Tumbleweeds

Tumbleweed (Salsola tragus)

We could not say goodbye to the year without one last nature walk.  Hacking and coughing the kids decided after breakfast to walk down the hill to the park (soft balls and gloves in tote).  Please forgive me, I am not an athlete but a biblioholic.  My kids, well, let's just say they need a lot more practice in the athletic areas as well.  I'll give my husband (the more athletic one) credit; he is trying.

Object: protect your face not hide your face ; )

After a few rounds of catch and just before heading back up the hill, the kids found their nature interest.  We've seriously never paid much attention to these other than seeing them roll around like feathers on the road sometimes.  There have been some high winds lately, so naturally we've noticed them quiet a bit when driving around the last few days.  The kids immediately walked over to them and began close up inspections. 

They were eager to see where the plant came off, how it felt, was it really light as a feather, how it rolled, how big were they...

that's my tall five year old behind it

After discerning that we could not roll one home with us, the kids headed back with out a true size sample for the nature table.  When we got back we discovered that you mostly find these on dessert or dry areas; high or strong winds aid in detaching it; it is a dead weed/plant; they are diaspores (seeds/spores get dispersed as they tumble around); and for some places can be big water soakers.  The original plant is mostly likely a Russian Thistle (we'll find out when they are actually living next spring).  Another look at the top of the hill full of them:

 Interesting how even these dry weeds are useful in natural life cycles.  Hmm...winter weeds!?

Books Found Under the Tree

This will be my last book post of the year : ( , it's a good thing a new year is starting soon ; )  It is no secret: we love books!  We buy books throughout the year; at book sales, online, used, new, classics, etc... you get the idea.  Usually the books we wrap and give at Christmas are Christmas/Season books or a fun read, preferably, newer release.  Our family has gotten wind of this or maybe it's that I have a few children that when asked what they want for Christmas, they immediately have specific titles in mind.  Not such a bad thing, right ?

This year the younger children received:
If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff, the little ones always enjoy this series
Strega Nona's Gift by Tomie De Paola, can't go wrong, great for liturgical teas
The Nativity: from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke by Ruth Sanderson, just beautiful
Nonna Tell Me a Story by Lidia Bastianich, has some great recipes at the end
O Christmas Tree: It's History and Holiday Traditions by Jacqueline Farmer, had to add it to our nature study list
The Lego Ideas Book: Unlock Your Imagination,  my son was thrilled!

Not pictured because I'm sure they are somewhere in their bedrooms being enjoyed:  I Spy Christmas,  Twelve Days of Christmas by Jan Brett and The Book of Fairy Poetry by Michael Haque (my younger daughter loves the illustrations in this book and was thrilled she recognized some poetry too).

My older two girls received:
Junonia by Kevin Henkes,  we like his picture books so we'll see how they like this one
Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle,  I have a daughter who is just engrossed with cats lately
The Girl Who Circumvented Fairyland In a Ship Of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, something new along the lines of Sister's Grimm
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, need to read that before watching the movie ; )
The Heroes of Olympus book 1 & 2 by Rick Riordan, she's read all the other Riordan books

Did mom and dad get any?  Yes, we did.  The girls picked two books for dad and I gave myself two new books that I found at our used library book sale (while looking for dad).

Tournament of Shadows by Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac, he loves out of the ordinary history books
Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution by Woody Holton, looked interesting
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden, can you believe I didn't own this!!
Harbor Lights of Home by Edgar A. Guest, a 1928 copy, I've already found some very nice poems

I know I'm in good company when many of you will appreciate some titles or at least not think it odd that my family loves getting books for Christmas.  Here is too a wonderful 2011 year filled with good books and looking forward to 2012 with more wonderful titles!! 

Happy New Year to you all!

Under the Weather

We spent our whole fall avoiding getting sick, but, alas, some things just happen.  Once one person gets anything around here there is nothing you can do but wait for your turn.  Well, by the end of last week at least one of us was not feeling to good...Christmas Eve half of us didn't make it to mass... and by Monday morning I think we all felt just under the weather.

Our families were very kind and still came over like scheduled.  I know the kids appreciated having family around to do their traditional gift exchanges.  They look forward to seeing reactions on the little things they buy or make for everyone (and of course, love opening gifts).  The girls performed at mass and I was told they sounded beautiful (yes, I was one of the casualties Christmas eve).  We tried something new this year and discovered Santa did not appreciate the milk we left for him.  I guess he doesn't have a taste for soy yet ; ), but he did leave some pretty cool things under the tree and in the stockings. 
 
I intended this week to be low key and a break for the kids before the start of our Term 2, but it has turned right down necessary so we can be 100% by next week.  So there has been a lot of this:


waiting around Christmas Eve

definitely this:

resting and sleeping

plenty of this:

combined the family got 15 new books as presents, six of those for my oldest  : )

and lots of looking out the windows at these:

Christmas Greeting

When we moved to our new house my mother in law gave us this plaque which says "Friends & Family Gather Here".  I fell in love with it immediately.  Being part of a big family has been wonderful.  There is always some sort of gathering and every year we feel blessed for them all.  There is always:

and



At Christmas time, especially, I love to look at it along with all the stockings hanging under it.  Yes, there is a person to claim each one and lots of Friends and Family that Gather Here!

I'm also grateful for sharing this space with you.  I hope the season of joyful waiting has been peaceful and blessed.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Little Keepers Christmas Tea

We hosted our Little Keepers Christmas tea today.  Our youngest four year old Little Keeper was absolutely beaming the whole time.  I think it was her first official tea ; )  The girls also missed two of their friends so we hope to really do this again next year ... maybe for springtime.

But for the menu this afternoon we served:

Orange & Cranberry Cream Cheese Cucumber Sandwiches
Sugar sprinkled cranberries and orange slices

Brocolli and Bacon Quiche Christmas Tree

Candy Cane Chocolate Frosting Cake
Chocolate covered Almonds

Our drinks included apple cider and some yummy Cranberry Orange Tea from Culinary Teas with chocolate covered peppermint sticks on the side. 

Some ambiance provided by last years hand made ornaments and this lovely lighted present:

Before serving tea the girls began their second embroidery stitch: satin stitch.  Then we moved on to practice some of the manners we've been learning about from our Emily Post's The Guide to Good Manners for Kids at the table.  During tea we also enjoyed some nice conversation and some poetry readings from another favorite author and illustrator: Joan Walsh Anglund.  Her depiction of children is so sweet and appropriate for the little ones. We read from her A Christmas Book.

It was a pleasant afternoon.  The girls do enjoy just being girls.  We were quickly reminded, though, that there were a total of five little boys lurking in the boys room.  They held out as much as they could before invading our Tea Party : D

A Candle & Some Chemistry

I had not planned on studying chemistry this year but late in summer one of our homeschool moms opened up a Chemistry Club co-op.  My oldest was just perfect for this mostly middle school group.  The group has met about once a month and are working through the Thames and Cosmos Chem 500 kit.  The group could also choose to read a few suggested titles; among them was Michael Farraday's The Chemical History of a Candle.  I chose to save this small six lecture volume for our Advent/Winter focus time.  The title and theme just seemed so fitting; and, honestly, I didn't want to overwhelm my sixth grader with physics and chemistry at the same time.

The language might just be a bit challenging at first but I do think an advanced sixth grader or mom reading the book can handle it.  I started helping her in the beginning but before I knew it she asked me not to.  She just occasionally will ask about a term or word.  She just finished lecture one today and already I feel she has picked up a lot about chemical reactions and terminology.  Today she was thrilled to light up a candle and observe the beginning of a wick burning.  The best part was putting combustible vapor theory to practice.  That's when you blow the fire on a candle and the smoke you see carries enough vapor to cause a combustion with a nearby flame that will turn the candle back on.  It really works!   The boys had us repeat this several times ; )

We might just get through one more lecture before we start our next official term.  I'll let her decide if she wants to add another science to our Secrets of the Universe.  I have a feeling she will ; )  I can assure you she doesn't look at our traditional lighting of the Advent candles in the same way.

Mexican Style Tea for Our Lady of Guadalupe

At the end of mass yesterday our priest invited the congregation to gather at 5:00 a.m. to sing "Las Mananitas" to Our Lady of Guadalupe followed by a special mass.  Well, we weren't able to make such an early celebration but early this afternoon we were able to have a nice Mexican style tea in her honor.

I gathered some of the only blooming roses in our side garden and we did play "Las Mananitas" from the CD  De Colores by Jose Luis Orozco.  He has been a favorite of Mexican folklore music since we met him at a UCLA book festival about eight years ago. We own several of his CDs.  His song books are very colorful too.  I also got busy making an easy recipe Flan and bunuelos this morning.  It's the first time I've made the buenelos and it wasn't that bad.  But my shapes do need some practice.  We also made some simple quesadillas and our drink of choice was Abuelitas Chocolate.  I like to add some cinnamon sticks to the boiling mixture for an even more authentic taste. 

This was enjoyed as we had a round robin read of Tomei De Paola's The Lady of Guadalupe.  There is nothing like a good book, a nice hot drink and a sweet treat to receive some wonderful narrations.  The breaks are a must for some delicious sips.  We had not had a liturgical tea in months and I can tell my kids really missed it.

And to this day, the Mexican Indians say to newborn children, " May God be as good to you as he was to Juan Diego."  from The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomei De Paola