Nature Study

So, I've learned a lot in our first few weeks of "officially" homeschooling. We've scrapped the curriculum I bought (oh, they'll still use it, just not this year!) and have been doing a lot more hands on things. I've found that the "sit still" subjects (like phonics and religion) are best done in the car or at bedtime. They'll do anything to stay up a few minutes later! While Ben is feeling very proud of his reading accomplishments, thinks math is really fun, likes religion and enjoys his history projects, science is by far his favorite subject.

Since the weather is so great at this time of year, we've been doing nature study. We started (on Saturday) doing The Outdoor Hour Challenge from this blog and though we've only done challenge #1 so far, they loved it. We take short nature walks while talking about whatever catches their eye. The sounds of grasshoppers, tree roots sticking up from under the ground, an owl hooting at dusk. On our most recent walk (Monday) they studied milkweed. Emanuel discovered that the milky substance leaking from the pod made his hands smell like "cheesy milk" and Ben opened his to find flat brown seeds with long silky white hairs- that stuck to us because of the sticky milk substance on our fingers.

We also like to talk about the trees we see. They like oak trees a lot, mostly because of the acorns. We have a large acorn collection! So after Saturday's walk they drew pictures of oaks trees, their seeds and leaves in their science notebooks. They also collected some leaves to "make projects with," and are looking forward to seeing what color the oak leaves will change into as fall progresses. 

On Saturday, we took our nature walk at Fontenelle Forest. We walked down a few of the the trails, looking at the aforementioned oaks, ant colonies, fungus (they were really impressed by all the different fungus that grows on trees), and a leaf covered in little trails of slime, which my youngest sister Julie assured me was "glow-worm goo."   The trail we chose led us to the Missouri River, with which Ben, Emanuel and Julie were all very impressed. Julie made sure I took many pictures, because "everyone will want to see this!" Ben, who is very interested in Lewis and Clark, immediately cried, "Mom! This is it! This is Lewis and Clark's river! I can't believe we're actually here!" (He takes after me in a few areas, I think.) Then he proceeded to tell everyone around us about L&C and their great expedition. Emanuel climbed onto some rocks jutting from the bank and tried to stick his shoes in the water.
Both of the nature walks we've taken since beginning this nature study have been so much fun, and we can't wait for more!

Ben and Julie by the Missouri River.

Isabel chewing a seashell. That's what they're for, right?

Emanuel's favorite part: playing with blocks in Acorn Acres.

Busy Summer

Happy 1st Birthday Isabel!

Isabel turned 1 on September 17! Today was her birthday party, with all of her grandparents, aunts and uncles.
She was a little bewildered by the singing, but LOVED her first taste of cake!
Happy birthday, Isabel!

Potty Humor

I was pretty lucky that Ben skipped this stage, though I didn't realize it at the time. Emanuel did not. This kid has enough potty humor in him for ten kids. It's been going on for awhile, and I've been doing my best to discourage it, with little luck. Up until today though, it wasn't really that bad. Again, I didn't realize that until today. Emanuel was laying on the couch looking at picture books when he started to sing. I am not going to repeat the song, but it included bottoms, poopy, and licking. GROSS. The worst part, though, was that Isabel was laughing hysterically at every word. Where does he pick up this stuff? Seriously.

Home is Where the Heart Is

Lately, I’ve been chafing over the size of my apartment. It’s too small, I would tell anyone who’d listen. My prayers revolved around getting a home of my own. A house, I just knew, would solve all of my problems! Right now, there are five of us living in a two-bedroom apartment. Sounds miserable, doesn’t it? I did a good job convincing myself that it was. We need more space, I wanted to scream. Nothing too big or fancy, I’d pray. Just two or three thousand square feet. My request was so humble, and so deserved, I knew God would answer my prayer and hand me a large cookie-cutter house in the suburbs for an amazingly low price.
Luckily for me, He had other plans. I don’t get any house right now, large or small, midtown or suburb. I get to stay in my apartment. When I first realized this, I was feeling quite blue. Dry martyrdom, that’s my lot in life. I pictured myself among the squalor, eyes raised to heaven in suffering submission, as bodies fought to get past each other just to get a drink of water or use the bathroom. Welcome to my hovel. My misery was trickling down to my kids. Since I was miserable in this small, small space, then they must be too. They too were convinced that a house would solve their problems. It’s true that Mom sets the tone of the home!
About the time I realized how stinky my attitude on life in general had become, I understood that that attitude was spilling over into my perception of my home. Yes, there are five of us sharing a two-bedroom apartment, but did I mention that it was an 1100 square-foot apartment? It hasn’t shrunk since we happily moved in, oohing and awing over the size of it. Seriously, many of the houses in our price range were smaller than this apartment. My three kids may share a room, but not only is there room for their beds and dressers, we also fit in three toy boxes and two bookshelves. Not to mention all the cleared space they have in the room for playing. I decided to go through each room, noting its size and merits, reminding myself why this really is a great apartment.
The conclusion I came to was… I had too much stuff! A little purging and rearranging will open our large spaces up even more. What better place to start blooming where I am planted than in my home? My children start school next week and I’ll have to dedicate most of my time to teaching them, so this week (and the past few since I’ve had this revelation) is purging and spring cleaning week. I will make this apartment a happy, comfy home again!

My New Hostage

Last night I found out how I can use Emanuel's obsession with Lightning McQueen to my advantage.

Having 3 kids share a room is very tough at bedtime. They all want to keep playing with each other. No matter how much they bicker and dislike each other during the day, when bedtime comes around they are the best of friends. The shrieks of laughter and the camaraderie would be enduring if it wasn't bedtime. By bedtime, I am ready for some time off. I NEED that time. Therefore, I do not find their sudden best-friendship amusing.

I have tried everything... laying the baby down first, laying the baby down last, keeping Ben up longer. Putting them down separately doesn't work. Unless its been a huge day and they are exhausted, they wait for each other. I can't win! Time outs haven't been working either. While in the time out they are sooo tired and sorry and "we'll go to sleep right away, Mama." As soon as I let them go, it starts up again.

Finally, last night I had a revelation. Emanuel is really the one who causes the most problems. The baby would go to right sleep if the boys would let her, and Ben is usually content to look at a book quietly. But Emanuel is the one who comes up with the irresistible imaginative scenarios that none of them can resist joining. He's also the ones whose toys make the most and loudest sound effects. He is only 3- silence is still a concept being grasped. So I took just Emanuel out of his room to stand in timeout. It really wasn't working- he was trying to turn it into conversation time- when I spotted Lightning McQueen in his hand. McQueen goes everywhere with him. Everywhere. That little die cast car has traveled, let me tell you! It's even been to several different states.

"Emanuel," I said, "bring me McQueen, please."

He makes his way over to me and reluctantly holds out his hand. I take the car, and the tears are instant.

"Oh Mama, I'll be good. I'll go right to sleep. Please, I'll be so sad without McQueen!" His entreaties are slightly pathetic, but I stand strong.

"You will get McQueen back in the morning, if you go straight to sleep and stay in your bed until morning."

He manages to stifle his sobs somewhat and nods his head before heading into bed. A couple of minutes later I checked on him. He was sound asleep!

I hope this tactic continues to work!

It's All About Attitude

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” Hugh Downs
I have been having one of those years. I’ve been having one of those years for years. My whole life has been spent planning what I’ll do when things get better. I have been waiting for the ideal circumstances in order to begin living my life for as long as I can remember. Oh, have I been praying for God to change things! He has finally answered my prayer, but not in the way I thought He would, of course. After many subtle (and some not-so-subtle) hints, I can see that life isn’t ideal. It really won’t ever be ideal. By nature we are sinful and this really puts a damper on living a perfect life. But it’s also what makes great saints- people who take what they are given and do their absolute best with it in less than ideal circumstances. I strongly believe in free will, but I also strongly believe that God always puts people in certain times, places and/or circumstances for a purpose. It’s then up to the person to choose to do what he or she was meant to do.
That is what I plan to do from now on. God has so much He wants me to do now. Not later. Now. Also, lately I have become quite pessimistic, and I fear, somewhat bitter. That’s not who I am. Usually I am the incurable optimist- nothing gets me down! So I have decided to really put my life into God’s hands this time, and leave it there. (I tend to take it back a lot.) I will learn to be content with ALL of my life and circumstances and live each day to the fullest. To the best of my ability I will do God’s will each day, even with the small stuff.

He's Growing Up: A Dialogue

Today I told Ben how cute he is. Because he is. He's got such an adorable round head with beautiful hazel eyes and long, thick black lashes. I gave him a buzz cut on Monday (long story) and it reminds me of his baby days in Florida when he always wore his hair that way. *sigh* Memory lane...
However, memory lane is not the point of this post. After I told Ben how cute he is, this is the conversation that followed.

Ben: Mom, I'm not cute. Don't call me cute.

[Emanuel (wrinkling his nose): He's not cute! I'm cute.]

Me: So what should I call you, Ben? Handsome, like your dad?

Ben: No. I'm not cute, I'm not handsome. I'm just cool. I only want to be cool.

Me: O.K. Ben, you are cool.

Small Successes

1. I exercised today!

2. I fed my kids. Now, I know that children must be fed every day, no matter what. And mine do remind me every 15 minutes or so how hungry they are (I mean geez, 15 minutes is a long time to go without food). Today though, I reallllly didn't feel like doing anything. At all. I would have been completely fine with them just snacking away on string cheese, apples, and crackers. I mean, those are all healthy foods. I could've just thrown in some carrot sticks and called it a square, but I didn't. I fed them Happy Meals from the drive through. Go me! (I know, I know- the self-serve snacks would've been healthier, but that's not the point.)

3. I stayed calm and collected when I found the boys making clay creations on top of their library books.

Some stuff about a TV show and a house

The boys like to watch a T.V. show called, "How Clean is Your House?" Two British ladies go to various very dirty homes and clean them, along with a "cleaning crew" because two people could not clean these alone. These aren't "I-haven't-done-last-night's-dinner-dishes-yet-or-picked-up-the-toys" dirty. These are "unlivable-haven't-been-cleaned-in-years-why-aren't-these-people-very-sick-or-dying" dirty. Cobwebs and evidence of pests are everywhere. Strange things are growing in the fridge. It's really quite gross; like watching a horror movie. You want to turn your eyes away, but you just can't. My 3 year old, perpetually hungry son Emanuel- the one who begs food off complete strangers because he is always starving (humility is a virtue my kids have done a great job of forcing into me)- anyway, always-hungry-Emanuel was eating a snack while watching this show, and he couldn't finish it. He was so grossed out, he set his peanut butter toast down and refused to eat again until dinner time, which was 4 whole hours away. That's a record.
Well, we've been house hunting off and on for the last few months. After several "off" weeks, the last few days have been "on" days. The most recent house that we looked at was a good house, but had been unlived in for a very long time and was DIRTY. I have a feeling it wasn't all that clean even when it was lived in. There were cobwebs, mouse poop, old food splattered around the kitchen ceiling- it was yucky! Ben and Emanuel were walking all around the house, taking it all in, occasionally making comments like, "Wow, this room is dirty too!"
Finally Ben came up to me and said, "Mom, this house is dirty like on that show." No, it really wasn't that dirty, but he wasn't too far off. "I think," he continued, "that we need to call in a cleaning crew to take care of this mess!"
Meanwhile, Emanuel, who has lately been fascinated by the word "poop" and tries to say it as many times a day as he can was dancing around the house chanting, "Mouse poop! MOUSE POOP! I see mouse poop!" to his little heart's content. I do hope he gets over this stage soon.