Chicken Mummy

Or, how to totally gross your kids out in one easy history lesson!

Supplies:
1 dead chicken carcass [ours was skinned, gutted, and beheaded already]
3 cans salt
1 can baking powder
1 box baking soda
rubbing alcohol [since I don't buy wine]
freezer bags
spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves
paper towels
water
bowl

So this month we're studying the ancient Egyptians. And anytime you study them, you study pyramids, and treasures, and mummies :) Which is why we're making a mummy out of a chicken. I didn't get pictures- I was too busy juggling dead chickens and kids to even try.

We did this outside, so I didn't have to worry as much about the mess. First, we rinsed off the outside AND the inside of the dearly departed [chicken] with the hose. Then we patted it dry. That was popular- Morgen and Hyrum were dabbing at the chicken, almost afraid to touch it LOL. I had to dry the inside :). After it was pretty dry, we stuck it in a big bowl and poured alcohol over it. We could have used wine, but since I don't drink, I don't have any of that in my house. I know if I'd purchased some at the state liquor store, I would have run into somebody from my church. And the more you explain why you're doing something you wouldn't normally do, the more lame you sound, LOL. So, we stuck with rubbing alcohol.

We rinsed the carcass in the alcohol, then set it aside to dry a little. We mixed the salt with 1/2 a can of the baking powder and 1/2 a box of the baking soda, then sprinkled in the cinnamon and nutmeg. I added a handful of whole cloves and whole allspice, which I conveniently had on hand for my wassail recipe :). Then we patted the chicken dry again, and again I got the inside. For some reason, reaching into the chicken really grossed out my kids LOL. We poured some of the salt mixture into a bag, then stuffed the chicken inside, then poured more salt into its cavity. We packed the rest of the salt between the bag and the chicken's skin, then tried to seal it shut. I need bigger bags :). Anyway, we double-bagged the chicken, and set it back into the bowl, which I rinsed out first. The general consensus from the kids is that it smelled pretty good.

Currently, it is sitting on my counter, where we will be checking it daily to brush off the clumps of salt that have soaked up water, and adding more salty mixture to the chicken. If all goes well, we'll have a mummy in about 6 weeks. :)Just in time for Halloween!

We also did math, english, and spelling. I wouldn't want you to think this whole homeschooling thing is all fun and games ;).

Great news!

My SIL Angela had her baby on Friday: he was a whopping 8 pounds and 20.5 inches long! That's exactly 1.5 pounds lighter than her first boy, which she said made for a much easier labor :) His name is Callin, and he is adorable. I can't wait to meet him!
In other news, Walker got up this morning and started his English after breakfast WITHOUT me saying anything about it. Wahoo!! Morgen was a complete pill, though, just to make up for her brother's angelic behavior LOL.
Tomorrow we're starting a chicken mummy- wish me luck!

Treasure hunts

Monday we went up to Red Butte Gardens. I was looking for something that the kids could do besides walk ;). We found a little treasure hunt paper- it had pictures of some plants and animals to look for while we were wandering the gardens. We didn't see any bobcats, but we did find the Bristlecone Pine, the Russian Hawthorne, and the Hummingbird Mint. We also saw quail around the Hawthornes, eating the red berries, and hummingbirds feeding at the Hummingbird Mint. I'd pull out my camera to capture the birds, and they'd fly [well, the quail ran] away. Finally, as we were leaving the garden, some people behind us scared these quail into our sight. My kids held so still, and I got pics of the quail!


There were 5 or 6 of these half-grown quail that came through the trees, then Walker spotted the adult lurking back behind this pine tree.

We also spent some time looking at the weird colors on the fish in the pond: the most exciting fish they found had black & blue spots on a gold background :)
I love being out in the mountains this time of year, with the nip in the air, and the colors of the leaves changing.

Afraid?

Two things: September 11 and Fear.

They're sort of related; I remember the shock most of all- that day, in 2001, I drove the WRONG WAY down a one-way street in front of the town post office, because I was still so shocked and upset about the airplanes which had hit the twin towers. Luckily, I didn't hit anybody. I didn't even realize I'd driven the wrong way 'til I passed the drop-off mailboxes and they were on the wrong side of my car. :)
So, what are you doing today to remember? Is it something you do privately, or is this more public [flying a flag on your front porch, attending a memorial service] for you? We're visiting my mom- she had surgery yesterday, and is fine, but bored :). And we're going to go visit Myles again.
Along with the terrorist attacks on September 11 comes a question- how do you quiet your child's fears? I have found that sitting quietly with my kids and holding them works better for fears that are abstract, like when they questioned if a plane was going to hit our house. For more concrete fears like getting wet or going down a slide, I do it with them, or hold their hand. And I remembered a scripture in the New Testament: 1 John 4:18 [King James Version] "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."
I thought about how many times I have prayed because I'm afraid of something, and how often I am tormented by what I think will happen. And how, when I stop talking and *listen* to God, that the fear and torment I am feeling disappears. God replaces it with His love, and His peace. Knowing this has added another step to how I quiet my children's fears: we pray. And you know, it works every time!

Tears and hope

Saturday Jared left for another week away. He's playing with anthrax [I know, he is SOOO lucky] *rolling my eyes*. Anyway, we had a stake conference [local parish/congregation is called a 'ward', group of local parishes is a 'stake'] this weekend. Saturday night was the adult session- I took notes, and got a lot of good info and suggestions for myself. Sunday was the general session- everybody comes. And while each of the speakers had a different focus, I noticed that each one spoke of "enduring to the end;" in finances, or as a missionary, or whatever their topic was. I don't know if this was intentional, but I do know God had a hand in it ;). The last speaker was our Stake President, and he shared a poem that I have heard many times before. For some reason, when I heard it Sunday, my heart just overflowed and I began to cry. I'm sharing it here:

THE RACE
by Dee Groberg

"Quit! Give Up! You're beaten,"
They shout at me and plead,
"There's just too much against you now
This time you can't succeed!"

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failure's face,
My downward fall is broken
By the memory of a race.

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene:
For just the memory of that short race
Rejuvenates my being.

A children's race - young boys, young men
How I remember well.
Excitement, sure! But also fear;
It wasn't hard to tell.

They all lined up so full of hope,
Each thought to win that race.
Or tie for first, or if not that,
At least take second place.

And fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son,
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he would be the one.

The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire.
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boy's desire.

And one boy in particular
Whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running in the lead, and thought
"My dad will be so proud!"

But as they speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip,
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped!

Trying hard to catch himself,
His hands flew out to brace,
And 'mid the laughter of the crowd,
He fell flat on his face.

So down he fell and with him hope.
He couldn't win it now–
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
To disappear somehow.

But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said:
"Get up and win the race!"

He quickly rose, no damage done–
Behind a bit, that's all–
And ran with all his mind and might
To make up for his fall.

So anxious to restore himself–
To catch up and to win–
His mind went faster than his legs;
He slipped and fell again!

He wished that he had quit before
With only one disgrace.
"I'm hopeless as a runner now;
I shouldn't try to race."

But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his father's face;
That steady look which said again
"Get up and win the race!"

So up he jumped to try again–
Ten yards behind the last–
"If I'm going to win those yards," he thought
"I've got to move real fast."

Exerting everything he had
He regained eight or ten,
But trying hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again!

Defeat! He lay there silently–
A tear dropped from his eye–
"There's no sense running anymore;
Three strikes: I'm out! Why try!"

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away.
So far behind, so error prone;
A loser all the way.

"I've lost, so what's the use," he thought
"I'll live with my disgrace."
But then he thought about his dad
Who soon he'd have to face.

"Get up" an echo sounded low.
"Get up and take your place;
You were not meant for failure here.
Get up and win the race."

"With borrowed will, get up," it said
"You haven't lost at all
For winning is no more than this:
To rise each time you fall."

So up he rose to run once more,
And with a new commit
He resolved that, win or lose,
At least he wouldn't quit.

So far behind the others now–
The most he'd ever been–
Still he gave it all he had
And ran as though to win.

Three times he'd fallen, stumbling;
Three times he rose again,
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line- first place.
Head high, and proud, and happy;
No falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line- last place,
The crowd gave him the greatest cheer,
For finishing the race.

And even though he came in last
With head bowed low, unproud
You would have thought he'd won the race
To listen to the crowd!

And to his dad he sadly said,
"I didn't do too well."
"To me, you won," his father said
"You rose each time you fell."

And now when things seem dark and hard
And difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy
Helps me in my race.

For all of life is like that race
With ups and downs and all,
And all you have to do to win
Is rise each time you fall.

"Quit! Give up! You're beaten!"
They all shout in my face
But another voice within me says:
"GET UP AND WIN THE RACE!"

Right now, I need that reminder- I don't have to be the first, or the best; all I need to do is to get back up each time I fall. And I can do that- I *know* I can do that.

I am so *grateful* for my children; I love them very much. :)And I love my husband, too, even if he does like to play with dangerously fatal toxins.

Why homeschooling?

just a quickie: I have talked this over so many times with Jared, and with my immediate family, I forgot I hadn't explained it here :). I haven't been happy with the schooling my kids receive here- even in the advanced class [which both my kids were in], they are not working up to grade level. And while Walker and Morgen both read well, their math was abysmal. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to enroll them in one of the charter schools in the area, or if I was brave enough to homeschool them. Back in February, while I was in the temple, I prayed about this and received an overwhelming assurance that I needed to homeschool them. So, I set about researching what I would need to do/have in order to accomplish this, and after I checked w/the kids, we decided to let them finish out the year at the elementary school. I used those months to accumulate textbooks and advice on how to teach, and once they were out of school, we began working on Math and English. We added Science, History, Spelling, and Book Reports last week, when everybody else started school. We had a few rough days, but have settled into a good schedule now.

Schooling

We seem to have settled into a good homeschooling schedule: daily Math and English lessons for Walker and Morgen, one lesson weekly in Spelling, History, and Science [Hyrum also does the History and Science], plus daily reading, and one new letter weekly, for Hyrum. Once a week we do a field trip, and this week we went to the State Fair. Jared took Thursday off work, so we headed up there around 2pm. Of course we had to do the "Little Hands on the Farm" exhibit, which is supposed to teach the kids where the food they eat comes from. It's interactive, and I always laugh when they enter the chicken coop to collect an egg- the hens are fake [so they don't peck], and the eggs are all visible [instead of hidden away in corners and underneath buildings], but they're getting the general idea, I guess LOL.
We looked at all the animals, and wandered through the exhibits [one whole room full of scrapbook pages!!!], and basically wore everybody out.
Today, after we finished the written part of our history lesson, and after eating lunch and watching a movie [the Spiderwick Chronicles], we did a hands-on history activity. Currently we're studying ancient history, learning about why nomadic tribes would settle in one spot and change their lifestyles to become farmers and herdsmen. So the activity was to pretend they'd decided to settle in our backyard, and build houses [big or small] with only the materials they could find. About 3 hours later, they called me to come look at their creations. They had been busy gathering food, planting and harvesting seeds, making fish traps, etc. for all of those 3 hours! They made a mud pit, and had a little village with houses for everybody. :)Hyrum decided to be a giant, and stepped on a couple of them, which ended the activity, but overall, I think it was pretty successful.
Tomorrow Jared leaves for another week of conferences, so I'm getting myself ready for that. And, I think it's officially fall now. I woke up yesterday morning, and my nose was cold LOL. Mornings are a little bit nippy, and I'm excited to see the leaves changing color soon. This is my favorite time of year.

Rain is falling...

It rained a lot of Sunday, and most of yesterday morning here. I thought it was appropriate- I was bawling.

Right after Myles died, I decided I wanted each of my kids to have a memory book of him. I didn't want to put together a scrapbook FOR them, as I wanted this book to contain their memories, not mine. I got the albums, and the paper, and got stuck when I tried to order the photos– I couldn't do it. So I had a pile of stuff just waiting behind my computer chair. I hate piles.

I finally decided that I'd procrastinated this enough, and sat down to go through my pics. They're organized by year, and by month within each year, and a big event [more than 100 pics] gets its own category in the month. I know, I'm anal :). Anyway, I couldn't do it all at once- I took a lot of breaks [helping the kids with their homeschooling activities]- but I did get most of the pictures ordered.

Yesterday I had to go to the grocery store, and took the opportunity to go alone, since Jared had leave for Labor Day :). It had just stopped raining, and the sun was coming out as I left the house. It struck me as funny, because that was exactly how I felt in my life at that moment: like I was crawling out of a cave into the warm sunshine. The heavy feeling in my chest lightened up- my whole mood improved- just by walking into the sunshine. And I noticed that when I am reading my scriptures daily, and praying daily, that God acts as the sunshine did yesterday- He warms my whole life up, and my burdens are lightened.

Introducing...

Charlotte! This is my newest niece. And I find it very cool that her name is Charlotte :) I've always loved that name. I can't wait to meet her :)

Songs

I have a lot of favorite songs :) and I blame my mother for that. She forced me to take piano lessons [I survived somehow], and allowed me to take voice lessons [I did better w/the piano, sadly], and encouraged a love of music that I still have today. So finding music that my kids like is important to me. And, because I do not like candy-sweet Barney style songs, I don't always have an easy time finding things my kids like that I can listen to more than once a year.

But who doesn't like a song that starts out, "A is for aisle, B is for bdellium, C is for czar, and if you see him would you mind telling him?"
Pretty much every word begins with the correct letter, but none of them start with a sound normally associated with that letter, and we all giggle every time we listen to it! Which is why it's on my playlist now. Anyway, for our recent trips, I burned a CD with all the Barenaked Ladies' songs from "Snacktime"- the CD that includes the crazy ABC song. I also put a few songs from Shrek, and Meet the Robinsons, and "Ordinary Miracle" from Charlotte's Web. You know, songs that are 'grown-up' but the kids can recognize from the movie. Every darn time I hear that song from Charlotte's Web, I get tears in my eyes. It reminds me of Myles, and how much I value every minute I have with my kids now, because I didn't get much time with their little brother. It's a song that Morgen likes to sing to, so I'm not allowed to skip it, either.

And I got to thinking about memory. I sang "Abide With Me" at my Grandma J's funeral, and every time I sing or hear it now, I get choked up. Morgen sang "I am a Child of God" at Myles' funeral, and now I can't even make it through the first verse without crying. I seem to remember things best when they're associated with a song.