Chritmas Party Beauty

Every year we go to Jody's work holiday party. Its at a lovely home in Ithaca and its always loaded with families and food.

Every year I take a picture of all of the kids dressed up for the party. This year however, Elanee at work so we collected her on the way to the party, Vayda got into the van with one shoe on, wet hair and no make up and Ben dressed and bolted out the door. So- the only one I got to force to pose and smile was this one beauty.

Maya looked so pretty in her velvet dress. Couldnt help but remember Elanee AND Vayda looking just as beautiful in this little dress....

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells...la la la la la

December was such a busy month. Instead of focusing our energy on shopping or making gifts we took advantage of all the great free stuff available. We took and taught classes with the Trumansburg home schoolers, enjoyed two Christmas concerts (one was a Jingle Bells/ Santas coming type and the other was all about praise), we toured the Mormon church in MacDougall, we joined a "Jam Session" at the Baha'i Center in Rochester, Elanee tried out for a play, etc etc.

Above- we spent 4 hrs ringing the Salvation Army bell over a couple of sessions. The first time it was FREEZING!!!!! but there was lots of enthusiastic singing in front of Big Lots. The second time was much less enthusiastic but we had a nice time in front of Peebles.

On Christmas day we did breakfast, as is our tradition, opened some presents, drove to Ithaca and helped to serve and clean up at the Salvation Armys soup kitchen. It was high paced and fun. Then we came home to a half turkey in the roaster and chilled with rented movies.

Made for a great day.

Chinese Food Anyone?

Chinese Food Anyone?

Ok- I know- that is naughty talk....

On this day one of the girls opened the fridge to get something and Morris

("Mormy"/ "Mow") just strolled right in. What a dork. Its Dec and freezing in our house

more often than not so I am not real sure what motivated him.

Based on this big smile I have to say he was just foolin with our heads :)

Vayda got a what !?!?!?

On Jodys 50th B-day, Aaron and Shelly came over for dinner. With them came their pet rat. Aaron explained how they like to take him out for a ride now and again. Well- that ened up being a cover for a rotton twisted SCAM I tell ya! Aaron delayed mentioning that if there happened to be some one in the house who happened to want a pet rat then he could happen to stay!

Well- as it was- Vayda had been dyin for a pet rat for about a year. I had a load of very good reasons why she wasnt getting one. Like- cost of cage, dishes, food, the rat itself- and what about our little rat dog- Emma?

With this little test drive, out the window went all of my excuses. Even the dog was civilized (till a few hrs later).

So- long story short- Vayda has a flippin RAT living in her room. She named him Brisby. She likes him alot. I think hes icky. Jody calls him "Freddy the squirell" or even better "The infestation".

Flash Back to Halloween

Halloween time!

Above... Vayda, Ravyn, Saige and Maya Rae.
Then there is Elanee???? Oh man- what a wierd lookin dude she made!

Yikes!

Mom teaches a class

Right after the woven star class a bunch of the kid joined me at a table in the back of the room where I led a holiday card class. It was loud and kind of chaotic but everyone learned how to do basic stamping and had lots of fun showing off their wonderful creations. Elanee had such fun that she came home and made more cards from the left over supplies. :) I have hopes of teachind several other classes in T-burg. Its fun.

Woven Stars

This past Wed afternoon Elanee, Vayda, Maya and I joined a large group of home schooling moms and kids and learned to weave stars from thin strips of ash wood. The teacher was a cool artist/ basket weaver from Ithaca (I think). We found the project complex but the end product rewarding.

Flowers of one Garden

For Baha'i class a few weeks ago I read Maya a story about the Bab. We were in the mood for a crafty project so we came up with this. :) We took a flower pot and filled it with diverse card stock and pipe cleaner flowers with google eyed faces. Along the pot is the quote from Abdul-Baha reading, "Humanity may be likened unto the vari-colored flowers of one garden. There is unity in diversity. Each sets off and enhances the other's beauty."

Like it!

Guess whos home schooled !!!!!!

Ms. Vayda! Thats who!

Wow. Can you believe it???

I am not sure I ever really believed this day would come. To make a long story short. One Sunday eve in late November Vayda came into the family room where I was chillin and said, "Mom, I want to be home schooled". I said, "So- dont get on a bus in the morning." That led to a long conversation on how to exit school gracefully. And- how to avoid some pitfalls we learned with Elanees exit. Well, she did get on the bus in the morning. But, in the afternoon she cleaned out her locker, returned her books and thanked her teachers. She came home and that was that! Wow. Her first assignment was to relax for 14 days! Get a grip. Do some things that make her smile and plan a party! So she did. The party was great with numberous friends. Now- the 14 days are up and the books have all come in the mail. Above she looks oh so miserable but in reality she is eager to dig into her work and is enjoying all of our classes, gatherings and concerts. I think she likes sleeping till 9 the best :) She says shes going back to RCS in the fall. Thats all up to her. For now we'll just see where this adventure takes us.

I cannot believe this life :)

ORGANS

Maya has recently shown an interest in the bodies organs. So- we played a couple rounds of "some body", a board game we got on Ebay. This was a good introduction to the organs, where they go and what they do. Then, I traced Mayas body and drew the organs in. She started to color in her chart. Eventually we will get to labling everything. We are going to hang it up for reference as we are often talking about this organ or that. When Maya went to her most recent check up her doc was very helpful. She explained to Maya all the organs she was feeling and what she was looking for. This really brought her introduction to organs to life.

Happy Mappin!

In November Maya tracked her big brother, Daniel, as he crossed the country. Dan just finished his career in the US Marines Corps. He had been stationed in California and was traveling back to see the ol rents in NY.

So- for school, Maya called Daniel each evening on his cell. She asked which state he was in at that moment. She listed the state name on a chart. Along with that she moved a little paper truck (Dan) across the US map. The truck left a Sharpie line everywhere it went. She used a map puzzle and sticky tack to show all the states he passed through. She learned many state names and locations. This was a great project for her!

Going Organic

Going Organic! Our family has been on a long road towards much healthier eating and living.

Once upon a time when we had all 7 kids at home we lived on Aldis. Very cheep and easy but oh so bad for us. During our "Aldis Years" as we now call them the whole family was at its fattest. Well some of our members dont gain a pound no matter what- but the rest of us got real fat!

Around 2001 I joined OA and made a start at wieght loss and healthier eating. Then in the last 4 yrs we have learned to garden and can. Last yr we stopped purchasing anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydroginated oils. Then about 2 months ago I read Natural Cures-they dont want you to know about.

This book pissed me right off! I was so angry to learn that even with all of our efforts endless poison was being put into the food I buy for my kids and keeping us fat too! Ahhhhhhhhhh! I did aditional reading here and there and then Jody and I made a decision to go totally organic. We didnt clean out the kitchen. We just used what he had on hand and replaced items as they ran out with organic items. This includes all of our food as well as our shampoos, deoderants and even pads and tampons.

So what am I ranting about?

I'll tell ya!

The results- thats what.

After just two months of eating organic, adding some walking, a little yoga and/or biking, water and salads to (not instead of) our dinners we are all looking and feeling great! Jody has easily lost 5" around the tummy and an entire pant size too. Vayda has smoothed out around the hips and her stomach is board flat. Elanee has lost 2 entire sizes. And- old mom has lost 8" around the belly and dropped a pant size, one bra size in inches and cup and a shirt size.

I cannot say enough about running screaming away from the crap in prepackaged foods. I cannot say enough about that book. I know- I know- there has been lots of conraversy about the author and the book. I dont care what people have to say. Anyone can look bad on TV. All I know is I put the stuff he suggested to use and it actually works!

Carrots

Canning Carrots Maya said she wanted cooked carrots so Vayda planted a bunch for her.
While we were making apple sauce Vayda and Maya went out and harvested the carrots. They brought in a whole bushel.

The fould a funny little carrot hugging a big carrot.

In the end we canned 7 Quarts of cooked carrots for Miss Maya.

Cloth Pads

OH.....The Unspeakable!

-Cloth Rags-

Been wanting to post this for a long while but so often I send folks whome I have just met here to see 'what I am about' and I didnt want them to know about the 'unspeakable'.
K- well I am over that. So here is the deal. Over a year ago I learned about cloth rags on a Yahoo posting group. Some ladies were making them and provided links to a pattern.

I did a bunch of research on the topic. I thought it was totally wierd! I thought they would be uncomforable and what about leaks and stains?

Well- I decided to go for it. I made myself a set- plently for a week. I bought all the flannel from the remnent section at Walmart and JoAnns. If I recall I spent around $15 for everything including the crib liner for the waterproof backing. Guess thats about what it costs for 2 months worth of disposable pads. I used the pattern from the web site. Just did a simple zig zag stitch around the edges and added staps. I revised the pattern to make extra long night time pads too. With each of the covers comes two inserts- one of 5 layers of flannel and one of 4 flannel and one crib liner (super thin fabric sandwiching a thin plastic). You can put in both inserts for heavy days or just the lined one for light days. The snap under the undwear in the style of a pad with wings. The flannel kind of grabs the cotton underwear so they stay in place fine.

To avoid staining you just chuck them in a bucket of cold water to soak before washing. I pin them out to dry. If there is any staining on my white covers I just leave them on the line for a few days and the sun bleaches them for me. As for leaking. No probs there. The water backing on the bottom insert keeps everything neat and tidy.

I have used them for more than a year and I love them! Obviously they are not too wierd. Our grandmothers were using cloth. There weren't even disposables till what- the 60s? Its just that no one wants to talk about these things. I am here to say that I am tellin and talking.

I figure I have saved around 500 pads from going to the land fill this yr alone. I have personally contributed as many as 11,000 non-biodegradable rags to the land fill since I was 13. Thats just ME! The cloth rags should last about 5 + yrs without replacement.

My enthusiasm for my cloth pads led Vayda to want a set, then Elanee. So now our house has gone totally cloth! That'll save our household around $270 a yr. Hows that for amazing!?! My dear friend (who shall remain nameless for her own comfort) and I bartered a set of cloth pads for a set of silk screened T shirts so she is officially cloth too. I have also met one teen and two adults friends who use cloth. Beyond being helpful to the environment and to the wallet they are helpful to our health. Vayda is proof of that. She has a bleach allergy and these pads have made her life more comfortable.

Please take the time to look up cloth menstral pads on the internet. There are places to buy them made and places to help with the making of them if you are up to it.

Apple Sauce!

Our mechanic's wife, led me to an Amish shop where we can get bushels of apples for $8.50 each.
She also informed me of an easy way to make sauce.....no pealing involved. I love her now :) LOL. So we bought 2 bushels to start and then another 3.
We put up 70 quarts of apple sauce for around .56 each and have hopes of 30 more....we'll see.

Bahai Class

Baha'i Class with Maya.

This year Maya and I are doing a Baha'i class. Here on the first day she listened to story of Baha'u'llah's father's. His father drempt Baha'u'llah's was floating in the sea and millions of fishes were clinging to his hairs. We made a bottle with blue sparkly water, and plastic fishes inside to remind Maya of the dream. She also made a 'Baha'i Box' wich she stamped in 9 pt starts and labled. The box contains her text along with prayer beads and projects shes made.
We added symbols of the Faith including the ringstone symbol, Greatest Name and AdbulBaha's(the son of the prophet-Baha'u'llah) picture.

Science class with Maya

Science class with Maya Rae.

Maya's first day of science she put smooshed bananas and pears in water bottles. We added balloons to the top and waited with breathless anticipation for the big happenins. The idea is that the gases from the rotting fruit will blow up the balloons.....in time.
This day Saige and Maya worked on a project together. Here they blended up a spinach leaf, put it in nail polish remover, added a coffee filter and watched as the colors in the leaf crept up the filter.

Finally- Back to school time

The first day of school. Ben grade 11 and Vayda grade 8.
Waiting for the bus with Morris.
All aboard!
Elanee grade 10 and Maya grade 2 ready for

home school.

Chin Faces

It's a scientificly proven fact the that canning 100's and 100's of quarts of food will drive children of normal development and intellegence literally insane.
Its true! And- it happened at our house. :) This afternoon the girls were loosing their minds after hrs of work. They started hanging upside down on the couch. That led to the obvoius....dressing of the chin. Here are the finished products. 1-Elanee, 2-Maya Rae, 3-Ms. Vayda.

Ok- enough screwin around- NOW BACK TO WORK!!!!

Ruhi's Bday Gift

This is a little something I made for our little friend, Ruhi for his Bday.

Jody and Ben do the AIDS Ride for Life.

Jody and Ben joined the Green Star team in Ithaca and did the AIDS Ride for Life bike-a-thon. The ride was 85 miles in the freezing cold rain and wind. They both raised lots of $ with the help of family and friends and rode well. Jody has done this ride before but it was a real treat for him this year to ride with Ben. Aaron and Shelly met the guys, at the end of the ride, in Ithaca and took these pictures.

Vayda's Rockin Painting

This is the ROCKIN painting that Vayda did for her friend Jojo-

who adores it of course.

Ben turns 17!

As is the pattern, Ben was gone on visitation all summer long. He got back after his 17th Bday so we threw him a little, simple Birthday party at home after he got back. Jody bought an icecream cake for him and- as often happens- things got a little out of controlle. ;)