Feeling domestic

I've been feeling rather domestic lately. Yesterday, I tried my hand at pressure canning for the first time. We harvested a bunch of green beans from the garden, and I wanted to can them instead of freeze them this year. Alicia (Shane's sister) has an All American pressure canner that she picked up at an estate sale a while back, but hadn't used yet, so I borrowed it from her. Julie Marie tests pressure cookers as part of her job as a home economist with the USU County Extension, and she came up this past weekend, so I called and asked her to test this one. She did so Sunday night, and it turned out it needed a new dial gauge. After a few phone calls on Monday, I found a place down in Orem that had one in stock, as well as an instruction manual for the canner. The kids and I drove down to Orem, where they installed and tested the new gauge for me. Yay! We stopped at the fabric store on the way home, since their flannel prints are 50% off right now.

After dinner, after reading through the canner manual, I tackled the beans. I got them all washed, cut, and blanched for hot packing -- 3 quarts' worth. I put them in the canner, turned up the heat and waited for the steam to start for the "exhaustion" period. Well, the canner started building pressure, but I wasn't getting any steam out of the steam pipe. Hmmm... So I called Julie and explained the situation. See, this one has a petcock, but the instruction manual only addressed those with the weighted gauge. It turns out that this one is apparently backwards from most other canners with petcocks in that "up is open," rather than the other way around. Once we figured that out, I opened the petcock and steam did, in fact, start pouring out and the pressure started to drop.

After the 7 minutes of exhausting, I closed the petcock, the pressure came up and we were in business. In the process, the jars ended up losing liquid, which according to the manual I can most likely attribute to the whole petcock misunderstanding. All of the jars sealed, though, and so all in all, the process ended well. So it was a bit of a learning curve, but I'm feeling much more confident now, which is a good thing, because on Thursday I'll be doing beets, and there will be more beans in the next week to do as well. I am finding a lot of satisfaction in preserving all this food that we've grown and/or harvested for ourselves. It's a great feeling!

This evening, I spent the evening with the flannel the kids and I picked up yesterday. I don't think I've mentioned yet that I'm planning to do cloth diapering with this baby. I did a cost analysis on cloth versus disposable and the savings with cloth are staggering! I actually considered cloth diapering with Olivia before she was born, but chickened out. When I started doing some more homework in the last few months, I realized how many preconceived notions I had about cloth diapering, plus I learned how far cloth diapering has come in the last several years. I feel much more educated and, by extension, much more empowered this time and I'm determined to do it! Along with the cloth diapers, for home use, I'm going to use cloth wipes that can just be washed right along with the diapers, which will save money on wipes as well, as well as reusable nursing pads.

Anyway, here's what I got accomplished tonight.

Cut out:



~60 cloth wipes
~Flannel circles for 6 pair nursing pads
~12 burp cloths
~2 blankets

I got 6 of the burp cloths (on the right) completely finished and the other 6 (on the left) just need to be edge-stitched. The middle one shows you the shape of them.

I'm going to just stitch, turn, and edge the blankets the same way as the burp cloths. I'm just going to serge the edges of the wipes. I need to get some PUL (a waterproof fabric used in a lot of cloth diaper covers) from Hancock Fabrics for the nursing pads, and then I can finish those up. I have some minky fabric that I will combine with some flannel and satin binding for a blanket, which I'm so excited to finish, but I need to get the flannel. I also have all the stuff to make a diaper bag and matching changing pad. So much sewing to do, and only 3 months to do it in. :)

More birthdays

I feel really bad that I haven't posted about the boys' birthdays last week. It's been kind of hectic around here the last week.

Thomas turned 7 last Tuesday (June 30) and we had a small family party with cake and presents from the Skidmores and us. We got him a scooter and he has been loving it! Also, I haven't mentioned yet that he's well on his way to being a 2-wheel bike rider. I'll post some more details on that in a bit. Anyway, I took pictures at his little family party and everything, and then the next day the kids and I went and picked pie cherries down in Spanish Fork and I left our little silver camera with the memory card in it on the ground. :( (Yesterday, I did find the memory card that I had lost some time ago and we still have another camera, so at least I can start taking pictures again.) The only person I can get a hold of that was also there at the cherry orchard has been out of town and has not responded to a message I left on his phone, so I don't know whether he found it or not. He was there the same time we were, and then went back the next day, and then went out of town. So I don't have the pictures from Thomas's birthday.

On Thursday, the boys had a combined "friend" party and invited some of their friends over to play and have cake and ice cream. Alicia brought the boys in for the party, too. My friend did take some pictures from that party, but I haven't got them from her yet, so I will have to post them when I get them.

Saturday (July 4) was Ben's 10th birthday. It's hard to believe he's getting that big! He is moving into Webelos at scouts, which he is really excited about because it means that he can do overnight campouts now. We had a small family celebration on Saturday (of which I have no pictures, of course). Shane had been given a youth-sized compound bow and a bunch of arrows from his buddy that he intended to give to Ben for his birthday, but it turns out that it is just way too big for him, in that the length of pull just can't be adjusted small enough for him to be able to pull it effectively. So that present fell through, and we hadn't bothered to pick up any "back-up" gifts just in case. So, Ben had no present to open from us on Saturday, but we gave him some money so he could pick out a remote control car, which was something he had really wanted for his birthday. I took Ben to the store yesterday and he picked out a great RC dirt buggy, 1:8 scale. He played with it this morning and said it's a lot of fun. Ben also got his retainer yesterday, which he wasn't thrilled about, but he got used to it pretty quickly and has been very diligent about putting it back in after eating, etc. Hopefully, that habit will stick with him for the year he will have to wear it.

Okay... bike riding. I learned a few weeks ago about something called a "balance bike." It's basically a special bike that has no pedals that kids push themselves around on to learn balance, and this is supposed to help kids learn to ride a bike sooner and with no training wheels. We decided we really liked that concept, so Shane took the pedals and shaft off of the little 12-inch bike that Olivia has been riding around and Thomas started riding it around. Within a week, Thomas was really getting good at it, coasting the entire length between the house about 8 houses up from us down to the corner about 3 houses down from us without tipping. He came in the house and told me he was ready to try his bike on 2 wheels.

Shane took the training wheels off Tom's bike, Tom hopped on, and took off. He did awesome as long as he was going downhill in a straight line. His balance was great, which made it much easier to get the hang of pedalling and braking without fear of falling down. When he was ready to turn around to come back to the house, though, he would stop, get off the bike, walk it around and then walk it back to the house. He has since become better about riding uphill, but he is still hesitant about turning around. Shane is planning to work with him on that in the near future.

Anyway, we've just been thrilled at how quickly that balance bike has worked to build up his balance and confidence, and know that he's going to be cruising around wherever he wants to go in no time. The seat on the balance bike needs to be lowered for Olivia now, and we've told her that when she is ready for 2 wheels with pedals, we'll buy her a new bike, so she's pretty motivated.

Here's a link to a video with an actual balance bike -- also known as a running bike -- so you can get the concept. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKIhwQYsTlM&feature=related

On Friday, July 3, Shane took the kids back down to Spanish Fork to pick more pie cherries (the camera wasn't still there, unfortunately). On Saturday, we spent the day making and bottling cherry pie filling. It turned out super yummy! We got 12 quarts total. The kids would sort the cherries, Shane would wash and pit them, and I made the filling and did the bottling. We had quite the assembly line going! By the end of the day, my feet and back were killing me, but it was so nice to get it all done. We also got some beets out of the garden and pickled and bottled 3 quarts of those. Those also turned out delicious! I'm looking forward to doing more canning this year with our garden fare.

Braces and boarding school

The day has finally arrived! Benjamin got his braces off today! Once the braces were off, he had to have an impression made for the retainer to be made. Ben hates, hates, hates having impressions done and I can't blame him at all. Knowing that it would have to be done today, I prepared him ahead of time and made a deal with him that if he got through it well, then I would get him a treat at the store. Well... with Benjamin, you never know whether it's going to be better to prepare him ahead of time for something unpleasant or whether to just spring it on him. Overall, I think it went more smoothly with him knowing it was coming, but at the same time, he was so obviously stressed about it the entire time the brackets and expander were coming off. *laugh* When it came time to do the impression, he was pretty brave, but didn't open his mouth quite wide enough, so the impression wasn't as good as they needed, so we had to do another one. Poor kid! I told him that if he got through the second one, I would get him 2 treats at the store. Because Ben can always be motivated with food, that did help to soften the blow. He did the second one perfectly, although there was more of the clay-like material on the tray this time, so it was harder on him. Next week, we go in to pick up his retainer.

It's been almost exactly a year since his expander got put in, and almost 8 months since the brackets were put on. He is still getting used to not having all that hardware in his mouth. He says it feels funny, but great.

Here are the before and after pictures of Ben's teeth. It's amazing the difference. He almost looks like a different kid. Of course, being a year older now might have a little something to do with that, too. :)


July 2008
























His favorite trick




























New braces - November 2008





















Right before the braces came off today.

























Look at his pretty new smile!





















As for the boarding school portion of the post... Catherine has been in training with a professional trainer, Keny Glasscock with Lost Arrow Gun Dogs -- I highly recommend him for all your pointing breed training needs! -- for the last 3 months. This month, he is taking her down to Oklahoma to work with Rick and Ronnie Smith, son and nephew of Delmar Smith, who was widely considered one of the premier authorities on gun dog training methods, on their ranch down there. She will get some finish training as well as lots and lots of exposure to wild birds to really hone the skills she's been learning the last 3 months. It has been very exciting for me to have her in training. I bought her because I wanted a good upland hunting dog, but quickly realized that I simply didn't have the time or know-how to train her myself properly. So I hired Keny to train her and he has done a fantastic job. He told me this morning before he came to pick her up that she's a different dog. When they get back, he'll take her, Shane, and me out and teach us how to handle her to reinforce the training and get the maximum enjoyment out of her. I'm so thrilled! I won't get to hunt with her this fall with the baby and all, but Shane plans on taking her out a few times (we're most likely going to be getting a membership at Four Mile Hunting Club again this year), and I'm already excited about being able to go again next spring. In the meantime, it's going to be weird not having a dog around the yard for a month. Have fun, Cat!

Is it just me?

So, Michael Jackson died yesterday (in addition to Farrah Fawcett). Am I the only one (other than Shane) who isn't sad? I'm not necessarily glad, but I am completely indifferent. Yeah, he was famous. He was good at the song and dance in his younger years. The last about half of his life, though, was the model of depravity. He was never convicted of child molestation, but is there anyone who honestly doubts his guilt? To me, he was nothing more than a famous puke in life. What is there about death that changes that? Most everyone around me is just fawning over this guy, and I find it nauseating. Maybe I'm just strange, or cruel. Either way, his death certainly doesn't impact my life. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.

Prenatal photo session

A friend of mine, Karen Squires -- http://www.adorableyouphotography.com -- has been doing monthly photo shoots to document the progress of this pregnancy. It's been fun. We had our second session was earlier this week, and got the kids involved. She made this fun video of the photos. Enjoy!

Olivia's birthday

Today, Olivia turned 5 years old. It seems so impossible! She is such a melodramatic, independent, precocious, darling, delightful little girl and we love her dearly. Happy birthday, Chickadee!

Here she is in the birthday dress Grandma Skidmore made for her. What a cutie!



Here is a fun progression of pictures to see how she has grown.

One day old.

6 weeks old:

6 months old:

1 year old:

18 months old:

2 years old:

3 years old:

4 years old:

And now 5 years old:

Baby update - 22 weeks

Today I went and got another ultrasound. Elizabeth, Thomas, and Olivia went with me, too. The tech did the initial ultrasound, and then she had a student who needed some more practice on fetal ultrasounds, so we got an extra long session. It was really neat and very detailed. We got to see everything from the bottom of the feet with the toes up to the 4 chambers of the heart and other vital organs, up to the ventricles of the brain, and everything in between. We got to watch the baby open and close its mouth several times, and even saw it wiggle its fingers around. The baby was very squirmy, which made it a lot of fun to watch. The tech turned on the sound so the kids got to hear the baby's heart beating, too. So much fun!

Plus, we were able to confirm the premonitions we've been having.

IT'S A BOY!!!











Here is a picture of the bottoms of his feet: Heels on the right, toes on the left. So cute!

The boys were very excited to find out he's a boy. The girls were a little disappointed, even though I've been priming them to get used to the idea, since we were already pretty sure, but of course they're still excited about having a new baby.

Dance recital and Cub Country 2009

Thursday night (June 11) was the girl's dance recital for Starz Unlimited. Starz is a nonprofit dance studio co-op for homeschoolers and their friends. The girls have danced there off and on for the last 3 years. Elizabeth started in ballet, but then decided halfway through the year that she didn't want to do it anymore. The next year (last year), Olivia was old enough to do ballet, so we enrolled her and she participated in recital last year. This year, Elizabeth decided she wanted to try her hand at jazz dance, and Olivia returned to ballet. We have decided that this will be our last year of dance, though. The girls just aren't into it enough to justify continuing. We've decided that we're likely going to be enrolling the whole family into a karate program instead. We'll keep you posted on that as it comes along.

At any rate, here are some pictures from this year's recital. Most of these pictures were taken by another mom with Starz, Tamra Hyde -- all except the ones of the girls in their costumes by the white door.

Unfortunately, no pictures were taken of Elizabeth's class during their performance, but here are a couple of pictures from dress rehearsal day.

Elizabeth waiting her turn.












Standing on stage -- I think this was during rehearsal for the final curtain call.











Elizabeth's costume.





























Olivia's performance.





















Dress rehearsal day, sitting with classmates Camille and Carly.












Olivia's costume. She picked the poses.






























We did get video of their performances, but it is from so far away that you can't even really tell which kid is which, so I didn't figure they were worth posting. However, if there is an overwhelming response in favor of posting them, I will do it. :)

Yesterday and today, Ben has gone to his Cub Country day camp. He always has such a great time there. He said yesterday he got to shoot the BB guns and learned about some endangered species like the black-footed ferret and how to avoid rattlesnakes. He also gets to take a few dollars to spend in the "trading post," and yesterday he got a big candy bar and a "pop gun" (like a small, wooden pump shotgun with a rubber cork that goes in and out of the barrel when you move the "action" back and forth). We sent him with $5.00 to last both days, but when I asked him yesterday how much money he had left, he told me he had only a quarter. Then he told me that one of his friends didn't have enough money to buy a pop gun and really wanted one, so Ben gave him his last dollar bill so his friend could buy one. What a good friend!

He had a lot of fun at camp again today, too. Today he got rained on a bit, but said it wasn't too bad.

Homegrown strawberries

Our gardening efforts this year so far has been going pretty well. By the way, when I say "our" and "we," I'm actually referring mostly to Shane, who spearheads the gardening around here. At any rate, we have planted 2 varieties of peas, 2 varieties of green beans, beets, carrots, tomatoes, a few varities of squash and melons, potatoes, onions, peppers, and strawberries (and probably some other stuff I'm not remembering right now).

Our strawberries have been coming on lately and they are so good! Such good flavor. Here is a picture of some I harvested this evening. We sure enjoyed them with our dinner. :)

Just captured these pictures of my 2 poor little sickies -- Thomas and Olivia -- and had to share.