Yesterday, Audrey went to church “looking like Sunshine” as a friend commented. She wore a bright yellow dress with a bright hair bow. When we got home, she changed into her favorite jeans (a bright colorful pair), shirt and took the bow out of her hair. I was amazed at the difference!
Category: Photography
Favorites
Here is a picture of some of my favorites (and one of Adrian’s).
- Megan is wearing Adrian’s favorite pair of pj’s for her. Snoopy!
- The purple shirt is old, but my favorite flannel shirt.
- Two pair of my favorite blue eyes.
- One of my favorite smiles.
- My favorite six month old.
- My favorite and best friend ever!
Thank you God for giving me such a wonderful boyfriend, husband and Daddy to my kids.
New Trick
This evening Megan discovered that her feet taste good!
Today’s Smile–Six Months Old
Megan is six months old now! Last night for dinner, Allan dipped his finger in the vinegar and gave it to Megan. Her reaction was wonderful!
At six months, Megan can sit up for a short while. She “talks” a lot. She is heading to bed earlier (no more night owl, Hooray!) but still not until after 10:00. She is trying to roll over, but has not figured out what to do with her arm. Megan also loves to play with siblings, especially during school when they need to finish some work.
Happy half birthday (a day late), Sweetheart!
Birthday Boy
Today is Adrian’s 5th birthday. We keep teasing that he turned three 🙂
He has had a wonderful day! Daddy treated him to breakfast. Megan and I took him to get a giant size shake at the restaurant that he has been asking to go to, he found 5 cents–“just like how old I am”–a complete stranger wanted to make his day extra special and gave him $2.00 and some Skittles, and when we went to pay for the shakes he was given a free birthday shake. He had LOTS of ice cream today, and wants more with his cake!
I am so thankful for Adrian. He is very helpful with Megan. He loves to make me smile. He loves to read and does a good job. He loves “dates” and one on one time. He enjoys talking and asking lots of questions. He also enjoys just sitting next to me and being quiet. He likes to help cook. He is excited to be able to play soccer for the first time this year. He is a wonderful joy!
Happy “third” birthday Adrian! I am so glad that you are my son!
Answers to A Game
If you were wondering what we did to our kitchen on Sunday night, we were cooking down sap to make maple sugar! 🙂
According to the recipe, after cooking the sap down to 290 degrees Fahrenheit, we were to take it off the heat and stir it quickly for five minutes. Then we were to transfer it to another bowl and stir until the moisture was gone. It did not work out that easily.
It took over three hours to get it to the right temperature. Allan turned off the heat and started stirring. I said that I would watch the time. Then, it got exciting! The mixture started growing until it took over the pan and tried to claim the stove! Allan moved the pot on top of another pot, but it did not stop growing! When he took the spoon out to start stirring it again, it immediately “deflated”!
So the answers for giving a caption to the pictures would be ….
- C) Homeschool science can be a blast.We are making syrup and sugar while we learn a little bit of science and a little bit of history.
- D) A messy house is a happy house. We had a lot of fun making this mess.
- F.) As Mark says, “Sometimes cleaning up is just cleaning, but other times cleaning up is soooo SWEET!â€. As we cleaned up, we ate big chunks of maple candy, drank maple flavored tea, and scraped sugar out of pans.
- G) A relaxing (and very fun) way to spend Sunday evening. We spent lots of time talking, laughing at the unexpected and just enjoying working together.
Found
When the boys come running in the house yelling, they usually have something very exciting to tell me. Today, Mark found the first spring flower in our yard! Adrian was excited that it was not in the places that we have been watching for the flowers.
What I think is neat is that the girls discovered last year’s first crocus on 17 March also!
Coordination Test
I bet you can’t pass this coordination test. Hold on to one foot while sticking out your tongue. Very few people can excel at this test as gracefully as Megan!
A Sign of Spring
The sun is out, children are playing outside, the front door is open, new flowers are coming up…Spring is coming!
I love taking the kids out to look for the new “baby flowers”. The older ones know where to look for the crocus and daffodils, but they are still mysteries to Adrian. He ran around excitedly looking for new ones today. We discovered the primroses are trying to peek out too.
A Drop at a Time
Assume that it takes 542 drops to fill a quarter cup. (We are pretty close, I asked Mark to do me a favor 🙂 )
542 x 4 =Â 2,168 drops or one cup
2,168 x 16 = 34,688 drops, or 16 cups or one gallon
Assume it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of Maple syrup
34,688 x 40 = 1,387,520 drops of sap which equals 40 gallons of sap which makes approximately one gallon of Maple Syrup.
Now, if a “good run is one drop a second” how long will it take for enough sap to make a gallon of syrup?
Using the above numbers, you get one gallon every 9.6 hours.
40 gallons x 9.6 hours =2840 hours
2840 hours / 24 hours in a day =11.8 days
So, it takes about 11.8 days of perfect weather to get approximately enough sap to make one gallon of Maple Syrup.
The next time you enjoy some Pure Maple Syrup, remember that!