academy at thousand oaks

Weekly Wrap-Up Journal

2012-01-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

December 17-January 5

In Our Homeschool This Week/Time With My Preschooler This Week:
It was really nice to have all of the kids home for a few weeks. (Sissy was on break from preschool, and the boys and I are on break from homeschool co-op.) We did get into bad habits of staying up late/sleeping in/kids watching t.v. during the week. The kids are currently in television detox mode. They just cannot handle having t.v. as an option in life during the school week. We have to keep t.v. (other than occasional learning shows) as a special treat on weekends.

Sissy and I got to engage in more activities together.

She wishes she could help me at every single meal, every single day. She said, during this particular meal prep on January 1, "I'm always going to cook with you."

I got out this loom (from Hobby Lobby) the boys have used before. I told her to make a pattern with the colors. It was a bit of a challenge for her to stick with the pattern, and the short fabric rings require a lot of stretching and manipulation, so I say "great preschool activity." We started weaving the opposite row, but we haven't finished yet.

They also had a lot of fun making Spin Art during Christmas break. I actually took this picture when the picture was in full spin mode. I wonder why it is so clear, but my camera doesn't capture people action that clearly.

I like that once I get them started, this is an activity they can basically take over themselves. They made a lot of cards that I'm either going to turn into notecards or make a banner/garland for their homeschool room.

Question I Have This Week:
As much as I loved having Sis home for the past two weeks, the amount of arguing heard around here has also increased. She and her 2 years older brother are GREAT playmates. (Seriously, they often comment that they wish they could marry each other; that's how much they love each other.)

They pick at each other just as much as they giggle and play together. It drives me batty. I mean, it really gets in the way of accomplishing things. The bothering then resulting tattle-taling can overshadow a learning moment. It even gets in the way of us all reading together on the couch. They can't keep their hands off each other. For some reason, it's the one disciplinary situation I can't seem to control. I know it's typical, and my siblings and I picked on each other...but HELP!!! I mean, seriously, I can't even imagine homeschooling them all together next year unless I can get a handle on this.

Edit: A lot of the times it's not that they're even fighting necessarily. They're just teasing one another. Or it's the whole, "She's looking at me! Stop looking at me!" and the other one is laughing. So even if they're just playing, it's very hard for us all to concentrate.

In My Life This Week:
The continuing theme the past couple of weeks has been "get ready for baby." Almost every cabinet and closet has been organized (at least, more than it was before). I've made five casseroles and various other things for the freezer. I finally (a week ago) got around to ordering all of the baby stuff we need - carseat, stroller, bouncy seat, etc. And this week, I took the kids out on individual "dates."

Tornado chose to paint pottery at a local studio. He picked out a Hulk face dish. (Hulk's hair is the lid.) In true Tornado-unconventional style, he made him the Red Hulk version, rather than the Green. I painted a Christmas ornament.

We also walked over to Whole Foods, and he picked out a rice-cream bar. On the way home, he commented, "That was fun!" more than once, without any prompting.

I'm so happy we had a great date because we actually had to go to the dentist before all of this. He usually does NOT do well at the dentist, but he was super sweet at this visit. Yay! He let them clean his teeth without fighting it one bit, and the hygienist got a kick out of how much he was laughing at the cartoons playing on the ceiling. No cavities, and he didn't need a tooth pulled like I was afraid. (He has a tooth growing over a baby tooth that isn't very loose yet.) I let him pick out a treat from the hospital gift shop. (He chose a car doodle book, colored pencils, and a bag of potato chips.)

For his date, Dash chose a trip to Tropical Smoothie. We ordered our favorite flavor (Sunny Day), split into two cups. I let him decide all of the details of the night, such as "sit here or take it with us," etc. He was grinning from ear to ear the entire night. When we first sat down, I joked, "So tell me about yourself," like it was a real date. He put his hands over his eyes and laughed in an embarrassed way. I kept saying things like that, and he kept giggling. Our next stop:

...Chick-Fil-A. Yes, this vegan Momma took her kid to a fast food place, ha! Someone had gotten him a gift card for his birthday, and we hadn't used it yet. He ordered a fruit cup and waffles fries and even chose to order another bag of waffle fries for his brother because he knows how much he loves them. After he ate, he played in the play area with a couple of kids who were in there.

The plan was to next stop at Petsmart to look at the animals, but by the time we got there, they were closing.

Sissy and I went to Ava Bella for pedicures. (I like this particular day spa because they use a lot of organic products.) This was her first "real" pedicure! Fun stuff!

Next, we went to Whole Foods for a light lunch. I let her pick out an essential oil to mix with water for her new perfume bottles she got for Christmas. We even got to sit outside in this amazing January weather.

She and I had a beautiful day, just as I had with each of her brothers. I love spending time with them one-on-one. I want lots of kids, but I always want them to know how important they are to me individually.

This is what I'm looking like these days. You don't really want to see my swollen face right now. I gained five pounds THIS WEEK. THIS WEEK.

What I'm Reading This Week:
I just finished Longing by Karen Kingsbury. I've cracked back open my newish Large Family Logistics.
I can't say the information in the book is life-changing. BUT. It is definitely inspiring and all of the ideas serve as good reminders of how to manage life and a home. It seems simple to say "lay out clothes at night" or whatever - things that I know and I do most of the time. But this book has helped me refocus and vow to take my job as a homemaker and a mom with even more fervor and wholeheartedness.

A Little From Christmas:
I'm still planning to post more Christmas pictures for my family/those interested to see. In the meantime, here are a couple of activities from this year:

My siblings and I don't exchange gifts with each other or our kids. I saw an idea in Family Fun magazine to play Bingo with little gifts as prizes. Mom gathered little things she had put away in her closet such as flashlights, umbrellas, batteries, cards, kitchen utensils, etc. My sister contributed a couple of Starbucks gift cards, and I threw in a few things I had at home. After every round, the winner(s) got to pick a gift off the stool. Mom called out the numbers, and it was definitely a little loud and crazy with so many people playing at once. But I think overall it was a good idea I'd like to repeat.

Every Christmas Eve since my 11 year old was little I've organized a Scavenger Hunt. I take pictures of things around the house (like the kind you have to figure out what the picture even is - such as the corner of a particular cabinet or the top of the washing machine) and write clues. They scramble around, up and down the stairs, squealing and racing from one clue to the next. I really think it is one of their favorite activities of the whole year.

At the end they are rewarded with a gift plus Baby Jesus who needs to be placed in our nativity scene. The gift is usually new pajamas. This year I only got the boys pajamas because I'd just gotten Sister new p.j.'s for pajama day at preschool. And let's face it, she's not one to wear pajamas to bed. She strips down at night because she's always hot. (And we keep the thermostat around 69.) She got new leggings and a new shirt instead.

Sissy had her second girly sleepover. During Christmas With My Family Weekend, my 3 year old niece W came over for the night. Lots of giggling, lots of excuses to continue staying up, and lots of dress-up and pretend play.

What We're Eating This Week:

Here is part of our Christmas Day lunch: broccoli, edamame, tomatoes, almonds, and bell pepper. It has become a tradition the past few years.

I've been juicing a lot this week, hoping to help my body prepare for all of the...ahem...digestive issues that I'm sure I'm going to have following my baby's upcoming birth.

Kid Quotes I Want to Keep:
1) The other morning I caught one sentence from my 6 year old that I knew my husband would enjoy. Ryan is very excited about the John Carter movie coming out in a couple of months. He listened to the audiobooks and is totally into the whole story and background, etc. He talks to Dash about the story and the people, and my little guy just soaks all of that up. (The story is essentially a Civil War vet who is sent to Mars...something I could not soak up. Although it does star Taylor Kitsch so there's definite potential!) Anyway, this is what I heard coming out of Dash's mouth when he was playing pretend with his sister:

"Fate has brought you here, John Carter!"

2) These were on two different occasions but hold the same theme regarding how our lives are getting ready to become ~~CRAZY~~ even more wonderful.

Dash: "It's going to be a lot of work, Momma, cuz there's going to be crying..." (voice trails off to indicate "etc.").

Sissy: (sighing) "I don't know how you can handle all these kids."

3) At an enjoyable meal at the supper table the other night, Dash had a very sweet smile on his face and said (shrugging),

"I'm really happy right now...I don't know why."

Linking Up:

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Wrap-Up

Preschool Corner

Weekly Wrap-Up Homeschool Journal Dec. 10-16

2011-12-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

Extracurricular This Week:

Big moment! My 6 year old had his first piano recital!

He's so handsome and charming (and looked so little!), and he played his piece (Jolly Old Saint Nicholas) perfectly. Complete with a bow.

In Our Homeschool This Week:
Homeschooling this week has only consisted of reading time and holiday activities.

I wrote about our Charlie Brown Christmas activity here. It has been one of their favorite holiday activities, so far.

I always kind of wanted The Elf on the Shelf (because everyone makes it look so fun), but I could never bring myself to splurge the $29.99. I found this book at Hastings for $4, and we've been having fun with it, instead.

Every day (for the 12 days leading up to Christmas), I take out a new cardboard elf and hide it (along with the previous elves because one is never enough to find) according to the clue in the book. Then we read the poem clue, and they look for it. I just hide the other elves in random places, and they also take turns hiding them/searching after that. I like that the elves' backs are printed on the other side making them more realistic.

In My Life This Week:

The kids have slept together a few times lately. (Tornado started opening his eyes when I turned on the lights and took the picture.) They all have their own nice, cozy beds, but I guess they prefer being together. It's sweet. Sissy doesn't think it's fair that she's the only one who has to go to sleep in a room by herself, and well...I understand. That makes sense. I get to cuddle with Ryan, and the boys get to whisper to one another until they fall asleep in their bunk beds. Not fair, indeed, Sis.

In My Pregnancy This Week:
I actually tried to call the doctor today because my leg and feet swelling is so over the top. I am a little concerned that one is slightly bigger than the other, which according to the internet could be an issue. The office isn't open on Friday's, though, so I'm trying to decide what to do. Worrying about having a blood clot is not good for my hypochondriatic self. I think I convince myself I'm having trouble breathing when I'm probably just panicking.

I've been feeling FINE up until now. I never had extreme morning sickness. I have never felt particularly tired or achey. My blood pressure is perfect. ETC. The past week or two I have went dramatically downhill. This week I officially hit a weight I've never reached before in my other pregnancies (and I still have a bit to go!). I started crying today because I was worried about my feet after reading things on the computer about it. I was trying to stay off of them, but I have so much to do! So much I want to do! Clean for company this weekend. Wrap presents. Bake desserts for our holiday get-together...my body is failing me when I don't even feel tired, and I think this must be a hint of what it feels like to grow old. I walk up the stairs so slowly, and I'm totally out of breath when I reach the top.

Anyway, today I burst into tears, and Sissy ran downstairs to get her brothers. I could hear her saying, "Come on! Mommy's crying!" I don't like to lose it in front of them, and I tried to explain that I'm fine, I'm just disappointed that I'm not feeling well enough to do what I need and want to do. I think they understand. They gave me a foot and leg massage with lotion as they pretended like they were playing "spa," and I was a customer. Sissy was talking all fancy and prissy as she explained what they were doing and how they were helping me. It was cute. (And felt great!)

A Peek at Sissy in Preschool This Week:

Pajama Day at school this week

She had her Christmas program this week, too. It included sitting on Santa's lap and receiving a newly wrapped book, the kids singing a few songs (which included her wearing a Santa's hat, lots of hand motions, and ringing jingle bells during one song) for everyone in the sanctuary, and a "Happy Birthday, Jesus" party back in the classroom.

What We're Playing This Week:

We were using cotton balls for a snowman craft, and these two decided to have a snowball fight with them. I actually thought it was a really fun idea, and I was just relieved that they were finally throwing something in the house that wouldn't hurt anything. I am, however, still finding cotton balls in random places many days later.

Daddy played Scrabble: Junior Edition with them one night.

What We're Looking Forward To This Week:

The boys were excited when we went to Googie & Papaw's one day and saw all of their Christmas decorations were set out. They love my dad's Snow Village creations, complete with a train. I'm sure this will get a lot of viewing time this weekend as my whole family will be together to celebrate the holiday. We are looking forward to hanging out with everyone.

Quotes to Share:
Sis was helping me clean her room. I asked her to do something apparently while she was still completing another task. She said, "Wait a second. I only have two hands, not three." She said it very serious, which is funny because she apparently she picked up that from me; I am always telling them something like that.

Linkin' Up:

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Wrap-Up

Christmas Stories + "Art"

2011-12-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

One of our latest Advent Garland days was the gift of A Charlie Brown Christmas. I also included with the book some flashy garland in a bag, and we also stopped by Dollar Tree to pick out some $1 shatter-proof balls and holly garland.

After we read the book (which I love, especially when Charlie Brown exclaims, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" and Linus goes on to explain the real meaning of Christmas), we took a walk around our property to pick out a tree that maybe wanted to feel like a special Christmas tree this year.

The tree ended up very fancy, and I'm pretty sure all of its Christmas tree dreams have now came true.

We had some extra decorations, and the kids felt very certain they wanted to decorate this old tree, too. It was one that we had used as a Christmas tree years ago in a pot, then transferred outside. I think it has finally succumbed to the Arkansas heat, etc., although there is a bit of green hiding in there.

Another Advent activity we've done so far was reading Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett.

I mentioned on my Weekly Journal Friday that we had made gingerbread house pancakes.

I have a gingerbread house pancake mold I've had for years (and I've seen them online). We also had a little success using a large gingerbread boy cookie cutter (with plenty of cooking spray) as a pancake mold.

I filled our dishes with fruits, nuts, cereal, chocolate chips and let the kids decorate their houses, along with syrup, melted fruit spread and dairy-free whipping cream.

This was our supper, and the boys ended up making more than one each.

My 4 year old was actually in the middle of her own Gingerbread Unit at preschool last week. Here are a few of her art projects.

Linking Up:

stART at A Mommy's Adventures
Read, Explore, Learn at JDaniel4's Mom
Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations

Weekly Homeschool Journal Dec. 2-9

2011-12-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

In Our Homeschool This Week:We were really "off schedule" this week because of a 3 day weekend trip we took. We didn't get all of our schoolwork finished, but that's okay because our co-op has a month-long Christmas break (YAY!!!), so we'll have time to catch up. I assigned the boys plenty of time on Time4Learning, etc. while I did laundry, etc. Dash practiced piano a lot. Tornado is always 100% engaged in some writing or art project. We've also spent more time celebrating the holidays at home this week, which is a nice thing.

They also enjoyed several episodes of Liberty's Kids. I got the idea of watching it on Netflix Streaming from another blogger. (And they have a website with games and info, as well.) I had forgotten about that show (years ago, I always thought it would be great for when they got older), and the kids had never watched it. They love it now, though, and it goes along perfectly with what the boys are both studying in history right now. (Tornado does Abeka American History.) These are two of their journal entries at home this week.

I can't, for the life of me, get my 11 year old to write small with lower case letters when applicable (or in straight lines, for that matter). I have to constantly refocus him to do it. (His teachers during his 2 years at public school - and his occupational therapists for the past 8 years - have had no more luck with this than I do.) This type of stop/go writing paper seems to work well for him - at least for the size issue. It actually causes my 6 year old to write worse, though, I discovered. We purchased a notebook from Office Depot, but here are pages you can print off.

I, myself, learned something on the Liberty's Kids episode today. Paul Revere didn't say, "The British are coming!" The phrase that many people called out from horseback that night was actually, "The Regulars are coming!" Where have I been? We looked online to read more about the real facts surrounding Paul Revere.

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing:

my kids, along with Cousin K

We spent a 3-day weekend in Branson. My husband's family met up to celebrate Christmas together. We were meeting early this year because I might not be able to travel much longer as I near my due date. We stayed in four different condo/cabin type accomodations near one another. The kids (above) were running around Branson Landing, a waterfront shopping/dining, etc. area in downtown Branson on Lake Taneycomo.

It started sprinkling on us at the Landing, and it rained on us most of our time at Silver Dollar City. SDC is such a fun place to visit at Christmastime. The lights are pretty and magical. We carried our umbrellas, though, and got out of the rain occasionally, walking through shops and a singing show. You would think it would have been desserted in the rainy weather, but I've never seen the place more crowded in all of my 36 years.

The kids enjoyed the weekend, though, with their grandparents, 2 uncles, 2 aunts, and 2 cousins. And they found plenty of ways to entertain themselves, as Tornado is doing above. If you look closely, you can make out my "fun-sized" figure in the t.v.

This weekend, we also went to see my grandparents in the nursing home. This was our first time to visit them there, as they have only recently moved out of their house. I was happy that Sissy loved on Grandpa a lot.

Our next stop was my niece's 10th birthday party. Tornado always buddies up very well with his little cousins. He and Cousin P had a good time finding ways to entertain themselves.

I hate that I didn't get any more pictures of the birthday girl herself. She is growing into such a special young lady, so smart and so talented. I say this all of the time, but I adore my nieces and nephews!

There was a lot of love going on between these two, as well. I'm glad that Sissy's love spreading didn't also spread the germs she unknowingly was harboring at the time. She threw up a couple of times on the way home (and JUST HAPPENED to have my favorite bed pillow in her lap, sigh...) and continued to be sick all night and the next morning. Fortunately, she was the only one who got it at our house.

Speaking of vomit...I forgot to post this picture last month. The kids (each on a different day that week) got a bout of 24 hour vomiting. But I liked this picture because my 6 year old son brought her everything in the picture - books, the little cars, water, a coloring book, and crayons. He was really taking care of her. Hopefully, they are getting stomach bug now and NOT later when the baby comes.

What We're Cleaning and What We're Playing:

What we're cleaning lately is everything. I'm so desperate to have a clean home before the baby gets here, and I seem to be spinning my wheels. I'll get one room almost clean, it apparently becomes so exciting then for the kids, I turn my back, and before I know it they've pulled out a bunch of stuff again.

Anyway, we did spend a day recently cleaning up outside, organizing the outdoor toybin, and getting rid of some stuff - all of which made me feel much better. The kids seem to breathe easier when the yard it clean, too. Just like inside, they play outside even better when it's cleaned up.

Advent Fun This Week:

Gingerbread House pancakes! I wrote more about these on my food blog.

hot chocolate, made with almond milk, Mimic Creme, and crushed organic candy canes

They drank this after playing in the snow. Yes, it snowed in Arkansas already! Most of it was melted off by noon, but still! The bad thing was that it took my husband 2 1/2 hours to drive 30 minutes to work, and it took me an 1 hour 15 minutes to drive the same to my doctor.

We got a lot of great ideas from Family Fun magazine this month. We made these ornaments with broken toothpicks and glitter glue.

We used this idea from Family Fun, as well. (Top two: Dash, "B is for Bean" would be from my silly Tornado, the next one is mine, and the last one is Sissy's.) We cut out circles from cereal boxes, covered pieces of cereal box with foil for the top and taped paper clips on the back.

The boys also wanted to make extra large ornaments. The one on the left is Dash's, and Tornado made the one on the right. I started out trying to convince him to please make it look like a Christmas ornament, but...I don't know why I even wanted to do that. THIS ornament is way more him than anything with gemstones and ribbon.

Sissy had to decorate the red paper ornament to take back to school for hanging on the tree in their lobby. It is also very "Sissy" (pink and shiny). She went on to make this "purse" on her own.

She remarked, "I'm getting into this project cuz I'm making a lot of stuff."

We hung their ornaments on their "homemade ornament tree," where they also have hung the wooden ornaments my mom got them to color.

The kids are loving the Advent Garland. As soon as they wake up, they rush downstairs. One day, the boys unclipped the next number and read it without Sissy. She let 'em have it! She told me to "get them in trouble" and made it clear that was not to happen again. They are so easily impressed, too. One day, there were two clues - one was about watching Olive the Other Reindeer (so I just wrote the words of the Rudolph song highlighting "all of the other reindeers"), which I had recorded, and the other was about watching the Elf on a Shelf cartoon. That one said, "Rhymes with 'telf on a melf.' " (I couldn't think of anything else!) It was as if it was the funniest thing they've ever heard.

At Our Homeschool Co-Op This Week:
As did most classes, we took a break from our regular curriculum (I teach My Father's World K-4.) and focused on holiday fun. I had printed off several crafts and themed worksheets for the kids, and we read Christmas stories. This was one of them.

They also put colored, cut out, and put together this snowman. I also offered cotton balls, and I liked how one kid rolled up pieces into little balls...

and others left them large."

More Christmas Fun This Week:

Friday, the kids' Advent Garland card promised a trip to Bethlehem Revisited held every year at a church in Arkansas. It's really cool. Groups are led (by a Roman soldier) on a little walk where different period-dressed speakers narrate part of the Christmas story in first person. Then the soldier leads you into the walled city where you experience life in the days of Jesus. You are also given shekkels to spend in the market. They especially enjoyed spending some at the "toy" store.

They stopped at the Story Telling booth to hear about Noah's ark.

They also got their names written in Greek. (There was also a Hebrew option.) There were open fires and farm animals, bread and olives, etc. for sale, and all different sorts of experiences at Bethlehem Revisited. The finale is exiting the walls of the city and listening to the final part of the "story," in front of "Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus." "Baby Jesus" was really cute and cooing, so the kids enjoyed that.

candle making

These are the candles they dipped. And apparently now I will be off to wipe all of the fingerprints off our door. This picture really brought 'em out for you to see.

Linkin' Up:

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Wrap-Up

Have a good week, everyone!

Weekly Homeschool Journal

2011-12-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

November 12-December 1

In Our Homeschool This Week:

chocolate play-dough, chocolate pudding finger pudding, more chocolate books with vocabulary words and follow-up questions

Tornado said this about his bell pepper slice, "It looks like lungs!"

Thanksgiving morning: while I cooked, the kids colored their Native Americans and also put these hats together.

They joined us for our Thanksgiving meal.

Tornado had two big reports due for homeschool co-op: one on the state of California and one on Zebra Finches. He chose Zebra Finch over any bird in the world. Those of you who know him will understand why. He loves mixing silly things together, and it's silly to him to think of "zebra" mixed with "finch." He did a great job with his reports, although I felt like I was in college again after helping him with them. And I loved his visual aids. We printed off an actual size finch and made realistic size and colored clay eggs, picked grass, a Zebra Finch's choice for nest, and he glued it all onto a thick piece of cardboard.

His visual aid for his CA report were pages of collages - he loves making collages - including pictures of earthquakes (which is why he picked CA, of course), state facts, and one of our trips to California.

Peeking in on Sissy at Preschool:I always enjoy watching Sissy with her friends. I took several pictures of these two, whispering to and giggling with one another at their Thanksgiving feast.

She has been blessed with very sweet friends at school.

Extracurricular Activities This Week:

Dash,

Sissy,

and Tornado at homeschool gymnastics

In Roni & Ghetti's Life This Week:
The girls got cleaned up and groomed for $70. And as irony would prevail, one of them peed in their crate the very next morning, even though they haven't done that in months. Ryan and the boys had to give them another bath. Sigh.

Preparing for Christmas This Week:

I broke a door off my Advent Calendar cabinet last year, so I had to get something new this year. I looked around for the perfect one but didn't want to spend a lot of money. I have so many cardmaking and scrapbooking supplies, I was able to come up with this, only purchasing the pom pom fringe and alligator clips at Hobby Lobby with coupons.

Our fun holiday activity or gift is printed off on a card and clipped to the back of each number. I got a lot of my ideas from my sister Cary.

Every morning, they get to unclip a number, going backward, to see what we'll be doing that day. They are loving it. This was #25:

Are you as excited about Christmas

like me?

Open your first present;

it's not under the tree.

Where could it be?

My rhyming skills are impressive enough for the 11 and under crowd.

What We're Playing This Week:
I had to get permission to post this picture of Sissy because she's not wearing a shirt. I can't get her to wear clothes lately! I'm sure the childhood version of her Aunt Tracy will understand. She's always hot (but then she screams when I try to take a picture). That's why I can't post any pictures of them decorating our Christmas tree. Anyway, they are playing with first Advent gift, a Melissa & Doug wooden nativity set.

Speaking of her nakedness, this morning both she and her 6 year old brother were running around in their underwear playing "naked mole rat." They went on to explain it was really "superhero naked mole rat." And, "In our closet is our "strength" food." That helped explain why I saw them earlier go into the pantry, shut the door, then come out each with a cup of applesauce, which they ended up eating with no spoons. They were trying to capture their older brother who was also running around playing with them.

Dash came inside with two VERY sharp sticks, one sticking out at the top of his pants, as his weapons he was using one day. Yikes. I inwardly gasped, took a picture, applauded his creativity, and asked him to please find sticks that weren't so sharp to play with.

One of their favorite things to play is "Mom & Dad." But the other day I overheard them playing "Poor Mom & Dad." They said they didn't have any money or a car, they made a home for themselves outside, and they had to gather "berries, mushrooms, & other things to eat." (Of course, they didn't really eat them.)

Quotes to Share:

When I was playing with Sissy, she said, "I'm washing off the germs and chemicals...are germs and chemicals the same thing?" After I tried to explain, she said, "If you pick your boogers and eat them, you have chemicals in your mouth. And (brother) does because he does that."

My 6 year old said, "Momma, I wish I was older so I could marry you." Swoon!

While she was eating her Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, Sissy said, "Mommy, when we wake up, is it still going to be Valentine's Day?"

Linkin' up to the great:

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Wrap-Up

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T10:19:00.000-08:00

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! We miss all of our friends and family we won't be with today. Hope your day is special.

And while we won't be eating the traditional "turkey" today...

Rice cake with peanut butter and agave nectar plus banana, almond, cashew, and raisin details.

Idea borrowed from here.

Part of our Thanksgiving brunch. Idea from here.

And for those of you who missed it, Sissy's preschool Thanksgiving program...

Totally cute stuff, as is everything at her school.

Have a great weekend!

Weekly Homeschool Journal

2011-11-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

I'm catching up with last week, too,

so when I say "week," I mean "the past two weeks."

In My Life This Week:
We finished our new bedroom! I love it! (Pics to come maybe next week.) I only have a bit of organizing left to do in my closet, and I've asked for a few finishing touches (like new pillows) for Christmas.

My 6 year old turned out to be highly helpful with our redecorating/furniture assembly. He got the hang of the cordless rechargeable screwdriver, and Ryan really appreciated him for things like holding up walls of furniture while he nailed everything into place. Dash never wavered in his willingness to help for long periods and even stayed up late working with him a couple of nights. When I got the idea to take the lower rod out of my closet to make room for a scrapbook/crafting table, Ryan just asked him to take it out, which he did.

In Our Homeschool This Week:
The kids have been having fun building their own "chocolate/candy factory" as we continue on in our chocolate unit. We have been storing up (in the freezer) any candy we've been given for the past year, including our stash from this Halloween. (We don't eat it; the kids traded in their loot for healthier versions I got them. And they didn't mind because they love using the candy for this project.)

The kids were busy one day "decorating the house."

They do this from time to time, taping drawings up all over the cabinets, doors, walls, etc.

I took pictures of them all before I took them down a few days ago.

Tornado also added this sign above the dog food bowls. This is a warning to our upcoming baby to stay out of the dog food.

What We're Playing This Week:

These two spent a lot of time outside one day. Here they were making "soup" using leaves, mushrooms, pine needles, old bread, etc. Ryan and I had to come outside to "taste it."

Then later they popped into my closet while I was cleaning. They had gotten the idea to trade clothes. I don't even know what to say about this.

Papaw set up a tent for them in his backyard one day.

They planned to camp out in it one night with Daddy, but then the weather got too cold.

The youngest two came into the house on this day, telling me that this time they made me a salad outside.

The boys wanted me to come outside to see what they had planted. I guess they had found a few random plants growing in this spot, and they were pretending it was their garden.

There was much enjoyment to be had with all of the boxes from our bedroom furniture and from orders I received from two food co-ops this week.

His face was so smashed in there, and he didn't mind a bit.

Holiday Festivities This Week:
Trick-or-treating at Googie & Papaw's house: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Minnie Mouse, Fred Flintstone, and not letting my big belly go to waste, Santa Clause.

Thank you, Googie, for your non-candy treats!

I stopped by Sissy's preschool for her fall party.

Score!

hammering golf tees into the pumpkins

One night the kids and I went to Halloween parties at the downtown library and the Arkansas Historic Museum. I wish my son "Fred" knew how to loosen up and enjoy himself, ha. :) Love that kid!

throwing craft poms at the tape spider web

making a bat

Activity Going on Hiatus This Week:

Last soccer game of the season. Cooold weather. Thankful for a fun season and thankful that I now have one extra night a week plus Saturday mornings free. I NEEDED some more free time.

Sissy doesn't wear her camo pants (a hand-me-down from her brothers) very often. She was calling them her "soldier pants," and before we left for the game, she got out a fork and butter knife from the kitchen drawer. Because she was a "soldier" and needed "weapons," of course.

Field Trips This Week:
We made it to see the replicas of the Pinta and The Nina, docked downtown at the Arkansas River. We had seen these when they were in town a couple of years ago. You can't really tell that there are two ships there side by side.

We got to listen to a crew member tell us the history of the boats. The boys have both learned about Columbus this year in history at school, so this was a particularly applicable field trip.

They were surprised, of course, that the ships were so small, and they were also surprised about the size of these cannons, which were only used for signaling other ships, not for protection.

Sissy and I went on the Pre-K and K homeschool field trip to the fire station this week. Good call whoever decided to give the girls pink fire hats; she loved it. I enjoyed the field trip a lot! I saw and found out many things I didn't even know. (For example, I didn't know the search and rescue guys first cut a hole in the roof - and we got to see the saws used - to let smoke out of the house.)

Kid Quotes This Week:

*Have I shared one of Tornado's latest jokes? He makes up the weirdest jokes and some make no sense at all, but he thinks they're hilarious (and therefore, so do we, of course). This one, though, really made me laugh because "Oh, dear!" is something Tornado says in everyday conversation. As in "Oh, no!" or "What am I going to do?" kind of "Oh, dear!"

What did the cowboy say when he saw a stampede?

Oh, dear! There's a stampede!

*Dash found something unidentifiable outside (could have been from a tree or an insect egg, etc.) Ryan said he wasn't sure what it was, and my son's response was, "I don't know what it is. But God knows what it is. Because He made it."

*Sissy wanted salt on her enchiladas the other day. She said, "I think it needs a little kick."

*We were checking in on Tornado, questioning him about how homeschool co-op is going, etc. Ryan asked him a question about whether he missed public school (which he attended the past 2 years but was homeschooled before that). His response:

"Public school doesn't have Moms. Homeschool does."

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The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Wrap-Up

Weekly Homeschool Journal

2011-10-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

In my life this week:

I had promised the kids a few weeks ago that we would build a campfire soon. They were aching to put the vegan marshmallows we ordered to good use. Everything from kid activities to Daddy working late to rain to just being tired prevented us from following through. Finally, Friday night I declared we would definitely do it, and nothing was going to stand in the way.

Except then Daddy had to work late and then go to the grocery store. I wasn't going to tell them "no" again. It's not really my thing to build a fire, so I moved a few branches from the big stack we'd prepared a couple of weeks ago and set this puny stack ablaze. They tried the best they could to roast their veggie dogs.

And then Daddy came home and went a little overboard. (FYI: it looks scarier/a little more reckless than it actually was; I promise.)

But then it simmered down to the perfect size for roasting. I made a comment to my 6 year old son that he was making the worst faces (because of the fire's heat) in every picture I took.

So this was his answer.

The most fun probably came from putting the fire out. They ran back and forth to the house, refilling their squirt guns so many times. And the two boys quite enjoyed doing something else to help put out the fire that I can't even mention. You can probably guess.

In Our Homeschool This Week:
The boys are making their way through their Arkansas activity booklets that Googie (my Mom) had picked up for free. They enjoyed the little facts and stumping me with ones such as "State Nut: Pecan" and "State Flower: Apple Blossom." I realized I was completely ignorant about Arkansas. As a Missouri-raised girl, I CAN tell you that Missouri's state tree is the dogwood, and the state bird is the blue bird. I think the walnut is something, too.

This is an activity my 6 year old completed at homeschool co-op recently. I particularly liked this project because real twigs were taped to the back of these posterboard leaf cut-outs. They used watercolors and glitter glue to make realistic leaf veins.

I thought it was cute when I saw Piggie sitting on Tornado's Flying Creature Science Workbook as he worked on his lesson.

Home Stuff This Week:

Ryan has gotten 3/4 of our new bedroom furniture put together! Our room is lookin' good.

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing:

I forgot to mention last week that Ryan had a great time with his brother in Champaign, Illinois. They went to a basketball game (actually the boys' first practice), football game, and girls' volleyball game all in one day. They are true Illini fans. I think they loved spending time on the campus, complete with tail-gating, on such a perfect fall day.

Pregnancy This Week:

Last month, I had to undergo a special ultrasound because my baby's heart was skipping beats occasionally. The pattern was very obvious and scary. His heart on the ultrasound looked normal, but the doctor said I could probably expect it to be irregular for the rest of my pregnancy. And that hopefully it would eventually correct itself after birth as it does in 80% of cases. Well, this week at my monthly appointment, it was completely strong and normal. It was a relief, and I pray that everything continues to go well. About 11 more weeks to go!

Extracurricular This Week:
Sissy and Dash were requested to dress up like characters from the Bible this week at Awanas. Sis wore their horse costume, and Dash was a wise man. I forgot to photograph him with his shiny bowl of gold gemstones.

We went to our library's party this week in costume. (That's all of their costumes you get to see for now.) The kids decorated these masks.

Kid Quotes This Week:

*I get very tired of telling my kids, "Get in the car. It's TIME TO GO." - and THEN, they choose to put their shoes on, declare they're hungry, tell me they're not even dressed yet, etc.

This morning, I knew my 6 year old was completely dressed because he'd taken the dogs out first thing. But after their usual 5 minute, etc. warnings of our imminent departure, when I finally said, "Get in the car; let's go!" he races upstairs to change. I was so frustrated as he was calling down, "I can't find any pants." I said, "Wear the ones you have on!" He refused to wear his green sweat pants to walk his sister into her preschool classroom. Okay, yes, they have elastic at the bottom, but they're not bad. I think they're cute.

When we were finally in the car, on our way, I was giving them all a lecture about LISTENING TO ME when I give directions, that when I say, "It's time to go," that does NOT mean it's time to change clothes; it means GO!!! "Do you understand?!" My son held up his hands in complete frustration, angst, and drama, "I like to look good!" as in "Okay, Mom?!" He was totally serious. I burst out laughing, which he didn't appreciate.

It was the same voice he used awhile back when his behavior was so awful in the car - he was making such bad choices, it prompted me to ask, "Who ARE you?!" His dramatic answer with a anguished face: "I'm your SON!"

*This is just so I can remember how much I love it when they're so excited and expressive:

My 4 year old said this earlier today to her brother, "You HAVE to come see this. It's marvelous!" You know what was "marvelous"? Ryan and I had simply lifted our mattress off the bed frame.

And today when I asked her and Dash to go outside and let the air out of the blow-up pool, she said in a loud, squealy voice as she ran out the door, "This is going to be GOOD!"

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Homeschool Weekly Wrap-Up

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

2011-10-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

In my life this week:

It really hit me many times this week how much older my kids look lately. I'm noticing this especially with my daughter, and I can't believe that my baby girl will be five in four months.

One morning this week, the kids were taking the dogs out. The weather was pretty chilly. I caught a glance out the window of Sissy, zooming by on one of the 4-wheelers, with her hair flying and wearing no shirt or shoes. I didn't even really know at this point that she was riding on it by herself much. I'd seen her a few times go kind of slow with abrupt starts and stops. She was a wild thing out there, going fast through the woods.

In our homeschool this week:

the boys, putting together their new Toy Story Lego set

I picked up several blank books at Mardel, and the boys have been working on different stories. Tornado is making a "blend book" (his idea), and Dash is writing a story about knights.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is now extremely loved by them (They're looking forward to the new version with Johnny Depp, which we have set to record off directv tomorrow.), and they have been playing "chocolate factory" at the train table all week.

After homeschool co-op one day, I enjoyed Dash tell me all about "a man (Paul Revere) who warned the people that the British were coming."

The two little ones are going to dress up like characters from the Bible next week at Awanas. This could even be an animal. Any ideas for costumes?

The biggest deal this week:

He lost his first tooth! I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to get a loose tooth. (He's 6.7 yrs.) He pulled it out himself.

What I'm Reading This Week:

I started reading Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman.

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing:

Ryan and I were able to go on a spontaneous date last night. We saw Moneyball, which we liked! The kids ate supper and watched Spooky Buddies with Googie.

Quotes to share:

I was straining my body to open a salsa jar this morning. I finally got it and told Dash, "Now my stomach hurts." He said something about the baby, and I said, "I know; he's probably like, 'Momma, what's going on out there?' " He said, "Yeah, he's probably devastated."

In my daughters' roughhouse day with her brothers (see above), I heard her say in a deep, growly voice, "We're the polices, and if you don't tell us where [brother] is, you're going to jail!"

My 6 year old also said, "Do you know what my favorite part of my body is? My heart because it keeps my love for God inside."

Linking up: The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weekly Homeschool Wrap-Up

2011-10-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

School Work

Continuing on with our regular curriculum this week. I finally wised up and took Tornado's math homework (from homeschool co-op) with us to Dash's soccer practice. We got so much done. I've got to start doing that more often with our busy schedule (like taking their read-aloud assignments along while we're waiting in the car for someone to finish a lesson or whatever).

Dash finished his first book and workbook in piano lessons. He's moving along quite well. I think I'm going to see how Sissy would do working through his first book because she has been asking to take lessons. I'll teach her since I can't imagine adding another outside activity right now.

We're working on our Chocolate Unit now. We have read several chocolate-themed books, so far, but this week we started Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They're into it. Tonight, we also watched Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory movie (the old 1971 version with Gene Wilder) while they ate their snack of dark and white chocolate chips. They liked it so much they wanted to immediately rewatch it afterward (but we didn't).

Saturday, October 8

As usual this season, Saturday morning means a soccer game.

My sister and brother-in-law went on a long weekend trip and left their two kids with my parents. They all came to the game. Dash was grinning from ear to ear when he saw them all walking up. Whenever the kids all yelled his name, cheering him on, he was so proud! He kept looking over to wave. And during half-time and his time on the sideline, he was all about giving his 2 year old cousin lots of attention.

W (right) said in a sing-song voice, "Nice and cozy in a chair, watching [the] game!"

Sunday, October 9

Ryan, Googie, Papaw, and I took the kids to Schaefer's & Collins Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze.

There are a lot of farm animals to see. W kept her distance at first but soon joined in.

The kids were doing a good job watching out for their little cousins and sister. R is explaining back to Dash that he must not put his fingers inside the fence.

There is so much there for the kids to play in and among. We opted not to pay the $5/person and endure the very long line for the hay ride. We found out the next day that right after we left, the trailer with 30 people aboard overturned. Weird accident but no serious injuries, although there were a couple of people who had to be taken to the hospital, I believe, including a pregnant woman (ah!).

Lots and lots of brother/sister/cousin fun!

The kids always enjoy this ride. Ryan rode along in the trailer to make sure the kids were safe as they disappeared through the rows of corn.

Monday, October 10

We finally had our Strawberry Shortcake Unit "culmination party," thinking it was the perfect opportunity since R and W were in town. I'll write more about this in my future Strawberry Shortcake Unit post.

Wednesday, October 12

The boys got to spend a few hours this morning with Googie and Papaw (They even got to go to Hastings to each pick out a new book.) while I went along with Sissy on her preschool field trip. They were in the middle of a Cowboys & Cowgirls Unit, so the class went to a local horse ranch.

They got to take a long hayride. The ranch is located on beautiful land, and it was perfect weather.

Thursday, October 13

The kids started assembling their Operation Christmas Child boxes. They each enjoy picking out things for their own boxes. (I hope Sissy's recipient likes pink!) Collection week is November 14-21.

Friday, October 14

Sissy decorated a bandana and made this pipe stick horse at preschool this week.

Dash had made a horse like this when he was in the same class with the same teacher two years ago. They cut out a horse head shape from a grocery bag, decorated it including a mane, stuff it with extra paper, then staple it together, with the pipe sticking out. The kids love these. It has been fun reliving Dash's experience in preschool through Sissy since they follow the same schedule and activities.

The kids were out and about a lot this afternoon on their 3-wheelers. They were playing with Dash's new police toys.

They also played a long time tonight with their Moon Dough Pizza Factory. You never know how well all of the play dough factories will work, but they really liked this one. It makes very cute pizza toppings.

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Giveaway: Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers has a few giveaways going on right now, including one for the first four books in The Adventures of Munford historical fiction series for kids. These look fun. Giveaway ends Oct. 17!

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Linkin' Up:

Weekly Wrap-Up

Elementary Round-Up

Preschool Corner

Homeschool Weekly Wrap-Up and Preschool Corner

2011-10-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest parts of our week has been working on our house. Ryan and I had decided it was time to fix up our bedroom. 1) We have not had a cute, organized bedroom since we've moved into our house three years ago. 2) We built our house with no extra space (on purpose, to avoid excess), and we knew we weren't making the most of the room.

We painted the walls one night. Suddenly Sapphire. We used Olympic Premium No-VOC paint so that the kids and I could help for a few minutes. Ryan did most of the hard work. We have ordered a bed frame, armoire, computer armoire, tv stand, etc. and should receive it within a few weeks! It's exciting! We bought a huge mirror at Garden Ridge and are picking out pots for a few houseplants that are specific to cleaning indoor air. We also bought a new ceiling fan/light fixture because the original one we'd picked out for our house was sooo dark. Can't wait until it all comes together.

Saturday, October 1

After my 6 year old's soccer game Saturday, I took him immediately to the birthday party of one of his friends. When we returned, we saw what Ryan and the other two had been up to. They took the big boxes that Sissy's new bed (She's been sleeping on her boxspring/mattress without a frame or headboard.) came in and made a house in the driveway.

I was pretty impressed. It was very spacious inside, and it only just fell down today, after a week of enjoying it.

Wednesday, October 5

This day, my 6 year old came inside and asked if pretty, please could he and his brother have a mud bath outside. I saw enough traces of mud on him to know that he was asking permission a little bit after the fact (but at least he finally remembered to ask). I inwardly sighed and said okay. I heard him say, "She said, 'Yes.'!" as he bolted out the door. I checked on them later and found this. I can't pretend to understand all of the mind of a young boy.

But he cleaned up very nicely as he and Sissy were leaving here for Awanas. We continue to be big fans of Awanas. It makes us very happy to see them there, so lit up. Earlier this day, I took the kids to the Christian book store to buy Dash his first big boy Bible. He is very proud of it. And it also must have helped his team win points that night because he said, for the first time, they won "the trophy." He's doing a great job of memorizing his scripture each week. Sissy is, too.

Thursday, October 6

Someone forgot to tell him that the mornings have been kind of cool outside lately. But that didn't stop him from playing in the sprinkler...fully clothed. It was another, "Momma, come outside and see what I'm doing." moment.

Sissy ended up coming to homeschool co-op with the boys and me today. I teach K-4, so she goes in my class. I still wholeheartedly feel that her preschool is the best thing for her this year, but it was nice to have her with us this day. The kids all got their (home) school pictures taken; I watched, and they all did GREAT. (They haven't always done GREAT at that, so yay!)

I had added these pumpkin picks (from Hobby Lobby) and farmer harvest hats to my fall sensory tub that morning.

Because the kids had went on a field trip their alternative K-4 day, we took a week off from their My Father's World curriculum. We put together puzzles, including this farm one, which went along with our pumpkin activities for the day.

We went through some different pre-writing worksheets that my friend at Random Writings posted about.

The kids completed this worksheet, found at First School. .

The kids also did this pattern activity, also found at First-School.

I asked them if they could guess which colors they would need on their plate to make orange. After a little bit of guessing, they finally came up with the combination. I squirted a little yellow and a little red on their paper plates and let them mix it together as they covered their plates.

This was the finished product.

Friday, October 7

Her class is in the middle of a Construction Unit. They took a field trip to Home Depot, where they were given a tour. (They wear red t-shirts on field trip days.) They received aprons they wore while they built these little wooden shelves. She also got to bring an extra shelf kit home. She was really excited pulling item by item out of her bag, telling us about each.

She said, "And even what they got me...is a carpet!" Then she pulled out, with flair, a really small sample of carpet. I told her she could put it in her dollhouse.

We enjoy the activities that Lowe's and Home Depot hosts for kids. We've marked our calendars to attend the "Monster" Truck Workshop at Lowe's on October 8.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Preschool Corner

Project 365: Daily Life

2011-09-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday, September 18

The kids have done a lot of bed swapping lately. Sissy loves sleeping in the room with her "brudders" and thinks it's unfair that she's the only one who is alone in her room at night. And the boys switch weeks at times, sleeping on the top bunk. If it isn't a school (homeschool co-op) night for the boys, I'll let her sleep on the other end of the bottom bunk, so they're feet to feet. Well, this night I came to check on them, as I always do before I go to sleep. And this is how I found these two. I asked, "Are you going to sleep like this, next to each other?" She was sound asleep, and without even looking up from his DS, he simply stated, "I had to do this because she was scared." He sounded so matter-of-fact and grown-up. It was thundering outside; so sweet!

Monday, September 19

The boys were on a roll today, wanting to play outside. I think it had something to do with the fact they knew it was schoolwork day. I never want to dissuade them from spending time outside, though, and playing so creatively together. Dash made an obstacle course, including tying this hopping ball from the tree with my assistance.

And when I came out to check on them, they had been tracing each other's bodies, playing hopscotch, and writing rhyming words on the driveway.

Then they came in and got out the Play-Doh.

And then went straight to the train table. They did end up finishing their schoolwork eventually. I think I need to take Tornado's glasses in to get adjusted because they seem to always be at the end of his nose lately.

Tuesday, September 20

Sissy and I had about 45 minutes together before we had to pick up the boys from school. I suggested we make a little treat, and she could serve it to the boys as an surprise afterschool snack. It was a version of strawberry shortcake that I'd seen on my friend's blog. I told her to come to the computer, and I'd show her a picture. She said, "If you show me that, I would faint." I thought that was so funny because maybe I've never even heard her use the word "faint." So then many minutes later, I ended up showing her the delicious-looking picture on the computer screen. And I looked back, and this is what she was doing. She apparently "fainted." I laughed so hard.

Wednesday, September 21

Oh, how Sissy loves preschool. You can see her delight whenever she's with her friends. Today, she had her first field trip.

The boys and I went with her. It was the first full day of the county fair, and the class is doing a unit on Farm Animals. So we all loaded up to view the animals being shown at the fair, as well as all of the booths and crafts inside the exhibit center.

A barn full of animals. I haven't had morning sickness in several months, and when the kids were complaining about the smell I kind of dismissed it, thinking it wasn't so bad. Then, all of the sudden it hit me when I caught a glance of a particular pile of chicken poo. And I had to walk off to the edge of the building to get a breath of fresh air and concentrate away my feeling of wanting to dry heave.

Thursday, September 22

Happy 59th birthday, Dad! Carrot-Raisin-Banana-Flax-Applesauce Muffins with orange glaze on the special birthday muffin.

Friday, September 23

Yay! Sissy finally got to take the Fish Bag home. We already knew about the Fish Bag because Dash had the same teacher and class when he was in K-4. The kids take turns bringing the velcroed-shut pillow case home and returning the next day with a show and tell item. The kid gives clues to see if everyone can guess what's in the bag. AND, he or she gets to be line leader that day.

Every day, Sissy would come home telling me who got the Fish Bag, trying to conceal her disappointment in not being the chosen one. BECAUSE, as she always reminds me, "We don't say, 'Ohh! I wanted the Fish Bag!'" She adds, "We say, 'Yay, Madison!' (or whoever)." (Oh, how I love what she is learning at school.) She decided to bring her new Minnie Mouse dress she bought at the Disney Store in Dallas.

The boys were begging me to take this picture, even though it's a little blurry from being taken through the window. They get especially excited every time they see a bird (behind the bottle) eating from the bird feeder Tornado made for extra credit in his science class.

After the boys got out of the bathtub, Dash rubbed his hair with a towel to dry it off. Tornado said, "You look like a scientist!" He was thinking of Albert Einstein, which I thought was funny.

Saturday, September 24

Dash had his first soccer game for the season today. That's him in the green. Their team is pretty good! They've moved up to 4 on 4 this year. He was also happy that one of his former teammates ended up on his team again.

Elementary Round-up/Preschool Corner/Weekly Wrap-up/It's Playtime!

2011-09-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Last week, the kids and I were fortunate enough to join my husband on his business trip in Dallas. We knew he would be very busy with work, but we planned on relaxing in the hotel with our schoolwork and finding great restaurants and museums to visit all week.

The thing I don't like about Dallas is the traffic. I mean, truly, I think I prefer driving in L.A. and NYC. We did venture off to a few great vegetarian restaurants (here's one), but we ended up spending a lot of our time right next door to our hotel - at the Grapevine Mills Mall, just because it was easier.

We had never been here, and in fact, we RARELY go to malls period. We rarely go shopping at all, so it was pretty fun. I remembered why I rarely go to malls; I strive to be as unmaterialistic as possible, but I become intoxicated by all of the clothes, etc., especially at the children's stores. Tornado found a rolling backpack for only $8 at Gap; (and I had almost spent $60 on one the other day!) he really needed one for all of his heavy books and folders at our home school co-op. And of course, Sissy found some cute clothes. Unborn Baby Junior also scored a few cute hats and outfits.

So this was sort of my goal going into the mall: take our time and just have fun. That seems like common sense enough. But I feel like I'm always rushing the kids, always on our way from Point A to Point B. And I don't generally like to spend money on certain things. However, I decided that since this was our mini-vacation, I would let the kids go into any store they wanted and take part in any activity they wanted.

First up was Euro Bobbles, one of the many activities in the center aisle of the mall. My 6 year old wanted to do this. For $7 (which gets you 3 minutes), you crawl into a big, deflated ball which is then inflated.

And you get to roll around in a big pool of water, try to walk, etc. Well, Dash was in there for about one minute before he panicked to get out. (You couldn't hear him, just see his wide eyes and mouth moving, "Let me out!" He said he couldn't breathe (and I think it was just hard to maneuver), even though there is plenty of air in there.

The lady got him out and let my 4 year old daughter use up the remaining time.

She was giggly and had more fun in there than he did. I don't blame him, though. I would have been claustrophobic, too.

There was a Hurricane-Simulator booth, and I excitedly asked Tornado (my storm-obsessed child) if he wanted to get in it. This was his immediate reaction (above). He was clutching his throat with one hand and covering his face with the other. Sheer panic and terror. I've had to explain to people before that even though he loves watching storm videos, reading about storms, talking about them - he does NOT enjoy being IN them. He did not want to go in; the other two wanted to go in, but they wouldn't do it unless their big brother was in their to protect them. So we moved on to the next thing.

See - really; it's the little things that are the most fun to them. We stood here as long as they wanted while I fed them penny after penny to release in the charity funnel.

My 6 year old actually did this activity the next day on our return visit. He really wanted to do it, but this also ended up really scaring him (although I think he would say overall it was fun). He's such an adventurous kid, always up to something, but when it comes down to it, he's all talk. He gets so nervous and hesitant, and he inherited my self-consciousness. The harness/trampoline takes you pretty high into the air.

One of the great things at this mall is the LEGOLAND Discovery Center (one of many locations in the U.S. and overseas). We went back the next day for our visit here. I had wanted to peek in (our first day) and make sure it was something we even wanted to do (since it is pricey - around $17/adult & $13/child IF you buy them online; they're more at the door).

Well, one peek inside was all it took to convince my kids. Tornado, in particular, couldn't wait to go to sleep the night before because he knew the quicker he went to sleep, the sooner we would start our day at LEGOLAND. I love that innocent kind of wonder.

I had read a few reviews on Trip Advisor, etc. that said a visit here was not worth the money. For us, I thought it was. I think they really make it seem kind of spectacular for the kids. After you pay, you wait for your "tour" to start. You can play with Legos outside the door as it counts down time, then the door opens, and you are greeted by Professor Brick-a-Brack. It's not an actual factory, of course - but this pretend version of one which is used to explain the process in which Legos are made. My kids liked this.

At the end of the talk, they make it seem like special Legos come out of the machine especially for this group of kids. They each get a wrapped, souvenir-logo Lego to take home.

Then they are immediately ushered into the first ride (which you could skip if you wanted to). They also liked this. It's a laser shooting type ride in which you earn points from hitting the targets. This is the thing I don't like about the whole Lego world; there are some scary Lego figures, which we don't own, like ghoulish ones and skeleton-faced ones - and ones with scary weapons. I just don't like that stuff, and I think it's unnecessary for kids. There was that sort of thing on this ride (including the fact that you're essentially shooting the bad guys), so skip this ride if you don't like that.

The main draw for my kids was the multi-level play area. (Tornado: top right corner)

I was worried that my 11 year old would be too tall to enter. I asked them the day before if he'd be too tall, but the guys were sort of like, "Eh, it's fine; it's really that we just don't want rambunctious teenagers mixed in with the little kids." He made the 4'9" cut, regardless, but it was close.

One great thing about LEGOLAND for my waddly pregnant self was the ability to sit for long periods and watch the kids play. (The whole place is designed with the perfect mixture of parent/child interaction and solo child play.) They stayed at this roll-y slide for quite awhile. If you look closely, you can see that Sissy's pants accidentally came down a time or two when Dash playfully grabbed at her. To tell me about it, he whispered through the net, "I have to tell you a secret, and it's REALLY EMBARRASSING!"

There is another ride (that just goes around and around, but you can also make it go up and down by pedaling). It totally made me nauseous, even though the lady assured me that it wouldn't. And I'm sure it was quite a sight to see a large pregnant woman, trying with all her might, to pedal her car up into the air. (I rode with Sissy, and they got an employee to ride with Dash since kids can't ride alone.)

One big room (Mini-Land) is filled with miniature Lego cities (including Dallas, even the Dallas ranch) and towns. The lights in the buildings even come on as the overhead lights dim occasionally.

There is also a theater (the size of an actual small movie theater) inside the discovery center. There are three 15 minute 4-D movies. We ended up watching two of them, back to back. The kids thought they were cute. It's very interactive; they even spray a fine mist (you don't really get wet) of water across the crowd when the 4-D water seems to be coming out at you.

There are many Lego stations where the kids can create,
a big, slide play area,
and EVEN...a Princess Palace,
complete with karaoke. My princess wasted no time getting up on stage.

There are bins where you can create your own Lego cars,
and different ramps where you can race them against each other.

throwing coins in the crocodile's (alligator's?) mouth outside the Rainforest Cafe gift shop

My big surprise for the kids was lunch at Rainforest Cafe, which is also inside the mall. They were super excited when they'd seen the signs the day before. (They knew about Rainforest Cafe from television commercials and always declared they wanted to go there.)

It was hard to get pictures inside the cafe because it is so dark. The lighting actually changes, including light and sound changes for storms while you are dining. It really is decorated amazingly with huge fish tanks and large, life-like animals that really move and make noises.

There were a couple of vegetarian options on the menu for the kids. The great thing was that we were able to play at LEGOLAND for about an hour and a half, get our hands stamped, eat lunch, then return for another hour to play.

I promised the kids (with good behavior) they could pick out something in the gift shop. The boys each chose a $3 "mystery" pack. They've gotten these before, and we think they're pretty fun. You don't know what miniature Lego character you're going to get. They also got to create their own Lego characters to take home. They chose the faces, hair or hat, shirt, and legs.

Then, they got to put them in these empty packages to be rung up and purchased. I thought this was a fun idea.

Back at the Hotel

I've said it before: some of my favorite moments in life are the ones when I see my kids cuddling up together without any prompting from me. This was first thing in the morning, and although they hadn't all three slept together, somehow they all ended up like this while they were trying to wake up.

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

Life in General This Week

This week has been a crazy mass of preschool, homeschool co-op, soccer, ballet, Awanas, piano lessons, 2 field trips, and grocery shopping. All weeks of my life are busy naturally, but THIS WEEK...somehow from Tuesday upon waking until...well...right now, I haven't stopped. Ryan keeps laughing at me (good-naturedly, of course) because I have only been able to "hobble" the past two days - I've run myself down so much, my back and legs are aching. I was so tired, I slept through my alarm (on my phone) twice, making us rush to get ready for our morning obligations.

Fun Friday Night and Upcoming Plans

Tonight was a really sweet night which included a dance party and watching parts of old videos (some I don't think I've ever watched back) of the boys when they were little and chubby-faced. I totally cried (especially listening to my 11 year old babbling before he could even talk!), and it made me additionally excited about having another baby. My goal in the upcoming month is to get all of our videos transferred to DVD, with extra copies for the safety deposit box.

Linkin' up:

Elementary Round-Up, hosted by Granola Mom 4 God

Weekly Wrap-Up, hosted by Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers

It's Playtime!, hosted by hands on: as we grow, The Imagination Tree, Messy Kids, Quirky Momma, and Let the Children Play

Preschool Corner, hosted by Homeschool Creations

Weekly Homeschool Wrap-Up Journal

2011-09-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

As usual, my "weekly" wrap-up has evolved into a past-three weeks' wrap-up. Here is a little of what has been going on:

In my life this week:
One event we attended this week was an eco-fest in our town. We attended last year, and it seemed to have grown. We didn't even have time to go around to all of the booths and activities. Here are a few photos from the event:

Kids were able to decorate their own kites made from paper, sticks, and tape.

Dash LOVED this. He flew this around outside at home, too, every chance he got - until the kite was literally in shreds and wouldn't fly anymore.

Sissy - I loved her innocent giggles as she ran around, flying her kite.

Tornado liked reading the interactive signs along the path.

Tornado (left) and Sissy (right) made (with help) rag dolls at one booth.

They also made cloth flower pins with fabric scraps.

Here are their creations (top left: Dash, then Sissy's and Tornado's). Each piece was hot glued together, and there is a pin hotglued on the backing, made of a denim scrap.

We were so happy that a health food store had a booth with snacks for sale. The kids actually got to each pick out a ...gasp...natural soda!

The cardboard box maze was once again a hit with the kids. It was the main reason they were looking forward to attending eco-fest, in hopes there would be one.

In our homeschool this week:
A few "homeschooling" photos I captured the past few weeks:
Tornado, cuddled up with Daddy on the couch, working on his Flying Creatures science curriculum. I really, really love working with him on his American history homework because it's so interesting to learn about/remember things I once learned about. Science sometimes hurts my brain, though, so I occasionally pass this off to my scientifically minded husband.

Dash really loves science. We are working through the Abeka Science 1 book together, which includes hands-on activities and experiments with almost every lesson. Here he had to create a ramp.

And a lever.

Some of my 6 year old's workbox activities this week:

To break up all of the schoolwork, I'll often include an assignment like "Watch an episode of Wild Kratts (which he loves), then write a journal entry about something you learned." I write it, then he copies it.

We played a Diego 123 Game together. And he worked on his piano lessons.

After he finished his Sight Words workbook, I tested him on all of the words. I've traced with stencils any he couldn't read AND spell, and he'll be working on activities to help him master these words. (Every few days to a week, depending how long it takes, I give him 4 or 5 words with different activities I've made up.) Here, he had to cover the letters with dried garbanzo beans.

The next day, he colored in each word.

Places we're going and people we're seeing:
*Ryan's parents came to visit one weekend.

*My 4 year old and 6 year old started Awanas last week (on Wednesday nights). My 6 year old thinks it is "Iguanas." I've corrected him a few times, but it's so funny and cute I don't try too hard. We really wanted our 11 year old to attend, as well. I registered him. But he walked in, took one look at it, became overwhelmed with all of the kids and noise, and wanted no part of it. It wasn't an ideal scenario for him. Anyway, the two little ones had a great time, were super excited to see some of their friends, and are doing a great job with their scripture memorization.

*We've been in Dallas since Tuesday, so we brought our schoolwork with us. Ryan had to be here on business. He has had a lot of business trips this year, and we hate it when our family is apart. So this time, we joined him! I'll write about our trip next week.

My favorite thing this week was:
My kids have just been really funny this week. And sweet. We've laughed a lot. And I've obviously enjoyed not having any dishes to wash, meals to prepare, etc. while we're on our trip.

Things I'm working on:
Budget! We've got some "ideas" in the works for our lives, and we need to figure out how to afford them. I ordered several bulk food items off Amazon Subscribe & Save last week. The prices are much better than what I pay in the store. I am trying to research the most practical order to place with Azure and Country Life Natural Foods next time around.

I'm grateful for(#381- 389 on my Gratitude List): all of the sweet well wishes we've received from our family and friends for our baby due in January, time off this week in Texas, free hotel!, those who took over my teaching duties this week so I could have a day off, Spiral Diner, Cafe Bliss, Whole Foods, and cell phones. I'm also relieved when my 4 year old who until now knew NO letters or even cared to know them came up to me this morning and said, "X is for x-ray! And R is for Remi!" - and then later..."A, A apple." There's hope!

Questions/thoughts I have: Unfortunately and sadly...one of Ryan's grandfathers (his Dad's father) died yesterday. He has been in poor health for a long time. I feel worried for Ryan as he is so immersed in his business obligations this week, and now he has this to think about. His shoulders were sagging last night...He has an important job to do overnight Friday-Saturday here in Texas...then has to figure out how to get from Dallas to Arkansas to Illinois by Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Or go straight from Texas? When to buy something to wear to the funeral? Do we all go? Pay almost $2,000 in airfare? Or drive 6 hours home (after Ryan being up all night working), pick up our dogs, re-pack, then drive another 7-8 hours late to be there in time for the funeral. We know it is a privilege to take a moment out of our otherwise unimportant activities to say good-bye to a very important person...Ryan just has a lot to think about, regarding what is the best way to go about that.

Photo to share:

One homeschooling activity the younger two kids really enjoy is homeschooling martial arts, which is twice a month. They go around the house all of the time, doing their little jabs and kicks, saying, "Key-yu!" (or however you spell it). What I love about martial arts is the respect that the kids are taught. Grandmaster Han is a Christian and operates his academies accordingly. A few of the training principles the kids are taught to repeat include: be polite, be patient, be alert, be brave, do your best, and respect yourself and others. And they insist that "ma'am" and "sir" be used!

Great Links:
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Weekly Wrap-up

The Homeschool Chick: Homeschool Mother's Journal

Preschool Corner: Leaves and Apples

2011-09-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

This year I am teaching the K-4 class at our homeschool co-op. My Father's World kindergarten curriculum is used for this group. Every week there is a new theme. The other preschool teacher begins the lesson on Tuesday, and I wrap it up on Thursday. There are suggestions for books, discussion ideas, and activities included in the curriculum. Here are some of the activities I added myself during our Leaf and Apple weeks:

I had asked my own kids at h0me to gather dry, brown leaves outside for me to take to school. I let the kids make a big mess on the table crumbling up the leaves. (One even told her mom after class, "We got to make a mess!" I drew the outline of a leaf with glue on a piece of construction paper and let them fill in the inside with glue.

Then, they used their crumbled leaves to cover the glue. After they finished covering the glue, they gently shook the paper to remove the extra pieces of leaves.

I also gathered all different shapes of leaves from my house. I made outlines of several of the leaves on a piece of paper and asked my students to find the matches. We also talked about "largest" and "smallest," leaves, etc.

They picked a couple of their leaves to make leaf rubbings. I wrote their "words to remember" (which are something they learn each week as a part of the MFW curriculum) on their paper and asked them to each hold up their paper and recite their words.

They all got a straw to blow a leaf across the table. We had several races to see who could get a leaf across the table the fastest.

Our last leaf activity: I bought wooden (2/$1) leaves at Hobby Lobby, and they had fun creatively painting their leaves.

One activity for apple leaf used their cutting and coloring skills. They colored their apples (which I found at kidssoup.com), then cut the apple along the wavy lines. They had to glue the pieces of their apple back together on construction paper. Again, I wrote their "words to remember" on their apples and asked them to recite them.

I printed off another page of a tree scene. The kids got to stick their fingers in green, red, and yellow paint to make apples for their trees. This was also used as a counting activity.

I also brought my fall sensory tub to school with me. Tornado, Dash, and Sissy have been busy at home, playing with it.

The tub included dry split peas and various other dry beans (FYI: raw kidney beans are toxic so you have to watch out for those), cinnamon sticks, wooden leaves & acorns, plastic leaf and pumpkin buttons, felt owls, tin buckets in different sizes, peat pots, pine cones, and a miniature rake, hoe, and shovel from the dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby.

During Apple Week, I also added the red, yellow, and green craft pom pons to be used as apples.

I asked the kids to sort the items by type into the muffin tins. Then, they played store and restaurant for half an hour.

Linking up to Preschool Corner!

The Sunday Showcase

New Bikes and Pinnacle Mountain Picnic

2011-09-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest additions to our family lately (besides the baby news, of course, if you missed my last post) are new bikes for the kids. We bought them (used) a couple of weekends ago, and they've been a hit around here. Because we don't have a great place to ride bikes, our kids' cycling skills weren't up to par. Sissy couldn't even ride a tricycle. She never learned, and now she was too big for one. Feeling shame on our parts, we loaded the kids up one day and headed off to buy bikes and helmets.

I love Sissy's Schwinn because it reminds me of a bike I might have had when I was little. She's really great at riding now. They love for Ryan to go with them on long rides in our neighborhood as often as possible.

Dash is still using training wheels. I don't think it will be too much longer before he can take them off. He can steer down an incline without them on; he just can't pedal without them yet.

Dash

And we also got Tornado a bike, but we haven't found the right training wheel match-up yet. It's hard to find a bike with training wheels that is big enough for his long legs. We're also looking into getting him one of those low rider bikes for older kids/adults. And we're trying to encourage him because it's just not something he's as interested in. When something is physically challenging, he wants no part in it, and we're working on making it an attainable activity for him.

Friday night, Ryan suggested we meet him in Little Rock for supper. We picked up food from Whole Foods, then met him at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. It had been awhile since the kids had been to that side of the mountain, and it felt all new and exciting for them.

The kids played on the playground for quite awhile after we ate, while Ryan and I had a rare moment of sitting alone to talk and watch them. We also walked through one of the trails along the creek. Fun night, and it wore the kids out. I think they all fell asleep (or close to it) on the way home.

Just a heads up since I haven't been posting as much lately; I have several posts going up this week so check back!

Surprise!

2011-09-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

In my May 10 Project 365 blog post, I left the spot for May 4th empty and wrote: I think I have the perfect picture for this day, but I can't get to it right now. Will post another day.

Here is that picture:

It's true. I'm now almost 22 weeks and not sure why it has taken me so long to write this post. Mostly just being busy. (I started writing this weeks ago.) Maybe also because pregnancy always feels a little surreal to me? Maybe I have seen too often that things can go wrong, and I've been holding my breath? I actually had an early miscarriage in March; if you've ever had a miscarriage, you know that it's very emotional. I have a really bad habit of guarding my heart in important situations. Every month, I would say that I'm going to announce it after my doctor appointment...then a week would go by, and I'd think, "Maybe I'll just wait until we hear the heartbeat one more time."

Regardless, I'm pregnant, and if you've seen me anytime in the past...well, let's be honest, 18 weeks - you've known it was true. My dear practically blind grandfather guessed I was expecting when I was about 9 weeks along.

This picture was taken at 15 weeks. I'm getting bigger (ahem...everywhere) by the day.

at 19 weeks

The kids were soooo excited when Ryan and I told them the news, when I was 11 weeks along. There was a lot of squealing going on. They all wanted to offer their services in helping with the baby. They had been asking for another sibling for quite some time. We just had to wait until Daddy was on board, too. (Which is funny because now HE wants 5 kids!)

And here's a little surprise to some, even for my family...

It's a boy!!!

I wanted to make the "boy" news special for the kids. On the way home from the ultrasound, I stopped by the party store to pick up baby blue plates, napkins, and balloons. I also told everyone they had to wear a blue shirt at supper, although they didn't know why. Ryan took the kids in the other room while I decorated the table. I said, "Surprise! Guess what?" Tornado was the first one to say, "It's a boy!"

They were laughing and glowing at the ultrasound pictures. (I mean, a picture of a baby "weiner" - how fun is that!) I love that all along they didn't care whether it was going to be a boy or a girl. There was a little bit of discussion about wanting a girl to even things up, but mostly it was unanimous that we all just wanted another addition to our family, no matter what.

I'm really happy that our boy will get to be friends with the 3 youngest cousins (all boys!) in our family (2 on my side, 1 on Ryan's). Get excited: R, P, and K; a new friend is on the way!

happy smiles

Sissy was jumping up and down, squealing.

We enjoyed our meal together while we talked about names, etc. They have suggested some really sweet ideas with such sincerity.

After supper, we drove to Old Navy and let the kids each pick out an outfit for the baby. Sissy went with sweet owls, Dash chose Superman, and Tornado picked Star Wars. I think they made great choices.

Homeschool Journal

2011-08-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

In my life this week (actually the past 2 weeks)...

In general, the past 2 weeks have been going pretty well. I've been going, going, going, and my brain is forced to shut down by 8:00 p.m. every night (or usually sooner than that!). I wish I could make myself blog after the kids go to bed, but I can't summon the energy. I want to start blogging more, though, because it's good accountability for me. I like to go back to see what we've worked on and accomplished.

In our homeschool the past 2 weeks...

We got back into full-time school mode. We didn't take a full vacation from schooling this summer, although we did cut way back. Tornado worked part way through a Saxon Math book and practiced reading aloud to me. He also worked on many other workbooks just because he enjoys doing that.

With Dash, we focused on reading aloud and his Flash Kids Sight Words workbook, which he actually finished today. The kids also did lessons almost daily on Time4Learning. We really think a lot of this online program (which costs us about $15 per child, although it looks like it has gone up in price a little). It provides a lot of instruction for the boys who love being on the computer. Many times the kids will repeat back something to me, and I'll ask WHERE they learned that because I didn't remember teaching it to them. They'll tell me it was on Time4Learning.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share...
This isn't tips or advice. I'm just going to share what we are doing this school year. Some of the curriculum was chosen by their homeschool co-op, where they are taking classes and I am teaching. So far, I'm happy with everything we're doing.

Tornado, my 11 year old: From co-op: Abeka American History, Apologia Science: Flying Creatures, TouchMath, Barton Reading & Spelling, and Abeka Phonics & Spelling/Poetry. He is also taking p.e. and thinking skills classes at our co-op (changing to art and Spanish next semester). In addition at home: MindWare Analogy Challenges, Saxon Math, Spectrum Grade 4 Language Arts, Making Sense of Your Senses, and Time4Learning.

Dash, my 6 year old: From co-op: Saxon Math and Abeka Phonics & Spelling/Poetry. His other co-op classes include: Spanish, thinking skills, p.e., math club, storytime, and art. In addition at home: Time4Learning, Let's Learn How to Read and Understand, and Abeka Science. He also started taking piano lessons two weeks ago.

Sissy will be attending preschool full time this year! Ah! I'll miss my sweet little girl (who declared yesterday, "I just love you so much; I don't want to go downstairs without you," when I told her to go on down 5 minutes ahead of me. She is my literal shadow and the narrator of our lives. We definitely don't want her to be away everyday, BUT she is going to have the best time. It's going to be so good for her, and I will be able to focus on the boys' education. (I've warned her that she's going to have to expect lots of Mommy cuddle time when she gets home every afternoon.)

My favorite thing this week...

There were just some special moments I experienced at homeschool co-op this week. Moments when I was able to take a deep breath and sigh with relief and happiness.

A special party we had with the kids. I'll try to post pictures this weekend.

I enjoyed talking to an old friend from college (who was a groomsman in our wedding) on the phone. That rarely happens. He has been going through the same experience I did nine years ago (thyroid cancer). We were also able to talk about a situation we have in common with our oldest sons. It was nice to converse with someone who not only knew Ryan and me "back then," but who can also relate to us now.

Tornado has been HILARIOUS lately. He has been cracking us up. He's been (unintentionally, I think) throwing around little figures of speech or funny slang in normal conversation. I laugh so hard.

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

This weekend we hope to go swimming at least once since there aren't going to be too many more opportunities this year.

I'm having a terrible care of the travel bug lately. Must go on trip soon.

We actually went to a flea market this week. This was Tornado's special treat for doing so well in school. Seriously, it's what he wanted to do more than anything.

Questions/thoughts I have:
I'm looking around for the best typing instruction/program for my 11 year old who has certain fine motor issues/handwriting issues. Does anyone have any recommendations? Or maybe this is too soon for him. I don't know.

I've also considered ordering one of the Brain Therapy type computer programs (like Brain Builder) for him. Anyone have any thoughts or knowledge on these?

I'm grateful for...(#376-380 on my Gratitude List)

good news I received this week, my husband helping to keep things running around here, the special situation we have with our wonderful homeschool co-op, how close (!!!) the school is to our house, and our dogs. (Seriously, because one of them has been a little annoying lately. But THEN...the other night, Ghetti was slumped over on their bed next to Roni. Ryan and I were watching t.v. on the couch in the dark, so I could barely see them. I asked, "Is she okay?" He got up to check on her, and she wasn't moving. He freaked out, and I jumped up and freaked out. He shook her with his hand, and FINALLY she moved. We think she was just in such a deep sleep. Regardless, we cuddled with them for the rest of the evening. FREAKED us out.)

A photo, video, link, or quote to share...

First day of homeschool co-op last week! The boys were both ready to go. And little Orca attended with Tornado to keep him company.

Our first full day back with our Workbox System was the next day (and as you can see they are still wearing the same shirts). We will do two days workboxes, two days homeschool co-op, plus Fridays for catch-up (Tornado will be having lots of homework this year.) and cleaning. I was so happy when I woke up to find the boys were already busy working through their drawers! (Here, Tornado had to complete certain Time4Learning lessons as one of his assignments.)

Bed head and all.

Linkin' Up:

The Homeschool Chick: The Homeschool Mother's Journal

Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers: Weekly Wrap-Up

Some of Our Days Lately

2011-08-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

One Day Two Weeks Ago

My sister and her kids came to stay with my parents for the week. She is still getting back into the swings of things after their wreck, and it was great for her to relax at "home" for awhile. And we loved, as always, spending time with them. One day we went to the River Market in downtown Little Rock.

The kids played in the splash fountain nearby at Peabody Park.

Sunday, August 14

We headed up to Branson to celebrate my Grandpa's 91st birthday party. The kids all gathered around their great-grandfather while we sang and he blew out the candles.

hug from Sis

These girls were inseparable all day. They are like sisters - they love each other dearly but squabble a lot, too.

Older Cousin G was very sweet about playing with and entertaining the little girls all day.

These two guys - Dash and Cousin O were inseparable all day, as well.

I'm glad that they are friends. The times we spend at my brother's house are some of our most enjoyable times we ever have.

Uncle Chuck, reading to the biggest ham in our family

Thursday, August 18

This was the first full week of official homeschooling for us this year, complete with our two days at our homeschool co-op. Sissy won't be attending full time this year, as she will begin another preschool next week. But she had fun going with me today since I am teaching K-4 this year.

her sun

This afternoon we finally made it to the Smurfs movie. Dash made the sweet decision on his own to wear his Smurf t-shirt.

Friday, August 19

When I came up to tuck the boys into bed, I found them cuddled together in the same chair in their room. I always love seeing them like this.

Sunday, August 21

Today we spent the day in Hot Springs. Super fun family day. Our primary reason for the 1 hour/15 minute trip was to check out the fairly new vegan restaurant. We walked away pleased!

Tornado always wants me to take silly pictures of him, and he really liked this pose. I would usually choose the picture of him smiling sweetly with his "Brownie Madness," but with respect to Tornado's favorite type of photo, I give you this one instead.

We walked around downtown for a little while, and the boys couldn't pass by the shop with the giant King Kong-like ape.

We also walked by one of the hot spring outlets and walked up the trail that looks over the city for awhile. This water is so hot that you can't leave your finger in it for more than a second.

Upon Returning From Vacation

2011-08-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 25

Sissy had her first day of Cinderella ballet camp this week. Obviously, she loves it. She loves to do nothing more than dance. And add it to my list of failures as a mother: I forgot to take her on her 2nd day. Just forgot.

Tuesday, July 26

Dash had his second-to-the-last day of hip-hop class tonight. The kid loves to "break dance" and do the Irish Jig, etc. He asks regularly to take tap dancing lessons - or something similar. So we thought that "hip-hop" might be a good choice for him. His earnestness during class is adorable.

Maybe Wednesday, July 27

Sissy was THRILLED with the results of taking her hair out of her braids today.

One Day This Week, Maybe Thursday or Friday?

The kids walked around outside with their rainboots and umbrellas today - for quite awhile. It was so muggy and humid outside, my camera immediately fogged up when I took it outside, hence the fogginess.

Saturday, July 30

The Lego tower Dash has been working on the past couple of days finally reached the ceiling.

Sunday, July 31

Sissy requested that she and I "make something together." I think about how often my oldest child and I cooked together; he sat on the counter with me almost every time I cooked for almost five years. And how infrequent it is now that one child gets to do that with me alone. (There are usually two others begging to be involved, as well.) Therefore, she and I baked chocolate chip cookies. And she got to lick the beater all by herself.

Googie and Papaw came over to visit. Papaw brought little wooden airplanes over for the boys and went outside with them to play.

Monday, August 1

They had a morning of "making potions." Ingredients: Kool-Aid packets, hotel lotions/shampoos, etc., water, baking soda, and vinegar. They also stirred around and dissolved some of those biodegradable packing peanuts.

This is what all of their potions pretty much looked like.

I also finally blew up the kid pool I had bought a couple of weeks ago. I even got in it with them because it's actually pretty deep. I can sit in it with the water up to my chest. The only bad thing about such depth is I wouldn't let them play in it alone outside, and I never want to stay outside as long as they do. But they played in it two different times today before they dished out all of the water for the plants.

Tuesday, August 2

This is Dash's "big thing" lately. So far, it hasn't gotten old for him to do it repeatedly to us - and for anyone who comes over. Another one of his "big things" lately: "Watch how long I can hold my breath."

Today, Dash decided he wanted to play "department store." So all on his own, he started carrying things out of the kitchen up to his room. This is what he organized on his chair. (Unfortunately, we did find an Earth Balance in his room the next day - or so - that had to be tossed out.)

And he took some of his clothes out of his closet and displayed them around the room.

He set up his cash register, and Sissy and I "shopped."

Wednesday, August 3

No pictures today, but we went to Little Rock for Tornado's dentist appointment. We had to wait for an hour and a half, which was very tedious. Thankfully, they had cartoons in the waiting room. Next, we bought a few essentials, including supper to eat in the car at Whole Foods, then headed to Wild River Country, where we met Daddy. We didn't get there until 5:30, but it was still so muggy and hot, I was huffing and puffing by the time we made it up the hill and all of the steps. I thought I was going to have a panic attack because the air going through my nose to breathe was so hot, it felt like no air was going in. When you stay inside everyday, you forget how hot it is outside. We cooled off as soon as we started playing in the water, though, and we had a really nice time.

One Day Soon After

All of the kids' summer activities ended, and it was pretty nice to look forward to another couple of weeks free before school starts. This ample free time lended itself to Mommy staying in bed until 8:30-9 every morning. What a life!

Well, one morning, apparently the boys watched Home Alone, which was showing on directv. I'm not upset by this, but I wouldn't have let them watch it, had they asked. (Bad language, etc.) This has prompted us to hide the Netflix remote before we go to bed at night and to REMIND them that they are only allowed to watch the pre-selected DVRed shows without permission.) Anyway, they thought it was HILARIOUS, I guess. The rest of the day, Dash kept setting up booby traps. Such as the one above. He thought we might walk into the office, step onto these toys and slip. His intentions, of course, were completely humor-based, never assuming anyone would get hurt. I'm sure he was imagining it in a very over-the-top, slapstick way. He had quite an elaborate one set up in the living room, but I didn't get a picture of that one. Of course, I had to pretend like I was falling down, complete with shrieking, more than once that day. He would just CACKLE. He loved it.

Perdido Key, Florida

2011-08-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

We weren't planning on taking a vacation this summer. Our two youngest children's car-riding skills had worn us out, so instead I booked July with plenty of camps and classes to keep the kids busy. But then my family decided they were all going to Florida (specifically Perdido Key, our typical beach destination as a family) together. Of course, I didn't want to miss out! Although they all headed down on Saturday, we didn't head out until Tuesday night after a couple of the kids' already paid-for activities were completed. We planned on leaving at 6, as soon as Dash's class was over. However, it was more like 8:30 when we were on our way.

Our plan was for Ryan to drive until he got tired - probably around midnight, then find a hotel and finish the rest of the 10 hour drive the next day. We told my family to expect us around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday.

Except I'd barely peek an eye open around 1 a.m., 2 a.m., etc. to discover Ryan was still driving. We'd talk a little, he'd assure me he was wide awake, then I'd snooze a little more while he got back to the audiobooks he was captivated with (the John Carter from Mars series). When I peeked at the dashboard clock at 3:30 p.m., I smiled over at him, knowing, "That stinker is going to drive the whole way!" It really was pretty nice with the kids sleeping soundly in the back.

We made it to the Pensacola area around 6:45, just in time for the kids to wake up and make a gas station/restroom stop. They were so excited, obviously, to discover the change in plans. We didn't know exactly what to do, though, because we couldn't check into our condo until later that day. And we didn't want to wake up my family by calling. We found a public parking spot near (but actually not that near) my family's condo, changed into our bathing suits in the car, and walked down the beach.

Tornado, above, made about 10 of these stops during our walk. All he ever really wants to do at the ocean is play in the sand. We'd have to keep ushering him on down the beach, or he would have found a spot to plop down and stayed there all day.

I told him the story of going to the beach when he was really little. The whole way he chanted, "Go beach! Beach!" We felt terrible when we arrived after dark. So I decided to walk down to the ocean with him, anyway, to reward his patience/excitement. We walked off the boardwalk, and he plopped right down in the sand. I tried to tell him we weren't really at the beach/ocean yet, and we should keep walking. But he felt sand, and he was content.

Dash, on the other hand, wasted no time jumping headfirst into the waves. We had kind of told them we weren't going to get wet yet in case we were going to go inside the condo. And it wasn't really that warm out yet. That kid.

I finally texted my Mom around 7:30 a.m. and told them we were getting ready to leave our hotel and get on the road soon, etc. She asked where we were. I told her to look out her balcony. This is part of the crew greeting us from their 14th floor room.

My husband still looks HOT after spending a whole night driving!

The 4 bedroom condo my family stayed in - Indigo - was very nice, and it had the best pools of any place we've ever stayed in Florida. We had gotten a 2 bedroom condo at Caribbean East, which was just a couple of buildings away - an easy walk or drive over to theirs. Being the Super 8/Econo Lodge-staying people that we are, we felt majorly extravagant with such accommodations and space.

We got to spend all day Wednesday through check out on Saturday morning. Here are some of the pictures of our fun time with our family of 18:

We didn't even plan the girls' coordinating bathing suits.

We loved the shallow end of the pool for the kids.

Aunt Tracy

Cousin C

Tornado

Sissy

Cousin G

Tornado was special buddies this week with his 2 year old boy cousins. They liked to slide down the little sandy hills over and over again.

Cousin P

These two (Dash and Cousin O) are great pals and very brave in the water together.

Daddy and Dash, riding the waves in. I think there is no better vacation for my 6 year old; he would live at the beach if he could. He made great improvements in his swimming abilities this week. On the way home, he asked if we could go to Wild River Country (our local water park) the next day.

Cousin R

last night on the beach pictures

my kids with Papaw

My birthday happened this week. We enjoyed a great meal together in my family's condo, complete with chocolate mousse pies. (As usual, I wrote about the food on our trip on my other blog.) I was gifted with sweet, wonderful presents, and my birthday wish of playing Catch Phrase with the adults (after the kids went to sleep) was fulfilled.

We wished we could stay a few more days. Check-out time seemed to come too quickly.

Though it isn't entirely my story to tell...it becomes my story as it involves 4 of my most important people. Not too far into our drive home, my mom called (hysterical) because my sister Cary (driving her family) was in a wreck. Their tire blew, and control was lost. They flipped several times, across both lanes of traffic, the median, and both lanes of oncoming traffic, onto the far opposite shoulder. It was the understanding that Cary and the kids were okay, but Andy (my brother-in-law) was bleeding from the head and would be taken by ambulance to the ER. As the other 3 cars in our caravan, which were all separated by 1-4 hours each, became determined to make it to the hospital in Mississippi, apparently all four of them were taken in 2 different ambulances. I sort of sat in a trance in the car, no longer able to read my books...because by then, who cares about the four seasons of marriage or Shania Twain's career in music when my little sister, her partner in life, and these two 3 ft. tall chunks of my heart are scared/injured/in danger. It made us all just SICK, thinking about them rolling in their car - and what COULD have happened.

This was sort of the scene when we finally made it to the hospital. Over ten days later, my (very pretty when not experiencing a concussion while being strapped to a backboard) sister still isn't feeling back to normal. Her corneas were scratched, she's sore, and she's reeling from the after-effects of her concussion. (If you haven't read any of her thoughts about it, here are some.)

My brother-in-law (also very handsome when his face isn't scraped up and smooshed together by this headdress) is feeling better, but his head will not be back to normal for awhile. (He was kind of scalped.)

This was one of those moments when we were faced with the reality of how fragile and fleeting our earth lives are. Because it was one of those accidents when onlookers and doctors called it a miracle that the outcome wasn't worse. I can't say that it makes me live in fear or anything. But I do want my hug to Ryan when he gets home from his long drive (in rush hour traffic on the interstate) to linger a little bit longer now. Ya know?

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

I'm GRATEFUL today that #366 - I have so many people in my life to love, #367 - my niece and nephew are young enough to forget about their experience in this wreck, #368 - my sister and Andy were able to walk out of the ER on their own, #369 - there are such a thing as beaches and the ocean, #370 - Ryan has vacation days, #371 - Ryan's job allows us to afford vacations, #372 - my parents want to spend beach vacations with their family, #373 - we had a fun evening at Wild River Country last night, #374 - there are a couple of weeks left of summer vacation, and #375 - there are 4 year old and 6 year old giggles taking place right now in and out of my bedcovers.

Project: Something or Another

2011-07-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Apparently Project 365 has morphed into "remembering to take pictures every once in awhile and then getting really behind on posting them." Here's what I've got:

Monday, June 27-Friday July 1

Tornado had a wonderfully creative time at art camp this week. He attended everyday from 9-12. These mosaics were one of their projects completed in this history-based camp.

Some of his other projects included:

Cave drawings on brown paper - I believe he drew the two long white snakes.

Jackson Pollack

Impressionism

This was his castle made from recycled materials and tape. (He says its his piggy's new home; there are plenty of little rooms and cubbies for Piggy.) The teachers spray painted the other kids' castles...

...but Tornado told them he wanted to hand paint his castle and glue cut-out pictures on it. So that is what he did.

Friday, July 1-Sunday July 4

Friday afternoon, we headed to Illinois to visit Ryan's family for the weekend. This is how I discovered Dash and his cousin K one day. He was under the corner of the fold-out couch, playing his DS, and she crawled under there to watch him.

Thursday, July 7

Today I took the kids to see Mr. Popper's Penguins. Very cute and funny. And I got teary-eyed at the end. The kids have strange expressions because they were trying to smile into the sun.

Tuesday July 5 - Friday, July 8

It was Sissy's turn for art camp this week. I think she had a lot of fun, and they did some really great (ocean-themed) activities and projects with the kids. Here are some of them:

1) "Sea Life" made from sticking pipe cleaners and clay creatures into a cup of plaster

2) Sea Turtle, using glue and pastels, etc.

"Beach Scene" - with sand paper, strips of water colored paper, shells glued on, and a picture of Sissy in a beach chair

1) framed sealed plastic containing water (and maybe oil?) plus sea sparklies

2) ocean scene painted with tissue paper and colored foil cut-outs

Saturday, July 9

Today, we headed up to the Buffalo River (which is over an hour away). This is how Dash spent most of his time. There was a steady stream of canoers passing by, and many of them did double-takes, probably thinking (and some of them voicing), "Hey, is your kid alright?" He is all about the snorkeling.

It was a great day as we hadn't gotten to spend too many days swimming yet this year.

Tornado is enjoying his picnic lunch in the chair, which we rigged the umbrella onto.

Sunday, July 10

This is how my 6 year old came walking into the kitchen today - with circle craft magnets taped to his eyes.

July 14 or 15?

We made homemade playdough last weekend. Tornado found a how-to clay figures book at the library, and this has been a consistent activity all week.

Sunday, July 17

One of the kids' favorite activities is to get sprayed by Ryan while he is watering the flowers.

Monday, July 18

The boys have gotten to venture out on their own a little this month, attending "Adventure Camp" twice a week. I've enjoyed seeing little scenes of them being there for one another, sharing an experience together, and having one another's back.

Project 365: blueberries, new stuff, and a little culture

2011-06-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 23

The kids and I went berry picking today at Hidden Valley Farm (which doesn't use pesticides). Besides eating berries plain (or putting them in fruit salad or oatmeal, etc.), we've really been in a fruit and berry pies kick lately.

They always enjoy picking wild blackberries on our land, etc., but this was the first time they'd been to an actual berry patch.

We ended up with two buckets full. We only managed to find a handful of raspberries.

After our very HOT morning at the berry patch, we ate lunch where my sister Tracy works. Then we headed to Riverfront Park in downtown Little Rock.

This was the first time they had ever played in the water there. They didn't know what to expect, but they were THRILLED.

I LOVE the amount of joy and excitement exuding out of her whole body here.

They had SO much fun, and it is a great place for Mom to sit in the shade and easily watch her kids play in the water (without worrying about them drowning because there are only fountains/sprinklers).

Friday, June 24

Our new sectional was delivered today! We can all sit together on the couch now! With room for several guests, so come on over!

It's very exciting! (I have to move some other furniture and pictures, etc. around to make it look right.)

Saturday, June 25

We cleaned like crazy today. I cleaned the boys' room SO WELL. As in, I even cleared out everything from underneath their bed and swept the furthest corner. This was all in preparation to add their new duvets, which they were super excited about. The kids always want to get in our bed because it's so comfy and soft. It's because of our duvet, and they always have to sleep with flimsy quilts. I found duvet covers on overstock.com for around $27. I was excited since I had been prepared to pay $100/each. They're soft, they love them, and I think they have been enjoying bedtime more now.

Sunday, June 26

We took the kids to the Arkansas Arts Center today for the last day of The Impressionists exhibit. They enjoy recognizing many of the artists' names we've learned about. One lady was very impressed when she heard Dash say, "That's Van Gogh."

We let the kids run around MacArthur Park for a little while before getting back in the car.

Although we'd already had lots of fun today, the best part probably occurred later at Whole Foods. Some members of the Arkansas Accordion Association were playing music. They had a big tub of instruments for the kids to use. We'd planned on just popping in for a bit so the kids (and Daddy) could eat some dessert. But we ended up staying a lot longer because it was so fun.

Monday, June 27

The kids were playing outside tonight as Ryan was watering the plants. So obviously they wanted him to spray them, etc. When they were finished playing, I threw them each a kitchen towel and made them strip down on the front porch. As they were giggling and scurrying up the stairs, I thought they looked cute so I asked them to stop to let me take their picture.

Project: 365: Thursday-Sunday

2011-06-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

Thursday, June 16

fun in the sprinkler!

Friday, June 17

The kids and I went to Little Rock today for a little shopping (grocery and other). We met Daddy and Aunt Tracy for lunch.

And Tornado was excited about picking out books with his Barnes and Noble gift card. He carefully deliberated for quite awhile, and this is what he ended up with: a Phineas & Ferb Look & Find (He loves hidden pictures. He also loves P & F, I think because they are kids with big imaginations who are always inventing something, also right up his alley.), a workbook (He has just always really enjoyed workbooks.), Kung Fu Panda 2 Mad Libs (He totally cracks himself up with these.), and a Berenstain Bears book (We all love these books. I really love the new ones - like this one - that have a focus on God and are centered around a biblical verse. This one is about the cubs being taught that God has given everyone a special talent and includes Matthew 5:16. There are also discussion questions at the end of the book.). He says, "Thank you, Cary and Andy!"

Saturday, June 18

I splurged and actually bought a book yesterday (versus waiting for it at the library) for myself. I love it! We love the Duggars, of course. This is proof that we have watched every one of their episodes (especially Sissy; it's one of her favorite shows). She saw me reading the book and said, in a perfect Michelle Duggar sweet voice (complete with pauses in the right spots and everything), "Josh is our oldest. He married Anna, and they have our first granddaughter, Mackynzie." That's part of the opening credits, for those of you who don't watch. :)

Sunday, June 19

Truly, my happiest moments in life are when I see all three of the kids playing sweetly together, using their imaginations. I stood back, watching, and I wrote down a little bit of what I heard. I'm going to include it so they can look back at it one day.

"We're going to the secret hide-out!" I think they all said that at some point.

"You're not allowed, Space Ship." - Tornado

"If you see any bad guys, do this!" - Dash

"Can I come in?" - Tornado

"No, you have a dirty eye!" - Dash (The train's eye was actually really dirty; I had to clean it for him, ha!)

"This is our carpet. This is my horse. Here is my finest tractor. His head is peeking out the door." - Sissy

"Are you a superhero?" - Tornado

"I'm a superhero horse." - Sissy

"Freeze Man is coming!" - Tornado

"You can't freeze my friends!" - Dash

"I'm his friend." - Sissy

Project 365: a new nephew, a last day of school, and a fun birthday weekend in Branson

2011-06-16T11:51:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 3

No picture. Project failed. Taking a picture a day is much harder than I thought it would be. I'll keep trying my best, though.

Saturday, June 4

We drove to Illinois this weekend to visit Ryan's family. The most important part of the weekend was getting to meet our new nephew/cousin.

Yawn!

My 6 year old has been particularly interested in babies, in general, lately.

We're definitely all big fans of this little guy!

Sunday, June 5

See. I already failed again. I think it was all of the "How much further?" and "When are we going to be home?" and "I can't take it any longer!" (That one was from the kids and me.) that fried my brain. I declared that I'm NEVER driving more than 3 or 4 hours at a time with my kids again. People have always asked how we can do so much traveling with our kids. Well, that was a thing of the past. No more, I say! It was somehow easier when they were younger, despite the fact I thought it would get easier as they got older.

It's not my oldest; he's always been a champ at traveling. Even my 6 year old isn't too bad in the car (except for taunting/taking things from/hitting his sister). It's my daughter. Who whines herself into a state of panic.

If I can figure it out, maybe I can post a video from Ryan's phone that he took of the cicadas in Illinois. I've never seen or heard anything like it. They cover every inch of the trees, they're all over the ground, and you can barely hear your voice outside over their deafening song. I'm not really freaked out by bugs, but some might think it's very creepy.

Monday, June 6

I had Tornado (and myself) pumped up all weekend, even until I dropped him off at school Monday morning, that TODAY was the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! About an hour after I dropped him off, I looked at my calendar and - duh, Tuesday was going to be the last day. I had to recreate the whole "today's the last day of school" production once again the next day.

Maybe if my whole life's organizational system wasn't a wrinkled stack of printed off calendar pages folded and stuffed into my purse, I'd be able to keep track of these things better.

Tuesday, June 7

The real last day of school. Half of his class wasn't even there. We had such an unexpected amount of snow days this year that had to be made up.

"Last days" are always sad for me! This is one of his teachers.

He's had these two for two years in a row. They've been a big part of our lives, and we will miss them. I don't know how many times he has called me by one of their names. "Mrs. Bo...I mean, Mom..."

Wednesday, June 8

the books Sissy picked out for me to read before her bedtime

Thursday, June 9

The kids secretly holed themselves up in the homeschool room tonight and worked on these pictures for me. Little ones on the top: Sissy. Left: Dash. Right: Tornado, who is all about silly pictures and collages.

Friday, June 10

The kids and I are on our way to Missouri for the weekend. (Ryan will join us tomorrow; he's riding up with Mom and Dad.) On the docket today: a visit with my grandparents in their small town and a stop by the grocery store to get some last minute supplies for my oldest son's birthday party (which my brother and sister-in-law are graciously hosting).

Saturday, June 11

Happy 11th birthday to the sweet little soul who made me a Mom. He who loves birthdays maybe more than anyone.

Other highlights of the day included:

Uncle Matt in the dunking booth at an benefit for autism awareness!

That's Tornado, celebrating his dunking of Uncle Matt.

At the benefit, we also got to hear my niece sing on stage - solo and along with the girls' singing group she is a part of. Very cute! They sing at various shows in Branson.

My nephew O also got brought up onto the stage to help out the group, Buckets 'N Boards, who perform at a Branson theater.

My daughter and niece were cute and matching.

Sunday, June 12

The "deputy" guarded these little scoundrels in jail today. My whole family (all 18 of us) spent the day at Silver Dollar City.

Sis was crying because, for some reason, she had wanted to ride by herself. All of her crying made C start crying.

No worries, though, because as soon as they were up in the air, it was all smiles once again. You can even catch a glimpse of my 29 year old sister, who was feeling very "adventurous" today, riding along in the next bug.

Monday, June 13

Words can't express how excited I am about my week. I have NOTHING planned or scheduled. No appointments, no meetings, no lessons. No birthday party to prepare, no trip to pack for. NOTHING!!! My week is free! We all (besides Ryan who was up at 5:45 to get ready for work) slept in until 9 today! I'm trying to slowly chip away at the mess that has accumulated in my house during our very busy year.

This is my son's actual birthdate. I let him pick out anything he wanted for supper. He chose grilled cheese sandwiches (made with the amazing bread from Serenity Farm in Leslie, AR).

Tuesday, June 14

Tornado is playing with his Playmobil vet clinic he picked out for his birthday. It took us probably an hour to put all of the pieces together. The set is very fun and full of details.

Wednesday, June 15

Another one of his birthday gifts: two Doodle-Track Cars. Each car comes with this paper track (that the car will stay on) and a marker to use for drawing your own track, if you want.

There is also a website for the kids to create their own track systems and print them off. Super fun! (We taped the individual pages together.) Pictures of road signs and buildings can also be added. (And yes, this really was the next day; he's just still wearing the same clothes.)

The cars will stay on the track course. They can even drive side by side on the 2-lane road and race each other.

Project 365: a tent and a craft

2011-06-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 31

This is absolutely the only picture I took on Tuesday, so it will have to do. I usually do lunchbox posts, like this one, on my vegan blog. (Pictured from Tornado's lunch: mock "chicken" salad from Whole Foods, 1 1/2 slices of hempseed bread, raspberries, kiwi fruit, and rice cheese.)

Wednesday, June 1

We made a "tent" in the boys' room today. All you can really see are a bunch of blankets and bare body parts. But they had fun.

Thursday, June 2

Tornado went on a nature walk at school, then made this nature wreath.

Project 365: Major Catch-Up

2011-05-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 16

Still enjoying our time with my sister and her kids while they were in town.

Tuesday, May 17

Because I was lacking one, Cary sent me this one she took of the kids at my parents' house. I love them so!

Wednesday, May 18

Today, the kids and I, along with Cary and her kids plus our parents met Tracy in Little Rock for lunch (and a bit of shopping). Look out, Papaw, T-Rex is coming to get you! "Grrr...ahhh!"

"Powww."

Thursday, May 19

Cary and I took the four little ones to story-time at the library this morning. Sissy was "reading" to the others...

...while they sweetly "listened." My nephew (far left) had brought the binoculars (a must-have for any library outing obviously) with him.

Today, Dash surprised me with the "art gallery" he set up. First, he had a picture of a fire-breathing dragon.

He also made a Lego sculpture.

Friday, May 20

Sissy had her end-of-the-year music recital at the arts academy she attends. I didn't get great pictures because I wasn't using my flash. But that's one of her best friends staying next to her.

Saturday, May 21

I took Sissy to a friend's "Orange" birthday party. Fortunately, we do own plenty of orange clothing, in the form of Illini gear, so she was set. The goody-bags were super cute: homemade orange play-dough, a clementine, and a mango organic sucker tied in a bag with an orange ribbon and orange pinwheel.

Earlier that day, I had driven to Searcy for the second day in a row to attend the state home school convention. As usual, I came home with too many books from the used curriculum sale. However, it's hard to pass up such fun stuff that can be as low as $.50 or $1 a book. I also found some of the necessary curriculum to be used at our homeschool co-op.

Sissy had went with me on Friday to spend the day at the workshops, etc. She was, of course, as mature and sweet as she always is at events like this (even when she has to sit quiet and listen for an hour). When we walked into the big gymnasium with all of the vendor booths set up, she gasped, "This is amazing!"

Sunday, May 22

We got a new television for the living room. Yes, we had a perfectly good one already, but it was pretty small up on the wall. I had to squint to read the channel guide. So the extra excitement was now having streaming Netflix capabilities. Love all of the learning shows. Of course, I say "we" are enjoying it, but in over a week I still haven't had an opportunity to sit down and watch a single show.

Monday, May 23

Dash fell asleep while waiting for his brother in the car line at school. He wasn't wearing a shirt so he had wrapped himself up in a blanket. Sometimes he will walk through the house buck naked, then other times he is sooo modest.

Tuesday, May 24

It's one of those days I ended up taking no pictures. (Maybe because I missed Ryan so much while he was away on business for 3 days!) However, Ryan's being a good sport and allowing me to post pictures of some of the funny texts he sent me that night from Texas. He was really excited because his business obligations were finished early. (Usually, he has meetings until bedtime.) He was going to see Thor by himself; I was so happy for him! However, first he was spooked by being the only one in this huge theater. Then, they stopped the movie (because of a tornado warning) and made everyone move to a center theater to wait out the warning. Then, he spilled his popcorn. And I'm sure he was really excited about that popcorn. Bless his heart.

Wednesday, May 25

Dash came across this iron-on flower. He brought it to me with a piece of tape and attached it to the front of my shirt - to make me look pretty. I need all the help I can get these days.

Thursday, May 26

The kids had been beeeegging to bake something, anything. So we made chocolate chip cookies.

And they asked if they could be the waiters and serve them to us. Ryan and I sat on the couch while they took our orders on little notepads. They were actually pretty creative with their offerings.

Let's get a close up of those bad boys.

#1 - Cookie with chocolate frosting: you can't go wrong with that.

#2 - Cookie (It had a sweet little bite taken out of it - plus some cookie dough on top. That was ingenious, if you ask me. It was really good.

#3 - Cookie Dough Ball

Friday, May 27

Ryan took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the theater.

Upon their return, Dash was interested in practicing his own "Kung-Fu" the rest of the night.

Saturday, May 28

Pretty excited about our 3 day weekend, especially since Ryan was gone most of the week! We made a rare move by going furniture shopping in Little Rock. (We need better couch seating now that we have the t.v. in the living room!) We enjoyed frozen vegan treats from Whole Foods after we went out for lunch (at Lilly's DimSum, Then Some).

Sunday, May 29

More furniture shopping today. (Big purchases take a lot of mulling over for us, but we wanted to take advantage of Memorial Day Sales.) We also enjoyed another lunch out and a little walk outside afterward. Ryan took this picture of Tornado because he looked so cute (and old), walking with his hands in his pockets.

Monday, May 30

While cleaning a little house this morning, I took pictures of Sissy's stack of art papers she brought home from the last day of class (since I obviously can't save them all). These are a few of them.

Project 365: Enjoying the Little Things

2011-05-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, May 11

This is where Tornado can often be found in his free time: at the table in the "homeschool room," making "silly pictures."

Thank goodness for Dash who keeps our plants and flowers watered.

Thursday, May 12

Sissy gifted me with this stack of papers, all created so thoughtfully and lovingly.

Friday, May 13

My sister Cary and her kids arrived to spend a week. We looked at old pictures a lot, and for fun, she tried on our Mom's wedding dress.

There has been much fun going on here (and at Googie & Papaw's house here) lately with the walkie talkies.

Saturday, May 14

Farmer's Market day! (We even went to two of them.) We also went to the library, to eat and visit Tracy at Boulevard Bread Company, to The Green Store, and Whole Foods. Sissy likes to accessorize with ribbons, which is what is around her neck.

We also walked down to the river where Peabody Park is located, near the River Market.

Sunday, May 15

Fun with a teeny turtle found outside. We also found a teeny bunny rabbit in the middle of the road the other night, and we had to huddle it up in my scarf and put it under a bush nearby.

Sunday was a nice day altogether, visiting with Googie, Papaw, Tracy, Cary, and the kids. We even played a little basketball. I loved how much Dash giggled as Ryan and I played a little 2-on-2 against him and Papaw.

It's like they're riding go-karts or roller coasters, the amount of enjoyment my kids receive by riding the lawn mower with Papaw.

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That's as far as I can go right now; I'm panicking because I think I've missed a day somehow! Drama!

Project 365: a look at our week

2011-05-10T04:26:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 29

This was the day of our Royal Wedding Viewing Party. Coverage can be found on my other blog. It was fun! (Sissy still had her black eye.)

Later that day, the kids were being very sweet today with each other. The little ones made a "cuddle island" for their big brother - a circle of blankets, sheets, and pillows for him to relax upon and read.

Although they unmade some beds, pulled most clean blankets - even pillowcases - out of the closets, etc., I didn't really mind so much because they were playing so creatively and cooperatively.

And then it took a turn for the worse. The next time I checked on them, Sissy had added a gazillion toys to the mess. Sigh.

Saturday, April 29

This was the day of Tornado's firefighter competition I already posted about.

Sunday, May 1

The kids - especially my 6 year old - had been asking lately to fix a meal all by themselves. Finally, I relented for lunch this day. This is exactly the meal that was set before Ryan and me. (We even got to sit right next to each other!) Salad (which I think was just plain lettuce with whole baby carrots on top), LOTS of toasted crostinis with melted Daiya (and a couple had some cream cheese on top, as well), some olives and grape tomatoes mixed in, and some leftover pan-fried tofu. Obviously, it was all delicious because it was prepared with such love. My jaws were all little tired from chewing so much crostini and baby carrots. Thank you, my sweet little chefs.

Monday, May 2

my 10 year old, playing at the train table

Tuesday, May 3

Soccer fields are still flooded and closed, and in lieu of practice, we had our last team get-together at Play World.

Wednesday, May 4

I think I have the perfect picture for this day, but I can't get to it right now. Will post another day.

Thursday, May 5

Sissy picked a few tiny plants outside, gathered 3 cups out of the cup drawer, added some water, and put in her plants. She was very proud of her beautiful vases.

Last day of homeschool co-op for the year!

Friday, May 6

One of our babysitters took the two little ones to Jump Zone today to give me some cleaning time. They returned from their outing with these Mothers' Day flowers for me.

And a sweet card they signed!

Saturday, May 7

Thank goodness the fields were dry now and the weather was lovely for Dash's last soccer game of the season.

Once again, we will dearly miss watching him participate in an activity he enjoys so much - and we'll miss the team he has been (blessed to be) a part of for two seasons...but it will be nice to have our Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings free for a few months.

running through the end of the game tunnel

last Big Cats team huddle

On the way home, he begged me to see my camera for "just a second. This is going to be really funny...okay, now look at the picture I took." (Oops, as I was just editing, etc., he saw this picture on here and exclaimed, "Don't put that on the blog! I'm embarrassed." Well, that's my job, Honey.

Sunday, May 8

This is what Sissy put together for my Mothers' Day gift. Ryan helped her make an envelope out of construction paper, which she decorated. She filled it with "treasures" from her room - ribbons, a necklace, Silly Bandz, and coloring pages. I love it!

I had a really nice Mothers' Day. (Also, Dash had made a lovely bar of soap for me on his last day at homeschool co-op and also made me a beautiful, sweet card.) At church, Tornado and Sissy made me cards. Dash informed Carrie (who was watching them after Sunday School ended and helping the others with their cards) that he wasn't going to make me a card because "he'd already gotten me enough for Mothers' Day." Ha!

We met my parents and sister in Little Rock for supper and also spent a little time with them at Barnes and Noble. (Mom & Dad bought us each a book. How nice is that. Except that she's MY mom, and she got me way more than I got HER for Mothers' Day.)

Monday, May 9

Dash finally got to give me the flowers he'd gotten (with my parents' help) at Sam's when we were there last week. He was trying really hard to keep it a secret the whole time we were shopping by hiding it underneath the cart. (I may or may not have noticed this.) When Mom was paying, he took me over to "show me something" in order to distract me. It was all very, very sweet.

Which only sort of makes up for the little booger that he was all afternoon today. In his defense, he was really tired. He fell asleep for the night at 6:45 after Ryan got home, had a talk with him about his behavior, and sent him to bed.

Tuesday, May 10

Dash and I had a really nice morning together, just the two of us. (Brother was at school, and Sissy was at her art classes.) We worked on his schoolwork together, then went to Wal-Mart and to Story-Time at the library, where we also checked out these books. He was happy that he could tell Daddy he had a "super good day," and was enjoying his "good consequences," which they had discussed the night before.

Project 365: Tornado's Triumph

2011-04-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

(I skipped April 29, but I will get back to that when I have more time. I wanted to post these pictures today, though, for those who weren't able to be there.)

Saturday, April 30

This is the weekend for our big town festival. (It's called Toad Suck Daze!) Tornado brought a note home awhile back, saying he'd qualified for the Crawl, Drag, & Squirt competition put on by the fire department. (There is a preliminary round at the different elementary schools in town to see who will compete in the finals at Toad Suck.) He seemed proud that he'd gotten this letter with "Congratulations!" included in it. I was surprised this was something he wanted to participate in - physical competitions are usually a nightmare for him - but I was glad and encouraging.

When they first called his name, he happily put on the fireman coat and took his place. When the fireman ran out to the starting point with him, Tornado...kept on running back through the crowd, returning to the tent, and burying himself behind a trunk. Yeah, buddy, if I wasn't so concerned with appearances, that's probably what I'd do, too, when faced with standing in front of a crowd!

However, he declared he DID want to do it, (This is a common conflict within my 10 year old son; he often WANTS to do something - it's just really difficult for him to go through with it.) so he went back out there and gave it another shot...

...with a big smile on his face the whole time.

He did great! "Firefighter training" tasks included crawling through the tunnel, dragging a dummy to safety, running around fire hydrants, hammering a moveable weight and spraying the fire hose at a target. (What kid wouldn't want to spray a fire hose?)

nearing the finish line

How great for my son to experience success with a crowd of cheering people and high-fives from firemen.

This was a day of TRIUMPH for my son. He overcame a fear. And he felt good about himself.

All of the kids who qualified for today's race earned a medal, but there were only a certain number of trophies given out.

I had told Tornado not to expect a trophy because only some of the kids were going to get one. He was sooo excited when they called his name. And going up there to accept his trophy was another triumph. (Loud, overstimulating situations aren't always easy for him, and there have been plenty of times he has declined an honor or privilege because it became overwhelming to him.)

I think he warmed the hearts of a few of the firemen who gave him high-fives again after he got his trophy. One remarked, "That smile!" The firefighters and volunteers were sooo kind and patient and fun. We love that they do this for the kids.

Congratulating Big Brother...later tonight, out of the blue, Sissy remarked to me (alone) something like, "I'm proud of (him) for running the race and getting a trophy."

We ARE proud of you, Big Guy!

Project 365: Storms & a Royal Wedding

2011-04-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 25

I couldn't capture all of the weather craziness on camera. The kids and I sat in the under-the-stairs closet for a bit, thanking the Lord when Daddy made it home safely. Our home and trees remained unscathed. Our neighboring town, Vilonia, sadly didn't fare as well.

Tuesday, April 26

My sweet hubby, washing dishes before bed. As I lounged on the couch. I'm kidding.

Wednesday, April 27

Tornado and I went to Little Rock in the afternoon to run some errands. We also stopped by the library where I checked out England/Great Britain books, and he got a stack of Disney (and a Cars) comic books.

Thursday, April 28

Who else is excited about the wedding?! We're all set for our early morning breakfast/viewing party! (It's not too late for you to make custom Will & Kate plates of your own...)

Garden Challenge Part Two

2011-04-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Garden Challenge Part Two

(For my first Garden Challenge post, go here.)

Amazon.com Widgets

These are the four garden books we found at the library today. They all look really cute. And not only do they have beautiful illustrations with sweet stories, there are learning elements in each book, as well.

Last time, I wrote about how the kids painted pots and planted grass (or chives - their choice) seeds. Sissy's turned out really cute. (They boys' suffered at the hands of all the recent bad storms. They got dumped over, and we are replanting.)

The pan we filled with dirt and grass seeds also proved to be a worthwhile project.

I think the kids play with it every day (especially my 6 year old son). The grass grew really thick, and it's holding up pretty well to all of their cars and animals clomping through it.

One really fun surprise were these two pots which burst forth with flowers unexpectedly. They still had the dirt in them from last summer. I didn't realize they had contained perennials, so this was such a little gift.

Our veggies are growing - even our "mystery vegetable" which somehow went unlabeled. Here are a few of them.

All of the rain has been a blessing, and there is obvious growth in our garden. However, in other areas it has been a detriment. Many of the seeds we planted directly into the ground are sprouting up, but some areas really washed out. A lesson in gardening and farming.

The kids are going to be helping me replant some seeds, weed, deadhead flowers, and plant some Easter Lilies my dad dug up for us.

Speaking of plants, my parents gifted me with two beautiful plants on Easter. My dad planted these Hen and Chicks in this cool pot. I love it.

He also planted these Calla Lilies in a very cute bird pot. Thanks, Dad!

The Homeschool Village