Just Checking In . . .

The weather outside is . . . 
Gorgeous! Finally. We broke through the "bitter" cold today. I only say "bitter" you know, because I'm from Alaska and know it isn't exactly "bitter.  But it has been pretty cold for these parts. Sub-zero temps in the morning.  And I still got outside for some of my early morning walks in it. Just like the old days, mom! I came in from outside and my hair was frosty.  Yay for not whimping out!

I'm listening to . . .
a fan. We've had fans blowing on the walls on one side of the house for the last several days. My hubby has been all abuzz this week because we were getting some condensation on our walls on one side of the house. He went out one evening to buy some insulation and spent about three hours one evening crawling around the attic installing it. Really tough work!  We'll see if it does the trick. He may have to go back up there to finish things up and check things out again. I see a phone call with Grandpa in the near future. :)

Around the house . . .
We are considering some home improvements in the coming months. Not huge but you know even these little things take time. These days I'm just letting the hubs take the lead here. If he wants to do some things, I'm game. But style questions are up to me. We'll see what the year holds.

Learning, learning, all the time . . .

sledding together

Nutmeg is moving on in her phonics lessons. It is exciting for me to see her moving forward. We are back into our casual geography studies and enjoying it together. The boys are finishing up some stories they wrote for our second history unit; after that we will move on to our usual IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) lessons via video with Andrew Pudewa. The boys are beginning a geometry unit in math.  That reminds me; I need to pick up some compasses, protractors, and set triangles.

The kids and I are reading . . . 
Well, actually listening to . . . we are working through the Chronicles of Narnia via CD in the car. They are enthralled! Right now we are listening to Prince Caspian. We are moving on to our next unit for history (33-99 AD). We are reading the introductory texts and then will move on to a slew of other books for the time period. For the textbooks I am using both Founders of Freedom by Neumann Press and The World's Story by Elizabeth O'Neil. Both are narrative and not too "textbooky."  The first is on a little lower level for Nutmeg (although it really is fine for anyone) and the other is at a higher level for the boys.

On my nightstand . . . 
The Story of a Family: the Home of St. Therese of Lisieux.  Good read. I'm finding it helpful for gleaning some good ideas/thoughts on parenting, marriage, and the spiritual life in general. I can use all the help I can get!

In the kitchen . . .
I was just thinking yesterday that since Lent will be starting in less than a month, perhaps I'll share some of our favorite meatless meals here. Would anyone enjoy that?

We enjoyed one last night. I snapped a few pictures. Not the best pics but you'll get the idea. Everyone loves this dinner in our family. The kids especially the leftover mashed sweet potatoes that I add goodies to and serve on the side.

"Baked Stuffed Sweet Potato"


I found this recipe a while back on a blog called "House in the Hills." (her pictures are beautiful) She mostly cooks up a lot of super healthy (and delicious) vegan meals. Many of them are over my head at the moment but this one is pretty simple with simple ingredients.

You basically just cook up some sweet potatoes (I do mine in the micro). Then slice the tops off and scoop out some of the inside. Then cook red onion in coconut oil, add black beans, chili powder, and salt. Then you stuff the potatoes with the black beans. Top it off with lime crema, cilantro, avacado, hot sauce. Whatever floats your boat.

The genius part of this dish is the lime crema! Pure genius. You soak some cashews in water overnight. When you are ready to cook dinner (or lunch), drain the water. Then you puree the cashews with lime juice, water, and salt. Yummers!

If you are interested, check out the recipe at "House in the Hills."

The kiddlings . . . 

Mace: This guy has taken to "helping" mom lately. He loves it when I allow him to help in the kitchen but he'll help anywhere. Today I had the toilet brush and baking soda (what I clean with sometimes) sitting nearby. He took that brush and was going for the toilet. He wanted to clean that puppy all by himself! So I sprinkled the powder in and we worked together. Precious, even cleaning the toilet.

Nutmeg . . . is quite the little crafter. She's been making everyone bracelets lately. The boys are actually thrilled by the gracious gifts. Tall Grandma will be tickled by this development, I'm sure.

Sage . . . got a book at the library the other days about cooking "space food."  It looks like he and I will be busy in the kitchen.

Basil . . . has been the entertainer lately. Every time we go to the library he checks out magic books. He is ALWAYS learning and practicing new tricks. I'm proud of his passion but I feel guilty that his audience is pathetic at times. The rest of us get tired out from tricks some of the time.  Oh family . . . they can be the toughest audience. Maybe you can Skype with us and do him a favor by watching a magic show.

Gotta go! I'm late for afternoon lessons!  Love you all!!