Winter Break

What is winter break for?  In this house it's not for a break.  I decided to take some time out of our leisurely boring schedule of lazily doing nothing of any consequence to work on some stuff with the kids.

Creeper has really been struggling with school.  He does really well with the math, but the reading and writing is a little more trying for him.  Instead of having a carefree winter break, we've been working on some school stuff.

Of course, this really makes me think about the whole situation with school.  If I'm having the kids do all of this work at home, would it be possible to just homeschool them again?  Would this be the best option?  It's something that's been really tugging at the back of my mind.

Since it's winter break, I'm not worrying about that too much right now.  My main goal is to get Creeper back on track, which seems like a productive use of this break from school.  I'm glad he's able to get some work done, even though winter break is half over.  It's good to feel like we're accomplishing something for all this time off.

Then there's Bear.  We've been doing some work together outside of the computer.  I've got to admit, Bear has been trying my patience on the peaceful parenting thing.  I'm trying to get away from using tactics like time out, but it's not easy when Bear is so worked up over the past week.  It's been pretty crazy around here.  It makes it hard for Bear to concentrate and focus.

Still, Bear has managed to get some good work in.  We've started working with the workbooks Bear got for Christmas.  This has been trying with the lack of focus and the suddenly hyper behavior.  We've had to work hard to keep focus and stay on task.  Overall, I'd say we're making some pretty good progress.

Today we worked with some tracing lines, drawing lines along a path, and (as you can see here) tracing letters.  Bear seems really eager to learn these skills.  If Bear could keep a little more chill and focused, I think we'd be making some pretty good progress, but that wouldn't be Bear, now would it.  Instead we've been plugging away, trying to work on focus and attention span along with getting the work done.  I think that's maybe the hardest part of this whole thing, the attention span aspect of it all.

This whole thing has me considering the homeschooling thing with Bear too.  So far we've been doing pretty well.  Most of what we've been doing has been on the computer with Time 4 Learning.  I'm also considering Starfall, which Bear loves the free version of, and it can be played on all of our devices.  Now we're adding in more workbooks.  The whole thing is coming together pretty well.

All of this has my mind set to homeschooling.  There are a lot of reasons for this, many of which I don't feel belong in this blog, but the root of it all is that it doesn't seem to be working out for my family.  The long and the short of it is wondering if perhaps this is where our lives are taking us again.  It's a lot to consider, and definitely not a path I'm ready to jump onto now.  For now I'll be happy with doing our vacation work and calling it a day.

Painting

I know it probably hasn't been talked about here, but we needed to paint the walls.  There was a serious graffiti problem because Creeper decided to go through a phase of putting murals all over the walls.  He roped Link and Bear into the whole thing.  As a result, we had to paint several of the rooms, pretty much all the bedrooms and the downstairs hall.

Pinkie's room was the first one we painted.  As you can tell, it's her favorite color, pink!  We wanted to do each of the rooms in something that suited the kids.  Her room needs some touch ups with a stain covering primer and a paint over, but overall it looks pretty good.

We don't plan to leave it at just pink.  We're planning on doing all of the trim in her room at some point.  Then, once that is done, we're going to be looking for some balloon stencils to go up around the border of her wall.  Then she can have a room that really looks like something inspired by Pinkie Pie.

Eventually we want to do up her room entirely in My Little Ponies.  We want to get bedding for both the bunks in My Little Pony print.  Then she can really have a pony inspired room.  For the time being she'll have some pretty bright walls.  It goes really well with her bright, white dresser.  Her room is definitely more cheery now.  Best of all she absolutely loves the color.  It suits her, and not just because she's pinkie.  Her favorite color is pink and it's a bright, cheery color   While I would call her anything but a little ray of sunshine, the color certainly boosts her mood.

The next up was the hallway.  This we decided to do in green.  Originally I imagined more of a sage color, but I wasn't the one that went to get it.  This is a bit darker than I'd thought of going, but it looks pretty nice.  I'm not disappointed in how it turned out.  It looks much better than the stark white walls.

The walls look streaky, I know, but this is when they were freshly painted before they had a chance to dry.  I did some touch ups over areas the roller didn't want to hit well, so it looks kind of streaky here.  I suppose I should have waited for it to dry.  Unfortunately, you can't really see it in natural light because the natural light is so incredibly dark in that hall.  It's also not really that dark or grass green either.  It looks pretty nice.  I like it.

The most challenging part of painting the hallway was the little alcove upstairs.  It's pretty clear the two bedrooms used to be one.  There's some weird little features to the rooms and the hallway that make that pretty obvious.  For example, the hallway has a weird doorway into it that leads to two rooms.  Two of the rooms have ridges where a wall was clearly added in.  The doorway on one room has a weird little nook where the doorway was built in.  It's all a very odd architectural thing.

After the hall was done, the next room to be tackled was Creeper and Link's room.  Their room is blue.  As much as they wanted green, we didn't want to have that much green in one room, so we did Rainbow Dash blue.  We're going to go back in later and do the trim in green, which I think they'll like.

Their room is the biggest room, and the most difficult to work with right now.  They've got a large bed in there, a bed that used to be mine.  There's no safe place to put their bunk bed in there, so when we decided to swap the rooms around, they ended up with my old bed.  After the new year we're investing some money to put two twin beds in their room in it's place.  For now they share one huge bed.

Overall I like the way their room is slowly starting to turn out.  They got this room rather than staying in the room with their bunk beds because it's the biggest room.  It just made the most sense to put the two boys in the biggest room and leave the smaller two rooms for Pinkie and Bear.  There are two of them and they need the most stuff.  We're also going to be getting at least one new dresser to go in their room, which will make it so much easier to store all of their stuff, something that would have been a challenge in their old room.

Last of all was Little Bear's room.  Originally Bear wanted Elsa Blue, but after some consideration, purple was settled on as the perfect color.  It's a little darker than I was originally thinking, but I really like it.  Again, you can see the streaks from the drying paint.  It looks pretty good though.  I think this room, out of all the rooms, we're going to have to paint over when we leave.  It's so dark the landlord won't be thrilled to paint over it, but he told us we could paint and told us just no black or nothing really dark.  This isn't even as dark as it appears in the picture.  And we can always go lighter if he really objects.  The important part is Bear is happy with the results.

Bear's room we're planning to accent with Elsa blue and perhaps paint snowflakes around the top edge of the room.  We're going to be painting the dressers blue with snowflakes as well.  That will really brighten up the room.  I'm really hoping that will make Bear's room more comfortable to be in.  Right now Bear doesn't want to be in there much, but that may change.  Best of all, it covered all the graffiti on the walls.  That was what we really needed it to do.

So now all the work is done and we're ready to move on to other things.  It seemed like a never-ending process, but it's finally taken care of.  We're all pretty happy with the results.  It's looking pretty sharp!  I think we could get used to having some color in our house.  It's so much better than stark white walls!

Christmas 2016

Yup, it's Christmas again.  While the kids are busy playing Minecraft, I thought I'd take some time out to write a little something about our morning.  The kids are pretty well occupied and are having lots of fun, so why not?

This year, obviously, Minecraft is a huge hit this year.  Creeper and Link got Playstation cash to use to buy new Minecraft skins, maps, and texture packs.  They bought a whole bunch of stuff, including their new favorite, the Fallout map.  They're loving the chance to explore the world and ask about absolutely everything from the game.  Since they don't play Fallout (too many drug references for me to be comfortable with that), they want to know all about it.  I mean, they know some of the basics, like about Dogmeat, and Nuka Cola.  They don't know the world or anything about what they're looking at it.  They just love the world because the adults in their lives are pretty much all Fallout fans.  Their world is surrounded by it.  Besides, my dog gets called Nika Cola and I joked about changing her name to Dogmeat.

Actually, it's hard not to have Minecraft take over their lives.  They love the game and especially love to build and create.  It's a good outlet for them.  They mostly play in creative mode, so it's all about building and designing.  Minecraft is like LEGO blocks, in a way, but digital and totally changeable.

This year Pinkie's presents were all about the art.  She's been complaining about a lack of art supplies, so that had to be fixed.  She got pretty much nothing but art stuff, with some books and a Doctor Who necklace.  Some of the art stuff she got was pretty complex.  The book in the picture, for example, has all sorts of detailed pictures to color, something that will take her a lot of time to work on.  It's not like regular coloring books that take her all of two seconds to work through.  She'll be busy with that one for some time to come.

In a way she was a little disappointed at the lack of toys this year, but she's getting older.  The older she gets the less toys are going to be showing up under the tree.  Besides, I'm pretty sure she's happier with the art supplies and the Pokemon cards than she would be with a whole bunch of toys.  It suits her maturity level better.  She's been very much into art as she's always been.  She was so happy with the art supplies.  With the way she's going we may have to consider getting her more art supplies for her birthday too.  I've never seen her light up quite like she did for the coloring book and the geometric origami.  It's a little sad to see her so grown up, but at the same time it's really cool to watch her grow into the young adult she's becoming.

Link didn't get a whole lot of toys either this year.  He did, however, get a lot of Pokemon cards.  I think he's getting to an age where toys matter less and he's getting into other things.  I'm not going to say he's not into toys anymore.  He very much is, but he's getting to a point where other things are super cool too.

As you can tell by the picture, Link got a lot of Pokemon cards.  He should be able to build a pretty good deck with all of those  cards, especially since some of them are from the newest set.  He's got the special Pokemon set that goes with the Pokemon Moon game.  The set came with a few booster packs, some special holographic cards, and the Pokemon figure you can see in the picture.  Can you tell he was excited for his Pokemon stuff?

I think this is going to be a growing theme for Link.  I'm not going to say I don't want to buy him anymore toys but it's nice to be able to get him something that takes up less space and is equally fun.  Pokemon requires reading skills, logic, and a sense of tactics, making it an educational choice as well.  He's been more into video games than toys lately, but new cards should allow him to make more competitive decks, allowing him to win a bit more often.  It might be a good way to reduce screen time, as well as possibly a way to make new friends at Pokemon League events.

Then there's Creeper.  Creeper's big gift of the year was Minecraft for the PS4.  We had it before for the PS3, but that required changing between game systems, which was sometimes a bit of a pain.  Having it for the PS4 means he gets to play more often without having to change between systems.  This makes for a very happy Creeper.  He couldn't wait to play and didn't want to wait for the new stuff to download to play.  It was an exercise in patience.

There was a bit of a Minecraft theme to his presents this year overall.  Aside from a really cool Hulk figure and some art supplies, he got a bunch of little Minecraft mystery boxes and figures of Alex and Steve.  I think if Creeper's every present could be Minecraft themed from now until the end of time he'd be pretty happy with that.  He was super excited to get more Minecraft stuff.  It's just too bad his birthday and Christmas are right on top of each other.  He could get Minecraft presents twice a year to keep the present flow going.  We might just have to make half birthdays a thing, even though it'll be right around the corner from Bear's birthday.  At least it gives him a chance to get stuff at a different time of the year.

Then there's Bear.  Bear was positively spoiled this year.  Aside from the requested Batgirl costume (in nightgown form), there was also a lot of Frozen stuff, a Rapunzel tiara, a Barbie doll, some DC Superhero Girls action figures, arts and crafts stuff, and some stuff for Bear's baby doll, La-La, a gift from Bear's first birthday.  However the best gift of the whole lot was a little ceramic tea set.  Twice today I've been roped into playing tea before noon.  The only distraction was when Bear decided La-La  was hungry.  Then it was time to break out all the baby stuff and play with for a while.

Now, moment of honesty here, it's sometimes hard to get people on board with getting presents for Bear.  Bear was born male, so people often default to trucks and action figures.  However Bear prefers nightgowns, tutus, dolls, and apparently tea parties.  A lot of people aren't comfortable with that because it buck traditional gender roles.  Some days Bear wants to be a girl, and I'm okay with that, but a lot of people aren't.  I'm just really glad I was able to get Bear some really awesome and enjoyable stuff, and that we were able to have such a nice tea party together.  That really made Bear's day!

Even Nika got some nice gifts for Christmas.  She got a stuffed dragon and a Hover Disc from Ruffwear.  She's honestly not quite sure what to do with the Hover Disc.  I got it on a whim thinking it would be good to use out at the park, whatever parks allow dogs to be off leash.  It would be a good alternative to a ball and it's less strain on my elbow to throw a disc anyway.  That's why I'm able to go disc golfing.

More than anything Nika seemed incredibly confused by everything that was going on.  She didn't know what to do with all the noise, chaos, and paper flying everywhere.  Not sure what she was supposed to be doing, she chose to lay down in the middle of it all and watch the chaos from there.  I would think that would be the most overwhelming spot, but she seemed to like it well enough.  She was the calm at the center of the storm, I guess.  She was so overwhelmed that she barely wanted to hold her disc, though she carried it around for some time.  She didn't even play with her dragon toy, even though I know she loves those kinds of toys.  She likes to snatch them up, chase them around, and toss them.

Overall I'd say it's been a pretty successful Christmas, and this is just round one!  We've got two more Christmas events to go yet.  My parents are coming over tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with us.  Then the day after that my aunt and uncle are coming over.  I don't know what the kids are going to think of all that.  I'm sure they'll feel pretty spoiled after all is said and done.  It's also going to be chaotic for us.  We don't usually have that many people coming over to the house in such quick succession.  We've had our game nights, but that's about it.

The day started out the right way with presents then pancakes for breakfast.  We had our big turkey dinner last night, so tonight we're going to be getting Chinese food.  It's a Christmas night tradition.  I think that's my favorite part of the Christmas tradition.  The kids particularly love it too.  We didn't do it last year because we went to a friend's house for Christmas dinner, but I hope to make it our regular holiday thing again.  If we end up visiting on Christmas in the future we may have to swap things around and make it a Christmas lunch thing, but I particularly like not having anywhere to go on Christmas Day.  It makes for a wonderfully chill day!

Christmas Eve 2016

This was a Christmas Eve to be remembered.  The kids all got new pajamas to wear for Christmas Eve.  Pinkie got DC Superhero Girls.  It looks like this will be the last year Pinkie will be getting pajamas from the kids section.  These were almost too small for her.  Link got Star Wars pajamas in a favorite color, purple.  Creeper got Mario Bros.  Bear got Batgirl "nightgown costume."

This picture happened later in the evening, after all the kids had dinner and settled in to watch Prep and Landing, followed by Prep and Landing: Naughty vs. Nice.  This has become a yearly tradition.  It's also a tradition that makes me realize how much television companies must hate families on the East Coast.  The shows weren't even over until nine!  That meant the kids had to be hustled off to bed so that Santa could come.  It was an exhausting night for me.  Thankfully the kids went to sleep almost as soon as they were sent to bed.  I think it's because they all wanted Santa to come.  We watched Santa's launch on Reindeer Cam, then watched our shows.  We even tracked Santa on the Santa Tracker.  I think that helped motivate them to get to bed on time.

Of course, that wasn't the start of the day.  We began the day with lots of cleaning.  To keep Bear out of the way we decided to make a Christmas potholder.  I'm an evil mom.  I made Bear work on patterns.  Bear picked a pattern for the colors and we had to follow them.  Now there's a Christmas potholder hanging on the tree.  I suppose that's a good place for it.  As always, I realize just how challenging those things are for little hands!  I can't imagine how I must have done them when I was a kid!

Pot holder making wasn't the only bit of creativity we had.  The printer I got as a Christmas present to the family was set up, so I printed out Christmas themed coloring pages for the kids.  This kept them busy and out of my hair while I served up dinner.  We had our big turkey dinner then instead of on Christmas day.  Christmas Day is always Chinese food for dinner, unless we go over a friend's house.  The coloring pages were a brilliant idea.  I get the feeling I'm going to be shelling out a lot in printer paper, between school workbook pages (which the kids surprisingly like doing) and coloring pages for the holidays, I think that thing's going to get a workout.  That's not even taking into account the things that I may need to print up!

As things settled down for the evening I was able to finally start to relax.  The kids got to put on their pajamas.  Bear particularly loved the Batgirl nightgown, especially because it had a cape.  How often do you find pajamas with a cape?  Especially one as sparkly as this one has.  I'd gone out earlier in the day to get the pajamas, braving the cold, rain, and crowds.  It was our special Christmas Eve present, which they got on Christmas Eve, combining two traditions into one.  Usually the kids all get at least one present on Christmas Eve.  There's also a tradition where someone has to go out and buy at least one Christmas related item on Christmas Eve.  Usually this ends up being some kind of chocolate for the stockings.  This year it was pajamas, an afterthought really, but I had a gift card, and surprisingly they were all about half off, some even more than that.  At the end of it there was money left over on the gift card and I'm pretty proud of that.  Since we usually aim to get the kids a pair of new pajamas every Christmas, I guess you could say this blended all three traditions, and it wasn't all that expensive.  Unfortunately, waiting until so late made for incredibly limited selections, but it all worked out in the end.

Finally the night ended with all the presents neatly under their respective trees.  Bear had the live Norfolk Island Pine.  Creeper used his Christmas cactus.  Link used our sorry looking bonsai that's looking more like a Charlie Brown tree these days.  Pinkie, being the oldest, got the biggest tree.  I almost wish I'd swapped Pinkie and Bear's gifts as Bear had the most of all.  Bear, being the littlest, got spoiled, which is okay by me because Bear is usually the one left out or forgotten about.

If you were to look at pictures of the number of presents this year in comparison to last year, the amount is far smaller, aside from Bear's.  I have to admit, I'm pretty happy with the turnout though.  It feels good to not have our tree spilling over with stuff, Here's the shocker.  Next year we might even be able to fit everyone's stuff under the same tree!  I guess that's the joy of becoming a little more minimalist.  We're filling the house with less quantity and more quality than we have in the past.  Then again, we have two more rounds of Christmas to go before the holiday is over.  I just hope their Christmas is as good as I hope it's going to be!

Happy Birthday Creeper

Today we celebrated Creeper's birthday.  Though his birthday is close to Christmas, he's taken to enjoying Christmas as the theme to his birthday celebration.  He always wants to have a gingerbread decorating party for his birthday.  I can't say as I can blame him.  Cookies are yummy.

Instead of having a typical party, we all sat around the table with our friend, Sable, decorating cookies.  We didn't have as many supplies as we have in years past, but we had a lot of fun with it.  We used some premade cookies that we decorated.  Lacking a rolling pin, we decided that was the best way to make cookies.  Next time we're thinking of using the ninja cookie cutters we were given to make some really cool ones, but this year we did things differently.  We went with what was easy.

The kids really enjoyed making cookies together.  I'd hoped we'd have a bigger turnout, but it didn't work out that way.  In other years past we've had quite the crowd over to decorate cookies, a tradition that started before Sander was even born.  The year Sander was born he made his appearance on the day the gingerbread party was supposed to be, putting the breaks on any holiday celebration.  Since that day we combined his birthday with the gingerbread party.  I figured in time he'd want something not Christmas themed for his party, but he's really taken to it.  It's a tradition he's really grown to love.  I have a feeling this is going to be a tradition we keep for some time to come.

The best part of the gingerbread party?  Eating the cookies, of course!  It seemed at first that they were going to eat them as fast as they made them, but they slowed down eventually.  I can't blame them though.  If I could eat regular cookies I would have been all about it too.  I guess they were all safe because they're not gluten free cookies, so I couldn't have any.

I think next year we're going to plan to have more supplies.  The jelly frosting ran out too quickly and I think we needed more variety of sprinkles and candy to put on them, but it seemed to work out okay.  Bear in particular didn't want to put much candy on the cookies.  Instead each had a cluster of candies.  Bear said that was their "Yo-Kai watch."  Can you tell there was an influence there?  Next year I think we need more red because we had a number of zombie cookies.  There was also a ghost.  Sable made a penguin and Violet Beauregard from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  We seemed to have just the right number of cookies for the number of people we had.  I think if everyone showed up that originally planned to there wouldn't be enough cookies, or enough room to decorate.

The highlight of the party was, of course, Creeper's cupcake with candles.  It wouldn't be a birthday without cake and that was exactly the right size.  It almost wasn't big enough to hold the right number of candles.  We only did seven because I've never been one for the extra candle for good luck.  It somehow seemed silly to me.  I couldn't imagine trying to do an extra anyway.  There just wasn't enough room!

We did the whole birthday thing without the song, because that's what Creeper wanted.  We just lit the candles, said "Happy birthday!" and let him blow them out.  Of course, he made a wish, but you have to make a wish if it's your birthday.  He was so super excited about blowing out his candles.

After all the cookies the cupcake was divided up among anyone who wanted a taste.  Creeper was very good about sharing with everyone, even though he didn't have to.  The cupcake was for him.  He's such a good sharer, at least when he wants to be.  it seemed like the perfect end to the gingerbread party.  He had his cake and everything was good.  This was definitely a successful birthday.

Not only did his birthday go well, but we found the perfect cupcake for his birthday.  The frosting was green, Creeper's favorite color.  It was an extra large cupcake, so perfect for sharing.  Best of all, we were able to find some LEGO block candles, which really set this cupcake well above everything else we've done in the past.  The cupcake was a little Christmas themed, but it wasn't too bad once all the candles were on.

I have to admit, I'm pretty happy with how that little cupcake turned out, though I think next year we either need smaller candles or a bigger cake.  That thing was full to the brim.  As it was the candles were already trying to topple over.  Thankfully Creeper didn't care.  He was thrilled with his cupcake just the way it was.  I think his favorite part was being able to make a wish anyway.  I can't blame him.  Wishes are some pretty awesome stuff.

Overall, I'd call this a pretty successful birthday, perhaps one of the most successful one's we've had.  I'm really happy with the way everything worked out, even if it would have been nicer to do it with more friends around.  We didn't really have room for more people, so it worked out.  Creeper didn't seem to care that his friends weren't there either.  The whole day included MineCraft and watching The Wizard of Oz and Wreck-It Ralph, so I think that totally added the finishing touch.

A Cold Day?

I've heard of snow days, but this one was a first for me.  School was delayed not because of snow, but because it was so cold.  They wanted to give it time to warm up before the kids loaded up on buses to go to school.

Well, I'll admit it, I'm a bad parent.  Instead of sending my kids to school, I decided to keep them at home.  I'll be honest, a two hour delay makes the school day almost not worth having.  On top of that, it was just as cold when the buses rolled out.  It hadn't warmed up at all, though maybe the wind had died down some.

Instead of school we decided to spend the day watching movies and the kids played some MineCraft.  Yes, I know, it shouldn't be surprising that the kids were playing that game again.  I really value it as a part of their education.  It allows them some creativity and they're able to play around with a lot of different concepts.  I'm seriously thinking about looking up some ideas for using MineCraft as an educational opportunity.

Now it's still cold, but the snow is rolling in.  By the end of the weekend it's supposed to be warm and raining.  That's going to be a nice change of pace from the cold we've been having.  That also means we can go pick up some more paint and get cracking on finishing up the rooms.  I'm really looking forward to that.

For now I think we're going to start up some hot chocolate, something to keep us warm on this cold night.  We'll do something nice and warm for dinner, though I haven't quite decided what.  That leaves bean soup right out of the running, since I should have started that this morning, but we've got a few other options.  It's going to be a night of raiding the pantry and the fridge to find the warmest meal I can conjure up.

Well, it's about that time, so I'd better start cracking.  I'm thinking we're going to do one of my cold weather favorites and cook up the shepherd's pie we have waiting to be made.  That would really make for a good meal tonight.

Pup Pal, Minecraft, and Mom's Night Out

Last night I got a call from Bear.  "Mama!  Mama!  I can't move now!"  I had no idea what to expect when I was called to see the silly why it was Bear couldn't move.  It could be anything with these kids.  I never know what to expect.

This is what I saw.  I guess this was Nika's revenge for all the times Bear has laid on the dogs.  Bear is always trying to lay on the dogs, or sit on them, or cuddle them.  Sometimes they're not really a fan.  Nika, in particular, doesn't like when people lay on her.  However, Nika has no problems laying on me when I'm in a chair, pretending to be a lap dog.

Now Bear couldn't move.  It was a cute moment.  She's not usually one to cuddle with the kids.  She prefers to keep her cuddling to my feet, or putting her head on my bed and looking pathetic.  It was wonderful to see her snuggled up with Bear.  I think she's really getting comfortable with the children.  Besides, Bear has always been her favorite.

It's funny to see the way she is with Bear.  I guess it's all the time the three of us walk together.  Even when Bear is in the stroller she likes to keep her head even with the seat, that way she can check on her kid as often as need be.  If Bear is upset and crying, she's always the first to respond.  Though she's supposed to be my dog, I can't be upset about the way she's bonding with the kids.

As for today, it's been a quiet day.  The kids have sat around playing Minecraft.  Actually, if I must be honest, Pinkie, Link, and Creeper have been sitting around playing Minecraft.  Bear is still too little to play, but that doesn't mean cuddling with Pinkie is out of the question.  They're playing in creative mode, building their own city.

I almost wish we'd had Minecraft when we were still homeschooling.  It's a great way for the kids to be creative.  They've also been playing all afternoon while getting along perfectly well.  I'm sure when we homeschooled this would have been some great time for too, but it's especially good to see now.  The kids fight a lot more now that they're in school.

I have to wonder if the fighting is a factor of how little they see each other now.  They used to see each other all day every day.  Now they only spend time together in the few brief hours after school.  Since their arrival home is so staggered, they barely have time with Creeper, who seems to be having the hardest time with all of this.  It's hard on them.  They did so much better over the summer when they had all day together.  It's sad to see them so distant from each other, but moments like this remind me that it wasn't always this way.  I hope we have more of them in the future.

And on a completely not kid related note, I got to go out and have a new experience this weekend.  I was brought out to the range by a friend of mine.  This was the first time I've ever used a firearm.  From everything I can tell, I didn't do too badly at it, as I'm sure you can see.

We use some regular paper targets so I could get used to it, then we got some zombie targets, just for fun.  I had a really hard time hitting anything but the center of the target.  It was a challenge to try and hit the other figures, but I definitely feel that if "Z Day" were to come upon us, I'd be qualified to deal with the incoming zombie hoard.  Of course, not owning a firearm, that could be more challenging, but you get the idea.

Now all the kids want to go with me next time.  I think Bear, Creeper, and Link are still to young to want to take with next time, but Pinkie could probably go.  Instead of getting to go, the kids decided on where the zombie targets would hang.  Now they're posted on either side of the television, that way the kids can see them while playing their games.  It's definitely something I'll do again.

Even The Most Mundane Things.

Today was just one of those errand days, you know the kind, the ones where you've got to do something seemingly boring.  Today's mission was a trip to the pharmacy.  It's about a 3 mile walk, round trip, so right about normal for what the kids are used to.  Pinkie was at an overnight, so we just had Bear, Creeper, and Link.  They love having the opportunity to go for walks, even if it's something that promises to be boring.  I suppose I should have learned by now, even walks are never boring with these kids.  They end up being the source of crazy made up games and wild stories.  This trip was certainly no exception to that rule.  They had quite the time chatting away.  Bear in particular had all kinds of stories to tell.

The weather was beautiful out.  While we started with jackets on, it quickly got warm enough that we didn't need to wear them anymore.  Considering it's November, we're all glad we've still got the warm weather.  It's only a matter of time before it's too cold and snowy to enjoy being outside for a walk.  We're going to try and enjoy every moment of it we can.  I can foresee a number of walks like this in our future, at least until the weather starts to turn.

Getting out always means Bear has to be in top style.  Out of all the kids, Bear's the only one that cares at all about looks.  Today's look was complete with a hat I made, something that's become a constant accessory every time we leave the house.  The Frozen sunglasses matched with the shoes.  It was quite the look.

This has been something we've had to get used to with Bear.  All of the other kids have had their own quirky senses of style, generally sending the message of "don't care what I wear."  Bear, on the other hand, is a total fashionista.  This has been quite the experience, and sometimes means it takes a bit to get moving out the door.

The tiger you see here has been with us for some time now.  That was gotten for Creeper when he was still little.  Today he decided to come along for the ride.  It was fun to hear the kids all enjoy our little tag-along.  The big tragedy of the day was the tiger, named Ra-Ra, falling from Bear's lap in the stroller and getting run over.  Thankfully it was only the tail, and Bear was able to "poof" it back to healthy again.  This meant for a story about the tiger's adventures, which was particularly funny.

No trip out is complete without hungry kids commenting that they wanted lunch.  We joked about how the only way they'd get to have lunch out is if they worked in the kitchen to earn the money to pay for it.  We were going to barter them in exchange for pizza.  They all seemed to find this a funny concept and were arguing over who got sold to the pizza parlor so the rest of us could eat.  I was really surprised they didn't volunteer the dog to work as a dish washer!  She'd do such a good job.  Instead we ended up doing the traditional thing and actually paying for the pizza, of course.

Still, this gave the kids an opportunity to think about what it actually takes to get food.  You don't just walk in and order a pizza.  The money has to come from somewhere, so how do you earn your money.  What is labor really worth?  We didn't get into a serious conversation about it or anything, but they did talk about how much pizza costs and whether or not we'd have enough money.  A part of me really wants to shield them from the idea of their parents needing money and how much things cost.  I don't want them to worry.  At the same time, they may value what they have more if they actually have to think about how expensive everything really is.

We all really enjoyed our time at the pizza parlor.  We went to a little local joint, because those are always the best.  The kids each got to pick out a soda.  While it's cheaper to just get a 2 liter, it's a hassle to pick something everyone likes.  Since this was a special treat, why not make it more special.  It's not like we get soda every day.  Even I splurged and had some, breaking my almost two week streak of having no soda, but we were all getting spoiled, so I figured why not?  I can always go right back to having no soda again.  If we keep this up we might end up a soda free house, and then it will really be a special treat.

The kids got their own pepperoni pizza, with more than enough left over for dinner.  They probably would have eaten more, but we got a huge batch of french fries to go with it, which were happily devoured.  There's something special about pizza parlor french fries.  They always tend to be the best.  The kids commented on how incredibly good my salad looked, but none of them wanted to try any.  I know if Pinkie were there she would have devoured my tomatoes and olives.  Overall, it was a fantastic little adventure for our family.

Ranger Rick, Something for All My Kids

I only vaguely remember the magazines I read when I was younger.  I remember getting Highlights, and that's perhaps the one that sticks best in my mind. I know we got Zoobooks. I'm pretty sure we also got National Geographic Kids. However, I don't really remember Ranger Rick.  That's really been something that was more for my kids, nothing I remember when I was younger.  I'm pretty sure it was around, but I don't even remember it from when I was a kid.

Thankfully, Ranger Rick is a magazine that's thought about providing something for everyone.  It's hard to feel fair with magazine subscriptions most of the family doesn't get any magazines, but one person gets them all.  I feel like the other kids are left out because there aren't as many options.  I'm sure my littlest doesn't care much, but they all like sitting and waiting for their hand-out when magazines come in the mail.  It's a moment of excitement for them.

I kind of get it too.  I always used to love getting mail.  It's harder with e-mail because I don't get mail as often. I don't splurge on magazines for myself anymore, so the most I get is the occasional catalog.  Generally it's just bills and junk mail.  However, as a kid I was always excited when the mail came.

More often than not the kids get packages.  There's generally cards in the packages, but it's big giant boxes over anything you'd get in the mail box.  They get so thrilled on those days, but magazine days are better.  The mailman doesn't come to our door so they're caught off guard, surprised.  It's a little bit of something unexpected to brighten up their day.

What I love about Ranger Rick is the ability to interest kids of all ages, or at least younger kids of all ages.  There does come an age when kids are more likely to want to read adult or teen magazines, but my kids aren't quite there yet.  Until then, Ranger Rick is perfect for my whole family.

The little guy right now gets "the baby magazine" as my daughter puts it.  Our stock of Wild Animal Baby has been growing since Link was little.  A handful of them have been ruined over time by being chewed on or spit up on.  Both my boys loved the books when they were very little, but they didn't always understand the rules of books, like "books don't belong in your mouth."  Now my littlest is old enough that he proudly turns the pages of his own book and pretends to read it all on his own.  He's not much for being read to anymore, so he doesn't really get the full effect, but he still loves he books.  On top of that, he just lights up like nothing else when the other kids get something in the mail and then I hand him his own magazine too!  It makes him feel special.  We get extra use out of it because my daughter will read some of the stuff to Link, so all the kids get something out of it.

Link getsYour Big Backyard.  His older sister got it until not to long ago when he was still getting Animal Babies.  It all changed over right about the time my youngest was born.  We all love that magazine.  Link particularly likes all the pictures of the animals.  This issue had a lot of walrus pictures, which he thought was pretty cool.  We generally don't read much together, but he prefers to have his big sister read to him.  He'll look at his magazines for hours on end!

Bunny Boo is very excited to get Ranger Rick.  It's much more grown-up than the other two magazines, so it makes her feel like an adult.  She reads the articles and the stories.  She loves the little comic in each issue.  Best of all, there's some cool games.  While she loves looking at all the pictures, she also loves that she can learn some pretty cool things.

I have to say, Ranger Rick is the only magazine company I've found that offers magazines for such a wide range of kids.  There's really something for everyone.  Best of all, it's teaching the kids about something all kids love, nature and animals!  Of all the magazines and things out there, this is the one I'm most excited about.  It's one more thing my daughter loves to read and it's a company that offers something for all of my kids.  What could be better than that?

Sick Kids Are No Fun...But Sick Mama?

I don't know how these things work out, but they always do.  The whole family just can't seem to get sick all at once and get it over with, or one at a time.  It's all got to happen in these weird phases that just make everything all the more complicated.

Generally the kids are the first to come down with something.  Link's had a weak immune system all his life and gets sick at the drop of a hat.  He's already had his first trip to the hospital, IV and everything, all in time for his third birthday, what a way to celebrate?  Happy birthday, you have strep throat!  Since birth if someone around him is carrying a cold or the flu, we'll know pretty soon, Link will come down with it, though he's gotten better these days.

Typically that's how it goes.  First he comes down with it, and most times it's only been him.  Thankfully he's been a lot better lately.  He doesn't get everything that everyone else gets.  I guess his body is finally catching up on resistances, something that's made me much happier because he was once sick almost all the time.  I was inspired to put him in a bubble to protect him from all the nastiness in the outside world, but if I'd done that his immune system never would have gotten stronger.  It just meant suffering through one kid that got sick at the drop of a hat with things none of the rest of us would ever catch.

More recently it's been both the older two that get sick first.  They catch the flu or a cold, probably because they're exposed to so many other kids.  I don't like sounding like kids are breeding grounds for disease, but let's face it, kids hang out with a lot of other kids, and often a big variety of them.  Adults, on the other hand, generally only see the same groups of people.  Kids also pick things up at the park or playground, and everyone knows the way diseases travel in school.  Adults don't really have those kinds of factors in our lives for the most part.  On top of that, kids immune systems aren't as strong as adults in most cases, which means they're much more likely to come down with something.  Kids also do crazy things like share snacks and drinks, pick their noses, and forget to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze.  No one can really blame them.  That's just kids being kids.

So the kids bring home something and are sick and miserable.  This generally ends up with the kids up all night and miserable, and fighting all day because they didn't want to get the rest they needed.  I should be used to it by now, but what parent truly is?  It's never fun to have sick kids.

However, I've got to admit that when we're all sick at once, it's so much easier.  It's almost like we get to get it done and over with.  Granted, Chesh rarely gets sick, so there's always someone to take care of the sick people in the house, but even when he's sick too, we generally end up putting on something entertaining to watch while the whole family mostly ignores it and sleeps the day away, for once getting the rest we all truly need.  It's just too bad that never happens.

Instead two or three days after the kids get sick, that's when it hits me.  Maybe it's because I spend so much time trying to handle the kids when they're sick, but it always kicks me in the butt every time.  What's a small case of the sniffles for the kids turns into a major head cold for me.  They get a cough that lasts a day or two.  I get a persistent, wracking cough that lingers for weeks and doesn't seem to want to quit.  They get the flu and a little stomach upset and I end up in bed with a stomach ache for days.  Somehow it doesn't seem fair that I take care of them so they recover quickly, yet in return I end up being kept down for much longer.  What's worse is they seem to take the whole mentality of "when the cat's away" and go crazy, or worse, start arguing, whining, and causing trouble so I have to get involved when really I'd rather just lock myself in my room, buried in blankets with a perpetually hot tea by my side so I can sleep until I'm well.

It's just so frustrating that every single time this happens, I end up sick a couple days later.  What's worse is most times it ends up interfering with what the kids want to do.  I end up sick on the day that they have a play date, or I end up sick when the kids have their co-op.  It just doesn't seem fair to them that they have to miss these things because I'm sick.

If only the world were different, so that moms never got sick.  Then moms could be at home to take care of their children when they were sick without having to worry about their kids missing out on things.  It'd be nice if moms didn't have to take a sick day from work to care for their sick child only to have to take another a few days later because things turned around and now they're the one not feeling well.  It's just too bad the world doesn't work differently.

Baseball and Softball...? Maybe Next Year...

I wanted to sign the kids up for baseball and softball this year.  It's a spring sport and I know the kids love spring sports, or at least Link does.  I figured as much as I would love for the kids to have music classes, I think it's just going to have to wait until later.  It's become really clear that the last thing they need is more arts in their life.  They've got plenty of that.  What they need more than anything is an opportunity to run around and burn off some of that energy.  Besides, team sports are good for kids.  It would help them build strength, a healthy lifestyle, be tired enough to go to bed on time, and it would be great social time.

Unfortunately, the world just didn't work that way this year.  I didn't even know about sign-ups until three days before they end.  Technically I could still enroll them tomorrow, but sports are expensive and I just don't think I can swing it.  As much as I'd love to, it's just not in the cards.  We've got to get a lot sorted out in that time.  It would be different if we knew about it sooner because I could have budgeted for it, but sometimes things just aren't meant to be.

With everything in our lives on trying to get our car situation sorted out, it's probably for the best.  Sure, we don't have to worry about the season starting until late March, but we'd have to get our schedule in order, get all their equipment, and everything else.  On top of that, we've got the co-op to worry about and Chesh starts his new job the day before their season starts.  Until we settle into a routine, it's going to be a bit crazy to try and get all of that started at once.

As much as I love the idea, I think we're going to have to wait until next year for spring sports.  This year I think I'll take the kids to the park and help them learn the basics, catching and throwing, at least.  Next year they should be in a much better position to play, and they'll at least have the familiarity with the equipment they'll be using.  That's a start, right?

This whole thing got me thinking about my own involvement in team sports as a child.  I know a lot of people devalue sports, especially girls.  They would rather their children be involved in academic or artistic pursuits. It seems like not very many people I know see much point to sports.  I've heard a lot of negative comments about what competition teaches kids and how a good day at the park can give them just as much exercise, if not more.  I got that, but that's never how I felt about it when I was a child.

It wasn't until I was in 7th grade that I started to have anything to do with sports.  We learned about field hockey in gym class and I loved it so much that I wanted to play more often.  A drop-in team was formed and we actually played a few games against other schools.  It was a lot of fun.  We weren't a winning team by any means, but it was a good group of girls that loved the sport and loved playing the game together.  We really felt like we got something out of it.

When I hit high school, everything changed.  For most of my high school experience our team was still the biggest losers of the league.  Even so, we tried our best and had a lot of fun doing it.  The team really came together.  Even my freshman year when I was the youngest player on the team and felt completely out of place, I still felt like I had something to look forward to.  By the end of the year I was gladly talking to my team-mates, even if I rarely saw them in school.  It broke down the structure of grades because it didn't matter that there were seniors talking with a freshman.  We didn't care.  It was all in the name of the team.  It was like we'd bonded and become a family.

Maybe that's what it is about these sports teams, it's better to be on a losing team.  When you know you're going to lose every game it's not that big of a deal when you lose.  It's even better when you win.  The game becomes all about playing your best and having some fun doing it.  After all, winning and losing don't matter so much when you're having a blast.

Even looking at my own father, he still plays team sports today.  He's a bit of a jock and plays just about every sport under the sun, but he loves it.  That's one of the reasons I got into team sports.  It brought me closer to my dad.  Sure, I was never much good at volleyball, softball, or soccer like my dad was.  I still had fun and it gave us something to talk about.

I've decided that no matter how tight things are, I'm going to make sure my kids get to play baseball and softball next year.  Link will love that.  Bunny Boo doesn't seem to care about it so much, but I think it will be good for her to try it even once.  I know what she's really looking forward to is summer soccer.  I hope to get them involved in that too.  Honestly, I plan to find a way to manage getting each of my kids involved in some sport every season, just so they can try it out.  If they love it, we'll do it again next year.  If they hate it, well, no big deal.  At least they tried it, learned a little about it, and made the decision based on an actual experience, not just because they didn't want to try.

If nothing else, I've learned one thing in all of this.  We're going to put away the money for the kids to join their sports and sign them up as soon as they're able.  That will give us plenty of time to get the gear they need and get them ready to play.  It also means none of these last-minute problems will happen again.  I'm really looking forward to it.  Most people may not see me as a sports-mom, but you know what?  I really kind of miss playing when I was younger, and I think the kids will love it just as much as I did.  If they don't, we can always find something else they like doing, but that will be an entirely different adventure.

Lazy for Homeschooling, Yet Somehow Still Productive

You know what we did for homeschooling today?  That's right, nothing.  We didn't work on writing.  We didn't work on reading.  We didn't talk about math.  Link didn't even read the e-mail from his grandma about the cool stuff she's got to say on the subject of germs.  We did absolutely nothing, yet I think it was perhaps our most productive homeschooling day ever.

Why do I think that?  For starters, my daughter actually read.  She didn't really read much, but she was sitting next to the baby I take care of after just having fed her (because she loves being helpful) and my youngest brought her one of those boxed sets of books.  He wanted to "read" them.  However, I guess he decided they were boring when they were no longer in their box, so he just walked away.  That's when my daughter decided to do something incredibly out of character for her.  She picked up the first book and started reading the first chapter quietly to herself, asking questions when she came across something she just didn't get.

What was this book that had her so captivated?  The book was Flat Stanley: His Original Adventure! from The Flat Stanley Collection Box Set.  We'd parts of the books before, though most of the time we'd never finished them because she just wasn't interested in finishing stories back then.  She liked to read half a book and then start something new.  However, this time she was plowing through it like a champ.  Who knew she'd just pick it up and read it for no reason at all?  I'm so proud of my Bunny!  She's actually reading!

Link didn't do anything overly educational, but he did a lot of "creative writing" type practice.  He was sitting by himself just making up stories.  I'm not entirely sure who he was telling or if he was telling anyone at all, but it was amusing to see him sitting there, quietly telling stories without any toys or physical action going on.  I wouldn't be surprised if I had peeked in to see him holding a book, but I didn't bother to check on him.  I didn't want to interrupt him.

My littlest one decided today would be a good day to color.  He finally started using his Easel and his Crayon Rocks that he got for his birthday.  I can't tell you how much he loves them.  It took him a while to actually start using them.  Crayons weren't so much his thing, but he's discovered that these are just perfect for him to hold.  He had to ask the other kids what colors each crayon was before he could draw with it and was incredibly proud of what he'd done.  He's finally starting to sink in to something a bit artistic.  We knew it wouldn't be long!

It was a very relaxing day, aside from the points with a cranky baby, but it was nice.  It's good to feel like we've really accomplished something, even if we haven't really done much at all.  Even I got to do something since the book I'd ordered came in today.  I'd ordered Theatre Games for Young Performers to help me with my theater class at the co-op.  Since I just got it, I couldn't resist paging through it and came up with some great new ideas for my theater class, and a few things I'd forgotten from my own theater games from when I was in school.  Even I couldn't avoid learning without even really meaning to!  It's wonderful.

I kind of wish every day could be like today, casual and relaxed, yet everyone is filling their day with incredibly educational things.  It would be perfect.  I keep hoping that some day my kids will really take control of their own education, but that's still a while off, I think.  However, it's days like these that really make me think that letting the kids work towards their own educational goals, even if it's just half the time, could be a realistic goal for our family.  It's amazing how productive time that's not scheduled for work can be when you just let it happen.

We Never Stop Learning

Yesterday Bunny Boo and I were over at her friend's house.  Her friend asked all these questions about how Bunny Boo knew all of these things.  I don't even remember half of it with how fast they were jumping from topic to topic!  Her friend seemed amazed at how she could be so smart.  She wanted to know how Bunny Boo learned all these things.

Bunny Boo pointed to me, and then followed her friend's questioning look with, "My mom teaches me.  She's my only teacher.  I've never gone to school.  That's why I'm so smart."

Of course, I had to remind them both that just because one person knows a lot doesn't mean their friend won't know just as much.  They probably just know different things.  For example, Bunny Boo's friend is pretty good at reading.  Bunny Boo may know a lot about a whole bunch of things, but she's not so good at reading.

I also pointed out that I'm not Bunny Boo's other teacher.  When she goes to "school" she goes to the homeschool co-op once a week.  There she learns from other mothers and with other kids, kind of like school.

As I expected, this started out a new conversation.  Bunny Boo's friend told her how she goes to school every day but Saturday and Sunday.  She couldn't imagine only going to school one day in a week, or not at all.  It's just something kids in school don't really think about.  I'm sure some would find it cool, but other kids really like school and all the friends they have there.  They couldn't imagine doing it all from home.

That's when things got interesting.  I asked Bunny Boo when she stopped learning.  She said she never did, and her friend was shocked.  "Except when you're sick, right?" she responded.  I told her Corde learns even when she's sick and I was told I was mean.  Corde thought this was pretty funny and then explained how incredibly hard it is not to learn anything!  She went on and on about how you can't ask questions, play games, read books, or even think because you might figure something out that you didn't know before.  Even when you're sick you still learn stuff, even though you're just trying to get better.  "It's impossible to stop learning!" she declared.

Right there her friend gave this look of disbelief.  That's when I dropped the bomb on her.  "You know what?" I asked.  "We just proved our point.  Just by talking to us for five minutes you learned a whole bunch about homeschooling and unschooling.  See how hard it is not to learn?"

It was an interesting day.  It really did hit home for Bunny Boo that it's true, she never stops learning, and no one way of learning is better than any other.  Sure, her friend goes to school and learns a lot of things there, but she learns a lot of things too.  They both know a lot of different things, which means if they put their heads together, they really know quite a lot about the world.  Better yet, we've shared the joy with someone else, the knowledge that no matter what you do, you never stop learning.

The Next Big-Boy Step

It wasn't that long ago that my youngest decided he really wanted to be like the big kids.  He started to drink water from plastic bottles instead of cups.  He even had whoever was closest fill empty soda cans with water so he could drink from the same things big people drink from.  Now it's on to wanting to drink from a regular cup, just like everyone else.

This isn't really a new development.  He's been drinking from things other than his sippy cup for months now.  Even with his experimentation in regular cups, he still wanted his trusty sippy cup more often than not.  It was familiar to him, and it seemed like a safety net, like his two blankets and his Scentsy frog.  Those used to be the things that preserved his image in our minds as still being the baby of the house.

Now he's talking up a storm, even though much of what he says is still confusing, and he's starting to let go of his babyhood needs.  Sure, he still likes to have his two blankets to sleep, but any blankets will do.  He still likes his frog, though it's not as much of a need as he was before.  He's more of a pal than a best friend.  Now he's losing the sippy cup too.

It was just a week ago that he decided he wanted to use cups for everything.  We've only used his sippy cup on a couple of occasions since then, usually situations where a spill would be much too likely, or when we know he's not going to be paying much attention, like outside.  The rest of the time he's been using the same plastic cup over and over again, the only plastic cup in the house.  If it's not a cup, he's drinking from bottles and soda cans.  He's gone from drinking milk like it's the only thing that sustains him to drinking equal shares of juice and water with a little bit of milk once or twice a day, and the occasional sip of soda when he grabs the wrong can.  When he does, good luck getting him to give it up!  He's a soda fiend!

His choices in drinks and cups aren't the only ones that have changed.  He now likes to have his cereal with milk, just like most of the rest of the family.  He eats it with a spoon and doesn't make much of a mess.  When everyone else has sauce, syrup, or butter, he wants some too.  He's decided he'll only eat with utensils if everyone else is, unless those last few bits are too hard to scoop up.  Toddler utensils won't do it either.  He wants to be eating the real deal.

Suddenly, as though overnight, he's decided he wants to give up that very baby-like attitude and just grow up.  He wants to act more like a pre-schooler than your average toddler.  There are still some skills he doesn't care to master, but he's just growing up so fast.  He just doesn't want to be the baby of the house anymore.  He wants to be grown up, just like everyone else.

He's even started to look more grown up.  Part of that is a recent growth spurt that took some of the chubbiness out of his face.  He looks so much like his father now!  He's also started standing with his feet planted squarely on the ground, hands on his hips, and chest pushed out like a little Peter Pan.  His body language is becoming just as expressive as his vocabulary too!  He's developing such a strong personality and it's amazing to watch him grow from being your average toddler into a very expressive little boy.

I'm sure these changes will just keep happening over the next few months, and probably never stop.  He'll keep growing into something amazing, just like his older siblings.  I can't wait to see what kinds of things he'll build his life around as he grows.

The Books She Chose to Read

When I think of reading books as a child, I think of all the things I liked to read.  I wanted books with stories in them.  If it was too obvious I was learning something, they were no fun.  I always thought my daughter would likely be the same way.  She would choose books that are full of story and fun to read.  I guess I'm a bit surprised that she didn't do at all what I'd expected.

For the past few days Bunny Boo has been reading by choice.  She grabs books and magazines and actually reads them.  She's been trying to teach Link how to read too, though that's not going over so well.  He's not so keen on the idea of learning, mostly because his sister keeps him up all night and then gets him up at the crack of dawn every morning.  I'm just happy she's reading at all.

However, I have to admit, I'm surprised at what she's reading when it comes to things that aren't magazines!  She's been gravitating towards the same two books for the past couple days.  What are these incredible books that she loves so much?  She's been reading To Root to Toot to Parachute: What Is a Verb and Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective.

Looking at the books, I guess I can't really blame her.  They may be educational, but they're fun little books.  They have crazy writing, cute pictures, and look like a great read.  I can understand why she might be drawn to them.  They're simple, educational, and kind of silly.

I've got to admit, I'm glad she's chosen these books.  Not only is she getting reading skills out of them but she's also getting a good education.  She's actually learning a lot more than she thinks she is, not that I'm going to tell her that.  I'm smart enough to realize that she'll stop reading them if I tell her they're educational too!  She seems to hate anything that makes her any more intelligent!

That's one thing I can give kids who are homeschooled.  They seem to naturally gravitate towards things that help them learn.  It's almost as though they've got the natural inclination to find out about the world around them and the way it works, imagine that!  And it seems like my kids are already proving that they'll eventually span the range of every subject matter if you give them half a chance to do it in their own time.

They're All Getting So Grown Up

Last night Chesh and I were hit with a striking point.  What are we going to do when the kids are grown up and out of the house?  It's something I guess most parents don't think about until their kids are older and likely to be moving out, but it just hit me.  It may be years off, but there's so much evidence that no matter how much we enjoy the moment, it's still going to happen sooner than we realize.

Thinking about that made me realize just how grown up all of my kids have gotten.  I'm not going to say that it seems like yesterday that Bunny Boo was just a baby.  Thankfully, it doesn't!  But it seems like not that long ago that she was my curly-headed girl that would bounce around with all the sass that her brother has.  She was so much shorter then!

Bunny Boo has proven how brilliant she really can be.  She's pretty good at problem solving, when she chooses to be.  She's got a wild temper and a selfish nature, but she's also got the capacity to be incredibly protective of her brothers and her friends.  Sometimes she's really too smart for her own good!  Often that ends with her making smart alec comments that make everyone roll their eyes.  She loves math and has a logical mind for science.  While she's not very good at art (which is normal for her age) she has a passion for it.  She enjoys learning about everything, as long as she doesn't have to read about it.  Even then she's starting to come around and is actually enjoying magazines.  She loves the Kids Discover Magazine and we're getting her a subscription to National Geographic Kids as well.  I kind of wish we had more to spend each year because I think we'd probably load up on magazine subscriptions!  Thankfully, the Kids Discover magazines were a gift from her aunt.

Bunny Boo also loves history and we're finding out day by day it doesn't matter much what kind of history it is, as long as it helps to explain why things are the way they are today.  The American Revolution is interesting because it's how our country became a country.  Women's suffrage is interesting because she sees it as the start of the feminist movement, and she's decided she's a modern feminist.  Her newest historic interest is inventors.  She loves hearing how science was discovered and who it was discovered by.  She also likes to know about things like who made the first car, who made the first vacuum cleaner, or who made the first cell phones.  It's amazing the things that interest her now.

Link has turned into such a comedian.  He's always looking for ways to make everyone laugh.  He loves to run around the house pretending he's a pirate, or Link (hence the reason he asked me to call him that on this blog!) from Legend of Zelda.  He's decided he likes to clean his own bowl for cereal and gets upset if anyone else wants to pour him milk or get his juice.  He's very determined to do everything he can without help, aside from writing.  He's got a serious love for music and is slowly learning how to play guitar, though it's not easy when dealing with the attention span of an energetic four year old.  It's not easy with his tiny fingers either.  It's going to take some time, but maybe we can get him some lessons before long.  He's decided he wants to grow up to be a mechanic, but he wants to work on robots, preferably transformers.  He's even decided he wants to have a car that's like a transformer when he gets older.  Of course, you know kids and how their opinions change.  While Bunny Boo is very interested in history and art above all (though science is cool too), Link is all about science and engineering.  He loves to build things.  He's becoming more and more my little scientist and engineer with every day that goes by.

It's not just taking control of his life that Link's been up to.  He's also decided he likes reading.  He's still barely reading, and it's only a few words he recognizes here and there, but he's learning.  For the most part he's been teaching himself how to read.  I'm really impressed with how far he's come!  Before long he'll be on to whole books without help, mostly because he doesn't want any help.  He just wants to do it all on his own.  He's a very independent child.

Of course, we all know with kids that what they are now may not be what they are ten years from now.  Bunny Boo may want nothing more than to be an artist now, but she may some day be a doctor.  Link might show all the signs of a budding engineer, but he may go on to be a great musician or an archaeologist.  I'm certainly not going to limit my kids to what they become in the future, but it will definitely be exciting to see how their interests evolve over the years.

Even the littlest one has really grown a lot, possibly the most.  He's talking up a storm, though sometimes he's not the easiest to understand.  "Boo" can mean just what it sounds like, "Boo!"  It can also mean broke, book, boat, and boot.  "Moo" generally means milk, but can also mean move.  "Go" is pretty clear, but sometimes also means "grow".  Even "Mama" can have an alternate meaning.  Typically he's talking to me, but sometimes he's really saying, "My, my" or "mine, mine".  We haven't quite figured out which it is.  "Ow" can mean he's hurt, but he also says it to tell us when something is hot or cold.  It's also become the way he says "out", which sometimes, confusingly, actually means in or uo.  He's decided "poo" means poop as well as pee.  "Ha" means hat and have.  "Cu" means cup, which is the only word that seems to have a single function in his vocabulary at this point.  He also likes "uh-oh", "no", and "pleesh!"  He's also decided to say "Eww..." when it comes to anything he might find icky.  He says it any time he hears someone fart or burp.  He says it when he sees something that looks icky, even if it's not.  He says it when he finds a piece of old food that he's hidden from us, or trash.  It may not be a flawless system, but at least he communicates better than he did a few short months ago!  It's a start.

I know it won't be long before all of them are moving on to even greater things.  Bunny Boo will be reading without challenges.  She'll probably be pretty good at art by then.  She might even find she likes a kind of art that isn't drawing or painting.  Link will be working on crazy inventions of his own, this time ones that aren't imaginary.  The little man will be talking like a pro and reading before we know it.  It will be hard to believe that it wasn't so long ago that they were all right where they are now.  We'll look back and think it was forever ago, but at the same time, all to little time.  It's amazing how fast they're all growing.  It just seems to be passing by all too quickly.