Happy Halloween/Reformation

As promised to the grandparents, here are my two trick-or-treaters. In case you can't tell, Zanna is a "princess" bumble bee and Will is a red Lego. He and Wayne made his costume and it turned out great! Their evening was a success as they came home with way too much candy.

These are a few of my favorite things

As time heads toward the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, I pause to give thanks for all the "little things" that brighten my day, make me laugh or give me a touch of comfort. Here we go.....

Leaf cookies and apple cider. The smell and the taste are divine as are the memories behind them. Mom started this tradition and continued it even when we left her nest for high school at Prep. She would painstakingly layer them between bubble wrap in an effort to keep the fragile cookies from breaking. I would receive this treat in the mail come fall and share them with a chosen few in the dorm. The rest I would keep for myself and indulge in while sneaking off to the TV room for Brady Bunch reruns - a short time of quiet that was hard to find living in a girls' dorm! I now continue this tradition with my children although my leaf cutout is different from Mom's. Now I'm the one rolling the dough and carefully cutting out the shapes for my children to decorate with a variety of sprinkles. I imagine a time will come when I too will be layering them in bubble wrap to send off to the States. I'm in no hurry for that!

My Nutrimill wheat grinder. How I appreciate the freshness of the flour this machine makes for me as it grinds whole wheat kernels into flour. I use this to make cookies, waffles and pancakes, muffins and breads. I love the nutty taste and texture! In this way I keep all three parts of the wheat berry and all the nutrients it holds. If I don't use all I grind I will keep the rest in the freezer until I need it since there are no preservatives in it. Which leads me to.....

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day and the new Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a day cookbooks. I recently discovered these and shared them with several friends who are equally thrilled. The concept is that the time it takes to mix, rise, knead, rise again, etc isn't as important as we thought. By using their master recipe you can make up a batch of dough for 4 loaves in minutes and after allowing it to rise for a few hours, stick it in your fridge until you are ready to have freshly baked bread. On baking day it will take you 5 minutes of work to prepare it (not baking time of course). I'm here to tell you it works. I love it and the variations to it like using it as pizza crust. Today I am using the modified whole wheat recipe and have it on my counter top as we speak. I can't wait to sample it after it bakes!

Obviously I like to bake. I know my life it too hectic when I don't have time to bake. Then I'm miserable! I also like to cook and lucky for me my family likes to eat. My most recent cookbook purchased is Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Food Revolution. My favorite chapter is the Indian curry. After going to an authentic Indian restaurant last week and eating their stuff which was Fantastic it was confirmed that these recipes ain't too shabby. Love it.

On our trip last February to Mexico we had TV screens at each of our seats that had a choice of various shows and movies. It was then we discovered the Office. We became hooked ....fast. Since then we've become slightly obsessed. We've purchased and watched all the seasons so far. It's great for when there's nothing on TV which happens often. We'll often make quotes from the show to each other that we find hilarious - people around us are sure to think we're nuts. We had passed by this show previously thinking that it looked so stupid and the camera moved around too much (both are still true). We think one of the funniest episodes is from Season 5 called "Stress Relief" when Dwight sets the office on fire for the purpose of a fire drill.

Bath and Body Works has finally come to Canada and more importantly to me - Ottawa. I had to wait 7 years but by golly, it's finally here. I entered this abyss of lotions, soaps and air fresheners days after it opened to find the Christmas music playing and surrounded by people just about excited as me. I thought I was going to cry.

www.shutterfly.com is my new favorite website for all things picture. I've made two photo albums, a calendar and my Christmas cards simply by uploading the digital photos I want and dropping them into a pre-existing layout and adding the text I want. It's quick, easy and makes no mess. I'm all over that.

Books - specifically the ones I am reading with Will through Sonlight this year. We are studying American history (with some Canadian supplements, of course!) this year. Sonlight is the curriculum we use and there is a lot of reading both for Will and me to read aloud. Their motto "the way you wish you'd been taught" is true for me. I've learned more than I ever imagined. I'm fascinated by history and by what we can learn from the past. The Bible is the best history book out there with the way world history is intricately weaved through and in and among it. And now as we study the discovery and history of North and South America and the very beginnings of the United States and Canada I have a growing appreciation for it all. Will and I are reading about different Native American tribes and learning about them, where they're from and praying for them. The novels I read to Will I just can't get enough of - I read until my voice goes hoarse! We are currently reading "The Witch at Blackbird Pond". Before that was "The Sign of the Beaver". There are not enough hours in the day!!!

These are a few of my favorite things!

A new member of the family!

Introducing - Will's new bird Xerxes. This name, by the way, was suggested by Wayne. He originally wanted to name Will this when I was pregnant and since that didn't happen he finally got his wish. He thought it would be cool for a kid to have this name and sign his name with a big X. I don't get it.

Fall in New England

The beginning of October we went with Wayne to New England for a pastor's conference. While Daddy was in meetings the kids and I explored a children's museum in Providence, Rhode Island followed by a trip to the mall. I thought that was fair - something for the kids, something for Mommy - haha! After spending two night there and after Wayne was done with his conference, we drove up to Boston the spend the next two nights.
Wayne had found our hotel online by bidding on it. We stayed at the Hilton airport hotel which was lovely - and at a decent price. We were then given a room on the top floor with access to complimentary appetizers in the evening and breakfast in the morning! We felt so special!! We had a blast exploring Boston via the subway. This was a huge thrill for the kids! We did it all - the subway, bus and even a ferry across the harbor!

We walked the Freedom Trail that included seeing sights as the Old North Church, Paul Revere's house and more and ended with a guided tour of the USS Constitution. We visited the Museum of Science and enjoyed a lunch of New England clam chowder and some yummy beer from a Boston micro-brewery. (I had the Pumpkin ale!) We stopped at the park featured in the popular kid's book "Make Way for Ducklings" where the kids had a ride on the bronze ducks. The drive was lovely both directions as the fall colors were breathtaking. We had such a fun time!

Stepping back in time

Upper Canada in the 1860's - a step back in time. Will got an opportunity to experience this at Upper Canada Village with our home school group in September. For 2 days and 2 nights he and 20 other children lived as they would have in the 1860's. They dressed the part, did chores, attended a one-room schoolhouse, square-danced and more.
While I could not personally be there to witness all this, my dear friends and chaperone's of the trip did an excellent job in the photos that they took.
I just love the photo of the girls twirling in their dresses! Their straw hats were precious. They were taught much about the difficult kitchen work over a fire, preparing for winter and storing seeds for spring. They combed out wool and did some hand sewing. All the kids fed the animals, milked the cows and pumped water. The boys were taught to work with tin and made a candle sconce to hang on the wall. They also make a candle holder at the blacksmith. All children attended the one room schoolhouse. There they had to memorize and recite lessons, have spelling and math bees and follow the "rules" of the schoolroom minus the whipping they would have received if in trouble!

The children were challenged and much was expected of them and yet there was such a sense of innocence to it all. I enjoyed the images captured of the girls holding hands as they walked through the village, the kids playing games, the fun on the tire swing; the boys taking hostage a toad and observing it in their hat! What a wonderful experience with many memories made!

Autumn - the most wonderful time of the year!

Some of you may be aware of my, let's say, slight obsession with the season of Fall. It's back I couldn't be more thrilled. I've hauled up the 6 boxes of Fall decorations from the basement and carefully placed the items throughout my house. Fall is upon us. AHHHHHHH.......
One of my favorite Fall activities is our yearly trip to the apple orchard. We went to one this year with a corn maze that the kids had fun in until we got lost, hot (because remember it's still hot) and Will had a melt down because he wanted to lead and Daddy took over so we could get out of what was starting to feel like a rat maze. Next year maybe we'll just stick with the apples.

BTS - why rush it?

A big issue around here this year was when to start school. With Labour Day being so late it was a toss up with the school board as to whether to start after as they usually do or before. The final decision was before. After such an unusually rainy and cool summer it was when the children returned to school that the sun came out. As a home educator we made the not difficult choice to delay bts (back to school) and go outside to play. We finally made it to the beach the first week of September on a hot, sunny Friday. Will spent the whole time trying to catch some minnows that were swimming in the shallow area. The fact that an hour and a half went past and no catch was made did not deter him from continuing to try. God bless his persistence!
Another reason for the delay was a brief visit by my parents. They were en route to the UK to visit sister Bekah and her husband Tom (said with a British accent). They flew out of Ottawa but spent a few days with us before taking off. It was fun to have a visit with Opa and Oma!

OK, so we finally did get back to business and Will started grade 4. Now that we're back into the swing of things I was pleased that we transitioned from summer so well.