The Swinigan Daily Drama

2012-02-12T21:18:00.004-06:00

I decided to participate in Moments to Remember this week - and hope to more frequently. As a homeschool mom, it is easy to get too caught up in the to-do list (and all the things that are not working) and not take time to enjoy having the girls at home with me. Sometimes it feels like there is more fighting and whining and arguing - because we are together all the time. There are tons of great moments, too, though. The girls get to where dress-up clothes during school hours, they get to learn together, the get to help each other and encourage each other, and we get to each breakfast, lunch and dinner together almost every day! Since I have them with me more than most moms and kids - I want to remember to good things about our homeschooling years!!

The girls each have a couple of games on the I-pad that they get to play during the day if they get all of their other work done. The funny thing to me is that they like to wait for each other to finish school so they can sit together and watch each other play! I love it! Usually Daphne is there, too, but she is a little more. . . fidgety. She is usually climbing on the girls to get a better look and she wants to "help." Norah's favorite is Rocket Math, Lucy like Teach Me Kindergarten, and Daphne like Teach Me Toddler. There are a bunch of other apps they love - but these are the favorite educational ones.

Ducks, Dora, and More

2012-02-12T20:47:00.006-06:00

36 months

Our focus last week was the /d/ sound. While I am not actually teaching Daphne letter names, I am introducing sounds. I know they basically go hand in hand, but I don't think that it is necessary to teach her the letters as a young 3. Gotta save something for later, right? When we talked about snowmen, we talked about the /s/ sound. I teach the sound while she traces a textured letter - I just rarely mention the name of the letter. Ever since - whenever Daphne sees an 's' she says, "Mom, look! Sssssss like snowman!"

I want her to learn the first letter of her name so we spent last week on D!! I didn't take very many pictures this week but here are a couple.

Playing with her water tub and ducks! She loves this activity!!

Painting with some feathers. I wasn't sure if she would be very interested in this activity, but she stuck with it for a long time!! She spent most of her time swirling the colors together.

We also read Make Way for Ducklings and Duck on a Bike (the girls LOVED this book - they thought it was hilarious!!) We sang "5 Little Ducks" and "6 Little Ducks That I Once Knew." Daphne counted little duck beads and practiced 1-to-1 correspondence by putting one duck in each cube of an ice cube tray. She has been doing some pre-writing practice mainly because she wants to. If Lucy is writing - Daphne wants to write. I am using these books (she just uses book 1) plus a few printables from here (which is why we did some Dora stuff).

We will probably spend another week on the /d/ sound after Valentine's Day. I am planning on spend 2 weeks on each sound but using 2 different themes to teach it. That is about it for Daphne this week. I am sure I am missing something, though, because we were super busy all week!

Go here for more Tot School ideas!

Snow Stuff

2012-02-01T21:32:00.006-06:00

Norah's writing curriculum is similar to Writer's Workshop. Here she is "publishing" one of her stories.

When we finished our gingerbread man theme, we jumped right into a snow theme. I thought this would be perfect planning - January in Missouri - surely we will have snow. Umm, no. Actually, it has been 60 degrees instead. Ha!

The girls had fun anyway! We read The Snowy Day, The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, and The Mitten.

The girls played with play dough. This is the recipe I use. I love it! It doesn't dry out - it lasts forever! This time I didn't add any color - but I added sprinkles. Daphne thought it was fun!

Lucy was helping Daphne with "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow" activity. Ahh - it makes me crazy that both the girls sit in the "w" position. I correct it EVERYDAY but they still do it!

Daphne is so serious when she "writes" - I love it! Look at that perfect grip - even as a leftie! I really hope she doesn't lose it because I am now trying to fix Lucy's crazy grip. Ahh!

Daphne loves her Montessori activities that are available everyday (I change them every week). She is putting "scrunchies" on a thick dowel rod. She eventually sorted them by color, too.

Daphne also loves stringing beads right now. I love the chunky beads because she can easily grip them and the shoe strings work well too.

Lucy - working on sight word puzzles from here.

And here she is working very hard to maintain a proper grip. She is holding a quarter under her ring and pinkie fingers. If she doesn't let the quarter drop - she gets to keep it. She is doing really well - I also have her use some pencil grippers, too.

Some Curriculum Changes

2012-01-26T17:10:00.008-06:00

I am learning. . . now that we are 3 years in to this homeschool thing, that some curriculum choices that we make at the beginning of the year may not end up being the best decision for our family. I tend to be the type of person that insists on finishing what we started, but when we all dread something or one subject makes a child cry - then we need a new plan.

Basically, this year we really like almost everything. There were, however, 2 things that needed to be changed. First, was Lucy's reading curriculum. I struggled in the beginning with what to do with her. She was beyond a regular kindergarten reading curriculum, but didn't know if she was confident enough in her reading to jump into a first grade program (for reading only). I ended up choosing a 1st grade reading curriculum that was on the easy side in comparison to most 1st grade programs. I thought this one was sort of a happy medium between kindergarten and a true 1st grade (like I used with Norah in 1st grade). However, while Lucy started reading last year, she was really struggling this year to pick up all the phonics rules at such a quick pace. She was basically learning a new rule every day. She did great the day of the rule, but by the next day when she was learning another, she had already forgotten the one from the day before. She was crying everyday about doing her reading. She didn't mind actually reading to me, but she hated any workbook pages related directly to the rules. I seriously about made myself CRAZY trying to decide what to do with her. Finally, I decided to take more of a Charlotte Mason approach to her reading. She is reading to me every day and as we come across a word she can't figure out - we go over that rule. She is also using Explode the Code - but we are in a book that is a little on the easy side for her. She has it in her mind that because Norah is such a good reader that she isn't going to be a good reader. (She actually told me today that is going to have her nose in math all the time - just like Norah has her nose in books all the time.) I really think she needs to build up some confidence before I push her too much. So far, this is working and she doesn't cry about reading (she does whine about it - but it is much easier to deal with than the falling on the ground and sobbing that was happening before.)

The second change is with our science. We really enjoyed our science last year - but the curriculum that I bought this year for Norah came with its own science so I decided to go with it. Now, I need to say that we LOVE the history and Bible portion of Norah's curriculum. It is great for us and the girls love both of those subjects. Lucy does them with us because she doesn't want to be left out. The science is on the weak side. We just pushed through the first half of the year but after Christmas, I told Kevin that I couldn't take it anymore. I dreaded doing science with them and unless I took tons of extra time adding to the lessons, I didn't feel like the girls were getting much out of it. The books that we used are good, but there was no rhyme or reason to the structure. To me, it didn't flow well and it was mostly reading. The reading was such a brief overview that I didn't think the girls were getting/remembering anything that they were learning.

We just started using Real Science-4-Kids. I am excited about this because it comes with a book to read together, a workbook for experiments/observations/thoughts and a teacher's guide with detailed instructions. So far, the book is great - the pictures are fun and the writing is done is a way that I think they will remember what they are learning. I love the workbook because I don't have to come up with a science notebook for the girls - it is all right here and follows the book exactly. There are 3 sets of books for the pre-level 1 (written for grade 1-3, but I think Lucy will enjoy it as much as Norah) - chemistry, biology, and physics. I love that the books are divided into areas of science - perfect for my OCD personality!! The experiments look great too! This week the girls played with legos as we talked about atoms as building blocks and tomorrow the girls are going to build molecules with marshmallows and toothpicks.

The other change is my time with Daphne. Her totschool time had sort of fallen by the wayside. We got busy doing other things and I would plan to do stuff with her later in the day and it never happened. Now, I am doing school stuff with her first thing - Lucy joins us for most of it. Then Lucy does a couple of independent things while I work with Daphne. Then when I am done with Daphne (we usually work for about 30-45 min), I work with Lucy. We get all of her work done (except history and science - which we do with Norah) by lunch. Daphne is LOVING her school-time. She asks every day, "It my cool time yet? Peas?" Seriously, cute.

Norah spends the whole morning doing independent work. She practices the piano, works on math facts, completes her handwriting, works on her writing lesson, reads, etc. I try to change it up for her - but she is a creature of habit so she likes the regular schedule. Once Daphne goes down for her nap, er, I mean, rest time (Well, I don't know what to call her afternoon time in her room. She doesn't sleep, she doesn't rest, and she really isn't quiet. at. all.), I teach history and science. When we finish that, Lucy goes to her room to listen to a book on cd or to play. Then I teach math, spelling and grammar. The schedule is working well, except for the fact that we literally don't finish until 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. The girls do get breaks here and there so it works for them.

I am glad that we are back into a routine after a crazy December. The girls are happy with the minor changes that we made. It is hard to believe that this school year is more than half over. I am so not ready to start looking at curriculum for next year but it won't be long!!

Happy Birthday, DJ!

2012-01-22T14:30:00.006-06:00

Daphne turned 3 this week. . . .although, she is trying to convince us that she is 16. Multiple times she told me, "I be 16. I be driving. You give me car?" Umm, no, not for a LONG time!

On her actual birthday we didn't do much out of the ordinary - we just had a normal school day. When I asked her if she wanted waffles or spaghetti (her 2 favorites) for dinner, she said, "Quesadillas." So, the girls had cheese quesadillas and we had tortilla soup. We had cupcakes after dinner - we tried a new recipe.

We had a little party yesterday - just family, but Daphne had a great time being the center of attention!

Daphne is a huge Minnie Mouse fan so we decided to do a few Minnie things for her party. The cookies are just chocolate cookies - my mom and I just rolled big cookie dough balls for the face and 2 little ones for the ears. We baked one tray to see how they turned out and then finished the rest once we saw how they turned out.
These Minnie Mouse heads are big and little oreos dipped in chocolate. This wasn't as easy as I originally thought it would be - oh well.
Showing Uncle Rick her favorite IPad games.

Daphne was hilarious trying to blow out her candles! Check this out!!

Daphne's little Minnie Mouse hat was made by Joyful Creations. She makes great stuff. . . check it out!

Run, Run, as Fast as You Can!

2012-01-21T20:41:00.005-06:00

One of my goals for this half of the school year is to be better about my intentional 'totschool' activities with Daphne. Our first theme of the year is one of my favorites. . .Gingerbread Men. We read several versions of the Gingerbread Man, including this one, this one, this one, and this one.

The girls enjoyed a variety of activities related to gingerbread men. The crafts had to be Daphne's favorite. She was so serious as she worked. Cracked me up!!

We actually did a lot more than just crafts but for some reason I didn't get many pictures of anything else!! Whoops!!

Some of our other activities for the 2 weeks include:

playing with the snow. . . inside. Way too cold for this mamma to go out.

Playing with magnetic dolls. Daphne spent hours during the week playing with these. She loves them!!!

and painting! Look at that serious face!! Love it!

Basement Project. . . Done, Finally!`

2012-01-21T19:26:00.008-06:00

I have been working on our storage space in the basement for a long time. . . .I mean, years. We have been in our house for almost 7 years but never utilized the space the way I wanted. I would start organizing and rearranging and then it would again become a collect all. Then I just sort of gave up and just continued to add to the mess and never put anything away. Ridiculous, I know. Finally, however, it got to the point that I couldn't walk from one side of the room to the other without hurdling over things.

As embarrassing as they are, here are the before pictures:

Notice that I didn't even shut the cabinet doors. How lazy is that?

The first step of the process was to take all the stuff out of the room. We literally took everything except the large furniture out into the school room. The plan was to have it completed by the end of our Christmas break. . . however, I didn't get it all finished so we did have school in various places the first week of January. Anyway, I started by arranging the shelves and cabinets where I wanted them and Kevin added a few extra things and moved the heavy stuff. Then I organized the clothes - with 3 girls and 2 nieces (plus a couple of friends who have passed along clothes) we have a lot of clothes of various sizes. I sorted them, thinned out, boxed them and labeled them. Then I organized all of the craft/sewing/art stuff.

We had this tv cabinet from our other house that has been in the basement as storage. There were things it it, but they were literally thrown in and stacked on top of each other. We never used it anywhere else because it is a corner cabinet and there just isn't a good place in the rest of the house.
Kevin added some shelves and peg board to the cabinet and voila! It is the perfect craft/sewing storage cabinet!!

I should add that there were times when Kevin and I were both working in the basement (or I was working in the basement and Kevin was at work) and the girls were just playing. Daphne wanted to help. . . .with everything! This is what she was doing most of the time:

After a couple of weeks of work, it is done. For the first time in 7 years, there aren't just areas that are organized. The whole storage room is clean and organized. I love it. Here are the after pictures:

To the left of bookshelves is an art table (ignore the white microwave underneath - that is gone now). The girls love that they can go in there and paint, glue, cut, and create. I love that it doesn't matter if they make a mess!!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T21:45:00.005-06:00

Happy New Year from the Swinigans!

While I am not one to set New Year's Resolutions, I do usually have a couple of goals that I strive to reach.

1 - Read through the Bible in a year (this is often a goal and I have yet to actually accomplish it all in one year). This year, Norah is going to try to do it too. She has her checklist of daily scripture readings in her Bible and she has day 1 checked off!

2 - Lighten up about my house. We have been doing a weekly cleaning on Saturday mornings (when we are in town) and I would like to continue that and just do my best during the week to keep things straightened up. If things don't get done, so what? My priority is my family - not my house!

3 - Play with the girls more. I know I am home with them all the time but we are usually doing schoolwork and housework. I often send them to play and don't sit down and just play whatever they want to play.

4 - Get my kickboxing certification - that is already scheduled for this month and I am super excited about it!

5 - Be more consistent about logging my food in My Fitness Pal. Be more consistent about having a cheat meal instead of a cheat day or weekend! ha! I also want to be better about sticking with the meal plans that I create. I am great at making meal plans and even grocery shopping, but about halfway through the week I lose interest and we often just wing it!

6 - Now that my hip is finally feeling better, I want to run another half-marathon! We are signed up for one in May.

Really, I could go on and on but 6 is good for now!! Anyone actually have resolutions? If so, what are they?

Lucy's Story

2011-11-27T19:04:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite things about having a kindergartner is the inventive spelling! I love watching a child's reading/writing skills emerge in the very beginning! Lucy is totally into writing right now. Usually we get a sentence or two here and there, but today she actually wrote a story and was quite proud of herself.

See if you can figure out what she wrote.

Need some help?

"I bought a monkey. It was crazy. I didn't know what to do so I put him in the store. He was sad so I bought him again."

Countdown to Christmas

2011-11-27T11:24:00.004-06:00

After searching pinterest for Advent calendar ideas, I finally settled on an idea that I loved!! I wanted something that could be part of our Christmas decor, but didn't take up a ton of space. While my mom was here at the beginning of the week, she and I got started on it and I finished it up yesterday. I love how it turned out and the girls are so excited for December 1! I have a feeling I will have a reader in my house who will be peaking at the tags, but that is okay with me. I love that they are excited countdown to Jesus birthday!!

Inside each pocket is a little card with a Christmas activity (mostly things we will do as a family - a couple that the girls and I will do during the day without Kevin) on one side,

and a clue from Truth in the Tinsel on the other side. Our plan is to start our day at breakfast reading the Bible passage that goes along with each clue. Then as Kevin heads out the door for work, the girls and I will work on the ornaments and chat about all that we are learning.

There is so much chaos this time of year and so much emphasis on presents and Santa. We want our girls to know without a doubt that we wouldn't have Christmas if it wasn't for God sending His son to Earth. I know creating an Advent calendar can be time consuming so check out this one that my friend, Nicole, has in her etsy store. Adorable!!

Truth in the Tinsel

2011-11-25T07:54:00.002-06:00

My plan for school for December is to take the month off from some of our normal activities and spend time really focusing on the meaning of Christmas!! I had hoped to have my plans written out by now but the craziness that is our lives has kept me from getting anything done. I don't want my plans to be so grand that I can't actually get everything accomplished. Enter Truth in the Tinsel. This e-book is so great and this totally covers our Bible and craft part of our day! I am so excited about this book. It is so well put together that anyone can use it!

Today ONLY the book is $2.99! Check it out and trust me it is worth way more than $2.99!!

Stay Fit and Lean During the Holidays Part 3

2011-11-24T20:38:00.004-06:00

Is Thanksgiving night the best night to talk about eating during the holidays (or anytime really)? Maybe so - if you are really full of food, you may be motivated not to feel this full again!!

First, go here to get some great tips so you are prepared for those upcoming holiday parties.

While exercise is really important to burn calories, strengthen your heart, and tone your body (as well as many other benefits), the food that you consume is actually about 75% of the game. In other words, you can exercise all you want but may not see any results and actually may put weight on if you aren't careful about what you eat. Here are a few suggestions to get started on the right path:

1. Try to eat 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 bigger meals. Eating smaller meals throughout the day helps you to stay ahead of your hunger. You won't have major cravings later in the day if you are constantly fueling your body with the right foods.

2. Try to incorporate a lean protein at each mini meal. Protein helps to build/repair muscles as well as helping you feel satisfied longer. Protein digests slowly so you won't be hungry right away. Nuts are great options for a snack!

3. Balance your carbs and protein. Do NOT cut carbs out of your diet! Yes, you need to eat healthy carbs - not soda, candy and other refined sugars. Your body NEEDS carbs - this is where you get your energy to get through the day!! Don't believe me? Watch this video by the Boot Camp Challenge CEO.

4. Eat more fruits and vegetables!!! This one is a little easier to understand because we all know that you get so many great nutrients and vitamins from your fruits and veggies!!

5. Again, keep a food journal. You will be much more successful if you keep track of your foods!!

Stay tuned! My next post will include a giveaway!!

At BCC, we are offering a really great Christmas special !! 15 class for $99 - click here if you are interested!!

Random School Stuff

2011-11-24T20:04:00.005-06:00

The girls seem to really enjoy history this year. We are using My Father's World for 2nd grade history, but Lucy joins us for almost everything. She doesn't want to be left out of this part of our day! The first couple of months, the girls learned about the history of the United States. They learned about various explorers, Pilgrims, Native Americans, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, 13 colonies, Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary War, etc.

Here is Norah writing with a quill pen. . . after talking about the Declaration of Independence and John Hancock. My mom picked up the quill pen and ink set when they were in Pennsylvania this summer.

Now the girls are learning a little bit about each state - in the order in which they joined the union. While talking about the New England states - we enjoyed some clam chowder. Well, Kevin and I enjoyed it. Norah and Lucy did not (Daphne can't have it because of her food allergies). Norah reluctantly ate the little bit we gave her. Lucy gagged and spit it out! It was slightly amusing - she has never done that before!!

We made a peach cobbler when we talked about Georgia - that went over better than the clam chowder.

When talking about South Carolina (and briefly about the Civil War) we talked about food the soldiers may have eaten. We made some hardtack - which is basically a hard biscuit, made with flour, water and salt. Sounds yummy, right?

All three girls ate a whole piece, but decided they were glad they didn't have to eat it again!!

We also made yarn dolls - but I never took a picture of that.

The girls enjoy telling Kevin what they have learned about each state. The second day of our state study (Pennsylvania), he asked the girls what they learned about the sports teams in PA. I think their response was, "Mommy didn't teach us any of that." Since then I have tried to teach them a random fact about a sports team - but they can't seem to remember any of it. Either that or they think it is funny when Kevin questions them and they don't answer. When we talked about MA, I told the girls about the Boston Red Sox. They couldn't seem to remember anything I told them and they kept saying "stinky Red Sox" which was okay with Kevin!

We are only 8 states in, but so far the way this curriculum is put together has been great for both girls! We are taking December off from our regular history to do some extra Christmas stuff, but I think we will all be excited to get back into the study of the states after the first of the year!!

Painting

2011-11-24T19:47:00.005-06:00

As a former preschool teacher. . . . I know that sensory/art experiences for kids are important. It was easy with Norah to paint - I only had to clean up one kid. No big deal. Adding Lucy into the mix made things a little trickier, but I still made the effort regularly. Then Daphne came along. Wow. The thought of getting the paints out now is overwhelming. Norah and Lucy paint frequently . . .when Daphne is resting, but I am pretty sure that at almost 3, Daphne had never painted before. Oh, wait, there was the one time when someone drove through our fence and Kevin put up a piece of plywood so the kids could still play outside safely - we let the kids paint the plywood.

I saw this cute idea and knew this would be the perfect project for Daphne. I loved it because the first step was to paint a 18x12 sheet of paper with fall colors. The only goal was to cover the whole page with paint - didn't matter what it looked like.

I thought the best method with the least amount of mess would be to strip her down. Daphne was not a fan of this - but as soon as I handed her the paintbrush, she was over it!

She Did It. . . Again!

2011-11-24T19:46:00.000-06:00

For the second time, Lucy has broken her finger sucking habit! Hopefully it will stick this time!! The dentist suggested letting her pick out a toy as a reward for not sucking fingers. She picked out that horse (she is serious about her rewards) and we put it on the piano so that she would see it everyday. She kept a chart and every morning when she woke up if she had kept her gloves on all night, she put a sticker on it until she filled it up. Sunday was the last day of the chart so we gave her the horse. She did fantastic - she didn't really even whine/argue much after the first night.

Two down, one to go.

Stay Fit and Lean During the Holidays Part 2

2011-11-15T14:36:00.002-06:00

Assuming you have found an accountability partner (or are going to soon) and that you are logging your food, let's talk about exercise.

First of all, if you aren't exercising - get up and get moving! If you are inactive, anything is better than what you are doing!! Walk, jog, bike, swim - tons of options!

Here is a really great article about setting up an exercise program if you can't afford a personal trainer.

There are quite a few really great dvd's out there to get you going:

The Shred

Insanity (this one is a little pricey, but we got ours off Craigslist - brand new for very cheap!)

Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning

You can also sign up for a group exercise class (My sister is taking a zumba class and loves it. I took a kickboxing class and loved it) or a Boot Camp Challenge class!

Or you can join a gym or local community center and take advantage of their equipment! I like variety so I like a combination of going to the gym, running, dvd's, and group exercise!

We all know that regular exercise helps you lose weight (or maintain your current weight) and strengthen your muscles. And most of you probably have heard the basic benefits to exercise such as lowering blood pressure and reducing your risk of several major diseases, but did you know that it also stimulates your brain? Read this for more information!

Now that the holidays are HERE, move your body so you don't put on the normal weight gain that happens this time of year!

Weekend Away

2011-11-15T14:29:00.004-06:00

We spent the weekend in Nashville visiting the Morrison's. Just before we headed out on Friday to make the trek south, Daphne fell and split her chin open. Thankfully, she just needed a quick trip to our doctor for some dermabond and she was good to go.

The girls did great travelling on Friday - they read, watched movies, drew pictures, listened to music, etc, so I slept and Kevin drove. Daphne actually napped - probably as a result of a slightly traumatic morning.

Kevin and Ryan headed to a basketball game on Friday night so once the kids went to bed, Heather and I were able to spend time catching up (plus, she showed me some of her homemade Christmas presents - amazing!!).

On Saturday we went to the Nashville Zoo - it was a beautiful day! Daphne was exhausted because she didn't sleep very well - so she was slightly on the feisty side.

Sunday morning the kids played and played (and several cried from exhaustion - lol) and then we headed home. The ride home was not quite as relaxing since we had some sleepy kiddos but we made it in one piece!!

It was fun to hang out with Morrison's again and look forward to doing it again!

Stay Fit and Lean During the Holidays Part 1

2011-10-30T15:47:00.003-05:00

I know I don't post much about my new career adventure in personal training - oh wait! I don't post about much of anything these days! Ha! I am writing a 4 part blog post and at the end of the 4th one will be a giveaway!!

Anyway, with Halloween just leading us into the season where most people are too busy to exercise and don't worry about their eating. I mean, why not just eat what you want and lose it after the new year? This is a great article that talks about how much most people gain during the holiday season (which is, surprisingly, only about 1-2 pounds!) AND it talks about what happens to that weight after the holidays! You may not actually be gaining a lot of extra weight, but, as the article suggests, your body composition may change!! Which could be why some of your clothes just don't fit as well by the new year!!

Now I am going to give you a couple of tips for this holiday season:

1. Set a goal for yourself - be specific (could be about your weight, how a pair of pants fit, etc), make it attainable, track your progress, and set an end date to see how well you did!!

2. Find someone to keep you accountable! I have several friends/family members who I am helping to keep accountable - you will do better if you have someone to talk to about your frustrations, habits, and to encourage you!!

3. Keep track of what you eat. My favorite website is My Fitness Pal because it is so easy to use, it has an app so you can scan the barcode on the food that you eat for nutritional information, and you will find ANY food imaginable in their database!! Research shows that people who keep track of their food intake are more successful in meeting their weight-loss goals (which, in the long run, helps you maintain, too, because over time you will become VERY familiar with the food you eat).

4. My last tip for today - drink more water!!! You should be drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces. That may seem like a lot of water but it is so important - it helps eliminate waste, increases your metabolism, and helps you retain less water! It will also help you feel more satisfied between meals!!

As I said before, I will be offering a giveaway at the end of my series of blogs. Stay tuned and invite your friends to read!! Feel free to ask questions along the way - I would love to help you out!!

If you live in the St. Charles/O'fallon MO area, check out this website for more information about Boot Camp Challenge. It is a great program that combines personal training, group exercise and nutrition!!

Also, for more nutrition information about some of the vitamins and supplements and I love, go here!

Camping Trip - sort of

2011-10-28T20:59:00.008-05:00

We planned a camping trip with Kevin's parents this fall. We didn't want to go too far from home because the last time we took Daphne camping, she woke up in the middle of the night and screamed hysterically and would not go back to sleep so I eventually took her home. Kevin's parents stay at KOA campsites all the time so that is what we went with this year. Our lives have been so crazy this fall that we didn't do a lot of research before we decided on a place to stay so we made reservations at the Granite City KOA. Once we got there - we realized that it wasn't quite what we were expecting. It was in the middle of an industrial park - so no hiking and not many trees in general and no fire pit. That was probably the more disappointing aspect because the girls were looking forward to roasting marshmallows and it just isn't the same over a charcoal grill.

The cabin was clean and nice but in the end we decided to just stay one night and head home for Saturday night. We spent a little time at Eckert's on our way home and then the girls just played and played with Grandma and Grandpa! The weather was beautiful so we still spent a lot of time outside - it was just at home in our own backyard!!

Here are a few of the pics from the weekend:

Yep, we are letting our kids watch a movie on the I-pad while we are camping. We figured if we can watch the Cardinal game (game 5 of the NLDS against the Phillies - so worth it!) while camping that they could watch a kid show on Saturday morning.

The girls all wanted to ride the ponies at Eckerts. They have a fascination with horses right now so this was their highlight!!

Silver Dollar City

2011-10-28T20:32:00.010-05:00

We had so much fun last year at Silver Dollar City for the homeschool weekend that we decided to go again. Only this year, I didn't fill Norah's whole day with classes (last year we were racing to get to each class that we didn't get to do much of the normal theme park stuff until Sunday).

My parents were already in Branson - visiting with a cousin of my mom's. They joined us on Saturday at Silver Dollar City.

Here are some highlights:

(pay close attention to Lucy's face in the first 2 pics)

This ride looks like it is going to be fun!!

Maybe not as much fun as I thought!! This was typical for almost every ride!! She is not very daring - not that I mind it most of the time. She was very picky about what rides she thought were acceptable! If it went a little too high or just a little too fast - she didn't want to have anything to do with it!!

Daphne thought she was big stuff this year since she could actually ride several rides!! She loved it and she has NO FEAR!

I had to post this picture for 2 reasons: 1 - my mom's face is hilarious! 2 - it looks like she and I are the only ones on the teacup ride!

hanging out with Grandpa Steve

The little school house is probably Norah's favorite place to go at Silver Dollar City. We basically had to drag her out of there!!

We had a great weekend! We love Silver Dollar City - it is such a family-friendly, clean amusement park!!

P-Fest

2011-10-28T20:08:00.009-05:00

(trying to catch up on blog posts while watching game 7 of the World Series - Go Cards!!)

Once again we went to Morton for the annual Pumpkin Festival. Thankfully, this year it didn't rain so we saw the whole parade. The kids walked away with more candy than is necessary for 3 kids but they were thrilled, of course.

Collecting candy. Looks like Alex is already digging in!!

Look-a-Likes!

Daphne and Alex is standing as the American flag goes by.

My favorite part about P-fest is hanging out with family and catching up with friends!! My cousin's little guy was hanging out at our usual spot while his parents were busy at Eli's, so of course, I grabbed him as soon as I could!!

I have no idea what Daphne is doing - probably praying for peace. She was a little overwhelmed with all the excitement!! My parents eventually walked her home a little earlier than the rest of us. She enjoyed a little extra attention from them!!

After the parade, we headed back to my parents for lunch then we took the kids to the festival. They all rode some rides and then picked a "treat" to enjoy before heading back to my parents. All the kids - including my niece and nephews - chose cotton candy, except Lucy. She chose ice cream - a girl after my own heart!

This year we we only stayed until Saturday evening. We headed home shortly after dinner so we could enjoy some time with the Morrisons - who were in STL for the weekend.

Where To Begin

2011-10-19T22:08:00.010-05:00

Well, as usual, life has been crazy. From talking to everyone else around me, this seems to be the norm. Some days, I wish life would slow down, but I don't think that is possible with 3 kids!

We have had a lot of fun over the last several weeks/weekends - but we are looking forward to several weekends at home!!

Some brief updates -

Norah continues to LOVE reading. This girl spends HOURS a day reading! She usually reads about 30 minutes during our school day, then at least an hour during their independent quiet time and then about an hour before bed. She totally zones everyone and everything out while she reads (gets that from me!!). The tricky part is finding books that are challenging enough, but has age appropriate content for a 7 year old. She loves the Boxcar Children! She insists on reading them in order so she often has to wait for one to be returned from the library! She also has read several books from the Classic Starts set and Illustrated Classics.

She also continues to question the need for spelling in her school day. I am constantly telling her that spelling is one of those things that you just have to do to be a better writer. My question - would anyone really say that spelling was their favorite subject? However, it is still important!!

Norah is really into sewing right now. My mom bought her this book for her birthday and Norah read through it cover to cover. She made a pin cushion and has

her eye on several other projects to make for gifts for people. She is surprisingly patient and doesn't get too frustrated when she makes a mistake. I

hope this continues!!

Norah is really into making tents or forts. She often has blankets draped over pieces of furniture! Kevin made the girls a teepee this year so they play in that often too!

Lucy is slowly adjusting to her school schedule. 5 days a week has been a major adjustment for her - by Friday she has lost a lot of focus and really doesn't want to do much school!! She loves math - totally the opposite of Norah! She is really doing great with her reading. She has read all of the Fun Tales and is working her way through the Bob Books.

Lucy's most recent fascination has been with making paper dolls. She literally makes them from scratch on cardstock and they are so cute! She has about 40. Yes, 40. She worked so hard!!

Lucy is 3 nights in to breaking her finger sucking habit. . . again. This time seems better already! She seems to get it this time and is really trying - even during the day. She is wearing gloves - just like Norah did. I know it seems cruel, but the dentist confirmed that this is the best way to go about it and knowing Lucy is probably not far from losing teeth, we knew we needed to start working on it.

Lucy LOVES to dress-up and dance. She usually has a princess dress on and is twirling to the music. Her favorite cds right now are this one and this one. Let me tell you how funny it is to watch her twirling to God Bless America in her princess dress or leotard. She belts it out as she sings too!!

I don't even know where to begin with Daphne. Wow - she is a spit-fire. She has tons of personality and she is constantly cracking everyone up!!

Some recent quotes:

"Mom, you go to p**pcamp today?" She says this everyday and cracks herself up every time!

"You not feat me. I mustateer!" (quote from Barbie "you cannot defeat me for I am a muskateer").

"On guard. Huh-uh" while pointing anything resembling a sword

"I not weawy hungwy!!" - She tells me this at every. single. meal. not kidding. However, when you are almost 3 and still only weigh 21 pounds - we do not negotiate at meal time!

"I not have to go p** p**" - She tells me this whenever I tell her to sit on the potty. every. single. time! Oh, and she screams it!

"You want bwaid or pigtails?" Brushing my hair is one of her favorite things to do right now - and she is surprisingly gentle.

"I don't like it. I LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it."

Daphne LOVES to pretend and by herself. If I try to play with her or talk to her while she is pretending, she usually tells me, "I not talk you. I talk to my peoples. I play myself."

Funny story - this morning our church had its annual serve day. We were at a local park painting picnic tables. The kids helped part of the time and played part of the time. When we finished painting the kids were all playing and I was trying to round them up. Daphne didn't want to leave so I told her, "Let's go see what daddy is doing." Kevin was down a little hill under the pavilion. I picked her up and started walking toward him. She started yelling, "Not that way, this way" while pointing the opposite direction. I said, "Daddy is down here." She replied, "I not see that daddy. I see my other daddy" and she points at some random man playing with his kids.

This picture was totally not posed!! I walked into the living room and saw Daphne like this. No one else was even watching yet!!

I have tons of pictures to post from the last couple of months so I will hopefully get to those soon!!

Soap Giveaway!

2011-09-17T21:54:00.002-05:00

My friend, Catherine, is doing a giveaway!! Check out her blog for the details!! The date for the giveaway to end was the 14th, but Catherine would like to have at least 10 entries so you still have time!!

I Went Dark

2011-09-09T09:04:00.000-05:00

For those who have asked to see my dark hair - here it is. Picture courtesy of Lucy.

Lucy's Poll

2011-08-31T10:04:00.002-05:00

Lucy is working on graphing for her math. Can you take a minute and answer her questions in the right sidebar? Thanks! On the one about vacation - if you choose other, please leave a comment telling us where you would go?

Friday Follow-Up

2011-08-27T21:12:00.008-05:00

August 22-26th

We had a busy week - lots of little "extras" going on, but we still had a great week of school.

Lucy is moving right along with her reading program. It is SO easy to follow/teach and she is picking things up quickly. She will be reading whole books in no time!! The best part is that she is so excited about reading!!!

She did a little sorting and graphing this week and a lot of counting. I briefly introduced her to the number words and she spelled then with letter tiles - while looking at the words. She did a little adding - which is is so excited to be doing!! While I know Lucy knows/recognizes numbers 1-20, I wanted her to practice matching the numbers to sets of objects so she worked with a puzzle similar to this.

Lucy is working her way through the You Can Read sight word curriculum from 1+1+1=1. I love it! You introduce 4 words at a time and there are so many different ways for Lucy to see/spell/read the sight words.

I am still reading Charlotte's Web to Lucy at quiet time. She can only handle one chapter a day (unlike Norah - I would never stop reading if it was up to her), so it is taking us a little while to get through it. We should finish up this week and I am going to read The Hundred Dresses - this is one of my favorite.

Norah's favorite subject this week was writing. She would finish her assigned writing and then would ask for more. Most days I just told her to write something in her journal. She wrote several letters, made some lists and by Friday she had written a little story. She is a great speller, but I still chuckle when I read words that she sounded out but is way off! I love that she is trying and not getting frustrated if she doesn't automatically know. My favorite this week was announcement - she spelled it "annownsmint." We also did a couple of Mad Libs on Thursday to reinforce what she learned about nouns, verbs, and adjectives. You can see from the picture below that she thought they were hilarious!!!

We played checkers this week to work on some logic and problem solving!! Norah's goal is to practice regularly so she can beat Kevin!

I am not sure if I have mentioned this or not, but Norah's least favorite thing to do is math. This is a little heartbreaking to me. Math was my thing. I LOVED it and always did better in math than anything else. She does fine - it isn't hard for her - there just isn't any creating/imagining involved! She worked on multiplication this week - we did a lot of hands on stuff. We used as many different counters/manipulatives as possible - just for the variety.

Norah loves to read so she flies through books. The Boxcar Children series is by far her favorite right now. This week she finished The Caboose Mystery and the Houseboat Mystery. She started Theater Shoes - this is a challenging book for her but so far she is really into it. I just found Mary Poppins at a used bookstore so she already said that is next.

History this week was about Columbus and other explorers. The girls made boats out of aluminum foil and raced them across the pool by blowing their sails. We talked about how wind really play a major role in how quickly the ships moved - which went right along with our science unit on air.

For art this week - we let the girls paint the plywood that is covering the big hole in our fence (a teenager drove into our backyard a couple of weeks ago).

I know I promised a post dedicated completely to Daphne's Tot School! It is coming - just not today!! For now, I will just give you a few pictures of a few of the things Daphne did this week!

a little play-doh time with Norah

putting hair rubber bands around a door handle

a little coloring - a favorite activity!

2011-2012 Curriculum Choices

2011-08-22T20:24:00.004-05:00

Here it is - our curriculum list for this year.

I will start with Norah:

My Father's World for History, Geography, Bible and Science

First Language Lessons for grammar

Spelling Power - spelling, obviously:)

Singapore Math

Beginning Cursive Writing

Writing will consist of a little bit from Writing with Ease and Games for Writing

Art - A little from here and a little from an Art textbook a friend gave me (this same friend is an art teacher and she often blesses the girls by giving them art lessons!)

Read alouds - many of them are recommended here and here (a list of 1000 - that really narrows it down for me, right?)

Lucy:

My Father's World for reading and Bible. We are also using this to help with sight words.

Singapore Math

Handwriting without Tears

Lucy will also do a few activities suggested in Games for Writing.

Lucy is joining Norah for history, art, and science.

Her read alouds come mostly from this list.

I think that about sums it up - although, I keep thinking I am forgetting something. Our history this year is American history - the girls are excited about it. They can't wait to learn about the pioneers!

I will save Daphne's plans for a post of its own.

Hiking #1

2011-08-22T19:44:00.009-05:00

Last year, I had great intentions of making nature hikes a priority. However, our school year last year felt chaotic from beginning to end. Adding something extra - that had to be done away from the house, with snacks or food, drinks for everyone, sketch books, colored pencils, cameras, etc - seemed a little overwhelming. We did what we could in our backyard, but this year I hope to do more. So, after reading quite a bit about Charlotte Mason's theory behind nature walks and some help from this blog, I feel a little more prepared and ready to make this a regular part of our year.

Last week, with Kevin as our tour guide, we headed out to a local park for our first hike of the year. It was a beautiful day and the girls were thrilled - they all love to hike, look for bugs, take pictures, etc. When I go by myself, I put Daphne in a stroller and we take only paved paths. Since Kevin was with us, we decided to veer off the paved path and take a true nature hike.

. . .and we are off!

Here are some of our finds:

This squirrel was totally unaware of us watching him. He sat there and gnawed on his nut while we snapped pictures and watched him. Daphne was amazed - she kept pointing and giggling.

Look closely. . .on the red leaf

The girls spent some time drawing pictures in their nature journals. They gathered a few items: multi-colored leaves, flowers that had fallen on the ground, shells, dragonfly wing, etc. This year I am more prepared. I have nature journals, colored pencils, ziploc bags, and bug spray in a bag so all I have to do is grab the bag and head out (with water and snacks, of course).

Other than Kevin ending up with poison ivy (it was to be expected - he just looks at it from afar and ends up it all over), we had a great hike, and everyone napped/rested well after an hour hike. We are looking forward to the next one.

Friday Follow-Up & Our Schedule

2011-08-19T21:32:00.008-05:00

We finished up our first full week of school and the girls did fantastic. We spent much of the week just establishing a routine - trying to manipulate our schedule to find what works. I know that with a toddler, what works one day may not work the next day - so we will try to be flexible.

When the girls finish breakfast - they get dressed, make beds, brush teeth, put jammies in laundry, do their devotions, and complete their morning chore.

We started our school day with a morning meeting - something both Norah and Lucy requested. We talk about our day (if anything is going to be different than normal), say the pledge, review the Bible verse for the week, read the passage from Samaritan's Purse PrayerPoint, and pray. This week we spent time reviewing our family rules - we won't do this everyday, but I wanted to review this first week.

Following the morning meeting, Norah and Lucy had time to read/look at books in their book basket. The book baskets are full of books related to our history topic, science magazines, seek and find books, puzzle books and other books that I know they like or picked out themselves from the library. While they are busy, I spent about 30 minutes with Daphne. We read some books, played with the rice tub, strung beads, put puzzles together, etc. I filled the shelves with manipulatives, puzzles, toys, sensory items that are age appropriate for Daphne. We basically did whatever she wanted out of the items I put on her shelves. She seemed to enjoy this time because following breakfast every morning, she would say, "Mommy, play me?" She would continue to ask me a dozen times until breakfast was cleaned up and everyone was ready to begin our school day.

After my time with Daphne, Norah spent about 15-20 minutes with Daphne while I worked with Lucy. Norah read to her, sang with her or they chose something to do off the shelves. Both girls loved this. Norah asked if she can plan an activity to do with Daphne, and Daphne talked all day long about Norah playing with her.

During this time, I worked with Lucy on her reading. She is doing so great! She learned all the letters and sounds last year so this year we are working on blending sounds together - this is also a bit of a review. She picked up a lot of great reading skills over the summer - so she is working on getting a little quicker at blends.

Lucy usually has a little bit of independent work - maybe matching pictures to letter sounds, capital and lowercase puzzles, circling letters that we are working on, etc. While she worked, I got Norah started on her writing/handwriting. Then when they are both busy, I took

Daphne to her room for some independent play time. Honestly, I wasn't sure how this would go. I thought Daphne might just cry at the gate and I would have to forget it. However, she is doing great!! I usually turn on a CD for Daphne and then I get her busy playing with something from her room, then I put up the gate and head downstairs to work with the girls. I can hear Daphne in the monitor - she talks to herself, sings, and just keeps herself busy for about 30 minutes.

While Daphne is busy in her room, I worked with Lucy on her math and then we all did history together. After history, Daphne came down and we took a brief break for a snack and some running around. While they ate, I read our read aloud that goes along with our history lessons. Then I sent everyone outside to use up some energy and refocus before we finish up Lucy's school work.

Norah spent about 30 minutes reading, Daphne played independently in the same room as us, and Lucy finished her spelling and writing. Then Lucy and Daphne watched a short DVD - something somewhat educational such as, Leap Frog, Super Why, Word World or Sesame Street. Then Norah worked on grammar, spelling, and math (at the this point, Lu and D usually join us and just play for the remainder of the morning). Norah finished up her math - usually a workbook page, flashcards, or computer game - and I fixed lunch. We didn't eat until about 1 any day this week, but since they had a hearty snack, no one seems bothered by this.

During lunch, I read their Bible lesson and a chapter from Wisdom with the Millers. The girls really want to start reading Amy Carmichael - so I need to get it from the library. After lunch, Norah and Lucy each have a box of independent activities to work on while I put Daphne down for a nap. Each box includes activities from each of the following subjects: math, language arts, gross motor, fine motor and life skills.

Once Daphne was down for her nap, I read to Lucy - right now we are reading Charlotte's Web. Then Lucy has some quiet down time - as mentioned here, Lucy NEEDS a break from everyone and everything. This was very true this week - interestingly, she fell asleep one of the days. I was shocked, but thankful that she gave into her body's need for sleep.

Once Lucy is occupied, I read to Norah - we just finished the Mouse and the Motorcycle (one of my favorites from my elementary days). Then Norah read or listened to a book on CD for an hour. So, I have 1 hour to get done as much as I can before everyone is up and begging for attention!! Once everyone was up and had a snack, we did our science, art (science is 3 days a week and art is 1), or gymnastics(I bought a groupon for GymQuarters so they are taking a class once a week right now). Then everyone has an afternoon chore and then they are free to do anything they want.

Whew. I am exhausted just looking at this. Anyway, the week went really well - I was feeling a little overwhelmed on Sunday, but I continually prayed for patience and compassion and grace as we headed into a full week of school. I know we will have rough days - but I am thankful for the good days so far!!

First Day of School

2011-08-13T21:27:00.006-05:00

We started school on Thursday and because no first day of school would be complete without pictures:

Lucy - Kindergarten (ahh! when did this happen!)

Norah - 2nd grade

(look here and tell me what the most noticeable difference is from last year)

Daphne - not to be left out of the "first day of school" pictures

(look closely at her eyes - she was actually running a fever of about 102 on that day)

. . .and they are ready to go! Poor Daphne tries to keep up even when she feels miserable.

ISO Week 4

2011-08-13T21:11:00.003-05:00

One of the themes this week for the ISO Challenge is feet. I took several pictures of the girls feet but in the end like the lighting in this one - I like that the feet seem highlighted through the shadows.

The Magic House

2011-08-12T13:16:00.011-05:00

*edited after Kevin pointed out some typos! oops. should have read it over more closely!

Kevin took the day off on Tuesday so we could have one last "hurrah" before starting school. We took the girls to Panera Bread Co for breakfast - choosing a breakfast place is quite difficult when you have a child with an egg and nut allergy. The ONLY things she can have at Panera are a couple of their bagels - but we can't get them sliced because of the cross contamination. Crazy. I guess she could have a yogurt - but I didn't want to deal with that mess before heading to the Magic House.

The girls had a blast at the Magic House. We haven't been for a long time mainly because I don't think it is easy to take 3 kids there and keep track of everyone. Norah and Lucy want to go one way and Daphne wants to go somewhere else. With Kevin and I both there - we could divide and conquer!

We enjoyed many favorite exhibits:

the electrically charged ball

one of many slides

waterworks

The Children's Village - the girls LOVED the baby hospital

The Star Spangled Center

The Construction Zone

The Alice in Wonderland Exhibit was super cute - the girls loved it! We are going to read Alice in Wonderland this year for school so it was fun for the girls to get to see some of the characters and scenes!

We stayed for about 4 1/2 hours before one (who shall remain nameless) of the girls started losing it.

We had a great day - the girls LOVED having Kevin take a day off in the middle of the week because he never does that.

Stay tuned for pictures of the first day of school.

Last Minutes Planning and Preparing

2011-08-08T16:33:00.004-05:00

Hard to believe but the summer is gone. We start school this week - we are waiting until Thursday so we can ease into a routine. I have worked like crazy getting stuff ready. My house is clean, the laundry room is organized (I know, totally unrelated to school but I needed this done for myself), the art table is ready to go and the school lesson plans are done through November.

I still have a couple of things to do this week:

1. Lots of laminating (some BCC stuff and some school stuff) - this is actually almost done. I will finish it tonight.

2. I am doing some Montessori stuff with Daphne - I just need to decide how to display her activities and what to do when she is finished with her school time. I want her "school time" and her play time to be separate so I may just have to clean all her stuff up everyday. Not sure how I feel about this but I don't know what else to do. I am open to suggestions.

3. Our meals are planned for the next 10 days or so and most of my grocery shopping is done. I will just need to go to the produce stand at the end of the week for more fruits and veggies.

4. I need to try to put together some sort of schedule for myself when it comes to housekeeping and cooking. I would love to have 2 days a week that we do either a crock pot meal or something that is made ahead in the freezer. I need a weekend to cook, though. Maybe I can convince my sister to cook ahead with me. She is really good at that! My goal this year is to not obsess about my house. Yes, I want it clean and picked up but it doesn't have to be perfect AND the girls can help. We have tried chore charts in the past and for some reason as much as charts and list work for me - we couldn't be consistent about it with the girls. I am still thinking about that. They have been great about helping with some things this summer - folding laundry, sweeping the kitchen, emptying the dishwasher, and making beds - so I hope to just keep that up for now and figure out a schedule later.

5. Today I worked on snacks. We have never done a morning snack - unless we were out somewhere. The girls don't usually eat until 7:30 and we would eat lunch between 11 and 11:30 and then they would have a snack around 3ish. However, with Lucy in kindergarten now, our schedule needs to be a little different. Lucy shuts down around 2:00 in the afternoon. She doesn't nap - but she NEEDS time away from everyone else. We joke (not to her, but between ourselves) that she shuts down physically, mentally and morally. If she doesn't regularly have that time to rest/relax by herself, she forgets all the rules/values that she has been taught and just acts on impulse. That being said, she needs to be done with school work by lunch time. I know that some kids her age still go half day, but when I am teaching both girls different things,

some things may take longer and she will have breaks during her morning while I work with Norah. My plan is to have a schedule snack time for each of them. While I work with Norah on one subject, Lucy can take a break and have a snack and the same for Norah. I didn't want to have to stop what I am doing with one to get a snack for the other girls, so I put together a bunch of snacks for the girls to grab on their own. I wanted the snack to be substantial, though, not something that would give them immediate energy but make them crash 20 minutes later. So, they will each choose a protein and a carb for their morning snack. They know that if they have a favorite, once it is gone, that is it for the week. They will have to choose something else.

The protein options are - roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seed butter, cottage cheese, and string cheese. Their carb options are - goldfish crackers, rice cakes, several fruit options, carrots & cucumbers (with dip, of course). They also have a couple of options that covers both macronutrients - greek yogurt with fruit mixed in and trail mix (I used sunflower seeds instead of nuts). I marked the protein options with a 'p' and the carb options with a 'c' and anything that includes both I put 'p&c.' I am hoping that by giving them a hearty snack mid-morning that we can wait until about 1 for lunch and then Daphne will go down for a nap and Lucy will be ready for her rest time. They will still have a snack after rest time if they are hungry - but it will be lighter - just to get us to dinner.

I am sure I have several other things to take care of - just can't think of anything right now. Kevin is staying home tomorrow so we can have one last hurrah before we start school on Thursday. I bought the girls school supplies over the weekend and wrapped them in a bag. We will give them their gifts tomorrow - since they don't have the anticipation of going off to school we wanted to do something fun for them.

I will try to take some typical first day of school pics this week. Stay tuned!

ISO Week 2

2011-07-28T19:35:00.002-05:00

The challenge this week is summer. I chose to post a picture of my zinnias. My grandpa used to plant zinnias every year, then would gather the seeds at the end of the season and save them until the next year. My grandma continued this tradition after my grandpa went to be with Jesus. Once Kevin and I had a house, Grandma gave me a bag of seeds to plant. We have planted them for years and collect the seeds as well. A couple of years ago I could NOT find my bag of seeds so we bought some zinnia plants - which, of course, wasn't the same. In the middle of that summer - I found my seeds!!! So now we are back to the seeds that originally came from my grandpa's flowers!! It is a fun summer tradition for us. They are beautiful and HUGE! The girls are excited to help gather seeds! Enjoy!!

A Train Ride

2011-07-24T11:47:00.004-05:00

Daphne was playing quietly in the basement (which isn't always good with a 2 year old) so I peeked down at her and this is what I saw. I grabbed the camera and asked her what she was doing. She replied, "Waiting for train." When asked where she was going, "to Thlorida (florida)."

Weekly Photography Challenge

2011-07-24T08:05:00.005-05:00

Alright, so I decided to try something new. I decided to participate in Nicole's weekly Photography Challenge. I was excited to try it at first - until I saw the first topic - self-portrait. Umm, really. First of all, as a personal trainer, I am always in workout clothes with a ponytail these days and who wants to see that? Plus, I would much rather point the camera somewhere else. However, with some encouragement from Kevin I decided to try it. So, here it is - taken with my arm stretched in front of me, since I have no idea how to use the timer. Maybe I should learn, huh?

An Early Birthday Celebration

2011-07-17T15:36:00.010-05:00

My sweet little niece turns 4 in early August. Because of the chaos of everyone's summer schedules, the best date to celebrate with her (with ALL the cousins) was early July. So my niece and nephews, my mom, my grandma, my sil, and my sister all came to our house for a little party. It is hard to believe that she is turning 4 - seems like she was just born. She is a doll and we loved celebrating with her!!!

The glasses are courtesy of my grandma.

Just a Little Behind

2011-07-17T06:31:00.008-05:00

I know I am a little behind my "weekly check-ins"- oops. This summer has been CRAZY!! Fun, but crazy!! We have had multiple birthday parties and lots of play-dates!! And the weather has finally gotten HOT so we are spending as much time in/near water as we can.

We are starting school in just over 3 weeks so I am planning/preparing like crazy - literally every spare minute. Adding Lucy into the mix is making me feel a little overwhelmed! Not adding her - but adding one more. I know we can do it but it may take a little longer to get into a good routine. What does Norah do while I am working one on one with Lucy and vice versa? What will Daphne do while I am working with Norah and Lucy at the same time? Last year, Lucy was a huge help by playing with Daphne while I worked with Norah on things that she needed my undivided attention. Like I said, I know we will figure it out but we may need to work out some kinks.

Oh, and I also have been trying to organize our school stuff in our unfinished part of the basement. A year ago Kevin put up an old countertop at the girls level to make an art table. I thought that it would be so fun to have an art table in the unfinished part so I don't have to worry about paint getting on anything. We hung some shelves and I began organizing - a year ago. Then the counter became a gathering place for stuff. This is what it looked like when I started (let me warn you - it is BAD):

It is almost done - but we have a large box in the middle of the floor now (another project). I will take after pictures soon, but let me just say that Norah and Lucy have spent several hours back there already!! I am so excited for them to just be able to create!!

Besides all the planning that I am doing, we are trying to take advantage of our last couple of weeks of summer. Lots of fun to be had!!

2011-07-05T21:37:00.003-05:00

We had a great 4th with the Diehl family! The kids only play together a couple of times a year and they get along great and have a blast together!!

(left to right) Norah, Luke, Bennett, Lucy, Jack Henry, Daphne

VBS & Swim Lessons

2011-06-18T11:29:00.010-05:00

Last week was about the craziest yet! Norah and Lucy had VBS all week and they had a blast. I enjoyed several mornings alone with just Daphne. On Monday morning she and I came straight home to play after dropping off Norah and Lucy at the church. She had a snack and then we played for 2 hours straight. When it was time to head back to the church, I said, "Daphne, it's time to go." She replied, "Where, Mom?" I said, "To church to get the big girls." She replied with a giggle, "Oh, uh got (forgot)." I thought it was funny that in a couple of hours she had forgotten about picking up Norah and Lucy!! The girls have been singing their songs constantly!! It is so cute!!

The girls also finished up their swim lessons. Everyone was a bit nervous - they always are at the beginning of the season - but they ended up doing fantastic!! The first week was HOT! I think it was about 100 degrees even at 7 p.m. The second week was the opposite - it was cloudy and cold, with the threat of rain each day. The goal of Daphne's class was obviously to get them comfortable with the water. She has no problem with that but she can't be in the next class until she is 3. One of us had to get in the water with her - so Kevin and I took turns.

This picture is appropriate after the week of rain we had. Everyday we wondered if we would actually have swim lessons.

The goals of Lucy's class are to get the kids to start swimming with their faces under the water, to practice kicking and to introduce arm movements. She did great with the kicking and the arms, but was not interested in putting her face under until the last day. She did great and is excited to swim more this summer!

The goals of Norah's class are to continue practicing basic swimming strokes, learning to tread water in the deep end, building confidence and, apparently, jumping off the diving board. We didn't know that jumping off the diving board was part of the class until the end of the first week Norah's teacher made her jump off. Norah walked to the end - refused to jump so the swim team coach came up behind her and dropped her in the water (she quickly told Norah what she was going to do before she actually did it). I was stunned - to say the least. I really didn't think that at 7 - that it was absolutely necessary to force her to jump off. By the second week, though, Norah was confident enough to jump off by herself multiple times.

For Father's Day we went to the Aquaport. We bought a voucher through Living Social and for 4 people it was a great deal. Despite the crazy amount of rain we have had over the last week, this afternoon was beautiful!! Great day for the pool!!

This week is going to be a little more relaxing - hopefully.

Whew!

2011-06-12T19:48:00.007-05:00

As mentioned in my previous post - we had a CRAZY - but fun - week last week. We had a play date everyday except Tuesday, swimming lessons Mon- Thurs, and doctor's appts. We were all relieved to have Saturday come and not have to go anywhere or do anything.

Of course, I didn't take my camera to any of our play dates. I seriously need to be better about that. Oh, I should add that it was about 100 degrees ALL week so it was hot! We played with the Diehl family one day - the girls were excited to see the boys!! Now that the kids are a little older and busier we really don't see them more than a handful of times a year. We met at a park, and while Nicole and I tried to stay cool, the kids ran and climbed and laughed - steering clear of the cicadas! They parked it under the playground equipment for some relief from the heat!! We had lunch and shortly after a school bus dropped off a huge group of kids we decided to head out!

We also played with the Good girls one day. The kids were all over - inside, outside, upstairs, downstairs - playing dress-up, hide and seek, legos, Barbies. Sarah and I enjoyed catching up - even though our conversation was constantly interrupted by any one of 6 little girls!

We went to my sister's one day to play with Ryan and Will. The kids played on the slip n slide most of the time. They started by sliding down by themselves. Then they were catching cicadas and sliding with them down the slip n slide. They ended by just throwing the cicadas down the slip n slide. We did have lunch, and Lucy, DJ and Will made pictures with stickers. It was a fun, active few hours together!!

We spent the evening on Friday at the Harper's - our good friends from church. This was a little good-bye play date because they leave for Singapore in a couple of days. They will be gone for 2-3 years. It is never easy to say good-bye to friends and saying good-bye to the Harper family was especially difficult. Karen and I met 5 years ago at our women's Bible study at church. We clicked instantly and the fact that we each had a new baby girl and a 2 year old girl was a huge bonus! Norah and Kate were also instant friends, and Lucy and Brooke became friends as they grew up together. Over the last 5 years we have had play dates, girl's nights out, and family dinners. The Harper's have been a HUGE blessing to our family and we will miss them dearly!! Thankfully, we had one more chance this morning at church to say good-bye and the girls had lots of hugs for each other (and I took my camera so we were able to get a few pics)!!

Lucy, Kate, Norah, Brooke and Daphne (I took her cup away from her so she is yelling, "Mommy, thirsty! I need dink!)

Kate and Norah

Let me just add this - I really hope no more of Norah's good friends move anytime soon. 2 in less than a year is more than enough for a 7 year old!!

The girls were exhausted by Saturday so we had a few meltdowns - by all!! They were able to catch up on sleep a little this weekend and we are gearing up for another BUSY week!!

Swimming lessons need a post of their own - so I will save that for after this week of lessons!!

Week 3 Check-In

2011-06-06T17:07:00.006-05:00

Since I know my dad is checking my blog to see if I stick with my weekly check-in (aka pictures of his granddaughters), here it is:

Everyone was sick at some point over the last week - blah. Norah needed breathing treatments and antibiotics for ear infections, Lu had a nasty stomach bug, and DJ has some adenoid virus that is accompanied by a BAD cough and sore throat. Ick.

Despite the sickness, we have had moments where everyone felt decent at the same time. We are shopping around for some new living room furniture. We bought our cream colored furniture -which has been really loved over the past 10 year as noted by the holes, stain and missing pillows. Ha! We wanted to wait until we were basically done potty training - we are almost there. Yea! As much as I would LOVE new furniture - we refuse to spend a lot so we have to shop around!!! The kids have been fabulous at the furniture stores - they love imagining every single piece of furniture somewhere in our house.

Speaking of potty training - overall, Daphne is doing great!! Today was our worst day so far - with multiple accidents. The norm has been 1 accident a day - at the most. I couldn't help myself - I had to post this picture. Sorry, Dad, I know he will think it is inappropriate, but it is so cute!! I was reading a book to her each time she sat on the potty and if she goes, she gets a jelly bean. After a couple of days, she decided that she wanted to read the Bible. When I ask her if she wants me to read her a book, she replies, "No, Mommy, me read Bible." She just fingers through it and stops on any page that has something underlined. Then she passes it to me and asks me to read it. Cracks me up!

We also made it to the pool over the weekend. All three girls had a great time - and can't wait for swimming lessons which start tonight!!

We have a super busy week ahead so hopefully I will remember to take lots of pictures!! We have a play date almost everyday this week!!

Memorial Day Weekend (Weekly Check-In)

2011-05-30T20:26:00.011-05:00

We spent the weekend in Indy with Kevin's family. His mom's 60th birthday is this week so we had a little surprise party for her. She knew we were coming over, but didn't know there would be a party when she got home from work. The kids loved surprising Linda! They were giddy and giggly while we waited for Linda to get home!!

Saturday morning - everyone headed to the parade for the Indy 500. Well, everyone except Daphne and me. Daphne didn't nap on the way to Indy on Friday and didn't sleep well Friday night so she needed to stay home and nap. And nap she did - she slept for almost 4 hours while the others were gone.

Sunday - all the girls headed to church while all the boys went to the race. We had Monical's Pizza for lunch - can't pass that up when it is an option. Shawna and I headed to Half Price Books while Linda played with all the granddaughters. Ummm, I love this bookstore and so wish we had one in STL. I bought a bunch of chapter books for Norah - 12 for $21. Love it!

Sidenote - not sure what the deal is but one or more of our kids get sick whenever we go out of town. Ergh. Norah is wheezing and running a fever, which means we may be heading to the doctor in the morning. Hopefully, this won't last long!!

Oh - and I am potty training this week. Daphne is ready so we are going to go for it.

Weekly Check-In

2011-05-23T16:15:00.003-05:00

So maybe if I post here that I am going to check in once a week and post recent happenings - maybe I will actually do it. I don't want grandparents to feel neglected, right?

Norah -

Spent a few days last week with my parents. She had a great time being spoiled and loved all the extra time with her cousins who live in Morton. She is glad to be on summer break already - although we may not get her nose out of her books this summer. Ha! She cracks me up because the house could be falling down around her while she is reading and she would NEVER know it. I have to make her set her book down (upside down or closed) and actually look me in the eye or she would not hear nor respond to anything I say. Kevin would say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and I am sure my dad would say the same thing.

Lucy -

Turning 5 has brought out some sass that we didn't know Lucy had in her. That has been interesting. We spend quite a bit of time talking about being loving, respectful, kind, etc. She seems to have a little smirk while she is sassy - so I think she is testing the water a little bit!! She missed Norah a lot last week. She wanted to talk to Norah everyday on the phone - and each time I heard her say, "I miss you, Norah!" to which Norah responded with silence. We totally need to break her finger sucking habit. . . again, but she is such a great sleeper that I am concerned about the change that may come as a result.

Daphne -

Poor girl is having some serious seasonal allergy issues right now. Her nose is constantly runny, her eczema is totally flared up and she is continuously scratching her neck. She gets her daily dose of Zyrtek but that only helps a little. She is talking all the time and in full sentences, which cracks me up. I think that because she is so tiny for her age, it seems odd to hear her talking so much. This week as I was making waffles, Daphne went to the bathroom and carried the stool from there to the kitchen. When I question her she said, "I see what mommy doing." Today, Kevin was going to Goodwill to drop off some stuff and Daphne said, "Daddy, me coming." When Kevin told her no, she came to me with the saddest face ever, "Mommy, me coming. Daddy, no." After seeing her face, he changed his mind and her with him. Ha!

Not a whole lot new is going on with Kevin and me. Kevin has worked a lot on our garden. He is the gardener here. I am too neglectful - I can't remember to water. We have tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and carrots. Work is busy for Kevin - but that is normal.

I went through my Boot Camp Challenge training this weekend. I am really excited about facilitating some classes. I really like this company and how they combine exercise and nutrition because a lot of gyms/exercise classes/trainers don't do that. I start teaching my own classes in June and I am really excited about it!!

That's it for now. I'll be back in about a week!

Quick Update

2011-05-17T16:46:00.003-05:00

As usual life is crazy but for anyone who is still reading my blog - here is a brief update.

1. We finished school on Friday!! Thank You, Jesus. Norah finished with 1st grade and is loving telling people that she is now a 2nd grader!! This year definitely had more challenges than last, but we are done and ready to look towards next year.

2. We had a garage sale on Friday evening and Saturday morning. The weather was horrible, but we made about $200. I was happy with that but we have TONS of stuff left. My mom took some stuff home to add to my SIL's garage sale so hopefully I will make a little more.

3. We had a family birthday party for Lucy on Saturday afternoon (yes, you read that right. I planned a garage sale for the same day I had planned a birthday party. not the best idea I ever had.) She loved having both sides of the family here for her party!! We definitely missed Shawna and Jackson - Jackson was sick. And we missed Alison's boys - they were with their dad. Otherwise, we had a great time!

4. Norah went to my parents' for a couple of days. She has been looking forward to this for a couple of months. It is strange not having her here. Lucy really misses her. She has told me all day long that she is so bored. Maybe they will appreciate each other more after some time apart. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? Does that work with siblings?

5. I am trying to finish plans for the summer. We are going to do a big "Space" unit this summer - a couple of days a week. We have to be here in the afternoons while Daphne naps so we need something fun to do. All 3 girls are doing swim lessons in June plus Norah and Lucy have VBS at our church in June. Norah is going to take an art class this summer. She is really excited about that.

6. I am trying to plan for school in the fall. There are a million things that I want to do - with all 3 girls. I just need to find the time to plan. Trying to decide if it would be better to take a whole weekend to plan or if I should commit to one evening a week to plan. Norah and Lucy are going to do Bible, History and Science together - with different expectations, of course. I really like the Bible curriculum for that I have for both of them so I need (want) to figure out a way to do them both.

7. I have Bootcamp Challenge training this weekend. Once I finish that I will be able to teach my own classes. I am so excited. Right now I am teaching a 6 a.m. class with Blondina and I LOVE it. I put Kevin through one of the workouts last night and he texted me today telling me that he is really sore. That is saying a lot because he is in great shape right now anyway!!

That's it for now. I will try to post some pics from Lulu's party. No promises, of course!!

Happy 5th Birthday, Lucy!

2011-05-03T20:57:00.007-05:00

We pulled into our driveway early, early Sunday morning - Lucy's birthday. She slept in a little but was awake and ready for donuts by 8:00.

Lucy has a sweet and funny personality. She wants to make people laugh but she is really subtle about it. She is happy 98% of the time - and rarely cries about anything.

She is a little tease - must be the middle child syndrome. She is constantly teasing Daphne and Norah. She is teaching Daphne to be a tease as well. She makes us laugh but also gets herself in trouble easily!!

I think the biggest change from last year is that Lucy has actually become more reserved in public than she used to be. She is quiet, hangs at my side and takes quite a while to warm up in a new situation. Mother's Day Out was hard for her this year. While she has a great time once she is there, she gets nervous every week. She also really doesn't like to do new things. She gets a stomachache whenever we are about to do something new or meet new friends. It has been interesting to watch this change. She is more than confident at home but just not so much out in public.

I am excited to teach Lucy next year. She isn't as serious or focused as Norah, so we will be going about things differently but I think we will have fun. We just tend to do things bigger or in a more active way.

We are so thankful for all of our girls, but every year on Lucy's birthday we spend a little extra time thanking God for breathing life into her when we didn't know if He would. I will NEVER forget those moments - wondering if she would make it and not really knowing what was going on. Thankfully, she is healthy and happy!!

Lucy wanted to have a tea party for her birthday but since we knew we would be on vacation up until her birthday we decided not to have a big party. However, we did have a little tea party - just the 5 of us.

Florida

2011-05-02T11:23:00.026-05:00

We just got home from a vacation in Florida. We had a great time. We swam a lot, played a lot, and just had a lot of fun together. My favorite part of the trip was having Kevin with us for 10 days straight. Too bad he has to work today - blah.

Since I have little time for blogging these days, I am just going to post a lot of pictures

Look at that face! Daphne was not a fan of the ocean. The water was REALLY choppy when we were there so the waves were HUGE and loud. Daphne's most common phrase while in Florida was "Otean scawe me!"

Our first evening at the beach the girls just ran and ran!

While she didn't like the water - Daphne was content to play in the sound for hours!

Lucy and Norah spent most of their time in the water - but Daphne had them filling up buckets with water and/or wet sand for her.

We rented bikes one day and we all had a great time. Kevin and I got our workout in and the girls enjoyed the ride.

We went on a boat ride to Shell Island and then to look for dolphins. Lucy was not sure about the boat ride at first, but in the end she said she enjoyed it.

There is a dolphin in the picture above.

Daphne is driving the boat!!

The waves were huge the entire week!!

I set Daphne down with just her feet in the water!! She is totally running away!!

Feeding the seagulls

We had a fabulous time. It was so great having a week and a half together to just hang out!! I loved having the evenings with nothing to do but relax!!

Thanks to the Kilgore family for hosting us for Easter. We had a blast! It was great having all the girls together!!

Thanks to the Morrison family for letting us crash at your place on our way home!! It was great seeing you and just relaxing!!

Blur. . . But Worth It

2011-04-06T21:45:00.002-05:00

The last 2 months seem like a blur to me. I spent so much time studying for my personal training certification. Kevin and I spent many evenings reviewing exercises. He would quiz me about the joint actions, muscles groups, opposing muscles, etc.

I passed my multiple choice test last week and my practical exam tonight. Whew. I am so glad it is over and I am so thankful for all Kevin's help while I studied. Thanks to Blondina and Ingrid being so helpful and encouraging!!

I am excited to teach some Boot Camp classes starting early summer!! If you are in the St. Charles area - let me know if you are interested!!

Happy 7th Birthday!

2011-03-23T09:45:00.008-05:00

(I actually wrote this on Norah's birthday - but needed to upload some pictures and then forgot to post it. Oops)

Today is Norah's 7th birthday!! Wow! 7 seems so much older than 6. We are hitting that phase of being somewhere between a little kid and a bigger kid. Norah is still very much into pretend play - I think she could pretend all day long. Maybe she will be a writer someday. She is always creating new and different scenarios to pretend.

The biggest changes for Norah since her last birthday are:

All the teeth she has lost. Since turning 6, Norah lost 5 teeth (plus the 2 she lost before that - wow - 7 teeth). Most of the permanent teeth are in or almost in - so she is well past the period of having multiple holes in her mouth. (update - she lost her 8th tooth is Florida this week)

She is a reading machine. I love it!! She had a hard time switching from reading to me to reading independently, but with some suggestions from Heather (for me) and some encouragement (or forcing), Norah has officially transitioned to reading chapter books completely on her own.

Norah is riding her bike without training wheels. We actually wondered if this would ever happen. She had zero interest for awhile and then all of the sudden this spring she wanted to try and is doing great!!

Norah decided about this time last year to grow her hair out to donate it. It was a LONG year for me letting it get so long (and tangly!), but she did it and the day after her birthday she had it cut off. She looks adorable, although she wasn't so sure if she liked it at first. I am loving that she doesn't have any tangles!!

Before (I know the quality isn't great but it was the best picture to show how long her hair was)

After

Norah is a great helper with Daphne and Daphne adores her! Norah often enjoys picking out Daphne's clothes and playing with her when I am busy doing something else. Norah and Lucy play great together as well. We certainly have our fair share of sibling squabbles, but those moments when the girls are playing so well are heavenly.

Norah has a very passionate personality which can certainly be a good thing and a bad thing. Her passion can get her into trouble but she often doesn't understand why. However, her passion also gives her a zest for doing things she loves.

It is so fun looking back at Norah as a baby and toddler and it is so fun to watch her grow up! We have been so blessed and look forward to seeing what God has planned for Norah as she gets older.

Some Daphne Funnies

2011-03-18T14:38:00.002-05:00

Daphne: After getting her dressed, she looked down at her outfit, rubbed her belly and said, "Cute."

Daphne likes to pray and often shouts "me!" when someone else is praying. Her prayers usually go something like this, "God: Mommy, bear. Daddy, bear. Rah-rah, bear. Si-si, bear" and then she repeats this a time or 2.

Our girls just adore our babysitter, Gaby. I have to agree - she is wonderful. She takes really good care of the girls and plays all kinds of great things with them. The best part is that she loves Jesus and my girls know it and see it every time she comes over (Gaby's whole family is wonderful! They are a HUGE blessing to us all the time). Anyway, Gaby was on spring break this week so she came over for a few hours on Wednesday. Literally, as soon as we walked in the door from picking her up, Daphne was saying, "bye, mommy. bye, mommy." She was quite anxious for me to leave!! So much better than the crying Norah used to do whenever we left her!

Last night as I was putting Daphne to bed, I told her we were going to pray. She said, "Gaby?" I told her we could pray for Gaby. As I started praying, I was thanking God for our day and praying for Norah, Lucy and Daphne and Daphne was shouting, "No, Gaby, Mom!" over and over until I actually prayed for Gaby. Apparently, I was supposed to pray for her first.

Today, we were getting shoes and jackets on to run to the grocery and the library. Daphne says, "Gaby?" I told her no so she said, "Gaby, now." Then as we were driving to the grocery, she says, "Gaby, hug. Gaby, hug."

Daphne's little friend, Adler, comes over sometimes on Fridays. His parents have been on spring break so we haven't seen him for a couple of weeks. Today, Daphne says, "Ladler, cuuuute. Mommy, Ladler, cute?"

Daphne has started stomping up the stairs. It is quite amusing to watch a tiny 2 year old try to stomp up the stairs. She usually shouts at us "Room!" or "Stomp!" just to make sure we know what she is doing!!

What Can We Do?

2011-03-15T10:20:00.002-05:00

If you and your family are wanting a way to help the children in Japan, check this out.

Surprise!!

2011-02-26T07:16:00.017-06:00

As many of you may recall, last year my mom had her mastectomy on her 58th birthday. Obviously, a lot has happened over the last year so Alison, Denise and I wanted to do something extra special this year for mom's birthday. We decided to have a surprise brunch with a number of her close friends. Now, let me just say that surprising MY mom is NOT an easy task. She likes to know exactly what is going on and continues to question and question until she knows all the details (I can say this - because I am just like her! Ha!).

The girls and I headed up on Tuesday to spend the week with her. My sister came up on Thursday - but mom didn't know anything about that. We just told mom we would have lunch somewhere on Friday but she could decide where. She decided she wanted to stay in Morton so my dad and maybe my uncle Mike could join us. All week long she was asking me and Denise (my sil) if we would rather eat at Basta's or Ruby Tuesdays. I think she asked us multiple times a day - and we didn't care because we knew we weren't actually going there.

We were having the brunch at my grandma's house so my sister was going to head straight there on Thursday to get started on preparations. However, my mom made plans for us (the girls, me, Max, Denise, Contessa, Alex, my dad, my grandma, my uncle and herself) to eat Monical's pizza at my grandma's house on Thursday evening. Obviously, this totally threw things off because we could start setting up and we didn't want mom to see Alison. So here are the rest of us eating yummy pizza together and Alison just ran some errands and then hung out alone at Max and Denise's house until we were done.

Then on Friday after everything was ready, I ran to mom and dad's (I stayed at my grandma's with Daphne while the big girls stayed with my parents) to get my mom and Norah, Lucy and Contessa. I had dropped Daphne off at a friend of Denise's - and just told mom that Abby said I could drop her off early. The plan was that I was going to tell mom that Grandma wanted to ride with us to lunch but she wasn't quite ready so we needed to go back by her house to get her. Norah wanted to see the "Surprise" so she was going to just out of the car with my mom and run up to the door with her. That was the plan. When I got to my mom's, she had just gotten a phone call that her car - which was being worked on - was ready and mom wanted me to run her to get her car and then she wanted to meet us at the restaurant. Now my grandma lives about 4 blocks from my mom so I tried to convince her that we should get grandma first. Since I was driving, we just went there, but my mom was not overly happy with that because she thought grandma still wouldn't be ready. I told her to run in and get grandma. She headed to the garage instead of the front door so I had to shout something like, "Mom, I think I forgot to lock the front door. Can you just go in that door and check?" I am pretty sure she rolled her eyes at me - but she did. Thank goodness because everyone was standing right inside the front door!

Waiting to get the party started!

Grandma set and decorated the table.

Finishing touches

. . . and the "surprise!"

Mom and my Aunt Kathy - mom kept referring to her as her private duty nurse. Kathy spent many nights at the hospital with mom so dad could go home to get some sleep. Kathy went to many appointments with mom and really took care of her as mom tried to gain strength and do normal daily activities.

Waiting for mom to come in the door

Party guests

Singing "happy birthday" and opening presents

Dad stopped by on his lunch to check in on the party. The grand-daughters were obviously excited to see him!!

5 of the 7 grandkids (Ryan and Will couldn't be there)

Lucy, Norah, Daphne, Contessa and Alex

Valentine's Day Bust

2011-02-15T08:28:00.004-06:00

Norah spent Valentine's Day sick with strep throat and an ear infection. She was quite upset because that meant we couldn't host/attend our homeschool friends Valentine's Day party. Daphne and Lucy were at Mother's Day Out so Norah was able to rest in a quiet house - never happens!! She had a hot chocolate and watched Ramona and Beezus. She also just turned a corner when it comes to reading chapter books all by herself (she has been reading chapter books for awhile but always wanted me there right next to her) so she read Piggy Party off and on throughout the day.

Even though we weren't able to host the Valentine's party, I still decorated a little for the girls. I hung balloons and cut out heart snowflakes to string around the dining room. The girls enjoyed eating dinner in the dining room that was overflowing with hearts!!

Really - looking at this picture you would think that none of the girls felt that great! Norah really is the only sick one!!

What's in the Box Wednesday: Pre-K

2011-02-09T11:05:00.008-06:00

As mentioned previously, we use the workbox system for school. Norah has a set of 9 drawers and Lucy has a set of 6.

Lucy's drawers today consisted of:

Lucy's introduction to her letters in always from Starfall. This week she is learning the letter 'k.' Lucy knows that when she has the 'computer' card in her drawer that it is time for Starfall.

handwriting - Getting Ready for K

I keep all of our handwriting pages (pre-k and kindergarten) in a binder in page protectors. Lucy uses a dry erase marker and writes directly on the page protector so we can erase them and use the pages later.

textured letter and 'k' pictures

'k' picture card page from My Father's World kindergarten curriculum

math activity - recognizing 1-6 (pretty easy for Lucy but still good to review) while

practicing 1-to-1 correspondence

Lucy's Bible verse (Bible verse card taken from here)

Tot School - Red

2011-02-09T09:47:00.007-06:00

Our intentional Tot School time has been few and far between. We play, read and color a lot, but I haven't spent a lot of time preparing any specific activities for Tot School.

This week has been different (so far).

coloring a Kangaroo with a red crayon (Lucy's letter this week is 'K'

this week so Daphne wanted in on the action)

building with Lucy

throwing red balls into a bucket

sorting red objects - sparkly hearts, red counting bears, red unifix cubes

Daphne's first collage - attaching red items to contact paper! She worked and worked on this!!

Daphne is constantly trying to name colors but can't identify any yet (totally normal, I know) so I thought doing a week of a specific color would give her an introduction to each color. Right now, almost everything is pink - imagine that! This week is RED! She still called everything pink - but I overemphasized that the objects were all red!

Lots of Random Things!

2011-02-06T15:17:00.005-06:00

Norah is cheering again through the Upward program at our church. She loves it! For those of you who know Norah, you know that she is a relatively quiet kid. She talks all the time - but she is not loud. She can be sometimes, but overall, she has a very quiet voice. I often half to ask her to repeat herself - even if I am right next to her - because she talks so quietly. At cheerleading - she is totally different. There are some weeks at practice when she is the loudest one - and with 15 other girls on her squad - that is saying a lot!! Each week after practice Norah comes home and teaches Lucy her new cheers. They perform them for us all week long. Lucy can't wait to cheer with Norah next year (although, I would be okay if they want to try something else).

Lucy and Daphne are going to the Mother's Day Out program at our church. They both seem to really like it. Daphne is usually ready for me to leave so she can get busy playing - although, every once in a while she acts like she is going to cry but she gets over it quickly. We are learning a lot about Lucy this year through Mother's Day Out. She relies on Norah so much in most situations that I think it has been good for her to have her own class to go to this year. Lucy tends to be an observer. I have to help her get involved in an activity or she cries. Her teachers have mentioned that she stands back and watches the other kids for a long time before joining in on an activity. She is making friends but it has taken awhile. I feel so bad for Lucy sometimes because she gets so nervous in new situations.

Kevin and I are both running in a half-marathon in April. Kevin has run in quite a few over the last 8 years (including one full), but I haven't run that distance since before we had Norah. I am pretty sure at the time that I said I never wanted to run that far again. However, I wanted some sort of motivation/something to work towards so I would keep running this winter. The run is 8 weeks from today - and I have run up to 8 miles, so I think I should be okay. Although, I have to say that with all the snow we have had this year, I have run further on a treadmill than I ever thought I would. I am ready for more regular outdoor runs! In the fall I was running about once a week with my friend, Beka - and I love running with a friend! Other than the few times Kevin and I are able to run together, I usually only run by myself! Running with Beka is a great distraction to the distance I am running!!

After prayer and many conversations with Kevin, I have decided to become a certified personal trainer. Several reasons come to the top of my head: I really enjoy working out and enjoy the feeling of completely a challenging workout. We try to be healthy and want to teach our kids (and others) to be healthy but not obsessive about what they eat. Living in the obese society that we do - I think people just need some help to get going. Losing weight and becoming physically fit take EFFORT - it isn't very often that people just try to eat better and walk a little more and actually lose the weight they want. You have to know WHAT you are eating, WHEN you are eating it. You also have to exert some serious energy to become physically fit. I know a lot of moms who say their bodies will never be the same after having kids - I disagree. If you are happy with your body weight - great! If you are not - I think that the body after baby thing is just an excuse to not put forth effort. I also think that so many people are not living the life that God intends for them because they are too tired to get off the couch. There are so many diseases that can be prevented by living a healthy life. All that being said, I am taking an online class and hope to be certified by mid-spring. I am really excited about the possibilities that personal training offers and that it is a way for me to contribute to our finances on a schedule that still allows me to homeschool.

In the fall Kevin and I did an herbal cleanse. I had read about different types of "cleansing" and knowing the number of toxins that are in our bodies and how tired and groggy I was feeling all the time, Kevin and I decided to try one. For us the best option was the Advocare Herbal Cleanse. Several cleanses that I read about tell you that you can't eat much or anything other than your cleansing drink. To me that doesn't sound safe. Your body needs fuel. My body needs fuels - to homeschool, to parent, to clean, to cook, to workout, etc - I was not going to do anything that requires me not to eat! Very few people eat perfectly all the time - we all miss out on nutrients that our bodies need. Advocare products seem to meet you in the middle. The company wants their clients to eat write and be active, but knowing that we can't eat right all the time, they step in with their vitamins and supplements. If you need more energy - this may be something for you to try. If you know you need to lose weight and just need something to kick start you weight-loss journey - may be for you. If any of you readers are interested in finding out more about Advocare - let me know and I can put you in touch with the right person!!

Sunday Field Trips

2011-02-04T13:49:00.011-06:00

Ever since last winter when Morrison's went talked about their day at the zoo for the penguin walk, Kevin and I have tried to find a time when we could go - but with all the snow we have had this year, we knew it would have to be a spontaneous thing! We were heading downtown on Sunday anyway, so we decided to head to the zoo first. The temperature was perfect - about 41 degrees!

If you live in the St. Louis area and have not visited the zoo for the penguin walk - you HAVE to go. It is so cool! The girls were amazed that the penguins would walk right up to them!!

After the zoo - the main reason we were heading downtown - we went to the World Aquarium. I bought tickets, through Living Social (like Groupon), for buy 2 tour tickets get 2 free. I thought it sounded fun and Norah has been studying underwater life this week for school so it was the perfect field trip! This was incredible. First - we didn't know there was an aquarium inside the City Museum, but we haven't been to the City Museum in YEARS. Second - The tickets were for an actual tour and ours ended up being a private tour (I think there was supposed to be one other family with us, but they never showed). If you visit the museum - and buy tickets for the aquarium - you just walk around yourself not with a guide. Having the guide made it all worth it - even if you would pay full price. We would totally do this again even if we have to pay the $13 a person (however, we will be waiting until Daphne is a tad bit older - you will see why shortly). I can't begin to tell you how great our tour was - totally hands on. The girls were able to pet/hold/feed about 3 times the number of animals you would get to if you just pay for a visit and not the tour. Our tour was about 2 hours - and Norah and Lucy did great. They loved EVERY minute of it!! Daphne did great for a while, but since she was going on no nap - the 2 hours was a little long.

Armadillo - girls were able to feed it.

Not sure what kind of frog this is - I had to step away with Daphne at this point.

The girls each had a turn hold the lizard.

Anteater - Norah LOVED this one!

This was OBVIOUSLY the highlight of my aquarium visit (not the sarcasm).

Starfish

Not sure why this is upside down - but oh well. Daphne was amazed that she could hold the starfish. Kevin is just making sure she doesn't throw it!

Norah also loved the tortoises!

These were the middle-sized ones. We saw a HUGE one later - but my pictures didn't turn out.

Chameleon

This guy greeted us as we walked in and Daphne kept shouting "too youd, too youd" (too loud).

Looking back at my pictures - I just realized that we didn't get many pictures of fish! Ha! We did take some but there was often a glare on the glass. They also fed several other animals but I can't remember what they were!! I know they fed a sting ray and touched a shark. Of course, we also admired all the beautiful salt water fish in the large aquariums.

If you haven't been to the St. Louis World Aquarium - you need to go. If they are offering any tours that day - I say, go for it. You will not be disappointed. Just a tip, though, do not dress warmly. It was muggy and we were all layered up for the penguin walk! Whew!

Snow, Snow, and More Snow

2011-02-04T13:36:00.007-06:00

The girls have spent some fun times out in the snow this winter. About 2 snowstorms ago - Norah was concerned that it would be the last so she begged everyday to play outside. I am not a fan of the cold or snow but I will happily send the girls out with Kevin anytime. I can take pictures from the door!

Ready for the snow!

Getting ready to go for a ride!

Face plant!

I have NO idea what Lucy is doing - but this picture cracks me up!

Norah - in all her glory! She could make snow angels all day!

That is a serious amount of snow - about 10 inches, I think.

I have to add that I have good memories of my mom playing out in the snow with us. In my defense, though, she LOVES the snow. She was disappointed this week when they only got 13 inches. I am pretty sure she played in the snow while we were all at school!! Ha!

And My Baby Turned 2

2011-01-28T15:21:00.012-06:00

Daphne thinks she is 9 - but we keep reminding her she is 2. I would like her to stay 2 for awhile - not ready for her to turn 9. (In case you want to look back at some baby pictures, click here. These are my favorite. These pictures show exactly what her hair was like - and compare those to the pics below of her long, light blonde hair.)

Daphne is a crack up! She is definitely the baby of the family - always wanting people looking at her and laughing at her!!

Highlights for 2:

22 pounds - which actually puts her on the growth chart in the 3rd percentile!!

She loves to hug and kiss. Daphne is usually the first one up in the morning (well, she and Lu get up about the same time - but usually way before Norah) and she likes to hug everyone as they are coming down the stairs. She also uses kisses as a stalling tactic at naptime and bedtime. She cries if she hasn't gotten to give everyone kisses and hugs - even if she actually did, she usually wants to give second and third hugs and kisses.

She loves to spin. She literally spins in circles over and over until she is so dizzy she falls down. She does this multiple times a day.

She likes to dance with Norah and Lucy and she LOVES Ring Around the Rosie.

She wants to walk up and down the stairs - forget sliding on her tummy or scooting.

She takes her bunny (Poppy - as she likes to call her) everywhere. She begs for it if we don't have it. She still sucks her fingers - she rubs Poppy's ear which stimulates the finger sucking.

She likes to be wrapped in her blanket snuggly - often telling us "tight" if we forget. Funny thing is that she doesn't stay that way for more than 10 seconds!

Daphne is in a big girl bed now. She is doing great - really was our easiest transition of all the girls. We left her rocking chair in her room because we still rock her at night. However, we found her curled up - asleep - in her chair. We finally moved the chair out yesterday - which she was not happy about! While I read to her yesterday before her nap - she wanted to sit right on the floor where the chair was.

She makes a silly face - she does this all the time. She likes to make her face for other people too. When her friend, Adler comes over on Fridays, she makes her face at him - every week, multiple times a day!

When she hears Kevin come in the door after work, Daphne goes running to the door, shouting, "Daddy!!" She does this every day.

She doesn't throw tantrums very often anymore. Instead, if she is told no or doesn't get her way, she silently drops to her knees and puts her forehead on the ground. Amusing. Norah and Lucy think it is hilarious and only encourage this behavior!

Favorite words/phrases include (but are not limited to):

sisi (Lucy)

rah-rah (Norah)

Ladler (her friend, Adler)

kitty-cat, mow (rhymes with cow, as in meow without the e)

Mommy play?

Mommy sit?

too youd (too loud)

me, down? (wanting to go to the basement if Norah and Lucy are down there)

whee

nanny (banana)

world - with arms overhead (wanting to sing "He's Got the Whole World")

ummm

guys (in reference to the rest of us - usually said at dinner when she is trying to get us all to look at her)

pizza - she asks for this quite often

pway (pray) - every night at bedtime she makes sure we pray with her. She also uses this as a stalling tactic - asking us to pray several times before we say goodnight. She wants us to pray for everyone in the family so she says, "pway, sisi. pway, rah-rah. pway, mommy. pway, daddy."

She is putting together 3 words at a time - which is fun to hear. She says things like, "Mommy sit play" or "no, sisi, mine!"

Daphne is hilarious and already quite passionate about her little life. We are so thankful God has blessed us with her life and are really enjoying watching her grow.

*I wrote this post a few days ago but was waiting to post a few more pictures I have - but I think the ones I want are on my phone. Not sure how to get those off - and since I will probably forget to ask Kevin - I will add those later.

Random Pics

2011-01-13T21:28:00.006-06:00

Since I haven't posted much I decided to just post some random pictures. So, here they are in no particular order.

This is a normal scene at our house most afternoons (this particular day was a pajama day)

Are you ready for some football?

Some girl time with my mom and grandma

Daphne couldn't get enough of the Christmas tree!! She started out very gentle - not so much by the time Christmas was over.

Call to Prayer

2011-01-03T14:44:00.003-06:00

Please pray for the Rumbold family (I went to school from kindergarten on with Doug). Their daughter, Jada, was diagnosed with a Wilms tumor - a malignant tumor of the kidney. She is having surgery today - so please lift her and her family up in prayer. Also, Jada's mom, Jess is pregnant with their third child - due next week. I can't imagine what they must be going through but I know that God will give them the strength they need to get through the coming weeks/months.

I know that I felt the prayer support of my friends and family as my mom went through her surgery almost a year ago. While I don't know Jess nor the children, my heart breaks for the whole family. I have certainly given my sweet girls extra hugs today and together the girls and I have been lifting up little Jada in prayer. Please join us as prayer warriors for Jada.

Back on Track

2011-01-02T11:32:00.004-06:00

After months of slacking on the blog - I am going to try to do a little better over the next couple of months. I would love to be more consistent about post pictures for the grandparents. That's my goal. I can't promise much else, but I will try to post more pictures of my sweet girls!!

Here is one for my first picture of 2011:

This is how Lucy said goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011. Thankfully, it is nothing serious. She has had a cough that just won't go away plus a sinus infection. History has shown that if we don't treat her coughs quickly, she ends up with pneumonia. The doctor wanted to prevent her from getting it for the 4th winter in a row. So here she is. Yes, she sucks her fingers while having a treatment but the doctor has said that she probably breathes more through her nose anyway so we just let her.

One goal for 2011 is to completely break her finger sucking habit. We thought we did by this time last year, but she has fallen back into the habit again.

Happy New Year to you all!

Trusting HIS Plan

2010-12-19T11:53:00.005-06:00

(photos courtesy of William Good Photography)

Wow. It has been awhile since I last posted. We have been busy but also trying to enjoy this holiday season with our girls. We are trying to de-emphasize the gifts and the hustle and bustle of Christmas and remind/teach the girls that Christmas is about God's gift - His most precious gift to us.

Among the craziness of our lives - we have been dealing with some health things. In the grand scheme of things, it could be worse. To start with, Daphne is abnormally underweight. About 2 months ago (at 21 months of age), Daphne only weighed 19 pounds. She was average when she was born and has just slowly moved down the charts. She has never been a huge eater (nor are her sisters) and she isn't going to be a big kid - it probably isn't in her genes. She also had regular messy diapers. All. the. time. I always used the excuse that it was because she was teething or because she eats TONS of fruit. Still I questioned the doctor. Finally, the doctors wanted to do some weight checks and do a full blood work up and check for food allergies. Thankfully, the full blood work up showed that everything was normal, but the she is allergic to eggs and peanuts. We didn't know how serious yet so the pediatrician said we should stay away from peanuts and eggs - and anything containing either food - until we see an allergist. While I was concerned, I assumed it wasn't a huge deal.

However, our time at the allergist proved me wrong. The results of the scratch test show that on a scale of 0-4+, Daphne's peanut allergy is 4++ and her egg allergy is 4+. We are shocked, but after about a month on an egg-free diet (side note: she had only actually had peanut butter one time and ended up with a rash), Daphne's diapers have been totally normal and her eczema is gone completely (we didn't even realize the eczema might be related). She has also gained 2 pounds - 10% of her weight in a month!! She is sleeping better and is much happier. We went through a stretch of time with a very unhappy toddler who NEVER slept.

At this point I feel slightly overwhelmed. I know that we will make the needed changes, but there is more fear in knowing her allergies are so severe. The idea of having to show everyone who might watch Daphne how to use the epipen - the idea that we have to have the epipen on us all the time - sort of freaks me out a little. The allergist told me multiple times that this is a deadly allergy and that we have to take this very seriously. The idea of leaving her makes me incredibly nervous. Some how I think that I have more control when Daphne is with me. And then the Holy Spirit nudges me and reminds me that God is in control. He has a plan.

On Sunday our pastor said that we can't be anxious in our own weakness or inabilities, but we have to TRUST in HIS ability.

As I said earlier, we have thanked God that she is really sick or anything, but this is just a lifestyle change for us. Peanuts/peanut butter and eggs are everywhere, in things we didn't even realize until we had to pay attention. Kevin is sure that in no time - this will all seem normal to us. I sure hope so.

For now, though, I am going with this, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

To my dismay. . .

2010-11-30T19:17:00.002-06:00

Lucy has somehow forgotten the story of baby Jesus. I don't know how this is possible. We usually spend the whole month of December talking and reading about the Christmas story. She has heard it at church and at home and at grandmas' and grandpas' houses. We tend to joke (not to her face) that she can be a little. . .ummm. . .flighty. Honestly, I don't get it. She knows Jesus death and resurrection and believes that Jesus came to save her from her sin - but somehow she can't seem to remember His birth.

Here is her version:

The baby in the nativity set is Moses. His mother is Sarah and his earthly father is Pa (we have been reading Little House on the Prairie). He was born on her birthday - and certainly not in a stable!

Wow. We have a lot of work to do!!

What's in the Box Wednesday: 1st Grade

2010-11-17T10:48:00.008-06:00

I have wanted to participate in What's in the Box Wednesday before but always forget to take pictures of Norah's stuff before she gets started. We use the Workbox System and love it (Check here and here for more examples). Although we actually use the plastic drawers for Norah and Lucy, it works great for us and takes up a little less space.

Here is "What's in the Box" today:

1. First Language Lessons - We love this book. Each daily grammar/language arts lesson takes no more than 10-15 minutes. Right now Norah is working on pronouns, poem memorization, story narration, and picture narration.

2. Copywork - Usually Norah has a couple of sentences from a book we are reading, a stanza from a poem she is memorizing or a Bible verse to copy. This week she is tracing some Bible verses about thanksgiving. Every once in awhile I have her trace - just to make sure she easy being extra careful with her writing.

3. Reading -This Strawberry Shortcake is really too easy for her but after being sick this week, I wanted something easy but relevant to our Thanksgiving theme. She is also reading through the Beginner's Bible - a story a day - I just forgot to put it in the drawer before I took the picture.

4. Story Map - After reading The Scarecrow's Hat (which is one of my girls' favorite books), Norah had to identify the parts of a story. She drew pictures in each square and then wrote something about her pictures.

5. Math Page - Norah is memorizing her addition facts. Sometimes we use flashcards, sometimes we use Multiplication.com (don't be fooled by the title), sometimes she writes out a few problems from these little cards, and sometimes she rolls 2 - 9 sided number dice and adds them together.

6. Reviewing number bonds under 20.

7. Science - Usborne World of Animals. This is an excellent book. Norah LOVES it! She is learning about the different animals on each of the different continents. Right now we are working on Europe.

She usually has 9 drawers (in addition to her history that I don't put in her drawers) but with Thanksgiving coming we are doing several big projects that don't fit in her drawers! More on that later!

I am thankful for. . .

2010-11-07T11:12:00.000-06:00

my parents. I spent some time with them . . . all by myself . . .over the weekend. I went to Morton for a baby shower and the girls stayed home!! That doesn't happen often but it was nice to have a couple of nights away. Mom and I did a little shopping at some of the little shops in Morton.

(ignore the big circle of light in the middle of the picture)

I am also thankful that my mom is doing well and getting stronger everyday.

I am thankful for. . .

2010-11-05T11:17:00.000-05:00

my brothers.

I am thankful for. . .

2010-11-04T17:11:00.000-05:00

my friend, Jenny. She offered to have Norah and Lucy come over today so I could get some things done this afternoon while Daphne napped. Jenny is an art teacher so while her little boy napped, she and the girls did a couple of art projects. They did some clay projects (she has a kiln so after she fires the stuff, the girls will go back and finish them) and made a picture with oil pastels, paint brushes and water. The girls had a blast and Jenny said they worked for almost 3 hours!! Nothing like a private art lesson by a really talented artist!! Look at this adorable cat that Jenny made and fired and then let the girls help decorate.

(sidenote: Jenny makes and sells all kinds of really cool animals. If you need a unique Christmas gift and want to get in touch with her, let me know!)

I really enjoyed having a couple of hours to get a few things done around here.

I am thankful for. . .

2010-11-03T07:04:00.001-05:00

the cross, forgiveness, grace, mercy.

I'm thankful for. . .

2010-11-02T07:00:00.001-05:00

these cuties!

I am thankful for. . .

2010-11-01T18:08:00.002-05:00

this guy!

Hiking

2010-10-30T21:36:00.004-05:00

The girls are totally into hiking right now. Seriously - they love it. They have great imaginations too. When we hike in a wooded area, they make up stories about hiking through an enchanted forest to a castle. Cracks me up.

It had been a very rainy weekend. Thankfully, no one actually fell into the mud!!!

We borrowed the backpack from some friends - Daphne loves her view from up high!!

Nature Walk Field Trip

2010-10-23T14:42:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago the girls and I went on a field trip with our homeschool support group. We went on a nature hike - we had the perfect day to go and the girls had a great time!! I think we walked/hiked for over 2 hours. The kids found all kinds of great things - frogs, grasshoppers, caterpillars, daddy long legs, hickory nuts, web worms, hornets nest, etc.

Daphne just hung out in the stroller and was so happy just to be out in about watching all the kids!!!

Norah was listening intently to one of the older girls talk about tree rings.

Lucy is funny when we are with the bigger homeschool group because she doesn't want to leave my side. She is very much an observer and is quietly taking in everything (she is so not like this at home).

I am kicking myself for not blogging sooner because I can not remember what the kids found so interesting. I LOVE this picture, though, because they all huddled around the then the circle got bigger as other kids noticed what was happening!!

After the walk the kids drew pictures in their nature journals. Norah was working very hard drawing a butterfly that we had seen at the beginning of our walk.

I have to add the Lucy had to go potty when we finished the walk. The park where we walked has "outhouses" so obviously the toilets do not flush. I walked her to the bathroom - which is a really nice log cabin looking building. She walked in and gasped and walked out saying, "Some one forgot to flush." I told her that the toilets do not flush but to go in and just go quickly. She started gagging and walked away. About 5 minutes later she said she still had to go so we started walking back towards the bathroom. We were probably 20 feet from it and she starts gagging again - she never would go. We had to head home shortly after because I really thought she might be sick. I was cracking up because, as many of you know, Kevin loves to camp. Hmmm. How will Lucy be the next time we camp? Ha!!

Here Comes the Bride

2010-10-23T11:43:00.002-05:00

The girls spent several weeks pretending to "get married." One of the girls was the bride and the other was usually a bridesmaid. They were so cute. Lucy's favorite part was saying, "I now pronounce you husband and wife," and then she would make kissing sounds.

Abandon

2010-10-17T14:55:00.002-05:00

I pray that I love Him enough to let go. I pray that I can follow and never look back.

Listen to the new series at our church called "Abandon."

Mark 8:34 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Can I follow in joyful abandon when the world is shouting something else in my ear?

Philippians 1:20-22 "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me."

P-Fest

2010-10-11T20:26:00.003-05:00

We all headed up to Morton for the annual Pumpkin Festival. It ended up being. . .an interesting weekend this year. The weather was beautiful all week and then the forecast for Saturday afternoon was rain. We weren't sure we would make it downtown to ride rides and eat the yummy food.

Kevin and I headed out extra early on Saturday to run in the 10k. I have the best husband ever - he stayed with me the whole time. Even though he can run way faster than me - he knew I would need the encouragement towards the end. My friend, Susan, ran with us for quite awhile too - which was totally fun to catch up a little. (I just need to add that after the run, we walked a mile back to my parents and then had to walk a mile to the parade, and under normal circumstances we would walk a mile back - all after running 6 miles).

We headed to the parade. The girls were pumped! The sky was looking a little overcast at this point but the rain was supposed to hold off until afternoon sometime. We sit about at the halfway point of the 2 mile parade at my great aunt and uncles house. My brother lives right behind where we sit. Before the parade actually started, it stared sprinkling. It would stop and then start again. Then as the parade started - it started raining harder and harder. The parade starts with the American flag, the parade Grand Marshall, the high school band, high school and junior high cheerleaders, junior high band, and then all the floats, politicians, local businesses etc. Before the junior high band actually made it to us, it was blowing and pouring. I mean POURING. Daphne and I ran for cover at Max's house with Max and Contessa. Then a few minutes later Kevin and the girls (and my sister, her boys, Denise, Alex and Rick) come running and they are soaking wet from head to toe. The parade was cancelled - I guess they started turning everyone in the parade around at the closest street.

We had lunch at my grandma's and then once the rain stopped, we headed downtown for some festival fun. The kids rode rides and ate some great food - pumpkin ice cream and elephant ears!!

Chicago

2010-10-11T20:12:00.006-05:00

Kevin and I spent a weekend in Chicago back in September. The girls hung out with Kevin's parents for a few days while we were gone. We went to Ikea, slept in everyday, ran along Lake MI, went to a Cubs game, shopped on Michigan Ave, and ate some yummy food!! I never like leaving the girls, but we enjoyed our time away.

Those are some serious nachos.

It is hard to tell what he is doing - but while standing in front of the American Girl Place, Kevin is looking in his wallet. Wow. That store is something. . . and having 3 girls, I have a feeling we will be making a visit or two.

So Much to Blog About

2010-09-24T18:20:00.005-05:00

but not time to blog!! Homeschooling Norah and Lucy is keeping me busier than I expected. I can hardly keep my house clean. Er, I mean, I can't keep it clean. I can't keep up with the laundry. My family is lucky right now to get meals.

Daphne doesn't help the situation because she is into EVERYTHING!! I don't get much housework done during Daphne's nap - we are usually still doing school. Then once Daphne is awake - she is usually attempting to destroy things. If I am unloading the dishwasher - Daphne is usually trying to put clean dishes in the dishwasher - or she is trying to climb in. If I am folding laundry - she is unfolding it. If I am picking up toys - she is following me, taking them all back out!!

While school is going well, and we are thoroughly enjoying Daphne's toddler-hood, I still need to find a balance. I have come to the realization that my house will not be clean on a regular basis. It's fine. When the girls are grown - I don't want them to look back and remember that all I cared about was having a clean house. I want to enjoy them. I want to read to them. I want to teach them about Jesus. The best part of homeschooling is that we can do this all the time. Talking about Jesus can be a normal part of our day - not just in the evenings and the weekends. When learning about animals - we have talked everyday about these animals as God's creation and he made every animal unique.

I have pics to post from our trip to Chicago, Pumpkin Festival and several field trips we have taken. I will get the pictures uploaded sometime soon. . . I hope.

Mother's Day Out & Ballet

2010-09-13T15:37:00.003-05:00

First day of ballet class:

First Day of Mother's Day Out:

I know, she seems way to little to be going for the whole day!!! Although, they may kick her out if she doesn't start napping.

Lucy just realized she doesn't get to go back until next week - and she is NOT happy about that. I think once a week is more than enough for them to go.

Paintings

2010-09-13T15:32:00.003-05:00

Oops, I forgot to post pics of their final paintings when I wrote this so here they are.

Guys Weekend

2010-09-12T17:06:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Kevin headed to Nashville with Michael and a friend of Michael's. They (and several other friends of Ryan's) stayed with Morrison's then they headed on Saturday morning to Knoxville for an Oregon Ducks game.

I really don't like it when Kevin is gone and I am so thankful that he doesn't travel for his job. Not sure how I would survive. After the girls being gone for 5 days, this week was rough getting back into a groove. Everyone was EXHAUSTED so school did not go well and we had some serious attitude! Plus, Daphne woke up on Saturday morning with a low-grade fever, Lucy was up at the crack of dawn and I woke up with a headache.

However, despite a rough start to our girls' weekend, I tried to make the best of things.

We started with a pajama tea party first thing Saturday morning. I set the table on Friday night after the girls went to bed - we used my grandma's china that she gave us as a wedding present and a little tea set from my mom. We enjoyed Trader Joe's chocolate chip scones, grapes and yogurt. I filled the teapot with milk - the girls enjoyed pouring their own milk into their little teacups. I had coffee - seriously needed some caffeine this morning.

Then we did an art project. We spent several days looking at the book Come Look With Me: Exploring Landscapes with Children. Norah loves Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" so the girls made their own night time landscape paintings with texture. They turned out wonderful! I was totally impressed!

Then the girls worked hard to clean their room - fun, I know! Ha!

After rest time and lots of playing, we did some experiments with magnets. First, we tested the magnet pull of some of our magnets by putting a pin at 0 on a ruler and dragging the magnet closer and closer to the pin until the magnet actually pulled the pin towards it. Then we made butterflies dance. We tied a string to tissue paper butterflies and taped the other end of the string to the table. We put a paperclip on the butterflies and using the magnet wand we lifted the butterflies up and pulled the wand about an inch from the butterflies - making them look like they were flying!

We ended our day by playing with Legos. After Daphne went the bed, Norah, Lucy and I played with Legos for a long time. They decided to leave everything set up so they can play with Kevin when he gets home today - and, thankfully, he is close to home!! Yea!!

Honoring the Sabbath

2010-09-12T08:54:00.004-05:00

Seems like honoring the Sabbath is something that many Christians don't do anymore. Why is that? Do we feel like because it is part of Old Testament law, but isn't in the New Testament we don't have to honor the Sabbath anymore? Or have we just become so busy that we forget or don't think it is important? I don't know, but I do know that we often spend our Sundays working on projects, doing laundry, getting things ready for the coming week, etc. Sure, we go to church every week (although, as I am typing this we are not at church because Daphne is running a fever) and if the weather was nice, we would try to do something fun as a family - but that was it.

Several months ago, our pastor preached about the Sabbath. It was convicting to us. He said the it is the one commandment that we don't feel guilty that we aren't doing it. Actually, he said that we often feel guilty if we do honor it because we feel like we have to always be working. This is the commandment that God spent the most time talking about. Resting is part of God's plan. We find our value in being busy - not in being refreshed. He said God wants his people who can find refreshment, people who can be still. The Sabbath should be something we do/enjoy as a family. We can build relationships by resting as a family. Pastor Terry also says we are free of the legalism of making the 7th day our Sabbath but there is a "principle of rest that is so significant." You can listen to the whole message here - scroll down to 3/07/10.

Sunday is the most logical day for us so we have tried to actually take time to reflect as a family how God has worked in our lives over the last week. We are building relationships with our daughters - that is an everyday thing, but all week long we have so many things we are doing or thinking about. On Sunday, our focus is God and our family. No more laundry, no more projects, no more preparing for the next week. We do what we can on Saturday and the rest gets done during the week. As we talked about this, I thought, "I am too busy. I will never get everything done on Mondays. I don't want to feel chaotic and crazy at the beginning of the week. Honestly, I don't feel like Mondays are any less crazy now than before and we are taking time on Sundays to rest and be refreshed by our Creator God. Obviously, we fall into old habits easily, but Norah is the first to remind us that it is Sunday - so we shouldn't be doing any work (I do clean up the kitchen after meals, though). In fact, today, I told Norah that our babysitter is coming over to play so that I can go for a run. It was quite difficult to convince Norah that running is not work. LOL.

I am excited about the cooler weather so we can be outside and just enjoy each other and God's creation!! We are doing occasional movie nights or game nights. So often on Saturdays, Kevin will mow or work on a project while I play with/keep an eye on the kids and then we switch. I work on a project and Kevin is in charge of the girls. We are trying to make Sundays different. It is so nice to be together - all 5 of us. We have been blessed so far - and I am excited to see the blessings that come from more time together being refreshed and refueled!

Tot School

2010-09-08T13:16:00.005-05:00

(19 months)

Last week Daphne just did some really random things for Tot School. This is one of her favorite books right now. We also read this one alot.

Daphne enjoyed using this Shape and Color Sorter. She took the shapes on and off and on and off. Lucy also joined in on the fun - but was a little stressed that Daphne was not actually sorting by shape or color.

Daphne continues to LOVE coloring. She is always so focused and she BEGS to color every day - especially if Norah or Lucy is writing/drawing/coloring.

Lucy was working patterns for school last week and Daphne thought she needed to join in on the action. She worked really hard taking the unifix cubes apart and putting them back together.

For more Tot School Ideas go to 1+1+1=1.

Family Pic

2010-09-05T09:34:00.004-05:00

We spend part of the weekend in Indianapolis for Kevin's cousin's wedding. My mom bought the girls' dresses - so, Mom, this picture is for you!! More picture to come!

A Day in the Life. . .

2010-08-26T09:43:00.012-05:00

of Daphne. This is really what she does ALL day long. She is on things, under things, climbing up things, etc. It is sometimes exhausting.

Tot School

2010-08-22T14:46:00.007-05:00

19 months old

As a former preschool teacher, my mind tends to plan in themes so Daphne's first theme is All About Me. We sang the songs Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and If You're Happy and You Know It. We read The Foot Book and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb.

This week she played with the Linking People. She basically dumped them out and then put them in and out of the bowl.

Daphne tried spooning the pom pom balls from one bowl to the next. She was really concentrating on this one.

We played with Mr. Potato Head. Daphne could play with this forever! She takes the pieces out and puts them back in - over and over. She is getting pretty good at identifying her body parts - so we practiced with Mr. Potato Head (ears, eyes, mouth, arms, nose).

Check out more Tot School ideas at 1+1+1=1.

Pictures

2010-08-21T11:27:00.010-05:00

We are trying to get into a routine here - which has been . . .interesting. School with Norah takes longer than it did last year (obviously) and now adding Lucy into the mix - all while keeping Daphne entertained - making my day seem crazier than I expected. School is going well, I am just not getting much else done each day. (I should add here that we also had a major house project going on here - think carpeting torn up for about week and wood floors going in).

Anyway, my mom was asking for pictures and since I don't really have time for any lengthy blog posts - this is just going to be pictures!

As we were tearing apart the main floor - we had all our furniture in the kitchen. Daphne decided to hide under the piano.

Lucy - at the Little Gym

Norah - watching Lucy at the Little Gym

Our first week of school we were studying Creation so the girls were using playdoh to make something from each day of Creation.

Lucy working hard.

Norah's horse and Lucy's reindeer and giraffe.

Norah's cardinal and flamingo.

Daphne coloring - she is really concentrating!

First Day of School

2010-08-09T13:29:00.008-05:00

We started school today - I can hardly believe summer is over. I had so many things I wanted to accomplish - most of which I never got around to doing!!

We started out with breakfast at Cracker Barrel. All three girls were up early - and Daphne really like to eat as soon as she is awake so we were at the restaurant by about 7:30!

Kevin drove separately so he could head to work right after breakfast and the girls and I headed home. Norah and Lucy made their beds, did a couple of little chores, and were anxious to get started on school work.

Here are some pics for today:

We started talking about being attentive (we are learning about a different character trait each week) today so the girls made animal ear headbands. We talked a lot about how you show someone that you are being attentive.

Daphne needed in on the action this morning. She sat with us a lot! She also pulled out her own books to look at and tried very hard to get the markers for herself!!

As a whole the day went really well - we will need to tweak things as we go but I am so thankful that this is what God wants for our family right now. I love the excitement on their faces as we do something new/fun and I love watching the light bulb click on as the girls learn something new!!

Check This Out!

2010-08-08T16:26:00.002-05:00

Check out this website called Teaching Mommies for mom's of tots!! I totally love it and can't wait to use some of the lessons and printables with Daphne and Baby C! I love it!!

First Day of School Tradition

2010-08-05T07:31:00.002-05:00

The theme for The Homeschool Village is "celebrating back to school." For the last 2 years we have gone out to breakfast on our first day of school - all of us, including Kevin (he just goes in a little late to work).

Two years ago we went to a local bakery for donuts. Last year we went to IHOP. Norah is still trying to decide where she wants to go this year. We start Monday, so she only has a few days left to decide!!

Oksana is Home!

2010-08-01T20:28:00.003-05:00

I had a button on my side bar that said "Bring Oksana Home" - so I just wanted to update and tell you that Oksana is home. She has a family - a wonderful family! The journey has been amazing. Read all about it here.

Toothless Grin

2010-08-01T19:48:00.005-05:00

After weeks of wiggling, Norah finally lost her front tooth - and at Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Steve's house!! She looks so grown up!! Norah was so glad to lose it here because Grandma said that the tooth fairy pays more here than in O'fallon. She was right! The tooth fairy paid $2 here!! Norah was so excited!!

When Lucy woke up this morning, she said she saw the tooth fairy in the middle of the night. She said the tooth fairy first looked under her pillow and just before she flew away, she realized there was another girl in the room. That is when she looked under Norah's pillow and saw the tooth. Lucy said the tooth fairy looks a little like Tinkerbell.

A Few New Favorites

2010-07-23T22:57:00.002-05:00

I know I have linked to this blog a lot. If you haven't been there, go. She has great ideas and a great preschool curriculum!! Plus, she has a great curriculum for family Bible time. It is so appropriate for families with children a variety of ages!! Carissa also has a new "Member's Only" section to her website. It is only $10 - that's it, ever! It is great - there are power point shows that fit perfectly with the Raising Rock Stars Preschool. Lucy loves it!

Also, Carissa blogged about this site. It isn't only multiplication - so it is perfect for Norah!! The first time she took one of the timed addition tests, she was a little stressed. Now, however, she loves trying to beat her previous time!!

Chubby on the Brain

2010-07-21T17:23:00.001-05:00

Lucy: Mom, we're twins, aren't we?

Me: What is the same about us? (thinking blond hair, blue eyes, etc)

Lucy: My face is chubby and your face is chubby (squeezing my cheeks while saying this).

Nice. Thanks, Lu.

Dinner Conversation

2010-07-20T17:31:00.002-05:00

Norah: Lucy, do you know would happen if we had donuts everyday?

Lucy: No, what?

Norah: We would get REALLY chubby!

Lucy: (in a totally serious voice) Awesome.

Tot School Planning

2010-07-20T15:57:00.006-05:00

Tot School will look a little different for us this year because we are babysitting a little boy 3 days a week. Using the planning sheets from here, I have started putting together some ideas for our Tot School "adventures." Since Daphne is only 18 months and Baby C is only 1 - we won't be working on letters or numbers. I will just be introducing them to a variety of themes: farm animals, ocean animals, body parts, transportation, etc.

I love how little ones learn so much through play and I am excited to see both Daphne and Baby C. learning together. I know Norah and Lucy will be big helpers and will probably enjoy Tot School as much as the little ones!!

One thing I am working of putting together is theme boxes. I have a body parts theme box almost finished. I created this as my planning sheet so I don't forget anything. A couple of friends are also putting together some theme boxes so we will be able to share our boxes!! I am hoping having these boxes to work with will make it easier to have more intentional playtime with Daphne.

I am also making a list of all the things in the house that can be used for Tot School. I will just run down the list each week as I am prepping for Daphne and Baby C. Once I get through the list, we will go back and repeat.

I just have to figure out how to display our tot school activities. We do most of our school stuff in the basement where our playroom is. This has worked well because the little ones can play while we are doing school. I am just not sure how to make Tot school stuff separate from our normal - everyday toys.

Pre-K Planning

2010-07-20T08:32:00.003-05:00

Now that most of Norah's school stuff is planned out (actually, I only plan about 8 weeks at a time - about 6 weeks in, I will work on the second 8 weeks), I am working on plans for Lucy.

I am using My Father's World for most of Lucy's stuff, but I am adding in a handful of ideas from 1+1+1=1 Raising Rock Stars Preschool.

I decided to use this for art for Norah and am going to use the kindergarten ideas so Lucy can do it with us. I think it should work for both of them - since it is right between where they actually are in school. I am really excited about this curriculum. Once we work through the first several lessons that she suggests starting with, we will use some of the other kindergarten art lesson ideas. I think the girls will love it and I love that it walks me through the lesson! In addition, we will be browsing through this book and some others in the series.

Lucy will also participate in science with us. Even if she isn't that interested in the books we read with each topic - I think she will really like the hands-on lessons.

I will also throw in some math games and manipulatives for her - I put together this scope and sequence for Norah last year and she was able to do everything rather quickly, so I will probably start using it with Lucy a little this year.

Oh, I also bought this book for our PE lessons - I should get it in the mail today and I am very excited to look through it!!

Lucy will also hang out with us while we do our read-alouds, Bible reading, and character study.

I am going to be pretty flexible with Lucy - she won't have school everyday. She will do school a couple of days a week and then on the other days she can join us as she wants to.

Next up: Tot school ideas for Daphne and Baby C.

School Planning on the Brain

2010-07-15T20:02:00.004-05:00

Wow. After blogging every day in June - I have really slacked off in July. Oops. We have had a lot going on - playing with friends, painting, swim lessons, gymnastics, curriculum ordering and planning. Planning for first grade seems much more time consuming than kindergarten - more subjects, more time on each subject, etc. Plus, I am homeschooling Lucy for pre-k this year - so that is planning for an extra child. AND, I am taking over for Heather babysitting baby C (although, part time for me) so I would like to have some Tot School plans put in place for him and Daphne. I feel like all I am thinking about right now is school stuff.

Here is a quick overview of my curriculum choices for Norah:

History/Georgraphy - Sonlight Core 1

Spelling/LA - Sonlight

Readers - Sonlight

Grammar - First Language Lessons

Math - Singapore Level 1A (we actually started this in late summer - so we will be finished with it about 8 weeks into our new school year)

Science - Christian Kids Explore Biology

Handwriting - Rod and Staff (Rod and Staff is a curriculum written by Mennonites - therefore, they do not have a website)

Character Training and Life Skills - Little Keepers at Home and a little bit of this.

I also have to decide on art and music, and I need to have Norah decide whether she wants to do gymnastics, soccer, or dance.

Hmm. Looking at my list typed out - this looks like a lot! The good thing is that we won't do every subject every day - so maybe it won't seem so bad.

Oh, I should also add that I am doing my planning and record keeping online this year. I am excited to try it - not sure how it will go because I am so used to having my paper plans in front of my.