Misadventures on 10acres

Our hot water heater broke, so we've been taking cold showers (brrr!) and I have been doing dishes the old fashioned way. At least I don't have to go down to the well & pump water, LOL.

DD5 chased the dog across the property and into the swamp. The snow was melting and so it was an extra muddy adventure. She got her boot stuck in the swamp and sat there (bootless) yelling for me. Fortunately, when I let her go outside, I tried to track her progress to the swingset (where she said she was going). When I couldn't see her at the swingset, I knew it was time to go out & look. I carried her (bootless) on my back across the length of our property & was a very tired mommy after that!

Our big silly standard poodle is not fixed, since I thought maybe someday we'd attempt puppies (haven't got the courage to do that yet). She loves the 10acres, but has recently discovered that the 10 acres next to us has a very playful boy dog. We lost her yesterday and hopped into the car to go find her. There she was, romping & playing with the "boy next door". They were having a blast and she didn't want to come home. She has been on her cycle lately, so we are really hoping that the little expedition didn't result in puppies! Of course, if it had been a nice standard poodle boy next door, we might not have minded as much!

We've been having some trouble getting back into the school routine. So yesterday we took a lot of time just doing whatever interested us. As a result, we explored the Food Pyramid and made our own (I used Dora the Explorer from Nick Jr's web site: http://www.nickjr.com/parenting/activity_finder/printables/dora/learning_pages/doras_food_pyramid_printables.jhtml). We learned how to fold paper and cut snowflakes (DD5 was fascinated that one little cut made designs on all sides of the paper). We chased animal tracks across the yard (not sure what it was!) And played on the swingset - this time with Mommy as Escort. I pushed DD3 on the swings for awhile, and then let them play while I watched from the nice warm house:-) After that came hot cocoa (I love those hot cocoa days!!) Hoping to sneak in a little more school, I made up some of our reading words on magnets so we can make funny sentences on the fridge. So far, I make up a few sentences for DD5 to read first thing in the morning. She loves to put the words together in a crazy way and have me read her sentences back to her.

I've also been teaching DD5 how to cook. She has been cooking her breakfast each morning and doing surprisingly well! She can crack eggs into a pan on the stovetop, stir them while they cook, and put cheese slices on top. She is very good at cracking eggs and doesn't usually get eggshell in the eggs. Today she made french toast and did far better at the age of 5 then I did at the age of 12, LOL! My goal is to have my own personal chef in a few years;)