Mar. 18, 2006 - Shoe Shopping
This week #3 needed new shoes. To be honest, he didn't actually need them, it is just that #4 took them over. The 2 year old would not give them back. In the interest of saving my sanity I decided it was worth a trip to the shoe store.
I get back from the store and #2 asks, "Do I get new shoes?" Why not? I am made of money. I get the guilts with him every now and then. He gets mostly hand me downs. I know picking something out that is uniquely yours can be exhilerating. This is a conversation I listened to between #1 and #2 in the car on the way to the shoe store.
#1: So, #2, if they have clone trooper shoes in your size, are you going to get them?
#2: Welllll (eyeroll) I am getting too old for that. I have never had any shoes that were characterized. I have only ever had one pair of blinky shoes.
#1: Well, if they had clone trooper shoes in my size. I would get them.
#1-almost 5'3" with size 9 feet, at 10 truly laments his big size when it comes to shoes. He outgrew most of the "cool" shoes at a young age.
#2 is older than the dust somedays, how could he ever think of getting clone trooper shoes? He is just too old for that (eyeroll).
As I was driving, I was just giggling. These two sons of mine are sometimes just so different. I could not remember if #2 had ever had blinky shoes or characterized shoes. And, it is just beyond me that a 9 year old would remember what kind of shoes he did have.
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Mar. 16, 2006 - And the winner is.....!
Scott Coons!
Second is my #1 son!
Third is some boy I don't know!
#1 son placed second in our Cub Scout Pinewood Derby last night. He is very excited (he just picked up his car and asked me, "Do you like the second place winner?"). He did not put a lot of time into his car. In fact, he is lucky he got to race at all considering at 4:30 yesterday his car didn't have decals, weights or wheels. And I gotta tell ya'---it is not a thing of beauty.
He is proud of it. I am proud of him.
Now to just get #2 son to stop sulking. Last year he placed with his car and didn't this year.
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Mar. 15, 2006 - Rambling Thoughts of a Sleep Deprived Mama
L. decided she was up for the day at 5:00 a.m. I don't know about other families but our response is to put her in bed with DH and myself. We can't get up because our house doesn't have a place to get up and putter around without waking everyone else up. Last thing I want is all of them up at 5:45 being chirpy, happy and wondering, "Mama! What is fow bweakfast?" over and over again.
I am the first to admit that I need sleep. I am not a 5-hour-a-night kind of gal. I need 8 hours. I get irritable. I am grouchy. I normally have a headache. My thought processes do not work properly. (Keep that in mind as you read.)
As I was laying in bed this morning with my almost 14-month-old laying on my face gasping for air, (cause you know she couldn't just lay in my arms, she had to lay on my face) I decided something rather weird. (Remember those thought processes don't work right.) (Maybe it was oxygen deprivation.) I think some prisoners (think Martha Stewart kind of crime, not drugs and murder) have it better than me.
They get to sleep on a regular schedule.
They get to eat.
They don't necessarily have to cook or make the menus. Sure, some of their ability to choose is taken away. But I have to tell you, after making almost all the meal decisions for this family for the last 12 years, it is starting to sound good to me.
Conjugal visits? Well, with this many kids in the house we would have more privacy in that little love shack mobile home that is parked outside the prison.
I could handle a bit of time, reading, gardening and folding paper cranes
And the only time prisoners have to worry about someone climbing in bed with them if they are going to be killed. You don't have to be nice to them.
Prisoners also don't have to worry about power tools that their DH leaves on the dining table just waiting for the 2 year old to open them and play with them.
.
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Mar. 12, 2006 - The Climbing Has Begun
L. discovered the top of the computer desk today. She got there by climbing up a chair using her bare little toes to grip the wood chair. She later got up by knocking down her daddy's computer bag and climbing on that to the top of the office chair. She was giggling at the mouse making noises when she moved it.
Well, babyproofing now has to extend to the desktops. I remember when #1 was this age I had to remove all the dining chairs and put them upside down on top of the dining table during the day. She got the climbing gene. Soon, she will be dancing on the dining room table.
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Mar. 10, 2006 - The Report Cards
We finished our marking period today. The boys' first report cards were made. In some subjects I had to fail my own sons. I personally don't feel their school work load is too hard. It requires some diligence to follow the list of things that they must do but each subject requires15 minutes for the little ones. (I use Homeschool Tracker to keep records.)
Here are the subjects:
Copywork (copying a quote/paragraph, one/day)
Critical Thinking Skills (logic puzzles-1/day)
Current Events (watching CNNstudentnews.com)
Health (Proper Manners and Health Workbook-1 lesson/week, 2 pages)
Language Arts (phonics-3 pages, some days this is 21 questions)
Life Skills (typing-15 minutes/day)
Math (2 pages a day, approximately 40 problems)
Math Skills (the math tests-once a week)
Required Reading (weekly-read a book and a written book report)
Science (combo of brainpop.com and a Fogware CD-2 movies for brainpop and 1 lesson in Fogware daily)
Spanish (Rosetta Stone-15 minutes daily)
Spelling (daily quizzes)
Vocabulary (Wordly Wise, 1 lesson/week, approximately 4 pages)
Writing (cursive workbook 2 pages)
We also cover Sonlight History, Science and Languarge Arts (grammar).
Honestly, their grades went from A+ to F. The F's were in spelling (wouldn't take the quiz), Life Skills (wouldn't do the typing) and current events (wouldn't watch the movie).
DH questioned whether or not they have too much work. I pointed out that writing, vocabulary, required reading, spellling, language arts and copywork are traditionally titled "English" at school and that math, math skills and critical thinking are lumped together in "Math", he was relieved. I break it down because it is easier for me to keep track that way. I honestly do not think this is too much work. We are battling the disease called Laziness.
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Mar. 8, 2006 - Hoochie Mama Clothing
Did anyone know that when the ultrasound for my #5 child showed it was a girl I SHOUTED in the ultrasound room, "WWAAAAAHHOOOOOO!"? All the techs laughed. I was giddy. DH was happy too.
Now, as I just start this mothering of a girl, some reality is setting in. Clothing.
Clothes for girls are not made the same way clothes for boys are. I am mothering 4 sons. I have some experience in this.
Girl clothes are aggravating to me. My friend Cindy hears me moan and groan about it on a regular basis (thank you my friend). I went to buy L. a bathing suit. She is ONE. Who in the blazes thinks it is cute to dress your ONE year old as a SLUT? There were no one piece bathing suits. I checked three different stores. All bikini, spaghetti strap bathing suits for toddlers. I refuse to dress my daughter in hoochie mama clothing. Yes, I am a bit conservative that way. Deal with it.
Elder Oaks told the Young Women of our Church that if you dress innappropriately you become men's pornography. I have seen it happen. Do I want my daughter falling into that? Nope.
So, guess what I did? My friend, Nona, and I made a bathing suit for L. It is so cute. It has little sleeves and a little skirt and matching bottom cover (so I can actually get the diaper changed without taking her ears off with a wet bathing suit). She is cute, cute, cute!
Me---Mrs.-I-Don't-Want-to-Sew-if-I-Can-Avoid-It-at-Any-Cost made a swim suit.
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Mar. 7, 2006 - Knock on Wood
It has been relatively quiet around here lately. The end of our marking period is this Friday. The boys are getting their very first report cards. I know many homeschoolers don't believe in grades, strict schedules, etc.
We do.
My guys do better with structure and so does their mama. (Think they came by it naturally?) The last few weeks I have been working to keep the boys on top of their bookwork. In doing this I have discovered some other idiosyncracies of my children which do not impress me.
#1 has the procrastinator gene. He got that one from his paternal ancestors. We were in the kitchen last Friday. I was asking him to get to his work. His response was, "I have 3 1/2 hours mom." I asked him to list off what he had to complete. "Only 4 math pages, 3 days of copywork, my vocabulary and finish my book report," says #1. Is it a mama thing that you can add up the time involved with each page? The little calculator in my head is tallying up the work and think to yourself, "hmmm, that is 3 hours worth of work." Maybe the time thing will improve with age and hanging around me--cause my cutey-patootey DH still works on this one. I had to reply to him, "GET to work."
#2 has the "if I just ignore it-it will go away" gene. I get to claim that one and now that I think about it, DH does too. #2 does not like the new check the bookwork daily policy. He totally relies on the fact that life with all these BrownHeads gets busy and he (and his bookwork) can slip through the cracks. One of these weeks he will get his computer privileges back.
I wonder sometimes if I do expect too much from them. #1 is 10 and #2 is 9. I wonder if I am struggling against genetics or just that they are 10 and 9 year old boys. I also know that if they don't develop work ethic at these ages they will struggle with it when they are older. Wisdom. I need wisdom. Anyone? Got any to offer?
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Mar. 1, 2006 - Retaliation
#3 has been picking on #4. Wrestling, tripping, taking his toys, stopping his videos. Oh, my word, somedays it just seems the kid is on a rampage. #4 sometimes thinks it is fun, other times, not so fun.
This morning, #3 had #4 pinned on the floor, he also messed around with his video. Now, I really don't know that #4 did this in retaliation but it sure seems plausible.
The gate to the bathroom was left open. We have a TP holder next to the toilet. It can hold up to 4 rolls and it is mounted with a couple of plastic hooks. It can easily be taken down by a 2 year old.
He took it down, carried it into the room that #3 and L. are sharing. With the toilet paper holder he also brought a bagel. The door was closed. #4 and his sister were in the room for an undetermined amount of time. I was cleaning the kitchen and prodding the others to clean the family room.
#3 goes to his room/bed and I hear, "#4! #4 trashed my bed!!!" On his once made bed now unmade was the entire roll of toilet paper shredded into hundreds of pieces. To top it off, he also shredded the bagel and left it on the bed.
I am figuring out how to post a photo. I had a hard time not laughing to the child.
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Mar. 1, 2006 - The Dentist OR Should I Really Teach This Kid Logic?
#3 went to the dentist this morning for a cleaning. He is very good in a dentist chair. He doesn't squirm and he lets the hygenist do her job. Like a lot of dentists, our dentist office gives away toys after the child is done with their cleaning or any other dental work that is finished.
This is what #3 told me last night: "I get to go to the dentist tomowwow (tomorrow). I am going to pick out a toy from the box!" He is doing the happy dance at the thought of new toys-little junky ones that mothers tend to despise. He continues, "AND if I have cavities--I GET MOWA (more) TOYS!!" He dances off into the other room.
I just sat there holding my head.
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Feb. 25, 2006 - My eldest son learned a great lesson tonight
Never, ever, tick off the person who is about to give you a haircut.
He has a really nice high and tight crewcut.
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Feb. 22, 2006 - This will explain my third child quite a bit
A dear friend of mine was at our house today. She is the mother of nine. Her #6 is our regular babysitter and her #9 is the same age as my #1.
This is a conversation that #3 had with A. her daughter (our sitter).
#3: Do you bwush youwa teef weguwawwy A.?
(For those who don't speak this language the translation is: Do you brush your teeth regularly A.? He doesn't do R's or L's or TH's quite yet.)
A: No, not really.
#3: Wewww....if you bwushed youwa teef weguwawwy they wouwdn't be so yewwow. (Well....if you brushed your teeth regularly they wouldn't be so yellow.)
What do you say to that?
My friend said to me, "I am glad he is all yours. But he is rather astute."
I still can't believe he said that.
It ranks up there with telling my friend her house (which is under remodelling) is junky.
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Feb. 18, 2006 - Overheard from the basement
where they are supposed to be cleaning.
"OOOOWWWWWWW!!!!! THAT HURT."
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"
"YOU WERE AIMIN'!"
"NOOOOOO!"
"THAT HURT!!! YOU WERE AIMIN'!"
"NOOOOO! I WASN'T AIMIN' AT YOU! I WAS AIMIN' AT HIM!!!"
Somehow, that calmed #1 down, knowing that #2 really wasn't aimin' at him-he was really aimin' at #3.
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Feb. 17, 2006 - Today I killed
the sourdough starter AGAIN. At least I didn't melt the tupperware bowl to the oven racks again.
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Feb. 17, 2006 - MOOOMMMMMMM! #4 is in TROUBLE!!!!
I hear this. I start thinking, "Hmmm. Can't be too bad, no one is screaming."
"MOOMMMMMM! There is water in the basement! It is dripping through the ceiling!"
OH! I walk into the bathroom where I had just placed #4 in the tub with some bubbles so I could get #1 & 2's bookwork graded. (You would think the way the day is going I should be eating CHOCOLATE-just think attitude and crayons.) I think the child knew I posted about his elder brothers' destructiveness.
He has earned himself a place in the Hall of Shame. Never before in the history of these BrownHeads has one used the toilet brush holder to empty the entire contents of the bathtub. Bubbles included.
So much for having all the towels, washed, folded and put away.
Where is the chocolate?
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Feb. 17, 2006 - A Glorious Book Report
can you sense the sarcasm?
I use the book report forms on lovetolearn.com. This is what #2 handed in today. Italics is what he wrote.
2nd page reads: Write a summary of what happened in the book. (What happened first, second and third.)
First, left the harbor.
Then, were hungry.
At the end of the book got home.
Yep, a whole book summarized in SEVEN words. Of course, this is from the child that people have asked me, "Does #2 talk?". I guess I better have him write it in complete sentences. So that will up the count to TEN. He will add they in front of each fragment.
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Feb. 17, 2006 - Destruct-O Babies
On one of the homeschool boards I read, someone was moaning about how destructive their toddler was. This was my reply:
Here is another mama that can relate. I second the long bath!
#1 pulled the wheat grinder down by its cord, the lid popped off, #2 was in the bouncy seat on the kitchen floor-the entire room and both children were covered
#1 squirted Hershey syrup UNDER the couch cushion, it is a grand thing to lift up a couch cushion to find them drippy and sticking to the couch
#1 a day later green tempera painted the same couch
mud baby was a regular occurance in our family-normally it is #1 or 2 slapping the mud on a younger sibling
#4 loves peanut butter, all over the kitchen cupboards, his head, his clothes
All the babies have been striped from marker coloring, normally it looks like tights, up and down the legs and arms and across the forehead
TP balls on the ceiling
one box of raisin bran and a gallon of milk were poured in the middle of the family room floor, they ate like puppies
Although I am still in this stage with #4 and 5, I am glad my sense of humor can giggle at #1,2 and 3s escapades.
Oh, I almost forgot the hammer and mason jar incident. Lots of mason jars. (DH reminded me after I posted that this was actually baby food jars-about 50 of them, broken in the back yard, and he made them pick up every shard.)
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Feb. 14, 2006 - Great Idea!
Cindy has a great thought provoker. We used this idea for family home evening last night. I had #3 go out to the front flower bed and get me a bunch of rocks. I used one of my many (way too many) mason jars. We sat down and I asked the boys to tell me what the important things we have to do in life are. Our list read:
Family Home Evening
Family prayer
Family scripture study
D-prayer and scripture study
N-prayer and scripture study
Each of the children
Feeding everyone
Laundry
Housework
N-calling
D-calling
#1 & 2 schooling
#3 schooling
Fun
Date night
Exercise
We wrote these on rocks and tried to fit them all in the mason jar. Then we used some pea gravel and showed how we could fit them in if we put in the big rocks first-but not if we put the gravel in first.
The comment #2 made: "Oh, yes, Date Night is important. Date night is when mom and dad get all their wiggles out."
Oh, if he only knew.....
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Feb. 8, 2006 - As I was standing at the island eating my bowl of hot cereal
I found myself wondering WHY was I standing at the island and eating my bowl of hot cereal?
Because if I sit down at the table to eat my breakfast a bunch of little "birds" (who have already been fed) come and chirp their way into my heart. My breakfast ends up in their tummies.
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Feb. 5, 2006 - Something to think about
Spunky on her blog the other day was talking about how some people claim they homeschool just to dodge the truancy laws. She went on to ask some questions I find intriguing especially on the issue of accountability and negligence.
That said, I have met a person who said they homeschool but don't actually. There were no learning disabilities or handicaps involved with the child. Plain ol' laziness was the problem. (Just so all my friends who read this know-I met her way before I moved here and IT ISN'T YOU.) The mommy didn't want to do school. She just made sure each year she paid her HSLDA fees and somehow miraculously the child was going to be self-motivated and learn-a boy nonetheless. The girls in this family faired far better. The boy and the mom together didn't do so good. (What an understatement that one is.)
I find that I fluctuate in my teaching. I am not as consistent as I should be. We are just now getting the hang of it. What I mean is this: I have found the right cirricula for the correct child, I am not constantly scanning the market looking for the new and better, and I am getting comfortable in my skin as a homeschooling mama.
There are days when the new snow is on the ground I call off school and say, "GO PLAY." I turn around (after adjusting #4's mittens for the 15th time) and put on a pot of water for hot chocolate. I honestly hope the boys will remember those days. That is the stuff that makes a childhood happy. But I am not sure that they they will.
I know that life is more than school work. School work is the foundation for them to be educated and be able to provide for a family. I worry that I am not raising good people. Every now and then--only every now and then I catch glimpses of the adults they could be. I listen as #1 tells me about how a boy in Sunday School tells him he is a geek and makes fun of him but #1 didn't give in to the harassment and kept on going in class. (I am so glad I have the relationship with him that he can tell me.) I watch as #1 and #2 have playtime with the babies. I hear how they proudly claim their brother or sister as "theirs" play with them, cuddle them and love them. (And while they are playing I know they are avoiding their school work.)
Homeschool life is family life. It is messy, dirty, cluttered, stinky and chaotic. I find myself wondering how "easy" it would be with less children. Then one of those children comes and barfs down your shirt and hugs you tight. Or they do something so funny you fall off your chair laughing. We had a friend that said, "God will always give you one more than you think you can handle." Of course, he had 6 including a set of twins at the time of that comment. I wonder what he thought of when they wanted "just one more" and got another set of twins?
How does this tie in with accountability for schooling? I am teaching more than math. I am teaching how to be a good person. I am teaching how to be loving. I am teaching how to yell at the top of my lungs to get everyone to be quiet. I am teaching that a person is more important than a book. I have discovered character/personality faults/idiosyncracies in my children that I would have not picked up on if they were in school.
I found myself questioning whether or not I have been neglectful of their education. I can honestly say maybe. That is if education only involves workbooks and history lessons. If the answer includes learning to be a good person, then, no, I have not been neglectful of their education.
I am grateful for the thought provoking post from Spunky. I reminded me to do better and count the blessings I have in each of my children.
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Feb. 3, 2006 - Mama?
Will you please make chicken pot pie?
and the accompanying shouts for joy when I said yes. They were so happy I was afraid they were going to cry.
What boys.
On that note, I have come to thoroughly believe the adage that a the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. It is completely and utterly true for each one of my sons.
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