Catching Glimpses

"Nathaniel! Look behind you! There’s a snake! … December fools!"

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:59:26 -0700

“Nathaniel! Look behind you! There’s a snake! … December fools!”

- Kaitrin decides that practical jokes shouldn’t have to wait until April.

Homemade Marshmallows?

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:32:02 -0700

Yep. Seriously. Yum! Find the recipe here. See pictures of the fun we had at the bottom of this post.

"We’ll be gone that day to Andrew’s funeral!"

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:28:00 -0700

“We’ll be gone that day to Andrew’s funeral!”

- Kaitrin, meaning Andrew’s wedding. We hope.

Open to Interpretation

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:31:56 -0700

Kaitrin: Hey, Britton! Do you want me to draw a picture of you?
Britton: (shouting emphatically) NO!!!
Kaitrin: Do you mean 'yes'?

Want to See What We're Learning?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:14:58 -0700

http://agilehomeschooling.blogspot.com/

Purple. And Blue.

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:29:13 -0700

It was Dad’s turn to sing to the kids tonight, so I asked Nathaniel what song he wanted me to sing for him. He let me choose. So, being silly, I suggested the first made-up title that came to me. “How about, ‘If the House Turned Purple and Blue?’”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes and moaned, so I picked a different one and sang it.

Then I turned to Britton. “What song would you like, Britton?”

“House, purple and blue!”

So, yeah, I got to make up words to a song for my two-year-old tonight, about a house turning purple and blue. It was a hit, though. He asked me to sing it for him two more times. And then he asked Tarasine to sing it to him, too.

Ah, parenthood!

"Sometimes, at night, the things in my room look like monsters in the dark. But I don’t get..."

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:39:39 -0700

“Sometimes, at night, the things in my room look like monsters in the dark. But I don’t get scared. I just glare at them. That makes them go away.”

- Kaitrin (who does have a pretty intimidating glare)

Good Advice

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:28:42 -0700

Britton: This is my bread, Kaitrin. It's scary!
Kaitrin: It's scary?
Britton: Yep.
Kaitrin: Well, just eat it before it gets you, bud!

The hard facts of life, fingerplay-style

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:52:48 -0700

I asked Nathaniel to talk to Phoebe while I was preparing dinner this evening. Getting quite good at entertaining his baby sister, he went through his arsenal of rhymes and fingerplays, much to her delight. Then, I overheard a new one:

[With his left hand in the shape of a beak] This is a chick, waiting for its food.

[Using his right hand to represent a mouth] This is a dog, waiting for its food.

[Moving his left hand toward the center] Here comes the chick!

[Moving his right hand in] Here comes the dog!

Here comes the chick!

Here comes the dog!

[Making his right hand “gobble up” his left] Looks like the dog got his food!

Yep, He Belongs in Our Family!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:51:09 -0700

Yesterday, Nathaniel read an article about a family having a tough time financially who decided to make “Gratitude Lists” to focus on what they did have. It must have made an impression, because today he asked if he could make a list of what he was grateful for. (The kid loves lists. Wonder where he gets it?) Bet you’ll never guess what was number one one his list! Peanut butter. Seriously. The genes are strong in this one.

"This is my Missis-sippy cup!"

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:30:57 -0700

“This is my Missis-sippy cup!”

- Britton

An owl, a jellyfish, and an emperor penguin ready for Halloween!...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:59:37 -0700

An owl, a jellyfish, and an emperor penguin ready for Halloween! (Phoebe’s strawberry outfit was only 3/4 of the way finished, but she had a fever that day anyway. Good thing she didn’t care!)

"So, they probably believe that the earth is shaking, right?"

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:27:51 -0700

“So, they probably believe that the earth is shaking, right?”

- Nathaniel, guessing at the religious beliefs of Quakers

I LOVE Autumn. There’s something about this season that...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:35:58 -0600

I LOVE Autumn. There’s something about this season that always makes me pause and remember all I am grateful for. Today I am especially grateful for people who really care about things, and who work hard at doing difficult, thankless things because they have a vision for the future.

Many years ago, I decided to “splurge” on this mini-loaf pan. (Those were leaner days, when we were first starting out as students. I probably even used a 40% off coupon at Michael’s, but, still, it seemed like a luxury.) I have no idea how many cute tiny loaves of bread I have made with this pan, but it is a LARGE number. Almost always, I give away the loaves to people I love and admire with some words of thanks. Even after all these years, the pan is still going strong!

A few weeks ago, I got the pan out again after a bit of a hiatus. This time, I have been making mostly Apple Cinnamon Bread, Chocolate Peanut Butter Bread, and Poppy Seed Bread. I handed out a few at church, and then we spent a couple of evenings as a family this week making some larger-scale deliveries. What an amazing experience it always is to make a simple gesture of love to someone. I have been so blessed by the responses of those we have visited!

What a wonderful decision it was to buy that little pan all those years ago. Here’s hoping it has many, many more years of home-baked goodness left to share!

A Few Places to Find Tarasine

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:48:11 -0600

My fledgling homeschooling blog:

http://agilehomeschooling.blogspot.com/

I am planning to use this as a place to explore my philosophy of teaching and learning. I will also post about things we are doing in the course of our home learning adventures.

My Gospel Doctrine blog:

http://rejoicingtogether.blogspot.com/

Here’s where I have been posting my thoughts on the Gospel Doctrine lessons (some of which I teach) at church.

A personal essay I had published this year:

http://segullah.org/summer2009/myseason.php

"Mom, I don’t think math books were invented when you were a kid."

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:34:06 -0600

“Mom, I don’t think math books were invented when you were a kid.”

- Nathaniel

Hey, can we have the recipe?

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:10:02 -0600

Nathaniel: Mom, what does it mean when someone says they can't get enough of something?
Tarasine: Well, it means that they love it. They feel like they could never have too much of it, no matter how much they had.
Nathaniel: Oh. Well, just so you know, I can't get enough of Becky Allred's homemade bread!

One thing we learned this weekend . . .

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:36:06 -0600

… is that Britton can enter and exit through Grandma’s new doggy door. Look out world!

Just One Problem

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:07:01 -0600

Earlier this week, I was working with Nathaniel on writing a paragraph (which he will be presenting as part of the children’s Sacrament Meeting program at church next month). He loves metaphors, so I mentioned that a paragraph can be compared to a sandwich.

“So, the first sentence is like the top piece of bread,” he said, “and the stuff in the middle is like all the fillings, then the last sentence is like the bottom piece of bread!” We talked about how the introduction and conclusion sentences should “match”, just like the two pieces of bread. I was pleased that he caught on so quickly and that the idea really clicked for him.

“I like thinking about it like a sandwich, Mom,” he said, “but there’s just one problem. It’s making me REALLY hungry!!!”

The beginnings of a redecorating project

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:36:43 -0600

The beginnings of a redecorating project