In Everything...

Lydia's Kitten "Party"

2012-02-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

We asked Lydia for weeks before her actual birthday how she wanted to celebrate her birthday!! She has had the meal and the cupcakes (flavor, candles, icing color and even liners) picked out for over a month!

totally made with cake mix and a soda:)

Her answer was always the same. To have the kittens and their owner over to play for a little while. Not in their yard where they are accustomed to playing... but ours;)

She had her birthday cake and presents on Thursday night with our family and Grandma and Granddaddy. And that afternoon we had picnic-ed at the park with Grammie.

But on Saturday afternoon, the day of her party... it was the kittens that we got to celebrate with:)

no... we didn't feed them cake, but they did get a birthday plate!

This kitten loves snuggling with Chris:)

Lydia's birthday next year falls on a Saturday! Local peeps... mark your calendars now... there will be KIDS at her next party :) LOL!!

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

A Twist on Learning to Tie Shoes

2012-02-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

My mom taught Anna to tie her own shoes when she was five!! I was amazed that after a few minutes of instruction and then some practice, Anna had it down within the hour. Maybe she was just ready or maybe my mom is a genius!

I have been working with Chris and Lydia some. We all kind of get frustrated, I end up tying their shoes and then we go on our way until the next time I think it's a good idea that they learn to tie their shoes....

like when I'm trying to get out the door and have kiddos begging for me to tie their shoes for them, again :)

This week I got out the pipe cleaners for Nate to do this during some instruction time...

it had his full attention for 20 + minutes!

But I got some inspiration;) What if....

I used pipe cleaners in some shoes to help Chris and Lydia practice without having the laces flopping everywhere?

So I twisted two pipe cleaners together, stuck them through the top lace hole and we started to practice...

and NOT while we were all waiting at the door! Although there was still some not so excited students:)

The best thing is that they can practice the steps... learn what to do without the issue with the floppy laces!

And one student, after practicing with the pipe cleaners, went straight into practicing on her own shoes;)

She still needed a little help, but had the steps down! Just a little more practice and there will be one less pair of laces for me to tie as we head out the door!

BTW... there are cool little lace keeper things that help the kids get on their "tie" shoes. And usually I try to purchase Velcro, but somehow right now we have mostly tie shoes... looking forward to sandal weather! LOL!!

Maybe we'll have this tying thing down by then:) If not, I'm calling in Grammie;)

They are Little Sponges

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Anna and Granddaddy were having a little tiff at the dinner table about his snoring;) LOL!!

Anna commented,"You snore all the time!"

Granddaddy, "Well, I've been snoring before you were born!"

Anna, "Well, you are the first Son of Adam!"

LOL!! Oh, my!! I was in the same room listening on the conversation and almost fell out my seat! She most definitely DID get that "Son of Adam" comment from listening to The Chronicles of Narnia on CD;) Thanks Uncle Scott and Aunt Bea:)

****************************************************************************

We FINALLY had a decent evening to get outside and finish our "project" from the week before last. We had been discussing the tragedies during Charles II reign in London. First was the Plague and then the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Our history book suggested "building" a London street and then seeing how quickly the buildings built of very flammable materials and close together burned down. This was one project Chris couldn't wait to finish;)

Chris was listening to the story much more closely than I thought. As our little project was burning he said,"Oh, this fire is nothing. A woman could put it out."

Which is what our history lesson said that the Mayor of London said during the first hours of the fire! How wrong he was :(

But I thought it was great that Chris remembered that little detail of the story!

Caribbean Jerk Chicken

2012-01-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

I've been slacking a little in trying new recipes. Instead I have been falling back on those I know we like but haven't had in a little while;) Which still adds some variety, right:)

This is one of our favorites:) Very easy especially if you do a little planning ahead by having the chicken already in the freezer cut in cubes because I detest cutting up raw chicken!

Caribbean Jerk Chicken

McCormick Caribbean Jerk Seasoning

Raw Chicken cubed

Sausage links cut into circles (we use Hillshire Farms)

Oil

Green Pepper & Onion, cut into strips

Canned or fresh Pineapple

Salt, pepper

Saute chicken in just a bit of oil and some seasoning. Cook until it's no longer pink in the middle, but not over cooked!!

Add in sausage, green pepper and onion.

I then add some juice from the pineapple, some more seasoning, a sprinkle of salt and pepper. You could put the pineapple in at the end so it is warmed too, but right now my family prefers the pineapple on the side and cold.

Serve with rice!

This also make great kabobs:)

Easy, simple, no food allergy issues with this one! And everyone likes it;)

I also am trying to better organize my recipes on and off the blog;) There is a new page titled Our Recipes that contains are favorite recipes that are all dairy, egg and peanut-free for our family!

Linking up to...
Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff
Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Blessed with Grace
Tasty Tuesday @ 33 Shades of Green

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The Curls are Gone :(

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

His curls appeared a few months ago... just some sweet little curls around his ears:) Precious!

And then they became beautiful...

all coiled around his neckline;)

The few months of having a little boy with gorgeous, crazy hair and strangers always asking if my baby was a "girl or boy" went too fast! Too fast!

While I WANTED the angelic hair to stay a little longer... I just loved those crazy curls on that sweet baby head.... I knew the time was coming when they had to go!!

One reason was that his hair was really long and needed a trim:)Not just the back...

But the front, too!

I tried to trim some in the front, but it looked really bad being short in the front and sooo long in the back :(

So we had to go for the BIG cut!!

After that, the curls were gone :(

Far from a glamorous salon, Nate's first haircut (not Mommy's needed trims) was done on a Saturday morning in a dry bathtub by Daddy and Mommy taking turns trimming and entertaining Nate... mostly using a lollipop:)

He did well:)

And then after seeing him for hours, we stuck him BACK into the tub to trim and try to shape his hair a little more... to get the "final" cut!!

Yes, it's a little bittersweet to see the curls gone. It was one more symbol of the "baby days" slipping by and a little boy emerging!

Moments to Remember : Hanging with the Big Sisters;)

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Soo thankful for the moments that Little Nate can hang out with his Big Sisters...

reading books or

building a hide-out in the living room;)

A quote with much meaning to me this week:

"You only have one chance to be with your own children.
After they have grown you can do what you want."

from Things We Wished We'd Known by Bill & Diana Warring

I just needed to hear these wise words. As I want to try to get involved with "more". It's nice to get that swift "kick in the tail" that shows me where my priorities should be.

She's 5 Today!

2012-01-26T10:17:00.002-05:00

Today we are celebrating our Lydia's birthday:)

It's amazing how much this little girl brightens our days. With her usually sweet disposition a perfectly dressed baby doll under one arm and a sword in the other!! Her generous servant's heart! Her playfulness and compassion on others! Independent and super sweet mixed with a little sass;)

Happy 5th Birthday, Lydia!!

{pretty}

{happy}

{funny}

{real}

My little princess tomboy with her faithful companion...

a big brother that is just as adventurous as she is and not very far away;)

Her favorites:

Color : Chocolate
Food : Tacos
Treat: Trader Joe's soy ice cream
Subject: Work with Pattern Blocks
Animal: Tiger
Do inside: Watch a movie
Outside Activity: Play with the kittens, Jump on the Trampoline
Toys: Remote controlled car
Restaurant: Sonic with a playground and a slushie
Book: Hop on Pop
Movie: Lion King
PBSkids Show: Curious George, Wild Kratts

Goals for her 5th year: To ride a horse.

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond "I don't know, maybe be a wife"!

And what is the coolest thing about being 5?? She responded, "because I'm bigger than Nate!"

Here's is last years stats and questions, so they can be compared;)

Today we are celebrating simply! Maybe lunch out at a park (it's supposed to be really nice)!! Then await the arrival of grandparents:) A dinner of tacos, fruit salad, chips and salsa. And CUPCAKES... of course, picked out down to the sprinkles and liners, by Lydia!

My heart (in Scripture) for Lydia:

Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you;
but I want you to be wise about what is good,

and innocent about what is evil.(Romans 16:19)

Dairy & Egg-Free Ice Cream Sandwiches

2012-01-24T23:31:00.000-05:00

We are taking two of our favorites and putting them together for our "new" recipe this week :)

The first is our favorite dairy and egg-free chocolate chip cookie recipe from Food Allergy Mama.

The recipe is totally worth re-posting... with a few tweaks:)

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
from Food Allergy Mama

2/3 c. dairy free shortening
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 to a whole box of Jello vanilla pudding mix (my tweak)
1 tsp. good quality vanilla extract
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mini dairy free chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and applesauce. In a separate medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Add to shortening mixture and combine until creamy. Stir in chocolate chips and drop with a cookie scooper onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake 12-14 minutes (we usually only bake them about 9 minutes) or until lightly brown. Cool slightly on baking sheet and serve!

** I NEVER make just ONE batch. I always double it... always! Whether we have no other sweets in the house or someone needs to bring a snack or we are wanting to share!

The second favorite for this recipe is Trader Joe's soy ice cream!!

I have to be honest, I detest MOST non-dairy ice creams!! I don't think they are worth the calories;)LOL!!

But Trader Joe's has some fantastic soy ice cream making skills;) We purchase ice cream (and chocolate chips) while we visit with family and then transport it all packed up in multiple coolers to get it home! Or we make them bring us some when they visit;) Thanks, MOM!!!

Cookie, Trader Joe's Soy Ice Cream...

and another Cookie;)

A delicious "new" desert for us that is delightful to eat:)

Linking up to...
Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff
Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Blessed with Grace
Tasty Tuesday @ 33 Shades of Green

More Works for Me Wednesday @ We Are That Family!

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TIny Talk Tuesday: GI Joes and Mom vs McDs

2012-01-24T08:24:00.002-05:00

This week Brian got out some more of his favorite childhood toys!! He had basically saved his entire collection of G.I. Joes, figures and vehicles.

The kids had blast looking through the toys:) And watching Brian put all the pieces together and tell them what each item was.

Brian held up one piece and Anna shouted out, "It's a purse!" Such a girl guess, LOL!!

Brian chuckled and the corrected her, "It's binoculars!"

Later in the evening, Chris said the sweetest thing, "Daddy, thank you soo much for saving all your toys for me!"

************************************************************************

Last week we made fried chicken sandwiches for dinner;) Our way:)

We discovered a few weeks ago that we could McDonalds chicken nuggets and $1 chicken sandwiches.

So while eating a dinner of fried chicken sandwiches, one of the kids said, "Whoa, Mom! These are even better than the ones at McDonalds!"

A+ for Mom;) LOL!!! Nice to know my kids are rating mine better than McD's:)

Who Is That Kid

2012-01-23T11:06:00.002-05:00

in Brian's lap??

Did you guess....

NATE!!!

He looks different....

a lot different :(

details coming.

Weekly Wrap-up : Math Pictures & Chemistry Helps

2012-01-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

We started the week with a holiday;) The kids and I took the day of home schooling, but it wasn't long before they set-up their own school in Chris' room and were bringing us math problems they needed help with. Chris is a tough teacher;)

We did read a few books about Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and discussed a little. The laws and "world" that he lived in seems sooo foreign to what my kids are used to. They thought that the man who demanded for Rosa Parks to give up her seat was rude! And that people should always been treated the same regardless of the color of their skin. I am thankful for children who aren't "color-blind" but know that God loves all people and wants us to do the same!

Bible

We spent the week reading through the Gospel stories about Christ, working on Awana verses and reading through the Proverbs of the day.

Since we are starting Awana halfway through the Awana-year, the kids want to "catch up" with everyone. I think Lydia did 3 sections in one week, Anna had 4 sections signed off and Chris received his vest and 1st Sparks book :) So thankful for our return to Awana... they love the program and their teachers;)

Language Arts
The kids really enjoyed Sight Word Bingo. So one day this week, I let Spelling go for the day. It was nice to sit and play for a bit:)Nate even joined us for a few seconds to put the little papers in the boxes;)

We stayed on top of reading this week:) YAY... always good;) Our favorite activity was Lydia and I conversing (aka... reading a script) over Banana phones;) She was a little hesitant because it was silly... but she asked to do it again the next morning;)

Anna tried to get a picture, but for reading Lydia and Chris have been wiggling their way into my lap!

Anyway, it struck me of what a sweet way of learning how to read... that I need to savor these early learning moments and not rush through them to check it off my "to do" list!! Or get frustrated over lack of effort that happens:)

I am blessed to be home and able to sit with my kids in my lap as they learn to read.... BLESSED!!

And maybe we'll get a picture this week:)

Math
We had a fun math week... here's proof;)

making a pattern fence out of pattern blocks to keep in the lions!

Anna hard at work on her "math project"

She had to find all the abbreviations and capitals for 30 states, then the weather temp. Then she had to round it to the nearest ten and make a graph!! Her favorite part was using weather.com :)

Lydia's lessons are prepaing her to play "store" soon:) She had to purchase a few things using pennies and dimes;)

Using Daddy's GI Joes to make "some & some more" word problems;) Great math activity for a little BOY!

History
This week learned about the beheading of Charles I and take over of Oliver Cromwell. About Cromwell's unpopular Protectorate and Charles II's return to England. And then how Londoners were hit with the Plague (again) and the Great Fire of London!

We also read (and are still reading) a historical fiction book from that time period called Nell of Branford Hall by William Wise. What was soo unique about the book was how kid friendly it was and how many notable historical figures the book mentions... Newton, Sir Christopher Wren, Charles II, etc! It was like the book came right from our history book.

Our project for the week was to re-create the Great Fire of London. We colored and glued our little pieces of LOndon together... but due to lots of rain, wind and cooler weather, we haven't gotten to burn up our project... yet!! Chris can't wait:)

Science

I feel like I'm floundering with Chemistry this year!!

We have lots of friends doing Classical Communications this year... both locally and kinda far! They are learning about the periodic table during these next few weeks. So I thought we'd "join" in.... kind of! The kids and I reviewed the parts of the atoms, what elements were and we started on the periodic table!

We also did a little activity to get them to thinking how small an atom really is!

It takes 31 cuts to make an atom... I got to 14!!

I'm hoping to have them learn the first 12 elements (name, atomic number, and what it is/does) of the periodic table... taking a few each week. And then doing one of the little experiments each week to give us some hands-on, too!

Here are some of the resources we are using or planning to use:
The paper cutting activity
List and links to Elements 1-36
Periodic Table with links to introduction to each Element
Proton Don (periodic table game)
Found some Atom Structure Worksheets here
Chemistry Activities and Lesson Plans

I'd love to hear what your younger children liked learning about Chemistry!! I need some inspiration!

Favorite Pictures of the Week:

Snack Time! - Anna style

Lydia's winter observations;)

Nate's "fun" activity of bringing us ALL of his shirts from his dresser.... never a dull or clean moment around here!

Linking up to Weekly Wrap Up!!

Moments to Remember

2012-01-21T11:13:00.000-05:00

Just a quick move around activity working on "left" and "right",

turns into a group activity...

and then a sweet, sweet moment:)

LOL!! Can't you hear the giggles?

Such a great Moment to Remember during those momentary tough moments... yes, we have those, too!

Linking up to Homeschool Creations this week;)

Bound To Happen

2012-01-21T00:14:00.000-05:00

When you have a child who constantly is doing stuff like this....

too bad I didn't get a video... he was DANCING up there;) Yikes!

bumps and bruises are going to happen.

Friday he gave me a scare though.

Climbing around the base of his highchair (and WAY close to the ground compared to where he is usually climbing) he slipped. He hit the back of his head on the window sill corner, knocking off paint and poking a whole in his scalp.

Man... little heads BLEED!!

We had drops of blood all over the kitchen floor, down the back of his PJs and on me! It looked bad! And of course his 3 little guardians were more freaked out more than this Momma!!

His screaming quickly subsided and soo did the bleeding. And we got a second and third opinion that he probably didn't need stitches. Phew... don't know if I could have made it through THOSE, too!

Other than his sore spot and a scab, he has fully recovered.

Keeping us entertained!

Reading in bed with me after his nap... as I was TRYing to work;)

Throwback Thursday: In the Tub

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Nate @ 7 months;)


Nate @ 20 1/2 months;)

Where does the time go?

CRASH

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Brian received Jenga as a gift for Christmas! It's a game he had been wanting for a while... one of those "we'll play after the kids go to bed" games. But they begged and thought they could do it!! They were right:) We've had a great time and have played again and again already;)

{pretty}

All the Jenga blocks stacked.

All the family playing together.

{funny}

Daddy, impressed at how the kids' Jenga skills.

Nate preparing for the crash.

{happy}

Smiles everywhere.

{real}

No matter how careful you are...

the blocks come CRASHing down!!

You hang your head

smile...
and stack them back up again.

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

Buffalo Chicken Wings

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't shared much about my many resolutions for this New Year... right now I'm just trying to be a good Mom and keep up :/

One of my goals though through the year is to try out some new recipes:) I feel like we've been in such a food rut, just eating what the kids like and that is easy to fix, and I'm ready to make a change. Put more effort into meals and to mix up our meals a bit.

So on top of everything else we have going on, I'm going to try to cook, bake, or create a new recipe each week or maybe more and just share one each week!

We had chicken wings on sale last week and I thought I'd try a Buffalo Chicken Wing recipe that I thought Brian would like. Something I know he would like to eat while we're out but couldn't because of his food allergies (milk, and sensitivity to garlic).

Restaurant Style Buffalo Chicken Wings
recipe from allrecipes.com and adapted to fit us;)

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon paprika*
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper*
(I didn't have the paprika or c.pepper, so I used 1/4+ of chili powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 chicken wings
oil for deep frying
1/4 cup butter (light Blue Bonnet)
1/4 cup hot sauce
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash garlic powder (I left this out)

Directions

1. In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, an inch or so deep. Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving.

3. Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together. Serve.

I was a little worried how leftovers would taste, but I didn't need to worry!! Brian ate all that I made for him:)

And he is wanting to invite over friends for a party so I will make some more;)

Just an FYI... these are obviously are a treat for us:) And the kids were not impressed... LOL!! They would barely smell them!

* I didn't have the paprika or c.pepper, so I used 1/4+ of chili powder.

Linking up to...

Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff
Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Blessed with Grace
Tasty Tuesday @ 33 Shades of Green

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Weekly- Wrap Up : Snowflakes, Pattern Blocks and Getting Back into a Routine

2012-01-16T16:35:00.003-05:00

Last week we tried to get back into a routine.... back to home school, back to chores and housework! We did accomplish a lot... it definitely was WORK getting back to into the swing of things! Just as hard for me as the kids;)

Bible
The kids and I have been reading through the Proverbs that correspond to the day of month. One or twice they have drawn one of the Proverbs, other times we just talk about it. It's been interesting what they pick up and what we talk about. It's been fun.

We also have been reading through the Egermeiers Story Bible... we've tried reading through it before. But this time we are starting from the New Testament:) So as we settle in for rest time in the afternoons we read a story or two about Christ's life (at least right now... soon it will be His resurrection and the early church).

The kids returned to Awana last week as well. They were soo excited about going back into the program! They are eagerly studying verses and doing Cubbie Hugs.

Language Arts
Everyone is still doing their First Language Lessons (FLL)! While they may initially grown, Chris and Lydia enjoy the short, fun, interactive lessons from Vol 1! This week we did 3 lessons on pronouns;) And Anna "the workbook queen" loves pulling out her workbook! She's become quite the little sentence diagram-er! We added in adverbs this week;)

We are still working on Thank You notes. So our writing/copywork has included some letter writing;)

Maybe it was the break, but this week Chris and Lydia really did well with OPG. Sometimes we hit lessons that are more challenging for them or they forget phonic rules from previous weeks, but last week I really felt like I could see am improvement with BOTH of them!! Just a sweet homeschooling mom moment to see (and hear) the kids get better at reading;)

Anna is reading like a pro;) The problem is that she's too much like her mother... she's picky about the books she reads, but she she finds a good one she reads and reads and reads and reads until it's finished:) Anna devoured Ramona and her Mother this week and only touched the history library books :(

For Spelling, Lydia started another Unit from You Can Read @ 1+1+1=1. Anna worked through 2 lessons from Spelling Power. And Chris reviewed Sight Words from the Fall "semester" and then we played Sight Word Bingo, too;)

Lydia liked trying to read words off the Bingo cards;)

Math
Saxon, Saxon, Saxon;)

We did have one change for the New Year... and that was Chris getting to move into Saxon 2:) He was very excited! And since they always start with review, it was an easy week and a great start;)

The girls completed 4 or lessons this week:) And our Pattern Blocks from Christmas got plenty of use... from Nate and the girls;)

Lydia used them to find different ways to make certain shapes.

Anna used them for fractions... seeing how different combinations of fractions can equal a whole.

And Lydia used the Pattern Block Design to make different pictures. The butterfly was beautiful:)

History
This week we jumped into India for our history! Again, with the help of Story of the World and our awesome librarian we read a chapter, narrated, mapped it out, and read some fun books. The main characters had crazy names... so basically they were some ruthless emperors who thought they were rulers of the world when they ruled India. They made some bad decisions though that caused India to fall into the hands of a European nation (to be continued in another chapter...)!

For the activity the kids decorated a peacock picture and decorated it with glitter. The decor of the buildings and dwellings of these three rulers would have been very nicely and expensively decorated because of how wealthy India was due to trading with the world.

Anna's finished project:)

Some of our favorite books to go with India were... Tigers at Twilight(a Magic Treehouse Book), The Blind Men and the Elephant,and Taj Mahal: A Story of Love and Empire (Wonders of the World Book).

As I look at all the different countries we are visiting through our history lessons. I am a little saddened that we aren't spending more time learning about the actual country. We definitely read books about the countries and stories from the countries. But Anna seems to pick up more when she has an activity or something that goes with it. I just found these printable Country Fact Sheets from Homeschool Creations (one of my favorite home school mommas). Anyway, we'll be working on these each week, too!! To help us try to remember all the places we've been to:)

Science
Since I'm doing awful at Science this semester, I decided to ease us back into Chemistry using something seasonal and fun. So last week we did Snow and Snowflakes.

We used the book The Story of Snow as our guide. We read it and discussed the whys and hows;) Anna made a Chemistry of snowflakes notebook page with three chemistry facts about snowflakes. While I worried it might be soo simple for Anna I learned a lot.

Do you know... What do snowflakes start from? And why are they six-sided??

I read the younger books to the younger kids and Anna and I plan to tackle the man who photographs snowflakes this week (kind of a delay there).

The rest of our snowflake time was spent trying to make paper snowflakes with six sides. The kids had fun with this but it wasn't until we started doing some "tough" designs that I realized we were learning about symmetry:)

The best snowflake was this one! Anna wanted to make it for our neighbor who they try to visit daily:) She is the kitten owner and an avid gardener!

Can you pick out cats and flowers ???

This is the limit to this Momma's artistic abilities;)

Well, that's about it for us:)

I've been trying to get into a routine for myself... trying to balance home schooling, the house, downtime with the kids and teaching my online classes. I'm a little stressed out... but I know that it will become routine soon.

Just thankful for the weekend... a day out to town with the family, my parents visiting for the whole day on Sunday (soo nice!) and an extra day to get myself together for schooling everyone this week:)

Linking up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers:)

No Way!

2012-01-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

SOOC: Mine

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

"Mine," he says with his treasure tucked in his little hand behind his back.

With the little rocks still in his hand and a mischievous grin to go with the "mine".

had to edit this one

"Being Realistic" ... about Groceries

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's been happening for a while now... "groans" as the cashier tells me the total of our weekly groceries shops... yes, audible groans.

Groceries are getting expensive!!

I remember our seminary days. Brian and I both having part-time jobs, both going to school and our $50 grocery bills that used to make me "groan".... LOL!! That was our goal... staying at $100 for all our weekly incidental expenses.... groceries, gas, movies, out to eat, etc!!

So now when just my weekly grocery shop rings up $100+... yes, I "groan"... loudly! LOL!! And then we still go back to the grocery store at the end of the week... for soymilk, fruit, occasionally juice or to pick up something I forgot the 1st time;)

Thankfully we have all our needs provided for. My husband is an avid budget -er and has it all planned out so that we can have grocery money, pay the bills, save for a house, and even save a bit for the kids' college:) So to save we try to stick with the budget!!

After "groaning" this week, I began to wonder though... is our budget realistic?

We roughly average about $150 a week on groceries! Which sounds crazy high to me...

but then divide $150 by the 6 of us...

$25 to feed each one of us for a WEEK!!!

Good grief... we are conservative even on our infrequent "nights out" and spent more than that on just one evening out for just TWO of us!!

I used to coupon a LOT!!! I still bring along my coupons, just in case! But I've really gotten out of the habit of only purchasing items on sale and stocking up on items we use regularly... it just got too crazy to bring coupons and 4 children!

As I attempt to get back into couponing to be more frugal with our finances...

I realize I need to be realistic....
there will probably no longer be $50 grocery bills on the stock up trips...

Not with all these sweet mouths to feed;)

Besides shopping sales, using coupons and gardening.... How do you try to keep the grocery bills from getting too high??

What to do With the Little Ones?

2012-01-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

I have been one of those mothers that fights for that morning nap until the kiddos are older than 2!! I think my kids just function better when they aren't sleepy and it's been awesome in attempting to get most of our homeschooling done in the morning;)

When Nate threw a curveball into our mornings by NOT napping at 18 months... life got busy! While we still have few mornings I can still get him to nap, the majority of days Nate is with us all morning.

In trying to prepare myself for 4 kids during school time, I have revisited some of my old posts (and found some new ones) and made a new list of how to keep the younger ones busy:) Maybe it can help you, too!!

Toddler
* Counting Bears, Beans or Rice and plenty of cups... oh, and on a blanket!!
*Coloring
*Aqua Doodle
*Playing with or gluing construction paper shapes
*Duplo blocks
*Train set
*Tons of Tot Trays and other fabulous ideas HERE!!
* Videos - Little Einstein, Leap Frog: Letter Factory (a MUST have)
*Chunky, simple puzzles
*Wipeboard, markers and close supervision
*On a lap to be read to ( good for the older ones to have someone to read too!)
*LeapFrog Letter Whammer
*Workbox Ideas
*Play - Doh ... yikes!!
*Pattern blocks (he plays with them)
*Poking pipe cleaners in a strainer... ingenius
*Snack:)

Preschoolers (when they are ready)
some of the above plus....

* I've loved using this "everything" book for my kids when they first started to want to "do school"... it's cheap and they can do as little or as much as they want. It's also broken into subjects- colors, shapes, letters, puzzles, etc - so you could make all your activities themed based, if you wanted;)
*I've never used these Preschool Packs... but it's only b/c I didn't know about them while we were preschooling! We will be using them with Nate;)
* Letter of the Week by Confessions of a Homeschooler! I'm hoping to use this with Nate, when he's ready:) She also has a K4 Curriculum;)
*Cut & Paste workbooks... I found some at WalMart for Lydia last year
*Cutting up magazines to make a collage (colors, shapes,animals, themes or beginning with letters,etc)
*Practice letters/writing.... we use wipeboards, chalk outside, workbooks... whatever and whenever they want;)
*Starfall
*Videos - more Leap Frog, Learning Spanish ( we use Kids Love Spanish)
*Looking through library books
*Refrigerator letters
*LeapFrog Tag and books;)
*Puzzles
*Memory and Matching games
*Pattern Blocks and Pattern designs

not quite ready to "sort" yet;)

Kindergarten ideas
*Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading
*Saxon Math (I start with 1st grade in K.... and my kids have done well!)
* You Can Read by 1+1+1=1... cute and easy printables to teach sight words... we use it & love it!! I could have started before K (at least with Lydia!!)
*Five in a Row - I did this with Anna (and two little tag-alongs) and we loved it. I'll definitely consider using some of the ideas/format for Nate when he's ready to school with us. Maybe try to conform each week to a little guy book about our history topic... or something!

Inspirational Blogs/Websites (especially with preschoolers)
1+1+1 = 1
Confessions of a Homeschooler
PreKinders
A Gentle Mother : Little's Activities
A Toddler Box

Do you have any more ideas to share??? I'd love to hear them!

Linking up to Works For Me Wednesday:)

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

**I feel like I need a disclaimer with all these links:) None of these links are paid advertising... just resources I hope inspire and encourage those with little ones (with or without BIG ones at home, too)!!

TTT: The Stupid Sign & the Sleep Talker

2012-01-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Anna and I were still at the table, both busy doing our own thing:)

She looked at me with a strange little face and started banging her fist onto her head.

I guess I must have given her a strange look because when she saw me looking over the computer screen at her, she started saying, "Stupid, stupid, stupid" while banging her fist to her head.

The last few months I have started using the word stupid. I don't like the word. In fact, I always apologize when it slips and explain that it's not a word we should use!

So I wasn't very outraged or surprised when Anna was saying it because they have gotten it from me:( But I was a little confused as to why my little girl was hitting her own head saying "stupid".

And then she held up a book with her other hand.... The Joy of Signing!!

LOL.... she was doing the ASL sign for "stupid".

So now I am correcting verbal and non-verbal uses of "stupid".... just lovely!

***************************************************************

Speaking of signing...

Since Nate first started signing the word "please" I have been working with him on the word "more". For months when he'd cry out for 2nds at meals, I'd show him the sign "more" and then put more on his plate. We'd repeat and practice, repeat and practice.

Well out of the blue a few weeks ago, Nate signed "more"!! He signed it to Brian who asked me what nate's gestures meant! LOL... I couldn't believe he did it! All of a sudden after 8 months of practicing;)

So I've been teaching him a couple of more words. One of my favorites is banana.... I taught him Saturday morning as we were getting his breakfast together. And the little guy signed it back to me on Sunday morning (no prompts) when I joked about Anna's name rhyming with "banana". There he was making the "banana" sign;)

****************************************************************
Nate is the "thank you" King!! He says it a lot.

One afternoon as I was working with Anna in her room as Nate was drifting off to sleep, he got really quiet. I peaked over at him and his little eyes were shut.

Just seconds later with his eyes barely opened, the girls and I heard "Thank you" from Nate. And then he was silent again.

He's even using good manners in his sleep:)

Update on our New Home :: Still Jumping Through Hoops

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't mentioned much about our searching for a home and moving :(

Honestly.... it's been a very stressful time.

I've had many people tell me to "enjoy this exciting time". I try to smile and share the latest developments. But none of this has been very enjoyable.

While we searching in the city in late-August, we questioned over and over our decision to live soo far from Brian's work and whether we really were "golf course" (where the house site was) people.

And then when we searched in the small town, we questioned whether this would be a long-term move for us. Whether we should just rent or find our dream home or how our kids would have other homeschooling friends (since at that time we knew of NO other homeschoolers). After searching the available homes, we also felt like building was a better option for us.

Finally in early October we found a home. A modular home, already built, on clearance and needing some land and a family. Seriously, folks, this home is a "dream" home for us.... if it wasn't for the fact that it's on sale AND the economy is in our favor right now, it wouldn't have been even a remote possibility.

Then we began a search for land for our home;) Between soccer games and Brian's late nights, we found a piece of land that fit BOTH of us! A quiet, isolated, wooded area (Brian) in a neighborhood (Kelly)... total opposites, LOL!!... seriously, it didn't seem possible. And then for the land to be in our price range and close to town where Brian worked, too!! Perfect!

The family marking out where to put the house for the contractor's plans

We started the loan process at the end of October.... just days later we were pre-approved!! After 2+ months of searching it looked like things were really moving... right??

Since starting the loan process, it's really felt like "jumping through hoops"! One day we'll get an email asking us about our parents' addresses... the next week it's getting some document from town to finalize our contract.

Finally on Wednesday before Christmas we got an email asking us to finalize how the loan was to be distributed.... YEAH!! We talked with the bank and our contractor and started making mental plans of when we could meet the lawyer to get everything finalized. What an awesome Christmas gift!!

Then the next day, Thursday, we're contacted by the bank that a portion of the property is in a FLOOD AREA.... WHAT??!??! Seriously?? Isn't that something we should have been told in October when we were looking at the land or when we were signing contracts about the land???

Another curveball, with more hoops.... getting the land surveyed, looking for property markers...

it's been emotional, stressful....

see... we even had neighbors and HIGH grass;)

definitely NOT "enjoy this exciting time"!!

Makes me wonder if we really are making the right choice with this house, this land, right now?

or

Maybe I am needing to learn perseverance and/or patience??

While I'm trying to share this without whining, please forgive me if it sounds like that!! We're just tired and ready to be "home" wherever that is. And let me also say that I know that these feelings are probably what most people feel and go through during purchasing a house or other big decisions.

So I really have tried to combat the stress and discouragement with being thankful for this opportunity....

just the fact that we can even look at purchasing a home, that our needs are taken care of and that we have a hope of being "home" sometime soon!!

And by being hopeful (and yes, a little excited) about "our" house and property!!

Until everything is finalized.... we'll just keep jumping through hoops!

356. learning patience..... some more :(
357. ability to afford a home
358. a place to feel at home... one day
359. new homeschooling families nearby
360. that the process is going forward
361. learning to parent in light of God's Grace
362. a part-time job at home
363. warm soup
364. snuggling a sleeping toddler
365. a chorus of "forgiven, forgiven, forgiven, again"
366. cornbread with a pat of butter and a little syrup
367. a baby joke (calling me "Da-da" on purpose) with giggles
368. tromping through "our-hopefully-future" yard
369. hearing the Indian calls as the kids play in the woods
370. hope... in the midst of fear, sadness, stress and exhaustion

SOOC: Visiting Gran-Grandma & the Friendliest Cat

2012-01-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

While away at Christmas, we visited with our Gran-Grandma (Brian's grandmother and the kids great grandmother). It was a beautiful day and since the kids were dealing with some sniffles we tried to keep them outdoors while a few of us visited with Gran-Grandma. And watched kids from the window! Because they are always fun to watch:)

And then a cat from a neighbor's came over to check out all the noise:)

It was the friendliest and most gentle cat I have ever seen!!!

The kids had a blast "taking care" of the cat and it didn't seem to mind all the attention!

Nate also entertained Uncle Larry with little rocks... he kept Uncle Larry VERY busy:)

**The picture of Nate and Uncle Larry, Lydia picking up the cat and the close up of the cat were editted.... I couldn't help it :)

Linking up to Marvelous Mommy's SOOC Saturday! Today is a giveaway for a camera strap!

20 Months

2012-01-06T16:47:00.000-05:00

In just 4 months I'll no longer have a baby :( I'll have very busy little 2 year old.

Let me say this though.... many days it feels like I already have a 2 yr old :/

the guilty look

Stats

Weight - 25 pounds
Wears size 24month/2T tops and 18/24 month pants
Size 3 diapers
Tons of teeth... no molars yet

New Tricks

Putting on shoes that are almost the right size
Doing the "more" sign... although I think he is using it interchangeably with "please"
Taking off pants
Going up and down the slide on many playgrounds alone
Will "high 5" and "fist bump"
Will make kissing noise and has started kissing on the cheek
Jumping with BOTH feet coming off the ground!
He's been saying "thank you" again... it's even more adorable now because he has learned to say it when we give him something, or help him;) It's a very sweet phrase to hear!

Sillies

Starting to act like a "dog" and will crawl around "barking"
Climbing into bed with siblings
Making a podium and "singing" from a book
Dancing, dancing, dancing

New Verbage

Over Christmas Break Brian said "I love you" to Nate as he was walking out of the door and Nate responded "Luv you"..... precious, but not heard by Mommy yet
Good at jibber-jabber... at different tones - when he's excited or said or trying to talk us into something
Bye-Bye and Da-da are very clear and very constant;) With Ma-ma coming in a close 3rd :)
If we say "One, two...", Nate answers "three".

Bad Habits

We've had a string of temper tantrums lately..... yelling, stomping, boogers everywhere... not pretty. Nate doesn't like to be told what to do or not do!! Unfortunately his Momma isn't very "moved" by yelling and crying when it's because a little boy isn't getting his way. So we're working through them ONE battle at a TIME.
Also working on staying quiet at church.... an ongoing battle. While I've been bringing quiet activities for him, they are NOT working. So I've started taking away his Doggie and paci if we have to leave :( We'll try it for a bit... the good thing is that I feel like I can leave now that Brian is sitting with us each week!
Constantly getting out of the crib with the side low or high!! It makes bedtime seem like forever! I found a "works for now" solution by reading with the older kids while he's in the crib and then sitting in the room until he falls asleep!
Spitting... when angry or silly. Yuck... especially at the season when we're extra careful about germs. Usually ask him to stop and/or tap his mouth with my hand so he knows what I'm asking him to stop.
Does NOT share :( We're working on it!

Having a 20 month old around, is like a walking tornado.... just all the noise and mess this little guy creates in minutes is amazing to me. But he has a little vibrant personality that just brightens up the room and is a welcomed sight to his Daddy every afternoon.

Nate LOVES to sing, dance, play and wrestle with his Daddy (or anyone else that is willing to take him on). It's hard not to just smile at his crazy antics and loudness!!

We are definitely in the season of correcting and training Nate... phew! It can be tough trying to balance legitimate requests and demanding demands. I'm hoping once he adds to his vocabulary a bit, he'll be able to ask instead of fussing or grunting.

And since he rarely takes morning naps, he keeps us busy in the mornings;) I'm hoping to have a list of some of the activities we use to keep Nate busy during school time:)

His messy curly locks are getting long again in the front. We've been seriously debating for a bit now about really cutting his hair.... oh, it breaks my heart! It's like he looses the "baby" look!! Just one more way that "my baby" is growing up soo quickly! I'll keep you posted if the scissors come out !!

Momma's Got a Paid Job!!!

2012-01-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

While on the hunt for a home, the reality of having a "big" family and living on one income has caused many conversations about this Momma getting a job...

I mean, I HAVE had a job these last 7+ years ... it's full-time!! Very challenging, demands lots of creativity and energy:)

But the pay is non-existent... LOL!!

I gave my husband a couple of ideas of how I could continue to stay at home and bring in a little income... working the graveyard shift at Wal-Mart, getting a paper route, selling my hair ;) LOL!!!

Thankfully my husband is much wiser than I!! And he is in demand at work... so much so that he figured out that I could take some of his load off him by "teaching" some of the classes he was being asked to teach at the community college.

And yes, I was qualified to teach them:)
Gotta love finishing my Masters before the kiddos came... thanks MOM, for those words of wisdom!!

So this semester I am a new online instructor at our local community college. I get to teach Old Testament and New Testament! And all online!!! Responding to students during nap time and posting new assignments, grading, making assessments and keeping up with the reading after everyone is tucked in for the night!!

If you think I am totally relaxed about all of this... then I've done a good job to mislead you:) I'm a bit freaked out... just a BIT!! LOL!! It's going to be a challenge to keep up with teaching my three (teaching and planning) and then have almost 30 more students online.... thankfully its only two classes/subjects to plan for AND subjects I have been taught and have studied before:) And my husband is a great resource having taught both the classes online last semester and being a pastor;)

So, Momma's got a job.... a paid job;)

And I have to share this...
Anna had heard our conversations about the possibility of me getting a job. She knows friends whose parents work and the kids are school age or go to daycare. I think the idea of me getting a job scared her but she didn't say anything.

When I found out that I got the job I shared it with her. She was silent for a moment and then said," So what will happen to us?"

I was taken back a moment because I didn't understand her point-of-view. But then I explained that it's an online teaching job, so nothing with our family would change.

Her face lit up and she said, "So you get to stay at home still?" and gave me the biggest hug!!

I am blessed that I get to stay home right now and I am thankful that my kids like it that way too:)

And I'm thankful for this job... we'll see how it goes;)

Smallest Kitchen Helper

2012-01-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I invited Nate to "help" me bake

he's been very interested in baking lately;)

And since we were on Christmas Break...

I had plenty of time to enjoy the moments

and clean up after him:)

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

Christmas Memories

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

As we traveled to the grandparents a couple of days before Christmas, Brian and I shared some of our Christmas memories with the kids. Stuff like playing on a FL beach Christmas Day with my siblings, getting a new bike or going to an aunt's home filled with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

It was interesting how all our memories centered around spending time with family and special presents.

Our Christmas this year was the same;)

It started with a scavenger hunt for Chris, Anna and Lydia to find one of their gifts from us (2 gifts being too big/awkward to wrap). Each had their own hunt around Grammie and Pey's house...

Lydia getting Pey's help with her clues & Pey VERY glad to help:)

Victory;)

And yes, the kids were all dressed up:) After exchanging presents with just our family, we packed up and headed to church with my parents! It was a treat to be back at the church I attended on college breaks! Fun to see some old friends;)

When we got home, the aunts, uncles and cousins began to pour in;)

Remember this "little" guy? here 's a hint

And more gifts before our meal together;)

Uncle Eric& Aunt Tori opening my parents gift (one to each of us) videos of our childhood:)They gave us each Blackmail material;)

Love Hannah Grace's expression:)

It was busy having us all there... but I know we will all look back and we thankful for the times of gathering.

We traveled home Christmas evening and the kids opened the stockings that got left behind;)

Monday morning we headed to the grandparents in the South:)

And you guessed it... more Christmas family moments and presents;)

Sharing the moments via Skype with Uncle Scott & Aunt Bea in Thailand.

oh... so sad it's all over soo quickly!!

I mean relatively speaking... the meals consumed quickly, the family dispersing soon after and the gifts all tucked away in their new places (lol... ok, not yet... but we're getting there) in just a short span of 10 days!

And now we're into a new year!! WOW!

I've got tons more to blog.... a look into our new year!! My new job... yikes!! My not-so-little baby's new month! But I'll just have to leave it unwritten for now...

because for now we're just soo thankful for the Christmas memories we shared this year:)

337. peaceful Christmas preparations
338. Christmas Eve trip to Williamsburg
339. Christmas Eve party with neighbors
340. little arms digging into stockings
341. delicious chocolate treat
342. scavenging for gifts
343. Pey helping with clues
344. worshiping at church Christmas morning
345. a full house
346. little cousins together (cute even with a few mishaps)
347. protection of Grandma
348. homemade,with added germs, biscuits
349. skype-ing gift opening with family abroad
350. a warm lap for napping
351. 2 visits with Gran-Grandma:)

352. simplicity of wooden blocks
353. a full week of vacation with Daddy
354. anticipation of visiting friends

&

355. a New Year.... with many expectations and challenges leading to opportunities to grow in our faith...

if we are willing!

Blue Tongues & Falling Asleep on a Lap

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

just a part of being at Grandma & Grandaddy's house:)

Colonial Williamsburg @ Christmas

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

We found a great deal on annual passes to Colonial Williamsburg right after Thanksgiving. So part of Grammie and Pey's gift to our family was this annual pass;) So awesome since it's a great place to explore and it fits our history time period this year:)

So on Christmas Eve...

we ventured out to Colonial Williamsburg:)

On the Shuttle

Drum and Fife Corps

Fresh and charming Colonial Williamsburg Christmas decor

Anna excited to start the Adventure Map activity

The blacksmilth hard at work

Brian and Nate enjoying the indoor conversations at the blacksmith's shop

Grammie and the older kids getting a better view of the blacksmith

The beautiful array of colors at the weaver's shop

The sword handles decorating the Governor's Palace

Tree climbing... this tree has been climbed for generations!

Lydia in the stocks

Daddy had fun too;)

It was a super trip and there was very small crowd, so we got to see a lot in a short time, including the tour of the Governor's Mansion.

We loved visiting Williamsburg and look forward to visiting it many times this year & in warmer seasons;)

Thanks to Grammie and Pey for this awesome gift and hoping they can join us in more Williamsburg adventures;)

Just for fun, on the way home we asked the kids what their favorite part of Williamsburg was...
Anna: The ride on the Shuttle.
Chris: The man banging on the red, hot metal.
Lydia: The horse poop in the middle of the road!

LOL!! Thankfully it's a season pass;) And the can get more out of it next time!

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-28T23:36:00.003-05:00

A look through our year;)

Taking pictures of Nate at each monthly milestone... such a treat to have these:)

Nate @ 8 months

Visiting a friend's farm and having Anna start overcoming her fear of animals.

Nate's 1st Birthday;)

The girls as flower girls in my "little" brother's wedding!

Love the pictures of Nate at the piano at 14 Months.

A new school year:)

Brian's 1st Day as Student Services Director at our local community college.

My favorite soccer "blopper". We loved the soccer season:)

Lydia's Big Haircut

Chris turning 6:) and getting to help me review;)

Our neighbor's stray kittens has effected soo many of our warm outside days... my kids basically live on her front porch playing with these kittens... after schoolwork, of course;)

My heart as I look through all these pictures and see how quickly time has passed this year!

“When I fully enter time’s swift current, enter into the current moment with the weight of all my attention, I slow the torrent with the weight of me all here.”
― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

I feel like this end-of-year wrap-up needs to end with this;) Our family picture taken by a friend;)

Because Sarah @ Naptime MomTog is soo cool:) And because I have really enjoyed looking through most... umm, some... of our adventures and pictures throughout the year, I decided to join up to the Top 11 of 2011:)

And linking up to I Should be Folding Laundry's favorites of 2011.

Something's Missing

2011-12-28T08:29:00.000-05:00

Chris lost his 1st tooth this week in the car on the way to his grandparents's house;)

It was the quickest loose tooth ever!! He found it loose on Christmas Eve and lost it on Monday afternoon;)

He's definitely proud of his little gap and thankful he can eat his hot dogs whole again, which was tough with a loose tooth in the front;)

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

**Got lots of Christmas pictures coming;)

Christmas Lights

2011-12-23T12:10:00.000-05:00

For the past 2 or 3 years we have ventured to a neighboring town to see an amazing display of Christmas Lights. Usually we head there with the Woods... piling into a big van and traveling up there together! Even without them with us the kid were eager to go and see the display.

There is a story that goes along with why this one man decorates his entire street with lights. I don't know all the details... just that he prepares and works on it for months...

to honor his daughter!

I hope you enjoy some of our favorites;)

And have a Very Merry CHRISTmas;)

WW: The Table After a Homeschooling Morning

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

**And this was after we cleaned up halfway through;)

I've always liked this quote;)

Our house is clean enough to be healthy,
and dirty enough to be happy.
~Author Unknown

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

The Before Christmas Wrap-Up

2011-12-19T07:59:00.000-05:00

So I skipped a week of "wrapping up".... forgive me;) With the extras of preparing for Christmas and my classes, schooling the kids and just being with my family... the blogging got pushed to the side for a bit.

Bible
We've done very well with keeping up with the Jesse Tree devotional these last two weeks;) I love the continual pull back to Christ with each verses, story, devotional... I am just soo thankful that we have been working through these devotion each day and I feel like it's really helped to bring our focus back to Christ!

I confessed that I had slacked on being prepared with everything.... so finally Monday we got to work changing the pictures into ornaments... coloring (the final few), gluing on construction paper, laminating, hole punching and then a ribbon:)

And I am just putting them on our Christmas tree:( I really wanted a separate place for our Jesse Tree ornaments... but they fit... our tree is a collection of Christmas ornaments, faith-based, crafts, memories, shiny balls:) Anyway, I am pleased and reminded that sometimes simplicity IS best.

We've been listening to Luke 2 a couple of days/nights a week, but I don't think any of us can totally recite the passage... but I bet Anna is getting close:)

Language Arts
The last two weeks I have been faithfully having the kids reading from Ordinary Parents Guide (for the younger two) or library books. Our library started a Winter Reading program in December, so the kids have been trying to earn their 1st prize:) I"m always thankful to see my kids snuggled on the couch with a book!! This week Anna read Mr Popper's Penguins in ONE day... she's a reader;)

Chris had a fun activity with one of his review lessons. He had to "cross the river" only stepping on words with the long "u" sound.

Of course laying blankets on the floor and jumping from card to card means total involvement with lots of giggles and lots of movement... no quiet school days here;)

I eased up on the spelling with Lydia and Chris the last two weeks... they've been writing the Days of the Week each day and really focusing on reading and getting in some copywork and free writing:) They have been doing 3 Grammar lessons a week though;)

Anna's been working on prepositions for weeks now... LOL!!... at least it seems like it;) Thankfully she memorized the required prepositions during 2nd grade, so it has been "review". One day we worked on dictionary skills just to break it up:)

A couple letters were composed this week... but the majority of the writing has been making Christmas "wish lists"... funny that they are finally starting to think about gifts. But with Christmas just a week away most of shopping is done!

Math
I've taught everything from fractions to the numbers on a clock face, from odd ball subtraction facts to making graphs with how many linking cubes are in a bag. Our math highlight this week was Anna using fractions to measure out amounts for fun using rice (although she is often my little baker!).

History
The first week we read about the Persia (and briefly highlighted all the countries that controlled that area) and the Ottoman Empire. SInce it was a lot of really crazy names (like 10+)... we did our reading and then I had the kids do copywork instead of narration! We did discuss the questions for the chapter. We also read through books that talked about Iran and Turkey.

The map was the coolest... tissue paper circles representing the different countries (the kids wrote the names of the people) glued onto of one another;) The point was MANY different groups/people fought over Persia for a LOT time!! It's no wonder there is still soo much "unrest" in that area!

Last week we studied the Thirty Years' War. There were a lot of details again... so the younger two just did copywork and Anna did copywork and wrote out answers to these two questions "why did the war start?" and "who were some of the important figures?" For some reason this was less stressful for her than having to narrate the chapter, probably because it caused her to focus on the most important stuff and not get all caught up in the details.

Maps though are the kids favorite part of history:)

Since Germany was the main country in The Thirty Years' War we read about Germany and a handful of Grimm tales (carefully chosen, of course)!

Science
Anna did 2 simple experiments this week... one with water, again! I stress simple! And she got caught up with the Science terms from past experiments.

I feel like we do a lot if "informal" Science around here. Answering "Why?" questions and such!! But our formal Science study is really going to have to pick up more when we start back in January (in other words this Momma needs to get herself better organized!!).

Extras;)

Last week we went to a party with our homeschooling group... one mom opened up her HOME!! She was a brave soul:) Most of the activities were outside.... but still, they ate snack and played outside in between activities.

The kids had a great time playing with their friends, doing a Christmas present exchange, having snacks and more playing!! It just makes me soo thankful for this group and the sweet friendships the kids and I have been able to make!

I know I have written this before, but if you are homeschooling.... find friends;) It is WORTH the drive (we drive over 45 minutes to meet up with our group)!!!

The friendships for the kids and the fellowship and encouragements from the other moms is priceless!!

Looking ahead....

This week we are slacking a bit ... LOL!! Ok, we're slacking a LOT!!

On Sunday night, I made a packet of worksheets for the kids... Christmas word searches, math problems, crossword puzzles, etc! SO the kids will work on those in between Chris finishing his LAST 1st Grade math lesson;) and reading library books, some last minute Christmas projects, some Christmas tasks, cleaning the house, Jesse Tree devotions! We have a program at our library one night this week, too!

We have an exciting field trip planned for later in the week... but we're seeing rain on the forecast:( So that might not happen :(

And starting Wednesday, Brian will be with us until Jan 2nd. He has mandatory vacation time:) So we'll take every minute we have with him at home.... although I think he's planning to start packing his church office. Not that we have a moving date yet (still waiting on that loan to be processed), but it's something that has to get done!!!

LOL... you made it to the end;)

Cuddle Time With Nate

2011-12-17T00:37:00.000-05:00

Definitely one of the best perks of homeschooling is the moments that the children get to be with each other!! It breaks my heart to think that if I had my older kids in school this year that Nate would be by himself all day...

Instead we find plenty of these moments during the day:)

My Model Reviewer

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

As a Mommy reviewer, I don't work alone;) Besides the fabulous and super motivating ladies at SIMPLE... my kiddos are my best partners and I couldn't review products without them:)

Recently I go to review a clothing line called French Toast:) I received a couple of items for Chris (to help with his lacking wardrobe)! These pants are the "super kid" pants.... they have doubled knees (for wear), adjustable waist AND an extra hem that can be let out.... perfect for this age when they seen to grown an inch every season;)

But to really "complete" the review I needed him to WEAR the clothes to get some decent pictures;)
I honestly dreaded having to go through the "photo shoot" process...

but to my delight Chris was the model model:)
He loved skipping his nap to help me out and he really got into the part.

He enjoyed the one-on-one attention!!

Does he not look soooo grown here :(

And he liked the clothes.. he's picked them out twice to wear to church... and that is amazing for my usually shirtless, wind pants little boy:)

Yes, he can be a tough cookie sometimes... but I was super thankful for our fun time together! A time that could have been very stressful was instead super fun;)

Gotta love my little reviewers;)

And to see the final pictures... head over to the review on SIMPLE:) Oh, and sign up for the giveaway :)

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday : Boys DO Drool

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ever since a friendly summer competition, my kids have chanted "Girls Rule, Boys Drool" or "Boys Rule, Girls Drool"! The other day after they were getting a little carried away they were told to speak more kindly so they agreed to change the phrase to "Kids Rule, Babies Drool".

At dinner, Chris was talking and then drooled on himself. The girls of course pointed it out to him.

And Chris responded, "I guess it's true. I guess Girls rule and Boys DO drool!"

******************************************************

Chris: Man.... my bottom hurts. It must be this sword stuck in my pants.

But I'm a Troodon and a Troodon has to have a tail.

fighting the blahs

2011-12-11T16:34:00.001-05:00

blah...
right now that is what I feel often in the "quiet moments"... the moments when I have seconds to ponder where I am, what I am doing and what I'd like to be doing.... both physically, mentally, spiritually... with our future home plans, homeschooling, my walk with the Lord and getting ready for Christmas!

I have soo much to be thankful for... my husband who tries to be understanding, my busy, healthy and silly kids, a house that has provided for us for 7 yrs, an exciting moving plans that await us, Christmas coming, a part-time job from home starting in January... the list goes on... I am blessed.

So why then do I feel soo unsettled.... sooo blah... what is stealing the JOY that I want soo much to have more of??

I am not sure.

I wished I knew ;(

Until I find what it is, I follow what I know to be true and what I know needs to be done...

feeding, praying, cleaning, teaching, hugging, reading, singing ...

and giving thanks

It seems when I take the time to be obedient & thankful and seek Christ & the joy He offers... all the extra "stuff" looses importance and has less of a hold on me.

323. twinkling Christmas lights

324. children asking for almost nothing for Christmas
325. furry friends that bring giggles
326. boys looking for a meal

327. encouraging visit from sweet sister in Christ
328. reminder that the law leads us to Christ
329. warm scarves
330. late night coupon codes
331. used gift cards for Christmas shopping
332. excitement over Daddy's old cars

333. warm PJs
334. a vacuumed floor :)
335. sweet God moments... reminders that He cares for the small things, too
336. Jesse Tree devotions and hand colored ornaments

“When we lay the soil of our hard lives open to the rain of grace and let joy penetrate our cracked and dry places, let joy soak into our broken skin and deep crevices, life grows. How can this not be the best thing for the world? For us?”

― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

SOOC : The Chickens & Clowns at the Parade;)

2011-12-10T15:40:00.001-05:00

This week we attended the community Christmas Parade. It was very different for us though because for at least the last 4 years we have been on a float or in a vehicle representing our church. But this year nothing was planned and so we got to watch the whole parade... kind of sad, but kind of nice to be able to enjoy it!

This was Nate's first parade and he was excited about the candy:)

About half way through my older kids started looking for places to "hide"...

from this coming down the road.

My kids are "scared" of clowns so they hid in the new deli in town with the deli's owner, peeking out with them;)

I'm not afraid of clowns.. but I have to say that these were a little creepy looking, or is it just me/us?

A parade in our town is never complete without a tractor or two:)

And my crazy kids... covering their ears from all the marching bands and rescue vehicles sounding their sirens;)

Anna covering her ears and notice Chris covering his in the background... LOL!!

For as small as our town is the parade is always really nice and well attended. I love that soo many of my neighbors and I get to see each other and catch up a bit, too!!

Shutterfly Winners

2011-12-10T08:41:00.001-05:00

We have the winners of the 25 cards from Shutterfly!

I just want to thank everyone who entered or wanted to enter:)

And thanks to Shutterfly for contacting me about hosting their giveaway and for the cards I can share with my family and friends this Christmas!

Now onto the winners chosen by random.org :)

Carrie from Bullfrogs and Butterflies

Bluetopaz84

Kim

Please check your email and confirm in 48 hours so I can give you the code for your cards:)

The Joy of Christmas & Our Christmas Picture

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Did you sign up for the 25 Free Shutterfly cards giveaway???
I have 3 sets to giveaway!! Ends Friday:)

Well this was my favorite card this year!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

I just like big pictures right now;) But the JOY in the corner captured my heart!!

Oh ...
how I desire our home to be one of joy
not joy in perfection...

but true joy overflowing from the love of Christ that each of us shares with one another.

We're totally NOT there yet!
We have squabbles daily. Bad attitudes come out. Complaining... you name it... we see it. We're human.

But that's the beauty of Christmas, in the midst of all the real messy stuff of life, we can focus on the joy of this little babe who came and was the longed for Savior, the Redeemer! The One who provides hope, joy, peace and salvation.

I just LOVE this song from SEEDS Family Worship...

The JOY of Christmas!

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

Tiny Talk Tuesday: Robots, Thugs & Judge Judy

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Brian was working with Anna on a Lego creation for Chris. Brian has noticed that Anna does really well following the directions to make the figures and enjoys doing it... and will work on it for a long time.

She worked alone for a bit, then she asked Brian to help her with a step.

After a minute, he asked Anna, " Do you think you'd like to be an engineer when you get older? You'd get to build stuff like buildings, bridges, and or maybe even a space shuttle?"

Anna responded,"Dad, I can't even build this Lego robot, there is no way I can build a space shuttle!!"

*************************************************
Recently once of Anna's spelling words was "Judy".

We don't know anyone named Judy really well, so the name was a bit new to Anna. She gave me a strange, thoughtful look and kept saying,"Judy, Judy, Judy...." (obviously the reaction of a genius... LOL!!)

After a minute she looked up at me and said,"You mean like Judge Judy??"

I was surprised she knew the name... if our TV is on in the afternoons it's on PBSkids:) So I asked her where she learned about Judge Judy.

Anna responded,"Oh, I watch it with Pey!"

**************************************************
We had a slug come into the house that has caused quite a stir:) LOL!!

The kids were all one-upping each other's slug stories...

Anna found it:)

Chris touched it:)

And Lydia responded," I've touched a thug before when we had one slugging around in the washroom!"

I always wondered what the movement of a slug was called.... slugging around sounds pretty good;)
And touching a "thug" sounds kind of dangerous;)

**************************************************
Often as I ask Chris to clean his room.... which he gets asked VERY often, the kid can be a walking tornado sometimes...

Chris shares with me,"I wish had a robot that would do my chores for me!" LOL!! And he was quite pleased when I responded that he should try to make one :)

Weekly Wrap Up

2011-12-05T15:52:00.000-05:00

Bible
In the beginning of the week I didn't really have my act together as far as starting the Advent study from A Holy Experience. But we got on the ball later in the week and have a couple of lessons to do to "catch up"! I printed the "ornaments" from the lessons and I had the kids color the one from the lessons we did complete... they liked that:)

Before starting the Advent studies we read about Jeremiah and wisdom from Proverbs. Both were from a little reading that turned into a conversation... I just love it when that happens;)

Language Arts
Last week I had Chris and Lydia doing the same spelling words. We did the Days of the Week. Chris almost knew how to spell each word and Lydia was starting from guessing what each day said based on the beginning sound;)

Here is a website and some activities that we used :

Kids Learning Station - Days of the Week
Each copied the Days of the Week on their own notecards... we used them for a memory game as well as flashcards;)
Practiced spelling the words in flour

By the end of the week, both Chris and Lydia recognized the Days of the Week words, could read them and put them in order. But we still need to work on the spelling a bit. So they will continue to practice those words a little longer;)

Anna is learning yet another poem through First Language Lessons! I have been very please with the poems that she has learned so quickly! Just a reminder of how much their little brains can soak in right now! And it's a nice "break" from all the sentence diagramming :)

Math
We did our normal lessons but again with Saxon... there is always some hands-on activity to do. On Monday I combined Lydia and Anna's lessons since they were both learning about using 1 cup to find the "volume" of containers around the kitchen... Chris, jumped in to participate (of course)!!

On Tuesday Anna's lesson included learning the parts that make up a gallon... ie pints, quarts, etc!! We used Gallon Man to help us;)

Chris is only 6 more lessons away from completing 1st grade math!! He started last December, so he's right on time as far as completing the "year" in a year:) I feel like such a big accomplishment for us;)

History
Last week we were in Chpt 6 of vol 3 of Story of the World and it was about the start of slavery in the colonies and then highlighted the Portuguese in Africa. Slavery is such a sensitive topic and I wasn't sure how my children would handle it. With the use of some helpful library books, it really brought this tough topic to life while being sensitive to my younger children (ages 7-4).... so I definitely suggest hunting down some library books to "bring this topic to life".

I wish we had found more time to do the activities... we read, narrated, colored and mapped... and by then our little Nate was ready for Momma's attention again:/ Thankfully a couple of mornings he napped:)

Other
Monday was beautiful... we enjoyed a picnic lunch together, raked up leaves and then played in them!!

We spent one evening putting up our Christmas tree together!! We've had our little Christmas tree for a LONG time... we bought it days after our 1st Christmas married:) And there were many years I waited before the kids when to bed to put it up, but it's a lot more fun to have the kids helping... although getting all the right pieces in the right places and warding off jousting with branches was a little challenging;)

Advent... trying to slow down

2011-12-05T11:25:00.001-05:00

Some how the days leading to Christmas this year are relatively "quiet" around here! Obviously not free from children noise- giggling, wrestling, singing - but not too hurried from activity to activity. I am thankful:)

In these last few months I have added a couple more responsibilities to my plate that are keeping me busy... isn't that how it works;) And with these few extra tasks... the burden on me feels great most days.... the daily tasks rarely get completed :(

I look back to what I named this YEAR.... the year to Chose the Best. I haven't always succeeded ... but in these last few days when the extra responsibilities are pulling at me....

I am trying hard to keep the focus.

To spend the mornings and afternoons with the kids.... teaching, guiding, shaping with love... trying!! And then cramming all my tasks into rest time and after the kids have gone to bed :)

And to prepare for Christmas:)

Just wanted to share this video with you:)

We aren't doing much!

We have a little advent calendar where we move all the Nativity characters in their places... expectantly waiting for Baby Jesus.

We've been listening to Christmas music and attempting to memorize the Christmas Story:)

We've put up and decorated our sweet, faithful, fake Christmas tree:) This year only using the ornaments the kids wanted... ones they made, ones saved from our childhood or ones given to us.... no fancy bows, or ribbons... simple.

We're reading through and trying to do some of the activities from the Jesse Tree Advent by Ann @ A Holy Experience. If you wanted to do an advent devotional... it's not too late.... just start on today or read through to catch up!

And eventually we'll start Christmas shopping.... yes, we wait to the last minute:) We already have a couple of presents collected and since we don't do too much, there is plenty of time!

Thanks to Angela... for insisting to get a pic:)

Thankful for this Advent season... of trying to slow down.

Trying to enjoy each day with one another.

Trying to share the importance of the little babe in the manger... to the little babes of my house;)

And if you are looking for some Christmas (or anytime) cards.

I am giving away 3 sets of 25 from Shutterfly ending Friday!

Evidence that I DO do Housework

2011-12-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

You've heard of "monkey see, monkey do" right???

Obviously, Nate has seen me do plenty of cleaning:)

Couldn't pass up his droopy drawers and determination to get the corners clean:)

Don't forget to sign up for the giveaway for 25 free cards from Shutterfly... I have 3 sets to give away!!! It ends next Friday!!

Christmas Cards with Shutterfly & Giveaway

2011-11-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

While I LOVE sending out cards to extended family, friends and church members...

I'm a bit of a slacker when it comes to actually getting our Christmas picture done and our Christmas cards picked out! I laugh when I think back on all the years we have used the self-timer to get our family picture done at the last minute!!! Or braved the freezing temps to get the picture done so the cards can be ordered and mailed before Christmas!

This year, I have had a LOT more motivation to get those cards DONE!

One... a friend willing to meet up with us (several times)!!

And Shutterfly!!... need I say more??

In browsing their selections for the perfect cards... I found soo many that I liked:) And I looked BEFORE I took our Christmas picture so I kind of knew what I wanted the final product to look like!!

So here were some of my favorite choices... just soo many to choose from;)

The 5x7 Folded Christmas Card

The best thing about these folded cards is how personalized you can make them!! Some designs include just one photo or a college on the front! You can also add pictures and text on the inside as well as the back!! This was by far my favorite!! I just love all the room to update everyone and having the full picture on the front!

I spent hours looking through the 5x7 Flat Stationary Cards as well...

Again, I really like the full picture cards! And I love our names being included:) Again, this also gives the ability to really personalize it with extra pictures and/or text on the back;)

We've traditionally gone with a 4x8 Photo Card... and Shutterfly delivers some very cute options;)

I like these are very affordable! They are priced the same as my local grocery/pharmacy ( $.32 to $.44) and there is free shipping with $30 purchase (SHIP30)! Not to mention all the deals you can use once you sign up for a free Shutterfly account... I've already ordered 50 free prints and just missed an opportunity to order 101 more!

And while you are browsing Shutterfly, you might as well check out their photo gifts:) And the super popular photo calendars for those parents and grandparents:)

Shutterfly is giving away 3 sets of 25 cards of your choice to my readers:) It's super exciting that you can choose the cards of your choice helping you get that perfect Christmas Card !!

So here's how to enter....first, leave a comment with a card you like from Shutterfly! Please be sure to leave your email in the comment as well, so I can contact you!

For extra entries (leave a comment for each)...

Share this post on Facebook, by hitting the button below or linking this blog on your profile!
Like Shutterfly on Facebook
Tweet this giveaway and leave your twitter name
Follow me on GFC

This giveaway ends Friday, December 9th at 11pm!!!

**Disclaimer: I have been given free cards and shipping to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own;)

Gallon Man

2011-11-30T00:30:00.001-05:00

**Please check out my Shutterfly giveaway to win a set of 25 cards from Shutterfly:)

This week one of Anna's math lessons was to learn about capacity and the different liquid measurements. Since I STINK at remembering these (I am glad I'm a homeschooling Mom so I can learn it again), I decided to add to the lesson!!

So we made Gallon Man:) You Tube "gallon man song" to get an explanation of him.

1. I pre-cut all the pieces for the kids. I used just 1 piece of construction paper as the gallon "body" and then cut the pieces based on that size. So for the "quart" cut the construction paper into 4 pieces, the "pint" cut into 8 pieces and the "cup" into 16 pieces!

2. Then I laid the pieces on the table one color at a time and had the girls figure out how many of each color they needed to cover the "gallon body".

3. After fitting each color, I had the kids label the pieces with the name! I thought it would be helpful in remembering the pieces to write them over, and over and over:) CHris was busy with finishing other work, so I wrote his labels for him!

4. We laid the pieces out so that they each understood HOW to glue it all together! Also good to see the spacing and that these guys are big... we used the school table and the dining room table;)

5. They got to work gluing;)

6. I loved how they turned out and the kids have had fun with them!! They were having them race down the stairs later in the evening... LOL!!

7. Tomorrow I'm planning to use them to review and there will probably be some more stair racing;) I'm hoping one of these guys makes it to the new school room in the new house;)

I also have a giveaway from Shutterfly coming this week.. very good... especially if you haven't finished your Christmas cards yet:)

Linking up to Works for Me Wednesday @ We are That Family check out lots of great ideas.

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

The Day After Thanksgiving Break

2011-11-28T23:11:00.001-05:00

Coming off of Thanksgiving Break, having a great visit with family, traveling 5 or 6 hours one way back home...

is a hard way to start a week.

We were all soo off this morning...

the kids that don't usually fuss, fussed.
the Momma striving to be patient and enjoy each day, fussed.
the baby, fussed.
the house seemed to fuss, too... it needed some attention!

A word of encouragement from a wise woman ," It always takes a little bit of time to get back into your routine after a break!"

But amazingly enough, we completed a decent amount of work and headed out into the beautiful fall day that we were given;) Yes, every beautiful day is nice, but today it was truly a gift!... especially since the last time I saw a weather report it was supposed to be a rainy day!

And the little list of gifts goes on...

310. silly conversations with a little boy
311. laughter over chaos
312. fried dumplings (a reminder of missions trip)
313. super warm fall day
314. picnic-ing on a blanket

315. chicken nuggets in the freezer for picnic
316. joys of jumping into leaves

317. children eager for Christmas decorations
318. little helpers
319. the happy dance

320. sweet decor reminders of this special season
321. fun math activities

322. happily working together... at least for a few moments;)

SOOC: Only 93 Steps

2011-11-26T12:00:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Dad!!
Will you build me the car tomorrow???

Chris is 6!!

2011-11-25T22:31:00.000-05:00

Last night we got to reflect on a special Thanksgiving night 6 years ago...

the night we traveled to the hospital to deliver our little boy...

when our little, sweet family of 3... turned into a louder, busier, rougher, sillier home with a little boy...

our Chris!!

So today with the errands and running around, we've also celebrated Chris' birthday:) A hot dog lunch, a chocolate spider cake...

"Legos" being put together

and some sword fighting in the yard!!

Chris is 45.5 inches tall and weighs about 45 lbs

His favorites:

Color : Blue
Food : Hot Dogs
Treat: Trader Joe's soy ice cream
Subject: Reading [this momma is doing the "happy dance"... LOL!!]
Animal: Crocodiles, Lizards
Do inside: Play with Legos
Outside Activity: Play soccer and football
Toys: Dart gun
Restaurant: McDonalds
Book: Piggie & Elephant books by Mo Willems
Movie:How to Train Your Dragon
PBSkids Show: Wild Kratts

Goals for his 6th year: Learn Sign Language (funny because I just was contacted about reviewing these online ASL courses!)

When you ask him what he wants to be when he "grows up" he'll respond "a fire engine man"! But on Wednesday night he said that he wanted to teach blind children to read... a very noble job... but then when I asked him why he wanted to have that job he responded, "to make money!!"

And what is the coolest thing about being 6?? He responded, "that you are bigger than your little sister!"

Here's is last years stats and questions, so they can be compared;)

Happy Birthday, Chris!!!

We love you!

A Great Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T22:51:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to take a moment to share a little of our Thanksgiving:)

It's easy to get caught up in all the busyness of the holidays... traveling, shopping, baking, cleaning;) And miss the special normal moments that pass so quickly!!

We are soo blessed with soo much materially... we have clothes that keep us warm, a house that keeps us protected from the weather, good health, and a table with plenty of food.

Thanksgiving is a unique holiday reminding us to take the time to be thankful and to spend time with those we love...

and enjoying the times spent with family around the table!

With all of our reading about Plymouth Plantation and the 1st Thanksgiving even more meaning was brought to this holiday:)

Little Indian Brave Chris lurking in the bushes

Happy Thanksgiving!!

And a quote from someone who inspired thanksgiving in the everyday for me this year:

“We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if not with thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives. Thanksgiving is the manifestation of our Yes! to His grace.”

“Thanksgiving-giving thanks in everything-prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ.”

― Ann Voskamp One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

WW: Spider Web & The Tongue Slide

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

When we spent a few days with grandparents last week, we spent a little time (on a very freezing cold day) at a "new" park! We've actually played on the old one before and the kids have been eye-ing it from the highway for months now! So it was fun to explore this "new" playground!

This park had a great variety of toys...

some things we have never seen before!!

Have you ever wanted to climb into a spider web... and not get all sticky or worried a spider is on you? This one was obviously a favorite;)

Chris made plenty of time to "hang out" !!

And this???? Does anyone know what this is?

I nicknamed it The Tongue Slide.... and my brave Anna took it on;)

It kind of got a little challenging to slide in the middle ;)

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and any other linkys I find !!!

Ewwwww & A Case for a Puppy

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was changing a wiggly Nate one evening this week. To distract him and keep him still I began to ask him about finding body parts (ears, tongue, hair, etc). Towards the end of our wrestling match... I mean diaper change... I asked,"Nate, where is your nose?"

He scrunched up his little nose and started sniffing loudly... because it's more fun to make a silly noise than just point to his nose:)

But in all that silly sniffing he got a whiff of his stinky and says, "Ewwwwww!!!"

LOL... too funny:)

****************************************************************

Chris' message for us:

This was written totally by Chris;)

Here is what it says " I want a puppy. Puppies are important, you have to do a lot of {puppy you have to do} chores."

Obviously he understands that a puppy is a lot of work. And some more Spelling words to work on... but very cute:)

Weekly Wrap-Up: Fitting it all in

2011-11-21T16:15:00.001-05:00

figures the only clear shot of the mirrors included my antics

We had another week of trying to "fit it all in"!!

Seems like since September our weeks have been getting crazier and crazier. I desperately want a week when I don't feel FRAZZLED to get through everyone's basic work...

last week was the same:/

It's good though...

if my kids attended public school, we wouldn't have been able to take the road trip with Brian or have his parents over like the week before last. And last week we wouldn't have been able to pack-up again and head to my parents while Brian was at another conference.

I know it's one of the blessings of homeschooling... being flexible. Hitting the books hard while at home and then taking advantage of the flexibility to visit with family and take field trips;) But it definitely takes some discipline on our part to really focus on schooling on those ONLY-school days!

We did complete a simple Science experiment showing how water could separate the molecules of the food coloring... enough to see some of the different colors that made up the food coloring.

A drop of food coloring on a paper towel... on a few we made an ink pen mark first... that was cool because the water "carried" food coloring off the original mark, so the pen mark was used as the original point.

I didn't take a final picture of the paper towel and marker... but let me warn you to keep the paper towels over the sink!! I was scrubbing food coloring off the counter because the water had "carried" the food coloring off the edge!!

We also tried different colors of food coloring and different brands of paper towels... there was a noticeable difference in the absorption of the "name Brand" over the generic! I was surprised!

Math
The kids also completed 2 or 3 math lessons before our "mini trip"...

Language Arts
Lydia and Chris completed a couple of Grammar lessons. I love them doing these lessons together!! So thankful that we tried it and that it's working;)

Chris read through another Piggie & Elephant book as well as started working some Dr Suess books. Lydia completed a lesson or two from Ordinary parents Guide to Teaching Reading (OPG) and started working through a classic Dick and Jane reader. I'm not a huge fan of Dick and Jane only because it is only sight work based... the kids HAVE to use sight words not much can be sounded out. But I do like using them in addition to our reading "program" because it is teaching and reviewing sight words:)

Lydia continued with the same spelling word unit of You Can Read because she didn't know them from the previous week:) And Chris moved on to some new sight words as spelling words that he'll work on the next two weeks.

Anna worked on Grammar, Spelling and Individual reading each morning we were home;) I"m soo thankful that she's usually a very diligent worker.... makes it easier to balance all the other choas happening around the house on schooling mornings :)

History
We have been pouring through the crazy pile of Thanksgiving books from our local library!! It's been nice not to have to rush through a topic to get to the next... so very fortunate that our history lessons have been about the Plymouth Plantation during this Thanksgiving season;)

While away we hoped to make a trip to the Jametown Settlement which is a easy drive from my parents... but the cold, wet weather last week changed our plans! Would have been very fun to visited the settlement as we study this time period... but oh, well...

we went to the Aquarium with a little cousin instead... so more Science:)

It seems like we stick around one exhibit the most each time we go... this time it was the Sting Rays:)

I had to include Anna bravely touching the starfish;)

It was a fun trip and it worked out well since our passes expire in early January, so it was probably our last trip for a while!

Back at Grammie and Pey's we stayed busy, too!

organizing Thanksgiving food pictures into the food groups (something I made out of magazine and label notecards for Anna when she was in pre-K... always good to pull them out and use them again!!)
we made our thankful turkeys,
read more Thanksgiving books
and watched The Sound of Music into the night;)

Another busy week of trying to fit everything in;) And it was back to the grind this week preparing for some more visiting at the end of this week, Thanksgiving and a birthday to celebrate;)

Picture of the Week

Chris and the fish checking each other out

Contributing the last picture to Tuesdays Around the World @ communal global and Sweet Shot Tuesday!
Linking up to Weekly Wrap-Up @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!

Still in the Beco;) Wearing a Toddler:)

2011-11-19T00:03:00.001-05:00

Believe it or not, but during our recent museum and aquarium trips, Nate was on my back:)

I'm soo thankful that he's at such a fun stage but still small enough to be comfortably worn:) My oldest is 50+ pounds, so it's nice to have a couple more days with my 20+ pounder in the Beco!

I love that he's close and once he's settled into the carrier, I think he actually LIKES being at our eye level to see everything;)

That is until he falls asleep:)

Sweet!

I love my Beco:)

Lydia's Big Chop

2011-11-16T23:54:00.001-05:00

Ever since her first (and last) trim, my little Lydia has been asking to get her hair cut "to my ears".

Why?... you may ask! Because she is tired of having to brush it.... LOL!! Obviously, I have attempted to begin to teach her some personal hygiene and hair care... but caring for super long hair lands on Mommie when you are only 4:)

Lydia was serious about getting her hair cut:) As we loaded into the van - Lydia, myself and my sister, Aunt Jac - Lydia was sure to mention that she wanted to be the first to get her haircut (I would have to wait for her!!).

So here is Lydia's BIG chop;)

The BEFORE : (unbrushed and just out of a bun!)

my {pretty} little girl... inside and out:) Brushed or unbrushed;)

ponytail donation cut

Getting her hair washed... a little nervous!!

{funny} b/c I kept thinking about her bathing with googles

Soo still and patient for the trimming;)


from the back;)

The After:

{happy} to be finished and with her hair


Smiling with the donation {real}

That last picture is actually before {real}!! As we were heading out of the salon, the hair started coming out of the band.... we had a mess of hair all over the floor :(

We scooped up and shook out what we could... but I need to look into whether any hair donation place will take her locks... even if I try to straighten them??? Learn from us and secure that hair tight if you want your child to hold it :/

Anyway, it's super adorable!! The little girl bob, looks soo cute on her;) And best of all she likes it;)

It was definitely fun to have an afternoon out and about with Lydia and Aunt Jac;) I got some pampering, too! And then we headed over to Trader Joe's... what a treat to bring home soy ice cream sandwiches for the kids:)

Anna also had a "big chop" a few years ago when she was 5 and was able to donate it;) If you wanted to make a comparison... here is Anna's BIG snip from Aug 2009!!

Linking up to Wordful Wednesday @ and then, she snapped.

More Wordless Wednesday at NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go,Mama to 4 Blessings,

and any other linkys I find !!!

Stay tuned.... Haircut for Lydia coming Soon

2011-11-16T10:39:00.001-05:00

Lydia has been asking for her hair to be cut SHORT, really SHORT;)

I asked her why she wanted it short and she responded that she doesn't like brushing her long hair;) LOL!!

Sounds to me like it's time to cut it... short;)

I'll try to post some pictures as soon as I can:)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

2011-11-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Chris: I want to live in our "new house" ** when Mommy and Daddy get too old to live there.... They are getting older and they will soon be my kids Grandma and Grandaddy.

Lydia: Chris, that means you will be a grown up, it takes a long time to be a grown up. We are just kids, we have a LONG wait until we can be grown ups.

Chris: Well, that is where I want to live when I am a grown up:)

** He is referring to the house we are hoping to move into when it's approved and done... sigh.... we've already started calling it "our new house"... but alas, it isn't that yet.... yet... sigh...

********************************************************************

On a recent bike ride, we were deciding whether to ride down to the river. It's a really pretty view and a really steep hill to peddle back up.

Anna offered her opinion,"It would be breathtaking..."

I realized she was talking about the steep hill that she would have to get back up... not the view :)

Then Chris pipes up,"Well then, I'll take it!!"... meaning he was ready for the adventure;)

*********************************************************************

Our girls' hair is WAY too long. Lydia's is thin and seems to be easier to care for. But Anna has super thick hair that is getting harder and harder to brush through.

In frustration, while brushing out twigs and leaves from jumping on the trampoline, I told Brian we needed to cut off about a "foot" of hair.

Lydia was walking by. She overheard the converation and exclaimed, "What! You need to cut off her foot!!"

From the picture you can see that her hair is WAY long and definitely needs a trim (or something)!!!

**********************************************

I love this picture:)
She looks soo grown to me...

it's such a reminder that I will soon have a pre-teen on my hands! Oh, how quickly my "little" girl is growing up! And how many more moments I need to take to encourage her heart and pour love out on her... she's got such a beautiful little, sensitive heart!! And she's a super big help to me and so giving to her younger siblings!

Loving 18 Months:)

2011-11-12T12:29:00.001-05:00

I took pictures to post for Nate's BIG 18 month milestone.... but in the busyness of life, the actual post got set aside :/

This month I realize why I love this age sooo much!!
I mean they are soo sweet and cuddly at the newborn stage!! And pretty easy to keep safe before they are moving!! And all the fun 1st milestones between 9 - 13 months!!

But for me... I love 18+ months!! When they are soo crazy curious about EVERYTHING!!

Sure, there are challenges! Times when I'm ready for nap/bedtime to come a little earlier;) But there are also plenty of times I just try to excuse the extra toys that are getting left around the house and enjoy this very fun stage;)

The Stats:

Weight:
Height:
Sometimes still gets a morning nap, but ALWAYS an afternoon one;)
Size 24 month/2T tops and 18/24 month pants
Size 6 shoes/boots :)
Tons of teeth... just waiting for another set or two of molars

Favorite & New Foods:

Bagels is still a favorite
Grapes
Raw carrots
Just discovered Green Pepper... loves them:)
A Candy-holic... this is disappointing to me, since with my others I really held off on candy, but he's determined to eat what his siblings eat

New Tricks:

Climbing over the gate at the bottom of the stairs... now it just slows him down :)
Dancing with his fits in the air... this kid has rhythm;)
Following one direction at a time
Taking us by the hand to lead us to where he wants to go
He's not saying a lot new words, he'll "bark" when you ask him what a dog says;) or say "ouch" if he bumps a body part or falls on his bottom
And "me", "my", "mine" are over used!
He throws balls
He is trying to "jump"... soo cute to see him hop up but not have both feet leave the ground;)

Bad Habits:

He's a taster... he will try to taste anything... ONCE

He begs like a puppy...especially for snacks during meal prep or to be taken upstairs to the playroom
He's loud;)
He does a pout face when he doesn't get his way... he still usually doesn't get what he wants but it's such a funny little face
He still hates having his teeth brushed, he does better when I make up a silly teeth song:)

Momma's Thoughts
Again, I just love this stage!

We're having to correct more... he's quite the rascal about getting onto the table, although now he's very destructive:) So that can be very challenging and keeps me on my toes:)

While he asks for stuff and will fuss, I've noticed that he's not very strong-willed. He'll be stubborn and try to pitch a fit, but it doesn't last long.... for which I am very thankful. I'm hoping some if it is his personality and possibly me "holding my own" !

He is The Entertainer!!! We have seen this side of him every time he has warmed up to visitors in our home or is trying to get his siblings attention!! He'll dance and dance!! Side across the floor backwards on his belly!! Anything that causes people to giggle at him... aka an audience!

My first shot is for Paper Momma's Fall Challenge.

And linking up to I Should be Folding Laundry: Fall:)

The Week the Grandparents Helped Homeschool;)

2011-11-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

What another crazy week;)

First it was our "adventurous" trip to the state capital. I had Grandma in tears laughing at all the details I left out of the blog post... I'm never sure how much you really want to know... LOL!! Like how I really found out that Nate's pants were messy... I mean extremely disguising :/

Tuesday afternoon we headed home after a quick swim. At home we got unpacked a bit, checked email and then ran to town to get some errands for our future home completed. I haven't blogged about it because nothing is finalized yet.... not until the loan goes through. The last date I saw for a possible closing on the loan was for NEXT year.... <groan>... I'm soo ready to feel settled... got some more waiting to do.

Wednesday we schooled;) Ahhhh... back on schedule;) I was very pleased with all we accomplished on our 1st "school" day of the week, the kids jumped right back into the "totally new, non-napping Nate" schedule. We covered the basics... math, reading, memory verses, free writing, Grammar, spelling and yes, even reading some history;)

That afternoon Grandma and Grandaddy came to visit:) Tried to get some family pictures, Brian got tied up at work :( So this was the best one:)

I always worry that with the excitement with grandparents visiting the kids wouldn't be able to stay focused. But thankfully Thursday went well.... again covering the basics (like Wednesday) and then figuring out what some seeds, leaves and other nature things were that they brought in after a morning walk with Grandaddy:) Of course the microscope had to be pulled out, too... lol, Grandma would want me to confess that I like Science as much as the kids;)

With a flexible, simple plan, homeschooling with the grandparents turned out perfect... too bad they don't live closer :( They could come everyday to help out;)

Chris reading with Grandaddy

Anna and Grandma working on spelling

Lydia and I working on her spelling... she wanted to do beans versus Play-Doh:)

It doesn't seem possible that with extra people and distractions in the house our days schooling with Grandma and Grandaddy went very smoothly;) I'm soo thankful for grandparents who are soo supportive of us homeschooling. They know our heart for our children and our desire for them to have a solid education!! ANd they are willing to not only come to visit us but set aside time to school with us;)

It feels a little weird not sharing what we're doing for history this week:) We have started the chapter on the Pilgrims (Separatists and Dutch) coming to the New World and the 1st Thanksgiving. Our library had a TON of resources and it's always nice to "study the holidays". So we're going to stick with this chapter until Thanksgiving. Hopefully next week I can share our favorite Thanksgiving books and activities;)

I have really enjoyed reading the 10 Days... blogs through Heart of the Matter. WOW... very challenging. At Raising Arrows there is a great list of all the topics and contributors;)

These are a few of my favorites (hoping to read a few more this weekend..... when it might settle down a bit at my house!!)

Keeping Up with Family Abroad

2011-11-11T00:15:00.001-05:00

We have some globe-trotting family members right now;)

Brian's brother, Scott, and his wife, Bea, are livivng out their dream of traveling around the world.

Earlier this year they spent months in Brazil. You might remember when we got to welcome them home this summer!

And now they are in Asia... traveling to tons of exotic locations that we see in National Geographic or watching Where in the World is Matt Lauer? this week:) LOL!!!

Thursday evening we had a chance to catch up with them via Skype:)

And of course it turns into a geography "lesson"... hunting for the places they have been and have planned to visit:)

It was hard not think about how easy it has become to stay connected with family while traveling... even to some of these far, far away countries. Thankful that we can keeping and check up with them via Skype, Flickr and FB:) And that they can have a taste of "home" by keeping up with us;)

A Road Trip with Kids

2011-11-09T00:42:00.001-05:00

On Sunday the kids and I hopped in the van for a road trip with Brian. He had a conference for work in our state capital, so we thought it would be a fun family road trip... Brian do the conference-thing and the kids and I swim in the hotel pool and check out the great, free, state museums. A simple trip :)

LOL... everyone knows traveling with kids is NEVER that easy:)

my picture for Sweet Shot Tuesday and 52 Weeks of Happiness

Throw in a hotel with no fridge, microwave or free continental breakfast. Then add food allergies:)

No complimentary Wi-Fi (and I forgot the book I had been reading)!! A mixed up in hotel room arrangements, so all of us stayed in one room! And very excited kids!

Sunday night we did swim:)

And then grilled hot dogs on the George Forman:)

We made it work... even the sleeping arrangements were fine!

Monday was almost a disaster :/

Fussy kids, multiple trips from the van to the room and back to the van, locking all of us OUT of the room, major disgusting blow-out diaper with no extra pants, lost Doggie (later miraculously recovered... really a miracle to loose Doggie in the state capital on a busy day and actually find him!), running a kid to the bathroom to vomit with three other kids trailing behind....

I really wondered if it was worth it :(

We did make it to the museums for a bit (before the diaper incident).

As I looked through the pictures, I saw the sweet memories that we DID have! How much we saw at the museums! How much fun the kids had exploring different exhibits! How Nate likes elevators now... sort of;) And the beautiful evening walk with Daddy:)

Tuesday I wanted to head back the museums in the morning because I felt like we had missed soo much with our early and quick departure the day before;) But then wisdom kicked in.... the kids really wanted to swim again:) Enjoying a simple morning packing up, swimming and heading home was much more enjoyable;)

Did we have the "perfect" vacation?

LOL... not very relaxing... kind of stressful :/

But we overcame the challenges. We all stayed healthy and safe! And did enjoy one another's company.... even if it included living in one room, dirty diapers, cooking in the bathroom and some attitude adjustments... just a part of our season right now wherever we travel:)

More Wordless Wednesday at

NapTime MomTog,

5 Minutes for Mom,

Go Graham Go,

To Be Thode,
Mama to 4 Blessings,

and any other linkys I find !!!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Creatively Writing on Their Own & Tot in the Schoolroom

2011-11-06T01:36:00.000-04:00

Bible
This week we started something new with our prayer time. Instead of using our prayer cards, we each had to thank God for 3 things. The kids were hesitant about this change and some opted out of praying aloud this week :( But I think we got into a rut of praying only what had become comfortable. Often our thanksgivings were offered and then prayers for our friends and family... but I want to have a more thankful heart and I pray (and desire) that my children grow into thankful people as well.

We continued through 1 Corinthians 13... hitting some of the not so popular verses;)

And we read a couple chapters of Psalms looking for things we learned about God.

Language Arts
We covered the basics... reading, spelling, Grammar, cursive!! Here were the highlights...

A little reading game with Lydia:)

some "free" reading (probably looking at pictures) for Chris. He did enjoy some more Piggie & Elephant books this week:)

About mid-week the older ones started waking up and going into the schoolroom to write stories on their own:) Their Grammar and spelling is either adorable (if you a Grandma) or atrocious (if you are an educator) !!! But they were very creative. It opened up the day with fun, student -lead learning and allowed me to point out some Grammar rules in a very natural way!

Their creative writing also opened the door for some dictionary skills with Anna;)

Math
Lots of math lessons... the kids have just buzzed through these last few lessons. Anna still seems like she is reviewing materials from last year. But I think the extra practice and the review has been nice.... it's not stressful and it seems like she has really gotten better with her addition and subtraction facts!

Lydia and Chris like the hands-on lessons:)

And they are starting to zip through their fact sheets... they think math is fun:) I think that is awesome;)

History
This week we learned about the warlords of Japan. The names we learned were Hideyoshi, Nobunaga, Ieyasu and others (and yes I typed those from memory.... I get to learn this stuff, too). Basically different leaders of Japan fighting over control over Japan during the same time period as the 1st explorers discovering the New World. And the cultural changes they made on Japan... like establishing Tokyo (then Edo) as the capital city or making the samurai into learned poets & artisans or wrestlers (like sumo) versus the warriors from the periods before.

While there were a few projects to do, we didn't do anything extra but read tales and stories from Japan! And cultural books about Japan.... our librarian hooked us up:) We'll continue to read those books into the beginning of next week and have the kids continue to practice their 5 Japanese phrases.

And then it's off to learn about the Pilgrims and stretch it out until Thanksgiving of course... our librarian hooked us up with that topic, too;)

Science
On Monday we did our experiment for the week. Our goal was to see how two like molecules responded to each other and how two unlike molecules responded. We used water and oil (yes, again... amazing what those two things can help us learn!!).

Two water drops joined into a bigger water drop! And the oil did the same.

But making the oil and water drops mix, was different, they try to stay separated (water on the bottom and oil on the top).

And just because I was soo excited to learn new science stuff. Water is a polar molecule and oil is a nonpolar (the reason that they don't "want" to mix). What I really thought (and showed the kids) was that the wax paper we were using was also nonpolar... so that was the reason the oil tended to spread across the wax paper and but the water stayed as a drop or drops.

On Thursday we had to run some errands in town and so we made last minute arrangements to hang out at the park with some friends. While we waited for them, we went on a nature walk collecting stuff we wanted to know more about:)

Other
So, yes, if you saw my other post we now have a little one terrorizing the schoolroom ALL morning!! He's a mess and likes to stay busy. I will have to reorganize myself and attempt to stay sane until we move and come up with better storage and work area for Nate. Until then, we're all together in our home office;)

For this semi-new-season, I'm going to try to label all my posts that concern Nate doing pre-preschool stuff as "tot in the schoolroom". And hopefully others out there can find sanity.... and there are sooo many people who have awesome ideas about schooling tots.... so I'll probably be linking up to them a lot!!!

Linking up to Weekly Wrap-Up:)

www.thehomeschoolchick.com

Homeschooling Mornings Just Got Busier

2011-11-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Nate started escaping from his crib and resisting morning naps this week;)

Looks like there is another kid to school (or at least keep busy).....

Nate spooning beans while Anna works on the couch behind him

The End of the Season

2011-11-03T00:00:00.000-04:00

Although it was just about a month long, we have enjoyed spending our fall evenings at soccer.

Sure it meant sticking to a tighter schedule two days of the week, being super prepared for dinner when we returned home late and washing (and finding) random soccer gear throughout the week;)

But Chris has really enjoyed soccer and has already been making plans to participate next season, perferably with a sister on his team.

Tuesday night was the final night. Which means after the practice and game, it was time for trophies!!

Chris accepting his trophy from his coach

Here's to a great 1st soccer season and many more to come!!

The last shot is for Sweet Shot Tuesday and Happiness Project:)

Giraffe #4

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000-04:00

I"m not big about Halloween costumes. The kids and I usually talk about what they want to be and we find stuff to "make it work". And unfortunately this year I never got a decent shot of all of them dressed up :(

This was as close as I got....blurry, fussy babe wrapped in his blanket by his older brother trying to comfort him... not sure it's working, but Chris tried;)

The girls wanted to be cowgirls (yes, Lydia "dressed up"!!) probably because of our visit to the Rodeo the week before last. We were very fortunate on Tuesday before Halloween to find some cowgirl boots Anna adores at Once Upon a Child... oh, and her top, too!!

Chris wanted to be a soccer player.... LOL!! So he put on his soccer uniform... ta-da! A costume;)

Nate had his chance to wear the giraffe outfit this Halloween....

Giraffe #4 enjoying a pack of stolen Smarties;)

Cowgirl Lydia walking Nate to a fall festival.

it's been a bit of a "tradition" for the kids to all have worn it for their 1st Halloween costume.

This is reposted from Oct 2008:)

The costume I hoped Lydia would wear this year was a giraffe costume... Grammie picked the costume up on a clearance rack only weeks after telling her I was pregnant with Anna (our 1st born). She figured a little boy or girl could wear the costume:)

We've gotten our use out of the costume!!
Anna has worn it once, Christopher was worn it twice and ....

now I'm sticking it on my third kiddo, and she was NOT happy about it!!

Lydia did warm up to it a little bit... although it looked a little too small for her....so who knows if we'll actually leave the house with it on her this year:)

Here's Christopher wearing the giraffe in 2006! He was just a crawler then... soo cute!!

And Anna downtown trick-or-treating in 2005!!

So it's sweet that Nate got to wear it! And easy for this Momma, who had some pretty simple costumes this year!!! But I have to admit that I'm really digging Sarah's Lego costume... I think we'll have plenty of boxes next year... LOL!! We could make a Lego family:) LOL!!

Sharing our cool pumpkins again for You Capture this week;)

The 8th pic (or 1st pumpkin pic) is for little somethings;)

More Wordless Wednesday at

NapTime MomTog,

5 Minutes for Mom,

Go Graham Go,

To Be Thode,
Mama to 4 Blessings,

and any other linkys I find !!!

TIny Talk Tuesday: Intestines and Waiting at the Door

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

As I was bathing the girls, I reminded Lydia to wash her whole body.

It was then that Anna had to add in her mothering, " And don't forget to wash your intestines!"

*******************************************************************************

After attending two church fall socials this weekend, we decided to have a "home" night on Halloween Night. It was cold, wet and Daddy was working late... sounded like a good idea to stay at home;)

So we got to pass out candy!

The kids were very excited about that.... I stopped counting all the squabbles I had to break up about who was going to pass out the candy, I didn't want to scare off the trick-or-treaters:) The kids reminded me of the part on Cars when the tourists happened upon Radiator Springs and all the townspeople crowded them offering their services:)

Anyway, they asked to eat dinner at the door, so they could see people stopping at our house;) A little scary...

But this was the scariest thing I saw all evening... the shirtless creature;) LOL!!

Dairy & Egg -Free (and could be Gluten-free) Pumpkin Bread

2011-11-01T00:41:00.000-04:00

Perfect, light and seasonal treat....

I've already made two batches and have enough pumpkin for another;)

Dairy & Egg Free Pumpkin Bread
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1 3/4 cups barley flour (i used regular white flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup water (divided)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream margarine and sugar.

Sift together cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, flour, baking soda and salt.

Dissolve baking powder into 1/4 cup of water. Mix in remaining water, vanilla and add in pumpkin. Cream together with margarine/sugar mixture.

Combine wet and dry ingredients and blend together well;)

Pour into loaf pan. Bake 1 hour! (I baked for 30 minutes b/c I used smaller pans!)

Linking up to...

Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff
Tasty Tuesdays @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
and

Weekly Wrap-Up: Jumpers with No Coordination, Pumpkins

2011-10-30T22:39:00.002-04:00

We had a fun week :) Lots of outside time earlier in the week, soccer practice/games and some fun events at the end of the week:)

Bible
We are continuing to work through 1 Corinthians 13! I love that my kids can memorize verses soo much more quickly than I. It makes me want to invest the time to learn them as well!!

This week for prayer time as we've been praying for family and friends we've been discussing the manner of prayer. How God knows what we are asking even when we don't have the right words and what our attitudes/actions should be like during times of prayer. Crazy what conversations come up during our prayer times :)

Language Arts
We had a normal week here.... just keeping up with Grammar, spelling, reading practice, some writing (Anna doing cursive and Chris and Lydia doing copywork).

Anna is doing Spelling Power this year. I like the format. I like that I'm a part of her spelling work daily. But she's been rushing through her spelling words :( It caught up with her this week... she had trouble with a Review Test with words she had already worked on. So well stalled on spelling in order to practice those words more thoroughly. I'm glad it happened because it pointed out to her how "rushing through" work will catch up to her. Lets just say though, that I'm glad that the following lesson was a little easier for her ;)

Any wisdom on how to encourage them to slow down when using the 10 Study Steps on Spelling Power?

Math
We only completed 3 lessons a piece since we had two abnormal days! So that was good;)

The most notable thing in math was Chris starting fractions!!

History
This week we finished reading our Pocahontas books and then started on the exploration of Canada. We specifically studied Henry Hudson and Samuel Champlain. We read, narrated, colored and mapped it out. We read a book on Henry Hudson that was a little more personal.... when we read that the sailors sent Hudson, his son and some sick crew members afloat in a small raft to die in the Hudson Bay from our reader the kids kind of shrugged (nothing like the beheadings at the Tower of London!). But when reading the biography with pictures, they definitely showed more sympathy ... shows the importance of books to add to our lessons.

One afternoon we decided to play some of the Inuit games, like

* jumping the length of our bodies

* jumping while holding onto your toes (try it... it's hard)

* the juggling really caused issues... my kids just aren't coordinated :/

where did the ball go???

Waiting again:)

Chris actually did well with the juggling of one ball... he never did try two;)

Science
Anna wrote up an experiment and finished up old definitions as well as new ones for the new experiment. We never did get to the actual experiment though :/ So that will be Monday;)

We did some "science" with pumpkins on Friday. We had friends come over and did the "pumpkin thing"...

we measured, weighed, described, tasted (the brave ones), read a book that quickly went over how they are grown and then cut them open:) Of course the final conversations revolved around the "gooky" stuff and seeds:)

Cool results though;)

Friday and Saturday nights we attended church fall festivals/parties;) The kids had a blast! This was my favorite pic:

Nate (the giraffe) Raiding the Candy

Overall a good week.... schooling, at the park with friends, great finds at a local Once A Upon a Child, kitten catching, friends over to "do" pumpkins and then all the fun parties;)

Linking up to Weekly Wrap-Up:)

www.thehomeschoolchick.com

Kitten Catchers

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

This summer and fall we have had our share of neighbors' kittens.... kittens visiting us and us visiting kittens.

This last batch has our attention... we've seen them since they were just a few weeks old. Our neighbor loves having the kids over and enjoys watching the kids trying to catch and tame the frisky little kittens.

We're not yet ready for pets, but the kids love these cats!!

A kitten catcher snuggling with his catch;)

Little Nate has even warmed up to the kittens.

"Got one!"

I'm not a cat person, but it's hard not to love on these kittens:) And if we were to bring one home...

I want this one;) LOL!

Lydia, kitten catcher, with the fluffy kitten;)

We Cloth.... sometimes :/

2011-10-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't mentioned cloth diapering much....

It's not because we don't cloth....

I am glad that by using cloth... we are throwing less away and being a little eco-friendly. We also like that we are saving ourselves a few dollars each month by not using only disposables.

But I'm only a part-timer!!

We cloth at home during our "normal" weeks... days when we're at home doing our normal tasks! Not out running errands since I'm often out-numbered and just the thought of dealing with 4 kids and a messy cloth diaper overwhelms me;)

So I don't talk about it much...

I'm still kind of "new" at it! And I'd hate to leave you with the impression that I know what I'm doing or have a diapering/cleaning routine going.

But isn't Nate cute in his cloth (and his ridiculous outfit) ???

If you want to start cloth diapering and want to know about more brands of cloth... check out SIMPLE's Cloth Diaper Week!!! There are currently 11 giveaways for different brands and a review with each!!! It's amazing all that is available! Makes me want to add to my collection!

Fall is for Park Days

2011-10-26T23:57:00.000-04:00

We'll venture to the park any day of the week when we know we can meet friends there;)

But there is something relaxing about being at the park on a beautiful fall afternoon... the comfortable temperature, the less intense sun and fewer bugs (usually).

Makes me wonder if fall is for park days... getting in all the outside time we want before the chill of winter sets in;)

I'm sharing my favorite pictures from our park day this week with some sweet friends!

{pretty}.... Nate's little girl twin:)

{happy}

{funny}... Chris my adventurous monkey!

{real}... my baby sporting the boots on the playground!

The 1st one is for little somethings Fall Activity challenge! The 2nd is for the happiness challenge at Leigh vs Laundry:) And the 3rd is for and then, she {snapped}.

Also linking up to I should be folding laundry's Cute theme....

The last picture is for here...

Halloween Safety with giveaway

2011-10-26T15:38:00.001-04:00

We're not "trick or treator"s yet....

we usually stay pretty active during this season with visiting community fall parties, attending our church's Fall Festival and decorating cookies and carving pumpkins at home.

But I remember the days of heading out into the neighborhood with a couple of friends, trying to stay a few houses away from my parents.... just to feel the independence of being out late with friends and trying to get as much candy as possible!!

Since I'm sure there are families everywhere preparing to "trick or treat" on Monday night, I am pleased to share some Halloween Safety Tips from FedEx and SafeKids!! And they even have a few safety kits to giveaway:)

What Drivers Need to Know:

· Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods. Children are excited on Halloween and may move in unpredictable ways.

· Anticipate heavy pedestrian traffic and turn your headlights on early in the day so you can spot children from greater distances.

· Remember that costumes can limit children’s visibility and they may not be able to see your vehicle.

· Reduce any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings.

And onto the giveaway:)

FedEx and SafeKids are giving away 3 safety kits! They include a reflective trick-or-treat bag, mini aluminum flashlight with strap, battery operated blinking flasher, reflective Safe Kids zipper pull tag, reflective yellow slap bracelet, reflective pumpkin sticker, reflective orange shoe laces OR green reflector strips for shoes or costumes and a safety tip sheet for kids and drivers!!

Leave a comment about what activities you do during the fall/Halloween season and/or what your kids are dressing up like;) Please include a way to contact you and look for a winner to be contacted ASAP, so these can get to you in time;)

Giveaway ends Thursday, Oct 27 at 12:00PM...
that's right tomorrow at noon, so you can get your prizes before Halloween night!

** I am sharing this information from FedEx and SafeKids as a public service:) I have received no compensation for this post.

The Rodeo

2011-10-26T00:11:00.003-04:00

I've never considered myself a "country girl"...

Some say I developed a "drawl" while at college in the "heart of Virginia":)

My family accuses me of "cooking country" now;)

Besides one day owning a pair of boots (which I have been on the hunt now for 2 YEARS!!), attending our 1st Rodeo was probably the turning point :) LOL!!!


Beautiful horse, young lady & flag galloping around the arena to the song "Proud to Be an American"

bucking bronco

steer wrestling... you should have seen the concerned looks on my kids' faces!

ladies barrel racing

Yeeee-haw, folks;)

The 1st pic is for the natural beauty challenge at Simplicity.
The 3rd is for communal global.

More Wordless Wednesday at

NapTime MomTog,

5 Minutes for Mom,

Go Graham Go,

To Be Thode,
Mama to 4 Blessings,

and any other linkys I find !!!

Mom, I Don't Want You to be a Snake

2011-10-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

We walked by a little, swampy stream after soccer practice last week. And Chris asked,"Mom, do you think there are snakes in there?"

It was a chilly night, so as we walked by I answered," Yep. But if I was a snake, I'd be looking for a place to hibernate!"

And then the conversation was quiet for a moment.

Chris answers back, "Mom, I don't want you be a snake... your a good mom!... I mean you do stuff that is mean sometimes, but I don't care. You're still a good mom!!"

The conversation was very sweet, revealing and convicting. I had just written about how I long to be a joyful, loving mother that week and then earlier in the day I had "lost it"... finding fault with everything and really showing an ugly attitude.

Sure, my simple requests of the children had been disregarded. Messes left in every room. Chores left undone. Whining instead of obedience. And a busier schedule due to soccer practice.

Not to mention... a meal to prepare and have ready when we returned from soccer practice. A van left half cleaned (because the little helpers got bored of the job!). A project that the kids had gotten into and I had to fix before I could complete it!!

But those are all excuses...

I have the ability (only through the Holy Spirit) to choose to be loving, gentle, kind and longsuffering.

I choose... and too often I choose wrongly! And my kids know!!

I am thankful they know. They know I love the Lord and want to serve Him in every moment. And they know how often I fail.

But there is forgiveness.... forgiveness from the Lord and from each other!

And a chance to choose joy, gentleness, love and longsuffering the next time!!

It totally figures that these are part of the verses we are working on memorizing together... funny how that always works out :)

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1Corinthians 13: 4-7

The Transition : His New Location

2011-10-24T07:00:00.000-04:00

I've shared some about the ups and downs of house hunting and I'm really praying that will be coming to an end soon (because we'll finally have plans!). That in itself has been a huge part of our schedule the last 2 months!! And I have NOT been as patient or willing to relax and trust like I should be.... just not having definite "plans" is starting to "eat" at me.

But there are a lot of "transitions" that we are still making since Brian started working full-time job at the college.

The hardest thus far has been his schedule and location change!! I'll share about the location first...

Since we moved to our parsonage, Brian has worked either at home or just feet behind the parsonage in the church office housed in our fellowship hall. We often giggled about the "tough" morning commute... stepping over the baby gate in the doorway to the home office or walking a few feet to the covered walkway in front of the fellowship hall.

In fact during the earlier days I kind of disliked that Brian was soo close. I felt guilty when I was invited to picnic at the park with friends. Or I felt stressed at lunch to have a full meal ready for him (and the kids). I felt like I needed to have the house in order throughout the day since he could have walked through at anytime. And there were times when he'd be on an important call and I'd be trying my hardest to quiet the fussy babies or loud toddlers.

But Anna commented the other day to me, "Mommy, I really miss sharing the school room with Daddy. He always could see what we were learning!" How did we get blessed with such sweet kids??

She was right though. With Brian gone all day, it does feel different in our house. We do feel like we are missing him... even the little things like when we set the lunch table for only 5.

Anyway, Anna's comment also made me feel guilty over not enjoying the years of having Brian soo close... him reading a little bit during lunch with us, or watching kids ride bikes as I put final touches on lunch. Or him being that extra set of hands as I nursed Lydia with a toddling, mischievous Christopher running around. Calling Brian and having him help me buckle little bodies into the van for an outing ...so nice to have help when loading up!!

Those days are gone.... at least during the normal week! And I do regret, I didn't enjoy them more!

Our decision to look locally for a home, versus farther near the bigger city, stemmed from some of this, too! Having Brian's job location closer means that he is closer to us and we are closer to him. He has a smaller commute to work and we can stop by before a picnic or run him lunch... which Brian really likes because

he misses us, too!!

310. a very hard working husband
311. reading about Helen Keller as a family
312. meeting up with Grandma & Granddaddy.... TWICE this week!!!!
313. indoor playground at McD's
314. Nate's delight going through the playground and down the slide "alone"
315. a little "h-whoa" when we enter into a room
316. giggling at the rodeo
317. little cowboy boot steps heard running across the floor
318. some new tunes
319. watching my children participate during a church service
320. cookies!!!
321. learning to be patient... even when it's tough
322. seeing love like 1 Corinthians 13 lived out
323. reciting memorized Scripture with my kids
324. weekends with Daddy

Weekly Wrap-Up: Kids Licenses, Trying to Make Gas & The Real Pocahontas

2011-10-23T01:12:00.000-04:00

In my Life this week.... I saw my need to be purposeful in being a joyful mother... too often I let circumstances dictate my attitude and I want to change! I also saw how much I have been consumed by the "house hunt"... so I'm trying to let that "go" too... trusting that we will find/be lead to the perfect spot.

In our homeschool week...

Bible
I have found that the kids really enjoy our prayer times, but they are also getting "silly" with it. So before we prayed this week, I reminded them to Whom they are praying... the Creator of the Universe! And the manner in which we pray that shows Him reference.

We're also learning more and more of 1 Corinthians 13. This week the favorite verse was 7 because they had to shout the words in bold "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance."

Language Arts
We had all sorts of fun here... I'll just share the highlights;) Anna is reading a series of fictional diaries from colonial Jamestown called My America. She's really enjoyed what she has read. On Wednesday we ventured to meet grandparents traveling through and Anna read for at least 30 minutes of our 45 minute drive, so we all got to "read" some of the book, too;)

Anna has also started working on cursive again....
( I really do not stress handwriting with my crowd, they get practice with their handwriting during the toddler and preschool years and then doing copywork and assignments once they start "school". I think it's important that they recognize and can write neatly, but we don't stress about perfectly formed letters and I don't even purchase handwriting curriculum, just cheap workbooks that I photocopy for them to practice with. All that said.... I feel like the kids need to know cursive in order to read it!!! If someone (usually Grandma) writes them a letter in cursive, it's very important that my kids can read it!! )

and she loves it!! I'm not sure how many letters she has written to people this week... but I am finding them everywhere. She's been through one simple cursive letter workbook last year and this year I have a harder workbook I got for a $1 at a book sale. She is hoping to review 2 letters a week... but with all the letter writing she's been getting a TON of practice and has almost convinced Chris to start learning cursive with her next week:)

This week as I did reading with Lydia, I was soo surprised at how well she is sounding out words. It took the older 2 much longer to get to the stage where they would sound out words on their own... but Lydia is seeing that she can already read soo much independently.... gotta love the homeschool learning curve for younger siblings, I definitely read less to Lydia in my lap,one-on-one than I did for Anna and Chris!! No guilt trip there, right!?

Chris, Lydia and I enjoyed our Grammar lessons this week. Learning about the state we live in and naming states of the United States. Our last lesson on Friday was writing our address... I felt a little silly teaching them our current address just because we know it will be changing in a few months... oh well...

We made an activity though with our address writing (see there is hidden handwriting in Grammar!!). We made index card driver's licenses using an extra Christmas Cards from last year:)

They glued their picture on, wrote their address at the top and then filled in some personal information (like eye color, hair color, weight, height,etc).

Math
Each child did at least 4 lessons;) Yay:) My lefty at work!

During her down time one morning, Lydia followed an activity from Math Mastermind all by herself and came to show it off;)

Lydia also had a BIG milestone in math this week!! She finally got to do a fact sheet, like Anna and Chris!! She was soo excited she did her first one a day early:) With the Time Timer at her side... set at 5 minutes, although she completed it in record time :)

History
We studied King James and Jamestown. I love how much British history we are learning and to see how it ties into American history soo much... especially these early years:) We read, colored and mapped;) And I totally gave in and let them watch Pocahontas .... i know it's not historically accurate :( Anyway, it's a good picture though of the tension and the mindset that did exsist. To balance the Disney indoctronation (LOL!!!.. joking!) we did read some fabulous books from our library.... Who's Saying What in Jamestown, Thomas Savage? by Jean Fritz, The True Story of Pocahontas by Lucille Penner, and In Their Own Words: Pocahontas by George Sullivan.

Science
This week we got back on track with the "other" gas experiment. It resembled the soda experiment from two weeks ago, but we used kitchen ingredients to make gas. The kids measured and poured the ingredients.

The 1st concoction was baking soda and vinegar.... LOL, Chris took a big wiff of the vinegar and made the funniest face. We put the balloon and the kids shook up the bottle making the ingredients mix and the gas form filling the balloon:)

The 2nd concoction was orange juice and baking soda. It made a little bit of gas... I wonder if it was because it made gas or I just didn't rinse the bottle out well enough???

And Lydia was my fearless little chemist.... she also helped me mix 2 other concoctions..... water/baking soda and salt/vinegar to make gas. Neither of those made gas :(

Other
Before soccer practice we made a community fall event! We basically made an appearance, dressed like this....

And then headed to soccer;)

And this evening we attended a Rodeo.... and that is another post :)