Although March immediately gave us some unseasonably warm days and prompted many air conditioners around the city to begin rumbling prematurely, the past few days have been absolutely lovely. And, if my iphone app, AccuWeather, is any accurate indication of what lies ahead, the next week or so should be even better. Gorgeous days...warm but not too warm...with cool, crisp nights. Perfect. 

Today is Thursday (obviously) which means Science Experiment Day for our homeschool. And the past few weeks, we've been studying as part of our science, such fascinating (really!) things like trains and how they work, airplanes and how they work, backhoe's and how they work, cars and how they work ....I, along with my children, have been learning a great deal. 

Although, to hear my children at the dinner table each night, you wouldn't know they'd learned anything. 

Me: "Guys, tell Daddy what we learned about today."

Kids: Silence...

Me: "Ok, how about for Bible?"

Kids: munch, munch..silence

Daddy (eyebrow quirked): "C'mon guys, nothing?"

Me: "Ok, Kyle, for Bible we talked about how Jesus met a rich young man and he asked what to do to get to heaven--

Brooklyn (interjecting): "Oh! Oh! And Jesus said he had to give up his money and follow Him and the man wouldn't do it! Money was more important to him than following Jesus!!!!"

August: "Yeah!"

It goes on like that for every subject. I have to start it out, then they "remember" and take over for me.

Back to science: each Thursday, we watch a DVD that came with our science curriculum and this funny kid demonstrates all sorts of experiments. Then we get to do them.  Today, he demonstrated making gliders talked about airflow around airplane wings. Some days we skip actually doing the experiments, but given the beautiful day and fun project, it seemed like a good idea! The kids did pretty decent jobs folding their airplanes and while their attempts to make things airborne were, well, not entirely successful, a good time was had by all. 

And hopefully, a little science was learned along the way. 

As a sidenote, when Kyle got home from work, he scoffed a little at our gliders and thought he could do us one better. So he built his own (minus the rudder that we made for ours) and wouldn't you know....

His didn't fly nearly as well as ours did. Hmph!

I'll have you know I should be balancing my checkbook right now, because the moment is right. Dorien is snoozing on my lap and my little station on my bed is set up and ready to go. But I found myself thinking about some books we got at the library on Friday and how much fun we've had reading them.  

Thanks to Renee at FIMBY and her list of recommended Spring Reads, I headed with my family to the library on Friday armed with a list. On that list were several books and authors she recommended, such as the Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco, and Bizzy Bones and Uncle Ezra by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, to name a few.  For her full list, look here.

Sadly, I was unable to locate all the books she recommended in the one trip, but I did end up with several books by Patricia Polacco.  Aside from the great illustrations, the names, characters and storylines of the books we read by her were funny, engaging, thought-provoking and inspiring. I will say that I picked up a book by her involving a girl with two mommies. I did not check that one out.

I do love finding new authors to enjoy. Books are like nectar to my family. More precisely, we are the bees and they are our flowers. They attract us either by their pretty covers, or because they were recommended to us by friends and then we get all up close and in them like a bee on a flower and if we like them, we pollinate by telling you about them.  Meanwhile, the knowledge, information, wisdom, humor, morals and lessons stick to us and we take them into our family units just like a bee to its hive and we turn them into honey - we live off the memories, they comfort us, we pull them out to remember how much we enjoyed them, we read them together and bond over them, we discuss them and learn..and personally, we store that experience and it shapes us, nurtures us, establishes a framework in our minds just like a wax honeycomb is built piece by piece by workerbees. 

I just found another link to a spring reading list that I'll pass on to you. Some of these names are familiar, but others are new. I hope you find as much joy in reading as we do and if you have good books/authors to pass along, please do so!

For several weeks now, I have been working on preparing a Home Management Binder.  

It's something I was inspired to do by several bloggers I follow, and it's one of those things that is a booger to set up, but once it's "up" it's extremely helpful and requires minimal updating. 

Basically, this book is Ashley's Brain.  Should anything happen to me, Kyle literally can just pick this up and say, ok, that's what she did. Now, I pray that does NOT happen, but it's good to be prepared. 

And really, this is more for me, to organize and put in one place all the thousand compartments of my life and brain. 

How does one go about this sort of thing? 

Slowly. Carefully. Meticulously. And by looking at what others have done and tweaking it for your own purposes.

I started out by reading several helpful blogs who've done this before and got ideas and free printables:

And I'm gonna give a huge shout-out to one of my favorite bloggers - Renee at FIMBY

She has great practical ideas for organization, time management, cooking, life outdoors, homeschooling...lots of inspiration. HOURS of informative reading. She was truly my impetus for doing this.

Based on several "content" ideas from those blogs, I began jotting down ideas of what I'd want to include in my own book. This began to extend to a few pages. I did NOT try to do this all in one day. I just periodically thought of something and added it to the notebook.

Then, I tried to make sense of those listed items. Organized them in some logical fashion. (I'll go into more detail in a minute about what I included in this binder of mine).

Next, I created a folder on my computer called "Home Management Binder" and started saving things that I thought might come in handy...excel spreadsheets I'd already started for budgets, grocery lists, knitting projects I'd wanted to tackle, that kind of thing.

Then, I went here and saved page after page to my file to print out later.

Then, I went to Target to find a suitable binder.  It had to be big, sturdy, plenty of room for growth, and also, something pretty! Something I wouldn't mind looking at! 

I also needed colored tabs with pockets. I will tell you right now, buy more than one pack. I did not and I wish I had. I need to buy more. Better to have too many than to need to make another trip to Target. The fewer times I have to load 3 kids in and out of the car, the better.

Once I had those items, I picked a time when the kids were happily playing and I began to fine-tune my list of contents and start putting the binder together. I printed tons of pages that I'd saved in my folder and began to make a list of things I needed to put together.

I divided my book into the following main categories:

Contact Information

Calendar

Family Information

Home Office

Money Management

Menu/Grocery

Project List

Home Maintenance

Car Info & Maintenance

Homeschooling Information

Cloth Diapering

Blog Ideas

Christmas

The Contact Information page contains our home address, email addresses and phone numbers. I just wrote these up in Word. Very basic. I know people can make these really pretty, but for now, I went for practical. Pretty can come later.

The Emergency Information page (also created in Word) has the contact information for my parents, my neighbors, and other key people as well as basic emergency numbers: 

911 (my daughter tends to think our zip code is the emergency number)

Poison Control

Family Doctor

Dentist

Vet

There is a Babysitter Information page that we leave for babysitters. 

The Calendar section has monthly calendar printouts and a section (pictured below) for me to keep track of birthdays by month. 

Our Family Section has our Family Values as well as specific information on each child:

Height, weight, clothing and shoe sizes

Clothing inventory/needs

Baby book status

And the Home Office section is where it gets meaty and is taking me some time!

This section is subdivided into the following sections

"How to Find"

"How to do the bill paying/check balancing" --I have a very complicated process, don't laugh

Wallet Contents

Passwords

Account Information

Budgets

Car Payoff worksheets

House Payoff worksheets

Policy Information (homeowners, car, life, etc)

List of service providers

Last Will & Testament

Health Insurance Cards

Dental Insurance Cards

List/contact info of medical providers we use

Shot records & immunization schedule

Check-up schedules

Growth charts

Address Book

Library Inventory

Some of these, like the "other" tab will take me some time to complete, but at least I have a plan...

My Menu/Grocery tab includes printouts (free) that I use to write out my weekly menus...

As well as a spreadsheet I devised that is set up to logically flow as I walk through my local Kroger. I keep a copy of this hanging on a clipboard in my pantry and circle things as I run out.

I have a Project List tab which will help me keep track of my ever-growing list of ideas and projects.

I have in this tab a handy "Daily To Do Checklist" as well as a broader Weekly Project list and a Master Project List which includes:

Knitting projects

Sewing Projects

Books to Read

Baby Book Status

Photo album status

The Home Maintenance section is still under development and will include the following:

Cleaning Schedule - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Annually

Deep Cleaning Schedule

Year-round Maintenance Schedule

Gardening Information

Car Maintenance includes copies of our insurance cards, summary of our insurance policies, and a maintenance schedule. I'm actually having trouble finding a good guide for car maintenance...any ideas, anyone?

Homeschooling will contain:

Mission Statement

Goals

State Requirements

Current Curriculum information/catalogues

Helpful Resources

Cloth Diapering will contain

Washing instructions

Helpful information

Resources

Blog Ideas contains...

ideas for this blog as well as 

ideas for the blog I do for DD&F

And finally, my Christmas tab will hopefully streamline my life this next December. I tend to stress OUT about all the things that I want to do, hope to do and need to do during what is my favorite time of the year (minus its stress).  I found all these tabs on that free printables site:

Master To Do List

Decor Inventory

Christmas Cards Worksheet

Gift Ideas

Hand-made gift list

Baking List

Shopping List

Order Tracker

So, when people ask me, "what have you been up to lately, Ashley?" THIS is just one of the things I have been up to. I am enjoying the process of becoming more organized, even though it is, in itself, a discipline.

And, in case you're wondering why I don't include any workout stuff in this book, I have a separate Workout Binder that I put together a few years ago. 

If you have any ideas or suggestions about how to make this better, I'm all ears!

And if you are interested in making your own binder, more power to you! I hope I've given you some ideas and pointed you in some helpful directions. Don't be overwhelmed.

Take it one step at a time. And before you know it, you'll have yourself a Genuine

HOME MANAGEMENT BINDER!!!!!

Those of you who know me well know that I am not crazy about meat.

I could easily live without red meat. In fact, I can tell you the last time I bought beef was to use for meatballs, specifically because Brooklyn requested them for her birthday meal. That was mid-February. I haven't purchased any since and don't plan to. When I use meat, it's usually boneless, skinless white chicken breasts OR ground turkey. I don't do pork, either. But I do eat fish! There is currently a bag of frozen tilapia in my freezer from Sam's! 

My reasons for not liking meat have never been because of the treatment of animals, although that certainly does bother me. I really just don't like the taste/texture of it in my mouth. I detest biting into something that doesn't give or that "pops". I'm shivering as I write this just thinking about it. And even chicken is difficult for me sometimes because I don't like the TASTE of it. I like it better than meat, though.

Health and fitness have always been paramount in my mind, and recently, as certain health issues have sprouted on the family tree, I have become more focused on making the wisest choices possible when it comes to what goes into my body. Food is more than just something to fill us up!

It's the brick and mortar of our existence.

If we fill our bodies with junk, we can only expect our bodies to perform on a junky level. They will have become constructed and held together with junk and therefore, we should expect to get sick with cancers, heart disease, etc. 

Remember that song...(feel free to sing and use appropriate hand motions!)

"The foolish man built his house upon the sand, 

(repeat twice...)

and the rains came tumbling down...

The rains came down and the floods came up,

(repeat twice..)

And the house on the sand went SPLAT!!!!

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

(repeat twice...)

and the rains came tumbling down...

The rains came down and the floods came up....

etc...

And the house on the rock stood FIRM!

Now, if you are a Christ-follower, you know that song is referring to building your life's foundation on Jesus Christ who is the Rock, the ONLY solid foundation. All else is literally, sinking sand. 

But what if that metaphor extends also to our physical foundation. What if what we eat can also be the equivalent of a sandy foundation? I think we all know that IS true. But what do we do about it?

Well, for each of us, that may be different. Some of us take steps to cut certain foods or eat more of other foods. I know there is compelling research out there about the benefits of plant-based diets, including some amazing results in reducing bad cholesterol levels, reducing blood pressure, reducing triglyceride levels (all heart-related issues) as well as cancers. I'm hoping to dig more deeply into that research soon.

I have broached the possibility with my husband of conducting a 3 month trial period where we eliminate meat completely and focus on plant-based foods, and see where we stand physically at the end of that period. Before I do that, I am doing a bit more research, but my husband is on board. What a great guy I married!

All this comes to you now because Kyle sent me the following Infographic which was generated after a New York Times articles touted the dangers of eating meat.

The following may be more than you want to mess with, and that's fine. The part about pink slime is particularly revolting, and only supports my current revulsion to hot dogs. But you'll see what I mean...

And if you hate soapboxes, well, this isn't really one. It's more of a shared exploration...

This is one of my favorite knitting books. Written and created by Janelle Hoverson, owner of my favorite knitting shop, Purl, and its blog, www.purlbee.com

Then, one day, I remembered this other pattern (also found on Purl's blog) that I had always thought was precious, but probably required more time than I wanted to put into it.  Little did I know.

When I finished the legs and was beginning the waistband, I realized I was at a crossroads. I could continue on and finish the drawstring pants OR take it a step further and turn them into these super precious overalls. 

Going further presented some complications. For starters, the overall pattern was using a different type of yarn (6 stitches to an inch) whereas the yarn I was using was 5 stitches to an inch. Also, I had 21 fewer stitches on my needles, so I needed to adjust for that. This meant all the instructions given in the pattern would need to be adjusted for my yarn. Sounds simple enough, right?

With my compulsive need to solve problems, particularly of the mathematical variety, I chose the more complicated route - the overalls! Thus began my days long descent into knitting mania (or insanity, some might say). I began sketching diagrams to illustrate the pattern differences and figure out exactly what changes I needed to make to turn my pants into overalls. I needed to visualize where I was going with this and numerically plot it out.

So I drew a circular grid of how each row (knit on circular needles) would look, sort of spiraling to my end point. One sketch was the original version. Then, I modified it for my purposes. 

While working on this, I would literally shut out all other thought. It was probably pretty comical. Kyle called it my "Beautiful Mind" phase. He kept waiting for me to start talking to an invisible friend. 

But figure it out, I did. And here is what my pants looked like before I turned them truly into overalls. I used the exact Rowan denim yard recommended in the book. And it left my fingers blue every time I knitted. Needless to say, you wash these before you put them on your toddler!  

Here is the seed stitch cuff on the pants. The long strings all get woven in at the end. At one point, there were so many long strings hanging that I felt like a puppeteer! 

 

And finally, after utter devotion to the task and a truly, almost obsessive level of focus, they are finished! And, more importantly, they work and they fit and I am very happy with them!

See the extra length? Since my babies tend to grow up, but level out on weight, I think we'll be wearing these for quite some time. The original sizing was for 18 months to 30 months. And since I extended the length on the legs, we may get more than that. We'll see.

The denim yarn also works like denim - it gets softer with each washing and doesn't shrink. 

He was very cozy in them. And cozy to hug! 

Just chilling.

Still snapping pics? 

Good for squatting in...

And dancing...

And chewing toys.

And they give plenty of flexibility for reaching up to the piano. 

I love them, simple as that. 

On to the next project!

It is just past the middle of March and my air conditioner is on. This saddens me. I  find myself inexplicably depressed with the lengthening days, budding flowers, warming afternoons...I have no rational explanation for this, except that I really really love winter and my soul yearns for what it did not get this year.

I realize I am possibly the only person around feeling this way.  There may be others who enjoy winter and wish they'd experienced one, but most of them push past that and get really into SPRING! I was happy last Spring because with it came my second son, Dorien. I had that to look forward to! But this year, I really just want to sleep. Reverse hibernation. I am sad that an endless summer looms ahead of me. When it's high 80's the first days of March, that does NOT bode well for what lies ahead this summer. In spite of the gorgeous dogwoods budding in my front yard and exploding white snowball bushes at my gate and fragrant purple wisteria blooming on my trees not to mention my personal favorite - the unfolding crimson leaves of my Japanese maples, like origami magically performing...I am down.

This could be influenced by a marked lack of sleep I've experienced the past week.  August has pneumonia. We found this out yesterday at a doctor's appointment after the Lord prompted me to wake up at 3am Wednesday morning to find my son burning up with a fever of 105. It was enough to jumpstart the most asleep of us. Kyle and I (accompanied by a very confused, but amiable Dorien) were awake from 3-7 working to get August cooled down and figure out what was wrong. Pneumonia. That's what was wrong. And although he's now on antibiotics, it takes a bit to work and so last night was another night of super high fevers and cool baths and a wailing, miserable son who just wanted to be left alone.  

And even though the kids and I didn't really get moving around till 10, that was not enough sleep. My eyes are bloodshot and gunky from sleeping in my contacts and my brain slightly dull. I have ahead of me a weekend of planting seeds with my brothers for our veggie co-op and I'm nervous that this whole thing may flop royally. That Michael's flower beds may end up being large plots of jalapenos and nothing else. So, when I find myself slipping into a funk, I turn to something that always makes me feel better.  

Chocolate.

I intend to share with you a recipe I recently tried and seriously loved. There is nothing healthy about it, other than chocolate's natural benefits. It is quite simply, perfection. For this recipe, I call on two of my French cookbooks: 

Chocolate & Zucchini

To make the Chocolate Tart, you need something to hold all that lovely chocolate: a crust. So we'll start with that, because you can make this in advance and freeze it.

You can use a store-bought crust for a 9-inch pie, but I rarely ever use a store-bought crust. I love making my own. So I turned to the Pate Brisee, or Short Pastry, recipe in C&Z. Simple and Delicious.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

8 tbsp. (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

ice-cold water

Combine flour, salt and butter in the processor. Process at low speed for about 10 seconds, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and mix again for a few seconds until dough comes together a little. If the dough is still dry, add a little ice-cold water 1 tsp at a time and process again. You do not want too much water- this is not supposed to be wet dough. It should JUST come together and hold itself into a ball when you form it into one.

Wrap the ball of dough in a sheet of Saran Wrap and then smash lightly down with the palm of your hand on the ball, so it becomes a slightly flattened ball. Stick it in the fridge for about 30 minutes (or up to a day). After it's cooled (you're re-chilling the butter that's melted), let it soften enough to roll out. Although I left my dough in the fridge overnight and then immediately rolled it out the next morning, no waiting, and it wasn't that difficult.

Sprinkle flour on a work surface and on your rolling pin and place the slightly flattened ball of dough on your work surface. Roll the pin over the dough 2 or 3 times with moderate pressure. Rotate the dough by a quarter of a turn clockwise and roll the pin over it 2 or 3 times. Repeat until you have a circle large enough to line your tart pan or pie pan.

Now, on to the main recipe:

--makes one 9-inch tart--

1 recipe pate brisee or pie dough for 9 inch pie

6 oz. dark chocolate (70 to 80% cacao preferred), chopped

1/3 cup 2% or whole milk

1/3 cup heavy cream

4 tbsp sugar

4 egg yolks

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Line a 9-inch tart pan with the pastry dough. Prick the bottom of the  dough with a fork and cover the dough with foil, crimping the foil over the edges of the mold. Add pie weights (dried beans or pellets --I have a container of dried chickpeas that I use over and over for this purpose) and bake for 10 minutes.  (instructions continued...)

This is what that looks like.

3. Lower the oven temp to 275 degrees now that the tart shell has par-baked.

Place the chocolate in a double boiler insert set above simmering water over medium heat and melt, stirring occasionally. 

--I used a mixture of chocolate in my recipe...adding up to 6 ounces (2 ounces of Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate, 2 ounces of Girhardelli's Bittersweet chocolate and 2 ounces of Nestle's semi-sweet chips). This was simply out of necessity, but it worked great!--