Weekly Wrap-Up Journal

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

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"

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

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!