I hurt

I was doing some sanding for the world's longest kitchen renovation project. Umm yeah, I'm still working on those cupboard doors and thankfully in the very last stages.  The unfortunate part is all that awkward sanding has put my right trapezius into stress and it pulled my neck out overnight. Could barely move my head when I woke up yesterday...ugh! That's twice for me now in two months, I think my body is trying to tell me something - quit working on renos, right?  (or get back to strength training, but I like the first option better) Anyway, I went to see my chiro and he set me straight again. Right now I'm typing with a cold pack on my shoulder. I'm in lot's of pain and need to take a little break from this space until things settle down. I hurt :(  

I'll be back after the weekend with pics of a the latest birthday boy in our home who turns 10!

PS: big brother who takes time out of his day to imagine with his much younger sisters not only rocks but will make a great future dad.  xxx.

some times all a day needs is chai

And when those days come you search high and low for your ingredients and pray that you remembered to pick up that little nub of ginger on your last grocery shop 'cause chai without ginger is like a summer day without sunshine.  

And since sunshine should be a shared thing... you too can make you own cup of chai.

Chai Tea 

8 cups water

20 cardammon pods 

20 peppercorns 

15 cloves

3 cinnamon sticks 

4-5 slices of ginger root

1-2 tbsp tea

3-4 cups 1% milk 

Boil spices for 30 mins. Add tea - steep for 5 mins. Add milk - reheat to boiling. Strain, add a little honey, and use your mini whipper to froth things up a bit.  

Now, grab a good book, sit outside in the sunshine and sip contentedly. 

happy earth day!

On such a beautiful, warm spring day how could I resist the laundry line. Bonus for being earth day too! Have a good one.

let's talk home-education talk #3

Before I get into this post I am going to do the Canadian thing and start with saying "sorry", it's our way after all.  First off I want to apologize that it has taken so long for me to get this post up.  Life has been running away from me so often this past year and I feel as though my good intentions don't make it too fruition often enough.  Secondly, I wanted to provide links to sites that I have used as a resource for home educating but realize as I was going through my list, I am only going back to a certain few right now, so those are the ones I have included in this talk. Therefore this is a modified list and open to additions/subtractions. 

I would like to stress caution for any parents utilizing the internet as an educational tool.  Not just for the (obvious & potentially negative) content that comes with the internet but also that it can draw you or your child away from the hands on opportunities that outtings, simple books and a library offer.  Don't get me wrong I'm far from being a technological prude, that would be a bit hypercritical...after all I blog. However since much of our lives are already entwined with technology, I find things can spiral pretty fast into waisted time and opportunities unless certain parameters are pre-defined.  Those parameters are set by your own value system. Simply put, I like to unplug as much as like to plug in and I certainly want my children to know that technology is a helpful tool, but not our way of life.  I hope you get the drift here....for us it's everything in little bits.  

Okay, websites I am currently using in some way or another (please be advised that some sites listed are concerned with Canadian content): 

http://www.learningpage.com/ - I loved this site when I started educating the boys and now that the girls are in that same stage I find I am revisiting it.  It’s simple and easy to navigate through.  

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ recommended by a friend and is filled with lapbook resources as well as other things.

http://www.homeeducationresources.com/index.html stumbled onto this site recently for cursive writing...I’m always on the fence about cursive writing, do people use it anymore??   I realize that most don’t now that computers are the norm however, I still feel like my kids should be able to at least read their birthday cards from their Nama (my mum).

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html - this site makes me a bit loopy because of information overload and probably encompasses all of my fears about internet based education.  None the less it does have tons of “helps” if you are brave enough to navigate through it.  

http://www.edselect.com/ - a collection of links that enhance learning, it was created by a teacher in Ontario but can be used beyond their borders. There is a lot of information listed on this site (information overload - be brave) and some links are dead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/science.shtmlclick on "teachers" for lessons plan ideas. 

Some other sites I’ve recently come across that are interesting:

http://www.yourcanada.ca

http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/index.htm

Sites I recommend for children craving internet time:

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/default.asp

http://www.hww.ca/hww.asp?id=7&pid=1

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/  (older kids)

I think I will stop there for now, I hope you find this preliminary list of links helpful. I will continue to edit this list along the way to allow for more links when they become relevant.   

Now that we've had a few talks, I'm wondering if there is anything on your mind?  

Oh and because I can't post with out pictures, photos are of a visit to a local farm that our co-op visited back in 2007.  

Lily

I've been holding out on you my peeps and now it is time to spill.  A new babe has joined our household and I am completely ecstatic that I personally didn't have to birth her (technically it wouldn't have been a possibility anyway.)  

We got wind of some puppies that were looking for a good home and since we I had been talking nagging the hubby (for the past while) about how sweet it would be to add another puppy to the mix, a little sister for our beloved Spencer, this opportunity was too good to pass up. 

We initially visited the pack when they were 3 weeks old. It was decided that the J-man would accompany us, as he was going to be the one to do the choosing and the naming. He made his decision fairly quickly choosing the lightest girl of the pack. Followed by naming her Lily, oh how I love her name!

  

Our puppy preparation included lots of reading and familiarizing ourselves with puppy life.  A little puppy proofing, good thing I still have my baby gates and puppy crate.  A few puppy toys to keep her company. Some sewing for that just right sized puppy bed to get us through those early chewing days and yes I confess to making a puppy sized rice bag to similate the warmth of siblings during the lonely night.  

Monday we brought her home and have been settling in to life with a new babe puppy in the house.  Lots of excitement and a little less sleep has us all a bit tired but we are completely smitten. Even our resident alpha dog Spencer doesn't seem to mind the little fur ball.  How could he resist? She's that stinkin' cute! 

in the beginning

there was an apple.

granny smith to be exact all crunchy and tart, the perfect combination.



and then a celebration

for my long lost apple-peeler-corer-slicer now found, remember I'm a simple girl.



followed by another celebration

for my mum who turned 79. Yup, I love it when the stars align.  Happy Birthday mum!

bath bombs

I should have published this post over the weekend but I confess to having a weekend of holiday laziness. I love when holiday time can actually be a holiday.

But of course it wasn't completely all rest and no make, I did pull together some goody bags for a family gathering that we hosted on Friday.  After seeing Linaloo's bath bombs, I knew I wanted to give it a try. I made my first batch based off the tutorial that Linaloo linked to, but they were really just way to greasy for me. Mine didn't even hold together in the mold, so that batch sits in a jar for those days when I really need to soak my feet. Which will be soon now that garden season is right around the corner.  

For my second attempt I did a search on the internet looking for bath bombs with the most simplest of ingredients. NotMartha  has a great tutorial with pictures and explanations, I recommend you read through her tutorial for some great hints and know how.  I tweaked the recipe she provided for what my sensitive skin can handle and also for what I had on hand. It is available for download here: bath bomb recipe and also in the side bar.

If you have any questions about the instructions or supplies, shoot away.  Happy Bathing :) 

we are hunters

of a different kind: eggs and chocolate are our game - which suits this girl just fine.







How was your weekend?

hexagon love

I just can't get enough of it.



I've been wanting to try my hand at English paper piecing and I couldn't think of a better place to start than with hexagons.  I'm not alone, I see them popping up all over blogland and flickr, so many little hexagons to be made.



Really aside from knitting it is the perfect portable craft.  One little baggie filled with fabric squares, paper hexagons, a needle, thread and you are set.  I can see how nice it'll be to sit outside on a warm summer day sewing hexagons and not missing a second of summer. Ah...that's the way it should be done...sewing and sunshine.



I used the tutorial from TheSometimesCrafter.  She also has a pdf template for 2 inch hexagons available for download. That size seems just right for me, don't want to start with 1 inch hexagons and completely overwhelm myself.  By the way, I've seen other tutorials where people have trimmed their fabric squares to the shape of hexagons but really this is an unnecessary step and expends a lot of extra time that can be given to hexagon making.  Just cut your fabric squares, fold and sew.  



I'm still unsure what the end product will be.  I was thinking about a pillow cushion or table runner but then again a quilt might be nice.  My kids think I'm making beehive. What ever I end up with, I'll warn you ahead of time making hexagons is addictive.

Happy (Good) Friday, can you believe it April already??