The Hungry Caterpillar (aka Tobacco Hornworm)

Lots of children catch caterpillars, lots of families let them keep them in a tank. We do this every year and they often hatch them to butterflies or moths.

What is special about this time isn't the activity. This is first year Isaac has been involved in the activity. Sometimes his physical delays cause us to forget that he is almost three. He is almost three years old. That is so amazing! This day in the photos he spent about 20 minutes watching the caterpillars, he lay on the floor next to the tank, pointing and babbling and cooing while I made lunch. He would walk in and check on them a couple times an hour through the day. He gave them bits of his snacks through the top hole. He even reached in an pet them a few times. The girls set one on his leg and it scared him a little, so they backed off of that.

It was amazing.

In general it is so easy to underestimate the working mind of people with physical disabilities. Holly often reminds us that Isaac is a big boy trapped in a baby's body. He can read. He can count. He can think about things that he can't ask questions about and so we don't think to offer explanations. He is curious.

We also started sign language class last week and it is going very well. He's picking up alphabet signs faster than I am and really loves the music. Lily loves it too, but I think she also enjoys being his assistant in learning at home. His verbal language is coming along too and since he can read about 20 words, we think, I also started putting up large magnet words on the magnet board. Today I told him to get me the word that means Dada but starts with an F. He brought me FATHER and then kissed it. It was adorable.

This experience this week served as a reminder that Isaac is so much more inside than his little body holds him back from. This is why we push forward to make him stronger, braver, and more patient each day. In doing so we are also becoming stronger, braver, and more patient with each other and others.

Farmhouse Kitchen, What's On The Table Tonight

First course: Bacon on a plate.
Anyone helping prepare the meal, set the table, and catch up on dishes got to snack on bacon.
It is a pretty big motivator at our house, especially considering that we have been out of bacon for six weeks. I had to go to Piper's where we have inventory and buy it. Ha!

Second course: Lamb ribs with cider and crabapple honey glaze with spices, salt, and pepper, Snoop Dogs Mashed potatoes courtesy of Martha Stewart, and buttered corn. Pan fried beef ribeye was also on the table. I'll see if I can figure out where I wrote down the glaze and post it later this week.

I wanted to make African Pork Ribs, but we are so low on inventory that I was out of those too. Crazy.  I was worried that lamb ribs would be tiny and not meaty, but I was completely and utterly wrong about that.

Dessert: Peach Pie. Simple Peach Pie. I made a standard All American double crust, the speedy way in the food processor, took 3 pints of home canned peaches (two were brandied peaches), drained them, added 3 T of cornstarch, 2 T raw sugar,  mixed with peaches, cut out strips for a lazy lattice, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the crust. Oven at 425 until bubbly and brown.

 

I realised that the thing that was off in my pies was the spice. These peaches have so much sweet and flavour that they do not need more sugar and do not need any spices to shine. Shine this pie does, simple, brightly flavoured, the Missouri peaches really brighten the farmhouse kitchen and THIS is why people drive from the coasts, weary, to rest at my table, fork in hand. The world needs more pie like this.

Recipe in detailed pictures to come. I'll have to make another pie. Maybe for Saturday's Apple Pressing party. Cheers!

Super Hero Soup (Hamhock and Beans in a French Pot)

 Little bit of a story first, my kids first looked at their bowls of bean soup with disdain and distrust. They like kidney beans, but all these funky beans, all in one pot? No way. So, I started eating one bean at a time, sharing the back story and the magic of each of the six beans.

1) The ability to sing like an opera star! Ahhhhhhh! LALALALALA! Figaro!
2) Jumping as high as a monkey!
3) Dancing forever!
4) The antidote to magic non stop dancing
5) The ability to sneak like a ninja
6) Super strength silly beans!


The carrots get eaten for night vision, the onion for stinky monster breath, the ham for protein and brain power and strong bones, celery for sonic hearing, and.....apples for good health (protection against monster sneezes).

The gobbled the soup. They asked for seconds. Dinner was hilarious. Easy. Frugal.

Without further ado, I present Super Hero Soup!!!!

 Start by running hot tap water, fill a bowl or pot, and cover the beans in the water by 3x the depth and then cover, set aside.

When they are ready to use they take up all of the water. I let them soak all day until an hour or two before the meal time.

In a separate pot, a crock pot or an oven roaster, place a hamhock and sprinkle with seasoning of choice. Salt, spices, and a bay leaf. Do not forget the bay leaf, it is very important.

 Add 3 stalks of chopped celery. I like to use the leafy greens of celery too. Next 3-4 large carrots chopped into bite size. 1 large onion, 2 medium tomatoes, and 1 gala apple. Any sourish apple will work, but I like gala or braeburn the best.

 Fill the pot with water and roast at 220 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 hours. Low on a crockpot, if that's what you are using.

A good hamhock will have a lot of good, deeply flavoured meat. It is hard to get to when making cuts, but falls of the bone when slow cooked.

 

This one had two full pounds of perfect, tender ham.

 

About 2 hours before meal time, drain, rinse, and then add the soaked beans.

Continue to cook until the beans are perfect and tender. 

This makes about sixteen servings. I freeze what our family of five doesn't eat. 

Recipe: Super Hero Soup

1 2lb hamhock

4 carrots

3 celery stalks

1 large onion

1 apple

2 tomatoes

water

2 cups of bean mix

seasoning and salt

bay leaf

Soak the beans while the meat and veggies simmer all day. 

Cook meat and veggies and spices in a pot of water for about 8 hours at 220 degrees Fahrenheit or in  a crockpot on low. Add the soaked and drained beans 2 hours before serving and finish cooking.

Serve with a hearty French bread or cornbread.

Jump around and be super silly while eating dinner. Savour the smiles, laughter, and sweet joy of children.

Now Is The Part Of The Show Where We All Do Dishes

Food is a huge part of our homeschool. Food is a huge part of our life and lively hood. We farm, we raise meat animals, we educate and hand hold those who are starting the whole/real food adventure.

That means we dirty a lot of dishes. Oh yes we do. The children are big enough to help clean up, even Isaac. There is nothing cuter than when he grabs his cup and walks it to the kitchen sink. He LOVES handing me dirty dishes to wash, gleefully he helps.

I both hate and love my kitchen.
I have huge dreams for the remodel.

Chores for dishes break down like this:

• Lily is in charge of keeping the under cabinets organised. This serves two purposes, the first is she knows where everything goes (to put away and to get out while cooking) and the second is a lesson is spacial math. How to get everything to fit and have it make sense.
• Holly is in charge of the spoon drawer. Her job is to put them away, keep it tidy, and bring those to the table at meals.
• Isaac helps when he can, as he can. He's two.
• I do a sink load of dishes in the morning after breakfast.
• Lunch and Supper dishes get washed after the meal, usually by Chad, while I head upstairs to bathe Isaac and get Holly and Isaac into bed if it is that late or they are that tired.I still have to wash all the cups because Chad can't get his hand in them to get them clean. Maybe I need to buy a bottle brush?
• Lily and I share putting away the clean dishes that go up high. I want Holly to start helping with this, but right now there are too many appliances being used and hot on the counter she would have to stand on.

No dishwasher means we have to keep up on this task. Doing it together, each having responsibility, is awesome.

Chad opened dinner the other night with a monologue about the children not having a maid, and that mama should never be treated as such.

My children do pick up though. In fact, they have a lot of chores. Not paid chores, not assigned chores, but things we all do together to keep our home tidy and nice to be in. Usually the kid working with me on a task is the kid who wants to be and the kid who needs that extra one on one time. I tell them stories if they help me and I am a fantastic storyteller.

In a typical day Lily and Holly gather dirty laundry and take it to the laundry room. They gather eggs, feed the bucket calf, and tidy the media room if they want to watch television or play computer games. Music time requires that room be picked up. The dining room table must be cleaned before every meal or before a major art project comes out. They know this, they do this.

The kids, all three, did most of the work today cleaning this room up.
It was full of toys and instruments. They let me vacuum though. ;)

Their rooms are something else. Lily keeps hers tidy on her own. It is very small so she has to for her own movement sake!

Holly's room gets attended to by me. Holly helps sometimes. Isaac makes the biggest messes in here, so I usually take care of it.

Lily told me recently that she decided that it takes less time to just do what I ask her to than it does to argue about it and that's why she gets her work done quickly and heads outside with Isaac. Works for me, though I have made extra effort to praise her and let her know how needed her work is.

Chad keeps his desk tidy and takes care of all things outside. He works, commutes, comes home to hours of outdoor chores, and still finds time to help with anything I ask him to. He watches the kids while I write, he cleans up dinner, he tidies spaces with us. He does all of this on top of things I cannot help him with. Plus he's intelligent, caring, and handsome. Seriously. I am one lucky lady!

The thing is, I know that this is a blessing. I know that not all households work like ours. I know that even when we all prioritise other things over tidy and clean up, that he will help me catch up. We are almost 15 years into this crazy beautiful marriage and housekeeping is very much not my gift. Recently however, I did two things: I hired someone to essentially teach me how to do it and I started directly asking for help. I try not to get upset when people are unable to help me, not giving them grief about it is my way of being respectful  to their needs. This includes children. I never ask them to drop a game or movie in the middle to help with a task, in exchange they show me the same respect.

Things go a lot more peacefully when I am mindful of this respect. I won't lie and say that I never end up yelling about the left open drawers or the mountain of unfolded clean clothes that takes over my bedroom and threatens Armageddon. I do. I do dramatically, like an angry dragon with a thorn in her side.

Eventually, I put on my super hero belt and tackle that monster. If I have made everyone hate being near me by being nasty and mean to them, then I have to do it alone. If I bring chocolate and promise music and story time, then little heroes and dragons appear by my side, swords in hands.

That's how I prefer to tackle life too, chocolate and music and good stories surrounded by dragons and heroes and peaceful, joyful progress.

If I fall behind on tasks, I have a back up coming with relief supplies. Several back ups, actually. Knowing this alone takes a lot of the stress out of it and that makes a huge difference. 

How do you handle kid chores?