M.I.N.E.

This is too long to read :)

2014-03-19T13:56:00.003-04:00

We have had a very successful day homeschooling. It's been a long time since we had a day of what I think homeschooling "should" look like. One thing I've learned in the last few weeks is that chores in the morning, afternoon and evening are a very important part of school. I have been including the kids in these chores and find that when I really make sure this happens, our day goes much more smoothly.

When I was first beginning homeschool (okay, like last month), I wondered what multi-age learning might look like. Today we spent half an hour on math. All three of us read a counting book (Maryn helped read it, and it even mentioned single file, so we got to learn what that means), Cookie's Week (a book that covers the days of the week), we sang the days of the week song, checked out our schedule to see when snack time and lunch time were, looked at the clock, played with a toy clock, and then Maryn and I read her Life of Fred book (our math curriculum). It was so easy, so natural, and so unplanned. The kids loved it, too.

Maryn is enjoying listening to A Midsummer Night's Dream at night as I read to her. Sometimes we have no idea what is going on, but it sure does sound pretty. We do stop often to summarize, but we are both really enjoying it.

Maryn is making her way steadily through her cursive writing book. She mostly does it by herself now and just loves it. Josiah is working on recognizing and making his name, letters and counting. Owen is totally into doing school and is catching on to letters, letter sounds, and counting like a champ (mostly from TV shows...).

Maryn is doing well with her computer program, Reading Eggs. She knows 120 sight words and is reading at what they say is an age level of 6. The big kids are doing great memorizing Scripture for Cubbies and Sparks, always receive good reports from their Sunday and Wednesday teachers, and Owen is just a very fun toddler that, though he gets into trouble at home, steals everyone's hearts. :)

Maryn has taken two art classes now and enjoys that immensely. She is usually in the class with older kids and hardly anyone she knows (she recognizes a few kids, but none are quite friends yet). I'm so proud of her for being brave, as I just drop her off there for two hours to take an art lesson.

You may have seen pictures of our Valentine's Day Party, St. Patrick's Day Potluck, etc. That is the home school group at our church. It's been a real treat to get to know some of those families, who all go to our church too, most live in our area, and have a chance to talk to moms who really seem to have a lot in common with me. It's also really fun to have my little kids around kids their age and kids of all ages. This is one of my favorite things about home schooling. Many say kids should not be homeschooled because they will not get enough socialization. It's actually quite the opposite. Our kids are learning how to interact with children younger and older than them. I was surprised at the St. Patrick's Day party how we all were in a big gymnasium, with lots of things going on, lots of running around, and the teenagers were so good at looking out for the little ones. And the little ones were good at looking out for the big kids :)

John and I visited a co-op that is less than 10 minutes from our house. Our kids and I would all go there one day a week for classes. I would probably be in the nursery, Owen would be in a nursery type room, Josiah would be able to do more preschool type stuff in other rooms, and Maryn would go to several different classes for lessons based on Five in a Row books, Apologia Science (astronomy and botany, which she would LOVE), and possibly some basic Latin, art instruction, physical education, etc. Reading instruction and math would both still happen at home. It would be on Mondays, which are long days for John at work. This might help us not miss him so much and start our week off strong.

John likes his job at Home Depot a lot. He's a lot less stressed, makes more money, and I feel like he is in a much friendlier, rewarding environment. But his hours are long and ridiculous, and his commute is usually 45 minutes long. It has been really tough to keep up on homeschooling, housework, cooking, errands, etc., without feeling totally overwhelmed, stressed, isolated, depressed, and lonely. Hopefully as the weather begins to change and I make more connections with our homeschooling group, and as we begin our co-op next fall, we can get some relief from feeling so overworked.

Baby Olivia's birth is scheduled just 30 days from today. We are nowhere near ready. There are so many things we still need, but are waiting for John's bonus from work......which as you can imagine, is driving me insane. I love to plan and prepare. I see such amazing sales at Zulily come and go. Maryn's downstairs room is nowhere near ready, we have nowhere for the baby to sleep, and a dozen jobs around the house lay unfinished....which also drives me crazy. John isn't here to help, and I've become rather limited by my condition :) Also, Owen is quite a handful. It's pretty difficult to accomplish anything with him around. Maryn is a tremendous help, but she and Josiah fight so much, I can't leave them alone for long.

I have a very idealistic vision of sitting outside nursing or holding Olivia, while the cloth diapers dry on the line, watching the three older kids play and play and play all day. We'll snack on tomatoes from the garden and play in the sprinklers and picnic on the table outside for lunch. I'll just throw salami or something at them. :)

Maryn and Josiah have been painting while I type this and Owen is napping. It's time for me to clean up these paints and prepare for the Tasmanian Devil to re-enter. I think I'll get a snack ready, too. :)

Oh....and I have to prepare for Cubbies. I'm still teaching Cubbies, because I am obviously insane.

And laundry.

And I have to iron a badge on Josiah's Cubbies vest.

And I have to make yogurt. And dinner.

I think it'll be movie time. We bought Frozen yesterday :)
'

2014-02-01T22:43:00.002-05:00

Our Target Registry

The countdown has begun! Little Miss will be here in less than TEN weeks!!!! I'm so excited to see this sweet baby's face. Am I nervous about having four kids? Here are my concerns:

1. My head will explode with all the cuteness in our house.
2. Owen will destroy everything as I become a little less mobile for the next few months, with nursing and all.
3. The dog probably isn't going to adjust very well....

I was able to find some things at Target.com that we could use for cloth diapering. The liners we plan to buy used from a cloth diapering service in town. I think I can get some used diaper covers as well. I found the Thirsties covers on Target.com. I'm planning to use cheap liners this time, not microfiber...I think they'll last longer, be cheaper and easier to replace if necessary, and with Owen's weirdo allergy, these cheaper liners are less risky for allergies, 100% organic cotton, and about $2 each. So if you want to buy us any cloth diapers, please don't buy the entire diaper sets, cover and liner, which run about $20 each, yikes.

Going to bed! This is all for now. :)

Kansas and the Wild West!

2014-01-27T22:00:00.001-05:00

We had such a fun cowboy day! We tried to venture out to the library as early as we could, which means of course that we left at about 10:45. :) We picked up all of our cowboy and western books that we had on reserve and picked out a few more western books (they are every where and so easy to find!) from the shelves. After feasting on some cow shaped macaroni and cheese (Horizon has new organic mac and cheese and it was 50 cents/box this week at Kroger!), I put Owen down for a nap, started Maryn on some finger knitting (very cool, fun and addictive), and Josiah and I started making the bread for bierocks. He is my little chef now. I think it has to do with age three. Three year olds seem to be immensely more helpful than the overconfident five year olds.

So we had fun today making bierocks. Josiah loved kneading the dough, and Maryn, Josiah and Owen loved helping to fill and fold them up. We packed them up in bandannas for our big cattle drive to the railroad. When we got to the "railroad" and opened up our "lunches," Josiah pulled a carrot out of each pocket. I shouted, "JOSIAH!" And Maryn came to his defense, "Mom, he was out on the range all day. He needed to have some food!" It was pretty cute. :)

Samson was a horse or a Texas Longhorn all day. I had a hard time explaining outlaws and some other things about the West, so after dinner we watched "The Shakiest Gun in the West" starring Don Knotts. I don't think I can recommend it for homeschooling families.......but it was okay, and covered some of the things "Westerns" have, but in a more family friendly manner...sorta. :)

We read about Dodge City, KS. We had to kind of talk about saloons, alcohol, and gambling...which was weird, because I wasn't sure how to describe these things to a little kid. Ha! Maybe I'll teach her some gambling tomorrow...it'd tie right into our Seminole lessons from last week :)
(Our Florida Meal #2 was Indian Fry Bread Tacos)

Here's a list of books we read:

Home on the Range (and we listened to some Roy Rogers)
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa books
Cowboys and the Wild West, Staton
Chuck's Band
Every Cowgirl Loves a Rodeo
Kids Learn America! Bringing Geography to Life...

Here's our bierocks recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/bierocks

We're also having some chili this week, of course. ;-)

Our Florida Meal #1 Recipes

2014-01-18T15:29:00.001-05:00

(See post below as well, for photos. We served this with grilled garlic lime shrimp)

Sauteed Corn, Spinach, Bacon and Scallions

4 slices of bacon, cut into 1 inch strips
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, minced
3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 4 ears of corn)
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (optional)
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 scallions both white and light green parts, sliced
4 cups baby spinach leaves

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium high heat, turning occasionally, until browned, 4-6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1 tsp. of the fat from the skillet (save it for something later!).

2. Add the butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally until tender (about 2 minutes). Add the corn the red bell pepper and red pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Crumble the bacon and add it along with the scallions and the spinach, 2 cups at a time. Stir until the spinach leaves have wilted and combined with the corn, about 1 minutes.

Key Lime and Cream Cheese Pie
(recipe from Carolyn Hewitt)

1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 prepared graham cracker crust

Soften cream cheese. Whip with condensed milk until smooth. Add vanilla extract. Fold in (gently) Cool Whip and Lime Juice; blend well. Pour into crust, smooth. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Florida Fun!

2014-01-18T15:14:00.001-05:00

John has been such a fabulous partner in homeschooling. Our Florida study would not be nearly as fun and interesting without him and all his hard work this week. He chose the recipes for this meal and made them, except the Key Lime Pie, the recipe for which I received from a lady in Florida. I think the next time I make the Key Lime Pie, I'll make it a little bit healthier with just homemade whipped cream, which would make it a tad healthier and more dense. But this light, fluffy version was really nice too! The Key Lime pies I tried in Key West were a lot thinner and more dense, but I liked this quite a bit more.

Squeezing the limes was quite a chore. We finally got 1/4 cup of juice and Josiah spilled the whole thing!

John got home from work and started cooking the shrimp. Ooooh it was so good!

We also made sautéed corn, spinach bacon and scallions, a recipe from a book my Aunt Vicky got me for Christmas, The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman.

The kids all loved the shrimp and Key Lime Pie. Owen was not a fan of the corn side dish. He is just not a veggie eater yet. :(

Today, we had a picnic on the "beach." Then the kids changed into their swimsuits and "went swimming." We listened to ocean sounds on our Sonos system. It was a lot of fun pretending with the kids! They left all their food downstairs on the floor while they went up to change and I told them the sea gulls were eating their food. Josiah came down screaming at the "sea gulls." Ha! They were totally into it. Our meal last night was "on the Gulf" (it was Gulf Coast Shrimp), but our picnic today was near Miami (the waves we listened to were bigger and noisier).

We also decorated our dining area with palm trees, mockingbirds, orange blossoms, FL maps, and the Florida flag. We watched a couple Florida/Gulf Coast cooking shows and learned a bit about Haiti and Cuba as well. We read books about Florida sea creatures (shrimp, manatees, jellyfish, sharks), Florida in general, Haitian culture, beaches, and coastal wildlife.

Next up, we will start learning about the Seminoles, pioneers and farming in Florida. We will be making Indian Fry Bread and Indian Tacos, and soaking some cornmeal a little similar to the way Seminoles would have done hundreds of years ago.

Maybe next week we will move on to Louisiana and try out some Gumbo or Jambalaya. But you know, I'm kind of wanting to take a break from the States and spend some time learning about Cuba (because I need a Cuban sandwich ASAP!).

Homeschooling Update :) :)

2014-01-16T15:04:00.000-05:00

Maryn

Homeschooling/Kindergarten: Maryn turned five at the end of September and we really started our homeschooling adventure around that time, although we have been unofficially "homeschooling" of course, since she was born.

Homeschooling is quite the experience. It's a lot harder than I expected but also more rewarding than I expected, and though it is very hard (and kindergarten is EASY...I know it's going to just get harder), our choice to homeschool is confirmed all the time. There are many things Maryn does or experiences each day and I think to myself, "I am so glad we're home schooling her." There are also times at church when I see her interact with her peers when I think the same thing. She does just fine socially, but she has unique talents and interests, and I think a school setting with squash these. For example, two of her favorite things are building things and being outside (gardening, building, climbing, digging, collecting, playing) and in schools these days, there is very little opportunity for those things.

Reading/Spelling/Writing: We have been practicing the first 55 phonograms and we are doing Spalding/Writing Road to Reading/Spell to Write and Read for our Spelling and phonograms. She loves spelling and is pulling all the elements of reading together. If you're into scores, she knows 86 sight words and is reading at a 6 year old level, according to Reading Eggs, a computer program we bought for her.

We are enjoying the Narnia series right now.

Math: We are doing Life of Fred and other hands on math activities, plus memorizing addition facts. Maryn loves Math, loves flash cards, and asks to do time tests every day. She just did her second time test the other day and did 38 problems in 3 minutes! Not bad! Probably better than I could do when I was eight. :)

Some hands on Math and other things we've been doing: Calendar, measuring things around the house, estimation, tens and ones/cuisinaire rods, counting by tens and fives, finding patterns in the hundred chart, weighing things on a balance, telling time, etc. Many of these things just happen naturally in play or while the kids help me around the house. Or when John built Josiah's bed.

Science: We learned about the human body, and Maryn wasn't crazy about that. Josiah is far more interested in our inner bodies than Maryn, who thinks it's gross. :) We did an experiment when it was really cold outside to see what would freeze the fastest. I think we may read some books on the water cycle or states of matter soon.

History: We are reading the book 10 Girls Who Changed the World and will be reading about Martin Luther King Jr. this week in honor of his birthday. We also get a lot of history in when we do our Social Studies/Geography stuff below... We have been working through our book "The Pioneer Sampler" all year as well and of course watch the occasional Little House on the Prairie.

Social Studies/Geography: We just started learning about the 50 States and the last few days have just been doing our states puzzle, states BINGO, state songs, USA songs, etc. Today or tomorrow we will begin learning more about Florida and this week we'll be eating some Florida foods. My goal in this is not to have Maryn memorize Florida facts and such, but to get an idea of how areas of our country are so different and why that may be so. Florida has unique animals such as manatees and alligators, who like a certain habitat and certain kinds of water. Florida has unique native peoples, the Seminole Tribe--when many other Native Americans were pushed or forced west, why weren't the Seminoles? These are the types of questions we'll research and hopefully answer.

Bible: We are reading through the Bible this year as a family. At least we're going to try! It's pretty fast, but we're trying to at least hit on most of the main Bible stories in Genesis right now and are covering more stories and topics than ever before, including lots of the sin that book. Maryn is learning a lot more about sex, polygamy, circumcision and reproduction from the Bible than I ever thought I'd teach a five year old! But the kids are all really enjoying the Bible, and this morning while John and I read our Bibles, the kids all had to grab their own Bibles (Owen too) and read at the table with us. Very, very sweet.

She's also memorizing tons of verses for Awana/Sparks. And we try to do a hymn each month, learning the words, learning some of the background, etc. And we try to pray for a specific thing each day of the week (we pray for Missionaries on Mondays, Family on Fridays, etc.)

I'd like to be continuing doing our catechism with them but I keep losing the little book. Argh!

That's my schpeel about homeschooling for now. I had lots of updates for Owen and Josiah too but will have to get back to the blog later. :)

Christmas Season December 2013

2013-12-13T13:25:00.000-05:00

We are having a very special Christmas season. I started reading, and am still skimming the e-book "A Simpler Season" by Jessica Fisher. This book was recommended to me by my friend Johanna who has a blog called My Home Tableau. Do like her page on facebook and follow her blog. Her ideas and tips have really helped me simplify around here, she has lots of good book reviews, always passes on free e-book information, and writes a lot about efficiency and simplicity in the home. Two things I need to be encouraged in especially as we add another family member to our mix.

A few weeks ago, the kids and I made a list of things we really wanted to do this season. What do you know, most of it involved staying at home. Playing in the snow, drinking hot chocolate, making cookies, decorating, making a gingerbread house, etc. These things don't cost a lot of money, and we have been staying home A LOT. I have actually felt kind of lazy lately. But a lot of stuff is going on inside our home. We are making special memories.

Hanging lights outside for the first time ever.

Making pecan snowball cookies

Playing in the snow.

Making ornaments. I believe all the ornaments pictured here have already been destroyed.

Watching lots of Christmas movies.

Samson enjoying the snow!

Owen hanging his "Baby's First Christmas" ornament from last year.

The kids always love to hang up Daddy's Rudolph ornaments. One of these also was broken this year. :)

Maryn adores all her ornaments and my fairy ornaments.

Josiah got to put the star on top! And Maryn handled this very well.

decorating a gingerbread house.

I took the kids to see a Christmas Play "Jingle Argh the Way!" at the Derby Dinner Theatre.

Making Christmas cut outs just like my Grandma Curie and Mom used to do with me.

Painting our nails before our friends' annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party.

Our gingerbread house.

Baby Prep

2013-12-02T15:05:00.001-05:00

Some people are already asking what we need for our newest family member, baby Olivia, due in April. We really don't need very much so I was planning not to register or do a wish list. But I thought I'd record some ways we thought of for you to help if you so desire.

Your Time

Maryn, Josiah and Owen would love to get out of the house and go to a park or somewhere...anywhere...away from sleepy Mommy and crying Olivia. Sleepy Mommy would love for you to take care of the kiddos for a few hours while she gets a shower or a nap as well. :)

Cloth Diapers

We really need a whole new diaper stash and plan to use Green Mountain Diapers. They are very affordable! I'm guessing we'd need a few newborn sets and a few "yellow" or small sets. We are also hoping to use diaper covers with these. The diaper covers are far more expensive but they are reusable and don't have to be washed every change. We have heard good things about "Flip" diaper covers but would try anything. We would also need 2 wet diaper bags for a large kitchen sized trash bin, and baby wash cloths to use as baby wipes.

Food, Meals, Gift Cards

If you are nowhere near us and still want to help us out with a meal, we have many restaurants close by. Papa John's, Penn Station, McAlister's Deli, Chick Fil A, and Moe's are some of our favorites and many of them have "Kids Eat Free" nights to make them very affordable.

That's all for now :) Thanks for all your support and well wishes. We are so excited to welcome baby four to our family!

Our kids, good and bad, big and small, I love them all :)

2013-11-06T13:45:00.000-05:00

Owen

I was just thinking about how different is each child of ours as I took Owen upstairs after he nearly spilled chia seeds all over the kitchen. I was actually putting the Chia seeds back and found that he had hidden carrots in each of our kitchen cabinets. He really must be the "baddest" toddler I've ever had, maybe because he has more room to roam, I have less time to keep an eye on him, and he has two older siblings to teach him bad things. He also bit Josiah today, which is not unusual, but this time he really broke through the skin and peeled off a part of Josiah's skin....on Josiah's back, the poor thing.

Now that you think I'm crazy for pinpointing one of my children as the "worst," I will just go on to say he's also the "cutest." He bats his eyelashes at me and gives me a bashful little glance when he is trying to manipulate me. He also understands a lot that is going on. He isn't talking a whole bunch. He does jabber a lot and repeats a lot of words, but his big strength is he understands. For example, I really struggle with getting to Josiah to just follow my directions. It's really an obedience issue for Josiah (and he's pretty tired in the evenings). I told Josiah to pleeeeeeease find his other shoe. Josiah wandered around aimlessly not quite knowing what to do, and Owen went and found Josiah's other shoe straight away, without any trouble.

Another unique thing about Owen is his love for books. He loves to read books with people! My other kids have not been crazy about books like him. He also can't fall asleep with us at all; he's always wanted to be in his own bed and is pretty particular about his bedtime routine already. He loves TV, too! He's my first kid who will really sit as a toddler and watch it. It's kinda nice. :)

Josiah

Josiah does require a lot of patience as well, in a different way than Owen. So many times a day I think, are you HEARING me!!!???? And I know he is as his hearing has been tested recently by our ENT....it's like he wasn't hearing well for so long, we required little of him, and now he is hearing and functioning at a higher level and he sometimes thinks he can play dumb. He's also just not doing things very independently. He's happy to just let Mommy dress him while his body lies completely limp. I always thought I would train my kids to do things for themselves, but with Josiah I feel we just got off to a rough start with him.

We are also still struggling with sleep with Josiah. Ugh, it's no fun!

Considering he just started talking and hearing normally in February, he is doing splendidly. He is really a typical three year old boy with exceptional athletic ability (I think!). We've been learning about the human body (so far cells, blood, bones and skin). Maryn is totally grossed out by it all and can't remember a single thing I teach her about it. Josiah is completely into it! I caught him looking at all the anatomy books today. John and I keep saying he is probably going to grow up to do something that helps people/rescues people. Even though he does kind of like to beat up people now, he seems the type to be able to stay calm in stressful situations and remain focused. Again, just like his daddy. Always so much like his daddy.

Maryn

We've been doing school this week pretty hardcore. Yeah! We're learning about the pilgrims and the human body, Claude Monet and George Frideric Handel, Lewis Carroll, memorizing addition facts and reading lots of books. Yeah, we're kind of all over the place right now. Maryn loves history, math and science. She can't get enough info in her head about pilgrims, wants to do more and more math flash cards all the time, is still addicted to puzzles, and loves anything to do with engineering, nature, etc. But she does not enjoy learning about anything "gross," meaning blood, bones, and the insides of bodies. lol. It's probably safe to say she will not be a doctor ;-) We see her doing something in the area of art, architecture, design, using math to make things beautiful or make things make sense. Which is weird to me, but whatever. She is reading well but doesn't enjoy learning "how to read," she just wants to memorize the words and read. She's not interested in the phonograms, but if a reading game is in the form of a puzzle or something like that, she is into it. And she loves word finds and crossword puzzles. :)

I haven't been taking many pictures with our nice camera because our SD card is full, but you can check out facebook for pics on our school days lately.

Fire Engine #4

2013-10-04T15:41:00.001-04:00

Owen loves to sit on these stairs and read. He is my first toddler who has LOVED to read.

Here we are at the fire station "Fire Engine #4!" It was such a nice field trip. Josiah was super excited. When the four fire fighters came out, Josiah said, "I'm Josiah. This is Maryn. I have a basement. I like your boots!" The firefighter said, "I like your Batman shirt!"

Here's a small group of kids learning about the oxygen tanks, which way about 70 lbs. Here they were also learning about the oxygen mask and a special alarm on the tank alerting the team if one of their team members is lying still for more than 30 seconds, so they can save him.

Josiah tried on the oxygen mask! I'm so glad he wasn't scared of it.

This is a firefighter/EMT, the sergeant, another firefighter/EMT, and the fire chief/EMT.

Our little group! We had lots of babies and toddlers there with us, too :)

Kindergarten and Preschool! Week One

2013-10-03T21:54:00.002-04:00

I planned to start school with Maryn a little more hard core than ever before on Monday. But the kids were playing so well outside, I just let them play all morning (and we were at the ER with Josiah until midnight the night before). A similar thing happened on Tuesday, and we skipped Motor Skills. Then Wednesday came and eh...we did phonograms and of course read our Bible, practiced our Awana verses, did some little writing practice (because Maryn has a strange love for writing on lines), and did some Fruit Loop Math. :) Maryn came to me with all of her capital ABCs written on paper, and told me to circle the ones she needed to practice. So she practiced S and B. That day Maryn also read two books to me that were upper Kindergarten/Early First Grade levels for the first time, and she did very well.

Today was Thursday and I was at a doctor's appointment ALL morning and came home absolutely exhausted. So we just sat on the couch and read Maryn's math book (Life of Fred: Apples) and did the short activities at the end. Then we read a large chapter in her book "A Pioneer Sampler" which all the kids enjoyed.

Maryn and I have been reading Milly Molly Mandy before bed, which she loves. Maryn and Daddy make up stories for their bed time ritual. For Josiah and Owen, I read a book with them of their choice and so does John. In the mornings, we always do some sort of Bible reading. Usually it's just right out of the Bible, but sometimes we need to practice our verses for Awana and read those books and sometimes we read from a children's Bible. Right now we are reading from Chronicles, about King Solomon. We just finished up 1 and 2 Samuel. I love the Old Testament. We enjoyed reading about Samuel, Saul, and King David. I can't wait to read about Elijah.

I think this may be kind of how our whole school year goes. I'd like to work a little more on phonograms (more than once a week), do more guided reading (more than once a week), and just keep the television off more often. So much learning takes place naturally when the TV is off.

I'm regretting signing the kids up for Motor Skills and wish I had used the money to do gymnastics or ballet. Josiah will not participate at Motor Skills, so I drive 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back (traffic is bad those times of day) and get home right at supper time. It really makes for a miserable day. I was looking forward to the time with several of our former neighbors, but by the time we get there, I'm exhausted and frustrated, and spend most of the time just trying to keep up with Josiah and Owen. Sigh.

And of course I committed to teaching Cubbies this year, making our Wednesday nights almost absolutely tragic, as the kids finally fall asleep around 10...and still wake up at 6...meaning Josiah must take a nap the next day....meaning he is then up till ten the next night....

It seems like things at church are just not going very well (long story, but fyi, it doesn't have to do with the leadership, it's just a lot of little things) and now John works so far away. I wonder why we moved to this area of town now, why I committed to Cubbies and Motor Skills, why I don't like Beth Moore Bible studies anymore, why am I complaining on my blog about everything, and why do I not like the busy life...compared to most people, our lives are not that busy. Why am I reminded every day that I am not cut out to be a mother of three (almost four) small children? I know for a fact that they are no more annoying than most children their ages, so why do I get so upset and annoyed by them? I have been keeping the house too clean. Seriously, I know I should not be cleaning as much as I have been. But I just feel helpless in every other area. At least I think I can succeed in keeping our house nice, so that when John IS home (when all the rest of us are sleeping), maybe he'll feel comfortable and like I did something for him. Which is totally silly, and defeating. None of the encouraging mommy blogs are encouraging to me, that all the other moms say "This was so encouraging!"

I know I need to focus on the gospel. I need to get off Facebook and focus on the here and now. And go to sleep (now).

I have ONE more week of first trimester to go, and after that hopefully I'll be a little more....cheery. :)

Happy 5th Birthday, Maryn!!!

2013-09-26T16:19:00.000-04:00

Maryn turned five early this morning and we had a wonderful party today at noon with some of her best friends.

We couldn't invite all of our church AND seminary friends over for a gigantic birthday party, so we just invited a few friends who we knew would be home during the day. Because of that I'm posting some pictures here on the blog instead of facebook and ask that if you repost these pics, please don't tag me. :)

Mommy really made sure this party-loving, decoration crazy girl got the party of her dreams. I did it up right this time!

She was so, so, so very excited for her big day.

We had a cake and ice cream sundae making station, so the kids got to choose from strawberry or funfetti cake, fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, maraschino cherries), whipped cream and sprinkles.

We wanted to make sure all the Strawberry Land girls were included in the party preparations. So Lemon Meringue made the lemonade and Blueberry Muffin, Raspberry Torte, and Cherry Cuddler all helped provide the fruit.

Josiah and Maryn loved seeing Gracyn and her new baby brother. They used to be our neighbors and we miss them very much.

Maryn had six little girls here to play with and she spent a majority of her time playing with her buddy, Eli. :) I love the friendship these two have, especially since Maryn used to pretty much hate him. :)

The Erdmans and the Powells. Minus Aidan. Oh, here he is....

I missed getting pictures of the McFarlands and the Wiggers, and Gracyn would not look at the camera! But we had ten little kids here, plus three toddlers/babies. And two pregnant mamas. It was a lot of fun!

This is our "pin the strawberry on the vine" game. Who did the best? The two and three year olds! Josiah was the winner!!!

We ate three large Papa John's pizzas, one with Maryn's favorite toppings (mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, extra cheese, sausage) and my kids were the only kids who would eat that one, lol. Ella Grace devoured three pieces of pizza plus her ice cream and cake! We listened to Strawberry Shortcake music and played in the kids' rooms, and played outside. All the girls got cute reusable Strawberry Shortcake cups with fun favors inside (mostly jewelry, accessories and candy). The boys got reusable Batman cups with fun favors, too (candy, disc shooters, sunglasses, Batman stuff).

I think all the kids had a lot of fun. I even enjoyed it, too! I like simple parties, and although the decorations and the food did take a lot of time and money, Maryn was so happy....She just LOVES this kind of stuff. She is such a girly girly girl!

I totally did not plan well and we aren't going to be able to have Maryn's favorite for dinner tonight. Pasta instead. This mama is too tired to make chicken and mushrooms anyway!

Maryn, I love you sweet girl. And I love having parties in your honor! I just hope somehow we can make your brothers think that they don't need big parties too, or we are going to go broke. Haha! Maybe we'll say the 5th Birthday is special?

Pampered Chef Party!

2013-09-04T13:56:00.000-04:00

Don't forget to visit my Pampered Chef Catalog Party at pamperedchef.biz/seelye!

When you order from this party, you are not only getting some great products, helping me earn some cool products, but you are also helping support a sweet military family. My friend Melissa's husband is in the army and has served our country for a number of years. I think this Christmas, if John lets me, I'm going to try to buy gifts from people like this, who are working side jobs like selling Pampered Chef, to support their families. Most people have a few favorite things from Pampered Chef. ;-) What are yours? I love my PC Spatulas!

Beautiful Chaos

2013-08-23T15:06:00.002-04:00

Life is really in a state of beautiful chaos right now. There are little piles of tiny things here and there, placed high on shelves--a sign that we have a toddler who wants to put everything in his mouth. The items are usually an assortment of tiny toys, writing utensils, bottle caps, sticks, rocks, coins. There are little love notes scattered through the house as well, adorned with stars, hearts, and often the words "I luv yoo ______," which indicate there's a little girl here eager to begin kindergarten. There are golf balls and clubs, hockey sticks and swords, sand, dirt, leaves, balls of all shapes and sizes, signaling the presence of a three year old boy. And now we have slobbery bones and a water dish that constantly has water all around it but not necessarily in it--the evidence that a dog lives here. There are stacks and stacks of insurance envelopes and new employee binders, indicating that someone just made a career change. There are strange books strewn all about that no one would ever read for fun, signaling someone is also in a seminary church history class. There are children's books, learning materials, lists, schedules--all evidence that preschool and kindergarten take place here sometimes, whenever the mood strikes us. There is whey and raw milk and fresh butter and cod liver oil in the fridge, garden vegetables, gobs of leftovers sitting in the refrigerator, salmon in the freezer, and something is always soaking or cooking on the counter--signs that we are trying to eat healthier. And now there are pregnancy books mixed in with the seminary books, there are snacks on my bed stand, folic acid supplements on the counter, all evidence that someone here is pregnant.

Are these people crazy?

I think one thing that happens as more and more kids (and pets) are added to a home, is that we learn to let things go. We learn to do more in some areas, less in others, and just let things go. Fly Lady has helped me get a hold of our laundry and dishes, and I feel good just knowing there is never a pile of laundry to do or fold, or dishes to wash. Our sheets are usually pretty clean, the carpet is pretty vacuumed, the beds are made. The lawn should have been mowed days ago, the house might smell a little like trash or diapers, the kitchen floor is never really "clean," but that's okay. My kids watch TV, I'm just not there with the no-TV rule...not yet. I get on facebook and text too much. I'm not perfect, and I'm not beating myself up about it. I'm doing what I can, when I can, with the knowledge that I could probably do more, could probably be better at a lot of things, but also knowing it takes time to get there. I have years to grow.

God works on me in little snippets through my day. I usually do my best to sit down with my Bible alone in the morning, or with the kids at breakfast, or later in the day, or all of the above. I have verses we are memorizing, hymns we are learning or listening to again and again, and always a book I'm working through on the Kindle. Bibles, Kindle, verses, etc., are all over the place and I pick them up when I sit down or look at them while I cook. God works on me as I prepare food, and as my kids say hilarious or sweet things, and he works on me after I've lost my temper, and he works on me when they act just like me, and their ugly behavior is like a mirror...

Someday, the little love notes will be gone. The piles of choking hazards placed up high will be gone. The sweetness that exists between my hubby and I when I'm pregnant will change to some other kind of feeling. And the sports equipment lying all around will be gone as well. When did my children become old enough to write love notes (M), play baseball (J), or be able to open the dishwasher by themselves and pull out knives (O)?

As children get older, and as we add more, we learn to let things go. That realization that they really do grow up, they really will leave, and this phase of life really is special, changes something in us that nothing else possibly could.

So, it is chaos. Beautiful chaos. That means, it's chaos I'm okay with. I'm comfortable here, sitting on the couch with one child sleeping beside me, one child doing puzzles and singing in the next room,, a dog sleeping below me, a toddler sleeping upstairs, and a giant mess in almost every room of the house.

Psalm 121:1-2 "I lift up my eyes to hills, From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made Heaven and earth."

Happy NOT Back to School Day

2013-08-20T17:00:00.002-04:00

I was just introduced to homeschool group from our church. I had no idea there was one, and I am seriously elated to have discovered them! They actually discovered me. I feel special.

They had a NOT Back to School Fun Day at a nearby splash park and playground.

Yes, it is a very large group and we know some of the kids a little bit and some of the moms a little bit. I hope we get to know them all a lot more.

Here's my kids' NOT back to school picture:

Owen is missing from both pictures. In #1, he was tired and clinging to me. In #2 he was taking a nap. He's getting some molars in! Poor baby.

We had a blast at the Splash Park. And I'm really excited about all the upcoming opportunities and events this fall may bring! We have a class at the seminary for both big kids called "Motor Skills," which I guess is just like a gym class. And Moms don't have to stay so I plan to walk the track or something with a few friends and former neighbors (Elise, Bekah, Stacy, Sarah) and their babies, and Owen.

We are also teaching a Cubbies class (Josiah's Cubbies class) on Wednesday nights. And the kids will be tagging along with me to Women's Bible Study on Tuesday mornings. So that's a busy two days and then hopefully Mondays and Fridays will be relaxing days where we stay home. Thursdays will be grocery and errands day. Yippee :)

Josiah is THREE!

2013-08-11T22:29:00.001-04:00

Josiah had an awesome birthday. His birthday was Monday, the day after we got back from Tennessee, so it was kind of low key. We woke up and tried to get moving quickly so we could get some groceries (cake, ice cream, etc.) and go to Party City, where we got 6 balloons and a big Spiderman balloon. My kids LOVE balloons and always request balloons, party cups, etc. for their parties. They had no party hats, but they did have this adorable (and really nice) Spiderman ball cap, so I bought it, along with Spiderman decorations, cups and plates.

Josiah LOVED this card from Great Grandma Erdman.

We had Josiah's favorite meal: Hot dogs, french fries, and broccoli.

He loved the grilling game we got him, too.

Josiah is a pretty humble and sensitive little boy, so when we sing Happy Birthday to him, he just glows and gets a little bit embarrassed/shocked that everyone is singing to HIM!

His cake had a Spiderman action figure on it that said outloud, "Happy Birthday from your friendly neighborhood Spiderman!"

He chose cookie dough ice cream to go with his cake.

He loved it :)

Make a wish!

On Tuesday, we took Josiah out to a really fun and delicious pizza place called Old Chicago. On Tuesdays, kids eat for $1.99 and can make their own pizzas. It was so cool! They each got their pizza dough in a pan, a good amount of cheese in cups, plus two toppings of their choice. My kids are so funny. Maryn chose mushrooms and olives (but used a lot of sausage off my pizza and Josiah's...she loves sausage), and Josiah chose sausage and pepperoni. John, Owen and I had the "Chicago 7" and it was mighty delicious.

I hope we can spend many more Tuesdays at this restaurant. YUM-O!

Amd Josiah, you are so big. We are so proud of you and the young man you're becoming. It drives me nuts when you climb into our bed and caress my face and my arms, but I love that you're cuddly and sweet, sensitive and silly. I pray you someday marry a wife whose love language is physical touch. :) And you're not dating anyone until you're married. ;-)

Fun in the Sun!

2013-08-11T22:04:00.002-04:00

We are trying to enjoy every moment of summer even if that means getting eaten up by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are mutants now and resistant to my homemade repellant. I put OFF on the kids today and it worked well. :-/ I'll have to invent a new formula of my own soon!

Someone spit sand into Owen's hair...

Covered in sand and popsicle juice!

Popsicles and homemade Clif bars!

Owen, when did you get so big?

Throwing water balls at each other.

This picture is from today. What beats apples, peanut butter and sidewalk chalk?

Look Out World! Three kids to look out for in the near future.

2013-07-21T21:52:00.000-04:00

Josiah has been wanting a big boy scooter for the longest time. A Razor, just like the neighbor kids always had at VM. We got him a cool Buzz Lightyear one, more appropriate for his age and size, for Christmas. Obviously he knew he got jipped and barely rode the thing. We saw this Razor at a yard sale and so I picked it up!

Josiah learned how to ride a scooter before he could even walk.

Maryn is making big plans here, as you can see in the above picture. She is planning world domination.

I took a picture of this little chart because these looks like/ sounds like charts have been an immense help to me when I am trying to get my kids to understand my weird words, like "self-control," "compassion," "patience," etc.

Feeding Minnie Mouse

Owen LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, much to my dismay. I hate that show. I don't know why we have it on our tv, but when he was terribly fussy one night we turned it on in hopes he would calm down and he's been hooked ever since. It gets him to sit for five minutes or more sometimes. I'll take it!

FlyLady, Friends, Work, Church, Outside Play, etc.

I was looking back at my blogs from a few months ago and thought I might need an update on a few of these things.

FlyLady: First of all, I was feeling a little bad about FlyLady, but now that I've looked where I was back in March, I can honestly say I've progressed. Moving did give us a chance to declutter a lot, and now that we are settled, I don't feel overwhelmed with toys like I once did. The kids rooms and the play area are staying pretty nice. Messy of course, but manageable. I kind of wish we had nicer bins or organizers, etc. Who doesn't? It would be nice if everything matched perfectly! :)

Friends: It's been hard to make friends here, since they aren't right across the hall anymore. I'm feeling quite a bit lonely and trapped sometimes. I have plenty of friends--it's just hard to get together with them for some reason. I mean, I'm used to hanging out with other mom friends at least once a day, every day. And I know that's not really normal, but it was my life for the last three years, and adjusting to normal SAHM American life is a little rough.

Work: John got a job with Home Depot and will no longer be working for Target. We are excited and maybe a little nervous about this new opportunity and change.

Church: We are loving our church more and more. Being closer has made a huge difference, and we've made friends with families who have older kids and teenagers who love on our little kids, which is truly fantastic. I really like teenagers/tweens, surprisingly. ;-) I kind of forgot that.

Outside Play: This is Booneland, for real. I mean we live in a place that used to be thick forest. The bugs and the weeds are outrageous. I made a homemade mosquito repellent that is working pretty well, and i"m proud of myself. lol! But I can't manage all the weeds! Our garden is doing really well with mulch laid down but our yard is psycho.

Josiah: Josiah is now performing at the high end for his age in all areas, including his expressive language, receptive language, and whatever else. We are loving our new little man. He is such a tender hearted warrior boy. Loves superheroes, wrestling and Peter Pan.

Maryn: Maryn has become my little friend, my sweet helper, as I manage these wild boys all day. I'm so grateful for her companionship and winsome little ways.

Owen: Wild thing. Tasmanian devil. ;-) I just posted this on facebook: Happy 14 months to our mischievous and adorable littlest, Owen Michael. He's still nursing with no end in sight, walking around pretty well, loves to bite whenever he's mad, kiss whenever we say I love you, and has a cute little chuckle. He never likes the same food twice, except beef. He loves ground beef. Lol.

Artsy Maryn

2013-07-16T19:19:00.001-04:00

Do you have a child who shows gratitude often? Josiah has been so precious, saying thank you when we wash his hair, and thank you when we give him medicine, and just at any point in the day he gives us hugs, kisses, and shares his love with us. We pray before dinner, but if we have a second course or dessert, he feels we have to pray and say thank you to God again.

I feel as though I have tried and tried to get Maryn to say Please and Thank You since the day she was born and yet she still struggles with these words. But as I was looking through these pictures, I see that she is grateful, and she does notice the beauty in small things. She also works hard to make things even more beautiful. She just has that eye for all things lovely.

Maryn notices the beauty in weeds and thistles (notice our weed garden behind her, which she loves).

Here she is making a memory box like Josefina had in her book, Meet Josefina.

Ooh, who is this little fairy person?

Maryn and I decorated this t-shirt today. She loves it :)
And she kept saying, "I love having girly time with you, Mommy."

You're welcome sweet Maryn.

:)

This Week's News

2013-07-12T22:33:00.003-04:00

While we were in Ohio, Daddy cleaned out our front living room.

Now our front living room is just one huge play space. It's like a dance floor. We usually have dance parties at least once every day.

It's been too hot or mosquito-y to even play outside very much. But I made a homemade mosquito repellant that works rather nicely.

John has been making fun of me because I changed my political party and am now registered as a Libertarian. He thinks I want to smoke marijuana, or something.

But really, the fact that raw milk is illegal here in KY just started me thinking about all the outrageous laws we have.

Isn't Owie Badowie so cute?

This little man has amazed us. Not only has he grown an incredible amount, he has also been exited from the speech therapy program and passed all the areas of the test he had to take with flying colors. He is doing well across the board, even by state standards.

Maryn said this is their boat to cross the river back to Mamaws. I asked her what river they would cross, thinking she'd say something funny. But she answered, "The Ohio River!"

Rice play :)

Painting with things we found in our yard.

Painting a rock.

Painting outside really has its benefits. It stormed shortly after we painted, so that washed away some of the paint, and they washed off in the pool or hose.

Some men came to redo our neighbors' driveway which was flooding. We had a great time watching them and learning about concrete. So, we took them brownies and they offered to do our driveway as well, courtesy of the great city of Louisville. I guess the government isn't so bad afterall. :)

All three kiddos completed their summer reading. I'm so proud of my library champions.

Strawberry Patches

2013-06-19T14:47:00.000-04:00

Owen missed me while I was at VBS Monday night. The boys stayed home with daddy because it runs rather late (9:00!!) and I volunteered for only two nights. Thank goodness :)

This is how I found my boys when I got home. Owen had cried for an hour and half straight.

I nursed right away, and Owen was then happy as a clam and went right back to Daddy and laid on him again. I think their bonding time was needed and special. :)

In other news. For the last two days the kids have been wanting to do school. I don't know what they think school is, really, but it basically means they want to follow our "summer schedule." It's pretty basic and this was about the third time we've done the summer schedule all summer. Maryn does SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER on a structured routine. And they get a lot of choice in the matter. For example, 9:30 is Arts and Crafts time and Maryn decided we should make something having to do with strawberries since that was their favorite thing from the farm last week. We went strawberry picking at Huber's. So I just googled for some strawberry activities, and we made these cute strawberries out of paper plates.

Here's our own strawberry patch! We mixed strawberry scented soap into the paint to make them smell like strawberries. The scent wore off, unfortunately. I read that strawberry Jell-O works better.

It's very good to experiment with a school schedule right now, as I get used to doing things around Owen's naps and such. Man oh man, I don't know HOW I will do this school thing 5 days or whatever a week. It's ex.haust.ing! But really we have had much better behavior. It's a challenge--I kind of have to let the house get messy and hope I'll get to clean it at quiet time. Which I normally do. ;-)

The glass is half....

2013-06-12T22:24:00.004-04:00

"I get to wash laundry today because I have three beautiful, healthy children who play outside and an awesome husband who works so hard."

I don't really understand this way of thinking. It doesn't make me feel better about laundry. I think this is why I'm so grateful for FlyLady and why her habits work so well for me. I don't even think about doing laundry anymore, or dishes, really. I do it because it's a habit and I just do it so I can get on to the sweeter things in life. You know? What do you think?

Owen Michael

2013-06-02T14:57:00.000-04:00

Little Owen is now one year old. We just had his one year doctor appointment so I figured I should share his stats and some little tidbits about him, his personality, and how we are getting along with three little kids under five years old.

First, this is all just surreal. I feel like Owen just can't be mine, and he is too big to be my baby, and he's grown way too quickly. Doesn't everyone say those things, like "Where has the time gone?" But really, it's true. I feel it more strongly now that I have one child who has nothing baby about her. All of Maryn's baby-ness is gone. She was holding my hand on the couch the other day, and not a single dimple or chubbiness is on her hand, her arms, or her face. Of course, I knew she'd grow up. But watching my kids grow up is sort of like dealing with a loss. I have "lost" my baby girl, Maryn, and now she is almost five, and she will never, ever, ever be a baby again. Never.

So that realization has made me yearn for more cuddles with my baby, Owen, but time passes quickly, and here he is already one year old and where has the time gone? Many mothers wean at 12 months and I can't even bear to think of weaning. He could probably walk if he wanted to, but what's the rush? In another few months, I won't even have a baby to carry. Possibly never again will I have a baby of my own to nurse or carry or sleep on my shoulder. In some ways I look forward to that day, believe ME. But in other ways I mourn the loss of my babies.

Weight: 22 lbs. 3 oz. (50th percentile)
Height: 29.5 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 19 3/4 (25th percentile)
Teeth: Owen has six teeth. I think. Maybe eight. :)

Words: cock-a-doodle-doo, quack, duck, woof woof, Mama, Dada, banana, Maryn, Josiah

Owen loves to throw balls back and forth, loves to take off his diaper, loves to try to touch his poop, loves to eat almost anything, loves to drink water from his straw cup, loves to throw things down the stairs. He loves to swing, play in the sand, play in the water, go swimming, he loves to slide, too.

Owen can stand up without any assistance but has not taken any steps on his own yet. He loves to crawl on his feet and hands, bear crawl style. He puts everything in his mouth for inspection. He gets into the cabinets all the time. He likes to try new things, like bugs. He likes to try to bite his siblings when they have a toy he wants.

I think Owen may be our shy child. He will stay on my lap for quite a long time in a public place and usually when he goes to play, I suspect he does because Maryn and Josiah are there. He usually does well in church nursery now if familiar teachers are there, but he doesn't say much or vocalize much when in a new or different place than home.

Owen has the smarts and perseverance of his sister and reminds us of her a lot, but he has the athleticism and bravery of his brother. It makes for an interesting combination. He doesn't mind getting in trouble, thinks the word no is pretty funny, and usually doesn't mind to have his hand swatted. But when someone takes a toy from him, he usually goes and just finds something else to play with. Or he might scream and try to bite, if it's something he really wants. He's pretty good at manipulation already, and is good at figuring things out, being sneaky, and being cute. :)

Owen plays very well by himself, too. Yay :)

We love our sweet baby Owen. I'm so glad he's ours!

Sprinklers, Smiles and Painting :)

2013-05-24T16:09:00.001-04:00

The kids love these new sprinkler toys from Mamaw and Aunt Cathy!

Morning smiles :)

Pasta night!

Morning painting project, under the skylight...so pretty.

She's painting a portrait of her favorite stuffed animal, Alice.

Josiah's painting. Grass, sky, sun, trees, and Lightning McQueen :)
I was helping Josiah with this one as I was showing him how to make up and down and
back and forth brush strokes. And I helped him make the sun, too.

Our friends the Seelyes gave us this awesome easel.

"Alice"

Maryn's second painting of the day, her bear that she won in the pumpkin decorating contest a couple years ago.
I didn't watch her do this painting at all and I thought it was the best! I love how she's really using the whole paper now, and she's getting better at taking her time on each painting. I think it'll be a good kindergarten year. :)

A few more things for our homeschool list!

2013-05-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

I'm so glad I have this blog to keep track of our homeschool list! We don't have Microsoft Word on our new computer yet, so this blog has been so handy. I'm going to have to start posting our grocery list here, too. Haha :)

These Mind Benders workbooks from The Critical Thinking Company
here. This is a cool company we saw at the homeschool conference. These workbooks are pretty nice, and expensive, but Maryn also loves the little puzzles and activities you find in many coloring books that can be found at the dollar store. She loves look and finds, word finds, and any kinds of puzzles, mazes, etc.

Life of Fred Math books (Apples, Butterflies, Cats, Dogs, Edgewood are the first few titles)
My friend Kendra uses these for Math and they seem really intriguing. I think Maryn would like the first few in Kindergarten and first grade.