Life Cycle of a Butterfly- Our First "Official" Homeschool Preschool Science Project

This Spring, we have officially enrolled our 4 year old in home school preschool through
Seton Homeschooling!  Homeschooling, to us, is a mental state and a way of life.  Whether or not a child is sent to a public learning institution, their home should always be a place where they learn from the people who love them the most.

Our curriculum consists of Art & Music, Handwriting, Literacy, Mathematics, Physical Education, and Religion.  I am adding Science & History as well because my preschooler absolutely LOVES these subjects, especially science.

Everyday is a science experiment with these two boys, but we completed our first "official" project in our science journal yesterday- The Life Cycle of a Butterfly.  We caught several hungry caterpillars, watched them turn into a chrysalis one at a time, and waited patiently for 11 days.  Yesterday our first butterfly emerged- a beautiful Black Swallowtail Butterfly!  He was pretty sad when it flew away, but it's all a lesson in life.

A hungry caterpillar in it's second stage of it's life cycle.

Finally, the fourth stage- a butterfly!  So exciting!

Our Black Swallowtail Butterfly.  It's beautiful pattern is designed to keep away predators- looks like a large, scary bird from above!

3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge: Day 3

It's day three and the Flats and Handwashing challenge is going quite well.  I've been a fan of flat diapers for over a year, but hand washing was my challenge.  It's actually not too bad!  They wash out very easily in the camp-style washer we made.  A few months ago, I washed flats & line dried for two days in a hotel bathroom without this camp- style washer & it wasn't bad at all.  Tonight will be my first time drying hand washed diapers indoors.  Since I'm sure they'll be dripping wet, I plan on moving my accordion drying rack into the bathtub.

Line drying diapers with Little G.

I had a little fun with fleece!  I decided to cut up a cheap fleece blanket into stay-dry inserts to lay on top of Little G's diapers.  It was so easy to cut the fabric, no sewing needed.  It kept her bottom dry for nap time and made washing out poopies super easy too!  I also make a quick, cute little headband with scrap fleece.

A Flip one-size cover in Bubble, with a simple stay-dry liner made from a cheap fleece blanket.

A fleece headband, for fun.  I couldn't resist.

Read more about this awesome diaper challenge here:
Dirty Diaper Laundry 3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge

3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge: Day 2

Using flat diapers is truly easy and affordable.  I've tried several different flats and really love them all.  My favorites are the unbleached Clotheez flats from Green Mountain Diapers.   They are so durable and hold their shape very well.  Small is a perfect size.  The large is nice for origami folds on larger baby and pad folded fits perfect into a one-size cover opened up to largest rise.

Top to bottom:
1.  Geffen Baby- Hemp Jersey Flat diaper, 60% hemp/40% cotton.  Only comes in one size & it's fairly small, but on a small baby it's perfect.  Luxuriously soft and absorbent.  But it's $6.95 for one diaper.
2.  Green Mountain Diapers- Cloth-eez Birdseye Flat diaper, size small, 100% cotton.  My go-to diaper!  Holds a nearly perfect square shape, very durable, cleans so easily and dries the quickest!  $12.00 for 6, not a bad price at all.
3.  Hemp Babies- Flat Weeds.  55%hemp/45% organic cotton.  One size, it's a perfect size.  Only a single layer, but Very absorbent!  However it takes the longest to air dry and  the texture is a bit rougher than the others.  I love this flat for nap time, nighttime, or car rides.  $7.50 for one diaper.
4.  An Old Receiving Blanket-  100% cotton.  I have to say, this is a very soft, very absorbent, and very economical option for diapering!  If you don't have extras, check local resale shops!  Receiving blankets are just as awesome as my purchased flats!
5.  Green Mountain Diapers-  Cloth-eez Birdseye Flat diaper, unbleached in size large, 100% cotton.  Another go-to diaper, but too big before baby was 15 pounds.  $13.50 for 6, still a great price for a quality flat diaper.

I primarily pad fold my flats in Thirsties duo wrap covers or Flip covers because this option is quick and fits both my kiddos that use diapers.  (My baby girl is in diapers full time.  My 2nd son is potty training, so he uses diapers when we head to town, out for the day, at nap & nighttime).  These covers hand wash very easily and dry extremely quick, especially the Thirsties covers.  Flip covers really are one-size!  We have loved them from when baby was about 8 pounds to my toddler that's almost 3 years old and weighs 38 pounds!  I almost always add a cotton or hemp doubler inside the pad fold, but not for this challenge.  My other favorite fold is the origami fold, using a Snappi to secure and covering with Thirsties cover with snaps, fleece or wool covers.  Both fleece and wool covers at nighttime rock!  No leaks!  No wet sheets at 3am!  I've never tried the fancy expensive ones, but our WAHM made fleece and wool are so affordable, fit awesome and work great!

Thirsties Duo wrap, Size 2 in Ocean, with the Cloth-eez large flat.  Snap closure does not have the inner flap to tuck the pad-folded diaper into, but it still works great!  Thirsties have double gussets at the leg openings that prevent leaks.

Thirsties size 2 on my nearly 3 year old, 38 pound son, who still needs a diaper when we head out of the house.

Thirsties size 1 in Rose with aplix closure.  Aplix closure has an inner flap that's nice for pad-folded diapers.  

Thirsties size 2 in Orchid with aplix closure on the smallest rise setting.  She's only about 17 pounds.  Size 2 covers a really wide weight range.  

Flip one-size diaper cover in Blossom with a pad folded flat and a cloth-eez cotton doubler on top.   Flips have a flap for the diaper inserts to tuck into in both the front & back, but no double gusset.  I usually fold a doubler inside the flat, but occasionally add it at the last minute like this.

I'm also a fan of using cloth wipes.  For a long time I used the cheap Wal-Mart baby wash cloths and they work fabulous.  Also, cutting up one of my husband's old t-shirts gave me a bunch of cloth wipes that also double as diaper liners when using diaper rash cream.

Drying cloth wipes (& nursing pads) indoors.  These wipes are Green Mountain Diapers Birdseye 2-ply wipes.  Great quality,  perfect wiping texture from the Birdseye, extremely durable.  I don't like wipes to be too soft because they just slide right over the mess without cleaning it up!

For this Flats and Handwashing Challenge, my husband made me a camp-style washer.  For my first hand wash, I used the plunger without holes drilled and it worked fine.  However, with the holes in the plunger, the water really works thoroughly through the diapers and seems to clean better!  And less splashing!  We can really use this for camping and for hurricane season when we loose power.  I love it!!  Right now, I'm using Nellie's Laundry Soda and it works great.  It's biodegradable and non-toxic.

My 4 year old was curious and wanted to help wash.  He did a pretty awesome job!  This was the wash without holes drilled in the plunger.

Camp-style clothes washer with plunger.

Camp-style clothes washer with plunger.  Holes drilled into plunger makes water flow through clothes & cleans wonderfully!

Read more about this awesome challenge here:
Dirty Diaper Laundry 3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Speaking of dirty laundry...

For the last 30 days, I have not used a clothes dryer.  It's been another challenge for me, but so far I've managed much better than I expected.  It started out of necessity- our electricity went wacky after a lightening storm.  My husband tried to explain the problem to me, but it sounded like the grown-ups speaking on Peanuts (Sorry, babe).  Basically, we couldn't run our air conditioner or our clothes dryer.  Boo.  

Oddly enough, this is not unlike the situation which lead to our television-free home.  It's been well over two years since our we've had television programming and we don't feel we need it.  We do enjoy watching movies that we select during some of our free time, but regular television is no longer in our lives.  

So, I have always hung the occasional load of clothes to dry out on the clothes line.  Usually clothes would get hung indoors to avoid rain or dogs tearing down the clothes, but I've always enjoyed hanging the clothes outside.  So serene and peaceful to hang out a load of clothes, while a gentle breeze sweeps the stresses of the day away.....

Well, with a fairly dirty family of five and two using cloth diapers, housework without a clothes dryer meant a whole new routine.  Every single sock, panties, bras, nursing pads, diapers and doublers, thick jeans, bed sheets, bed sheets for potty training boys, more diapers, quilted comforters, bath towels, dish towels, face towels, socks, socks, socks......   (deep breath....)  Every piece of dirty laundry still has to be washed and dried- and now I have to physically hang it up and take it down, AND still fold it and put it away.  At any given moment, I usually have clothes drying in several rooms of the house because my small outside clothes line and rainy days make it difficult.  

I totally took the luxury of my clothes dryer for granted.  Being able to throw a load of clothes into the dryer and head to bed was SO nice.  I've grown to love hanging clothes out to dry much more than in the past, but as soon as I have a functioning dryer again, I will use it for whites (socks & sheets), towels & jeans.  My thick, fluffy towels are waiting patiently at the bottom of the shelf for now.

3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge: Day 1

With all the things that need to get done lately, accepting this challenge almost seemed ridiculous... just one more thing on my daily to-do list, the list that seems to expand by the minute!  However, I feel like the benefits of using cloth diapers should be known and appreciated by everyone and therefore, I want to help in this awareness effort.  Plus, I just like to stay super busy!

The 3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge is to raise awareness of the economical & easy option that cloth diapering can bring to nearly every single family, whatever their situation might be.  One in three families struggle to provide diapers for their babies.  Disposable diapers can be so expensive (especially when you have more than one child in diapers at once), and they fill up your trashcan extremely fast, stinking up your house.  The long list of chemicals used to make disposable diapers is another issue all together!  I've been cloth diapering consistently for a little over 2 years now. About a year ago, I tried using flat Birdseye diapers & I fell in love with them!  They are so versatile, & work just as well as my prefold diapers, microfiber inserts, all-in-ones, etc.  Flats and covers are inexpensive, wash up very clean, and dry quick!  Actually, a flat hung outside usually dries quicker than any clothes in the dryer!

Green Mountain Flat Diaper, size small, pad folded in a zinnia Flip cover on second rise setting.  Perfect!

Challenge Contestant - Little G, 10.5 months old- in her Flip & flat.  :)

Line drying clothes and diapers indoors is an essential back up to an outdoor clothes line, especially when heading out for the day.    Rain or playful stray dogs are not an issue this way.

Read more about this awesome challenge here:
Dirty Diaper Laundry 3rd Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Playroom DISASTER

Last night, my husband & I decided to let the boys play unsupervised in their playroom while we watched a movie.  Little G had already fallen asleep.   The playroom is directly next to the living room & we kept the door open- audibly checking on them, making sure they were still alive, not hurt and happy.  From the sounds coming from their playroom, they were having so much fun together... exploring, going on adventures,... pretend time was at an all time high.  My husband & I kept laughing & smiling at each other as we heard the boys play.  They're so cute together.  It was nice, relaxing.  We watched a movie together (well, about 3/4 of it...).
And then, they were quiet.  A little too quiet.  I peeked into the playroom to visibly check on them and teared up.  I kind of wanted to cry, but laughing seemed easier.  It was a complete DISASTER!  Their parent-free adventures had turned the room & all the organization into chaos.  Dinosaurs had walked through Elmer's glue, leaving tracks everywhere.  They had finger painted the roof of the little silo.  There was a quite beautiful painting made with a combination of poster paint & half a bottle of glue that broke free of the boundaries of the paper, onto the wood floor.  The toy box and stuffed animal basket were emptied and my older son was inside of the one of them, smiling "We're having Adventures!".  His little brother, the artist, was beginning a second masterpiece, saying "I making Art!"  And the Legos.  Those Legos!  At least 200 pieces of choke-hazard plastic scattered all over the place!  Rrrrr.
Deep breath.  Deep breath.........  Those 45 minutes of relaxing with my husband were totally worth it.  I gave them a bath, wiped the glue off the floor & turned off the light.  We finished our movie & went to bed.
This morning, before any of them woke up, I finished the clean up.  It took an entire hour... an entire hour out of my precious morning-prep alone time, but the playroom had become a danger zone and I wanted it taken care of right away before I had to do the heimlich maneuver on the baby.  Order in the playroom is now restored.  Yay!

Making Laundry Detergent

One of my most recent frugal efforts has been making our own laundry detergent.  It's really easy & usually done while watching a movie.  After making a batch a liquid detergent that I thoroughly disliked, I decided the powder form was for me.  The liquid detergent was gloppy & solidified to a hard gel after a while.  Even shaking the bottle didn't help.  The powder form is easier to make & stores much longer, even in our drafty, old house.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Here's the recipe I use:

1.  Grate 1 laundry bar soap.  Felz Naptha works great for us.  I tried Zote, but it didn't seem to clean the clothes at all.  I read that you can use Ivory soap, but I haven't tried it yet.  I think choosing the base soap is a matter of trial & error.  Everyone has different water types and levels of dirtiness.  Our water is rather hard and all of our clothes tend to get pretty dirty by the of the day.  (Dirt, oil, grease, dirt, food, kids' paint, boogers, did I mention dirt yet??)

2. Place grated soap in a blender and add 1 1/2 cups of Arm & Hammer All-Natural Super Washing Soda & 1 cup of 20 Mule Team All-Natural Borax.  Blend it for about 30 seconds, until it's an evenly mixed fine powder.
I have an old blender that I no longer use for food, only for making the detergent.  The blending step could be skipped if you're concerned about possibly breathing in the borax.  I just try to be very careful, & never do it around the kids.  I like to blend it because it gives each scoop an even mix of all 3 ingredients.

3.  Then pour it into a container & you're done!  I store ours in an empty rice container with a lid and use an old scoop to measure.  I use 2 scoops (4 Tbsp), but like I said, our water is hard and our clothes are always really dirty.

The detergent WILL NOT make lots of suds/bubbles in washer & it's not supposed to.  It works great on all our clothes, even my husband's really dirty clothes and my baby girl's clothes.

One thing I'm wondering about though.....
We use cloth diapers and using borax on them is a big No-No.  Supposedly it wears the cotton & hemp fabrics down really bad.  For the diapers, we use different diaper-safe soaps, like Bum Genius diaper detergent, Rockin' Green Hard Rock soap, and Nellie's All-Natural Laundry Soda.
If borax is bad for the cotton/hemp diapers, is it not bad for the cotton clothes?  I've been using our homemade laundry detergent consistently for about 5 months now and haven't had a problem.  Has anyone had any problems using borax on regular clothes??

Fast forward

Well, a lot has changed since my last post.  I am now a busy mother of three!  My little girl is now 10 months old and she has filled our hearts to the top!  Her big brothers have been so wonderful & loving towards her.  It's been nice having a little pink in the laundry.

This past Fall & Winter held lots of excitement for us.  My husband returned home from his deployment from the Middle East & was Finally able to hold his daughter!  She was 3.5 months old when he made it home.  I'll always remember he first time he held & kissed her.  The boys and I were so completely happy to have him home.  He had planned a trip for us- Disney World.  The boys had SO MUCH FUN!  They still talk about it almost everyday!  Even little G rode quite a few rides!  Having their daddy home for Christmas was a blessing.  We also extracted our first sizable amount of honey from our hive.  That was fun & delicious.  I'll have to make another post on that.

Before all the bags were unpacked, we started to make progress on our house... starting from scratch, no utilities, just the land.  My husband & I decided to be our own contractor.  We also decided not to get a mortgage.  So for us, that meant the process would be slower and we'd be doing quite a bit of the work ourselves.  We are still under construction, but thankfully the house is dried in now. It has been kind of crazy & hectic... a whirlwind of excitement & totally worth it!

How to Make Homemade Bath Salts

I had been wanting to make bath salts lately, since I love epsom salt in a bath.  Well, since my mom & one of my sisters have a birthday this month and both of them have been dealing with a bit of stress lately, I figured why wait.  It turned out quite nice... relaxing!  Here's the easy recipe I used:

• 1 cup of epsom salt (magnesium sulfate)- helps relieve sore muscles
• 1 cup of baking soda (bicarbonate soda)- it has a great softening effect on skin
• 2 Tbsp. of liquid glycerin- a skin protectant
• Several drops of essential oil- I used Lavender because it's calming and stress-relieving qualities.
• Food coloring- I don't plan on using this again.  It made the salts look very pretty, but it was an unnecessary step.

1.  Mix epsom salt and baking soda thoroughly.  My boys had a little fun before bedtime helping with this step!

2.  Add glycerin and essential oil.  Also add the food coloring, if you choose to.  Mix well.  I used my fingers to really break down the clumps.  The mixture was the consistency of nice beach sand.

3.  Add additional oil and coloring, if desired.  I used 6 drops of the lavender.


4.  Transfer mixture to a container with a good lid.  I used a canning funnel to help keep the salt off the threads of the jar.


5.  Let it stand at least 24 hours before using. The oil needs time to absorb into the salt.

Nesting Interrupted

At one point, I thought the whole concept of an expectant mother's urge to "nest" or prepare for the coming of her baby was made up and kind of silly... until I felt that urge myself.  With my first son, I remember finding myself scrubbing the inside of the washing machine with a small brush to get it nice and clean.  I had also stayed up late at night to keep up with washing everything I thought the baby might come in contact with.  With my second son, I found myself scrubbing the inside & outside of the refrigerator, and obsessively cleaning cabinets that would store baby's things.  Now, with my daughter on the way, that nesting urge had been interrupted by our cross-country road-trip to spend a few last weeks with my husband before his deployment.  The trip was so totally worth it, I'd do it again in a heartbeat, even though I had to drive alone 8 months pregnant, with our two & three year olds across the country.  Every day since we've been back home, I find myself trying to play catch-up to nest and prepare, especially knowing I'll be flying solo for about 6 more months after she arrives.  It's such an instinctive urge as a mother.  I admit, there's been quite a few days that I've left more important things alone to focus on washing the window blinds and curtains, washing all her clothes, even spending a little too much time at the grocery store trying to stock up on things we'll need.
On another note, our chickens' nesting and roosting had also been interrupted while we were away.  Raccoons found them and started making a daily meal out of the chickens and their eggs.  So now, the chickens are roosting and laying in different places.  Not a good thing.  One of our Plymouth Rock hens went broody for about two weeks.  This is pretty unusual for this breed.  Our bees, however, seem to have had no interruptions.  The hive was almost completely full of built comb and filled with yummy honey.  They were working on capping the honey.  I plan on adding two more surplus supers to the hive before spring is over.

Lots of change... some good... some bad.

It seems like our life has been changing so much lately... shaken up, put in a blender, flipped & flopped around.  In the end, it is what it is and all we can do is smile.
This year was starting out pretty great & exciting.  My husband and I were finalizing our house plans, getting ready to start construction this year.  He had recently been promoted at work.  We had just increased our chicken flock, with plans of building a new coop on our land and eventually having enough eggs to sell.  We were also successful in catching a healthy swarm of honey bees.  Best of all, we were expecting baby #3!  A girl!
Then in March, we received the news.  My husband, who is in the U.S. Naval Reserves, was being mobilized and deployed to the Middle East for the remainder of the year.  What?!  Really?!  No!  My heart sank.
With only three weeks to accept this new reality, start making plans, packing, taking required training courses, and just having fun and enjoying our time together... his last few days at home flew by ridiculously fast.  This would be his third deployment since we had been married, so we both knew what to expect.  For every fun moment my husband and I had, there was a hint of sadness, knowing what was ahead.  Our boys, ages 3 & 2, had no idea what to expect or how to deal with separation from their daddy.  Sure, we did our best to explain daddy's long trip and why he had to go, but we knew they didn't fully understand.
I was very thankful for the time both he and I were able to spend at home together before he left.  I am thankful that he has a wonderful civilian job with a supportive boss and coworkers.  I am also thankful that we both somewhat knew what to expect from a deployment so that we were able to better mentally prepare ourselves and our boys for it.
So now, we just keep moving forward, knowing that we have each other and as long as we keep a positive outlook everyday, we'll be fine!  I think a daily positive outlook is one of the main keys to a happy life.  Of course, some days make it very difficult to see any good through all the yucky, mucky, harsh realities... but every day is sooo worth it if we keep making a conscious decision to enjoy the all good, learn from and appreciate the bad, and be happy in our life!

The most wonderful husband ever, Julio,
with our two boys, Alexander & Christopher.

Hip Hip Hooray! It RAINED!

As we stepped outside this morning, it seemed as though it had rained, but it was hard to believe.  So we searched for signs.  Yes, the driveway had a puddle... yes, the grass was still wet... yes, the mosquitos were out.  That's a sure sign.  The night had brought a refreshing, much needed RAIN!  Not even an inch, but we were very thankful for it.

The flock seemed extra perky this morning, since they were all very pleased with the rain, as well.  It brought an abundance of bugs that were creeping around, perfect for a breakfast snack.  Here, our little Lavender Bantam Ameraucana rooster was keeping his lookout while the Mrs. was eating.  He's such a good natured rooster.

Lavender Bantam Ameraucana Rooster, 12 weeks old

We had a tasty breakfast from the garden, too.  A bowl of sweet red beets and cucumbers, peanuts and orange juice.  Okay, so it's not very conventional... but who can deny a toddler's request for a bowl of veggies?  Not me.  Both boys love their veggies, so far.  I realize that may change, but we are definitely trying to foster this love of theirs.

The cat that ate the chickens

On the subject of chicken predators, I really thought we would have a problem with the pack of coyotes we hear howling at the train or the snakes we find in our yard on a nearly regular basis.  The hawks that hang out nearby don't seem very friendly either.  I did not think our biggest predator would come in the form of a beautiful cat.

Over the last few weeks, this cat has stalked and murdered some of our poor chickens.  He waited for the right moment to capture and devour.  Since the flock is fairly young, they've been free-ranging only while we are at home.  A couple weeks ago, we were enjoying the afternoon... I was tending to the garden, while Alexander was busy raking dirt and the chickens happily looked for bugs.  I took the boys inside only to change their diapers & get some water.  When we stepped back outside, I knew something was wrong.  The whole flock was suddenly looking for food across the yard from where they had been.  I did a quick head count... one missing.  A Red Sexlink.  Knowingly, I ran for the corn field and sure enough that awful cat was hiding just within one of the rows.  He had just started his tasty meal.  This was the second time Alexander was able to see what the cat was doing to his poor chickens.  I wonder if he'll like cats as an adult...   

We put a trap up to capture the cat... I even placed the fresh remains of the meal I interrupted that day in the trap, hoping he would come in to finish.  No luck.  He was smart.  My uncle, who knew we had a problem with this cat, was also on the lookout for it.  He, however, had another method of elimination in mind.  Growing up on a farm with a long lineage of the trade, this is just a perfectly normal process.  You have to eliminate the predator... even if it is a soft, brightly colored cat.  Well, he had a chance one afternoon.  He thought he may have hit the cat, but apparently he wasn't completely successful.  

Yesterday, I heard this awful crying.  It scared me, but I looked for the source anyway.  It was the cat, now very skinny and weak.  I left it there for the moment, not sure if I should feed it or put it out of its misery.  When Julio, my husband, took a look at the cat, he decided to put it in the kennel.  We could feed it, and when it was better, either release it far from here or take it to the SPCA.  So, we served the cat milk-soaked bread and bologna meat with a bowl of water.  He ate it quickly, without even lifting his head.  Alexander kept trying to poke its orange and white fur with a stick, stating in his concerned little voice, "That cat ate my chickens"!  

When Julio came home, the kennel was empty.  Neither of us is sure what happened.

We can choose to believe that we actually helped the cat, ...this awful cat that made a meal of several of our chickens.  Maybe he grew strong enough to get out of the kennel.

Neither of us thinks we'll ever see the cat again.  

RIP, murdering kitty.  We had forgiven you.

Adopted a few more chickens today!

I just went out to check on our new pullets.  It's their first night here with us.  Is that the "mother" in me?  They were fine... all sleeping peacefully.

I did see something exciting, though.  The night sky was lit up with beautiful lighting to the North!  Please, please RAIN!  All the poor animals are probably considering a refreshing Memorial Day weekend at the river and the plants are probably cursing their roots for preventing such a break from this drought.

We added six pullets to our flock:  three Buff Orpingtons and three Ameraucanas.  The Orpingtons are supposed to be very calm and gentle chickens that lay very well.  Maybe when they're full grown, they will still be calm enough for my toddler... he just loves his chickens!  The Ameraucanas are nicknamed "Easter Egg Chickens" because they're eggs are blue and green tinted.  However, I'm not completely sure what variety we have.  I think they are the silver, but I'm not quite sure yet.  We're keeping these six separate from the flock in a kennel next to the coop.  They're still a little too young to join the flock and will need to be slowly introduced to the more dominant chickens.