We moved from Virginia to California last December, and you would think I would have rowed this book while I was there, but I didn't.  Anyway, it was good to know that K1 recognized hearing the towns Chesapeake and Newport News in the story.

We talked briefly about WWII and she asked some interesting questions.  Like "Why do we have to fight?" and "Why did we bomb Japan?" She has such a peacemaker heart, and she sees things as either black or white (as do most kids), so I had to explain the role of the military in defending our country and how war is an effort to make peace, etc.

We talked about nuclear and extended families. I explained what ration books are and printed one out from Homeschoolshare.  I'll post pictures later but the basic premise is that she was only allowed a certain amount of milk, juice, television watching and snacks for the week.  I used a hole punch to indicate when she was using up a "ration" and reminded her not to use them all up in one day or she wouldn't have anything left for tomorrow.  Needless to say, she used up all of her tv time in 1 day.  So she moped around the house after that always "bored" as she puts it.  I had to be smile and say, "There's always next week."  She has to learn right?

I've been having "issues" with my boys during naptime.  They share a room (naturally) and when I would put them down @ about 12:00 for a nap, they would laugh, cry, and/or tease each other for about an hour before settling down to sleep.  Then they'd sleep for 3 hours and not get up until 4:00pm.  This caused the nighttime routine to not go so well.

I've tried skipping the nap altogether, but that leaves me weary and cranky.  I've tried waking them up earlier in the morning and putting them down for a nap earlier than 12.  But the common denominator still was there.  They are each other's best and worst distraction.  Soooo, I've come up with a solution...I think.

It's called "AND"--alternating napping days.  How it works is that on Monday and Wednesday, K2 takes a nap while K3 stays up with me.  Then on Tuesday and Thursday, K3 takes a nap while K2 stays up with me.  And Friday neither of them take a nap and they drive me crazy.   It gives me time 1-on-1 with them, and I can really ENJOY them for their individuality instead of just grouping them together all the time.  I don't know how long this will last.  But for now I am loving it.  They are so different and so...calm when it is just one of them.  They listen quietly when I read to them, they help me (kinda) mix things when I'm cooking, and they just seem happier.  It takes away from my "me time" (K1 is having her own Quiet Time during these hours) but I can see such a difference in their relationship with me.  You never know--I might burn out before Thanksgiving, but for now, it is working.

If it doesn't work, I will just resort to separating them at naptime--putting one in my bed, and one in his own bed and see how that works out.

Johnny Appleseed

I know that Johnny Appleseed was ill one time and some Indians helped him, and he died.

A lot of people remember Johnny Appleseed.  Johnny Appleseed didn’t want people to argue with each other.  He met Indians also.  They used to say he was their medicine man like Doctor Dolittle.  Also, he met totally wild animals and he met many people and they still remember him today.  If you don’t believe it, go see for yourself in Vermont.  You will also know that whenever he saw beehives, he didn’t hurt the bees because he wanted everything to be normal for people and animals.  He also did so many things for people that they used to let him sleep in some houses. 

Whenever  Johnny Appleseed saw a person, he always wanted to help.  But one day, Johnny Appleseed fell to the ground and one little boy and his mother were Indians and they saw him lying on the ground.  The little boy ran for help, and he went to their village.  Johnny Appleseed was there for a very long weeks.  Suddenly one day he opened his eyes and waved goodbye to his Indian friends and told them that he would remember them.  I also know that Johnny Appleseed was a strange man but people liked him.

We rowed The Salamander Room very lightly this week.  We read it Monday thru Wednesday and did three of the activities.  We would have done more but the copy that we borrowed from the library seems to be missing the last couple of pages. Or at least that's the way it seems.  We will definitely be rowing it later this year once we purchase our own copy.

• We learned about amphibians.
• We learned the difference between newts and salamanders.
• We reviewed the setting of a story.

I read We're Going on a Bear Hunt this morning to all three kids.  I took a huge piece of posterboard, folded it (like a fan) so that there were 5 panels.  I decorated each panel so that they resembled grass, river, mud, forest, and a snowstorm.  Then I threw a blanket over the boys' changing table and used that as a cave.  We were kind of squished inside of there but it was fun anyway.  For the bear, we used Kadar's favorite teddy bear and had it "chase" us around the house, up the stairs and under the covers!  Kalijah and Kadar had a lot of fun. Kanye joined us here and there but he was more interested in his blocks. :)

After talking about going for the last couple of weeks, we finally went strawberry picking yesterday.  Neither dh or myself had ever been before, so that made it even more fun.  Dd came out of the house with her red pail from the beach, and I had to gently tell her that we were going to use a different pail for the strawberries.  Once we got to the strawberry patch, we showed her the difference between ripe and unripe strawberries, and she ended up picking a lot of good ones.  It was a testament to having grown up in the suburbs that two 30-year-olds were picking strawberries for the first time.  Afterwards, dd had an AWANA awards ceremony.  We came home, put the kids to bed, and made strawberry smoothies with our neighbors.

Yesterday dh took our daughter to church, and I stayed home to take care of the boys.  ("younger" ds had a slight fever) The three of us read board books, played with blocks, listened to music while banging on old pots and pans with kitchen spoons, ate taco salad, and had a mostly successful blanket class.   When I put them down for a nap, it hit me!  Parenting twins is fun! 

Fast forward to last night.  The boys went to sleep at 7:00.  Dh, dd, and I read an evening devotional and discussed it.  I went downstairs, popped some buttery popcorn, and we all cuddled together on my bed to watch The Incredibles (dd’s favorite movie)  After dd drifted off to sleep, a new thought hit me  She is old enough to take outside and ride a bike (even though she is still learning how to pedal.)  She likes to write stories and messages to me in her notebook. She likes for me read chapter books to her.  And she likes to paint, play with bubbles and chew gum.  Big kid stuff!  Parenting a 4 year old is fun!   

Why didn’t I have this epiphany before?  Why don’t I feel like this everyday?  Sadly, I think it’s because I am still learning how to parent the THREE of them.  I went from being the mother of one to three overnight.  When the three of them are awake, I am constantly putting out fires and trying to decide which one to focus my attention on.  Most days, it turns out be a circus where whoever is hungry, wet, or in pain gets priority.  It’s very frustrating because I always feel like I’m neglecting at least one of them.  I wonder about their sense of worth and value.  With my 4yo, I worry that she will be lonely.  Not only is she not in school with kids her age, but she has to share my attention with two crawling toddlers.  The emergence of her “imaginary” or “invisible” friends doesn’t do anything to help my guilt.  In this phase of my life, it would be an understatement to say that God is teaching me the importance of multi-tasking and time management. 

Wise friends tell me over and over that this is only a season of my life, and before I know it, they will all be walking, running, riding bikes, and playing for hours on end without my direct supervision.  I will be able to take them all on field trips to the zoo, museum, and farm without having to lug a 33 pound stroller out of the back of our SUV.  Until then, I guess I will just keep putting out these fires and create "fun" moments whenever I get a chance.