First Day of Spring

This morning, it just poured down rain!  It won't be long before this dried up banana tree is green and tropical and lovely.  For now, it looks a bit messy but those draping dead leaves help protect the trunk from the winter cold.

Then, the sun came out and illuminated my housekeeping flaws.  To be fair, the chicks were in the house for the past month and they are so dusty (or at least that is the excuse I am using)!
Kale dried in the food dryer.

I often crisp kale under the broiler so I decided to see if the food dryer kale would work.  The flavor was quite a bit stronger to start with but with butter, onion and garlic powder, salt, kelp, and Brewer's Yeast, it was rich and delicious.  The children probably ate several cups worth of dried kale.  What a fantastically healthy snack!


How is the laundry going without the use of the dryer?   Very well actually.  I don't mind the laundry line in the house, in fact it is very convenient since it is only a few steps away from the dryer.  The dining table is perfect for folding as I take stuff down and I can easily lay out piles for the children to put away.  I do smaller loads of laundry, more often and it is very manageable.  The only dryer usage has been to fluff up crispy diapers for 20 minutes or so with a wet towel.

Evi's robot wearing a jeweled necklace. 
B loves to play with his siblings.  I have been working on the older two especially to include him with a purpose - interact with him, give him a job, instruct how they want him to play....when they do this, they gain an instant best friend and the problems and tattling disappear!


Sawyer's catapult...I will show you more pictures as I think the design is very clever! I was very impressed!

Top View 

Side View (notice the red piece in the back?  This is actually an accurate scope.) 

The Mechanics - A firing pin in inserted through the bottom and top disk (bottom is the stabilizer, top is what is fired) The rubber band provides the tension to hold everything in place until the pin is released.

Aim

Fire.  Amazingly accurate.   

Sis set up all the army toys ready for battle.  

Cups and clubs 

Action shot 

Fishing 

Attempt 4 of making a diaper insert.  This has 2 layers of towel surrounded by fleece.  It will probably take a long time to dry but the diapers aren't effective without some sort of soaking insert and the prefolds that I have been folding are too bulky.
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