ten months & a family update

Our baby girl is ten months old.  With each baby we have had it seems the speed of time accelerates.  My baby girl was just born yesterday and now I am planning her first birthday party!  My little girl is growing up!

 

 

 

Having her is not only a joy to us all but it's so fun for me to experience the difference between boys and girls. 

 

At ten months of age baby girl....

 

....has three teeth.

...can take a few short steps unassisted.

...says "mama" and "dadda".

...beyond adores her brothers.

 

 

Home school is under way. 

 

Excuse me while I pause and admire just how handsome my boys are. 

 

As I always tell them..."I am raising you to be respectable young men" and I hope it shows.

 

 

At the end of last month we went to the White Mountains for a long weekend.  I love, LOVE, it up there but it also makes me sick for Idaho.

 

Thanks to Aunt Kissy and Uncle Dude who let us borrow their toy we had lots of muddy fun!

 

 



A big change is coming....

My oldest is five and I have been asked several times when and where he will be attending school this year.  I know I have mentioned a time or two (or three) about our desires to home school but that has been it....a mention, a time or two (or more).  I thought I would (try) to take the time today to discuss with you a bit more about our plans. 

 

First: 
Why homeschooling?

 

For us there was never another option.  Way back in the day when the topic of starting our family was brought up we knew two things: One; I would be a SAHM and two; we would home school.

 

We feel like any and all raising of our kids would be done by us.  For us this is our job and our priority. 

 

Second:

I know this will find offend most however we don't want our kids to get the type of socialization that comes from putting 25-30 kids in an institution for 7+ hours a day.  I read this bit over at another blog confessions of a homeschooler and I really like how she put it.....

 

....I think I misunderstand the word socialization as that the notion that spending time with 30 other 6 year olds is in some way ‘socializing’ my child. I read this in an article by Manfred B Zyskthis: “Go to your local middle school, junior high, or high school, walk down the hallways, and tell me which behavior you see that you think our son should emulate.” LOL! I looked up the word ‘socialization’ and found some disturbing things. I do not want to ‘convert or adapt my children to the needs of society’. I do want them to be able to function in our society, but that does not mean they need to be assimilated into society like the Borg. We are in this world, but not of this world.

And third:

I need the re-education.  Honestly.  I went through the public school district and I didn't do as well as what I was capable of. 

 (Part of our un-schooling: culinary classes with Mama!
Yes, both my 5 and 3 year old know how to use knives)
 

 

Our Plan:

 

Really since the days my babies were born I've been homeschooling them.  Once they reached the age to where they could sit still for 10 minutes and not want to munch on the book I would read to them.  They each get a book read to them at nap and again at bed time.  There bottom shelf of their closet is lined with books.  My mom loved books and she raised us to love them too and this something that I have passed down to my kids.  Reading books is an activity that they love and enjoy.

 

I have tried to sit down several times with my oldest, Bug, to start some informal preschool but he never showed much interest.  He loves learning but the brakes are quickly applied once it's put into a formal setting.  I never wanted to push the issue and make learning a miserable experience.  Now that he has reached the magical age of five and by the standards adopted here locally he should be starting kindergarten this year.

 

My goals for the rest of this year are to take it light.  I want to get our feet wet but not so wet that we become overwhelmed and have a bad experience.  I know first hand that when an education is enjoyable it's desired and I want this to go well.  Come the start of 2015 I hope to ramp things up a bit more.

Currently, the boys go to my mom's house on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30ish to 3:00ish.  We will do our school work on Mondays and Wednesdays with Fridays having a focus on more hands on science activities.  Come the first of the year they will stop going to my mom's house on Tuesdays but will still have their Grammy time on Thursdays. 

After doing years and years worth of research I think our style of teaching will be somewhere between traditional and the un-schooling method.  I feel both boys already know so much because the Daddy-O and I are constantly seeking out those "teachable moments" and using them to our advantage.  The traditional schooling will be used to sort of "fill in the blanks" if you will.

(In the kitchen my boys are learning science and math)

 

My Curriculum (thus far) for the remainder of this year are:

 

Fortunately, I have an older sister who has paved the way for me on this and has given me a ton of advice and resources.  You can buy a complete curriculum for lots of money that may or may not work for each child or you can piece one together which is the route I am taking. 

 

Mind you I am no expert because this is all new for me but based upon the advice from dear older sister and with many days searching the Internet here is my curriculum:

 

Bug:

Reading:  All About Reading

Penmanship: Confessions of a Homeschooler
General education reinforcement:  Leap Frog Kindergarten Skill-Builder Workbook

 

Squish:
I am not going to push Squish into anything but I know he will have an interest just because Bug is doing "school work".  So for him there will be

General education:  Kumon, My First Book of Tracing
I have also printed several other things for him to work on through these following websites:

http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/index.html
http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/

Hopefully, come the first of the year I will share with you the additional items I'll be adding to our school year.

Our Annie is 9 months!

My baby is nine months old!!!

 

 

She celebrated the day by getting her first tooth! 

 

I am sure you have noticed that I stopped taking the weekly pictures of Annie.  It became too difficult to manage every week so instead now I am taking them monthly.

 

So what is my Annie like at nine months?

 

She is....

 

...crawling.

...standing up without support.

...cruising furniture.

...squealing like a girl. 

...self-feeding with big people food.

...saying "mama" and just this morning "dada."

...chasing after her brothers as fast as she can.

...playing peek-a-boo!

...clapping.

 

Annie is just a big ball of fun and cute-ness.  She is such an amazing blessing.

 

 

Her nine months stats are:

 

Weight:  15lbs 12oz  =  12th percentile

Height:  27"  =  26th percentile

Head:  44.5cm  =  70th percentile

 

 

 

Family Vacation Part:TWO

In the first post I did about this epic ten day, six states, family road trip we traveled through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and then into Louisiana.   We left Pineville, Louisiana Monday, June 9th and traveled over to Natchez, Mississippi.  Our goal was to stop somewhere near the Mississippi river so we could get out and explore the area.  There is a good chance we might not ever go this far east again and although our kids are young and may not remember much they can at least say they've been there, done that. 

 

 

There is about a 40' problem when doing RV road trips without any tow....it's almost impossible to find a spot to park!  So, with one kid sleeping, the other crawling around trying to find something to put in her mouth and the oldest not seeming to care we just rolled through the bridge twice while I took pictures from the passenger seat. 

 

State five done!

 

Once we left Natchez we traveled on I-20 into Monroe, LA.  West Monroe to be correct.  Our Buggy Boy is a fan of the Duck Boys over at Duck Dynasty so we thought we would make this stop for him.

 

After a nasty down pour we continued on our journey to Shreveport. 

 

 

 

 Here we all are chill-laxin' on the boardwalk at the Red River. 

 

 

Once we explored the great wonders of the Bass Pro Shop we set up shop for a bit in the parking lot to let the kids run around and ride their bikes.

 

Somewhere in small town Oklahoma we stopped for a break because Mama had enough. 

(I just dug through all of our receipts from this trip and I can't find the one for the restaurant we ate at across from this stop).  This little park and its little train kept our boys very busy and happy!

 

 

 

Alright.  Perhaps I'll stop here so you don't get bored and overloaded.  I'll work on a final part three post for you soon!



Pity Party....or not!

There has been one constant nagging issue in my life for the past five or so years.  Most times when I have the blues it's over this one issue.  No, it's not the Daddy-O.  Life in that department is amazing and beautiful with no complaints.  I wanted to do a "Dear Diary" posting of sorts to help clear out my mind but also to give you a bit more of a glimpse on who I am and what makes me tick.

 

However, after blindly being pointed to these words over the past few days I think He has other plans for me.....

 

Proverbs 13:3  

 

He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

 

From the book  ONE YEAR THROUGH THE BIBLE :

 

When you are ready to give up hope on yourself or others, remember that God can work a complete change in even the most selfish personality.  Think of the self-centered people in your life.  Pray for them....

 

So instead of a "Dear Diary" about this ongoing problem in my life I will instead pray.  I will pray for others and I will pray for myself.  I will ask Him why He has me walking on this path. 

 

 

Perhaps He is telling me that all I need to focus on can be found here with me under my roof.

 

 

 

Family Road Trip

** Sorry for the long delay.  I have tried many of times to complete this update.  First we were all sick for awhile.  Daddy, then Squishy, then Buggy, then me and finally Annie.  We all fell sick within a few days of each other.  So, although I was only down and out for a little over a week it felt a lot longer since we all were sick during different times.  When we were finally all better it was time to go to the lake to recover from the all-out, no-stopping, road trip and then from the nasty cold/virus we all had.**

I mentioned in the last week post that we arrived home from our road trip with all of us sick.  This turned out to be a whopper of a cold or virus.  It knocked me out for a week.  I generally never get sick or when I do it's never bad but not this time.

 

So here is the skinny on our road trip:

 

We've been talking for some time about taking another road trip.  We were either wanting to head back to Idaho, take a camping trip in Colorado, or head back to Louisiana to visit with some extended family who are getting up there in age.  The decision was made for us when we found out that the family in LA would be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary and had invited us for the celebration.  The Daddy-O I had been back there together once before ten years ago and then just the Daddy-O again four years ago.  We know this family and the southern hospitality means so much to us that we felt it was important for our kids to experience it before it became too late. 

 

We packed up and headed east on June 3rd  Our goal was to make a two day mad-dash drive to LA.  We planned for a slight detour in Texas to visit with some family.

(Bug & Annie with great-grandma)

(Buggy)

 

While there it was determined that our dog developed a bladder infection during our dash to Texas so our stay there was extended by a few extra hours so she could be seen by a doctor.

 

We finally made it to LA mid-afternoon of the 6th.  The weather of course was hot and humid but once I accepted the fact that I would no longer need my curling iron because we were all going to look like a hot mess then I was fine. 

 

The folks that we are visiting with are on my husbands late grandfather's side of the family.  So this makes it the Daddy-O's great uncle and aunt.  Their property is just as amazing and breathe taking as it was ten years ago...

 

 

The boys enjoyed playing with their extended cousins, this tire swing and of course, the fishing!

 

  

 

Great Uncle Leon was a bit smitten with our baby girl. 

 

Before we left she finally became a little smitten of him.

 

On our last night in Pineville, LA the family came together for a crawfish boil.  Of course with the intense humidity it really felt like a family boil but we survived.

 



 

 

(My boys are like their daddy....you can always find them near a tractor or a pretty girl)

 

In this family there isn't many boys left to carry on the last name.  There are our two and then only one biological.  I tried a few times to get a good picture of the generations but never got a good shot:

 Here: at the 60th wedding anniversary celebration....

 

Here: while trying to find some fishing worms.....

 

 Here:  while on the hunt for good worm soil....

 

Here:  on our last day with family....

 

 

We left LA with exactly everything we had hoped for:  A heaping dose of good, authentic southern hospitality.  All of the "Yes, Ma'ma" and "No, Sir's" we could have asked for.  All the love and feelings of feeling like a close family that never spends a day apart but rather years apart.  Feeling the love from a man & women who represent and embody what grandparents are like even though they are not our own.  Feeling a true appreciation for just being us!

 

That is part one of our trip. 

 

 

 

 

 

week :: thirty-two and thirty-three

It's been quite around here for awhile.  The reason: a whirlwind six state road trip in the RV.  We left home on Tuesday, June 3rd and arrived home on Friday the 13th.  The states we visited....Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. 

 

I was able to capture Annie's week :: thirty-two pictures before we left but I was unable to take her thirty-three pictures.

 

I will post a longer update about our trip over the next few days.  When we started our journey home on Wednesday the 11th, Daddy & Squishy were sick with a cold and by the time we arrived in New Mexico on Thursday, Bug was throwing up.  Since we arrived home....I am now sick with what feels like the flu minus the all throwing-up. 

 

So here is a quick week  :: thirty-two photo.