Wow. August is almost over, and boy have we been busy! The green beans are about half way done now, and so far we have canned almost all of them. The kids don't like green beans, and I just don't get it. I saute onion and bacon and toss in the green beans. What's not to love? Bacon makes everything better, right? Oh well, one day they will hopefully appreciate them :) The past week has been nothing but nonstop corn. With over 800 ears growing in our garden, Kristi, Derik, and I have all been busy. I canned about 80 pints, Kristi took 12 pints canned and we froze at least 24 more for her as well as some whole ears. Derik froze all of his which is quite the feat while working full time and moving! I'm tired just thinking about it. The best part was being able to give some of our bounty away to friends and family. I love being able to share God's blessings with others!
This week promises to be a good one for canning spaghetti and pizza sauce. So far I've done a few small batches of sauce, but I need about 100 pints to make it through the year. Kristi and I are going to be canning diced tomatoes this year too. That is more labor intensive, but will make sure that we can use our garden tomatoes for all of our cooking throughout the year. Next week will be Potato Canning Week. Yep, it is an official week here in our family! The kids love helping to load up the washer with potatoes. This was the best potato canning tip I ever received! I load up the washer with potatoes and use the rinse only cycle with no spin and the potatoes come out clean and ready for cutting and canning. These canned potatoes are SO good. I used them in so many recipes all year long, and they make for easy quick meals. This year we are going to can beef, and I'm so excited to be able to pull a whole meal from my pantry this winter. Beef and potatoes with canned corn or beans and peaches or pears. I feel so Laura Ingalls Wilderish.
I'm also busy with school. Every year we add things and try different ways to make school an easier more enjoyable time for all of us. The kids are so bright and love to learn! I never want to be the reason that they start dreading learning. Don't get me wrong, they aren't catered to completely. There are still quizes, math is still mandatory, and all work has to be completed daily no matter how much crying or wailing is done by said children. One big victory for me was finding a way to get Alex to do his work without him feeling overwhelmed. Throwing 4 workbooks in front of him was too much. I now tear out 4 pages and hand them to him each morning, and he does his work with almost no whining about it being so much work that it will take 4 years to do it all :) One small victory in our home school world that makes the day more doable for us all. Well, time marches on and I need to start Levi's preschool reading. He loves his Sonlight P4/5 core this year, and the older kids will wander over and listen to the stories too. They loved this core 2 years ago, and it is just as much fun the second time through.
September is almost here, time flies by so fast I can't seem to catch up, but I am so grateful for all the memories that we are making.
No comments:
Post a Comment