Maple Sugar Time

We went to our favorite living history museum today for their Sap, Syrup and Sugar field trip.  The kids had a chance to learn about how maple syrup is produced both now and in the past.  Everyone got to try maple sap straight from the tree and the pure maple syrup produced at the end of the process.  We learned that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup and lots of time and energy.  Which explains why real maple syrup is so expensive but so much better tasting than the cheap stuff. 

Placing the Tap

Older Tin Buckets

Carrying the Sap

Everyone Was Put to Work

Even the Littlest Kids Were Needed

Liam

The Sugar Camp

Boiling the Sap to Make Sugar

Happy Birthday Robert

Birthday season was officially kicked off around here with Robert's 2nd birthday today.  The poor boy is feeling rather sick and miserable and probably would have been quite happy if we had postponed things until he was feeling better but his older siblings decided putting off the cake would be an absolute travesty.  In other words, they'd been counting on dessert tonight and it would happen no matter what.  The joys of being two, you don't really care or have a clue when other people make these decisions about your birthday.

Chocolate cake was enjoyed by all and then the boy opened a couple presents.  One of these years we will figure out how to get the other children to leave the birthday child alone so they can actually play with their presents in peace and quiet for a bit.  Anyway, the little dude is officially two now.  Happy birthday buddy.

It's a Guy Thing

 Alan took the older boys this morning to a group event where they got to play with trebuchets and catapults.  No major injuries were sustained and everyone had a blast.  Hopefully they actually got a chance to learn something but that is always a tad doubtful when there is a large amount of testosterone floating around super cool weaponry type gadgets.  Alan has compiled a short movie of the best launches and he'll hopefully get around to posting it here tomorrow. Until then, here are a few pictures.

St Joseph's Day Dinner

We went to the annual St. Joseph's/St. Patrick's Day dinner.  This year Katie and Liam got to play the roles of Mary and Joseph.  They did a great job.

Lego Creationary

I've had this game on my wish list for the kids for quite a while.  I just kept finding reasons to tell myself it was not worth buying or too expensive.  This weekend I went shopping alone and decided to buy it for the kids anyway.  Seems I'm much more likely to splurge on the kids if they aren't with me.  Probably because I have time to think a bit and relax.  Anyway, I'm glad I finally bought the game.

This game is basically pictionary with Legos.  It has 3 different levels to choose from and honestly gives you some pretty darn challenging figures to try to build.

The best part of this game for me is that children of many different ages/abilities can play together quite easily meaning it is the perfect game for a large family.

Judging by the number of times I have been asked if they can play the game again today, I think the kids enjoyed it, too.

Pretty Little Baby

Seven Bicycle Helmets

For some crazy insane reason our children always seem to "forget" to put their helmets away.  Ok, I know the reason. They are children.  But the helmets than get knocked around and beat up and broken.  And you are supposed to replace them every few years anyway since the padding can break down simply from daily wear and tear.

So today I bought a new batch of bicycle helmets.  $80 later and I still need to get one for Robert but they only had one red helmet in the toddler size. I refuse to buy a pink one for my boys and I refuse to spend $25 on a bike helmet for a 2-year-old to use most around the yard when I can get another $10 one next week.  Now we'll have enough for our kids and a few extras for friends when they are over so it will be much easier to enforce the house rule of "no helmet, no bike."

How the 3-Year-Old Does Art

Notice the copious amounts of glue.  Notice the intense look of concentration.  Notice the diaper cover sitting on the table.  Sigh, I thought I'd cleaned up all evidence of my lack of housekeeping before snapping the picture.

Notice the huge grin on his face.  And the large pile of construction paper sacrificed to make this little boy happy.  Notice one day when Mom finally did say yes to the requests to "make a project, please."

Respect Life Faith Folder

May I admit that I totally prefer hands-on ways to teach my kids whenever possible?  And that when I had fewer kids, I seemed to have an easier time working hands-on stuff into our schooling?  A wee bit of guilt here because I know several of our active kids would truly benefit from more hands-on work with regards to schooling. Besides, book work gets boring quickly.  But I have 9 children and the sheer chaos that is often generated by getting out hands-on materials frequently has me running for the hills.

But I was given the opportunity to receive a copy of a Life Is Sacred Faith Folder from the wonderful folks at Lapbooks for Catholics in exchange for doing a review of the folder so I vowed to make a bit of a change and do better at getting some hands-on material into the children's hands.  It has sadly taken me a while to complete this project because I would get the materials out and things would kind of go like this: baby is settled into her seat and sleeping, I get about 5 minutes of quiet from the baby before the 9-year-old decides they must go mess with her and wakes her up, cue screaming baby, the 3-year-old decides that he absolutely must drive his monster trucks directly through and over the area where I am attempting to work with the 6 and 7-year-old, the 4-year-old decides that she is going to have a major mental meltdown because she wants to know when it will be her turn to do school, the 11 and 13-year-olds see I am busy and use this opportunity to sneak down to the basement to turn the tv on, the 1-year-old finds a pair of scissors that a sibling set down and runs off into the other room to try to cut up a pillow.  Hey, just keeping it real here folks.  So we have finally finished the project and I loved it.

This new version of the Life is Sacred Faith Folder contains a ton more information than their previous edition.  The new version offers you the chance to cover topics such as abortion, euthanasia, contraception and stem cell research.  I opted not to use these materials for this folder because I was working with my younger children but would absolutely add the materials if working with my older children.  The folder also introduces you to several saints associated with pro-life causes and teaches you a bit about each one.  You also learn several prayers and are shown a month by month progression of the growth of an unborn child.

Before starting work on your folder, I would make sure you have an ample supply of glue, file folders, scissors and printer ink (or maybe a laser printer).  You can also add to your folder by using different colored paper and card stock for printing.  I had a nice stash of colored paper and card stock at the beginning of the school year but my children discovered them and decided they make great paper airplanes so our folder was made using plain white printer paper.  If you don't want to print everything yourself, you do have the option of ordering the folder already printed. 

This faith folder is an excellent tool for introducing your children to the many important issues surrounding the pro-life movement.  I loved working with my kids on it and I know they all learned something from it.  I definitely recommend that you find a way to make this folder with your family.

Book Review: Burst

I recently read the book Burst: A Story of God's Grace When Life Falls Apart by Kevin Wells.  This inspirational book tells the story of his life and the role suffering and grace can play in healing the spirit.

Everyone seemingly hopes for a calm, easy, predictable life.  Very few of us ever get that life handed to us.  Instead we are handed a life full of struggle and intermittent hard times.  It is in these hard times that many folks learn to draw closer to God and embrace His love most fully.  When everything else in your life is called into question and stripped away, God's unending mercy is what you are left with. 

Within the pages of Burst, you read the story of Wells' experience in learning to rely to God in the hard times.  Burst gives me hope that I will find God's mercy in the hard times and come to rely on Him more fully.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Burst - A Story of God's Grace When Life Falls Apa. They are also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts.

Little Flowers

Today the girls had their Little Flowers meeting.  We are very thankful to have this wonderful group of folks to get together with once a month. In a perfect world, we'd be able to meet more often but that just doesn't happen right now.  Today the girls made these projects.  I love the way they turned out.

She's 3 Months

Look who is 3 months old today.  Yup, Ellie is still super small but is acting like an older baby now.  She's even starting to tolerate her father for longer periods of time.  Usually just long enough for me to shower in the morning.  She still very much runs the show around here and demands near constant attention but she has the best smiles and is even starting to talk to us a bit. 

I've often heard folks say that they think a little baby would get lost in a larger family because you've done the baby thing before a few times.  Or you are too busy with the other kids to spend time with a baby.  Personally I've found that having older kids helps me to enjoy the baby stage so much more.  I know how quickly it disappears so I try to soak it up even more than before, focus on the now and not spend my days wishing for her to get bigger.  There is nothing quite like baby snuggles, baby smiles and that unconditional love and trust a little person gives you when they fall asleep in your arms.

The Ergo Arrived

 Gabe loves the new carrier. You have to love any carrier that allows you to carry a 3 year-old easily.  Even accounting for the fact that Gabe weighs almost nothing, he is longer than a 1 year-old so you need to account for that.  Alan still says he feels like he is squishing the kid wearing the Ergo but Gabe said he was very comfy.  The Sport carrier is made of a more light weight material than the original one which is nice for longer uses and warmer weather.  It also has a much nicer sleeping hood than the original Ergo I bought 6 or 7 years ago.  That will be very handy for when little ones fall asleep on your back since it keeps their head from flopping backwards while they sleep. I have a feeling we will be getting a lot of use out of this Ergo in the next few years.

The Ergo Sport Carrier that I won last week from Babysteals arrived in the mail today.  I've already tested it out with Gabe and will have pictures later.  I've very excited to get something new for me that I did not have to pay for and will be used for a few years.  Now to find a replacement diaper bag since the zipper on mine finally broke after 5 or 6 years.