Unexpected Saturday

 We are enjoying some lazy, sleepy days around here. There is a "bug" going around that seems to being with either mild sniffles or tiredness and aches and then proceeds to high temps. The girls have both been fighting it this week. Michael had a 24 - 48-hour bout with it. I'm taking my hippie pills and drinking my hippie teas and haven't caught anything. GG has been fine too. Nolan spends his days working or working on school, but we think he's fine. Alex was sick as well.  Since there have been fevers and great hacking going on in our home, we are all staying at home so we don't spread the cheer. ::snort:: 

I used the unexpected slow day to try a new scone recipe.  I got this one from Stacy. I compared it to the one I've been using (from my Misawa gals) and they were fairly close. Stacy's used no baking soda or cream of Tartar but more baking powder and twice the egg. It also had vanilla in it. 

The verdict amongst my taste testers is the flavor and texture of Stacy's were great, but they were much flatter than my Misawa Gal scones.  The only difference was the leavening, vanilla and an egg for 2 C or flour vs an egg for 4 C of flour. I think I'm going to try combining...the basic foundation of flour, sugar, butter and sour cream....but use the egg and Vanilla from Stephanies and the combination of soda and powder from mine and see if I can get them to rise higher.  The difference could also be that I patted the dough too thin. LOL  Ah well, I may try another batch tomorrow. 

GG is NOT sick. This presents challenges when the rest of us want to rest and relax. LOL  We eat around here, but we all tend to be of the "when you are hungry you get a meal" - which means we often feel like skipping a meal here or there. GG is of the "eat by the clock" mindset and we try to keep routines going...but it's truly amazing to all of us how much he eats. This is a standard breakfast. 

Yes, it's a slow day & I'm taking pics of GG's bfast

Michael felt well enough to do some chores outside and bring in a new load of wood. We are hearing tales of another winter storm advisory for Sunday Afternoon - Monday Evening. 

We were SAD to miss Colony Christmas AND Jared and Larissa's baby shower today. We had to postpone it to protect the healthy and Larissa and Baby Noah. 

Krista called and had made it from Guam to Seattle to DC.  That was a very long trip...made longer as the gal she was meeting and giving a ride to Lynchburg had a delayed flight. Krista ended up sleeping in her rental car and then the rental agency locked her into the lot so she couldn't leave until early the next a.m. 

The girls, Michael and I made a choice today. The girls are improving but they and I were scheduled to fly to DC on Monday. Their fevers are gone or manageable. They both still look and sound sick. Stacia has a cough (like her grandmother and sister) that could cause riots on a plane. I don't show signs of getting sick, but if I catch this it would be while we are traveling. That wasn't the deciding factor...but adding it all together with the winter storm advisory at the time we are scheduled to fly....and Allie needing to get school done....we opted to cancel the trip. I spent hours unbooking flights, lodging, DC tours. One hotel is causing me trouble, and I plan to cancel my honors plan with them. I've not heard back from one tour but everything else is great. Alaskan Airlines gave us all our miles back and a cash credit to use for travel in the next year. 

The girls (Allie and Stacia not the hens) spent the day resting, reading, working on a Christmas surprise, watching movies....

Winter Mornings

Stacia and I feel bad for poor Dash out in the winter. This IS his third winter, and he is "weathering" it, but these cold days are troublesome. The chicken's at least have a little red bulb to heat the coop a bit. 

He's always happy to see me in the morning, I'm careful to bring him some fresh treats. His water is always frozen - we need to get something fixed up to make this easier. He has a little log we've tried to insulate for him, he loves to snuggle into the log and watch the goings on in the chicken yard. I will admit he doesn't look particularly happy in this shot. More like "C'mon let's move to Hawaii!"

This batch of hens are much heartier than our previous batch. The others spent most the winter inside the coop. These have been enjoying the roofed area outside their door. BUT with a lot of snow and then cold temps...they are reluctant to venture outside. I bring them scraps every morning and a few of them will come out for the treats regardless of the weather. 

First out the door every morning

We are surprised they have not cut down on laying. This IS their first winter, they're young. I think we'll add a few young hens every year, so we don't end up with another year like last where we had no eggs all winter and spring. LOL  We get  1 1/2 - 2 doz eggs a day. 

Yes, I KNOW young hens lay more eggs. I DO think singing "sunshine songs" with me every morning encourages them and gives them hope that winter can't possibly last forever.  I start singing to Dash and can instantly hear them jumping from the roost and rushing for the door.... then, they begin to "sing" with me. It's great fun - helps me brave the temps to change water, gather eggs and feed animals. LOL Many stopped singing when they saw the light on the camera...but here's a taste of our fun. 

Michael has been caring for a mama and a late hatching chick in the garage. He tried to integrate them with the flock, and it didn't go well. We aren't quite sure what our next step is. Unfortunately, I believe this chick tried to crow at me a couple of mornings ago. We aren't 100% sure, but we may have a rooster. This complicates life. We don't need another rooster. There is sure to be murder and mayhem if we add another rooster to the coop in the middle of winter. 

Hungry Hippos!

 I got up at 5:30 to get it all done but I.got.it.done! LOL 

I was on the treadmill at 6 a.m. AND no one called for me.  I haven't done it FIRST before as I like to spend time alone FIRST...with Jesus...but I am so grumpy about not working out that it seemed I should try something new. I have also worried it would wake up those who work late...but no one seemed overly bothered. We will see. I started Monkey Bread before anyone woke up. I got Dad up and through shower and breakfast. I made a business call on Dad's behalf. I dug out the van and was at BreZaak's by 10:00 so they could go to the doctor. 

The kids and I played games today...our favorite is Hungry Hippo. 

I came home prepared to bake monkey bread and quiche for life group tonight.  Alas, the plaque (AKA the flu) which had been confined to one side of the girls' room has spread to the other side, up the stairs, and throughout the house. I am fine. Others are dropping like flies. I continue to drink my hippie teas and take C, D and Zinc.  I wish this meant I didn't catch any bugs; it seems this means I catch it last. 

Michael really did NOT want to go to Life Group - and he leads it. I hadn't gotten the text from him when I was at BreZaak's alerting me to the fact that he was sick. I was quite a bit surprised when he said he didn't want to go. I called Cecelia, whose house we meet in, and she sounded bad too. We called it.  We stayed home and watched another sappy Christmas movie - The Cookie Cutter Christmas, I think. LOL 

I put in a click list order and will pick it and a couple of packages up tomorrow. Other than that - I think we'll just hang around home, watch sappy movies, and eat soup, monkey bread and popovers.  Since the plaque hit, I will not be "helping" Bre tomorrow with the kids. 

The girls and I have a big trip planned to start Monday...I'm worried we may need to cancel all the reservations if we aren't all better by Saturday. I have a sinking feeling their temps will be normal and I will start coming down with it Saturday. I'm praying it becomes really obvious if we need to cancel. 

Stacia's First College Application

Stacia is very excited about getting on with college now that she has a plan in sight...move to Japan as a missionary. She's been checking out the material being sent to her. We were SHOCKED when a denominational college wanted $10,800 for ONE SEMESTER. She talked with a youth leader at church, he is enrolled in Global University. It is also with the denomination. It's accredited. It's online AND she can start as a high school student. She won't be able to access Michael's VA college benefit until she graduates from high school, but we agreed it was a good idea for her to start now.  Here she is submitting her first college application. 

She's only allowed to take one class at a time until she demonstrates she can do the coursework. We have no doubt, she'll be just fine. Anything she finishes now will hasten the day she gets her bachelors and can move to Japan. (Not sure how MOM is feeling about THAT).  She'll continue to finish up her high school credits and start on her college ones. She will not get dual credit - but we don't really care about that. It's a solid step towards her goal. 

She wants to do a semester in Japan, and this will allow her to that....she can also go at her speed. 

I know I'm supposed to be thinking about what I am going to do now that I'm in the last year of homeschooling our baby, but frankly I'm too tired to give it much thought at this point. 

Great Day in December

 It did not stop snowing overnight. This morning we had lots of snow...like 13 inches in the last two days. 

It was still at 13 inches this afternoon though it's been snowing all day - it's packing down. LOL 

Millie was NOT happy to find how deep the snow was when she went out to potty. 

Stacia and Millie spent some time working on the sledding hill. This is a big job and she needs some help. Unfortunately, I had plans to be at Bre's and Michael had a date with a snow plow/shovel. Allie is under the weather...so she spent a bit of time out there until she realized she needed someone to help pack it all down. Maybe tomorrow. 

I'm DETERMINED to make time for SELF CARE in the middle of everything ELSE around here. I got up early and worked on some Bible Study. I started Nana's Epic Navy Bean and Ham bone soup in the crock pot. I hit the treadmill. Sure enough, the bill rang 7 minutes in. I could have stopped then and counted it as a success because I've determined establishing the habit is more important right now than TIME and I DID start a workout.  I broke from the work out and got Dad showered, fed, laundry started...settled him down with a magazine and went back to work out. Bottom line - 2 miles; 40 min. Go ME. 

I baked some brownie/cookie to take to Bre's house today. Stacia was putting a crumb coat on the Jared and Larissa's Baby Shower cake. She had extra frosting and frosted some graham crackers and sprinkled them with mini chocolate chips. 

There were rumors about driving conditions, so Michael drove me to Bre's. We all worked together to give Trudy a bath (my part was keeping Jojo and Annie safe and snapping photos). The girls were SURE Bre had it too warm, but all was well. 

This little boy is TOTALLY smitten with his baby sister. 

Jojo and Trudy share a birthday - Jojo is 2. 

After the exciting bath, Bre fed Trudy, I cleaned up and then the supervised the kids' painting of ornaments. 

We began to set up for our promised tea. December teas are great. I made a rookie Grandma mistake. I set the graham crackers on the table and went about helping with pots of tea and hot chocolate. I turned around and Gideon and Jojo had eaten all but one. 

The kids wanted a candlelight tea. They remembered the Advent Wreath which worked great. Bre quizzed them about the first candle, and it was fun to see their grasp of the significance of the season and the symbolism of the Advent Wreath...mostly Bella...but they'll all eventually get there. 

Michael picked me up. 

We came home and I made some bread like substance to go with our ham/bean soup. The soup was really good. Stacia and I added a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar to our bowls. 

Maybe it will quit snowing tonight. 

Marshmallow (and other) Adventures

We had a busy day! Michael spent most the day shoveling ramps, walks and our driveway. 

Stacia and Allie had school...then Allie headed to work, and Stacia settled in to working on a Christmas present and making dinner. 

I left the house at 0800...after spending an extra 10 minutes shoveling out the van. It was an exciting drive into town and CoRielle's house.  The roads out near their church were a mess and so the staff meeting had been called off. Arielle asked if I'd be willing to stay anyway so she could get some computer work done uninterrupted. The boys and I MUST have our Tuesday mornings. We started with drinks...the boys now run to the table when they see me coming to the door. ::snort:: Cool hot chocolate for the younger boys and "China tea" (Chai tea) for Benny and me. 

It snowed most the night and it kept snowing off and on all day. The boys were enthralled - for about 4 minutes. 

We spent 20 - 30 minutes playing all sorts of "chase" games on youtube...a clever ploy to get kids active during screen time. I got 2000 steps - works for me. LOL 

Little Buddy and Benny 

We usually read a book, but no one was in the mood to read today. Arielle had said Benny's school activity today was to build a marshmallow sculpture. We settled in to work on our sculptures. I showed them how to make cars, igloos and snowmen...I DID let the little guys on the table for this one. 

It all started so well. They were motivated and making all sorts of structures and creatures...You KNOW what he's thinking. 

Yep - and once Danny tried them - everyone had to try one. 

Little Buddy has a unique building technique. 

Next up Benny made a great discovery...marshmallows melt with warm hands and friction. 

THIS led to everyone heading to the sink where they discovered marshmallows shrink and melt in warm water. LOL 

I told Arielle it turned into being more of a science experiment than an art project. Benny DID make a mouse trap. 

Arielle asked if the boys were having trouble minding me. No, they were great...but there is a lot of redirecting, and encouraging "make good choices" and "walk away," when watching two two year olds. LOL At times I felt I was attempting to herd cats. ::snort:: We had fun. In no time at all it was time for us to head off in different directions: me across town for food co-op, Little Buddy to therapy, and Danny and Benny to library story hour. 

The roads were a mess, I was quite proud of myself for driving all the way to the other side of the next town over and NOT sliding at all. I DID see a truck perpendicular, with its nose in the snow and its wheels spinning.... people were pulling over everywhere to help. I thought my best bet was to keep sliding straight on down the road. 

On the way home from co-op I stopped to pick up meds for Dad. WHOeee. $475 for meds...that's his co-pay....and when I got home, I found out that Kroger will no longer be in the network of who his insurance accepts as of Jan 1st. In fact, Kroger pharmacies will no longer take tri-care either. This means we will have no pharmacy in town that takes our insurance. I need to sort that out tomorrow. 

I walked in the house and could tell Stacia had been cooking. She made Salmon Pot Pie. It is really yummy...and as there were only 4 of us for dinner, we have an extra pie in the fridge for tomorrow. Poor Allie called for a ride home, she is not feeling well. The rest of us watched a sappy Halmark Movie - the Christmas Scavenger Hunt. This has me thinking it would be a GREAT activity for our little town. 

I'm whipped. Hoping to sleep well tonight. 

"Helping"

 Several have commented in the past couple of days they've noticed the blog went silent, or they've asked if we are o.k. because we are silent....we are well. We are busy, life is stressful, but we are well. I am going to try to post more often so y'all know we are well. LOL 

I had a doctor's appointment last week and out of it came a renewed commitment to find time to work out. Since Dad's surgery and the more hands-on caregiving it has led to, I've not been able to go to the gym in the winter or get out for walks the rest of the year. In fact, I SWEAR, the minute the treadmill or elliptical start up, his button also rings. I sort of threw in the towel completely.  At this point it's become a necessity again for me to make time somewhere to do the basics - for myself. And so, this morning I determined I would NOT go to Bre's or rush out to run an errand for anyone until I had at least 20 minutes on the treadmill. I've given up the 5 - 6 mile goal and am simply trying to get the habit established.  

It wasn't pretty around here, and I got to Bre's 2 hours later than I'd planned, but I got 20 minutes on the treadmill, all the morning and lunch routine with GG taken care of, all the laundry going, his bed remade....and finally...an hour after Michael, Allie and Alex left for Anchorage and Nolan had come home...I left the house. LOL 

Yes, they went to Anchorage and brought home Allie's new car. Michael is doing a few things for it tomorrow; she'll get the title changed over and be good to go. 

Nolan provided back up for Stacia - they watched GG so I could go help Bre out a bit.

Izaak has gone back to work this week and I am going over a few hours a day to "help." Today that amounted to playing hide and seek, statues, a phonics game and watching the kids do a host of gymnastic tricks. Bre did all the work...but she insists I was helpful. LOL 

With all this help around I'm not sure why she needs me. LOL 

Jojo LOVES his baby sister

Perpetual motion

Trudy Sophia Marie

Bella clicked the photos below. This was my first time to hold Trudy. 

Stacia had a LOVELY ham dinner in the oven when I got home. It was a blessing to have a nice dinner ready to go.  After dinner I ran for ingredients while Stacia assembled a couple of 8-inch cakes. We're working towards a family baby shower for JaRissa and Noah this weekend. 

I have a few things left undone this morning to finish up - so good night. LOL