School days, school days...

We started school on Monday. I almost put it off because the two littlest ones kept me up most of the night so we got a very late start to the day, but we decided to persevere, and it was worth it! The day went very smoothly and Bailey was terribly excited. Her cursive writing book had arrived in the mail earlier that day, which she noted was "very lucky!"

Today was a little rockier, Riley has been in "a mood" (for the last month...) and was being quite the distraction. She didn't want to sit at the table with us and color, but she also didn't want to play in her room. I read short board books to her after discussing subject topics with Bailey and instructing her on what to do.

One problem we've had is that I realized her Kindergarten teacher never taught her to hold a pencil properly. She initially was attempting to write using her middle finger instead of her pointer finger (which is not nearly as dexterous and can cause quite a cramp). So, we're working on that, and I'm a little embarrassed I never noticed it before! She had a lot of fun today and was sad when "school" was over!

I also made some delicious zucchini relish and it seems I successfully canned it! It came out very pretty and yummy, and gave me back some of the confidence I lost with my pickles. I've been mixing it with tuna and piling it onto sandwiches with tomatoes fresh out of the garden...mmmm! So delicious! I also realized I made a big mistake with my pickles- I attempted to pickle plain ol' cucumbers, which is apparently a Bad Idea. Next year, I'll make sure to plant pickling cucumbers, which are bred specifically for, well, pickling. My peaches are nowhere near ripe, but when they're ready, I'm looking forward to doing up some peach jam! I'm also contemplating taking the kids to a pick your own apple orchard and making a vat of apple butter, one of my favorite fall treats. If we can keep from devouring all this delicious food, I plan on giving some of these home-canned goods as gifts this Christmas!