Farmer's Market Bounty

(originally posted on my other blog 6-27-09)

I have three extra kids today, and had to wait for them to arrive, so I got a late start on my Saturday plans. I went first to get my eggs and milk from my friend, Tammy. She has such a nice little farm! We spent a couple of hours there seeing all the animals (for the sake of the visitors. My kids have seen them often). We came home to potty up, put away the food and then left for the Farmer's Market and plum picking.

It was noon, and the farmer's market was closing up for the day. There were only a few vendors still there. I ran to the first one, and swooped on the remaining green beans. She asked $13 for the table full. Of course I'll take that!

Then down the way, another man had a wide variety of fruits and veggies. I asked how much the corn was. He said 10 for $1. I asked how much for the whole basket (LOTS). He said, give me $5 you can have them all. Then he loaded me up with all sorts of other goodies.

He also said that if I came at closing time every week he'd make me the same deals. WOO HOO! I gave him another $5 (that's all I had) and got all of this for $23:


In fact, I forgot to add another full bag of corn to the picture. The kids all had two or three ears raw with lunch and that bag had been forgotten on the counter.

We also were able to get the two buckets of plums from a tree in a friend of a friend's elderly mother's home for free.

We got to see Tammy twice today. I asked her to share in the bounty. So I have been doubly blessed!

Praise Jehovah-Jirah!

A Trip to The Dunes

(originally posted on my other blog 6-10-09)

We've had great weather lately. It's been in the low 80's for a week! In JUNE! Well, that means we have to get out and do some fun things. Today, I took the Lambies to The Dunes. It's around the block from our house, where they started building houses, but never finished. All the dirt piled around has been fashioned into some mighty fun jumps.


All the kids got into the action:


Troubles was scared this first time, but climbed up over and over to ride down again.

Missy was the second to try this hill. Brave girl!


She bore to the left and avoided that jump. Jack did not. He jumped it quite a few times before the inevitable happened.


He hit his mouth on the handlebars. Poor guy. He got up and did the jump again, though! Here's his poor lip a couple of hours after the bonk.

The Lambies all want to go back again with Dad. I'm glad we found out about this fun spot.

Blog Catch-up

(originally posted on my other blog 6-1-09)

Well, it's HAS been a while since I've blogged, huh? I have been using Facebook too much, I guess. I'll share a few pictures of what we've been up to lately.

This is the beautiful sight I was greeted with on Mother's Day:
My Lambies awoke early and made Applesauce Oat Breakfast cookies and sliced strawberries and OJ. What sweethearts!

We went to the zoo with the cousins. What a great time we had!


We went to the lovely Sequoia National Forest for the day:

We climbed around on the huge rocks near the river:

I guess all the pictures of the river must be on my Honey's camera! I'll try to get some on soon.

I ate the first red cherry tomato today. There are many more reddening up. I hope the recent rain won't lead to blight...we are expecting more thunderstorms on Wednesday. I hope to have bushels and bushels of tomatoes to can this summer.

School is wrapping up. We should be finished next week, if all goes as planned. We'll see!

I've been making lots and lots of jams and jellies. We went to a u-pick cherry orchard and got buckets of Royal Anne cherries. I've been buying strawberries by the flat and freezing the extras for later. There's a berry farms that is u-pick about 30 minutes away. I hope to get there before the season is over.

We participated in the annual homeschool fair. The older Lambies made a big pulley system with Dad, among other things. Look for pics to be added to this post soon. They are also in Dad's camera.

We have birthday parties, family visiting and a used curriculum fair coming up in the next weeks. June is always busy! I hope yours is going well!

Flea Remedy, Anyone?

After reading Rhen's solution to springtime fleas, I thought I'd post what worked for us.

We battled them about a month ago. My poor Troubles was the only one getting bit...but just everywhere! I began adding apple cider vinegar to the cats wet food: 1 tsp per can. That causes them to be an uninviting host, and they didn't seem to mind the new flavor.

Then I sprinkled borax on the carpet, brushed it in with the broom and kept the kids out for an hour or two. A thorough vacuuming later, no fleas! I repeated the carpet treatment the next week after any eggs hatched, and we haven't see one since. Some people use a salt and borax mix on the carpet, to dry the flea eggs and prevent any hatching, but I though the salt might damage my metal vacuum, so I refrained and repeated.

Daddy Time!

(originally posted on my other blog 12-29-08)

We have been blessed to have Daddy home for many of the last days. He has 10 days off in the last 2 weeks of December, and gets paid for all of them! I’m so thankful for his job!

We went to the park last week and all had a great time.


There’s a platform that is perfect for “King of the Hill” playing. Years ago, it used to rock, but now the springs have rusted solid.


It’s sure easier to play this with it solid. It seems, though, that King of the Hill inevitably leads to injuries.


She was all right, though she complained of a headache later in the day. She even played more King of the Hill a little while later. I played with her, and promptly (accidentally!) stuck my finger right into her eye...hard. She has sworn off King of the Hill!

The climbing logs were another popular challenge.



Everyone took a turn, even Missy. I held her hand and suggested where to step when she was stuck.



I love this time of year!

Sad Little Ducky

Do you guys know the "Mother Duck" song? The one where Mother Duck's babies disappear one by one then all reappear at the end of the song?

I was singing it with my 3yos, Troubles, by his request this evening. When I sang the "Sad, Mother Duck" verse, my strong, aggressive, manly little man put his face in my chest a started CRYING!


I stopped singing, of course, and asked him why he was crying. He said "Because that song makes me sad!" I hurried and sang that they all came back and he was still sniffling away, face buried in my shirt. I asked him if he wanted another song...he said "Sing that one again, Momma"

Needless to say, I did not.

(originally posted on my other blog 12-24-08)

How Does He Do That?

(originally posted on my other blog 12-02-08)

My darling little son, Troubles, has a way with words. Really, he is such a thoughtful little thing! Grandpa is visiting today, and Troubles had the courtesy to ask him "how he shaves like that?". He asked Grandpa several times, but Grandpa didn't understand his question. Finally, Troubles touched the top of his head and asked again: "How does he shave like that?"!


What a funny little fellow!

"Are They All Yours?"

I very often get the "How do you do it?", "Are they all yours?", "You have your hands full!" or even the dreaded "OMG!" when we go out. I know those trite comments frustrate and annoy many parents of larger families. They wear on me, too! But instead of snapping back with a sarcastic answer (like I want to do), I use the exclamation to give glory to the Lord and perhaps get a chance to share the Gospel. I also try to remember to smile when we are out, so as to not make my children look burdensome.

Taking the Lord's name in vain seems pretty common in my area, and it bothers me the most. I don't speak like that to my children, and hate that others do! So now I answer that exclamation with a praise: "Isn't He wonderful! Look how He has blessed our family!" After they pick up their jaw, the other person is in a better place to ask intelligent questions and have a good conversation. They are often a bit embarrassed at their mis-use of the Lord's name, as well.

"Are they all yours?" invites "Yes, thankfully, they are! Aren't I blessed?" I babysit a couple of kids, so if they are with us, I say "I babysit these two, but the others are mine. Aren't I blessed?"

"How do you do it?" is usually answered with "By God's grace!" and "You have your hands full!" gets answered with " No, the Lord doesn't give us more blessings than we can handle! I hope to have more Blessings someday!"

Only once I was asked "If I knew what causes that?". I was taken aback, but answered, "The blessing of God". Having practiced giving a positive answer to the common reaction of seeing our family, I was able to not lose my witness when asked a particularly rude question. I have been able to share the gospel many times with folks who are intrigued by our family. I may not be able to be a missionary to Africa or China, but I can share the gospel with those in need of the Savior here in my little town!

Call it 'Habit Training' for Momma!

Chores In Our Family

One of the most time consuming things about having a larger family is the chores. Since we all live in this house all day long, it gets messier than the home of the family across the street, where everyone is at work and school all day long. We must clean up and do it often!

One day a few years back, I sat down with chores in mind. I broke each job down into its componants and wrote detailed lists. Then I decided which chores were most appropriate for each child. The smaller children got the easier parts, of course and the older ones, the harder.

My husband created a spreadsheet with all the chores listed on the left-hand column and names of all the children (rotated, so they are in different places) in four columns toward the right. One child has a certain aspect of each chore for a month. On the first day of the month we change to the next column. Everyone has a new job. After four months, we are back to the beginning. Each child has learned each job completely.

An example: The kitchen is cleaned very quickly after meals in this manner. I wash pots and handwashables and put away food, one child sweeps, one clears and wipes the table, one wipes down the chairs and pushs them in when the sweeper is finished, one clears and wipes the counter and stove. The smaller children wipe the table legs, clean the front of the dishwasher, stove and fridge. One picks up any toys or big things on the floor for the sweeper.

I can now call on any one of the six oldest children to do a job by themselves or with a partner and it gets done well!

Our 'jurisdictions' (to borrow a term from the Duggar Family) are: kitchen, bathroom, living and family rooms, bedrooms, playroom and animals. We have had the same chart for a couple of years now, and I am planning an upgrade. The children and I have taught all the little ones the chores, so it's time to 'graduate' the older ones to new assigned chores and allow the six and seven year olds the responsibility of the 'big kids' chores.

Presents

Having a large family means multiplied joy, friendships, and happiness. It also means multiplied food bills, gas bills and BILL bills! Christmas and birthdays can strain the finances of any family, but especially a larger one. Thankfully, gift giving occasions do not have to be burdensome!

We choose not to celebrate each childs birthday with a 'friends' party. On their birthday, each child gets special privileges like choosing the meals and being excused from most chores. They choose their desired dessert and receive a couple of presents from Dad and Mom and their brothers and sisters. It's enough, really.

Once a year we have a big party that we invite all our friends to. We do not accept gifts from friends. Rather, the children spend time choosing a ministry they wish to bless, usually from among the various outreaches of Voice of the Martyrs. They make a presentation board and develop activities for the party based around that choice. They collect donations and mail them in.

For Christmas, we shop sales year round. Much of the shopping is done by the time the season rolls around. We have the children draw names so each one buys a gift for another, and they love it! We don't put a limit on the number of gifts per child, though it's usually three or four at the most. Instead, we have a spending cap for each. That way, if one person wants ONE more expensive gift, they can ask and they *might* receive it.

Children really can be satisfied with less extravagance. Allow them the privilege of NOT being spoiled rotten!