Smiles!!!

Ethan is really enjoying one of his Christmas presents. He smiles at it and talks to it. He is especially fascinated by the music that it makes when he hits it. I love, love, love his smile :) And I finally got some pictures of it.

My Boy

I just had to take a minute to share how proud I am of Jacob! He has become such a great help - I don't know what I would do without him. I took this picture of Jacob with Ethan this afternoon. You may notice that Jacob has 3 stitches on the top of his nose. Those came from his most recent trip to his dad's house where his cousin hit him in the face with a snow shovel (accidentally).

Jacob has matured by leaps and bounds in the last year. He has surprised me many times in the last month by going above and beyond what is expected of him for no other reason than he just wanted to help. He still has his moments where he gets out of control, but they are becoming few and far between.

Jacob loves having Ethan around! He is the best big brother ever! He holds the baby every chance he gets. He doesn't have any interest in changing diapers, but loves to help in almost every other way. This morning as we were getting ready to go somewhere, he brushed his sister's hair (and it actually looked fairly good!!!). Then he came downstairs helped both little ones get their coats and shoes on, put Ethan in his car seat and got himself and all three siblings into the van. He did all of that without being asked. It blew my mind - all I had to do was grab the diaper bag and walk out the door.

I think that the responsibility of helping with Ethan has been great for him. It seems that responsibility is some of the best therapy for him. When I am(or anyone else is) counting on him he tends to really step it up and focus on what needs to be done.

Oh, and Ethan turned one month old this weekend. That's why I had the camera out, and the other boys wanted in on the photo shoot.

Ethan's Arrival

I've had a week to recover and gather my thoughts, and last night my husband chastised me for being home all day and not finding time to blog :) ... so here are some of my thoughts and details from the story of Ethan's arrival.

Very early in the pregnancy, the doctor let me know that he was planning on inducing labor at 38 weeks. Even earlier than that I started praying that Ethan would arrive in God's perfect time, of his own free will, and with an easy, uncomplicated delivery. In my finite mind, the only way for that prayer to be answered was for the baby to come before week 38 and I fully expected to have an October baby.

Week 38 came and went. The doctors seemed willing to work with me when I asked not to be induced - this shocked me! In the past (with a different doc) there was no negotiating with anything and I was induced right at 38 weeks. Week 39 came and went. The baby was looking great and they continued to leave me alone. Week 40 came and went. I could not believe that it was November and I was still pregnant. I am so grateful for doctors that listen and carefully consider all the facts before making decisions!

With week 41 approaching, the doctor put the decision into my hands. Although the baby was looking great, there was a small chance that something could go wrong and they could miss it. Inducing should not be bad at this point but it could be "a two day affair." He wouldn't advise for or against anything, just laid out all the facts for me. I went home thinking about it, and after a day and a half decided that it would be better to go ahead and face the "two day affair" than it would be to leave the baby alone and have something be wrong.

We arrived at the hospital on the morning of November 11 to be induced. The doctor had forgotten to call and notify the hospital that I was coming. Every full term pregnant woman in Syracuse was having her baby that morning. Labor and delivery was crazy.

They broke my water and started petosin at 9:00 am . Todd and I settled in for a long boring day (my last induced labor was about 15 hours). At 10:00 we were playing cards and Todd said "You're going to have the baby at 11:26 am." Yeah, right. I wasn't even in active labor...we were playing rummy. I was only 4 cm.

At 11:27 I was looking at my baby. I was surprised that the baby was a boy. I was surprised that labor was over already. I didn't think that there was any way I would have a baby before dinner. We didn't even get a chance to play Boggle. And if I hadn't had to wait for the doctor to run in from her C-section, Ethan probably would have come at 11:26.

My baby had arrived quickly and safely. I was confident that it was God's perfect time, I read a Spurgeon quote the day before that gave me peace as I wrestled with whether or not to induce: "There are no mistakes, no accidents, and everything is still on schedule." But I could not figure out why we had to wait until the 11th of November for this baby. It wasn't until the next night when I was home nursing Ethan...

The hospital photographer was a young mom struggling with a son who is labeled ADHD. She kind of joked about her frustration, but my heart immediatly went out to her. I knew exactly where she was at, trying to fight for this kid but not knowing how. Knowing what doesn't work, but not knowing what else to try. Seeing the potential in her son and being frustrated that he may never meet that potential.

As she was leaving, I brought the conversation back to her son and suggested that (if she was interested) she should read the Out of Sync Child and consider sensory integration disorder. We shared about our struggle with Jacob and how the right diagnosis and therapy have made a huge difference with him. She was VERY receptive and very grateful for the suggestion. She asked a lot of questions and shared more about her son. Todd promised to pray for her, and told her to look us up on Facebook.

We kept wondering if we could have done more to reach out to her. But as I was sitting at home I felt confident that God had placed there on that day (she was talking about the different photographers that work on different days) to minister to that girl. No mistake, no accident, she needed an interaction with a mom who understood on that day. And the God I serve is big enough to bring other people into her life and to call her to himself. Getting people saved is not my goal. It's not my job. I can't save anyone anyways. All I can do is strive to be like Christ and share his love in tangible ways the people who are around me. Not that I'm always good at that, but I'm growing in it, and I'm pretty sure that's why Ethan was born on November 11!

My Pumpkins

Click here to view photo (big)

Last weekend we made our annual trip to Tim's Pumpkin Patch. This year we decided to keep it to two pumpkins (one for the boys, one for the girls) since Todd could end up carving alone. And it was a little to cold to enjoy all that Tim's has to offer (like the barn full of animals), but we still had a good time.

The kids are looking forward to Halloween and hoping that the baby doesn't come at the wrong time, although Grandma will take them trick or treating if we can't. I'm hoping I don't have a Halloween baby... although we could just consider it a Reformation Day baby and name it Martin if it's a boy!

A Busy Fall

Here we are, well settled into a school routine and enjoying a beautiful New York fall! Life has been busy but largely uneventful. School is going well with all three kids. Jacob is learning about 19th century American History, decimal points and diagramming sentences. Gabriel is learning about multiplication, and Cadence is making great strides as she learns to read and count past 10.

At the beginning of September we went apple picking, which goes a heck of a lot faster than it did a couple of years ago. We picked a bushel and a half of apples in about half an hour, and then bought a few more bushels of "seconds". With all of those apples we completed our first "getting ready for baby" project - making 39 quarts of applesauce!

"Getting read for baby" is something I keep thinking about, and talking about, but not doing. Two or three times I have started to clean out the corner where a bassinet needs to go in our room, but I never quite finish and then the corner ends up full of stuff again. There are 37 days left until my due date. I did manage to fill out all the hospital paperwork and go to the Birthplace for an orientation the other day... that kind of helped with the reality of how close we are to having four kids. I plan to finish cleaning out our room today...

When I Was 5...

Today we were out running errands and I decided to treat the kids to ice cream at the Big Dip. We were in North Syracuse (which is not our usual stomping grounds) and the kids were fascinated by the giant ice cream cone on top of the building. I remember getting ice cream at the Big Dip when I was kid, and told them how I lived near there until I was five.

Gabriel (who is 5) was very interested in the fact that I moved when I was 5, and wanted to know all about it. Then he asked "Mommy, where as smart as me when you were 5?" Umm, well, hmm... how do I answer that?

"I could read when I was 5, but I couldn't read as well as you can," was my reply. There, I was being honest but not adding too much fuel to the fire for Gabriel's super ego.

"So, you weren't as smart as me?" he asks.

"Or maybe it's just that nobody taught me to read when I was two." As I said it I'm thinking "I probably couldn't have learned to read when I was two because while I am intelligent, your IQ seems to be in a whole different ballpark than mine. But if you figure that out now, I won't be able to live with you for the next 13 years..."

Thankfully, he gave some credence to the fact that he was given opportunities that nobody gave to me. That, and I quickly changed the subject by offering to drive them past the house where I lived until I was 5. Crisis averted!

Pony Rides

On our second full day at the ranch Nicole had arranged for the kids to have pony rides. Gabriel and Cadence each got a turn being led around the ranch on Blossom.

Jacob got a little bit of a riding lesson, and then he got to hold the reigns himself! He rode Blossom around the barn while Nicole watched and gave him pointers. I got a little video of him too...

A Little Getaway

The kids and I went to spend a few days with my sister and left Todd home to work and attend the Willowcreek Leadership Conference. We arrived at the ranch after lunch on Wednesday. After dinner, my niece Becca helped the kids do a little fishing. Jacob (who needs no help fishing or baiting the hook) dug up some worms before we went to the fishing hole.

The boys each caught a fish, but Cadence didn't have the patience for it.

When it wasn't his turn to be fishing, Gabriel discovered a rope swing rigged up across a ditch near the fishing hole. I was a little nervous watching little Gabriel swing back and forth clinging to the very end of a rope he could barely reach. Frankly, I'm surprised he wasn't nervous about doing it. Eventually I got over my nervousness and decided I should try to get some good pictures of this recklessness.

His sister and brother soon lost interest in fishing and joined Gabe on the rope swing.

And before long, my concerns about this form of entertainment were validated. Gabriel fell off the rope and into the muddy gulch. He wasn't hurt, but most definitely was upset. He did not like the way the mud felt all over his backside. Aunt Cathy made him pose for a picture, which he did while crying. Then finally we got him to smile.

Before heading home to bed, we took Aunt Cathy's army truck for a spin around the ranch grounds. The kids loved riding in the army truck, especially when they got to hang off the back of the tailgate.
Stay tuned for part two of our trip...

The month of July has been largely uneventful, and for that I am thankful.

Todd put a band together (temporarily using me as a drummer). We played at the Ride for the Rescue after only two full rehearsals. I didn't get any pics because I was busy rocking! It was lots of fun, but drumming is pretty tiring when you are six months pregnant.

Other than that, things have been quiet until today. Last night I decided that today would be a good day to start school! I planned on starting August 3, giving myself extra time in the calendar for when the baby comes. But we may be taking a little road trip the end of next week so I thought it best to jump into school today.

So far, so good. The kids generally do much better with the structure of a school day than they do with the looseness of summer. It's the first year of anything formal with the little ones (Gabriel is 5 and Cadence is 4) and I think they will really enjoy having their own Sonlight curriculum. I, however, am going to be really busy this year... teaching three kids is a lot more work than teaching one.

A Cause for Celebration

In forty - four days, Jacob will be all mine, and no one else's!!!! His bio-dad signed the papers and we sent them to our lawyer yesterday. With his rights terminated, Todd (and I) can begin the adoption process making Jacob an official Young.

Sometime soon we will meet with the lawyer to begin the never ending paper trail. Then we need to get fingerprinted, have a home study done by a case worker, and wait, wait wait...

Jacob will maintain contact with his dad, but will not being going as often and he won't ever have to spend a night there if he doesn't want to. I think that for Jacob, having Todd's last name and officially being "one of us" is a big deal. I also think this whole situation has the potential to improve the relationship between Jacob and his bio-dad.

I am grateful for this opportunity to make my little boy feel more secure. And I am glad that I didn't listen to all the voices telling me to stick it to bio-dad by filing support increases and things like that. I feel that patience and prayer were the best way to handle the situation. Anything else would have equated to using my son as a pawn to get what I wanted. Bio-dad had his reasons for taking so long to sign the papers, and some of them were down right respectable. God's timing is perfect and he will accomplish his desires (Is. 55:11).

The Graduate

He is my favorite 5 year old in the whole world!!!!

We decided to let Gabriel graduate from kindergarten this year. Even though he isn't technically a kindergartener until the fall, he has spent 2 years in K class at our home school co-op. The teachers all say what a delight he is to have as a student because he listens so well and clearly loves learning. Most of the teachers this year didn't know he was younger than all the other kids (in spite of the fact that he is short - even for his actual age), and he seemed to be doing pretty well socially so we thought it made sense to promote him.

We will probably leave him with his own age for most other activities (like church) and I will report him to the school district as being in the grade he should be in, but doing work on whatever level he happens to be on. At least that is the plan for now. Being Gabe's mom keeps me on my toes.

The ceremony was really cute. They put each child's picture up on the wall while they marched down the aisle, and then asked them all what they wanted to be when they grow up. Gabriel wants to be a police man and a singer. His focus right now is on careers that don't require college (go figure!). Then they invited the parents up to pray for the kids. I cried like a baby and blamed it on my hormones.

Testing

The results for Jacob's standardized tests came in the mail today. I was anxious to see the results - to see if my opinions on where we are line up with reality. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the results! Spelling and math computation were a little below average, which I expected (thank you dyslexia). Everything else was at or above the 50th percentile, with his composite "grade equivalent" at 5th grade, eight month (meaning he scored as well on the 4th grade tests as someone 5th grade, eight month should have - not that he is actually at that level).

I did have to laugh about his science score. You see, I maybe don't do quite enough formal science with the boy... I always mean to, but don't always get to it. He got nervous about the science portion of the test because he believes (for reasons I don't understand) that he is not good at science. And yet he scored in the 89th percentile on the science test - his best score of all!

So as we wrap up fourth grade I can sit back and relax a little bit. I am doing just fine teaching my son. I do know what's best for him, and nobody else knows my boy as well as I do. Now if I could just teach him to clean up after himself...

A quick update

I realize I have gotten out of the habit again... I would like to say there has been nothing to blog about, but that would not be true. Since my last entry we had a great vacation, Gabriel got hit by a car (and walked away without a scratch), I got my yellow belt, and we got to see the baby at my mid-pregnancy sonogram.

I'll just touch on the sonogram since that the was the latest event. Todd missed it, but my mom and all the kids came with me. The kids were completely fascinated watching the baby wiggle all around in there. It was trying really hard to suck its thumb and would kick in frustration when it didn't succeed. And yes, I will continue to refer to the baby as "it" or "number four" until its arrival. Todd and I really like the surprise when the baby is born.

I will leave you with a few pictures from our trip to Williamsburg...

Official Announcement

I am officially announcing that Young baby number 4 is scheduled to arrive on November 4th. I have been hesitant to say much...until today. Todd and I lost two babies before Gabriel was born, so we pretty much spend the first trimester holding our breath.

At my 12 week appointment (where I was only 11 weeks) they couldn't hear a heartbeat, and that made us a little nervous. I went back today (I am officially 14 weeks 1 day) and the doctor still couldn't find a heartbeat. He wasn't worried, but we were. He sent me in for a sono "just to make sure", and Todd was afraid to bring the kids in for that in case the news was bad. But thanks be to God, the baby looks perfect... with a little heart beating 153 times per minute.

I wish I had a scanner so I could scan the sonogram pictures in, but I don't. I go back in 4 weeks for another sonogram, and we will NOT be finding out the baby's sex. But maybe by then I will have devised a way to upload the pictures. They will also do another blood draw to check my anti-Kell level which may determine how often I need to see the perinatal specialist. I think I'll write more about Kell and anti-Kell sometime soon.

We told the little ones today (once we knew everything was okay) and they are VERY EXCITED! It is so precious to listen to them talking about their new baby. Jacob is probably the most excited of all, which is funny to me. Who would have thought a 10 year old boy would be so excited about a baby?

An Oral Report

This is Jacob's first attempt at an oral report. It is sideways because I always forget and turn the camera on it's side to shoot video... I haven't done any critiquing yet, because I'm feeling lazy. Feel free to leave a comment and do my job for me :) I will say that I'm not thrilled with his closing, but we haven't worked a lot on that yet. And he needs to learn how to look up, but that may be harder for him because of his vision problems.

Easter

Look at me, back here blogging again so soon! I might just get myself back in the habit! I thought I would share some of our Easter celebration here. We started the day just like any other Sunday, and headed to church early. I am not a fan of all the "special" hoopla that goes on in church during the holidays, and thankfully, neither are out pastors! There was nothing "special" about our service, other than more focus on resurrection than you may find on other weeks. But there was a video testimony that I thought was pretty cool...you can check it out here (near the bottom of the page). It is so great to see God changing lives right in our midst.

After church we went to visit my sister, and spent the night near her house. Todd had Monday off, so we had a mini vacation. It was great spending time with family, and on the ranch there were lots of beautiful reminders that spring is here (even if the weather is still cold).

We set up our own little egg hunt for the kids when we got to our hotel. The setting was gorgeous. You may notice from the photos that we are short one kid - Jacob is down in SC with his grandparents until next weekend.


The ranch currently has a baby horse and some new lambs. My kids were amazed that a baby horse could be bigger than they are. They also got pony rides, played in the hay barn, and saw all the other animals at the ranch. Of course the cats are their favorite, because you know, cats are just so special...

My Great Kids

Today was playgroup. Instead of meeting at a house like we usually do, we all went to one of the malls that has a play area. The play area was closed due to carpet cleaning. So here we are with 11 kids and nothing to do on a snowy April morning. We went to another part of the mall that has a bunch of those ride-on things that cost a couple quarters and let the kids use that as a playground (without quarters).

It was organized chaos at best with 10 kids 5 and under climbing around on the four or five rides. But as I sat there talking with other moms, something struck me... every other mom had to run over and deal with a bad kid every few minuets, or chase a toddler down. I on the other hand, had no worries. My kids behaved perfectly. They took turns, they were patient, they were nice to the other kids. When I did speak to them, they obeyed right away without any trouble.

Walking through the mall was easy, too. My kids stopped when I said stop, and did a great job setting an example for some of the other, younger kids. I cannot tell you how good it felt to spend a whole morning not worrying about my kids! I am really proud of them, and it feels like all the hard work we put in as parents is really paying off.

If you're reading this and you can't imagine a peaceful walk through the mall, take heart! If you are consistent in your parenting (with boundaries and consequences) your day will come. Being consistent is hard, but in the end it is so worth it. Not that we have arrived, my gang still has daily struggles, but the view from here isn't half bad!

Don't forget to laugh

The other day I was playing with Cadence in my bedroom. I started tickling her feet, and tickling Cadence is always a good time. Her belly laugh quickly changed to a cry for help, "Boys, mommy is getting me! Boys, come help me!"

She kept calling and the boys didn't come. I started laughing at Cadence because she often forgets to be nice to her brothers... "Maybe if you were nice to them once in a while they would come and save you!"

Just when I was sure it was safe, the boys came bounding into the bedroom to save the day. Jacob wrestled his sister free, and Gabe used my stomach as a trampoline for at least five minuets. In the end, we were a heap of bodies, all laughing hardily.

As I called off the attack and sent the kids on their way, I realized that we don't laugh enough. It is so easy for me to get caught up in the daily grind and forget to truly enjoy those three treasures that God has given me. When the house is full of laughter, everyone is happier. The things that stress me out seem smaller, and it seems like the kids behave better. I should cut loose more often!

Field Trip!

My sweet husband took a day off of work yesterday because he knew that I needed a day of fun. We decided to take the kids to the Rochester Museum of Science for the day. We picked it because we knew we could get in free with our MOST pass, and Strong's (the other great kids museum in Rochester) would have cost us almost $50.

I have to say, that this was the most productive, fun field trip/museum outing we have ever done. Jacob is finally getting old enough to want to learn about the exhibits instead of just running around like a wild man. And Gabriel, being more studious by nature, took an interest in some things as well. Cadence didn't really learn much, but she is happy doing whatever her brothers are doing.

The first lesson of the morning took place at the giant sand and water table. We talked about erosion, and then Jacob got to see it in action as we built a path for our river and watched the water flow through it.

That kid the long blond hair next to Jacob is a boy. I made him cry. Todd told me I was a bad person.

We learned about the Mastodon fossils that were uncovered right in the Rochester area. The boys were especially fascinated by all the fossil exhibits.

On the second floor we explored "Flight to Freedom: Rochester's Underground Railroad". I took the kids through the story of the young slave girl, Imani. They got to imagine being chained up, hiding in the roots of a giant tree, rowing a boat, and hiding in a wood shed. They were anxious to hear what would happen to Imani next.

The thing that amazed me most about our trip was that even though we were there until 2:00, not one of the kids ever uttered the words "I'm hungry"! Usually the chorus of "I'm hungry"s starts around 10:30 at home. They were so engrossed in everything the museum had to offer, they didn't even notice the time. It was a great field trip.

The Polar Bear Paper

First, thanks for voting! Hook #1 was the clear winner both here and on the message board frequent. The report is finished, and since we are basically "sabbathing" (I think I just made up a word) today, I have time to post it to the blog.

I will correct the few spelling errors that he didn't fix, but other than that - here is Jacob's polar bear report.

Most people think polar bears are white but they aren't. Their fur is hollow and when the sun reflects it makes them look white.

Most of the time they live on the ice. When they catch a seal, They find a seal's house (or hole) and wait for the seal to come up and the polar bear springs on the seal before it can escape. They do not always eat seals. Sometimes they will eat dead whales, geese, grass and fallen berries.

They will make dens on the ice and get ready to have babies. They are mammals so that means they have babies from their tummies.

Polar bears are strong. They can swim 60 miles without rest but polar bears have been seen 100 away from shore. Sometimes they even swim under water. They also can run up to 30-35 miles per hour. They love to play with one another.

Polar bears are becoming endangered. Man humans go and kill polar bears for their skin. Scientist have been trying to save polar bears for a long time.

So, there you have it. The writing process was a little painful at times because Jacob hates writing. But in the end I think that he enjoyed it - he certainly learned a lot. And there has been significant progress in his writing style over the course of this project.

Now I think I'll go play XBox...

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

This past weekend, my sister and her family came to town! We went to the place they were staying for dinner Friday night. The family they were staying with has 11 kids! Only 5 still live at home, but most of the married ones live near by, so all of them (and all of their little kids) came over, too. My kids were excited to have so many playmates for the night.

As we were walking in the door, Jacob looked at my 15 year old niece, Nicole, and said, "Nicole, have you been shrinking? It looks like you shrunk." He was very serious, perhaps bordering on concerned. His big cousin was looking pretty small. Now, mind you, it has only been a month since we saw them.

We told Jacob that his cousin wasn't shrinking and he, in fact, was growing. He kept looking at her saying "But it really looks like you got smaller, Nicole. Are you sure didn't shrink?"

Our hostess, who has 9 boys, shook her head and said "That sounds like something a boy would say..."

I do have to admit, when I saw Jacob standing next to Nicole it did look like she shrunk! He is getting awfully close to her. The more I thought about this, the less I liked it. You see, two years ago my Nicole got taller than me. She celebrated by buying me a shirt that said "shorty"! Yesterday I measured. He is only around 4' 7", and come in around 5'2". I think I should have at least one more year of being taller than my firstborn.

Happy Birthday, Gabriel

Yesterday, Gabriel turned 5! He helped me bake some snowball surprise cookies for after his birthday dinner. We will be having cake at his party at the MOST next weekend. My parents came over for dinner and presents, and Gabriel was the life of the party.

Every time he opened a gift, he stopped and smiled this big silly smile at the camera.

The other day when I went on a "date" with Gabe, I was thinking about what a unique kid he is. I composed a little bio about him in my head...

Gabriel enjoys playing chess, listening to jazz, and reading. His goals including becoming president and racing for NASCAR. He sometimes dances around the house with underwear on his head.

On the one hand, it is hard to believe that 5 years have passed. On the other, sometimes I forget that he is only 5. He is truly a joy and we are so blessed to have him as our son.

2nd Place

Last weekend, Jacob competed in AWANA Bible quizzing. This was his second year quizzing, and it something that he really enjoys. Him and his partner competed against 9 or 10 other teams from area churches. They started studying before Christmas, and Jacob missed many Giants games for quiz practice.

Last year, our AWANA club took first place in every bracket. They did really well this year, but I think that there was a little disappointment that they didn't sweep like last year. Jacob and his partner tied for first place with another team. According to the rules, a tie is broken by giving 5 extra points to the team who scored highest on the written portion of the quizzing (each kid takes their own written quiz and the team's score is a combination of all written/oral quizzing). Unfortunately, Jake's team did better on the oral stuff :(

So his team took second place. That was especially disheartening as our club took second on a tie breaker two or three times this year! I really don't like that rule, but I guess there isn't a much better way to settle a tie. And as I pointed out to Jacob, that rule would have been just fine if he had gotten the first place medal. And I am still really proud of him. It was exciting to watch all his hard work pay off!

Please Vote!

If you are reading this, please vote. Even if you don't usually comment or don't know us or whatever. Jacob, my 4th grader, is writing a report about polar bears. Part of his writing process was to write two or three good introduction sentences or "hooks" and then ask people to vote for the best one. So here they are:

1. Most people think polar bears are white, but they aren't.

2. Here are some facts about polar bears.

3. Polar bears are big yellow bears that live in the Arctic and are close to extinction.

This will help make the writing process more fun for him, which we need because he really doesn't like to write. Just leave a comment telling us which number you think is best. Thanks!!!!

School Thoughts

I have spent the better part of my afternoon pricing curriculum options for next year (when I should have spent it writing my 2nd quarter report for THIS year). And it seems that, just like everything else, these kids get more expensive to educate the older they get!

What I dream about doing is ordering a complete curriculum from Sonlight, so I don't have to make library runs all year for school books... but our library has so many of this years books that it would double the cost of my core curriculum. Grrr! I know, I should be grateful for all the books that are available to us. But I know that most of them are really, really good books that Jacob would read over, and over, and over if they were on the shelves of our house.

It strikes me as odd that while I am feeling burned out about this year, I am all excited about next year. Why is it so much fun to by new school books???

Actually, I guess I am a little excited about what we're doing right now, too. We are breaking from the curriculum to do a more in depth study of the French and Indian War. Of course, I thought a field trip or two would be in order, since much of the battles happened within a days drive of us... but wouldn't you know that most of the forts in the northeast (including the one we have a membership to) are closed until mid May, by which time we will be well past the Revolutionary War.

And speaking of bad timing, I (and, consequently, my children) totally missed what will probably be one of the most significant historic events of my lifetime yesterday. I was shopping for running pants while the rest of the world watched Obama take his oath. Ooops! Can you believe they let me homeschool my kids????

A taste of my life...

I realize I have once again gone far too long without a post. It's just that this whole parenting/homeschooling thing can be rather draining. But I thought you might like a little taste of what my days have been like lately, so here you go.


My little ones have been trying to kill each other all morning. Unfortunately, this is becoming rather common. Every few minuets one of them comes down and tells me about the injury received at the hand of an evil sibling. But sometimes they tell on each other for other things, too. I tolerate tattling, because most of the time someone needs to know what Cadence is doing - the child is super devious.

At one point this morning, Gabe came down and announced "Cadence had something in her mouth and she says it's candy."

This concerned me for two reasons. First of all, Cadence is forever putting little things in her mouth, and that could be dangerous. Second, Cadence is devious and has been known to sneak candy on several occasions. When I called her down to question her, she promptly explained herself to me.

"It wasn't candy, mom! It was a booger."

Oh, okay. Crisis averted. Carry on, then.