Birds!

Today, me and my crew, along with a few other gals from our Hearts at Home homeschool group met at the Yolo Wildlife Preserve for our weekly nature walk. It was an absolutely perfect day. We drove pretty far into the preserve before parking, and when we got out of the car I felt like I stepped into the midwest; there were no trees and no buildings, so the sky stretched out forever in every direction, as far as you could see. The birds were singing so loudly that although we were close to the freeway, no sounds of traffic could be distinguished. Here's a sampling of our morning:

No cars were permitted on this road (not that there was anyone else out there anyway).

The air was humid in the midst of the wetlands, and the blooming flowers everywhere filled the air with a delightfully pleasant fragrance.

With such wide open space and no vehicles, our kids were able to wander pretty freely. Shaenee did get a little stuck (literally) in the mud in this partially dried pond. Did I mention the bird song?!

If you're in the area, check it out!! We will definitely be there again, though it seems the spring and fall are the best times, so we'll probably skip summer.

Expressive Art Class

Last Friday, my backyard was transformed into an art studio, thanks to Kassandra Grossman of Expressive Art for Kids. We had painting with utensils, sponges, etc. on the garage wall, which quickly progressed from this:

to this:

to this: and this: and this:

We had a station of what we call oobleck (cornstarch and water):

So innocent...

Auntie Dawn helping.

Shaenee started in on the shaving cream.

Master concoctions!

We also set up the slide for roller paint-ball!

We and the kids all had a great time and got extremely filthy! My grass is still recovering, but will be ready for another messy-art day next month.

Bread

This is for my friends who've asked for my bread recipe, which is really more of a family recipe. I used to use a bread machine (see last posting!), but have found it much easier to just use my kitchen aid mixer for mixing and kneading. It also makes it very easy to double or triple! This recipe makes delicious pizza crust and can be easily added to for such delicacies as cinnamon raising bread or onion cheddar bread. You can do a couple of simple modifications to use it in a bread machine (ask if you need to know specifics). So without further ado:

Whole Wheat Honey Bread

combine in glass measuring cup:
1/3 c honey
1 1/3 c water
microwave for 1min 20s, then stir until honey is dissolved.
in a seperate cup, activate yeast by pouring a small aliquot of honey water over 2 tsp yeast, and let sit.

add to honey water:
1 1/2 T oil

in mixing bowl, combine:
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour*
1/2 c minus 1 T vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt

set mixer to setting 1 and add honey water (or by hand, mix it).

add activated yeast**.

set mixer to setting 2 for 5 minutes*** (or knead by hand on floured surface for 10 minutes or until elastic)

form into ball by hand and set in an oiled bowl, covered with a thin towel, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

punch down loaf, then reform dough to fit into oiled bread pan. Let rise another hour or until the height you want.

cook at 400 for 25min

make sure you taste the first slice right out of the oven!! it's near heaven.

*you can also equally substitute sprouted wheat flour
**if yeast has not formed a frothy layer in 5 minutes, the yeast is not active. Either add more, wait longer, or discard and try with new yeast.
***dough should be not sticky nor dry. It should not stick to the sides of the bowl. If it is too moist, add flour. If too dry, add more water (but only a teaspoon at a time!).

Why I love my husband (part 1)

Last night, instead of packing a lunch for my husband, I packed ingredients to make onion cheddar whole wheat bread (recipe to follow) that he made in our bread machine at work today. Better yet, it was his own idea to bring the bread machine to work, and on his own initiative he found a recipe online for rosemary bread, purchased all necessary ingredients, and made a loaf the first day! Thoughtful as he is, he's sharing the delicious bread with the office folk, hoping to maybe win over a few hard hearts in the meantime. What a guy!

Slow down

So, with homeschooling my three littles, making everything from scratch, gardening, housekeeping, engaging my community in dance-along and heading up the neighborhood association, people ask me how I do it all. It's simple, really: I don't. It's impossible to maintain a balance with so many balls juggling in the air, and inevitably one (or usually more than that) will fall to the ground. My husband, bless his dear heart, is constantly wishing for a cleaner, more organized house; my delightful children are always asking for more or less or different things to do; my plants only manage to survive if they're in the ground and are not dependent on my managment. You get the picture.
I've been having some wonderful discussions about life schedules with my dearest sister Tami who does everything I do and more with two girls and twin three-year-olds. She's always been more of a stay-at-homer while I plan out-of-the-house activities almost daily. We've both begun to desire true community in these recent years and are stumbling upon some interesting revelations: Like everything else good and pure in the world, true community comes not from our hard labor, but from an organic evolution.
When we stop straining our lives to maximize our time and fill every moment with something (activities, classes, meetings, scheduled playdates, etc.) and start to let go of unimportant things (like gymnastics for a 3-yr-old) both physically and mentally (it doesn't help if you're guilty about not going!), we can breathe a little easier. Our days become less constricting and we have more freedom.
What is our most natural community? The one we don't have to drive across town to meet or schedule three hours Sunday morning to fellowship with or attempt meaningful conversation in 15 minute intervals at pick-up or drop-off times? Our home. Our neighborhood. The place you live and are most relaxed, most yourself. Why try so hard to fill our lives with people out there when there are so many people at home. This is one of many reasons we've stopped attending church; we always felt like although the friendships developed were beautiful, it seemed so fake to bring everyone together from all different parts of town to create this artificial community. I don't mean to sound like a pure pessimist--there are some great things about the institutes of religion we've established--but we've decided it's not for us. We'd rather spend that time investing in our neighbors. At least we like the idea better.
So, back to juggling. I am attempting a paradigm shift. I'd like to drop the balls and look at the people around me, watching me and my foolish game. I want to meet them, talk to them, become a part of them instead of apart from them. You. Mrs. Beach. Ms. Velma. I'd like my house to be an open door for anyone in the neighborhood (even if you're driving through!). Lord help me, I want to slow down.

I'm here

I've been told I should start a blog, so here I am. Today we ran our dance-along class, then decided because it was so hot and we used the kids kiddie pool for our kinderpatch that we would stop by Target and pick up a new little pool. Ah, the joys of water! Cools them off, wears them out, eliminates arguments and provides hours of entertainment!

So, here's a thought: how could I go about putting together a dance CD with legal permission from all music groups involved and get it sold? The complied CDs I make for the dance-along class are in high demand, but I can't rightly sell them. Any ideas?

I've got to come up with better blogs.