Snow days....

So, if you homeschool, do you have snow days??? Well, in our house, the answer is yes and no. A good deep snow, is just too hard to pass up. So, we do have to allow some time to go out and play in it--after all, that is something you just can't do every day of your kid life, and unless you live in the northern area of Alaska. But, we still manage to also do some lessons as well, mainly reading and math. I never have to argue with my kids to do their reading. They all love to read. In fact, often we have the opposite problem, they need to do their other lessons and quit reading. But for now, they are outside sledding and trying to build a snowman. I say "trying" because Whopper, their calico cat is also trying. Evidently she has understood that while the girls are piling the snow, it is her duty to knock it back down again.

At one point I watched the "cat rodeo" from the window. Whopper got on Elizabeth's back. Elizabeth has on several layers, the last being a carhartt coverall so her movement is rather limited. Whopper took advantage of that and climbed up her back. No matter how Elizabeth wiggled, bent, moved, jumped, or squirmed, the cat hung on, with a look of satisfaction and determination on her face (very similar to that I just caught a mouse look that they get).

All the schools are around here are closed today, and most were also closed yesterday. It seems like they have more snow days now then they did when I was a kid. Also, the snow doesn't seem to get as deep as it did when we were kids-remember when we used to get snowfalls that came to our knees? Emily once told me it was because I was taller now, so my knees are higher. Maybe thats it.

Our new calf continues to do well. It is starting to wander off from its Momma some. The momma doesn't like that and calls it back. If the calf ignores her, she goes after it in a dead run. I think the calf is beginning to learn to listen to Momma the first time. I wonder what it thinks of this snow....

Yesterday, in the sleet, the girls and I went to Aldi. I spent around $180 and got food by the case, as usual. This should last us 6 weeks. By the case I buy, mushrooms, olives (but Aldi was out of olives...), speg sauce, corn, green beans, chili and kidney beans, peaches, pears, mixed fruits, cereal, oatmeal and more. We filled 2 carts full. In addition to having an upstairs kitchen and pantry, we have a large pantry in the basement and are slowly making a smaller kitchen down there, to use while canning. Right now the basement kitchen has a refrigerator and stove. We still need to put a utility sink in and then that area will be finished. I try to keep my foods by the case in the downstairs pantry. My husband laughs at my pantry, he calls it the "emporium". But, I notice he shops it quite often.

After our Aldi trip, we went and bought paint. I think I will start with our office. I don't do ceilings, but plan on hiring a church friend to do those.

So, we have plenty of food, paint and corn for popping. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Reorganized Basement Pantry

I finally got the pantry straightened out. After our last trip to Alidi, it was sort of a mess. The girls put everything away, and some of the shelves were too high for them to put cases up on. It took the twins and I about 2 hours to get it neat and rearranged. Emily will be glad that we got it done while she is gone on her winter retreat at church camp.

I had someone ask me why most homeschooling families have large stock up pantries, or as my husband calls it, the emporium... I don't think it is a matter of being a homeschool family, but rather I think it is being more common for single income families to have a stock up pantry. And, most homeschooling families are running their household on a single income. Therefore, we tend to be a little more frugal.

I don't stock up on everything. I don't on TP, paper towels or paper items, because I have lost those items before due to a broken water pipe, and they are bulky to store. Items in plastic or cans are easier. I also don't stock up on short shelf life items.

Most of my stock up non food items come from sales at CVS, Walgreen or Dollar General. CVS and Walgreen will let you use both their sale flyer coupon and the manufactures coupon on the same item. By doing this you can often get the item for free. Yes, I have a years supply of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, soap, dish soap, deodorant, razors, shaving cream.....but a good part of it I got free or very close to it. For example, this week CVS had V05 shampoo on sale for 77 cents. I had 4 coupons for V05 for 75 cents off. So, I got 4 bottles and paid 2 cents each, so 8 cents for 4 large bottles of shampoo. If I just waited to get it when we needed it, I would be paying full price possibly, my current coupon would be expired and they may not come out with another sale and coupon combo when I needed it.

I also am not brand loyal on many items. This allows me to take advantage on any shampoo that is on sale and combine it with coupons, instead of having to wait for a certain brand to come on sale. Each week you can count on at least one brand being on sale.

Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can get some more work done in the basement and make the pantry a little larger. Right now it is just along one wall and I am wanting to make it in an L shape to also go along a short wall. Then along the opposite wall I would like to set up our sewing area. That wall is long enough that I could set up an area where each of my girls and I could sew and leave our machines up all the time. But, for now, that is a future project.

Today it got up to almost 50 degrees, and the sun was out all day. All our snow and ice is gone. I am ready for spring, but I am sure we will get hit with more cold weather shortly.

Our windsock arrived in the mail yesterday, so as soon as the ground thaws enough to drive in the conduit, we will get that added to our weather station. It is bright orange, aviation style. JD says we are likely to have airplanes landing in the yard.

Fire by the barn!!

It is cold on the farm. It has been below freezing for several days, so all the tanks and waterers have heaters in them. Or did. Last night one of them burst into flames and caught on fire. It was a brand new stocktank water heater, that is the worst of it. If I can find the receipt, I am going to try and take it back to Orscheleons and get a new one in a few minutes. Luckly when it caught on fire, the girls and JD were in the barn and were able to put it out. That is the second fire we have had in less than a year. The first one was in the chicken coup. (Proof that chickens are dumb--they all ran INTO the buring coup..)

This is the time of the year when the girls and I really do not enjoy farming. The water hoses freeze, and we have to watch the tanks. For some reason the cows and horses delight in pulling their heaters out of the tanks. The rabbits water bottles have to be switched out several times a day with thawed ones. Eggs have to be gathered several times a day or they will be frozen.

Emily enjoyed her internship yesterday at the library. This afternoon she will also be helping with the Discovery Club class. She got to check in and out books and pack and unpack books for library to library loan. Now she is talking of being a library page when she turns 16.

Later today, I need to work in the basement pantry. After my last Aldi trip, the girls put the cases of canned goods away, and some of them are not in the right places. I also need to make sure items got rotated out. The girls are pretty good at doing that, but I still like to double check.