Saturday, March 31, 2012

Last Day of March in Maine/Maaliskuun vipa

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March in Texas was all delicate and beautiful, with blooming flowers and trees. March in (Northern) Maine is made of melting snow, mud, ice and dripping water, mixed with sunshine and blinding light, reflecting off the whiteness. Beautiful, too, but in a different, more rough way. Temps are below freezing at night, but most days warmed by the sun during the day.

Big news at the Mothership Adventures: our washing machine and dryer are hooked up and working, as of today! Only cold water for now, but it beats the laundromat visits. Five loads today, washed, dried and folded! By the one-handed housewife of Mothership Adventures:) (Yes, the kids helped - they washed dishes, cleaned, and hauled the loads back and forth.)

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Teksasin maaliskuu oli herkän kaunis, tämä Mainen maaliskuu enemmän raakaa, voimakasta kauneutta. Öisin on vielä pakkasta, päivisin aurinko lämmittää plussan puolelle.
Tänään vihdoin saimme päärakennuksen pesukoneen toimimaan, tällä hetkellä ei tule kuumaa vettä, mutta pesen mieluiten kylmällä kuin lähden pesulaan. Tämänpäiväinen saldo oli viisi koneellista pestynä, kuivattuna, ja taiteltuna, yksikätisen kotiäidin saavutus. Lapsetkin auttoivat, he siivosivat, tiskasivat ja veivät kuormiani ees taas.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A Trip to Dallas

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Picnik collage

A beautiful spring day at Dallas Arboretum.

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Pictures mine, except for the three hotel photos from their website.

The Captain and I took a trip to Dallas last week, which was a perfect mix of work and fun. My first time in Texas! One of our highlights was walking around the Dallas Arboretum, but really, going anywhere with your husband (and when homeschooling - without kids) is definitely a treat. Not having to do cooking and housework is great, too:)

Our kids spent the week with Grandma, Grandpa, aunt & uncle, cousins, and Nanny, working on homeschooling, yard work, and going on hikes, walks and picnic. (I love how my students didn't fall behind on school while teacher was gone, and how I was able to keep up with their Monarch homeschool lessons and grading assignments from Dallas!)

We are now back in Northern Maine, all cozy in our little cabin - watching the ice melt. Stay tuned for pictures of the lake!

Hip Homeschool Hop Button

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Kapteeni ja minä käväisimme Teksasissa viime viikolla. Työn parissa meni melkein koko aika, mutta perjantaina kävimme Dallasin kasvitieteellisessä puutarhassa. Meillä oli oikein onnistunut reissu!

Lapset viettivät viikon isovanhemmilla, sekä naapurissa asuvien serkkujen kanssa. Kotikoulu onnistui opettajan ollessa poissa, koska oppitunnit ovat netissä. Heilläkin oli ollut kiva viikko, mutta nyt on ihana olla yhdessä koko perheen kesken!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Peek/Kurkistus

A quick hello from Our Mothership Adventures to announce a break to our regular programming:

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I dislocated my right shoulder this week by slipping on ice in our yard (probably the last bit of ice in the midst of mud), and get to wear this lovely accessory for the next six weeks. As you can see from my excited expression, I'm super thrilled about this whole thing.

I will try to put together a few collages at least in these next six weeks, so there won't be a huge gap to our digital scrapbook. This one is from today as we enjoyed summer like weather here in Maine.

Picnik collage


Remember to be careful on ice...!






Sunday Snapshot 
 

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Mothership Adventures-blogi hiljenee joksikin aikaa, koska joudun yötä päivää kuuden viikon ajan pitämään tällaista kaunista kantoliinaa oikeassa kädessäni. Tällä viikolla olkapää meni sijoiltaan, kun kaaduin pihassa jäällä. Yritän laittaa kollaaseja aina silloin tällöin, mutta kirjoittaminen (ja kaikki muukin) on liian työlästä vasemmalla kädellä. Ylläoleva kollaasi on tältä päivältä kun olimme ulkona nauttimassa kauniista kelistä (kuin kesä Suomessa:)!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Spring/Kevät?

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Has Spring arrived to Northern Maine? It looks like.... maybe.

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Our cross-country skiing was more like water-skiing yesterday. Snowmobiling on Sunday was kind of like dirt biking.

And the mud. Oh, the mud requires a post of it's own.

Yet the locals tell us there is still a lot of winter left in Maine. It's too soon to tell if spring has sprung. Which reminds me how last year we still had an ice storm on April 20th, and the ice out didn't happen until May 4th.

Looking at the weather report this week, I'd say we are done with snowmobiling. At least for now. Maybe not cross-country skiing, yet. We can still snow shoe in the woods, too, and today the kids are skiing. As the snow melts we just need to get a little more creative with our homeschool PE ;-)

Hip Homeschool Hop Button


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Paikalliset sanovat, että on liian aikasta kertoa onko kevät tullut pohjois-Maineen. Vaikea uskoa, jos katsoo ulos... Sunnuntain moottorikelkkailu oli kuin maastopyöräilyä, ja eilinen hiihtoreissu vesisuksilla liitelemistä :) Mutta viime vuonna saimme jäämyrskyn huhtikuun 20. päivä, ja järvestä ei lähtenyt jäät kuin vasta 4. toukokuuta.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Six/Kuusi!

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Someone had a birthday this weekend! On her wishlist she shared she wanted cupcakes, bowling, skiing, and wii. Well, we were more than happy to oblige:

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Also added to the celebrations: presents, homemade pinata (by Missy), lychee-candy (yum!), fortune cookies, balloons, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Grandma & Grandpa arrived at the bowling alley party, also. What a fun day celebrating our special Little Miss, six years old!



Sunday Snapshot


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Viikonloppuna meillä juhlittiin Pikkuneidin 6-vuotissynttäreitä. Oli kaikenlaisia herkkuja, niin kotitekoisia, kuin Aasiasta tulleita myös, oli lahjoja, kortteja, ja sankarin toivomaa ohjelmaa: wii-peliä, laskettelua (omassa pihassa), ja keilaamista. Ihana päivä juhlia meidän ihanaa Pikkuneitiämme!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Ski Lessons for Little Miss/Pikkuneiti laskettelee

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This sweet little 5-year-old had ski lessons this week, and she did great!

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These two big sibs helped her be comfortable with her teacher, and gave pointers, too.

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Little Miss is not so sure about new situations and new people, so having Mr. D and Missy there helped a lot. There was also an incentive to be a brave girl, not to fuss, and to be friendly.

And yes, she was given a bag of Skittles after the lesson.

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Hi Mom:)

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Little Miss met all her goals for her "Learn-to-Ski" lesson. She is familiar with her skis and boots. She is able to glide with a wedge. She first was able to stop with an edgie-wedgie, then with a wedge, and she is learning to turn to control her speed. Next time she can move up to the next group!

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Well done, Little Miss!


And enjoy your last evening of being five years old...
(So bittersweet... our little girl is going to be six years old tomorrow.)


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Pikkuneidillä oli laskettelukoulua tällä viikolla. Hyvin meni, ja typy nautti oikein kovasti laskettelusta. Uudet tilanteet ja ihmiset ovat hänelle pelottavia, joten palkkioksi luvattiin karkkipussi, jonka hän sitten saikin opetuksen päätteeksi. Isosisko ja veli olivat mukana kannustamassa osan opetusta myös.

Tämä meidän Pikkuneitimme täyttää kuusi vuotta huomenna. Kuusi! Niin iso tyttö jo, nyyh..

Monday, March 5, 2012

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Sugar on Snow/Lumisiirappia

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Our dessert on Friday after snowshoeing? Sugar on snow, which is maple syrup poured in a cup of new clean snow! Before you are too disgusted, it is a New England tradition, which we tried for the first time ourselves (except for the Captain, who said gross!).

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That's ok, more for the rest of us:) Yummy!!! Even Laura and cousins in Little House in the Big Woods enjoyed this treat, although they poured hot syrup on snow, making it harden into candy - which we will have to try next.


Have you tried sugar on snow? Would you?

Things that make you say:

Hip Homeschool Hop Button





                
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Ensimmäistä kertaa maistoimme Uuden Englannin perinteistä herkkua: lumisiirappia, mikä on vaahterasiirappia lumessa. Me vaan kaadoimme siirappia lumen päälle ja herkuttelimme, mutta tätä kirjoittaessa kävi netin kautta selville, että vaahterasiirapin olisi pitänyt olla kuumaa, mikä tekisi siirappilumesta kovaa karkkia. Aiomme kokeilla sitä seuraavaksi!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Snowshoeing/Lumikenkäilemässä

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The new snow here in Maine beckoned us to go out. Mr. A, Little Miss and I decided to get on our snowshoes yesterday. This was Little Miss' first time snowshoeing, and she did great on her big sister's snowshoes. Mr. A had outgrown his (which, of course, means all four big kids have outgrown theirs), but the Captain's snowshoes fit him just fine.

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It was a beautiful day, not windy, so we first headed out on the lake. Mr. A wanted to check out the beaver dam area we had kayaked to last year.

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Snowshoeing in deep snow is hard work, you need breaks here and there.
I may, or may not have, snacked on the snow myself, and if I had - it would have taken me straight back to my childhood in Finland.

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The new snow made our world so beautiful - so incredibly white and pure it brought tears to my eyes. Next time I'll bring the camera, these were snapped with my iPhone (which does take nice pics, too). We three had such a special time together.

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We made it to the dam area, explored a little, inspected deer tracks and other animal tracks (not sure what they were). The ice crackled a bit under our feet, so we decided to continue our snowshoeing inland.


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There's a trail in the woods that end on our road, but we hadn't tried it yet. We followed the markings as far we could, but at one point we couldn't tell where the trail continued.

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Our showshoe trek ended up being over an hour long - a lot longer than we had planned. We weren't lost, exactly, but once we finally got to the road we were all relieved, and ready to head home for lunch.

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Such a fun, happy outing! Homeschool PE at its' finest (wink)!

Can anyone guess what was our dessert after lunch? If you've seen pictures on Facebook, don't guess:)



Sunday Snapshot



Homeschoolin Mama BLOGFEST



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Eilen Mr. A, Pikkuneiti ja minä lähdimme lumikenkäilemään. Tämä oli Pikkuneidille ensimmäinen kerta, ja ihan ihmeellisen hyvin hän jaksoi tarpoa lumessa yli tunnin. Ensin kävelimme jäällä majavapadolle, jonne olimme meloneet kajakeilla viime vuonna. Sieltä suuntasimme metsään, jossa on reitti takaisin meidän tielle. Ehkä puoleen väliin reittiä kuljimme, sitten emme millään keksineet mihin suuntaan polku etenee, joten päätimme vain suunnata tielle päin. Emme olleet eksyksissä, mutta oli silti iso huojennus vihdoin päästä tielle - kaikilla oli jo kova nälkä. Ihana reissu (ja täydellinen kotikoulu-urheilutunti:)!

Osaako kukaan arvata mitä meillä oli jälkiruoaksi? Jos olet nähnyt kuvia Facebookissa, ei saa arvata:)