I have been blessed with a Godly husband and four children, ages six and down. We are in our first year of "official" homeschooling. This is my place to get out some of the ideas swirling around in my head. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 7 Jun 2007 16:30:00 -0500 Thu, 7 Jun 2007 16:30:00 -0500 I am trying out a new blog to see if it is a bit easier to use. http://www.kajjohnson.blogspot.com/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/339487/ Thu, 7 Jun 2007 16:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/339487/ This morning, Olivia got up at 5:50 (AAAHHH) to go to the bathroom, and then she was ready to start her day.  Mark told her to lay in our bed so that we could rest for a few minutes.  We got settled in, and I closed my eyes to "rest" a little more.  I felt a little hand on my face and the words "I love you with all my heart" whispered in my ear.  What a sweet way to start a day! PS  I have been on a home organization kick, so I have not been negligent in my blogging!  I will try to get back to it this week! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/337696/ Mon, 4 Jun 2007 06:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/337696/ We have had a busy couple of weeks.  Isaac has had several games a week to make up for rained out games.  His team has still not won a game, but Isaac has hit the ball and had snacks, so he is happy!  He has a game on Friday and Saturday and then an awards ceremony on Saturday night, and that should finish out his season.   Bailey and Olivia finished out their school last week.  They finished the year with a program in which each class got up and sang a song or two.  They were really cute!  We have been very happy with their school this year--both girls have been very comfortable there.  Olivia and Anna Grace will go two days a week next year, and Isaac and Bailey will be at home with me.   Anna Grace had her fifteen month check-up on Wednesday.  She is still a little anemic, so her doctor suggested trying to give her more leafy green veggies (AAHHH!) and red meat.  She has completely refused to take the iron drops.  I can not say that I blame her, they are nasty!  She was not fooled by the mixing it with orange juice trick!  She weighed twenty-five pounds and was thirty-four and a half inches tall.  That puts her at the 85% for weight and off the charts for height.  She had only gained four ounces in the last three months, but the doctor was not concerned.  Dr. Hogan is a wonderful blessing!  I am very thankful for her!   Isaac had Kindergarten graduation on Saturday morning.  There were nineteen graduates, and they were adorable!  They sang a song (“He’s Still Working on Me”), said three pledges and recited a Bible verse (Luke 2:52).  The reception was a little crazy—any reception with four small children is a little crazy.  Isaac is now officially a first grader!   We went to the Baton Rouge Zoo on Monday.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time.  We heard a swan trumpet, which was really impressive to me!  The most ridiculous thing I saw was the Coke machine.  The drinks were $2.00 (which is ridiculous enough), and the machine accepted credit cards.  I felt the credit card debt in America grow as I stood there!  Before you know it the little machine that gives out fish food will accept Visa!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/332836/ Wed, 23 May 2007 21:43:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/332836/ Our family has been under attack by germs for the past week and a half!  Mark, Isaac, Bailey & Olivia all had a "fever" virus last week.  Anna Grace has had a stomach virus today.  The three older children have been wonderful today while I was taking care of our sweet, sick baby.  I am ready for everyone to be well!  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/332824/ Wed, 23 May 2007 21:34:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/332824/ Now that Olivia is three (or she will be in two days), she has moved from the nursery to Kid's Praise.  She has been very excited about this move for a few weeks now.  Today was her first day to go, and she loved it!  She was very proud of her Mother's Day refrigerator magnet she made.  She is growing up! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/328046/ Sun, 13 May 2007 18:21:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/328046/ Our sweet Olivia will turn three on Tuesday!  We had a party for her on Friday night.  Four families from church joined us for our celebration.  Olivia loved being the center of attention (no surprise to anyone that knows Olivia).  We had taco soup, hotdogs, chips and dip, cabbage salsa (thanks Chemaine!), cake and ice cream.  She loved her presents!  She got a bicycle and helmet, a piano (she had played with it in Target the last time we were there), a big Dora ball, feather boa, fun hair accessories, and a cd player and cd.  I also ordered a few "quiet book" for her to "read" during church that have not arrived yet.  The children had fun playing and I had fun visiting with our dear friends.  Chemaine and Lauri even cleaned up my kitchen!  Happy Birthday Olivia! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/328042/ Sun, 13 May 2007 18:09:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/328042/ It has been a great Mother's Day for me.  Mark has been wonderful!  He got up with our little alarm clock (Anna) while I took a shower and got dressed for church.  He then cooked breakfast for me.  He gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure (yippee!).  He also gave me a card that each of the children had signed (he helped Anna Grace and Olivia wrote an Ol).  He stopped at Starbucks on the way to church and bought me a Frappacino (spelling?) that was very yummy!  We stopped by Walmart on the way home and picked up something quick for lunch.  I was able to take a great nap this afternoon.  I really appreciate the effort Mark has put into making today a wonderful day for me! Last night was not so wonderful... We attempted to beat the crowds by going out to eat last night.  We got to Olive Garden around 5:00.  Apparently, much of Baton Rouge had the same idea.  They told us the wait would be thirty minutes, which is a bit of a stretch for our young family, but we decided to try it.  After almost an hour, we were seated in the bar area.  Apparently, it is against fire regulations to use a highchair in this area, so Mark had to hold Anna Grace in his lap.  By this point we were all a little fussy.  We placed our order and had gotten our salad and breadsticks, when Bailey told me that her tummy hurt.  I asked her if she was going to throw up, and she said she was not sure.  I asked for our food to go, and headed to the van with the three girls (with a plastic bag for Bailey).  They had messed up Mark's order, so they had to re-cook his pizza.  We finally pulled out of the parking lot about 6:00 and headed home.  Thankfully, Mark and I were still talking and smiling!  We got home and Mark discovered that his pizza was not in the bag.  He kept saying over and over, "This is not your Mother's Day dinner!"  Thankfully, Bailey was fine after we arrived home.  We turned the television on for the children and tried to relax.  I suppose experiences like this are all part of being a mother! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/328038/ Sun, 13 May 2007 17:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/328038/ We went to a crawfish boil at our neighbor's house on Saturday.  This is only our second one, which is pretty remarkable since we have been here six years now(we have been to a couple of shrimp boils).  I have a confession to make -- crawfish is not my favorite food!  It is not a food that I hate (although peeling them is a bit creepy), and I do sometimes enjoy it cooked in with other things, but it is not something that I am passionate about (unlike some other people that I know!).  Having said that, I have noticed that a crawfish boil is not just about the food, there is also lots of socializing that goes on.  So, on Saturday I was playing around with peeling a few crawfish and had eaten a few, while talking with others.  A very nice man, who was obviously very experienced at peeling crawfish, noticed my poor peeling technique.  He proceeded to peel about thirty or forty crawfish and hand them to me.  I was very thankful for his generosity, yet not so thrilled to have so many to eat!  I was holding Anna Grace and nibbling on a crawfish from time to time (not wanting to be rude), when I noticed that she was grabbing them out of my bowl and shoveling them into her mouth!  She loved them!  Isaac was also peeling and eating them as fast as he could.  Bailey and Olivia were shoveling in the chips, and did not even want to try any of the crawfish.  I did enjoy eating the potatoes, corn on the cob and sausage that was boiled with crawfish, although my lips were on fire from the spices afterwards!  I must say, that before I moved here I never experienced anything like a crawfish boil!  What an interesting place Louisiana is! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/324812/ Sun, 6 May 2007 20:33:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/324812/ It has been a few days since I have posted, so I thought I would write some random thoughts about what has been going on around our house.  This is probably news that only a Mamaw or a Nanna really cares to read!   Isaac and Bailey slept until 9:00 this morning.  That is a Johnson family record!!!  Anna Grace made sure that I did not oversleep -- she had me up by 6:00!   Anna Grace's new obsession is ducks!  There are about six or seven ducks and three geese that live in the little "lake" behind our house.  Every morning she stands at the back door and shouts, "duck" over and over.  She really likes walking out to our back fence and watching them.  I especially like watching the family of geese because there is an adorable little baby.  It is really neat to see how protective the adults are of the little one.  I am thankful we have a fence -- they are not too happy when we come to watch.  They have hissed at us a few times.  I am a pretty protective mommy, so I understand where they are coming from!   I took Anna Grace to the doctor last week.  She had been congested for the past two months, and we were all a bit tired of the constant runny nose!  Dr. Hogan gave her a prescription for Zertec to try for a couple of weeks to see if she was having allergy issues.  She also discovered that Anna had an ear infection.  Anna Grace is doing much better this week.  I have not had to wipe her nose in days! Olivia had water day at Mother's Day Out yesterday.  She had a wonderful time.  When I asked her how it went, she said, "Ms. Sarah said no pushing on the slide!"  Apparently they were having a bit too much fun!  Olivia's most common phrase right now is, "Are you happy?"  She will have a two-year-old moment, full of fussing or whining, and then say, "Are you happy?"  I guess her two-year-old side and her people pleasing side are at war with each other!  She is very excited about her upcoming birthday (May 15).  When I asked her what she wanted for her party, she said, "Granola bars and raisins!"  I will probably throw in some cake and ice cream and some other fun stuff too!   Isaac got his first hit of the season in his baseball game on Saturday.  He had been struggling to learn how to hit without a tee.  He was very excited, maybe almost as excited as his mom!   He is still working on the concepts of time and ages.  I told him that Grand-Bob (my Dad) was about to turn sixty.  He said, "Oh, like Daddy?"  He also found a penny that had 1970 on it.  He asked if that was before the pilgrims.  I told him that was only a year before I was born.  He asked my age.  When I told him, he said, "Whoa!"  I remember being about his age and thinking my parents were getting pretty old when they were in their thirties.  How things change!   Bailey is winding down her time in Pre-K.   Her last two weeks of school are packed full of activities.  She has water day, bowling, Muffins with Mommy and an end of the year program.  I am looking forward to having her at home with me for Kindergarten.  She has been spending lots of time drawing little girls with bows in their hair surrounded by butterflies and birds and a big sun.    My good friend Laura came over to teach me to sew yesterday.  Mark gave me a machine for Christmas, and I had not even taken it out of the box.  We were all set to begin, when we realized it was missing a lot of very important pieces (like the power cord).  We went to Hancock’s and exchanged it last night.  I was a bit down because we had gotten the machine on clearance, and I did not see any machine that was in the same price range that had everything that I wanted.  They ended up finding one in the back that was the same model as the one I had (except that it had all the pieces).  I was thrilled!  Now I just have to learn to sew!   Mark bought a DVD with Pink Panther cartoons on it, and it has become the current rage at our house.  The children have watched them much more than Mark.  Since TV Free week ended, we have set the limit that they can each pick one show per day.  Isaac has chosen The Pink Panther every day this week. Mark and Isaac have really gotten into astronomy.  They have been going out several nights a week and learning about the constellations.  I am really impressed by how much they have learned.  What a great science teacher Mark is!!!!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/323411/ Thu, 3 May 2007 18:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/323411/ Yesterday, when Olivia woke up, she ran into the kitchen and exclaimed, "TA DAAA!"  That was such an Olivia moment.  I hope that she always has that zest for life and confidence in who she is!  I also pray that she focuses her pizazz on serving the Lord.  Watch out world! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/319427/ Wed, 25 Apr 2007 10:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kajjohnson/319427/