Last night we were invited to come picnic at a friend's farm for dinner. The kids were so stoked.
First, we hung out near the chicken coop, gathering eggs and examining the rat snake that had met its Maker when it tried (successfully) to steal eggs. I'll spare you the details, but it had actually swallowed an egg before its demise, and the egg later cracked while we were checking it out... Okay, I guess I didn't really spare you the details, but misery loves company, and now we both get to have that mental picture tucked away for the rest of our lives.
The kids spent some time just relaxing.
Then we went for a tramp through the woods. Well, some of us tramped. Others of us hopped on the ATV. And others of us (ahem) attempted a good tramp, but accomplished more of a crippling stumble when our bum ankle gave way under the weight of our out-of-shape body.
We explored the woods, and the ominously-named Bone Creek. Laurelai was unfazed by both, exclaiming, "Look, Dad! I found a bone! And another bone! TWIN BONES!" She wasn't wrong. Luckily, she quickly forgot about the hunt for bones when she realized that wildflowers were more prolific and better-smelling.
Soon it was time to head back to base camp, so the kids piled on the ATV. (I realize there are criticisms to be made about the choices being made in this photo, but I kindly reject them all in advance. Thank you for your understanding.)
Rocco did a little exploring: first, of a pretty and ramshackle barn.
Next, of a guerrilla mud puddle, which he kept referring to as a blood puddle. The resulting hose-down was also insulting, so he ended the evening 'bloody', soaked, and sulking.
Atticus spent a little while fighting Nazis. As well he should. Those Nazis aren't just going to fight themselves.
And then the kids thought they should spend at least a few moments looking like child models.
And thus ended our evening on the farm. Thanks so much for having us out, Stan!
So, apparently, it's summer. It has been in the mid-nineties for the last couple of weeks, though the humidity hasn't come rolling in yet, so it hasn't felt too bad. It's been nice being able to get the kids outside, and I've done a lot of half-bootied yardwork.
But it's throwing me for a loop. I keep looking out the window at all the green-green-green growing in the garden and wondering what I'll bring in for dinner, and then I realize the only edible things out there at the moment are lettuce and green onions. There is so much sprouting for sure - my potatoes are going crazy-go-nuts, I just put in five tomato plants and eight pepper plants, the beans just popped up yesterday, and my fall-planted onions seem to be hitting puberty. My peas are still deliberating about whether they're going to stretch themselves up higher than about six inches, and I kind of doubt they will since it got so hot so quickly, but they're at least green and present.
The garden at our last house: lush but still groomed in June.
I am ready to harvest at least something from our garden. It's still at the beginning of the season, when I'm all starry-eyed and optimistic about my gardening endeavors, and it sure would be nice to bite into something fresh while I still give a crap. By the time August rolls around and the garden is in full Horn O' Plenty mode, I'm in 'sweaty slug' mode - I've lost all gumption, all giddyup, all gall. By August, I've been cooking in the wet oven known as mid-Missouri for the last two months, and I have about as much energy as a strip of beef jerky. Beef jerky does not harvest. Beef jerky does not revel in the bounty. Beef jerky sits in the house, bemoaning its shriveled up existence.
The garden at our last house: neglected and elephantine in August.
So this year, I'm hoping to keep the momentum up by stretching out my gardening projects into the summer. I'm hoping to put in a third raised bed and fill it with things like sweet potatoes, popcorn, and maybe even a quick-growing melon or two. I'm hoping to add a few perennials to the side of the house, like a strawberry patch, a rhubarb plant or two, and a little patch of asparagus.
I'm determined to resist the urge to plant cucumbers, which is an active endeavor in itself, because the urge is always so strong - but then when the cucumbers actually grow, I remember how much I hate cucumbers and then I can't even bear to look at my garden where the cucumbers are. My garden stands a better shot at sustained affection from me if there is nary a cucumber in the vicinity.
And maybe, just maybe, by the time all this is done, something will be edible in my currently-planted beds, and I can just snowball all the energy I'd placed elsewhere into gathering the harvest. Hopefully. Or maybe I'll just be in extra-slug mode from all the energy I committed to expend earlier in the Missouri summer. It's a coin toss.
I've mentioned before that we don't use store-bought toothpaste at our house. Long story short, toothpaste can coat your teeth with glycerin and weird chemicals, preventing the teeth from remineralizing. And if it can seal out minerals, I'm presuming it can actually seal in cavities. (But I'm no tooth scientist; just a common-sense mom, if that hasn't been clear.) Plus, with as much as our kids swallow it, I didn't love reading the ingredient lists on even the natural toothpastes and wondering what the crap I was even looking at.
So we've been using bar soap to brush our teeth and I've really been liking it. It has kept our teeth really clean. But with only one bar of soap between us, we were running into the problem of extensive germ-sharing. We would each run our toothbrushes along the surface of the soap before brushing, and I strongly suspect it was cycling sickness amongst us. I was trying to figure out a way to give everyone a separate bar of soap, and to keep them all separate and organized, but a noncomplicated solution was proving elusive.
My best idea involved a couple baskets hung on the inside of the cupboard doors, with a color-coded water cup holding a color-coded soap dish and toothbrush for each kid. It's still not out of the realm of possibility that a system like this might someday be unveiled at Chez V.V., but for the time being, I didn't want to spend the time and money hunting around for all the supplies I'd need. Luckily, a better solution presented itself in the meantime.
I follow The Clementine Bee on Instagram because of the adorable eco-friendly products they offer, and a couple weeks ago, Melissa (the owner) posted the ingredients she was gathering together to make some remineralizing toothpaste for her family. As it turned out, I had every ingredient in my possession - ironically, from the time four years ago that I had purchased all the supplies to make remineralizing toothpaste... and then promptly forgot about them. (I have issues with follow-through.)
So the other day, I pulled out everything I'd be using.
Coconut oil
Bentonite clay
Baking soda (OPTIONAL: see note)
Essential oils (I used peppermint and tea tree)
Stevia (liquid or powder)
Trace mineral drops (optional)
I mixed together about 1 part coconut oil, 1/2 part clay, and 1/2 part baking soda. There is really very little science to this - you really can't mess it up. Just going by consistency, and keeping in mind that the upcoming summer months would make the coconut oil extra runny, I opted for a bit more clay to keep things stiff. (In the winter, when coconut oil tends to stay hard in the cooler temperatures, I'll use less clay.) Note on baking soda: you may be worried about it being too abrasive on your enamel to brush with baking soda, and that's fine! Just leave it out and increase the clay.
Once I got a consistency that looked good - soft, but able to hold its shape on a toothbrush - I added a few drops of trace minerals, a few drops of each essential oil, and a few drops of stevia. (If you're using powdered stevia, add small amounts at a time and taste as you go.)
Once it was mixed, I was back to navigating the germ dilemma. Did it really accomplish anything for me to put it all in a communal jar that we'd dip our toothbrushes into? Or, alternatively, did I really want to have to have eight separate jars of toothpaste floating around the bathroom, potentially getting mixed up with each other anyway?
I wanted something sanitary but simple to store. Like a tube of toothpaste. But what could I buy that would function like a tube of toothpaste? Then I remembered I had one lone refillable squeeze pouch a friend had given me last year. I hadn't found a use for it, so it had just been languishing in the kitchen drawer, all alone and purposeless. Bingo bango.
It has worked well. We did have one incident where the toothpaste kind of hardened in the spout for a little while, but once it resolved itself, we haven't had the same issue since. I also had to duct tape the bottom closed since it did pop open once when the kids were trying to squeeze it. So it's not a fail-proof system, but it does seem to be working well enough for me to consider it a win!
Honestly, it tastes like toothpaste. Sweet and minty. It does have a bit of saltiness from the baking soda, but I could easily add a bit more stevia to cover that up if I minded it, but I don't.
Unfortunately, Penelope and Finneas seem to hate the stronger taste of mint than they're used to, and we've had to overcome some tears and gagging during the transition. So I promised Penelope that the next time I make this, we'll try lemon essential oil instead of mint.
Overall, I'm really, really happy with this toothpaste, and I'm really hoping it helps keep the kids' teeth healthy and strong. It tastes good, and cleans SO well. The only drawbacks I am noticing are that you need to rinse it out well when you're done brushing (it can kind of overstay its welcome), and unlike normal toothpaste residue that creates a white film in the sink, this stuff (being clay-based) can leave a brown, muddy-looking residue. But since we wipe down the counters and sink daily, it hasn't been horrible to keep on top of.
There you have it! Who knew you could concoct toothpaste at home? If you'd like to give it a go yourself, here are the supplies I used:
Okay, okay. I didn't actually use the animal pouches in the bottom list, but HOW CUTE ARE THEY?!?!?!?! I just had to include them. Maybe at some point, I'll make each kid their own tube of toothpaste to keep track of, each with a different animal pouch. Adorable.
I will mention - these affiliate Amazon links are to the smallest packages of the products I already had on hand. You will likely be able to find many of them cheaper or in smaller quantities at your local health food store, or even Aldi!
It has been the most relaxing, wonderful week around here. We have about three weeks' worth of schoolwork left in our year-round homeschool schedule, so the kids and I have decided to do a "one week on, one week off" schedule for the rest of the summer. This way, we're still finishing up our work at a nice leisurely pace, but also not leaving a huuuuuuge, long stretch of break to navigate in which the kids fight nonstop and forget everything they learned during this last school year. We're all pretty happy with the plan, and this week marked our first break week.
I did, like, nothing.
It was also finals week for the college students, so all of my meet ups with college gals were cancelled. Well, I take that back - I did still meet up with one girl, but she just joined me in the waiting room at Atticus' speech therapy appointment, so it didn't really take up an extra space on the schedule.
The rest of the time was spent truly enjoying the slow, slow, slow pace of our days.
But let me back up. A few things were going on last weekend; most namely, Todd bought the kids blue ice cream. Like, bluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue ice cream. (Their poop was blue for a full four days after eating it. It was heinous.) I admit, at first I was annoyed - in my head, I was like, "That's a nice thought and all, but FOOD DYES! AND SUGAR! AND FOOD DYES!" I thought the gesture was sweet, but I just really couldn't get past the fact that I would never choose something that color to go into their bodies.
And you know what? That's why it's good for my kids to have two parents. Yeah, I never would do that, but perhaps the kids gained something really valuable from knowing one of their parents thought of them at the store and bought them something thoughtful. Maybe their blue poop for days afterward reminded them of how kind their dad had been to them. And if I was calling all the shots all the time, they'd be robbed of that. Todd and I are often on the same parenting page, and we did have a talk later about how we (together) feel about stuff like this moving forward, but I was challenged to stop acting like I have a monopoly on good parenting when we make different choices for the kids.
In other news, I got curtains hung in the dining room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been working so hard on getting Callista's room pulled together, and I'd ordered some curtains for in there that just didn't end up working... but they looked so stellar in the dining room. I was in this serious quandary about whether or not I wanted to keep them - most of the money for any decorating I do comes out of a small blow fund Todd sets aside for me each month, and I've been saving up for close to a year. I didn't want to spend my Callista-allocated money on stuff for the dining room. Todd was so sweet and told me to keep the curtains without worrying about using my personal fund. So the dining room has curtains!!! Now I just need some colorful art in there... (Actually, I have the art already; I just need a frame for it. Story of my life.)
This little bugger turned 2 1/2, which just blows my mind, because it means he's now closer to his third birthday than his second. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!! I DEFY YOU, FATHER TIME!
Um, what else? Here are a couple of party pics from last weekend, for your viewing pleasure:
1 (in which the kids go nutso at breakfast time):
2 (in which Finneas and Todd sleep exactly the same way at nap time):
Todd was up much of the night on Sunday with horrible tooth pain, so he called in sick to work on Monday. He was in a lot of pain throughout the day and just plain exhausted.
On Tuesday, he had the day off to take Atticus to Kansas City to have his orthotropic appliance installed. Basically, Atticus' teeth are coming in really janky, but instead of simply making them straight with braces (orthodontics) and acting like the problem is fixed, we're pursuing orthotropics, which encourages proper facial and jaw development, which in turn allows the teeth to come in where they're supposed to. But beyond this, it prevents TMJ problems, jaw clenching, airway/breathing issues, speech delays, headaches, reverse swallowing, poor posture, snoring, etc., etc., etc. The doctor is even working with both our chiropractor and speech therapist for a whole-body correction. It really is amazing, and we're hoping the helps correct the developmental issues that led to the crooked teeth in the first place.
Before leaving KC, they stopped at Walmart and Todd bought Atticus a WWII movie ("The Longest Day," starring John Wayne). Atticus was riveted for the entire drive home.
On Wednesday, the kids and I took our normal trip up to the Amish, and one of the Amish gals and I hit up one of the greenhouses. I got tomatoes, peppers, bean seeds, and some herbs. Then, at our stop at the bakery, there was a group of Amish children playing, and my kids got to play with them while I filled up the milk bottles. It was so fun to see them having so much fun with kids who didn't even speak their language, and from such a different lifestyle than our own. Kids really make friends so easily, without worrying about stigma or cultural barriers. They just have a huge 'want-to' factor for liking each other.
Wednesday afternoon, we planted our seedlings in the garden and have been diligently watering ever since, since it's been in the mid-nineties this week and the garden can use all the help it can get.
This girl has been an absolute pill. I think she may be teething. But she's so cute at the same time that I honestly don't mind the extra cuddles she's been demanding.
And speaking of cuddles, this girl is the best big sister I've ever witnessed. She is so selfless and kind and caring. She loves her siblings to death. One day this week, she took Rocco out to play in the yard, and we looked outside to see this:
Later, this is how we found them playing:
And this is how she spends time with Callista:
She is constantly saying how much she loves babies, and they adore her right back.
Anyway. That was our full-to-bursting, simultaneously-relaxing week. I'm looking forward to so many more of these over the coming months!
Last winter, I decided it was important to get the kids started in piano lessons. Piano is foundational for learning any other instrument, and learning to read and play music actually helps kids' minds develop in other areas like math. Plus, Penelope would not stop hounding me to teach her.
But there were a few things holding me back from jumping in before then.
1. I didn't want to teach them myself. I could. I'm equipped. But I knew my personal time and attention constraints, and I knew I wouldn't be consistent if all the responsibility to teach them rested on my shoulders.
2. As the child of a pianist, and being relatively musical myself, I didn't want to settle for any old malarkey lessons. If we were going to spend the time and the money, I wanted the kids to be taught well.
3. Piano lessons are expensive. I have a friend whose kids are taking lessons here in town, and it costs $65/month per kid. I know it's easy to assume that single-income families with six kids typically have hundred dollar bills just sprouting out of their ears, but contrary to popular belief, we are on a budget.
Hmmmm. So, to sum up, I was looking for excellent, thorough lessons that didn't require my oversight, and that didn't cost much. I realize I kept my expectations low.
A fellow homeschool mom mentioned Hoffman Academy in a Facebook thread, and I was super skeptical. How on earth could an internet video ever adequately instruct a child to sit properly, hold their hands 'light and loose,' and improvise? Bah humbug.
So we signed up, and have spent over six months using Hoffman, and the verdict is in...
I LOVE HOFFMAN ACADEMY ALMOST AS MUCH AS I LOVE MY OWN KIDS. ALMOST.
I could go on and on and on, but here are the best things about it:
1. The kids work independently. I am occasionally necessary to listen to things they've learned, or to remind them to use the 'piano posture' they were taught in their lessons, but they are progressing so quickly on their own with very little of my own time invested. It doesn't require any prior piano knowledge or skills on the part of the parent.
2. The teaching is incredible. They are learning so much from so many different angles: they are learning music theory, and playing by ear, and reading music, and improvising. Honestly, for as haughty and snobby as I felt about 'dirty old internet lessons,' I can honestly say that the instruction they're receiving is superior to what I received growing up, and my instruction was pretty excellent.
3. It is so affordable. Even in the future when we have a lot of kids old enough to enroll, the monthly cost per child is so low that I don't worry whether it's sustainable in the long-run.
4. Not only are the lessons thorough, but even practice time is guided. I don't have to assign anything each day, or hound the kids to do anything. They know what to do each day because it's all laid out for them within the program itself.
5. They love it. The lesson videos include Mr. Hoffman doing funny little bonuses at the end that they look forward to. The practice sessions include games and activities. They actually fight over who gets to use the piano first each day, and I almost never have any grumbling about 'having' to practice piano. (Far cry from my own memories of learning!)
6. We can do lessons right from home. I don't have to spend time driving anywhere, and I don't have to figure out what the littler kids are going to do to occupy their time while we wait for lessons to be over. The lessons seamlessly fit right in with our home life.
7. Listening to the kids play actual music is such a joy! I can't believe how fast they're learning - it's a far cry from the screechy, plunky practicing I imagined we would have to start off with. I love listening to them learn, knowing that they're developing such an amazing skill.
I really can't rave highly enough about Hoffman Academy! I am so happy that someone passed along this resource to me; we've been so blessed by it.
Disclosure: I received a partial credit for our subscription in exchange for my review. All thoughts, opinions and unbridled enthusiasm are my own.
