La Wants to Read

Little La, who is now 4, has renewed energy & determination to read.  We started her in the early fall.  First watching the LeapFrog Talking Letters Factory.  This was partly a selfish act so I could have 30-40 minutes dedicated to AMP for math or spelling without interruption.

By November she wanted to try with Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons (TYCTR).  She struggled with sitting still & focusing for a whole lesson.  Yes, the lessons are easy, but they are BORING.  We  often skipped days & repeated lessons.  I could tell La wasn't quite ready.

In the early spring, we opened up TYCTR again.  She remembered most everything!!  I suppose it wasn't much - just a few letter sounds & playing the rhyme game.  We made it through lesson 10 & into lesson 11 before our crazy, busy months of April & May began.  She was doing fabulous.

This recent interest is inspired by J & AMP taking turns reading One Fish, Two Fish to the twins.  After reading a few pages, I heard La enthusiastically say, "Oh, I want to read a page too!"  J was thrilled & said she sure could!  Unfortunately, La replied, "I can't read . . . "

So with renewed zeal, we shall start up again!  On to the R sound!

The Front Garden

After ripping the deck off the house last summer to fix the water problem in the basement, we were left with a huge bare spot that looked like a perfect place for a hummingbird & butterfly garden.  But since we were busy painting the house, it had to wait until this summer.

With spring quickly & surprisingly upon us this year, I was out in the garden in early March.  There was grass to clear, edgers to put in & weeds upon weeds to pull.

Before I knew it I was off looking for perennials at garage sales.  Monardia, daisies, honeysuckle, lamb's ears, butterfly weed . . .   I quickly realized that the space I made was large enough that I didn't need to be picky about what plants I added this year.  I could always remove & add plants that were a better fit for my butterfly & hummingbird garden later.

Our neighbor has a gorgeous garden & she graciously lets me come & take what I want.  I think she is trying to get me to take more ground cover as we have much exposed dirt.  But . . . I'll wait until I get more main plants in first.  She has blessed us with daisies & phlox & forget-me-nots.  There is more in her backyard, but that will have to wait for another day.

My dad brought me milkweed . . . which I'll save for a later post.  ;)

Even our chiropractor thinned thought of us as she helped her mother thin out irises.  The purple ones that bloomed this year are absolutely, delicate & gorgeous - not mention that they smell like grapes.  YUM!

I'm a sucker for peonies, so I have a peony . . .  now three . . . ;)

In addition, the black eyed susans that were trampled last year during the deck & rock removal must have been scattered throughout because there are baby black eyed susans popping up everywhere!

The kids & I also picked out at least half a dozen packets of perennial seeds.  Unfortunately, those decided not to grow.  I'll have to contact Burpee . . .

We did find some annual seeds in the garage (from where before that???) we planted & have some gorgeous Cosmos coming up.  Any little sprouts that I cannot positively identify survive - one of the seed packets was for annual wildflowers.  I don't want to risk pulling up a flower.

More recently I've added some annuals.  I love the instant & almost constant color they add to the garden.  :)

I almost forgot to add that the kids planted our leftover bush bean seeds in the front garden . . . They survived for quite some time w/o the neighborhood rabbit population finding them.  But I'm afraid from here on out they will not be so lucky.

Laid Low

Have you ever had a sinus infection?  Well, then you know how miserable they can make you.

It's been what seems like a long road.  Started antibiotics on Thursday evening.  Spent 3 days in so much pain I cried.  Fevered on & off.  Was short w/ the kids.  Tire easily.  Little to no appetite.  blurg!

I'm not sure what to expect anymore.  In the midst of the pain I keep telling myself I'll pop back soon!  Come on, when my kids are put on antibiotics for ear infections they're bopping around like nothing happened after 28-14 hours.  What's wrong with me!?!

Today has been 4 days of antibiotics & the pressure is still unbearable unless taking ibuprofen.  Tomorrow J heads back to work.  We'll see how things are going.  Most likely, I'll be calling around lunch time begging him to try to come home early.

Random Happening

I'm still laughing about this.  That's how good it was.

Now for some back story:  Twin A had a goopy, puffy & teeny-tiny bit- red eye yesterday.  So, as a good Momma should, I scheduled an appointment, because if it is pink eye, we don't want to spread it.

8:10 this morning, I finally have all the kids in the van after searching for a lost croc for about 15 minutes while giving orders to put on coats & shoes of known location; sneaking gulps of coffee & bites of toast. After our 10 minute ride in, 10 minutes to unload & walk at a 2 year old's pace to the reception desk, we are now 10 minutes late.  Thankfully our Peds Dr. is AWESOME!!

So, we have one pink-eyed twin.  Getting through check out was insane trying to keep him from touching all the stickers they have lying around.  Thankfully he was in a snuggle-y mood & I could just hold him . . . as long as my defective S-I joints hold up.

The trek back out through the building wasn't so rushed.  I didn't need to be back for my PT appointment for another hour . . . but wait . . . we need to stop at the pharmacy for his antibiotics.  Ugh!  Oh, look!  A drinking fountain complete w/ a dispenser full of paper cups!  Unplanned pit stop, check!

After 10 more minutes & half a bottle of hand sanitizer later, we are heading out the door.  At the edge of the parking lot I successfully get all 5 of us holding hands - first time in months!  We almost make it to the van before I hear a familiar & friendly voice!  It's a good friend I haven't seen in months!  (Her kids are older & they like to go skiing . . . like alot! and some other cool places.)

While we chat, AMP tries to be buddies w/ her near 13 yr old who has his eyes dilated & isn't too happy about it.  La & Twin B just wants to show off to my friends 6.5 yr old . . .  All the while, Twin A is sitting patiently in the passenger seat playing with the light master switch in the van . . .

And you think you now were this is going, don't you?

Sadly, we don't talk that long as we both need to get moving.  So, I get all the kids buckled in.  Climb in myself, buckle, start up the van & oh!  Look at the clock!  It's 10:04!!!  Keeerrrrrappp!  I'm late for my PT appt. & I still have the kids!!  BLURG!

Talk about confusion on everyone's faces as I pull . . . no . . . yank bodies out of the van.  I practically am running with the twins in my arms, dragging AMP & a bag of books for them to read.  La is like a deer in head lights, except that her feet are moving - keeping her close to me.  After the LONGEST wait ever for the elevator, we shuffle in.  Have I mentioned before that the twins don't much care for elevators??  There are almost tears.

Finally, the reception desk!   I state my name & who I'm seeing to receive a confused look and, "I don't see you here," from the receptionist.  I replied, explaining the call from yesterday moving my original 9:30 appt. to 10.  Then it dawns on me to look at their clock . . . .

It's 9:28.

With many hugs, lots of thanks & laughs, the kids & I loaded up the next elevator.  I got them back home to the neighbors & made it to my appointment on time.

Thank you Jesus for giving me peace during the craziness today.  Even though I may have been firm & rushed, you gave me grace to get through it.  I did not yell at them.  I did laugh lots & hug them lots.  I showed them love when I could have done much, much worse.  Thank you for loving me where I am at, so I am free to be!

Jumping In

I ran across this book awhile ago:  7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess - probably in the SL forums.  It sounded interesting enough, so I added on the To Read list.  Eventually, I reserved a copy at the library & it arrived for pick up last week.

After reading the first 2 pages, I was overwhelmed.   I can't read this book alone.  I need others to surround me, to experience it, to discuss it & to hold me accountable.

In minutes, I jumped on FB, created an event, invited a around 70 friends to read it with me.

I didn't think first.  I just knew.  Now I wonder, what in the world have I just done??  Do I really feel like sharing my deepest, darkest . . . blech?  No.  But will it help me to be transformed into the image of Christ?  Yes.

Today is the day I find out who will be at my side.  Some friends are MILES away & we will have a FB group to discuss.  Some friends are right in town or nearby & we will try to meet once a week.

Some friends even want to try the mutiny experiment themselves.  I'm not sure I want to.  Probably for selfish reasons.

I'm scared.  Terrified.  How am I supposed to lead??  (insert deep defeated sigh here.)

Thankfully, I have a God who loves me & accepts me & gives me room to make mistakes so that I can grow & change.  So begins a new journey.

Confessions

Ok . . . are you ready for this one?  It's a whopper.

I really like zombies.  But not the uber gorey, fast-moving & smart ones.  I really like it when they are more put-together, slow & dumb.

My husband is a huge zombie fan thanks to some zombie movie from years ago.  I've personally never seen this life-altering movie.  From J's talk about it, I can remember is that there are lots of zombies & a mall.  It must be from the 80's if there's a mall.

So, he is the one responsible for this.  Back, probably when AMP was just a babe, he rented Shaun of the Dead.  I immediately rolled my eyes & announced that I was going to keep prepping for the AP biology class I was currently teaching.

My desire to be snuggling w/ my husband won out.  Within minutes, the biology textbooks were abandoned.  I was cozied up to my dearest & prepared to watch a movie I would not enjoy.

ha!  I was a fool!  I laughed my hinder off.  Except at the end where I was on the uneasy side of things.  But it wasn't enough to keep me away.

Then Zombieland was released.  Not what we were hoping for, but still had plenty of laughs & zombie action.

Fast forward about 5 years.  I have listening to J tell me about the latest zombie book he heard about or is reading.  Most captivating was World War Z.  J would spend hours telling me about the story, what he'd do if he were part of a war on zombies or if he had written the book himself.  I have to admit, I enjoyed every minute & encouraged his imagination.  What's better is that it was turned into a screenplay &  is being filmed right now!!  J (& I) anxiously await World War Z in June 2013.

Now, I'm not innocent here.  I've sought out my own zombie materials.  I have had the pleasure of reading Zombies vs. Unicorns, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies:  Dawn of the Dreadfuls as well as Pride & Prejudice & Zombies.  I hope to enjoy Pride & Prejudice & Zombie:  Dreadfully Ever After, the third & final installment in the tepid trilogy.  And when I say tepid, I'm not referring to the writing or my enjoyment - rather the temperature of the dreadfuls blood.  hehehe.

I haven't even gotten to the best part!  The Walking Dead is an original series on AMC.  They just finished up their second season & I am in ♥.  It's not so much zombie as it is about survival, family & treating others by the second greatest commandment.  But the zombies are they way I like 'em . . . with a little extra gore sprinkled in (I close my eyes for those parts).

I hope you won't think any differently of me, now you know this teeny-tiny secret of mine.  ;)

Choosing For Next Year

I have a problem.  Not a huge, life altering problem.  Just a tiny one.  But it could have a big impact on our year.

What curriculum do I choose?

If I was only thinking of AMP, this would be easy-peasy.  BUT . . .
Homeschooling,
 . . . LaLa is ready to start.  In fact she all ready has.  This year, per her request, we've begun reading lessons.  She begs for worksheets and she's not picky about what she does.  She just wants to do school.

This shouldn't be so difficult.  But it is.

We love Sonlight.  Our family is a bunch of readers, so it fits us very well.  I want to order Core B for next year, but . . .

LaLa might be a little young at 4yrs old for some of the material.

And if she's young now, what will it be like when we're ready for Core C?

I want to stick with Sonlight.  I'm thinking we just might take a break for a year.

AMP will keep moving up in his math - though I'd like to try Math-U-See, but am completely satisfied with Singapore.  He'll keep reading - I'm not worried about that.  Handwriting will continue on, spelling, science . . .

Oh boy . . .

Thinking about some other curriculums . . . maybe FIAR??

Our Little Garden is GROWING!!

Before I left for my little weekend craft retreat on Friday AM, our little garden had teeny-tiny, little sprout just beginning to peek out of the soil.  But when I returned on Sunday evening , what I saw . . . well <insert jaw drop!> . . . WOW!!  When we build the raised bed & green house, I wasn't quite so sure what to expect.  Here's a photo of AMP, LaLa & I tending to it yesterday.  (Don't judge the photo skills - by the time I realized I had my hand & a ton of plastic we were done watering, & AMP & LaLa were busy romping around w/ the twins.)

On the far left  to right are snap peas, bush beans & variety lettuce.  Past the lettuce is basil & then cliantro (which I'm not sure sprouted).  Back left is pole beans - which are growing like weeds!!  Time to get the trellis built!

Aside:  I over planted the lettuce for a reason.  In Bird N' Blooms, I read an article about Goldfinches also being known as lettuce birds, because they LOVE lettuce seeds.  It spoke about letting some of your lettuce go to seed in the garden.  I'm going to try this in our garden & see what results we can get.  ♥ Gold finches ♥

2012 - The First Months

I discovered Pinterest in the Fall of 2011, but I was disciplined knowing the holidays were coming.  But than after New Year's . . .  Pinterest sums up our January & February.  It chewed me up & spit me out.  I was overwhelmed:  crafts, to home decor, fashion, hair, tot activities, gardening, sewing, crochet & even homeschooling!!

Where was I to start??

February found me desiring a change in how I homeschooled.  I've been hearing more & more about The Relaxed Homeschooler.  And I want to be relaxed, so I tried simplifying.  Fewer worksheets, more hands-on, interactive activities.  Time was spent researching, reading, & gathering supplies.  Frustration at the cost of desired supplies, so cheaper substitutions were made.  AGH!!

After a few weeks of trying new things, I realized - it's not how I operate best.  Thankfully, I learned tons about Montessori methods & have many new activities.

Now it's May . . . yes, May.  We taken many weeks off due to illnesses, busyness aside from school & just because.  I have to say, that I'm so thankful for homeschooling.  Because even though we haven't officially sat down & worked in our math workbook, we're still learning.  AMP & LaLa have been cooking with me, assisting with cleaning, caring for others, laundry & more!!

We've never stopped reading.  Our weekly trip to the library for story time just ended as the program takes a break before the busy summer season.   We've always had at least 80 books on loan.  AMP is incredibly self-motivated & is reading some pretty big books for such a little guy.  I'm so thankful for his enjoyment of reading.

But, with summer quickly approaching, I feel a need to get some things done.  Finishing Singapore KB is one of them.  We don't have much left.  (I had thought in February that we would start in 1A by now.)  We'll be working on time & money, which Jarrod has been introducing to AMP over the past month through some  well-timed teachable moments.  The only other thing I would like to finish up is going through the 2nd grade readers.  Not so much because AMP needs the practice, but because I need to check something off the list.  I'm thankful AMP enjoys the stories so it's not just busywork for him.

Our Little Greenhouse

We were so inspired by all the great food from our CSA last summer.  As a family, we decided that we wanted to have a garden.   The kids & I talked about our garden all winter.  Thanks to Pinterest, I was full of ideas.  But, I did some good ol' research at the library & we came up with our game plan.  A raised bed w/ a PVC network over the top to support greenhouse plastic or netting, with the option to add a trellis if we wanted anything that climbed.

The building of the raised bed came first &, thankfully, my dad was able to come up & help.  AMP &  LaLa help Grandpa dig, lay down sand, pour dirt, rake & of course offer lots of distractions.  I was able to help a bit, but my attention was mostly focused on keeping the twins out of the way & happy.  After the first weekend we had the raised bed full of dirt & potential.

The following week, the kids & I collected supplies for the greenhouse - lots of PVC & a painter's 2 mil painting plastic.  Specific greenhouse plastic was not available here, so we had to improvise.  I roped my husband into sawing all the PVC for me.  As I shuffled out of the house from my accidental nap with the twins, Jarrod had the PVC assembled & installed on the bed.  Then of course the weather got quite chilly again, which meant waiting longer to get our seeds in the ground.  

After a week & a half of waiting, I got so antsy.  It wasn't even a nice day out.  Bundled up, the 5 of us braved the chilly wet weather, thanking Jesus that at least it wasn't too windy.  As the twins played, AMP, LaLa & I carefully unfolded & laid out the plastic, wrapped up the raised bed much like you would a present too big to lift off the ground.  We used some packing tape on the sides & stakes at the bottoms.  SUCCESS!!  

Now to plant!  Out came the packets of seed:  snap peas, bush beans, pole beans, variety lettuce, cilantro, basil & tomatoes.  We quickly planted our seeds, watered & got ourselves back in.  

It's been about a week & a half since then & when the sun is shining, it is quite warm under the plastic.  I think I see lettuce & basil sprouts, but it could just be weeds from the garden soil we used.  We are anxious to see more growth & enjoy peeking every couple days to see the progress.

One bonus about the PVC framework is that we can remove the plastic, recover w/ netting & move it to the front yard over our future strawberry patch.  But first we need remove the remaining grass & acquire some strawberry plants.