A Music-Filled Life

As I write this, Ben is running around the room playing Vivaldi's Spring on a trumpet he fashioned out of a rolled-up paper taped together with stickers. Actually, all three kids love music, especially classical music. Hannah can identify many famous classical works just by hearing their rhythm tapped out on the floor, and Becca dances and sways to music like the ballerina she wishes she could be. They all enjoy singing and sing well for their age, but Ben seems to have a musical gift that he feels compelled to express.

We recently had our piano tuned for the first time in several years, and Ben has fallen in love with playing it. Sometimes he begs me to teach him, so he is learning fast and slow, loud and soft, the C Scale, some simple chords, letter names, very basic note reading, a few easy songs, and how to play with different fingers on different keys. I am impressed with how quickly he understands the concepts and memorizes songs I teach him. For example, I taught him "This Little Light of Mine" in about 10 minutes while we were waiting for church to start one day. He also self-corrects, recognizing when he hits a wrong note and trying again until he finds the one that sounds right.

Other times, he just plays, inventing his own songs that actually sound somewhat pretty and that vary based on his mood. Frequently, he ends on a "C," appearing to intrinsically understand that his song sounds resolved when he finishes with that note, as he is playing in a C Scale. He longs to play Josh's trumpet, and though he is capable of playing a note correctly, he lacks the breath support to play well. He also strums on the guitar we bought them, but he does not yet have the coordination or finger strength to play anything that sounds like a song. So, he keeps coming back to the piano, where he experiments and innovates and learns about music bit by bit as he plays.

My sweet, sensitive Ben always has a song in his heart and it just spills out of him all day long. Frequently, I can hear him singing as he plays... or when he is in the car or in his bed or almost anywhere else he goes! I occasionally have to ask him to stop singing in my ear while I am trying to explain something to him. I do not even think he realizes that he is singing sometimes. Though I feel annoyed at times, he reminds me very much of myself. I taught myself how to play basic piano as a kid and I walked around singing at all times. Several years ago, I even stumbled across a tape that I made when I was maybe seven years old. The whole tape was filled with songs that I created as I sang - full of random, silly lyrics that I sang so earnestly. I remember thinking as a child that my songs were just as good as the "real" songs that I learned in school and imagined that I would sing and write music professionally someday.

Even as a mom, music has woven through my life like the delightful choruses in a musical - entertaining and not entirely out of place, though a bit silly for "real life." Josh and I have made up dozens of songs for the kids, telling them how much we love them or how we are going to catch them and tickle them or even that they are making us grumpy and will face punishment if they do not change their behavior. Now that I think about it, I may have learned this somewhere else... I believe that my dad invented a silly song about eating ravioli that the kids still sing whenever I make it for lunch or dinner! So, how could Ben help singing all day long?

As I finish writing this journal, Ben has the mp3 player in the living room set to Pachelbel's Canon while he and Becca play and get into mischief. As much as I enjoy quiet at times, I love having a house filled with music and singing. And someday, I will look around my quiet, empty house and wish for the slightly discordant plinking of piano keys, the silly lyrics of made-up songs, and the happy laughter that comes from my children's precious, music-filled hearts. Hmmm... I think I could write a song about that!

The Chimpette

Josh has a wonderful childhood nickname that his dad still uses whenever he talks to him - "Chimp." This nickname originated from an episode that occurred when he was just a toddler. In his family's house, an elegant staircase ascends from their living room to the second floor, with a railing along the outside edge of the stairs. One day, Josh's mom walked into the living room and discovered Josh hanging from the outside of the railing, up near the living room ceiling. He had climbed all the way up the outside of the staircase. As their house is an older house, the ceilings are easily ten feet high. Needless to say, Josh's mom panicked but quickly got him down.

Becca, our fearless little daredevil, is becoming known as the "Chimpette." After she broke her skull last summer, I thought she might learn to be somewhat afraid of climbing or falling. Instead, she remains a risk taker, eager to prove that she can do anything her older siblings can do.

Earlier this month, we had a picnic in the park in New York to celebrate Josh's dad's 60th birthday. We set up near the playground and socialized while the kids played with their cousins. As I talked with my sister-in-law, I heard Becca yell, "Mama, watch what I can do!" I looked up to see Becca, hanging from the monkey bars, swinging her feet and asking me to help her get down.

Now, we have a Little Tykes playset in our yard that we purchased from a friend.

Becca loves it! Initially, she wanted me to help her on the taller slide, because the first time she tried it, she flew off the bottom a little too quickly for her comfort. Once she figured out how to slow herself down a bit, it is the only slide she uses. Now, half the time, she stops herself and leaps off the bottom.

Did I mention that she also swings at the top a few times before she slides down, too?

Additionally, she does not just climb through the tunnel - she climbs on top of the tunnel and up the back of the playset to get to the slide. Who needs the ladder, right? That's what slides are for...

Ah, little Chimpette... I fear that we will be good friends with our local ER before you are grown and out of the house!

A Little Yeast

Today began as a plan-less day at home, but the kids quickly began bickering and getting into mischief with nothing to do, so I did a quick inventory of my cabinets and then asked, "Who wants to help me bake bread?"

"Me! Me! Me!" they all exclaimed.

I brought them all into the kitchen and then carefully measured the yeast into a tiny cup. I explained to them that yeast is alive and that it "eats" the sugar and creates bubbles that cause the bread to rise. Ben carefully studied the tiny, beige grains and seemed very disappointed when I stirred them into the warm water. When I questioned him, he told me that he was upset because he did not get to see the "bugs" moving! I had to convince him first that the yeast was not "bugs," and second, that living things are not always moving things.

Once I had combined the ingredients in the bowl and added enough flour to make the dough the right consistency, I allowed the kids to take turns helping me mix and knead the dough.

They enjoyed helping very much and patiently stayed with me through the whole kneading process. Finally, I shaped the dough into a nice ball and placed it in an oiled bowl to rise.

While we waited, I opened my Bible to a verse about yeast. I told them that a small amount of yeast mixed through the dough makes the whole thing rise. Similarly, sin in our lives, such as anger or selfishness, is like yeast - even a small amount can have a large effect on who we are and what our lives will be like. I explained that we want to work on becoming pure, meaning without "yeast" in our lives that will keep us from being who God wants us to be.

Two hours later, I lifted the towel and showed the kids the much larger ball of dough. "Wow!" they squealed, amazed at the difference in size.

In the afternoon, I took Ben to get his new glasses frames. When we were driving home, he began talking about the yeast again.

"Do you remember what I said that yeast is like?" I asked him.

"Sin," he replied.

"Yes," I said, "Just like a small amount of yeast can make bread rise, a small amount of sin can affect our whole lives. Do you remember our Bible time the other night, when we were talking about the tongue and said that it was like a small spark?"

"Uh, huh," he answered, "and a small spark can set a whole forest on fire."

"Right, Ben," I said, "and little words or lies that we say can hurt other people a lot or cause big lies to get out of control. That little spark is just like the yeast we were talking about before, how something small can do big things, so we have to be careful about what we say and do."

Ben nodded and agreed with me, and I think he really understood. I try very hard to use everyday activities and examples to teach spiritual lessons, just as Jesus used parables to convey larger spiritual truths. I hope that even if the kids never fall in love with making healthy, local, homemade foods, that they do fall in love with Jesus and His truth and that they learn to live "yeast-free" lives of integrity.

Understanding Food

In a previous post, I wrote about my desire for my kids to know more about their food and its origins. In the past few weeks, we have experimented with food in several exciting ways, and the kids are experiencing the joy of eating food we have produced instead of food bought at a store.

We began by trying a new whole wheat bread recipe. My last recipe turned out quite bland, and the bread was only slightly edible when loaded with jelly or peanut butter. This recipe, however, resulted in two wonderfully light and tasty loaves of whole wheat bread. The kids enjoyed watching the whole process and look forward to helping out more next time, now that I know that the recipe works.

Additionally, I had a bunch of mushy apples and plums that we accidentally froze by turning down the temperature in the fridge drawer too far. I found a delicious recipe for Plum-Apple Butter and made some of that as well. I cut the sugar in half and estimated the amount of apples and plums because I do not have a food scale, and it was very yummy - much better than any apple butter I have purchased at the store. The kids love it with peanut butter on a sandwich instead of jelly.

I also splurged and bought myself supplies for making yogurt, mozzarella and ricotta cheese, and sour cream. I have not attempted the cheese or sour cream yet, mostly because of a lack of ingredients, but I have already made two batches of yogurt. Hannah and Ben love the homemade yogurt, even plain or sweetened just with fruit, like bananas, berries, cherries, or peaches. Becca will eat it in small amounts, but she has never liked yogurt much. She does eat more of my yogurt than she does of store-bought yogurt, but it still is not her favorite food. I made the first batch while the kids were sleeping, but I encouraged them to watch me make the second batch. They were amazed that simply heating milk, adding a small amount of plain yogurt or yogurt culture, and then letting the mixture sit in an insulated container all day resulted in a fresh batch of plain yogurt. I am still learning the best way to culture the yogurt, as my second attempt came out a bit more sour than the first, but I am excited about the health benefits (and cost benefits) of making my own yogurt instead of buying it in the store.

Finally, after a productive trip to the farmers' market, I taught Hannah and Ben about preserving an abundance of food. I began by measuring a bit more than four cups of blueberries into a bowl. Then, I handed Hannah a potato masher and told her to crush the blueberries as much as possible. When she was finished, I gave Ben a turn and then did the last little bit myself. When we had four cups of mashed berries, I combined sugar and pectin in a bowl and then mixed that with the berries. Following the recipe on the back of the pectin, I stirred for the required length of time, poured the mixture into plastic "jars" and allowed it to rest and thicken for 30 minutes. Voila! Freezer jam! The kids love the taste and enjoy eating something that they made on their toast and sandwiches each day. I also found an excellent recipe for freezer pickles, which Hannah and Ben also helped me make and love to eat.

So, now the kids have a bit more understanding of what goes into the jars of food on supermarket shelves, and I have begun having healthier and cheaper options for our family by making a lot of it myself. Amazingly, the recipes are very simple and tastier too! Not bad for a couple of fun and productive summer afternoons...

Worms Love Coffee, Too

I have a thousand worms in my basement. I keep them in a special, layered bin filled with wet coconut fiber and moist, shredded newspaper. I feed them and check them regularly to ensure that they are healthy. Am I an invertebrate-lover with an odd affection for earthworms? No, though some think I am strange when they see me cuddling my pet bearded dragon. On the contrary, these worms work for me, eating my food scraps and creating rich compost for my garden.

I discovered vermicomposting, as it is called, sometime last year. I forget where I first read about it, but after quite a bit of research and some glowing first-hand success stories, I decided to order a worm bin. I could have chosen to build a worm bin using large plastic totes nested inside each other, but many reviews praised this model as the best for maintaining the right amount of moisture and keeping out fruit flies. Since Josh only reluctantly agreed to let me try worm composting, I decided that I would rather spend the extra money in order to reduce the nuisance of fruit flies, which might cause Josh to change his mind about the project.

The kids, of course, loved the idea of keeping worms in our basement. They celebrated when the bin arrived and helped me set it up and prepare the worms' bedding. Then, after I placed the order for one thousand red wiggler worms, they asked me every day when the worms would get here. Finally, about two weeks later, FedEx's website showed that the worms were out for delivery. I decided to make the whole day "Worm Day" in anticipation of their arrival.

First, we curled up together and read a book that my parents' gave Ben for his birthday - Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin. The kids love the silly story about the adventures of an earthworm, and though the story mostly just entertains, it also briefly explains how worms help the earth. Then, I brought all three kids over to the computer to show them a website I found that demonstrates how vermicomposting works. The Adventures of Vermi the Worm is an educational game created by the California Integrated Waste Management Board to teach school children about worm composting. Although the "game" is more of an interactive demonstration, the kids really enjoyed watching it and learning how the worm bin would work.

At last, the worms arrived. Amazingly, one thousand red wiggler worms fit into a tiny canvas bag about the size of a ziplock freezer bag. We brought the worms down to the basement and dumped them into the bin. After allowing them to settle in for a bit, we buried some food scraps in their bedding. In order to avoid rotting and an unpleasant odor, we started off with just a small amount of food - some crushed egg shells, chopped banana and cucumber peels, an apple core, and a few tea bags. However, the worms also eat and compost something that I, too, enjoy every day... coffee! Actually, I drink my two cups of morning coffee and then the worms enjoy the leftovers. They happily eat the coffee grounds, filter and all. You can see the tiny worm nestled in the damp coffee filter at the top of the picture below:

This morning, after our weekend away, I went downstairs to check on the worms and make sure that they are still alive and eating. I found them throughout the food scraps, busily converting my trash into castings that will nourish my garden next spring.

I love that something this simple helps the environment by reducing my waste and helps my garden by providing a rich, organic compost. Hopefully, my kids are also learning fun and easy ways to be good stewards of this planet, which they will one day inherit from us. If my kids learn this lesson well, I will gladly share my morning coffee with thousands of slimy pink invertebrates!