Why I love homeschooling... #396

Today is Ava's birthday, and to celebrate, Brian took the day off and we're having a special day together.  We have big plans, which I'll blog later tonight (hopefully!)

When Ava woke up, Ella gave her a birthday present she had shopped for herself-- a Barbie pool with a little dog on a pool float... Ava, of course, LOVED it!  (And she played more with the little dog on the float than the pool!)

See Daddy and kids putting all the little pieces together?

  

The kids have just moved to the back porch in their jammies with the new toy.  They are playing happily, and Kolby is just hanging out watching everything.

They got a little wet... well, Roman got A LOT wet!  His Barbie was doing "cannonballs" in the new pool!

This beats the heck out of sending cupcakes to school!  :-)

My birthday

This has been one of the best birthdays I've celebrated in a long time. 

It really started last night when my good friend Dawn offered to keep my kids so Brian and I could go out on a date.  The kids love the Brown's kids and house, they knew they would have a blast and were as excited as I was!  Dawn greeted me with a hug and a very thoughtful gift and sweet card.  She helped doll me up with perfume, fancy jewelry, extra hairspray and even some shiny shoes so I could look extra special for my date!  I got to have dinner with Brian and then attend an informational orientation about a program Brian will be starting next week.  It was a really special night for us.

On the way home, I talked with a good friend, Peggy, who I don't get to chat with but about once or twice a year.  It was so nice just catching up with her and finding out what she and her family had been up to... it's always nice catching up with old friends and sharing our lives, even when it's brief.

Then today, Brian took the day off to be home with the kids so I could have the "day off".  After I woke to feed Kolby, I pretty much got to lay around and hang out while Brian took care of meeting everyone's needs.  I really enjoyed the time this morning with the kids, just "hanging out" (as Roman tells everyone) with them, instead of teaching and managing the morning as usual.

Next was meeting Lacey, my sister-in-law and one of my best friends.  She offered to treat me to a free makeover, courtesy of Barescentuals make-up's "Quickie Van", along with lunch and a pedicure.  What a treat!  I love just being with Lacey anyway, but today was fantastic!  We caught up with the Quickie Van almost on accident and were the first to receive make "unders" and then had lunch with another good friend, Kristie, before heading off to shop and have pedicures.

Lacey next to the "Quickie Van"... it's actually like a "SmartCar" with a box on the back of it!  As the girls unloaded boxes and boxes of makeup, Lacey said, "That my dream car!  Never mind that my kids won't fit in it... look at all that make-up!!" :-)

Lacey and me after our make-"unders"

I arrived back home today later than I expected, and was greeted at the door by the girls, Brian, Kolby and a very unhappy Roman-- he had just been awakened from his nap and wasn't too happy.  The girls, on the other hand, were excited to see me because they had made cards and a birthday cake complete with M&Ms in the shape of a heart and "MOM"!  How sweet!  And more than that, they had brought a card and gifts from another really good friend, Sara!  I opened all my gifts with the girls, including something from my mom-in-law, my good friend and the kids... and a really heartfelt, touching card from Brian.  I felt so special and so loved today, and there was even more to come!

Finally, we headed off to my parent's house for my birthday dinner.  My mom had planned this at least a month ago... she always has a special dinner for my brother and me for our birthdays and we get to select the menu.  It rarely happens that we get together on our actual birthday, but because today was Friday, it worked out best for everyone.  Tonight, everyone was going to be there and we were having steak and potatoes.  Because I was late getting home from my outing with Lacey, we were late getting to my mom's for dinner.  So when we arrived, everyone else (Jeff, Lacey and the kids) was already there and dinner was just about ready.  We hung out for a bit and then had dinner.  And after dinner, not even on purpose, the grown-ups ended up sitting together in the living room and watching the digital photo frame we made for my mom a few years back.  It was a really neat night.  Follow all this with cake, ice cream, some great (and much needed) clothes and a new bathing suit... and it was a day to remember!

I've really been able in the last 24 hours to step back-- more than once-- and stand amazed at how blessed I am.  I have the most amazing husband, the most precious children, a fantastic, generous family and some of the kindest friends a girl could ask for.  God has poured out His favor on me, and I am eternally grateful!

Why I love homeschooling... #110

So I sent Ava downstairs to complete her morning jobs, which included cleaning off her dresser and dusting her room.  After her jobs were complete, she was to begin her school work.  Much to my surprise, she followed all of my directions... and this is how I found her at the table working!

As it turns out, she found these glasses-- which she made 3 months ago at VBS-- and HAD to wear them to school today!  And she worked diligently for the first hour in them! 

At the Bats game

Notice my very Polish son, who can't even see out the hole!

And my cool, hip-hop Ava!

Thanks, Grammie, for the tickets so we could have a fun afternoon with Daddy!

Time to kill???

What was I thinking???  Just when I sat down and propped my feet up, Kolby woke up.  Then, uncharacteristically, he spent the afternoon fussing.  So we just hung out together, Kolby and me.  He was mostly happy when I was holding him or talking to him, so that's what I did.  Amazing, when it's just me with one, how much attention I can give him!

I finally got him to lay down by 4 o'clock, and I thought I'd take a short nap since Brian and kids would be gone until about 6ish.... but guess who arrived home shortly after 4?  You guessed it.  Apparently, the kids were done before the 6th inning and it was hot.  So much for my short nap!

I guess I'll have plenty of time to kill when my children are grown and gone from my home.  And I can nap every day then... in the meantime, I'll just enjoy every minute I have with them-- especially the random moments I can catch to have one-on-one time with them!

Time to kill...

What do you do when you've got 4 hours to yourself?  I don't know; it rarely happens these days!

It's funny, I'm so used to having the kids and Brian and always something going on, I almost don't know what to do with myself!  But I'm going to relax and enjoy a quiet afternoon in the house with only Kolby, who naps the better part of the afternoon. 

Brian has taken the 3 older kids out to a Bats game.  His mom offered us 4 tickets, and after much discussion, Brian decided he wanted an afternoon date with just the 3 big ones.  And it gives me the afternoon off... well, kind of.

I'm going to prop my feet up and relax, and then figure out which things to do first, since I won't have as many interruptions as usual!  :-)

When will he outgrow this?

Today at lunch, we were all sitting around the table and I was feeding Kolby.  Roman, sitting quietly in his chair, asked, "Did Kolby punch you, Mommy?"

"No, baby.  Kolby didn't punch me.  Kolby is eating his cereal."

Roman asks, "Can I punch you, Mommy?"

"No, baby.  We don't punch."

"Can I punch the girls?" he asks.

"No, Roman.  We don't punch the girls, either."

"Awww, not again!  I want to punch the girls!"

Haven't I already said in some other post, "This is my life!"???  :-)

One of these days....

This morning, Kolby was in his excersaucer playing, and he let out a yelp and started crying.  When I came into the kitchen, I found Roman sitting next to him.  "Why is Kolby crying, Roman?  What did you do to him?"


Roman's answer, "I squished him."

A civics field trip

We took a field trip today to Taylorsville/Spencer County GOP Headquarters for a hands-on lesson about politics-- specifically, how a bill becomes a law, what it means to debate, what it means to be a commonwealth, and KY tradition.  Can you tell from the photos below what KY tradition they enacted?

Ella was ecstatic about wearing a big flowered hat--  NOT!

But Ava really was thrilled to be a jockey.

The big race outside... our friend, Mira, was Ava's trainer.

I was able to get Ella to smile for a minute because I promised her she could take the hat off!  :-)

The whole group, all homeschooled kids and their siblings, along with the officials from Spencer County who planned the whole thing. 

Even I learned a lot today!

He sleeps...

My sweet baby boy, who is normally a belly sleeper, fell asleep tonight on his play mat.  He's just recently found his fingers and is content sucking on 2 at a time.  Fingers in the mouth, feet up in the air, and sound asleep!  How precious!

Date night and the girls' first concert

For the past several years, Brian and I have made a Date Night out of WJIE Day at the fair.  There's always a free concert, so we've left the kids with family and had some couple time. 

This year, because the girls are into the music we listen to on the radio, we decided to take them along for their first concert.  Francesca Battestelli and MercyMe were the performing artists, and the girls were pretty familiar with their music , mostly just 2 recent songs.  But they were excited to go to the fair again and to attend their first real concert. 

On our first trip to the fair Friday with Mawmaw, we saw the balloon people starting this display.  They only had the legs to the octopus and nothing was hung yet.  So it was pretty neat seeing this whole thing complete!  The girls were pretty amazed at how it all turned out!

At the concert with Daddy....

Goofing off while waiting for MercyMe....

All that waiting, and Ava only made it through the first song!  She slept soundly for the entire MercyMe concert until the very last song, "All of Creation," when she sat up in my lap and smiled.  The next day, we were talking about the concert and I asked if they liked it and if it was what they expected it to be.  Ella said, "I didn't know they were going to sing 1,000 songs!"  Ava replied, "They didn't.... they only sang 2 or 3!"  I laughed because that's all she heard!

On our way out, the girls saw the fountain all lit up and wanted a photo...

And Ava had trouble keeping up with us on the walk to the car, so Daddy helped out....

What do you want to be when you grow up?

At lunch today, in the middle of conversation about animals, Ava gets a pensive look on her face and says, "Wait, I forgot.  Ella, what do you want to be when you grow up?" 

Ella replies, "A doctor."

Ava says, "What kind of doctor?"

Ella says, "Any kind of doctor.... or maybe a cashier.  I don't know yet."

Laughing to myself, I ask her, "What kind of cashier?"

Ella replies, "I don't know, probably at Kroger... when people shop there, they always buy LOTS of things!"

Such grande aspirations at such an early age ....  :-)

How can this baby be this happy this late at night?!

It's almost 11 o'clock and Kolby hasn't had a nap in his own bed for 3 days... I'm ready for bed, but he's not!!

A princess, but not who you'd expect!

Our little princess....

Brian tells me by laughing and taking photos of him, I'm encouraging this behavior.  I just say I'm going to have great photos for his wife someday!!  :-)

And not to be outdone, Ava decides to dress up and dance....

Family night

We've officially designated Thursday nights as "Family Night".  Although we spend at least 3-4 nights each week just playing with the kids, the girls want to have something official on the calendar.
I don't know why, but our girls have been asking if we can "family night" the past 3-4 nights at dinner.  I'm thinking maybe they heard someone say they have family night in their house, but who knows.  Tonight I asked them what they wanted family night to consist of.  "Games" was Ella's vote, "Popcorn and movies" was Ava's. 

So tonight, we're having a Wii night and beginning Thursday this week, we're going to have "Family Night".  Roman is "punching his jaws out" in some punching game, according to Ava.  I think she was trying to mimic Brian when he said, "Roman, you'd better punch because you're getting your jaws jacked!"

Ella suggested we have a drawing each week to see who gets to pick the activities.  She's so organized and structured and likes to plan all the details of our events... wonder where she gets that?  :-)

Cow poop

Recently, I've explained to the girls how our bodies take food and turn it into energy.  What I love about homeschooling is that I can take things we talk about in school and show real life examples to help them better understand a concept.

Friday at the fair, we were walking through the cow hall and there was manure everywhere.  The girls were complaining about the smell and I told them that the cow's poop was just natural.  "Remember how we talked about our bodies using food for energy?  What our bodies don't use turns to poop.  Since cows eat only hay and grass, when they don't use all of it for energy, their bodies are just pooping hay and grass, even though it looks different."

I am pleased to announce that my children are absorbing a bit of what I teach them....

At dinner tonight, we were talking about how our bodies use food.  I was hoping they would remember that our bodies turn food into energy, but when I asked what our bodies do with food, Ava shouted, "POOP!!!"

Brian almost choked on his dinner.

A busy day at the fair

Ever since I can remember, my mom has taken me-- and now my kids-- to the KY State Fair.  We always go early and stay late, and see everything there is to see except the Midway.... we don't do rides, never have.  But the kids don't even ask-- they're just excited about all the other things we get to do each year.  Below are a few pix from this year....

My mom ("Mawmaw") and Ella checking out the rock climbing wall.  Mawmaw made it further up the wall than Ella!!  She actually rang the bell at the top!  WAY TO GO, MAWMAW!

While we wait, Ava takes pictures of her brothers.

Roman on the "motorcycle" in the Army Reserve tent.

Roman's first trip through Safety Town alone!

The favorite spot of the day: the baby ducks going down the slide!  Roman was FASCINATED with them!!

Dancing on stage with FairBear

KET day means getting to meet "The Cat in the Hat"...

... and also getting to WATCH "The Cat in the Hat!"

Roman after jousting with Ella at the Army Reserve tent!  (He won!)

And, of course, no day at the fair would be complete without a ride (or three!) up and down the escalators in the new North Lobby!

Thanks, Mawmaw and Poppy, for a wonderfully fun and exhausting day at the fair!!

Rescue jammies

Roman says, "I have on my rescue jammies!"  And he runs through the house shouting, "To the rescue, and beyond!", which is a cross between a super hero and Buzz Lightyear.

Then Ava says, "I'll be your princess and you can rescue me!"  And Roman says, "No!  I not a princess!  I a super hero!"

And when we tell the super hero/Buzz Lightyear it's time for bed, he says, "The sun came up!"

He's so much fun to live with!  :-)