Birthday Girl/Synttärisankari

Here is a photo of our Beautiful Birthday Girl! Doesn't she look taller already?
We had a fun day of celebrating Little Miss. Unfortunately technology is not co-operating tonight - after struggling for a couple of hours and trying to upload photos, I am giving up, and will try again tomorrow. We are pretty wiped out from partying anyway ;-)

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Meillä oli hauska päivä juhliessamme kaunista synttärisankariamme, mutta kuvia pitää odottaa ainakin huomiseen - en saa niitä millään tietokoneelle, nyt annan periksi. Aika väsy onkin juhlimisen jäljiltä ;-)

Pinewood Derby 2011

The Captain & the kids have been involved in Discovery Clubs at church on Wednesdays. Tonight was the long-awaited Pinewood Derby night.



Between us moving, and Grandma & Grandpa moving, plus tools packed who knows where, the Captain & the big kids decided to reuse and remodel their cars from two years ago (we didn't race last year).



Missy's car was one of the most creative cars of the night, but unfortunately too heavy to race. She was able to enter it in the Most Creative category, but lost to a very real looking Hershey Bar race car, made by a friend. Missy was quite disappointed, but also happy for her friend. We think her Wizard of Oz-themed car was awesome!



The boys' cars didn't do as well as they had hoped, and we were quite saddened at their reactions. Even though we had reminded the kids to win graciously and lose graciously, they struggled tonight.



Mr. A brought home 3rd place trophy, but the true rewards, we believe, came from our discussions in the car afterward. How glad we are for hearts willing to learn and change, and for God's grace and mercy.



Despite some challenges, we all had a great time at Pinewood Derby tonight. We are very thankful our church does such a great job at Discovery Clubs, and tonight's race event was fantastic!!

Enjoy this short video clip from tonight. Mr. A's green race car is the one closest to the camera.

Sweetness/Makeaa!

Today in our travels, the girls and I discovered a wonderful, sweet surprise: a new candy shop! (I'm thinking the boys regretted their decision to stay home from running errands ;-)



Oh, what to choose???


Karkkikaupan kylteissä lukee: "Anna äidille myös" ja "Älä unohda harjata (hampaita)".

Loved the signs on the wall :-D

We were inspired. Little Miss is turning five this week, so tomorrow we are bringing cupcakes to preschool. We baked cupcakes together, then I let the girls go wild at decorating them. Here are their creative results!





We almost want to name these beauties!!!


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Tänään tyttöjen kanssa löysimme uuden herkullisen karkkikaupan. Oli vähän vaikeuksia valita... Tytöt päätyivät irtokarkkipussukoihin, mama osti kaksi chilisuklaatryffeliä, tosin kanelinmaku vähän haittasi (en koskaan löydä yhtä hyviä kuin Fazerin!!).

Saimme inspiraatiota cupcake-pikkukakkujen koristelemiseen, Pikkuneiti vie huomenna kerhoon 5-vuotissynttäriensä kunniaksi. Tytöillä oli hauskaa, ja aika mageen näköisiä tuli kakuista, mutta yöks tuota sokerin määrää, toivottavasti ne tarjoillaan kerhossa aikaisin aamulla ettei enää käydä kierroksia kotiintullessa :-D

Archery Again/Jälleen jousiammuntaa

Last Fall we did Archery for the first time in Florida. All four of our older children took Archery lessons once a week at a local rec center, and were quite sad to stop when it was time to head North.

When we found a local six week Archery class here in New England, all the boys were quite excited to sign up. Missy decided to skip this time. Yesterday was the last time.



In Florida the kids used a curved bow (not sure if I'm using the correct term for it here), but here in New England compound bows were used. There was a slight learning curve in using different bows, and Mr. D had to switch hands due to a dominant eye. He did not like that, as he felt using his right hand to hold the bow was more challenging. The class was a lot more structured than in Florida and had more rules.



In Florida we had an outdoor class, and wondered how shooting arrows would work indoors in New England.




Pretty well! And as much as we love the snow, it was nice to have the class indoors, where it's warm. This was a great additional homeschool PE program for the boys :)

I'm linking this post again to Hip Homeschool Hop.



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Koululaiset aloittivat viikottaiset jousiammuntatunnit Floridassa viime syksynä, ja tykkäsivät kovasti. Kun löysin kuuden viikon paikallisen kurssin täällä Uudessa Englannissa, pojat halusivat ehdottomasti kokeilla. Eilen oli viimeinen kerta, kuvia yllä. Aika kiva lisäys kotikoulun liikuntatunneille :)

Sunday Snapshot {Laskiaispullat}

Growing up in Finland we celebrated "Laskiais-Sunday" and "Laskiais-Tuesday", and traditionally would eat split-pea soup, go sledding and have these "Laskiaispullat"-baked treats.

I am really bad at celebrating my home country's traditions and making Finnish foods (except at Christmas time where we celebrate almost 100% in Finnish way), so I actually had to rely on google and wikipedia today to explain to the kids what Laskiainen is. This was my first time celebrating Laskiainen in the States in all my eighteen years of being here (if I remember correctly).



This is what I found out on Wikipedia: These special treats are called semlas, and they are typically eaten on Shrove Tuesday (or Shrove Sunday). It is originally a church holiday (a day before Lent starts). I don't remember following Lent during my childhood, or really being too aware of the meaning of Shrove Sunday, I just remember the fun sledding, the-not-so-favorite-split-pea-soup and the yummy semlas. Reading the Finnish Wikipedia page, I learned how this holiday is now more of a celebration of winter ending and spring coming in Finland.




Missy, Mr. A and Little Miss helped me make the semlas. My recipe called for the almond paste filling or jam filling, and I chose jam - I really don't care for the almond paste taste.




They turned out so delicious! We used milk, yeast, little salt, honey, cardamom, flour and melted butter on the dough, and made whipped cream to put inside along with raspberry jam. Yummy with hot chocolate and tea, especially after going sledding!

The recipe with apprx measures and loose directions:

2 cups milk
2 packets of dry yeast
2 cups sugar (I used about 1 1/2 cup of honey)
2 eggs
cardamom to taste (I used 1/2 Tbls)
a pinch of salt
6-7 cups flour
about 1.5 sticks of butter, melted

Filling: whipped cream, jam and/or marzipan or almond paste.
On top: pearl sugar or powdered sugar. (we did none)

Heat the milk to lukewarm and add the yeast, mix. Add salt, sugar, eggs and cardamom. Mix, then add most of the flour. Beat the batter vigorously. Add the cooled melted butter and knead the dough until smooth. If necessary, add remaining flour. Let it rise for about an hour. Knead the dough lightly, shaping into rolls. Let them rise for a little while.

Brush with egg and sprinkle pearl sugar on top if desired (or finely chopped almonds). Bake the buns in the oven at 450 F degrees apprx 12 minutes. Cut the cooled buns and put a tablespoon of jam and whipped cream in between the bun. You can decorate buns by sprinkling powdered sugar over them through a sieve.


I'm linking this blog post again to Sunday Snapshot. Please go visit Stephanie's blog Ni Hao Y'All for other entries.



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Meillä vietettiin tänään ensimmäistä kertaa Laskiaissunnuntaita. Olen surkea viettämään suomalaisia juhlapäiviä (tosin joulu on meillä melkein 100% suomalainen), joten jouduin turvautumaan googlen ja wikipedia apuun, kun selitin lapsille mikä Laskiainen on. En muista että meidän perhe olisi paastonnut Laskiaisen jälkeen, mutta voi olla etten vaan muista. Sen sijaan muistan hauskat pulkkamäet, hernekeiton (joka ei ole suosikkiani) sekä ihanat laskiaispullat - hillolla, koska en tykkää mantelinmausta pullan sisällä.

Tämän päivän laskiaispullien reseptin löysin täältä, mutta sokerin sijaan käytimme hunajaa, ja kermavaahdon makeutimme fruktoosisokerilla. Herkkuja niistä tuli!

Romantic Get-Away/Romanttinen reissu

The Captain and I had an unexpected opportunity for a romantic get-away this week. Our awesome babysitter was available at a moment's notice to stay two nights at our house, so we packed our stuff and escaped to Northern Maine for three days!



Along with my in-laws, grandmother-in-law and the Captain's uncle and aunt from California ;-)
The real honeymooners, however, were the Captain's parents: my mother-in-law shared a bed with my grandmother-in-law, while my father-in-law slept on a cot in the same room :-D
(Nanny is elderly, and needs some assistance, but we all thought she was such a trooper to come on this trip!)



There is no shortage of snow in Maine! Take a step off the trail and sink in. We even had to dig snowmobiles out a couple of times... It was cold too: twenty below at night, brrr!!!!



But the snowmobiling is unbelievable up North. Look at the size of this groomer next to the Captain's sled. And yes, the trails really are this wide.







And the scenery: so gorgeous my fingers might have gotten mild frostbite as I kept snapping pictures with my iPhone (doesn't work with gloves on).



The negatives? You count the time your car stays clean in minutes - not in days.

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Kapteenilla ja minulla oli mahdollisuus lähteä kahdeksi yöksi romanttiselle reissulle, kun yllättäen löytyi vapaa lastenhoitaja. Lähdimme pohjois-Maineen viettämään laatuaikaa toistemme kanssa, sekä appivanhempien, isoäidin ja sedän ja tädin kanssa :-) Kapteenin vanhemmat vasta kuherruskuukautta viettivätkin: he olivat samassa huoneessa isoäidin kanssa!

Moottorikelkkailimme kolmena päivänä ja kerran Kapteenin kanssa kävimme lumikenkäilemässä myös. Lunta riitti, ja pakkasta myös: öisin lähes -30 C ja päivälläkin ainakin kymmenen pakkasastetta tuulen kanssa. Kylmyydestä (ja seurasta, heh heh) huolimatta meillä oli mahtava reissu!

Snowshoeing/Lumikenkäilemässä

One of our must-do winter activities is snowshoeing. This winter, however, we couldn't find our snowshoes! Last summer I spent several weeks sorting and packing up our belongings (we sort-of-moved-to-Florida, well we did, but hmmm - it's a long story - maybe another blog post?), and somehow the snowshoes ended up in a big container in the garage under two tables. I had looked for them several times already, but today decided to give it one more try. And finally success, yay!!!



Missy and I decided to spend some quality time together and go explore the woods behind our house.



Today was fairly warm (upper 30's?) and the snow was soft. Even with the snowshoes we kept sinking. It was a lot of work!



But fun, oh so much fun!




Missy and I laughed talked and trekked and fell and took pictures and laughed some more.



And held hands at times. Special time together. Filling our love tanks.



Walking back was a lot easier, we strictly stayed on the trail we had made :)



Little Miss was happy to see us back.



We enjoyed ourselves so much we left the snowshoes out, and will try to go out again, very soon!

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Koko talven olemme etsineet lumikenkiämme. Kesällä vietin muutaman viikon täällä käyden tavaroitamme läpi, organisoiden ja pakaten. Sen jälkeen en ole löytänyt lumikenkiä mistään. Muutaman kerran olin jo etsinyt niitä, ja tänään päätin vielä viimeisen kerran kokeilla. Ja jee, ne löytyivät isosta laatikosta kahden pöydän alta autotallista!

Missyn kanssa lähdimme lumikenkäilemään metsään talomme taakse. Oli lämmin päivä ja lumi pehmeää. Lumikengistä huolimatta upposimme joka askeleella, eli aika kovaa työtä tuli tehtyä. Oli ihanaa viettää aikaa kahdestaan, ja toivottavasti pääsemme pian takaisin!

Science Experiment: Taste Gene Lab

This picture is just not behaving for me! No matter what I do I can't make it turn. Oh well. I hope you don't get a crick in your neck reading the label.

At our homeschool we are just not that into science experiments. We watch the videos, but rarely do the experiments ourselves. But today our AOP Monarch (6th Grade) Science 604: Molecular Genetics Unit had an experiment even this homeschool mom could handle: Taste Gene Lab.

We tested whether we had a dominant or recessive gene for the chemical phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) by chewing PTC taste paper strips.

These were our instructions (copied from our lesson):

1. First, be sure you are located near a trash can lined with a plastic bag.

2. Chew one of the taste strips of PTC. It must be moistened with saliva. To some people, the PTC tastes very nasty; to others, it is tasteless.

3. Spit out the taste strip after you have chewed it. Do not swallow the paper.

4. Note your taste reaction by clicking on the Report button below. The lifesaver mint is to remove any unpleasant taste from your mouth.

• Describe your reaction to PTC. If you can taste PTC, indicate its flavor.
• Do you have a dominant gene or recessive gene for tasting PTC?
  
• If you can taste PTC, remember you may be TT or Tt.

We had a friend and his mom join our experiment. Mr. A went first, and definitely has the dominant gene. So does Mr. D. Missy made faces before the PTC paper strip went in her mouth, but then found out it had no taste: she has the recessive gene! When it was Mr. T's turn we concluded he has the weird (& dominant) gene, as he said: "Mmm.... It's bitter and delicious!" :)

Our friend A was next, and he has the recessive gene: the PTC paper strip had no taste for him. Little Miss spat our her PTC paper strip immediately and reached for the mints - another dominant gene. A's mom, Sennie & The Captain all had the dominant gene also, yuck!!!

Our conclusion was, based on The Punnet Square, that The Captain and Sennie both must have the hybrid dominant gene in order for three of our (biological) children to have the dominant gene, and one to have the recessive gene.

Very interesting stuff! I think everyone enjoyed this experiment. If anyone would like to try it, I have about 80 more strips I can mail to anyone who would like try it. Just leave me a comment with your email info or link.

I am linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop, won't you join us there, also?



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Kiitos Soile-kääntäjäni, tässä käännös:

Me emme pahemmin välitä tieteellisistä kokeista kotikoulussamme. Me katsomme videot, mutta harvoin teemme itse mitään kokeita. Mutta tänään kotikouluohjelmassamme oli koe, jonka jopa tämä kotikoulu-äiti pystyi hoitamaan: Maku-geeni testi.

Me testasimme olisiko meillä vallitseva vai väistyvä geeni fenyylitiokarbamidi (PTC) kemikaalille, pureskelemalla PTC:n makuisia paperiliuskoja.

Nämä olivat oppitunnin ohjeet (kopioituna meidän oppitunnilta):

1. Ensiksi, ole lähellä muovipussilla vuorattua roskista (!)

2. Pureskele yhtä PTC:n makuista liuskaa. Sen on kostuttava syljestä. Jotkut ihmiset maistavat PTC:n hyvin pahana makuna; toisille se on mauton.

3. Sylje pois makuliuska pureskelun jälkeen. Älä niele paperia.

4. Ilmoita makureaktiosi “klikkaamalla” alla olevaa “Ilmoitus” painiketta. Mintun tarkoitus on poistaa mahdollinen epämiellyttävä maku suusta.
Kuvaa reaktiosi PTC:lle. Jos maistat PTC:n, kuvaile sen maku.
Onko sinulla vallitseva vai väistyvä geeni PTC:n maistamiselle?
Jos voit maistaa PTC:n, muista että voit olla TT tai Tt. (Tarkoittaa että on perinyt molemmilta, tai vain yhdeltä vanhemmalta.)

Meidän ystävä, ja tämän äiti ottivat myös osaa testiin. Mr A kokeili ensin, ja hänellä on ehdottomasti vallitseva geeni. Kuten myös Mr D:llä. Missy irvisteli ennen kuin maistoi PTC luiskaa, mutta huomasi sen olevan mauton: hänellä on väistyvä geeni! Kun oli Mr T:n vuoro tulimme siihen tulokseen että hänellä on outo (ja vallitseva) geeni, koska hän sanoi: ”Mmm... Se on hapan ja herkullinen” =)

Ystävämme A oli seuraavana vuorossa; ja hänellä on väistyvä geeni: PTC paperiliuska oli hänelle mauton. Little Miss sylki välittömästi PTC paperiliuskansa ja ojensi kätensä kohti minttuja – jälleen vallitseva geeni. A:n äidillä, Senniellä ja The Captainilla oli myös kaikilla vallitseva geeni, yäk!!!

Päätelmämme on, että The Captain ja Sennie ovat molemmat vallitsevan geenin kantajia (Tt molemmilla), koska kolmella meidän (biologisista) lapsista on vallitseva geeni, ja yhdellä on väistyvä geeni.

Hyvin mielenkiintoista! Luulen, että kaikki nauttivat tästä testistä. Minulla on noin 80 paperiliuskaa jäljellä, ja jos joku haluaa kokeilla tätä, niin voin postittaa niitä. Jätä minulle mailiosoite kommenttiin.

Day With Friends/Päivä ystävien seurassa

Yesterday we had a fantastic day with friends, snowmobiling in the woods of New Hampshire, then sharing dinner together. All in all eighteen people. With Friday's new snow we were all excited to head out.



Eleven sleds traveling together. At intersections making sure the sled behind you is still following you. When meeting people going the opposite way signaling to them with your left hand fingers how many sleds are behind you.



A family picture! It was quite breezy on top of the mountain, hence the helmets on most of us. It was fun to go out with friends, and all our kids. Our kids don't always want to snowmobile, so at any given trip we might have no kids, some kids or all the kids. Yesterday wasn't too cold, and it might have been the last snowmobile trip of the season, so we encouraged everybody to go.





It was a beautiful day! We love exploring the woods, lakes and mountain tops. The scenery is breathtaking, and zipping on snowmobile trails a lot of fun.



Although, occasionally we need to navigate trickier spots. Somebody may or may not have taken a little swim here yesterday. (No little snowmobilers were harmed in the making of this blog post.)



Someone took a nap, of course. This is what The Captain says: "That happens when a little girl gets lulled asleep by the purring of a 1100cc engine. It happens every time we go snowmobiling at least once."



Aahh, finished the day with a delicious meal and sweet fellowship. What a great day!



So overall our Saturday trip: Thumbs up from The Captain and Little Miss (and everybody else, too)!!

I'm linking this post to Stephanie's Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Y'All.



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Eilen vietimme koko päivän ensin moottorikelkkaillen ystäviemme kanssa New Hampshiren metsissä, sitten istuen iltaa ystäviemme kotona. Kaiken kaikkiaan meitä oli kahdeksantoista ihmistä, ja moottorikelkkaladuilla yksitoista kelkkaa. Olimme aika mahtava karavaani :)

Perjantain lumimyrskyn jälkeen metsissä, vuorenhuipulla ja järvillä riitti lunta. Tänä aamuna sitä tuli lisää ja huomiselle on luvattu myös, joten ehkä tämä ei ollut viimeinen moottorikelkkareissumme tältä talvelta, niin kuin eilen ajattelimme.