This is Why...

...I love homeschooling!

Today we were playing with pattern shapes and Hannah had a large hexagon shape in front of her. I asked her to tell me about her shape and she said, "It's a square."

In much confusion I asked, "What do you mean it's a square? It's not a square, it's a hexagon. Can you try and explain?"

And she said, "Well, it's kind of like it's a box."

Me: "Huh?"

She went and picked up a cardboard box out of the laundry room, brought it to me and held it at an angle, "See, kind of like this."

I still wasn't getting it.

So she pointed to her shape again and said, "Well, just pretend there's a line here and here and here."

And then I saw it.

And to explain what she explained to me, I drew you a picture.

Look in order of top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right.


Let's just say I was/ I am quite impressed.

And then I explained that that shape is a cube.

I love being in on these discoveries that my children make.

Cooking With Emily?

Every year the church puts on a "Gifts of the People" art show during the 4th of July weekend, preceded by art classes the few weeks before. You can come and learn photography, painting, quilting, crocheting, leatherworking, glass work and guitar.
So...
Hypothetically speaking...
If someone asked me to teach a cooking class some night at church, what would you like to learn to make?
Okay...
Maybe it's not so hypothetical.
And maybe I've already said I would.
And maybe the panic has already set in...
What should I teach?
A full meal?
Something baked?
Breakfast?
Lunch?
Dinner?
Snack?
Dessert?
Any suggestions?
Any recipe I've mentioned that you would love to learn from an expert....er...me?
Please comment and let me know, I'm horrible at decisions like this.

Jealous?

I've had this for awhile now but I keep forgetting to share about my "new toy".
I inherited this wonderful grain mill from Erik's grandparents. It's a wood encased stone mill that can be hooked up to a handle or an outlet and grinds beautiful flour. The latest that it could have been purchased was 1972. I doubt the warranty on the back of the owners manual is still viable but...
Oh how I love it.
Don't get me wrong, I love my kitchen aid grain mill it just can't handle the quantities that I require. I still use it for cracked wheat cereal.
But this...




Well, actually these:
Can turn many cups of grain into many more cups of flour in about 5 minutes.

I really like freshly ground flour.

Two Hours and Two Dollars

In two hours this morning I made 2 dresses and 2 ties, all for $2.

I'm sort of proud of myself.

I was browsing around etsy sites last week and came across the pillowcase dress pattern (which you can find for free by googling it) as well as a few really cute ties for boys and I thought, "I could make those."

Now, sometimes I can and sometimes I can't but that doesn't stop me from trying.

So when I took recycling to Cart'm last weekend I looked through their resale shop and found a couple clean great pillowcases for 50 cents each. I grabbed three striped yellow ones and a striped blue one.

The striped yellow ones where turned into matching dresses for Hannah and Marilyn:
Notice how sweet and sisterly they are:

And then the blue striped pillowcase was cut up and used for ties for the boys. These are just fabric cut in the shapes of ties, layered with warm and natural batting and sewn with the raw edge showing. The neckband is elastic. Brilliant and funky. And no matter how the boys rough house or pull on the ties they can't really harm them or "un-tie" them.

I used to think that Hannah was the poser I had to worry about...but I turned the camera on Ivan today and something happened...Oh my how I love my kiddos.

Checking In...

This Sunday night I am performing "The Story of Gomer" at Calvary Bible Church at 7pm. I mentioned it a few weeks back, but performance time is drawing nigh. There's a little bit more about the story and a few pictures up over at Cowgirl Clippings today.

SNOW!

YAY!
I love snow.
I think I might love it more though if we had proper snow clothes. With as fast as my children grow and as infrequently as we have snow or visit places that have snow I have a hard time shelling out the money for proper snow clothes.
We attempted to play in the snow this morning. We piled on the clothes and went out in spite of our lack of proper hand wear. It lasted five minutes.
Then there was much "grump"ing and screaming.
The kids even joined in too.
Just kidding.
I would have gladly stayed a little while longer but I couldn't handle the drama.
So I made them all come in.
I even threatened to send them all back to bed.
But I was lucky enough to catch a couple photos before the mayhem ensued.
Then this afternoon the neighbor girls came over and they all (minus Miss Moddy who was napping) built a snowman. The only help they received from me was when I handed them a carrot from the veggie drawer of the fridge.

Hannah Art

Hannah's art continues to amaze me. I posted this one on facebook a few days ago. Her new favorite movie is The Swan Princess.


This one I found lying on the floor amongst the scrap paper.

And this one is one of my new favorites. It's hanging on one of my cupboards.