Little House in the Big Woods (my little homesteader)

We've been having many suburban homestead adventures in the last week.  I finally asked for help and took advantage of four hours of child care to pull a couple garbage cans full of weeds (they'll slowly go into the yard debris bin).  This reprieve from motherhood gave me enough energy and balance to tackle many projects.  With a bit of renewed mental peace (my body is still exhausted), I was able to share some control of various tasks and let my just-turned-four daughter Hannah step in.  Many young children's "helpful tasks" aren't necessarily helpful, but this little girl now makes my domestic endeavors so much easier and more enjoyable.  It is refreshing to include her into activities, to see her feel good about her efforts, and to have her company.  We hope to spend a lot more time together on various homestead adventures.  Along with this small list of accomplishments, we've just finished our first chapter book together, Little House in the Big Woods.  Yes, this is the beginning of new shared joys.

I prepared the toppings and Hannah put everything together for our pizza dinner.

We picked apples from a neighborhood tree,.

Hannah and Paul pulled a wagon of apples all the way home (with a little help).

She put pears on the dining room table to ripen and carried and washed the apples for me to cut.

Tiny apples and apple cuttings became delicious apple cider (thanks to Paul's family).

As she started to get a cold, Hannah helped me wash, cut, and assemble ingredients for chicken noodle soup.

At the end of the gardening season, she pulled apart garlic cloves for planting.

She's planting five garlic cloves per square foot for overwintering.

We picked two zucchinis and then washed them in the rain water collecting in the kiddie pool.

Hannah is so proud of her zucchinis and excited about turning them into zucchini bread.

She planted these in June and they're finally ready for summer (in September).