Virginia is practicing to be a big sister

I was wondering how Ginnie would handle the arrival of the new baby this summer. For a while (between 12 mo and 18 mo) she was a very high maintenance child. Lately she has mellowed out a LOT and has even found a spot in her heart for baby dolls. In fact, "Baby" is one of her 6 words she will use consistently. I know there is no way to tell how she will behave until we are in full infant mode around here, but things are looking up!



P.S. If you ever wonder why I don't call people, please notice the loud noise in the background. And THAT is coming from the upstairs. Imagine when we are all in the same floor, or even the same room. I'll stick with e-mail for a few more years....

Special Guest Teacher!

I'm not very responsible.  I lose my phone, forget to charge it, record a date on my pocket planner but not the fridge calendar.... But this day, I was exceptionally responsible.  I didn't even look at my fridge calendar that should have all our plans recorded on it.  I might have saw that we invited some friends over that morning.  I might have been super excited and had the schoolwork put away, lunch plans made, and who knows, maybe picked up some.  Nope.  The doorbell rang and my friend Lark was there with her 2 children (N, age 5 and M, age 1).  She noticed my surprised face and offered to come back another time, but I couldn't do that to her!  (She is special.  We have a lot in common, even though we don't know each other that well, but it feels like we have been friends forever.)

Not only was Lark coming over for a play date, she brought books and lesson plans!  She was sharing with us a mini unit on Bill Peet, a childrens author.  It was awesome!  She read books, fed the kids animal crackers (she talked about how Peet used real and fictional animals in his books), and then made placemats depicting animals the kids made up.  After, we all got to each lunch together and the kids had some free play.  It really turned into a nice playdate, even if I totally forgot about it!

Cabin fever

George has only went to school 4 days in Feb, due to snow days and 2 hr delays (meaning no school for AM half days). I think it is totally unsafe to leave the house when there is any of that white death on the ground, so inside it was. The 3 year old boy seemed to be affected most. 

100th day of school!

From the first day of homeschool, Liv counted out and put one straw into a vase. She would then record the number on a chart. (Then she would fill out the calendar and say the date also) After each group of ten straws she would wrap a rubberband around the group and put the whole bunch in the vase. This is how she learned the concept of (and to count in) tens. We made it to 100 in February! So, we had a party.

We have 100 blooms, 100 marshmallows, 100 raisins, 100 cherios, 100 straws, and 100 spelled out with a banana and 2 cinnamon buns.  Liv promptly did 100 skips and hops around the dining room to burn off the 100 grams of sugar she must have eaten!



We also talked about 100 looks like in different ways.  I asked them a bunch of questions-

I could carry 100 __ladybugs__, but I couldn't carry 100 __couches__!
I could eat 100 __marshmallows__, but I couldn't eat 100 __hamburgers__!
I could put 100 __pencils__ in my desk, but I couldn't put 100 __computers__ in my desk!
I wish I had 100 __dollars__, but I am glad that I do not have 100 __spiders__!

Technical difficulties

My sweet husband got me a macbook.  Wow.  I didn't think I needed one, but he made some valid points and he just likes me, I guess.  I'm digging the parts I understand- which is not much.  I can surf the net easier and waaaaay faster than before.  I can be wireless for the first time (a huge benefit for resting my back on the couch, bringing recipes with me into the kitchen, and soon- taking it outside while the kids run rampant in the backyard- yay!!).

Now, the bad news.  I'm slow.  I can't figure out how to transfer my pics from the camera easily, I can't find them when I want to post, I have no idea how to organize my photos anymore, what half of the programs on my dashboard are, why my downloads arc like that.... oh just about everything else you can think of.  It is too much to contact customer support, I'm so overwhelmed.  I think I need a personal tutor, oh and the time to listen/learn from a tutor.  Any takers?  I can pay in cinnamon rolls....

So, all that said, I'm behind on my postings.  I'm sure Troy will struggle with me when he gets some time so I can at least find my pics.  Till then.....

♥

Valentine's Day has always been a family day for me.  My Mom would get us little treats and make something special for dinner.  Since I'm not a gift person, and would rather spend the time with the whole family, it made sense to continue the tradition.  (Plus, I'm cheap and have a hard time enjoying going out spending money on food and a sitter just because the calendar says to.)

So, last night I made heart shaped raspberry meringues.

♥ I traced little hearts on 2 sheets of parchment paper.

 

♥ Then I mixed up the batter? mixture?  um..... fluffy stuff!

 

♥ I piped the fluff in the heart outlines.

♥ Baked for 2 hrs, then left in the oven overnight.

Today for dinner- Our traditional heart shaped meatloaf!

 

  

(And yes, I forgot to take a picture of it baked because, well.... I was hungry.)

Served with homemade mashed potatoes and parmesan green beans.

And for giggles....

Homemade ♥ Whoopie ♥ Pies for Dessert!

Get it?  Ha ha!

Olympic Fever

Well, I'm not a fan of sports, and especially winter sports (is curling the only safe winter sport??), but I can't pass up a learning opportunity for the kids.  During the opening ceremony (that we tivoed and watched the next day due to the late hour) the kids helped Troy find each country on the globe. 

 Troy and I were glad we saw the performance part of the ceremony alone the night before because we spent the next couple of hours answering back to back questions about how the floor turned into water, how whales got inside, and where those Native Americans like Pocahontas. I was impressed that Liv and George enjoyed it so much.

Maybe the special Olympic pizza helped with the excitement.