The birds and the bees

Got you interested, didn't I? I really don't have any bees to talk about, only birds. And that's not until the end of the post.

We've been busy putting ourselves back together after a trip to Chattanooga last weekend. Our Friday thru Monday trip was filled with visiting old friends and overall it was a really relaxed time away. We went to bed on Monday with our bags mostly unpacked and some laundry started, wondering why it didn't seem exhausting this time around. Maybe our kids getting a little older really does help!

In other adventures we are focusing on a different letter of the alphabet each week. The kids fill a tray with items starting with that letter all week, and we do little activities (some of them are a stretch to call them "school" but all of life is learning, right?) centered around the letter. It's surprised me to see how the visual reminder helps them remember the sounds so well and sticks with them even weeks later. Speaking of school, I spent some time this past weekend talking with older (i.e., more experienced) moms about all things education. I used to laugh at the parents of preschoolers who would get so worked up about schooling choices, when I thought they just needed to RELAX. Well, I am all about relaxing in the early years, but I just want to know that the relaxing is part of the big picture and the plan, and not a default. WH and I plan to spend the next few months trying to figure out our philosophy and priorities for the education of our kids with the hope that it will provide some direction for the next season of our child rearing. It's exciting to have children who are old enough to know more about something (anything!) than I do. I didn't think it would happen with my four year-old, but just last week he held up a toy truck and said, This is for harvesting wheat. Really? I had no idea.

Have you ever purchased printable pdf files from Etsy? They are FABULOUS- I spent $4 on this and it is our family calendar (on a clipboard). I printed it out again so I could jot down our preschool activities and book lists and keep it all in a notebook. It makes me happy every time I walk by the little birds.

And last but not least, my father-in-law found this in his basement and revived it for my children: (visualize... there are no birds interested this afternoon and it's not much to look at without the birds present) A bird feeder with a two-way mirror so the birds can't see the kids. How perfect is that? They are learning all about birds and we're off to the library to get some bird books so I can answer their hundred questions a day about what kind of bird is eating now. I only know a few kinds of birds, and the kids are familiar with birds that typically don't frequent bird feeders (peacocks, penguins, flamingos...although WH did offer to put some fish in the feeder to see if we could attract some penguins).

Hope you have a great weekend!

crop of the day

Our everyday talk is filled with farm dreams, so it was no surprise when my 2 year-old daughter asked if we could grow tortilla chips when we have land.

In other news, today seemed like a good day to post a recommendation for this dvd. I can't say that it is the most captivating (or well made) documentary I've ever seen, but it was a huge help in understanding the issues at hand. I will leave you with a few related pictures.

Okay, this last one has nothing to do with farming or global warming. It's just for laughs. Too long of a story to explain this late at night.

Keep/Drop

Since January 2nd I have contemplated a post about goals and my own resolutions for this year. I kept mulling it around in my mind, mostly waiting for the 30 spare minutes to appear so I could type it all out. Before I could wax eloquent on why I wasn't making any New Year's Resolutions, I read this post from the blog Small Notebook for a Simple Home. She described much of what I wanted to say, only better.

I think her "keep/drop" system really boils it all down. I am tempted to give you my own list of things I plan to keep and drop this year but she gives plenty of examples, and I think the whole idea behind her post is that we don't need to make our goals based on some other person's ideas of success. What I need to focus on this year may be exactly opposite from how you should spend your time.

A sense of peace and quietness, which I pray is felt among my children and husband, has been the greatest blessing from the dropped expectations and activities. Somehow our days are just as busy and I still don't find myself with a lot of quiet free time (but I have made reading more of a priority!), yet I know the busyness is purposeful. It is accomplishing some of my goals- and my husband's goals- for our family. Ultimately, it is creating more happiness. And you know what they say about Mama being happy...