Peekin' in the Pantry ...

Good Thursday morning, my friends! I hope your week's going well. I wanted to let you all know, officially, what our next Kitchen Chat topic will be ...

Let's talk food storage - pantries, fridges and freezers!

I thought we could discuss how we manage food storage in general, where we keep things and what we keep ... what methods we use (freezing, preserving/canning, drying, etc.) and perhaps reveal what we have in storage on an average day. I.e. Name 10 things in your freezer right now ... something like that. :)

As you can see, Little Bear has taken a great interest in food storage lately, namely the pantry. Little fingers have figured out how to open cabinet doors! I sit with him as he does this, because some of the items he pulls off the shelf (like the vegetable oil above) are quite heavy! He's also aquired a "partner in crime" ... 

Archie is hoping LB will make it down to the third cabinet on the right ... that's where the catnip is kept. ;)

As you can also see, my pantry is not AT ALL well organized, so maybe we can talk about that, too ... ahem.

So meet me on Monday for a little "shop talk" ... and if anyone has pictures to share regarding their food storage (pantry, preserves, freezers, etc.) please send them along! I'd love to include them ...

bysunandcandlelight AT comcast DOT net

In the meantime, a quick note about our most recent Kitchen Chat - I've had one more submission so I've updated the post with a few more (beautiful!) pictures from Lorelei - please take a look!

Thanks so much for stopping by, everyone - have yourselves a good Thursday! I will see you here again very soon ...

Our Little Bear is 10 Months Old!

 

And I'm wondering ...

Can I just pause time, right here ... just for a little while?

*❤*

Tuesday Tidbits

Well my friends, this day did not go even remotely as planned ... but still, there were lots of nice moments ... bright little blessings in amongst all the "dailiness." :)

So naturally, I have a few pictures to share ... :)

Here we have some morning glory seeds soaking in water ... they were supposed to be for planting today (a tradition on the Feast of the Annunciation) but A. I forgot to soak them last night and B. I realized I have no potting soil. So the planting part will wait a day or two ... or three.

Our deck was caked with snow for the entire winter and at one point, it reached and exceeded the window frames! I am so happy to see there's just that one little strip of stubborn crusty snow left ... we've been eyeing it for days now ... and with temps in the 50s over the next several days, it's a goner!

Shown above, is my Easter planning folder ... I finally got it together! I've been stashing clippings and lists in my weekly file folder up till now, moving them along week to week ... but it was time to get serious! Pretty paper, isn't it? :)

Here's one of the recipes I have stashed in that folder ... I think this carrot soup sounds delicous and looks so lovely served in tea cups!

Two beautiful books from the library that alas, had to go back today. They are both illustrated by Tasha Tudor and I enjoyed them very much. They got my "spring gardening wheels" turning!

A jaunty robin who somewhat hidden in the bushes as we headed out today ... he let me get close enough to get a few shots, but flew off chirping once I stepped just one step too far. I think he's claiming our yard as his own ... looking for his missus. ;)

I just loved this little visual ... a little boy and his little toys!

:)

Well my friends, I hope the day's been kind to you ... I'm going to sign off now and do my best Little Bear-willing) to get as good a night's sleep as I can. I wish you all the same.  

Oh, but before I go!

I just checked in with the Kitchen Chat post and there are some wonderful comments in there! Lots of great ideas, thoughtful suggestions and delicious recipes ... I hope you'll take a look if you have time! And remember - if you'd like to send me photo(s) of your kitchen (or a spot in your kitchen) for next week's chat, you can do so at this address:

bysunandcandlelight AT comcast DOT net

I hope to hear from you!

And I also hope you all have a nice evening ... see you here again sometime soon.

Baby's Early Spring Wonders

Happy 1st Day of Spring, everyone!

 Well, it will be Spring in just a few hours ... 12:57 p.m. to be exact! The Vernal Equinox is upon us, and despite the chilly temperatures and the patches of snow on the ground, we are at very last, done with Spring proper. Of course, when has Spring every acted properly?

Anyhoo ... I've been writing out some notes about nature "moments" to enjoy through the years with my Little Bear (who'll be 10 months next week!) and I thought you might like to see them. Just some brainstorming here ... nothing too formal yet ... things will take shape as we move along through the seasons. :)

(Note: These ideas are for March and April - aka, Early Spring.)

*** 

* On the 1st day of March ... lions roar! have fun with roaring sounds, lion pictures/stuffed animals. Read How Loud is a Lion? together.

* Maple sugaring - visit the woods in all their late winter glory - patches of snow, bare branches, old leaves - and befriend a sugar maple, feel that rough bark!

* Melting - slushy spots along the driveway, puddles where ice had been, drip-drip-drip sounds

* Mud - push bits of things (twigs, pebbles, leaves) into the newly formed mud out front ... ooh, it's squishy! Squelchy sounds! Read Mud! 

* Make (paper plate) masks for Mardi Gras - play peekaboo!

* Go for a wind walk on a blustery day. Read When the Wind Blows

* Go for a rain walk on a showery day (brief, just to feel it)

* Look for puddles, throw things in to *splash* (might be too cold yet for piggy dips)

* Watch the forsythia bushes for buds and blossoms ... snip some branches to force indoors

* When the nights get milder, open the window and listen for peepers in the vernal pool out front

* Watch the night sky for the full sap (March) and pink (April) moons.

* Make a pinwheel and/or a kite for windy spring days

 * Visit new lambs at our local farm, and back at home, look for soft things like fleece, yarn, cotton balls. Read Mary Had a Little Lamb.

* Find pussy willows to feel and admire - so silky soft! Like kitty cat paws. :) Might find some near the marsh growing wild ...  if not, bring some home from the market. Cut branches to place in a vase at home. Read Pussy Willow.

* Explore sweet, earthy carrots - steamed and mashed/chunked, baked into mini pancakes or muffins, start seeds for the garden, read The Carrot Seed.

* Look at smooth eggs - so many sizes and colors! - and try some homemade egg custard (Nana's recipe). Visit neighbor's chickens and see eggs in the nest.

* Listen to Celtic music while driving in the car, or dancing at home - Celtic Dreamland

* Sweep, sweep, sweep! This is the way we sweep our house (steps/walk) clean, wonderful activity on bright dry days.

* Wipe and polish, do our part! For family spring cleaning leading up to Easter, little cloth rags and natural beeswax polish, This is the way we clean our house ...

* Make fingerpaint rainbows with natural dyes/watercolors ...

* Look for rainbows on showery/sunny days

* Enjoy clay play - homemade play dough, natural dyes (rainbow shades)  

* What do frogs say? Peep, croak! Where can we find frogs? Read The Tale of Jeremy Fisher.

* Notice where robins appear - and how they hop! Can we hop like a robin? Can we make a tidy warm nest like a robin?

* Check branches for new buds and shoots - where is life resurrecting itself?

* Visit the pond to see ducks! Quack, quack, quack! Read Make Way for Ducklings. Perhaps ... visit the ducklings statues in Boston's Public Garden.

***

There's so much to explore in early spring! What "comforts and joys" do you look for at this time of year? If you have any ideas to add to my list, please leave me a note below. I'm currently working on a list for late spring (May and June) and I'll share that in a future post, too.

Well my friends, I hope you enjoy this first - much-longed-for - day of spring. What's it like where you live? Is it springy? It's a bit showery and gray here this morning, but NOT cold and that's nice for a change! Skies are supposed to clear later and I bet there will be lots of melting. Can't wait to see all this white gone for good! (At least until December ...)

See you all here again very soon ...

Time to make the donuts ...

 

On St. Joseph's Day we like to bake donuts, and that's just what we did this morning, Earlybird and I ...

This is a very simple, baked donut ...

After cooling just a bit, I dipped them in a light maple glaze, but I left one plain for Little Bear ...

Very small bites ... a new taste and texture to enjoy!

Cake Donuts

2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup vanilla sugar), 2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter (melted), 2 eggs (beaten), 3/4 cup milk (I used whole), 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly spray donut pan with cooking oil (aka Pam). In bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Add butter, eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Beat until well blended. (I used a rubber spatula.) Fill each donut ring 2/3 full. Bake for 8 minutes or until tops spring back lightly when touched. Cool. Remove from pan and dip into glaze.

I adapted this recipe from one found on the back of my Wilton donut pan. For the glaze, I just mixed some confectioner's sugar with cream and maple syrup. I pressed the donuts into the bowl of glaze (face-down) while they were still warm, then set them on a plate to cool.

And they were DELICIOUS.

:) 

Blessings to you all on this Feast of St. Joseph ... see you again sometime tomorrow!

Maple Sugaring ~ Little Bear's 1st Field Trip!

My friends, what a nice day we had yesterday! It was bright and brisk as only March can be - perfect (if perhaps a bit chilly) for getting out of the house. So in the late morning we packed ourselves up (in multiple layers) and joined our homeschool group at a local state park to see how maple syrup is made. This was Little Bear's very first field trip, and I'm happy to say he enjoyed himself very much. :)

 All bundled up and ready to go!

 Very interesting demonstrations, the kids asked great questions and offered thoughtful answers.

Little Bear was absolutely fascinated by the bark on this tree. I think that's a good sign, don't you? ;) Another little nature nut just like his brothers (and Mama)!

The woodsman demonstration is always a hit with the kids - learning about how wood was handled through the years (and today). They especially like the part where they get to try out the two-man saw!

 This picture is actually from 2008, but it shows that two-man saw in action. That's our Crackerjack in green and Bookworm in red - how little they were back then!

I just liked this view. :)

 And this one ...

And this!

In March, there are maple sugaring tours all over New England, and we've been to a few different operations over the years. This one was run by a state park located just outside of Boston. A really beautiful place that offers a lot of family-oriented programs.

At the end of the tour, which brought us through the woods and into a working sugar shack (where the sap actually gets boiled down into syrup), visitors are given a pancake and/or popcorn soaked in pure maple syrup. I gave Little Bear a tiny taste ...

And it may not look like it here, but he really did enjoy that tiny bite!

It was so amazing to watch his little face take in all the different people and new sights ... the feel of the wind and the sway of the trees. There's nothing quite like experiencing the wonders of the world through the eyes of a child ...

Crackerjack had a great time, too! He got to catch up with friends he had not seen in some time. :)

 

One last shot at the park - a selfie of Mama and her Little Bear. I'm going to tuck the memory of this lovely day in my heart for safe keeping - and future reference. :)

Back at home ...

I had our "maple-themed" books displayed in a bright window ...

And I also opened up a favorite book to these beautiful pages depicting an old fashioned maple sugaring scene ...

I bet you can tell who drew these charming pictures!

There is so much to see in these pages, so many lovely details in the borders - like red-winged blackbirds, chipmunks and pussy willows - all spring harbingers we ourselves "encountered" last week. :) If you love seasonal stories and illustrations, Springs of Joy is a book you will want to include in your family library!

*❤*

Well my friends, I hope you enjoyed hearing about our maple sugaring trip! I'd like to mention that many of these photos were taken by Crackerjack, since I had my hands full (of baby!) most of the time. I think he did a fine job. :)

Enjoy your Wednesday, everyone ... I'll see you here again very soon! 

Nature Notes, YouTube & Long Lost CDs!

(How's that for a mixed bag?)

Well, good Tuesday morning, my friends! I hope your week's going well ...

First order of business ... Nature Notes! Remember that little log I used to keep on my sidebar over there on the left, just beneath my picture? Well, I'm going to start those back up again, now that Spring is coming and we have a new property to explore. Look for that sidebar list to reappear sometime later today (roundabouts naptime, lol).

Here's a little preview though, a happy sight this morning:

:)

Secondly ... are you all aware that Susan Branch (of blog and books fame) has a YouTube channel? Oh my goodness, what fun!! Bill has a way of playing YouTube videos on our bedroom TV, and we watch together in the evening - after supper when Earlybird has gone to bed and Little Bear is on his way ... I'm cozied up on the bed with my laptop and Bill is rocking LB on his shoulder. Lately we've been watching British realty shows and electric car videos, but tonight he found the SB channel for me and ... I was just ... ENTHRALLED.

(So was Little Bear!)

SB has all these short videos posted - little vignettes she narrates, showing us her home and beautiful surroundings. Making sugared pecans, collecting bittersweet, sharing favorite mugs and angel chimes at Christmas ...  and her trip to England!! If you are a fan of Ms. Branch, you will absolutely love watching these videos, I promise. They really bring her books to life. 

I took a picture of this scene just to show you what I mean ... 

This video was entitled, "Petals." So lovely.

Over the years I've had folks ask if I might consider doing YouTube, but I've never really seen how that would work. Watching these videos last night, though has opened my eyes. Not that I'd have even a fraction of what SB has to offer, but I can see how fun it would be to show "in person" some of the things I try to share through photos and words. I'll have to think on this one a bit more, but with Bill's help I think I could do it ... so stay tuned!

And finally, I am so excited this morning because I just found a long-lost, much beloved CD of baby music and I can't wait to play it for Little Bear! I'm actually listening to it right now on my laptop, as I just uploaded (downloaded?) it to my iTunes ... and oh, the memories! I listened to this disc over and over and OVER with my babies and it is such a sweet reminder of baby-days-bliss. I thought this CD was lost, so just the other day I ordered a new copy - and then this morning I found the original! How funny ... but I bet you know what that means ... I'm going to do a giveaway!! I will post all the details very soon, but it will be such fun!

*❤*

Ok my friends, that's all I have for now ... Little Bear's morning nap is ending (as the noises from the monitor suggest) and lunchtime is nearing ... but I'll be back again soon! As always, thanks so much for stopping by and have yourselves a great day ...

Blessings to you and your loved ones!

Enjoying the sun ...

... and my son. :)

My friends, I hope wherever you are today, your weather has been as nice as ours ... 50 degrees and gloriously sunny! Dare I say, Spring is almost here? (No, I dare not ... knock on wood ... eek!) While Bill had the older boys out this afternoon, I spent some time with Little Bear in the sunroom ... a room we've not been in much since last Fall! It's just been too cold ... but today ... oh, today, we were out there!

(And so too, the cats!)

 Soon, Mama?

 

Soon, Baby ...

Cruisin' ... on a sunny afternoon.

Oh, that sun feels so good!

(Archie thinks so, too.)

Sunny, blessed days ...

Wish I could bottle it all up, you know?

Hope you all have a nice weekend ... see you here again very soon!

*❤*

A "New" Family Heirloom

Good Friday evening, my friends - I hope the week treated you well!

I've been wanting to show you all a "new" rocking chair of ours, a gift from Bill's folks, so I spent a few minutes today taking pictures. Unfortunately, I didn't get as close a picture of the rocker as I would have liked - clearly the camera honed in on something else - but I'll share what I have for now (and I'll have more to show when I do my library "tour" in an upcoming post).

Now, this beautiful rocking chair once belonged to Bill's paternal grandmother's mother, or Marmee as she was known to her family - so that makes it over 100 years old! It was recently (and lovingly) refurbished by Bill's mom and dad, and we are so honored and thrilled to have it as a part of our home ...

 Originally we were going to keep it up in our bedroom - aka the spot for middle-of-the-night rocking - but I felt this chair is just too pretty to hide upstairs. So we placed it in a corner of the library, instead.

In these pictures Little Bear is perusing a sweet little board book, and also, I should point out, the soft yellow "duckie" blanket that surrounds him belonged to his own daddy many, many years ago.

(You know, I find once I start taking pictures ...

 ... it's sometimes hard to stop.)

I love family heirlooms, don't you?

:)

Wishing you all a very happy weekend, and thanking you sincerely for stopping by!

See you here again very soon ...

Thursday This & That

From the "food pages" ... I'm loving all the suggestions for our "Kitchen Chat" series, which begins on Monday. I wanted to announce that our first topic of discussion will be "seasonal eating" as it seems to be a very popular concept! I also want to stress that I will simply play host(ess) for these chats - I don't mean to profess any sort of expertise in any area! I will share my own take on the topic and then open the "thread" up for comments. So please think about your own idea of "seasonal eating" and if you have any questions or thoughts to share on the subject ... on Monday we'll begin our conversation!

*

In "baby news" ... Little Bear had his 9-month check-up today and it went great! We talked with our pediatrician about finger foods, as LB is at that transition stage - from smooth to chunky. I always find this a challenge - figuring out what are good (safe) options to offer. (Suggestions?) We actually gave LB some steamed butternut squash the other night ...  and despite the faces he's making here, he seemed to like it!

*

A quick "weather report" ... things got a bit crazy this afternoon! We had a sudden whiteout ... and then five minutes later it was bright out!

 

*

And finally, in "family faith" ... Lent begins next week ... are you ready to bury the Alleluia?

:)

Hope you all have a nice evening ... see you here again very soon!

 

Little Bear is 9 Months Old Today!

Nine months is such a short time, yet it's hard to remember life without him. Our Little Bear just fits in perfectly and makes our family complete!

Today I'm feeling so grateful that God blessed us with this beautiful child, our fourth little boy ...

A few new feats: He's crawling now (!) and cruising (with help) ...

Starting finger foods (steamed butternut squash last night - mostly a hit), working the sippy cup and his babbles are making a bit more sense - Dada, Mummmma, Keeeeeh (cat).

And I'm so happy to say - we're still nursing! :)

*❤*

"Don't wait to make your son a great man - make him a great boy."

~ Author Unknown

 

Let's Talk Laundry, Shall We?

Yes, let's.

 

Little Bear suddenly regrets asking to help with the laundry ... there's just so much!

 

Nothing but laundry as far as the eye can see ...

 You mean, we have to fold ALL of it?

Well, I'll just sit here and look cute. It's what I do best.

:)

My friends, how are you keeping up with your laundry these days? Is it something you do once a week, on an assigned day? Or do you do a little daily till it's done? Or do you wait until there are absolutely no more clean clothes available - aside from swimsuits and mismatched socks - then really get down to business?

I'm just curious ... our laundry feels pretty out of control these days. According to my "housekeeping routine," Mondays and Tuesdays are supposed to be my laundry days. But really, I'm doing as much as I can over the weekend and then a load or two through the week as opportunity (and/or need) presents itself.

My biggest issue, as odd as it sounds, is clean laundry. I get the whole wash-and-dry cycle going pretty well but the crucial step of "folding and putting away" somehow escapes me. The stuff sits in a laundry basket (or two ... or um, three) and we pick out what we need through the week. It's clean - but obviously, quite wrinkled. Well, we're heading into another weekend which means squeezing in as many loads as I can, and so laundry's on my mind ... and my to-do list ... and I thought I'd ask what you all do.

Thanks for your thoughts if you have time to share them ... but either way, I'll see you here again very soon!

Wordless {Winter} Wednesday

❤

Wordless {Winter} Wednesday

*❤*

It's ... Babyzilla!

Now, don't get me wrong, our Little Bear is just about the sweetest baby you can imagine (so says his mother, ahem!), but you know how babies get to that certain age where they suddenly love to GRAB things - like, ALL THINGS, whether they be sentient or not - and those babies get a little - ooh, shall we say - miffed when said things get taken away from them? And when they settle down to play - with all those colorful blocks and neat stacking rings - the most fun they seem to have is when they're just crashing them all about?

:D

Well we call this stage of development, the "Babyzilla" stage, lol. And that's right where our Little Bear is now - it's just too funny! So recently, when he was in one of those crash-about moods, I tried to capture some of his antics on camera, so I hope you don't mind me sharing a few ...

(or maybe 10)

(He even sometimes sounds like this ... only much, much cuter.)

Clearly we are all on the mend, and I am so very grateful for that! It's a lovely, MILD first day of February (did you remember to say Rabbit, Rabbit this morning?) and tomorrow promises temps a bit milder! A busy weekend, too (on paper, anyways) - today is St. Brigid's Day and tomorrow is Candlemas - aka Groundhog Day - and this weekend is our local bird count (though we're shamefully out of the loop these days) and oh yeah ... there's some little football game going on somewhere at some point as well. ;)

Well, I hope you're all feeling well and enjoying your day whatever might be up for you and yours. I hope you enjoyed our babyzilla pictures ... and whoops, I just realized LB is indeed wearing two different socks. Par for the course around here I'm afraid!

Happy February, everyone ... see you here again very soon!

❤

Nevermind laughter ...

... sleep is the best medicine.

❤

Still fighting our way back to normalcy around here ... just wanted to let you all know the boys are getting better everyday.

:)

All Hands ...

 One of the benefits of homeschooling, is that when somebody is sick, there are usually plenty of hands around to help out ...

Little Bear is a very lucky boy to have big brothers who not only love him so much, but who are around a lot, and therefore really know him. What he's like, what he likes ... how to soothe him when he's feeling under the weather and Mama has run out of hands. This is a blessing to Little Bear's mama in ways both practical and profound. 

My friends, a nasty cold virus has invaded our home and so things are not "running on the regular" right now. Nights are particularly tough, meaning there's not so much sleeping happening as "cat napping."

All this to say, I'm taking a few days off to nurse my family back to health ... but I will be return just as soon as I can ... and I do hope all of you are staying well - and safe with all that crazy weather!

Advice on Baby Sleep, Please?

Nothing like sleeping in your Daddy's arms ...

:)

My friends, I could use some advice on baby sleep - or specifically, getting my baby to sleep better at night. Has anyone had an older baby revert back to constant waking through the night? And if so, how did you handle it?

Little Bear used to sleep pretty well (waking every 3 or 4 hours to nurse) but over the past several weeks he's developed a habit of waking within an hour or perhaps two to fuss until he's held/rocked/nursed back to sleep. Some nights I'm waking at least once an hour! And you can just imagine how this is affecting my energy and mood the next day ...

When Little Bear wakes, he's usually only awake for 10 minutes or so before he conks back out. First I'll try to just soothe him without picking him up - humming softly, giving him his binky and resting my hand on his chest. On rare occasion this works and I can slink off back to bed. More often than not he starts to fuss - really fuss after a few moments - and I end up picking him up to soothe him in a more active way. This is usually through nursing, though sometimes I can rock him back to sleep on my shoulder.

So then I'll put him back in his crib, he's (seemingly) sound asleep, but he's awake again in the same manner within the hour or perhaps after 1.5-2 hrs. if I'm lucky. If I've been getting up a lot with him before midnight (as in the case last night) Bill will get up with him and perhaps give him a bottle so I can get a little more rest.

He's not hungry I don't think - he nurses well through the day and has three meals (cereal + fruit or veg), as well as a bottle before bed with Bill. He's got comfy pajamas, the room is warm enough and we run a quiet fan for soft white noise ...

We're trying to work on putting him down for naps (and eventualy bed for the night) before he's fully asleep because we think possibly he's waking confused - he was just in our arms and now he's alone in his crib so he fusses for us. It's hard to do that though, because he's not a fan of soothing himself to sleep!

Also, his crib is still in our bedroom because he's waking so often it's a more convenient position, but it's possible his sleep is being disrupted by our sleeping sounds. So we are also working on getting the nursery cleaned up and ready for his crib (and him)!

Aside from the sleep issue, Little Bear is truly the easiest baby, and I'm very pleased to say I've nursed him longer than I've ever nursed before! At first I worried maybe my milk wasn't filling him enough, but he's gained weight on track and as I mentioned above, is eating well otherwise.

So any advice would be most welcome! Even just to say, "I've been there too!" Lol. I know these early days are brief  ... and anyways, sleep is overrated right? ;)

Thanks so much in advance, and have yourselves a very nice day!

Hooray for the Patriots!

Little Bear wore his "Pats Hat" last night so it was all systems GO!

>> New England Patriots 43, Indianapolis Colts 22 <<

And it's on to the AFC Championship Game next weekend!

:)

Enjoy your Sunday, my friends!

Shout-Out to Little Bear!

This little guy has been such a trooper through all these long car rides and hospital visits. Sleeps in the car, chills in the waiting room, charms all the nurses ...

I think God knew we needed an easy baby this time around.

:)

This cutie-pie "dragon" hoodie was a Christmas gift from Little Bear's Mama and Daddy. His Mama spied it months ago in a favorite baby shop - when she had to restrain herself from paying full price - only to find it again later, reasonably priced, on a clearance rack! She thought it would be especially cute for her Little Bear, roundabouts early spring ... when a cozy jacket like this is just perfect for kite-flying weather ...

Something to look forward to, yes?

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends ... I'll see you here again very soon!