John Paul: What does the Chinese flag look like? Can you look it up?

Me: Not right now, we probably have a book somewhere with a picture of it.

John Paul: PLEASE? I really, really need it!!

I glance over and see him holding a piece of paper on which he's written "Declaration of War"

Me: Are you planning to declare war on China?

John Paul: Hmm... Yes...

Me: Why?

John Paul, grumbling: Well... Communism...

Mary Claire: Mom, I'm wearing socks.

Me: To keep your feet warm?

Mary Claire: Mmmm well, mostly... To cover the pen on my foot.

Peter, walking happily towards me: Mom, I found a piece of candy food!

Me, suspicious: Are you sure that's candy? Can I see?

Peter, grimacing: Mm... No...

Me: So it's not food?

Peter, pulling what looks like a small woodchip out of his mouth: No...

Elizabeth: Mom, Mary Claire said A MEAN THING to me!! She said 'Ha ha ha ha ha!'

Me: ... I'm trying to get Edith down for a nap.

Elizabeth, after leaving and coming back: Mom, Mary Claire KEEPS DOING MEAN THINGS TO ME. She HIT me!!

Me, still nursing Edith in bed: Would you like to come lie in bed with us?

Elizabeth, experiencing a lightbulb moment: I'll tell her to stop!!!

You'd think that would be the first step...

Cecilia: Mom, remember when I found that potato bug and we thought it was a pregnant flea beetle?

Me: Yup, it was pretty gross. Now we know that chickens love them, so when we find them we can feed them to the chickens like we did with the Japanese beetles last year.

Mary Claire: But I *love* the Japanese beetles! I like them to perch on my hand and crawl up my arm!

Elizabeth: We'll just *study* them when we find them, and when the chickens kill them we can bring them inside to study!

Sure. Yes. Because the chickens are always killing bugs and just leaving them there...

Peter: I'm a mouse!

Me: Oh, can you squeak for me?

Peter: *blinks blankly for a few seconds* ... I'm a bunny instead.

Me: Peter, get off of Edith's tummy.

Peter, indignant: I want to LOVE her!!!

Peter: Look at my dinosaur! It's a she!

Me: Oh, is your dinosaur a girl?

Peter: No it's a he!

Mary Claire: Of course, all dinosaurs are boys. Except Maiasaura.

Me: Uh... Well, how would they have babies if they were all boys?

Mary Claire, thinking hard: Well, some dinosaurs were girls, but MOST were boys.

Elizabeth: We don't really know much about dinosaurs...

Clearly.

Cecilia: Guess what my feet smell like?

Me: What?

Cecilia: They smell like feet.

Cecilia, lecturing me: Mom, you need to learn how to embroider before you try to do any embroidery... You tried to embroider a star once, and it really didn't turn out very well because you didn't know how to embroider. So... You should really learn how to embroider before you try to embroider again...

Me: ...

Sourdough, Rainbow Eggs, Movies, and a Giveaway: Mid-Week Miscellany

After seeing my instagram feed filled with beautiful loaves of sourdough bread that apparently everyone bakes, I decided to give it a shot - at the very least, trying to make our own starter would be science, right?

My feed has been filled with beautiful pictures of sourdough recently - do you ALL bake it??? Anyway, it's long been one of my goals to make it myself, but the whole "starter" thing intimidates me... However! Science!!! So I enlisted John Paul, because I knew he'd find this fascinating, and he's helping me under the pretense of "science" (and because this way it'll count for this week's AND next week's science experiment, a homeschool component he insists upon). We'll see if it works... But if it does, my sourdough-loving husband will be excited! And if it doesn't, I still love my regular old no-knead recipe 😊

A post shared by Rosie Hill (@rosiehill425) on Mar 16, 2017 at 1:55pm PDT

Well, we've actually been having a lot of fun! We started by using the starter for a few "cheater" recipes that aren't real sourdough - oatmeal muffins (delicious, though we replaced the raisins with cinnamon chips), chocolate cake (also delicious - not too sweet, and not too crumbly either), and sandwich bread (we were not fans...). Then today I finally took the plunge and made "real" sourdough bread - there are about a million recipes out there on the internet, and I don't think I love the one I used (so fussy! So many steps! Does it have to be this way?), so I'll be trying another next time. Any suggestions?

My Sunday Best, Volume 47: Laetare Time!

Happy Laetare Sunday! Only 3 more weeks until Easter!

Week by Week, 11/52: Snow Day

My Sunday Best, Volume 46: Sick Day

We are sick 😖😖😖

Well, the kids are mostly recovered, and now Edith and I seem to be the ones who are down for the count. If you could pray especially that this doesn't turn serious for her, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Week by Week, 10/52: Roller Skates and Statues

My Sunday Best, Volume 45: Still Winter

Well, I knew it was coming back... Winter. Ugh. Despite the daffodils and fruit trees blooming, we're still experiencing frigid temperatures. I get so spoiled by our mild winter weather that when it's actually necessary to wear a coat (<40 degrees), I get annoyed and don't want to leave the house...

What's Working in Our Homeschool {7QT}

I found myself thinking today, "Hmm... You know, I don't really blog much anymore..." I mean, I do my two post minimum every week (because I host a linkup and do a weekly photography post), but spontaneous blogging? That almost never happens! So since the kids are in bed, the baby's asleep, and my husband's gone for the night, I think I'll take a page from Kelly's book and blog about some things that are working for US in homeschooling this year!

That's right Kelly, I'm just gonna go ahead and copy your post. But with my own spin! And really, I've been meaning to write this post anyway...



SO! What's working?

Week by Week: 9/52 - Exercise Fiends

My Sunday Best, Volume 44: Sacrament Time!

Guess who's got two thumbs and is in the state of grace right now?

THIS GUY!!!