It has grown!

Our marsh ecosystem has flourished over the past few weeks, and we have to give you an update.

The plants have shot up and considering that they are growing in approximately 2" of soil, we are just not sure how far they can go!
The snail seems content, and we have discovered a few other tiny species flitting back and forth in the bottom of our marsh.

We have been wary of the recent appearance of transparent sacs against the side of our bowl and will keep you posted with further developments...
possibly a second generation?
(I already had to descibe what hermaphrodite meant!)


On a side note;
Does anyone know when in the season garden snails appear?

Our newest family member (and last- for a long while!)

Introducing Rylee!
Yes, we got another small furry creature to join our household. My "mother's day present" :)
I have always wanted two dogs, but had planned to spread them out a bit more... but, well... once the idea got planted... anyone who knows me can figure it out!

She has been great though! At only 8 weeks, she is smart, fearless, but also very complacent, and willing to let the girls do anything with her.
And although she is still getting me up in the night, she has settled right in!


Rylee has followed suit with Rory and has chosen Jeff as her favorite!
How this happens I am not sure... he doesn't even particularly like dogs... and I am the one that feeds her! Oh well, it makes for good photo ops.

Below: Jeff and the dogs sleeping. (I took 6 shots without any of them noticing! :)

Below: Tara tucking in her new charge.

Below: Rylee's first bath... what's really under all the fluff. (Not much!)

For anyone wondering, she is a yorkie/bichon cross and will likely be about 8 lbs full grown.

This one is for you!

Ok Karen, the girls would like to know...

What is it? Since the wild cucumber, they specifically asked for your expertise! :)

circuits

From a broken hair dryer to...

My hair dryer bit the dust a few days ago, and rather than just throw it away, I figured it would amuse the girls to let them get out some tools and explore it.
Of course when the man of the house steps in, things get a bit more elaborate. The girls (with a bit of help from Dad) converted the parts into a "windmill" first completing the circuit by touching the wire to the battery, and then troubleshooting the attachment of the hair dryer switch.
Maybe my new $9.00 replacement will meet its end soon so they can have another go! :)

The Hammock...

We finally got the new hammock up... an awesome gift from (Uncle) Chris and (Aunt) Pam from their recent trip to Ecuador. The color is so bright against the greens of the yard, it cheers me up just looking at it... which is good since I never got the chance to be in it!
Tara was recuperating from a mild flu, so we snuggled her in for some fresh air in a relaxed manor. Of course Aislinn was quick to join in, resulting in moths emerging from their cocoons, wild swinging, and contagious laughter. Luckily Tara was indeed on the mend!

I am looking forward to many hours relaxing with a good book this summer! (I can dream anyway!)

Spring wreaths

Well, better late then never, but we finally got to making this idea for a spring wreath. (It had been on our list for the week before Easter.)

The fun thing was that we got to do it with friends, and the girls enjoyed choosing their spring theme to decorate around.

the doorway...

Well, it's not pretty, but we have officially added another room to the house!

The doorway has been created into the unheated "pioneer kitchen" area to create what is to become our dining room.

Plans for a gas fireplace, mantle and bookshelves along the back wall are slated for installation prior to November! :)

Until then, maybe we will limit the number of dinner parties...

Anyone else love old houses?? :)

A cool find...

This one is from the girls... they requested to have it posted... found in our backyard. As of yet unidentified but we are assuming the thistle family.

mini marsh... yes marsh!

We were lucky enough to get in on a grow your own mini marsh opportunity, and it has been great. The girls took immediately to caring for our snail, and he has been the center of attention for the past few days.
Of course, as with anything, it has spurred much discussion. We have spent some time researching marshes on the Internet, have deepened the girls understanding of habitats and are planning a trip to the library for more reference materials.
This is what we found so far...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/8_9/habitats.shtml
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/homework_help/wildlife/index.cfm
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep7h.htm
for younger kids - http://www.learningpage.com/free_pages/home/marshymarch.html
for older kids - http://hegel.lewiscenter.org/users/mhuffine/subprojects/www_mactfs.htm (some good links if you search through)
http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/theme_modules/wetlands/index.html

Stay tuned for when we explore the garden snail...
(we are going to attempt raising them this summer in our newly aquired aquarium!)

Also stay tuned for our painted lady butterflies - Coming soon!
(Now, to get our hands on some tadpoles...) :)

mini muffins

While Aislinn was away visiting my mom, Tara and I got to spend some one on one time!

The perfect chance to do some baking without having to take turns!

Tara and I gave a new muffin recipe a try, making a nice juicy 6 berry muffins. Tasty and super easy...

--and misplaced - lol, I will post the recipe as soon as I can find it! :)

the reno's continue...

With the beautiful spring weather comes a new season of reno's on our crazy but awesome house!
This year we have plans to insulate the entire exterior and attach vertical siding. This involves removing the current porch (to be replaced at a later date with a larger one), and getting our electricity connection from the road updated.

We have also planned to get a gas fireplace installed in our someday dining room, and finally took the plunge to create the doorway from the kitchen to the "dining room".
Of course, what better way to entertain a 6 year old who was in the throws of playmate withdrawal -as Tara was on a 3 day visit with my mom - than to let her take down a wall with a hammer and crowbar??
Now to find something for Tara to do while Aislinn is away!

Backyard fires

Aislinn is just as thrilled as Jeff and I to be back to campfire season. She loves the chance to set up the fire in the popular "tent" formation, and scours the yard for any possible bits to throw in. She carefully follows Dad's instructions on the placement and timing, and could sit for hours just watching the dancing flames!







We have already fit in 3 fires with the great spring weather and are looking forward to many more!

Easter...

I happened to forget my camera this time as we tried to fit in two family get togethers on one weekend, but the girls got their share of Easter activities.

We went to my parents on Saturday where the girls got the chance to play with their cousin, Jordan. After an hour or two in the nice, but brisk weather, the girls sat down to decorating Easter eggs. My mom had pre-boiled the eggs, and we planned them into the evening meal so after colouring and applying glitter, the eggs were ready for their debut.
(Word to the wise - glitter on hard-boiled eggs that you intend to eat in the near future, requires you to also consume the glitter to some extent -- not to mention wear it for the next few days!)
(My mom has pics. I will post some if I can get my hands on them.)

After sleeping over, we made our way to our next family gathering, where the girls were able to enjoy their much anticipated Easter egg hunt put on by Grammie. A wonderful dinner rounded out the day, and the girls, exhausted but happy fell asleep on the long drive home.

As the girls get older, it's amazing how special these traditions are becoming to them, and it is nice to see the value they hold in the importance of family.

Lightning and Rainbows...

So our latest foray into science involved some experiments from a weather kit I picked up recently from a wholesale book store for $10.

We decided to make a rainbow using water,mirrors, and a flashlight, and to try our hand at simulating lightning by generating a spark.

Unfortunately, we picked a day of high humidity and couldn't build up enough charge to get a spark to jump, but we did get our rainbows! (the flash negated our ability to show you our results.)

The kit itself has been quite interesting, and has lots of great resources including a weather journal and charts. The girls have enjoyed building the weather vane multiple times, and I am impressed with the book and the ease of the experiments to be handled (almost) independently.

Next on our list is tornado's, and we have been chatting about them quite a bit especially on the mornings I drive to work and we pass the spot where a tornado touched down a few years ago. It's amazing how visible the path remains!

Aislinn also took a few minutes to explore the thermometers and was intrigued by how quickly she could get the temperature to jump up and down.
Someone remind me to get that on the list too, please!

Apple Loaf

So I have been wanting to find a nice moist apple loaf recipe as it is the one fruit I always have on hand.
I grabbed this online and after reading through many of the reviews decided to make some alterations. I realized as I started making it that I only had whole wheat flour on hand, so I started there. I also wanted to make a double batch as I was in charge of snacks for Aislinn's Sparks meeting tonight. I only had 3 eggs in the house - not 4, so I added a 1/2 cup of veg. oil instead.
I also added an extra cup of shredded apple, a heaping tsp of cinnamon and a tsp of pumpkin pie spice (had on hand). Before baking I also sprinkled a light mix of rolled oats and brown sugar on top just for fun.

So, all in all, it did remain slightly on the dry side, but the flavour was good. Next attempt will be 1 cup shredded apple, 1 cup chopped apple (I like larger chunks), another egg + the oil, 1/2 and 1/2 whole wheat flour and all-purpose, and maybe a 1/2 cup of applesauce as well!! I don't think I can graduate it to my all-time favorite recipes yet, but with a bit more effort, it does have potential!
Normally the girls always bake with me, but I like to try new recipes once myself first --the girls were happily entrenched in computer games which gave me the few moments I needed! :)

Home days...

When we have home days, which over the past week or two have been many (yeah!), the girls often ask for multiple activities over the course of the day. Most of them involve extensive preparation like experiments, specific baking choices, intricate crafts etc. etc.

I order to keep on top of this, we have a new system where the girls can write down each evening (handwriting practice!) :) one thing that they would like to do as a group the next day. This way, I can always say yes, and still feel like I have time to prepare it with out being expected to produce said item immediately!

This has launched us into a science focus, at least for the past couple of days.

Here are pics from our explorations with density!

We are accumulating their results in their science binders, along with pictures of them doing the experiment. The girls are loving going though the binders and seeing their efforts laid out before them!

Knitting...

One of Aislinn's birthday presents this year, included knitting needles and yarn. (Aislinn had been intrigued watching one of her friends manipulate the needles she had received a week before for her birthday.)





She took to it with no problems at all, as I watched in amazement -- not being a knitter myself.
The only catch seems to be the interesting hand arrangements she adopts as she moves along --but whatever she is doing, it's working!

Aislinn turns 6!

OK, well she did a few weeks ago. As always, I am behind... but here are a few of the pictures. As her birthday fell on March break and we like to avoid crowds, her celebrations included 6 separate get-togethers and lots of great fun with friends and family.

Our new obsession...

Well mine and Tara's anyway...

Pumpkin smoothies-

No real recipe, but a combination of;

1 banana
slosh of vanilla extract
a generous scoop of pureed canned pumpkin
1% milk
a spoonful of brown sugar
lots of shakes of cinnamon
not as many shakes of nutmeg

and of course a small finger to repeatedly push the blend button!

a "Spark"

Aislinn has been attending our local "Sparks" program since September, and is really enjoying her new social network.

I believe she is quite the anomaly for them as (I have been told) she is the most outgoing (by far -lol) one of the bunch.

It is also the one activity she goes to alone without her Mom or her sister. Although, Tara has taken to reminding her of her "promise" - usually at times where she would prefer to forget. It's hard when it's written on your shirt!

(Hopefully Aislinn enjoys her time away... as of September Tara will be joining her again, and there is a good chance... Mom as well!)

Update...reno

Well, this isn't new news, but for those who maybe haven't heard, we do actually have a working bathroom again complete with shower --since November now, but still I am very appreciative every time I step into it.

The girls have taken to it as well, and often there is singing accompanying the dancing feet.
The bathroom is truly made for the girls with a low pedestal sink, and a shower faucet that keeps the temperature constant even when turned off -- great for opening the door, hair scrubbing (and someday -shaving!)

Cuisinaire rods...

We bought our cuisinaire rods to be used as a math manipulative, but since we haven't jumped into anything formal on that front, they still get used for the girls own creative purposes...

For more ideas on cuisinaire rods visit http://www.nurturedbylove.ca/resources/cuisenairebook.pdf
Created by Miranda Hughes -one of my first inspirations for homeschooling back 5 years ago already!

Oddly, these pictures were taken at the same time on the same rug with the same camera --my camera seems to have very unpredictable light recognition! Time for an upgrade maybe? :)