Bittersweet

Livia wrote the date on our calendar, as a part of our morning school routine.  She accidentally wrote 12 instead of 21.  I thought of my Mom for a second, as she died 6 years earlier on Sept 12th. 

Well, thinking on losing a mother, my mind went to my wonderful friend who was losing her mother to cancer.  The last couple of weeks the diagnoses went from 2-3 months, to 2-3 weeks, and today she told me 2-3 days. 

The kids were making a busy box for Aunt Martha to read in bed, if she was able.  We talked about sickness, death, and of course Heaven.  How Aunt Martha loved God with all her heart and asked Him to be with her forever, years ago.  How God has never left her and wants her to come to heaven soon.  This led Livia to ask lots of questions, such as, "How do you really know if you will go to heaven?"

I answered all the questions while praying for God's words to speak into their young hearts.  Livia said she wanted to ask God into her heart.  George did too, but his answers seemed more like copying his sister still (he is only 4, but seeds are being planted).  We all prayed together (even Ginnie repeating words!) and I spent the afternoon answering random questions about salvation between playing with toys.

Then Marcy called.  Martha was in heaven that very moment.  Ugh.  My heart still breaks for that family.  Shoot.  It breaks for me.  We all loved Martha.  We will miss her terribly.  But there is no doubting the impact she has left, even on our little family.  She treated us like her family.

I will always remember the day my oldest accepted Jesus, and the day Martha went to see Him face to face.  Bittersweet is the only way to describe it.

Liv cracks me up

I know, the title is not very original.

But it is late.

And this did make me giggle.

We draw on all sorts of things.

Mostly, we love the paper that is packaged in boxes for shipping purposes.  Some of those are LONG and great for murals on the side of the shed.

This one was small, but still good for 30-40 mins of random artwork.

This was on Liv's side.

 I love her animals.  They make me happy.  Like all those trips to the zoo are contributing to something in her education.

But this one really caught me off guard.

Check out the duck.  Ha ha!  

Love those Disney movie Club stickers!

Some Days

I love Home School.

I say, "Go outside and read."

I hear, "Yay!  Can we have a reading picnic???  In our fort???  Pretty please???"

And Liv reads to George and Ginnie.  

Sometimes George takes his own book to browse, but mostly he likes being read to.  

I don't know if Ginnie likes the story, or if she is just there for the food.  

I'm betting the later.

Oh, lovely days, don't go!

Bring on the Science Projects!

We observed catepillars turn into butterflies last year.  This year is something different.  

It was a surprise.  

I'm sneaky like that.  

Or mean like that.  

Maybe the mean part was me dancing around each day chanting, "I know something YOU don't! HA!"  

Whatever.

It finally came!

The kids still didn't know what they were.

I guess I need to work on reading skills.

Our new babies!

Bull Frog Tadpoles.

Oh gosh.  I hate when people refer to their pets as their babies.

Plus, these are gross.

And ugly.

All 7 of them!

I wanted to name them after each dwarf, but the kids just rolled their eyes.

Whatever.

We got Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Happy, Bashful, and Dopey settled in their new home.

We watched them for a long time.

We had to observe when we could.  Before Ginnie woke up.

Then we put the little poleys up high out of reach.

This should be fun.  

Will let you know how things go...

Copy cat

Liv wanted her hair cut like me.  Ok, not really.  I mean, she did want her hair cut something terrible, but not because of me.  She has been asking for her hair to be cut in a short bob for a looooong time.  She calls it the Paige, after her Pre-School classmate from 3 years ago!

I talked her out of it last year because she was taking ballet.  She thought she HAD to have a bun for ballet.  How on earth can you be a ballerina without a bun???

This year she said no to ballet.  My haircut just reminded her of her dream of short hair.  But I just couldn't to a bob!  It took soooooo long to grow!  She was bald for 2.5 years!!!  So we compromised.

It is just angled a little in the front to frame her face.  

We both love it. 

Guest teacher

Carlie came over last week to guest teach us YOGA!  She had a lesson plan and everything.  I was totally impressed.  We learned all sorts of animal poses.  George is still creating his own animal poses.

"Look Momma!  I made a sleeping giraffe!"

"I call this one a hurt bunny rabbit." (complete with sad face)

"This is a one legged crocodile!"

I'd take pics of each pose, but they are kind of all the same. 

He is getting pretty good at regular push ups though.

See Ginnie racing to grab Maggie the second I put her down?  If I can keep Maggie alive, I think they will be bestest friends.

I lost 10 pounds!

Of hair!

Oh, did you think I meant 10 lbs of fat? 
PAH HA HA ha ha ha!
Silly Goose.

Carlie and I met up at a little salon in Glen Burnie thanks to a sweet deal on a deal of the day site (I check about 6 of them most days.  I'm kind of addicted.  But that is another post, for another time)

I like my hair long, but it has it's downsides.

*It takes 30 mins to blow dry, or 12 hrs to air dry.

*Ponytails are a way of life with a hair grabbing baby.  No other long hairdo is infant approved.

*It is HOT as you know where in my house, and a haircut is cheaper than lowering the thermostat.

*As it did with the 3 other pregnancies, my hair is falling out.  From month 3-6 after I have a baby, it falls out by the fist fulls.  Gross, I know.  I feel like I'm constantly walking in a spider web!  Not to mention the amount of hair I'm leaving around the house.  Shorter hair just makes it easier to deal.

Here are the pics

Before

After

(Sorry about the lighting)

I'm kind of thinking it looks a little like when I cut it before!

Hope that is good!  ha ha

Jail

Ginnie used to love her naps.

I mean LOVE.

She would beg for them 3 times a day,

as early as 8 AM!

She was perfect back then.

Something went wrong..... somewhere.

Now she wants freedom.

Who told her a 2 year old needs freedom?

Two year olds don't get to have Freedom!

I tried to tell her.

Punishments would follow.

And they did.

And she rebelled.

And Rebelled.

And REBELLED.

So I put her in jail.

And she sprung that joint.

I had to reinforce the pen.

She will be up for parole by Spring.

Or after nap time.

Table Games

Thanks to a great Pre-School background of the fun (and rules) of table games, we decided to build our own collection for down time.  Here is a new favorite of Liv and George's.  (Thanks Dan and Miriam!)  Liv gets the game and George just makes shapes and designs with the pegs.  Surprisingly it even keeps Ginnie occupied for a few mins.  It takes some hand/eye coordination to put those pegs in the little holes!

Old School

So we are still reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.  We took a long break over the summer.  I'm glad we did, because now George is even excited to hear the stories- as we make it a part of our school day.

We read about a part where Laura goes to a birthday party in "Little Town on the Prairie" and played some games.  One was Blind Man's Bluff.  The kids asked about it and I explained.  Of course they wanted to play!



I really must remember the fun, simple games of years ago.  Button, button, who's got the button?  Kick the can?  Duck Duck Goose?  Can you think of any more?  I have a feeling I'll need an arsenal to get through the winter days coming up!

Back to School

This is our 4th day back.  I started on Sept 1 for a 3 day week.  This week was supposed to be a 4 day week, and next week a 5 day week so we could ease our way in.  Well, I forgot about Labor day.  (I'm taking off Friday for the Women of Faith, so that was the day off I was thinking about)

 
Our day starts off with our personal prayers, the Lord's prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and adding a penny to their money jars.  Somehow Ginnie knows to grab a quarter for her jar!

We have already made pinch pots and talked about how the Bible was first written on scrolls and stored in clay jars.  Liv just finished making a scroll today, but I haven't gotten to take a pic yet.

We then work out of our "My Father's World" curriculum together.  George will go back and forth with assorted work/activity books and table games when Liv does her work sheets.  I have to help them both while tending to Ginnie's 3 second attention span.  She will play with a table game, toy, whatever for a few mins then throws it all over the place.  Liv and George and I take turns cleaning up her messes until we finish.  The 3 of us are thinking of a better way.....

Then comes snack time.  Who am I kidding.  We ALL like snack time.  I nurse the baby while the kids eat, so that means I check mail/fb/twitter/connect with the world.  Or, if she is not ready to eat, I'll read a chapter of Little Town on the Prairie.  I find it is best to read to them if they are busy eating, either at snack or lunch.  Keeps them quietly eating and I don't get interrupted as much with food in their mouths!

Then Center time!  AKA- free play in the porch.  Easy.  I set up for lunch and what we need for the afternoon, along with tending the baby, chores, and keeping Ginnie out of too much trouble.  Maggie is an angel, sleeping almost anywhere!

Clean up time, lunch, depending on the time, more play before Ginnie's nap.

We take schooling into meal times also.....

My version of falafel as we learn about middle eastern countries.  

Carlie is coming tomorrow to teach us some yoga!

A layered salad that the kids helped make.  We were talking about layers of skin in health, and layers of soil under the ground.  I love how things tie into each other!

We use the afternoon session for Hooked on Phonics workbooks, reading from our health book, sticker dictionary books, art, and math.  (If the art is more exploration or toddler proof, we would include Ginnie in the AM)

If Ginnie hasn't woken up by the end of the afternoon session, I let the big kids have some screen time.  I try to keep it to videos that count for school and educational sites, like Starfall.com

Then Ginnie, Liv and George all play outside, usually with a snack to hold them over until dinner.

It has gone pretty well.  I sometimes have one hand while holding the baby, or am crawling under the table picking up puzzle pieces from Ginnie, but I don't know how that can be helped.  I'm very grateful that Liv and George both have a love for learning, especially in this sometimes crazy environment.  Their attitudes about school make dealing with logistics so much easier.  I couldn't imagine if I had to fight them about getting their work done with everything else going on!  This is when I see that God will make a way.

I know why we are putting away money for Ginnie...

Each kid has a high interest bank account.  We aren't putting away much for them, but it is something for later in life.  This is it.  It will be all they get from us.  We are mean like that.  They can use it for whatever they choose (with permission).  Whether it be to help with college expenses, a wedding, a down payment on a home, bail....

Look at this and guess what you think Ginnie will need it for.  I grabbed the camera and JUST got this.  She is FAST! Sigh.

Then I asked her to do it again for a better shot, lol.

Pray for her us!

Wanna see somthin funny?

Sometimes Ginnie and I get bored.

Sometimes I have the camera handy.

Sometimes Maggie doesn't mind

Sometimes she even likes it.

Oh my Baby.

Never grow up!