The Chicken or the Egg?

I have written before about how amazing and practical Aliana is. Check the archives for March 2008. I have further proof to offer today. She has solved the ancient question: which came first, the chicken or the egg?

She tells me that there was first a chicken, then an egg. She has a logical argument to back it up. I love classical homeschooling.

Her reasoning is based evolutionary theory. She imagines that there were birds pecking around in the jungles of Asia that were very chicken-like, the ancestors of today's domestic poultry. One day one of these extremely chickenish jungle hens mated with an all white-meat rooster. An egg was laid. It hatched. Out came chicken numero uno. This chick had enough of the features of what we call chickens to be so called. Since then we have had chickens. Yum.

Shhh...it's a secret

It's amazing how many hiding places we have found in this tiny little house. There are several absolutely darling handmade gifts secreted away on dark cupboard shelves or behind pieces of furniture. Aliana, if you are reading this, don't look in the big white pitcher in the dish cupboard!

It has truly made my holidays bright to watch Isidore nearly burst with excitement until Elizabeth falls asleep for her nap. As soon as her eyes close he jumps into action, cutting and sewing and decorating. Aliana and Elizabeth are just as delighted by crafting things for their loved ones. It is heartwarming.

I can hardly wait until the presents are unwrapped, so I can show you the fabulous things my children have come up with!

Family Hands, Four Forty-seven pm Wednesday, November Nineteenth, Two Thousand Eight

For the next seven days I'll be posting photographs only. I'm feeling quiet.

Well

We have been sick, each of us taking our turn, some of us two or three at a time. Please pardon the abandoned blog this last week. I'll be back tomorrow to begin a photo series about which I'm quite excited.

Extra fun from school

Our homeschool program just moved into a marvelous new facility and expanded its library. This week we borrowed a nifty electronics kit. It has been a nice way for Patrick to get in on the learning fun. It has all the pieces that come in a regular electronics kit, but they all just snap together, making it manageable for Isidore's little hands. Naturally they bypassed the simple stuff at the beginning of the project book and went right for the laser gun, followed by the the space battle.

I hear the school also has telescopes, so we might plan a few heavenly lessons next month.

Welcome November

Rain followed on the heels of the windy day we saw a few days ago. Elizabeth and Isidore couldn't be stopped from dashing right out into it. Aliana went to find her slippers and hat. I put on soup for dinner.

We all enjoyed the sound of the rain on the yurt roof. It's a special sound. We are very cozy and well-insulated, but there isn't a lot of thickness separating the interior of our home from the weather outside, certainly not as much as in a tradional wooden house. As a result, each raindrop makes its arrival known. When it really pours down we are all forced to pause in our conversations and listen to Mother Nature's voice for a time.

Poem of the week

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My piles of books are a mile high.
How I love them,
How I need them.
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.

By Arnold Lobel

Before Dawn

Our family wakes up early these days. At least for a week or two, Patrick is working a shift that begins at 4:15 AM. He and I have always watched each other suspiciously from opposite sides of the divide between cheerful morning people and night owls. Can you guess who's who?

For me this radical change has been a slightly uncomfortable pleasure. Getting up out of the warm bed is tough, but my reward is the quiet, still space of time ahead of me. I relish an hour of Internet addiction time, tidy up the house, get something of some sort rising or fermenting or stewing. Around the time the light begins to fill in the details of my view out the window I bundle up and head out with my milking bowl.

The world outside is really pretty raucous in the early morning. The hungry cows spot me as I step out the door. They don't moo so much as bellow. The roosters have been crowing for quite a while now, and when I open the coop they flap past my face in their hurry to get out to take care of chicken-business. The goats chime in next, saying good morning in three distinct voices. The geese and ducks splash and quarrel. As I milk, in the distance I hear cars taking children to the bus stop and dogs barking at those cars.

As I step in the door bearing milk and eggs Isidore is up and wants to know if we can get out the school books and get to work. He adores the math and reading books we began using a few weeks ago. Last week he began to really read, to sound out unfamiliar words. Though he enjoyed schoolwork already, this breakthrough energized him. After we do the brief lessons from the books he asks me to write down words for him to read. This game is still novel for both of us. After he tires of reading to me, I take my turn reading aloud. We dive into the workings of the human body, cowboy stories, and lots and lots of Halloween tales. Elizabeth joins us under the blanket on the couch, usually adding a poetry book to the pile. She has been rhyming words since she could speak, and loves to listen to poetry read aloud. I do wonder where that will take her. If Aliana is home we make room for her and let ourselves sink deep into the world of The Hobbit for awhile, our latest daily pleasure.

I am so glad they weren't in one of the cars bound for the bus stop this morning.

The Trees on the Hill

It gives me a feeling of peace greater than I can describe to listen to my children tell me about the trees on the hill and share a glimpse of the sacred games they play there among the birds and leaves, rocks and moss.

In exchange I reveal a dusty page from my childhood, when those branches were a tiny bit smaller, those rocks a fraction younger.

We have been...

Baking rye bread, unpacking boxes, eating Grandma's banana cake and rescuing dinosaurs from tar pits.

Stuck in Lodi

This blog is coming to you today from beautiful Lodi, California. Patrick is working on a national (!) advertising campaign for the KOA. We are staying in one of the darling little cabins they offer while he shoots all day. The kids will be modeling for some of his shots around the pool and playground later in the day, but for now they are enjoying a very large television and real cheerios. I am going to ignore the internet for the rest of the day and read the entire newspaper.

Cheers!

No picky eaters allowed!

My family is amazing. The bunch of us are all weirdos, but we either don't care or don't know, depending upon the individual in question. That's really why we're homeschooling, to avoid the embarassment of sending them out into public. Just kidding. I think.

This morning Isidore was complaining because we were having fried eggs and sliced oranges for breakfast again. Ever practical (see my post from March 26) Aliana pointed out that we have lots of homegrown eggs right now, so we should enjoy them. She explained that eggs are healthy protein filled food, and that oranges help our bodies fight colds and lower cholesterol. I simply stated, for the seven hundred twenty fifth time (so maybe I'm exagerating) that I will not tolerate picky eaters in my family.

Did either of these attempts sway dear Isidore? Nope. Breakfast was eaten under threat of force.

After he managed to finish his meal without dying of boredom from eating eggs and oranges for the third time this week he scampered outside with his sisters to collect snails from the garden for tomorrow's dinner.

Yes, the child who fights over consuming two of the most common items on an american grocery list thinks it's a great idea to eat a creature not many people on this continent would even consider food.

The kids are all very involved in what we eat. They eagerly peruse the seeds catalogues just as I do. They help to plan the garden, plant the seeds and as it grows they water, weed and harvest. Some of my very favorite memories of my time with my children are in the garden. When I signed us up for the 100 foot diet challenge they cheered me on. We have been brainstorming, and realized that in the spring the snail population explodes. In years past we fed buckets of them to the chickens. This year we're going to cook them with a little garlic and butter and eat them ourselves.

Yum.

Song of the Week #2

This week's song was selected by Aliana. She spent years learning to tell good jokes, and is quite the aficionado of all things silly. So we have a pretty goofy one this week. The first three verses came from The World Treasury of Children's Literature, a book I've had since I was a kid (Any idea where it came from, Mom?). The next part was made up as we drove to work.

Alligator Pie

Alligator pie, alligator pie,
If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die.
Give away the green grass, give away the sky,
But don't give away my alligator pie


Alligator stew, alligator stew,
If I don't get some I don't know what I'll do.
Give away my furry hat, give away my shoe.
But don't give away my alligator stew.


Alligator soup, alligator soup,
If I don't get some I thinkI'm gonna droop.
Give away my hockey-stick, give away my hoop,
But don't give away my alligator soup.


Alligator cake, alligator cake,
If I don't get some I think I'll fall in a lake.
Take away my gecko, take away my snake,
But don't take away my alligator cake.


Alligator juice, alligator juice,
If I don't get some I'll be in a noose.
Take away my chickens, take away my goose,
But don't take away my alligator juice!


Anyone else have a verse?

Words of Wisdom from the Littles

Upon waking this morning Isidore's first words were, "Mom, I had a great dream!" When I asked him to tell me about it he said, "Mom, I can't explain, stuff in dreams is too complicated."


On the way to the shop today, we were exploring which family members possess the ability to roll his or her tongue. Aliana observed, "That's not very useful."



Also on the drive to work dear Elizabeth told me, "My nose can wiggle."





There you have it.

Someone had to do it

Yesterday Patrick and Isidore attended opening day at the Oakland A's stadium. This left Aliana, Elizabeth and I with a free night at home. So, you see, we cleary had to stop by the grocery store for potato chips, ice cream and junky pizza. After stuffing ourselves silly we played Twister. Probably should have reversed the order of those two activities. We finished up our estrogen evening by climbing in bed to cuddle up and read aloud from Bridge to Terabithia until my voice faded. Happy hens we were!

Ostara

We had a lovely little celebration. It began with chocolate bunnies for breakfast and ended with egg-salad sandwiches for dinner. Each of the kids received a plant for the garden and some art supplies. Isidore went right to work on the workbook the Easter bunny left him.

Isidore and Aliana melted my heart by sharing with Elizabeth as they found eggs in the yard , and even leaving some easy-to-find ones for her. When they returned to the house they divided them up equally. Did I mention how much I love my kids?

Using natural materials for egg dyes worked wonderfully. Aliana and I both voted to use them from now on. Clean up was easier and the leftovers were a lovely thank you gift for the hens.

The bright yellow/orange eggs were dyed in a bath of yellow onion skins and turmeric. The brownish-purple marbled effect was made with grape juice. We used raw eggs and hard-boiled them right in the dye bath. I didn't get a picture of the gorgeous purple we got by just rubbing cut beets on cooked eggs. We had no success with the red cabbage to make teal. Next time we will cook some eggs first and then soak them overnight in the cabbage water.

An entirely un-original thought

I love my kids so much it hurts.

I love it when Elizabeth tells me her name is "Ellie-Belly Penelope Works".

I love it when Izzy asks me if I will be his cuddle bug.

I love it when Aliana reminds me not to bite my nails.

It's Monday, and it's already been a really long week.

Song of the Week

Every week or so the kids and I try to learn the lyrics to a new song. This week we are working on Frog Went A-Courtin'. We have this version: http://www.amazon.com/Frog-Went-Courtin-John-Langstaff/dp/015230214X but I found a website that offers a much longer version of the ballad: http://home.earthlink.net/~highying/froggy/froggy2.html

The version we are learning goes like this:

Frog went a-courtin, he did ride,

Sword and pistol by his side.

When upon his high horse set,

His boots they shone as black as jet.

He rode right up to the mouse's hall,

Where he most tenderly did call:

"Oh, Mistress Mouse, are you within?"

"Yes, kind frog, I sit to spin."

He set miss mousie on his knee,

"Pray, Miss Mouse, will you marry me?"

"Without my Uncle Rat's consent

I would not marry the president!"

Then Uncle Rat he soon comes home,

"Who's been here since I've been gone?"

"A pretty little dandyman," says she,

"Who swears he wants to marry me."

"Where will the wedding breakfast be?"

"Way down yonder in the hollow tree."

"What will the wedding breakfast be?"

"Three green beans and a black-eyed pea."

"Who will make the wedding gown?"

"Old Miss Rat from Pumpkin town."

So Uncle Rat gave his consent,

And that's the way the marriage went.

The first to come in was a little white moth,

To spread on the table cloth.

Next to come in was a big black bug,

On his back was a cider jug.

Next to come in was Mister Coon,

Waving about a silver spoon.

Next to come in was a spotted snake,

Passing 'round the wedding cake.

Next to come in was a bumblebee,

A banjo buckled on his knee.

Next to come in was a nimble flea,

To dance a jig for the bumblebee.

Next to come in was the old gray goose,

She picked up her fiddle and she cut loose.

Next to come in were two little ants,

Fixin' 'round to have a dance.

Next to come in was a little ol' fly,

He ate up all the wedding pie.

Next to come in was a little chick,

He ate so much it made him sick.

The last to come in was the old tom cat.

He said, "I'll put a stop to that!"

The frog and the mouse they went to France,

And this is the end of my romance.

Frog's bridle and saddle are laid on the shelf.

If you want anymore you'll have to sing it yourself!

Clutter Busters

Clutter beware... as soon as they finish making faces.







The amazing thing is that these crowns actually work. There was an arguement over who got to take out the extra trash can at the shop today.