just an update

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well, i think our original vow to post everyday sort of...died. :D but that's okay!

so, for the first topicccc of interest, i started a new quilt. when we were looking through all the old stuff from the barn, i found lots of old vintage fabric scraps. a stuffed retail bag, actually. so i decided that if i cut them up into 3x3" squares i could make a quilt. maybe add white at every other print.

la la la

secondly, we watched one of the funniest old movies last night. check out our review at our movie review blog.

thirdly, don't you hate it when your own cellphone scares the living daylights out of you?

fourthly, mum made a cake. she stuck it in the oven, we watched our funny movie again, and then she gets up to go look at it.
then comes a scream from the kitchen.
"oh my god!"
me and quinn look over at the closed doors of the tv room
as if we could see through it.
and so i get up to
see if she had found something dead, or something, in the cake?
"you've got to come see this!"
i untangle myself
and see this:


not necessarily something to
give one a heart-attack
[did you know that it is mother's new hobby to try and give me a fright-caused heart-attack before i turn 21]

but if you suddenly have the strong inclination to whip together this delicious cake and try to then give someone you know a heart-attack by screaming 'oh my god' or any other variation you might like, i suggest trying this recipe.

but you have to love chocolate. like we do.

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Chocolate Bundt Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix
1 small box chocolate instant pudding
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces sour cream
4 eggs
1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and beat for 4 minutes. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool, then dust with confectioners' sugar.

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oh! wait a moment. the adventures of the heart-attacker are not over...

after a few moments of watching the movie, i hear a small moan of
"ohhhh crap."
emitting from the kitchen. ohhh dear, i thought.
i got up to look and found that mother was eating broken pieces of cake from the Bundt pan. bad girl.

INTERRUPTING --- mother just scared me just now. again. i have a weak heart. she just screamed about Sydney White to sara on the phone. a ridiculous movie with amanda bynes. O.O

anyway...

look how sad...

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~ caroline

dusty memories

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Since Caroline and I have been sewing lately, she thought it would be fun to look through my old sewing patterns. So, yesterday afternoon we hiked out to the barn attic to dig out my seriously-old box of patterns.

Every pattern is from the 80s, and older! ACK!

Caroline had a good laugh as she sifted through the crazy selection. And, what's even funnier, I actually made clothes from those patterns! Puffy sleeves, jumpsuits, leggings, and long over-sized sweatshirts. Even I forgot how much clothing I made for the kids and myself back then. [those were the days]
Then, to continue on our treasure hunt, we decided to look through every storage box. Again, we found some great memories buried in those boxes. As I was telling Meg, I gave-up the kids' baby/child clothes and toys in stages. So, by the time we moved the fourth time in 12 years, I downsized my "keepsake" boxes for each kid. (small box)

Yesterday, I looked through each box, again.

How sweet.

As I pulled items from the boxes, I was immediately reminded of that child wearing that item. Sara's favorite dresses (she was a dress-girl), Logan's favorite velour sweat-suit (I made), Griffin's favorite herringbone suit jacket (size 3), Caroline's dresses she never wore (not a dress-girl), her favorite overalls, and Quinn's favorite cowboy boots (size 4).

Sweet memories, for sure. Some items are very worn, because obviously it was much-loved and worn often, or maybe constantly. Some are like new. Sara has the majority of saved clothes, as she always had the largest wardrobe to start with. She received lots of nice hand-me-downs from family and friends.

Sara wore that cute little swimsuit (above photo) when she was about nine-months-old (and up), and of course Caroline wore it also. You realize that means I saved it for more than 10 years! Those little shoes were also Sara's (Caroline went crazy when she spotted them-took these photos), she wore them until I discovered soft-soled shoes. (of which I have many pairs)

We also found some of my old children's book collection. There are many more somewhere. I found most of these books at garage sales. Caroline and Quinn found them fascinating. (as if they didn't grow up with these books!)

Now, I'll launder all of the clothes I found and ask Sara if she wants any of her items for Baby. And, put away the rest for later.

We had a great time. . .dusty memories and all.

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~cheryle

Homeschooling Thoughts or Vapors

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People often ask me about homeschooling. And, each and every time they do, I experience a brain-freeze. Why?

Because it's impossible to explain, share, or educate in a few sentences or a few minutes.

Homeschooling is a very broad topic!

Educating our children at home is what the word implies. After that, there are as many definitions to homeschooling as there are pecans in Georgia.

Also, I might mention that everything I share here is from my personal point-of-view. Since I'm not very good with spitting back names of authors, titles of books or quotes from notable figures, feel free to surf the internet for that type of info.

Sure, I've devoured countless pages on the subject throughout the years, but first-hand experience is what I know best.
(Okay, my favorite author is John Holt, be sure to look him up.)

First, let me say that I feel all parents homeschool their children from the
moment their baby is born.
(I think you'll have to agree that you've been educating-at-home all of this time.)

After reading John Holt's books, and really latching on (ha!) to the concept that children are always learning, and that they learn best their own way, through play, imagination, music, textures, movement, relating with their family and the world, etc.. . .in other words. . .
provide an environment and let them go, it all made sense.

That was a turning point for me.

I could relax and watch my kids grow-without-schooling. Everything and anything that encourages growth on any level of a child's life, counts. Rest assure, all of my kids, at very different times, learned academic-related skills. That is what most parents want to know, "When did you teach reading and writing and math?"

Well, I prefer the slip-it-in-when-they're-not-looking method of instructing. So, gradually and at their natural pace, those concepts are introduced.

Since I think most of you are mostly interested in homeschooling young children (under 10), we'll save the older-child questions for another time.

I hope this was a tiny-bit helpful. I'm happy to chat further, anytime.

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cheryle

i'm told to be sassy?

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well, mother said to me:

"go post on the blog and get it over with."

i said:
"right now?"

and she said:
"yeah. go post about your quilt and write something sassy."

so, here i am, but i don't think i can be very sassy, honestly. :P

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Anyway, firstly (is firstly a word?) I would like to say that the song "All I Want Is You" by Barry Louis Polisar is so fun. Creative lyrics. :)

And secondly, sewing together squares of fabric is actually really fun.
Last night me and Mother laid out three different quilt patterns on my bedroom floor, which was really cool. We made a vintage/Victorian-style one, an entirely home-spun style kind, and a really small red-check and white quilt.

I was working on the latter until Mother shooed me away to be sassy.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
so i ironed it.
then sewed it up.
(doesn't the word "sew" just look so wrong. it looks like it should be pronounced "sue")

squee!
then I finished the front.

fah la la!
now i just have to cut out backing and we need to buy backing
sew
it up
and
post it on Etsy!

in case you're wondering what you can do with a blanket of such a eensy size (what, like cover one of limbs?), we're going to advertise it as a car-seat/diaper-changing/play quilt for babies and toddlers. :) i think it'll work. i would have made it bigger, but you see, *whispers* we only had 12 red squares... lol

well, toodles!!

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~ caroline

scream!

Well.
I just finished a hat.
a little
soft
yellow hat
100% cotton,
all sweet
and
elfish

so I started to st i t c h
the sides up ^
and then as I came to then end of the row I saw something shocking.

my rows didn't match up.
by about three
inches.

oh fah la la,
diddly da
and I had to rip it out.

:(

But hey, that's what I get for seaming
at
2:00 am.

:)

Good night!

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~ caroline