Mondays gratitude

Today I am grateful for.....

1. Laughing with the children in the car about silly things...Abigail saying 'apple' a thousand times to drive Chris crazy, listening to Laurence explain tampons to Susie and then listening to Susie telling us how she wants to adopt because she doesn't want to push a baby out! Then Chris making up funny lyrics to the songs on the cd!

2. That my first attempt at the new recipe for the chicken was a success! All too often my first attempts are disasters!

3. For the rain today...even though it wasn't much, it is better than nothing...I want the grass seeds to start growing!

4. For living in AB where for the most part we are free to get on with our homeschooling any which way we choose.

5. For being born a girl...the boys were saying in the car how grateful they are to be born boys....but I like being a girl. Yes we have periods and have to give birth, but I'd rather be me who gets to stay home and sleep in each day and relax and do things I want to do.....Lloyd ahs to get up so early and go to work every day.....he has to worry about paying the bills and servicing the cars etc. I have never even out gas in my car...it seems to magically refill. I've been driving for about 10 years and have never had to put gas in! I wake up each morning and have a cup of coffee beside the bed ready for me........I think I'm spoilt really ;) but I'm very happy I'm a girl :)

6. crystal Light raspberry flavour...because its yummy and helps me drink all the water I need :)

7. free cookies for the kids in Safeway.....it means I have happy quiet kids all the way around the grocery store :)

They've hatched!

Yet more babies! Well, kind of! Our mealworms have hatched into beetles! 2 of them at least! So we have now placed a piece of potato in the jar for them to eat......

We bought 100 mealworms for $2 a couple of months ago....we put them in a large jar with oatmeal and left them to it. They eventually pupate and then the beetles come out a couple of weeks later......kind of cool to watch in a weird gross way ;) but interesting to study as a lifecycle! Different to butterflies! Although Lloyd wants to study silk moths next....

(woohoo Oilers score again!!! it's 2-0 to the Oilers!!!!)

Oh Canada

It's the first match int he Stanley Cup finals. The Oilers (our Oilers) are playing the Carolina Huricanes.....in Raleigh I believe....which could have been our home at one time.....

The boys are watching the match. We all stood and sang Oh Canada - I love singing that - it always makes me well up with tears which is kind of weird because singing God Save the Queen never made me feel that. I guess because this is my country of choice I feel especially proud and grateful to be able to sing it as my anthem. Laurie sings the anthem in sign language which I love to see!

I will probably watch some of the match. Lloyd is outside in the coop...it has been raining a little...came over very dark and earlier when we were on our way home from town. Then it cleared for a while during dinner but seems to be coming over very dark again....perhaps this means Lloyd will have to come inside soon.

It's driving me nuts that Blogger won't let me post pictures for some reason.....

Susie is playing with Sam...they are playinga game where they chase each other and then pretend to collapse on the floor and sleep...Sam seems very sweet playing it.

I can't find a watering can anywhere - I just want a large plastic cheap watering can...all I can find are nice turquoise shiny metal ones...that look like a piece of art and cost as much as one!

So I made the honey mustard chicken and it was an amazing success. Everyone loved it.

Oooh the Oilers have scored! Go Oilers!!!!

I served the chicken with brown rice and some vegetables as I couldn't get any new potatoes. It was so easy.

1 cup Hellmans Mayo
3 tbsp grainy Dijon Mustard
2 tbsp honey
2 chopped green onions
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mix together. Cover chicken breasts well in sauce in oven proof dish. Cover with foil and bake...I baked it for as long as the rice took to cook - so about 50 minutes on 420.

Yum!

We are going to the curriculum sale at the homeschool group tomorrow. I am hoping they sell books etc and not just curriculum. R has offered to let me have her unschooling magazines from the last year.....I can't wait! Lots of unschooling Inspiration. I really like R...she just seems so relaxed and laid back.......oh how I wish I was that laid back and patient!!!

I got the last cheque of homeschool funding from my current schoolboard today.....and also the registration forms from Education Unlimited for next year...I think I am going to go with them for the next year and see how it goes. They are a non-resident home school board that specialises in assisting unschooled children to get into post secondary education.

C, another homeschooler at the local group has invited us over to her house tomorrow afternoon for lunch and a water fight for the kids...the boys will love that!

The children asked today if the schools were now closed for summer....it's funny how you soon lose touch with what the public schools are doing....it made me think how lucky my 5 are......they are able to enjoy the summer all the way through....they are outside playing whenever they want, at the splashpark and playing baseball etc when their peers are in classrooms. They will have really made the most of the good weather which is so important here!

I was reading about a lady in the UK who is having trouble with her LEA......I feel so fortunate to be out of that situation now...homeschooling is so easy and so supported here in AB. There is so much choice and so many fellow homeschoolers....so much to do....too much at times! I love living here.

Honey Mustard Chicken and Homeschool gym

Monday. I always struggle to get going on Mondays......I didn't sleep well and wasn't in the mood for the dawn chorus at 4am. I put ear plugs in and still had to close the windows.....I normally love listening to the birds but not this morning!

That said, it's been quite a good morning...Lloyd has phoned a few times to chat. I've washed all the floors downstairs and have dusted my bedroom and packed away two lots of laundry.

Chris has been designing a computer game based on World War 2. He researched the planes from the war to get the symbols on the planes right for each country.....

Susie has been reading Mr Poppers Penguins and learning about the American Revolution......

Laurie spent most of this morning reading the Frosties cereal packet which has things about the Soccer World Cup...and he then entered various contests online.

Abigail asked to do some of her worksheets so she did some addition and then did a page where she had to draw herself and then write three sentences about herself. Since then she has been making Valentine cards for us all and writing all our names.

The boys have homeschool gym class this afternoon and I want to go and buy a watering can so I will take the younger three shopping while the boys are busy.

Lloyd made me laugh last night - while I was in the bathroom he climbed out of the bedroom window and sat on the garage roof. He waited for me to finish in the bathroom and then while I was in the bedroom pottering around (thinking he was downstairs) he jumped through the window at me! scared the @#$^%$# out of me but it was so funny!!!!

I got a recipe in the mail last week for Honey Mustard Chicken, so I am making that for supper tonight with new potatoes and green beans.....it seems really easy to do so I hope it's nice.....

Another weekend over.

Sunday evening is here :( Lloyd will be back at work tomorrow....I wish weekends were 3 days long. Still, we got so much done this weekend.

Tonight we cooked our hotdogs on the fire outside which was nice. The children had fun and they made smores after too. I finished cutting the grass and then took pictures of the children sat in the dandelion clocks....some pictures of the house from the road and parts of our land now that summer is in full swing.....and I tidied all the toys away and made sure everything was dog proof before letting the dogs out for a run.

Laurence took the dogs out for a play with the balls etc and then I sent him for a shower as he was caked in grass and his feet were filthy. He had fun earlier driving the tractor and cutting the grass.

Our mealwarms have hatched.....the cocoons have started hatching into beetles!!! They are weird looking beetles but very cool! WE have to feed them a piece of potato now....or apple.

Lloyd is doing his accounts this evening as they are due in this month.....I've been tidying up and vacuuming so I don't have to do much tomorrow. I think I will go and soak in the bath now.....

The sky darkened earlier but it didn't come to anything...I was hoping for a storm to blow away this heat but no luck.

I got a message from the Canadian lady that lives in the UK today. She told me she had read my blog! I think she's the first person to read it :) It was so nice to hear that someone had read and enjoyed it.



I think I will start writing my gratitude journal here each day instead of in my notebook journal.

Today I am grateful for:

1. My home and surroundings....the peace and quiet, the beauty and the calmness it brings to us.

2. Lloyds strength for digging up the bigger plants that I didn't have the energy for!

3. Short grass! It meant I could speed around on the tractor cutting it shorter rather than having to go slow...I really enjoy sitting on it cutting the grass and having that alone time to think.....

4. Seeing Chris with his chicken today....I like that he is enjoying caring for them....

5. The plants I bought att he garden centre today that have brightened up the porch steps.

6. That Susannahs arm has healed so fast and she is able to enjoy playing outside more.

7. My wonderful Nokia D70s that takes such wonderful pictures!

8. crunchy bread and pate!

9. Being able to share my life with my best friend.

10. The memories we are creating here at home for us all......Sam on the tractor, building the coop, Abby and Chris with the chicken, Laurence with Amber and Rosie.....Lloyd and I sitting on the porch drinking wine.....

Blogger won't let me add pictures right now....some problem they are having I think...so I can't add any pictures to my posts which is a shame...but I will add them when it is working again!

frogs, hostas and Iced Capps

(Pics of hostas before moving and my Iris!)

It's been really nice to have a weekend at home for a change....normally we're so busy at the weekend that it flies past, but we've spent this weekend at home tidying up the gardens and pottering about.

We went out for brunch today though which was really nice.......and this afternoon we took the kids out for a ride to get Iced Capps so we could all cool down.

Lloyd found another frog this morning....tiny...I think it was a Boreal Chorus frog. Very cute.....Sam (17mths) was very impressed!

I split the Hostas today and replanted them in various places in the flower beds...the boys moved all the rocks for me from the side of the garage and they are now in the flower beds too......I weeded more and added the last of the bark chips...we need a lot more of those though.....

We planted the second of Abigails Plum Trees and checked on Christophers little fir tree that we planted in the front paddock.

We really need some rain....none forecasted yet...where are the summer storms and rain????

I bought some beautiful Geraniums today at Greenlands. I've planted them in pots on the porch steps with ivy trailing at the font.....I've planted another Ivy in the wooden mini barrel that Shawna gave me...it has a small trellis at the back so should look really pretty ina few weeks.

Most of the Ivies are ones my Mum bought me while she was visiting last year.

So it's looking a lot tidier outside now...still a lot to do....but Lloyd is starting to mow the front paddocks now that the fences are down...it should all look like front yard. I want to grow the back field into a Meadow though...we've sprinkled poppy seeds and wild flower seeds in the hope that they will take off there....we also planetd sunflower seeds all over the place a few weeks back and some of them are growing....again we just need more rain.

My pumpkins all died due to lack of attention...this year has been crazy with the chickens taking over the garage.

We're having a fire tonight and the children are going to cook hotdogs out there and then make smores......we haven't done that for a couple of weeks. We normally do that a few times a week but haven't lately....life just gets so busy.

We moved here for a slower life....and homeschool for that reason too...yet I've let that get out of hand lately with too many organized events and activities and too many things we are doing too..........I plan to do less in the Fall.......

I do love weekends like this though....pottering around here at our beautiful home. We love living here so much.......I just can't imagine moving back to the city now...I would just hate it. We drove through Sherwood Hills Estate today......the houses are crammed in.........why do people spend so much ona tiny lot and a huge house........if you can afford a huge house why on earth would you buy one where you can touch your neighbours house from yours? I just don't understand that....I love space and privacy and nature.........and no neighbours ;) I know everyones different but I still fail to understand suburban life.......

Unschooling

I homeschool my five children. And over recent weeks we have become unschoolers and I love it! Susannah (8) broke her arm a few weeks back and so any 'work' we were doing has stopped...I haven't given them any work to do since! Yet more learning and more interest and more creativeness has been done in the last few weeks than all year!

So for the next year we will unschool.....Chris (13) has a whole list of things he wants to study....and he also has his interest in film making...he wants to work in the movie industry.

Laurence has been doing a LOT of reading....has been obsessed with drawing cartoons and studying books on drawing...and has been reading up on history - Egypt and the Middle Ages amongst others...and he has been designing creatures on some animation website.

Susannah has been looking at all the links I have been sending to her...and has been watching a lot of science and 'how it works' shows on tv....as well as helping Lloyd on the coop and helping me with Sam a lot.....

Abigail is always wanting to learn...she loves to do 'schoolwork' and do writing and loves to be read to......and she has been learning about penguins and frogs too! How can she not learn naturally just by living here amongst chickens and frogs and birds and nature and her siblings and LIFE!!!!

So we are choosing to go with an unschooling friendly schoolboard this year and are totally relaxing.....Chris can focus on his portfolio instead of his diploma and can enjoy learning whatever interests him...as can the others!!!

We went to the splashpark on Thursday...and met up with a whole bunch of homeschoolers...it was such a great day. Very hot and the water was so lovely and cool. We were there for 5 hours and had lunch there. The schools aren't closed for summer yet so it was really nice and quiet and was great to see it filled with homeschooled kids - especially so many older ones...they ahd all taken their water guns for a big 'water battle' and swapped numbers at the end of the day.

The local homeschool group meets on Tuesdays....this week they are having a curriculum sale....I'm interested to see if anyone is selling books......not curriculum but anything the kids would enjoy reading......I love books...I must spend an absolute fortune on books...mainly at yard sales or www.bookcloseouts.com which I just LOVE!!!! I am constantly running out of shelf space for them but you just can't have too many books :)

I love homeschooling here in AB. I homeschooled in the UK for a while but the experience was dreadful really, compared to here. There are just so many choices, resources and such support here. I feel very lucky!

Evening

It's an unusual Saturday evening.....It's 9:30pm and I've been sat in my big chair reading stories to Abigail. The boys are watching Star Wars, Susie is playing upstairs and Lloyd is flitting from the movie to me on the chair.....making cups of tea, following Sam around and admiring my mowing :)

Abigail doesn't seem tired at all despite playing outside all day....she's been writing in her notebook ...getting me to spell names for her....her writing is great for 4 .....she can write small enough to fit on the lines in a little notebook. We read 'Chicken in the City' tonight and 'How I Feel' and some of a Tom and Kate book.

The dogs just went crazy chasing the fox through the front paddock....the poor fox legged it and ran out and across the lane into the field opposite. I think the Fox lives on our land somewhere because he's always around.

Most Saturday nights the boys are on sleepovers or we are out or we get take out and watch a movie........but tonight seems to have flown by.

Mowing therapy

I spent four hours mowing grass today.....the tractor broke two weeks ago and cutting 16 acres with a push mower is a joke....so we let the grass get out of control until the parts for the tractor arrived yesterday. I haven't finished but at least I got most cut. I managed to mow over a hose pipe which scared the #*$%^@ out of me when it exploded...but apart from that and when the tractor started to roll backwards towards the pond...all went well.

Rosie and Amber, our goldens, spent most of the time running backwards and forwards with me across the lawn. Abby joined me for a while wearing a swimsuit and (for some strange reason) workmens knee protectors....

Mr Robin would jump onto the freshly mown grass as soon as I had passed......obviously looking for treats for his four new babies.

Sitting on a tractor for four hours is wonderful mindless therapy.....nothing to think about or concentrate on...it's lovely. I never thought I'd ever enjoy cutting grass! But it was four hours of alone time!!! Precious alone time :)

Best of all Lloyd cooked dinner...so really it's been a lovely lazy day.......

We did go out for a while earlier....to the local garden centre and the tree farm.....Saturdays tend to be for DH and I.....we run errands and go out for brunch...normally have take out and do things around the house...then Sundays are to do things as a family......

Lloyd is watching a movie with the boys this evening.....Star Wars I think.....so I'm hiding in here for a while....

Chris (my oldest) has been working on his tree house plans today.....and on his Star Wars computer game he's designed....Laurence (10) has been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.....and playing outside most of the day. Susannah (8) has been helping Lloyd on the chicken coop and Abigail (4) and Sam (17mths) have been pottering around doing what they do!

It's much cooler today thankfully...I think it was around 23c.....a lovely temp. I get irritable when it's too hot.

So yes, Lloyd has been building a chicken coop....a five star luxury chicken coop I think...it's taking ages!!!!! So for the last 3 months 31 (and now 30) chickens have been living in our garage. It's disgusting in there now as they escaped from their pen and took over the whole garage.

We have 30 Hy Line White chickens....all layers...or hopefully they will be layers in about three weeks.....we're having bets as to when the first egg will be layed!!!

I don't care when so long as it's in the coop!!!! I want the garage back...I am scared to go in there its so yucky now....they are pampered chickens...Lloyd thinks they are wonderful! Chris takes them for walks when the dogs are safely away. Chickens aren't very bright.......although I get the impression they are ganging up on us really...waiting for the right time to get us!!! lol! They always look as though they are plotting and are suspicious of us! :)

Froggy

Lloyd caught a frog this morning and put it in the paddling pool for the children to see....Abigail spent ages sat beside the pool watching..... we have a gorgeous pond down by our woods.....full of frogs. They get in the way of the mower. Some of them have obviously been born with just three legs......but they seem to be great swimmers despite that!

They are noisy little things in the Springtime, but now it's June they are quiet except at night when one or two still croak the night away.....

We get a lot of wildlife here at home. Coyotes, moose, skunks and porcupine....plenty of birds of prey, deer......woodpeckers and chickadees.....American Robins....we're so lucky to live where we live. I feel so grateful for living here.

Mama Robin

We have a pair of Robins who have nested in the woods down by the pond. The Mam bird laid 4 of the most amazingly blue eggs last week and a couple of days ago they hatched.....two hatched the day before yesterday and then yesterday the other two hatched.....Lloyd has been creeping down to take pictures (braving the amazingly huge mosquitoes that are swarming around down there.

The egg shells have sadly vanished...I was hoping to find one on the floor but am guessing Mama Robin ate them to restore her calcium levels.......

We're very protective of our baby birds ...as is Mama Robin...so the children and dogs aren't allowed in that woods right now...their rope swing is down there but they will have to wait until the babies leave the nest :)

Last October we finally made the move out of the city to the acreage of our dreams.....16 acres of rolling Alberta land with the prettiest Cape Cod home...complete with a beautiful porch that faces the sunsets. It finally feels like we are home! I want to die here.

Our life isn't exciting or particularly modern.....I'm sure many would think it dull...but we love our life here and wouldn't change a thing (except perhaps the speed at which the grass grows in the summer.....it seems it always needs cutting!)

I have kept a handwritten journal off and on since living here but I think I want to keep a more regulkar record....so have decided to write a daily blog here at blogger....