A Few January Notes from the Hollow

Chilly mornings have been lovely here on our Micro Farm in the Hollow.  Yes, frigid temps mean more time-consuming farm work, but the Blossoms are handling it!  Being that I don't love January farm chores, I have great respect watching the Blossoms soldier through their homestead work each morning.  

We enjoy our morning cups of tea scattered about the living room, quiet time with cozy blankets, a morning pow-wow, and then the chores, just like clockwork.

There are a few new faces around here.  

Duchess, Toulouse, and Edgar were rescued from the side of the road a few days ago by some very compassionate Blossoms.  They are gaining strength, recovering from starvation, and soaking in the abundance of critter love and attention here.  

Miss Bianca is even doing her part.  

I would heartily prescribe kittens for anyone's winter "meh."

We did some coffee-shop-schooling the other day.  

At the end of the day, the younger Blossoms always list this as their favorite thing. We manage to make it there about once a month.  I keep it on my calendar and adjust the date accordingly based on budget and schedule.  What a treat for all of us!

And who can argue with good coffee, soul-filling background music, focused work, (NO DISHES IN A SINK THAT I CAN SEE), yummy goodies, and a delightful audio book for the drive.  

Hello Karen Savage's Librivox version of Anne of the Island!  

Seeing the bright things this January is a beautiful way for me to embrace the wintry season.

Just Some News Lately

What's up with us lately?

~ Blossom1 made the President's Honor List.  Man, she was proud of that certificate.  Being that this is more like her third year of college, she was thrilled to finally receive recognition for her hard work.  (Dual Enrollment students do not get recognized on the Honor lists.)  She's a freshman and yet, she's not.

~ Punxy Phil declared that spring is on its way.  Blossom3 and Blossom4 aren't sure what to think.  They've been enjoying good outside time whenever possible.  Blossom4 especially loves to play on my 30 year old wooden balance beam.  (Thanks for spending a few hours on a Saturday morning building that thing, Dad.  It's given me and the girls hours of fun throughout the years.)  They enjoy sledding and winter fun, but being able to get out in the sunshine in just sweatshirts and leggings with crocs and socks being optional is where it's at.  Even hiking with Daddy is a perk of Punxy's prediction as well.  

~ Blossom2 has been busy cranking out restaurant quality desserts. Death by Chocolate Cheesecake, Red Velvet Cupcakes, Dark Chocolate Truffles, White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars, and other delicious goodness.  I'm impressed at the level of quality she is putting out and I'm excited to see where she is headed with this skill.  The future is bright!

~ Blossom2 and Blossom3 have been working on Fine Arts entries.  This year, their team is doing an American Sign Language number.  I got to watch a video of practice today and I was astonished at how much drama, expression, and choreography can be put into a routine that only involves sign language!  I know it will minister to people!

Looking at life lately, it seems there's a bit of a theme.  

Identify an interest, work hard, and see where it goes.  

There aren't many fireworks-light bulb-rainbow-genie kind of moments in life, but there's a whole lot of chiseling away at honing skills.  There's a slew of perseverance.  

Sometimes I help the Blossoms persevere and sometimes, they are inwardly driven.  Either way, I'm here, intricately involved and invested in the process... supporting, encouraging, nurturing, still correcting, and...

parenting.  

 

That Weekend & The Best Parts

We had our busiest weekend since the Fair.  It was the kind that everything falls on the same weekend and there's not much you can do about it except for hang on for the ride.  

Blossom4 had her first Junior Bible Quiz match of the season.  She finished with Second Place Overall High Scorer, which is quite an honor.  She was grinning from one pixie ear to another!

Blossom2 and Blossom3 headed to the cabin with the Rugged Mountain Man for some pheasant hunting.  They got a turtle.  No pheasants though.  The weather really didn't cooperate, but the girls were in full on cabin mode.  

Relax.  

Tramp about the woods.  

Breathe deeply.  

Snack thoroughly.

Nap frequently.

Breathe deeply again.

Apparently we were at risk of them not coming home for a few days, or so they informed us.  Nonetheless, Blossom2 made it home in time for Poultry Judging practice.  That's pretty important when you're studying for Nationals.

I taught Kids' Church Sunday morning.  Although I looked over to see one kiddo licking a chair while we were quietly giving God time to speak to us, we truly had a good time.  

Kids are just so cool!

Blossom1 and Blossom2 were at a neighboring church helping a close family friend to lead worship there.  You could call it networking.  I'd rather call it "pitching in where needed in the Body of Christ."

They drove home, scarfed down some lunch with us and then, we headed out for the long-awaited gem of the evening ~ an Anne Wilson concert!

The girls and I really enjoy her heartfelt music with a rustic flair.

We don't need to be told twice to get those boots out!  Dressed in our rustic concert best

and well-armed with 500 Cal Chocolate Chip Cookies made especially by Blossom2, we embarked on the 3 hour drive there.

There may have been some PSLs too!  

Road trips are THE best!

Especially when there are friends and family involved!!

We may have arrived home at 1:30 am, but we concluded the weekend with these thoughts,

"It was worth it."

"We should do more road trips together."

 

To the Lumber Museum

It's been a bit different with Blossom1 and Blossom2's college work loads.  They just aren't available for some of the extra curricular activities that we used to do altogether.  

They are having to carefully choose where their time goes.  I'm thankful that they are managing their time well, but I don't want the younger Blossoms to miss out on the things I did with the older Blossoms at this age.

My philosophy is something like my mom's was.  

If you don't have enough kids to take along, rent some.

(that's a joke)

If there's still space in your minivan, fill it.

The more, the merrier!

In any case, it's a super fun philosophy.

Another mom friend of mine and I loaded our minivans and took the younger halves of five different families to a museum detailing the Lumber boom. 

This is a quintessentially autumnal activity!

Peak foliage!

Pumpkin bread on a random bench!

Intriguing facts and artifacts.

Hoodies and jeans!

Low-lying fog.

And gratitude to be outside on a pleasant day.

Wait, I don't think I mentioned delightfully weathered old buildings against a palette of reds, golds, rusts, and aging verdure.

The kiddos asked lots of questions and experienced the grounds to the full.

When asked, I believe the camp blacksmith was their favorite of the day!

Sure, we missed having the older halves of these families around, because they're all such fabulous people! 

However, I truly enjoyed the relaxed time with my mom friend and all these younger ones.  

They are intelligent, vibrant, creative, and truly fun to be around.  

We wrapped up the day with a campfire picnic at my friend's camp.  The Blossoms and their friends ran around, hung out on the playground, played cornhole, and enjoyed a delicious lunch, complete with a generous helping of fresh air.  It was glorious! 

And the fun word games they played to entertain themselves in the van on the way home entertained even me!!

Truly, children (and fellowship) are a blessing.

Life Lately

Every now and again I like to share random thoughts from life lately.  Here's the latest:

Lately, I've been listening to this fabulous podcast about actually liking your kids.  I am very late to the listening-to-podcasts game... for no particular reason at all.  As the Blossoms get older, I do find myself with some measure of quiet as I work on some tasks and that's where this podcast comes in.  I truly believe that children are a blessing and I felt like every minute of this episode was totally worth listening to.  It left me feeling inspired, with practical tips for liking your kids... and keeping a Godly perspective on the blessings I've been given.  As for the rest of her episodes, I'm not really interested in listening to birth stories, but I am always game for more nuggets of truth that solidly point me in a Godly direction.  

I've been reading Home Work: A Memoir of my Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews.  It's a biography about her Hollywood years, which were HECTIC, to say the least.  This was a $0.99 snag at my favorite thrift store.  It's been a while since I was on a biography kick.  Though I truly enjoyed reading about her part in the making of the Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music movies, the rest of the book left me feeling stressed and not covetous of the Hollywood life AT ALL.  My takeaway: Interesting read, but I won't be rereading it.  And, because of her descriptions of her parts in some other seedy movies, I didn't feel that I wanted the girls reading this either.

Additionally, Blossom2 mentioned wanting to read Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope.  We adore the movie so I took her suggestion.  It was positively delightful, and, as usual, better than the movie.  It ranks up there with Pride and Prejudice and North and South, in my opinion.  Mary Thorne finds a way to be kind, when she's being persecuted for her birth. Her public humiliation is known by the entire town, and yet, she is kind.  Maybe I'll enjoy some of Trollope's other writings; we shall see.

I've been sipping Bubly Key Lime Pie Sparkling Water.  YUMMMM!  My sister recommended it and it was a very fun change of pace from my other summer favorites, Waterloo Summer Berry and Bubly Grapefruit!

I've been savoring post vacation days... which means, a few days to catch up on normal, non Fair-driven project before we fully dive in to the all-out school routine.  I'm not in a hurry.  We've completed so many heavy duty 4-H and community service driven projects over the past few months, that there's been an awful lot of school this summer.  That being said, a couple of the Blossoms overhauled their desks already and they sure do look nice and tidy!  Or maybe the whole schoolroom just looks better because the endless Fair to-do lists are off the board!

I've been focusing on trying to follow through with my Blossoms.  We're just a busy family and it's really easy to let things slide.  There's something to be said for finishing a task and finishing that task thoroughly.  That means that I'm trying my best to find said Blossom and call her back to the job site to finish what she was told to do.  Interestingly, I don't feel like any kind of yelling leads to peace in our home, so I've been working on going and finding said Blossom, instead of yelling for her.  That's a chore.  Our property isn't small, per se.  Yelling a full name off the back porch, followed by a hearty, "Git in here!" is certainly tempting... and yet, I've been going and finding and instructing instead.  May God's grace help me to persever so we can see the fruit of it.

There you have it ~ a few "latelys" of our little life here in the Hollow.

Snapshots from our recent cabin vacation.  More on that soon hopefully.

 

What Summer Days Look Like

Summer days look like:

Reminding a Blossom to water the garden (again).

Overseeing creative 4-H projects and posters and brainstorming and ideas.

Weeding the kitchen sink garden that makes me smile, while admiring the grand Lupine that is reaching to the sky.

Picking up more modeling clay for Blossom3's latest creative endeavor for the Fair.

Saying yes to meeting friends at the pool for sunshine and splashes.

Picking out smooth river rocks from a small business for a 4-H club activity and chuckling over one more odd thing that a mama does in a day.  Who stops by a business and loads their minivan with ROCKS?

Hanging clothes on the line.  Again and again and again.

Planning vintage parade rides with grinning, supportive neighbors.

Admiring the dame's rockets, my favorite wildflowers that crown the roadways around here lately.

Teaching kids' church and praying for young people to learn to hear the voice of God.  Then, trotting out the door, eating Sheetz chicken strips and sipping a milkshake on the way to another Fair Queen obligation for Blossom1.

Scheming and researching for Blossom2's fall semester.

Sliding into a favorite coffee shop with seven minutes til closing time so the Queen can have a superbly delectable iced chai tea latte.

Helping answer Blossom2's questions on what would be the most appropriate, workable, and professional attire for the State Poultry Judging competition in a day or two... and digging through the clothing bins for just the right thing.

Sipping iced ginger lemon tea whilst planning the next thing.

Tearing up poolside while another mama revels in the joys of motherhood with me.

Driving an hour to meet a cheerful nephew to do a massive cupcake handoff, then delightedly perusing a favorite HUGE thrift store... and finding new cowboy boots for ONE DOLLAR, then, contentedly eating frosties in the air conditioning on the way home.

Saying goodbye to special friends with long squeezes and hidden tears.

Sleeping in the tent, looking at the stars.

Crappie Fishing under azure skies.

Planning yet another Fair Queen social media promotion post.

Helping the Little Blossoms learn how to work independently on their 4-H books.

Watching fireworks in the summer darkness with good friends all around and then, laughing at the glow bracelets floating through the air during their yard games.

Savoring s'mores on Oatmeal Lace cookies.

Taking a walk down an "ole country road," while the Older Blossoms jog ahead.

Picking up ingredients for Blossom2's extensive cupcake recipe testing.

Swaying on the swing on the back porch, where "My Mason Jar Runneth Over."

Because my mason jar runneth over.

Good Things Lately

Reflecting on the good things - the blessings - is something that keeps me going; something I often write about in my journal. It's also a reason I love going back through old blog posts.  Here are some blessings from the past few weeks!

~ Blossom3 got her cast off last Friday!  I am so thankful that her wrist fracture is healing so well! More than that though is how proud I am of how she's been such a trooper through the whole process.  She's been demonstrating a maturity that I'm not sure I'd noticed in her prior to this experience.  Character growth is worth celebrating!

~ Green is popping out everywhere all over the Hollow.  Spring is coming!

~ Speaking of which, I heard the peepers when I walked out of Ladies Bible Study last night.  It's one of my favorite spring sounds!

~ Blossom2 finished second overall high scorer in Bible Quiz in all of Pennsylvania and Delaware the other weekend.  It's incredible to see her hard work pay off.  All that pacing and speed quoting is worth it.  More importantly, it's deeply moving to my heart to see the three older Blossoms digging in so deep in the Word of God.

~ Blossom4 has been improving in her work ethic with her schoolwork lately and that's a big relief to me.  As the Rugged Mountain Man says, "You've weathered this storm with all the other girlies.  You'll get her through this."  He's right; thank the Lord!  And the Lord is working in my relationship with Blossom4.  Frustration can be so difficult between a mom and her kiddo, so I'm thankful that the Lord is working in my heart and in hers.  The fruit is coming!!!

~ Spring jaunts are the best! I'm especially thankful for some one-on-one time with Blossom4 while the older girls are away at Fine Arts practice.

~ My new stove has a power boil feature!  This is cracking me up that I'm putting this on my list of blessings lately, but its speed makes me happy when I have a boatload of other things to do!

~ Blossom1 has had some really cool opportunities lately.  She's been doing presentations in local elementary school assemblies to promote Fair participation.  They have required some logistics and planning on my part, in addition to the public speaking/presentation on her part.  I am just so relieved that they have been going well.  Every time we get in the van afterward, we look at each other with a sigh of relief and say, "THANK THE LORD that went well!"

It's something I always feel challenged to do.  

Be quick to pray, but be quick to thank God when the answers come.

Gazing at Joy in these Moments

The girls and I took some time to wind down last night.  We just chilled and colored.  Christmas bookmarks and Christmas coloring pages were so relaxing!  We got a kick out of the gnome bookmarks!

Binney is excited for Christmas!  The Blossoms were delighted to pick out her Christmas presents last night.

I enjoyed pulling together the girls' Christmas program costumes.  The chicken costume isn't pictured.  It took some time to finish even these quick versions.  The Blossoms were happy, so I'm happy.  Besides, I don't get very much time to be creative, so this was a fun reprieve.  I still had to push aside all the other stuff I had to do that was swirling around in my head.  It's making those choices to enjoy the moment that go a long way.  Now, when I look at their costumes, I smile and think about the fun they're going to have up on stage together.  

The Little Blossoms got to attend a Santa's Workshop, where they made all sorts of fun crafts.  

Pretty sure that crafting might be their love language.  

We got Christmasy and spent the day crafting and embracing the season with friends surrounding us.

It was such a fun day!

It's not often that these two girlies squeeze onto the same chair anymore, but it made me happy to see them enjoying something Christmasy together.  

Sometimes we find joy when we take the time to see it in all the everyday moments around us.  This is a busy life and I'm determined to hold on to the intangible good.

"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

What These Days Sound Like

If you stopped by, this is what you'd probably hear:

~ Repetitive vocal warmups at any time of day.

~ Chapters of the Bible being recited in a Blossom2's signature high speed style.

~ "Get back to work!"

~ Tracks from the Christmas program being played.

~ Pages turning.

~ High speed piano melodies.

~ Alphabetical reciting of the names of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

~ Hurried steps up the stairs.

~ Nonsensical poems being invented on the spur of the moment.

~ Whirring bathroom vents.

~ "Can I get a snack?"  

~ The tea kettle heating up for the fifteenth time.

~ Little whines from Binney because we aren't currently focused on her.

~ Long silence in the bathroom, followed quickly by, "Are you reading in there???"

~ Vibrating buzzing text message alerts.

~ Strains of Christmas melodies, traditional and new.

~ Sisters counting out timing for younger sisters.

~ Jingling bells that herald, "The cat's on the wrong side of the door again."

~ Mindless whistling.

~ Crowing roosters.

~ Grinding pencil sharpener motors.

~ Screeching 1970s desk chair.

~ Oven timers announcing that the dog treats are done.

~ Thump! The cat king has jumped down from his current throne.

~ "When is it lunch time?"

~ Doors opening and closing.

~ Wit, zingers, and roasts.

~ Stove timers reminding us that our fifteenth cup of tea has finished steeping.

~ Clicking of the computer mouse.

~ Tapping of the computer keys, formulating assignments.

~ The crunch of gravel announcing the latest piano student's arrival.

~ "What's for supper?"

~ Crunching and ripping of Binney's toy deconstructions.

~ Laughing.  At each other.  At ourselves.  At absurdity.  Laughing.

~ Soft voices reading Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters.

~ "Five minutes til we head out, girls!"

~ Tom's kingly purring.

~ Binney's barking announcements that a leaf has tumbled across the yard (again.)

~ Bubbling and sizzling supper on the stove top.

~ "Time for supper!"

Someday when it is always quiet here, I'll read this, remembering with a smile the joy of each day together.

Having Tea Today

If you were having tea with me today, I'd thank you for reading my blog.  It truly means a lot to me that you take time to listen to my thoughts.

I'd tell you how thankful I am that Jake, our golden retriever, is acting more and more like himself after a scary bout with seizures over the past several days.

I'd chat about how I'm learning that God wants me to fight overwhelm and worry, by singing the truth to myself... out loud.  It's helping me get off the train of discouraging thoughts.  Singing the truths I know redirects my heart and mind back to the Most Important One.  How can praising our God ever be a bad idea?

I'd comment that I've noticed that the birds are sounding so springy in the mornings lately.  

I'd share that we are making a little bit of progress helping Blossom4 not to spend all her time perusing the kitchen for delectable snacks and instead focus on her schoolwork.  We're grabbing our snack and drink, heading to our desk and staying put until the 45 minute timer goes off, when she's allowed to stretch and restock.  It's a simple thing.  Maybe it sounds too regimented to you, but it's what she needed because the grass was always greener on the other side of the house... in the kitchen.

I'd mention how much we're enjoying having homemade chocolate syrup and mocha syrup from Good Cheap Eats in our refrigerator!

I'd let you know that it's nice having Blossom1 drive the girls to practice sometimes.  It has added some margin in my week when I really, really needed it.  Yes, I do worry about her.  Do we mamas ever stop being concerned about our children?  I don't know, but I hope it causes me to pray more.  God is helping me to grow in this area.

I'd share with you how much some daily moments mean to me ~ like looking around the schoolroom and catching those quiet moments when everyone is intent on their work and learning. My heart feels full.

Thanks for chatting with me today.

Dominique

 

Day in the Life ~ 2022

Just in case you're not familiar with this cast of characters:

Blossom1 is 16, just got her license and has gained a measure of independence lately.  
Blossom2 is 14 and works hard and pitches in.  We all rely on her.
Blossom3 is 12 and hates working at her desk.  
Blossom4 is 8 and thinks school is annoying when you could be bouncing on the couch and cartwheeling in the living room.
The Rugged Mountain Man is my husband and the father of our four beautiful daughters.  
Dominique ~ That's me. I'm the glue of this family, the domestic engineer extraordinaire!  At least that's what I aim for.

Welcome to our little spot in the Hollow!

7:06 am ~ Oops!  I must've fallen back to sleep!  Blossom4 woke me up saying she had a belly ache last night and combined with my own bouts of indigestion, I didn't sleep well.  When the Rugged Mountain Man left at 6:30 am, I grabbed my tablet and started my Bible reading in bed, which led to falling back to sleep. Sometimes it happens this way.\

I rise, start the water for tea, and wake the girls.  This morning is slow.  We're getting our feet back under us after a big push before their Fine Arts performance this past weekend.  For months, everything has been leading up to the big day.  They settle in their favorite couch spots with blankets and read or listen to the Bible and write in journals.  My chair, tea, and journal are waiting for me!

7:40 am ~ I convince them that it really is breakfast time.  Open breakfast is how we roll now.  Smoothies, cereal, and Johnny cake are their choices this morning.  When we're basically done eating, we talk about what we read in the Word and pray before they clean up breakfast and troop downstairs to suit up for outside chores.  They're pretty happy because it's 35 degrees outside, so no one needs to heat 5 gallons of water for the animals.  It's a comparatively easy winter chore day!

8:10 am ~ While the Blossoms are choring on our micro farm, I wipe down the kitchen counters and head back to get my shower.  It's nice that the girls are old enough to be trusted to chore outside while I ready myself for the day.  Jeans!  Graphic Tee!  Cardigan!  Claw hair clip!  Two minute makeup!  There are either people at my house or I'm going somewhere every day now, so I save time and always get dressed right away in the morning.  Otherwise, I forget and end up in a panic when I'm not ready later on.

8:46 am ~ I hear Blossom1 tickling the ivories in the basement music studio, which means chores have been completed.  Although they're supposed to be upstairs doing inside chores, it is nice to hear music in random moments throughout the day.  I peek out the upstairs window and notice that the three younger girls are "swing-jumping!"  That's their word for swinging high, doing a flip, and landing with a good gymnastics type "stick."  While I'm slightly irritated that they aren't hustling in, I'm torn because getting fresh air and vitamin D are more difficult in February.  I give them a few minutes to soak it all in before waving them in from the back door. 

They head inside to unload and load the dishwasher, do the dishes, vacuum, tidy the bathroom, and tidy the basement.  Blossom1 also gets ready for the day.  Her job ~ teaching piano out of our basement music studio ~ starts at noon, so she does the whole jeans, hair, and makeup routine in the morning as well.  The other three settle on ponytails and comfy pants for their day.

9:31 am ~ They're finally in the school room and working on math.  Doing math first is a requirement at our house when everyone is fresh in the morning.  Blossom1 does all college work now, so she independently manages her work load and assignments based on their due dates.  The rest of them choose what to work on after math and move from subject to subject until they get stuck.  Today, Blossom3 is stuck on stem and leaf plots.  Though I think they're annoying, I help her understand before I move on to answer Blossom4's question.

I throw in some wash, fold clothes, clean stains out of the carpet, and talk to my sister on the phone while no one needs me.  I get hamburg out for supper too.  It's so much easier when I think about supper around breakfast time.  

11:18 am ~ Blossom3 gets the bright idea to have pancakes for lunch...now.  Since Blossom1 needs to eat early today, I say yes.  Blossom2 mixes up a batch of fluffy pancakes while Blossom3 works on a batch of homemade syrup. Blossom4 reminds everyone how hungry she is and how much she really doesn't want to do her math today.  She does manage to help set the table.  Blossom1 is wrapping up a few things before lunch and teaching piano.  We enjoy our pancakes and clean up the kitchen (again.)

11:48 am ~ Blossom1 heads downstairs to teach.  The other three dart outside for some fresh air.  It's so warm out that I told them they could have 20 minutes before they get back to school work.  I get my sourdough started for tomorrow.

12:26 pm ~ We settle back into the school room.  I read Blossom3 and Blossom4 their history lesson all about knights and the Middle Ages.  Then, they work on writing articles for their Middle Ages newspaper.  I read and comment on Blossom2's composition for a Bible Quiz/Discipleship requirement and I give her the green light to submit it to her Bible Quiz coach.  

1:30 pm ~I'm friends with one of the moms of my daughter's piano student, so my mom friend pops upstairs to visit.  We have a little catching up to do since she hasn't been feeling well lately.  I sip tea and chat, with periodic reminders to the little girls to "get busy" on their independent work when they start to get a bit too distracted.  I didn't know if I was going to get to visit today.  Blossom4 hit a few bumps in her schoolwork a few minutes before I answered the door, but we ironed it out so that she could continue to work independently.

2:30 pm ~ Blossom1 had a cancellation or two today, so she takes her sisters downstairs one by one for their own piano lessons a little earlier than normal.  On her other breaks between lessons, she practices her own musical pursuits.  

3:37 pm ~ I make a phone call or two.  I check my sourdough.  It's rising by the woodstove downstairs.  In between, I help Blossom3 with a writing assignment she is working on.  I write some thoughts and prompts on our giant white board and let her hash out the rough draft by herself.

5:11 pm ~ Daddy's home!!  I greet him and try my best not to dump problems and logistics all over him. My mind is problem solving all day, but so is his.  Neither of us wants to greet each other with more problems to solve or logistics to plan.  That can be hard when there are six people in this busy family.  There's always something that needs to be solved!  We settle into the living room for a few minutes of conversation before he goes off to change and I set supper-making into high gear.  It's burgers and fries tonight.  I call out, "Anyone who doesn't have a job to do currently, should come to the kitchen and help with supper!"  Supper prep sure goes fast this way and I'm astonished at how quickly we pat burgers, prep French fries, lay out all the burger toppings, and get the table set.  Many (trained) hands make work light!

5:37 pm ~ We all sit down to supper.  The masses are happy because I tried a new spice on the French fries and it's tasty!  The conversation varies from flare jeans to the Freedom convoy to Winter Jam to doping to Physics lab grades. We never know where we'll end up.  There is usually laughter, but sometimes we end up tackling bad manners or sass.  We try to keep it pleasant and full of camaraderie though!  The girls man-handle the supper clean up next.

6:10 pm ~ I do some much-needed cleaning in the school room before sitting down to score school work.  I consult with each child about what went wrong and make sure they understand what needs to be done differently next time.  They correct their work and I record grades.  In addition to the work completed today, I also record all the little girls' schoolwork they did over the weekend ~ the big Fine Arts dress rehearsal, performance, and debriefing/feedback meeting, and the hunting/hiking and nature work we did on Monday.  Blossom1 and Blossom2 record all their own schoolwork.  I double check that it is thorough and either call back or insert whatever info is needed.  Everything is now set for tomorrow's school day, including the latest writing assignments that I write on the white boards.  I take some time to tell them about my expectations for these assignments.  

7:46 pm ~ I pop into the kitchen for a glass of water before I start blogging.  I call some girls back to wipe down the stove and counters.  By now, Blossom1 and Blossom2 are studying Bible Quiz and reading and Blossom3 and Blossom4 are doing gymnastics in the living room and eventually move on to creating with modeling clay in the kitchen.  As I said, we're getting our feet back under us after such a big push lately.  The Rugged Mountain Man is in the kitchen prepping goose breast to make into goose pastrami.  Sounds intriguing to me!

8:26 pm ~ I head out to check the kombucha that's working on my counter lately.  I guess I'm crunchy and maybe getting crunchier.  We'll see if kombucha is something I like and will keep doing.  For now, I just thought it sounded interesting.  I type a little more on my blog post and then, settle onto the couch to wind down with everyone.  It's been SO busy lately.  Of course, I pop up like a toaster sixteen times to do those million little things that moms do all day.

One of the girls jumps in the shower.  Modelling clay is still being played with in the kitchen.  They've moved onto the taking pictures and doing claymation.  Some are still reading.  They've been avoiding recreational reading for the last several weeks, since virtually all our free time has been taken up with practice, preparation, and details.  Blossom4 sets up Daddy's coffee so it's ready to go for him in the morning.  Other than that, we're all just basically hanging out in the living room now.  Not all our evenings are quiet and slow but we needed this to reorient.  

I do a little brain dumping for tomorrow, adding a few things to my to-do list.

9:10 pm ~ The Blossoms head back to bed.  I tuck the little Blossoms in and say good night to the big Blossoms.  I pop up again to fetch an extra blanket for Blossom4.  Sit down, pop up, sit down, pop up, sit down.  Tidy this.  Put away that.  Read a little.  It's the mom life.

9:55 pm ~ After doing the Rugged Mountain Man's next day prep, we crawl into bed and I alternately chat with my husband and read to wind down.  I am so tired, I always spend this time evaluating how I'm handling motherhood and homeschooling and the house and such.  He tells me it's time to clock out and rest my mind.  We'll give it a fresh effort tomorrow.  

Thanks for checking in on our Day in the Life!  

Dominique

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