We are nearing the end of my least favorite month. The month where we always get sick. The month where peace and happiness disappear behind a thick layer of clouds. The month that seems to go on forever...and this year it is one day longer!
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| Blowing a ping pong ball (white streak) |
Besides having the flu, my spirits haven't been as dumpy as they have been in past years. I owe this all to my vitamin D supplements. When I stopped taking them after I was sick, my spirits plunged. When I started taking it again, I'm back to normal.
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| Bernoulli Principle: Can't blow the ball out of the funnel |
And by normal I mean trying to keep up with laundry, making sure the school work gets done (and is interesting-see ping pong ball experiment pictures), taking the kids to their fun activities (wrestling is now over), feeding everyone, and finding joy in my little projects and adventures.
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| The best way to get schoolwork done: petting a dog by the fire |
IJ has reached the age where he is no longer content to take every day as it greets him. He wants to know what is happening when and how long it will be until we do projects like build rockets, paint, go on field trips, etc. We've compromised and he watches D for me while I keep a chart of our next 18 weeks of school updated. Now he knows he will be learning about energy and reading
The View from Saturday for the next two weeks while he finishes up his puppet show for the Blue and Gold celebration next Sunday. After that we will have a unit on poetry and study the 50 states. We'll field trip to the Puyallup Farm School and the Museum of Flight. Anyone want to meet us in Seattle?
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| Standing on Mount Firewood |
M and IJ have been busy hauling firewood/storm debris out of the woods before the blackberries and nettles grow over the top of them. Once the growing over starts, the mowing becomes impossible. We are happy to report we only burned half our firewood stash this winter, burned very little heating oil, and have secret stacks of firewood curing around the property.
This little guy is a worker. He cannot be entertained with little toddler toys that flash and play music. He won't watch TV for very long. He can't play nicely with his sister. He wants to work! With people! He wants to move laundry into the dryer (whether it is clean or not), put clothes and dishes away (not necessarily where they belong), put movies in the DVD player, and mostly, he just wants to go outside. Preferably with his dad, "Ee," and his purple boots, "bups." He has made this school year...challenging. Both the girls happily colored at the table while their brothers worked. This one cannot be satisfied. I can't wait to see what next year brings!
And then there is The Pirate. After having him for only two months, it seems like he has been here forever. We were really lucky to get this dog before someone else did. His bad habits include: barking a high-pitched bark when he wants to go outside, chasing cats, chewing up Barbie, and sleeping on blankets. Not too shabby for a dog! Now that the Barbies are chewed up and gone, that is no longer a problem. The Pathetic Doberman doesn't even chew up stuffed animals now that The Pirate is here. The high-pitched bark will get Pathetic Doberman howling like someone is playing a musical instrument. That was funny the first time. Now I holler, "Let that dog OUT!" At least he knows to go outside to do his business! And sleeping on blankets and chasing cats? Who wouldn't want to sleep on the blankets and chase the cats? The cats can climb trees and we have plenty of those. They learned right away that The Pirate can climb under the van, so that is no longer a place of refuge.
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| What a sweet face! |
A question we had was would he wander off our property? Out here, that can be a big problem because if a dog harasses someones livestock or poultry, he can shoot the dog and no one will ever know. So far The Pirate only sniffs around the pond. He likes to be outside and will stay out for long periods of time. We are not used to that! We are used to our
Pathetic Doberman, who will only stay outside if it is sunny and M or I are there to keep her company. The Pirate is way more normal. But when dogs are left outside for long periods of time unattended, they get in trouble. But that is what the boys are for. Watching their dog while they watch their brother! It's a nice little circle: the pit bull guards the boys who keep the pit bull out of trouble while the doberman guards the mom who yells at the doberman when she barks at strangers in the yard.
Strangers in the yard...that means the septic system is not finished yet. We can use it, but the county wants to move the whole drain field over 40 feet. But that's a post for another day...
