Oops!

As a teacher, I frown at misspellings and get out my red pen.

Every once in a while these minor errors bring me laughter and lots of smiles.I think that "a" ought to be an "o." Don't you?

House of Fun

In Singapore about 10 years ago I spent $15 on a pop up kids house with 100 plastic balls. That $15 has proven to be money well spent in the Fish House. When Lydia's birthday rolled around, I found a $10 tent with tunnel after Christmas on clearance and thought it might stand the tests of time just like our ball house has.

The birthday girl with her new baby and loving big sis.

Now the ball house is connected to the tunnel and the tent and I keep finding plastic balls in unusual places. Oh well. They are having fun enjoying the tent together.

Tent Time

What's the next best thing to camping out? Camping in. The 2 Giggle Girls spent 2 nights in a dome tent in the school room.

Cousins and Best Friends

My Baby's a Big Girl

I just can't believe that 2 years ago I had my baby girl, Lydia Leigh. What joy she has brought to our house. We all call her baby and might even treat her like a baby. I guess because she's the first Fish Stick to not be a big sister by her 2nd birthday or close to it. It was so fun to see her know that this was her special day. We caught her singing Happy Birthday to herself a few times throughout the day. We opened presents in the morning before school.
She has finally shown an interest in baby dolls and loved getting her first own baby doll. Baby Maggie has hidden magnets in her hands and mouth so her pacifier and bottle stay perfectly. Liddy loves her.

She (and her siblings) love her new Ni Hao Kai-lan Legos.

She has mastered telling us she is two but the 2 fingers has been a bit more challenging.

Lydia, you keep us laughing all the time as you discover more and more and express that in your adorable Liddy Language. We thank God for you. Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl!

Tea Time

And what is a girls' birthday party without a tea party??

The Masked Knight even made an appearance.

And here's my little 6 year old.

Herbal Nut Part 2

Back when I first was introduced to herbs, The Bulk Herb store was just getting started. They would publish articles and I would read them and want more. As they began their business, I was one of their first customers. I purchased the books that they recommended to learn more about herbs and their uses for home remedies, and I purchased dried herbs from them to begin my concoctions. Years later, they have a fabulous website filled with so many useful articles, videos and resources, not to mention the best prices for bulk herbs that I've found.

Recently I viewed their Making Herbs Simple dvd. I wish I had this available to me 7 1/2 years ago when I was first starting out. The video is very well made and was entertaining and educational to watch. They made herbal remedies for starters seem very simple. I realized that I had started out years ago with a much more complicated system. They showed how to identify herbs in your backyard and harvest them (which I have not done...yet!), how to make an astringent for your face and for first aid, how to highlight and strengthen your hair using an herbal treatment, how to make a tincture (syrup) to help you sleep well that is even safe for babies, and how to make an excellent immune booster to get your family through the cold season, plus much more.

They recently released a volume 2 dvd, and with my birthday around the corner, I've already got my eye on purchasing it with some birthday money. So if trying home remedies is something that interests you, I highly recommend this fun and educational dvd. You can go to the Bulk Herb Store button on the side of my blog to find it there, plus much more.

School on a Snow Day

Amazingly enough, middle TN got it's 4th snow this winter and it's not even February yet. The kids got out of school today. Sad thing is that the state requires me to homeschool 180 days a year. That calendar is based on the kids' school calendar and unless I counted incorrectly, it doesn't leave me extra days off. With Monday being MLK day, we needed to finish the week anyway. Poor Leah did school today.

But there's nothing poor about a little girl who had her big sis help her with her papers and then graded them for the very grateful teacher (complete with lots of stickers, smiley faces and encouraging words).


Or "Doctor Cool Science" who visited our homeschool room to conduct our science experiment on magnets today. Maybe she shouldn't complain too much.
And to add to the fun, Ruth had her cousin come spend the weekend with us as part of her birthday celebration.

Sewing Saturday

AB had a friend from school come play last Saturday. Usually my Saturdays are filled with a long "to do" list but this Saturday, for some reason, my list was very small. So when her friend mentioned an interest in sewing and how she had gotten a machine for Christmas but didn't know how to use it, I jumped all over that. Both of my grandmother's were excellent seamstresses and my mother was also. The 3 of them taught me to sew at a very, very young age. When I was 7, Mom bought me my first Singer sewing machine - a real one!! I've been sewing ever since from prom dresses and wedding dresses to baby clothes and curtains.

We decided to make an outfit for their American Girl dolls. We made an a-line shirt that they embellished with trim, bows and beads and then we got in a time-crunch so I finished the shorts for each of them. What fun it was for all of us. Now the Fish Girls can't get enough of asking for more sewing lessons (including the 2 middle ones) and coming up with more projects. I hope my "to do" list continues to be small.

Back Home and Blessed

So what did the Fish Sticks do while I was away for 3 days?? At Nonie's the highlight was making a gingerbread house (and consuming it, of course).

At Grandma's the favorite was building a block fort in the snow.

I am so blessed to have 4 grandparents in our area to help me out so often with all the Fish Sticks and our coming and going. Thank you so much, Nonie and Grandma, for setting my anxious heart at peace for 3 days and helping to keep my Fish Sticks fed and supervised. And thanks to My Spectacular Man for sending me far away on a plane, doing the "here and there" work required with activities and school and having the house perfectly clean and in order when I came back home. I am one blessed Mama!

Double the Birthdays

Six years ago today I went to the hospital to have the tiniest little Fish Stick. 5 pounds and 3 ounces. Grandma bought her baby doll clothes and they fit. She was such a peanut that she had jaundice bad, putting us in the hospital again for 3 days. Nonie was asked if she would babysit 3 Fish Sticks on HER birthday in order to share her birthday forever with a new little Fish Stick and she was happy to. Our home would be pretty dull without our little Roofie Poofie. She brings lots of giggles and tons of personality to our home.

As you know, she's been telling me for the past year when she eats something she likes, "I want this for my birthday." I quit making the list because honestly if I fixed everything on the list, we would have a week long feast or more. Funny thing is that we kind of went blank trying to think of what exactly to fix her on her special day.

She wanted Puff Baby and blueberries for breakfast.

Anna Blair sewed her a cooking apron for the many tea parties we girls have here. She got a My Generation Doll complete with cooking accessories (a stepping stone in our house before getting a true American Girl doll). Her "giggle girl" cousin comes over day after tomorrow to spend the weekend with us and she can't wait!

Happy Birthday to Nonie, and as Michael Jackson said once, "I thank my mother for bringing me into this world"!! and a happy birthday to my precious Ruth. You bring us so much joy and laughter (and gray hairs sometimes). We love you both!

Time to Say Good Bye

We had a super time at Mimi's and although it was a bit crazy planning to be away from my sweet family of 8, we are so grateful that we got to go. Mimi and I laughed and talked and reminded each other of wonderful family memories during our 3 days together. It was so hard to say good bye.
Ruth made Mimi this sweet picture for Mimi's birthday. I love Ruth's "Get Smart" hairdo and Mimi's beehive.

Back to the airport for more snow related delays but not enough to make us grumpy.

What Did We Do?

So what did we do while we were at Mimi's? Well, Lydia played hide-and-seek behind the couch cushions. We searched everywhere for her!
She thought for sure if she would tuck her face deep into the cushions, then she really was invisible to us. The muffled giggling was a dead giveaway.
She enjoyed a different bathtub with bars to hold onto.She loved looking at the boxed butterflies that her Mama used to look at and admire so long ago.
She learned to recognize her great grandfather, Papa Payne, looking so handsome in his Naval Captain's uniform. We sure do miss Papa!
And she loved playing with the paper weights that her Mama also played with many years ago that Mimi and Papa collected from all over our beautiful globe.

When Your "J" says "Guh"

This Little Man has a rough time saying the "juh" sound that "J" makes. He makes a "guh" sound like "G" instead. It provides for lots of giggles around here.

Around Christmas time, he kept telling me, "Mommy, I not Gosiah. I Indiana Gones!"

Then yesterday on the way home from church I asked him who he learned about in Sunday School. He said, "I learned about Gesus. He had to go to gail. No, no, dat is wrong. It was Goseph. He had to go to gail."

Let me know if interpretations are in order.

Liddy and Mimi

(Forgive the poor photo quality. I had to leave my nice camera at home to prevent paying for a checked bag in the airplane. These were made by my phone.)

Lydia is not the most outgoing and friendly child, although we are working on this. She seems to be entering the two's (if you catch my drift) and so training was on the docket a times during our visit. It took her some time to warm up to Mimi. After that first day of sleep deprivation, not to mention a nasty nose and cough, she did quite well. Mimi got to see the real, talkative Lydia as she read books, talked, watched cartoons, played with toys and made up games in Mimi's apartment. She requested a walk a few times and so we let her run up and down the hallway to get all her jitters out."Lydia, go see Mimi. Give Mimi kiss and hug good night. Lydia, obey Mommy right now. Go give Mimi love. Please. Mimi wants a big hug from you."
Yeah! She did it. I hope Mimi can forgive a bit of initial stubbornness for a sweet hug after all. :)

Run! Pull the Cord!

When Mimi and Papa first moved to their cottage, our family visited them. As Papa was giving us a tour, he told all of us Payne kids NOT to pull the cord behind the toilet. It was for emergencies only and summoned a nurse at the main building.

His warning must have been seared in my big sister, Katie's, head bringing much anxiety. That night as we shared a pull-out couch, she grabbed me screaming and hitting me, waking me up from a deep sleep. When I finally was able to wake her up, she told me she was dreaming that the Hulk was after her and she was trying her hardest to reach the emergency cord behind the toilet but her running was in slow motion and she couldn't reach it.

So Katie, I just wanted you to know that every time I went in the bathroom at Mimi's, I thought of you and laughed. I hope you were finally able to summon the nurse!

Call for Creativity

Mimi lives in this great retirement community. She and Papa moved there 20 years ago into a cottage duplex when I was in college. They later moved into an apartment where Mimi still lives. Mimi took Lydia and I to the dining room for lunch. We had a beautiful view out our window and with a microscope probably could have seen Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Lydia wanted so badly to drink out of the goblet that she got a bit creative.

A Trip Far Away

My precious Mimi Payne just turned 95 and I haven't seen her in over 3 years. I asked My Man if it would be possible for me to take a trip to VA to visit her with Lydia. Mimi had never met Lydia and she still flies free on my lap (only for 2 more weeks). With the help of the 4 local grandparents and My Man, we were able to make it happen.

I put much work and prep before I left to try to ensure that things went smoothly while I was gone. I prepared 12 sack lunches (all labeled), washed all laundry, packed 5 people, organized homeschool materials for the grandmothers to cover, and wrote several lists and schedules for those I was leaving. We planned for the younger 3 to be at Nonie and Pops first and Grandma and Granddaddy's second, so as to not wear out their welcome. Tim would stay with the 2 school kids to carry on with school, work and basketball.

Then the night before I was to leave, Nashville got dumped with 4-5 inches of snow and more coming. The trip to the airport at 5:15 a.m. was a bit treacherous but we made it safely. School cancellations threw a wrench in my carefully laid out schedule, but they were quick to modify.Here's what we encountered at the airport. Our plane took 1 hour to de-ice, putting us in PA too late for our connecting flight, but we caught a plane 2 hours later. The snow had not made it north...yet.
And we were thrilled to arrive safe and sound at Mimi's house. Liddy was so exhausted that she was falling asleep sitting up and in whatever position she was slung.
We were so happy to have arrived though and looked forward to spending 2 more days with my precious grandmother!

Triple Fun

Who ever said three is a crowd?

Makin' Butter

Many of you know that my family has been drinking raw milk for years. For Christmas I asked My Man to get me the Homestead Beginners dvd. I love stuff like that. It makes me want to go Amish. When I watched this instructional dvd, it reminded me that I haven't used our raw milk to make butter in a very long time. I ran to the kitchen, skimmed my cream off the milk and got started.

First, you put a grumpy princess on your counter and turn that frown upside down.

Next you put the cream in the blender and whirl it around until you can see clumps of butter separating from buttermilk. See the edge, how they separated?
Scoop up that bright yellow butter and place it in a bowl of ice water.
Pick it up with your hands and form it into a ball. Squeeze the ball and let all the buttermilk drip out so your butter won't turn sour.
When it seems that all the buttermilk has been squeezed out, sprinkle with salt and freeze or put in the fridge. Save your buttermilk to pour over your dog's food. They will love it.

There's nothing like the taste of homemade butter on hot fresh baked bread!