Our Happy Chaos

Facial Expressions by Gareth

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:52:00 +0000

Happy/Nice

Mean

Surprised/scared

Sick/vomiting

Sad

Silly

Homemade bread and cookie baking

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:18:00 +0000

I don't know why I was so intimidated about home made bread making and baking.....the unknown is so scary. Over the last few days, I made sugar cookies with home made icing, french bread, and dinner rolls. They all turned out awesome. I loved kneading the bread, watching the dough rise, punching it down, shaping it, smelling it as it baked, and eating hot out of the oven bread. You can't beat fresh, warm bread! I just followed recipes out of my Better Homes and Garden cookbook - it is my favorite and most used cookbook. I want to try the bread dough that was in Mother Earth News - I have heard several people talk about how easy and good the recipe is. You can refrigerate it and it is ready for when you need it.

Gareth helped mix and knead the dough

The dough is rising

Dinner rolls

French bread

YUM!

Yummy french bread

Getting ready

Cut and ready to bake

Baked

Home made icing

Painting and eating cookies

Extra icing

Finished cookies

Thanksgiving 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Nana was visiting family up north, so we traveled up to Downers Grove to Pat and Mike's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. We got to see Nana, the food was great, and the kids played with Uncle Mike and Mr. Hankie.

After leaving there, we stopped by and visited with Papa John for about an hour.

The boys had a great time playing and Baby I was the star of the show. It was great to see Nana - we don't know when the next time we will see her. We will have to make a trip out to Arizona when we have more money and the kids are more manageable - that will be several years away, I am afraid.......there are too many important people too far away in our lives! We don't like it!

It was a great Thanksgiving day! I hope every one's day was as joyous as ours. Happy Thanksgiving.

yummy pumpkin pie. the crust was awesome - homemade by Pat!

Nana passing out the marshmallows

What a sweetheart - baby I's first Thanksgiving

Story time with Nana

Jumping over the table

Beautiful table

Thanks Nana for the boats!

Nana and Gareth set sail

Mr Hankie entertains all children

Latimer family - 2009

Love my baby girl!

Iris hanging out with Nana

Love this pic!

Climbing up the stairs

This makes me want to live in Denmark!

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:59:00 +0000

on every level they talk about!

Gareth's first public performance!

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Oh my goodness! We love our big boy!!!! Gareth's pre-school has a family night once a month. Tonight, we had a speaker from WEIU discuss healthy family habits. We got a bag of goodies, Super Why video, and some free books. The kids sang some songs for the parents before the presentation. He is so darn cute!

Visit from Nana

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Nana came to visit with her friend Joan Sunday. Thank you Joanie for driving her down! We will see Nana again on Thanksgiving day when we drive up to Chicago suburbs to have dinner at Pat and Mike's.

We visited, showed them around the house/land, and we got a chance to go on a quick date WITHOUT the kids!!!!!! woohoo! Brian and I went to the nature center near Mattoon and took a stroll around their trails. We also had dinner at some Chinese restaurant. It was enjoyable to spend some alone time with Brian. I miss my dear husband even though he is right next to me often times......kids will keep you busy and limit the quality time you get with one another. The other night, we watched a movie after the kids went to bed. It was so nice cuddling up with each other. Usually, we will watch The Office online once a week and we enjoyed NOVA's recent program they had online Becoming Human. It is so nice when we have alone time, but of course, we talk about the kids most of the time. :) Thanks Nana and Joan for watching the kiddos!

Nana brought Iris a pajama outfit.

Nana brought the boys wooden boats. We plan to take them down to the creek to see how they float.

Nana carrying sweet baby I.

Brian helping his momma down the hill - I think we wore Nana out.

Yay! We all made it down safely.

showing Nana and Joan around the farm

Nana with her youngest grand baby.

Best attempt at a family photo. Boys did NOT want to sit still.

Iris will hold still.

Nana saying her goodbyes. We will see you Thursday!

Playing at the creek

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:55:00 +0000

The other day, 8 deer were crossing the field across the road. By the time I got the batteries in the camera, this is the shot I got. About a minute later, there was a HUGE buck with a HUGE rack. He was so big, he looked like a moose galloping across the field. A few minutes later, a couple of trucks with hunters (guys with orange vests) kept driving by slowly around the field. There are several property owners around us who allow hunting on their property so occasionally we hear shots ring out. I know the deer are overpopulated and the hunting serves a purpose, but I always hope for safe escape for the deer every time I hear a shot. Lately, when we go on walks down to our creek, we have seen several deer hoof prints and piles of deer poop. They are hiding out safe on our land, I suppose. They seem to be using the same paths we are when walking around our land. We have yet to see them on our property though.

The boys are LOVING the land we live on......I can envision them playing outside all day/night when they get older. I am looking forward to packing a snack pack for them and them going off by themselves in the woods, down to the creek, exploring the land, and them being gone for hours. They are truly lucky kids to grow up in a place like this. This is what childhood is all about....freedom, fun, learning, exploration...... NOT sitting on their ass in front of a TV, hardly ever going outside! I don't know how many times I have told Brian lately that I want to go back to childhood and live here.

The boys wore their rain boots to keep their feet dry.....that helped all of about 2 minutes. :)

My Neanderthal man using a sharp rock to try to break open another one to see if it was a geode. No luck finding anymore since that first one Lala found.......

Playing in the mud, throwing rocks, and hanging out with daddy

The path to "Fern Island" - a little sand/rock island with some ferns on it.

Baby I with mommy

Daddy talking like a hick, Zaners doing whatever his brother tells him to do, and Vito stealing a stick from Gareth.

Zane is pretty fearless and will do almost whatever his brother tells him to do. We expect Zane to get in trouble or hurt later in life and when asked about it, he will state "well, Gareth told me to do it. " I wonder how many times we will hear this. Gareth will ask Zane to do things that he would like to do, but does not have the courage to......but I wouldn't say Zane is courageous.....Zane just doesn't think about it....he doesn't think about the risks......oh goodness child! I wonder where this characteristic will lead him.......it definitely will not be boring! Watch - he will grow up and be an accountant and love it......lol.

Making cookies with Lala

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:47:00 +0000

Lala invited us over for dinner last night. We had pancakes and sausage - yum! The kids played, we made sugar cookies, then skyped Ms. Anna in Oregon. What a great evening! We love Lala!

Gareth had a ton of fun cutting out the cookies. He asked to do it again soon. Maybe we can try to make some next week for Thanksgiving.

Douglas-Hart Nature Center

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:04:00 +0000

Yesterday, while Gareth was in pre-school, I took Zane and Iris to the nature center near Mattoon. It was a very nice center and we look forward to going back to explore the trails. It was cold and rainy yesterday, so we didn't get the chance yesterday. We stayed for a program - they had story time, then we made turkeys by painting out hands/fingers. We will definitely be going back. Maybe I will meet some like minded people there. Yesterday, there was a quiet dad, a nice, but quiet grandma, and 2 unsociable mommies. Better luck next time hopefully.

They had a nice open area with rugs, exhibits, and play area for the kids. They also had a great library area.

Watching the squirrels and birds.

Looking at the fox snake

no real bats, but Zane liked going through the dark bat cave

Look at Ms. Pink Explosion - the big girl is on the go!

Time to Elf Yourself!

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:34:00 +0000

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Chicken harvest

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:22:00 +0000

Brian participated and I observed a broiler chicken harvest this afternoon at our friend, Kate and Ben's house. We are so grateful for the invitation and chance to get hands on experience with this task. We know we want to get egg laying chickens next year, but was unsure if we wanted to take on the task of raising broiler chickens.

Surprisingly, after observing today, I definitely want to do this ourselves. I thought by seeing the killing of the chickens that it may turn me off, but I had the opposite reaction. As I watched the bird alive, struggling, then die, I felt an extreme appreciation for its life and what its death meant. I am glad to have observed this. I have always tried to be cognizant of where my food comes from and feel this reinforces my belief towards respect and appreciation for the meat I eat.

Upon hearing my interest in broiler chickens, Brian quickly did research on it and compared prices to raising/butchering our own compared to buying processed meat at the store. He likes all the benefits of raising our own chickens. :)

This site does a good job explaining the whole butchering process and has links for killing, scalding, and plucking too. It starts with an introduction and has several steps you can click on to read about the process and see pictures.

Following is a slide show of the shots I took from today, along with some highlights.

Catching bird

Placing them in the cone calms and confines them. It also helps the blood drain out.

Killing station - used a utility knife (razor blade) to slice the chicken's neck artery.

Scalding the bird helps loosen the feathers.

Cut the head and feet off. The feet can be used to make excellent chicken stock.

Using a drill attachment to assist in removal of feathers.

Evisceration station

Remove all the innards - save the heart and liver

A visit from Lala

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:34:00 +0000

We were so happy to have Lala visit last weekend. She is in a new relationship, so her time has been consumed by that - we have missed our friend. It was great for her to come out and play and eat dinner.

Lala and her kids

Zane and Lucian - best buds

Luna and Gareth - future couple?

Inside joke....

Balancing act

Lala found a geode in our creek! I want to look for more.

All the kids minus Iris

Exploring the creek

Love this crew!

Running to the fun

Have a great weekend!

Early morning walk

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:23:00 +0000

This past weekend, we woke up bright and early and took daddy down to the creek in our backyard. Usually, I am taking the kids out of here so he can get things done, so it was nice to have him with us. We played by the creek, in/around our favorite trees, on the wood/branch pile, planted some acorns, and played on old farm equipment. All this before 9 AM! What a great morning!

Gareth's first ever school picture!

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:53:00 +0000

Oh my gosh! Look at this boy....he is so grown up! What a cute sweetheart! I know I am biased...but he is seriously a good looking kid! I love it!

Sticker plants

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:37:00 +0000

Since we are outside a lot, we encounter all kinds of plants among our adventures. We are learning to wear clothing that is less susceptible to having those stickers attach to us.

These pics are just a few of the many plants we help spread their seeds around. Don't try washing the stickers out - they only get set deeper into the threads of the fabric! We have tried a few methods to remove them, but what works best is the old fashioned one by one removal by fingers method!

Many tiny spikes

These have 2 spikes that poke in the fabric.

Mean spiky ball

the dreaded mutant spiky dandelion looking leaf - especially when one likes to walk bare foot in their yard - ouch.

Mushrooms growing on old picnic table

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:25:00 +0000

Zane and I found these cool mushrooms growing on top of an old, decaying, abandoned picnic table in the old turkey shed. Did you know that mushrooms are neither plant nor animal? They belong to the Kingdom Fungi. Mushroom and other fungi are pretty cool organisms.

Walnut Point - Puffball fungi and Marbled Orb Weaver

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:43:00 +0000

It was an amazing weekend to get outside. We spent most of the daylight hours outside. On Saturday, Ziza and I took the kids to Walnut Point State Park while Brian got the rest of the insulation placed in the crawl space. After walking on the trail, we played at the playground.

When it was nearing lunch time and time for us to go, a family with young children arrived. Gareth gets excited and says, "look mom, someone is here - maybe they will play with me!" It broke my heart to see them walk right on by to eat their lunch at a table near the lake. I had to explain they were there to eat a picnic and they might play afterwards, but we had to leave soon to go home and eat lunch ourselves. Of all the times we have been to this state park (we go almost weekly), this was the second time we have seen children. What the hell people?! What are you all doing with your family on a beautiful Saturday morning?! Turn off the the damn TV, get outside, and be friendly!!!!! ARGH! I seriously do not get it....... where are all the freakin' people?

One of favorite activities in the world....being outside with my kids exploring....

So nice that Ziza could join us.

We discovered a really cool spider that we never have seen before. After doing some research, we guess it is a Marbled Orb Weaver - it is beautiful! Look at this site for more awesome pictures and information.

On our trail walk, the boys discovered puffball fungi - very cool! They spent way too much time popping the puffballs and spreading the powder through the air. I hope they didn't destroy all the forest with the spreading of massive amounts of fungi powder!

There were a ton of acorns sending out their roots. Grow into a majestic oak tree little seed!

Here are more pics from the day.

Oh what a beautiful life. :)

Indian Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:59:00 +0000

I am not sure if the temperatures actually qualify it to be considered an indian summer, but we sure have been enjoying the warmer, sunny weather recently. It means we can easily get outside and exert some much needed boy energy and momma gets fresh, calming air in her system. We have been exploring our land a bit more, going into the outbuildings and into the back prairie and wooded areas. I am super excited about future plans for these areas! These pics were taken today.

me and my kiddos - love these monkeys!

My sweet baby girl

Climbing and looking for trouble

Flying Gareth

Enjoying a walk with my sweet Zaners

Iris along for the ride taking in all the sights.

Have a great weekend!

Sweet Pea Pics are hung - finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:41:00 +0000

It is about time! It only took 4 months to get them up! First, I delayed hanging them until we actually owned the house, then we got overexcited and bought paint for almost every room and I wanted to get the paint up before I hung pictures, then we found out how much a pain in the ass to strip wall paper is, so painting has been pushed to the side as projects with higher priorities take over. Brian told me several weeks ago to just hang them up if I wanted to enjoy the pics before Iris has another session in January. I finally got to hang them- yay!

I would like to be more creative in my presentation of them, but keep getting pulled back into uniformity. Simple and balanced........ I also need to space the frames so I can use the same nail when new pics placed in the frames are either vertical or horizontal.

Iris

Zane

Gareth

The pics of the 3 kids take the entire span of the hallway wall. After the hallway gets painted the color we want it, I would like to stencil their names under the 8x10 image, beside the 4x6.

New greywater drain

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:00:00 +0000

All of our greywater drains to the pond. We have needed to be conscientious about what laundry detergent, soaps, and cleansers we use because it all drains to the pond. It gets filtered by the plants at the mouth of the pond, but we still want to be responsible about what we are putting into the pond that we eat fish from and will one day swim in.

When we moved in, it was part of the agreement that the drain pipes be in working order. It appeared as if there was a clog somewhere, because the greywater from the house was backing up through the overflow system into the cistern that is only supposed to have rainwater from the rooftop of the house. The prior owners finally took care of the problem for us, so we now have a new pipe running all the way from the house to the pond. We look forward to getting the cistern cleaned up now, putting a pump on it, and using it for watering gardens.

As soon as the boys saw that there was dirt piled up, they ran over there and started playing on it. We got to get out there and level some areas with the tractor, especially on the driveway.

Gareth's first class room

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:40:00 +0000

Last week, I took Zane and Iris and volunteered in Gareth's classroom on Thursday. I feel that I am in the way more than anything with 2 more children I bring, but the teachers ensure me that is not the case. Zane has a good time playing with the older kids and the kids like baby Iris. I may try to go in once a month or two. I like being able to do this so I can see what is going on - it helps me ask questions to Gareth about his day/routine while he is at school.

Circle/story time is held on this rug

Housekeeping area

Library/puzzle/computer area

It is a small room and the stuff is packed in. It doesn't seem to phase the kids at all. They love it.

Gareth continues to love school. He sometimes complains in the morning having to wake up so early, but 99% of the time is happy and excited when the bus comes to pick him up. When he is dropped off at the end of the morning, he often does not want to leave the bus. I swear he would live at pre-school if he was able. He has stated several times, I don't want to come home, Home is a bad place, we were bad people, etc. What the hell kid?! I asked him today if we were really that bad and he yelled yes! Excuse me?! The nice bus lady is going to start worrying that the dang kid is getting abused around here! geesh! It is brutal! The bus lady said today that most kids cry when they have to get ON the bus! As she pulls away, he often stands there, cries, and reaches out to the bus driving away! Seriously, child! You are embarrassing momma here - we really are not that bad! I am glad he is enjoying it so much, but I would appreciate some love thrown my way too kiddo!

A Walk with Papa

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:19:00 +0000

Jumpin in the leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:02:00 +0000

Overwintering

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:15:00 +0000

This is just one post in the pole barn that the MALB' s (multicolored Asian lady beetles) have chosen to overwinter themselves. They also have found their ways into small cracks in plastic storage bins (the ones that have air holes in the handles). I opened up a bin with electrical stuff and a tool box and found several dozen hiding out in there. Ugh! How many do you think is on this one post?!

3 children, 3 years, same outfit

noreply@blogger.com (Carla) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Iris - October 2009 - 9 months old

Zane - October 2007 - 1 month old

Gareth - October 2006 - 4 months old