menu
• Figure out Easter craft with kids. (Geode Easter Eggs?)



Our regular routine for Easter is: Night before Easter, we color eggs, and then watch Peter Cottontail, you know the old version, I loved it growing up, and now it's our tradition.

Wake up at the tiniest crack of dawn, to kids squealing and piling in our bed, hubby crawls down the hall to the kitchen to make a survival pot of coffee. 

Me, holding kids back , literally, so no one spies the "hidden" Easter eggs before the "Great Hunt" begins. (We have to hide the eggs inside...one of the downfalls of living on a farm...otherwise the cats, dogs, possums, and coons would have themselves a tasty Easter treat.  And, well, I'm just not that nice). All the while I'm yelling at hubby to grab the camera on his way back from the kitchen.  Kids then run down the hall to the kitchen, spy their goodies in their baskets on the kitchen table, ooh and aah for a moment before they dump goodies onto said table, shove a piece of candy in their mouth, and take off with their basket to hunt for the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid during the night. 

I would then make some sort of egg concoction (scrambled, frittata, omelet, etc...) with bacon or sausage, call it good, and try to keep the kids from going into a sugar coma.

About noonish, I usually start on a ham, special scalloped potatoes, corn pudding, asparagus, rolls, and some sort of fruit pie. 

Well, this year, I'm gonna change just a few things up a little bit.  Night before activities will stay the same....going to get the coffee ready the night before and set the timer.....put my camera on my nightstand....and this year I'm going to make....drum roll please.....HOT CROSS BUNS!!  It use to be a tradition in my house growing up.  But, I've looked for those babies high and low.... everywhere, and nobody sells them anymore.  I guess maybe, if you went to a special bakery or pastry shop, you might find them, but not in these parts!

Well, this year, I'm going to make them!  I'm so excited....just wish my mama was here to eat them with us. 

My Easter links:

Hot Cross Buns Recipe  This is The Pioneer Woman's recipe! (Love that woman!)

Geode Easter Eggs

 





Here Comes Peter Cottontail (DVD)

What are your family's Easter  traditions? 

Tomorrow, I'm going to post recipes for my Easter dinner......

Off to find my bunny spirit,
Aimee

We are Bald Eagle Watching!

Hey all!  Just wanted to take a minute a share with you what the boys and I have been obsessed with lately.
We've been watching a male and female bald eagle, in Iowa, take care of their eggs by way of a live feed camera mounted by their nest. 

Well, the chicks have hatched....and they are ridiculously cute! 

There used to be four of them, but mom stepped on one of the hatchlings and killed it , I think she may have sensed something was wrong with it...still heartbreaking.

Anyway, here's the link if your curious!  What an amazing, spring miracle!

Bald Eagle Web Cam


Enjoy,
Aimee

To the Zoo We Go!!

What a wonderful spring day yesterday!  It was the most perfect time to go to the Topeka Zoo.
My oldest kiddo decided to stay home and help dad with cows and run errands.  So, I packed up the other 3 boys and the two cutie patootie girls that I watch and we headed to the zoo. 


Last year we went right in the middle of summer,it was way too hot, and they were renovating a majority of the animal habitats.  It was rather disappointing but I bought a season pass nevertheless in the hopes that with all the work they were doing would greatly improve our little zoo.

Wow, what a great improvement from last year!  It was not too warm out, so we saw just about every animal they had.  Our highlight was the mama hippo and her baby.  We had seen them last year, and it was exciting for the kids to see how they were getting along now. 

I think we watched the orangutans for 15 minutes.  The kids were fascinated by their climbing and jumping skills....I could not tear them away.  I think maybe they could relate with them and was just hoping they were not picking up any new ideas.

For some reason, the girls were enthralled with the African Crested Porcupine. ???? They had a blast!

 

She was very taken with all the flowers in bloom.  She's a woman of not too many words....but said over and over..."I loouvvee flawoors".  And in case you can't speak "2 yr old", it's, I Love Flowers! 

After seeing the zoo, we went across the road and enjoyed our picnic lunch....then the kids played at the awesome park for nearly an hour.  I was exhausted just watching them, but I knew if I just let them keep going.....it was going to be a nice, peaceful ride home....minus the snoring.

I think the older "cutie patootie" was a little worried about the squawking  geese roaming along the path near us.  I think she's going to make a break for it.

We can't wait to visit the zoo again next month for their homeschool education program.  The Topeka Zoo also has a summer camp, and tons of other fun experiences for kids! 


One exhausted mom,
Aimee

Rainy Day Playdough

Last week it rained every single cotton-pickin' day!   We had a blanket fort day, a movie day, a day at Science City, a catch up on our reading day.....and as the walls started closing in around us, and the boys were crawling up them, I was desperate for something to keep their little hands busy! 

Someone suggested playing with play-dough, but I had long ago  tossed it into the trash after scrapping it out of the carpet...but I did have the ingredients on hand to make it.

So, here it is.....no guarantee that it won't stick to your carpet, but it is natural, and non-toxic!

Mix the following ingredients in a pot over low heat ( recipe makes 1 lb) :



1 cup flour





1 cup water



       

 



1/2 cup salt



    



1 TBSP vegetable oil



                                   



1-1/2 tsp cream of tartar



                                            
                

  



Food coloring



              



Stir, it won't take long

   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          



before it starts to clump



                   

                         

  



dough is ready when it rolls into a ball



store playdough in Ziploc bags in the fridge



   
   

                                

                                        Use waxed paper and hold it down

                           with painters tape for a non-stick 
                             work surface.

                                          I set out a bowl of plastic cutlery,
                            cookie cutters, a rolling pin, and
                            they had a blast!

Take that rainy day!
Aimee

                                                      

                      

                                                                             

          

Guest Blogger on Hip Homeschool Moms: Acting Pretty When Things Get Ugly

All of us homeschool moms have had rough days.  Days when you have had just about enough!  Days when you're trying to encourage your youngest to finish his work, your middle child is flicking paper balls into the fish tank,  your eldest son sprays half a bottle of Axe body spray in his room and it filters through the house  resulting in an evacuation to the porch, leaving lunch cooking on the stove, and you already have a splitting headache...oh, and it's raining. Not that I'm saying that this happened to me...wink, wink.
Well, it's good to know that we're not alone on the bad days...why does it cheer us up to know someone has had miserable days  like us?  Hmm...
Hip Homeschool Moms has guest bloggers on their site sharing encouragement, woes, and ideas.
So hop on and share in the trials and tribulations of this homeschool mom and how she deals with it.

Acting Pretty When Things Get Ugly!

Guest Blogger Sarah is a homeschooling mom of 5, ages 3 months to 8 years. She tries to take life one day at a time, even when several days attack her at once. You can find out more about her (and how she really, really, really tries not to lose her mind) at Ordinary Days.

Enjoy!

Aimee

Learning with Math Songs

Hey all!  Just want to share a few math tricks that has worked for our family.  I am by no means being compensated with this product or for my review.  I purchased the following products at a homeschool convention and love them! 
The company is Audio Memory and they make Cd's with songs on topics like;addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, grammar, geography, states & capitals, and U.S. history. 
We have tried the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and grammar.  They are a  wonderful compliment to our regular studies.

The addition and multiplication songs are what we used this morning to get the day going.

 
The kids usually dance around the room singing and being silly....but that's how we learn,  right?  At least at this age, if you make learning fun, they ( and you ) get more out of it. I still have the additon song for the 5's in my head, and probably will for the rest of the day...that's good, right? Or maybe slightly annoying to every one else, because you know, I just can't keep it to myself.

My boys are playing with Lego's as we listen to the math songs.  Got to keep those hands busy, and yes they do actually learn better this way.

Here are some links where you can purchase!
Multiplication Songs
Addition Songs
Audio Memory

What do you use to make learning memorable and fun? 

Happy learning!
Aimee

The Nephew

Our nephew, Colin, who is my husband's older sister's youngest boy...phew, has been visiting with us most of the summer.  He and along with his older brother, Ethan, have been staying with us during the summer for the past 8 years.  However, the last 3  years or so, it's just been Colin. He's 15 now, 6'2", and learning how to drive...YIKES! 
I love my nephew, he's like one of my own kids, and I'm going to miss him terribly.
Colin has a great sense of humor and keeps me laughing, which I need desperately in my  CRAZY house of 4 little boys!  He shares my love of sushi and will watch "Celebrity Ghost Stories" with me, because I will not watch it alone, even in the daytime, with the lights on......
He loves to help Matt with farm chores, although alot did not get done this season due to the excessive heat.  But, any chance he has to drive the ATV he'll take.

• Excuses to drive the ATV; To get driving practice in
• too far to the pond to walk
• check the mail....really? It's only about 50 ft from the house
• Make sure the brakes are working
•  In case any hot chicks come driving by

He's a great kid and I'm glad we have had this time with him every summer.  And, I'm especially glad my kids have had this time with their cousin. Oh ya, and I really need to thank him for showing my 2 oldest sons how to do armpit farts...really Colin, thank you so very much!

I hope he keeps coming back every summer until college....and maybe after? 

                                        

I'mYour Vawentine's Cup

This is him, the sweet little magpie of my heart!  I realize he is a beautiful creature with cornflower blue eyes and lashes the stretch a mile, and that smile with a hearty giggle that turns my heart to mush....but there is another side to this sweet, innocent creature....but that's for another day! 
Today being Valentine's day and all, a day in which my kids are amazed and bewildered why it's not an actual holiday, I've decided to share just the good side of my youngest.
He came to my bed early this morning as he does every other morning and said, "Hi, mommy!"  He snuggled in as he would normally and took my face in his hands and kissed my lips, then pressed his warm, soft face to mine.  Ahh, love this child. 
I said,"Happy Valentine's Day, are you going to be my Valentine?"
My youngest then says," I wuv you mommy, I'm your Vawentine's cup!"
Hmmm, not what I quite expected, but I'll take it!  Apparently the plastic Valentine's cups I got for the boys last week has really made an impression on my littlest Valentine. Then the rest of the crew comes barreling in and tries to push my "Valentine's Cup" aside. He then screams, "NO!  She's my Valentine's cup!" and then proceeds to....Oh wait, like I said, I'm only sharing the good side of my sweet, innocent littlest Valentine today!
I wonder if he will be my Easter egg in April.....

To Blog or not to Blog....

  So, I decided I missed blogging and writing (it's been almost 1 1/2 yrs).  I found my old blog easy enough, but being able to log in to post was a whole 'nother ball o' wax!  Since life is short and mine very busy, I just made a new blog site after over an hour of trying to recover the password, email address.....

  Today is a snowy day and the little people in my house, of course, want to go out in the snow and frolic, romp and freeze their extremities.   I think I've finally convinced them to wait until their dad gets home in a few hours.  I'm hoping to fend them off and keep them busy in the meantime.  Taking 30 min. to bundle up 4 heathens to play in the snow for 20 min.  is definitely a joint effort. Won't Matt be thrilled when he gets home :0 

  Lessons.....well, maybe later today.  We're ahead of schedule if that counts!

Pictures of my little snow monsters to follow soon, Ahh, good to be back!