self-portrait with my valentine

blue all around

casbr

Casper drew this fabulous picture of Mama (?) and then Gwendolyn helped him out by signing his name for him. She obviously sounded out the name on her own and thought she'd done it correctly (because Casbr really sounds exactly like Casper) and she was beyond thrilled with herself. It was so much fun to watch her excitement.

a room of his own

edible valentines

Heart shaped pretzels! Easy kid-friendly activity with a delicious sugar-free payoff.

Learn from my mistakes: don't under-bake them and go easy on the salt.

resident spitfire

Gwennie had an hour and a half freak out tonight. About a cd of primary songs. It was exhausting for all of us.

We have a large basket of cut up, sanded tree branches in the playroom and the children use them for building blocks, play food, etc. We call them "Rita Blocks" because they came from trees which were blown down during Hurricane Rita in 2005. We recently heard Gwendolyn refer to them as "Burrito Blocks".

Gwennie recently made up a song,"Oh, happy husband, happy husband, happy husband! Oh happy husband today!" But she can't tell us what makes the husband happy.

A note about this photograph: after we took the shot, Gwennie spent nearly an hour pulling berries off our holly bush and gluing them onto this pruned live oak branch.  (It was actually quite artistically done, and is now displayed on our kitchen table.)

live oak

Our front yard is quite large and does not have a single tree it. We looked at our house on Google Earth, and we have the only treeless yard in the neighborhood (perhaps the entire town). But today, our yard has a tree. We planted a 15-foot live oak and we are very proud of it. It looks so good in our yard (and will on Google Earth), so we're really hoping that it lives.

temporarily replaced

Auntie Tiffany is here for the weekend and we're all so happy that she came to visit -- especially the kids. Since she's arrived, no one has asked me to read to them or cuddle in bed with them.

teeth

Today, Casper gained two teeth and Todd lost three. Actually, Casper's molars came in over the past week, and Todd's came out in the forty-five minutes that it took an oral surgeon to extract his wisdom teeth (and a tumor in his jawbone) this afternoon. Both are recovering.

This'll depress you

Have you seen my backyard recently? Come take a look if you want to be bummed out. I see it everyday and everyday it makes me so, so sad. Look how close those gigantic trucks are to where my kids play! Grrr.

what goes on in that little red head

Linus, after a sugary breakfast, explains what he wants for a snack: “These little pokey seeds (uncooked/unsalted sunflower seeds), that’s all I’m hungry for, these healthy foods.”

As Linus helps Todd make pigs in blankets for dinner, he comments on the li’l smokies waiting to be blanketed: “These are pigs, but they’re cold and just busy begging for blankets.”

Linus seems to think the Pledge of Allegiance goes a little something like this:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
And to the republic of wicked sands . . .

After seeing Mama throw her breakfast doughnuts up (man, we are so not going to do that again), Linus says, “Maybe baby sister is coming out.”
After recovering (from the shock of the comment and from, you know, the vomit), Mama says, “But I don’t have a baby in my tummy, do I?”
Linus: “Yes . . . I mean no. Baby sister is still waiting in heaven. Is she watching our family?”

tough noggin

In this photo, Casper models the gigantic lump/bruise/scrape on his head. As Gwennie was carrying Casper across the driveway yesterday, she tripped, dropped her brother, and fell on top of him. Being the youngest has made Casper such a trooper -- he cried for all of 15 seconds and then perked right up. Gwennie, being the oldest, is our resident drama queen -- she got a microscopic scrape on her knee and wailed for a good five minutes before turning the dramatics to limping.

paint splattered cuteness

Linus: When I grow up, I'm going to have a big truck and lots of airplanes.
Mama: But I want you to stay little like this forever.
Linus: Why?
Mama: I'm afraid that when you grow up, you won't want to cuddle with me or give me kisses anymore.
Linus: I'll always cuddle with you, Mama.

(I'm trying to be more patient with the cuddling that takes place in the middle of the night while all five of us are piled into the same bed. I know it won't last forever and truly, there aren't sweeter faces to wake up to each morning.)

modesty game

We overheard the children playing this game a few days ago.  Apparently it is interesting enough that it has become a recurring theme, because they were playing it again today.  Gwennie and Linus have taken some of the wooden bolts from Linus's workbench, and have screwed on either one or two nuts.  The complete bolt (held in the picture by Gwennie) is labeled the "modest girl," and the other (held by Linus) is the "unmodest girl."  She, no doubt shamed by her lack of decorum, is loaded into one of Linus's dump trucks to go shopping for some clothes that are less revealing.  This will all prove to be very entertaining until the inevitable day when one of the children says loudly at the grocery store, "Mama, why is the unmodest girl out of her home?"

zoom

Lately, this is how we've been spending every single afternoon: Gwendolyn rides her bike up and down the driveway while the boys take turns on the tricycle and zoom their remote control cars around. I have the most fun however, because I get to sit and watch these amazing and beautiful kids play. I am so in love with them.

the voyage of the dawn treader

Linus likes to draw, but his pictures have always been nonrepresentational. After Todd finished reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to the children, Linus sat down and drew what may be his first "realistic" picture (that is, one which is more than a lively arrangement of lines). It portrays Reepicheep the mouse (note the tail) standing on the deck of the Dawn Treader. Linus thought about and worked on this picture for a long time, and we were all very impressed with his accurate representation.Gwendolyn responded with her own version, which shows (left to right) a sailor, Lucy, a very small Reepicheep, Eustace, Edmund, and Caspian beneath the golden lion banner and standing in very cramped quarters. I love the big rectangle legs that everyone has.

sunshine boy

It was about 80 degrees here today so we spent a lot of time outside playing in the sandbox and of course, riding bikes. (And I do realize that I won't be bragging about our weather six months from now. Apologies to loved ones who have tempertaures in the single digits. Come over!)

two wheelin'

It's official -- Gwendolyn is riding her bike without training wheels. She's been wanting to for a while, but her bike is big and *very* heavy for some reason. Last week we picked up a slightly smaller but much lighter bike on freecycle and she's been eager to ride every day. Tonight she got to the point of being able to pedal a good 10-15 feet before losing her balance. She's so proud and I'm sure she'll (literally) be riding circles around us before the weekend is through.

fare-thee-wells

An inauguration story: yesterday, while Todd was at work, he got a call from Gwennie. She said, "Daddy, a president is on tv. He just got on a helicopter." Todd asked whether the president was Barack Obama. Gwennie responded, "No. I don't remember what his name is."

grade one, week two

(This amazing little handmade needle felted gnome house was a gift to our family on Christmas morning from the lovely and talented Cindy. I *cherish* this gorgeous piece of artistry.)

I don’t anticipate writing weekly homeschool recaps, but starting first grade is monumental and this week was really great all around.

I’ve decided to slowly begin Grade One with Gwendolyn and even though she is technically at kindergarten age, she’s showing many signs of reading readiness. Here’s my justification:

1. She’s nearly six and a half. That’s a little young, but read on.
2. All of the “baby” is gone from her – she’s long and lanky. She has no finger dimpling and her face looks like the face of an older child. Her arms are long enough to reach over her head and touch the middle of her opposite ear.
3. Her two middle bottom teeth, though still in her head, are quite loose.
4. She’s very coordinated and can skip, balance very well, jump rope and is quite near being able to ride a bike without training wheels.
5. She’s starting to sound out words and write on her own (and needs some guidance with handwriting).
6. As her parent and teacher, I’ve observed and pondered and prayed about this and I feel the time is right. We’re going slowly and if I later feel that the pace is wrong for her, we’ll make changes.
7. There is a part of me which needed a little more structure and rigor to our school days. The balance we hit this week is just right.

So this week, we began a language arts block and I introduced two letters to her – M and V – one at a time, via fairy tales. We talked about the letters, the sounds, and practiced writing them. The day after the letter introduction, Gwendolyn retold the fairy tale to Todd and then they each drew a picture from the story, with the letter hidden inside the drawing. Gwendolyn loved it and wanted to read and draw every single day. I’m thrilled by her excitement, but we’re going to stick to two letters a week.

This week we also studied what animals do in winter. We sang, read books, did fingerplays, made bear caves with homemade play dough, went to look for animal tracks at our nature spot, drew and painted animal tracks of our own, made special feeders for the wildlife in our back yard and played and talked endlessly about hibernation, migration and being a cold furry animal looking for food in the snow.

Thanks to Linus, we also had a mini-study of aviation. He’s been enthralled with old airplanes since he saw the wooden ones Grandpa built for Todd as a child. At the library, he found a great children’s biography of the Wright Brothers (which we read in one day, even though that book is long for a child so young. 48 pages!) and we also got a how-to book on paper airplanes.

I’ve sometimes found myself feeling anxious or overwhelmed or frustrated with homeschooling my kids, and I'm sure I will again, but this week we had nothing but joy in our studies and I’m so thankful.

first haircuts

Thinking that it can't be that hard to give a decent haircut, I bought a how-to book and since then, I've been giving quite a few trims -- Linus, Gwennie (which was a collaboration with Todd), Casper (who's cut needs some work since he isn't very good at sitting still) and tonight, Todd (my best haircut yet -- he's very good at sitting still). The cuts aren't perfect, they took longer than expected, and Gwennie's is shorter that we'd planned, but I think everyone looks pretty good. I've got plenty of years of practice ahead of me.

16 month strut

Casper got this little vest for Christmas from Granny and Grandad. He loves it and will often bring it to me and ask me to help him put on his "ga-git" (jacket). Pants are optional.

Casper came into the living room with a tangle of tape in one hand and a dispenser in the other and said, “stuck.”

nature spot, january

Every month we are going to visit this special nature spot and take a picture so that at the end of the year we'll be able to see how our spot changes through the seasons.

long, long day

My sweetie is sick with a nasty and painful sinus infection. He was planning to come to Sacrament meeting today in order to help me with the kids, but as soon as he woke this morning, it was obvious that he would be staying in bed all day. Church with a kid/parent ratio of 3 to 1 is hard enough, but I was also scheduled to speak in Sacrament and conduct Relief Society today. Prayers were answered and all went well. I'm thankful for good friends who helped with the kids during sacrament (thanks Allison and Judy!) and during Relief Society (thanks Amy and Janine!). I'm also thankful that today is over.

behind the steering wheel

Casper's a daddy's boy, but he's also fascinated by his older siblings. It's enough for him to be close to them and to feel as if he's participating -- whether he's joining the sing-along with little one-note tunes of his own devising, or toddling along after the action. Tonight, as Gwennie and Linus were playing Ring Around the Rosie (with Nougat and b.p. between them), he walked over and turned around in circles, making sure that he fell down at the right moment. What, are you kidding? We got us a family here!

Damn Consumer Products "Safety Improvement" Act

The woman pictured above feels very strongly about this. Please take five minutes, check the link, and do what you can.

epiphany

We've been celebrating Epiphany for the past two days. Last night for FHE we read about and discussed the Three Kings and then had a Three Kings cake for dessert (I just made a low-sugar chocolate cake with two uncooked black beans hidden inside -- the finders get to be kings). We've done quite a bit of Three Kings reading and discussing in our homeschooling the past couple of days (and the kids love that one of the Kings is named "Caspar". Hilarious.). Today we made crowns. I really wanted to sew some felt crowns, but it was more than I could handle today (subtext: Linus), so we made and decorated paper crowns instead. Still, fun was had.
(And yes, my child is dressed entirely in play silks.)

we miss him already

Todd returned to work today after nearly two weeks off and it was a long and lonely day around here. Thankfully, he popped in around lunchtime to give us all kisses.

shock o' red

Linus: Granny, I always obey you.
Granny: That’s good, Linus.
Linus: I’m tired of it.

Linus: Eenie, meenie, miney, mo,
if a tiger lets you go,
let him holler.

Mama: What are you doing, Linus?
Linus: I’m just wasting time.

While playing with Linus and his cars and tractors, Todd plays a game where a tractor tries to take cars to the trash compactor to get turned into a cube. Later, we overhear Linus playing the same game, where his big truck is taking others to the “dump contraption.”

While I’m reading books with the kids, Linus wanders out of the room for a spell only to return completely nude. I question him about this sudden nudity and he explains, “I’m the Natural Boy Fighter!”

the sprito

a different kind of house to play with

Perhaps just a little late in the season, but we all enjoyed the sugar-fest that was the creation of our gingerbread house. Happy New Year!