Tappin' Time

March in Western PA means two things... Mud and Maple Syrup.  You got to go through one to get to the other.

We tap of course for the sweetness of the syrup, but mostly, we tap because we do this together.  I realized while watching The Woodsman, the kids and Farmer Dan collect sugar water and sit around the fire that this is how we create love.

Some things never lose their magic - I drank a fresh, just tapped, drop myself.

It's also great to see how much the kids are able to do independently from year to year.
 

No need for fancy gifts - let's just spend meaningful time together.  It's a sweetness that will last far longer than the syrup.

Love you Daddy!

In Which We Venture North....

Last week, after several very busy weeks of preparing for, and doing our school production of Alice In Wonderland, the kids and I took off and headed North for a week of time with family and friends.

The Girl as "Lily", a sassy flower that makes fun of small Alice, sitting on the magic mushroom painted by Farmer Dan.

If you've spent any time reading about our lives, you'll know that the three of us are winter lovers to the core.  We spent two glorious days skiing at Killington.  I loved the long runs, and the kids loved the gondolas and the terrain parks.  We also really enjoyed spending time with family - both on and off the slopes.

The view from halfway up.

My sister, AKA ski buddy
First time ever I was ahead of her the whole time - another great reason to be a ski instructor next year.

Adventure Bob and The Girl at the top of the mountain

First run- headed down Great Northern

In the K-1 Gondola

Killington offers complimentary ski tours of the mountain.  They call it "The Beast" it's so huge.
We took an awesome 3 hour tour with Glenn on our first morning.  

 Then, on the way home we spent a few days in Manhatten.  We celebrated birthdays at The Jekyll and Hyde Club (wish I'd been faster with my camera so I could have gotten a shot of the sparklers in their birthday Sundaes), spent all day at the American Museum of Natural History, enjoyed great New York pizza and bagels, and soaked up time with our favorite New Yorkers.

Dr. Brain really wanted The Boy's hair to use for his mop.  Such a fantastic actor, so much to see and do.

Minerva, the maid, gives The Girl some French lessons (about eating dogs, but not cats).

Side Note:  If you take kids to NYC be sure to include The Jekyll and Hyde Club and the American Natural Museum of Natural History on your itinerary.  The former is a dinner theater restaurant with a decour filled with curious and interactive curiousities, and characters like Dr. Brain (who performs "surgery" to create a Frankenstein like monster).  Another bonus, for New York, the prices are very reasonable - about $15 for kid entree and drink, and $20 for adults.  The later is the biggest Natural History Museum we've even visited.  We've spent two full days there, and still haven't seen everything.  While there is a suggested admission price, you are free to pay what you will - another bonus for families on a budget.  

Underneath the Blue Whale in the Ocean Room - my favorite place in the museum.

Climbing rocks in Central Park (because that's what my kids do no matter where they visit).

On the Alice statue in Central Park

With the Balto statue in Central Park - We've been reading about the Iditarod.

 I returned refreshed, and ready to take on the busy spring.  In the world of Education - once you get to April, the school year moves at light speed toward the approaching state tests.  Soccer will start soon, and the garden is a disaster of weeds begging to be saved from last year's summer neglect.

Winter, despite today's spring snow and one final ski day planned on Sunday, is on it's way out.  But for now, I'll enjoy the year's last snow day, revel in the sound of the wood popping in the stove, and savor the last of the relaxation.

The Crocus will win this match.

Menu Planning, Substitution and Doubling to Freeze - Three Essential Tools for Healthy and Frugal Eating

Periodically, after a conversation about the current busy state of my family's life, someone will say something like, "I just don't know how you do it all."  My answer?  I'm organized and a plan ahead.  

The other day I heard a report on the amount of food that typical households waste.  Can you guess?  It was 40%.  That's crazy!  Americans are wasting almost half of the food they buy.  The NRDC said that the average family throws away $2,275 annually.  I almost stopped the car.  

Then I begin to wonder why?  The only answer I could come up with was lack of planning.  There are two tools that help us to eat well, and use up what we already have before we buy more.  First, I plan a menu.  I usually sit down on Sunday afternoon and think about the week ahead.  I then match the food we'll eat for supper to the kind of evening we'll be having.  The second tool I use is substitution.  I don't always follow the recipe to the letter.  Sometimes I use what I have.  For example, the pot pies below are intended to be made with potatoes, chicken, and a homemade white sauce.  I had turkey, turnips and potatoes and turky gravey.  Guess what?  The substitution version was just as good as the standard one.  Not a single person noticed - in fact, everyone aksed for seconds.  The final tool in my frugal kitchen kit is that usually, if I'm cooking something from scratch I'm doubling, or even tripling what I'm making.  The extra dishes go into the freezer for busy week nights.  

Every Lent I challange myself to spend as little as possible a the grocery store.  I want to use up what I have before the summer comes and we're wallowing in produce and processing.  Maybe this year, you can do the same?

The top line is breakfast; the bottom one is supper.

Snow Days and Birthdays

I am unappologetic about loving winter.  I love the peace and serenity.  I love the time we get to spend together as a family.  I love the beauty.  I love the warm cozy clothes, heavy covers and the crackling fire.  I love the comforting soups, stews and casseroles that fill both body and soul.  I love it all, and I'm always a little sad when winter is over.

When winter started I was aprehensive about working a part-time job as a ski instructor, but have come to love spending my time there.  Yes, it's made life a little bit crazier at home.  But, mostly it's given me a chance to spend some time doing something I love while getting paid to do so.  With only one more weekend to go, I can say that I'll be back next season without a doubt.

We started the weekend by having a great group of girls spend the night to celebrate our oldest's birthday.  I love all of these girls like they're my own.  They spent a large portion of their evening paiting nails and singing Taylor Swift songs together.  It seems like just yesterday they were playing games of pretend.  There's still a lot of goofy in them though... I hope they hang on to that as they grow up.

Added bonus to them getting older - they make the birthday cake themselves!

We've been blessed with several late winter snow storms, and the last one hit right before the boy's early birthday party.  It wound up being a warm, sunny day perfect for playing outside for several hours.  Then the boys were happy to move inside for cake and games (Minecraft themed and mostly kid created).

A Mooshroom, Pigs, Chickens, Sheep (in several colors) and a Cow created from homemade fondant.  Easier than expected.

Pin the tail on the pig

I tried - it's impossible to get a good picture of ten year old boys.

The Woodsman is not quite as enamored about winter as I am - loading the woodbox and keeping the fire going leaves less time for play.  But me, I'm still hoping for one more good storm.  

"Enduring winter is only a start—embracing winter is what you should strive for."  Garrison Keillor

Read more: http://www.rd.com/culture/garrison-keillor-winter/#ixzz3SWxr2vHe

How in the Hell Do They Manage?

I've spent the past three days being a single parent.  The Woodsman has been in the hospital with appendicitis since Friday, and had been minimally functional the entire week before he was admitted to the ER.  He's going to make a full recovery and we've all managed.  The kids are great at pitching in (thank goodness they are reliable, independent and mostly self-entertaining at this point), and we have a fantastic support network. But this is really the first time I've been on my own at home for an extended period of time.

The first night was filled with anxiety and uncertainty.  The weather was terrible and the roads were dangerous.  I had been instructed by many people that loved me, including my spouse, to remain at home with the kids.  There was nothing I could do if I went to the hospital, and I risked putting the rest of us in danger.  I called the people who keep me centered, and they told me what I needed to hear - stay home, and call us later if you need us.  I prayed, reached out for support, and eventually sunk into an uneasy sleep.  In between all of that I took care of the animals, kept the fire going, got the kids ready for bed, made plans for where they could go if I needed to leave suddenly, and updated relatives on The Woodsman's prognosis.

The next day I kept the phone line open waiting for news, and alternated between understanding that staying put was still the wisest decision, and wanting to forget reason and opperate on emotion instead.  I don't do well sitting and waiting.  Luckily, because I've been working a lot on the weekend there was a long list of  projects to tackle.  I spent the day practicing cooking and decluttering therapy and doing the jobs he usually does (filling the woodbox, dealing with the dogs, etc.). By this point I had a phone number and could call periodically to see if there was any news.  There wasn't.  Finally, late in the afternoon there was a decision.   He would not be having surgery, but he would also not be coming home any time soon.  So I picked up my mother-in-law, dropped off the kids at a friend's house and headed for a short visit.

When I eventually got home with the kids it was late and the list of tasks to be accomplished before sleep was long.  Despite the late night, we got ourselves to church on time, and then left early so we could make it to the hospital before visiting hours were over.

I don't know what hospitals are like at the moment in your area, but getting into our local hospital required an unbelievable amount of red tape and questioning.  Visiting hours are severely restricted.  Patients may only have two visitors at a time.  Visitors must sign in and sign out.  They must wear badges.  They must keep their badge visible so the security guard can view it.  They must be over 18.
Did you catch that last one?  They must be over 18.  Well, somehow I missed that on my visit the night before.  We got to the hospital with one hour of visiting time remaining, and proceeded through the line to receive our visitor's badge.  When the receptionist told me that the kids couldn't go up to visit their Dad I almost lost it.

Up until this point I'd managed to remain calm and focused on the outside while being a swirl of emotions inside.  The kids did not need my emotions to cause them any more stress.  Did they not get it?  We hadn't come for ourselves.  We'd come for him.  Did they not know that the only thing he wanted from home was his children?  Were they not parents?  Did they not have hearts?

Despite my best efforts I teared up, and had trouble speaking.  I was told the policy was clearly posted around the hospital and that they could not allow anyone under 18 to be admitted due to the risk of flu transmission.  It didn't matter that our family had already suffered through the flu (both Type A and B visited our house the week before Christmas) and that we were not contagious, nor could we be infected.  They had their policies.

Thankfully, the volunteers working the front desk did have compassion, and they set to working on getting permission to make an exception for us.  After fifteen minutes of waiting in line, and trying to be patient, they were finally given the go ahead to send us upstairs.

The visit went well, and it certainly brightened his spirits.  But then, too soon, it was time to go.  Groceries needed purchased, animals needed fed, lunch needed to be found, dinner needed made, preparations needed to be made for Monday.  My husband was healing, but for the moment I was still on my own.

Again, the same routine of chores and updating folks and sending to bed.  Once the house was quiet it hit me.  Not only was there the extra stress of double the work, and double the parenting, but it was pretty damn lonely here.  It was so quiet - too quiet, and I'm a person who craves quiet.  I feed off of silence.  I have wonderful friends.  I have a fantastic family.  I'm well loved and well supported.
It didn't matter.  I missed the conversation, but mostly I just missed his presence.  Mostly in the evenings we're both off doing our own thing, but he's here.  He's here to say goodnight to and even when we sleep apart (the snoring I did not miss) I know he's nearby.  I hear the grate squeak on the fire, and I know he's keeping us warm.  I hear the lock turn in the door and I know he's keeping us safe.  He is a solid, comforting, dependable presence, and I can't imagine life without him.

I started to think about my friends who are on their own.  Some have lost their spouses to death.  Some through divorce.  Some are on their own frequently because their partners work long hours or travel frequently.  How do they do it?  How do they manage the day to day needs of their families and households?  And then, when they've taken care of all of the practicalities, how do they manage the silence?  How do they deal with the thousand little reminders that the life they started as two has been divided?

I know they manage.  I know they're OK, and I know they have support networks too.  I know they're strong and they do what they need to do.  I know that get through each day and each moment at a time.  I knew it before, but the past few days have given me a taste of their lives.  I can imagine how tough even the little moments must be, and I understand why our kids at school who have lost a parent, or who are in single parent homes often struggle.  

My stint with single parenthood is almost over.  God Bless those of you who are on that train for the rest of your lives.  Call me will you?  I'd like to help fill your silence.

Antelope Island and Golden Spike

 When we left Dinosaur National Monument we headed to the Great Salt Lake.  We were all very excited about being able to float in the lake.  I may have been looking forward to going more than the rest of us because we had run out of time to visit when I was a kid and my sister and I had spent many conversations lamenting the fact that we'd never been able to float without sinking.

Sometimes things that you've anticipated for a long time turn out to be worth the wait, other times you wish you'd never managed to fulfill that dream.

Antelope Island State Park was the biggest, gnat infested, desolate place I have ever been.  The lake shore looked like something from another planet - dead birds, cracked earth and salt residue.  The water itself was full of tiny brine shrimp, and was covered with huge clouds of gnats.  So many that the surface of the water looked black.  But, we were there, and we were going to float.

The floating part was enjoyable.  It was impossible to sink, but I just couldn't get past the sheer disgustingness of the whole experience.  After about 15 minutes we were all done.  Once we got out the salt residue immediately began to condense on our skin.  I have never felt so foul.  We showered, changed and headed into town for the best meal of our trip at a Mexican Restaurant called The Mellow Pepper.  

The excellent meal, the buffalo and the magical sunset helped ameleorate the horror of the afternoon.

See what looks like wind on the water towards the shore - those are the gnat clouds!

After a near sleepless night (the wind coming off the lake shook the camper so intensely I thought we would wind up in the lake), we were up before dawn and headed away never to revisit.

We left so early that we managed to get to the Golden Spike National Historic Site just as it opened.  

During the summer Golden Spike runs reenactments of the meeting of the trains during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.  This was an amazing stop.  Well worth the drive off the main path.  After spending a wonderful morning, we headed on to our next stop and more adventure. 

The Last Christmas Present

My parents were down for a visit this weekend.... and Pap Pap had one last Christmas present for the kids.

Do you see that they have on NO SHOES!!!  Who are these children?  Well, anyway, the smiles are warm.