Why is it that kids are always hungry until you actually put the food on the table? The boys are continuously complaining about their empty tummies. I fix a good meal or even a fun meal (who doesn't love cereal at lunch time?) and yet they aren't that hungry. Oh DUH of course not because its not candy or pop or other unhealthy "foods". My favorite excuses are "My tummy hurts." (wait it hurt just 10 minutes ago because they were hungry), "I have a bug in my stomach." (think flu bug) and the best "This is mommy and daddy food, not little boy food."
I suppose I should post this and get on with the torturing of the kids. I think we will have fried egg sandwiches and apples for lunch. I might even throw in some strawberry milk for added pain. I'm such a terrible mom! ;)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
If only we had the time
The boys have been putting in their requests for what they want to learn in school. Here is an incomplete listing:
birds
insects
pyramids
Romans
how things work (like cameras, ovens, engines)
castles
cathedrals
stars and planets
metal
frogs
plants
explorers
and on and on and on
I'm glad that we will have the chance to study some of these topics. This is one of the reasons I love homeschooling. When the boys learn about topics they have suggested they seem to enjoy school more and retain more of the information. Lucky for me they are still young enough to suggest fairly easy topics. I am NOT looking forward to the day when they want to learn complex chemistry or Greek. Thank goodness Darren's strengths take over for my weaknesses! God has blessed me in more than one way through Darren.
birds
insects
pyramids
Romans
how things work (like cameras, ovens, engines)
castles
cathedrals
stars and planets
metal
frogs
plants
explorers
and on and on and on
I'm glad that we will have the chance to study some of these topics. This is one of the reasons I love homeschooling. When the boys learn about topics they have suggested they seem to enjoy school more and retain more of the information. Lucky for me they are still young enough to suggest fairly easy topics. I am NOT looking forward to the day when they want to learn complex chemistry or Greek. Thank goodness Darren's strengths take over for my weaknesses! God has blessed me in more than one way through Darren.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Back to normal
Darren went back to work today after being off for 2 weeks. Its amazing how our routine gets messed up when Dad is home. I think I would have our routine completely forgotten if Darren could stay home all the time. We had a good time with him around. He has been busy residing the house and putting in new windows. He also had to tear out the deck and found out that we need to regrade the house. Sounds like we will have some excitement this week when the heavy equipment shows up.
I have finished deciding what we will do for the next school year. Now on to the planning session. I am so excited for school to start. I am sure the boys will enjoy this year. I planned to do a few things a bit differently. I will have 3 kids in school this year, plus Rex who will think he needs to do anything Cormac does. I can't wait to share pictures and stories of the coming year.
The garden is producing LOTS of good food. We enjoyed some snow peas and new potatoes the other night. The tomatoes are getting closer as are the peppers. Oh and we have our first pumpkin growing. Blase can hardly contain himself!! The corn is growing up to Blase's chest in some places. Now the weeds...oh my!
To answer Meredith's son's question - The birds never did return and I haven't seen them around the yard since then. Darren did take down the nest and kept it for us. We have a new porch light so there will not be another nest above our front door. Blase is talking about putting up bird houses for next year.
Our newest animal craze - BUTTERFLIES! Stay tuned for pictures and updates!
I have finished deciding what we will do for the next school year. Now on to the planning session. I am so excited for school to start. I am sure the boys will enjoy this year. I planned to do a few things a bit differently. I will have 3 kids in school this year, plus Rex who will think he needs to do anything Cormac does. I can't wait to share pictures and stories of the coming year.
The garden is producing LOTS of good food. We enjoyed some snow peas and new potatoes the other night. The tomatoes are getting closer as are the peppers. Oh and we have our first pumpkin growing. Blase can hardly contain himself!! The corn is growing up to Blase's chest in some places. Now the weeds...oh my!
To answer Meredith's son's question - The birds never did return and I haven't seen them around the yard since then. Darren did take down the nest and kept it for us. We have a new porch light so there will not be another nest above our front door. Blase is talking about putting up bird houses for next year.
Our newest animal craze - BUTTERFLIES! Stay tuned for pictures and updates!
Door County
STURGEON BAY:
On Sunday (the 26th) we traveled over to Door County, Wisconsin after Mass. It wasn't too far from Green Bay (where we attend Mass). We had never been there before so wanted to play tourist for a day. We started out by eating a nice family restaurant. The boys had pancakes, pancakes and more pancakes.
Then we spent some time looking through the Door County Maritime Museum. The boys were captivated by the models of the ships and the lighthouse room. It had a working lighthouse lamp/light and an interactive map of the lighthouses in Door County. Blase and Darren experimented with the range finding activity. I think we all loved the periscope. You could look around outside the building and see the boats, bridge and buildings that surrounded the museum. I enjoyed the area dedicated to the female welders who helped build ships during the war. We also watched a short movie showing how to build a canoe. They made it look easy!
This is outside the museum where the fire boat and tug boat was docked. We didn't tour them, but they were impressive to look at.
Where's REX? So I'm walking over to get him.
WAIT...we can't see Brech's face.
REX!!! Come back!
AHhh, now we can't see Rex's face!
On Sunday (the 26th) we traveled over to Door County, Wisconsin after Mass. It wasn't too far from Green Bay (where we attend Mass). We had never been there before so wanted to play tourist for a day. We started out by eating a nice family restaurant. The boys had pancakes, pancakes and more pancakes.
Then we spent some time looking through the Door County Maritime Museum. The boys were captivated by the models of the ships and the lighthouse room. It had a working lighthouse lamp/light and an interactive map of the lighthouses in Door County. Blase and Darren experimented with the range finding activity. I think we all loved the periscope. You could look around outside the building and see the boats, bridge and buildings that surrounded the museum. I enjoyed the area dedicated to the female welders who helped build ships during the war. We also watched a short movie showing how to build a canoe. They made it look easy!
This is outside the museum where the fire boat and tug boat was docked. We didn't tour them, but they were impressive to look at._____________________________________
EGG HARBOR:
Next we drove up to Egg Harbor, WI. You can see Menominee (where Darren works) from Egg Harbor, so we lined up for a picture. I thought I would show the amount of pictures it took to finally get a somewhat decent shot. Oh boys anyway!!
Where's REX? So I'm walking over to get him.
WAIT...we can't see Brech's face.
REX!!! Come back!
AHhh, now we can't see Rex's face!EVERYONE LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!!
Oh forget it...at least we are all in the picture this time.
Oh forget it...at least we are all in the picture this time.Garlic oil
I learned how to make garlic oil the other night. Its actually very easy. Who'da thunk it? Now I just need to grow my own garlic or buy some organic, fresh garlic from a local source.
I also learned how to make a couple of herbal salves. I wish I had more time to experiment with other recipes. Next class we are doing an herbal walk to locate herbs in the wild. Then there will be another class where we will learn how to make tinctures. Ohhh I'm so excited!!!
I also learned how to make a couple of herbal salves. I wish I had more time to experiment with other recipes. Next class we are doing an herbal walk to locate herbs in the wild. Then there will be another class where we will learn how to make tinctures. Ohhh I'm so excited!!!
10, 9, 8...Space Birthday
Blase turned 8 on July 21. He wanted a space themed birthday party. He also took charge of the invitee list - Fr. Litzner and our new friends, the Ostermann Family. As always, he was spoiled with all the presents. I'm thinking we will have a hard time topping this birthday.
Launch pad cake, cupcake countdown
Glow in the dark planets and stars.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BLASE!
WHAT - this can't be school??
More multi-colored building material.
Launch pad cake, cupcake countdown
Glow in the dark planets and stars.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BLASE!
WHAT - this can't be school??
More multi-colored building material.Yes miracles do happen
Stephen eating meat - again! This meatball also had onions in it. Wow...I'm speechless.
Nina and Pinta
On July 15th the boys and Darren took a tour of the Nina and Pinta replica ships. They loved the "pirate" ships. When asked their favorite parts...
Blase - the hold
Stephen - the money and the cannon
Cormac - the part where he almost fell in the water (thanks to the lady who grabbed him!) Leave it to Cormac to enjoy something so exciting. He was "trying" to fall in from what I gather.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Garden update
I just came in from picking lettuce for supper. I took the chance to snap a few pictures of our garden while I was out there. Please ignore the weeds. 
This is a shot of the green beans, peas and corn in the background. The cucumbers are having a late start, so they are not visible in this picture. They are between the corn and peas.
A beautiful sight - baby bean and blossoms!
The peas look wonderful too. I am patiently waiting for fresh peas! You can bet the peas will be the first rows I weed when they start setting pods!!
This is my lettuce and radish section. We have been enjoying the lettuce for a couple weeks now. We have learned a thing or two about them too. Some are better with age.
These are the incredible potatoes with tomatoes in the first two rows.
The peppers are looking parched in this picture. The tomatoes are behind them.
Oh I can almost taste them!!! I love grape and cherry tomatoes. 
Our one and only strawberry anywhere near to being ready. I feel like I should be out there guarding it with my life. This is the first time I have ever grown strawberries.New animals
We have had some interesting animal spottings lately.
Darren and I were out fixing the clothesline when we saw a young pheasant coming toward us. He/she walked right up to us. We figured it must have been let loose from a farm or was a pet at one time. We tried to feed it, but it flew away.
Then a week later we found a dead baby porcupine by the tennis court. It was a cute bugger. I had Darren take a picture for me.
Back on June 26th, Cormac and I saw a deer with a broken back in the backyard. A Deputy County Sheriff came and shot it for us. She was either hit by a car or got stuck in a fence and tried to get out.
What other interesting animal stories to share....mmmm....Blase keeps seeing what he thinks are ravens. I saw whatever it was flying away and it appeared to be a raven.
When we came home from church last Sunday, we saw our first doe and fawn in the yard. I am surprised we haven't seen more of them around. The fawn still had its spots. They are just adorable at that stage.
The squirrel collection we have is going to be short a few if they don't stay out of the bird feeders. I'm half tempted to get a bb gun myself!
Hopefully this is exciting as the animal stories get for awhile. Lucky for me, there have been NO bears spotted in the yard. I'm just waiting though...camera charged and ready!
Darren and I were out fixing the clothesline when we saw a young pheasant coming toward us. He/she walked right up to us. We figured it must have been let loose from a farm or was a pet at one time. We tried to feed it, but it flew away.
Then a week later we found a dead baby porcupine by the tennis court. It was a cute bugger. I had Darren take a picture for me.
Back on June 26th, Cormac and I saw a deer with a broken back in the backyard. A Deputy County Sheriff came and shot it for us. She was either hit by a car or got stuck in a fence and tried to get out.
What other interesting animal stories to share....mmmm....Blase keeps seeing what he thinks are ravens. I saw whatever it was flying away and it appeared to be a raven.
When we came home from church last Sunday, we saw our first doe and fawn in the yard. I am surprised we haven't seen more of them around. The fawn still had its spots. They are just adorable at that stage.
The squirrel collection we have is going to be short a few if they don't stay out of the bird feeders. I'm half tempted to get a bb gun myself!
Hopefully this is exciting as the animal stories get for awhile. Lucky for me, there have been NO bears spotted in the yard. I'm just waiting though...camera charged and ready!
Empty nester now
The sweet Eastern Phoebe's flew away. I was climbing up to take another picture and suddenly I was surrounded by a hurricane of feathers. The mother bird was NOT pleased with me. She flew mighty close to me for a few minutes. She chirped at me like I was Public Enemy #1. You would have thought she would have been used to me by then?! Oh well! I need to find another group of animals to harass I guess. :) Check out the June 21st post for more pictures of the eggs and first ones hatching. Here is a collection of pictures taken after they were born.
June 23rd
June 26th
July 1st
Empty nest - July 3rd
Empty nest - July 3rd4th of July
We spend the 4th of July working and having some fun. In the morning we watched the parade and the boys brought home WAY too much candy. The only problem we had was the fire trucks and their sirens scared Brech some. Other than that, it was a great parade.
Then we came home for lunch and attempted to take naps. That didn't go over so well. Darren let the boys do some fireworks he had gotten. Then early in the afternoon I took Blase, Stephen and Brech back to town to watch the local fire departments compete in a water fight/contest. The boys spotted a couple jump houses (Thanks Katie for that term) to play on, so I forked out some cash for them to play. They had a BLAST! Stephen's favorite was the castle and Blase loved the slide that was very tall. Then we walked over to the contest and watched the teams. Our township fire department lost, but it was still exciting to watch. We also had cotton candy as a treat during the water fight. Afterwards, Blase and Stephen walked around the fire trucks. They met a fireman who let them sit inside one of the trucks. Then we went back to the jump houses and had another few minutes of fun. Brech fell asleep so I carried him for quite awhile while the boys played. Both Brech and I came home with little sunburns. He looked adorable with his pink cheeks!
Later in the night Darren took the 3 oldest back into town again (lucky its only 10 minutes away) to watch the fireworks. Darren said it was the best show he's seen. I stayed home with the little ones. It was a good thing as they didn't get home until after 10:30. I think they had all fun.
Then we came home for lunch and attempted to take naps. That didn't go over so well. Darren let the boys do some fireworks he had gotten. Then early in the afternoon I took Blase, Stephen and Brech back to town to watch the local fire departments compete in a water fight/contest. The boys spotted a couple jump houses (Thanks Katie for that term) to play on, so I forked out some cash for them to play. They had a BLAST! Stephen's favorite was the castle and Blase loved the slide that was very tall. Then we walked over to the contest and watched the teams. Our township fire department lost, but it was still exciting to watch. We also had cotton candy as a treat during the water fight. Afterwards, Blase and Stephen walked around the fire trucks. They met a fireman who let them sit inside one of the trucks. Then we went back to the jump houses and had another few minutes of fun. Brech fell asleep so I carried him for quite awhile while the boys played. Both Brech and I came home with little sunburns. He looked adorable with his pink cheeks!
Later in the night Darren took the 3 oldest back into town again (lucky its only 10 minutes away) to watch the fireworks. Darren said it was the best show he's seen. I stayed home with the little ones. It was a good thing as they didn't get home until after 10:30. I think they had all fun.
Rex is Three!
On June 27th, Rex turned 3 years old! I can't believe time has gone so fast. I still remember the day he was born (and the other boys as well). His birthday was nice. We had a family birthday party with cupcakes and presents. Like most birthdays, I was wrapping presents about 10 minutes before he opened them. When will I learn to either wrap earlier or just give it to them in the K-Mart bag? He had a firefighter birthday with hats and fruit snacks as a treat.
His brothers were the firefighters and he was the chief. 
His brothers were the firefighters and he was the chief. Here Rex is with all his presents.
Like a good firefighter, he put out all the flames.
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