The thing about the month of December is that the regular happenings like school, extra-curricular activities, and cooking, feeding and caring for the family, not to mention ensuring that everyone in the family has the love and attention that they need still needs to happen while holiday activities are also added in. It is a wonder that there is any time left over for holiday activities, however as you will see in a blog post following this one, there was plenty of holiday happenings that managed to find a way in. But the blog post below will focus on the regular happenings in a month of a family of five on earth plus one cat, seven chickens, some bees and time with friends and family.
Below in clockwise order from top left, the girls in their yoga class, Violet proud of the fox she cut out in her Learn to Cut book that she does every week during the girls' piano class, Violet being carried for part of the almost daily walks we tried to take this past month, knowing that the weather could turn to unwalkable conditions any day, starting the weeks-long hibernation that we know is inevitable, Emma and Violet dancing to the music Lucy played during her piano lesson, and finally, the snow fort that the girls were able to build based on the December snow that inevitably did fall, curtailing our daily walks until the spring thaw. The nice thing about our homeschooling day is that we were done with both school and extra-curricular activities by early afternoon which gave us plenty of daylight still for outdoor play or walks, weather permitting, and you better believe we took advantage of every day we possibly could outdoors.
Lucy and Emma had their annual Christmas Benefit Recital this past month and did an excellent job raising money and awareness for ALS by dancing to the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".
They had two performances - one on the big stage at a local high school where both sets of grandparents and some aunts and an uncle were able to attend, and then another, smaller recital at our local Senior Citizen community house, where Violet and I were able to watch in the audience, which was a treat for me because I volunteered back stage for the high school performance. Pictures below starting from the top left: Lucy and Emma on stage for the finale, Lucy and Emma on stage with their classmates at the mini-recital, Violet greeting Lucy after the show, our VIP's that came to watch the girls dance, Violet enjoying cake while waiting for Lucy and Emma to come on stage for the mini-recital, and finally, our little family after the performance at the high school.
We enjoyed time with family this past month for my youngest brother's graduation from college celebration, and another party with my dad's side of the family for their annual Christmas party. As always, it is great to watch another generation of cousins play together.
We had play dates with friends and even a friend's birthday party at a ceramics studio where everyone got to paint an item of their choosing.
In the pictures below from top left: I took Harding Honey on the road for a craft show that Will's mom put on for a genealogical fundraiser, Will cleaning out our bees for the season when we realized that five of our six hives have already died or left which is sad, but better to be able to clean them up now, then when rot and mold have set in by springtime, and finally, Violet and Emma helping me make product for the craft show.
We did take all of the extra honey stores that the bees in the gone hives left, and consolidated it all on our one remaining living hive, so hopefully that gives them a good, strong bonus to get through the winter.
We enjoyed lots of games this past month, with a favorite being a game sent to us by our friends called Sleeping Queens, tea parties, hot chocolate and of course snuggles on the couch while watching movies. I would like to note that TV time is a great time for me to rest or get projects done but that there is no free ride, and the amount of time spent watching TV is usually the amount of time needed afterward for the Timmerman girls to TBRL - Transition Back into Real Life. I'm still trying to decide if this price tag is worth it.
Lucy and Emma both lost a tooth this past month. It was about 24 hours from when Lucy found out she had a loose tooth, to when it was out and in her hand. She was a girl on a mission - extricate tooth and earn money and bragging rights. Emma on the other hand, had been nursing her loose tooth from almost a year now and it fell out while brushing her teeth. Emma was also on a mission - avoid pain and potential bleeding and trauma for as long as possible. I'd say both girls were successful in their own ways.
Violet continues to sleep badly, and for some reason refuses to sleep in unless of course we have someplace to be that morning (which is very rare, as I do not like rushing in the morning - perks of homeschool life!). But you better believe that if we do have a random thing to be at in the early morning that Violet sleeps in that day. Violet continues to vacillate between so very cranky from not enough sleep to being absolutely hilarious. She loves to make us laugh and continues to keep us on our toes. The photo below with the random food wrappers and scissors is what we found under her bed one evening at bedtime when she refused to tell us what she was eating and where the food she refused to acknowledge in her mouth had come from. In the bottom, right hand picture below, I came upstairs one morning to find a pair of Violet's pants hanging out of the toilet. Whenever we ask Violet to explain something she knows she could get in trouble for, she responds by saying "Nothing." Violet, what are you eating? "Nothing." Violet, why are your pants hanging out of the toilet? "Nothing." You get the idea. Upon further investigation, Violet finally did inform me that she thought it would be a good way for her pants to dry after they had fallen IN the toilet. It's still unclear as to why her pants had fallen in the toilet to begin with.
Baby T 5 has yet to reveal her personality or her role in our family, but I am definitely looking forward to getting to know her. In the meantime, she wiggles around in my stomach and seems to prefer to move when I am trying to sleep. In the pictures below from the top left: me holding up pure maple syrup straight from Vermont that my Aunt and Uncle had shipped special to me when they found out that it is one of the few foods that I can tolerate (this surprise absolutely made my day and I am not ashamed to say that I am not sharing with anyone besides Baby T 5), me taking whole-hearted advantage of a parking spot for Expectant Mothers at the very front of a parking lot on a day that was snowing with temperatures in the single digits, Lucy and Emma rubbing my feet after being on them for too long doing Christmas prep, and finally, Emma looking into the hole that Will cut into their closet wall to measure out a new built-in dresser that we will be installing now that the three girls are all in one room and there is no room for three girls worth of clothes. Finally, the inset picture is of the vintage treasures we found when Will cut into the wall. Apparently it used to be another little girl's closet.
We did lots of cooking in bulk this past month for individual freezer meals, including apple cobbler made with oats, butter, apples and maple syrup (all ingredients I can tolerate and for me to enjoy when the rest of the family eats holiday goodies), roast chicken and veggies, chicken soup, beef stew, zucchini muffins and the best foodie news of the month - the first eggs laid by our chickens.
I would be remiss if I talked about my four girls, our chickens and our bees and not our beloved cat. Charlie definitely is missing his family now that winter is here for a while, and his number one mission is to get into the house. The photos in clockwise order from top left below: Charlie staring me down through a construction paper wreath early one morning as I sipped my tea at the kitchen table before the rest of the family woke up, Lucy giving Charlie snuggles, Will feeding Charlie through the "drive-through" window to avoid going out in the freezing cold, and finally, Will catching Charlie who had snuck in the house for the hundredth time. Poor Charlie, winter is not an easy season for him and I so wish that my allergies allowed our lovable cat residence in our house. But, he does have an insulated garage, blankets, plenty of high quality cat food, and a buffet of local wildlife for his adventure and taste.
All in all, it was a good month spent catering to and spending time with the ones I love - Will, my four girls, our chickens and bees and of course, Charlie the cat.
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