Will and His Six Candles!

Yummy Chocolate Cake! The coconut flour cake recipe is from The Nourishing Gourmet. I used blueberries instead of raspberries, doubled the recipe, used a small bundt pan instead of muffin pans, used 1/2 cup honey and 1/2 cup rapadura. The coconut cream icing recipe is from GNOFLGINs Will wanted blue, so I omitted the cocoa powder, however I really recommend the cocoa powder for consistency.

Norah had a birthday!

She's FOUR!!

Corners of Our Home...

I've wanted to to post some pictures of our house for awhile now... like, since we moved in! Actually, certain people have been requesting that I do... :) However, one thing after another and I didn't get around to it... then the unfortunate death of the digital camera.... (Susannah thought it should get washed with the rest of the dirty dishes and into the sink it went!) So now I have a new camera, our house is a 'little' more together than it would have been had I taken pictures when we first moved in, life is still crazy, but here's a start. Enjoy!



"Kid Corner" in our dining room... the white cabinet holds art/craft supplies, change and cash register for Store Friday, has a fun 'old school' pencil sharpener mounted on top, and hooks on the side for the kid's cleaning supplies. Norah's 'birthday kitchen' from the Millers. (your in this pic too, Ginger) And, even though she's sad, I have always liked her... Thanks Mom for giving me the picture.



Eventually this 'corner' of the dining room will be pretty.... Feel free to bring me a living house plant when you come visit!


Also in our dining room, our nature table.... and copy of The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Lady (thank you Ginger!)


Favorite shelf in the 'necessary' room.

Pictures of the actual rooms to come soon!

Wool Babylegs!

Getting ready for baby.... I have been reading/researching about infant potty training here and here. I have two friends (that I know of) who have been very successful with it, so.... with a winter baby, I've decided gowns with babylegs (basically, leg warmers) would be simplest for me and more comfortable for the baby. With all that said, I found this great tutorial and turned my favorite Smartwools (that were completely worn out and thankfully not yet in the trash) into babylegs.

Pink Cake

We have a new camera to replace the one that went for a swim... thanks to my parents... so here's the first picture taken with it. Norah's fourth birthday cake! (and the frosting was a great success)

Squash Pie

This is a recipe from my sister... I don't know where she got it, but it is a HUGE hit at our house. It can be made with or without a crust...without, we call it custard instead of pie... for a quick and easy crust I just made the oatmeal crust from Wardeh at Gnowflins and it was good. (mine was not soaked, next time)

1 3/4 c pureed cooked winter squash (butternut or acorn or anything really)

1/2 c Honey

2 tsp vanilla

1 T cinnamon

1/2 rounded tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp sea salt

3 eggs

1 c coconut milk (Cream would be good too)

1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans (Optional)

Grease pie pan, mix squash, honey, and seasoning. Add eggs and milk. Pour into pie crust or pie plate and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. The pie should be set to about 2/3 from the edge. The center will cook and set as the pie cools on the counter.

"Try not to eat the whole thing in one day!" - my sister

note: on the squash... I've never measured it.. have just used the whole thing. And, I hate scooping it out of the skin so I peel it and cut it into chunks before I bake it then I don't have to mess with the squash while it is hot.

Our Home Sweet School....

I am so thankful to be able to stay home with our children... and it gets even better, I have the privilege of being their teacher too! After going to Carole Joy Seid's seminar and hearing two others of hers on audio, I am SUPER ENCOURAGED in this whole homeschooling endeavor. If you have the chance to hear her speak or can order her seminars on audio, DO! (It's worth every penny, even if you don't homeschool) Okay, so now for the details of our curriculum:

Bible - We are reading through The Story Bible by Catherine F. Vos and I made this great little organizer for our scripture memory. WE LOVE the Seeds Family Worship cds!!! Listen to a free sample on YouTube. Also, we are studying Egypt in our Genesis through Deuteronomy book, which co-ordinates with where we are in The Story Bible. (this is all separate from the evening devotions that Mister Byron does)

Math - I really like Making Math Meaningful, however I probably wouldn't buy the kindergarten book again as it covers concepts that most kids already know from playing and life in general.

Science - Right now we are reading and are absolutely crazy about Elizabeth Gordon's "The Turned Into's." More living science books on our list can be found here. Also for more hands on science we are doing the 106 Days of Creation Studies.

Literature - Carole Joy Seid's book list! Enough said... an alternative though can be found here.

History - We are focusing on American History through third grade then we will start Creation and the Flood, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Middle Ages and Crusades, Renaissance, and the Reformation. The guide I am using for American history is Turning Back the Pages of Time by Karen Logan.


Music - Music and Moments with the Masters and hymn study.

Art/Picture Study - Still haven't picked up a good 'coffee table' book on either Jean Francis Millet, Mary Cassatt, Claude Monet, Ralphael Santi, or Grandma Moses.

Reading - The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, although I really like Sing Spell Read and Write, the other I already have and it works....

Handwriting - Smithhand

As I write this post I am printing our timeline, all 123 pages!! It is about finished and then we have to punch the holes and put it in a three ring binder. Well, I guess this is all for now....